Page 110 of Cross & Crown
Nick had no idea what to say. He couldn’t turn away from
the other man. He was drawn to him, to the mystery, to the
distress, to those hypnotic blue eyes. Just like a puppy in a
storm drain.
“I’m sorry,” Nick said evenly as he lowered his head. “But
that’s a very bad idea.”
“Yeah, you’re right, I—I’m sorry, totally inappropriate,”
JD said in a rush. He put his hand over his mouth and took
a step toward the VIP cabin, looking away and then back at
Nick.
They stood staring at each other for a long moment.
110
“He’s incredibly lucky, Detective,” JD finally whispered.
“So am I,” Nick said gently.
JD gave him a small smile before he retreated into his
cabin. Nick stared at the doorway for a long moment before
cursing under his breath and turning away.
Kelly sat in the salon, watching Nick move around the
outside of the boat in the darkness. Reports of gale-force
winds were coming in, and he probably didn’t want to wake
up to a sinking vessel, especially since parts were still riddled with buckshot.
Kelly had Nick’s book in his lap, reading it in the light
coming from beneath the galley cabinets.
When Julian had mentioned the Rosicrucians, Nick
hadn’t even flinched, although he’d obviously felt Kelly’s eyes on him. What the hell was Nick up to? Kelly hated being out
of the loop, and he hated even more feeling suspicious of his
boyfriend.
He flipped through the pages until he came to the one
bookmarked by the slip of paper he’d found the other night,
the one with the pigpen cipher on it.
