The door shut. Hard. "Yeah. It does. "
As a fuck-you to Qhuinn, Blay undid the sash of the robe and let it fall from his naked body. And he put the slacks on. . . commando.
"Just a friend. "
"Male or female. "
"Like I said, does it matter. "
Another long pause, during which Blay slipped his shirt on and buttoned it up.
"My cousin," Qhuinn growled. "You're going out with Saxton. "
"Maybe. " He went over to the bureau and opened his jewelry box.
Inside, cuff links of all kinds gleamed. He chose a set that had rubies in it.
"Is this payback for Layla last night?"
Blay froze with his hand on his cuff. "Jesus Christ. "
"It is, right. That's what--"
Blay turned around. "Did it ever occur to you that it has nothing to do with you? That a guy asked me out and I want to go? That this is normal? Or are you so self-involved that you filter everything and everybody through your narcissism. "
Qhuinn recoiled ever so slightly. "Saxton is a slut. "
"Well, I guess you would know what makes one. "
"He's a slut, a very classy, very elegant slut. "
"Maybe all I want is some sex. " Blay cocked a brow. "It's been a while for me, and those females I did in bars just to keep up with you weren't all that good to begin with. I think it's about time I got some, and in the right way. "
The bastard had the gall to pale. He honestly did. And goddamn it if he didn't falter back and lean against the door.
"Where are you going?" he asked roughly.
"He's taking me to Sal's. And then we're going to that cigar bar. " Blay did his other cuff up and went over to the dresser for his silk socks. "Afterward. . . who knows. "
A wave of dark spice wafted across the bedroom, and stunned him into silence. Of all the ways he'd thought this conversation would go. . . his triggering Qhuinn's bonding scent was so not it.
Blay pivoted back around.
After a long, tense moment, he walked toward his best friend, drawn by the fragrance. And as he came closer, Qhuinn's hot eyes tracked him with each step, the link between them, that had been buried on both sides, abruptly exploding into the room.
When they were nose-to-nose, he stopped, his rising chest meeting Qhuinn's. "Say the word," he whispered harshly. "Say the word and I won't go. "
Qhuinn's hard hands clapped onto both sides of Blay's throat, the pressure forcing him to tilt his head back and open his mouth so he could breathe. Strong thumbs dug into the joints on either side of his jaw.
Electric moment.
Incendiary potential.
They were going to end up on the bed, Blay thought as he locked his palms on Qhuinn's thick wrists.
"Say the word, Qhuinn. Do it and I'll spend the night with you. We'll go out with Xhex and John and when they're through, we'll come back here. Say it. "
The blue-and-green eyes Blay had spent a lifetime looking into locked onto his mouth and Qhuinn's pecs pumped up and down as if he were running.