“Leave it to me. I’ll make sure we’re appropriately attired,” he promised then cleared his throat. “How did Waites respond to your request?”
“Oh, he laughed and said he had the perfect agent but he wasn’t the type to settle down and that it would be like letting a fox loose in a chicken coop,” Walter said and Grant gave Royce a loaded look.
“What made him change his mind?” Royce wondered out loud.
“I have no idea,” Walter said. “He acted as if it was absurdly ridiculous and I didn’t think anything of it as we made our excuses and moved on but he found me as I was picking up my cape, on the way out. He asked me if I was still watching the pair of Chinese agents in Hopkins Creek and I told him that I was. And not only that, that they lived right next door to the very man I was trying to find a Prince Charming for. I suggested we team up again and kill two birds with one stone, as it were,” he murmured as his scarf wafted vaguely.
“Really? And you said you talked to him after I arrived?” Royce asked and Grant’s head popped up at the surprise in his tone. Royce sounded legitimately startled and possibly displeased.
“I did,” Walter confirmed. “I asked him if he’d sent you down here for Grant and Jim told me not to get my hopes up. He said the agency had concerns about the Lees before I asked him to help me play matchmaker but he liked the idea of sending his best agent. Why? Did I start something I shouldn’t have?” He asked and Royce shook his head quickly.
“Not at all,” he said absently then pulled in a deep breath and smiled at them brightly. “Enough of that for now, though. We’re boring Grant. Tell me more about this party!” He urged and Grant immediately lost interest in the conversation.
Chapter 35
“Thank you, Celeste. I know it’s last-minute, I promise I’ll send you something pretty,” Royce said and she made a dismissive sound.
“I can work with a week. You’ve done worse but you should still send me something pretty,” she said and he hummed.
“I’ve already got the perfect gift in mind. Let me know when they’re ready and I’ll send someone around to pick them up.”
“Leave it to me. Talk to you later, Bradshaw,” she replied then ended the call.
Royce left his and Grant’s costumes for Walter’s party to Celeste and turned his attention to the situation with the Lees. What am I missing? He wondered. Something felt off, the moment he stepped foot in Hopkins Creek but Royce didn’t think it was the Lees. Before “Sam” arrived, Royce slipped into the Lees’ house to do a little peeking while Grant was in the shower and the Lees were away. He did a quick but thorough sweep of the house and absolutely nothing looked suspicious. There was a persistent tweaking of his instincts but Royce was beginning to believe someone made a mistake when they determined the Lees were up to something. The third Chinese agent was the first sign that Royce was getting a little too close to the Lees for China’s comfort. That was the first time Royce worried that he’d missed something. Then, “Sam” arrived and Royce definitely knew he’d overlooked something. Why send an agent like “Sam” to Hopkins Creek if the Lees aren’t valuable assets or working on something important?
“What is he planning?” Royce murmured as he leaned against the kitchen door and watched Grant give Edgar a bath in a blue plastic children’s pool. Grant pulled off one of his big yellow gloves to carefully wipe shampoo foam off his cheek when Edgar stood and shook vigorously.
“No!” Grant cried as he was spattered with bubbles and wet dog hair. “Thanks for that,” he muttered. Royce cringed then coughed into his fist to hide a laugh as Grant looked down at himself and whimpered. “I’m not the one who told you to follow that duck into the lake!”
Royce chuckled as Grant attacked Edgar with the hose and chased him around the yard. It was the kind of thing that could have made Royce forget about politics and espionage but there was a clenching in his gut as he worried about Waites’ intentions. Royce didn’t understand why he’d been sent to check on the Lees when Walter was already monitoring them and not concerned. He was so used to playing the knight, he could feel Waites’ hand moving the pieces on the board again but Royce couldn’t see his next move. He didn’t know what Waites’ strategy was but Royce knew which pieces he wasn’t willing to sacrifice. Royce didn’t know if he’d still be welcomed in Hopkins Creek, after his mission was completed, but he wouldn’t let Grant and Audrey be used as pawns.
Chapter 36
Was it denial?
Grant had a feeling it was. Was pretending none of it was real and didn’t count easier than deciding it was time to let go of Chris and move on? Royce said Grant didn’t have to let Chris go but he was wrong. Grant didn’t have to let go of everything but he had to break the thing within himself that bound him to Chris in the most sacred way a husband could. He swore to Chris and himself that he’d never crave another man’s touch or another man’s body. But Grant broke that covenant with Chris and his heart and he ached for Royce in ways he swore he never would after he lost Chris. He fooled himself into thinking it wouldn’t count if they were pretending but Grant could tell that he was in serious trouble by the way his heart raced and his body tightened when he was around Royce.
Good luck dating literally anyone after him, Grant thought and snorted. Royce truly was the perfect boyfriend. He was the gold standard and Grant was ruined. If he ever dated again, Grant would have to deal with real men and they were selfish and undependable and most of them were slobs. Royce was the only person Grant had ever met who was neater than him and it was sad, how much he appreciated that. There was also the matter of Royce’s body and the mind-blowing sex. Grant didn’t know if his body had changed over the last eight years or if he was just that starved for sexual contact but he couldn’t get enough of Royce and he was always turned on. He did his best to pretend he wasn’t falling in love but Grant suspected his heart would betray him. Grant supposed he deserved it after betraying his heart with Royce.
You might as well make the best of it, he decided and Grant cherished the heat pooling in his groin and the way his mouth watered as he pictured the firm swells of Royce’s ass. He might pay a very dear price later but Grant would have enough heat in his mental spank bank to get him through a hundred bitter winters. Last night… I can’t believe I did that! Royce dared Grant to show him the rest of his toys. He pulled the box out of the back of the closet and then Royce dared Grant to do something he truly couldn’t do by himself. Grant still couldn’t believe he did it. His cheeks were on fire and he pressed his hands against his face to smother a nervous shriek. Grant rode his largest dildo on the bathroom floor and swallowed every perfect inch of Royce’s cock and it was devastating. Royce made him feel like a siren and powerful as he cried Grant’s name and spilled deep in his throat. Grant felt like he’d touched heaven. He came harder than he’d ever come in his life and Royce was delirious as they kissed and teased each other in the shower. They shared a root beer float then crashed into bed together and watched two episodes of Stranger Things before Grant passed out.