Page 33 of His Worst Crime

“Don’t fall asleep on me in the car. We still have to return Desdemona and get Ferro back into his paddock.”

“I might grab a couple of winks on the way.”

They looked at each other for a minute, smiling though not saying anything, but feeling relaxed in each other’s company. Ramon looked happier than David had ever seen him. It tore at his heart, and finally he had to look away.

“What are you thinking?” Ramon asked.

David realized he was going to have to lie to Ramon for the first time.

“This is just too perfect, you know? I….” He couldn’t think of any viable way to finish the sentence.

“Too perfect?” Ramon asked. “It’s perfect. Why the ‘too’?”

“Well, I’m… just passing through… I…”

“So stay.” When David didn’t answer, instead just studying his empty plate, Ramon pushed on: “Davey, face up to whatever it is you’re running—“

“I’m not running from anything, and please don’t call me that. My name’s David!”

Now David’s blue eyes were blazing, and he was staring at Ramon with something approaching anger.

“OK, I didn’t mean… I just meant… stay if you want to, that’s all.”

“I can’t.”

In the silence it felt suddenly cold, the last of the sun having slipped from the day.

“I’m going to pay,” said Ramon gruffly.

“No, we should go halves.”

“Let me!” Ramon had already stood up quickly, his chair falling over behind him. He sounded angry. “I want to invite you.” And he stalked off toward the cash register.

David considered whether to insist, but then stood up and walked more slowly back toward the pickup and float. He leaned on the hood until Ramon arrived.

“Sorry,” he said when Ramon came out. “There’s things I can’t….”

“Don’t worry,” Ramon said. “I shouldn’t pry.” He now sounded cold and formal.

David stood up and went back to check on the horses, opening the little door at the front of the float, so he could duck in to check their feed. He stood there in the gloom for several long moments, just breathing and letting the horses’ presence calm him, though they had both finished their feed and were stamping impatiently to get out of the float and back to their paddocks. He added a handful more of feed to each nose bag to keep them quiet for the journey. Coming down here with the copper had been a massive mistake. He’d known it at the time and now it was all coming together in a slow-motion car-crash moment. His stuff was back at the guy’s place. He’d have to get it and… leave. They’d taken this as far as it could go.

nineteen

Ramon focused on the road on their drive back in the dark. David appeared to be sleeping, leaning up against the passenger door. He doubted he was. Avoiding contact more like. He’d blown it, making that comment at the café, but what was he supposed to do? They were good together. Today had been amazing, the best day of his life… for years. David had loved it, he’d been positively… glowing. Ramon couldn’t imagine them ever being apart, and whatever it was in David’s life that had him… whatever it was, he could, should just face up to it. Sitting there in the sunset with him after a day that he could only describe as perfect, and even that didn’t come close: it had been sublime, almost ecstatic. Dealing with whatever he had in his past had seemed like a small thing they could overcome, just a bump in the road… wasn’t it?

David had lashed out with a vehemence Ramon hadn’t seen in him before. That anger was… covering something up. The files from Forensics sitting on Ramon’s drive floated into his mind, but he pushed the idea away. As a policeman, he… did he have a duty? No, he didn’t know David’s situation and it was none of his business. There was no indication of a crime. You can’t fingerprint someone just on a mere suspicion. As he had. But he wasn’t going to do anything with it. That was a weak moment. He’d delete the files. And then even if David was involved with something, it wouldn’t be his call. He could claim innocence.

Except he couldn’t. David had left Carme’s stables to avoid giving her his details, his real name. Or maybe he hadn’t. What did Ramon know? All he had were suspicions. Perhaps he could ask him? Yeah, see how well that had gone. He glanced over. David’s eyes were closed tight, his unruly blond curls mussed over his head, his lips slightly parted, and his breathing suggested he was asleep. Except he wasn’t. Just another suspicion of Ramon’s. In less than half a minute, their glorious day had gone pear-shaped. He looked back at the road, focusing on the white line flicking along beneath his headlights.

They’d have to have it out when they got home. Wouldn’t they? The last twenty-four hours had been a beginning, an amazing start, and Ramon wanted it to become something more. They were good together. They got each other like no one he’d ever met before. He wasn’t about to let this one go without a fight. So if it meant a fight…. He didn’t want to fight. He wanted to take David in his arms, hold him, kiss him, throw him roughly on the bed, tear off his clothes, grab his ankles and take him again, sore ass and all. Let him suffer a little the way he’d made Ramon suffer. His cock was hard and tenting his jodhpurs. He adjusted it, but it still made a tight bulge pushing out against the thick fabric. He hoped David didn’t wake up and see it. He hoped he did. He wanted to feel his lips on his cock again, push into his throat, sense him choke as he took him in. Stop it! Now he was horny again, and the pickup’s vibration wouldn’t let his erection go down. Maybe that was the answer. When they got back to the masia, they’d have sex and sleep, deal with whatever they had to deal with in the morning. Let it go.

His mobile, lying on the dashboard before him, beeped. He picked it up. Policemen knew better than anyone the dangers of using a mobile while driving, and his hands-free was on the blink—he needed to get it replaced. He chanced a glance at the screen. Carme’s name flashed up.

“David… David, are you awake?”

His eyes snapped open immediately, and he looked at Ramon, those clear blue irises tentative.

“Yeah?”