Letters to Julian (A Cupid Inc Novella) (4 page)

They groaned in unison, each shaking and panting as Ridley inched forward, feeding his enormous cock to Julian’s ass
in increments until he was seated to the root. Fully enveloped, Ridley stilled, stroking the tops of Julian’s thighs while giving him time to adjust to the invasion. Once his muscles relaxed, and his inner walls no longer held Ridley’s cock in a stranglehold, he curled his fingers around his lover’s bicep and tugged.

“Move.”

Undulating in fluid waves, Ridley pulled back, leaving just the crown to part the ring of muscles, and thrust back inside. He started gently, slowly building up to a steady rhythm that had Julian moaning and panting as he clutched at Ridley’s sweat-dampened shoulders. His body thrummed with desire, sending electrical currents up and down his spine and spreading heat out to his extremities. Each hard thrust ratcheted his pleasure higher, and his head spun as sounds he’d never before heard from his own mouth echoed around the room.

The world around him faded away, narrowing to where their bodies joined
, and as the tempo increased, Julian struggled to hold his orgasm at bay. The muscles in his back flexed as his spine stiffened, and he snaked his legs around Ridley’s waist once again, jerking him closer in a silent plea for more. Harder, faster, deeper, rougher—he didn’t care. He just needed more.

Insinuat
ing his free hand between their heaving bodies, Ridley fisted Julian’s cock, squeezing the base and dragging his hand along the shaft, stroking in time with every bone-jarring, demanding thrust. Unable to endure the onslaught of carnal sensations, Julian pressed his shoulders into the mattress and bowed his back, groaning loudly as his cock erupted in a river of pearly cream.

Aftershocks wracked his body, pulling deep shudders from him when Ridley released his cock and gripped his thighs, plunging into his body in wild abandoned. Grunting and growling, he collapsed forward, burying his face against Julian’s neck as he shivered through his own clim
ax, spilling a torrent of molten lava into Julian’s clutching channel.

Before the cum had dried or the post-orgasmic glow had even fully dissipated, Ridley went rigid in his arms, and Julian had a bad feeling he knew what was coming next. “Ridley?”

Pushing away from him, Ridley rose to his feet and began gathering his clothes from the floor. “Don’t get the wrong idea,” he muttered. “This didn’t mean anything.”

Ouch
. “Of course, it didn’t. Just a little stress relief between friends, right?”

Ridley looked so relieved it was actually a bit comical. “Aye, that’s right.”

Julian didn’t buy a word of it. He’d been there. He’d felt the connection between them, and not for a second did he believe it was one-sided. Until Ridley could be honest with himself about his feelings, though, they’d never be more than just friends. Unfortunately, Ridley looked so tense and uncomfortable after their tryst, Julian didn’t know if they’d even be able to manage that.

Chapter Three

Julian didn’t come into the store the next day. Or the next. Or the next. By the time Monday rolled around, Ridley had already come up with plenty of reasons why what had happened between them had been a huge mistake.

He didn’t want a relationship, never had. He was better on his own, and for the most part, he liked it that way. Meeting Julian for drinks twice a week was one thing. Investing in a fulltime relationship with phone calls and dates and flowers didn’t suit him. For a while
, he’d try to give Julian the fairytale he deserved, but he wouldn’t be able to keep it up forever. Romance always came with expectations, and the pressure to live up to those expectations gave Ridley fucking hives.

“Good morning,” Julian sang as he waltzed into the bookstore with a beautiful smile stretching his lips. “
I brought breakfast.” He held up a couple of brown paper bags and shook it in Ridley’s direction. “Don’t give me that look. They’re bagels, not donuts.” The brat even stuck his tongue out as he hopped up on the counter and pulled open the first bag. “I have plain, strawberry, and brown sugar cream cheese, too.”

Surprised but
pleased to find nothing had changed between them, Ridley propped his elbows up on the countertop and leaned over to peer inside the paper bag. “Where’s the coffee?”

