Page 13 of Embracing James

“We should.” He waited at the closed door. “What do you suggest?” He wanted James to be at ease with him.

“Dinner tonight? Here. Doob and I would love the company,” James said. He grasped Paul’s hand again. “What do you think?”

For a man who wasn’t ready for a relationship, he was pretty damn good at acting like they were jumping headlong into one. “I think it sounds wonderful.” He couldn’t wait to see James again.

“Good,” James said. “And maybe we could discuss going out together.”

“Where?”

“How about we go to the Jester?” James shrugged. “I don’t club much.”

“Why not?” He hadn’t clubbed in quite a while, either. But if he and James were going to be a couple, even if it was a farce, then he wasn’t going to back down. He wanted this more than ever. Maybe they could even have the date he’d tried to ask James out for the other day.

“Good. See you at seven?”

“I’ll be here.” He hesitated at the door. He might be pretending to be with James, but he yearned to kiss him. “May I kiss you? For practice. We have to make this look good.” Right?

“We do.” James slid his free arm around Paul and eased him close. “For practice.” He tipped his head.

At the same time, Paul feasted on James’ mouth. He shouldn’t push, but he’d dreamed of this moment. He savored the softness of James’ lips, the slight scrape of his whiskers against his cheeks and the way James melted into the connection. James’ sweetness washed over Paul, and he wished he could bottle this moment. Why had he waited so long to make a move and kiss James? God, this was so perfect. He caressed James’ back, loving the way he felt in his embrace.

James whimpered. He opened to Paul, allowing Paul to suck on his tongue.

The kiss turned hotter than Paul had ever imagined. He couldn’t get enough, even if this was happening fast and wasn’t supposed to be real. How in the hell would he keep pretending to care about James when he’d come to truly fall for him?

Easy.He wouldn’t pretend. He’d give James plenty of reasons to keep this going. He wouldn’t push, but he also wouldn’t give up. A kiss and connection like this wasn’t something that could be faked. The sparks were real.

James broke the kiss, but stayed close to Paul. “Wow.”

“Yeah.” He caressed James’ back again. “You’re good at practicing.”

“You’re good at kissing.” James sighed. “We’re going to be pretty damn convincing.”

“We will.”

James trailed his fingers down Paul’s cheek. “See you at seven? Dinner and more practicing?”

“Yes.” He’d be there. “Seven.”

“Good.”

“I’ll see you.” Although Paul wanted to stay, he left before he did something foolish like confessing he didn’t want to pretend. He knew James and he’d fallen for him, but he needed more time. They needed and deserved it.

Paul left the apartment and headed up to his office. He didn’t give a shit about his business dealings at the moment, but he had to check the books and ensure the work had been done at two apartment buildings he’d opted to renovate.

He settled behind his desk and opened his tablet. He checked the photos of the buildings and the renovations were indeed underway. He worked on the books, too, running through the numbers with ease. His bookkeepers were the best and he didn’t have to check, but he always did, just in case.

He read through his emails and handled the few issues without much problem. He sent a message to Martin, his main contractor, to repair the roof on a house in Shaker, then sent the eviction notices to his lawyer to ensure they were executed properly. He hated evictions, but if the tenants wouldn’t pay—even with the six-month grace period—they couldn’t stay.

His phone rang. Although he didn’t know who it was on the other end of the line, he answered. Lots of people called him on his business line. “Hello?”

“Paul Henderson?”

“How can I help you?” He’d learned to keep his answers fairly simple to prevent giving away too much information, in case someone was upset with him. Not everyone was trustworthy.

“Are you Pauly?” the caller asked.

He paused and memorized the details of the caller.Male voice, sounds middle-aged and scratchy.He detected the sound of a bird or something screeching in the background. “I work for him.”

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