Chapter 19 #2
Checking through the window, my grip clenched on the lacy curtain at the sight of Kit standing on my doorstep, his hands shoved into his pockets, golden hair gleaming in the porch light.
I hadn’t heard from him since yesterday, though I’d listened to his moving speech on the radio this morning. Unlocking the door, I swung it wide to let him in, but the determined expression on his face and pain in his eyes stopped me from greeting him.
“It’s my turn to ask to pretend, August.”
My heart skipped into my throat. I nodded and stepped back, letting him inside. He firmly shut the door behind himself and turned the lock.
“Do you… are you okay?”
Kit gave an aborted shake of his head before stepping into my space, crowding close.
His hands slid up my arms, over my shoulders, up my neck to cup my jaw, gaze never leaving mine as his tongue darted out to skim his bottom lip.
He pulled me down and I didn’t resist, letting his seductive kiss wash over me.
The coaxing movement of his lips against mine, the sweet press of his tongue as he stroked my jaw with his thumbs made me groan softly, gathering him closer.
He was temptation incarnate, and my body responded.
We ought to have talked, but he’d given me what I needed, and now I could return the favour. More than that, I wanted to take care of him. Some part of me had never stopped wanting to. Never would.
So I pushed him backward against the door, my body temperature surging, hips flexing forward against him as we both hardened.
Sweet friction and pulsing arousal dizzied me, and, God, I wanted him.
His tiny moan into my mouth went straight to my cock, and I wanted to keep him right there with me, build something together full of fire and life and the physical righting of all our wrongs.
Kit’s thigh hitched around my hip as he arched.
I took the hint, reaching down to lift him, his calves locking around my waist. I had to prop his weight against the door, and my leg complained with a spikey ache, so I probably wouldn’t be able to pull this off for as long as I’d like, but I could still pin him up against a vertical surface and make him beg for me.
His hands were everywhere: in my hair, sliding under the shoulders of my housecoat and down over my chest to rub my nipples through my shirt, burning me up with longing. I missed him and needed him and I wished… I just wished.
My heart was trying to climb its way out of my throat and into him, so I broke away from his mouth to taste the smooth cut of his jaw, to bite down softly, my own groan echoing Kit’s as I reminded myself not to make this into more than it was.
“Gus,” he panted in my ear, making me shiver and hiss. “August, I need—Mmm—take me to bed. I want you to—”
Loud banging on the door near Kit’s head startled us both. My flinch jarred my leg and I slammed my lips together to hold back the wrong kind of groan, letting Kit slip to the floor. We stared at each other wide-eyed.
“Are you expecting someone?” Kit whispered, face flushed, lips dark red and puffy, and damn whoever was on the other side of the door because I needed to be inside him right fucking now. Shaking my head, I reached for him again.
Renewed and angrier pounding on the door doused that plan with cold water.
“Goddamn it, Gus!” George shouted. I sighed, dropping my arms, already missing the feel of Kit in them. “I know you’re home, open this door!”
Moving to quickly rearrange ourselves, I could tell there was no hiding what we’d been up to.
George was going to be angry and annoying about it, especially since he was clearly already in a bad mood.
I tugged Kit behind me, concealing him from view so the explosion of George’s temper didn’t happen out where anyone could overhear.
I opened the door. George narrowed his eyes suspiciously at me as he came in.
“What the hell took you so—” He broke off, clearly noticing my appearance.
“Who the hell’s here? Tell me it’s not—” Kit stepped out from behind me with his arms crossed, an icy look that didn’t suit him on his pretty face.
“Kit,” George finished, dully, his gaze darting between us before settling on me, his nose wrinkling.
“Your taste didn’t get any better, I guess. ”
“He keeps company with you, so you can’t be too shocked,” Kit replied.
Jesus. They were both gonna give me a headache. “Can we take this into the kitchen?” I asked, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Where there’s enough alcohol for me to deal with this?”
George and Kit stared daggers at each other.
They needed to move beyond their animosity.
I could understand George’s dislike. It stemmed from hurt feelings when Kit took off and didn’t even write him.
The same thing that still hurt me, even if it was unfair when I was the one to break Kit’s heart in the first place.
Kit though… when he left Halifax, George had been one of his closest friends.
He’d never done a thing to deserve what Kit had done to him, and I couldn’t understand why Kit kept throwing barbs.
Maybe defensiveness because he knew he’d done George wrong?
Or pig-headed refusal to acknowledge that to himself.
Whatever the cause, my patience was running low.
“Kitchen, now,” I gritted out, turning and heading that way, hearing them follow, both muttering under their breaths. I went straight for the fridge, grabbing a bottle of Keith’s. “Anyone else want one?”
