Chapter Eleven
Hallstein
He came home with me that night. He sucked me off while I watched avidly.
I sucked him off while relishing his taste. His scent. His essence.
Then we took turns fucking each other. By the time we’d satiated ourselves, dawn was nearly upon us. We grabbed breakfast sandwiches as we headed back downtown to grab the vase.
Myles continuously raved about my house in PoCo.
Admittedly, with three bedrooms, a chef’s kitchen, and a massive media room in the basement, I’d done okay for myself.
I’d saved a lot of money when I’d been on the force.
Hadn’t really had anything to spend it on.
I hadn’t foreseen the injury, the early retirement, my new security gig—or Myles.
I brought him home. I’ve never brought anyone home. Of course, I’d never fallen head over heels for a brash, bold, and beautiful man either.
We arrived on set, and Sally gave us that look.
Neither of us cared.
Instead of driving back and forth to PoCo every night, I’d come back to Myles’s studio condo and hunkered down with him and the cats.
It should’ve been claustrophobic. What with the Murphy bed and the tiny couch and the high-top kitchen table with two barstools.
I had zero privacy. Even when I went to the bathroom, Luigi insisted on accompanying me.
And he slept on my pillow every night. Jodhpur didn’t love me, but Fluffy and Claud gave me plenty of affection.
The last day of shooting—the scene where Justice decided to donate the vase to a museum—I was almost sad.
This was the cross-promotion the museum had planned, and I hoped all the money they’d spent on me had been worth it.
I got three thumbs-up from Amal when I texted that I’d returned the vase for the very last time.
Then I turned my car toward The Georgian Hotel. I parked us in the underground garage, grabbed Myles’s hand when we got out of the car, and led him up the stairs and over to the restaurant.
“I’m not wearing the right clothes for this.” He might’ve hissed that.
He wore his purple shirt with the neon unicorns.
I couldn’t think of a better outfit.
“They don’t require a tie.”
The hostess greeted us.
“Party for two. Under the name Bauer.”
She smiled. “Yes, of course. Follow me.”
Still holding Myles’s hand, we followed her to a secluded booth near the back corner. While we slid in, she lit the tapered candle. “Tracey is your server tonight. Chef Miguel will prepare you something very special.”
With a bit of a flourish, she departed.
Myles opened the menu, then snapped it shut. “I can’t afford to eat here.”
I opened the menu. “Amal just deposited my bonus into my bank account. I can afford to eat here, and I can certainly afford to feed you.”
He glared. “You think I’m too skinny.”
I glared back. “I think you’re perfect. I love slender. You’ve got just the right amount of…everything.”
He smirked. “You just like my cock.”
“And what drinks would you gentlemen like this evening?”
In unison, we turned to the woman standing at the end of the table. The creases at her eyes and the few strands of gray hair denoted someone who’d lived a life, to be sure. Her kind eyes drew me in. “A bottle of champagne, please. We don’t drink often, but we’re going to tonight.”
“Right away. When I come back, you can let me know your order.”
As she walked away, Myles leaned in. “Okay. First, you’re driving—”
“I’ve arranged to leave my SUV in the garage overnight. We’ll take the Seabus home to your place, and I’ll retrieve it in the morning.” I met his gaze. “I was never a big drinker. I haven’t had a glass since…you know.”
He placed his hand over mine. “I do know. Have you heard…?”
I nodded. “I give my impact statement on Tuesday.” This being Thursday, I had several days to prepare.
“Well, I’m coming with you.”
“No, you’re not. The sentencing is out in Cedar Valley. You have work and—”
“Sally can handle work. You’ve seen that for yourself.”
I could acknowledge that. The extremely competent woman had often shown her talents over the more than five weeks I’d worked with the crew.
Before I could say anything, Myles had his phone out and was typing furiously. When he was done, with a flourish, he lay it face down on the table.
I barely had time to blink before it vibrated.
Myles picked it up, grinned. Then put the phone in his back pocket.
“And,” I prompted.
“Val says it’s fine. He’ll talk to Sally.”
“You texted one of the studio bosses?” My mind whirled.
“Yeah.” He met my gaze. “This is important.” Then he took my hand. “If you don’t want me in the courtroom, that’s totally fine. But I want to be there before and after.”
Oh my God, as he’s so fond of saying.
Tracey reappeared with champagne. Myles and I both opted for the steak. Might as well go all-out. Speaking of all-out… “I have an idea.”
Myles bounced in his seat. “I like ideas.”
