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“I can move furniture.” Ryder’s low voice jerked Gideon’s gaze to the doorway where Rafe and Ryder were watching them.
“You don’t mind?” Gideon asked playfully.
Ryder shook his head, and Gideon grinned at him like a fool. That was even more convenient since Ryder lived just downstairs.
“You picked out the colors?” Ryder inquired, pointing at the butter-soft yellow walls.
“I did! Yellow in the living room for sunshine, and the mint green in the kitchen with white cabinets and dark marble countertops. And the soft, sleepy blue in the bedroom. Do you like it?”
Ryder grunted, which was barely an answer. Gideon wasn’t sure how to interpret it. He rolled his eyes while Rafe chuckled and clapped a hand on Ryder’s wide shoulder.
Gideon continued through his new place, taking in all the boxes he needed to unpack. He hadn’t thought he’d accumulated that much stuff while living at the Varik house, but Ethan had gotten him into collecting DVDs of his favorite shows. And then Fox had introduced him, Ethan, and River to BL mangas, which gave rise to a swelling collection of books. Of course, there were all the household items he’d had to order new, such as dishes, towels, sheets, and lots of cleaning implements. Not the most fun stuff, but it was all his.
It was going to take him several nights to get everything put in its proper place, and he couldn’t wait.
“Gideon, don’t forget that this door here leads to Ryder’s place. If you need anything, you can reach him in a matter of seconds,” Rafe reminded him, motioning toward the door in the kitchen that could have easily passed for another pantry or closet.
“Pfft, I’ve got this. It’s more like if Ryder needs me for something.” With a laugh, he spun on the toes of his left foot and peeked into the single bedroom, where the queen-sized bed rested against a wall. It was missing the sheets and the extra-thick feather-down duvet. He snatched up a squishy soft pillow from where it sat on the mattress and squeezed it to his chest while he moved to look in the bathroom.
“I can’t believe I have my own place!” Gideon said as he strolled into the living room again. “It’s exactly as we planned it out.” He paused and smiled at Ryder. “Once I get it completely decorated, I can have friends over. Even begin dating, because I have somewhere to bring them.”
Ryder didn’t flinch. If anything, his usual grim expression grew even darker, which was not the reaction Gideon had been hoping for.
“I’ll let you unpack,” Ryder announced suddenly and left without another word.
Gideon stood there, his mouth hanging open.Really? He left?
A hand landed on his shoulder. Gideon gazed up to see concern scrawled on Philippe’s kind face. “I don’t think you can do subtle with Ryder.”
A low chuckle rippled from Rafe, and Gideon rolled his eyes. “Yeah, subtle hasn’t worked so far. Don’t know why I thought I should continue that route. Next time, I’m hitting him with a sledgehammer.”
Rafe walked over and wrapped an arm across his shoulders, tugging him into a half hug. “Well, don’t hit him too hard. He’s my number-one guy for keeping you safe.”
Gideon wanted to roll his eyes at that, too, but he couldn’t deny it. For all his fresh start and independence talk, he’d never have been able to go through with this if Ryder wasn’t close by. Ryder kept him safe.
But he wanted more.
Chapter2
Ryder
Ryder stood in the middle of his new living room, trying to unclench his fists. It would probably help if he stopped thinking about someone dating Gideon. Someone touching Gideon. Someone holding him, making him laugh, making him moan with pleasure.
A flickering reel of a faceless man giving Gideon everything he wanted was on repeat in his brain, driving him insane.
He needed to give up on the dream of ever being worthy of someone as precious and perfect as Gideon.
He didn’t know how much time passed before he dragged in a deep breath and exhaled it, along with his festering anger. Lifting his gaze to the empty room, he frowned. If he needed any more proof that he wasn’t Gideon’s type, he needed to search no farther than his own place.
Whereas Gideon had decorated his condo in cheery pastels, Ryder’s was in shades of pale-gray, black, and dark green. The floors in Gideon’s place were a warm honey oak; Ryder’s were a dark mahogany. Rafe had asked him what he wanted his place to look like, and he’d only shrugged. It had been over a century since he’d had his own place, and even then, he hadn’t been the one to decorate it. When Rafe had continued to pester him, he’d blurted out dark and peaceful.
Maybe Rafe had taken him a bit too literally, because the apartment was as dark and peaceful as a mausoleum.
To make matters worse, he had no things. He’d spent his existence as a vampire being shuffled from one place to the next. He’d lived with Lola, Rafe’s trusted right hand in all things, for several years. Next, he’d moved into the Varik house with Gideon for a bit. There were times he’d lived with the other nightclub bouncers. Because of the temporariness of his living conditions, he never accumulated things.
He shuffled into the bedroom, where a brand-new mattress rested on the floor. In one corner was a box of books, and leaning against the wall was the old, battered duffel bag he’d picked up at a thrift store about forty years ago.
Even if he wanted to have Gideon over to his place, there were no soft things for him to cuddle, no comfy places for him to sit. Gideon loved soft things. He loved squishy things. He loved to hold and pet silky things. Gideon would be miserable here. The vampire would take one look at his place andrunaway.
