The Sugared Game (The Will Darling Adventures, #2)

by K.J. Charles

“Why not? What are you doing here? And come to that, how did you get in?” “Your back window.” “Again? For crying out loud. I only took the nails out last week!” “For which I’m glad,” Kim said. “It would have been unsubtle to smash it, and defeated my purpose.” Will glowered at him. “Which was what?” “Getting in here without anyone noticing me.” “It’s a shop. You can walk in without anyone paying attention all the time. I wouldn’t pay attention if you walked in.” “You’re a born bookseller,” Kim agreed.

“I know you’ve thought about this,” Will said. “But there are men in the world who aren’t queer or arseholes. Have you considered marrying one of them instead?”

“Thank you. What did you tell him?” “Nothing. I didn’t know what lie you had in mind.” “You could tell him I need his professional advice, and bask in a warm glow of honesty.” “You tell him, so I can watch you choke on your own tongue as you attempt to spit out something like truth.”

“Ambisexual,” Kim said, which didn’t sound right either, or real. “You what?” “Ambisexual. Inclined to men and ladies alike.” “Oh, is that what Maisie meant? She said ambidextrous.”

Will had never thought of himself as a person they had a word for. Then again, a word meant a thing was usual enough to need a word. He’d definitely want to think more about that. “Hmph. If you ask me, it sounds like a patent tandem.”

“I think—I flatter myself—that you want to know if I care for you. No: you must know that I do, so what you want is for me to say so, and I do, Will. I care for you far more than makes me feel safe. I want you, but you’re well aware of that. I feel at peace with you, and I don’t often feel at peace. And without excusing the trouble I have given you, it brings me to my knees that you’re strong enough to bear it. I wish I were worth you, Will.”