Page 15 of Heart of Glass

“They’re just sweats.” Yawning loudly, Xeno sat up straight, put the transmission in reverse, and backed out of the driveway. “It’s not a big deal.”

“You rescued me from a fire. You stayed with me at the hospital. Then you brought me to your house, carried me inside, and slept on the couch so I could have the bed.” Lachlan ticked off all the things the guy had done for him in just one night. “Now, here you are in your damn underwear, driving me to the bank, just so I don’t have to walk.”

“You’re hurt.”

“My hip is bruised and a little sore. I’m not broken.”

“I didn’t say you were.”

“Ugh!” Lachlan threw his hands in the air and growled. “You are infuriating. I’m trying to thank you, and you’re being an ass. Why can’t you just accept it and leave it at that?”

Pulling to a stop at the end of the street, Xeno threw the vehicle in park and turned to Lachlan. “Come here.”

“Excuse me?”

Palming the back of Lachlan’s neck, Xeno smirked and softened his voice as he brushed the bad of his thumb over Lachlan’s cheek. “Come here.”

Seduced by the slow cadence and undercurrent of lust that saturated the man’s voice, Lachlan leaned against the center console, meeting Xeno halfway. “Yes?”

“You’re welcome.” Then he closed the remaining distance between them and attacked Lachlan’s mouth in a deep, hungry kiss that set his head spinning.

Then, while Lachlan panted for breath and willed his body to behave, Xeno calmly shifted into drive and pulled away from the stop sign as though nothing had happened. “Where am I taking you, anyway?”

“Huh?” Not brilliant, but Lachlan couldn’t be sure of his last name at the moment. “Repeat the question.”

Xeno reached over the console to take Lachlan’s hand as he laughed. Linking their fingers, he lifted their joined hands and brushed his lips over Lachlan’s knuckles. “Which bank do you use, sweetheart?”

“Oh, the one on Arlington Avenue.” Pulling in a deep breath through his nose, Lachlan released it slowly through his mouth. He needed to get a grip before he ended up embarrassing himself. Being as cool and collected as Xeno wouldn’t happen—ever—but at the very least, he could act as though he’d actually been kissed before.

Except, no one had ever kissed himlike thatbefore, like he mattered more than anything else on earth. Sweet heaven, Xeno didn’t just kiss him, he consumed Lachlan, overwhelmed his senses, but always left him teetering on the edge and craving more.

He wanted more, a lot more, but fear of the unknown held him back. Things were new and exciting now, but it wouldn’t last forever. Lachlan had lived through a lot in the past year, but if he let himself get in too deep, if he let himself care too much for Xeno, he didn’t know if he would survive the heartbreak when it ended.

Chapter six

“Do you have towork today?”

Xeno leaned his head back on the sofa to see Lachlan walk into the living room from the hallway. “I’m taking an early Christmas vacation. I have the next few days off.”

He had enough money from his various bank accounts, investments, and businesses to live comfortably for the next few hundred years, and technically, he didn’t need to work at all. He’d only taken the job at Brew Ha Ha because it combined two of his favorite things—people and coffee.

“You didn’t have to do that for me.”

“I didn’t.” Of course he’d taken the time off to be with Lachlan, but telling the guy that would only instigate an argument. “I havethe vacation days, and if I don’t use them before the end of the year, I lose them.”

“You’re a crappy liar, but whatever.” Rounding the sofa, Lachlan limped over to the armchair and lowered himself gingerly to the cushion. The unnatural way he sat, coupled with the tightening around his eyes said he was in a lot of pain, but he didn’t complain.

He never complained.

“How bad is it?”

“Well, I only have eight hundred dollars in my bank account, which isn’t going to get me far, but I can stretch it out until I get my royalties in January.” The muscle in his jaw clenched and his smile brightened until he looked a little crazed. “I called my insurance company, and apparently my renter’s insurance expired three months ago. It’s not as bad as it sounds, though. Maybe I can salvage some stuff from the apartment. Surely not everything is gone.”

“I meant your hip, Lachlan. How much does it hurt?”

“Like I got hit by a fucking car. That’s how much it hurts.”

Lachlan looked immediately contrite at his outburst, but Xeno held up a hand to halt the apology he sensed coming. “I think you’re entitled to a little bitterness.” He couldn’t sit there and watch his mate suffer, though. “I’ll go get you one of your pills.”

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