The police blocked off East 5th Street between Sycamore and Broadway. A thick crowd milled about the thoroughfare and sidewalks both in front of the old Taft Theater and across the road next to one of the vine-covered pavilions in front of the Procter & Gamble building. It was one of the city’s smaller entertainment venues, but Shane had caught a few great concerts there. He’d lucked into amazing seats to a Tori Amos concert years ago and even convinced his dad to see a Pink Floyd tribute band with him.

A podium had been set up on a platform just under the Taft awning, and Shane cracked a grin at the thought of their tall mayor ducking in that short space. The armed security guards in black polos wore a familiar W emblem. Ward Security.

Of course Mayor Spring had hired the best.

He watched Quinn waving at his coworkers, the sun reflecting off his glasses, a breeze moving the soft layers of black hair on his head. He found his gaze returning to Quinn often. He liked looking at him. A lot. The guy was attractive—of that there was no doubt—but he wasn’t like the men Shane was usually drawn to. He was thinner and a little prickly at times, and he had all the social skills of a cardboard box.

But Shane was nevertheless insanely fascinated by him. Enough to keep flirting—just to watch those cheeks turn that enticing shade of red.

He forced himself to look away, his gaze landing on the guards pulling security duty. He’d been in Ward enough to recognize some of them.

Sven Larsen stood with his arms crossed, a foreboding frown on his blond bearded face. The man’s incredibly tall, broad figure was deterrent enough, but that frown raised the hair on the back of Shane’s neck. And he knew it was a complete dichotomy to the man’s kind nature.

Garrett Hayes stood on the other side of the podium. Slimmer than Sven, he looked no less imposing with his dark, muscular arms showing beneath the tight sleeves of his Polo shirt. Black eyes swept the crowd, sharp and thorough as he inspected every person there for several moments each. Shane had never had the pleasure of talking to him, but it sure as hell was nice to look at him. He had classically handsome features that were completely visible since he kept his hair trimmed close to his scalp in a buzz cut.

The third Ward Security guard was one he hadn’t yet met. A shock of deep red hair fell in a taper fade undercut—not Shane’s favorite style—but this guy got away with the rakish fall of bangs. Maybe in part due to the obviously still-fading scars on his face, or the mischievous gleam in his eyes—one that was visible even from where Shane stood. He got the feeling the guard used his charm to disarm people, make them think he wasn’t dangerous. But there was no doubt he was.

Rowan Ward only hired the best.

A group of loud protestors gathered on the corner in front of a bank. Another cluster loitered across the street on Sycamore by the Deloitte building. Police and orange safety barriers held them back, so they made their displeasure in the proceedings clear with booming yells and big, waving signs that said things like, Fund Rehab Programs and Make Cincy Streets Safer.

Shane leaned in close so Quinn could hear him, accidentally brushing his lips across the rim of his ear. He didn’t miss the slight shudder or how quickly Quinn pulled away from him. “Sorry,” he said, speaking loudly to be heard over the noise. “I didn’t mean to come in that close. I just want you to be able to hear me without all the shouting.”

Quinn nodded and shuffled back to him. Because he stood three inches shorter, his black hair brushed Shane’s nose. He got the impression of silky softness and the faint scent of citrus and vanilla, and he hoped Quinn didn’t notice that he had to briefly close his eyes.

“What did you want to tell me?” Quinn asked, those blue eyes big behind the black-framed glasses Shane found ridiculously sexy.

“If I wanted to blend in this crowd to divert attention, I’d mix in with the protestors. Let’s stand closer to them. Just pay attention to people because you never know what you might pick up.”

Quinn nodded and followed him around the group of shouting people until they stood in front of the Deloitte Building by the fountain. Shane looked over at Quinn and was impressed to find that he gave the casual appearance of looking up something on his phone but was actually snapping picture after picture of the protestors. He zoomed in and out with nimble fingers, clearly capturing faces and signs for future reference. He’d heard whisper that Ward had access to some facial recognition software. If they spotted someone interesting, he could always see if Quinn could run it…after he checked with Hollis about its legality. It felt like a gray area, and he was trying damn hard to stay out of that treacherous zone.

“Hey, G Man!”

