Page 78 of Edge of Darkness

Making sure his thoughts were pure—or at least as pure as he could make them—Connie walked the short distance to Kit’s room and knocked on his door.

When Kit opened it, his scent immediately assaulted Connie. The sweet smell of magnolias wrapped around him, and Connie inhaled deeply, rumbling.

Kit crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the door. “Ah, what was that?”

Shit. Shit. Shit. Should he act like he didn’t know what Kit was talking about or be honest? Yeah, honesty was the best policy, right? Hadn’t he heard that somewhere? “Sorry about that, but you smell good.”

“Really? I’m not wearing any cologne. Beckett mentioned that most paranormals have a heightened sense of smell, so I thought—”

“Your natural scent. I mean, your natural scent smells like magnolias to me.” And it was stronger when Kit was aroused. Connie could feel his face heating.

Kit straightened so he was no longer leaning against the door. “I smell like magnolias? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

“Good thing. I like it.” That wasn’t a declaration of his intent, but it was a start, right? “You look very nice too.”

He was glad to see Kit had his clothes with him. There were several suitcases by the bed. Connie was beginning to think that Kit was a fashionista.

Kit’s color blocked shirt was black on one side and pink on the other. The pink side had a black pocket and sleeve. Even the collar was pink. Under that he wore a white T-shirt.

His light-colored jeans fit him at the waist but seemed to be really baggy everywhere else. He also had on a couple of leather necklaces and leather wristbands. Kit had left his hair down too and had done his makeup.

Jeez. Was this Kit’s idea of casual? Connie felt woefully underdressed, but damn, Kit looked hot.

“Yeah? Thanks. You look good too.” Kit’s eyes widened. “I mean, you look nice too. That color really looks nice with your hair. I’m so jealous. I always wanted red hair, but I got stuck with this ugly brown color.”

“Don’t say that. Your hair color is gorgeous.” Connie wanted to grab it and pull Kit to him, but he resisted. Small steps. Smalllllll steps. “I’ve always thought men with long hair looked hot.”

Kit’s cheeks darkened.

Connie wanted to pump his fist in victory. Score!

“It’s a lot of work, though,” Kit said. “Having long hair, I mean.”

Connie leaned closer like he was going to share some vital secret. “Hudson bitches about his too. Bet you two could share tricks and tips. He’d like that.”

Was he being too subtle? Connie didn’t think he was if the color in Kit’s cheeks was anything to go by.

Kit blinked at him. “I, ah, I…. That would be nice, but Hudson’s a really important guy. I doubt he has time for me.”

“We always have time for you. Always.” There. That was pretty blatant. He leaned back so Kit could have some breathing room—literally and figuratively. “Are you ready? Kage and Austin should be here soon.”

Kit perked up. “Yes! It’ll be nice to see Austin again.”

Connie stood back so Kit could shut the door to his room, then made sure they walked side by side to Hudson’s quarters. He even let his hand brush Kit’s.

This time Connie kept the conversation light. He didn’t want to stress Kit out too much by dropping too many hints that they were interested in him.

When they entered the living area, Hudson was standing in the middle of it on the phone. He nodded to them. “Okay, thanks, Kage. See you in a moment.”

“Are they on their way?” Connie asked as soon as Hudson ended the call.

“Yes, but they’re coming by the shadows,” Hudson said. “Kit? That means Kage and Austin will be stepping from a shadow momentarily. It can be a bit startling, so I wanted to let you know. Kage usually gives me a heads-up when he does this.”

“Thanks, I appreciate the warning. Seeing two grown men suddenly appear isn’t an everyday occurrence, you know?”

Connie snorted. “It is when you’re dealing with daemons.”

“Noted,” Kit said.

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