AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“So, now that we’ve sorted that out, you planning on calling your agent back anytime soon? He’s called again.” His dad pointed to the light flashing on Eddie’s phone charging on the moveable table.
Eddie picked up his phone and dialled his agent’s number. “Grant, hi,” he greeted when the older man answered. “It’s Eddie Taylor.”
“Eddie! Glad you called me back.” He spoke fast; he was always on the go. Life for him was one series of fast-paced meetings after another, and everyone around him was expected to keep up with his boundless energy. Excitement coloured his tone, and a second shot of adrenaline passed through Eddie that day. “I have an audition for you. This one is big. One of the main dancers in a musical on West End. The director was impressed with the video I sent him of your senior performance.”
Eddie was silent for a moment as the words sunk in. A smile spread across his mum’s face, and she squeezed his free hand so hard that it snapped him out of his shock. “Eddie,” Grant called. “You still there?”
Eddie blew out a breath and looked from his mum to his dad. “Yes, I’m here. I’m just…. Are you serious?”
Grant chuckled. “Yes, son. I’m serious.”
“When do they want me? I’m in hospital. I don’t know when they’re releasing me.”
“What happened?” the older man asked, now alarmed.
“I had an allergic reaction to nuts. There was a fella eating them on the train, and I didn’t realize until I’d already gone into anaphylactic shock. I’ll be fine within a few hours, I’m sure, but they may keep me overnight.”
“Oh, thank goodness you’re okay. The audition is the week after next.” Grant gave Eddie details of dates and location and instructed him to have an original piece to perform. Two weeks wasn’t long to choreograph a perfect audition piece for a major role, but he’d make it work.
*****
An arm reached out from the shadowed alcove to the side of the stage, snagging his wrist. Eddie smiled and heat bloomed through his body. Henri Dubois—star of the show—wanted him, and what Henri wanted, Henri got. Especially when it concerned Eddie.
He let himself be pulled in and tugged back against Henri’s chest. Twisting so he could look up into Henri’s heat-filled gaze, Eddie licked his lips, his dick already standing at attention. He was in a perpetual state of arousal when around Henri, and performing left Henri suffering the same fate. It made for fireworks between them when the star demanded that Eddie satiate him. It was no hardship either. The man was sex on a stick. Older, with greying temples and a magnetism that made Eddie melt into a puddle at his feet, Eddie was more than happy to submit to Henri’s demands.
Henri dominated on and off the stage, sucking all the air out of Eddie’s lungs and leaving him in awe of the man. His ability to sweep into a room and instantly become the centre of attention didn’t just end with his performances. Eddie was flattered that Henri had chosen him to give his body to.
Every time he looked at Henri, Eddie’s cock reacted, need pulsing through him. Wearing tights had never been so embarrassing, but right at that moment, he was grateful for the easy access.
Running a hand down Eddie’s front, Henri leaned in close, whispering to him in French, his heated breath raising gooseflesh on Eddie’s skin. He could have been uttering nonsense; Eddie had no idea what he was saying, but his body understood the message like it was written in neon. Henri licked the column of his throat in a move as dirty as the hand he slipped down the front of Eddie’s tights. He rocked his hips and Henri pinned him close, grinding his erection into the cleft of Eddie’s arse.
It had hurt at first. With only a pre-lubed condom and little prep, Henri hadn’t taken it easy on him—especially considering Eddie had never bottomed before—but he learnt how to enjoy it. They had to be quick. Eddie understood that, so he never complained, especially when Henri would keep an eye out to make sure they weren’t caught while Eddie finished himself off.
He moaned quietly, the laughter from the stagehands breaking into Eddie’s bubble of sensuality. It was risky, Eddie knew that, but Henri made him brave. Probably a little reckless too. He’d been performing on West End for only a few weeks and he really shouldn’t already be shagging the star of the show, but Eddie couldn’t resist. He found himself dropping to his knees to swallow Henri down, lathering his sheathed cock in extra spit.
