Warrior's Cross by Madeleine Urban, Abigail Roux Read Free Book Online

but Blake had more than once assured him the man was reliable and discreet, and Julian’s own slight infatuation had pushed him into being incautious. He’d been fretting over it ever since—something he wasn’t prone to do.
    “It’s safe right here in my hot little hands,” Blake answered. He paused. “Did you really think Cameron wouldn’t bring it to me?”
    “Hey,” Julian grunted in annoyance. “When something leaves my hands, I worry, okay? That’s what I do. I don’t trust you or your harebrained ideas any farther than I can throw you.”
    Blake chuckled. “Well, you can stop worrying. Cameron delivered it just like he said he would. He didn’t even listen to it first.” He paused again. “Why’d you ask him? Why not bring it to me directly? You knew I was in my office.”
    Julian pressed his lips together and then pursed them thoughtfully.
    He thought about pointing out that there was always the possibility that he was being followed and traipsing back into the private offices to see Blake whenever he wanted probably wasn’t a good idea. But Blake already knew that. He was simply poking at one of Julian’s very few vulnerable spots. Blake knew Julian was interested in Cameron, and he just couldn’t help himself from teasing Julian mercilessly about it.
    “He’s more fun to look at than you are,” Julian finally answered instead of giving a more serious answer.
    Blake’s laugh rang out. “You’re an ass,” he responded delightedly.
    “Oh, by the way, did you know you’re gorgeous ?”
    “Yes, I was aware,” Julian answered without missing a beat. He waited a moment before he gave a suspicious, “Why?”

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    A snicker came across the line. “Never mind. I made the call, and they’ll get this thing to the right people. Good job, by the way. She wasn’t as smart as we gave her credit for, huh?”
    “Not nearly.” Julian groaned. “I’m almost embarrassed I put so much effort into her. Did you know she wrote me a fucking check?
    Talk about a paper trail.”
    “What’d you do with it?” Blake asked in amusement.
    “Burned it when I got home.”
    “Well, lessons learned,” Blake replied easily. “Will you be here next week? It’s a holiday, you know. I’ll be out of town.”
    “If you’ll be out of town, why do you care where I’ll be?” Julian countered.
    “I don’t want to think about you sitting in that mausoleum of a house alone on Christmas Eve,” Blake answered sincerely.
    “How sweet,” Julian responded flatly. He sighed softly and looked out at the falling snow. “But since you won’t be here, regardless, again I ask: what do you care?”
    “Jackass,” Blake accused fondly.
    “Yeah. There’s always Christmas Mass,” Julian muttered.
    “That doesn’t count as company,” Blake pointed out.
    “Yes, well, it’ll do,” Julian assured him, thinking to himself that if he could muster the nerve, he could probably find himself some of Blake’s brand of company. His mind turned again toward thoughts of a dark-haired, blue-eyed waiter.
    “Take care of yourself, Julian,” Blake advised knowingly. “Unless something breaks, you’re free ’til Christmas. Good night.”
    “Sweet dreams, you bastard,” Julian offered with a small smile.
    “Of course they will be. Emily’s back from Paris,” Blake said with a laugh, and he hung up.
    Julian smiled and shook his head. He folded his phone and tossed it onto the nearest piece of furniture, wondering what in the hell he was going to do with himself for the next several days without any jobs to 34
    Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux

    work or research. He stared out at the snow, pondering the memory of the way the waiter’s lips had curved into a smile when he’d watched the snow falling outside of Tuesdays.
    He growled slightly, shaking his head in defeat. He thought about that man far too much for it to be healthy. He couldn’t help but wonder, though, if Cameron would respond favorably