Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 69836 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69836 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 279(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
I’ve been to parties like this over the years, accompanying Sullivan, but never as a guest. And definitely not with a boyfriend on my arm. I’m so proud and giddy even the decor is growing on me. Maybe it’s Christmas spirit filling my chest. Or the fact that I didn’t come, and I’m horny, is conditioning me to like festive cheer. As if I have a hard-on for Christmas.
There are tables where guests can dine on food from an exclusive buffet, but I lead the way straight to the station with hot drinks, because if I’m ever to allow myself hot chocolate with cream, this is the night. On the stage, a classical singer starts a recital of winter-themed songs, but I only have eyes and ears for my lamb, who wants to see and experience everything.
Dancing together might draw too much attention, but if I could do it, I would, because he’s not just another Friday. He is mine, and I want him to know it.
“Boozy hot chocolate? Don’t mind if I do!” Eli laughs, adding a generous splash of rum to his drink. He’s already tipsy, but I don’t mind watching over him. It’s his night. He can do whatever he wants. If he overdoes it, I’ll carry him to our room and tuck him into bed.
He stalls, looking back at me and pointing to his glass. “Is this okay? Is it included in the price of the event?”
I can’t take my eyes off him, and each twitch of his Adam’s apple makes me thirsty for a taste of his skin, but this isn’t the place, so I stroke his silvery hair and pull him close. “You can have whatever you want. The price is irrelevant, I just want you to enjoy yourself.”
He takes a big sip, then grabs my hand. Before I realize what he’s doing, he lifts it above his head and twirls under it. “Look at me. Reindeer Cinderella boy at the ball. I wish my family could know how much fun I’m having. Not Spencer. Spencer can rot in a ditch.”
My gums itch, and I lean in to bury my face in his neck. The mask dulls his scent, but it’s still there—fresh, and rich, and welcoming. I long to rub myself all over him, so I can carry those familiar notes on my own skin.
“I would kill him for you.”
Our eyes meet in intense silence. He’s considering it.
“No. He doesn’t deserve your attention.” Eli strokes my arm, and we might be making a bit of a spectacle, but fuck it. It’s 2025. I will show my boyfriend affection if I damn well please.
The people here are polite enough to not stare, so I take that at face value. With two glasses of hot chocolate, we gravitate around the ballroom, listening to the heavenly soprano. But as beautiful as the singer’s voice is, all I want to hear is my lamb’s soft, happy laughter. Never before have I been with anyone like this. Occasionally, the men I fucked on Fridays would have dinner with me, or drinks at the very start of the night, but they were just distractions. Eli is the main event.
For once, I have someone to watch over and care for, but Eli wanting to return the favor makes all the difference. For once, I’m not a dog serving someone else’s needs while waiting for a kick. I’m important, and allowed to want things.
It feels so damn good. I don’t need alcohol, because I’m drunk on Eli’s scent and taste. He’s my indulgence, and I’m not even feeling guilty about this pleasure, because I’m free. Sullivan can’t reach me, there is no implant in my heart, and for all I know, no one else knows the words that can bring me to my knees. Eli’s burned them.
As I sit beside Eli on a plush couch, drinking my chocolate and listening to how he hopes for more cheery music later, I spot two people glancing at us from the corner. It’s impossible for them to have recognized Eli. The little limp he has, happened already after his escape from the crime scene, so that can’t be a tell. The other reason they might be looking makes the hairs on my body bristle and my breath hitch.
The problem with having a boyfriend others can see is that they might ogle him. They daren’t approach when I’m around, surely? But what if we part? It’s not unreasonable for Eli to want to use the restroom at some point. What if one of those onlookers decides to flirt with him there?
My lamb might be self-conscious about his body, but he cuts such a striking figure in the burgundy suit, long-legged like the animal he’s dressed as, and I know for a fact that those two men aren’t the first ones who’ve stared.