Free Slayer's Kiss: Shadow Slayer, Book 1 by Cassi Carver Page A

Sorry I had to rush off.”
    “I was a little worried, to be honest. But I got the key copied this morning, like you asked.”
    “Thanks.”
    Julian looked curious about the exchange, though Kara couldn’t imagine Gavin not telling his friend the gory details of their encounter, right down to the way she’d cried like a proper virgin on her wedding night.
    Once the items were back in the box, the three rose to their feet and walked down the hall toward their apartments. Gavin opened the door and held his arm out in invitation. “Want to see how it’s coming along?”
    “Uh…” Kara wasn’t sure about the wisdom of going into the place with two men who were virtual strangers, but against her better judgment, she heard herself reply, “Sure.”
    Gavin smiled and followed her in, closing the door behind her as Julian took the box to the bathroom. The first thing Kara noticed, besides the fact that the men had obviously been hard at work bringing in the big stuff—like a kitchen table, a large brown leather sofa, an enormous flat-screen TV—was that half the stuff either still had tags on it or looked like it was straight out of the box.
    Either Gavin had recently moved out of his parents’ house, or he was going through an ugly divorce and his lady had gotten everything but the shirt off his back. Kara guessed the latter, and it made sense when she thought about his guilt last night and how he wasn’t ready to have sex.
    “So, Kara…” Julian stepped from the hall, thumbs tucked in the pockets of his jeans. “I was planning to get takeout tonight from that deli around the corner, and I wondered if you might like to come over as a thank-you for helping us move.” If eyes could be hungry, Julian’s would be devouring her, licking the marrow from her bones.
    “Us? Are you Gavin’s roommate, then?” The woman in her thrilled at the thought that she’d be seeing more of Gavin’s black-haired friend, but the apartment manager was peeved. “I don’t think you put him on the application, Gavin?”
    Gavin shrugged, all six feet seven inches of him suddenly looking like a little boy caught sprinkling salt on his mama’s prized racing slug. “It’s only until he finds his own place. Besides, it’s a two bedroom and he’s pretty quiet—” Gavin pinned Julian with a sharp glare, “—most of the time.”
    Takeout, huh? It wasn’t as if Julian had offered to tie her up and service her all night long. What harm could there be in a little dinner, besides the fat and carbs? She met his dark, almost black eyes. “Yeah, sure. What time?”
    Julian’s triumphant grin revealed perfect white teeth and adorable dimples on his sculpted cheeks. “Six?”
    Gavin walked up beside his friend and patted Julian on the back hard enough to jar the smile off his handsome face. “How hospitable of you, Jules. And at six? When you know I won’t be around to…partake in the meal.”
    “Exactly. With you gone, there’ll be too much food for one person,” Julian agreed. “But don’t feel bad about leaving me alone on my second night in San Diego. Look—” he gestured to Kara, “—I’ve already made a friend.”
    Standing side by side, Gavin had few inches over his roommate, and Kara supposed Julian himself was big enough to get sideways glances as he walked down the street. Gavin put an arm over Julian’s shoulder, then slipped a hand above his friend’s biceps and pinched hard enough to make his knuckles white.
    Julian snorted in pained laughter and twisted out from under Gavin’s arm. “Don’t be upset, buddy. We’re not trying to exclude you. Maybe you can eat with us—” he looked to Kara as though they were a couple trying to help out a pathetic, lonely friend, “—next week?”
    Kara chuckled, seeing how Julian enjoyed teasing Gavin. “By all means. Maybe I’ll have you both for dinner next week.”
    Gavin’s brows shot up and his smirk reminded her of how he’d looked the night before when