Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 93984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
“No, last night was not a first for me. Not by a sizable margin,” Gabriel found himself admitting. “But it has to be the last time for us. It’s not wise.”
“I…disagree.”
Gabriel chuckled and dropped his hand from his eyes. He looked over at Justin, who relaxed with one hand on the wheel. His chin was lifted a little bit, and Gabriel would have sworn the man was holding back a smile.
“Why am I not surprised that you disagree?”
“I just get the impression that you haven’t made a lot of smart decisions with regard to your sex life, G Love. And I think, while we’re working together on this contract, you should just let me make those sex-related decisions for you.”
Gabriel’s bark of laughter filled the car. He lurched forward, pulling at the seat belt strapped across his chest. He looked over at Justin’s face to see it held a wide grin. “You’re ridiculous.”
“But I’m not wrong.”
Gabriel shook his head, but the worry pressing on his chest had eased. The laughter made him feel lighter than he had in hours.
“You’re taking this all too seriously. We had some fun. It’s not like we’re going to let it get in the way of work. When the job is done, we go our separate ways with no hurt feelings.”
“And no trying to kill each other,” Gabriel added with a smirk.
“Exactly! It’s not as if the world is going to know or care about our business.”
Maybe Justin was right. The man beside him might have him longing for something more, but Justin certainly wasn’t offering it.
Would it be so wrong to have a little fun with Justin? They’d enjoy a release or two. Make some money. And then they’d go their separate ways and never see each other again if they could help it. They’d both been in the business for years and hadn’t encountered each other before. It was unlikely they would again unless Gabriel happened to take a job where Justin was the target. But for now, it was just sex.
“What do you say, G?”
“Play the song again, Special Sauce,” Gabriel said.
Justin’s eyes jerked from the road to Gabriel’s face, and he was sure he’d never seen the man look more stunned since he’d met him. “Whatever you say, G Love.”
Less than a minute later, the same fun song bounced through the car as they slid over to an exit and wove through afternoon traffic to pull into the parking lot for what appeared to be a grocery store.
Justin threw the car into park but didn’t turn off the engine as he swayed behind the wheel in time to the song that went on about peace, love, and happiness. His eyes were closed, and a wide smile was on his lips. Not exactly the most appropriate song when they considered their chosen occupation, but at that moment, it didn’t matter. Justin’s joy was a palpable thing in that car, and Gabriel was happy to soak it in while he could. His own life contained too few moments like this.
“We just need to pop in for some Kosher salt and mushrooms. I’ve got a nice Bordeaux I’ve been saving. I just didn’t realize I was saving it for your coq au vin,” Justin teased after the song was complete and he had turned off the engine.
“It takes a few hours to make, right?”
“I figure it will take me about three because I’m out of practice.” He got out of the car and smirked across the roof at Gabriel when he stood as well. “You can keep me company in the kitchen by reading me information about Dane Hamilton from the Iaso website.”
Gabriel said nothing as he walked beside Justin into the grocery store. His companion paused long enough to grab a little basket. The main entrance opened straight into the produce section, and Gabriel couldn’t help but wander down one small aisle after another, looking over the brightly colored fruits and vegetables. He’d already been shopping with Justin more than he had on his own in the past several months. He’d been constantly on the go for years. Cooking was limited to things he could quickly heat or reheat. Or if it was more, the ingredients were ordered over the Internet and then delivered to wherever he happened to be living at the time.
“In the mood for something else?” Justin suddenly asked, drawing Gabriel from his thoughts.
He shook his head, hating the heat he could feel starting to warm his cheeks in embarrassment. “No, I…I guess I’m out of practice when it comes to shopping for groceries.”
“If you think of something in particular you’re craving, we can always arrange it,” Justin said with a wink.
Gabriel reached out and gave Justin’s shoulder a little shove to get him moving again. “Let’s go find your salt and mushrooms.”