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  Chase had been angry, but when the fire turned to passion, he’d thought Chase had accepted his apology and wanted him too. Before he got too maudlin, he wondered if maybe Chase hadn’t ditched him as just another trick. Maybe something had happened…. But no, he would have woken if a phone had rung.

  Rhys forced himself to get out of bed. He first went to his jeans to dig out his cell, a little disappointed to find Chase had left nothing behind. Well, except the used condom in the trash can.

  Rhys stood, naked, in the middle of his bedroom as he scrolled through his contacts to find Chase’s number. It went straight to voice mail, though, killing the last hope it wasn’t really what it looked like.

  “Should have known ‘Nothing else exists until morning’ meant he would be gone when I woke,” Rhys muttered as he headed to the bathroom to wash up and get dressed. Before he put on his shirt, he took a moment to look in the mirror and admire the rather clean bite marks at the juncture of neck and shoulder and the other darker little love bites and fingertip bruises.

  Rhys took one long, last look at his mussed bed, unable to bring himself to change the sheets and make the bed quite yet. He finished getting dressed and headed down to the office. What met him there was both amusing and annoying. Mark stood in the tech area Chase had set up, staring wide-eyed at both the stacked items and the mess made when Chase had pelted him with all the loose items.

  “What the hell, Rhys?” Mark asked, his voice so incredulous Rhys fought to not laugh.

  “That would be the effect of Garrett stopping by and pissing Chase off.” He absentmindedly touched the bites on his shoulder, remembering the fire in Chase’s eyes as he’d shown his displeasure.

  “Garrett was here? I thought you swore not to take the slut back!”

  “I didn’t take him back. Ass. He stopped by to talk to me, trying to convince me he wanted us together again. I threw him out, but not before he called Chase my boy toy, among other things. Chase, um, took exception to that and to how Garrett looked,” Rhys added with a shrug. He knew he deserved Chase’s anger for the lies and mistreatment, even if he sorely regretted his actions now.

  “How he looked? Do I want to know, Rhys?” Mark stooped and started to pick up the scattered items, as did Rhys. “I never understood why you liked him to begin with, but they’re both twinks, so what’s the problem?”

  “You remember I met Chase before we got the contract with Seth to guard James and Danni?” He waited for Mark to nod. “I blew Chase off at a club and insulted him for being a twink. In my defense, it was right after I threw Garrett out, but….”

  “You never told Chase the truth, so when the slut stopped by, you looked like a liar on top of being a total ass. Way to go, Rhys.”

  “I know. Believe me, I know. But he stopped packing up his things and let me apologize.”

  “You better hope you didn’t just cost us the best tech we’ve ever had. Kailee was good, but Chase really is as good as James said.”

  “He didn’t stay mad, Mark,” Rhys said defensively as flashes from the night before again flickered through his mind.

  “What’d ya do to your shoulder? You keep messing with it.” Mark quirked an eyebrow at him. “And what’s with the weird—”

  Rhys slapped his hand over the marks he knew were partly visible with only his T-shirt on. Dammit, knew I shoulda put my jacket on before I came down. “It’s nothing. Don’t you have something to do?”

  “Uh-uh, let me see,” Mark demanded as he grabbed Rhys’s shoulder. The wide grin told Rhys Mark already knew what he would find, much to his irritation.

  After wrestling for a few minutes, Rhys pinned Mark. “Forget it. I’m not explaining what’s there, Mark.”

  “Spoilsport. Fine, I need to go prep for tonight anyway.” He stood when Rhys released him and scowled. “I hate cheating spouse cases,” Mark muttered as he stomped off to his office.

  Rhys did too, but money was money, and bills didn’t care what kind of job was used to pay them.

  RHYS LAY sprawled across the top step of his back porch later that evening. He looked across the backyard of his house-slash-business, taking in all the little details he and Mark had put into the place. Most people never saw more than the front office, but the back was a lush area with paths, and plants and flowers when it was warm. Not right then, of course, thanks to the dry, cold weather, but he could still envision what it would look like again come spring.

