7. Ezrah
Ezrah
7
Ifall back on the bed with a groan. Why did he say that? I don't have time for this. I have my work. I have Delilah. I don't need Lucas.
I don’t have Lucas.
I wanted-
I don’t want Lucas.
He’s just some guy. He won’t even be here once Allen is dealt with. We could get the all-clear tomorrow, and he would drop us off at home and then be gone. There was no point in acting like he was anything special.
Like he mattered to me.
Like I mattered to him.
Beatrice waltzes out from under the bed and sits in front of me.
“Where have you been?”
She narrows her eyes at me and lets out a long low meow.
I reach out to pet her and she walks away, hopping up to sit on the dresser, and stares down at me with disappointment and annoyance.
Shaking my head I sit up. “You’re right! I need to focus on what is important. I’m missing out on a lot of opportunities while we’re stuck here. We can’t go back home without a script to show for it.”
I pull out my laptop and get to work.
Twenty minutes later I find myself glaring at the curser. Every time it blinks it feels like it’s laughing at me.
I growl, falling flat on my back. "How do people work like this?!"
Beatrice takes advantage of my position, leaping across the room and landing on my stomach. I grunt, but I know better than to try and move her. Besides, it’s not like I’m getting anything done anyway. All I can do is lie there while she makes biscuits, claws fully extended, on my chest.
I avoid working from home whenever possible and now I’m trapped. I can't even leave the room without having to face Lucas and I’m not ready to deal with that any time soon.
How long will we be stuck here?
I frown. I'd sent out a bunch of requests to set up pitch meetings with countless studios and producers. For the first time since I started working on my script, I hoped no one had gotten back to me.
Opening my email, I’m horrified to see countless messages. For a moment I panic. My reputation will go to shit if I get behind on work correspondence.
But to my confusion, all of them are from unfamiliar addresses. I click the first message and freeze.
My sweet one
I miss you. I've taken to watching your shows in your absence. It's almost cute how far you've managed to come.
It must be so hard for you to be out in the world working on your own. Some people were just made for simpler things, but don't worry I'll have you back where you belong soon enough.
Your only love
Allen
I slam the laptop shut and spring to my feet, pacing the floor. This room is too small.
The walls are too close.
Is there even any air in here?
There can’t be.
I’m going to suffocate if I stay here any longer.
Lucas be damned, I can't stay here. Hesitantly I poke my head out the door, checking for any sign of him. Once I see it’s all clear, I creep out. It’s not until I’m halfway across the living room that I realize I have no idea where I’m going.
There’s nowhere I can go. I can’t go for a drive. I can’t go for a walk. My options are to sit in the living room, the kitchen, or my bedroom.
I glance at Delilah's door, then at Lucas's. The distance between them is too much and nowhere near enough all at once. I take a deep breath and go back into my own room.
Flopping on the bed, I pick up my phone to play a game or scroll through the social media account I often forget I have.
The first message came after about ten minutes.
A text from the number I had saved when I got my new phone and number but hoped to never see again. It simply says ‘see you soon’ with a picture of my house.
Hands shaking I hurl the phone across the room.
Fuck.
I leap off the bed like it’s on fire, racing to the bathroom and locking myself inside. He sent a picture of my house. He doesn’t even know where I am. No amount of reminding myself of the facts can slow my breathing or ease the tightness in my chest. The fear is real, and logic isn’t touching it.
At least it’s a nice bathroom, done in shades of dark blue and off-white, with a bathtub big enough for two.
Strong arms and warm eyes flashed through my mind against my will.
I shake my head, forcing them away. I need to get over whatever the fuck this was. I’m a full-grown adult man. I don’t have time for a silly little crush.
Stripping off my clothes I hop in hoping a cold shower will help clear my head, even if it won’t solve my problems.
I turn on the water and gasp. There’s something so grounding about a shower just on the cold side of uncomfortable.
It’s just starting to do its job, numbing my mind, when the peace is pierced by an ear-splitting wail.
I leap out of the shower and hurriedly dry off, but as quickly as it started, it quiets. Throwing on a pair of shorts, I race outside, concern growing.
When I make it to her room, it’s easy to see why she quieted down.
Lucas is holding her against his chest singing quietly. I stand in the doorway watching them and feeling my heart get gooey.
It takes a minute before Lucas catches my eye and gives me a bright smile, gently setting a sleeping Dil back in her crib. I think I see his eyes linger on my bare torso, but that must be in my head. Neither of us says a word until the door to her room is firmly shut.
"Sorry," he rubs the back of his head. "I didn’t mean to ruin your shower. I got to her as soon as I could."
"Why were you getting to her at all? You didn’t have to."
"Because she was crying and at the time I assumed you were working."
"So? That doesn't mean I can't take care of her?!"
He knits his brow. “Of course you can. I just thought it would be easier."
"Easier," I huff, stomping away.
"Did I do something wrong?" He asks, following me out to the porch.
"She's my charge, not yours!" I spin to face him, absolutely fuming.
"I know-"
"Then why does she like you more than me?!"
