by Evie Drae
Doing as Ellis asked, Henry pulled away. His lips were swollen and his eyes dark and hungry. “You okay?”
“Better’n ever.” Ellis pointed to Henry, indicating his fully clothed state with a swirl of his finger. “Except for all that. Need you naked. Need you inside me.”
Henry growled low in his throat and lunged forward to take Ellis’s mouth with feral possessiveness. When Ellis rocked his hips into Henry’s, their kiss broke on a shared moan.
Grabbing his T-shirt by the hem, Henry yanked it over his head and tossed it to the floor near Ellis’s jeans. His pants and underwear followed in one quick, eager movement. Within seconds, he was back on Ellis, their bare bodies writhing together with shameless greed as their mouths crashed together in a gluttonous whirlwind of teeth and tongue and lips.
Ellis touched and tasted every inch of Henry that his insatiable hands and mouth could reach. He’d never felt so aware of his own body and yet somehow also hyper focused on someone else’s. He wanted in a way he’d never wanted before. He needed in a way he never thought possible. “Please.”
It was all he could get out. One breathy, pleading word. But Henry understood without further explanation. He trailed kisses down Ellis’s body as he reached for another condom and the bottle of lube. When he lifted to his knees to dress his cock with the rubber barrier, Ellis got his first good look at Henry’s gorgeous body.
Throwing out a hand to stop Henry from rolling the condom on, Ellis sucked in a quivering breath and took his fill. Henry wasn’t as heavily muscled as Ellis, but the hard work he put into his craft was evident by leanly sculpted muscles under soft, smooth skin. “You’re breathtaking.”
It was rare for Henry to show his bashful side, but a light dusting of pink highlighted his freckles. “That’s a true compliment coming from someone as beautiful as you.”
Ellis ran his hands up Henry’s thighs. “I’ve never felt beautiful before, but damn if I don’t when you look at me like that.”
That secret, quiet smile Henry only ever shared with Ellis crept up his lips. “Then I’ll have to remember exactly how I’m looking at you and make sure to do it all the time.”
He bent to offer Ellis a soft, sweet kiss before rolling on the condom and squirting lube into his palm. Coating his fingers, he returned them to where it all began—with him inside Ellis, pressing on that spot Ellis had known existed but had never found. His gentle smile turning wicked, Henry spread the remaining lube on his dick, watching with delight as Ellis squirmed under his touch.
When he was finished prepping Ellis—with all the love and care Ellis had always wanted but had never received—Henry slipped Ellis’s condom off and tossed it to the floor, then hooked his arms under Ellis’s knees and locked their gazes. “Ready?”
“More than.” Ellis cried out when Henry breached his opening, but it was with joy and pleasure rather than discomfort or pain. And when Henry’s eyes drifted closed as he moved with the most tender, delightful rhythm, Ellis marveled at the sparks firing over his skin. Especially when Henry shifted his hips with expert precision, wrapped his hand around Ellis’s bare cock, and with his very next thrust, nailed Ellis right where he needed it most. “Holy fucking shit.”
That’s all it took. One stroke of Henry’s dick against that bundle of nerves, paired with his warm grip, and Ellis saw stars. His whole body vibrated with the intensity of his orgasm, and the heavy rush of blood in his ears muted the joyful cry of Henry finding his own release only a few moments later.
They lay there together, sprawled awkwardly over the couch and twitching as aftershocks rocked through their systems, until Henry finally pushed to an elbow. Staring down at Ellis, he grinned. “That was so worth the wait.”
With the goal of finding sustenance after they’d all but drained themselves to within an inch of life, Ellis and Henry slipped out the private employee side door to the theater. Henry took Ellis’s hand, lifting it so he could brush a kiss over their joined knuckles. When their eyes met, he waggled his brows and tugged Ellis in for a kiss, whispering against his ear, “I can’t wait to get you naked again,” before pulling away.
Heat prickled at Ellis’s cheeks, but as he struggled to formulate a proper response, his worst nightmare—in the shape of a gaggle of groupie fans who had somehow recognized country boy Henry outside of his goth-punk Cinder stage garb—swooped in to ruin the moment.
