Love Lies Bleeding by Remmy Duchene (carter reed txt) 📕

worried. You're not at home. You're not at his place. You're not at the university—what is going on?"

"I did it again. I expected too much too fast in the worst case scenario."

Byung groaned.

"Don't worry about it," Anderson continued. "I need some time to mourn. I need to be away from people right now."

"What do I tell the detective?"'

Anderson went quiet for a moment while the server placed his meal before him. He pulled a pepperoni off his pizza and shoved it into his mouth. He wanted to tell Byung to tell Leo to go fuck himself or to take a long walk off a short pier, but he chewed the spicy meat thoughtfully.

"Well, you don't have to tell him anything. But if you're insisting, tell him you spoke to me and I'm fine."

"Come on, Anderson. We both know he's going to want to know where you are."

"I'm an adult, Bee. I can take care of myself."

Taking a breath, Anderson hung up and eyed his pizza. He suddenly wasn't feeling hungry but he knew his stomach had to be empty. It'd been hours since he'd eaten anything. He called the server to keep an eye on his food so he could rush out to the car. He grabbed the papers he had to mark and went back to his food. Once he ate, he tried keeping his mind on his students. They had kept him from breaking down in the last little while.

Anderson wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting there or how many cups of water he'd downed but suddenly a shadow entered the pizzeria. He circled the mark on the final paper and looked up. His eyes bulged.

"You."

Leo sat across from him silently but said nothing.

"How'd you find me?"

"I tracked your phone. It bounced off the tower outside so I assumed you were here. Why are you hiding from me?"

"Not everything in my life is about you." Anderson frowned and packed the papers into a folder. Zipping it up, he placed it into his bag, and dropped the bag at his feet. He sipped from his water bottle and leveled his eyes on Leo. The cop's eyes looked tired, his hair a mess, and the beard on his face had come in more. Still he was delicious. Even then he reminded Anderson of the men Jazmon would warn him about. Shaking his head, he looked out the glass window at his car.

"You found me. So what?"

"I was worried about you, all right? I didn't mean to hurt you and I know I did. When I'm stressed, I say stupid things. I've stayed to myself for the past few years because I can't deal with intimacy. It's the most awkward thing for me."

"Then tell me why you're here? Were you just worried your suspect would come after me and you'd be in trouble with your boss?"

"Is it really that important?"

"Yes. I'm curious."

Leo licked his fabulous lips and reached across the table to hold Anderson's hand. A jolt of electricity surged through him, leaving Anderson wanting to climb across the table. But he sat still.

"I came after you because we have something building here. I don't quite understand it but I want to. Come back home with me. I'm doing my best."

Anderson smiled. He didn't know what he expected from Leo but it wasn't this. Turning his hand over, he laced his fingers with Leo's. He lifted the hand to his lips, brushing them over Leo's hand. "We should get back—but I have a class at three today, so if you don't mind me disappearing for a few hours."

"Are you kidding?" Leo sounded incredulous. "You're not kidding."

"Normally I wouldn't be teaching today, but I agreed to help some students who missed a few classes at the beginning of the semester because of an exchange program with a university in Canada."

"I'm going to be your shadow."

Anderson laughed. "My shadow… We'll see about that tonight."

Leo growled at him.

Anderson shivered and pulled his hand back to reach for his bag and placed it on the table. "Have you eaten?"

Leo shook his head.

"I'll buy you a pizza? On me?"

They walked to the counter. Leo eyed the menu. "Can I have a medium cheese pizza? I don't think my stomach can handle much more of anything."

When it was ready, the two sat together so Leo could eat.

Anderson then allowed Leo to walk him to his car. He groaned when Leo's lips found his. He'd almost forgotten just how well Leo kissed him. Their tongues snaked around each other's, sending charges of fire through him, ricocheting off his spine and jerking his dick to life.

"We should stop," Anderson moaned.

Leo chuckled. "We should. I'll see you tonight?"

"You bet."

Chapter Ten

Anderson sat in the empty lecture hall long after the impromptu session was over and he'd packed up his things, just thinking back to what happened with Leo. If he was being honest with himself, he'd admit the only reason they slept together was because he was sad and Leo was probably too emotionally bankrupt to soothe him in any other way. That realization took the wind out of Anderson's sails and for a brief moment he had to lean against a desk to catch his breath.

It was just a booty call, Andy boy. Get over it.

Maybe he should talk to Leo about it; especially since he had prided himself in being the man to stay away from so-called booty calls—to have only meaningful relationships. With Leo, it was just a fluke. It had to be. There was no way he could be smitten by a man who carried a gun for a living. What if he did what he always does—discuss it with Leo and the cop walked away? What if Leo truly thought it was a once in a lifetime thing and wanted to walk away once the killer had been caught?

A sinking feeling filled Anderson's stomach so he tried shaking off his thoughts as best he could and grabbed his things. But Leo wanted more—he said