Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 63481 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 317(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63481 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 317(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Gadiel’s forehead wrinkled. Personally, he loved horror movies, loved how freaked out they made him feel, the adrenaline and the nerve-racking tension, but he didn’t really see himself as the one who’d comfort his boyfriend and make him feel safe. He’d always wanted a boyfriend who would make him feel safe. It had always been something he’d craved: the feeling of security, home. Belonging.
Oh, well. Maybe it was a good sign that he and Scott were looking for the same thing. They could make it work.
“Sure,” Gadiel said with a crooked smile, patting Scott’s hand briefly. He considered holding it, but somehow it didn’t feel right. He glanced at Will over Scott’s shoulder, but from what he could see, his gaze was on the screen already. Gadiel turned to it, too.
The movie was scary. It was so scary that within half an hour Gadiel felt like jumping out of his skin at every little noise, his heart pounding and his instincts screaming at him—and the characters—to run. When the creepy alien thingy jumped onto the guy’s face and crawled into his mouth, Gadiel flinched, disgusted and freaked out.
He glanced sideways and froze.
Scott was clutching Will’s arm. It was dark, but Gadiel was certain of it. Scott was clutching Will’s arm. And Will was letting him.
Gadiel glowered at them, feeling peeved. If Scott felt like clutching someone, why was he clutching Will? And why was Will letting him? Will was his bodyguard, not Scott’s! If anyone had the right to clutch Will, it should have been Gadiel. Will was paid to make him feel safe. This was—unfair!
“Will!” Gadiel hissed, trying not to sound like an angry cat in front of his date. “Come over here.” He patted the seat to his right.
“Now?” Will said.
“Yes. I need to tell you something. It’s important.”
Muttering something under his breath, Will freed his arm from Scott’s death grip and moved to the seat on Gadiel’s other side. “What?” he murmured, leaning to Gadiel’s ear.
He smelled good. Such a nice aftershave.
Gadiel reminded himself that he was annoyed with him. “I didn’t bring you here so you could hog Scott’s attention,” Gadiel hissed, his lips brushing against Will’s stubbled jaw. “Why were you letting him hold you?”
“He seemed scared. And it would have been rude to yank my arm away.”
“What’s rude is that you’re my bodyguard but were bodyguarding someone else! You should have been protecting me. I’m supposed to be your priority.” Gadiel was embarrassed by the whine that entered his voice. But then the ear-splitting scream from the screen made him jump, and he grabbed Will’s arm, his embarrassment forgotten.
“You are,” Will said. “My priority.”
The words made something warm and vicious curl in his stomach.
“That’s right,” Gadiel said, turning back to the screen. “Don’t you forget that.”
He didn’t let go of Will’s arm.
Over the next hour, Gadiel found himself squirming closer and closer to Will until his entire torso was pressed against Will’s side and arm. It was probably embarrassing that he was behaving like a big baby, but screw it, he didn’t care. He felt so much better this way. His heart was still beating fast, but he’d stopped jumping at every sudden noise.
“Kid, you’re nearly in my lap,” Will said.
“Am not,” Gadiel said, hugging Will’s bicep tightly. It was marvelously firm without being ridiculously thick. Will was so fit. Obviously Gadiel noticed that because it was important for a bodyguard to be fit and firm everywhere. After all, his purpose was to protect Gadiel and keep him safe.
Gadiel smiled absently, rubbing his cheek against Will’s shoulder. He really smelled so good. Someone in the movie was being eaten alive, but Gadiel didn’t even flinch, just cuddled closer to his bodyguard. He felt like purring from how comfortable he felt, his chest warm and his mind wonderfully empty of any worries. Safe-warm-protected. So good. He could stay like this forever. “And don’t call me kid,” he said belatedly. “It’s baby.”
He could feel rather than hear Will’s chuckle. It was nice.
“Gadiel?” came a voice from his other side.
His eyes widened. Right—Scott!
Gadiel straightened up a little and turned to him.
Even in the semi-darkness, he could see something like bemusement on Scott’s face as he eyed him and Will. “Why are you cuddled up to him?”
“He’s my bodyguard,” Gadiel said, refusing to be embarrassed. “I was scared. It’s his job to make me feel safe.”
“Right,” Scott said, throwing an indecipherable look over Gadiel’s shoulder at Will. “You can sit closer to me if you’re scared.” He smiled, his white teeth flashing in the darkness. “I’m scared shitless too, to be honest. We can be scared shitless together.”
Gadiel didn’t move. He was aware that he was wasting a golden opportunity to cuddle with Scott, but he didn’t feel like moving.
“Nah, I’m good,” he whispered. “The movie is ending soon anyway. We can’t risk getting caught snuggling when the lights turn on.”