They both shook their heads. I popped the top and took a long draw as I leaned back against the counter.
“Why are you here?” Kit demanded.
“Nice,” George said, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Polite. I forgot how gracious you are.”
Kit’s green eyes glimmered with hard light. “You know what—”
“Both of you need to can it.” Two outraged expressions turned on me. “I’m serious. You’re in your thirties, not grade school. Talk it out, move on, keep it to yourselves, I don’t care, but jumping Jesus, stop the petty squabbling.”
“He—” they both started, then cut off and gave each other dirty looks again. It would’ve been funny if wasn’t getting on my last nerve.
I sighed and rubbed my forehead—there was that headache, right on time—then shifted to lean more of my weight back against the counter, relieving some of the pain in my leg. “What did you need to tell me, George? It must’ve been important to bring you by so late without calling.”
“Yeah, well, I figured you’d be alone.” I shrugged a shoulder, and George grunted before he deflated.
“I… there was an envelope on my doorstep this evening. With pictures. Of a, uh, delicate nature. Of me. And some men. Along with a note telling me to derail the investigation into Ted’s disappearance or else. ”
What? “You told me you were being careful!” Concern made my voice harsher than I’d intended. This could ruin his life.
George shifted his glare to me. “Sorry I’m not a saint like you, but I can’t go seventeen years without anyone touching me!”
My face scorched. I couldn’t look at Kit.
I’d alluded to not being with anyone else, but I hadn’t outright said so.
Embarrassment and a bit of shame caught me off guard, and I tried to swallow both my defensiveness and my temper.
“I didn’t say you had to. But you’re a Mountie, George, it’s even more dangerous for you. ”
“You think I don’t know that?” George’s face twisted with misery and fear. “You think I don’t hear what they say about people like me? You think it doesn’t scare me half to death what could happen?”
“I’m sorry,” Kit said, into the silence George’s questions left behind.
Even if he was angry at George, Kit couldn’t help feeling for him, and my throat ached.
“It’s not fair that whatever’s going on with my family is bringing trouble to your door.
And you should be able to see whoever you want to without having to fear the repercussions. ”
How was he still so idealistic after everything he’d witnessed?
George crossed his arms, his whole body trying to sink in on itself, make a smaller target. “Yeah, well, that ain’t the world we live in, is it? This could get me killed on the job.”
“What are you going to do?” I asked. Following through on the blackmailer’s demand would go against everything George believed in. But if he didn’t…
“That’s the most confusing part. There isn’t anything to derail. We’ve got nowhere.” He motioned to Kit and me, reluctantly admitting, “You two are probably closer than we are.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Kit said, sounding defeated. I grimaced. He might not have meant it as an insult, but it struck a nerve. It’d been a long time since I’d had this tough a time cracking a case. And longer since a blood magic spell hadn’t been the solution.
“If the blackmailer hadn’t done this, I’d still be pretty convinced Ted and Mary-Alice might have taken off,” George added. “But if that was the case, why interfere?”
Kit and I exchanged glances. We had to tell him.
“What?” George asked suspiciously. “What do you two know that I don’t?”
Kit bit his lip hard and then huffed an annoyed breath, correctly guessing if he didn’t speak up, I would.
“I found a letter from Ted addressed to me. If it’s taken at face value, it suggests he and Mary-Alice left of their own free will.
It also suggests they were frightened someone powerful was coming after them. ”
“What the hell’s that supposed to mean? Who?”
“We don’t know,” I said, holding up my hands to calm him down. “Ted wasn’t specific. He said he doesn’t want Kit searching for him.”
George’s brows were lifted. “Okay, so don’t. You were warned off when your house got shot up, Gus. Now I’ve been threatened. If Ted wants Kit to stay out of this, then what are we risking our lives for?”
Kit’s shoulders tensed. “Just because he left doesn’t mean he’s safe. If anything, now we know he actually is in danger. We need to find him or figure out who’s behind this and stop them.”
George straightened up and glared. “Yeah? Well, you’ve got no proof of anything criminal, and if Ted left on his own, there’s no case there either. So, I’m not part of it.” His attention swung to me, full of piss and vinegar. “And you shouldn’t be either, Gus. Not after what Kit did to you.”
“What I did to him?” Kit exploded, making for George. I grabbed him around the waist and held him back, but he struggled against me. “How about what he did to me? Or didn’t you know about that?”
“Maybe I would if you hadn’t fucked off without a word and ignored me ever since,” George shot back, voice scathing.
It hid soul deep hurt, but Kit wouldn’t understand.
He didn’t know how hard things had gotten for George after he left.
“Gus might get over it, but I don’t have to. I’ll see you later, Gus.”
Kit let out a frustrated growl as he watched George storm out, then sagged against me when the door slammed.