Page 92 of Just Business

Memories of the previous night flooded back. Of terror, tears, and hope. Justin on top of him and—

Justin raised an eyebrow and chuckled.

Sam spoke. “Eli?”

“Sorry, I’m still waking up. Had a long night.”

A pause. “Look, I don’t mean to bother you... but I can’t get ahold of Justin. He’s not answering his cell and I’m really worried. Lots of accidents last night. Did you see him leave the party?”

“I...” Black hair, stunning blue eyes, and a thin and supple body. He’d felt so good moving inside Eli. There Justin was. In his bed. “Yeah. He’s here. With me.”

“What?”

Eli flinched away from the phone. That had been loud—enough to dissolve Justin into a fit of giggles.

“What thehell, Eli?” Another pause. “You took him home andfuckedhim?”

“Other way around. Kind of. Tried to give him a lift to Oakland because he was going to walk home... but I spun the car out. I think. That part’s hazy. We ended up here. And he fuckedme, if you must know.”

Dead silence on the other end.

“Technically,” Justin said, “you had me fuck you. There’s a difference.” Amusement was written in his smile and wrapped around his words.

“Oh, hush, you.” How he loved the man lounging in his bed. Eli rubbed his eyes. “He’sfine, Sam. Would you like to talk to him?”

Something like a choke came from the other end. “E—areyouokay?”

He had to contemplate for a moment, which meant the answer was... “No. Not exactly.” Yes, he ached from the past, and holy hell, was he fragile at the moment, but— “It’s going to be fine, Sam. Everything. Just need to... piece it all back together. I—” Words ran out. Justin crawled to the edge of the bed and held out his hand.

Nothing to do but hand the phone over.

“Sam?” Justin said. “Yeah, I’m okay. I mean—” A pause. “He’s pretty shaken up.”

Eli leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes. Understatement of the year. At least Dr. Brohmer would be able to pay off her Christmas bills. He giggled.

“I—” Justin sounded chagrined. “I know. Believe me, I know.” A pause. “He told me everything.”

He had. Opened himself completely to Justin. Physically, too. That had been intense—being fucked. He’d forgotten how powerful that could be. Eli opened his eyes.

Justin sat cross-legged on the bed, playing with the edge of the sheet while he listened to Sam talk. He lifted his head and gave Eli a faint smile. “Oh, I’m sure he knows that. He’s pretty aware of himself.” Justin picked at the sheet more. “I’m not—there are things I need to tell him. But he’s right, Sam.”

Such blue eyes. The jagged black and red hair, mussed with sex and sleep, was lovely.

“It’s going to be okay.”

Eli exhaled. Yeah, it really was.

“Right. I’ll tell him. Thanks, Sam. Bye.” Justin turned off the phone and set it on the bed. “Sam says if the roads are shit tomorrow morning, stay home. Because he won’t be in, either.”

“Wonder how bad it is?” Eli levered himself up and hobbled to the window. When he peeked behind the shade, a sea of white greeted him, dotted with several neighbors clearing their drives and walks. A few ruts in the snow in the street marked a car’s passing, but nothing like a plow had touched the road. Thin clouds hung in the sky, bright with the sun that tried to pierce them.

“How much?” The bed creaked.

“A foot? Maybe more? I can never tell. Enough to cause trouble. No plow.”

Two softthumps, then the warmth of Justin’s hand pressed against his back. Eli’s breath caught and he shivered.

Justin raised the blind, letting the light spill into the room, and studied the scene. “That’s not as bad as it could be. Bet they’ll have it cleared by tomorrow.”