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.They jerked apart, their breathing ragged.The dogs barrelled past them, barking and jumping up at the door."What the fuck?" Adam whimpered dazedly."Maybe they'll go away if we don't answer it." But before he finished speaking, the doorbell rang again."Get rid of them," Adam said urgently, grabbing the dogs by their scruffs and hauling them into the living room."We have important unfinished business!""Damn right!"Ben took a moment to steady his breathing and straighten his clothes.Fortunately his erection was subsiding.He sighed and opened the door just as the bell rang again.A man, someone he'd never seen before, stood on the doorstep.The stranger seemed even more taken aback than Ben was."Who the hell are you?" the new arrival demanded.The moment was almost an action replay of Ben's first meeting with Adam, except this man looked as if he'd stepped out of a corporate model agency, while Adam had looked like a tramp.A leap of intuition told Ben the identity of the unexpected visitor: this was Peter.He was stocky, in his early thirties with neatly styled brown hair, very blue eyes in a strong-jawed face, and smartly dressed in a heavy winter coat over a dark suit so cleverly tailored you didn't see the slight paunch.Unless you were a jealous would-be lover and looking for the flaws."What are you doing here? Where's Adam?"Conflicting impulses raged in Ben.He wanted to swing a punch at the man's pugnacious jaw, or slam the door in his face.Or bite back at him with the sarcastic comment he hadn't quite got to the tip of his tongue.Instead he just stood there like an idiot, an uncomfortable certainty growing painfully in his belly.This was it, the crunch time come far sooner than he'd expected, and it was entirely out of his hands."Pete?" Adam came up beside him."I thought I recognised your voice." To Ben's chagrin, he didn't sound particularly upset at seeing his ex-lover.Just surprised, mildly indignant, and cautious."Yes.Well, I thought I'd pay you a visit," Peter said stiffly, his gaze never leaving Ben's face."Since you threw the money straight back at me with only a basic not interested comment, I decided we should discuss any future plans in greater detail.""I'm still not interested." Adam's frown showed irritation and puzzlement rather than the old anger."How did you get this address?"Peter took a sheaf of envelopes from inside his coat and held them up."Redirected post from Tom's place, of course," he said impatiently."I said I'd deliver them myself, save him the postage.The partnership plans, remember, and we can't talk about it on the damned doorstep.""Right," Adam said coldly."You'd better come in.But I'll tell you now, my plans don't include a courier business."That, Ben decided, was a promising start."I'll leave you two to your discussions," he cut in quickly."The dogs need their afternoon run.""You don't have to go," Adam said, laying his hand on Ben's arm.He covered Adam's light clasp with his own hand."Yes," he said."I really do.I won't be long."Ben hurried into the living room, Peter's imperious, "Who the hell is he and what's he to you?" ringing in his ears, and called the reluctant dogs into the scullery.They didn't stop barking, even when he'd fastened their collars and clipped on their leads.They didn't shut up until he took them out of the scullery door into the dank, almost windless afternoon, and the light snow falling silently from the leaden sky.* * * *"What the fuck do you mean, what's he to me?" Adam demanded, shutting the living room door behind Ben, Teazle, and Bracken with a little more force than he intended."Ben's staying here to look after the house and the dogs while Gran's away.Not that it's any of your business.""You're here now, so he doesn't have to be.Why didn't you kick him out?""What?" Adam stared at him, his anger rising at last."Are you serious? Gran hired him; only Gran can fire him.In any case, as soon as I find a place of my own, I'm off, so he's needed here.""You've already got a place of your own.In London with me.""Don't start! We're finished, Pete.Accept it.""We can discuss it later.First of all, we talk about Prescott Couriers.""That's finished as well, or at best, on hold for a couple of years.""No.You got my letter, so you know my proposition.Oh, and by the way, I tore up your cheque.Now we talk.""Sod it, Peter!" Furious, Adam took a few swift strides up and down the room [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]