Page 47 of A Simple Mistake
Gareth smiled.“Seared beef with ginger, soy, and wasabi dip.I think it was Nico’s idea.”
“He’s getting a taste for the wasabi.”
“And he was eyeing my new knives.How did you even get those?”
“Theyhaveshops over here.”
“Granted.But… I’ve looked at these knives.They’re special order.”
“Yeah, so?I ordered them.”Jack didn’t mention the favours he’d traded.Tokaji-sensei had the contacts, Tempest had the clout, and the trickiest part had been the international courier service.When Jack put his mind to it, he could move mountains, and Gareth knew it.Or, at the very least, he stopped badgering for details.
Silence fell, and Jack felt Gareth’s gaze like a physical touch.When he’d missed Gareth before—after walking out on his army career—it had been a diffuse sort of longing.Now he knew how good they were together, missing Gareth felt like something sharp-toothed tearing at his gut.Jack didn’t care for the sensation, but he would have fought with all he had to keep it.
“You’ve been thinking too much,” Gareth observed, and the sharp-toothed things laid into Jack again.
“I’ve been drinking too much coffee.”
“That too.But you have been thinking.”
“Old ghosts.”Jack thought of Tempest’s living room and a wall of guitars.Of a hungry kid, a fridge with a padlock, and a star who cooked to keep sane.He thought of a roof in a rainstorm, and that accepting a fist to the face could be an apology.Most of all, he thought of a calm oasis in the middle of busy Tokyo, of high walls and an austere garden made from rocks, moss, and water.“I wasn’t convinced Ihadunfinished business here until Akane met me at the airport, and I found out that Max headed Tempest’s security.It’s the one case I never saw the end of, and I’d resigned myself to that.Now I get another crack at it.Life’s strange.”
“No stranger than us meeting up again after seven years,” Gareth said, as always totally on the same page.
“Like that, yes.And yet… I wish I was beside you in bed right now.I can think of all kinds of enjoyable things we could be doing.”
“Don’t change the subject,” Gareth growled, though his smile had become just a touch more feral.He didn’t miss a trick, despite the extra glass or two he’d had.“Do I need to go beat up Conrad?What is that crap doing to you?”
Jack had no answer for that.He’d become less quick to bury thoughts and emotions he didn’t want to deal with.Not that he spent hours going through his memories, but he could admit that he’d never trust Max again, not fully.And that it made working together… uncomfortable.“I never thought I’d like a rock star,” he said.“But Tempest is… he’sconsiderate.And Min—that’s Max’s business partner—is rock solid.”
“What about that Max guy?”
Jack smiled.“You mind-read now?”
“Don’t need to.I know you, Jack.Now answer the fucking question!”
“Max has ghosts of his own.First time I was here, he abandoned us in the middle of an op, without explanation.So…”
“Don’t turn your back on him.”
“Something like that.”
“Right.”Gareth punched his pillows into a more comfortable shape.“You working yet?Or are you still up?”
“Still up, but I’m due to head down to Tokaji-sensei’s dojo in an hour for some R&R.”Gareth knew about Tokaji-sensei because it was one of the things Jack hadn’t minded sharing, right after they’d met again.He would understand, without Jack having to spell it out, why he’d choose a session in the dojo to a bed in someone else’s house.
“Think you can sleep after that?”
“Doubt it.”
“Then why don’t you crash with me until you need to leave?”
Gareth moved his tablet to keep Jack in view even as he settled deeper into the bed.He looked all kinds of sexy, and Jack found he didn’t want to argue.He crossed the room and stretched out on the bed, dog-tired, but wide awake and buzzing.
“Now what?”he asked, grinning at the absurdity of it all.
Gareth’s grin made his breath quicken.“Now you can tell me about those long-distance blowjobs you’ve been thinking of.”
Proof of Life
