Chapter 6
Six
Marcus glared at the book in his hands. He’d started reading it because that latest announcement from the Ministry left him wanting to storm out of the house, but the sun was still up, making such an act suicide.
New fucking taxes thanks to the ruling vampires deciding they needed a “cost of living” pay raise. Utter nonsense.
So he walked away from the computer rather than destroying it and picked up a book.
But he’d read the same damn paragraph four times, and he still couldn’t remember what he’d read.
This was his favorite author and one of his favorite books.
He could practically recite the damn thing by heart, he’d read it so many times. Why couldn’t he concentrate?
Ethan.
It was the same excuse for his lack of concentration all week.
He’d get a few hours of work done and find himself staring off into space, wondering where Ethan was in the house, what he was working on, if he had any questions. And then he’d find himself standing, his hand gripping the doorknob, thinking he’d just go check on Ethan to see if he needed anything.
But this was running counter to the entire reason he hired Ethan in the first place. He didn’t want to deal with the move. He didn’t want to worry about the logistics of getting all his accumulated possessions from South Carolina to Connecticut. That was Ethan’s job.
As far as he could tell, Ethan was doing fine on his own.
Two minutes after eight each day, Marcus would wander out of his self-imposed isolation to look over the room or rooms Ethan had been working in.
He’d find towers of stacked boxes, taped and labeled with Ethan’s neat letters made with a black marker.
Sometimes he’d find a scrap of paper with a few hastily scribbled notes Ethan had left for himself.
The air would carry with it a hint of Ethan’s sweat and lingering touch of soap.
Something minty and soft that made Marcus wonder if it was his shampoo.
Otherwise the young man was a ghost who flew in and out of his house with little sound or evidence of his presence.
Marcus had even started checking the fridge and pantry to see if he ate anything.
He briefly thought that if he noticed Ethan liking something in particular, he could have his housekeepers bring more of it.
Marcus snapped his book shut and sighed. This was ridiculous. When Amy had been his assistant, he’d not been distracted by her presence in his house. He’d promptly forgotten about her existence, leaving her to handle all his daily needs with Janice.
But Ethan was different, with his shiny blond hair and crooked smile and his talk of Marcus’s great-aunt Gertrude. He was never quite sure what was going to come out of Ethan’s mouth with his pink lips parted, and Marcus found himself looking forward to those unexpected words.
Chiming from the grandfather clock in the hall whispered through the door. It was five o’clock. Ethan had only a few more hours of work, and then he’d slip quietly out of the house and not return again until Monday. Marcus didn’t want Ethan to leave without at least speaking to him once more.
Dinner was eaten by some people at five o’clock.
He could order food to be delivered. And he could see if Ethan wanted anything to eat.
They could share a meal. That wasn’t strange.
Since it was Ethan’s first week of work, it would also be a way of welcoming him.
He could check to see if Ethan was having any problems or had any questions.
Yes, that was a responsible employer thing to do.
So what if it meant that he could secretly enjoy the sweetness of Ethan’s voice? Or hear his bubbling laughter?
It didn’t matter if he’d never done this with any of his past assistants.
Ethan was…
To hell with it. He didn’t need excuses to speak to Ethan or go where he wanted in his own house. No one else would ever know. Especially not his nosy brothers.
Setting the book down on the small table at his elbow, Marcus rose smoothly to his feet and left his private library on the third floor.
Ethan had been working on some of the storage rooms on the fourth floor.
Most things were still boxed up there, but there had been a few items placed on shelves that needed to be reboxed and labeled.
Marcus quickly passed through the rooms to find them empty.
Ethan had completed his work there. Everything was neatly organized and stacked for the moving company that would arrive in a little more than a month to haul it all out of his house.
He returned to the third floor, but Ethan wasn’t anywhere to be found. Of course, most of the rooms on the third floor were Marcus’s private rooms and locked against Ethan’s entry.
His heart sped up a little as he descended to the second floor, trying to find evidence of where Ethan was working, if not the man himself.
He tried to remind himself that Ethan could have run out for some supplies or was on the ground floor in the kitchen, grabbing food already.
