Page 23 of His Every Move

“Twice. The running is fun, but the free drinks you get after are even better.”

Drinks… I could use a shot or two of vodka right now, just to take some of the edge off. Being so close to Eli, in his sphere, with no one else around, was making me surprisingly anxious. I didn’t want to say the wrong thing or give the wrong impression. I had to toe a tightrope between being professional and being friendly without going overboard on either. I didn’t want to be creepy, either, which almost failed after my earlier slipup.

“So where should we set up these cameras?” He opened the bag and took out the three cameras we’d bought, setting them on a clean black dining table. It was pushed close to a window that looked out to the busy street. It was cracked open, sounds of the city leaking in.

Good. That would cover the pounding sounds of my beating heart.

“One needs to be outside in the hallway. I think another should be in the living room but aimed toward your bedroom.”

“And you’re sure we need these?” Eli asked. He was clearly nervous. I reached out, still spurred by the warm buzz of vodka in my veins, and rubbed his shoulder.

“I want to make sure no one’s been able to get in here and go through your stuff while you’re gone. This Nomad person has some kind of direct link into your schedule and plans. It’s likely that the hole we need to patch is digital, but I just want to make sure it’s not physical.”

Eli sighed. He leaned back on the table. Lucky had made himself at home by curling up on the blue-and-gray area rug near the front door. “I hate this so fucking much.”

“I know. It’s not ideal.”

“Not at all… What about the third camera?”

I turned to face him. “It should go in your bedroom.”

That made him pause, his fingers tightening around the camera. “In my bedroom?”

“Someone’s watching you, Elijah. They know your schedule. They know things they shouldn’t know. We need to make sure they haven’t gotten inside while you’re not here.”

He swallowed. He didn’t like it. I could see that much in the way his lips pressed together, the way his fingers flexed like he wanted to argue but couldn’t quite find the words.

I didn’t give him time to second-guess it. Instead, I grabbed the last camera and walked into his room like I belonged there.

And fuck, it really felt like I did. Like I’d been here before.

Dark green sheets still slightly rumpled from sleep. A half-full glass of water on the nightstand. A book facedown on the mattress like he had fallen asleep reading it. Clothes draped over a chair and—fuck me—a bottle of lube sitting right there next to that damn lamp that almost gave me away.

I clenched my jaw, shoving down the rush of heat flooding my veins.

Eli lingered in the doorway, watching me with those sharp blue eyes. Assessing me. “And you really think this is needed, right?”

I turned, placing the camera on the shelf across from the bed. It would capture the entire room from here.

“I do. And it’ll only be temporary. I hope I can have this solved soon.” It smelled like him in here. Like that Tom Ford cologne sitting on the dresser. “Now we just have to download the app and have these cameras go live. Then you’ll be able to keep an eye on everything at all times.”

“Perfect. Thank you for this, Benji. Seriously.”

I pulled up the app on my phone and started to set it up, using my email and information before I even realized what I was doing.

It should have been on his phone. His information. His log-in. I glanced at him. He sat on the edge of his bed, biting his nails and rubbing at his earlobe. It was an interesting tic of his, one that never showed when he was streaming. He looked equal parts relaxed and nervous. It tore me up inside. I had fantasized about this exact moment—being alone with Eli in his bedroom—and I had envisioned him as being completely at ease. His body unraveling for me as I explored it with my fingers, my tongue.

That was just a fantasy, though. The reality was that I was inside his bedroom under the guise of work. We weren’t here to hook up, no matter how badly I wanted it. This shit was serious.

I deleted the account name and password I just created.

“Here, finish up registering these cameras. Then you can download the app on your phone and just log in.”

Eli grabbed my phone and typed in his info. He finished creating the account and closed out of the app. He grabbed his phone and installed it on his. He logged in and was greeted with three different camera feeds, one of them showing our backs. I turned and gave the camera a friendly wave. Eli chuckled.

“Don’t worry,” I assured him. “This won’t be for much longer. I’m going to figure out what’s happening.”

“I believe you. I trust you.”

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