by Evie Drae
A thought niggled its way into his brain, and he smiled. “I’m bored off my ass. Why don’t you put me to work? There’s no way I’m going up there”—Cinder pointed to the heavens—“but I’ve got a strong back and follow directions well.”
Ellis frowned. “No way.”
Laughing, Cinder clapped Ellis on the shoulder. “Come on, my dude. Four hands can do twice the work of two. Let’s buckle down and get this shit done—together—then we can take the evening off. Together.”
“This isn’t your job, Henry. It’s mine.” Ellis rubbed at the back of his neck. “I’d get fired if anyone found out I had Cinder slaving away on remedial grunt work behind the scenes. Plus, Ray would be pissed. I’m already in enough hot water with him. I don’t need to make things worse.”
“Well, it’s a good thing no one’s gonna find out, huh?” Cinder adjusted his baseball hat, so the bill faced backward, and rolled his shoulders. “I won’t take no for an answer. Come on, babe. Put me to work. Use me.” He winked and waggled his brows. “Trust me, I have every intention of repaying the favor later. As soon as I get you naked again, I plan to make very good use of you.”
Ellis’s eyes widened and his Adam’s apple bobbed when he swallowed, slow and deliberate. “Ah, okay then.” He cleared his throat and looked away, failing to hide the grin tugging at his lips. “Follow me.”
Chapter Fifteen
Henry flopped onto the gray suede sectional with a dramatic and exaggerated groan. “My dude, I don’t know how you bust that much ass on a regular basis. All the muscles in my body—including some I wasn’t even aware existed—are screaming.”
With a chuckle, Ellis joined Henry on the couch. He went into Henry’s arms when he opened them in invitation and snuggled against his bare chest. After they’d arrived at Henry’s house and taken their respective showers, they’d changed into lounging clothes, and Henry hadn’t bothered putting on a shirt. Much to Ellis’s delight.
“You get used to it.” Ellis flattened a tentative palm over Henry’s chest. “It’s a different kind of exercise, that’s all. I guarantee I’d die a million deaths if I had to run around the stage like you do, belting out songs at the top of my lungs while sweltering under those damn sauna lamps. It’s endurance versus strength. And I’ve got slim to no endurance.”
“And I’ve got slim to no strength.” Henry squeezed Ellis’s bicep and tugged his lips into a sexy, crooked grin. “At least, nowhere near the pure brute strength you do. My god, watching you today about did me in. Hubba, hubba. Although…” He tapped his chin and hummed in thought. “I bet you have far more endurance than you think you do. I’d be willing to test that theory the next time we have a nice long stretch of freedom to play with.”
Ellis bit back a moan and flexed his fingers into a momentary fist before once again splaying them over the solid warmth of Henry’s chest. “That sounds…” He closed his eyes and allowed a series of images to dance across the back of his eyelids. Images of all the things he could imagine in that moment that Henry might do with a long stretch of freedom. Clearing his throat, Ellis opened his eyes and focused on a loose thread at the waistline of Henry’s gray sweats to keep himself from falling any farther down that rabbit hole. “Yeah, that sounds like a definite plan.”
Henry kicked his legs up to rest on the coffee table, crossing them at the ankle before guiding Ellis down so his head lay on Henry’s lap. He carded his fingers through Ellis’s hair, massaging them into his scalp until Ellis all but turned into a purring puddle.
“Did it ever frighten you? Being so high up there without a net to catch you if you fall?”
Ellis shook himself out of his pleasure haze and furrowed his brow as Henry’s words worked into his brain. “I guess so. At the beginning. But I needed a job, and landing a gig as a stagehand at one of the most highly respected theaters on the Strip was one hell of an honor. Ray said it would all but guarantee me an eventual spot on an audio engineering team, which has always been the dream.” Ellis’s frown deepened. “I guess I thought I’d be there by now. At the very least, I thought I’d be doing mic wrangling duties rather than hiding away in the rafters. But that’s showbiz for ya. Nothing’s ever guaranteed. I’m just happy to have a job that still leaves the possibility open for a brighter future.”