  The cold beer in his hand was probably warmer than the outside temperature, but Rhys didn’t care. He had to think, and to do that he needed space that didn’t spark memories from the night before. He had been both wrong and right about Chase, though he wasn’t sure which bothered him more. The man was beyond his dreams and fantasies in bed, but was either hostile to him or ignored him completely outside it. He knew the latter was his own fault for not ’fessing up about why he’d acted like such a douche at the club. That didn’t explain why Chase had run in the middle of the night or why he’d refused both calls and texts.

  He wanted to believe the sweet, protective man he had witnessed with James during the stalking was the true person inside, but the clubbing, flamboyant attitude when he didn’t know Rhys was there made him doubt. However, Chase leaving before dawn kept the fear that he was merely a notch on Chase’s bedpost very fresh and real.

  “Rhys!” The strange voice startled him out of his musings. What was he doing here, now?

  “’Round back, Jay,” Rhys called out. He stood and headed around to the side to open the gate, having recognized James’s voice.

  A huge smile spread across his face. Maybe James can help make Chase make sense….

  He paused when he saw James wasn’t alone. With him were Simon and Dale, two of Chase’s other close friends. It wasn’t the extra company that had him worried, but rather the angry scowls each man wore as they approached.

  “Um, guys, what can I do you for?” The three men didn’t physically intimidate Rhys, but something was obviously wrong, and that bugged him. He didn’t know Simon or Dale well, having met them only once or twice, but James was different. “You want to come in?”

  James nodded, his body held tight, though a slight tremble showed in his hands as they gripped the crutches he always used. “Please.”

  Rhys let the three into the enclosed back porch and over to a set of chairs. James settled into one of the cushioned lawn chairs, but Simon and Dale stood, one to each side, as if guarding him—an odd concept in Rhys’s opinion, considering he had been James’s bodyguard not that long ago.

  “First, this is not an attack, Rhys, though I do realize it probably looks like one to you. But after seeing Chase earlier, you have to know why we’re upset.” James’s tone was level but had an unusual edge. James almost never lashed out, so this was a wee bit bizarre, at least to Rhys’s knowledge.

  “We,” Simon added, motioning to himself and Dale, “have a more… hostile opinion of you.”

  “Okay.” Rhys drew the word out. “I have no idea what Chase said to get the three of you upset, but could you tell me why you are here? Please,” he quickly added. What the hell did Chase tell them? I’m the one with marks from last night, not Chase!

  “Using Chase is not cool, man,” Simon snapped.

  “Use? He said I used him?” Rhys looked back and forth between them, dumbfounded and hurt by the accusation. His shoulders fell at the thought. He was the one feeling used and discarded—the very reason he’d sworn off clubbing twinks, no matter how sexy, until the night before.

  The look of confusion that befell the three men before him gave him pause.

  “He’s ready to quit and try to work it out so he doesn’t have to be around when you are. He doesn’t want to make me choose between the two of you,” James explained, his brows pulled together and lips pursed.

  Dale leaned down to James. “Maybe we should ask him his version of last night before we totally condemn the man.”

  Rhys, still standing with arms folded o
ver his chest, let out a deep breath. “If you know Chase’s side of things, no matter what I feel about him sharing such intimate details of our time together, it seems only fair I get to know what he thinks happened too.”

  Chapter 7

  CHASE SHIFTED and stretched in his seat, desperate to stay awake for class. He still couldn’t believe Dal had convinced him to go back to college for more computer classes. He had his degree already. He was only twenty-six, but looking around the room as it began to fill made him feel old again.

  After a few minutes, Chase pulled out his notebook, class book, and favorite pen in a bid not to doze off. He knew better than to go out so soon after the whole debacle with Rhys, but it had made perfect sense to him last night. Or at least Simon had made going out on a blind date seem reasonable.

