Chapter 3 #2
Elliot’s hand slid slowly across the tabletop.
Sully placed his palm down in its path. Soft fingers bumped into his, tickling faintly as they glided up and over, until Elliot’s warm palm was flush with the back of Sully’s hand.
It took a moment, then Elliot’s gaze shifted, sandy lashes flickering, and focused on him.
An amazed smile gradually lit up his face.
God, he really is handsome.
“Quite the trick. And you’ve been surrounding us with something similar?” Elliot didn’t move his hand from where it engulfed Sully’s. Heat tingled up Sully’s arm. He nodded. “How long?”
“On and off since you first spotted me. Just in case.” Sully bit his lip and watched Elliot’s eyes darken.
“Shall I show you mine?”
“I’m watching,” Sully assured him, confident like his heart wasn’t beating chugging-train fast in his chest at simple contact.
A quick blinding grin edged with hunger was the only warning before molten pleasure rushed through his veins, spreading to the tips of his toes and the ends of his hair.
His mouth fell open on a gasp, face flooding with scorching heat, body flushing like he was lighting up all over, his trousers suddenly much, much too snug.
Sully kept a grip on his magic by the barest thread.
It was the one thing keeping this shameless display from getting them thrown in jail or worse.
As fast as it came on, it ended, and Sully gaped, ears ringing, blood pounding. Winded and wanting.
When he could finally speak, his voice came out scratchy and silken at the same time. “What the fuck was that?”
He blushed further at the sound of clear desire as it gave away exactly how affected he was.
“The kinder side of my favorite skill—euphoria. Its less pleasant counterpart is horror.”
Sully shivered and sipped his drink, hardly noticed the burn of it. He hoped his voice was back to normal as he restlessly shifted in a vain attempt to relieve some pressure without being obvious. “Wouldn’t wanna feel that one.”
Elliot’s face turned grim as he drew his hand back. “No, you wouldn’t.” Then he flashed his too bright smile and winked. The bastard. “Don’t worry. I only use that skill in dire circumstances. You’re safe from me.”
One corner of Sully’s mouth lifted. “Not too safe, I hope. That all you can do?”
With a wry look Elliot said, “No, but secrets make the world turn. Surely you’ve your own to keep.”
Didn’t they all?
“Right.” Sully squirmed again in his seat. Did Elliot realize how worked up he’d gotten? Did everyone have that reaction? He tried for casual. “You been in Chicago long?” Elliot’s brow raised. “Don’t sound like you’re from here’s all.”
“I was born here actually. But I was sent abroad for education at twelve. Then when I was old enough, I traveled extensively before my sisters begged me to return. I suppose that’s what you hear. A little bit of everywhere or maybe nowhere at all.”
Sully had the decency not to voice all of the questions that crossed his mind. He smiled at the fondness in Elliot’s voice when he talked about his sisters, though. “Older or younger?”
“Both.” He rolled his eyes heavenward, but his tone made it indulgent not dismissive. “And I’ve two older brothers.”
“Big family.”
“Very. You?”
“Only me and my cousin. She’s like a little sister. We were raised together.” He didn’t want to think about Anne, about the fear and loneliness she’d tried to hide or the way her slim shoulders trembled with repressed sobs. The sadness she covered with a smile when they said goodbye.
“I don’t know where you just went, but perhaps a diversion’s in order. Lucky you, I’m extremely willing to provide one if you’d like?” Elliot asked. The one raised brow and crooked smile made his meaning obvious. Sully swallowed loudly.
He made himself stop and take a breath, his voice rougher when he continued. “Yeah. I really would.”
Five minutes later Elliot had him shoved up against the scratchy brick of the back-alley wall, mouth hot on his, teeth catching at his lower lip. Sully’s heart sprinted as a soft involuntary sigh escaped him.
This wasn’t how he expected it to go, but the insistent press of Elliot’s thigh against his stiff cock was as persuasive as Elliot’s skilled tongue taking possession of his mouth.
Arching into the contact, he pressed his hips forward helplessly.
He’d intended to be the aggressor. Always was, but Elliot had upended the notion the moment they stepped into the shadows.
He was slimmer and only an inch or so taller than Sully, but there was something commanding in the way he’d guided him backward, crowded in close, and watched Sully’s face in the dark, holding his chin between forefinger and thumb, pinning him for the taking.
Sully gasped as Elliot tightly gripped his hips, dragging him closer. The hard, hot length of him pushing against Sully’s groin. He was submerged in sensation, in the desire he sensed emanating from Elliot, in his own echoing need. He wanted so much more—skin and sweat and pulsing pleasure.
Fingertips grazed along the waistband of his trousers, a brazen thumb dipped inside.
Paused in question, so close to where Sully desperately needed to feel him.
Giving in would end this too soon. He could picture it now, fast and frantic and still better than any other time he’d ever done this. But…
Drawing a shaky breath, he closed his hand over Elliot’s. “Not here,” he said. “I got a room not far.”
“Do you?” Elliot’s perceptible skepticism was warranted. Sully didn’t talk nearly as fancy as someone with a room in this neighborhood ought to. He was probably wondering what hole in the wall place Sully would drag him off to.
“I do.” A private smile graced Sully’s mouth. “Someplace nice. Trust me?”
The soft pad of a thumb stroked slow and sweet over Sully’s wet lips, softest satin and gentlest pressure. He flicked his tongue against it, and Elliot’s sharp inhale blazed like a bright ember of satisfaction in Sully’s gut.
“How far?” Elliot’s strained and heated voice made Sully reconsider the notion of self-control.
