Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
F inn
Finn tapered off his run around the property into a jog. He’d stayed clear of the gate and luckily, there were a lot of trees on the property. There was also a small koi pond just past the small kitchen porch, and he whipped off his sweaty T-shirt and sat next to the water. Slipping off his shoes and socks, he plopped his feet into the pond and leaned back to let the sun warm his bare skin because there was a cool, spring breeze dancing in the air.
Ajax had already been locked into his studio when Finn had gotten up around six. He’d think the man had been in there all night, but Finn knew where he was at all times and had heard Ajax shut himself in there around four. Finn had flirted with the idea of getting up at the same time but instead had half-dozed for another couple of hours, having hazy, sexy dreams about Ajax.
When he’d finally gotten up, he’d had to exercise to get those images out of his head.
The door off the kitchen opened, and Ajax stepped outside carrying two mugs of coffee. He walked to Finn and held one of the mugs out. He was in a pair of black silk pajama pants, his tattooed chest bare.
“You started early today,” Finn said as he took the hot beverage and forced himself not to look at all that bare skin.
“Did I wake you? I tried to be really quiet.” Ajax sat on the ground next to him, his gaze slowly moving down Finn’s chest.
“I’m tuned in to you during this job just as I am to the whole property. Preternatural perk. I didn’t mind. You have to work when the inspiration strikes, right?”
“Right.”
Ajax was still staring at Finn’s chest. Did he realize he’d licked his lips? Inwardly, Finn groaned in complete frustration, and he made himself look away again. Fuck, this was hard. He cast about his mind for a safe subject. “So, tell me about your childhood. When did you first get into music?”
“I don’t actually remember exactly, but I could play guitar, keyboard, and drums by the time I was twelve.”
“You play drums, too?” That was a sexy image—Ajax sweating and moving that sinewy body about as he played.
Ajax grinned. “I’ll play for you sometime. Here I’ve just been using the computer for that part, but when I record these songs, I plan to have a band.”
“Not your band? Not even just as musicians?”
“No. They’re good, but that just wouldn’t work.” He brushed his hands over his thighs. “My parents said I made drums out of different things in the house, so they got me my first set at nine. I, uh, also play a few wind instruments. Learned in high school.”
He couldn’t help but look back at Ajax, grinning. “You were in the band, weren’t you?”
“Yep. I was definitely a band geek. It was good for me. Kept me in music, and since I never was interested in dating, it kept me social.”
“So no dating in high school?”
He shook his head. “My first boyfriend was when I was twenty. A long-time friend.”
“Why didn’t you stay together?”
“The band took off, and he couldn’t handle it. Couldn’t take the lack of privacy. I had one other boyfriend before Alan. Same story. I think that’s why I ended up turning the friendship with Alan romantic. With him, I knew he wouldn’t dump me for that reason. He loved everything about fame. Started touring with us, as you know. But you also know what happened after that.” He sipped his coffee. “You’ve never really been in a relationship? You told me how old you are. That’s such a long time to not have even one.”
“There were a few guys I slept with for a few months, but it was never serious.”
“Ever slept with a woman?”
He nodded. “I did. I like women but more as friends rather than lovers. I’m gay.”
“What was it like to be gay three hundred years ago?”
“Private. There were places to go and find company, but we had to be careful. The magical world was more accepting, so a lot of my lovers were preternaturals. The first male I slept with was an incubus.”
“Like Ivor.”
“They’re hard to resist. I was actually a little worried leaving him with you.”
“I’m not attracted to him at all.” Ajax pinned that green gaze on Finn. “Just you.”
Finn swallowed the sudden lump in his throat. “So, was it a new song that got you out of bed so early?”
“More words to one already in progress. It’s called “Smoke Moves” and, well, at some point, I want to play it for you. Not yet, though. It’s different.” He sipped from his mug again.