At least, he hoped the possibility was still there. After his run-in with Ray, Ellis couldn’t even be sure he’d still have a job in a few days’ time. Ray had been a special level of fuming mad when he’d woken Ellis out of a dead sleep that morning, ranting and raving about something that hadn’t made a lick of sense in Ellis’s barely awake, exhaustion-addled brain.
Until, of course, it had made all the sense.
Cinderellis. Quite the apropos ’ship name, wasn’t it?
His and Henry’s relationship fit the bill rather nicely, really. Cinder had been dubbed the new Prince of Pop and Ellis’s bank account only went into the triple digits for twelve or so hours following the direct deposit of his salary before the biweekly check he sent to Ray cleared and he was back down to the pauper’s pittance he survived on.
But it wasn’t the cutesy nickname that had Ray so up in arms. He’d warned Ellis time and again not to involve himself with the talent, and here he was, not only involved, but dating an international superstar.
Ellis didn’t kid himself. Not anymore, at least. Ray’s motivations for keeping him away from the acts had always been selfish. He’d played it off as being some sort of safety mechanism to assure Ellis wouldn’t put his job at risk. Making it seem like Ray was looking out for him, that he was protecting Ellis from embarrassing himself or putting the talent out by getting under their feet when he was nothing but a lowly stagehand.
Maybe that was true with some of the acts over the years. Maybe it had even started out as a real concern, back when Ray had put his neck on the line to help Ellis get the job. But now? Now it was Ray trying to keep Ellis under his thumb. Controlling him for the sake of controlling him and getting pissy when Ellis wasn’t as easy to manipulate as he used to be.
Or so Ellis liked to believe. In all reality, nothing had really changed. He still feared Ray in much the same way a child might fear the monster under their bed. He could pretend all he wanted that he’d stand up to Ray, and perhaps part of him had started to push that invisible boundary within the safety of his own mind, but actually confronting the beast was a different story.
Still, it meant something that Ellis had chosen to follow Henry home tonight despite his stepfather’s clear admonitions, didn’t it? In all the years Ellis had known the man, Ray Brunswick had never given him anything without a threat of violence or ruination attached, including the flimsy piece of paper essentially declaring Ellis as Ray’s legal obligation in the event of Maggie’s death. A horrifying happenstance Ray hadn’t counted on when he’d decided to adopt Ellis as some idiotic means of control and self-ego stroking.
This situation was no different. If Ellis continued to see Henry, and Ray discovered he hadn’t heeded his pointed warnings, there would be hell to pay. As much as Ellis wanted to believe he could be man enough to stand up and say fuck you to the outlandish threats still ringing in his ears, the fact remained that they petrified him, and he had no clue how to move forward. He didn’t want to lose what he was discovering with Henry, but could their tentative relationship survive his cowardice?
Even at twenty-six years old, with an inch of height and twelve-plus hours a day of hard, muscle-building labor over Ray’s aging physique, Ellis remained terrified and under the man’s control.
Sensing Henry’s gears turning and wanting to keep things from going down a path he’d rather not travel, Ellis pushed to an elbow and locked their gazes. They’d chatted in passing throughout the day, and Ellis had admitted to hearing about Cinderellis. He’d also let it slip that it might have been part of his argument with Ray, which had turned Henry quiet and introspective.
The last thing Ellis wanted was for Henry to start putting tw
o and two together. If anyone looked close enough, it wouldn’t be hard to see Ellis still hadn’t outgrown the childhood fear of his stepfather’s wrath. He’d rather Henry not make that unattractive connection.
“Speaking of being afraid of heights…” Ellis grinned when Henry rolled his eyes, as if he knew where Ellis was steering the conversation without needing to hear the rest of his sentence. “What? You asked me about my fear, now I’m asking you about yours.”
“Mm-hmm.” Henry scoffed and tossed Ellis a wink before shaking his head with faux dramatic sincerity. “Can’t a guy hold on to a ridiculous childhood phobia for no good apparent reason without being razzed for it?”