“Eww. That stuff will make your heart explode.” Opening the second, smaller bag, Julian pulled a
tiny carton of milk out and tossed it to him. “Drink that. It’ll make you grow up big and strong.”

Knowing when to leave well enough alone, Ridley laughed as he caught the milk carton and opened it. “What are you plans for today?”

“I have to meet with a client this afternoon in the Bronx about an ad campaign for some new age voodoo shop something or another. I’m a little hazy on the details, but it’ll be fabulous.” He pulled the top off of an individual sized tub of cream cheese and dipped his bagel into it. “Then I’m going to get my hair cut and my nails done.” He held up his left hand and inspected the nails with a wrinkled nose. “My cuticles are awful. Wanna come?”

Ridley grimaced, and a small shudder worked its way down his spine. “Not bloody likely. That’s all you, love.”

Julian shrugged and bit into his bagel. “Your loss,” he said around the mouthful of bread. “What’s on your agenda for the day?”

“Payroll.” Ridley hated payroll, almost as much as he hated inventory. “Some bloke is supposed to be coming in this afternoon to do up a window display for
spring. Bridget’s idea,” he added when Julian arched an eyebrow at him.

“You do know that’s kind of my job, right? Why didn’t you just ask me? I’d make that window magical.”

“Aye, you could, but that’s one of my rules. Never mix business with pleasure.” He’d owned and managed a slew of businesses in the last two hundred years, and unfortunately, he’d had to learn that little lesson the hard way. “It’ll be enough to keep the harpy off my back.”

“I heard that!” Bridget called from the back, causing both of them to chuckle.

“Okay,” Julian relented, “but I reserve the right to hate it.”

“I’d expect nothing less.” Without thinking, Ridley reached out
to push back the curtain of hair that covered Julian’s face. “Gods, you’re beautiful.”

“Thank you.” A pretty pink blush crept into Julian’s cheeks and spread to the tips of his ears. “I’m too pale and my arms are disproportionate to my body, but I suppose I’m okay to look at.”

Instead of panicking over his more-than-just-friends comment, Ridley realized Julian was giving him an out, and he leapt at it with both hands. “And scrawny. Don’t forget scrawny.”
Fuck, what’s wrong with me?
They were better as friends, and he’d do well to remember it. Still, he didn’t see any harm in looking.

He’d meant what he’d said, though. Never in his life had he met someone as beautiful both inside and out as Julian Haell. Ridley wouldn’t call the elf pale, and he certainly didn’t
view his fair skin as a negative thing. Julian had the most beautiful, flawless ivory complexion, as though he’d stepped off the cover of an airbrushed magazine, and his skin was so very soft. Ridley still remembered how it had felt beneath his palms as Julian had whimpered and squirmed beneath him.

Stop it!

“Hey, are you listening to me?”

“No,” Ridley answered honestly. “Apologies. What were you saying?”

“I asked if you had plans for Friday.”

Valentine’s Day
. “Yes, I have plans.”

“Liar,” Julian teased, and his eyes sparkled as he said it. “C’mon, Ridley! I scored two tickets to
Kinky Boots
.
It’s won like six Tony Awards, so you know, it’s probably good or something.”

He’d hoped to avoid this conversation, but better to nip this in the bud before Julian got the wrong idea. “Julian, about last week…”

“What about it?”

“It was a mistake. It shouldn’t have happened. I got carried away, and for that, I’m sorry.”

Instead of some big emotional outburst, Julian cocked his head to the side and frowned. “I’m asking you to a play, not to the altar. I’m a big boy, Ridley. I’m perfectly capable of separating sex from emotions.”

“I’m not.” With previous partners, it had never been an issue. As usual, though, everything felt different with Julian. For
Ridley, it hadn’t been about sex for the sake of sex. It had meant something, something he wasn’t ready to feel. “I’m going to the bank.” Then he pushed away from the counter, grabbed his jacket, and left the store, never once looking at Julian for fear of what he might see in those deep, golden-brown eyes.

