Page 4 of Devil May Hunt
“I told you,” Sila replied cryptically. “You wanted me to help you out, remember?”
Brennon’s suspicions grew, but even through his drunken state, he knew better than to assume Sila meant to hook up with him in Rin’s place. The guy was secretly dating Bay Delmar, a professor at his school. Brennon only knew because he’d caught the two of them making out in an alleyway one night months ago. He’d kept hush-hush about it, since it was none of his business, but it’d seemed like more than a random hookup to him at the time.
Still…
“You’re not my type,” he found himself saying anyway, just in case he was wrong about Sila’s relationship status. The brother used to be known for flirting with everyone, but that had come to an end around the same time Brennon had caught them so…It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Sila chuckled, clearly mocking him, but then motioned at the door before Brennon could argue. “I meant it. Maybe this will help you finally move on. Are you willing to try? I won’t force you.”
Brennon eyed him suspiciously and then glanced at the door. “What’s in there?”
“Curious?”
He refused to reply, and Sila laughed.
“Even wasted you’re stubborn. Go on. You’re already unsteady on your feet. If you don’t seize this opportunity now, you might pass out before you get the chance.”
Brennon grabbed onto the doorknob, but mostly to help brace himself so he didn’t topple over. “Just give it to me straight. What’s in there, Sila? How is this going to help?”
“Someone who pissed me off.” He grinned, and there was no kindness in his mismatched gaze when he did.
Brennon actually recoiled a bit, instincts misfiring because even if this wasn’t Rin, it was still his twin brother. Sila wouldn’t hurt him. “You want me to what? Beat them up for you? I mean, I can do it, but I don’t see how that’ll help me get over—”
“Good Light, you really are a moron.” Sila rolled his eyes, heavy palm settling over his on the knob. “I’m telling you to get over Rin by gettingundersomeone new, you idiot.”
Despite his earlier assertion that he wouldn’t force him, Sila twisted the knob and shoved before Brennon could say or do anything else.
He stumbled into the room, only registering that it was small, before the sound of the door slamming shut at his back had him swiveling on his heels. His momentum was too fast, though, and he ended up tripping over his own feet, toppling over onto the nearby leather couch.
And the large man who’d been lying on it already.
“Shit!” Brennon shoved against a strong chest, cursing when arms banded around his waist, keeping him close. “Hey! Let go!”
The room spun a bit, but he blinked the man he was on top of into focus, sucking in a sharp breath when he caught sight of sandy blond hair. It wasn’t exactly the same shade as Rin’s, but in the dim lighting, it was close enough to instantly have Brennon going still, that damn curiosity he’d been accused of getting the best of him yet again.
He inspected the man’s face, taking in the sharp curve of his jawline and the narrow bridge of his nose. He had thick eyebrows with sharp points toward the end, and was dressed in a mulberry colored suit with a black dress shirt underneath. There was a smell coming off him, something spicy and foreign, but not altogether unpleasant.
“Who are you?” he asked, the question slipping past his lips before he could help it.
A pair of golden eyes opened slowly, resting on him intensely, followed by a voice that was smoother than beiska music. “I should be the one asking that. I ordered a private room.”
“Right.” He cleared his throat. “If you let me go, I’ll leave. There was a mistake just now and—”
The man’s arms tightened, and then he lifted his head, burying his face against the side of Brennon’s throat.
“Not omega,” the man’s voice was low and gravely, and it was impossible to tell if he was pleased or disappointed by that revelation.
“Omega?” At the Academy, they trained them in various species and customs throughout the known universe, so the term wasn’t foreign to Brennon. There were two planets in a neighboring galaxy that were home to beings that had what was classified as a second sex. Omega was one of them. Depending on where this man came from, there were either one or two other classifications.
The man sniffed again. “Beta?”
“I’m Vital,” Brennon told him, pushing at his chest in another attempt to separate from him. The man didn’t budge. “Dude, I’m a native to Vitality. I don’t know what’s wrong with you, but—”
“Rut.” Instead of letting go and apologizing now that the misunderstanding had been cleared up, the man actually started to nuzzle him.
“Whoa,” Brennon turned his head and tried to move to the side to avoid the guy's face, but he merely moved with him, trailing the bridge of his nose along Brennon’s jawline in a way that had fire sparking throughout his nerve endings.
He was way too drunk for this.
