Page 85 of Just Business
Justin pushed the car door shut and half walked, half carried Eli to the house. “I know.” He unlocked the door, got them both inside, and peeled off Eli’s coat and tuxedo jacket. Dropped them on the bench. His own suit coat followed. “You’re all right. I’m fine. No one was hurt.” Justin toed off his shoes. “How about we go sit down on the couch?”
Eli didn’t argue, didn’t protest when Justin led him to the living room sectional. Lavi took off when Eli sank down in the middle of the L, eyes still wide and distant. “It won’t go away. It usually goes away by now.” He peered up at Justin. “I’m so sorry—whatever I did.” He whispered, “Are you even here?”
Words like fists to his chest. Justin ignored the pain. Instead, he tugged Eli’s shoes off and swung his legs up onto the couch. “I’m here. You’re not alone.” Blanket—that always helped Mercy: the security of being wrapped up in something. He pulled a throw from the back of the couch and laid it over Eli.
Eli clutched at the blanket and rolled away from Justin. “I can’t... I know you don’t want to be here.”
That wasn’t entirely true. “It’s fine.”
Eli tugged the blanket over his head. Cut off from the world.
Justin slumped on the floor, his back against the couch, mirroring Eli. He did want to be here. Desperately. Wanted to be Eli’s, but that meant not being his own. Mercy needed him. So did his family. And yet... He stared at Eli’s blanket-covered back. Eli needed him, too.
Eli as the wealthy, sadistic, controlling Dom didn’t mesh with the man huddled under the blanket on the couch. Or the one who had been at the office the past few weeks. Or any version of Eli. Justin’s stomach felt like stone. How hard had be been shoving Eli into a box that didn’t fit him? “Can I get you anything? Water? Tea? Booze?”
Eli rolled back, his head framed by the blanket. Rainbow colors. Crochet. “Tea. There’s—” Eli took a breath, sat up, and peered down at Justin, eyes more clear than they’d been since the start of the drive. “There’s valerian root tea in the cabinet above the coffeemaker.”
“I can do that.” Justin climbed to his feet and headed into the kitchen.
“Use the electric kettle for the water, not the microwave.”
So very Eli. The tightness in Justin’s chest eased a bit. He found the tea, a mug, and set the kettle. A few minutes later, he handed a brimming mug to Eli. “Careful, it’s hot.”
Eli raised an eyebrow. “I hope so.” He took a sip and leaned back against the cushions.
The couch seemed a better idea than the floor. There was plenty of room on the L-shaped sectional. He wouldn’t be crowding Eli. Or getting too close. “How are you feeling?”
He shrugged. “Better. More present.” Another sip of tea. “It hasn’t been this bad in a very long time.”
“Well, considering what almost happened...”
A chuckle. Eli sounded more and more like... Eli. “To be honest, I don’t remember. Not... clearly.” He studied the cup before he drank more. “I know the car wasn’t stopping and there was another in the intersection and we were going to hit... and then I was here.” He shook his head. “That’s the worst part. I can’t even remember the present.”
“We one-eightied, and somehow missed the other car. Ended up against the curb.”
“And I drove us here?”
Justin nodded.
“God.” More tea. “Thank you for all of this. I know you’re not fond of me, but I’m not sure...” He got that distant look. “I don’t think I’d have made it home if you hadn’t been with me.”
“It’s not that, Eli, it’s...” His turn to shrug. This wasn’t the time or the place for that conversation. “Anyway. I’m glad I was here.”Glad I could help you. I’m sorry I hurt you so much.“Is there anything else you need?”
Eli took a final drink of the tea and set the mug on the coffee table. He looked up, face drawn and weary. “Yes. You.”
So much pain in those two words. Justin couldn’t breathe for a moment. When he spoke, it was harsh and strangled. “Eli...”
Eli opened his arms in invitation. He made no movement toward Justin. But the agony and fear in Eli and the tremor in his hands spoke volumes.
How could he say no? Hell, he didn’twantto. Justin slid across the couch and into Eli’s arms, head against his chest. A hand on his back. One against his hair. Beneath Justin’s ear, Eli’s heart beat so fast, despite the slow rise and fall of his chest. Justin’s heart beat as quickly—he’d missed this so very much. The warmth, the sense of belonging, of everything clicking into place.
Fingers grazed Justin’s cheek. “Just for a little while. I know you don’t want this. But—” Eli’s voice cracked. Something warm and wet fell on Justin’s cheek. “I need you.”
Even if Justin had known what to say in response, he couldn’t have spoken through his tight throat. The ache in his chest was unbearable. Had he read Eli so wrong?
Eli took a deep breath. “I’d known Noah pretty much all my life. We weren’t friends to start with. I’ve never been good with people. Too sharp, too cold. Too much of a know-it-all.”
Justin shifted, peered up. Tears in Eli’s eyes. “You don’t have to tell me this,” he whispered.