High-pitched shrieking and the unwelcome clawing of hands as the horde of adoring admirers closed in around them clouded Ellis’s brain with a rush of panic and claustrophobia. But unlike last time, there were no burly bodyguards to keep the crowd at bay. Instead, they continued to press closer and scream louder until the remnants of Ellis’s sanity slipped away.
It wasn’t until he heard Henry’s clear, controlled voice in his ear, ordering him to turn around and go back inside the theater, that Ellis snapped out of his comatose terror and found the will to seek safety. But when he shoved through the growing throng and fumbled his keycard from his pocket so he could open the door, Henry was nowhere to be seen. He hadn’t followed Ellis, but instead remained trapped at the heart of the mob.
No way was Ellis going to let his own weakness and anxiety cause Henry to face that horror alone. He started back toward the chaos but was stopped in his tracks by AJ, the bodyguard who had rescued him the previous time. “Cinder wants you back inside. He’s going to give out a few autographs and take a few selfies. Don’t worry. Emmitt’s with him. He’ll be safe.”
Ellis nodded blindly, allowing AJ’s hulking form to guide him into the theater and deposit him into Henry’s dressing room like a toddler in timeout. AJ pointed to the door handle as he backed out of the room. “Lock up behind me. Just in case. I’m gonna go play backup.”
Again, Ellis merely offered a mechanical nod in response.
“Keep an eye on your phone. We might need to extract Cinder via vehicle. I’m sure he’ll be in touch.” With that, AJ exited the building and left Ellis slumped on the couch, reeling from yet another brush with the pandemonium that ruled Henry’s life.
Ellis dropped his head back onto the cushion and stared up at the ceiling in self-defeat. He couldn’t even handle a moment under the weight of fame-by-association. Could he and Henry really have a future together when he couldn’t stomach the pressure of Henry’s everyday existence? Would Henry want Ellis around if it meant an added burden for his security team, requiring them to whisk Ellis away at the first sign of trouble only to leave Henry with insufficient coverage in the event of an emergency?
Squeezing his eyes closed, Ellis mumbled a curse before pressing to his feet. Whatever he and Henry had planned for that evening, it was off the table now. He needed to do something to get his mind off this mess.
When Henry reached out, as Ellis had no doubt he would, Ellis would figure out how to respond. For now, he’d change into work clothes and let the job beat his body into submission. A pale replacement for an evening with Henry, but an apt punishment for his feeble vulnerability.
Chapter Fourteen
When Cinder’s phone rang, he nearly dropped it in his fumbling hurry to answer. Hope fizzled in his chest when he saw it wasn’t Ellis, and he frowned at the caller ID instead. But if there was anyone in the world who could make him feel better right now—save Ellis himself—it would be the woman on the other end of the phone. “Hey.”
“Well, don’t you sound like a ray of sunshine this morning,” Kumiko chortled. “I take it you aren’t a fan of the new celebrity couple name the fans chose. Personally, I think it’s delightful.”
Cinder pinched the bridge of his nose and resumed the pacing he’d been doing before Kumiko called. “What are you talking about? What name?”
Kumiko cackled, her voice muffling as she covered the microphone to speak to her wife. Cinder caught a few words but couldn’t tell what was being said. Eventually, Lizbeth took control of the phone, laughter lacing her words. “Henry Cinderford, you and that sexy stagehand have the best ’ship name ever. You�
�re on speaker so we can both hear your reaction, but I won the right to tell you, since you’ve somehow had your head buried in the sand. Are you ready?”
Sighing, Cinder motioned her on before remembering she couldn’t see him and clicked his tongue in irritation. “Go ahead, Liz. Spit it out.”
Lizbeth giggled and another whispered exchange occurred before she finally blurted out, “Cinderellis. Your couple name is Cinder-freaking-Ellis.”
They emitted a joint ear-splitting squeal before Kumiko took control of the conversation again. “Tell me that isn’t adorably perfect. It was meant to be.”
Cinder paused a moment as the reality of the ridiculous tabloid nickname sank in.
Cinderellis.
Fuck.
As if things weren’t complicated enough right now. Ellis wasn’t going to be happy about this. Especially not considering his intense desire to keep everything them a secret. If they had an official ’ship name, it meant the press had figured out who Ellis was, which meant they might know things about him, like where he worked and where his family lived.
