Chapter 4
Chapter Four
F inn
Finn was in a quandary. He absolutely believed and followed the rules when it came to his job. He’d never messed with a client in any way shape or form. But he was incredibly attracted to Ajax. He’d spent four days mainly patrolling the grounds, but every time he’d been inside that house, he’d found his gaze seeking out the man. And listening to him.
Ajax’s creative process was fascinating. He carted around either a guitar or a portable keyboard. There were notebooks stashed in every corner of the house—as promised—along with that lip balm he seemed addicted to. Those small tubes were scattered on every available surface next to candles. So many candles . He guessed the man didn’t worry about the fire hazard. Though he did seem to only burn the ones in whatever room he chose to work in, and he blew them out whenever he left it. Maybe these things were a part of some kind of creative ritual?
But watching him had become Finn’s favorite thing. Ajax would hum to himself, pluck out melodies on either instrument, then write in the notebooks.
And that fucking voice. So deep with that sexy rumble on the low notes.
Finn had kind of grown obsessed with watching BTC videos, but it was nothing like the kind of music coming from the man now. These songs were slower and almost ethereal, the lyrics deep and thought-provoking. And a lot of it was sexy.
Finn had been lurking in the living area, but when music came from the nook in the back of the house, he quietly walked in that direction to better hear.
You thought you could hold on forever.
Riding the coattails of fame
Displaying me like a trophy
Your heart is an empty chalice
“Not quite right,” Ajax mumbled as he stopped singing. He gave a frustrated grunt. “That last line is too melodramatic, anyway. What was I thinking?”
Finn glanced into the room to see Ajax bending over a notebook. He wore a pair of soft-looking gray sweatpants, and that was it. Tattoos covered his arms, chest, and narrow waist. Most of them were swirled designs but there was a serpent on his ribs and a winged griffin on his arm. As always, his sexy feet were bare.
Finn was becoming a real fan of the man’s feet.
From those lyrics, he was obviously still messed up over his breakup. Out of pure curiosity, Finn had looked the ex up, and in all the images, he was happily grinning at cameras. Finn looked up more pictures until he stumbled upon Ajax and the ex in some seriously compromising positions on what was obviously supposed to be a private island getaway. He’d quickly backed off that site because seeing Ajax with a man bugged him for some reason. His ex, Alan, was nothing like Finn. Blond and slim—the kind of man who looked like he’d be perfectly comfortable in high-end fashion.
Ajax looked up, spotted him, and the smile that stretched his lips made Finn’s heart pick up. That was happening every time the man so much as paid him any attention.
“I’m trying a new pork dish tonight. You eat pork?”
“I eat everything, so you don’t have to wonder about different foods. Was just headed outside to look around.” Finn paused. “I liked that song you were singing.”
“I like some of it, but it’s not even close to the vibe I was going for, so I’m going to totally rework it.”
“I’ve liked all the music I’ve heard. You’re really working on something special.”
Ajax strummed a note on the guitar in his lap, his grin having faded into a small smile. “A couple of the other songs are really working, so I hope I can get the rest of this album to be just as good. Takes time—and luckily, I took a lot of it to do this.” He shrugged. “Wish the rest of my band felt as good about this as I do.”
“They object?”
“Vehemently. Well, Matt is on my side. Mostly. He gets why I need to do this, but Thorn and Barry are both angry. I get it. They’re scared. BTC has kind of done…well.”
Finn let out a bark of a laugh. “Understatement.”
“Hey, it surprises me, too. We started out like most bands, playing in our parents’ garages, and got lucky. Built local fans, spent an extraordinary amount of time promoting online.”
“And now your concerts sell out.”
“We’ve always focused on the music. On putting out something better than the last. Never skimping. It’s paid off.” He set his guitar down and stood, stretching that gorgeous, sinewy body for a moment before he walked toward Finn.
All that bare, tattooed skin went to Finn’s head. He forced himself to look away because if he kept staring, his desire would be plain. His company had strict rules about personal relationships with clients, and he’d never broken them. The last four days had shown him that the rest of this six-month stint was going to be hell. Schooling his expression, he looked back at Ajax. “Ivor is coming in later to relieve me,” he reminded him.
“What’s your plan for the weekend?” Ajax scratched his bare, flat belly.
Finn tried not to look there and failed. Inwardly sighing, he managed to bring his focus back to Ajax’s face—not that that was any easier. The man was just too damn pretty to be real. He wanted to put his lips on that sexy chin cleft. “Laundry. Games. I may go out.”
“I miss going out,” Ajax murmured. “There are places in New York I can go where I don’t get mobbed, but I don’t know of any places around here.”
“I can think of a couple if you want to try next week. You have to be going a little stir-crazy by now.”
He shrugged. “Not really. I’m a homebody at heart, and I’m so focused on what I’m doing, I’m fine. But we’ll see.” He paused, studying Finn’s face. “I think I’ll miss you this weekend. It’ll be weird to have someone else.”
“It’s only been four days.”
“I know. But you’re easy to have around.” He winked. “Nice to look at, too.”
Surprised, Finn cleared his throat. Ajax had given him a few looks, but he hadn’t expected to actually hear the man admit to attraction. He didn’t know how to respond to that because he wanted to tell him he felt the same way. But that would be inappropriate.
Thing was, he wasn’t too keen on Ivor being the one to replace him. Ivor was an incubus. Pure walking, talking sex. It was his power, that seduction that he didn’t even have to work for. It poured off him in waves because the man basically fed off sex. So he was designed to attract. In fact, the more Finn thought about it, the more he considered asking Xavier to assign someone else. But that would be admitting to his inappropriate feelings. He really didn’t want to do that.
Ajax chuckled. “You went so quiet. Did I shock you by saying that? You have to know you’re a very attractive man. I’m a healthy gay man and certainly not blind.”
“Just surprised. I’m nothing like your ex.” He meant it. Finn was more of the rough and tumble type. Big. Muscular. Ajax’s slim ex wore a suit like it was a second skin. Finn owned two suits and only wore them when it was absolutely necessary.
“Seen him, huh? I’m not surprised. He did like being in front of a camera. Hell, he probably wanted to be up on the stage, but the man didn’t have a musical bone in his body and couldn’t carry a tune at all.”
“How’d you meet?”
“Mutual friend introduced us. We were friends for a couple of years before it grew into more.” Ajax went back to the chair and picked up his guitar. “He’s not a subject I prefer to talk about though.”
“That’s understandable.”
“You got any persistent exes?”
Finn shook his head. “No. Never have. I keep to myself.”
“So you aren’t interested in having a relationship with someone?”
“Just haven’t met anyone who held my interest like that.”
Ajax nodded and settled in the chair, setting his guitar in his lap. Finn took that as a cue and turned to leave the nook.
But the whole time he patrolled the outside grounds, he kept thinking about how much his last statement to Ajax no longer applied. Because he was definitely intrigued by the rock star.