Ellis opened his mouth to counter that statement before realization struck and his jaw slammed closed with a rattle of teeth.
Wasn’t that, in essence, the same general sentiment he’d wrestled to conclusion in his own roundabout way only moments before? He had no good reason to continue fearing his stepfather, yet the dreaded reactions of others if they found out that fatal flaw almost caused him more anxiety than Ray himself.
Not quite the same as Henry’s statement, but close enough to give Ellis pause. Maybe he wasn’t as alone in this particular area as he’d first thought. If Henry Cinderford—teen prodigy turned international heartthrob, complete with a platinum and diamond studded career—could harbor an Achilles’ heel lying dormant since his youth, then anyone could.
And if Henry had the guts to confront his demons, maybe Ellis could too.
“Have you ever tried facing down your phobia to see if you could overcome it?” Ellis cocked his head and smiled at Henry’s skeptical smirk. “I hear the best cure for a fear of heights is going somewhere really high and proving to yourself that you can look down and survive to see the next day.”
“So you’re saying I won’t be afraid of heights anymore if I have the balls to put myself in extreme danger and live to tell the tale?” Henry’s smirk morphed into a scrunched-nose sneer, causing his freckles to stand out in stark contrast against the blanched skin. “No, thanks.”
Ellis laughed, a bubble of relief lifting free of his chest. He felt somehow less powerless knowing he and Henry shared similar disinterest in dispelling the age-old beasts on their backs. Sometimes it was easier to live with fear than to challenge the devil to proverbial fisticuffs.
“Although—” Henry drew out the word, then paused, as if considering his next words carefully. “—with a little patience, and you by my side while I work through the choking fear, I’m pretty sure I could tackle about anything you threw at me.”
Or maybe they weren’t on the same page. If Henry was willing to toss away his personal demons with the right support and motivation, maybe it was time for Ellis to reassess his priorities.
He either learned to defy his fears and have a chance at something amazing with Henry, or he kept hiding under the covers in his mind and risked losing everything.
Not the hardest decision to make, but finding the will to carry through with it was something else entirely.
“Fair enough.” Ellis settled back on Henry’s lap, grinning when Henry attempted to stifle a yawn. There’d been promises of adventurous sex as Henry’s payment for helping Ellis with his workload, but rest seemed a better option at this point. “What do you say we throw in the towel and get some sleep? It’s been a long day.”
A sleepy hum of agreement met Ellis’s words as Henry continued the steady, rhythmic stroking of his fingers through Ellis’s hair. “I like the stound of that. Of getting you into my bed and waking up with you still there.”
Despite all the time they’d spent together over the past few weeks, there had always been an end to their evenings. A time where sleep was inevitable, and they’d say their reluctant goodbyes before returning to their own beds for the night. But tonight, that would change. Tonight, Ellis would slip into the comfort of a real bed, pull Henry into his arms, and drift off to dreamland without a care in the world.
Tomorrow—or the next day, depending on how long it took for Ray to discover his brazen behavior—he’d face whatever repercussions came with his decision to give the old man the proverbial middle finger. Until then, he’d enjoy the fruits of his poor life choices to their fullest.
Ellis groaned deep in his throat when the warm softness of Henry’s massive California king enveloped him, hugging his body in ways no bed ever had before. Henry chuckled as he slipped under the covers beside him and ordered Alexa to turn off his bedroom lights.
When the room sank into darkness, Ellis closed his eyes and allowed the decadence to engulf him. The hard heat of Henry’s body appeared at his side, his stubbled cheeks tickling Ellis’s neck when he planted a row of whisper-soft kisses along his jaw.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you worked my ass to the bone so I wouldn’t have the strength to demand you make good on my reward.” Henry traced his tongue over Ellis’s lower lip in tandem with the hand he ran up Ellis’s thigh beneath the covers. “Fortunately for us both, I know that isn’t the case.”
