Page 91 of More than Need

“They’re the size of my thumbnail, Gideon. I put the whole thing in my mouth. Do you eat your Easter bunnies like that as well?”

“Well, yeah. Ears first, then their eyes. Then they can’t hear or scream.”

“Morbid.”

“It helps me sleep at night.”

Riley nodded thoughtfully and pulled out a lolly snake, biting its head off. It fascinated Gideon, watching Riley eat junk food. Gideon couldn’t recall ever seeing it before they’d started sleeping together. Or seeing him so relaxed. Rolled-up sleeves, messy hair, sitting on Gideon’skitchen floorand eating ice cream straight out of the tub.

Fucking hell. If Gideon weren’t so tired, he might have taken advantage of how hot that got him and taken off Riley’s clothes right here amongst all the packets of lollies and biscuits.

“Quinn and Grady were already at a scene across town. Henry can’t go out by himself, and Greer just got off a job that kept him awake for three days; he needed to rest.”

That didn’t sound like any kinds of cases Gideon had worked before. “You don’t have to justify it to me. I’m a detective—yourdetective—and it’s my job.”

“We can’t ignore that this has changed things, Gideon,” Riley said quietly.

No, they couldn’t. “What are we going to do?”

“I don’t know.”

Gideon found a strange kind of comfort in those words. He turned and shuffled closer to Riley, resting against his chest. Riley pulled him closer and kissed the top of his head. He put theice cream down beside his hip and picked up a Tiny Teddy from his leg. He turned it over between two fingers contemplatively and then bit off the head before giving the body to Gideon.

Gideon closed his eyes with a smile as he chewed. Could they fall asleep right here? It would even be worth the aching back he’d have from it in the morning.

He jerked upright at the sound of his front door opening and closing. No one but Lucia and Ange had a key, and neither of them would be coming here this late without calling. Hadn’t Riley locked it behind him when he’d come in?

“Relax, it’s just Dawson,” Riley said, tightening his hold and encouraging Gideon to settle back down.

Dawson came around the corner a second later, wearing jeans and a dark-blue jumper with rolled sleeves.

“Your door’s unlocked,” Dawson said in greeting. “Well, it was. I locked it.”

“I left it unlocked for you,” Riley said.

“What if it had been someone else?”

“Both Gideon and I are armed,” Riley said, shuffling through the Wizz Fizz bag and pulling out a blue one. “And the likelihood that someone would just happen upon Gideon’s apartment the one time—hopefully the only time—that it’s unlocked is minimal at best. A calculated risk.”

Dawson sat opposite them, leaning his back against the cupboard. “It gets me hot when you think so hard about an answer. Are we having a party? Ooh, Shapes.” He picked up the box that Gideon hadn’t gotten to yet and turned it around. “Barbecue. My favourite.”

“You can have some,” Gideon said. He could always get more later. Not like he had many opportunities to pack Hudson’s school lunches anymore. Or even had him here all that often to eat all the snacks he kept buying anyway. He stared down at the Tiny Teddy in his hand, his hunger abruptly leaving him.

“What’s going on?” Dawson asked, reaching out. “Shape?”

Gideon took it despite not wanting to eat it. Ate it anyway. Why did they call it comfort food when it didn’t bring him comfort?

“I was supposed to have Hudson tonight, but I had to go out on a job, so Lucia took him. Except she had an important work thing as well, and she gotNedto look after him.”

Gideon closed his eyes and thumped his head back against the cupboard. Jealous of another man with his son. That’s what his life had become. All because he’d fallen out of love with his wife and done what had been best for both of them. Punished for setting them both free before their friendship could turn into resentment and hate.

“Have you met him?” Dawson stretched out his legs, tangling them with Gideon’s.

“Briefly. He’s… fine, I guess. Nice enough. No red flags. I didn’t even do a background check on him and should be applauded for my self-control.”

“I can do one,” Riley offered. “I know some people who can do it more thoroughly than we can. If he got a detention in primary school, they can find out about it.”

“Who would care about a detention in primary school?” Dawson sucked his barbeque-flavour-covered thumb into his mouth. “What are we doing with that information?”

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