Page 29 of Undercover Star
"So... stakeout?"
Josh's shoulders sagged even more. "I don't have enough to take to my boss. He's cut me a lot of slack, y'know?"
As far as he knew, Matisse had never been reckless. Or crazy. Or off his rocker. He knew his actions could impact his career and the people associated with him. But seeing Josh so defeated flipped a switch in his brain. And he didn't even mind.
"What if we go up to Glasgow and stake the place out ourselves?"
"What?"
"Whyever not? It's Thursday. I don't have to be anywhere until Monday morning. We could go right now."
Josh had really very beautiful eyes—dark and long-lashed, and right then so wide it looked almost comical. He pushed himself to standing, hands flat on the table, and Matisse had to suppress a shiver at being loomed over and stared at so intensely.
"Are you fucking serious?"
"Sure. You can sleep in the car. I'll drive."
Before Matisse could react, Josh leaned down and kissed him hard on the lips.
Matisse pushed him back. "Get off me. Thank you kisses I can do without. Now, are we doing this or not?"
Chapter Nine
Josh slept until theM6 was past the rush-hour stop and go and settled down to steady traffic. He'd drifted off almost as soon as he'd gotten into the passenger seat of Matisse's Land Rover, and Matisse had been content to let him rest.
Getting out of London had been slow work, but Matisse hadn't minded too much. He appreciated the chance to do something unrelated to his work. Between releasing a new album and preparing for a concert tour, he'd not had the chance to visit his sanctuary for far too long. And trekking up to Scotland to help Josh ID his suspect felt like a holiday of sorts. A vaguely illicit one, at that.
"Hey. Did I sleep long?" Josh's voice was deliciously raspy. He straightened and ran his hands through his hair. His fingers made a mess of the short curls, and Matisse itched to reach over and straighten them out again.
"A few hours. We're just past Manchester. There's water," he nodded to the cup holders on the centre console, "and we can stop for coffee if you want."
"It's fine. Thank you."
The wheels ate up the miles, and Matisse let Josh wake in his own time. They were nearing Wigan when he finally asked the question that had been bothering him ever since the gala.
"Why are you so obsessed with catching this thief, anyway?"
