16. Ciel

16

CIEL

I t was completely dark out by the time we left Draven and Teddy’s house. Ryan had a lightness to his step that he certainly didn’t have when we arrived, and it warmed my heart to know that I was the one who put it there.

“Did you have fun?” I asked him.

“What do you think?” he replied. “Of course I did, although I’m amazed we didn’t get caught. And what about you? Was it everything you hoped for?”

I smiled. “Yes, it was, and in fact, I think you’re ready for more.”

He stopped in his tracks and looked at me, his eyes gleaming under the moonlight. “What do you mean by that? Are we going to…because I thought you wanted to go home and get some rest?”

“Silly boy. I don’t sleep, remember? And you certainly don’t need your rest yet.”

He hesitated. “That’s a lot for one night, though, don’t you think?”

“Not at all. Unless you’re too worn out?”

“No, I’m not,” he said quickly. “But let’s hurry back; it’s freezing out here.” He shivered and hugged his arms tightly around his midsection. If I’d had a coat, I would have offered it to him, but alas, I only had my robe and I was not in the mood to walk home naked tonight.

We hurried down the road to my house, Ryan’s steps quickening to keep up with my long strides. I’d turned off his vibrator long ago, once I’d had my fun with him, but the plug was still inside of him and now as we walked in silence, I contemplated turning it back on.

We reached my house before I had the chance to make up my mind, and as soon as we got inside, there was no time at all to pull out my phone and fiddle with the vibrator’s settings.

Ryan threw his jacket on one arm of the sofa and turned around, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into a kiss. I let him kiss me for a few seconds before breaking away and holding him at arm’s length.

“My, my, what has gotten into you?” I asked, my smirk threatening to strip the moment of all its suspense.

“You,” Ryan replied, arching an eyebrow.

There was no denying that, but I was still in control tonight, and I intended to show him just how seriously I took that commitment.

“Come into the bedroom,” I said, letting his arms go.

They fell limply to his sides. “But I want you now.” His tone had a hint of whininess in it.

“You can wait a few minutes,” I insisted. “Come with me or I’ll boot your ass back out into the cold and you can find your own way home.”

His neediness and obsession with me was quite the change from the reluctant, supposedly straight man I’d met only a week earlier. I couldn’t complain about the shift in dynamics, however — quite the contrary, it was a dream come true for me.

I waited for Ryan in the bedroom, taking this moment to slip my robe off. Now, lying nude on the bed, we only had Ryan’s clothing to worry about. He emerged from behind the door a few seconds later, already working on unbuttoning his shirt.

He stopped when he saw me, his eyes roving over every inch. “I’ll never get over it,” he said, shaking his head.

“Never get over what?”

“You — how hot you are. I didn’t think — well, never mind. We’ll have plenty of time to talk later.”

He threw his shirt onto the floor, climbing onto the bed next to me. He hooked one leg over my thigh, his hands running through my hair. I let him kiss me, and when he opened his eyes, he gazed into mine with an adoration I had never seen before. His thumb brushed over my cheek and jawline as his face hovered just above me.

“You’re beautiful,” he said. “You’re the most beautiful person I think I’ve ever seen.”

I laughed softly. “That’s the lust talking, but I shall take the compliment. Now, let’s get those jeans off, shall we?”

I pushed him back onto the bed and climbed on top of him, grasping the zipper on his fly and pulling it down with a gentle tug.

“Wait a minute,” he said, slipping his phone out of his pocket. I paused as he glanced at it, waiting for him to set it on the nightstand so that we could get back to more important things. “Oh.” His face fell.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” I asked, brushing my hair out of my face as I sat back on the bed.

“I got an email from the museum.”

“And?” I already knew the answer.

“They thanked me for applying, but they found a more suitable candidate for the position.” His eyes moved back and forth as he read over the email again, looking for some sign that he had missed something and there was some sort of good news after all.

“Ah, I’m sorry, Ryan.” I settled back onto my side of the bed and slipped my arm around him.

He shrugged. “That’s all right. It’s not the way I hoped for this evening to end, but I can’t really help it, can I?”

“No, of course not. It wasn’t meant to be, but next time–"

“Next time it will be the same thing, and so will the time after that.” He sighed. “It’s no use, Ciel. I moved here because I thought that out of all the cities I liked, this one would be the easiest to find a job in my field, but I can’t even get one here. What do I do? Find a job washing dishes?”

I placed my other hand on his thigh. The mood was all but killed, though I could still offer him some sort of comfort. “That wouldn’t be so bad, would it?” I asked. “It would pay the bills until you found a job you prefer.”

“Unless I can’t get any job.” He shook his head and brushed my hand off of him. “I should get going. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

I nodded. “Don’t hesitate to call. I promise that this time, I’ll answer.”

The games were over, at least for the time being. Ryan was forced to snap back to reality, and I had no choice but to follow him into it. If I could give him everything he wanted, I would, but unfortunately, I didn’t possess those kinds of powers. All I could do now was be there for him as a guiding light, something of which I was rapidly falling out of practice.