Promises: The Next Generation (Bounty Hunters 5)

Ty brought Kell’s hand up to rest on top of the table. For a few seconds he turned their hands back and forth, flipped them over and back. Then he took their fingers and wove them together. He heard Kell take a deep breath. Yeah. He liked the way they blended together, too. Beautiful.

Ty’s voice was husky, he was losing his cool, his mind was turning to mush, “If I look back on that first moment, I should’ve known then. I asked you to show yourself to me. In front of six other men I asked you that. I should’ve made that request when only my eyes were on you. My weak excuse is that I’d lost my mind for a minute.

“That night, getting into Ford’s truck, I didn’t know where they were bringing me or exactly what they were recruiting me for. After laying eyes on Brian and his brother, I was prepared to see more warriors when I got to Duke’s.” Ty ran the back of his finger down Kell’s arm. The more he touched him, the more addicted he got to the sensation. Kell looked at him so innocently, “But I wasn’t prepared for you.”

“No one’s ever asked to see me before. Not like that.” Kell licked his lips. “Guess I had to oblige.”

“Oblige?” Ty laughed. “Don’t you mean teased?”

“I’m twenty-seven years old, I don’t tease.” Kell gave him some attitude.

Such firm words leaving that pretty mouth.

Ty released Kell’s hand and reclined in the booth, draping his arm over the back. “Are you seeing anyone?” he asked. He stared Kell in the eye, he wanted to see the truth.

“No. I’m not.”

“When I say anyone. I mean any one. Friend, buddy, part-time—”

“Hey!” Kell snapped. “I don’t get down like that.”

“I didn’t mean to offend. I’m just wanting to be clear,” Ty responded calmly, caressing the back of Kell’s neck.

The waitress brought their plates. It smelled delicious, and Ty realized he’d worked up quite an appetite over the last few hours. “Everything look okay?” she asked, putting one hand on her hip and the other on the edge of the booth.

“Looks great.” Ty waited for her to refill their waters. “Thank you.”

“Check on you in a little while.” She walked to the other side of the restaurant and sat with another waiter at a table underneath a television airing CNN.

Ty glanced around. There was a man in their section a few tables down, sitting with his back to them, otherwise they had total privacy. He watched Kell clasp his hands in front of him and bow his head. Eyes closed, his lips moved rapidly a few seconds before he quietly whispered ‘amen’. He looked back at his plate, fork in his hand, Kell took a bite of his crepe, moaning at the hot Swiss cheese stringing from his mouth to his fork.

Ty felt the pleasant stirring in his jeans again, only this time his manhood pulsed continuously as Kell ate his steaming dish. Moaning and licking that cheese sauce from his wet lips. Does he know what he’s doing? Ty took large bites of his fish to distract himself, but it didn’t work.

“What about you?” Kell asked after he’d tortured Ty by humming and licking his fingers while eating half of his crepe.

“What about me?” Ty wet his dry throat.

“Are you seeing any one at all?” Kell mocked him.

Ty chewed his green beans before he answered, “No. No one. Not for a very long time.”

Kell put his fork down and wiped his mouth, gaping at Ty with something akin to disbelief. “I can’t believe a woman hasn’t claimed you yet.”

“Well, that’s because a woman can’t claim me. I’d be the one to claim her… if she was the one who was mine. Obviously, that never happened. I’ve never found her.” Ty made sure he emphasized that last pronoun. Kell was a smart man. He had to understand what Ty meant by that.

“You believe in true loves and soulmates, huh?” Kell mumbled, moving around the last few bites of his food with his fork.

Ty pushed his plate away. “Are you a believer, Kellam? You have religion?”

Kell gave him a quizzical look. “Yes, I do. I was raised Catholic and Baptist. My father sent me to an Catholic school until I graduated. Why would you ask me that? You don’t believe in God?” Kell frowned.

“I do believe in Allah.”

“You’re a Muslim?” Kell said, appearing surprised.

“No. But, I was raised in a Muslim household by a Muslim father. My mother’s Baptist. I was a practicing Muslim until I was seventeen—until my father didn’t return home.”

“This is personal. You don’t have to tell me this.” Kell gently put his hand on Ty’s thigh. It comforted him immediately. Already his touch does that?

“We do have to talk about this. I think it is personal as well but also very important. We’re getting to know each other in a lot of ways. As partners. We have to work together, study each other. Formulate strategies together. We can’t be strangers and trust each other to watch the other’s back.