Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 9

rumbled from Gabe's chest and Lucas pushed closer to him. He teased his tongue along the seam of Gabe's lips until they parted. He briefly flicked his tongue inside, sampling the warm, moist cavern. All too soon he pulled away—not wanting to, but needing to. They were out in the open for all to see and he didn't want to take the chance Gabe would tuck tail and run away.
    "I'm hungry, let's get some dinner." Lucas grabbed Gabe's hand and pulled him along beside him, down the hallway.
    It was getting late and the cafeteria was empty of people. He pulled a pre-made salad out of the refrigerator unit and grabbed a bottle of water.
    "You want anything?" he asked Gabe.
    Gabe shook his head. That wasn't good enough for Lucas. When he asked a question, he wanted Gabe to respond to him.
    "I said do you want anything?" he asked slowly, punctuating each word.
    Gabe shook his head again. Lucas took a step closer to Gabe, getting as close to his face as he could. "When I ask you a question, I expect you to answer it. Are we clear?" His tone was stern, but not cruel. He wanted Gabe to understand early that he had to follow his instructions and trust him. Following a simple request, in the form of answering a question, was a good start.
    Gabe stared down into his eyes. His pink tongue snaked out to moisten his lips. "No, I don't want anything." He gave a little shake to his head.
    "That wasn't so hard, was it?" Lucas held Gabe's gaze, waiting to see if he'd bother answering him.
    "No, it wasn't." Gabe's cheeks reddened.
    They sat at a table that Lucas had picked out, and Gabe watched him eat. He was quiet. Lucas wasn't certain if he was waiting for him to speak, or if he was just too nervous to talk.
    "So Gabe, tell me a little about yourself." He stabbed at his salad then brought the forkful to his mouth.
    "Not a lot to tell, really." Gabe stretched his long legs out in front of him, relaxing back into his chair.
    "I'm sure that's not true. Talk to me, Gabe, I want to get to know you." He brought his fork back to his lips.
    Gabe released a ragged breath and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm thirty-two years old. I've lived here for close to three years now and you already know I'm a detective for the Kansas City police department." He shrugged his shoulders. "Not much else to tell."
    Lucas studied him for a moment. Gabe's eyes never fully met his. He was hiding something. Not wanting to push the man too much, he let the subject drop. He could get more from him later.
    "Well, since you're not feeling overly talkative, I'll tell you a little about myself." He pushed his dinner aside. "I'm twenty-five. I moved here from San Jose, California. The guy I'd been seeing got a job out here, so I did the cliché thing and followed him here."
    "Do you mind me asking what happened to him?" Gabe sat forward in his seat.
    "He met someone else and moved away to be with that guy," Lucas said nonchalantly.
    "That doesn't upset you? To love someone then to just be discarded like a piece of trash?" Gabe's voice slowly began to rise and his eyes turned cold. Lucas understood then where Gabe's closed-off nature stemmed from.
    "Why should it? It obviously wasn't meant to be." He gave a small shrug.
    "Not meant to be? You're not angry?"
    "Why? Will it change anything? No. Besides, if I was still with him, I wouldn't have met you."
    A blush worked its way up Gabe's neck. Lucas had to admit he liked the way Gabe responded to him. Gabe didn't say anything else. They sat staring at one another for a few more minutes. Lucas had to finish his shift, but he wasn't ready for his time with Gabe to be over with.
    "I hate to run, but I need to get back to work." He pushed his chair in and carried his empty containers to the trash can. "What time do you get off work tomorrow?"
    "I'm usually home between six and seven, why?" Gabe looked up from where he sat.
    Lucas stepped forward, in between Gabe's legs. "I'd like to make you dinner tomorrow night. Be at my house by six." He bent over to brush his lips against Gabe's. Not nearly long enough to soothe his need. He stepped back and turned toward the door.
    "I need your address?"
    "You're a detective. I'm sure you can figure it out," Lucas said over his shoulder.
    When he made it back to the emergency room, Connie questioned him to death about Gabe. He told her the truth—he still didn't know that much about the good detective, but he had every intention of finding out.
    CHAPTER 5
    He sat outside Lucas's house. All