Ant snorts and then loses it entirely.
“What?” I say, suddenly self-conscious.
“For one, you said I—as in me, Ant—can speak Spanish with a pretty accent.”
I close one eye and think. “Puedo. I should have said puedo hablar.” He keeps laughing, so I nudge him. “And for two?”
Still crowing, he answers, “For two, you sounded like a Norwegian robot trying to speak Spanish from Spain. We’re in the US, buddy. No need to put on a lisp.”
“Fuck off,” I grumble, rechecking the altimeter.
He leans across the console and puts his head on my shoulder. “Poor Erik is so flustered. What has your Nordic panties in a twist, my friend?”
I love the way he plays with me while still needing the assurance of physical touch. I can’t tell if I want to push his face into my crotch or delicately lift his chin for a kiss, but both options make my cock hard.
I roll my eyes, refocusing on his question. “You gutted a man today and then walked into the cabin drenched in his blood, like some gruesome Sweeney Todd imitation. It fucked with my head.”
As did seeing him naked and stroking his hard cock, which was not at all a turn-on.
Ahem.
“I don’t know what a Sweeney Todd is, but did it really bother you?”
“Sweeney Toddis a play about a barber who kills people with razors. And, yeah, it bothered me.”
“Why?”
I stare at him incredulously. “Just a little over a year ago, you were this tiny, frightened kid looking up at me with these big, terrified eyes, and now, you’re this micro-adult with several kills under your belt and a big fucking revenge list. So I’ve got a lot of conflicting feelings. I promise, though, you are safe on this flight. I would never put you in danger.”
He nods, looking at his hands in his lap. “I know.”
I frown at the change. “What just happened? Are you sure you’re okay? We don’t have to go to New York tonight. I can find a place to land, and we can try again in the morning.”
He shakes his head. “I’m looking forward to seeing Hopper again and meeting the rest of your friends in New York. You and Charlie talk about them all the time, so I can’t wait.”
“But…”
He takes a big breath. “But…New Orleans got in my head a lot more than I thought he would. Like, thinking about it now, I’m glad you stepped in when you did. I did need your help, and you didn’t even give me shit about it, so thank you.”
The air in the cabin suddenly seems a little thin, the engine especially loud. I grab his wrist and look him in the eyes. “I would never let you get hurt, Ant.”
His smile is sweet, a contrast to the way he looked earlier. I chuckle at the memory.
“What?” he asks, pushing my shoulder.
“Hey, don’t push me while I’m flying.”
“Whatever,” he snarks, pushing me again. “Why are you laughing at me?”
“I’m not laughing at you. Well…” I tap my chin. “I might be laughing at you a little bit.”
He sends me his adorable little snarl, and I laugh even harder before answering him as truthfully as I can.
“I have never seen so much blood on someone who wasn’t dying. You looked like something out of my nightmares.”
More like out of your wet dreams, Bash.
Ant throws his head back with laughter. “That was so much fun.”
