Page 18 of Warrior's Cross

He seemed sincere, but Cameron committed Julian’s face to memory all the same, just in case this never happened again. He didn’t figure it would, despite Julian’s provocative admissions. At this point, he wondered if it really mattered. This night was looking to turn into one of his fantasies. Could he really pass that up just because he knew the man wouldn’t call later? The longing in him made his hands clench tighter on Julian’s arms.

Julian looked down at the fingers that gripped him and then back up to meet Cameron’s eyes questioningly. “I would never come here without the intention of trying to come back,” Julian assured him with a small smirk as he leaned closer and let his hands slide down the sides of Cameron’s body to rest on his hips.

“So now what?” Cameron asked as he relaxed a little.

“You kiss me again,” Julian answered in a soft, confident voice.

Given that direction, Cameron didn’t wait. He lifted his chin and pressed his lips to Julian’s. Julian pulled him closer and growled softly, deep in his throat. His hands began to unravel Cameron’s scarf carefully, trying not to break their kiss or strangle him in the process.

The scratchy wool sliding against his skin got a tiny bit of Cameron’s attention, just enough for him to lift his head away from the door so Julian could remove it more easily. Julian yanked the scarf away and dropped it. He pulled back, unwound his own scarf effortlessly, and let it fall as he slid his hands under Cameron’s heavy coat.

“This is so much easier to do in summer,” he muttered.

“I’m not sure I’d have had the courage then,” Cameron told him breathlessly, referring to the many months ago when Julian had started sitting in his section like clockwork every Tuesday.

“Why?” Julian asked as he continued to attempt to tug at clothing.

At a loss, Cameron made a noise of self-deprecation and shrugged slightly.

“Were you frightened of me?” Julian asked with an audible frown, though his hands didn’t stop their actions, nor did his lips stop moving against Cameron’s skin.

Cameron shook his head. “No,” he said, voice sure.

“Then why?” Julian asked, even as he pushed Cameron’s coat off his shoulders and tugged it down his arms.

Cameron shrugged and shook off the coat so that it fell to the floor in a quiet thump of heavy fabric. “Why would you be interested in me?” he asked logically as Julian nipped at his neck. “I’m just a waiter.”

“That’s what you do,” Julian whispered into Cameron’s ear before he straightened. “That’s not who you are.”

Shaking his head slightly, Cameron shrugged again. He was okay to look at and could usually find someone to fool aroundwith for a while when he wanted more than a friend. But it gave him a real thrill to know Julian obviously liked what he saw. He reached for Julian’s coat, sliding his hands under the shoulders to push it away. His fingers moved under Julian’s suit jacket as well, but caught on something hard at Julian’s hip. Cameron drew his hand back, unsure of what to do.

“Sorry,” Julian murmured. He shrugged out of his overcoat, and it fell to the floor. He reached under his suit jacket and undid his belt, then pulled a holster and gun off it, sliding it loose and holding it up to let Cameron see it. He set it carefully on the floor beside them, and then he met Cameron’s eyes carefully.

“What’s that for?” Cameron blurted, shocked, looking from bottomless dark eyes to the gun and back. For the first time, he felt a flash of fear.

Julian pressed his lips tightly together and looked down at the gun.

“It’s so I don’t get shot as often as I would,” he murmured.

“What kind of job do you have that you get shot at so much you need to carry your own gun?” Cameron asked as his mind whirred, and he tried to tamp down the worry. “Are you a detective of some kind?”

Julian licked his lips and tilted his head slightly. “Of some kind,” he answered vaguely.

Cameron still felt very uneasy. A stranger was high enough on his danger list. But a stranger with a gun? But really, he reminded himself, how much of a strangerwasJulian? Blake knew him. Cameron tried to focus on that. “Is it... safe?” he asked hesitantly, trying to convince himself it was okay. That Julian was okay, even if the gun wasn’t.

Julian looked from Cameron to the gun and back again. “It’s loaded,” he answered, obviously worried that Cameron would send him away. “Safety’s on.”

“You do realize how scary that thing makes this?” Cameron asked, voice a little higher. “I’ve just let a stranger into my apartment with a gun.”

Julian lowered his head slightly and took a small step back, his palms on the door behind Cameron’s head.

Cameron let his own hands drop, his arms crossing in front of him. “What am I supposed to think?” he asked shakily.

“That if I were a psychotic killer, I would use a knife?” Julian answered hopefully as he met Cameron’s eyes.

“That’s not really funny,” Cameron pointed out.

“Do you think I’m going to hurt you?” Julian asked calmly.

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