Page 13 of Heart of Glass

“Nah.” Lachlan shrugged as much as his crutches would allow. “Shadow Hills is a small town. Everyone knows me at the bank.”

“Then what?” The panic returned, squeezing Xeno’s heart with its icy fingers. Rationally, he knew Lachlan to be a grown man who could take care of himself. He’d cheated death twice, though, and eventually, his luck would run out. His brain said to let Lachlan make his own decisions and not hover. His heart told him not to let the guy out of his sight.

“I’ll rent a hotel room until I can find a new apartment.”

Neither of them spoke on the elevator ride to the first floor, not that Xeno didn’t have plenty more to say. He acknowledged it was too soon to ask the man to move in with him permanently, too soon by human standards at any rate, but he couldn’t deny the idea held appeal.

“Hey, Gimpy,” Grady teased while Xeno helped Lachlan into the backseat. “Ya know, if you wanted out of your lease that bad, you could have just paid the penalty.”

“Grady, you’re such an ass.” Smiling with false sugariness, Lachlan puckered his lips and blew air kisses when Grady flipped him off.

They fought like a damn married couple, clearly comfortable with one another. On one hand, at least the living situation wouldn’t be awkward. On the other hand, the familiarity caused Xeno’s jaw to clench in an uncharacteristic display of jealousy.

“Have you eaten?” Sliding into the front passenger seat, he buckled his seatbelt and shifted to look around the headrest.

“Nope, I burned dinner.”

Xeno didn’t find the quip at all humorous. “That burger joint off of Emerson is still open. That good?”

“I’m not picky.” His cheery façade vanished, and Lachlan rested his brow against the window, rolling his head from side to side. “I was supposed to buy you dinner.”

Aware of how much it hurt to lose everything, Xeno also knew no words would be enough to comfort Lachlan. He’d find an apartment and buy new furniture, but some things couldn’t be replaced. “You can buy me breakfast after we go to the bank, okay?”

“It’s all gone.” The shock and adrenaline had begun to ebb, and Lachlan was clearly spiraling. “Everything. It’s just gone.”

Unbuckling his seatbelt, Xeno crawled into the backseat and pulled the man into his arms. “Everything will be okay. You’ve been through worse, and you’ll get through this.”

Lachlan lived inside his own head, which worked great for his books. In the real world, however, it led to dangerous situations, like wandering into busy streets or starting kitchen fires.

“I’m sorry I’m so much trouble,” Lachlan mumbled as he coiled closer and rested his head on Xeno’s shoulder. “I bet you’re regretting spending that break with me at the café, huh?”

“Not at all. Yeah, you’re a little trouble, but you’re worth it.”

Sucking in a deep breath, Lachlan released it around a sleepy yawn and rubbed at his eyes. “I really like you, Xeno.”

Things were moving too fast, and he didn’t know what to do about it. The laws of his world said he couldn’t tell Lachlan everything about himself, but neither could he justify building a relationship based on lies and deception.

If the man knew his secrets, he probably wouldn’t be eager to pursue something more anyway. Xeno didn’t have all the answers. Hell, he didn’t have any answers. One way or another, he’d figure out how to make it work, though.

Rubbing his cheek against Lachlan’s silky hair, he closed his eyes and sighed. “I really like you, too.”

“You’re in too deep,” Grady said from the front seat, but not with the usual amount of judgment and sarcasm.

“I know.” He saw no point in arguing with the truth. He hadn’t meant for it to happen. He wasn’t even completely surehowit had happened. For fuck’s sake, he’d known Lachlan for barely a week, and only forty-eight hours of that had they actually spent together. “What do you suggest I do?”

“Do you love him?”

“I don’t know.” Could he love someone after only two days? Social constraints said no, and until recently, Xeno had been apt to agree. Now, well, he couldn’t be sure. While his brain rebelled, his heart said he’d been lost from the moment they’d locked gazes. “Maybe?” A long sigh bubbled up through his parted lips as he dropped his head back against the seat. “You think I’m crazy, huh?”

“I’ve always thought you were crazy,” Grady teased. “At first, I thought it was just a crush, a little hero worship for your favorite author. After seeing you two together, though, I have to say, buddy, you’ve got it bad.”

“I’m that transparent, huh?”

“It’s not just you. He looks at you like you hung the moon and stars.” Grady quieted, but Xeno waited, sensing his friend had more to say. A few silent minutes later, Grady proved him right, but Xeno couldn’t have anticipated the next question. “He’s yours, isn’t he?”

“Mine?” A flood of warmth welled inside him in direct response to the single word. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end, his gums ached, and his eyes watered as they shifted from human to lupine without warning. “Mine.”

The growl that rumbled through his chest scared the shit out of him, but Grady just laughed. “Yeah, you might want to tone that back some.”

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