Exposed Exposed (Dom Nation #1) - E. Davies Page 0,17
of his troubles for my load.
I yanked open the door and walked out of the shop toward Slate, who still knelt on the sidewalk. Pity I didn’t have time to linger and drink in the sight, because it was more erotic than a whole damn porn shop.
Out here in the open, he was exposed in plain sight, his head bowed. It was enough to take my breath away, just one glance at him.
He was patiently crouching exactly as I’d left him, his broad shoulders steady and strong under the silver tray. To my eye now, he looked like a rock to my ship veering off course, swept by the tide…
Shit. There was no time to dwell on the way he pulled me toward him, because I heard Isaac. A quick scan of the crowd found him in a group near the entrance of the club. He wasn’t looking this way, but at any moment, he might.
Standing between him and Slate, I crouched in front of him and pulled the nearly empty tray from his hands. He had to be stiff now. An hour had passed in the blink of an eye. For me, anyway.
I needed to get him to safety.
I put one hand on Slate’s shoulder and gripped the tray with the other. I lifted it easily from his tired fingers, pressing my thumb into the stiff muscles of his neck.
God, my God, I wanted to reward his beautiful submission. If I were his Daddy, I’d slide him into a hot shower and rub out all the stiffness in his body. Even that. Especially that.
Heat surged through me. I wanted to kneel in front of him and pull him into me, kiss the breath out of him.
As I took the tray away, Slate lurched. His hands fell to the pavement, but he stayed where he was, head down. Waiting for orders.
Such a fucking good boy. He deserved sweetness and light and kisses, not the marks I ached to leave along his bare skin. I bit back the whimper that tried to slip free. Safety first, I reminded myself.
I didn’t know how much time we had before we were noticed. I resisted the urge to look over my shoulder and risk meeting Isaac’s eye.
“That’s all,” I told him, firmly. Leaving no room for argument. “I’m closing. Come inside—now.”
He moved slowly, like wading through molasses, so I gripped his forearms to haul him to his feet. It took all of my strength and most of his.
As he stood, I kept my body between him and the clusters of laughing merrymakers. Not because I was jealous. Just so my shy, self-conscious boy didn’t melt under the weight of prying eyes.
Fear clamped my throat like loops of rope, and I let go of him abruptly.
No. No, not my boy.
He went still and stood where I’d let go of him, and I kicked myself. Act first, think later, Rex. He was waiting for my cues, and I couldn’t let him down now.
Almost there… almost safe. I opened the shop door and put my hand against his bare back.
Desire surged in me, my palm throbbing at the contact. I wanted to slide my whole forearm across his skin and around his ribs, and pull him back into me until he was locked against my body.
I steered him inside and kept talking, even if I wasn’t getting answers. “In you go. Have a seat.”
The other couple had left. Good. We were alone. I turned the lock.
Slate sank into a chair, his hands folded in his lap and back straight. He gazed into the distance.
Like he was waiting for me. And—fuck, I could hardly think straight. My fear for his safety from Isaac mingled with my own derision.
Look at you, getting all attached, I taunted myself. Face it, a boy would only be another project. You don’t know how to treat people like anything else.
Being so new, the blinds were a little stiff, but I hauled the chains quickly and blocked out the large window along the front of the shop. Then I flipped the sign on the door and pulled that blind down, too.
Then I went behind the counter, quickly assembling a six-pack cupcake box and placing the leftover cupcakes into each slot.
“What are you doing?”
“Paying you,” I answered, my hands trembling. Please let me give you something. I can’t give you what you seek.
Slate chuckled, sleepy as his bedroom eyes. “There are other options,” he said.