Page 13 of Daddy's Christmas Elf
“That’s the second time he’s surprised me in less than twelve hours. He’s normally nervy and doesn’t much like anybody handling him except me.”
Eli put Trevor down, his face heating and throbbing at the thought of being handled by Grey, but the ping of an oversized wall clock, marking the morning’s eleventh hour, was all the reminder he didn’t want that it was time for him to leave. He stood up.
“Look, I know this is probably a bit cheeky, but can I keep these for now? Until I get back into the house? I’ll, erm, need a pair of shoes of some kind.” Eli looked down at his bare feet, where his toes were curling with embarrassment. “And the lend of some money so I can get the tube back to Stockwell. Please.”
Grey said nothing as he stared at him from across the kitchen. His face was still and expressionless, his dark blue eyes opaque and unreadable. Whatever was going on behind their inky depths, it was impossible to know. Eli wanted to squirm and turn away. Maybe he was asking too much, but what choice did he have? He forced himself to hold Grey’s stare.
“I can do as you ask.” Grey’s brow creased, shattering his unnerving icy stillness, as he walked into the kitchen and propped himself on the edge of the table. Eli let go of a silent, and relieved, long breath. “But how would it help you?”
It was Eli’s turn to frown. “I need to get back, and into the house, even if I’ve got to try and break in to do it. I’ve got no option. And I’d rather not try and make the journey back in my elf costume.”
The horrible bloody thing really had shrunk. He’d placed it over the radiator in the en-suite, where the heat had wrinkled and shrunk the tights, and the jacket had gone crinkly. Now, the outfit might just about fit a ten-year-old. A very small ten-year-old.
“Breaking and entering, in other words. If that’s not enough to get you arrested, being seen in public dressed in that elf costume most certainly is.”
Eli blinked. Then what the hell was he supposed…? He groaned, and rolled his eyes.
Grey’s lips lifted in a crooked smile. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to make light of your situation but I do have a possible temporary solution. Sit down, hear me out, and then make your decision.”
Eli flopped back down into the chair. “A possible solution? There’s only one as far as I can see, and it’s the same as yesterday’s.”
“There’s always more than one option. Stay here, until Benny gets back. I’ve got more than enough room. Why risk arrest when you don’t have to? If you’re caught, you’ll end up with a criminal record. Do you really want that?”
“But… I…”
Eli’s words stumbled from his lips, too stunned by Grey’s proposition. And as for risking arrest, the way his luck had been going it was a foregone certainty, which could dog him and scupper all his closely held ambitions… It was the perfect short term solution to his situation, but Eli knew enough of life to know nothing was ever perfect, and conditions were often attached.
“Why are you asking me to stay? You helped me out last night, and I’m so, so grateful. But you don’t really know me. And I don’t know you.” Eli swallowed as Grey gave him his impenetrable stare that made Eli want to whimper and dip his head like a cowed dog.
“What you really want to know, is do I have an ulterior motive for asking you to stay? Beyond feeling in some small way I’ve been a factor in your current predicament, then no.”
“I’ve told you, it’s not your fault prune face sacked me.”
“No, but it was my employee, a representative of my firm, that led to that happening. So yes, I do feel a responsibility, and that’s not going to change.”
Eli licked his lips, and looked down the long kitchen towards the wall of glass at the end that looked out over the same garden he’d gazed out on earlier, when his heart had plummeted. It was still snowing, the flakes adding layer upon layer. The weather forecasters had predicted at least a foot of snow in London, but it had gone way beyond that. There would be travel chaos, the buses, tube, and trains screwed up. Getting across London, back to a house he was locked out of, felt as impossible as travelling to the moon. He’d stayed last night, so what was so wrong with staying for a few more…?
The tap of claws on the floor was followed by a sharp yap, as Trevor wobbled up on his stubby back legs. Eli whisked him up and the small dog snuggled into his lap, his warm and furry body a comforting weight. Eli looked up at Grey.
“Yes, I will stay, and thank you. But it’s only because you have the cutest little kind of sausage dog. I would be doing it for Trevor.”
Grey nodded, his expression grave and serious. “Of course, that’s fully understood. He’s very attractive and hard to resist.”
Eli nodded. Trevor wasn’t the only man in the house who was attractive and irresistible. He rubbed his face into the dog’s short fur to hide the smile that spread across his face.
“Eli?”
Eli looked up and met Grey’s steady gaze.
“I just want to be clear about something, should you be wondering. Be assured you’ll be safe here. There are no conditions of any kind attached to my offer. Ofanykind.” Grey pulled his mobile from the pocket of his jeans, and punched in a code. “I want you to call your parents, to let them know where you are and for them to have my number.” He put it on the table and pushed it across.
Eli blinked down at Grey’s mobile. He hadn’t, for one moment, believed he was anything other than safe with Grey. The man’s care and concern was a warm and fuzzy blanket, one Eli wanted to wrap around himself and snuggle down into.
“Thank you,” Eli croaked. “For everything.”
Grey nodded, leaving the kitchen as Eli picked up the phone to make his call.
CHAPTEREIGHT
