Page 28

Chapter 28

Elijah Grant

The words came as a complete and total shock. At first, I thought I must have misheard. He couldn’t have possibly said he loved me… right?

Except he had. And it certainly sounded like he meant it.

I shifted above him, still inside him. Fuck. I wanted to say it back, wanted to reassure him that I was beginning to feel it, too, but… it wouldn’t be fair. This was too soon. My mind still reeled from everything that happened.

“I… Benji, I’m?—”

Fuuuuck. I slowly pulled myself out of him, trying not to focus on the look of sheer disappointment that momentarily crossed his face before he went neutral. I lay down next to him on the bed, propping myself up on an elbow.

“It’s okay. It wasn’t the right time for me to say that. I’m sorry,” he said.

“No, you definitely don’t have to apologize for that.”

“I mean it. It’s alright. We aren’t even anything official. It’s just, I don’t know, I couldn’t keep it from coming out.”

I swallowed a heavy lump in my throat. It wouldn’t necessarily be a lie if I said it back to him. I just… I needed more time. I had to sort through my thoughts first. I knew I accepted his apologies, and I wasn’t one to hold any grudges, but it’d be irresponsible of me to blindly move forward without actually taking the time to process anything.

But there was something else I could say that would help ease the burn of the situation. “Then how about we make it official?” I asked. I may have been hesitant about saying three of the most impactful words in the English language, but I wasn’t at all hesitant about asking Benji to become my boyfriend. We’d been through some shit, but nothing that didn’t make what we already had weaker. If anything, I felt like I could trust Benji more after this. He could have lied to me. Kept everything a secret. I likely wouldn’t have figured it out. Instead, he came clean about everything, even knowing how fucked-up it had been.

We were all humans, and humans made mistakes. Some of those mistakes were larger than others, but most of them were forgivable. Understandable. And it was true that I never felt unsafe with Benji. The exact opposite, actually. Maybe it also helped that I earned a living from people watching me. Not that I wanted Benji having unlimited access to what I was doing, although giving him some access could actually be kind of hot…

“I’m covered in a gallon of cum and currently have your swimmers doing laps inside me. I think you know my answer to that.” The laughter between us helped ease over any residual awkwardness. “Yes. I think that’d be incredible.”

“Great, Detective. ” I leaned in and kissed him, holding his face, his beard gently scratching at my palm. I’d been through a hefty swing of emotions lately, but if I could just stay in this happy-filled, blissful zone, then I’d be good. And that was another reason why I didn’t hesitate to forgive Benji: he made me happy . Not just safe but genuinely and truly happy. He made me forget about my worries and focus in on the “now.” His presence and warmth had the same effect as spreading a cold handful of aloe vera lotion over a sunburn. He soothed me in ways no one else had before.

There was still a rocky road ahead, and he’d need my support to make it through the program to help with his drinking, but I was more than willing to help him.

“Let me get you a towel,” I said, kissing him again before rolling out of the bed and going to the bathroom. I grabbed a towel and soaked it in warm water before wringing it out and bringing it back to Benji. “You look like a glazed starfish,” I said, chuckling as I sat on the edge of the bed.

“Are you into it?” he asked with a wink.

“Actually—yeah, kind of.” I laughed. He reached for the towel, but I shook my head and began to gently clean him off, wiping the cum off his hairy chest and belly. He put his hands behind his hand and watched me work with a relaxed grin on his handsome face. He was likely overdue for a haircut by a week or two, judging from the dark brown hairs that started to inch over his ears, and even then, he was still one of the hottest guys I’d ever laid eyes on. He had a rugged handsomeness to him that always had me in a constant state of arousal. He was the essence of man , and I loved that. Broad shoulders, strong chest, hairy stomach, big balls, and a thick dick.

Oh, and those damn forearms of his. Couldn’t forget those.

He was a work of art. An altar I wanted to worship at for weeks on end. And maybe now that we were officially boyfriends, I’d be able to do exactly that.

I ran the towel over his stomach, down toward his soft cock. I gently wiped his still-leaking dick, grabbing him, then bending down and kissing his pubes, his shaft, his thigh. He started to get hard again, firming in my grip. I sucked him into my mouth and laid my head down on his leg, gently swirling my tongue around the head. He grew harder between my lips as he played with my hair and let out a soft moan.

“Damn,” he said. “I’m already ready for round two.”

I popped his stiff cock out of my mouth and held it up, admiring the girth and length. I had one of my legs thrown over his, my own hardening dick twitching between us. I rutted my hips and rubbed myself against him. He wasn’t the only one who was ready for round two.

“Good,” I said, slowly stroking him. “Because I want to fuck another load into you. I want to keep claiming you until the sun comes up.”

“Make me yours.”

“I plan to.”

* * *

I woke up wrapped in Benji’s arms, my head pressed against his chest, his steady heartbeat a comforting rhythm in my ear. The warmth of his body wrapped around me made me feel safe, secure. Loved—even if I wasn’t ready to say the word yet.

