“You’re so lucky your mom takes care of you the way she does. That woman is a saint. I don’t care what you say, I couldn’t imagine her harming anyone.”
Camden’s head bounced a little when Elijah’s chest rumbled with laughter. “My hind parts would beg to differ.” Elijah snuggled closer to Camden. “The tenderness I feel from having you ride me into bliss is nothing compared to the switch she used to take to my ass when I was acting a damn fool.”
“I don’t believe that sweet woman ever hurt you. She loves you too much.”
“She does, but that didn’t stop her from reining me in when she needed to.”
Warmth spread through him as he watched an inviting smile tilt the corners of Elijah’s mouth upward. Whatever the differences in their childhoods, it was clear Elijah and his mother shared a loving connection that Camden both praised and envied at the same time.
Elijah slid a teasing hand down the curve of Camden’s ass, squeezing gently when he reached the meaty swell. “We’ve been ghost most of the day. We should at least go ask her if she needs some help. Especially since that tired-ass brother of mine won’t offer any.”
Elijah squeezed Camden’s asscheek again, planting a loud smack of a kiss across his lips before sitting up, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, and heading off to the bathroom.
Camden remained in the bed, intending to get a few more moments of rest before he had to return to the outside world. He’d just found a comfortable position where the mattress was still warm from Elijah’s heat when he heard the shower running. The thought of Elijah’s satin skin covered in water made his cock twitch. His lips spread wide across his face as he sat up and looked at the closed bathroom door.
“No sense in wasting water with two showers.”
He laughed to himself at the ridiculous idea of water conservation being his goal. Camden knew there was only one reason he would slide into the shower with Elijah: whenever Elijah was naked, Camden wanted to be there. It was as simple and hedonistic as that, and Camden had not one bit of shame about it.
It was amazing the change a day made.
ELIJAHwas looking in the fridge for something to drink while he waited for Camden to finish up in the bathroom when his burner vibrated again.
“Hello.”
“Is he with you?” Her words were rushed, peppered with fear.
“Yeah, what’s happened?” Elijah was already walking toward the bathroom door, banging, yelling for Camden to hurry up before she could respond.
“My man on the inside was made. I don’t know how, yet. But his body was found under the L train near Livonia and Van Sinderen Avenues. Don’t let Camden out of your fucking sight. Where do you have him stashed?”
“At a house in Westchester. I’ll text you the info.”
“Keep him in that damn house until I get there. I’m on my way.”
Elijah grabbed Camden’s hand and pulled him through the connecting garage door. Somewhere between the mudroom and the kitchen he gave him the CliffsNotes version of what had transpired along the way. The moment they were inside the kitchen, the lack of the familiar aroma of seasoned meat being fried and then smothered with gravy set his alarms off.
He looked down at his watch and noted he and Camden had spent about three hours enclosed in Elijah’s ready-made love shack. By now, the evidence of his mother’s culinary mastery should be present.
Elijah heard his father and brother screaming sports terms from the family room. He took Camden by the hand and pulled him along as he walked to the family room.
“Pops, where’s Mama?”
Neither his father nor brother turned away from the football game filling the mounted large-screen television. “She went to the store to get some stuff for dinner.” His father rattled the words off and returned what little attention he’d spared to Elijah’s question back on the game.
“We’ve got a situation; we need to get her here now. Get her on the phone.” Elijah glanced around the room again while his father got his phone out. “Where’s Viv?”
His brother pulled his gaze away from the television screen, paused the DVRed game, and answered him. “Downstairs sleeping. What the hell is wrong with you?”
Elijah didn’t answer. He just watched as his father made the call, tapping the speaker icon as the line rang.
“Hey, baby.” Evelyn’s happy voice greeted his father.
“Where you at, Ev?”
“I’m still shopping for dinner.”
“Ev, you left here three hours ago. You got Elijah worried. You need to get back to the house.”
