Chapter 8 #2
The left side has a squishy blue couch I’ve had since I moved out of my parents’ place, and most of the time I end up writing on it. And falling asleep.
“You do?”
Hemi nods and focuses on the poster above the couch. “I can’t believe you have a poster of the fellowship on your wall.”
I scoff. “Like I would put anything else up there.”
“Pretty sure I have a poster of me somewhere.” Hemi moves to the bookshelves and peers at the titles. Carefully avoiding looking at the whiteboard I notice, and warmth settles in my chest.
“Pretty sure it would distract me.” I’d stare at it all day instead of working.
I’d never get used to having his face on my wall.
I shift the whiteboard, not bothering to hide what’s on it, so he can see the shelves better.
“You can touch them. I don’t mind,” I say.
His hand keeps lifting, but he always drops it before he can touch the spines.
“Are you sure?” I nod, and Hemi’s eyes crinkle with excitement. He pulls a book off the shelf I haven’t read in a while, but I remember enjoying it. The cover is bright red and has an embossed sword on the cover. “Did you like this one? I haven’t read it before.”
“I did. Don’t remember much about it, though.
” I scan the shelves and find what I’m looking for on the top left shelf.
“Have you read this one?” Hemi shakes his head and takes the book when I hand it to him.
The spine is creased with some pages barely holding on, but it’s still readable.
I’ve had the copy since I was in high school.
“It’s my all-time favourite. Unique magic system, found family, little bit of romance, and great sword fights. You can borrow it if you like.”
Hemi lifts his eyes from the blurb. “Really? You’d lend it to me?” He runs a finger down the spine, and I wish his fingers were on me instead of the book. “You clearly love the copy. I’d be scared I’d ruin it.”
“You wouldn’t ruin it. Besides, it’s an old copy.”
“If you’re sure,” Hemi says hesitantly, stroking a finger over the crease running through the middle of the cover from when I shoved it in my school bag too forcefully.
I smile. “I am.” I like the idea of Hemi having something physical of mine when he leaves on a plane to South Africa and out of my life.
At least he’d have my favourite book with him to remember me by, even if he puts it on a dusty shelf and forgets about it.
It would still be there. I shake the thoughts and rub my hands together.
“Now! The reason you actually wanted to see the office.” I find the shelf holding the copies of my books and slip the special edition of the first book out.
I hold it out to Hemi, whose eyes latch onto it and widen.
His hand lifts but drops when it gets close to the blue cover with gold framing the character art. “No, I can’t. It’s too special.”
I roll my eyes. “It’s just a book.”
Hemi gapes and stares at me. “Just a book? It’s a special edition of your book. In your office.”
“So?”
“So, I don’t know what to do.”
I laugh in disbelief at what I’m hearing and stalk closer to him to give him the book, but he backs away until he’s cornered against the wall.
I press my chest to his, the book by my side.
“You touch it, read it, annotate it, take it to the pool for all I care.” I lift the book and grab Hemi’s hand and drop the book, forcing him to catch it.
He fumbles, and it’s a good thing he’s a rugby player and knows how to catch, because the books don’t tumble to the floor. He places the old book down carefully and opens the special edition reverently with light fingers and swipes a finger across the dedication.
“It’s for Daisy, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. She’s done a lot for me. Told me not to give up, so it was natural to dedicate it to her.” I dedicated the book to Daisy even though I knew she wouldn’t read it. She got me through the drafts, the rejections, the endless edits, and it wouldn’t exist without her, so it’s hers.
Hemi smiles at me, a soft look I want to feel on my lips, but I leave him to flick through the pages, to discover the art at the back and the different images below the chapter titles, while I grab the other books in the series for him.
I want him to have them, and I’m going to make sure he has them no matter what he says. I don’t need them.
I take the three books from the shelves and set them on the desk while I find a Vivid.
I know there are some somewhere. Under all the paper and random shit covering my desk.
I should probably clean it but it’ll look the same within the day, so I don’t see the point.
I lift an A3 plotting sheet and find a green pen, a red Vivid, and a neon yellow highlighter. The red will have to do.
I open to the dedication page, uncover the Vivid, and sign the book with a flourish.
I tap the Vivid against my lips and add a note above my signature.
I do the same in the next book, and the next, until I’ve signed all but the one Hemi’s holding, all with a small note on the page for him to find when he decides to read them next.
I shouldn’t have written the notes, but I couldn’t help myself. I want him to think of me, to remember me when he leaves. And if that means giving him my favourite book to borrow and special editions of my own books with my signature and notes to force him to remember me, then so be it.
I close the last book and stack it on the others.
“If you pass me the first, I’ll sign that, too.
” I turn to find Hemi, expecting him to be where I left him by the wall flicking through the book, but he’s shifted closer to the desk, and he’s staring at me.
The book hangs at his side, and his eyes are wide as they flick from my hands, still holding the Vivid, to my eyes.
His throat bobs, and I frown. “Are you okay?” He nods and swallows again, and eyes never leaving mine, he shuffles to my side and hands me the book.
Eyes narrowing as I take the book, I ask, “Are you sure?”
Hemi clears his throat and rubs his chest. “Yeah. You just look really hot signing those.”
“Oh.” I glance at the signed books and back to Hemi’s darkening eyes. “Oh.” My cheeks heat, and blood rushes south. He’s aroused by me signing books for him. “Do you want me to sign this, too?” My voice is low and quiet, but it sounds loud in the silent room except for Hemi’s heavy breathing.
