Tynan tucked Zach under his shoulder. “Mrs. Brown, serve our lunch in the solarium.”

“The chef is expecting two. Should another table setting be placed?” The butler's tone was brisk.

“No. It will only be the two of us.” Tynan answered. He watched Mrs. Brown leave before he turned to Rain. “Why are you here?”

Zach decided to stay quiet. He didn’t have enough context about their relationship to be involved. There had to be something more he didn’t know about. Tynan didn’t seem like the type of person to put up with Rain.

“I stopped by to see you since I was free.” Rain walked up the steps. His eyes were trained on the hand draped over Zach’s shoulder. Tynan tightened his grip.

“Why did you come here instead of my office?” Tynan knew there wasn’t a good answer to that. He practically lived at work these days. There was no way he would be at home during the middle of the day. “How did you know Zach would be in Lor City?”

Rain finding Zach's address could be a fluke, but Rain keeping track of his movements was deliberate. He didn’t like the implications.

“You should leave.” Tynan looked him in the eye. “If you have any respect for what we have been through together, you will leave.”

Rain clenched his jaw, and the veins on his forehead pulsed. “Why can’t it be me.”

“Why can’t it be Cain?” Tynan countered.

“I don’t love him.” Rain answered.

“I don’t love you.” Tynan had this conversation before. Even after five years, his answer didn’t change. “I have only ever seen you as a friend.”

“You have never tried.” Rain moved closer. He reached a hand to touch his chest.

Tynan was about to step back when a hand came out and slapped Rain’s hand.

“Didn’t you ever hear that you shouldn’t let a man tell you more than once that he doesn’t want you?” Zach’s intention to stay out of this flew out of his head. “I don’t know you, Mr. Edwards, but I do know that you don’t respect yourself or Tynan.”

“This is not your place to speak!” Rain reached forward but seemed to think better of it, dropping his hand.

“If you didn’t want me involved, you would have approached Tynan when he wasn’t in the company of his partner.” Zach didn’t keep the malice out of his voice. “If you respected him. You would have respected his decision. If you respected yourself, you would have found someone who reciprocated your feelings.”

“Are you going to let him talk to me like that?” Rain’s voice went up an octave.

Tynan kissed Zach’s temple. He didn’t move to intervene, instead silently acknowledging his words.

Zach didn’t understand. Rain had a fairy tale romance with Cain in his past life. After Cain had his accident, he attributed his improving health and motivation to Rain.

“Partner? Aren’t you overstepping?” When he didn’t find any support from Tynan, he switched topics.

“Tynan has had many boyfriends and lovers over the years. I don’t fall into either category, so it seemed like a fitting term for the type of relationship we are building.” Zach slipped his hand around Tynan’s waist, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“Well said,” Tynan couldn’t resist stealing another kiss. They had hinted at it over the phone, but this was the first confirmation he’d gotten that they were dating. Tynan wouldn’t let Zach getaway.

“You think you understand, Tynan? You don’t understand half of what he is capable of. You don’t understand the kind of man he is. Would you like me to tell you?” Rain’s body jerked. He obviously wanted to come closer but was mindful of Tynan.

“Rain, that is enough.” Tynan started to slide his hand of Zach’s shoulder, but Zach stopped him. The younger man pulled his hand back into place and nestled deeper into his side.

“Mr. Edwards, I think you are missing the point. More than Tynan, shouldn't you be worried about what kind of man I am?” Zach gave Tynan's hand a reassuring squeeze. Everyone had secrets. His were so big he never planned to share them in his whole life. He would keep an open mind about Tynan’s.

“You?” Rain scoffed. “Why do I need to be worried about you?” Rain swung his arms wide. “This is Lor City. What does a little upstart like you know about life here? What do you know about dangers and shadows? Do you understand fear and danger?”

Rain flinched. Zach wondered what expression was on his face to get that reaction. It didn’t matter. “I hope you bear those words in mind and don’t live to regret them.”

Tynan was mesmerized by the predatory smile on Zach’s face. He didn’t doubt that Zach was more than capable of dealing with Rain. The information on his uncle always popped into his head. Yet, this was the first indication he’d gotten that Zach had a violent side.

Rain took two steps back.

Tynan covered his mouth. He was familiar enough with himself to know what kind of greedy smile was on his lips. He’d never wanted an angel on his arm. He’d always wanted a devil that was only kind to him.

“There is nothing for you here, Rain. It is time to leave.” Tynan didn’t wait for an answer. Turning, he led Zach into the house. Reaching into his pocket, he hung up the active call.

He didn’t know how much of that Cain heard, and a part of him was too frustrated to care. Cain was old enough to make his own decision. If he wanted to continue to hold onto Rain even if it meant his destruction, then that was on him.

The minute the door closed, Zach spun out of Tynan's hold and used the momentum to slam him against the door. He sealed their lips together in a searing kiss. Using his tongue, he plundered and mapped every inch of Tynan’s mouth.

Tynan growled. Every taste of Zach was more addictive than the next. His hand traveled up to hold either side of his neck. He winced as nails scrapped across his scalp.

His breath quickened as the kiss intensified. They battled for dominance.

