Page 29 of On A Rift's Edge
Kaveh had explained to Kat that hellhounds often worked as mercenaries or even assassins, but it felt more real when Lyall talked about it.
“What’s the problem with you sleeping in my bed?” Kat gestured helplessly to the lavender duvet cover. Maybe the hellhound didn’t think the color was manly enough for a mercenary assassin?
“Nothing’s wrong with your bed as long as you’re in it with me.” Lyall went over and sat on the bed, giving it a bounce or two, then patted the duvet. “There’s plenty of room for two.”
Kat disliked how easily he blushed, but his face’s reaction to Lyall’s words felt more like he had spontaneously combusted. Even worse was how hard he had become. He hoped Lyall didn’t glance at his crotch, because Kat’s dick had taken on a mind of its own at this point.
Lyall cocked his head in confusion for a moment, then dropped his gaze down to the zipper of Kat’s jeans, then back up again. He was trying to hold back a smirk, Kat could tell. “I can do a better job of keeping you safe if we sleep together.” Lyall raised a hand, this time unable to hold back a grin. “That didn’t come out right. I mean actually sleeping, not fooling around.”
“Well.” Kat tried to think of something coherent to say, but most of the blood in his brain had apparently migrated to his groin. “We can certainly share a bed for security purposes. As friends. Platonic security purposes.”
“Right.” Lyall seemed to want to say more but instead lapsed into silence.
God, this was excruciating.
“Do you want to take a shower?” Kat had an intense urge to add “with me” to the end of that sentence. He squelched the impulse and added, “I mean, you could go first, and then I’ll take mine.”
“Go ahead. I need to set up my security wards anyway.” Lyall threw that in casually, and Kat was immediately curious. How did Lyall create the floating symbols that allowed him to open mini-hellmouths, and why were hellhound abilities so powerful even far from a rift? There was so much he wanted to know about Lyall, from why he had been exiled from his family to how he been trapped in an indenture contract with Arimanius.
While he was at it, he also wanted to understand romantic relationships and sex in hellhound society—and not only for scientific purposes.
“Great, I’ll get out of these clothes and jump in the shower.” Kat drew in a breath as Lyall’s head shot up. The two of them ended up staring at each other, and Kat finally mumbled okay and fled to the bathroom.
Once inside, Kat leaned his back against the door and groaned. Not that he ever had game, but it was hard to imagine how he could have made that conversation any more awkward. Plus, he was half-hard, and he didn’t know how he was going to handle spending a night in bed next to someone he found unbelievably attractive.
He adjusted the setting on the shower for maximum recycling capacity since he and Lyall would both be using it and started to peel off his clothes. Should he jack off before getting into bed with Lyall? Part of him felt embarrassed about doing that with a guest in his apartment, but sliding under the covers with the hottest man he had ever met with a boner was hardly platonic.
As he tossed his clothes into the room’s compact washing machine, his e-watch played the tone for a known caller, and he grabbed it to see a projection of Paul’s face rising out of the screen.
Well, that was enough to take care of the erection. He wouldn’t need to take a cold shower after all.
He made sure his camera setting was the boring static picture he used for work and not his current naked self before accepting the call.
“Hello, Kat, how are you?” Paul’s voice was as smooth and patronizing as ever. “I didn’t hear back from you, so I thought I’d give you a call.”
Kat had read the series of texts Paul had sent him about another date and hadn’t wanted to tell him he wasn’t interested.
He hadn’t wanted to say yes, either.
It was unfair on his part, but his family was so taken with the concept of Kat dating someone like Paul it was hard to give up on the whole thing when he hardly knew the guy.
Although he wanted very much to give up on Paul.
“I’ve been super busy, sorry,” Kat said. “Plus, today I was hiking and didn’t have cell service.”
“Did you go close to the rift?” Paul laughed, then lowered his voice to a mock conspiratorial whisper. “If you did, I promise I won’t tell on you. Your sister Naomi has shared how much your family worries about you working at a ranch with ‘all those monsters.’”
“They don’t have any experience meeting riftpeople, so they tend to get overprotective.” Kat cursed himself for mentioning the hike. The last thing he needed was to talk about anything related to the liberation one of the art exhibits that Paul’s money had supported. Plus, if his family found out he had been attacked by a killer frog Kat would be in so much trouble.
“There are dangerous people on both sides, I suppose.” Paul sounded like he was in a good mood. Maybe he had made an enormous amount of money driving a business into bankruptcy or something. “I’d love to hear your stories of what you saw out on your hike. Let’s say, tomorrow night?”
Kat was so thankful he had signed up for an early Saturday shift at the ranch. “I don’t think I’d be up for much after working all day. And Sunday I go to my parents’ house for an early dinner, so…”
That sounded pathetic and boring, but it was all true. A rich guy like Paul must have better things to do on the weekend than hang out with him.
“Sunday night would be perfect.” Paul jumped in with that before Kat could even finish the sentence. “I’ve got a hellish schedule tomorrow checking on investment properties anyway. We can catch up over drinks after you have dinner with your family. Let’s say, around eight? There’s a great wine bar with a tapas-style menu I’ve heard is excellent.”
“Sure, we could do that.” Kat looked around the bathroom, trying to find something he could use to bang himself in the head. Why was it so hard for him to say no? “I’ll text you after supper.”