He nods slowly. I turn to the desk and put the last book on top of the stack and flick to the dedication page. I can feel Hemi at my back, not touching, but close enough to feel his heat and his chest when he breathes deeply. His breath ruffles the hair on my neck, and I shiver.
I hold the book open and sign it quickly.
Red stains the page in large swirls, and I don’t bother with a note this time.
Not when I can feel Hemi’s breath quickening and then he steps closer and crowds me against the desk.
His hands come around me, and he takes the Vivid from me and caps it.
Hemi runs a finger over the dried signature, and something in him snaps.
Hemi’s hands land on my hips, and he turns me so my thighs rest against the desk, and he presses the length of his body to mine. Chest to chest.
His crotch lines up with mine, and he rolls his hips into me, the hard length of his dick rubbing across my rapidly thickening one. I gasp and moan when he does it again.
“Signing something got you this hot?” I pant.
Hemi drops his forehead to mine as he grinds his hips and kisses me messily, tongues brushing urgently, teeth clinking, and he only stops when I push him away to breathe.
“Watching you in your element? In your office where you make magic happen? That’s fucking sexy, Liam. You’re fucking sexy.” Hemi’s arms slide down my back and tuck into my jeans and boxers to grasp and squeeze my ass.
I groan, low and guttural, when he presses a light finger over my hole, teasing with light touches.
His hands slide away, and I pout but he runs them up my thighs instead, and I’m distracted from my disappointment.
Hemi kisses and sucks down my neck, swirling at my pulse point, and I grip his hair, holding him close.
When he reaches my shirt, he kneels in front of me and his hands glide to the top of my thighs, rubbing distracting circles on my inner thighs, coming extremely close to my balls, but not close enough.
I wriggle to see if I can get him to move, but he doesn’t.
“Can I?” he asks. Hemi looks up at me, his hazel eyes almost entirely dark now, his hair sticking out everywhere from my hands, and his lips swollen from me.
It takes a second for my brain to realise what he’s asking, too fried from having Hemi’s hands on my ass and his tongue in my mouth.
I breathe heavily and shoot him a questioning look.
Hemi slides his hands to the button of my jeans and leans close, until I can feel the heat of his breath through the fabric.
I jerk in surprise and moan when he mouths at my jeans, directly over my dick.
“Yes.” I nod quickly. “Yes, yep, totally. Yes,” I mumble, watching Hemi rest his head on my thigh and his slow grin when I stumble over my response.
Hemi unbuttons my jeans, drags the zip open carefully, and pulls my jeans and boxers down my thighs. My dick seems to launch out of the confines of fabric, but Hemi doesn’t care. Just urges me gently to lean on the desk again once he’s removed clothing to his satisfaction.
He leans forward slowly, eyes on mine, and licks my already weeping dick.
I should be embarrassed by how excited and close to the edge I am, but I can’t bring myself to care.
Not when Hemi’s eyes flutter shut and he sucks me eagerly.
Not when my heart beats so loud I can hear it, or when my stomach tightens, and my hands lift to bury in his hair.
I suck in a sharp breath when his lips wrap around my length and he swallows.
“Fuck,” I whisper.
Hemi opens his eyes, and if his mouth wasn’t full of my dick, he’d smile.
His eyes dance with heated amusement, and he draws back and swirls his tongue over my head.
I gasp, and my mouth drops open. My shaking fingers tighten in his hair as he sucks back down.
His cheeks hollow. One of my hands stays gripped in his hair, but I move the other to rest my thumb at the side of his mouth, to feel it stretched around me, to catch drool, and feel his lips swelling from me.
“You’re so gorgeous, Hemi,” I gasp, rubbing my thumb over his cheekbone. He picks up speed at my comment, and his eyes lose their amusement as he reaches a hand low.
Hemi shoves his pants down one-handed and grasps his erection tightly, pulling and tugging in time with his messy bobbing.
Watching him jerk himself off when he’s sucking me spreads prickling heat over my skin, and I start to thrust into his mouth gently.
Hemi wraps his other arm around me, where my ass is pressed against the desk, and gives me a shove, pushing me harshly into his mouth.
I get the picture. He’s not worried about choking.
I let go of the fear I have about hurting him and slam a hand behind me to gain leverage.
I thrust in a steady pace and throw my head back on a long moan when he does something delicious with his tongue.
His hand squeezes my ass, and I glance at my hand crinkling paper on the desk and see the signed books.
Hemi sucking my dick started because of the books, and now when I see the red ink on the page, I see him.
I look at Hemi and find his eyes on the books too, his hand working himself furiously, and I can’t hold back.
I tap his cheek. “Hemi, I—I’m gonna—”
Hemi doesn’t move away after my warning but keeps his pace. I come down his throat on a silent moan, and my hand shifts to rest on his throat to feel him swallow.
I slump against the desk and play with his hair gently while he continues stroking himself. I slide my hand from his throat to rub his swollen lips. “Don’t come on the carpet, please,” I request, and stop touching him long enough to brush paper on the floor.
Hemi glances at the paper with a grunt and an amused frown and barely gets out an, “oh shit,” before he grabs the paper and comes on it. I hope it wasn’t one of the plotting notes I needed, but I’m sure I can come up with something else if the payoff is that look on his face.
He slumps against my thigh, breathing heavily, and shifts his head to kiss the sensitive skin and smiles up at me softly. I sift my fingers through his hair.
“If all I needed to do to get you looking at me like that was sign a book, I would have sent you one years ago.” I grin when he huffs a laugh.
“You don’t need to do anything but ask whenever you want it,” Hemi says with another kiss on my thigh.
I brush a finger down his nose. “I’ll keep that in mind.”