Tingles skated over Ellis’s skin, and he shivered despite the warmth of his surroundings. “You’re tired, and it’s late…”
“Mm-hmm, I am, and it is. However…” Henry’s wandering hand skipped over the area covered by Ellis’s boxer briefs and followed the lines of his abdominal muscles instead. “I’ve wanted you in my bed for ages now. There’s no way I’m giving up the chance to have my way with you now that you’re finally here.”
“Oh god.” Ellis swallowed a moan when Henry pressed flush against his side, the evidence of his arousal hard and thick at Ellis’s hip. “I’m game if you are.”
Chuckling, Henry nuzzled Ellis’s cheek before sealing their lips together for a kiss. It started out soft and gentle but grew heated and fervent as Ellis turned to face Henry, their hands touching and grappling for purchase, their bodies pressing close and begging for more.
“I need to touch you,” Henry growled, his hips bucking against Ellis’s.
Ellis whimpered and nodded against Henry’s throat, all but drowning in his own desire and ravenous need for the man in his arms. “Yes, god, please.”
In the blink of an eye, the world tilted on its axis as a hot, calloused palm wrapped around Ellis, sans any clothing in between. Two seconds later, the velvety steel of Henry’s cock met Ellis’s, and Henry gripped them together. He stroked their lengths in the tight heat of his fist, sending sparks of electricity firing from the end of every nerve in Ellis’s body. His muscles tightened, and he latched onto Henry’s shoulders in a desperate attempt to find grounding in the storm of sensation rocking him from the inside out.
“I’m not going to last long.” Henry’s voice was gravelly and hoarse, his breaths fanning over Ellis’s throat in erratic, panting waves. “You feel too good.”
“Ngh.” Ellis could do nothing but garble out nonsense, words failing him as blissful pressure built at his core. When Henry’s shoulders bunched under Ellis’s hands, followed by a strained cry and a blast of wet heat between them, Ellis’s own release slammed through him with the force of a freight train barreling through a tunnel.
Gasping and clinging to Henry as reverberations of the pleasure they’d shared twitched and shuddered through their bodies, Ellis buried his face in Henry’s hair and thanked everything good in the world for giving him the gift of this moment. If everything fell to shit tomorrow, at least he’d have the memory of Henry—lying satiated and serene in his arms—to keep him company in the fallout.
Chapter Sixteen
As the amber and pink hues of a Vegas sunrise peeked through the blinds, the radiant heat of the muted rays fell in bands over the comforter, and Cinder’s eyes drifted open. He blinked up at the ceiling as his mind meandered toward consciousness.
After waking up in the same surroundings for over two months now—the longest stint he’d ever had in the same sleeping quarters, if he didn’t count his tour bus, which he didn’t—he was finally starting
to get used to the luxury of the familiar. He relished the recognizable comfort of a bed he could call his own and the intimate ease of a space he knew and could navigate without thought.
But as his brain chugged into gear, something struck him as different. Not wrong, just not the same as usual. He went to lift a hand to rub the sleep from his eyes but found his arm trapped by an unexpected weight. Before he could turn to assess the source of his encumbrance, enough awareness seeped into his mind to bring back memories of how he’d fallen asleep the night before.
Wrapped in the arms of Ellis Tremaine.
A smile crept up his cheeks as he rolled over to pull Ellis against his chest. Snuffling in his sleep, Ellis came willingly. He threaded a leg between Cinder’s and circled an arm around Cinder’s waist to anchor their bodies together. Smile stretching into a grin, Cinder brushed a kiss over the whorl of hair at Ellis’s crown as he reveled in the beauty of waking to such a cozy, content moment.
This was what he’d been missing all these years. Every time he’d pushed another nameless partner from his bed in the wee hours of the morning—choosing to sleep alone after sharing a romp in the sheets rather than waiting to see where the morning might take them—he’d given up another chance at finding the one thing he’d needed most.
Comfort. Stability. A rock to cling to in the stormy seas of life.
A home.
Because that’s what this was. This moment with Ellis in his arms, sated by memories of a day spent working side by side and an evening shared without the typical pomp and circumstance others required, it was the home he’d been searching for all his life. Just as his parents had always tried to tell him, but he’d never understood.