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)
Justin snorted. “I think maybe we should look into oysters for you.”
“If I wanted something slimy in my mouth…” Gabriel broke off from what he was saying because his eyes fell on two men walking together. One held a basket like Justin’s, and they were holding hands…in the grocery store…like it was the most normal thing in the world. The two men caught him staring and smiled at him. One even winked. But he couldn’t look away. Not until Justin stepped into his line of sight with a look of worry filling his brown eyes.
“This isn’t Russia,” Justin reminded him softly. It took Gabriel a moment to realize that he’d spoken in Russian.
“I know,” Gabriel said sharply. More so than he’d meant to.
“I’m sorry.”
Gabriel didn’t want his pity or sympathy. Didn’t want to think about any of it. “You owe me coq au vin,” he repeated, simply because, at that moment, it was all he had to cling to that wasn’t from that world.
Justin smiled, but this time it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Yes, and then we’ll discuss the coq you owe me.”
They continued their grocery shopping with little conversation, picking up a few random items along with the necessary ingredients for their dinner. Justin winked and slipped over to the personal care aisle, but Gabriel refused to accompany him, preferring to glance through the magazine rack without actually seeing anything in front of him.
Was he really considering having sex with Justin? Yes, he’d said the words, but purposefully buying supplies made it all the more real. People said things all the time that never happened. But sex with Justin definitely would.
And why was that so bad? The man was sexy as hell. If Justin had made a pass at him while they were in a bar, Gabriel wouldn’t be second-guessing it.
But they weren’t strangers who would never see each other again. They had to complete this contract together, and it was still unclear as to how long that would take. If they got a lucky break, it could be a matter of days. Unfortunately, their luck so far had been anything but good. Sex with Justin was stupid. He knew better. His cock was ruling his decisions, and that was not a good thing.
Even as he made the decision to not fuck Justin, he knew that he was secretly hoping Justin would talk him out of it. There was something so contagious about the man’s enthusiasm and joie de vivre. He wished he could be the type to seize the moment and just live. Not that he expected to live long after adopting such an approach, but it would probably be a pretty fantastic ten minutes.
As they walked outside, Justin made a loud sniffing noise as he shifted the plastic bags to his left hand while digging for the car keys. “Do you smell that?”
Gabriel sniffed the air but didn’t smell anything beyond the usual car exhaust and maybe a hint of something fried from the nearby fast-food restaurant. “No, what?”
“It’s like your brain is working overtime and you’re burning up brain cells. Stop thinking so hard.”
Gabriel groaned. “Sex is a bad idea, and you know it.”
“The only time I’ve seen that sex is a bad idea is when it’s with a crazy ex who happens to be wearing a wedding dress and holding a butcher knife.” Gabriel stared at his companion for a moment, then shook his head. “Oh, wait! It’s also a bad idea if you spot something oozing that shouldn’t be oozing.”
“Oh, God! I didn’t need that visual, Justin!” Gabriel said, horrified. There was no telling what was going to come out of this man’s mouth next, and it really needed to stop. He was beginning to fear he’d never be aroused again after that. “Please, just stop.”
“I’m saying that neither is the case right now, so sex isn’t a bad idea.” Popping the trunk with a press of a button on the key fob, Justin stopped to carefully place the bags inside.
At the same time, a large car engine roared to life. Gabriel was aware of Justin saying something to convince him that sex was their best plan of attack for the night, but he was turning in place to track down the source of the noise. It was like someone had gunned the engine, and the hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end. They were near the rear of the parking lot, and there was only one other car on the other side of Justin’s Mercedes. They were out in the open and vulnerable.
“Get in the car,” Gabriel ordered.
“What?” Justin replied.
It was too late. A large black truck with tinted windows surged out of a parking spot three rows over and charged toward them. A window lowered on the passenger side, and the muzzle of an automatic weapon was suddenly visible.