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Another deep breath, then Adrian carefully withdrew. Eric madea noise of protest that turned into a groan when Adrian shoved three fingers back into him and opened his mouth around the tip of Eric’s cock. With half-lidded eyes, Eric watched Adrian, awash in the glow of the lamplight. His stomach muscles quivered with each crook of Adrian’s fingers.
He might be perfect. It was a distinct possibility.
When Eric came, it was almost silent—a hissed intake of air, body arching to get closer, then a warm, slightly salty tang on Adrian’s tongue. He pulled back to work Eric through the rest of it, mouthing at his hip until Eric tangled a hand in Adrian’s hair to drag him up. Adrian drew the duvet over them before he caught Eric’s lips for a sweet kiss, breathing into each other’s mouths, pressed together from head to toe.
‘This doesn’t even compare.’
It didn’t—the bottomless brightness that filled Adrian’s chest, muscles weak as though he’d just returned from a day of rock climbing, time suspended as they lay tangled within the folds of the duvet. Adrian would need to move at some point because there was still a world out there, a hotel to run.
But it could wait a little longer.
17
The news broke two days later—just pictures at first, leaked by one of the usual media outlets. They showed Max and Lucas getting out of the van and stopping for a snog in front of the quaint facade of the Gletscherhaus.
The effect on their bookings was almost immediate.
In the afternoon, Eric decided to postpone his tug-of-war with a song that wouldn’t come out right. Instead he convinced Adrian to take a break by offering sexual favours. Afterwards, he camped out behind the reception desk. Adrian welcomed new arrivals while Eric dealt with some emails, including a couple of event invitations that might require his actual presence in London. Well, he couldn’t avoid it forever. He’d also need to find a proper solution for his woefully empty flat, so…
To be discussed. Along with the question of how Eric could support Adrian’s renovation plans.
It was a topic that Adrian kept heading off each time Eric tried to bring it up. But if Adrian thought Eric would be satisfied with vague mumblings about a meeting with the bank later that week, he was in for a reality check. Also, they could really use another pair of helping hands around here, and Eric’s old room was free, along with thesmall salary that had been budgeted for him. He was ready to top it up substantially, get someone in full-time—he just needed to find a way to sell it as a fair contribution to Adrian.‘I eat, drink, and sleep for free’had not done the trick.‘I’m your boyfriend and want to look after you’had yielded a slightly better result, but still not quite enough to sway Adrian.
Some minutes before guests would start trickling in for dinner, Lucas sent Eric the link to an interview with Max. It must have been ready to hit the papers before the photos were even released and mostly dealt with Max’s official coming out, as opposed to his previous, much more vague statements about how “society should retire the need for labels”. There was, however, a comment about the Gletscherhaus some two-thirds in, and … huh. He thought he was funny, didn’t he?
‘Yeah, it’s been a real hideout for Lucas and me. Inspiring too—the landscape kind of blows you away. Plus, my good friend and songwriting partner Eric Isak lives there. He and the owner have been dating for a while.’
Which, of course, prompted a scripted question about Eric and Lucas’s alleged relationship.
‘You mean the pictures of them at the airport? They dated for about two seconds, nothing serious. Then I got my act together, and Eric met his partner. Honestly, we had a good laugh about how Eric has suddenly become the certified expert on breakup songs. As an artist, you draw inspiration from all sorts of things. Some of it is personal, and some of it is stories people tell you, things you see and read and hear.’
Adrian, chin hooked over Eric’s shoulder so he could read along, snorted softly. “So let me get this straight—he calls the staged photos of Lucas and him a lucky pap shot, claims that a six-month relationship lasted two seconds, and promotes the Gletscherhaus by publicly saying it’s his hideout.”
That about summed it up, yeah.
“Welcome to the world of the rich and famous,” Eric told him.
“Meaning your world?” Adrian asked. It was a detour from how he’d been markedly reluctant to discuss that aspect of Eric’s lifebeyond their initial conversation two days ago. Eric read it as Adrian needing some time to wrap his head around it all—fair enough.
Tucking his phone away, Eric turned in the circle of Adrian’s arms to give him his full attention. “I’m not famous.”
“Matteo recognised you.”
“Because I happened to date someone semi-famous who’s now openly dating someone famous—not because I myself am famous.” That was an overdose of fame right there. “Once everyone has forgotten about my thing with Lucas, which will be soon, there’ll be more people recognising you than me.”
“Can’t help but note that you didn’t deny the ‘rich’ part.” Discomfort rang clear in Adrian’s voice, so maybe that was the core of the problem. Eric shouldn’t have been surprised given Adrian’s unease with money, as evidenced by how he hated asking even his parents for a higher student allowance. Cue a gig as a porn star.
“I’m…” Eric hesitated. “Comfortable.”
“That’s what a rich person would say,” Adrian said, gaze steady.
Tread lightly.
Eric let his lips tug up into a smile. “If I say I’m rich, can I buy you a pony?”
Adrian frowned. “That’s not funny.”
“Tough crowd.” Eric considered his next words carefully, covering Adrian’s hand with his own. “I don’t have a crazy amount of money sitting in the bank—some, yes, plus some that’s tied up in my London flat. But unless people suddenly stop listening to every single song I wrote, the royalties from what’s already out there will keep rolling in. And every new song that gets picked up adds to that.”
