“Why are you over here anyway? You don’t agree with this group, do you?”
“Nah,” Geoffrey waved his hand again, the movement graceful. “I’m not paying attention to them. I just saw you and came to say hi. I couldn’t care less about the speech.” He grinned up at Shane. “Hi, I’m Geoffrey.” He held out his hand.
Shane shook it, the whole time marveling over how slim and frail it felt. He glanced at the over-sized security guard, then back at Geoffrey, unable to keep his mind from going into the gutter to picture that mix. This man had to be at least twelve inches shorter than his boyfriend. That had to make things…interesting. “Nice to meet you. I’m Shane Stephens.”
Geoffrey tilted his head, watched him looking back and forth, his lips curling in a sassy twist as if he knew what kind of images had just flitted through Shane’s head. “I’ve heard of you. Merleau Detection Agency, right?”
Shane nodded.
“Wait, am I encroaching on a date?” Geoffrey looked at Quinn.
“No,” Quinn yelled over the crowd. “I’m helping him with a job.”
“Oh,” Geoffrey looked around then stepped closer. “Are you guys on some kind of secret mission? Ooh, can I help?”
Quinn’s laughter pulled Shane’s gaze to lips. His mouth stretched wide when he smiled, his grin striking.
“There’s nothing you can do, Geoffrey,” Quinn said. “But we appreciate the offer. How are things going living with the giant?”
“So well! I had no idea how much I’d love having someone in my home. I just met his family and they are so wonderful. He has three brothers who all look like him—can you imagine?” He fanned himself again. “Not that any of them can hold a candle to the one who belongs to me. He’s all mine.” He grabbed Quinn’s arm. “Hey, one of his brothers is gay and beautiful. You want me to set you up?”
Quinn’s mouth dropped open and his cheeks instantly turned red. “Um, well…”
“Aw, come on. I bet you could rock his big, blond world.” Geoffrey winked. “Show him what it really means to live in the Time of the Geek with your sneaky, sexy bod—”
He didn’t have time to even finish before all hell broke loose.
The shouting turned to screams as a fight broke out and the sounds of fists hitting flesh joined the party. Within moments, more scuffles turned the formerly half-organized crowd into a rowdy mass of belligerent, shoving people. A heavy body slammed into Shane just as he saw both Quinn and Geoffrey go down. Blades of panic sliced through his chest as he shoved his way to where they were on the ground. He gripped Quinn’s hand and pulled him to his feet. “You okay?”
“Yeah, thanks.” He quickly sidestepped when another man came flying toward him, stumbling back into Shane’s body.
Shane automatically wrapped an arm around Quinn to keep him from falling. He felt good against him, but he quickly let him go.
Quinn gave him a smile of thanks and reached down to help Geoffrey up.
The crowd shifted as more and more people jumped into the fray. The police were doing their best to put a stop to things, and news cameras gathered around as all focus moved from the mayor to the protestors.
More people surged in their direction, separating them from Geoffrey in the chaos, but Shane saw a policeman step in to pull the guy to safety, so he grabbed Quinn’s hand, locking him to his side. He tugged him down Sycamore and they ducked to the right under one of the vine-covered pavilions. The vines that made up the roofs were still mostly green, with a few dying brown sections as autumn took hold.
They ran through the connected pavilions until the noise of the fighting crowd grew muffled with distance.
“Shane, I think we’re far enough!” Quinn jerked him to a stop, with a laugh. He was breathing hard, his cheeks red, his lips parted.
Shane’s breath caught and he gave in to something he’d wanted to do for days now. He leaned back against a pillar, bunched the front of Quinn’s shirt, and yanked him close, stopping his momentum right before their lips touched. “This is probably a bad, bad idea, but I just need to know,” he whispered before sliding his mouth onto that gorgeous, wide smile. He let go of the shirt, then slid his hand around to the nape of Quinn’s neck. He threaded his fingers through Quinn’s hair. It was definitely as silky as he’d thought.
And oh, holy shit, so were his lips.
At first Quinn didn’t react, didn’t respond, and Shane froze because he never went where he wasn’t welcome. But before he could pull away, Quinn grabbed on to his arms and pressed his mouth harder against his. Then he licked into his mouth.
That was when Shane was hit with a wave of lust so powerful, it weakened his knees.