  Before he knew it, Adrian Keys, his professor, was standing at the lecture stand to the right of the large teacher’s desk. Tonight they had a special event of sorts; another class was joining theirs for the evening lecture. Something about differing points of view or something. Personally, he couldn’t wait to see how the new kids reacted to his hot prof.

  Adrian calmly raised his right hand and called out, “Attention, please. My name is Adrian Keys. I will be your instructor this evening.” What caught Chase’s attention again was how beautiful the man was. Tall—well, taller than him—with hair so black it was almost blue, and eyes such a vibrant green they seemed to burn. As always, what he noticed after that was the unusual tenor of his voice. It was deep, kind of sexy, but also somewhat muted and flat in places. “And this gentleman,” he continued, “is Kelley, my feisty assistant. And, while I may not be able to hear what you say, I read lips and”—Adrian’s eyes twinkled as he smirked—“Kelley hears everything.”

  Kelley proceeded to hand out packets to everyone as Adrian continued with his introductory speech. “This is an advanced course. It is also accelerated, so I expect everyone to actively participate and learn all you can from the lecture and each other.” Adrian Keys continued to explain what they would learn over the course of the evening. Honestly, it was more of a miniconference, but who was Chase to nitpick over how they named things. Adrian stopped partway when two of the new girls kept chatting while he was lecturing.

  “Excuse me, ladies, but if you are not going to participate in the class, you may leave and accept a zero for today.”

  Chase shifted in his chair, as did most everyone, to stare at the two girls, who blushed and looked away from every eye on them. “But he can’t hear!” one of the girls whined.

  “No, but I can see. Now choose. Stay and learn, or leave and lose out?”

  Glad he wasn’t the one those piercing green eyes flashed on, Chase turned his attention back to the man at the front of the room.

  As he approached Adrian Keys at the end of the conference-class thing, Chase smiled. “Mr. Keys,” he signed, glad to have learned ASL in college—it had seemed logical, given one of his aunts married the sweetest man who happened to be deaf. Besides, he’d never been good with spoken languages. “I need your signature on this form, please. It verifies I am taking the computer forensics class and that I attended this special lecture.”

  A beatific smile spread across Adrian’s face. “Mr. Chase, right?”

  “Chase is my first name. Manning is my last.”

  “Chase then,” Adrian signed, then accepted the form and looked it over. “Police consultant? They have a department for this already, yes?”

  “Yes, but I have been contracted a couple of times, and it would be better if I had paper proof of all my skills for when they go to the DA or trial,” Chase explained and shrugged. Now that he was stuck helping Rhys, this would be even more important. Though he had hoped to get out of working for that man, he had instead ended up taking over part of the back office of the Coiled Dragon to house the agency’s tech area and his IT consulting firm. He still could not believe Mark had talked him into it, but the man was almost as persuasive as Simon was.

  Chase was pulled out of his rambling thoughts when Adrian waved his hand in front of him. “This your only class?”

  “No, I have one other. Its last session is tomorrow night.”

  Adrian again gave him the sweet, open smile that enchanted him every time he saw it. After signing the slip, he handed it back to Chase. “Glad to have you in the class and hope to see more of you.” His eyes dropped, and he blushed lightly before he turned and hurried over to Kelley. Chase grinned to himself. Cute and bashful, yum!

  ALMOST TWO weeks later, Chase found himself back on campus. The same day grades officially posted, he showed up at Adrian’s office door. He’d been sort of lusting after the man since the course began, and he had decided the best way to get over Rhys was to find someone new to focus his interest and time on.

  Adrian looked up from the papers on his desk, eyebrows raised, head canted slightly to the right. “Chase? How can I help you?” he signed and spoke.

  Chase flashed his best smile. “Since you’re not my teacher anymore, I wanted to ask if you would like to grab a bite or a beer with me sometime?”

  He had to fight not only the nerves from asking Adrian out, but also the distinct, uneasy feeling that his going out with someone was somehow cheating on Rhys—not that he was in a relationship with the big, lumbering, gorgeous man.