Shane turned at the yell and watched a stunning, compact blond walk up to Quinn and hug him. He recognized Geoffrey Ralse from well, everything. The local millionaire was often the talk of the town but had been in the news recently, when he’d been kidnapped by a crazed former app developer. The local stations had rejoiced in the seediness of the whole story, showing the uploaded footage to social media of the man being accosted.

The rage Shane had felt when he’d seen that still held enough fire to burn his gut. This was the first time he was seeing the man in person, and he seemed so small and delicate. He was suddenly glad the sicko who’d taken him was dead.

“What are you doing here?” Quinn asked Geoffrey. “I never took you for a political man. Or is it the theater opening that brought you here?”

“Hell, no. It’s that gorgeous Viking aiming that hot-as-fuck fierce scowl at everyone.” Geoffrey fanned himself as he pointed. “I never miss any opportunities to see him in action and most of his jobs are private, so he’s not out in public.”

Shane watched Geoffrey’s boyfriend, Sven, searching the crowd, his frown increasing when he spotted Geoffrey among the protestors. Geoffrey just offered him a cheeky wave and blew him a kiss. Sven’s wink was so quick, Shane nearly missed it.

“Why are you over here anyway? You don’t agree with this group, do you?”

“Nah,” Geoffrey waved his hand again, the movement graceful. “I’m not paying attention to them. I just saw you and came to say hi. I couldn’t care less about the speech.” He grinned up at Shane. “Hi, I’m Geoffrey.” He held out his hand.

Shane shook it, the whole time marveling over how slim and frail it felt. He glanced at the over-sized security guard, then back at Geoffrey, unable to keep his mind from going into the gutter to picture that mix. This man had to be at least twelve inches shorter than his boyfriend. That had to make things…interesting. “Nice to meet you. I’m Shane Stephens.”

Geoffrey tilted his head, watched him looking back and forth, his lips curling in a sassy twist as if he knew what kind of images had just flitted through Shane’s head. “I’ve heard of you. Merleau Detection Agency, right?”

Shane nodded.

“Wait, am I encroaching on a date?” Geoffrey looked at Quinn.

“No,” Quinn yelled over the crowd. “I’m helping him with a job.”

“Oh,” Geoffrey looked around then stepped closer. “Are you guys on some kind of secret mission? Ooh, can I help?”

Quinn’s laughter pulled Shane’s gaze to lips. His mouth stretched wide when he smiled, his grin striking.

“There’s nothing you can do, Geoffrey,” Quinn said. “But we appreciate the offer. How are things going living with the giant?”

“So well! I had no idea how much I’d love having someone in my home. I just met his family and they are so wonderful. He has three brothers who all look like him—can you imagine?” He fanned himself again. “Not that any of them can hold a candle to the one who belongs to me. He’s all mine.” He grabbed Quinn’s arm. “Hey, one of his brothers is gay and beautiful. You want me to set you up?”

Quinn’s mouth dropped open and his cheeks instantly turned red. “Um, well…”

“Aw, come on. I bet you could rock his big, blond world.” Geoffrey winked. “Show him what it really means to live in the Time of the Geek with your sneaky, sexy bod—”

He didn’t have time to even finish before all hell broke loose.

The shouting turned to screams as a fight broke out and the sounds of fists hitting flesh joined the party. Within moments, more scuffles turned the formerly half-organized crowd into a rowdy mass of belligerent, shoving people. A heavy body slammed into Shane just as he saw both Quinn and Geoffrey go down. Blades of panic sliced through his chest as he shoved his way to where they were on the ground. He gripped Quinn’s hand and pulled him to his feet. “You okay?”

“Yeah, thanks.” He quickly sidestepped when another man came flying toward him, stumbling back into Shane’s body.

Shane automatically wrapped an arm around Quinn to keep him from falling. He felt good against him, but he quickly let him go.

Quinn gave him a smile of thanks and reached down to help Geoffrey up.

The crowd shifted as more and more people jumped into the fray. The police were doing their best to put a stop to things, and news cameras gathered around as all focus moved from the mayor to the protestors.

More people surged in their direction, separating them from Geoffrey in the chaos, but Shane saw a policeman step in to pull the guy to safety, so he grabbed Quinn’s hand, locking him to his side. He tugged him down Sycamore and they ducked to the right under one of the vine-covered pavilions. The vines that made up the roofs were still mostly green, with a few dying brown sections as autumn took hold.

