Chapter Two

 

 

Tingles erupted on the flesh of Korvyn’s arm, and his palm began to sweat. Crap! When he attempted to release the uber-hot man’s hand—Prudhoe, right—the guy didn’t let him go until Korvyn tugged twice.

What’s that about?

Swallowing hard, Korvyn managed to get moisture to his suddenly dry throat. “H-Hi. Korvyn Peruke.” Focusing on the question Prudhoe had posed to Katie, he added, “And, yeah. We do have a small gay romance section. It’s this way.”

Lowering his hands to the wheels on his wheelchair, Korvyn turned and began leading the way.

“The way Katie’s comments sounded to me, we may have something other than our enjoyment of gay literature in common.” Prudhoe grinned down at Korvyn as he fell into step with him. “I’ll just be blunt and throw it out there. Are you gay, Korvyn?”

Korvyn snorted. “Maybe some straight guys enjoy reading gay romance, but I’ve never met any.” He grinned up at Prudhoe as he kept rolling. “Yeah. I’m gay. And Katie’s about as subtle as a bull in a china shop, trying to set us up like that.” Reaching over, he patted Prudhoe’s forearm, which was about as high as he could comfortably reach from his seated position.

Prudhoe was just that huge.

And talk about hawt!

Korvyn knew the man was way out of his league. Even if he hadn’t been stuck in a wheelchair, Korvyn still wouldn’t have been in the same ballpark.

Nice eye-candy, though.

Korvyn tipped his head up and grinned as he offered, “Don’t think you need to ask me out on a date or anything, just because of Katie’s comments. She’s always trying to set me up.”

“Well, I’m glad that she took the news that I prefer men so well.” Prudhoe’s full lips curved into a wry smile as he added, “I go to the diner for lunch almost every day, and I think she was getting the wrong idea.” Wincing, he shook his head. “Didn’t occur to me until she started flirting a couple days ago. Glad she’s understanding.”

Laughing, Korvyn nodded. “Yeah, she understands that you’re attracted to who you’re attracted to. Just the way biology works.” Korvyn sobered as he added, “Wish everyone understood that.”

Even as Prudhoe cocked his head just a little and his eyes narrowed, Korvyn stopped at a section at the end of the romance aisle. “These two shelves at the bottom are the gay romance section.”

“Not much call for it in this town, huh?”

Korvyn scoffed as he watched Prudhoe drop to one knee. His muscles bulged as he ducked down and peered at the titles. He rested his forearm on his thick thigh, showcasing his brawny bicep.

The moisture in Korvyn’s mouth dried up, and he had to swallow—twice—in order to get enough moisture to answer.

Just damn, he’s huge!

Warmth coated his chest, and his nipples beaded. His abdominals clenched as he wondered what Prudhoe’s dinner-plate-sized hands would feel like on his skin. Did he have callouses? Those would feel amazing.

Korvyn turned his head, focusing on the two shelves of books. The sight of the male-male romance stories... and even a few female-female ones... helped him focus on Prudhoe’s questions. It also helped him untie his tongue.

“Actually, I had to go over my boss’s head to even get these for our gay fiction fans.” Korvyn knew his tone had turned bitter, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. His boss looked like a sweet grandmotherly type but was actually a hardnosed, busy-body bitch.

Prudhoe turned his head and focused on him. His pale-blond brows shot up. A second later, his ice-blue eyes narrowed, and a questioning gleam filled them.

Korvyn felt his breath catch in his throat as he stared into the other man’s gaze. His blood fired in his veins, and he felt the hairs on his nape stand on end. Swallowing convulsively, he struggled to follow their conversation.

What was I saying?

Right.

After clearing his throat, Korvyn murmured, “Misses Winters, the lady at the front desk”—he glanced around furtively—”she’s a bigot and totally lives up to her frigid name. Declined my request to order gay romance books a half dozen times before I decided to figure out how to go above her head.” Korvyn rubbed the back of his neck when he saw the amused gleam fill Prudhoe’s eyes. “Boy was she pissed, but since I had permission—”

Korvyn felt the hairs on his nape twitch for a different reason. He cut off his words and once again glanced up and down the aisle... just in time to see said bitch round the corner and enter the aisle. Korvyn swiftly switched gears and pointed at the shelves.

“The homosexual romance is on these shelves, sir,” Korvyn stated evenly. Meeting Prudhoe’s gaze, he noted the hint of surprise in his eyes, but after a blink, it was gone. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

Prudhoe’s smile appeared a little tight as he shook his head once. “No, thank you. This is great.” He offered a slight nod, then added, “I appreciate your help.”

Korvyn nodded as he wheeled backward, then turned. “If there’s anything else, I’ll be around.” Literally, too, since Korvyn had book returns to do. That was probably why Misses Winters had come looking for him. “Enjoy your reading.”

Then Korvyn rolled away from Prudhoe. It was probably for the best, anyway. The longer he stayed in the handsome man’s company, the more he struggled to think rationally.

By the time Korvyn reached the end of the aisle, Misses Winters had returned to her desk. That didn’t stop her from giving him a disapproving look. It was a good thing he’d been hired by her predecessor before she’d transferred to the branch, or Korvyn’s gay ass would never have been hired on... and it wouldn’t have been because he was in a wheelchair.