  Adrian’s eyes flashed with an emotion so fast he wasn’t sure he could identify it… surprise, maybe. “I’m not sure that would be appropriate, Chase. You are my student.”

  “Actually, no, I’m not. I was, but grades are out, and I don’t have you for any classes next term.” Chase again tried a smile, hoping it would work this time. He wasn’t used to having to work hard to get a first date, but his confidence had been a little shaky since Rhys. Between that and his last couple of dates being duds, his nerves were all twisted up as he awaited Adrian’s response.

  Adrian took a moment to reply, using the time to slowly look Chase over. A shy smile spread across his handsome face as he nodded. “I would like that.”

  CHASE STRODE into the office the next morning, his mind more on his upcoming date with Adrian than on the work planned for the day, but he knew once he settled in his chair and booted up everything, he’d descend into the work like always. Whether he was tracking things down for Mark or Rhys or working on the codes for his freelance work, computers were where he ruled, and he loved them.

  Working the suicide-or-maybe-murder case still took part of his time and energy, but at least Mark had agreed to work with him on it, reducing the amount of time he had to directly deal with Rhys.

  He paused when he spotted something out of place at his workstation. There, beside his favorite keyboard and mouse, was an arrangement of bamboo in a blue-and-green glazed container. Chase quickly counted: seven stalks, two of which were taller, spiraling ones. Set in the pebbles at the base was a small Welsh-style red dragon figurine.

  Every morning since the first workday after his and Rhys’s “mistake”—as he insisted upon calling their one night together—there had been something peculiar left in his area. A brownie. One of his favorite coffee drinks. Even a new six-pack of Mountain Dew in the minifridge he’d added to his personal area—but plants were new. Chase knew who was leaving them, though he couldn’t quite work out why. Rhys baffled and annoyed him, yet he couldn’t get their one night or the taste of the man out of his head, no matter what he tried.

  Chase moved the plant away, sighed, and then moved it back into view moments later. Giving the little dragon one last look while his system booted up, he turned and dove into his work. He already had a number of clients, and now that he had proper office space, he seemed to be more productive—code and numbers never confused or failed him. The work consumed Chase’s thoughts and attention the way it always did.

  SOME DAYS a number of people came and went from the office, while other days it was only the four of them.

  Lost in his musings and code, he startled when a voice broke into his c
oncentration. “Hey, Chase. You ready to go?”

  Looking up, blinking his eyes a few times to refocus on the real world, not his screens, he took in Dal, Rhys’s little brother—though not that little. Days like today, with Dal decked out in his police uniform, the three inches Rhys had on him seemed even less noticeable.

  Why couldn’t it be Dal that makes me squirm and want?

  “Um, did I forget something again?” He knew it was things like this that gave him such a rep for being an airhead, but he couldn’t help how engrossed he got at times. He was just as focused when playing, so it couldn’t all be bad. Right?

  Dal’s rich laugh made him smile. “Boy, you asked me to stop by on my lunch break so you could pick up your bike, remember? Something about not having time tonight thanks to your pretty little ass having a date,” Dal explained, his grin so wide it lit up his entire being.

  Chase could feel the heat in his cheeks and looked away. “Yeah, Adrian liked my bike the one time he saw it, and it’s our first date, so I….”

  “You want to impress the guy. I get it. But I don’t have a long break today, so let’s go.”

  He hit “save,” then shut things down, grabbed his wallet, keys, and coat, and joined Dal. Dal slid his arm over Chase’s shoulders, guiding him to the front.

  “Bye, Nichelle.”

  “Bye, Nikki. It was great seeing you again,” Dal added before they exited the office into the chilly, early-afternoon light.

  “You two must have been a hot couple, with all her soft mocha skin and your pale skin with the little toffee freckles,” Chase mused out loud as he slid into the passenger seat of Dal’s cruiser.

  “I always thought she was,” Dal replied. “But we make much better friends than lovers. Have you met her husband? He’s pretty cool.”