“Shit.” Cinder bolted for the garage, pausing only long enough to snag his wallet, keys, sunglasses, and a ball cap. “I’ve gotta go, babes.”
“Wait, what? What’s wrong?” Kumiko shifted from her laid-back off-hours voice to the clipped professional tone she used to manage the troops. “Where are you going?”
As he shifted his Jeep into reverse, Cinder hit the Bluetooth button on his dash to switch the call to hands-free mode and dumped his cell in the cupholder. “I have to check on Ellis. If they have his name, who knows what else they know about him. I need to make sure he’s safe and handling the news okay.”
Kumiko’s voice tightened even further as it sounded over the speakers. “You’ve got Emmitt and AJ in tow, right?”
“Don’t I always?” Cinder checked his rearview mirror to be sure he wasn’t lying, and when he saw the familiar SUV trailing a car length behind, he tossed his faithful tail a wave. “I might have to take a rain check on dinner and drinks later. It’ll depend on how things go with Ellis. I haven’t heard from him since last night, so I’m a little worried.”
After being escorted home to safety the night before, Cinder had reached out to Ellis to apologize for the unexpected mauling. Ellis had been understanding and insisted Cinder had no reason to feel bad or ask for forgiveness. However, rather than accepting Cinder’s offer to pay for an Uber so they could continue their evening as planned, Ellis had begged off, stating he had a big project to work on and should really get to bed so he could get up early the next day.
Cinder had accepted the disappointing change of plans with as much grace as possible, but when he’d tried to contact Ellis several times that morning to no avail, his nerves had taken a hit.
Things with Ellis were going too well to let the frantic chaos of Cinder’s fame get in the way. He refused to let that part of his life endanger the first real relationship he’d ever had. It didn’t matter that they hadn’t had a conversation about where things were going between them. That level of formality wasn’t necessary after what they’d shared the previous evening.
“Be careful, boo.” The frown was evident in Kumiko’s voice. “Hopefully, Ellis slept late and hasn’t even heard the news. Either way, let us know everything’s okay, will you? We’ll worry.”
“Yeah, don’t make us wait too long.” Lizbeth’s voice was faint and no longer on top of the mouthpiece. Her nervous pacing had likely set in—a habit they shared. “There are three of us holding our breath over here now. Don’t make the poor kid turn blue.”
Cinder spent another minute or two assuring them he would at least shoot over a text once he’d connected with Ellis, then hung up. He had reached the Strip by then and was stuck in standstill traffic, as per usual. By the time he pulled into the garage and parked near the Colosseum’s private employee entrance, another twenty minutes had gone by and Ellis had failed to answer three more of Cinder’s phone calls.
To say his nerves were shot would be an understatement. He hopped out of his Jeep, then paused only long enough to fill his security team in on his concerns before hauling ass into the theater.
Calling Ellis’s name, Cinder headed straight for the old green room that acted as Ellis’s makeshift bedroom. He knocked once, then pushed the door open without waiting for an answer. It was empty.
With his jaw clenched, Cinder shouted for Ellis again as he jogged toward the backstage area. Mercifully, Ellis’s sweet voice carried from the rafters a few seconds before he came into view, standing on a metal support beam less than a foot wide. “Henry?”
Cinder’s stomach performed a complicated somersault that managed to encompass the nauseating chill he associated with his childhood fear of heights combined with stark-naked relief. “Jesus, my dude. Shouldn’t you have a spotter if you’re gonna be that high off the ground?”
A chuckle echoed through the fly space as Ellis crouched so he’d be a whole three feet closer to Cinder before replying, “I’ve been doing this for over a decade now. I’ve got my safety gear. That’s more than enough.” He tilted his head when Cinder swiped at the cool sweat prickling at his brow. “What’s wrong? Are you afraid of heights?”
Scoffing, Cinder shoved both hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “Who, me? Course not.” When Ellis flattened his lips to hide a smile, Cinder rolled his eyes and huffed out a dejected sigh. “Okay, yeah, guilty as charged. Never been a huge fan. Would you mind coming down? You’re making me dizzy looking at you all the way up there.”
