The Queer Principles of Kit Webb - Cat Sebastian Page 0,19

that it was because he would not cede a single inch of ground, but even as he formulated the thought, he knew it to be a lie.

“I don’t do that,” Kit said, because, evidently, he was an idiot.

“Do what, Mr. Webb? I hadn’t realized we had reached that stage of the proceedings.”

“Uh,” Kit said, eloquently. “I don’t—”

“But you want to,” Percy said, undeterred and unabashed. He helped himself to a seedcake from the basket that Kit had forgotten to put away. He took a small bite, chewed thoughtfully, and then brought a lace-trimmed handkerchief to his mouth. “Quite good. Why haven’t I had any cakes on my previous visits? I spent hours here without seeing so much as a crumb.”

Kit snatched the basket away and put it under the table. “I save them for the customers I like.”

“I think I’m shaping up to be your favorite customer ever,” Percy said, leaning close and taking another bite of cake. A crumb lingered on the swell of his lower lip, and Kit couldn’t tear his gaze from it. When Percy swiped the crumb away with one flick of his pink tongue, Kit thought his heart might stop.

“What’s your name?” Kit asked in a desperate bid to regain control of this conversation. “The truth this time.”

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you that,” Percy said, looking genuinely remorseful, which Kit could not begin to make sense of. “Sorrier than you can know.” He was whispering now, his words little more than a breath on Kit’s cheek. Kit could have turned his head an inch to the left and—and kissed him, he would have thought if he were having an even somewhat normal reaction, if wanting to kiss strange men in broad daylight in a crowded coffeehouse could be considered in any way normal. But no, Kit’s impulses were entirely run to mayhem, so what he actually imagined was running his teeth over the black velvet of that stupid heart-shaped patch. He was manifestly losing his mind.

Kit was usually very good at controlling this sort of urge. Hopping into bed with attractive strangers had never appealed to him very much anyway. It always seemed like a lot of hassle and risk for pleasure that never quite lived up to one’s expectations. And that was with women; with men, things were even more complicated because a heaping great dose of danger was thrown into the bargain. And while Kit was far from averse to danger, he didn’t want it in his bed. The fact was that he was spoiled by knowing what it was like to love someone and be loved in return; he knew what it felt like to want to be with someone in bed but also build a future with them. Anything other than that seemed too dismal to consider.

Although, strictly speaking, he still wasn’t considering it. What he had in mind didn’t involve any bed at all, just this counter and a bit of ingenuity. It would be easy—all he had to do was clear the shop, bolt the door, and draw the curtains. Percy seemed like he’d be game—had spent the last fortnight making as much clear to anyone with eyes and ears. Now his lips were parted, and at this close distance Kit could see his pulse coming hot and fast beneath the lace of his collar.

“Pardon me, Mr. Webb,” said a small voice. Kit looked up to see Flora holding a coffee cup in one hand and her Bible in the other. “May I trouble you for a cloth? I’m afraid I spilled my coffee all over the table and now the book is quite soaked. It was my mother’s,” she said, opening the sodden flyleaf to expose a page of smeared ink. There were tears in her eyes, and her voice had a dangerous wobble.

It was as if the girl’s words freed Kit from whatever godforsaken spell he was under. He handed her a clean cloth and showed her how to press it between the damp pages to absorb the worst of the spill. The book wasn’t badly damaged after all, and Kit more than suspected that Flora’s tears—and possibly the spill itself—had been engineered for Percy’s benefit. When he looked up, he expected to see Percy and wondered whether the man would have caught on to what was happening. But when he raised his head, Percy was gone.

Chapter 10

With a great deal of effort and the unfortunate necessity of breaking into an unbecoming sweat, Percy managed to