Page 88 of Black and Brown

Ex took the knife from Meridian, helped himself to an apple out of the fruit bowl on the dining table, and used it to start peeling the skin off.

Meridian didn’t speak as he pulled out an antique-looking cabriole from his inside jacket pocket, removed a black cigarette with a gold-colored filter, and lit it with a black pearl Zippo.

Grace bristled, clenching his jaw.

“Thanks for asking, don’t fuckin’ light that in here,” Mirage gritted out.

“You sure it’s not okay? I mean…” Ex glanced around the room at the lingering smoke and black marks on the ceiling.

“Fuck you.” Mirage looked away in embarrassment until Grace gripped his chin and turned his head back to face him.

Don’t ever let another man’s words make you turn away from me.

Mirage nodded.

“I heard you two can hear each other’s thoughts. That’s cool as hell.” Ex sat on the couch and watched Meridian smoke his cigarette. “I’d never be able to figure out what the hell that one was saying in his mind. Thank fuck.”

“Are you gonna answer the question or not?” Mirage snarled at Ex since Meridian, with his abundance of confidence, was apparently too damn cool to respond to anything.

“Sure, we’re here to discuss yesterday’s mission and what we’re going to do about it today.”

Mirage looked at Grace, then asked, “Excuse us. ‘We’?”

“Despite how fucked-up the Lion’s accusation was about the organization, it has to be taken seriously. He wouldn’t lie,” Meridian said, his voice deep and raspy as if he’d been smoking those cigarettes all his life.

Mirage sighed, knowing they were right. If they were doing the organization’s dirty work, they had to know for sure and put an end to it.

But he would’ve preferred to stay in a sex-infused bubble with Grace for the rest of the week.

Grace turned and winked at him, making Mirage’s dick react before he left to go into the bedroom.

Ex huffed. “You’re not gonna be able to stick your heads in the sand like two dumbass ostriches. If we work together, then—”

“Calm down,” Mirage grumbled. “He’s going to put on some clothes.”

“Well, that’s a relief. He looked obscene in those things.”

Mirage rolled his eyes.

Ex took a pear and began to peel and eat that, too, while Meridian leaned against the balcony rail and lit another smoke, staring without blinking those obsidian-colored eyes.

Ex stood at the breakfast bar.

“This condo is nice as hell. Everything looks custom-made. I don’t do much with my place. I’m hardly there to enjoy it, so why bother.”

“Yeah, uh, I guess same for me,” Mirage agreed, hoping neither of them brought up the obvious while he stood there in nothing but a towel.

They were silent for a long time, long enough for Mirage to become uncomfortable.

“We saw Grace almost break your handler’s shoulder off for touching you.” Ex looked serious. “When did you two develop feelings and start fuckin’? Especially when you’re not supposed to have, no less, feel, that kind of pleasure.”

Mirage closed his mouth so he didn’t look like a fish flung onto a pier.

Meridian

Grace came out with perfect timing for Mirage to avoid the question.

Meridian was offended that Grace wasn’t the least bit worried about a killer like him walking so close behind him.