There was something about the older man, a presence, a smooth animalistic grace, the way his grin widened enough to reveal pointy canines… it made him seem supernatural. The notion sent a shiver along Elijah’s spine but also kept him from looking away. The way Shepherd examined him… the way his eyes held this almost predatory gleam… Elijah half expected him to lick his chops like a wolf who’d locked eyes on his prey. Was Elijah his prey?
Rabbit, that’s what I’ll call you.
Elijah’s heart jackrabbited in his chest as his own thoughts ran wild, proving Shep’s assessment correct. What was it about Shepherd? On the surface, he appeared no different than any other bodyguard. Maybe a tad bold for somebody supposed to be just an employee, but not overly inappropriate. Still it rang… false. It triggered the barest hint of something deep in Elijah’s brain, like a memory he couldn’t quite place, a chemical response that screamed at Elijah to be afraid.
But he wasn’t. He almost laughed when he realized the truth. Elijah had spent most of his life hiding, hiding from the demons of his past, hiding who he truly was from the world. Yet, there he sat with a man who should scare the fuck out of him and yet all he wanted to do was get closer and he was almost certain Shepherd knew it.
But what the hell was Elijah supposed to do about it?
Shep glanced at his phone as another round of laughter echoed through the house and through his closed bedroom door just at the top of the stairs. Elijah was entertaining Linc’s fiancé, Wyatt, and a dark-haired girl named Charlie. It was just past midnight and the three showed no signs of slowing down. Both Elijah and the girl were drunk, but Wyatt appeared sober… loud, but sober. Elijah should be asleep. He had a photo shoot scheduled withVogueat five, which meant corralling him into the car by at least four.
Shep should have made the rules clear before he’d left to meet with the community’s security staff, but they’d returned too late. By the time Shep linked the security camera’s feed to his laptop and a rundown of the community’s layout, Elijah was already tipsy, wandering around barefoot in nothing but tight leather pants slung low on his hips, his glossy chin-length hair pushed away from his face with a thick leather headband, making him look more like some debauched rock star than an actor.
The combined shrieks of laughter and the stench of acetone had driven Shep to his room where he’d spent the rest of the night testing the security system, changing the codes, and making sure the monitor's timestamps were correct. With that task finished, he wanted to set the alarm and go to bed, but he couldn’t, not while Elijah was still conscious. Instead, Shep lay in bed with his laptop.
He gave a deep sigh as music swelled through the house; a slow song with a throbbing bass beat. He didn’t get up, just flipped to the camera focused on the cavernous living room. Wyatt and Charlie lay on the sectional, but Elijah was standing up on the large piece of driftwood that served as a coffee table. Shep zoomed in, curious.
At some point, Elijah had slipped away to put on more clothes. He now wore a black button-down shirt and a fedora. Shep watched, transfixed, as Elijah moved, his hips swiveling in a figure-eight motion, arms above his head like a belly dancer as he seemed to lose himselfin the music. The hat went first, flung somewhere off-camera. Shep brought his laptop closer as the boy worked open the buttons on his shirt with nimble fingers. He zoomed-in again until the boy’s face was all he saw. Shep could only describe Elijah’s expression as… blissful. His eyelids were at half-mast, his wet lips parted. Shep couldn’t look away.
Shep frowned as his cock hardened against his zipper. It was the second time Elijah had given him an erection in one day, which may as well have been arecord for Shep. Sex held no real fascination for him, even though as teens his brother had assured him almost daily that it should. Not that he didn’t enjoy the sensations, but orgasms were unnecessary to his survival and therefore rarely at the forefront of his mind. Jerking off was easier, less complicated. It just made more sense.
But this was different. It wasn’t about the flesh revealed. Elijah had been naked just hours before and shirtless all night. It was Elijah’s face, the blissed-out dreamy expression as he removed his clothes, his hands brushing over his own body like he was alone. It was captivating. Shep widened the shot just as Elijah’s hands brushed along his abdomen, his long fingers unhooking the snap on his pants, Wyatt and Charlie screaming their encouragement.
Shep snapped his laptop shut, getting to his feet. The boy wasclearlyintoxicated and, even with friends, he might regret his strip tease tomorrow. Shep made sure his shirt hid his rather obvious arousal then headed downstairs arriving just as Elijah swung around, thumbs hooked in the waistband of his open pants. His hands stuttered to a stop when he saw Shep.
“Party’s over, rabbit. It’s bedtime.”
Elijah hopped off the table, his knees wobbling enough for Shep to reach out and steady him. He noted the boy’s glazedeyes as he blinked up at him, expression pouty. “Listen, Tormund Giantginger, you don’t get to tell me when my party’s over. I’m famous. Super famous,” he hiccupped comically. He pointed at nothing. “I even have a gold statue to prove it. You can’t tell super famous people what to do. We tell you what to do. We do what we want us to do.”
Shep couldn’t help but smile.The kid was wasted. “You can walk to your room on your own or I’ll fling you over my shoulder and carry you. Your choice, rabbit, but you might want tochoose the less humiliating option.”
Elijah’s pupils dilated and his teeth sank into his lower lip in a way Shep itched to explore further. There was no missing the interest in the boy’s blown-wide pupils or in the way his chest rose and fell, but his expression grew stormy. “Shepherd no-last-name. Killer of fun. Fun killer,” Elijah slurred.
Shep snorted a laugh, glancing over at Wyatt. “You sober enough to drive her home, or do I need to call you both an Uber?”
Wyatt examined Shep for a long moment, before saying, “I’m sober. I don’t drink anymore. We’ll be fine.”
“No, don’t go. You don’t have to listen to him,” Elijah begged.
Wyatt was already shaking his head. “Nah, man. It’s cool. Linc doesn’t like me out too late, and I’ve got to pour this one into bed first.”
Elijah turned accusing eyes back to Shep. “You suck.”
Shep lowered his voice so only Elijah could hear. “Would that make you happy?”
Elijah inhaled sharply, his lips parting in a way that had Shep wanting to know what other noises he could drag from those cherry red lips.
Wyatt cleared his throat. “Okay, then. We’re just gonna… go…” The boy did one more look between the two men before blowing out a breath. “Yeah, okay, you two don’t care. Cool. Let’s go, Boozie McGee.”
Wyatt hauled Charlie to her feet with some effort, before giving one last wave. Elijah never even acknowledged his friends’ departure, staring up at Shep like he might live or die based on whatever Shep did next. He couldn’t recall another person ever looking at him like that, even when he held their lives in his hands. It was a heady feeling, one Shep wanted to explore further. He realized then that his hands were still around the boy’s toned upper arms, his skin warm and flushed from the alcohol.
He turned Elijah towards his bedroom door. “Bed, now. Do not make me come to check on you.”
Shep gave him a gentle shove. The boy took two steps before throwing one more sulky look over his shoulder. “You can’t just come in here and boss me around. You work for me. I boss you around,” he said.
Shep closed the distance between them, his chest pressing against Elijah’s back. He leaned down until his lips were against Elijah’s ear, inhaling the boy’s scent. It kicked up this foreign yet instinctive response in him. “You want to boss me around, rabbit. Would that make you happy?”
Elijah leaned his weight into Shep, tilting his head just enough for Shep’s lips to brush his cheek, then he was stumbling away, scrambling as quickly ashe could in his inebriated state. Shep stared after him for a long while.Run, little rabbit. Run while you still can.The boy was perfect. So fucking perfect. Jackson had given him such an unexpected gift in Elijah.
