Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
E zra
One of the bodyguards knocked on his bedroom door. Ezra groaned and slowly rolled to his back before gingerly sitting up. “Come in,” he barked as he rubbed his temples. The whiskey had seemed like a great idea in the dead of night. Now? Not so much. Luckily, his curtains were closed, so the room was nice and dim.
Alaric pushed open the door, looking way too alert and hot in a pair of form-fitting jeans and a black linen button down. He had on those sexy boots again. Ezra was forming a real fetish for those.
“It’s one in the afternoon,” Alaric said, keeping his voice low. “I got tired of waiting for you to come out, so I’m here to apologize.”
Pain throbbed in his skull. “For what?”
“For what I said to Finn yesterday morning. For what you heard.” Alaric walked farther into the room.
It took Ezra a moment to remember because the hangover muddied his brain. “No need. It’s not the first time I’ve heard that.”
Alaric sighed heavily. “You shouldn’t have heard it from me. I shouldn’t have made you feel bad about yourself when your entire family does that, and I feel terrible about it. Please, accept my apology.”
Ezra frowned, then more memories of his drunken, loose tongue hit him, and he groaned again. “You gotta ignore me when I drink. I say stupid shit.” He slowly swung his legs to the side of the bed. “Give me a moment, okay? I’ll come out in a sec.”
Alaric tilted his head, then nodded and left the room. Ezra stumbled into the bathroom, and though his bladder was screaming, he scrubbed the horrible funk off his teeth first, then washed his face. He took care of his bladder, then looked in the mirror as he washed his hands. Outside of being pale, he looked fine, so he went into the living room to find Alaric leaning against the back of the couch.
“Hey, it really is fine,” he drawled, putting on his most confident persona. “I’m not sensitive, so your opinion of me doesn’t affect me.”
“But it’s not my opinion of you. Maybe it was at first, but after getting to know you better, I don’t think that anymore. Which is why I shouldn’t have said that.”
“I haven’t given you reason for a change of opinion other than my drunken confession of my shitty childhood.” He walked closer, narrowing his eyes against the brightness of the room. He had no idea where the others were. Didn’t much care at that point. All he wanted was to lie back down. The plan for the day was to see Ezekiel, and he wasn’t sure he was up to that. But he needed to be. He truly wanted for all of this to just be over, and for that to happen, he had to find out who was trying to kill him.
“Nevertheless, I’m sorry for what I said. It was wrong. There’s actually a lot more to you than you let people see.”
Ezra snorted. “Not really.” He reached up to rub his temples, finally closing his eyes against the sunlight streaming in through way too many windows. “Look, we’re fine. You didn’t say anything I didn’t already know, and like I said, I’ve got thick skin. Comes from years of experience. Just chalk last night up to me being stupid, and we’ll let it go. I shouldn’t have been telling you about my childhood.”
“Thing is, Ezra,” Alaric said softly as he walked to stand in front of Ezra. “I’m finding that I want to know more about you. I want to hear those things.”
That stumped him, and he stared up at the tall elf knowing real surprise showed in his raised brows. Alaric was now blocking the light, so his eyes were open much wider. “Why?”
“I have no idea. I just…need to know about you.”
This was making Ezra all sorts of uncomfortable all of a sudden, so he did what he always did, push. “Well, I have no interest in sharing my private life with an employee?—”
The sudden kiss made him go very, very still. Alaric had gently grabbed his biceps, pulled him close and slanted his mouth over Ezra’s. Had he wondered what Alaric’s kiss would be like? Yes. Had he even come close to guessing? Hell no. Alaric’s lips were warm and softer than Ezra had expected, and when he licked over Ezra’s upper lip, Ezra moaned and opened his mouth. The first slide of that tongue went to his head, making him moan again, this one a little embarrassing because it was so obvious his reaction to the kiss was over-the-top. He couldn’t help it. Pure, raw lust had him hard immediately.
Ezra’s arms came up to wrap around Alaric’s neck while Alaric’s hands slid down his arms to move to his back. He pulled Ezra closer.
The feel of all those hard muscles against him had his knees going weak. He tightened his arms, relying on Alaric’s strength to keep him upright. Alaric groaned softly and deepened the kiss.
This was fucking incredible. Hangover long forgotten, Ezra lost himself in the wave of intense pleasure. From just a kiss and their bodies touching. If this was so good, how would actual sex be?
When Alaric stopped the kiss, all he did was stare down at Ezra, his pupils blown, cheeks flushed slightly red. Knowing Ezra had raised the same lust in this elf was a complete rush.
“Why’d you do that?” he whispered.
“I’ve been wanting to do that since I first walked into your apartment.”
“Kiss me?” Did he have a thing for rudeness? What possible thing had Ezra done to attract someone like this? “What about the things you said to Finn? You actually want to kiss someone you think is basically a waste of space?”
“I told you I didn’t mean that. I’m more sorry than I can say that those words came out of my mouth. I was fighting this attraction.”
“For me? But why?”
This made Alaric smile, drawing Ezra’s gaze to his still-wet lips. “Am I wrong that we share this attraction?”
“No. You’re the hottest guy I’ve seen in my life. Of course I’m attracted.”
“But it’s more than that, isn’t it?”
“Not sure what you mean by more, but it’s strong. So is the surprise that it’s returned.”
“You’re a beautiful man, Ezra.”
“You know what they say. Beauty is skin deep.”
Alaric cupped his face, bringing his own very close. “This attraction I have toward you is stronger than anything I’ve felt before. If your beauty was only skin deep, it wouldn’t be that way. My very nature is drawn to the good things in this world, so you, Ezra, must be one of those things.”
“Your nature radar must be really off.” He chuckled nervously, his gaze stuck on that fantastic mouth so close to his. Without conscious thought he rose up and pressed their lips together again.
Alaric’s fingers slid along the sides of his head as he tilted it to give him just the angle he wanted. The touch had a possessive feel to it that sparked an answering need in Ezra, making him think about his recent realization that he desperately wanted to be loved.
Wait, love?
They were just kissing. Yet that need to have someone feel possessive over him, to cherish him was there, and he kind of hated it. Because no matter how much he pushed it away, it still left him with a spark of…hope.
They kissed for what felt like forever until Alaric finally pulled away only to stare down at him with glittering purple eyes. “Feeling better?”
It took a moment for Ezra to defog from the desire pulsing through his body and mind. “Wait, was this about healing me?”
Alaric actually looked confused for a moment before he smiled. “No, trust me. I kissed you for no other reason than I wanted to. The healing happened naturally because I can’t stand by with you in any sort of pain. My magic is all about balance in nature but it’s also about restoration and compassion. I’m drawn to healing anything or anyone who is ill, but with you, the need kind of takes over.” He paused and ran his thumb over Ezra’s lips. “There’s something very strong here, Ezra. Between us. I’d like to get through this job, then I’d like to take you on a date. Would you be interested in that?”
Ezra nodded, mesmerized by the sensual touch and the way Alaric was looking at him. Heat was there, but so was something else. Affection.
The elf was looking at him with affection, and it did something weird to Ezra’s heart.