out of her and she’d do her level best not to see him again. Having the blood brought to him had been the only way he could think to avoid both the possibility of her scampering away and his biting her.
Bricker had agreed, but warned that it might takesome time for him to get there, so Cale had carried Alex to the couch and settled there with her to wait, not terribly surprised when she woke before the other man’s arrival, and he’d again had to steel himself against biting her.
Fortunately, that session had been even shorter than the first, mostly due to the fact that Cale had been lying there for a very long time, holding Alex in his arms, inhaling her scent, and thinking of all the things he wanted to do to her. By the time he’d sensed she was awake, Cale had been as turned on as if he’d spent the entire time doing what he’d imagined, and that passion had quickly flooded her.
Another round of knocking forced Cale to action, and he carefully eased Alex off his chest, and then got up to answer the summons. He was out of the office and halfway across the kitchen before he recalled that he was naked. His footsteps slowed then, but afraid Bricker would knock again and wake Alex, he eschewed returning for his clothes and hurried to the door.
“Finally,” Bricker muttered when Cale pushed it open. “I was beginning to think—” He paused abruptly as he noted Cale’s state of undress, and then began to grin. “I guess that answers one question. You two finally got it on, huh?”
Cale scowled and snatched the cooler from him. He’d started to close the door when Bricker said, “Do you really want to keep that in there? Alex might—”
Cale cursed and pushed the door back open. “Get in here. I’ll have a bag or two, and then you can take it away.”
“Actually, I brought several bags this time. I was thinking you could put it in the trunk of your car,” Bricker said, stepping in from the cold. “Just in case this turns into a three-day marathon session or something, and you need more.”
“Good idea,” Cale decided, pushing him back out the door again.
“Hold on.” Bricker laughed. “Geez, if I were the sensitive sort, I might be hurt by your eagerness to be rid of me and just leave. Then you’d never even see the other delights I brought for you.”
“What delights?” he asked suspiciously.
Bricker held up the bags Cale hadn’t noticed he held in his other hand. “Food and drink. A meal à la Emile made especially for you two. As well as enough groceries to tide you over for a day or two.”
Cale stopped trying to push him out the door and sighed. “Thank you. It was thoughtful.”
“I’m a thoughtful guy,” Bricker said lightly, and carried the bags over to the counter. “I got you wine, fruit, sandwich stuff, and chips.” He paused in unloading the food to grin and say, “I didn’t buy any dessert, but I did get whipped cream in case you wanted to make a dessert of Alex … or vice versa.”
“Just when I was starting to like you again, you come out with a crack like that,” Cale said dryly, setting the cooler on the counter.
“Oh, now, Cale, you’ll make me blush with bromance talk like that,” Bricker taunted, continuing with his unpacking.
“Bromance?” Cale asked with disgust. “What the hell is that?”
Bricker opened his mouth to answer, but then shook his head and returned to unloading groceries. “I think I’ll let you fret over it until you can look it up online.”
“God, you are an ass sometimes,” Cale muttered, reaching for the lunchmeat, intending to put it in the fridge. He never got the chance; Bricker slapped his hand, startling him into dropping the package.
“What are you doing?” the younger immortal snapped. “Get away from the food. God, you’re naked as a baby, and I know where your hands have been. Get over to the sink and clean yourself up. I’ll put this stuff away.”
“You’re worse than my mother,” Cale muttered, but instead of heading to the sink, he moved back into the office. Alex was still sound asleep on the couch as he passed through on the way to the attached bathroom. She’d explained to him the night they’d painted the dining room that her office used to be the master suite with an attached bathroom. She’d considered ripping it out