20. EION
Chapter twenty
EION
“It’s been a long day.” He said before he took a bite.
It was obvious I had it bad because I definitely thought watching him eat was sexy.
If my stomach wasn’t growling loudly, I would drag him to that king-size bed in the back.
Even though I didn’t want to accept charity from Angus, the upgrade to a larger bed size was a necessity.
It had worked for one person, but it wasn’t designed for two grown men.
“Yeah. Not going to lie, sleeping in a king bed will be much better than that little fold-out, but now we have to get up to start coffee.”
I laughed hard. The dogs came over to me, looking for treats, so I gave them both a French fry. Sitting with Angus and our pets, eating a meal, felt domestic in the best possible ways. I would be happy to sign up for a lifetime of this. Where did that thought come from?
The folder we had taken from his mother’s house sat on the table between us. I’d wanted to open it, but was equally afraid. Angus went to shower, and I grabbed it.
There was a note attached to the stack of papers inside.
I noticed you didn’t have a logo. Here are some examples for you. Pick the one you like, and we will get you stationery, cards, etc.
There were at least fifteen choices. I wondered if Angus knew his mother had done this.
There was a stinging behind my eyes as I looked through the options.
All of them were beautiful. There was a variety of different types: gold silhouettes with fancy letters, full color, a few with rainbows signifying we were queer-friendly, and it went on from there.
“That shower is really nice for a trailer. We could both fit in there, and I could do—“ I turned and looked at him. “What’s wrong? What happened?” The tears had found their way out and were streaming down my cheeks. He practically lunged at me to be by my side because he was worried.“Eion?”
I thrust the stack of papers toward him. He thumbed through them. “Did you know she did this?”
“This? I knew she was putting together something for the charity event.”
“Angus, these are logos for Second Chances Sanctuary and Rehabilitation. Something I wasn’t talented enough to create, or rich enough to purchase. These are gorgeous, all of them perfect.”
“That’s good, right? Why are you upset?” He put his hand on my face, wiping away the tears. Gently, he kissed my eyelids. “Tell me. Let me fix this. If she overstepped, I will tell her. She doesn’t mean harm, but she can’t help herself sometimes.”
“Oh no.” I sniffled, trying to get my shit together. “It’s the opposite. These are amazing. One of the nicest things ever done for me.”
He smiled. “Oh. We should pick one, then?”
I nodded. The initial wave of feelings passed.
His entire family was trying to take me out emotionally.
I cuddled up against his side, and we started thumbing through the options.
We picked a color version that had Annabelle and Orlando in some bushes, weaving in and out of the letters, then a few raccoons and an alpaca were on the sides.
The font was bold and black, and a rainbow ribbon wove through the letters.
Finally, I returned his smile. “I love it. I can’t believe she created a logo for us. ”
“She tends to go all in when it’s something she cares about.
” I looked through all the other things she had supplied.
There were press releases, invitations, menus, and every other possible thing you might need for a fancy event to get donations out of rich people.
The event would be held at the Hilton Hotel downtown.
“This guest list has two thousand people on it? I can’t schmooze that many people. You told me she would make this a small event.” I looked at Angus.
“Oh. Eion, this is a small event for her. She cut it down by two-thirds. Originally, there were six thousand on the list. Look, we can cut out more if you want, but these are rich people looking for a place to donate. This will give the Sanctuary a lot of money for the nursery and care of the animals. These people will likely become regular donors, but we can do whatever you’re comfortable with. ”
I stood up and walked around the trailer. What the hell was I supposed to do? It felt like too much: the fifth wheel, now this event. I needed to talk to somebody. “Hey. I’m going for a walk.”
“Do you want me to stay still?” I was confused by his question, but given my behavior, it made sense that he would wonder whether he should leave me alone.
“Yes. I’d like you to stay. I just need a minute.”
He gave me a closed-mouth smile, then kissed me on the cheek.
“I’ll head to bed then. If you need me, wake me up.
” I appreciated that he was going to let me work through things.
This was a lot for me to process, and I was trying not to panic and make bad decisions.
At least I didn’t just run this time. Yay.
Progress. Wearing my pajama pants and a sweatshirt, I walked through the Sanctuary over to the tall corral and climbed up the stairs.
Barnaby had followed me outside, and he lay at the bottom of the steps.
“Orlando. I think I am in trouble. I’m trying to separate my feelings about the man who makes my heart beat hard and my body shudder from the family that is kind and wants to help all of you here.
” The giraffe sniffed around my pouch, looking for snacks.
I knew my buddy and had a few carrots for him.
“I like him a lot. He is a good man who cares about this place.” I waved my hand around, so Orlando knew what I was talking about.
“Maybe I don’t need to view them as individuals.
I could fall for both of them and let them both in my heart.
” He crunched on his carrot, which made me smile.
“You and Annabelle are on our logo.” I realized Angus must have told his mother and supplied pictures so their likeness could be included.
Shit, I’d never met a guy like him, hell, a human like him.
He was clearly investing money into the Sanctuary, but you could see he was emotionally invested, too.
A party with two thousand people was a lot, and, judging from what I already knew about the MacGregors, they had a lot of very wealthy friends who could do a great deal of good for the facility.
I could smile and make nice for one night, especially with Angus by my side.
I needed him to know I wasn’t interested in his money—I liked him with or without it.
I wanted to know him, regardless of what he brought to the table financially, but I wasn’t an idiot.