Tynan ripped himself away. “You can’t kiss me like that.” His breathing was uneven.

Zach gasped and gulped in large breaths. He was painfully hard. He couldn't figure out what came over him. He wanted to mark Tynan. To taste him and to imprint his taste on the other man.

“You have me sleeping in your bed but won't kiss me?” Zach laughed, though it came out more like a wheeze.

Tynan ran a hand through his hair, drawing in a ragged breath. “We were only going to sleep.”

“Tynan, we can barely touch without combusting and trying to tear each other's clothes off. It’s been like that since the beginning. In what world can we be in the same bed and just sleep?” Zach moved closer, resting his hands on Tynan’s chest. The heartbeat under his palm was strong and a bit erratic.

Zach felt an odd mix of hope and hopelessness flow through him when strong arms looped around his waist.

“I have the best of intentions.” His fingers danced over the small of Zach’s back. “I wasn’t expecting you to have sex with me. If you are more comfortable, I can have you moved to a different room.” He could admit that he was close to a randy teenager when it came to Zach.

The distance between them didn’t help. Tynan spent flirty late-night conversations imagining what it would be like if Zach was there in person. After three weeks, he was wound tighter than a spring.

The instinct to bend Zach over the nearest surface was his constant company since he met him. Zach kisses made it worse, but he was content just being with him for now.

He slipped his hands down Tynan’s chest, looping them around his waist and moving in for a hug. If it was just sex, he wouldn’t be so conflicted. It was all the emotions that Tynan evoked in him.

Zach was hiding a major part of himself from Tynan. It felt wrong. It was counter-productive to building any sort of relationship.

They were three to four weeks in their relationship, the time when you would start confessing about any terrible exes and talk about family trauma. He’d been hurt badly and needed to trust Tynan before he could commit himself, but the secret he was keeping prevented him from trusting him completely.

Nuzzling his face into Tynan’s chest, he pondered, not for the first time, whether he should confide in him.

Tynan tightened his hold on Zach. Sometimes Zach would say something or pause in the middle of a conversation, and he would get the feeling that the other man was slipping through his finger.

Half of his late-night calls were to see if this flighty young man he was fast falling for would answer the phone. Zach was strangely immaterial and appeared to be transient in his own life.

It was a recurring nightmare that something spooked him, and he would disappear to somewhere Tynan wouldn’t be able to find him.

Zach kissed his neck. Just a gentle peck, and he felt his fears slightly ease. “Should I arrange a different room?”

Shaking his head, Zach stepped away. He reached out to entwine their fingers. Despite the difference in their height not being much, Tynan’s hands were much larger than his. Tynan, on the whole, was larger than him. It made his hugs better, well, everything better if he was being truthful.

“I would like an office to set up my equipment…,” he hesitated to continue. “It would be a space that I would ask you not to enter.”

Tynan didn’t like the idea of a part of Zach’s life being inaccessible to him. He understood that this was Zach’s compromise, a place he could escape to if he needed space from the intensity of their relationship.

If he thought about the underlying cause of his thoughts, he was afraid that it wouldn’t be a momentary escape. Zach would duck in there and never stop running.

Tynan pulled him, leading him through the house. “Alright.” Tynan had never lived with a lover before. He imagined there would be an adjustment period. For all the explosive chemistry and burgeoning emotions, they might find that they couldn’t stand living together.

Zach was relieved at Tynan’s easy acceptance. He’d tabled the idea of sharing his secret until their relationship was more mature. There was plenty to discuss and learn about each other.

He’d used his past experiences to make informed decisions about his business; though painful, he thought it wise to do the same with his relationship. Thinking back to his marriage, he realized they never resolved their arguments. They would separate and cool down. However, they never sat down to talk about what caused the fight.

The weeks he spent in counseling helped him realize that he avoided conflict when people he cared about were involved. He also learned that he was excessively vicious to external threats. The first he would work to correct. The second he saw no problems with.

Tynan was leading him through a beautiful garden. The solarium looked distinctly tropical. It had to be hard to maintain. He hated to think about the upkeep during the winter months. He recognized his thought for the avoidance they were.

“Tynan. If we fight and I retreat into my office, or you run to wherever you go to cool off, let's promise to have a neutral place we can go to talk about it.” He should make an appointment with a psychologist in Lor City. They could give him tips on managing conflict in his relationship.

Tynan thought that was a reasonable request. He’d never been in a relationship where the other party could argue with him. If one of his past lovers dared to, it would be a signal that it was time for him to move on.

Deciding that it was enough heavy talk for one day, they sat down for lunch and deliberately talked about lighter topics.

Tynan found that any topic about computer software or technological developments Zach could talk about endlessly. Resting his elbows on the table, he listened to Zach rattle on about the future of LED screens.

Tynan realized he wouldn’t mind ending every day listening to Zach talk about things he didn’t understand.

Zach blushed when he realized he’d been babbling. Clearing his throat, “feel free to wax poetically about gentrification and the evils of eminent domain.” Tynan chuckled, and it did funny things to his stomach.

“Come on. Let me show you around the house.” He held out his hand. When Zach took it, he pulled him into a side hug, tucking him under his arm. He wouldn’t mind spending a lifetime with Zach, period.