Bigots. They come in all shapes and sizes.

Korvyn returned to where he’d left the cart used to hold the books in need of being returned to the shelves. While it was a little unwieldy—pushing the cart while moving his chair—he’d learned to make it work. With his right hand on his chair’s wheel, Korvyn used his left to control the cart.

Slowly, Korvyn resumed his duties. As he located the necessary shelves and replaced book after book, he couldn’t help that his thoughts strayed to Prudhoe over and over. Maybe that was because every time he exited an aisle toward the open area, he spotted Prudhoe sitting in a chair by the wall with a book.

Even sitting, his feet stretched out in front of him and crossed at the ankles with his gaze fixed on the book he held in his hands, Prudhoe appeared to be the epitome of masculine beauty.

Prudhoe’s shoulders were wide and strong-looking. His chest was broad, and Korvyn could clearly make out his pectorals. He filled out his jeans in the best way.

While Korvyn hadn’t had the opportunity to see Prudhoe from behind, he just bet the man had an epic ass. Even as the thought popped into his head, he shook his head at his mental wanderings. As Korvyn placed the book on the shelf, he ignored his desires—although the warmth in his dick, telling him he was close to gaining an erection—didn’t make it easy.

For the first time in his life, Korvyn appreciated that his body was slow to arousal. It had been that way ever since the accident that had taken away much of the feeling—and nearly all the control—in his legs. The big, sexy blond man, however, in his presence, Korvyn didn’t think he’d have much trouble gaining an erection while with him.

Fighting his arousal was definitely a new experience for Korvyn. Just thinking about Prudhoe’s closely shorn blond hair and firm jaw caused his blood to heat and pool below the belt of his cargo pants. Korvyn couldn’t remember the last time he’d reacted so viscerally to someone. Before he’d been injured, that was for sure.

A sudden thought struck Korvyn.

What if—

“Are you nearly finished, Korvyn?” Misses Winters demanded, cutting into his thoughts. “The bathrooms need to be done before your shift ends.”

Focusing on his boss, Korvyn managed to smile. “Last cart,” he told her. He glanced at his watch before assuring, “I’ll make sure the bathrooms are done. No problem.”

It was a pain in the ass, but he managed. He’d figured out years ago how to extend his reach with flexible mops. After realizing what a jerk Misses Winters was to out and proud gay people—women, too, as he saw once when a woman that screamed lesbian asked for information at the front desk—he’d brought some of his own supplies from home.

Gods, if Rusty knew what a bitch Winters was to me...

Returning to his job, Korvyn focused on his work. He pushed aside thoughts of his brother—Rusty, who was a shifter who shared his spirit with a serval cat—and the fleeting idea that Prudhoe was something paranormal, too. That was just wishful thinking, really.

As Korvyn cleaned the bathroom a short time later, he allowed his thoughts to return to his earlier idea. Could Prudhoe actually be something other than human? Or was he just mega-hot and pushed all of Korvyn’s buttons?

Korvyn knew he had a type, but it wasn’t often he found a way to indulge in it. Big, sexy, thuggish guys just kind of did it for him. He loved being pinned to the bed and slammed into. Korvyn had had sex a few times before the accident when he was eighteen—not that any of his family knew that—and he’d relished a hard pounding.

After the accident, Korvyn hadn’t been able to find any guy really willing to give it to him. They’d all been too worried about hurting him. It was a shame, really, because only really intense sensations registered with the nerve endings in his legs... including his inner thighs.

A good pounding made his whole body tingle.

A tremble worked through Korvyn as, once again, his blood heated in his veins. He would just bet that Prudhoe could give him a fantastic pounding. With the man’s size, Korvyn imagined he’d be stretched to capacity by the guy’s huge dick.

Korvyn mentally rolled his eyes as he got back to work.

Could he be a paranormal? How could he find out?

Unlike most humans on the planet, Korvyn knew that humans were not alone on the earth. Other beings walked beside them. His own half-brother—Rusty—was a sentient creature known as a shifter—a paranormal being that shared his psyche with a cat and could turn into the animal at will. Korvyn knew that there were other things out there, too—such as vampires, gargoyles, and warlocks.

Yep, even magick is real.

Korvyn had only met a couple of magick users, and just recently, but damn had talking to them been fascinating!

Knowing he couldn’t just spring a hey, my blood heats just from your touch, so would you happen to be a paranormal question, Korvyn focused on finishing the bathroom. He’d taken a vow of silence years before when he’d comprehended the importance of secrecy. As much as Korvyn would love to think that humans could handle the knowledge—and individually, they normally could—as a group, people tended to act like sheep... and if the shepherd was a hateful bigot, well... that could be so very dangerous.

When Korvyn rolled out of the bathroom, his cleaning done, he realized that all his worries were for naught. Prudhoe was no longer relaxing in the reading and study area. After Korvyn put away his supplies, he couldn’t help but take a tour of the building in search of him but to no avail.

Damn. So much for the idea of mutual attraction.

Yep, he’s totally out of my league... and Prudhoe had obviously known that.