Sunlight streamed through the thin white curtains. I stretched slowly, careful not to wake Benji.

Today was my audition day. Excitement and nerves tangled in my gut, propelling me out of bed. I hadn’t been to an audition in over a year. I thought that part of my life—those dreams of mine—were done and dusted. But judging by the bundle of nerves sitting in my chest, I still felt like I wanted to be an actor. That dream had never died; it only took a step back, biding time for the perfect opportunity to present itself.

Could this be that opportunity?

I grabbed my laptop, opened the audition email, and reread the details. Everything seemed straightforward enough. I still didn’t have any sides, but that was fine. I was good at improv and on-the-spot memorization. I wondered if this was for one of those superhero movies, and that was why they had to keep the script top secret.

Benji stirred on the bed, one of his big, hairy legs sticking out from under the plush comforter. He was a heavy sleeper, so I didn’t worry too much about waking him.

I left the laptop open on the table as I got ready. Showered, dressed, and buzzing with anticipation, I scribbled a quick note for Benji, promising to bring back coffee and a bagel for him. Lucky was here, too, curled up on a pillow next to the window. I gave him a head scratch before sneaking out.

The audition venue wasn’t far. I walked through the busy hotel lobby, past a huge group of cheerleaders who likely were here for a competition. I walked out into the fresh spring morning and was greeted by a blast of exhaust from a delivery truck. I coughed and waved it off, walking down the street toward the subway station.

My nerves didn’t get any better as I waited for my train. The lady chanting some kind of spell a couple of benches down from me wasn’t helping that anxiety, either. I moved to another platform. This one was empty.

I was alone.

Fuck… I was alone. This was what Benji told me exactly not to do. I should have woken him up but then what? I didn’t want to ask him to chaperone me everywhere I had to go. He was a detective, not a personal bodyguard. I had a feeling he wouldn’t say no to me if I asked, but that was all the more reason for me not to ask. I’d be fine. I couldn’t live my entire life in fear.

That was pretty easy to do when I was riding the high of last night’s fuck-fest. Any logical thought still left in my brain had been emptied out of me after every orgasm. I woke up feeling like today would be my day, and I was about to make this audition my bitch.

The audition wasn’t too far from my hotel. It was down by the Financial District, a busy part of the city—as if the city had any spots that weren’t busy.

I took a deep breath as I entered the building. It looked like a run-down office building. I walked up a cramped staircase that smelled strongly of musty mold before reaching a long hallway. Silence engulfed the empty space. Strange. There were a few doors that were closed with different casting agency companies written across the frosted glass. Where were the other actors?

“Hello?” I called out, hearing my voice echo.

Hmmm… okay, this was weird. The hair on the back of my neck stood tall. I shouldn’t be here. I had to turn around.

A door creaked open. I nearly jumped out of my skin. A tall woman with bleach-blonde hair and a skimpy pink swimsuit walked out, holding a stack of what appeared to be her headshots. “Thank you!” she said cheerily over her shoulder.

“Tell your agent to keep an eye on her emails!”

The girl gave a giddy laugh and said she would before she strutted past me. She was nearly a foot taller than me and smelled like vanilla and suntan lotion.

Okay, so there were clearly actual casting offices in this building. It couldn’t be all that dangerous. It wasn’t like I was showing up at someone’s apartment for a casting couch moment. This must have been legit. I couldn’t turn back now.

I checked the email again. The audition was in room 1120. Judging by the numbers on the doors around me, that would be closer toward the end of the hall. I straightened my shoulders and strengthened my resolve. This could be huge. I didn’t have time to second-guess things or succumb to fear. I allowed myself to do that before. I gave in to my inner saboteur and almost abandoned my dreams of becoming an actor altogether.

Not today. I had hope. Things were looking up for me. I would bundle this energy up into a tight and inspirational ball, swallow it down, and stroll into the audition with the mindset that I’d already landed the role.

I walked past more closed offices. Milk Casting. Abbot & Abbot Casting. Sunshine Dreaming. I reached room 1120. There wasn’t a name of a casting company written on this door. I knocked first, but no one answered.

Again, those damn spindly little shivers crept up my spine. Instinct pulled against logic.

I jiggled the doorknob. It pushed open. I walked into a small room with black walls and a red leather couch set in front of a tripod and a camera. There wasn’t a desk behind the camera where the casting director likely sat. A box of cheap props was pushed up against the wall. There was a curtain that hung from the ceiling just to my left, covering what must have been the wall.

“Hello?”

I heard a shuffling sound from behind me. Before I could even react, a sharp prick pierced my neck, followed by an immediate, overwhelming dizziness.

“Wha—” My vision blurred. My knees buckled.

Darkness overtook me as I collapsed onto the cold, hard floor.

Oddly enough, I didn’t feel fear in those fleeting moments before the black. Instead, I felt dumb. So fucking stupid. I should have turned around and gone right back into bed with Benji. This had been a mistake, a huge one.

Possibly a lethal one.

Fuck.