TWO HOURS HOURS later, he walked into his condo and collapsed onto the couch. later, he walked into his condo and collapsed onto the couch.

"Wow. You okay?"

Julian mumbled something. That had been grueling. It was a good thing he was off the next day. He wasn't sure he'd be recovered enough to go to work after a mere night's sleep. He almost wished he'd now chosen to be a bull rider like his brother. Had to be less physical. Had to be.

Something jostled the couch. "Hey, I have a dinner party I need to get to. How do I look?"

Julian managed to twist his neck and stare at his cousin, who was tugging on his cuffs. "Hollywood stylin', man."

"Yeah?"

"I hope it's inside. You're going to combust in that suit."

"One of the hotels downtown. Is the tie straight?"

Julian stiffly stood and batted away Jet's hands. "It's fine. What's tonight for?"

"I honestly don't know. They said show up, so I'm showing up."

Julian snickered. "You look great, Jethro."

Jet shuddered. "Only because it's you, and I love you."

"Go knock those film execs on their a.s.ses." He stepped back and stretched. At least he didn't feel like ground meat now. "Any stars gonna be there?"

"I don't know. Doubt it. It's only the creative production team as far as I know. We're working on an independent film, and as usual, that's all I can say." Julian grinned knowingly, because it was status quo. Jet didn't blab about s.h.i.t.

"Okay. Have fun. If you're late, don't wake me up."

Jet winked. After a final pat-down he headed out, which left Julian at home on a Wednesday night with nothing to do.

He dug in his gear bag for his cell phone and turned it on. He had one message. Expecting it to be his mother, he was surprised to hear Ralph's charming and whirlwind voice.

"Just checking in for tomorrow. Give me a call when you can."

Julian sagged onto the couch and hit dial. "h.e.l.lo, sugar," he purred once Ralph answered. "Busy?"

"No. Just got home. Hold on." Julian heard the sound of keys and beeps. The alarm. "Hmm...." Then silence.

"Something wrong?" He rested with his eyes closed, envisioning long, blond hair billowing around trim shoulders, making them naked while he was at it.

"Just my imagination. You know that creepy, stalker feeling you get sometimes? It's not threatening, just someone is paying attention and then it's gone? That's all it was."

"Okay. So we're still good for tomorrow?" Julian had the whole afternoon and evening set up already.

"We are." Ralph's voice rose a smidge, showing his own excitement.

That sounded more like the Ralph he'd met. The cool distance he'd seen after visiting the dungeon began to make sense. Julian had pa.s.sed a test of some sort. The dimensions of Ralph continued to grab at his curiosity. It was almost like Ralph was a different person, had a different energy, when he was in that room. More purposeful, focused, and far more intense than what Julian was expecting. He was clearly more than the man Julian had first seen at the club.

"So, just getting home?"

"Literally." The click of a second door, and a sigh. "Home sweet home."

He made Julian smile. "Hey, have you eaten?"

"Not since about eleven. I'm starving."

"Go with me for dinner. Nothing fancy. Jet is out and I'd rather stare at something beautiful than watch TV."

"A predate date?" Ralph teased.

"Sure. Game?"

"Feed me, and I'll be anything."

Julian burst out in laughter. "See you in half an hour."

"Ring the bell out front."

"Okay. See you."

"'Bye!"

Julian hung up and hopped off the couch to nearly run through the shower, the earlier fatigue from his workout evaporated. It took him twenty-five minutes to get to Ralph's studio. The interior lights were dimmed and with the dark tint on the windows, it was difficult to see inside. He found the buzzer near the door and pushed. An intercom crackled.

"Julian?"

He hit the reply b.u.t.ton on the box. "I'm here."

"Be right down."

A few seconds later, Ralph emerged out of the shadows. He locked up and once they were both in the car, Julian asked, "Seafood okay?"

"Sushi or seafood. I love both."

Julian filed that away. "Good to know. Just regular seafood tonight. There's a place I like to go, laid back. Right on the beach." He gave the man a long, caressing stare when they were caught at a light. He looked good. Julian would have gladly eaten him.

"Light's green," Ralph pointed out.

"Oh c.r.a.p!" Ralph's chuckle was kind while Julian felt his cheeks heat. "Can't help it. I can't help thinking you should be the model."

"Never wanted to be, but I loved capturing images, faces, scenes, colors. Especially the colors."

"I can absolutely see that," Julian agreed, remembering some of the sunset images and intense weather photos on the studio's walls. There was one set, a collage of stormy weather photos bathed in purples and reds of a setting sun framed above a collection of flowers and trails. Piecemeal, they were stunning. Collectively, they were their own image of nature at her most ferocious and most colorful. "I think you see things that others might make too small of a picture out of. More than a snapshot, you create a world. You can make them bigger, more...." He hunted for the word. "Encapsulating."

Ralph twisted on his seat, those green eyes boldly taking him in. "I think you're the first who has ever seen that in what I do."

Julian shifted. The solemn honesty in Ralph's voice was giving him a hard-on. He cleared his throat. "It's just what I see."

Ralph leaned across the console and breathed into Julian's ear. "Then you have wonderful insight." He dropped a light kiss to skin and then straightened.

Julian did his best to not wreck the car.

"THANK YOU YOU for this," Ralph said watching buildings pa.s.s the outside of the car through half-open eyes. The sun had set in the hour or so they'd been enjoying dinner, and it was cooling off nicely. The food had been plentiful and the b.u.t.ter sauce had been cla.s.sic. Some days what you know, comfort food, really was the best thing. "It was a nice change of pace." for this," Ralph said watching buildings pa.s.s the outside of the car through half-open eyes. The sun had set in the hour or so they'd been enjoying dinner, and it was cooling off nicely. The food had been plentiful and the b.u.t.ter sauce had been cla.s.sic. Some days what you know, comfort food, really was the best thing. "It was a nice change of pace."

