Elijah needed to sleep with Shep every night. Shep would sleep soundlyknowing Elijah was safe in his arms.
They chartered a private jet for the ninety-minute flight from LA to Berkeley. It was too large for just the two of them, but it was the only optionon short notice and Shep seemed to enjoy the extra legroom. Elijah supposed he’d always taken the leather seats and plush amenities for granted, having flown in private planes for most of his life. It was odd seeing it through other people’s eyes, especially Shep’s. He was pushing each button, adjusting the air vents and testing the recline on his seat. When Shep noticed Elijah watching, he smiled and Elijah’s heart did somersaults. It was so rare to get a spontaneous smile out of him.
Elijah’s joy fizzled fast. Ten minutes into the trip and he already wished they’d just opted to fly first class. Their flight crew comprised two attendants and the pilot, honest-to-God named Captain Kirk. The captain had made curt introductions before disappearing into the cockpit. That left Elijah and Shep in the care of Inga and Erik, twoeerily similar attendants with pale skin, platinum hair and bright blue eyes. Theylooked like they drank beer out of boot-shaped glasses and engaged in competitive yodeling for fun.
Elijah rarely paid any attention to the crew other than to smile and nod and pose for the occasional selfie. But today, he was hyper-aware of them. Well, one of them. Inga. Elijah couldn’t help but notice the way she batted her lashes at Shep, pushing her hair behind her ear and leaning in far too close to talk until her breasts practically suffocated him.
Elijah’s lip curled.Leave some room for Jesus, sweetie.
It was strange seeing Shep outside of their bubble. He seemed so… normal. He smiled, he joked, he was charming and engaging. Even Elijah had fallen under his spell and he knew Shep’s secret. But watching him unleash his dazzling grin on Inga made Elijah both horny and homicidal. He wanted to hiss at the girl, to curl himself around Shep’s arm so she knew exactly who he belonged to... but he couldn’t. He couldn’t because Shep was just his bodyguard and Elijah had a very famous boyfriend and there were no non-disclosure agreements with these attendants.
So instead, he satand drank his sparkling water as Shep regaled her with some story Elijah couldn’t hear, his face far more expressive than when the two of them were alone. The girl seemed to find excuses to come back and check on Shep while Erik tended to Elijah with the casual indifference of a person used to dealing with rich assholes and celebrities. Not that they were mutually exclusive. The closest Elijah and Erik came to bonding was a shared eye-roll when Inga laughed just a little too loud at something Shep said.
Elijah seethed in silence for as long as he could stomach it, but when the girl made a show of bringing Shep another napkin, letting her fingers skim over his forearm, Elijah was done. He pulled his phone out, keying up Shep’s number, banging out a text rapid fire.
Elijah: If Inga, the Swiss Miss girl, doesn’t stop flirting with you, I’m going to rip her throat out. I’d like to see her try to yodel then.
It was only when Shep snorted a laugh that Elijah glanced up. Shep flicked his gaze from his screen to Elijah, a smirk on his face as he said something to the girl under his breath. She flushed, her perfect peaches and cream complexion turning naked-mole-rat pink before she straightened, scurrying tothe back of the plane.
When she left, Shep stood and took the seat diagonal from Elijah so they faced each other but weren’t close enough for their legs to touch. He said nothing, just watched Elijah with those brilliant golden eyes in a way that made Elijah wish they were all alone on the plane.
“What did you say to her? The poor dear looked shaken,” Elijah snarked, taking a prim sip of his water.
“I told her my boyfriend keeps me on a very short leash.”
Elijah inhaled his water, coughing hard enough for his chest to burn and for Shep to look concerned. “What?” Elijah managed, voice strangled as he attempted to suck air into his lungs.
“My imaginary boyfriend who I’m going to visit back home in Berkeley.” Shep clarified, a banal smile on his face.
Elijah’s mood soured. He knew he was the closest thing Shep had to a boyfriend, even though the term seemed ridiculous with Shep being twenty years his senior, but still, he didn’t like Inga thinking Shep was in a relationship with anybody but him.
“Did I do something wrong again? You’re sulking.”
Elijah sighed. “I’m fine. I’m just cranky because I didn’t get any sleep last night.”
Shep’s look pinned Elijah to his chair. “Whose fault is that?”
Elijah’s skin grew hot and his cock hardened behind his zipper. He leaned forward, dropping his voice, “If you don’t stop looking at me like that, I’m going to crawl into your lap and do things to you that will definitely land us both on TMZ.”
Shep’s gaze raked Elijah’s body like he was standing there naked and not in jeans and a hoodie. “I can’t help the way I look at you, rabbit.”
Elijah swapped seats, gaze darting around the cabin. When he realized they were alone, he leaned close enough to run his tongue along the shell of Shep’s ear. “You’re supposed to be the sheepdog who watches over me, not the wolf trying to eat me, Sam.”
“You’re not a sheep, rabbit, but I’m most definitely the wolf.”
It was such a cheesy line, but Elijah shivered anyway. “Kiss me. Quick.”
Shep slanted his lips across Elijah’s in a kiss that had him curling his toes in his sneakers. “Fuck, I really need to be alone with you,” Elijah whispered when they separated, his heart racing.
“Soon,” Shep promised.
Elijah nodded, hopping back to his seat as Erik emerged from behind the red curtain at the back of the plane.
The rest of the trip passed without incident, Elijah listening to soft new age music and Shep doing some work on his laptop. In the backseat of the limo, they sat a respectable distance apart, their hands close enough to touch. Elijah knew he shouldn’t, but he curled his pinky around Shep’s. Elijah swore the older man almost smiled.
When the car stopped outside a sprawling white house with an iron fence and a view of the Bay, Elijah cut his eyes towards Shep. “You didn’t tell me you were…”
Shep frowned. “I was what?”
