AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He didn’t see Eric until the afternoon, their regular time to set up the tables for dinner. But when he walked into the dining room, the work had already been done, Eric just folding the last two napkins.
Adrian blinked, mind slowing down for the first time in hours. “Am I late?”
“No, but I figured you could use a break,” Eric said simply.
Stupidly, Adrian felt a bit like crying. For fuck’s sake, it wasn’t like Eric had offered to single-handedly renovate the hotel. But, still. Somehow, the small show of support meant a lot.
Adrian bypassed a reply in favour of walking Eric back against the curve of the piano, framing his face with both hands so he could kiss him. Eric smiled into it until Adrian nudged his mouth open, and then there were minutes that slid by, lost between them, one of Adrian’s hands venturing low to grip Eric’s arse and bring him closer.
“Hot,” someone commented.
Adrian pulled back enough to send Martin a pointed look. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be?”
“Not really, no.” Martin’s grin was bright while next to him,Matteo was biting down on a smile even as he stayed silent. “I like the view here. Think I might hang around.”
Eric, exhaling a breathy chuckle, dropped his head onto Adrian’s shoulder. Adrian ran a hand through Eric’s hair and shot Martin another look. “Pleasego away?”
Martin seemed to give it some serious thought, then shook his head. “I would, but I see a risk that then there’d be clothes coming off soon. Anyone could walk by outside and decide to take a peek into the room—don’t want to give an eighty-year-old granny an eyeful, do you?”
“Our oldest guest is seventy-five,” Adrian said.
Martin arched an unimpressed eyebrow. “Not my point.”
“Come on,” Matteo said gently, amusement clear in his tone. “Let’s leave them to it.”
“Fine, whatever.” Belying his put-upon expression, Martin came easily when Matteo tugged him into motion. He stopped on the threshold to the staff wing, though. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you when you give someone a heart attack. Nothing says Christmas like an ambulance that takes an hour to get here.”
Sadly, he wasn’t wrong. While Adrian doubted they’d give anyone a heart attack, it wouldn’t be particularly professional to get caught with Eric’s cock in his mouth. Adulthood sucked. And no happy ending in sight.
Once Martin and Matteo were gone, Eric raised his head for a sheepish smile, his cheeks a little flushed. “He’s probably right, you know.”
“Well, even a blind pig sniffs out a truffle now and then.” Adrian tucked his nose into Eric’s hair and inhaled once before he released his hold. “Upstairs?”
Eric was about to reply when steps from the staff wing made him pause. A moment later, his mum Brenda stuck her head into the room. Adrian wasn’t quite quick enough to step away. Oops.
The ensuing silence lasted for half a second.
“There you are,” Brenda said then, directed at Eric. “Your dad and I are gonna go for a walk along the river—we were hoping you’dcome along? It’s okay if you’re busy though.” Her smile included Adrian.
“No, um.” Eric glanced at Adrian as he scuffed a hand over his hair. “That’d be nice. I can get Olivia.”
Adrian told himself he wasn’t disappointed. Honestly, he had plenty of things to cross off his to-do list, and none of them was ‘bend Eric over closest available surface’. So.
“I’ll see you later,” he told Eric, letting the sides of his mouth tug up before he turned to Brenda. “Enjoy the walk—it’s beautiful this time of day. You’ve got sturdy shoes, though? It can be slippery.”
“We brought hiking boots, yes. Thank you.” Brenda’s eyes were warm, and God, this was weird. Was Adrian supposed to act like his tongue hadn’t been down Eric’s throat a minute ago?
He got his answer in the form of Eric reaching out to touch Adrian’s cheek. “I’ll come find you later, okay?”
Adrian exhaled. “Okay.”
Later, as it turned out, wasn’t until dinner service. About two thirds of the tables were occupied, and the last third would be filled when more guests arrived tomorrow. After dinner, Adrian worked the common area with Martin. Eric sat with his family and Kojo, Matteo read a book by the fire, and no one complained about the increased prices of the drinks, which Adrian chalked up as a win.
Around ten, Eric’s parents left for bed after telling Adrian that it was a truly amazing place he was running. Adrian checked on Eric, Kojo, and Olivia, deep in a conversation, and when he returned to the bar, Martin was smirking like he knew something Adrian didn’t.
“What,” Adrian said flatly.
“How do you like the in-laws, then?” Martin asked, and Adrian shook his head.
