“I’m more of a tea drinker, so I wondered if you would be okay with us stopping by a store on the way to your office.”
“I have tea. Black, chamomile, and Earl Grey.”
“Black with a bit of honey would be great.”
Julien nodded and strode into the kitchen. “Tomorrow morning, I’ll have the kettle going, but there’s not enough timetoday.” He filled a mug with water and set it into the microwave to heat.
“I’m not picky on how it’s made, so this works for me. And thank you.”
“It’s not a problem.” Julien poured himself a cup of coffee and turned to rest his backside against the counter. He stared at Emory as he sipped the brew.
Emory waited for him to speak, but he said nothing. Just stared a couple more moments before turning to pop bagels into a toaster. He then took the mug out of the microwave and handed a tea bag, honey, and a spoon to Emory.
The silence felt truly uncomfortable as Emory fixed his tea the way he liked it. No words were spoken as they ate their bagels and cream cheese, and by the time Julien wiped down the counters and loaded their dishes into the dishwasher, Emory felt like he was going to crawl out of his own skin.
Julien was going to drive him absolutely nuts.
Chapter Seven
Julien
As Julien drove toward his lunch meeting, it was all he could do not to keep looking at Emory in his passenger seat. He was quiet, but Julien had the distinct feeling that wasn’t a normal state for him. As it had from the first moment, his presence affected Julien in a way he wasn’t familiar with. He was completely aware of the man. Of his body and his movements. Even the way he breathed.
There was a light about him, too. Like he was genuinely good. Like his very presence made Julien feel… happy. But then there was also a sort of sultry wickedness about him at times. A quirk of those attractive lips. A glint of sensual promise in his eyes. And for some damned reason Julien could make no sense of, he genuinely wanted to touch those wings.
Not just the wings, either.
This was true attraction in a way he just hadn’t experienced. Julien wanted to be closer to Emory. To know what he smelled like up close, to see how silky his hair really was and if his skin felt as smooth as it looked.
And he had the strangest, and strongest, urge to bend the angel over the nearest surface. When he’d come out of the gym that morning, it had been all he could picture, and even now, the imagined image threatened to break him out into a sweat. Well, more than he already was from this relentless heat.
Then he’d gone and said something he shouldn’t have. This bodyguard didn’t need to know about his idiosyncrasies. He was just a temporary blip in Julien’s life. Julien knew he had some deep-rooted issues, and he knew exactly why. Emory certainly didn’t need to know about them.
So why had he said that?
Because he was so drawn to the angel? Fuck. These were all new feelings for him. He wished he were the type of person to talk over those feelings with a friend, but the closest thing he had to a friend was William, who was more of a colleague.
He glanced at Emory to find the angel watching him. “Do you have a girlfriend who misses you when you’re on jobs like this?”
Emory shook his head. “No girlfriend and no boyfriend either.”
That was interesting information. Julien reached out and turned up the air conditioning in an effort to stall while he took that in. “You’re bisexual?”
“Very.”
Because he was struggling with a similar situation, his curiosity got the best of him. “Did you always know that about yourself?”
“From the time I had my first dual crush at the tender age of thirteen.” Emory softly laughed. “The crushes were actually on two people who were a couple—I couldn’t decide which one I was more jealous of.”
“Thirteen. So young.”
“I longed for them from afar and was much older before I confirmed my suspicions.”
“Was it with one of them?”
“Oh no, they were just around when I was too young to do anything about it. I’ve been happily attracted to both sexes since. I’m not one to settle down, though. I like my freedom.” Emory shifted more toward Julien. “What about you? Anyone serious in your life?”
“No, though I have tried a couple of times. My work gets in the way.” That was putting it way more simply than it actually was. Words likecoldandboringhad come into play during his breakups.Uptightwas another. He could have taken the time to explain why he worked so much. Why he needed a thick layer of safety in his world. But he’d never gotten close enough to either of the women he’d tried to be in relationships with—had never felt the need to explain himself. If he’d actually loved them, maybe it would have been different.
