He rolls his eyes. “Okay, fine. Most guys who want to have sex with me like it a bit rough and prefer for me to top them. Aggressively.” I bite back a laugh, and he mutters, “Fucking can’t believe I just said that.”
I decide for a little mercy, happy to have knocked him down a peg or two. “Dude, I think this conversation got into the weeds. We gotta keep our eyes on the prize. The unwashed masses are coming in, and they will steal the rest of our peach pizza, and that is unacceptable.”
“Accurate. Race you to it.” With that he gets up and bolts out the door. I hightail it after him, yelling, “Cheat! Cheat!” at the back of his head. Damn, he’s fast on that blade. He moves around so well from a dead stop that I don’t know if I could have beat him, and that’s pretty cool.
After we demolish the rest of the peach pizza and go through our daily routine, he brings down a bag and sets it at my feet. I check it out and there are all sorts of clothes, mostly designer-label things, along with a really sweet pair of motorcycle boots. I change into those immediately, super stoked about being able to walk around in something stylish. As I’m making my way to the door, Nick stops me by putting his hand on my shoulder, again. “Those really do look good on you. Kinda sexy, actually. You should be riding a motorcycle.”
Be chill, my erratic heart.“Motorcycle would be cool, but for now I let my boots do the walking.”
“Fair enough. Be careful on your way home tonight, and text me when you get in safe.”
Later that evening when I got settled in and realized that it was so much darker outside, I was happy to be able to have someone to reach out to and let them know that I was okay. I had to hide my boots under my bed so they wouldn’t get stolen from me, but… I hope to have reason to wear them again and again over this winter.
Chapter Eight
Nick
I have made a serious error in judgment. I’d asked Elijah to help out with Bear Night, getting the guys checked in, making sure they understood what we would be doing tonight. He’s really efficient, has good ideas, and can be relied upon to figure out the logistics of a thing before we go in and do it wrong. Made sense to have him here on the inaugural Bear Night, just to make sure that things run smoothly.
I could not have been more wrong.
Turns out, bears like lithe, beautiful men with ice-blue eyes just as much as I do. Elijah has been spending the whole night fending off advances, and I’ve been spending the whole night grinding my jaw and will no doubt have a migraine by the end of this. Brad Caper, the biggest bear of them all, has been making eyes at Elijah all night long. I can tell it’s making him nervous, and it is everything I can do to stop myself from walking over there and ripping Brad’s face off.
Shit.He’s making his move.
I get up from my spot by a big guy working on his delts and make my way over there, only to have Roly intercept me with a knowing look on his face. “Elijah knows how to handle himself, man. He gets hit on every day, and he’s got a patented method that allows the guys to keep their dignity, while drawing a very sharp line in the sand. I’m telling you, he’s dead serious about not dating anyone from the gym.”
Honestly, that doesn’t make me feel much better. I mean, it’s good to know he’s turning men down, and I’m happy to hear that he and I have the same no-fucking-anybody-from-the-gym policy. But then I realize that this also includes me. Not that I was going to do anything about the minor fact that he’s so far under my skin that I’m practically gestating a fucking baby kangaroo at this point.
I watch Elijah give Brad a soft smile and a little shake of his head. Elijah looks slightly surprised by the interest, which is shocking to me. He’s beautiful and model thin, and I’m just stunned he’s not sleeping his way around the gym. It’s as if he doesn’t fully understand how hot he is. Brad looks disappointed but keeps his mitts off Elijah and seems to respect his wishes.
Maybe it’s for the best, I think to myself.
Yes, I know I’m being selfish.
No, I don’t care.
* * *
Elijah
Wow. The bears are intense. I mean, who doesn’t like a big ol’ bear, am I right? Roly, for instance, is a kid walking through the gates at Disney World for the first time. His eyes are glazed over, and if I had to guess, he’s mentally making a “to-be-fucked by” list for tonight’s participants. He already grabbed Nick’s apartment key earlier in the evening and led a dangerous-looking bear with a gorgeous belly out the back door… and is already back for more. Roly was practically vibrating with lust, and I get so damned jealous every time he climbs onto a big bear lap. Not for the bears themselves, but because I miss being touched and held.
Except.
It seems like this set of bears likes me a lot, too. I feel like I’ve been dipped in honey and placed in the middle of Yellowstone National Park. One really sweet guy, Brad, offered to be my Daddy. He said he’d been watching me for a while at the gym and knew he had to talk to me tonight. He wanted to put me up in his penthouse condo downtown, and that was so flattering, but… not what I wanted.
Not going to lie, before getting this job, there was half a moment where I was tempted by an easier life than the one I currently have. Baby Paris kept telling me I was pretty enough to bag a really rich dude, that I was made to be a sugar baby. While I appreciated her kindness, I knew a rich guy would want someone perfect, not some pale, down-on-his-luck idiot with marginally nice eyes. Still, I was about to be in a real bad way, and if Brad had made his offer back then, I might have caved.
Hell, I know I would have.
But I like the direction I’m walking in now, and I don’t want to be taken off course by a false sense of security. I have my aunt’s voice in my head and know with absolute certainty that happiness does not lie in that direction. At least not for me. Aside from the fact that I’m not much into an intense Daddy-boy dynamic, I know that what I really want is for Nick to push me against a wall and have his way with me. It’shistouch that I want.
More importantly, I have the chance now to live life on my terms, and no one, not even the gorgeous, rich Daddy bear who offered me more security than I’ve ever had in my life, can compete with that. I’ll have a talk with Roly and Nick tomorrow and request to be given a pass on Bear Night going forward. I hope they won’t be mad at me.
Chapter Nine
Elijah
