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seductively.
"Archias," Jade's lover answered neutrally. To
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anyone else, Archias appeared calm and dispassionate.
Only Jade could see the anger flash in his eyes, the way his
muscles bunched and tensed.
"It is my extreme pleasure to make your
acquaintance, Archias." Calvin stepped even closer until his
chest brushed against Archias's. His hands drifted down
over Archias's midsection, sliding over his hips before
coming to rest against his zipper. "I am sure we will be very
good friends."
"Jade," Archias whispered. Though barely
contained fury simmered in his eyes, he also held
something else below the rage.
Jade watched him, pondering what emotion Archias
tried to convey to him.
"I do not want to embarrass you." Archias's words
from weeks before came to Jade, and realization slammed
into him. Archias had no interest in the pompous jerk that
currently felt free to let his hands roam over what belonged
to Jade. He just didn't want to do anything to embarrass
Jade in front of what Archias believed to be Jade's friends.
"You could never be an embarrassment," Jade
assured him softly. He didn't want anyone to get hurt, but
he also didn't want the slime ball feeling up his man either.
"Of course you are not an embarrassment." Calvin
snorted. "Jade is the one that should be finding a nice rock
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to hide under. His very existence is humiliating to anyone
that knows him."
Jade saw it a split second before Archias snapped.
With a loud growl, his huge hand shot out with lightning
speed and wrapped around Calvin's throat. He lifted the
smaller man from the floor and held him above his head.
"You will apologize," Archias ordered coldly. "You
are unworthy to even kiss the ground Jade walks on." He
shook Calvin like a rag doll in his one-handed grip.
"Apologize!"
Jade watched in horror as Calvin's face began to
turn a magnificent shade of red, his eyes bulging from their
sockets, his mouth working frantically, but making no
sound. He jumped to Archias's side and wrapped his arms
around his lover's lean waist.
"Archias, baby, he can't apologize if he can't
breathe." He rubbed his hands over the small of Archias's
back, nuzzling his face against the soft fabric covering the
big man's chest. "Let him down, baby."
Archias trembled, a soft rumble vibrating his chest.
His upper lip curled into a snarl, and he flung Calvin
halfway across the room with a flick of his wrist. Calvin
crashed into one of the catering tables, bounced off it, and
landed in a heap on the hardwood floor.
Archias wrapped Jade up in his arms, lifting him
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until they were nose to nose. "You are a good man, Jade
Blevins. I would not have been so merciful."
"I kind of got that, big guy." Jade rubbed their noses
together and sighed. "He's not worth it, Archias." He lifted
his head and peered out at the sea of shocked and gaping
onlookers. With the exception of Emery, none of them had
ever treated him any differently than Calvin.
"None of them are." He spoke loud enough for the
entire room to hear him. "Well, maybe one." He nodded at
Emery, smiling when his friend dipped his head in
acknowledgement and winked.
Archias tapped Jade's chin, pulling his attention
back to him. He kissed Jade's lips, slow, sweet, and sensual.
"No, they are not," he agreed softly. "Let us go home."
Home. Jade liked the sound of that. Possibly, he
liked it too much. He knew he needed to resist his growing
attachment to the big warrior. In only a few short weeks,
Archias would be gone, lost to Jade forever.
His brain knew. His heart, however, still needed to
catch up.
* * * *
They rode home in comfortable silence, their linked
hands resting on the seat between them. Archias's
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possessive, although violent, behavior had a direct effect on
Jade's overactive hormones. He couldn't wait to get the man
in his bed again. One taste of the passion inside him, and
Jade knew he would never get enough.
He pulled up behind a familiar pickup and groaned
inwardly. Bathed in the soft glow of the porch light, Harris
Quinton sat on the top step in front of the door. Jade's plans
for the evening did not include a confrontation with the
lanky cowboy.
"Do not worry, Jade. I will take care of him,"
Archias said determinedly.
An appealing idea, but Jade shook his head. "Let's
just find out what he wants." He looked over at Archias and
winked. "Then you can hurt him."
Archias laughed softly. "I will do as you say."
Jade jumped out of the truck and marched toward
Quinton. "What the hell are you doing here?" Another,
more important, question came to him. "How do you know
where I live?"
Quinton unfolded himself from his perch and
looked at Jade with puffy eyes. "I followed you the other
night. Please, don't be mad. I just wanted to make sure you
made it home safely."
Jade softened at Quinton's strained voice, the red-
rimmed eyes, and the tear tracks that stained his cheeks.
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"Why are you here?"
"I didn't know where else to go." Quinton stuck his
hands in his pockets and dropped his head. "My m-momma
d-died today and I just d-didn't want to b-be alone," he
sobbed brokenly.
"Oh, Quinton, I'm so sorry." He rested a hand on
Quinton's arm in sympathy. "Do you have any other
family?"
The man shook his head. "No, it's just me now."
"Come inside, and I'll make you a drink." Jade led
them inside and motioned for Quinton to have a seat on the
sofa.
"Can you give us a minute, baby?" Jade murmured
to his lover. To his complete surprise, Archias nodded and
kissed his forehead.
"I will wait in bed," he said against Jade's temple,
then pulled away and disappeared down the hallway.
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