These animals needed the funds, and that was most important.
“Orlando, we are going to do a lot more good over the next few years.” Starting with a better place for the new bear cubs.
I’m going to go back to him and show him how much I care about him.
How much I want him in my life, and how much he already means to me.
I pet the soft fur on his long neck a few more times.
Angus needed to know about the land and the lawsuit.
Then he would know how much I had invested.
I did get things started with the enclosures, but the money we were about to earn for the Sanctuary would make a big difference.
Barnaby entered the trailer with me and went to the bed that we’d put in the living room for him; carefully, he curled up next to Ramsey.
I smiled to myself. This was a much better ‘home’ than the thirteen-foot I had been living in.
I stripped and slipped under the covers, then reached for the warmth of Angus’s body.
“Welcome back,” he mumbled. I curled up behind him, my lips finding his neck and shoulders.
The soft sounds made my cock come to life.
While I sucked on his neck, then behind his ear, he wiggled back into me.
With my hand stroking his hard length, it didn’t take long for me to make him climax.
Being able to give him pleasure, to feel him shudder against me, was addictive.
“I really like you,” I whispered in his ear.
“I really like you too.” He said as he kissed the back of my hand. “You okay?”
“Yeah. I’ll finalize everything with your mom tomorrow. She’s going to do so much good for the animals.”
“Good. Good.” He mumbled, clearly slipping toward sleep.
“Sleep, good baby. Love you.” I froze. It was obvious he wasn’t aware of what he said, but it was easy to admit to myself that I liked hearing those words.
Somehow, he had taken me from being grumpy and not wanting to even talk to him to wanting to hear him say those words again when he wasn’t half asleep.
That knowledge scared me some, but more than anything, it excited me.
We got up early the following morning, and I called Amelia right after we finished feeding everyone breakfast. By noon, a messenger arrived with samples of everything for the event.
There were business cards, letterhead, key chains, and practically everything else a logo would fit on, including a stuffed Orlando the giraffe with a Sanctuary T-shirt.
Apparently, there would be two thousand gift bags that would include the adorable Orlando.
I had to admit that something on this scale was exciting to be involved in.
We ate an early lunch before a nap. Angus had to work, and I hated letting him go.
I wasn’t even sure why he had a job, but that was a conversation for another time.
“Your mother is a force of nature. I guess I know where you get it from?”
“Me?” He stood up and pulled me up from the seat. “I’m nothing like my mother.”
I couldn’t help but snort at his reply. “Pretty sure you kept after me until I couldn’t help but ask you out.
” I kissed him. My tongue ran over his lips, which he opened for me, and our tongues were slick against each other.
“You’ve convinced me to have a gala for the Sanctuary with two thousand attendees, and I don’t like people.
” I kissed him again, enjoying the warmth of his mouth on mine, the heat lighting me up.
“And let us not forget what you do to me in the bedroom.”
“Well, when you put it that way, maybe I am a force of nature. You probably need a reminder, though.” He took my hand and led me toward the back of the trailer. “Now aren’t you glad we have this big bed?”
We both landed on the mattress. He slid up until his head hit the pillows, and I climbed on top of him.
Easily, I slotted my knee between his thighs, where I pushed against him.
Then I blanketed myself over him. I could feel our solid cocks rub through our jeans.
Even though we were clothed, there was something so erotic about being with him like this.
I didn’t really have the chance to be with boys in high school, and I imagined this was what it was like.
“I begrudgingly admit that accepting this as my new home was a great idea. Especially this bed.”
After that, there was no more talking. Once I had him come for me, we snuggled up and took a nap.
He would be working until 2:00 a.m., and we had been up early.
I didn’t necessarily need the sleep, but I couldn’t resist curling up with him.
I helped him dress for work, which meant I had the pleasure of lacing up his corset before he put on his jacket.
The man was insanely sexy with the vest tightened around his chest and waist. Of course, I thought he was gorgeous wearing anything or nothing.
It was just one more wonderful layer of Angus.
He kissed me, then I gave him a tight hug. “Do you know how good you look?”
He laughed. “Actually, I hear people say it, but I don’t see it. I’m still that skinny sick kid when I look in the mirror.”
“Oh, sweetheart. I wish I could take all that away from you. That ‘sick skinny’ kid you talk about, from what your mother shared with me, was a good guy too. One I would have wanted to know.”
“I doubt it.”
“Would you want me more if you went back to when I had two complete arms?”
“What? No.” He stepped away as if I had actually accused him of wanting that. “Oh. I get it. Thank you for thinking I look good.”
I gave him a smile. “There you go. You are hot as fuck if I’m honest. Makes me want to camp out at the bar and make sure nobody hits on you.”
He looked at me, then chuckled. “Well. Eion men and women flirt with me every night. I wasn’t interested in them before I met you, and now I belong to you.
” Holy shit. The pounding in my chest was relentless, and I was afraid I might pass out.
How is this man so amazing? I wasn’t the jealous type—so I thought—but I could feel a tightness in my body when I thought about people flirting with him.
He was mine, and he knew it. I never expected to be that guy worried about who flirted with their boyfriend, but here I was being exactly that.
I wouldn’t do anything crazy like really camp out at the bar, but it wouldn’t stop my brain from being stupid.
I laughed at myself because logically I knew all those others that had tried didn’t stand a chance with him, because, as he stated, he was mine.