Page 39 of Allured
Stepping back, I let the car door swing shut between us as I stare Ezekiel down.
“Actually,” I begin, taking a few small steps towards him. “Hmm... this is feeling a little light, like I might be missing something.”
Ezekiel spots my grin and realizes what I’m doing too late to stop me. I lunge at him.
“Alek, don’t you dare!”
His complaint is cut off quickly when I wrap my free arm underneath his ass and toss him over my shoulder on top of the pile of blankets.
“Ah, there we go,” I say triumphantly, adjusting him so that he’s comfortable on my shoulder.
Ezekiel squirms for a few seconds until he relaxes and laughs against the fabric of the pillows. I take it as my cue to walk us up the hill and towards the shady little spot I love.
“You are a brute,” he sighs.
“Yeah, and you love it.”
I close the distance with a couple more strides. I’m definitely not missing how Ezekiel’s hands press against the top of my ass.
“Alek, baby.” Astonishment coats his voice.
Setting down the basket, and cooler first, I keep an arm firmly wrapped around Ezekiel as I carefully slide him down my body to get his feet to the ground.
“This place,” My angel stays in my hold but his eyes take in the secluded beauty of the hills around us. “It’s heavenly.”
I agree, this meadow is nice, but what’s really heavenly is the man before me. Ez is describing the hills while my mind only seeshimin the description.
“Yeah, it really is.” My smile is soft while my heart is heavy.
I need to tell him. I can’t take it any longer.
“We should set up food before my stomach eats itself.” I break up the moment, too afraid to let anything so sweet and good continue when it’s possible I won’t experience it again.
“I am still amazed by the amount of food you can eat.” Ezekiel jokes, taking my hand in his and leading us to the picnic supplies so we can set up together.
I take a moment to explain the food once everything’s set up. Simple stuff, really. A variety of cheese, meats, some nuts, pickled veggies, breads and fruits I prepared earlier today.
“It looks excellent Alek, thank you.”
We dig in, pouring ourselves some crisp white wine once we’ve filled our plates.
A comfortable silence settles over us while we snack on the charcuterie and sip the refreshing wine.
It’s now or never.
“Ezekiel.” I begin and scold myself slightly for using his full name. He picks up on it and immediately pinches his brows together in doubt. The fact that this man can read me so well already validates my need to tell him now before my secrets can fester between us.
“I’ve got to tell you something, and I want to lead with… I understand if it’s something that you can’t accept.” I clear my throat as I set my plate down to give him my full attention.
“Alek, please continue.” He mirrors me and sets his food down onto the blanket as well. The look of concern on his face is eating away at me.
“You know I came here with nothing to my name other than a beat up car. Well, I wasn’t making ends meet with the odd jobs I had at first.” I begin, recapping what I’ve already told him during our first date.
“Income wasn’t steady for me until I picked up being an escort. I’d go on dates or spend nights with people who hired me. The money was good, the job wasn’t bad, and at that time in my life, I was happy doing it,” I confess, knowing that the hard part hasn’t even come up yet. With partners in the past, this was about the time they started questioning their standing with me or they’d flat out end things here.
But Ezekiel is listening. I can see he’s processing and he’s not showing any judgment as I lay it all out.
“My last client was Knight. He was getting out of a nasty divorce with his second wife, and as you know, that was a dark time for him. I can’t speak a ton to his motivations but he decided to hire me as his escort. I think I was an experiment for him after his divorce and he was using me to try to feel something.” I can’t prevent my voice from sounding sad at the statement. It was a rough time for Knight and that man really did worm his way into my heart.
