Page 5 of Basilisk

That Bain would actually spend time enjoying his body. That he’d explore and kiss and stroke those long-fingered hands everywhere. Heat speared so hard through him he had to hold back a gasp. He actually felt his cock stirring.

He couldn’t believe what he was thinking. Shaking his head to clear it, he made sure he had his phone and wallet and stepped out. As they walked down the hall, he couldn’t help but notice the way Bain moved. Almost like he was made of liquid. Sinuous, graceful strides with those long legs, arms swaying in an almost hypnotic fashion. And even with the dark glasses covering his eyes, Clive could tell he was highly alert, watching for any sense of danger.

It instantly set him at ease.

“Did you drive here?” Bain asked. He held up a hand to stop Clive and looked around the corner.

“No. I wasn’t able to grab my keys last night. I ended up walking a long ways before I called a car that took me to the hotel.”

Bain looked right and left at the people on the sidewalk as they left the hotel. “Xavier told me everything. So you think one of your new clients isn’t happy about you being their bookkeeper? If so, why send you the files to begin with?”

“I’m not a bookkeeper. I’m an accountant. And you’re right. It doesn’t make sense. I just need a good, solid chunk of time to dig into my files. Whoever this is, they won’t get away with it. I’ll make sure of that.”

Bain turned his head toward Clive, studying him, and Clive wished again that he’d lose the glasses. It would be nice to see what he was thinking, but also a part of Clive wanted to know the color of his eyes. He had pale skin along with that silver hair, andfor some reason, Clive thought he’d have dark eyes. Or possibly a bright green—like emeralds.

Bain led him to a gray sedan and opened the passenger door. Clive settled in and attached his seatbelt, his heart beating hard. When Bain folded his long frame behind the wheel, he turned to him. “Are you sure we should go there? To my house, I mean. Someone wasinthere. Inside my home.”

One silver eyebrow went up. “Would you rather not? Protective Solutions has multiple safe houses, and it would be easy to set you up in one of those. They’re nice, too. Very comfortable and private. But I was told going home was what you wanted.”

“It is. I’m much more comfortable in my own environment. I guess I’m second-guessing that right now. Last night, I was more scared than I’ve ever been in my life.” He looked down at his hands in his lap. “But I don’t…do well away from my home. Plus, I still have to work. I have clients depending on me.” He paused. “And of course, I want to figure out which of my new clients is a damn weasel.”

Bain’s mouth quirked in amusement. “A weasel, huh? Okay, then we’ll get you back where you feel comfortable. I promise you, I’m very good at my job. I’ll keep you safe.”

Though Clive had just met Bain, he somehow knew that was true. That this man would do everything in his power to protect him.

Chapter Four

Bain

This human was absolutely adorable. He was built slight and had the sweetest face Bain had ever seen. Sexy, pouty lips, wide, light blue eyes, and a small nose. His cheeks and nose were dusted with a smattering of freckles. His short, dark hair had some curl to it, making Bain want to touch those soft waves. His hair wasn’t black exactly, but a shade of dark brown with a hint of red that made it shimmer in the sunlight.

Clive raised every protective instinct Bain had.

Bain immediately wanted to make sure nothing ever hurt the man. But he also felt a strange pull toward him, almost like he knew him from somewhere. He didn’t, had never seen him before, but something about him felt weirdly familiar.

Plus, Bain had felt something more than just protectiveness. Something he easily recognized. Attraction. A strong one.

And Clive’s returning attraction had been just as obvious as his shock over it had been. Bain was used to humans finding his androgynous looks appealing, but knowing this particular one found him attractive gave him a surprisingly warm feeling in hischest. He glanced at him often as he drove, and nearly every time, those pretty cornflower blues were locked on Bain.

“Are you going in first to check if it’s clear?” Clive asked when Bain pulled into his driveway. Clive had a small, perfectly neat, blue bungalow-style house with a low roof that had thick posts supporting it. His yard was pretty bare, unlike the lawns of the houses around it, so Bain knew Clive didn’t spend a lot of time outside.

He didn’t need to check the house—he’d be able to sense whether someone was in the house from outside—but he was also used to pretending to be human. “You’ll go in with me and stay in the first clear area while I check the rest. I’m not leaving you out here alone.”

“Okay.” Clive got out of the car and walked toward his front door. Bain followed him. His gaze zeroed in on Clive’s ass, which was surprisingly round and meaty for such a small frame. Heat speared into his gut. Wow. He needed to see that ass without clothes covering it. It took real effort to tear his gaze away, but he did, moving ahead of Clive and opening his senses.

Bain knew as soon as he was on the front stoop that there weren’t any others in the house. But he waited for Clive to unlock the door, then kept him in the entryway as he made his way through the place. It was a small house, and the first thing he noticed was that not one thing was out of place. Clive brought the word neat to new levels. It was like a magazine layout of perfect Feng Shui, with everything precisely placed. Bain chuckled when he got to the bedroom and saw that even the bed was made. The man had actually awakened to a prowler and still taken the time to make his bed before running.

When he went back to Clive, he found the man basically cowering in the corner of his entryway, and Bain’s heart just clenched. He hated seeing anyone afraid, but for some reason, Clive was raising more emotion than normal for him. “All clear,”he assured him in a soothing tone. “You can go about your regular day. I’ll be here.”

“But what will you do?”

He lifted an eyebrow. “Do?”

Clive lifted his hands. “You can’t just stand around doing nothing. You’ll get bored, won’t you?”

Bain smiled. “Most of my job is standing around doing nothing. I’ll be fine. Just know that you’re safe. I’m just going to run out and grab my bag.”

Clive nodded and followed him to the door. It was so obvious he didn’t want to be alone that Bain just melted. So he grabbed the khaki satchel and hurried back, following as Clive led him down the hall to a guest room. It was small with a twin bed that would leave Bain’s feet dangling at the bottom, but he’d slept in worse. Filthy inns in the middle of nowhere. Muddy trenches during wars.

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