Page 19 of Daddy's Christmas Elf
At the table, Eli picked up a slice, ignoring the knife and fork Grey had set out, and bit into the pizza. He closed his eyes and hummed as the flavours burst on his tongue.
“Oh. My. God. Is this better than sex, or is this better than sex?” He moaned as he swallowed and took another mouthful.
Grey’s tight cough dragged Eli’s eyes open. Grey was bent over his plate, gingerly scraping the nuts and honey off the top of the pizza.
Oh…“Do you have a nut allergy? I’m sorry, I should have checked first.”
“I’m only allergic to having nuts and honey on my pizza. I was pushing the boat out with pear, but—”
Eli all but lunged across the table, and plucked the knife and fork from Grey’s hands.
“Thought you said you were ready for something different? And all the best pizzas should be eaten with your fingers.”
Grey had made a mess of his pizza, with the top all but scraped clean. Eli grabbed a fresh slice, the cheesy, oozy tip drooping slightly. Grey’s eyes flashed with horror as Eli held it just a hair’s breadth from his lips.
“Try it. One bite, that’s all I’m asking. It may not be like anything you’ve had before, but I promise you once you’ve had a taste…”
Eli’s words dissolved like melted cheese. Grey was staring at him, his face expressionless but his eyes dark, intense lasers. For a moment, Eli faltered as indecision grasped at him. Had he taken too much of a liberty? Could his reaction be seen as aggressive? Would Grey push his hand aside, and shove the plate away? His hand began to shake and he made to pull back but Grey wrapped his palm around his wrist, steadying him.
A burning shock ran the length of Eli’s arm. He didn’t know if it was because of Grey’s intense blue eyes burning into his own, the firm, sure grip on his wrist, or a combination of both. But one thing he did know, and that was that he was helpless to move, helpless almost to breathe, as Grey opened his mouth and with his gaze still locked to Eli’s, leant forward and clamped his lips around the sweet-salty, luscious tip of the pizza.
Grey’s eyes widened a fraction, then fluttered to a close. He bit down on the pizza; slowly, he began to chew. His grip on Eli’s wrist relaxed, then dropped away, as he slumped back in his chair. He groaned in unabashed, unashamed pleasure. Eli still held out the pizza slice, which dropped from his trembling fingers and landed on the platter.
Grey opened his eyes. The sharp clear blue of his irises was fogged, or what could be seen of them because of the wide dilation of his pupils. A light flush washed over his cheeks, and his lips glistened from oil and honey. Grey swallowed and he dragged the back of one hand over his lips, his gaze never leaving Eli’s.
He looks like he’s been…
Fucked.
The thought seared Eli’s brain as heat seared his body; his breath caught in his throat, hot and burning.
Grey’s lips lifted in a lazy smile. “You said I needed to try something different.”
“You said it first,” Eli croaked, his mouth and throat rough and dry. “And do you like it?”
Grey nodded, the movement slow. “I do. It — it surprised me.”
“In a good way?”
“In a very good way.”
Grey’s smile deepened, and Eli didn’t care about anything other than its warmth as it caressed his skin like summer sun. His body still tingled and reverberated from Grey’s confident, strong touch, and he craved to feel it over and over again. Eli placed his hands flat on the table, ready to push up, ready to forget about the pizzas he’d been hungry for just moments before. He was still hungry, still eager to taste and savour, but it wasn’t food he wanted and needed. All he had to do was to stand and take Grey’s warm, strong hand and—
A sharp, loud bark broke through the heady, heavy atmosphere. Trevor, his tail wagging, padded over to them and sat down, his head whipping between Eli and Grey.
“Sorry, Trevor, you’re just going to have to wait. Human dinner comes before canine.” Grey stared down at the dog. “I mean it, so don’t look at me like that. Oh, for goodness sake, all right.” Grey got up and pulled out a bag of dry food from a cupboard, and emptied some into Trevor’s bowl, tucked in a far corner. The small dog danced around him, tail wagging, and barking with excitement.
Eli let out a long breath and closed his eyes for a second, pulling himself together and stepping back from the precipice he’d almost tumbled head first over.
Back at the table, Grey devoured the rest of the pizza slice. “You’re right about this. I’d have never thought of these flavour combinations, but it’s great. Thank you.”
“Told you so.” Eli took a swig of lager, too fast and too much, and it burned he back of his throat and made him wince.
Grey, digging into the pile of pizza, didn’t notice. Eli picked up a slice, oblivious as to which of the two types it was, and ate mechanically, hardly tasting a thing.
What the hell had he been about to do? But he knew. Every muscle, nerve and cell, every atom in his body had screamed for him to grab Grey by the hand and drag him upstairs — no, scrub that — to push him down on the table and kiss all that hot salty sweetness from Grey’s lips. Kiss and a whole lot more. A second, a split second, a fucking nanosecond later, and he’d have done it.
Eli glanced over at Trevor, crunching his way through his food.Thanks Trev, thanks a bundle…
