Chapter Eleven
Eli
I look around the room, baffled at how calm everyone is.
“Does this happen often?” I ask. “No one seems worried.”
Riley glances back from her spot in the tiny kitchen and gives me a sympathetic smile.
“I want to say no,” she admits. “I don’t want to scare you off. But… it happens enough that we’re comfortable down here. Well, except Abby. She doesn’t handle being below ground very well.”
“I’m getting better,” Abby says softly. Her face is pale, but her voice holds steady. “Remember how I told you I was held captive by Los Fantasmas?”
I nod.
“The place they kept me was underground. A dungeon or an old bomb shelter. I’m not really sure. I just know I didn’t see the sky for a very long time.”
“That’s horrible,” I whisper. “How can you stand to be down here after what you went through?”
“Tank, actually.” She gives a small, sad smile. “He fixed up my room so that when I get overwhelmed, I can lie on my bed and turn on the projector he installed.”
“It projects on every wall,” Sunny says, brightening. “Floor and ceiling, too. She can sit on her bed and be surrounded by a forest… or even on the edge of a beautiful waterfall.”
“Max is putting one together in my brother’s room,” Lila adds as she slices a sandwich for the little girl waiting patiently beside her. “Micah loves exploring, but with locked-in syndrome, he can’t exactly go places. The second he saw Abby’s room down here, he practically begged us to get one.”
“He didn’t have to beg long,” Abby laughs, soft and warm. “Max caved the second Micah’s face lit up.”
“He spoils them,” Lila says fondly.
Riley turns her worry back to me. “Eli, how are you handling everything? I know I said we’re down here a lot, but usually it’s something small. Our men don’t take chances with our safety. But this? This is huge. And honestly…it’s scary. Even for me, and I’ve been here almost two years.”
“Well,” I sigh, rubbing my palms against my knees. “It’s the most excitement I’ve had in my entire life. Which, considering my body doesn’t handle excitement well, is… not exactly great.”
Abby tries to smile, but I see the fear flickering in her eyes. She really doesn’t like being down here.
“It’s a lot,” I admit. “Even now, I’m trying every technique I know to keep my heart from racing.”
“Let’s talk about Skip,” Sunny suggests, grinning. “If your heart’s gonna race, let’s at least give it a good reason.”
Lila laughs as she hands her little girl her sandwich.
“That man is something else,” she says. “Biggest flirt I’ve ever seen. And that’s saying something, considering who my best friend is.”
I refuse to acknowledge the jealousy burning through my veins.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Riley says, shaking her head as she rinses a plate. “Skip can bring almost anyone to their knees with his smooth talking.”
“And that’s exactly where he wants them,” one of the guards calls from the door. “On their knees, ass in the air. Pussy or ass…he never cares.”
“Oh, hush it, Mike,” Riley snaps. “There are children in the other room.”
“They can’t hear me.” Mike shrugs, completely unbothered. He has medium-length brown hair, broad shoulders, and looks like the definition of a smug asshole. “And it’s not like I’m lying. Skip will fuck anything with two legs. He bangs them out of his system and sends them on their way.”
My pulse spikes so fast I feel the blood rush to my ears.
Is that…Is that what he wants to do with me?
Get me out of his system? Send me on my way?
I’m such an idiot. A chubby little nobody with a faulty body and a crush on a man built by gods.
“I mean, remember that one time?” Mikey nudges the guy beside him. “We walked into his room thinking he was being attacked. Nope. Naked with three people. Skip’s wild as hell. Knows how to have fun, though.”
I…am…so…stupid.
I slept on that bed.
The voices fade away as I close my eyes and start counting to ten. Slowly. Four times.
My heart’s pounding too fast, too loud, too sharp.
Abby’s voice is the first one to cut through the fog.
“Shut the heck up, Mike.”
“Damn girl,” Mike laughs. “When’d you grow a backbone? And why should I shut up? Nothing I said was a lie. Skip would proudly tell us the details if we asked.”
“This is Skip’s boyfriend,” Lila says firmly.
My eyes snap open, and I can’t even shake my head in denial.
My body’s stuck. Frozen.
“Him?” Mike barks a laugh. “Come on now. I’m sure he’s a nice guy, but he’s way below Skip’s usual level of attractiveness.”
Okay body…Now would be a great time to take me out.
Just drop me.
Turn the lights off.
Cue the faint.
Abby squats down and rubs at my cheek gently, her fingers coming away wet.
Oh. I’m crying. Great.
And I still can’t speak.
Spike steps through the bunker doors, mid-sentence. “Foster double-checked. The bunker’s bomb-proof. We’re set for the…Abigail? What’s wrong? Why do you look pissed?”
She squeezes my hand before letting go.
Only for another hand, bigger and rougher, to take its place.
Skip.
“Eli, what’s wrong?” he murmurs, kneeling in front of me.
