Page 9 of All Hallows' Rage
Lane: announcing
Everett: same, opening the show with Lanie
Matt: alright, we’re heading out soon. Coffee run? Eli’s whiny without caffeine
I laughed to myself as I stepped in the bathroom and started to strip down. My phone pinged again.
“Are you being a shit?” Eli called over the sound of streaming water.
“Why on Earth would I do that?” I teased, yanking open the shower door with a sly grin. He knew me too well by now, so my antics were as transparent as glass. Eli eyed me skeptically all the same, affording me a moment of delusion that he was buying any of it.
“Why wouldn’t you?” His laugh echoed in the space.
“Lane and Everett are opening our show tonight. They’re going to stop by, so I mentioned a coffee run.” My attempt at nonchalance was poor given the fact I couldn’t hid the quirk of a grin to save my life.
“Mhmm.”
“Are you doing another color spray for the haunts this week, or do you want to change our costumes? The pink before was fun, but it stained my hands.”
“Haven’t given it much thought.” Eli ran his hands through the sudsy shampoo and tipped his head back into the water as he rinsed. “If I’m honest, it’s a lot of work to cover it all, so probably not? I’ve been thinking about our stunts more. Do you feel like our typical routine is getting a little boring?”
We switched places, and as he readied conditioner, I soaked in the hot water and let the tension roll off my muscles.
“How do you mean?” I peeked out through the streaming water at his question. We had a solid routine as it was. When he turned to face me, rivulets of water streamed down the valleys of his body.
“I don’t know.” He sighed, getting lost in thought and shrugging. “I feel like we could shake it up a bit and really get the crowd on their feet.” I took the body wash he held out to me.
“I can drop you, maybe catch you.” I poured the liquid into my hand as his face twisted in shock at the mere joke of such a thing.
“Rude. Rags up here,” he says, pulling the fresh cloth from the shower frame. I didn’t say anything as I narrowed my gaze and lathered my hands. He raised his eyebrow in a silent question, but I answered with my hands gliding over his body.
“We don’t have time,” he said, laughing and shaking his head as I stepped closer and moved to his back.
“We have a little time.”
“Not where you’re concerned.” I kissed up his neck, biting gently as I coaxed him into playing with me.
His hands met my chest as he walked me back to the other end, putting me in the shower spray and pressing my shoulders to the frigid tile. The steam circled him as he advanced on me. When he hit the water, all my hard work was washed away as he pulled me in for a near-drowning kiss.
It was the little things that were the biggest turn-ons where Elijah was concerned. The slip of his tongue against my lips or the brush of his broad shoulders against mine—especially the way he grabbed my ass and held me close.
I broke away, leaning out of the water and wiping a hand down my face.
“Thought you didn’t have time?”
Elijah cracked a smile, giving me a shake of his head before turning away and carrying on with his shower.
Waiting through tonight before I could have him would be its own special brand of hell.
CHAPTER4
Elijah
I openedthe door to the annex of the training building and a flurry of people passed us as they went over preparations for tonight. Matt walked in behind me, stumbling into my back as I waited for people to clear out. His hand lingered on my side as he steadied himself, and I kicked myself for not risking us being late. He was dressed down in comfortable sweats and looked so effortlessly sexy.
A chipper release of excitement caught my attention in the direction of the locker rooms. Looking over, I saw Lane striding toward us with a large smile and even larger cup of coffee. She wasted no time shoving it into my hands, and I was eternally grateful for this woman.
“Thanks, dear,” I murmured, kissing her cheek twice.
