Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 43080 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 215(@200wpm)___ 172(@250wpm)___ 144(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43080 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 215(@200wpm)___ 172(@250wpm)___ 144(@300wpm)
But he also stayed highly alert, watching for any danger, a sort of fierce concentration on his angular features at all times. It was so damn hot Clive started to get hard again. He had to do multiplication tables in his head to keep it from getting worse.
When Bain spoke, he realized Bain had said his name twice to get his attention.
“How about some chocolate croissants from the bakery?”
“Oh, yes.” Clive grinned and headed that way; he knew exactly what Bain was talking about.
Once they’d purchased their treats, they walked along the sidewalk again. The market began to fill with people. Bain stopped to grin and rub his hand on the head of one of the bronze pigs, and he even emptied his pockets of cash and change for the donation. The croissants were perfectly flaky with just the right amount of chocolate to delight Clive’s taste buds.
As it got closer to lunch, the whole area filled with the best smells. Meat-filled pastries, flowers, and sweets from the different shops. The sun came out, and Clive led Bain to the observation deck so they could look out at the harbor. Clive stood with his hand on the rail and lifted his face to the sun, loving the warmth on his skin. When he lowered his face slightly and looked at Bain, it was to see the taller man’s head tilted his way. The glasses hid his eyes, but Clive knew Bain was gazing at him. Something passed between them, almost like an invisible thread had wound around Clive’s heart then reached out to touch Bain.
Flustered, Clive cleared his throat and looked at the water instead. A wonderful breeze swept his curls off his face. Conversations flowed around them but nobody was crowding their space. He took a deep breath of the cool air and held it in his lungs before exhaling. He didn’t want to cower before whatever was happening between them, because something was. Nobody had ever looked at Clive like that. He was afraid to hope but couldn’t seem to stop it. “How long have you worked for Protective Solutions?”
“Ten years. The owner, Xavier, is my best friend and actually wanted me to run the business with him, but I said no.”
He looked back at Bain and lifted an eyebrow. “Why?”
Bain shrugged. “I prefer to do the actual protection, don’t enjoy the constant paperwork, and am not the type to be still at a computer all day.”
“Yet you’re often still while watching clients, right?”
“Of course. But I get to read, and there’s a lot of patrolling, so I get to stay on the move at times. Often we mix it up and have more than one of us on a job. That leaves one to walk around outside. I really enjoy it. It makes me feel good to help people.” Bain turned and leaned against the rail, crossing his legs at the ankles. His silvery hair fairly sparkled in the sunlight. “What made you pick accounting?”
“I love numbers. Numbers never let you down, and there’s an order to them that appeals to me. I’m sure you noticed I’m kind of a neat freak.”
“There’s no kind of about that,” Bain teased. “I still can’t believe you made your bed the night you ran.”
“Oh, my god,” Clive moaned, clasping his hands over his face. “When I first woke up, I thought it was just me waking early, and I usually make the bed first. I was actually doing that when I heard the intruder.”
“Yet this morning, you left your bed unmade when you got up.”
“Yeah, well…” Clive glanced away before looking back. “I was distracted.”
Bain turned a little in his direction and leaned his head down a bit. “Do I distract you, Clive Manning?”
“Yes,” he breathed out. His heart began to race from the way Bain was looking at him. It was so hot it made his toes tingle. He wanted to see Bain’s eyes so badly right then he almost reached for the glasses. Something made him hesitate, though—some inner voice that told him not to. Before he could really dig into that thought, someone brushed past them, and Clive couldn’t stop his mouth from dropping open briefly before he snapped it shut. He looked away quickly, slamming his eyes shut.
Not human. Not human. Not human.
Huge black wings had been on his back. And his face? Had it been a face? No, more of a beak, really. A human face with a long orange beak.
“Clive? Are you okay?”
He hurriedly nodded and forced himself to open his eyes and look up at Bain. “Fine. Fine. Just ready for some food. How about that mac and cheese now?”
He could tell Bain had his eyes narrowed because of the way his eyebrows drew down, and he stayed silent for several long seconds before he nodded. “That sounds good. How about we get our food and take it to the park at the end of the street. We can enjoy the sunlight, feel the grass under us.”