Page 24 of Elf

Xavier came to him and held out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you in person, Ezra.”

Ezra hastily set his plate and mug down on a small table and took the—man’s?—hand. Nearly black eyes looked down at him, and Ezra got the feeling Xavier knew everything there was to know about him. Unnerved, he let go of his hand and didn’t even think about it when he stepped back into Alaric’s protective space.

Xavier’s lips twitched as he continued to stare for a few moments, then turned to walk a few steps away. He then faced the room. “It seems this particular job has meshed with another investigation we’ve been working on. First of all, the price on your head, Ezra, went up to four million.”

“Seriously?” Ezra butted in. “This has to be about the money I’m inheriting. It has to be my ex-husband then, since he’s been drawing out signing the divorce papers. He must want that money even though he already has more than he could ever spend.” He glanced back at Alaric. “Told you—real shit gibbon.”

Finn snorted.

“There’s more,” Xavier said. “I looked into your husband. I have before, and he’s always covered up his tracks well, but this time, he left one small detail he shouldn’t have. We hacked into his system and one lone entry in his schedule happened to intertwine with a group I’ve been following.” He held out his palm and a picture appeared in it. He showed the image to Finn then Alaric. “Look familiar?”

Alaric studied the picture and frowned. “He was in the warehouse when we fought the warper wizard.”

Ezra leaned over to look at the image. “That’s Brian, my ex. You’ve met him?” he asked Alaric.

“Your husband is the trafficker we’ve been after?”

“The…trafficker?” He could only think of one kind of trafficking that would have these preternaturals so upset, and his gut twisted into instant knots. Surely not. Brian was bad, and Ezra had known about the drugs and guns, but to hear that he also dealt in taking people and selling them? Nausea hit him, acid shooting up his throat, and he ran to the closest bathroom only to barely make it to the toilet. He threw up but because he hadn’t had a chance to eat, it was nothing but stinging bile.

Gentle hands cradled his head.

“I didn’t know,” he gasped out. “I didn’t know.”

“We know that, Ezra,” Alaric said softly. “Your husband would have done everything to keep you from finding out.”

“I should have turned him into the cops for what I did know, but if I’d known about this nothing would have kept me from having him arrested.” He closed his eyes and felt Alaric reach around him to flush the toilet. His cheeks burned with humiliation. “I’m sorry you had to see me throwing up.”

“It’s a natural response to what you heard. That is, if you have a good heart.” He turned Ezra’s face toward his and Ezra opened his eyes. “Kemper has some particularly strong wizards working for him. Well, one that I know of, since we killed one. But therecould be more. How many men did he surround himself with other than Jake?”

“Jake and Stephen were his bodyguards, but there were usually two others with him. But I see through glamours and never saw anything unusual about them.”

“Wizards can pass completely for human. But they have powerful magic.”

“Like your boss? Xavier?”

“He’s a sorcerer, not a wizard. Wizards have some natural magic but theirs is mostly learned, studied. Xavier’s magic is a part of him, immense, and doesn’t have to be studied—though he always does anyway. So, there is at least one wizard left with Kemper. Come on, let’s go back and let them know. You can help tell us everything about the house where you lived.”

“Let me wash my mouth out first.”

A smile pulled up the corners of Alaric’s lips. “Of course.” Then that smile disappeared. “Ezra, you need to get ready. We’re going to have to go after your ex, and we’ll have to do it tomorrow. With that price on your head, the assassins will be relentless.”

His stomach still all twisted, Ezra could only nod.

Chapter Fifteen

Alaric

Xavier had left with the promise to return in the morning. Bain had gone home to be with Clive. And now, with both Finn and Callan guarding the house, Alaric could try and get some sleep. But instead of drifting off, he could only lie on the bed, staring at the ceiling, because all he could do was think about Ezra. They had some kind of weird connection that pulled at him. Deeply. And touching him had been like experiencing the sort of pleasure he’d only dreamed of before. The man’s skin was like silk, and his unique scent appealed to Alaric on some intense inner level that made him want to just breathe Ezra in. Hold that scent in his lungs. Hell, he’d wanted to put his dick inside Ezra so badly, he’d been blinded to the world around him.

He needed to get Xavier alone and talk to him. Surely the sorcerer, who was one of the oldest beings he knew, would know what was going on. Just how old Xavier was was still a mystery, but they’d all guessed he’d been around a lot longer than Alaric’s parents, who were pretty old themselves. His dad was over a millennium.

Rolling to his side, he punched the pillow and nestled his cheek into it. He forced himself to close his eyes, but all he saw was Ezra and the way he’d looked when watching Alaric do yoga. That sheer lust had transformed him from the mouthy prince into someone with more levels—it had humanized him for Alaric.

And the pride he’d felt knowing he’d caused that response was so out of his realm of normal behavior, it had stunned him. He liked—no, loved—knowing his body caused that reaction in Ezra.

Then there was the kissing. Fuck, nothing in his life had been hotter. And the shared blowjobs, which had been beyond anything he could have dreamed.

He really wanted to talk to Sammy about all this again, but then she’d get all excited and insist he’d found someone again. She believed he needed someone, and a part of him worried she’d finally let herself go if she believed he wouldn’t be alone. That terrified him, but at the same time, he needed to accept that she wasn’t going to be in his life any longer.

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