Page 115 of His Temptation

Emery pressed his leg against mine, and I reached down to grab his hand. He rested our joined hands on top of the table and smoothed his thumb along my knuckles. Jay looked at our hands and smiled before drinking more of his beer.

I had worried over nothing.

Chapter 26

Emery

“Why are you staring at me like that?” I asked Jay, after Cason had gotten up from the table to go to the bathroom.

Jay tipped the bottle back for another drink. “He’s a good kid. I like him.”

“He’s not a kid, Foley.”

He laughed. “Right. Sorry. He’s a good young man. Better?”

Ignoring him, I ate more of my burger before setting it back on the plate and wiping my mouth. I was stuffed.

“Remember the last time we slept together?” Jay asked. My first instinct was to get mad that he’d bring it up, but then I saw his serious expression.

“What of it?”

“You were so angry,” he said. “And you had that look in your eyes.”

“What look?”

“The burning man. Like your anger was melting you down, piece by piece.” Jay leaned forward on the table, a strand of his hair falling free of its hold. “You’re not burning anymore, Cross. Happy is a good look on you.”

Cason returned to the table and slid into the chair beside me. “Did I interrupt something?”

“Not at all,” I said, putting an arm around him.

“I was just tellin’ Cross that if he screwed up things with you, I’d gladly snatch you up,” Jay said, winking like the playboy he was. It was different than when he did it with other people, though. With Cason, it was all a show.

Funny how I was learning how to read Jay just like he read me. We’d reached a great point in our friendship. I trusted him.

“Oh.” Cason blushed and looked at his near-empty plate.

I exchanged a grin with Jay.

After we paid for dinner and went outside, we walked together toward the parking lot. Cason walked between me and Jay, holding my hand.

“Thanks for inviting me to dinner,” Jay said, stopping near his car.

“It was fun,” Cason responded. He looked like he’d meant it too. “We should do it again soon.”

“I’d say we could go to a bar next time, but…” Jay shrugged, a sly grin curving his lips.

Cason snorted. “Yeah, yeah. I’m not old enough. Rub it in, pretty boy.”

“Pretty boy?” Jay asked with a laugh. “I like that.”

“Of course you do.” I rolled my eyes. “See you in court Tuesday morning.”

Jay got in his car, and I guided Cason over to mine.

The night held a chill, and I rubbed Cason’s arms as he shivered and stepped closer to my side. I’d never get tired of touching him. He’d wormed his way into my heart, filling the hole left there from all my years of living in denial and self-hatred.

“Do you feel better now about him?” I asked, once we were in the car.