Page 17 of Basilisk

Oh no, had he heard Clive jerking off in the shower? He’d moaned but hoped the water masked the sound. Heat filled his cheeks, and he looked away quickly. He wasn’t ashamed, just embarrassed. And kind of turned on again. When he actually broke it down, thinking Bain knew what he was doing was…hot.

Had he stood still and listened? Maybe crept down the hall so he could better hear? The surge of intense lust that swept through Clive then made his teeth clamp down hard on his lower lip. Fuck. Was this what real desire felt like to other people? How had he spent his life missing out on this?

Bain walked around the chair and came to him. He stopped, staring down at Clive, close enough to show that sweat had built over his upper lip. Oh, he’d definitely figured out why Clive had taken a shower in the middle of the day. Again.

He resisted the urge to squirm and faced him straight on, squaring his shoulders. When Bain lifted his hand, then let it hesitate in front of Clive’s cheek, he held his breath, heart racing so hard he could feel it thumping in his chest. He waited for Bain to continue, to touch him, but instead Bain curled his hand into a fist and dropped his arm to his side.

“Xavier called to let me know he was sending another bodyguard to relieve me tomorrow.”

Alarm shot threw Clive. “You’re leaving?”

“Only for the day. Xavier makes sure we all get sufficient time off, and I didn’t get a break between my last assignment and this one. He’s sending Alaric. You’ll like him. He’s a great guy and tough as hell should anything happen. But it’s been quiet, so I don’t think anything will.”

Clive hated the idea of another bodyguard in his space. He’d just gotten used to Bain’s presence in his house. Granted, half the time he was hot and bothered, but any interruption in his normal schedules had always been hard.

Right then, as he stared up at Bain, he couldn’t stand those glasses for one more minute. He reached up and Bain, with his unnatural reflexes, immediately grabbed his wrist to stop him. He studied Clive for what felt like minutes, then slowly let go.

Clive only hesitated a moment, barely able to breathe before he took the glasses off.

He gasped. Golden eyes with vertical slits looked back at him. They were strangely beautiful, but human, they definitely were not. They reminded Clive of eyes he’d seen before, but the shock had scrambled his thoughts too much to remember where. Bain blinked and the only thought that separated itself from that tangle was that he shouldn’t be able to. Those were the kind of eyes that didn’t come with eyelids.

Terror gripped his gut and he took a shaky step back. “Your eyes…”

Bain grimaced, straightened his shoulders, then let out a stiff laugh. “I like funky contacts, Clive. That’s all it is.”

Clive shook his head. Contacts? Those weren’t fucking contacts. All his desire from before disappeared, leaving only fear. “Okay,” Clive whispered as he backed farther down the hallway until he reached his office. He quietly shut the door, then slid down to the floor to rest against it.

He’d had a feeling. Several times. In the beginning, there’d been that low buzz of apprehension. Then again when he’d watched Bain fight—but that had been overshadowed by the lust. But somewhere in the back of his mind, he’d known that Bain wasn’t what he seemed. And he’d purposely ignored it. Seeing the proof in Bain’s eyes forced him to finally accept that these weren’t hallucinations.

Bain’s obvious alarm at him seeing his eyes assured him that this was real. It had always beenreal.

The room swam before his eyes, and he squeezed them closed. His heart thumped heavily in his chest, and he clutched his arms around his swirling stomach.

Bain knocked on the door behind him. “Clive? Open the door.”

He opened his mouth to answer but the terror had formed a heavy lump in his throat and made his mouth bone dry, so he snapped it closed.

“Clive? It’s okay. You’re safe. As I said, I like wearing crazy contacts. You’ve seen the way I dress. Is it really surprising?”

It was a struggle, but he finally found his voice. “Those aren’t contacts. I’m not an idiot.”

He could hear Bain’s long sigh through the door. “No, you’re not.”

Then he was so silent, for so long Clive thought he’d moved away before he spoke again. “I’ll get Alaric to come now. Give you some time. I’m sorry I frightened you.”

A part of him wanted to beg Bain not to leave, but years of anxiety weren’t going to be pushed aside that fast. He said nothing, listening to Bain’s footsteps as he walked away. The sense of betrayal he felt made his stomach churn and he choked on the rising acid in his throat. He’d trusted Bain. Hell, he’d lusted after him. He tried to swallow back the stinging bile, but his body was too busy reacting to his distress. That acid built, making his eyes sting, and he bent over, gagging as his eyes leaked. Again, the room swam. He scrambled to the trash can by his desk as everything he’d eaten that day came back up.

All his life, he’d been terrified by the beings he saw. And here was one.

In his house.

One he’d hired to protect him.

Chapter Ten

Bain

Alaric was an elf and highly sensitive when it came to other’s emotions. He picked up on Bain’s worry right away and tried to question him, but Bain was too upset to give him any answers. All he did was fill him in on Clive’s schedule.

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