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impossibly
    erotic thrill of being devoured by this man. Adin knew he
    hadn’t mistaken it. Donte was suckling at the wound on his
    neck, lapping at the blood as he crushed Adin’s smaller body
    into the window. For the second time in twenty-four hours,
    Adin came in his trousers, completely taken by surprise.
    Donte licked the wound on Adin’s neck to seal it. “Thank
    you.”
    Adin said nothing.
    “Invite me in, Adin,” pleaded Donte, who rocked Adin’s
    light body gently, swaying with the minuscule motion of the
    elevator.
    “You know I can’t.”
    “I know you won’t,” Donte complained.
    “It’s not mine to give back to you, Donte. It doesn’t belong
    to me. I’m a courier.”
    “What will you feel, I wonder, when I take it from you?”
    Donte asked grimly. “Because make no mistake, I will.”
    “I understand.”
    “Do you? Or do you hope that by giving me scraps, like a
    trail of bread crumbs, you will distract me from my purpose?
    Please don’t underestimate me, più amato. I have no wish to
    betray your trust.”
    “Don’t worry”—Adin sighed—“and don’t make the
    assumption that I trust you.”
    “You offered me your neck. Your very life. Yet you keep my
    journal from me and make us adversaries.”
    “My life is mine, Donte, and all that I can give you.”
    Donte hissed at him, then kissed him like he meant it.
    Adin looked at the floor numbers. “I’m on seventeen.” He
    was beginning to feel a little faint from the loss of blood again
    and knew he had to get to his room, without Donte, to lie
    down. He left the elevator without a backward glance, assuming
    fatalistically that if Donte had a trick up his sleeve, he wouldn’t NOTTURNO 51
    stand a chance anyway, but he entered his room alone, using his
    key card, and fell finally into bed and a dreamless sleep.

CHAPTER FIVE
    Adin groped for the ringing phone.
    “Yes? Tredeger here,” he murmured around an eye-
    exploding headache.
    “Oddball? Where are you?” asked Deana. “I’m at
    Greengrass. You’re late.”
    “Oh, hell…” Adin picked up one of his watches from the
    nightstand. “I’m so sorry. I couldn’t sleep…jet-lagged…and
    then I started translating the journal.”
    “You stood me up for porn?” she asked incredulously.
    “It isn’t porn,” he snapped, more harshly than he’d
    intended.
    “Okay…”
    “Look, stay where you are. I’ll be there as soon as I can.
    Shop. What’s not to love? You’re in Barneys.”
    “Well, there is that… But I’m supposed to get back to
    work…”
    “Like work ever derailed one of your shopping expeditions.
    I’ll buy you shoes…” He dangled a carrot, qualifying, “If they’re
    on sale,” while he rummaged through his bag looking for a T-
    shirt.
    “I’ll be here. Don’t take forever.”
    Adin showered quickly and dressed, placing both his suit
    from the day before and his jeans in the hotel laundry bag to be
    cleaned. How horrifying. No doubt they would think he made a
    habit of creaming his trousers. There was probably some
    obscure dry-cleaning blog where acne-crusted minimum wagers
    shared their thoughts. You won’t believe it, everything we get from this one room is soaked in semen…and the guy is staying by himself…
    Arriving by cab at Barneys on Wilshire, Adin was just in
    time to purchase a pair of strappy white sandals for his sister at
    54 Z.A. Maxfield
    the end-of-season sale. They looked cool against her
    inauthentically tanned skin and had lethal heels, which put her
    at just about five feet four inches, still short by most standards.
    She was shamelessly delighted.
    “Having a queer brother with a credit card?” She mimicked
    the popular commercials. “Priceless.”
    “Sorry I’m late.”
    “All is forgiven,” she said as they got into the elevator to go
    to Greengrass, the deli, on the top floor. “You look like yak
    splat, Adin. Are you okay?”
    Adin avoided her gaze but answered her serenely. “I’m fine,
    Deana