“Let me spend the night with you,” Eddie gasped when Henri dragged him up, spun him around and tugged Eddie’s tights down to expose his arse.
“No.” Henri shook his head and rubbed his cock over Eddie’s hole before pressing forward until he was buried balls deep in him. Barely allowing Eddie a reprieve to get used to the girth impaling him, Henri moved, slowly dragging his cock back out until Eddie’s hole was stretched as wide as it ever had been. Eddie’s objection died on his lips when Henri punched his hips forward drilling Eddie’s prostate hard. He wanted nothing more than to take the man to bed and explore what it was like to have sex with Henri while horizontal. But Henri refused. He always refused. Eddie didn’t think his request was a big deal. He wanted to stay with his lover and wake up with him.
For now, he had to be satisfied with what he had. The sex was exhilarating and life-affirming. Performing, even more so. He was born for it, thriving with every moment under the spotlight.
He didn’t understand why Henri insisted they not go home together. He kept their relationship a secret too. Henri had done him a favour, Eddie supposed. He didn’t particularly want to be the focus of the tabloids for being Henri’s boyfriend. He’d rather it be for his own talent. The star had said he didn’t want to constrain their relationship with unnecessary labels either—why conform to others’ expectations? But was Henri doing exactly that when he refused to tell anyone about them? Henri’s secrecy wasn’t because he was in the closet—he was an out and proud bisexual man. But he was a firm subscriber to the adage that an attainable lead was a successful one. Women loved him, and men either wanted to be him, or be with him. If Henri announced they were together, that notion would be shattered, and he was unprepared to risk his popularity.
Regardless of whether anyone knew about their relationship, there was no question they were in one—however it was defined. In Eddie’s mind, they’d passed the point of dating and were firmly into the B-word territory. He smiled at that. Eighteen, with a steady boyfriend and doing what he loved. Eddie’s life was full.
Right at that moment, as Henri sank into his willing body right there in the alcove, the definition didn’t matter so much to him.
four
Will
Five Years Ago
Will reported to the captain—the man who’d become his mentor—at precisely oh-nine hundred, dressed in his officer’s whites. The exhaustion from his latest fourteen-hour night shift had been shocked out of him with the sharp knock on his door half an hour into his break. He was already in bed, his quick shower just enough to wash away the sweat of a long night’s work.
He shook out his hands and wiped sweaty palms on his pressed pants, then looked down to make sure he hadn’t put smudges on them. The last thing he needed was to be late when a formal summons had been made. Captain Bugeja rarely exercised the privilege. He preferred a much more casual approach, simply calling someone and having them meet him if he had to pass on important messages face-to-face. But this time was different. The captain of the MV Dreamchaser, the largest ship in the fleet of cruise liners that had employed Will for the last six years, had sent two of the ship’s guards to his quarters, ordering him up and dressed in formal whites and at the Captain’s office within a sharp fifteen-minute deadline. Will was nervous—not because he’d done anything wrong—but because he’d heard whispers of the first mate on the ship retiring. Was his dream of becoming second in charge within his reach? Captain Bugeja had taken him under his wing once Will had demonstrated time and time again his unwavering focus and dedication to his profession. He’d set his sights on captaining a ship, but he knew it would be a decades-long pursuit to get there. It didn’t matter, though. Will had all the time in the world and an endless fountain of dedication. Captain Bugeja had helped him achieve promotion from third mate to marine captain since he’d joined the MV Dreamchaser. Was this another potential step up?
The guards knocked and opened the door when a muffled “Proceed” sounded from the other side. One of them, Mario, gave an encouraging nod to Will as he passed. He wondered whether the nerves were showing. His reflection in the mirror of his stateroom was one of exhaustion—dark circles under his eyes, and pale skin stared back at him. He barely recognized himself anymore, but it was in a good way. He’d grown a beard in his first two months of being single after his disastrous marriage had ended. He hadn’t shaved since. It was trimmed short, perfectly manicured to keep with the high standards set by Captain Bugeja, but it was starting to grey.
