Chapter 11
RYDER
Ryder wanted to tear his hair out. Mason had confirmed they were on their way and Felix was fine and well, but until he saw him with his own eyes, he wouldn’t believe it.
The moment his agent had called him, he knew things were bad.
Fiona wanted to capitalize on it, and suggested they post a video to social media of them being all loved up to deal with the trolls.
He’d told her to get fucked and hung up on her.
Not the most mature response, and neither was ghosting her all day.
Felix’s phone being off had driven him mad, and it had taken a few contacts to track down Laura’s number.
Felix had mentioned the newspaper she worked for, so he’d been able to get to her through work, and now he had her cell number.
She’d explained Felix always had his phone off when he was on a gig so he could focus.
He discovered Felix was working the wedding of a couple who were friends of Mason, and he was attending.
He was grateful that at times it was a small world.
Mason had called Ryder saying he believed Felix was oblivious to what had happened.
It was in that moment, when Ryder had wanted to run to the wedding venue and rescue him, that it became clear he’d passed the point of just having a crush on Felix. It went much deeper.
A picture of them kissing had been posted to social media and gone viral, followed by other pictures and videos from their date.
Of course, it didn’t take long for the social media trolls to find Felix’s identity, and the narrative quickly turned from “Who is this redheaded angel who’s tamed Ryder Quinn?
” to “Flame-haired money grabber gets his claws into Ryder Quinn.”
Thankfully, it was just a social media thing, and there’d been no press other than a few gossip rags who just reposted other people’s comments and called it journalism.
There were also some positive comments saying that someone had tamed the playboy.
They’d only been on a couple of dates, but Ryder felt a rush of excitement at those comments.
He wanted more with Felix. He’d hated the sour note their last date had ended on, but their kiss on Felix’s doorstep last night had reassured him.
That was something else which had been captured and posted to social media.
Nothing from their first date at Epicure had been captured, though, and he had Mason to thank for that.
The venom appeared to be aimed at Felix, and Ryder was scared this would have him running for the hills. It had taken all his self-restraint not to respond to some of the awful comments. What was wrong with people? Were their lives so unhappy they had to attack other people they didn’t even know?
Ryder had blocked people who were nothing but homophobic assholes.
There was clear jealousy from both men and women, and they’d commented on Felix’s social media posts as well—some of them from months ago—criticizing his work and being unnecessarily horrible.
He had to stop looking, but he’d noticed Felix’s follower numbers had dropped below ten thousand, so his monetization options had gone.
Ryder was certain things would be over in a blip, then he’d help Felix get more followers.
People couldn’t say no to him, and he’d use that to Felix’s advantage if he’d let Ryder do it.
He opened the door and breathed a sigh of relief to see Felix and Mason.
Without hesitation, he scooped Felix up in his arms and gripped his ass, hugging him tightly.
Felix hooked his legs round Ryder’s waist and melted into the hug, and Ryder didn’t want to let go of him.
He’d never felt so protective of anyone like this before, not even his sisters.
“I’ll leave you both to it,” said Mason.
“Thanks for everything, man,” said Ryder.
“Just look after him.”
“I will.”
“I was talking to Felix.”
“Get fucked!” he replied, laughing.
Felix was giggling as well. As soon as Mason left, Ryder closed the door and locked it, leaving the outside world where it belonged.
He walked over to the sofa, with Felix still wrapped around him, his face buried in his neck.
He could get used to this. Of course he was rock hard—only Felix could do that to him—but he ignored it.
He needed to check that his boy was okay.
Was Felix his boy? Not in the literal sense.
The whole daddy thing was just something twinks called him when he was pounding them, but the lifestyle had never appealed to him.
Ryder lowered himself down to a sitting position so Felix was on his lap, and ran his hand up and down his back as Felix cuddled into him.
Neither of them spoke. It wasn’t necessary.
Unable to stop himself, Ryder nuzzled into Felix’s neck, kissing him gently, and Felix’s whole body shivered.
He pulled his head up and their eyes locked.
The emotions swirling in Felix’s eyes were an image of his own—fear, sadness, and desire.
Felix glanced at Ryder’s lips before licking his own, which was all the permission he needed.
After a few gentle kisses, the spark between them ignited, and Ryder deepened the kiss.