I pulled out a piece of paper that I’d tucked into my suit pocket. “Bear with me.”
“Okay.” His eagerness could not be overstated as he bounced again.
“This is a townhouse in North Vancouver.”
He nabbed the paper and pored over it. “This is Lower Lonsdale.” Another bounce. “I can’t afford this place.”
“No…but I can. If I sell my house in PoCo, then I can buy this townhouse. It’s only got two bedrooms, but there’s a space in the basement for a media room.
I mean, the cats will have their own room.
” I swallowed. “Well, they’ll have the run of the house, of course, but they’ll have a space for themselves.
We can set up cat trees and boxes. Because, I mean, Claud loves his boxes. And—”
“Hold up.” Myles raised his hand, palm facing me. “Are you asking me to move in with you?”
“Uh…yes.”
“So I sell my condo and contribute to the mortgage? Because you don’t have a mil sitting around in equity in your house.”
“Pretty darn close. I saved a huge amount of my salary during my twenty years on the force, and you don’t need to know all that.”
“You’re asking me to move in with you.”
“Yes.”
He bit his lower lip.
“What’s wrong.”
“You haven’t…you know…”
I wrinkled my nose. Damn. Clearly I’d forgotten something important. “Whatever it is, Myles, just spit it out. You won’t hurt my feelings—”
“You haven’t said you loved me.”
My mind stuttered. “Of course I have. Last night, when—”
“Two steaks.” Tracey grinned as she placed our plates on the table.
I offered a weak smile and nodded.
“Anything else?”
“No, thanks.” Myles gave her a sincere grin. “This smells delicious.”
“Well, enjoy.” She headed away.
Myles picked up his steak knife and fork.
“I told you last night,” I persisted.
“No, you really didn’t. You said you loved when I sucked you off.”
My mind whirled. Was he right? Had I screwed up the order? “Well, you never said it to me.” Oh shit. Maybe he didn’t love me. Maybe I’d overestimated his esteem for me. I snatched the paper and tried to shove it back into my pocket.
He snatched it back. “I fucking love this, Hallsy. I fucking love you. I’ve never said it because you needed time.
I’m already a fucking pushy guy, so I wasn’t going to run roughshod over you.
” He caressed the paper. “You’d move to Lower Lonsdale?
For me? That means a lot of bridges when you’re working in Vancouver. ”
“Well, then, I guess it’s a good thing I have a job in North Vancouver.”
Amusingly, his jaw dropped open. “Since when?”
“Since Valentino approached me yesterday. His chief security officer is leaving—”
“Kristine’s going?”
I shifted, unsure of how much to say. “She’s pregnant.”
“Okay, but plenty of pregnant women work.”
“Yes, well…” I made the calculation that my loud and brash…
boyfriend…could keep his mouth shut when he needed to.
“She’s older, as you know, and her doctor deemed this pregnancy high-risk.
Basically, she’s been ordered to have a no-stress life until the baby comes.
And, truthfully, she wants to stay home with the baby.
So she’s taken over some of the cybersecurity work, which is her specialty anyway.
She’ll be my backup when I’m in the field and unable to get to a computer. ”
Myles waved his hand around. “You’ll be handling physical security for the shoots?”
I nodded. “As well as background checks and anything else Valentino requires.” At his frown, I added, “My doctor’s cleared me.
I could’ve tried to get back to the RCMP, but my heart’s not in it.
And I didn’t want to be a desk jockey. I’m meant to be out in the field.
I gave Amal my resignation today. She’s thrilled. Well, pissed and thrilled.”
“And we’re going to be working together?”
A laugh burst forth from me. “I’m not your boss—”
“On the job, anyway…”
Another laugh. “Hey, you’re the bossy bottom. Truly, between the four cats and your attitude, I’m in charge of precisely nothing.” I placed my hand over his, which still clutched the paper. “Am I pushing? Because I do love you. You’ve come to mean…everything to me.”
“It’s just the sex.” He said the words flippantly, but as his light-brown eyes shone, I knew.
I just knew.
So I leaned over and pressed my lips to his.
He opened, and we deepened the kiss. He grasped my tie and yanked me closer.
I grasped his cheeks and held him as tightly as I dared.
Later, in celebration—and after eating cold steak—we opted to get a room at The Georgian, and we spent the night. In the morning, we decided to get tested. Better for the environment, I pointed out. No more condoms.
Myles acknowledged my point, but as he held my hand in the clinic, he admitted he liked the idea of me coming in his ass.
The woman next to us chuckled.
All’s right in the world.