Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
E zra
Xavier promised to wrap Brian in a bow and deliver him along with all the documentation of his trafficking ring to the authorities. Ezra wanted to go home, but he’d believed Brian about him not being responsible for the price on his head. The preternaturals had believed him, too, so Alaric had insisted they stay in the warded house until they could solve the mystery. Ezra was at a complete loss, He’d honestly believed Brian was behind this. All he could think about was maybe an ex-boyfriend or two, but none were wealthy enough or even interested enough to have him taken out.
It had to be one of his father’s enemies.
He sat on the floor with paperwork strewn over the coffee table. He’d been at this for hours, but there was just nothing, and frustration had burned a hole in his gut.
Reaching up to rub his throbbing temples, he let out a deep breath, then jumped when hands went under his armpits and lifted him to his feet.
“Bedtime,” Alaric announced as he kept lifting and turning Ezra until Ezra was forced to wrap his arms and legs around the elf. He met the gaze of Finn who’d been sitting on the couch watching the television and found amusement and a faint hint of envy, but Alaric quickly walked down the hall, and he let that leave his mind. He was so tired and so sick of having his world turned upside down. The only good thing was Alaric, so he hugged his neck tight.
“I still can’t believe you jumped in front of a gun for me.”
“I was hired to protect you, Ezra.”
“That’s the whole reason?”
“You know it’s not.” Alaric didn’t turn on the bedroom light, just walked across the room and laid Ezra onto the bed. “Ezra, there isn’t much I wouldn’t do for you.”
“Will you sleep here? Hold me?”
“That was the plan.”
“Good.” Ezra watched as Alaric removed his clothing then leaned over the bed to take off Ezra’s. A part of Ezra wanted to have sex again, but he was just so stressed and exhausted, his body didn’t want to follow that part. “I don’t know if I’m up to sex,” he admitted.
“We’re both tired. Callan is outside, and Finn is in the living room. We can sleep knowing you’re safe. All I want to do is hold you while we sleep. That sound okay?”
“It sounds like a dream.”
“Though I will be naked because like you, I sleep that way. You’ll have to ignore whatever my body does. Being naked against you will have me reacting no matter how sleepy I am.”
“I’m sure mine will too. We’ll just ignore the wood.” When Alaric slid against him, he snorted. “Or not.”
Alaric started chuckling when it was obvious neither of them was ready to sleep together like this without reacting. He twined his legs with Ezra’s and wrapped his arm tight around him.
“I couldn’t find anything in my father’s paperwork. There’s just nothing, Alaric, to tell me who is doing this. I don’t know what to do. It’s not like I can just hire you indefinitely, and I do want to get back to my regular life, listless as it was.”
“And why was that?”
Ezra rested his cheek on Alaric’s chest. “You want to know a secret?”
“I want to know all your secrets.”
“I really want to be a photographer. I enrolled to go back to school for business, but I used to be so into taking pictures. I had a camera with me wherever I went, and every member of my family gave me shit about that. It got so bad, I stopped carrying it around. Then living with Brian sort of killed that dream altogether.” He nuzzled into the hair on Alaric’s chest. “I used to get so frustrated that I couldn’t take images of people like you. I’d see someone so fascinating or beautiful, and it never translated to film.”
“Our glamours make sure that doesn’t happen. Can you imagine if we were able to be captured like that? All glamours have that built in.”
“Magic is fascinating. Yours is nature, right?”
“Mine is intertwined with nature. I get sustenance from living things, and I can cast spells that deplete me some. And the healing you know about.”
“You’ve never said how old you are.”
“I’m about to be one hundred and thirty-one.”
“That’s incredible. I can’t imagine the things you’ve seen in that long of a life.”
“Not nearly as much as others in the company. I’m the youngest.”
“Who is the oldest?”
“We’re pretty sure it’s Xavier, but he will never admit to just how old he is. The other oldest person I know is my father at over a millennium.”
“Wow. Is it hard to know humans with our shorter lifespans?”
Alaric was silent a few moments before he sighed. “My best friend is in her eighties and dying, so yes, it is.”
Ezra lifted his head to look at Alaric. “I’m so sorry. Have you been friends long?”
“Sixty-five years. You’d like Sammy. She’s never been afraid to be herself, and now, I think she’s holding on just for me. She’s in constant pain from arthritis and other ailments, and seeing her suffering kills me.”
“You can’t heal her?”
“I can’t reverse what age is doing to her, I can only help her with the pain at this point. I do what I can, heal what I can, but she’s progressed beyond my capabilities. It’s because of her I haven’t let myself become attached to another human. Guess you’ve changed that.”
Ezra grinned. “You’re attached?”
“Very,” Alaric murmured. “I don’t know how you did it with that snide attitude of yours, but you got past my walls.”
“I have those walls, too, Alaric.”
“Which makes sense with your family.”
“Did you mean it? About dating me after this is all over?”
“I did.” Alaric tugged him up higher and kissed him. “This will be new for me so if I’m terrible at it, I apologize in advance.”
“It’s not like I have much more experience. I had two boyfriends before Brian, and both of those relationships were disasters. I was in college before—dropped out to get married—and I did date this one guy for a few months. Turned out he was just interested in someone to pay his bills. Surprisingly, the sex was decent, but nothing like it is with you. You’ve got a magic touch.” He winked.
“Ezra,” Alaric said softly. He seemed to be thinking pretty hard about what he was about to say, then he shook his head and chuckled quietly. “Let’s get some sleep. Tomorrow, we’ll dig back into that paperwork and find some answers, okay?”
He really wanted to know what Alaric had planned to say, because it was obvious he’d changed his mind. It was in his nature to dig, but something told him now wasn’t the time. “I need to go and talk to my mother. I don’t want to, but she may have the answers we need.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do, and I’ll be there for you, okay?”
“Thanks.” He settled in against Alaric. Surprisingly, it didn’t take him long to fall asleep.