Finally Ty shook his head decisively. “You get laid too often to be jealous,” he announced flippantly as he reached for his glass.
Zane thought about arguing but instead gave Ty a smile and let it go. It was all semantics anyway, jealousy versus possessiveness.
Dropping the topic now meant he could chew on the idea plenty himself later without Ty blowing him off with a joke.
It only hurt a little bit.
AFTER dinner and almost an hour of browsing and shopping, Zane was still preoccupied by Ty"s dismissive comment in the restaurant. You get laid too often to be jealous. Zane wasn"t too sure. Even before playing Corbin Porter, he"d been fighting thinking “He"s mine” about his partner, because the implications were just too big to get his head around.
Not too many weeks ago, he"d stood next to Ty"s hospital bed and admitted to himself that he didn"t ever want to let Ty go. But he hadn"t yet found a way to reconcile that with the reality of their complicated lives. And now, because this crazy case completely warped their
“reality,” he could be as possessive as he thought Corbin would be, and Ty—or Del—wouldn"t complain. Not in public, anyway.
But what about when the case was over?
Before dinner, he"d assumed Ty wouldn"t want him staking any sort of claim, physical or emotional, except as part of their cover, and then only grudgingly. Zane hadn"t heard anything to change that assumption, but he hadn"t exactly asked, either. He"d put it off, shying away from a topic that felt like a trip-wired land mine settling in the center of his chest.
Zane turned in place where he stood outside a ritzy accessory store and watched Ty finger through a display of sunglasses. Ty turned to look at him, wearing a pair of aviator sunglasses just like the ones he"d left at home, the tag sticking out sideways at his temple. Zane smiled despite his mixed feelings. “Don"t you have a pair like that already?” A legitimate question, Ty or Del.
Ty took them off and looked at them, smirking. “You can never have too much awesome,” he claimed. He set them back down and slid his hands down his sides, where his pockets should have been. He grumbled about the soft linen pants and searched for something else to do with his hands as they continued to stroll. He was getting twitchy, and his mood had steadily declined since dinner.
Whether the cause was the prospect of dealing with Norina Bianchi or the conversation they"d had regarding jealousy was anyone"s guess. Zane had started casting around for something shiny, sweet, or sticky to throw in Ty"s path as an emotional diversion.
“If we want dessert later, there"s no lack of places for snacks,”
Zane said as they passed by a bakery kiosk and a soda shoppe. It was just one floor of three on the impressive, very brightly decorated promenade, sort of a high-class carpeted mini-mall and food court with anything from an Orange Julius to a Godiva Chocolatier and a cheap T-shirt shop to a Tiffany & Co. store. All complete with a twenty-foot-tall glittering Christmas tree in the center of it.
“I would kill you for some gummi bears right now,” Ty muttered.
He reached out and laced his fingers into Zane"s, apparently deciding that it was the best thing to do with his otherwise idle hands.
“You should have looked when we were in the store,” Zane said, moving them along the walkway. They"d found condoms in a remarkably discreet corner of a mini-grocery, but instead of risking exposure by purchasing them, Ty had palmed a box. When they"d stepped outside the store again, Zane had discovered the box safety tucked away inside his suit jacket. One day Zane was going to find out how Ty did that and how he always managed to nab his cigarettes without him knowing. Tonight, though, he was just grateful for his partner"s loose morals. “You want to go back and get some?”
Ty sighed unhappily and turned his head from side to side, cracking his neck. “Let"s go back to the computers and see if there"s news from home. That shot I took of Armen has to have produced something.”
“No,” Zane decided, reaching out to take Ty"s elbow and pull him closer. “We told them we"d check in every morning. We have to stay predictable. And before you suggest it, we"re not sitting in that cabin for days while we wait for some predetermined time to arrive. We need to be out and about, and there"s got to be stuff here to keep us amused.”
He started pulling Ty along, though his “husband” was reluctant.
“I hate you a little bit right now,” Ty claimed, though he was conceding to the logic by not fighting with him.
“And that"s different than usual how? Stop pouting, doll,” Zane drawled as he squeezed Ty"s hand. He glanced at his partner. “Surely we can find something to make you smile.”
Ty stepped closer, squeezing Zane"s hand back as he lowered his voice, losing the fake accent. “If you keep patronizing me I"m going to kick your ass when we"re alone. And you won"t have sex for two weeks, just remember that.”
Annoyed, Zane stopped in place, turned Ty toward him, and put one hand on Ty"s face, thumb under his chin to make him look up. “I"m teasing, and you know it. There"s no reason for you to be this cranky,”
Zane said, injecting a tinge of warning into his voice, and it wasn"t Corbin"s influence.
Ty narrowed his eyes, his head tilting slightly in the way it usually did in the ring before Zane ended up on the mat. But he seemed to remain aware of the other passengers on the promenade and the fact that they could always be observed. He said nothing, just exhaling heavily in response. Playing his role, whether he liked it or not. Zane frowned. It wasn"t like Ty to be this difficult, even if he wasn"t thrilled with his part in the case.
Conscious of the people walking around them, he released Ty"s chin, and when Zane spoke, he kept his voice very low, deliberately dropping Corbin"s drawl. “Is there something really wrong I need to know about?”
“Look at me!” Ty hissed. “Do I look like I"m having a good time here? Stop enjoying yourself so much, you prick.”
It was difficult to decide between a huff and a laugh, but regardless, Zane rolled his eyes. “Suck it up,” he answered. “You"ve had a hell of a lot worse.” He slid his arm around Ty"s waist and got him walking again. “What you need is a drink,” he announced.
“Damn straight,” Ty said almost angrily. “But I can"t drink because who’s an alcoholic?” he asked sarcastically. He was obviously frustrated, both by the role he had to play and by the lack of outlet for that frustration. He was tense despite all the “relaxing” he"d been doing, and Zane knew he"d be spoiling for a fight that was not of the good by the time they got to the cabin if he didn"t find something for him to get into first.