Page 6 of Demented

Noir plucked a strawberry from his plate. “Do I have reason to be worried?” He ate his berry while waiting for Lazarus’ next move.

Lazarus’ gaze swept down Noir’s body again. This time, lust showed in his eyes. “I’m not sure yet. Maybe if I killed you, then I could stay away.”

A bark of laughter burst from Noir. “Oof. I bet that lie stung like hell.”

A sexy smile exploded across Lazarus’ face. “Spend the day with me.”

“I am.”

Lazarus gave him a sharp nod and picked up his fork. They ate in companionable silence. It was oddly nice.

God, Lazarus wished he had been lying. Noir was right. That confession had stung his pride. He had woken with Noir on his brain and had been incapable of staying away. It had only taken one call to find his address. It had taken less than that slight effort to slip past Noir’s security. The guy’s guard was good. Lazarus was better. He was also motivated.

“I’d offer to give you a tour of the place, but you already think I’m conceited.”

Lazarus followed on Noir’s heels inside. He felt every eye upon them. “All I really need to know is where to find your bedroom.”

“Hmm.”

Lazarus’ brow furrowed. “What was that?”

Noir paused in the middle of the sitting room and turned. “I’m merely wondering if that’s all you have going for you.”

Lazarus’ pride pricked. He stepped forward and snagged the two halves of Noir’s robe, hauling him against him. Lazarus felt the mood shift in the room. The guards went on alert. He wondered for a moment how Noir lived like this. Lazarus forced himself tostay focused completely on Noir. “You didn’t seem to mind last night.”

Noir’s gorgeous light gaze moved over Lazarus’ face. His expression stayed closed, making him impossible to read. Lazarus hated that. “I maybe got carried away last night.”

Lazarus untied Noir’s robe. He used the two halves and his body to shield Noir’s nude form from the guards’ eyes. Lazarus swept his gaze down Noir’s body, savoring the beauty beneath his robe. “Sorry. I had to know what you have on beneath this thing. Lucky me.” He re-tied the robe. “What do you do for fun?”

Noir held his stare and didn’t respond.

Lazarus had a bad feeling he was debating if he should toss Lazarus out.

He couldn’t have that. Lazarus touched his lips to Noir’s. He kept the kiss sweet, only slightly sucking Noir’s bottom lip while holding his face between his hands. Unfortunately, he got the impression the kiss affected him more than Noir. Something stirred in his chest. When he pulled away, Noir simply turned, leaving Lazarus to follow.

“Come on. I’ll show you my playroom.”

He doubted Noir meant any type of sexual play area. Lazarus was right. Noir led him to a theater with every game system imaginable, along with a computer that could probably hack anything. “So, you game all day?”

Noir looked his way with a furrowed brow. “No.” He moved to the computer and sat. Noir fired it to life. After a few clicks, he grabbed a nearby tablet and pen. The screen lit up with some truly badass fantasy art. After Noir made a few swipes on the tablet, it dawned on Lazarus. Noir had drawn the piece.

Lazarus sat next to him. “Damn. You did this?”

Noir nodded, but kept his gaze on the tablet. “I’m not completely useless. This is a commissioned piece for an anime series.”

“That’s amazing.” Lazarus eyed the tablet. He was truly impressed.

Noir clicked something and images flipped across the screen—like reading a picture book.

Lazarus was fascinated. He couldn’t look away. A thought creeped in. Lazarus had treated Noir like a lazy, spoiled rich boy who did nothing all day. In fact, he was a royal and still fucking worked, while Lazarus only took the occasional hit job. Which of them was lazy? He definitely knew which of them was the most judgmental. There was more to Noir than met the eye.

“Is any of this in print?”

“Sure.” Noir stood. “This way.”

For once, Noir didn’t sound cold and distant. He sounded like a normal person. Lazarus wanted more. He followed Noir downthe hall and through another door. It was a library. The shelves were stuffed with books. Lazarus looked around while Noir headed for a nearby bookcase.

“Do you read or is this just for show?”

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