They ran through the connected pavilions until the noise of the fighting crowd grew muffled with distance.

“Shane, I think we’re far enough!” Quinn jerked him to a stop, with a laugh. He was breathing hard, his cheeks red, his lips parted.

Shane’s breath caught and he gave in to something he’d wanted to do for days now. He leaned back against a pillar, bunched the front of Quinn’s shirt, and yanked him close, stopping his momentum right before their lips touched. “This is probably a bad, bad idea, but I just need to know,” he whispered before sliding his mouth onto that gorgeous, wide smile. He let go of the shirt, then slid his hand around to the nape of Quinn’s neck. He threaded his fingers through Quinn’s hair. It was definitely as silky as he’d thought.

And oh, holy shit, so were his lips.

At first Quinn didn’t react, didn’t respond, and Shane froze because he never went where he wasn’t welcome. But before he could pull away, Quinn grabbed on to his arms and pressed his mouth harder against his. Then he licked into his mouth.

That was when Shane was hit with a wave of lust so powerful, it weakened his knees.

Shocked, he held on to the back of Quinn’s head and deepened the kiss. Quinn met him, stroke for stroke, the kiss going on and on. Every time they tangled together, Shane’s desire grew, deepening until it flooded his whole body.

Quinn must have been drowning in it too, because he groaned into his mouth as he clutched his arms with strong fingers, digging them into muscle. Shane found that strength in his grip and the softness of his lips a heady contrast that whirled every sane thought from his head. He slid his teeth along Quinn’s plump lower lip, then delved back inside. Quinn kissed him with an eager hunger that flipped his world upside down. Shane tilted his head to give Quinn better access, moaning when the man pressed the front of his body against Shane’s. His hands slid down Shane’s arms then around his waist. When Quinn rubbed against him like he couldn’t help himself, Shane pulled back with a gasp. He’d felt it—felt that Quinn was just as fucking hard as he was.

They stared at each other, both panting, and Shane shivered when Quinn’s warm breath flowed over his wet lips.

“Jesus! Get a room!”

Shane looked over Quinn’s shoulder at the guy standing there with his lip curled up in disgust. He narrowed his eyes. “Why don’t you just move along?”

“Why don’t you just not do that where people can see?”

“Do what? We were kissing. You’ve never seen two people kissing?”

“Not two dudes,” the guy snarled. “It’s sickening!”

Fury fast swept through him, swallowing the desire he’d been thoroughly basking in. Releasing Quinn, he balled his hands into fists and stepped around Quinn, ready to teach this guy a lesson about what was sickening and what wasn’t. But Quinn stopped him with a hand on his chest.

“It’s not worth it.”

He stared at Quinn’s face, taking in the pink cheeks and his lips, red and swollen from their kisses. Damn, he looked good when he was turned on. “Yeah, it’s not.” He glared at the man, watching in satisfaction as he stomped off before looking back at Quinn. “I hate people like that.”

“So do I, but what are you gonna do?” He shrugged, then one corner of his mouth went up. “We were getting close to doing a lot more than kissing.”

Shane tugged him back against his body, sliding his knee between Quinn’s slim legs. “Yeah, we were. How about we take this back to my place?” He kissed his jaw, then pulled back to look at him.

All the humor fled Quinn’s expression and he shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Shane hadn’t either before. But what he felt while touching the man was worth a little more exploration. “Why not? We obviously mesh and what’s better than a little bit of late-afternoon fun?”

“I’ve never really found sex to be fun.” Blue eyes flared wide and his mouth fell open.

It was obvious he hadn’t meant to say that out loud, and Shane couldn’t stop the flare of excitement such a challenge would bring.

“Maybe you’ve been having sex with the wrong people, because I assure you, it’s more than fun.” Oh, but he would love to teach him a few things.

Quinn didn’t answer as he stepped back and pulled his shirt down, covering the erection Shane knew he still had. Shane frowned, realizing Quinn had been serious. He could also tell by his expression, he truly wasn’t ready to take this thing any further. Not yet anyway.

Biting back his disappointment, Shane gave him the friendliest smile he could muster. “Okay, I’ll let you go for now. But think about it. Just some fun. No commitment. We have some incredible heat between us, and sex is always better when it comes in hot.”