“More of my mouth?”
Julien nodded.
“Right now?”
Julien looked horrified. “Not here. I’m certainly not into public displays.”
Emory smirked. “I could have guessed that about you.”
“Tonight then?”
Emory tilted his head. “You’ll feel better with a plan in place, won’t you?”
Julien gave a short, sharp nod.
“Then tonight, Julien.” He chuckled when Julien nodded again then got out of the car.
That laugh faded when Julien suddenly slammed into the side of the car. Emory jumped out and raced around, only to spot the penumbra out of the corner of his eye. It dodged behind a bollard. Emory glanced around but there was nothing to send flying into the thing. But he caught it dodging back, and he nailed it with a solid punch. It stalled long enough for him to get a good look at it.
It stood about five and a half feet tall and was covered in black fur, with pointed ears and sharp teeth. Beady yellow eyes showed its startled reaction to the punch. It scrambled backward, then dashed behind an SUV.
“Stare straight ahead,” Emory told Julien. “You’ll catch it in your peripheral vision. Use your briefcase as a weapon if it gets too close.”
“Got it.”
Emory couldn’t shoot up into the air because of the low ceiling, but now that he’d seen the penumbra’s form, it was easier to spot it. A black shadow streaked across the concrete floor, and Emory dashed toward it and managed to slam into it. There was a pained growl as it hit Julien’s car. Julien jumped out of the way. He also swung his briefcase around, crunching it into the side of the penumbra’s head.
It hissed, flung itself around, and swiped with its sharp claws. Emory evaded the claws, then reached out and grabbed it by the neck. It had long arms, and this time, the sharp talons sliced his arm. But he just tightened his hand on its throat.
“You will stop harassing Julien, or I will kill you.”
It growled, twisted in his grasp, and managed to scramble away before it dashed out of the garage.
Julien dropped his briefcase and grabbed Emory’s wrist to hold his wounded arm into the light. “Shit. It got you.” He shifted his hold, squinting down at the scratches. “This doesn’t look too bad.”
“I heal fast, don’t worry.”
“We need to at least clean the scratches.”
“I’m fine,” Emory said, distracted by Julien’s hand on his wrist. It was warm, and he was holding Emory tightly. He lifted his gaze, and their eyes locked just as they had in the kitchen a couple of nights ago. Just the way they had last night. It was like a live wire stretched between them, sparking with electricity. Emory’s breath caught in his throat, swamped by something he was sure he didn’t want. But it was powerful.
Julien cursed and jerked him close. Then he completely shocked Emory by taking his mouth. His lips were softer than they looked, but the pressure was wonderfully firm. Unyielding. His hand came up to hold Emory’s jaw, exerting pressure that made Emory instinctively open his lips. He shivered when Julien’s tongue slid into his mouth.
But he wasn’t the type to sit back and be passively kissed, so he clutched Julien’s waist, hauled him even closer and kissed him deeply back. This time, Julien shuddered.
Fucking fireworks.
Julien pressed him back against the car, his body solid, his kisses powerful and heady. His taste held a hint of coffee that didn’t take away from his own unique flavor.
Emory moaned and tightened his fingers, digging them into Julien’s hips.
Julien abruptly wrenched his mouth away, but he didn’t step back. Instead, he stared with shock-widened eyes at Emory, breathing hard. “I don’t understand what you’re doing to me,” he whispered.
“I’m doing nothing. Just being me.” Emory let his fingers loosen but he didn’t remove his hands. “We seem to have some incredible chemistry here.”
“That’s putting it mildly.” Julien smiled, his eyes glittering with fascination.
Emory caught his breath at that look on Julien’s face. He had a sudden image of seeing that same expression over and over. For years.
