Men of London 04 - Feat of Clay (24 page)

Tate nodded and struggled to his feet. “I say
a big fat yes to that proposal.” He hunted around for his pants and
put them on, watching Clay do the same. “Can we go home in your
car, and I’ll pick mine up tomorrow? I don’t think I’ve enough
energy to drive.”

Clay rolled his eyes. “I guess. I’ll need to
pick up my keys from my office. Let me go get them.” He gave Tate a
lingering kiss from cold lips then disappeared into the hallway.
Tate followed, limbs tired, body satisfied and heart warmed.

When he got to Clay’s office, Tate saw him
standing there, holding a small white card in his hand. Clay
turned, almost guiltily, as he came in. He seemed a little
uncertain of himself,

“What you got there? Are you ordering
Chinese? Is it from Wongs or that other place?” Tate reached out to
take the card and Clay held it away.

“No, it’s not bloody Chinese. It’s something
I was going to give you tomorrow, but I think maybe I should give
it to you now.” Clay shrugged. “I think the time is right.”

Tate’s curiosity was piqued. “What is
it?”

Clay handed him the card silently and cocked
his head to one side, waiting.

Tate stared down at the card and his eyes
prickled uncomfortably. He looked down at the card, then up at
Clay. “Is this for real?”

The business card read:

Tate Williams. Lead
Investigator, Mortimer Investigations.

Clay nodded. “Of course it is. You deserve to
come on board more than anyone I know. It’s time you went back out
into the field. You’re ready and I want you to know I have faith in
you.” He shuffled uncomfortably. “I also want to talk to you about
becoming a partner in the business, a shareholder, with equal
rights. I want us to manage this business together. But I guess
that’s a conversation for—oomph.”

He didn’t finish his sentence because Tate’s
mouth was on his, kissing him with every fibre of his being. Tate
wrapped his arms around Clay’s neck and held on as passion and love
spent itself in every flick of a tongue, every press of lips
against lips and every soft murmur of breath into each other’s
mouths.

Finally Tate let Clay go and rested his
forehead against his lover’s. “Thanks,” he said huskily. “For
believing in me.”

“That’s no hardship, love,” Clay said softly
as he nudged Tate’s nose with his. “It’s a privilege.”

He grinned and moved to pick up his keys from
his desk.

Tate’s heart was full and he had no more
words. They’d both come a long way since those early days of pain
and grief. It had taken endurance and patience on both their sides
to get to where they were now. It had taken a feat of Clay.

Tate knew he would still have some way to go
to be completely healed and that perhaps he might never put his
ordeal totally behind him. But he had Clay. And friends. People who
cared about him. Some people didn’t have the half of what he
had.

Clay was his rock, his soul mate. And Tate
knew without a shadow of doubt that he was Clay’s. And that simple
fact meant that whatever life might throw at them in the future,
whatever dangers or sadness they may encounter, they would do it
together.

Susan Mac Nicol is
a self-confessed bookaholic, an avid watcher of videos of sexy
pole-dancing men, a self-confessed geek and nerd, and in love with
her Smartphone. This little treasure is called ‘the boyfriend’ by
her longsuffering husband, who says if it vibrated there’d be no
need for him. Susan hasn’t had the heart to tell him there’s an app
for that.

A lover of walks in the forest, theatre
productions, dabbling her toes in the cold North Sea and the
vibrant city of London where you can experience all four seasons in
a day, she is a hater of pantomime (please don’t tar and feather
her), duplicitous people, bigotry and self-righteous idiots. She
likes to think of herself as a ‘half full’ kind of gal, although
sometimes that philosophy is sorely tested.

In an ideal world, Susan Mac Nicol would be
Queen of England and banish all the bad people to the Never Never
Lands of Wherever-Who Cares. As that’s not going to happen, she
contents herself with writing her HEA stories and pretending that,
just for a little while, good things happen to good people.

Stripped Bare

Saving Alexander

Worth Keeping

Double Alchemy

Double Alchemy:

Climax

Love and Punishment

THE MEN OF LONDON SERIES

Love You Senseless

Sight & Sinners

Suit Yourself

THE STARLIGHT SERIES

Cassandra by Starlight

Together in Starlight

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