"You liked it?"

"The seash.o.r.e places are always the best." He closed his eyes and drank in the memories of the sea breezes playing over the patio. The rustle of umbrellas. The quiet swish of the waves. .h.i.tting the sand. "Reminded me of where my mom used to bring me. She loved coming to the seash.o.r.e during the summer just for the food."

"Oh?"

"I'm not from LA. Grew up in Henderson."

"And your mom?"

Ralph relaxed tense fingers on his thigh. He should have expected Julian's question. Mentioning his mother had rolled off his tongue more as unthinking dialogue than as conversation. He so rarely spoke about her, he was almost positive Tony was the only other person on the planet who knew the whole story. Jackie hadn't known d.i.c.k. Come to think of it, he hadn't really cared to know either.

"She was a blackjack dealer for years." Ralph took a moment weighing what to say, then went with his gut. "She married one of the high roller regulars. Unfortunately, his ex-wife didn't care for her and killed them both."

"Oh, h.e.l.l," Julian gasped.

"She's serving life."

"I'm sorry, sugar."

"It didn't happen yesterday," Ralph said, trying to keep the deeper emotion out of his voice. "I had moved to California to study photography and art. When all the facts came to the surface during his ex's trial, mother's husband was loaded, which I hadn't known until then. I didn't know him well. I met him at their wedding and saw them only occasionally after that." His mother had been one of the sweetest, most wonderful people he'd ever known growing up. She'd always cared about him, for him, made time for him. He missed her deeply whenever he let his thoughts roam over his childhood.

"Still. That's a terrible trade. As if whatever you received could replace your mother."

"There wasn't much I wanted or asked for, actually. Mostly, my mother's personal accounts. His family fought tooth and nail to take it all. I didn't feel they had a right to any of what she'd worked years initially to save. Thankfully, the judge was fair. It came out then that I was gay, and I think that did more good than harm for me. Turned out, the judge's son was also gay." Ralph smirked remembering the browbeating their lawyer had received for trying to play that card.

"Were there other kids involved?"

"No. If there had been, I would have walked away from every single penny."

Julian put the car in park in front of the studio. "You are the most amazing man, Ralph."

"I believe in being fair," he said. He undid his buckle. "Want to come upstairs? Time to lighten the conversation again."

Julian tipped his head to study him. "Do you like to dance?"

"Not club dancing, no."

Julian's eyes began to sparkle in the streetlights shimmering through the car's windshield. "Better idea." He released his belt. "Come on. Let's go up."

Ralph raised a hand to unlock the gla.s.s door when they reached it, then paused with the key in hand. The hair on the back of his neck stood up.

"Everything okay?" Julian asked, watching him closely.

Ralph shook himself. "Yeah." That was twice that had happened. Once he could toss off as unimportant. Twice? He released a short breath and let it go. He didn't linger to get inside and reactivate the alarm. It was odd though, because he'd gone in through the backdoor through the alley earlier in the day, and had felt that watched feeling then too.

He had to be imagining things.

He'd shaken the weight free by the time he unlocked the door at the top of the stairs.

"Leave the lights off," Julian said. "Where's your stereo?"

"In the entertainment console."

Julian made an a-ha a-ha face and quickly turned it on and found what he was looking for. "Perfect." The haunting strains of a strings concert began to play. He straightened and held out a hand. face and quickly turned it on and found what he was looking for. "Perfect." The haunting strains of a strings concert began to play. He straightened and held out a hand.

They'd spent dinner laughing over their day, Julian sharing his rock-climbing adventure, humorously grumbling over Rocky and Brett's compet.i.tive ribbing, and Ralph detailing photo work he was doing for Tony this week. The date had been light, undemanding, a little give and take without pressure. Ralph couldn't recall the last date he'd had that had been this simple and enjoyable.

The nostalgia the eatery had nudged to the surface hadn't been expected. It was nice to know Julian understood and hadn't pushed for more than he'd been willing to give tonight.

"This is a nice ending to a fun evening," Julian said, wrapping his arms around Ralph's waist. "Tomorrow will be fun, but this is relaxing. After the day we've both had, uncomplicated has its benefits."

Ralph touched their foreheads together as they swayed to the music. "Completely."

When Julian bent close and nibbled sweetly on Ralph's neck, Ralph sighed and let go.

Chapter 7.

JULIAN SUCKLED SUCKLED gently on skin, savoring the smoothness and taste on his tongue. Languid movements allowed for lots of light nibbles. gently on skin, savoring the smoothness and taste on his tongue. Languid movements allowed for lots of light nibbles.

"Any hints about tomorrow?" Ralph asked.

"A surprise I hope you're going to like, then a nice dinner. A little cla.s.sier than jeans and flip flops." Beyond that, he was playing the evening by ear. He didn't want to give too many hints either. He curled Ralph into his chest, moving a hand to his waist. As they moved frame to frame, light contact sizzled. "Driving me crazy," he whispered on a growled breath. Ralph was scrambling his thoughts.

"Feels good," Ralph commented with a sigh.

Julian peeked and caught his relaxed expression, the tip of his chin asking for more, and lowered eyelids. He wondered if anyone ever saw this side of Ralph.

Julian brought Ralph's hands to his waist, finding lips with his own. The sweetest of kisses made him lightheaded. He wasn't sure how long they danced like that, interspersing their dance with lazy kisses and caring nibbles. The longer he held him, the more Julian wanted to slowly melt away the clothing on them both. He knew it was time to leave when he was physically controlling the urge to go for more. More kisses, more skin, more of the man in his arms. He hated to end their perfect moment.