Page 92 of Devil May Lie
“I have to talk to Baikal,” he said. “It seemed like he was fishing for a confession the other day. If I put this off any longer, it’ll only make things worse.”
“Worse how.”
“He won’t like the two of us together. If he orders me to stop seeing you—”
“You’d do it?” He dropped his hand. “Just like that?”
Berga’s brow furrowed. “Wouldn’t you? If Kelevra demanded you stop seeing me?”
“I…” Wasn’t sure, actually. He should do it. Kel was his leader, and he was honor-bound to listen to him, but… “We agreed we’d figure out what this really is between us. I don’t want to end it until we do.”
Madden didn’t want to end it, period.
“Why am I trying to hold onto someone who doesn’t want me?” he mumbled to himself.
“I want you,” Berga corrected. “You have no idea how complicated you’ve made things for us, though. Idiot.”
“Wow.”
Berga went to his lab coat and pulled a small black box from his pocket, tossing it to Madden with a huff. “Here.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a gift. During my research, I learned it’s customary to bring gifts to your lover.”
Before he could stop himself, he was grinning like the idiot he’d just been accused of being. “Really? Cute.”
Madden opened the box and took in the two small black orbs. “Earrings?”
“They reminded me of your eyes,” Berga explained. “You have really nice eyes. They suck people in and make them forget things for a while.”
It was a morose way of putting it, but he wasn’t about to complain. Madden removed the gold hoops he had in and replaced them, rubbing his thumbs over the smooth surface of the tiny studs. “How do they look?”
“Great.” Berga cleared his throat and glanced away.
“Are you embarrassed?” Why did he like that so much? “I didn’t get you anything.”
“You could give me that.” Berga pointed to the spot between his legs, but before Madden could take even a single step toward him, he added, “Later. I really have to go and find Baikal now.”
“How about after our first date then?” he suggested, chuckling when that gave Berga pause. “What? We haven’t had one yet. We should.” He tapped his chin. “What should we do? Movies? They’re playing some pretty filthy ones over at the Seaside. Are you into porn?”
Madden didn’t watch it often, since there was always a willing warm body whenever he felt like it, but it could be fun to watch it with the Butcher. To see what his reactions might be viewing other people getting it on.
“What do you usually do for fun?” Berga asked, cutting through the fantasy brewing in Madden’s mind.
“Ride, mostly.” He didn’t really have any other hobbies aside from that one.
“Let’s do that then,” Berga said.
“You want to…ride hoverbikes? As a date?” Madden gave him a once-over. “You do recall I’m a pro racer, right?”
“Don’t think I can keep up with you?” Berga clicked his tongue. “How about this? A bet. One lap around the main course. Winner takes all.”
“What do you consider all?”
“If you win, I’ll tell everyone in the Brumal we’re dating, consequences be damned. If I win, we make sure everyone knows we’re just having fun with each other and it’s nothing serious.”
Madden’s eyes narrowed. “Is that what you think, Butcher? That we’re nothing serious?”