Furi turned and looked behind him at Syn’s ruggedly gorgeous face then down at their joined hands. He turned back to Doug’s concerned eyes. “Yes, I do.” Furi leaned in and chastely kissed Doug on the lips and watched him turn and leave.
When Furi turned back, Syn was wearing a large frown and his chest was frozen like he was holding his breath. Furi got as close to Syn as he could. “What’s the matter?”
“Don’t do that again.” Syn’s voice was rough and low.
“Do what?” Furi frowned in confusion.
Syn brought his free hand up and wiped the pad of his thumb across Furi’s full lips. “Don’t put your lips on him again.” Syn shook his head when Furi opened his mouth to argue. “I know it was friendly, and it didn’t mean anything, but humor me, okay? Don’t put your mouth on his. Syn leaned in and pulled Furi’s bottom lip into his mouth and gently sucked on it, right there in the IHOP parking lot. “Only I get to taste these pretty lips,” Syn moaned inside Furi’s mouth.
Furi put his arms around Syn’s shoulders. “Okay,” he whispered back, kissing Syn’s cheek.
“Let’s go.” Syn carried Furi’s backpack to the large Suburban he’d parked beside the building and placed it in the back seat.
“Whose truck is this?” Furi asked.
“I borrowed it from work. It belongs to the team. We can use them if needed.” Syn started the powerful engine. Furi hooked his seat belt and turned to look at Syn, realizing he was just sitting there, staring straight ahead.
Furi unhooked his belt. “Babe. What’s the matter?”
Syn took his glasses back off and turned his body so he was facing Furi. “Furi. What you did today ... don’t do that again. I can respect your privacy. Really, I can. But in light of recent events, please don’t cut yourself off like that. I was ... I thought ..."
“Fuck, Syn. I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I wanted to call you so many times today.”
Syn’s eyes widened.
“Just to hear your voice. Not because I was in trouble. But, I didn’t want to seem all clingy and shit. We fucked once and already I’m acting sprung. Can’t stop thinking of you.” Furi knew his embarrassment was making him blush. But Syn was trying to find the words to say he was scared today, so Furi wasn’t holding back on his feelings.
They closed the distance over the large console and let their kiss be their words. Furi pushed his tongue deep in Syn’s mouth, expressing how deeply sorry he was. Syn’s hot, eager tongue told Furi how important it was to him to keep him safe. When it felt like all the oxygen had been sucked out of the vehicle, they inched back slightly to breathe against each other’s cheek. Syn’s breath came out in shaky bursts, his hands twisting in Furi’s long hair, trying to tug him in closer.
“I thought I was going to lose my shit today, Furi.” Syn pounded his hand on the dashboard suddenly, making Furi flinch. “All I could think was I would kill that fucker if he had you. I’d kill him slowly.”
Syn sounded deadly and Furi hated himself for putting Syn through hell.
“Baby, I’m so fuckin’ sorry. I don’t know what else to say. I just kept getting these messages and I just shut the damn thing off.”
“What messages?”
“From him.” Furi turned back in his seat, his aggravation spiking again. He was so sick of Patrick and his brother, he could scream. Now their bullshit was going to fuck up his chance at something great with someone else.
“Let me see.” Syn held his hand out for the phone.
Furi reluctantly gave it to him and sat silently while Syn scrolled through the messages.
They were all similar: ‘I’m not finished with you yet’, ‘Your bodyguard won’t always be around’, ‘I have guns too’, ‘You’re mine, and I’m not leaving until I have you with me’, ‘Till death do us part, remember’.
“I knew I should’ve finished his ass in that alley.” Syn stared down at the display face on the phone, mumbling the words like the phone was listening. “This bastard is like a bad habit, so damn hard to get rid of. Now, I have to go fuckin’ bat shit on him.”
“Syn. I don’t want you jeopardizing your career. Patrick and his brother are dangerous and unpredictable. They think they rule the world, just because they have money and people jump to do what they say. They’ll try to save face. No one humiliates them and gets away with it.” Furi looked at Syn with hurt etched across his face. “This is my fight, not yours.”
“We’ll do things the legal way. We’ll get a protective order, okay? Something tells me Patrick wouldn’t want to have any negative publicity regarding him and his business. So he’ll most likely adhere to the order, stay away from you, and cease all contact.”