“Few blocks. I’ll make it worth legging.” Sully sweetened his plea with a graze of lips right below Elliot’s ear, eliciting a shiver. “Promise.”
Elliot swayed closer, fingers digging into Sully’s biceps.
The flicker of lust in the air spiked red hot, then he let out a sigh and pulled away to recline against the dry brick beside Sully.
He pushed his hands through hair that had been perfectly styled, fetched the hat that had been knocked onto the cold dusty ground, and patted the dirt clear before placing it on his head.
“I’ll require a moment to…ah…” He gestured at his lower body.
Sully kept his gaze up. He only had so much restraint.
They could hardly see one another in the shadows between the two buildings, but Sully tossed him a crooked grin. “If you wanna wait. Or we could go now, not waste time. Long as you hold my hand, no one'll look twice, like inside. I'll keep you safe.”
“You can—well I'm rather more impressed. Holding hands…is that something you enjoy, or does it pertain to the skill?” The question was teasing, the sentiment below it sweet.
“Can’t it be both? Touching makes it easier to include you in an illusion. You hold on to me, magic naturally extends to you. If not, I waste more energy.”
“Ah. Wouldn’t want you depleting yourself, would we?
Not nearly yet, and for much more pleasurable reasons when you do.
” Elliot reached out a hand, and Sully clasped it.
Their palms fit neatly, fingers twining seamlessly like they’d always done this when Sully never did this.
Not like this. Sully’s heartbeat pulsed faster in his fingertips. Could Elliot feel it racing?
“Come on.” He tugged Elliot down the alley into the street.
The sidewalks weren’t flooded with people at this time of night.
Nor were they deserted. Groups of men in suits, and nicely dressed ladies clutching their arms didn’t so much as glance their way as they passed.
He felt Elliot's heart speed and nerves ratchet every time someone got close enough to glimpse them holding hands, then slow as they strolled by without incident. It was intoxicating. The power of giving someone like Elliot a thing he couldn’t get anywhere else.
Turning onto LaSalle Street, Sully smiled at Elliot’s growing confusion. Felt that piercing incredulous gaze studying him. He slowed shy of the Hotel La Salle. The mammoth building offered some of the most luxurious accommodations in the city. Far, far beyond Sully’s means.
“You have a room?” Elliot gazed at intricate cream stonework fading to red brick and back to cream, stretching high above them in splendor.
“Sure do. Established that earlier, I thought.”
“Here?” Elliot’s eyes flicked between him and the structure, cheeks flushing.
Sully fished a key out of his pocket with his free hand. The hotel name and room number were emblazoned on the brass fob reflecting in the streetlamp. “Here.”
He wasn’t about to admit he'd hoodwinked his way into possession of the room through magic, but it had to have been obvious. Sully expected a flash of contempt. Instead Elliot’s lips quirked.
“Right. Should we put it to good use?”
His easy acceptance perversely pricked Sully's conscience. He didn’t want Elliot walking around with the wrong idea, thinking he was a grifter. “I don’t normally use it for this sort of thing. For myself. I got a good reason.”
“I believe you.”
That easily? Who was this guy? How could he mean it? Men like him didn’t give men like Sully the benefit of the doubt. But sincerity practically glowed off him like a summer sunrise. Sully wanted to bathe in it. He can’t be for real. Can he?
God, he is.
Suddenly much too desperate, Sully reached up to the back of Elliot's head and pulled him into an urgent kiss—right there in the street—mouths colliding. Elliot’s lips parted in shock or invitation—it was impossible to be sure which—maybe both.
Sully took advantage. Delved his tongue inside to flick and slide over Elliot’s, tasting fancy liquor and the faintest trace of expensive cigar.
Elliot smelled like indulgence and felt like luxury.
His hands clutched at Sully, pulling him closer, kissing him with something like wonder-tinged desperation until the need for breath broke them apart.
Thinly banked desire pulsated in the air around them, through Sully’s veins.
I’ve never wanted anyone so bad, he didn’t say. I’d let you do anything you wanted to me. Anything.
Regaining a semblance of sense, Sully inclined his head toward the entrance. “This way.”
He forced his gaze from the naked amazement and sweetness in Elliot’s shocking baby blues and dragged him into the swanky lobby.
Even worked up as he was, the grandeur still hit him square in the chest. Made him feel small and unworthy.
He cut straight through it. Tonight might be his only chance to see a place like this.
Beautifully carved mahogany woodwork and brass accents gleamed.
The cream marble floors were shiny and spotless beneath their feet.
Easing up on his magic a bit because Elliot fit right in here, Sully led him to the elevator. As they waited for the car he recovered his manners. “Ever stayed here before?”
“A time or two.” Elliot glanced at him. Sully couldn’t help but notice how flushed he was, and his newly vulnerable stance. Confused emotion hid beneath the surface, a shy nervousness Sully didn’t understand. One that hadn’t been there earlier.
A downright ludicrous idea occurred to him. But no. He had to be wrong. He drew on more power again so no one would overhear and asked anyway. “You’ve done this…haven’t you? Been with a man?”
Of course he had. A man who looked like him, who kissed like that, who took charge the way he had. Sully had to be misreading the raw sensations. Didn’t he?
“Yes, of course. Well, no, not entirely. I've fucked plenty of men, been fucked, but I've never kissed one on the sidewalk in the middle of the street with people around. I never dreamed I could, and you…as though it was easy. As if you didn’t have the slightest fear of—”
Sully sent him a crooked smile. The ornately styled brass elevator doors opened. “Promised I’d keep you safe, didn’t I?”