Page 12 of Demon

And he wanted the passion he could sense they could have between them. Lonnie was attracted to him. He could tell by the way his pupils sometimes swelled and the way his gaze lingered on different parts of his body. Mostly his hands. It was hard not to tug Lonnie out of his recliner and into his lap whenever that happened.

There was something there. Between them. Something Callan had never experienced. It made his chest tight and filled him with a heady sort of anticipation that often left him hard and aching.

The students started moving, gathering their laptops and standing. Callan carefully watched each of them, trying to pick up on whether any of them paid too much attention to Lonnie. He also opened his mind back up to their thoughts, but as usual, all were just random things like their next class or boyfriend and girlfriend issues.

Once they’d all filed out, Lonnie started gathering up his own things and shutting everything down. He was muttering to himself, and it was so damn cute, Callan had to smile. When Lonnie looked up and caught his expression, his eyes widened behind his black-framed glasses.

“What are you smiling about?” he asked.

“You’re talking to yourself.”

Lonnie chuckled. “I have a mental list of everything I need to bring home with me, and I say the list aloud, so I don’t forget anything.” His leather briefcase had a long handle, and he slid it onto one shoulder. “I have to meet with two students in my office before we can leave, and the first one isn’t coming for half an hour so we can grab some coffee. Did you pick up on anything from the students today?”

Callan shook his head. “Most think about dating.”

“And not what I’m saying?” He snorted. “Hormones. But I remember being their age and preoccupied with sex.”

“Some of your students are older. They still think about that.”

Lonnie nodded. “We do tend to focus on that a lot, don’t we?”

Callan was focusing on sex right then. Lonnie had walked up to him, smelling of that subtle, musky cologne he preferred, and all Callan wanted to do was cart him back to his house and ravish him. He looked so sexy in his black slacks and loose beige sweater. Callan would peel that sweater off to get at all that skin underneath…

“Callan?”

He blinked to find Lonnie watching him with concern pulling his brows up. “Sorry. I spaced.”

Lonnie’s wide grin brightened his face. “I do that often myself, so no need to apologize. Will you mind waiting in the hallway outside my office? I can’t very well explain why you’d be in there during a private meeting.”

“I don’t mind.”

“Good. Let’s grab that coffee, and what do you say we go out tonight for sushi? You like sushi?”

Callan hesitated before answering. “I’ll eat it.”

It looked like Lonnie was waiting for him to say more, but he had no idea what, so he just stared at him.

Lonnie’s low chuckle made him warm. “Come on, then. Hopefully, my students won’t be overly talkative today.”

Chapter Eight

Callan

Callan hated sushi. Raw fish did something funny to his stomach. He didn’t tell Lonnie that. Instead, he got a shitload of California rolls—the ones he did kind of like. He also ate a lot of rice.

Lonnie chattered throughout the meal, telling him more about what he taught and sharing some of the funnier stories of student projects. Callan listened, often finding the stories very amusing. He really liked Lonnie. He smiled so often, those intriguing wide lips pulling Callan’s gaze. He did wish the human had left all that pretty hair down instead of in a man bun. It just made Callan’s fingers itch to take it down himself. The mix of colors was fascinating, drawing his eyes often, and it looked so silky Callan couldn’t help but imagine how those strands would feel wrapped around his fingers.

The whole time Lonnie talked, a part of Callan was wondering about that tell-tale tingling in his horns. If he’d imagined it happening. He hadn’t thought of another reason to touch Lonnie in the days he’d been guarding him, but he would.

Protective Solutions had rules about sleeping with clients, and Callan had never had an issue with them. He’d never wanted to. This time was different. Lonnie brought out his more primitive, protective side—the very part of him that had gone for so long without sustenance. And he was starved to feel it. He wanted to unwrap Lonnie’s perfect little body and worship every inch of it. Wanted badly to kiss him. Pat that right leg he was always either wiggling or bouncing. Callan also wanted to care for him. Be the one who remembered those forgotten vegetables in the refrigerator’s lower drawers.

He wanted to…cherish him.

These thoughts crowded his already struggling brain so much, he was having to work not to frown even more than usual. Lonnie didn’t deserve his normally grumpy exterior.

When they got back to Lonnie’s house, Callan’s senses sparked the instant he got out of his truck. Lonnie had already moved to unlock the front door, but Callan called out for him to stop. “We go in together. Me first.” He wasn’t about to leave Lonnie on the porch alone, so he hurried to reach Lonnie.

“Sure, okay.” Lonnie stepped behind him, standing so close, Callan could feel the heat of his body. He liked it. A lot. But he needed to focus on his job because something wasn’t right.

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