* * * *

“That went well.” Sighing, Julian gathered the trash from their breakfast and deposited it into the waste bin behind the counter. He’d been afraid something like this would happen, especially after Ridley’s hot and cold act from the previous week.

“He’ll come around,” Bridget said as
she entered the front room and patted Julian on the shoulder. “Just give him some time.”

Julian would give th
e man all the time in the world if he thought it would do any good. “Thanks, but he’s right. What happened was a mistake. We’re better as friends.” Maybe if he said it often enough, he’d even start believing it.

“You’re an awful liar.” Digging into her apron, Bridget pulled out a small, white card and presented it to him with a flourish. “He cares about you, Julian. He just needs a little push.”

“You think so?” Taking the card, mostly to humor her, he tapped it against his palm without reading it. “What makes you say that?”

“We girls know these things. It’s intuition.”

“Good enough for me. Now, what’s the card?”

“Cupid Inc, of course.” She said it as though that should mean something to Julian, but he’d never heard of such a place. “Really,” she huffed as she rolled her eyes. “It’s a place for people like us. They’ll help you find a date for Valentine’s Day.” As she spoke, Bridget curled her upper lip to reveal long, pointed canines.

“Yes, dear, we’re all very proud of your fangs. Now, put them away before you hurt yourself.” He tried to hand the card back, but gave up when the fiery little fox shifter growled at him. “It’s not happening, okay? I don’t want anyone else.” Holding his hand up, Julian shook his head when he saw Bridget’s eyes light up. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Oh, I think it is, but you’re as bad as the boss. Seriously, what is it with boys? Why all the tiptoeing around the issue? You like him.” She held her right hand out, palm up. “He likes you.” She did the same with her left hand. “Now, get your shit together and just like each other.” Bridget clapped her hands together, linked her fingers, and squeezed. “See? Easy.”

“Yes, fine, I like him, but it doesn’t matter. Ridley’s going to run, and he won’t be caught unless he wants to be.” Julian had no intentions of chasing after him like a lovesick schoolgirl, either. “Just let it go.”

“I will not.” With a delicate finger, she tapped the card in Julian’s hand. “What do you have to lose? At the very least, you find someone to go with you to the play, and you don’t have to be alone on Valentine’s Day. C’mon,” she whined, “think of it as an adventure.”

“I do like adventure,” he answered slowly, rereading the business card. “Do you think Ridley will—”
No
. He cut that thought off at the knees.

“Be green with jealousy? Absolutely!”
Gods, she looked far too excited by the prospect.

“You’re not a shifter,” Julian mused. “You’re a
horrid little demon.”

“
Sticks and stones, sweetheart.” She backed away with a cheeky grin. “Sticks and stones.”

* * * *

After Ridley finished at the bank and walked the four blocks back his bookstore, he didn’t feel any better about how he’d handled the situation. It wouldn’t have killed him to say yes to a date on Valentine’s Day. Julian hadn’t even really presented it to him as a date, yet he’d acted as though Julian had proposed marriage.

“Hey, boss!” Bridget sang from behind the counter when he entered the bookstore.

“Where’s the new kid? Allan?”

“Eric, and he’s on his lunch hour. Don’t worry, I got this.”

“Okay, but who’s making coffee?”

“Well, I am, of course.” Bridget rolled her eyes and flipped another page of the magazine in her lap. “Do you see anyone in the store?”

“Fine,” he bit out. “I’m here now, though, so go do your bloody job.”

“You know, you really should get that checked out,” she responded casually.

“And what would that be, dear?”

“That incredibly large stick shoved up your ass,” she answered as though commenting on nothing more spectacular than the weather. “I mean, it makes for a shining personality, don’t get me wrong, but some people—not me—might say it makes you a
…how would you say it? A right foul git.”

Sighing, Ridley hung his jacket on the coat rack and began rearranging one of the display racks of bookmarks and stationary near the door. “Don’t hold back, love. Tell me how you really feel.”

“Oh, I’m finished.” Bridget flipped another page in her magazine, though Ridley got the impression she hadn’t actually been reading anything. “Julian left.”