pretty, but it felt
good to let the words out, even if they weren't really making a heap of sense.
"You're rejecting me because I'm not some brainless twink with a pretty smile and…and a loose ass?"
Kyle laughed outright at that last question,
and Alex couldn't help but laugh with him. He moved his legs so that he was
sitting on the material of his ruined jeans and leaning against the door. Kyle
duplicated his move and ended up sitting beside him. Shoulder to shoulder they
both stared sightlessly into the room.
"This has been the strangest couple of
days."
"For you and me, both," Kyle said
with a soft laugh. They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes before
Kyle cleared his throat and started talking. "You should be safe now that
Terry and most of his family are in custody, so if you want to go back to your
old life, you can."
"But?" Alex asked, hoping that there actually was a "but" in
there somewhere. He wasn't really sure what he wanted, yet a part of him didn't
want to watch this man walk out of his life. There was something between them,
and despite his own reservations, it was something he wanted to explore.
"But," Kyle said with a shake of
his head as if he really couldn't believe he was making the offer, "if you
wanted to join APS, I could probably find a position for you that didn't
involve riding a desk full-time."
"You don't like the idea of me being in
danger, do you? Even knowing that I've got ten years of police experience
behind me, you'd rather have me wrapped in cotton wool and waiting in your
bed."
Kyle
scratched his forehead and then ran a hand down his face. He didn't answer the
question directly.
"For the past couple of centuries my
siblings and I had pretty much given up the idea of finding someone special to
love. We shouldn't really exist—we weren't born as paranormals—so we kind of
figured it was part of the master plan for us to always be alone. But then
Adrian met Tyler and they're perfect for each other, so I guess that hope has
been growing for the past six months or so." He picked up Alex's hand and
threaded their fingers together. "I'm sorry if what I said sounded
insulting. I just never considered that my mate might be more like me than like
Tyler."
Alex's fingers tightened reflexively as a
bolt of jealousy flashed through him.
"You're in love with your brother's
mate?" And, holy fuck, how was that any of his business? It was clear that
he and Kyle really weren't suited to each other. They were both tops. That was
unlikely to change for either of them. And Alex wasn't going to play the
"good little wife" scenario and give up his police career for a man
who didn't want him going into danger. Truly, they were as about as fucked up
as a potential "mating" could be. Yet, he still wasn't willing to
watch Kyle walk out of his life…
But when the man remained silent, Alex's
temper boiled over.
"So I'm the distraction? The man so different to Tyler that it doesn't feel like
cheating?"
"What the hell?" Kyle asked as
Alex tried to roll to his feet and move away. Kyle stood up rather than release
Alex's hand, but that didn't stop Alex from trying to pull away. Holy fuck,
what the hell was wrong with him?
He made a strangled sound of distress before
he found himself trapped in Kyle's embrace.
"Breathe, babe," Kyle said
quietly, calmly. He stroked a hand over Alex's close-cropped hair, and Alex
both loved it and despised the comfort it gave him. "I'm sorry, Alex. I
think you're sensing the mate bond between us. It's messing with your thought
processes."
"No kidding," Alex said sarcastically
even as he relaxed into the safe haven of Kyle's embrace.
"I know in my head that I should let
you go home to your normal life so that you can think things through
clearly," Kyle said, "but a part of me—a very big part of me—doesn't
want to let you go, ever."
Alex couldn't help laughing at that
statement as he rubbed his pelvis against a very big, very hard part of Kyle
that seemed
good to let the words out, even if they weren't really making a heap of sense.
"You're rejecting me because I'm not some brainless twink with a pretty smile and…and a loose ass?"
Kyle laughed outright at that last question,
and Alex couldn't help but laugh with him. He moved his legs so that he was
sitting on the material of his ruined jeans and leaning against the door. Kyle
duplicated his move and ended up sitting beside him. Shoulder to shoulder they
both stared sightlessly into the room.
"This has been the strangest couple of
days."
"For you and me, both," Kyle said
with a soft laugh. They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes before
Kyle cleared his throat and started talking. "You should be safe now that
Terry and most of his family are in custody, so if you want to go back to your
old life, you can."
"But?" Alex asked, hoping that there actually was a "but" in
there somewhere. He wasn't really sure what he wanted, yet a part of him didn't
want to watch this man walk out of his life. There was something between them,
and despite his own reservations, it was something he wanted to explore.
"But," Kyle said with a shake of
his head as if he really couldn't believe he was making the offer, "if you
wanted to join APS, I could probably find a position for you that didn't
involve riding a desk full-time."
"You don't like the idea of me being in
danger, do you? Even knowing that I've got ten years of police experience
behind me, you'd rather have me wrapped in cotton wool and waiting in your
bed."
Kyle
scratched his forehead and then ran a hand down his face. He didn't answer the
question directly.
"For the past couple of centuries my
siblings and I had pretty much given up the idea of finding someone special to
love. We shouldn't really exist—we weren't born as paranormals—so we kind of
figured it was part of the master plan for us to always be alone. But then
Adrian met Tyler and they're perfect for each other, so I guess that hope has
been growing for the past six months or so." He picked up Alex's hand and
threaded their fingers together. "I'm sorry if what I said sounded
insulting. I just never considered that my mate might be more like me than like
Tyler."
Alex's fingers tightened reflexively as a
bolt of jealousy flashed through him.
"You're in love with your brother's
mate?" And, holy fuck, how was that any of his business? It was clear that
he and Kyle really weren't suited to each other. They were both tops. That was
unlikely to change for either of them. And Alex wasn't going to play the
"good little wife" scenario and give up his police career for a man
who didn't want him going into danger. Truly, they were as about as fucked up
as a potential "mating" could be. Yet, he still wasn't willing to
watch Kyle walk out of his life…
But when the man remained silent, Alex's
temper boiled over.
"So I'm the distraction? The man so different to Tyler that it doesn't feel like
cheating?"
"What the hell?" Kyle asked as
Alex tried to roll to his feet and move away. Kyle stood up rather than release
Alex's hand, but that didn't stop Alex from trying to pull away. Holy fuck,
what the hell was wrong with him?
He made a strangled sound of distress before
he found himself trapped in Kyle's embrace.
"Breathe, babe," Kyle said
quietly, calmly. He stroked a hand over Alex's close-cropped hair, and Alex
both loved it and despised the comfort it gave him. "I'm sorry, Alex. I
think you're sensing the mate bond between us. It's messing with your thought
processes."
"No kidding," Alex said sarcastically
even as he relaxed into the safe haven of Kyle's embrace.
"I know in my head that I should let
you go home to your normal life so that you can think things through
clearly," Kyle said, "but a part of me—a very big part of me—doesn't
want to let you go, ever."
Alex couldn't help laughing at that
statement as he rubbed his pelvis against a very big, very hard part of Kyle
that seemed
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