Page 30 of On A Rift's Edge
“Looking forward to it.” Paul might have been talking about a business lunch, a golf game, or another art exhibit, rather than a date.
That was fine, because the last thing Kat wanted now was a hard sell on romance with anyone who wasn’t Lyall. “See you then.”
“Bye, Kat.” Paul sounded even more cheery. Or maybe a little creepy. Kat shouldn’t be judgmental. Besides, if the hopper situation wasn’t rectified, he’d have to cancel anyway. He couldn’t put Paul in danger, and he doubted Kaveh or Lyall would want to tag along on a date with a venture capitalist.
After a quick but much-needed shower, Kat dried himself off with a towel, then realized that he hadn’t brought in a bathrobe or clean pajamas. Living alone, he didn’t have to worry about covering himself up.
Making sure the towel was secure around his waist, Kat peeked out the door. No sign of Lyall. He scurried into his bedroom and found the least sexy nighttime outfit he could come up with: a pair of long sweatpants and a tee shirt from one of the cat rescues his parents supported.
Once safely dressed, Kat opened his bedroom door. “The shower’s free.”
There was a grunt in reply, and Kat caught a glance of Lyall, his hands raised and glimmering red sigils floating in the air.
What Lyall was doing fascinated Kat, but he needed to let him finish up and get his own chance to jump in the shower.
That thought let his mind divert to an image of a naked Lyall, water dripping over his muscled chest and running in rivulets over his abdomen. Maybe he was standing next to Lyall in the shower, the water beading down both of their bodies as they embraced.
He shook his head, picked up his laptop, and tried to banish the dirty thoughts from his mind as he heard water running. He needed to research academic articles on hoppers, not obsess over his fantasies of a wet and naked Lyall.
It didn’t work.
After twenty minutes of staring at the same article, he heard him come out of the bathroom.
“In bed already?” Lyall asked. He walked into the room—wet and mostly naked. He had a towel wrapped around his waist, white and far too small. The cloth dipped down below his fantastic abs to the v cuts underneath. He had slicked his hair back and had his living leathers necklace dangling between his pecs. Kat’s earlier shower fantasy had not even been close to this sexy reality.
He opened the laptop wide and dropped it over his groin like a tent.
“I’ve got an early shift at the ranch tomorrow.” Kat did his best not to stare at the loose knot that was all that held the tiny towel in place around Lyall’s hips. “If you want to stay up, that’s fine.”
“Getting rest is a good idea for both of us.” Lyall gave Kat and his incriminating laptop tent a curious look. “You’re wearing a lot of clothes to go to sleep. Do you want me to wear some?”
Kat had no idea how to answer that question. Saying yes if Lyall liked to sleep naked would be rude. Saying no would blow the whole platonic sleeping thing out of the water. “Whatever makes you comfortable. I feel bad that you got stuck being my bodyguard again.”
“Keeping you safe makes me feel comfortable.” Lyall went to Kat’s closet. “I don’t wear anything to bed in whatever form I’m in, so I’ll take you up on the offer of clothes.” He reached inside the closet and pulled out a piece of clothing.
Then Lyall dropped his towel on the floor.
God, he had the most amazing ass.
Kat wrenched his eyes away and picked the computer up again, trying to avoid staring by pretending to read. Lyall came over wearing a pair of sweat shorts that were too tight for Kat’s lean frame, let alone Lyall’s bubble butt.
He plopped down beside Kat, and the mattress dipped, threatening to tilt the two of them closer together. “Your laptop is upside down.”
So much for discreetly hiding his erection.
Kat closed the computer and put it next to him on the dressing table. “I guess I’m a little distracted. It’s probably not a good night for me to get any studying done.”
Lyall stretched out beside him, the flexing of his muscular arms and jacked upper body driving every academic thought out of Kat’s brain. “I think you’ve earned your relaxation after the day you had. Put the books away and rest.”
Yes, Kat knew objectively that he should be exhausted, but the last thing he wanted to do was go to sleep.
“I was wondering.” The words more or less tumbled out of Kat’s mouth. “Our scientific literature is limited when it comes to hellhounds. I’d like to learn more about your clan’s culture and relationship to other species in the Riftworld. Could I ask you a few questions?”
A smile played around Lyall’s lips. “To start with, knowledge isn’t free in my culture, as you put it. But if you want to trade questions, I’d be up for that.”
Easy enough. Kat couldn’t think of anything remotely interesting about himself that Lyall might want to know. “Okay, that sounds fair. Do you want to go first?”
Lyall shook his head. “No, you can start. Ask away.”
