Page 14 of Heart of Glass

“How did you know?” Xeno scrubbed his free hand over his face and tried to calm his body’s unruly reaction. “Why didn’t I know?” Granted, he didn’t come face to face with his destiny every day, but that still seemed like something he should have realized without needing it spelled out in neon letters.

“I think subconsciously you’ve known all along, but you’ve been a little distracted.” Flipping on the blinker, Grady slowed the SUV and prepared to turn into the parking lot of Monty’s Burgers. “So, what are you going to do?”

Lachlan groaned from Xeno’s side and began to stir. “Where are we?”

“Later,” Xeno answered his friend before addressing his…mate. Gods, he didn’t ever think that word would apply to him. “Go back to sleep, baby. We’re just getting food.”

“Okay,” he agreed easily as he burrowed in closer. “I don’t like tomatoes.”

“I’ll tell them.”

If only the other problems in his life were as easily solved…

Once again, the sun had already made its appearance for the day by the time Lachlan pried his eyes open. Unlike the previous morning, however, he awoke alone in a room he didn’t recognize. The king-sized mattress made him feel tiny, but the fluffy pillows and down comforter cocooned him in warmth and safety.

He hadn’t forgotten that he no longer had a place to live, or anything more than his laptop and the clothes on his back for that matter. Things could be worse, though. He could be dead, and he probably would have been if Xeno hadn’t shown up and saved the day like some epic hero.

Remembering how Xeno had burst into his apartment, all confident and in control, didn’t just made his stomach clench, it made his dick swell and ache. Ever since Scott Thompson hadkissed him beneath the bleachers after a varsity football game, Lachlan knew he didn’t just like men, he liked strong, decisive men.

He didn’t want one of those narcissistic gym rats with more muscles than brains, though. Nor did he want some jackass with a superiority complex telling him what to do. Strength had nothing to do with physical appearance, not to Lachlan anyway. On that same note, he found jealousy to be a childish, insecure emotion, yet a healthy sense of possessiveness got his motor running every time.

A great body, an amazing smile, intelligence, and dare he hope, a small bit of that possessiveness he found so sexy—Xeno had it all, everything Lachlan had ever wanted in a partner. While he knew he shouldn’t feel so attached to the guy after just a few days, he couldn’t change the way his heart and body lit up each time they were together.

Nothing about the situation was fair to Xeno, though. Most couples went their entire relationship without ever experiencing the issues Lachlan brought to the table. Anyone else would have bolted that first night at the crosswalk, but not Xeno. For whatever reason, whether because he was crazy or a glutton for punishment, he kept showing up, and Lachlan couldn’t really ask for more than that.

Not true. Well, he wouldn’t ask for more, but he could give something back. Granted, he didn’t have much to offer, but he owed Xeno a meal, and he intended to deliver. Throwing the blankets back, he shivered when the cool air hit him, and asmuch as he wanted to crawl back into bed, his determination to make a dent in his debt wouldn’t let him.

Finding a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie on the nearby dresser made him feel all warm and tingly, but it also served as another reminder of their very one-sided relationship. Xeno always took care of him without asking for anything in return other than a little of Lachlan’s time.

Showered and dressed in the borrowed clothes, Lachlan laced his shoes, grabbed his crutches, and left Xeno sleeping on the sofa while he set out to restore some balance to their unconventional relationship. Breakfast wouldn’t solve everything—or anything, really—but it was a start.

Stepping out onto the front porch, Lachlan realized he had a pretty big problem. While he had a general idea of where he stood in location to his bank, he’d have to travel over a mile to get there. Walking that far on crutches, especially with the newest injury to his hip, sounded like the worst kind of hell.

“Suck it up, MacAuley.” The pep talk didn’t do anything to make the trek more appealing, though, and he spent another few minutes standing at the top of the steps and staring down the deserted street.

Before he could talk himself into taking that first step, the front door opened behind him, and Xeno walked out of the house dressed only in a T-shirt, his boxers, and a baseball cap. A set of keys dangled from his forefinger, and he gave Lachlan a light nudge in the back. “Get in the car.”

“You’re going to freeze to death,” Lachlan argued.

“Not if you get in the car.”

“Xeno—”

“Fine,” his sleepy companion interrupted. “I’ll get in the car. You do what you want.”

He’d known Xeno to be persistent, but he hadn’t seen this stubborn side of the man. Following his host down the steps, Lachlan pulled open the back passenger side door, laid his crutches across the bench seat, and then climbed into the front beside Xeno. “You know you’re in your underwear, right?” He followed Xeno’s bare legs down to the floorboard. “You don’t even have shoes on.”

“I also haven’t showered or had coffee,” Xeno grumped. Starting the engine, he cranked up the heater and sniffed at the air.

Weird.“What are you doing?”

“You smell good.”

“Oh, uh, well, thank you?” It was definitely a compliment, but such a strange one, Lachlan didn’t really know what to do with it. “Thanks for the clothes. I’ll buy some as soon as I get some money.”

“You look good,” Xeno responded. While he waited for the SUV to warm up, he leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. “I like you in my clothes.” Bless him, he sounded so exhausted, and he probably didn’t even realize what he’d just said.

Still, Lachlan’s cheeks infused with heat, and he looked down at his knees, hoping Xeno wouldn’t see the goofy smile on his lips. “Thank you for everything, Xeno. I mean it. You didn’t have to do all of this.”

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