Page 32 of Elf

Ezra

Xavier promised to wrap Brian in a bow and deliver him along with all the documentation of his trafficking ring to the authorities. Ezra wanted to go home, but he’d believed Brian about him not being responsible for the price on his head. The preternaturals had believed him, too, so Alaric had insisted they stay in the warded house until they could solve the mystery. Ezra was at a complete loss, He’d honestly believed Brian was behind this. All he could think about was maybe an ex-boyfriend or two, but none were wealthy enough or even interested enough to have him taken out.

It had to be one of his father’s enemies.

He sat on the floor with paperwork strewn over the coffee table. He’d been at this for hours, but there was just nothing, and frustration had burned a hole in his gut.

Reaching up to rub his throbbing temples, he let out a deep breath, then jumped when hands went under his armpits and lifted him to his feet.

“Bedtime,” Alaric announced as he kept lifting and turning Ezra until Ezra was forced to wrap his arms and legs around theelf. He met the gaze of Finn who’d been sitting on the couch watching the television and found amusement and a faint hint of envy, but Alaric quickly walked down the hall, and he let that leave his mind. He was so tired and so sick of having his world turned upside down. The only good thing was Alaric, so he hugged his neck tight.

“I still can’t believe you jumped in front of a gun for me.”

“I was hired to protect you, Ezra.”

“That’s the whole reason?”

“You know it’s not.” Alaric didn’t turn on the bedroom light, just walked across the room and laid Ezra onto the bed. “Ezra, there isn’t much I wouldn’t do for you.”

“Will you sleep here? Hold me?”

“That was the plan.”

“Good.” Ezra watched as Alaric removed his clothing then leaned over the bed to take off Ezra’s. A part of Ezra wanted to have sex again, but he was just so stressed and exhausted, his body didn’t want to follow that part. “I don’t know if I’m up to sex,” he admitted.

“We’re both tired. Callan is outside, and Finn is in the living room. We can sleep knowing you’re safe. All I want to do is hold you while we sleep. That sound okay?”

“It sounds like a dream.”

“Though I will be naked because like you, I sleep that way. You’ll have to ignore whatever my body does. Being naked against you will have me reacting no matter how sleepy I am.”

“I’m sure mine will too. We’ll just ignore the wood.” When Alaric slid against him, he snorted. “Or not.”

Alaric started chuckling when it was obvious neither of them was ready to sleep together like this without reacting. He twined his legs with Ezra’s and wrapped his arm tight around him.

“I couldn’t find anything in my father’s paperwork. There’s just nothing, Alaric, to tell me who is doing this. I don’t knowwhat to do. It’s not like I can just hire you indefinitely, and I do want to get back to my regular life, listless as it was.”

“And why was that?”

Ezra rested his cheek on Alaric’s chest. “You want to know a secret?”

“I want to know all your secrets.”

“I really want to be a photographer. I enrolled to go back to school for business, but I used to be so into taking pictures. I had a camera with me wherever I went, and every member of my family gave me shit about that. It got so bad, I stopped carrying it around. Then living with Brian sort of killed that dream altogether.” He nuzzled into the hair on Alaric’s chest. “I used to get so frustrated that I couldn’t take images of people like you. I’d see someone so fascinating or beautiful, and it never translated to film.”

“Our glamours make sure that doesn’t happen. Can you imagine if we were able to be captured like that? All glamours have that built in.”

“Magic is fascinating. Yours is nature, right?”

“Mine is intertwined with nature. I get sustenance from living things, and I can cast spells that deplete me some. And the healing you know about.”

“You’ve never said how old you are.”

“I’m about to be one hundred and thirty-one.”

“That’s incredible. I can’t imagine the things you’ve seen in that long of a life.”

“Not nearly as much as others in the company. I’m the youngest.”

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