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Grace

Grace hated that Mirage had come to that conclusion—that he wanted Meridian instead of him—after working one night with the Black Ravens.

His partner deserved to know the truth, whether it backfired on him or not.

Mirage was looking at him with those intelligent, hunter-shaped eyes. Ones that never failed to see straight through him. And Grace didn’t mind.

He was glad Mirage could understand the things he couldn’t or wouldn’t say aloud.

“Tell me what changed on February fourteenth.”

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit,” Mirage challenged, his eyes taking on the color of slate.

Grace swallowed his unease. “Don’t be angry.”

“That’s a useless-ass emotion, Grace.” Mirage glowered.

A strange sensation tightened Grace’s chest. What did Mirage feel then?

“You’ve mastered the art of indifference, Mirage.”

Grace watched his partner for a long time. Too damn long, knowing he had nothing.

When he didn’t say anything, Mirage went back to eating his crème br?lée.

He moaned at the final bite, slowly sliding the fork from between his lips, making Grace’s heartbeat hammer in his ears.

Grace pictured Meridian again. How he’d licked his way into his partner’s mouth.

Grace wanted to try that, too, except with his own partner.

Grace didn’t remember how it felt to be kissed. Hell, he probably no longer knew how to do it. He’d had orgasms but no romance.

Unable to sit there any longer, struggling to breathe, Grace removed his wallet from his back pocket.

“Ready to go so soon? You don’t want another cup of coffee?” Mirage asked. “It’s your favorite.”

Grace shook his head and placed eight hundred-dollar bills on the table.

He stood, his muscles coiled as tight as a spring ready to snap, and pulled his trench off the coatrack beside the table.

Grace’s mind felt out-of-focus and staticky, like those old televisions with rabbit ears and aluminum foil on the tips.

“Let’s take a walk… You look like you need some air.”

Mirage threw him a soft wink that made Grace’s cock jerk for the first time in forever, then closed in behind him and whispered, “Let’s go, Grace.”