“Maddie, wait.”
Too late, she swung the door open wide. And the second Garrick looked inside, his stomach dropped with a sickening plummet, worse than the first time he’d ridden the big people roller coaster as a kid.
There, in the apartment, emerging from what looked like a balcony, stood Devlin.
With a cop.
Oh shit. Garrick pulled from every acting reserve he possessed and schooled his response to bland. As he stood in Devlin’s doorway, his mouth went drier than a drought-ridden California summer, and his heart beat so fast he swore he could feel it throbbing all the way up in his throat.
Why the hell does he have a cop in his home?
“I thought you had a date,” Maddie said, answering that question for Garrick. He now knew Devlin wasn’t dating this cop. “Is Darren out for good?” Her focus flicked to the guy in uniform, and Garrick couldn’t miss the way her left hand clenched into a tight fist. “Are you switching teams, Ashworth? Did you run out of women to date?”
The dark-haired cop smiled in a way that made him look like a wolf baring its teeth. “Not quite all of them, little girl. Could still be one or two.”
A blond-haired man came up behind the guy in uniform and smacked him on the back of his head. “Quit being an ass, Wyn. And you,” he looked up and winked at Maddie as he crossed the apartment to her side, “stop baiting him.”
One glance at the blond, and Maddie’s entire face lit up. “Hey, Ethan.” She lifted up and accepted a kiss from him. After that, she tugged Garrick inside and shut the door. “Let me introduce you, G,” she pulled Garrick to her brother, “you’ve already met Dev.”
Garrick took a breath and braced himself for the contact. He lifted his gaze and found a silvery-gray one waiting for him. One stare from Devlin washed over Garrick in a flood, drenching him in remembered intimacy.
“Y-yes,” Garrick said. Goddamn it; he’d been less nervous approaching Devlin in that bar when they were absolute strangers. He wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans. “I remember.”
Shit. Of course you remember. It happened yesterday. Damn it, man, you’re a professional liar. Pull your shit together.
After another deep breath, Garrick thrust his hand out to Devlin. “It’s good to see you again.” He focused with every fiber of his being and made sure his arm remained steady as a rock.
Devlin left Garrick’s hand hanging between them, unshaken, and didn’t say a word for what was probably only a few seconds but felt like an eternity. He didn’t blink or look away, and although they weren’t touching physically, Garrick remembered what Devlin’s hands felt like on his body. His skin heated right where he stood as he relived those fingers digging into his flesh, leaving bruises, as Devlin had taken him with that first rough fucking.
As if he could read Garrick’s thoughts, Devlin’s pupils flared, drowning out the silver. He abruptly reached out and engulfed Garrick’s hand in his, and the jolt of first contact sucked the air right out of Garrick’s lungs.
“I remember too,” Devlin murmured. He said nothing more, but he held Garrick to him with a firm grip--his touch strong, safe and sure--and it terrified Garrick down to his marrow.
He’s not confused or uncertain. He has no doubt. He knows it’s me.
“Dude.” Wyn nudged Devlin. “Are you okay?”
Devlin released Garrick’s hand and shifted to his friend, his smile predatory. “Oh, I’m fantastic.” He crossed his arms and rocked back on the heels of his bare feet. “Never better.”
“Whatever,” Maddie said. She dragged Garrick from Devlin to the blond man, and Garrick started breathing again. “G, this is Ethan. He’s my brother Aidan’s partner. And that’s Ethan’s brother Wyn.” She barely gave a flick of her finger in the officer’s direction. “Everybody, this is Garrick. He works at the garage.”
Three sets of eyes--one knowing, slate-colored one, one possibly puzzled, curious blue one, and a third one dark with fire--watched Garrick, clearly waiting for him to say something. Meanwhile, the imprint of Devlin’s fingers surrounding his during that prolonged handshake continued to tingle over Garrick’s sensitized skin, leaving him unsteady in front of a very intelligent audience.
Say something, damn it.
Ignoring the phantom sensations licking across his palm, Garrick forced his mouth to move. “I’ve heard good things about all of you from Maddie. It’s nice to put some faces with the names.”
Ethan was the only one to return Garrick’s smile. He offered a “Nice to meet you too,” then backed up to the open balcony door and moved into the waning sunlight slanting shadows across the brick floor and glass door.
“Dev, how about getting those steaks started?” Ethan asked. “I haven’t eaten anything since breakfast.”
“Sure.” Devlin kept looking right into Garrick’s eyes as he answered, his gaze hard and piercing. Right when Garrick thought his knees might fold under him, Devlin blinked and turned to Ethan. “I’ll get everything and be there in a second.”
Devlin joined his sister in the open kitchen, and Garrick let out an unsteady breath.
“Garrick?” Wyn tapped Garrick on the shoulder, and Garrick jerked his head up to find an obsidian stare scrutinizing him. A sensation of exposure tickled its fingers across Garrick’s neck, but he managed to only raise a brow at the cop.
Wyn walked backward toward the balcony. “It’s a nice night. You want to join us outside?”
“Yeah, sure.” Garrick dipped his head. “Be right there.”
Wyn stopped at the open door and gave Garrick a second good hard look--one that re-raised the hackles on Garrick’s neck and shot them all the way down his spine before finally nodding and moving outside to his brother.
Good Christ. I have to get out of here.
Forget sitting at a table with Devlin and acting as if he didn’t possess more intimate details about the man than any other person in this room did--a task Garrick found