Felix melted into him, so eager and pliable, and Ryder rolled them so he was on his back.
He was a big guy and didn’t want to put all his weight on Felix’s smaller frame.
Ryder let Felix take control of the kiss, gripping his ass, pulling him closer.
He could feel his hardness against his own, and he couldn’t help but thrust against him.
Felix moaned with pleasure into his mouth.
Ryder wanted to spend hours exploring every pleasure zone of his body.
He was desperate to take the lead, but knew they needed to talk about what had happened first. For now, he was happy for Felix to be in the driver’s seat.
“Ryder, I need you.”
“You’ve got me, baby.”
He preened under the affectionate term, so Ryder made a mental note to use it more often.
“Can you take me to bed please?”
Ryder felt his dick throb with anticipation.
“Are you sure? Do you want to talk first?”
“We can talk in the morning. I need to get out of my head tonight.”
“I can do that for you,” he said, kissing him again.
They made out for another minute, before Ryder sat up and stood, while still holding on to Felix.
He carried him into his bedroom before laying him down carefully on his bed.
This wasn’t how he’d imagined tonight going.
He’d assumed they’d talk and Felix would sleep in the spare room like he’d offered.
He didn’t have any expectations, but seeing the vulnerability and fire in Felix’s eyes, he knew he had to take care of him.
“What do you want, baby?”
“I want the full Ryder Quinn experience. Show me your cock. I want to see if it really is ten inches.”
Ryder laughed. He unbuckled his belt, opened his jeans, and pulled his hard cock out of his boxers. Felix’s jaw dropped open. Ryder was tempted to stick his dick in it, but he held back.
“I think I might have to work up to taking that.”
Ryder felt himself blush. He’d been told many times that he had a big cock, but Felix’s compliment hit differently than it did from others.
“Or do I need to take the opportunity while I’ve got it?” asked Felix. His face flushed, and he turned over, burying his face in the pillow.
“What was that?”
“Nothing.”
Ryder pulled his jeans off, tucking his cock back into his boxers so he could focus on this beautiful young man. He sat next to Felix and stroked his hair. He moaned at the touch.
“What did you mean by that comment, Felix? You know there’s no pressure to do anything. You can still sleep in the spare room, you know, or have my bed and I’ll go in there.”
Felix jerked his head up. “No, that’s not what I meant. I just don’t want to miss the opportunity to . . . you know. But I don’t think I could take that beast tonight.”
Ryder chuckled. “There’s no pressure to do anything. And we certainly don’t have to do everything or even anything tonight. We’ll have a lot more opportunities, I hope.”
“Really?”
“Yes, Felix. Really. I know I might have a bit of a reputation, but I don’t go on dates with just anyone, you know. I really like you. I’d like us to see where this could go, if you’re interested.”
Felix’s eyes widened, and he chewed his lip nervously.
“What is it, baby?”
“Mason said . . .”
Ryder growled without thinking, making Felix jump. What the fuck was Mason playing at? They both liked to rile each other up, like siblings, but this was overstepping for him.
“I’m going to call Mason.”
“No. Don’t do that. I think he was just looking out for me, and it was before we’d even been on a date. It was at the Delaune’s party after I’d slapped you.”
Ryder laughed, remembering that. He got a thrill out of knowing Felix had a feisty side, and wondered if he could bring that out of him when they were in bed.
“What did he say?”
“Just that if I went there, not to get my hopes up for anything more.”
That was fair, but it still wasn’t Mason’s place to be interfering. They would have words, but not now. Felix needed him, and he wasn’t playing his part.
“Take your clothes off and lie down on your back.”
Felix’s eyes flashed with heat, and his whole body visibly shuddered. He stood up and took off his shoes and socks, then his trousers. He went to grab his jumper and stopped.
“What’s wrong?”
“Can we turn the light off?”
“I want to see you.”
“Please?”
Ryder nodded. He used the touchscreen on the wall and turned off the light, but put on the bedside lamp on the other side of the bed.
“Is that okay?”
Felix nodded and took off his jumper and T-shirt in one fluid motion. Ryder could make out his slim frame, and could see the hint of freckles on his upper arms and shoulders. He wanted to lick all of them. Felix hadn’t taken his underwear off, but Ryder didn’t want to rush him.