"She doesn't. She's a baby. You just need more time to bond and get to know each other."
"And it's just so easy for you! Meanwhile, we both know it's only a matter of time before you leave! Then it's just the two of us on our own."
I freeze suddenly. When had we gotten so close? Our chests are a hair apart, so close I can feel the warmth radiating from him. His big brown eyes gaze down at me. I can't stop the way my eyes dart to his lips.
I don't know which of us moves first, only that a moment later his lips are on mine. They’re softer than they look. Gentle but firm, working against mine with quiet insistence.
I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him to me, feeling the ridges of muscle against my chest. My hands grab at his neck, clutch at his shirt, and claw at his back, but his remain in a firm, grounding grip on my hips.
I growl. How can he still be so put together? Without a second of thought, I deepen the kiss.
One of his hands moves to my hair, giving a small tug.
I moan against him before breaking away to trail my lips along his neck.
"Jesus, Ezrah!" His voice sounds even sweeter aroused than I'd imagined. Deep and working its way towards desperate.
One of my hands snakes under his shirt, rubbing over his strong stomach before coming to rest on his firm chest, muscles rippling under the skin as he leans into the touch.
Suddenly he stands up straight, pressing me against the wall. His hands travel around my sides and up my back, nails raking against my flesh on the way down, leaving red trails of pleasure in their wake. I let my head fall back, a soft moan slipping between my swollen lips.
His lips brush my neck like I’m something delicate. Something to be treated gently. It makes something inside me crack open. Even his hands, aside from the occasional scratch of his nails, are so gentle, treating me like I’m made of tissue paper.
I ache for more in a way I didn't know was possible. "Please," the word falls from my lips before I realize what I said.
His soft chuckle dances across my neck. "Don't worry, Ezrah, I'm going to take good care of you."
I whimper, hands fruitlessly tugging on his shirt.
Lucas moves away with a smile, pulling it over his head.
My breath catches in my throat and my groin pulses with heat at the glorious sight. I let my eyes trail along his long neck, down to his large firm pecs dusted in dark hair. The hair continues along his tight abs, disappearing into the waistband of the pants hanging off his narrow hips.
I lick my lips, aching to sink my teeth into him.
He’s back on me in an instant, all but ripping my shirt off before sinking to his knees.
Teeth lightly nibble their way along my stomach. I scramble for something to hold on to, settling for his hair. I could feel myself growing tight with need, straining against the confines of my pants.
"Oh Ezrah," he groans, nuzzling against the crease of my thighs.
"Lucas," my voice comes out a high whine I barely recognize. "Are you just going to tease me?"
"I might. I could. I could keep you here all day, hard, aching, and never touch you."
"There's no way you could be that heartless.” I let out a breathless chuckle. I know he wouldn’t be that mean.
"No, you're right." He presses one last kiss to the hollow of my hip then pulls my pants and underwear down in one swift motion.
I let out a sigh of relief when my cock springs free in the cool air.
"You’re perfect," he whispers, close enough for his breath to ghost against the sensitive flesh.
His hands hold my hips tight, and he swallows me down without further warning.
"Fuck! Lucas!" My hands tighten on his hair what hair I can get ahold of, pulling a groan from him that vibrates through me like a tuning fork.
I know I won't last long like this. The pleasure courses through me, coiling tighter and tighter like a rubber band pulled to its breaking point.
Again without warning Lucas pulls off me, growling out a single word. "Bed."
I don't need to be told twice, I race inside as fast as my open pants will allow, with him chasing hot on my heels. The second my bedroom door is open, my back is against the mattress, Lucas’s weight pressing me down. I can feel his dick hard and throbbing against my leg.
Jealousy fills my veins.
It isn’t fair he’s the only one to get a taste.
I push against him until he allows me to reverse our positions. Tugging his pants away, I descend like a man starved.
He’s bigger than I’m used to taking, stretching my jaw, filling my mouth with the salty-sweet taste of his skin.
Nothing better could exist in the world. Everything about him is intoxicating. In that moment as I lap at his head, running my mouth up and down his length, I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be. His hands tangle in my hair and I wait for the pull that will take me out of the moment, but it never comes.
His fingers run gently through the strands. “Fuck, Ezrah, you’re amazing. Don’t stop.”
I don’t think I could if I wanted to. His careful hands carding through my hair hold me in place stronger than steel chains.
“I’m getting close,” he warns, but it only encourages me.
I double my efforts pulling out every trick I have until-
Lucas spills hot down my throat with my name on his lips. The sound alone is almost enough to finish me off right there. I pull away, licking the last traces of him from my lips.
Lucas doesn’t hesitate to pull me against him into a heated kiss, licking into my mouth as if he owns the place.
“Your turn. What do you want?” he breathes against my skin, voice rough with the dregs of lust.
I grin. “I already got what I want.”
“Then maybe I should take what I want.” Then his lips are against mine like a brand, sealing every sensation into my skin for the rest of time. His hand finds my dick, and strokes firm and fast.
Each movement brings me higher and higher, until the ground falls out from under me, pleasure pulling me under with only his arms for a parachute.