Page 59 of Grave Beginnings

He snorted. “When it’s not about sex? No.”

I flinched. “Yeah, about that… I might put offeasyvibes, but…”

“You don’t, actually,” Angel said. “I can smell your attraction, yes, but also your fear and anxiety. I wouldn’t call that easy. It’s a dinner date. No strings. Food and conversation.”

“And if we don’t mesh? Can we still work together?”

“Sure.”

“How many other work partners have you dated?”

“None. And never an SV.”

“You don’t like SVs,” I reminded him.

“Jude, if you don’t want to go out, just say so. Or we could do this as friends. Neither of us have to act on our attraction. We’re grown-ups. You say you feel this thing for me and don’t understand it. It’s not one-sided.”

I sucked in a breath and blew it out slowly, sorting through the tangled web of my complicated emotions. The last few weeks had left me stripped of my usual armor, and vulnerable. The enforced imprisonment in the hospital after the daycare event, being moved to SED, encountering whatever shadow monster that was across the Veil, and rescuing my little brother; it was a whirlwind of insanity. Paired with the hottest man I’d ever met, who admitted he was as attracted to me as I was to him, I really wanted to explore a chance at something.

“The team would be okay with us dating?”

“You shouldn’t worry about them. They are my problem, not yours. If anyone on the team looks at you funny, I want to know. They’ve all been in your place, new to the division and the team. Even Ezra, who acts like an entitled asshole because his canine instincts are stupidly overprotective.” He said the last part loud enough to likely be heard through the door.

I glanced at the giant window from our office overlooking the main part of the bullpen and saw Ezra, sitting on the table beside Wade, lift a hand and give Angel the middle finger. I couldn’t help but hide my smile in Angel’s shoulder.

“How many people have come and gone from the team?” I asked.

“I’ve never dated anyone from the team before. Never been interested before.”

“In general.”

“In the past year, four. All non-shifter. None of them were a good fit for the team.”

“And you think I am?”

“Yes. You just need some time to settle in.”

“And you know this from the two days we’ve known each other?”

He slid his fingers up my cheek, our power syncing together in a swirl of energy that felt tangible, and yet sweet. “This tells me a lot.”

“The way our magic melds?”

“Yes. Was it the same when you touched Wade?”

“No. Wade wasn’t bad, but it turned painfully cold fast. And the NHV guy yesterday, my power snarled at his the entire ride to my place.”

“You took him to your apartment?”

“I think he was worried I was going to drop Ivan off on the side of the road or something. Once he looked over the place, he vanished. It was creepy.”

“For someone who doesn’t understand his power yet, you seem to have a good read on parts of it.”

“I’ve been good at puzzles my whole life. A lot of people ignore instinct. I lean into it. Just wish I had some guidance as to where to focus,” I grumbled.

Angel stood up and took a step back, his gaze focused on me as he met my eyes. “You don’t strike me as the type of guy to just give up.”

“No, never. But I admit, I feel like the universe is treating me like a punching bag right now.”