“If you’re going to change into work clothes, I should too,” Alcy said. He rose gracefully, and the air around him shimmered as his body reformed. His wings retreated back into his body, his hair became a deeper shade of red. His now green eyes twinkled in the room’s light.
It was amusing to see Carter’s reaction. He gaped, gasping for breath. “I don’t understand. You look just like….” He averted his gaze.
“Your ideal image of men you like?” Beez glanced at Alcy, who wasn’t a whole lot different than he had been, which made sense. He was, after all, a beautiful man. “So you got a thing for redheads, huh?”
Carter nibbled his lip as he nodded. “And tattoos. And… well, honestly, there isn’t much about men I don’t like. Bears, otters, cubs. I love ’em all. There isn’t anyone I can think of that I can’t find something attractive about.”
Alcy stroked a hand over Carter’s cheek, and Beez watched him lean into the touch. There was definitely something special about Carter, even if Beez hadn’t figured out exactly what it was. He was…
No, that couldn’t be. Beez had to get that thought out of his head, because it would drive him nuts otherwise.
For now, he was going to simply enjoy the time he got to spend with Carter and Alcy, and see where the road they were about to embark on would take them. One thing Beez was certain of, the ride would be interesting to say the least.
Chapter Six
Carter couldn’t get over the change in their looks. Beez’s red skin was tanned and gorgeous. This was a man who could make people on the catwalk look frumpy, even when he was wearing nothing but a pair of worn jeans.
Jeans that clung to him like a second skin, leaving nothing to the imagination.
Down boy.
“You look so different without the horns,” he murmured, reaching up, then pulling back at the last moment. He turned to Alcy. “And you with no wings…” Alcy was dressed similarly, and both their chests were bare.
Is it wrong that all I can think of right now is laying my head on one of those chests?
Beez ran a hand over his high and tight fade. “It makes it easier to blend in.” He cast a sly glance at Alcy. “Who’s not going to freak out looking at an angel?”
“Oh, because a seven-foot horned man isn’t going to draw attention,” Alcy spluttered.
"I think you mean a seven-foot-tallhornyman.” Beez gave a slow smile, then flicked out his snake-like tongue. “Besides, once they see this bad boy in action, they won’t give a damn about anything—or anyone—else.”
That earned Beez an eye-roll from Alcy. “Did you ever once think about coming upstairs, and just… I don’t know,being? Listening to music, reading, things like that?”
“And have you ever thought about popping downstairs and taking off the halo?” Beez retorted. “You’d be a lot more tolerable if you’d get the stick out of your ass, and get some dick in there.”
Carter was fascinated by their interactions. They could deny it all they wanted, but Alcy and Beez were friends. That much was obvious from the affection that laced their jibes.
Beez snapped his fingers, and a shiny quarter appeared. “Okay, who gets Carter first?”
Alcy blinked. “You’re going to decide this on the toss of a coin?”
“Can you think of a better way?” Beez gave him a meaningful stare. “So? What’s it gonna be—heads or tails?”
“Heads.” Alcy sounded glum, and Carter frowned. What was wrong with tossing a coin? They each had a fifty-fifty chance, right? Then Alcy murmured, “Not that it’ll matter in the long run. We both know that.”
NowCarter got it. Alcy might be an angel, but that didn’t stop him from experiencing insecurity. Not that Carter could blame him for that. Beez was… well, Beez.
“Here goes.” Beez threw the coin into the air, caught it with a deft hand, and peered at it in his palm. “Hey, look at that. Heads it is.”
Alcy blinked. “Seriously?”
“What, you don’t believe me? See for yourself.” Beez held out his hand. Sure enough, it was heads. “So, how’s this for a plan? You get the first eight hours with him, then I get the next.”
“But that would mean you got him tonight.”
Beez leered. “Exactly.”
Carter listened as the two of them argued back and forth, coming up with an even more complicated sharing system, like he was a piece of meat or something. Finally he snapped.