Page 103 of Power of the Mind

Instead of the tentative way he’d done the few times in the past, Diem kissed me back, his want, desire, and need unhidden.

In a few more strokes, I came, crying out with pleasure as I broke the kiss and buried my face in Diem’s neck. He followed almost immediately, grunting with the force. The warmth of his release splashed my belly, his fortress of a body earthquaking under me.

When the thrill of the orgasm dwindled, I lay against Diem’s chest, listening to his heart thunder beneath my ear, feeling every tremble as it radiated through him. He wasn’t okay.

“Hold me, Diem.”

“Tallus—”

“Please. I need it.” And he did too.

I didn’t think he would, but after a full two minutes of what was probably maximum turmoil, Diem’s arms circled my back, and he held me.

24

Diem

Ididn’t care that it was Sunday. I didn’t care that it was evening and the likelihood of running into other detectives was slim, and I really didn’t care that Aslan-fucking-Doyle had done us a fucking favor because now it meant I fucking owed him, and I hated owing anyone.

Tallus elbowed me in the ribs. “Stop growling.”

“I’m not.”

He chuckled as we rode the elevator to the fourth floor. “I can hear the bear in your chest from here. How do you want to play this?”

“Play what?”

“What impression should we give? What vibe are we emitting?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Guns, everyone thinks we’re dating. Do we run with that?”

“They what?” The growl in my tone intensified. How the fuck were rumors spreading about my personal life whenIdidn’tknow what was happening in my personal life.Dating? Jesus Christ.

Tallus bumped my arm. “Relax. If it helps, I’ve stubbornly denied all claims on you so far, but…” He heaved a dramatic sigh. “It’s a matter of time before someone else scoops me up, D. I’m a pretty young thing in a bustling city of single men who all want a piece. Are you going to let that happen?”

Over my fucking dead body.Because it would be Memphis. Iknewit would be Memphis, and I’d rather slit my fucking throat than lose Tallus to that flake. I breathed deep through my nose, nostrils flaring.

No thanks to whatever had happened on my couch twenty-four hours ago, I was in a state unlike any other. Tallus had me inside out and backward. I didn’t know up from down. I didn’t know left from right. I was tumbling out of control and hated not being in control. My whole body was hot and alive. My temper vibrated under my skin, scarcely contained. I didn’t want to be an asshole. I didn’t want to yell or say anything wrong, but I was having trouble thinking straight.

The heat of Tallus’s gaze warmed the side of my face, but I refused to meet his eyes. I had an uneasy feeling he could read my mind. Ever since the previous night… No. Ever since I’d spilled my guts about the past and tried to warn Tallus off… No. It went further back. I'd been floundering ever since he’d kissed me that first time.

“Nothing? No comment, cuddle bear?”

I grunted noncommittally. We weren’t dating. I wasn’t equipped to date anyone.

Even if I wanted to.

Tallus sighed again. “Damn. It’s Sunday, September first, you know.”

I racked my brain for the meaning behind the date but came up with nothing. “So?”

“The end of the month has come and gone.”

“And?”

“And I’m a loser, Guns. L-O-S-E-R. Loser. Memphis will rub it in my face so hard when he decides to talk to me again.”

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