Chapter 20
WALTER WASN’Tas woozy as he pretended to be, but he didn’t want to face anyone, much less the love of his life.
Bing drove fast. He wore a grim expression and alternately gripped the steering wheel before pulling a hand off it just to make it into a fist and bang it down on his thigh. Walter watched three full cycles of that before he turned away. Bing was one anxious, angry guy right now, and Walter didn’t want to say a word until he got a handle on his own situation.
Except there wasn’t much to handle. Monkey was gone. He’d felt it the moment he struggled back to consciousness. No knot of energy coiled in his stomach, no pulse of power made his muscles feel invincible, and his body had stopped twitching because he wanted to kick some ass. It was just him here in his body, and he nervously wondered where his inhaler was. He didn’t usually need it, but he wanted something to fiddle with, and it was his safeguard against the possibility that his lungs would seize up as if they couldn’t stand being part of him. It hadn’t happened since he was a kid, but the memories were pretty clear.
Damn, he really missed Monkey. Never before had he felt his weaknesses so keenly. His body didn’t feel powerful, and he kept waiting for the moment it would betray him. His thoughts would not stop spinning off into worst-case scenarios. He hated himself when he was like this, and he knew for damn sure that no one else liked him either. His family had told him so a million times.
He sighed and tried to turn his attention to something outside of himself. He was in the back seat, so he had to lean forward to catch a glimpse of Bing’s phone to find out where they were going. “We should head to the set,” he said. “Even if we’re not filming—”
“There will be a dozen people trying to get your attention. We need to talk. Now.”
A few months ago Walter would have fallen back into his seat and not said a word, but too much had happened. He manned up and faced Bing. “Look, this doesn’t have to be so dramatic. I know you wanted Monkey, not me.” He couldn’t even say the worldlove, so he kept it on a physical footing. “Monkey’s gone, the sex was hot, but you’ve never been attracted to me. Hey, who the hell wouldn’t want to fuck a demigod? But he’s gone now. We can go back to being roommates.”
Bing slammed on the brakes. They’d come up to a stop sign, so he had a reason. Walter had to brace himself to keep from falling forward. Once the car stabilized, Walter slammed back against the seat while Bing drove on, fury etched into every line of his body.
He didn’t say a single word.
Walter waited, his heart sinking deeper into his belly with every breath. God, he didn’t think it would hurt this much. One night. They’d had one amazing night together. But now it felt like his heart was breaking. It had been a dream come true, but it had also been a dream that happened because Monkey had pushed him to be bold.
“You’re a fucking idiot,” Bing said. “Fucking goddamned….” He cut into Chinese with a vehemence that shocked Walter. In all their time together, he’d never heard Bing curse like this. A moment later he said, “We’re going to a hotel, and you’re going to get your head on straight.”
Well, hell. Way to make him feel like an ass when he didn’t even know why. “Bing, you don’t have to be angry—”
“Of course I love you!” he yelled. “You made me that way!”
Walter frowned. “Come again?”
“When you were writing Red Wolf, did you think of me? Did you make the partforme?”
“You know I did.” He’d told him that before they’d decided to write the movie.
“And did you think of me as you wrote it? Did you fantasize about me? Did you wrap all your lust, hunger, and desire into every line?”
Walter shifted uncomfortably, and not because Bing was now taking a corner way too fast. He didn’t want to confess how many times he’d lain in bed and thought about where he’d take the Red Wolf character on the page. And then he’d jerk himself off while dreaming of Bing. He wasn’t proud of it, but hell, it wasn’t a crime either.
“It’s not weird,” Walter said, his tone tight. “Lots of writers fall in love with their characters. We have to if we want to write well.”
“Yeah, but most writers don’t bring their creations to life.” Bing suddenly spun the car into a motel lot and slammed into a parking space. Then he turned around and glared at Walter. “They aren’t you.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean? I’m not special here. I’m not Monkey anymore. I’m not a werewolf created from magic who’s working for a paranormal wolf pack. I’m just—”
“You.” Bing gripped the back of Walter’s neck and hauled him forward. His grip wasn’t painful, but it sure as hell didn’t allow for Walter to move away. “I’m going to get us a room, and then you and I are going to talk.”
How could he fight that? Obviously Bing had something to say. “Okay.” Then, because some of that Monkey mischief clearly remained, he flashed Bing a quick smile. “But only because you asked nicely.”
He had the satisfaction of watching Bing’s eyes widen in surprise, and then his lips quirked into a slight smile. “How can you be so clueless and so sexy at the same time? It’s incomprehensible.”
Walter was sexy? Since when? He didn’t have time to ask, because Bing abruptly got out of the car and headed to the front office.
That left Walter to bask. The sexiest guy on the planet had just called him sexy. How cool was that? Even if it was coupled with the wordclueless, the warmth of the compliment remained.
Within moments Bing was back. He crossed the parking lot with long strides and pointed at room 106. Walter nodded, then scrambled out of the car. He was pleased to feel that his legs were less wobbly, and there was no dizziness or lingering aches from getting the crap beaten out of him by kangaroos. It was probably a last gift of Monkey’s energy, and he was thankful for it.
He stood there feeling awkward as Bing opened the motel room, did a quick sweep for bad guys or whatever, then hauled Walter inside and tossed him easily onto the bed. Then he stood there with his hands on his hips, looking like he was glaring down at an annoying problem.
“Bing—”