He looked kind of…cuddly. Disheveled brown hair, soft sleep pants—and despite having been up for hours, he still looked like he’d just crawled out of bed. It was so easy to imagine being in that bed and seeing his eyes first open, still glazed and sleepy. Finn would tug him into his arms and bury his nose in his neck to find that scent past the vanilla. Though he was now becoming quite addicted to the vanilla itself.
Then he would roll on top of him, spread those long, lean legs and…
“Finn?”
He blinked at Ajax. “Sorry, checked out for a moment there.”
“Is there someone climbing the fence again?”
“No, they’re all just sort of hovering in one spot, though there is one who seems particularly anxious to see you. I watched him yesterday. He ignores everyone around him and just stares through the gate while holding onto a thick envelope. Wonder if he’s trying to serve you.”
Ajax scowled. “It’s probably that one fan I told you about. Every time I’ve encountered him, he’s carrying one of those envelopes.”
“The one who gives you demos?”
Ajax nodded then looked out over the pond. He was quiet a few moments before releasing a relaxed sigh. “I really like this place. If it weren’t for the constant stream of visitors, I’d think of trying to buy it as another vacation spot.”
“Another?”
“I have a place in Colorado that I’ve managed to keep secret but that’s because I haven’t braved more than a week here and there. But I’d like to be able to spend more time there. It’s in the mountains, so it’s possible I could keep it secret longer. I’m still not sure how this spot got out so fast because I did nothing that anyone could trace here. I’m honestly a little suspicious that someone I know spilled the secret. And if they did, I hope it was an accident.”
“Your assistant, maybe?”
“Oh, never.” He shook his head as he crossed his legs and lowered the mug into the circle he made. “Anton is a vault. One who goes out of his way to make sure I stay protected.”
“What about one of your band members?”
“I doubt it, pissed as they seem to be. More than likely it was Alan, though Matt said he didn’t know where I was until they actually brought him here. He could have snooped because I started researching places over a year ago. I wouldn’t put it past him.”
“Is he the kind you usually go for?” Inwardly, Finn groaned at his traitorous mouth. He hadn’t meant to ask that.
“Kind?”
Finn didn’t know how to describe Alan without sounding like an asshole.
“You mean because he looks so different from you? I’ve told you how I feel about you. You don’t think people can be attracted to more than one type?”
“No, I do. He just… Well, I’m a big guy and he’s…not.”
Ajax tilted his head back and laughed, the sound joyous. “Yeah, you’re a lot bigger than Alan, but I find it hot. I find everything about you hot, and I told you that’s kind of new for me.”
Finn wanted to ask why that was, but he didn’t because Ajax was looking at his body again, that gaze burning him more than the sun. His lips parted, and his eyelids came down, and Finn realized the shorts he was wearing were about to be a problem. But it wasn’t something he’d be able to hide, so he sat very still as Ajax’s gaze slid lower and his nostrils flared. That gaze flew back up to meet his.
“You seem to have a pretty strong effect on me,” Finn said in a low voice.
“You know you do on me since I kissed you. Have you given thought to my suggestion?”
“It’s all I think about, Ajax.”
“Will you break your company rules for me? I know it’s pretty rude of me to ask, but what I’m feeling is so beyond the norm for me, I just…really want you.” He glanced down Finn’s body again, his cheeks flushing. “I’ve never wanted anyone like this.” He whispered the last words. “But it’s not just sex. I like you, Finn.”
“I like you, too, Ajax. Way more than I should.”
Ajax slowly reached out and ran one finger down the center of Finn’s chest. “I’m sorry, I’m pushing you when you asked or time to think about it. Take the time you need. Just come to my room at night if you decide that this is going to happen, okay?” He took his hand away and gracefully got to his feet, then picked up his coffee mug. He started walking back to the house.
“Hey, Ajax?”
“Yeah?” He turned his head to look over his shoulder.
Finn looked steadily at him and said what he really shouldn’t. But he’d made up his mind. He had to see what it was like with this man. He had to.
“It’s going to happen.”