Which would be his luck. He’d miss his chance to share a meal with Ethan because he’d not told him earlier of his intention.
Pausing with his hand on the railing, he tried to decide whether to head straight to the first floor or check the second when he heard Ethan’s voice at the end of the hall.
He…he sounded like he was singing. Marcus turned toward the sound, the first hint of a smile lifting one corner of his mouth.
Ethan was singing, though he couldn’t yet identify the song.
It took Marcus only a minute to locate Ethan in a rarely used spare bedroom.
A pair of white earbuds were visible in his ears as he danced around the room to music that Marcus couldn’t hear.
His singing wasn’t great. Okay, it was pretty bad, but he looked so damn happy as he danced over to a tape dispenser and picked it up off the bed.
Marcus crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the open doorway, his smile growing as he watched the man work. While he was smaller than Marcus, there was an intoxicating, lithe energy to Ethan. A vibrancy that Marcus couldn’t look away from.
His jeans clung to his legs a little tighter than the first day of work and perfectly hugged his adorable ass.
His T-shirt held a cartoon graphic of a squirrel with a flamethrower, admonishing him to “Protect Your Nutz.” Probably not the most work-appropriate thing, but then Ethan had been completely alone the past four days.
He obviously wasn’t expecting to see his boss.
Ethan turned toward the box he was in the process of sealing and that put him facing the open doorway…and Marcus. A startled yelp escaped him, and he jumped back so violently that he landed on his ass. Marcus winced at the loud thud. He hadn’t meant to scare Ethan so horribly.
Dropping the tape dispenser, Ethan ripped the earbuds from his ears. “Oh, God! Mr. Varik! I didn’t see you there.”
“I noticed,” Marcus said, trying so damn hard not to sound like he was laughing.
“I-I wasn’t disturbing you, was I? Sometimes I get into a song, and I don’t realize how loud I am. I’m sor—”
He started to apologize, but Marcus straightened and raised a hand, stopping his words. He’d not come looking for Ethan so he could scare him or make him feel badly for singing while he worked.
“No, I apologize for startling you. You weren’t disturbing me.”
“Oh good,” Ethan said on a sigh. He shoved one hand through his sweaty blond hair, pushing it back from where it threatened to fall into his eyes and leaving some of it standing up.
An uneasy silence settled over the room, and Marcus folded his hands together in front of him, looking down at the carpet. Why did he have to be so damn awkward around Ethan?
“Was there something I could help you with?” Ethan asked after a couple of seconds. “Do you need me to run an errand?”
“No,” Marcus said sharply. His head popped up to look at Ethan for a heartbeat, and then he frowned and looked down again.
“I…I was thinking of ordering something to eat. From one of those food delivery apps.” He lifted his head again to gaze at Ethan.
He tried a small smile. “I’ve gotten quite good at using those.
” He inwardly winced, regretting his words.
He’d thought it would make him sound more normal, but he was sure it just made him sound old.
Well, older than the thirty years he appeared to be.
Ethan sort of groaned and chuckled at the same time. The odd noise stirred something in Marcus’s stomach and quickened his heart. He wanted to hear Ethan make that sound again. Wanted to be standing close enough to feel the rumble up his chest.
“Me too. It’s the only way I’ve learned to survive after a long day of work and classes,” Ethan said.
Something in Marcus relaxed a little. He could feel the tension unwind from his shoulders and it was just a tiny bit easier to breathe. “Would you care to join me?”
“Um, sure. If you don’t mind the company. Where are you ordering from?”
“I haven’t figured out that part yet.” Marcus reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone as he stepped farther into the room.
He thumbed through it, going to a familiar app.
He kneeled down beside Ethan so that the other man could clearly see his screen.
“This is the one I’ve been using the most. It seems to have the biggest selection.
The drivers appear to be quite fast as well. ”
“Oh wow,” Ethan whispered as he watched Marcus scroll through the list of restaurants. “You’ve got more choices here in the downtown area than I had in Glenpark. What are you in the mood for? Any favorites?”