"Lover At Last" - читать интересную книгу автора (Ward, J.R.)

Saxton traced that face he knew so well. That stare heтАЩd looked into for what seemed like a lifetime. Those lips he had spent hours locked onto.

The crushing sense of sadness he felt was as undeniable as the attraction that had brought him to this house, his job, his new life.

тАЬSo did I,тАЭ he said after a moment. тАЬI, tooтАжthought it would last far longer than it did.тАЭ

Blay stared down into his glass. тАЬItтАЩs been how long since you started?тАЭ

тАЬI donтАЩtтАжI canтАЩt remember.тАЭ Saxton put a hand up and rubbed the bridge of his nose. тАЬIt does not matter.тАЭ

More silence. In which Saxton was willing to bet the very breath in his lungs that BlaylockтАЩs mind had retreated to the other male, the one he loved like nobody else, his other half.

тАЬSo what was it?тАЭ Blay asked.

тАЬIтАЩm sorry?тАЭ

тАЬYour project. All of this work.тАЭ Blay motioned his glass around elegantly. тАЬThese books youтАЩve been poring over. If youтАЩre finished, you can tell me what it was all about now, right?тАЭ

Saxton briefly considered telling the truthтАжthat there had been other, equally pressing and important things that he had been quiet on. Things that he had thought he could live with, but which, over time, had proven too heavy a burden to carry.

тАЬYou shall find out soon enough.тАЭ

Blay nodded, but it was with that vital distraction that he had had since the very beginning. Except then he said, тАЬIтАЩm glad youтАЩre here.тАЭ

SaxtonтАЩs brows rose. тАЬIndeedтАж?тАЭ

тАЬWrath should have a really good lawyer at his side.тАЭ

Ah.

Saxton pushed his chair back and got to his feet. тАЬYes. How true.тАЭ

It was with a strange feeling of fragility that he gathered his reams of papers. It certainly seemed, in this tense, sad moment, as though they were all that sustained him, these flimsy, yet powerful sheets with their countless words, each handwritten and crafted with care, contained neatly in their lines of text.

He did not know what he would do without them on a night like this.

He cleared his throat. тАЬWhat plans have you for what little remains of the eve?тАЭ

As he waited for the reply, his heart pounded within his rib cage, because he, and he alone, seemed to realize that the assignment from the king wasnтАЩt the only thing that was ending tonight. Indeed, the baseless optimism that had sustained him in the initial stages of this love affair had decayed into a kind of desperation that had had him grasping at straws in an uncharacteristic wayтАжbut now, even that was gone.

It was ironic, really. Sex was but a transient physical connectionтАФand there were many times in his life when that had been all heтАЩd been looking for. Even with Blaylock, in the beginning, such had been the case. Over time, however, the heart had gotten involved, and that had left him where he was tonight.

At the end of the road.

тАЬтАжwork out.тАЭ

Saxton shook himself. тАЬIтАЩm sorry?тАЭ

тАЬIтАЩm going to work out for a while.тАЭ