I want to say: I don’t want to be a notch on your bedframe.
But my body still refuses to cooperate.
“Somebody tell me what the fuck happened?” Spike demands.
“Mike was being a stupid jerk,” Abby snaps. Her voice shakes…but with fury, not fear. “He started talking about Skip’s sex life. Then, when we told him to stop and that Eli’s his boyfriend, he freaking laughed. Said Eli’s ‘below Skip’s level.’ He’s a jerk, Bubby. A mean, cruel jerk.”
Skip’s whole body goes still before he leans forward and gently kisses my cheek.
His lips come away wet.
Yep. Still crying.
Kill me now.
“I’ll be right back, baby,” he says softly.
His voice is calm. His body is not.
I watch him stand slowly before taking a few steps to the side.
Then he launches.
Skip hits Mike so hard the man’s head whips back before he slams to the ground.
But Skip doesn’t stop. He straddles him and punches again.
“How…” punch.
“Fucking…” punch.
“DARE YOU…” punch.
“Shouldn’t we stop him?” someone whispers.
Spike looks at me, then at the fight.
“Not yet,” he says. “I’ll give Skip a little longer to drill the lesson in. It’s a very important one.”
My body loosens…freaking finally…like a rubber band snapping back into place.
I’m not sure how long I was frozen, but it was freaking terrifying.
I need to remember to bring that up to my doctor the next time I go.
That’s never happened to me before. I wonder if it’s something that happens to some people who have Reflex Syncope.
“I think I’ll go home,” I murmur once I shake the paralysis off. Standing, I tug my shirt down out of old habit.
Spike doesn’t look away from the fight as he says, “Skip. Eli needs you.”
The punching stops instantly.
And in less than two seconds, Skip is standing in front of me again, breath harsh, knuckles bloody, eyes locked on mine.
His hands land on my shoulders, but I’m stiff as a board.
I can’t help it. My body’s buzzing with embarrassment, fear, confusion, and that awful echo of Mike’s words.
“Hey,” Skip says softly, tilting my chin up with two fingers. “Look at me, pretty boy.”
I do. Slowly.
His eyes aren’t angry anymore. Not violent. Not wild. Just… soft and focused.
“You’re shaking,” he whispers, brushing his thumbs over my jaw. “You think I give a fuck what those idiots said about my past?”
I swallow hard. “I just… I didn’t know. About the people in your bed. I slept there. And… what if I’m not good enough? What if…”
“No.” His tone darkens. “No ‘what if.’ No comparing yourself to anyone who came before you.”
“I’m not comparing,” I lie, voice cracking. “It’s just—”
“Eli.”
He leans in until our foreheads touch. Until his breath mingles with mine.
“My past is my past for a damn reason. It’s over. Done. Buried. And not one single person from it means a fucking thing to me now.”
My chest trembles. I feel so freaking vulnerable, and I don’t understand why. Am I truly starving for affection this much?
“Listen to me, pretty boy.” His hands slide from my jaw to my shoulders, grounding me. “My future? All of it? Every damn bit of it? It’s pointed at you. No one else. I don’t want anyone else.”
A tear slips down my cheek. He catches it with his thumb, and I want nothing more than to run away and hide.
“You are the first person I’ve ever wanted a future with,” he murmurs. “No one is going to fuck with that. And if I have to beat the shit out of half this damn club plus Maverick’s crew to make that clear, I will.”
“But…the bed.”
“I’ll fucking burn it and get us a new one,” he says, sending a look at one of the guards who turns to leave.
“The Prospect will have our new bed installed before tomorrow morning,” he says.
A tiny, painful laugh escapes me. He smiles.
“Come here,” he whispers, opening his arms.
I don’t melt. I freaking collapse right into his chest.
Skip holds me like I’m breakable and precious in the same breath.
One big hand on the back of my head. The other wrapped around my waist.
He murmurs into my hair, “My future is you, Eli. I’m not letting you run just because someone with half a brain said something stupid.”
His chest rises under my cheek as he lets out a slow breath, the kind that feels like it’s meant to pull me in closer.
“I’m sorry I’m being such a wuss,” I mumble, heat flushing up my neck. “I swear I’m not normally this emotional.”
Skip huffs a quiet laugh, low and warm.
“You’ve gone through a hell of a lot these past few weeks,” he murmurs.
I nod against him, embarrassed, but not pulling away.
“And,” he adds, lips brushing the top of my hair, “I sort of bulldozed my way right into your life, huh?”
A shaky breath leaves me. “Kind of.”
“Yeah,” he chuckles, tightening his arms around me. “I know I’m a lot, baby. Loud, blunt, over-the-top, bossy as fuck. I show up like a storm and just… stay.”
He leans back enough to look down at me, but not enough to let me go.
“But I also know,” he says softly, “that you’re strong enough to handle me.”