Cinder waited with his eyes cast to a safe level as Ellis made his way to the ground. When his feet hit the cement with a quiet thud, Cinder glanced up and locked on to Ellis’s crystal-blue irises. Before the smile of alleviated welcome could lift his lips, Cinder caught sight of the rest of Ellis’s face and his own pinched into a concerned frown instead. “What the fuck? What happened? Jesus, are you okay?”
Ellis parried out of Cinder’s reach when Cinder tried to touch his cheek, darting his gaze away to hide the worst of the damage. “It’s nothing. I’m fine. I promise.”
“That’s not nothing.” Cinder’s voice came out barely above a whisper, the words further distorted by the tight clench of his jaw. “Who did this to you? Did you get attacked by fans or—”
Holding up a hand to halt Cinder’s questions, Ellis shook his head. “It’s not a big deal. Don’t worry about it.”
Taking a deep, steadying breath, Cinder cracked his knuckles to give himself a moment to cool down so his next words wouldn’t come out laced with the fiery rage boiling his blood. “I’ll get you a security team. This won’t happen again.”
When Ellis speared a hand into his blond locks and let his eyes flutter closed on a soft groan, Cinder took the opportunity to really assess the damage. Whoever had attacked Ellis was a lefty. His bottom lip was swollen and split on the right side with shadowed bruising around the corner of his mouth and jaw. A freshly scabbed-over laceration slashed through his right eyebrow and the beginnings of a shiner had his lids looking puffy and faintly purplish.
Dropping his hand and locking eyes with Cinder once more, Ellis furrowed his brow. “I don’t need a security team. It wasn’t anything like that.”
“No?” Cinder crossed his arms and raised a single brow. “If it wasn’t like that, then how was it?”
Heaving an exaggerated sigh, Ellis dropped his chin and focused his gaze on his hands as he fidgeted with one of the straps on his harness. “I got into a fight with my stepdad. It was a stupid family thing. Seriously, don’t worry about it, okay?”
His stepdad did this to him? As in, the asshole audio engineer? Cinder scowled. “I hope you gave him as good as you got. What the hell were you two fighting about, anyway?”
Darting a quick glance at Cinder, Ellis shrugged. “Like I said, it was a family thing.”
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Cinder sucked in a slow, calming breath. “I’m sorry for prying, but y
ou had me worried when you didn’t answer any of my calls. After last night, I was—”
“Shit.” Ellis patted at his pockets, then let his head fall back. “I must’ve left my phone on the charger by my bed. I’m sorry. The old man kinda surprised me early this morning. Threw me a bit outta whack.”
No surprise there. Cinder’s morning would’ve been thrown outta whack too if he’d woken up to a fist in the face. “Are you sure you’re okay? Have you put any ice on that? The swelling looks pretty bad.”
Ellis touched his fingertips to the corner of his mouth and winced. “Nah, I’m okay. I’ve got a lot of work to get done. If it’s bothering me, I’ll ice up later.”
Cinder bit back a sigh. “Why don’t you take a break? I can settle you on my dressing room couch and play nurse.”
Pressing his lips together, Ellis shook his head. “I really don’t have time. I already had a lot on my plate, then Ray dumped even more on it this morning.”
“Is that what you fought about?”
It was wrong of him to keep pressing the subject, but something felt off. Ellis wasn’t the type to get into a fist fight with someone. For any reason. Which meant whatever happened, it had likely been his asshole stepfather who initiated it. And Cinder was fairly certain he could knock down that bastard’s door right now and not find a single hair out of place.
Ellis lifted a shoulder but kept his gaze averted. “It was more like my punishment for the thing we fought about.” His cheeks pinked, and he squeezed his eyes closed. “Sorry, that came out wrong. Ray would never—”
“Yeah, he would. And he did.” Cinder balled his hands into fists but schooled his voice to remain calm. “Does the theater know how much of a snake that man is? Maybe I should enlighten them.”
Eyes flashing, Ellis locked his stare on Cinder, his head shaking furiously back and forth. “No. Please. Don’t. You can’t.”
Cinder held up his hands, palms out in deference. “Hey, hey. Don’t worry. I won’t do anything you don’t want me to do.” A creeping sense of suspicion and dread itched up his spine, and his “something seriously ain’t right” radar pinged off the charts. Until he got the truth out of Ellis, he wasn’t leaving him alone.
