Every Shade by Nora Phoenix

9

When he woke up the next day, Matthew’s head had stopped hurting. He felt like he still might have a bit of a fever, but nowhere near as high as it had been. Jace had made sure he kept taking his meds throughout the night, and clearly, they had helped. That or the combination of the delicious chicken soup and the sweet care Jace had given.

Matthew had known his PA was very efficient and detail-oriented. What he hadn’t known was that he was a caretaker at heart, who clearly took great pleasure in making sure Matthew had all he needed. He’d brought water, more Gatorade, soup and crackers. He’d wiped down his face again with a cool cloth and had changed his bed linens while Matthew had hung like a sack of potatoes in his reading chair with a sheet wrapped around him. The fresh sheets had been heaven after the sweaty, stinky ones.

Jace had done laundry, had gotten groceries, and he’d asked Matthew for a list of things he needed to do to prepare for the snowstorm. After that, he’d tested the emergency generator, had filled up the oil, and had gotten two five-gallon canisters of gas.

And in between, he’d checked in, made sure Matthew was okay, and had sat by his bed, quietly typing away on his laptop. The kid was about as perfect a companion as Matthew could’ve wished for…and it made things only harder. It made him only harder, especially now that he was recovering from his bout with the flu.

He wanted him. He’d wanted him before he’d met him in person, purely based on the pictures Jace had posted of himself. But god, now that he’d seen him with his own eyes and had experienced his intoxicating mix of sexy and sweet, he couldn’t stop thinking about him.

At first, he’d blamed it on the fever. That had certainly triggered his erotic dreams of Jace serving him in every single way. But even now that the fever had mostly subsided, the dreams were still there. They’d become daydreams now, highly sexsual fantasies, but they hadn’t lessened in intensity. The kink he had buried so deep after what had happened with Geoff had come back with a vengeance, his mind conjuring up countless scenarios he could play out with Jace. He wouldn’t, not only to protect Jace but also himself, but how he wanted to.

“Good morning,” Jace said as he walked in, that shy, sweet smile on his face.

Matthew pulled up his legs to hide his morning wood. He still wasn’t wearing pants, though by now, he had no real excuse anymore other than that he liked the idea of Jace seeing him naked. Not that the boy was even protesting anymore. “Morning.”

“Did you sleep well?”

He would have made an excellent nurse. It was another fantasy Matthew had thought of: playing a patient and Jace giving him a sponge bath. He pushed it down. He could flirt with him a little, maybe, and if Jace seemed open to it, have some fun between the sheets once he was recovered, but that was as far as it could go. “I did. How about you?”

“Not bad. Your couch is pretty comfortable.”

Matthew winced. “I’m sorry I don’t have a guest room for you.”

Jace shrugged, his smile not dimming even a little. “It’s fine. Like I said, your couch is surprisingly comfortable to sleep on.”

The idea popped into Matthew’s head so fast he’d opened his mouth before he even realized it. “You should sleep in my bed tonight.”

Jace’s mouth dropped open. “Excuse me?”

Matthew gestured at his bed. “It’s king size. Surely that’s big enough for the two of us to share it.”

Jace in his bed… Now there was an idea he could get behind, pun intended.

“Don’t be… I couldn’t… It wouldn’t be appropriate,” Jace stammered.

“Sweetie, you’ve seen me naked more than once by now. I’m pretty sure the line of appropriate is far behind us by now.”

“Doesn’t mean we should continue to push it.”

Mathew crossed his arms, suppressing a smile. Jace could be proper in a way that made Matthew want to do very improper things with him. “In my experience, most fun things come from pushing boundaries…hard.”

Jace gaped at him, stunned, but then he giggled. “That was the single worst double entendre you’ve made so far.”

Matthew grinned. “Yeah? I thought it was pretty damn funny.”

“But seriously, I can’t share a bed with you.”

“Of course you can. You don’t want to, and that’s fine, but you can.”

“Nothing good could come from that. In fact, I suspect a lot of bad things could happen.”

“Like what?”

“Like you pushing those boundaries you’re so fond of mentioning.”

“I won’t push any further than you’d want me to.”

Ah, there it was again, that sizzling electricity in the air between them. Did Jace feel it too? He had to, judging by the pretty blush on his cheeks and the way he bit his lips. “You need to stop flirting with me.”

“Why?”

“So you admit you’re flirting?”

Matthew chuckled. “Of course I’m flirting with you. It’s not like I’m shy about it or try to hide it.”

“But you can’t.”

“You know, you keep saying ‘can’t’ when you mean ‘shouldn’t.’ Those are two different things. Why shouldn’t I flirt?” Matthew’s face grew serious. “Because if you truly object, I’ll stop. You know I’ll respect your no.”

He held his breath, waiting for Jace’s reaction. The boy finally let out a sigh. “It’s not that, but… I work for you. You’re my boss.”

“I’m well aware, but it’s not like you and I have a traditional boss-employee relationship.”

“You could still fire me if things went south.”

Matthew frowned. “Do you really think I would do that?”

Jace sighed as he sat down on the bed right next to Matthew. “No. You wouldn’t, and I know that.”

“Then what’s the issue? You already told me you like sex and that you’re not demanding a declaration of love. I’ll admit I’ve had a bit of a dry spell, so why not see if we could create some magic in bed?”

He was surprising himself with how much he meant it. No, he could never find more than temporary fun with Jace. The kid was too young for him and Matthew still too fucked up about how his fantasies had landed him in trouble. But they could have some fun together. Some very sexy fun.

Jace studied him. “You’re awfully chipper for someone who was delirious with fever yesterday.”

“I feel much better. Besides, I wasn’t that delirious…”

“You were jacking yourself off, saying my name…and you told me I was sweet and sexy and bossy and that you wanted to fuck me.”

He had? Damn. “None of it was a lie.”

“You think I’m sexy?”

“I think you’re cute and sexy and utterly fuckable.” He might as well come clean now, right?

“I can see where you get those catchy oneliners in your dialogue from. This whole spiel is pretty seductive.”

“Yeah? Does that mean you’re saying yes?”

“What would I be saying yes to, exactly? Like, what’s your endgame? Moving in? Getting married? Kids?”

All the blood withdrew from Matthew’s face at the sight of Jace’s serious expression. Marriage? Kids? Oh god. Had he misjudged Jace? How the fuck did he fix this? Because no way in hell would he ever make promises like that when he had zero intent to keep them. His stomach protested as his mind frantically searched for words. But what words could possibly salvage this?

The corner of Jace’s mouth trembled, and then he burst out laughing so hard that the tears streamed down his face. “Your face!” he said between laughing fits. “Oh god, your face… You looked as if you were facing a firing squad.”

He’d played him. The realization brought sweet relief as well as a healthy amount of respect. Not many people could pull that off. “You little shit…”

“Oh, admit it. That was comedy gold… I wish I’d been able to capture your expression. Best thing ever.”

Matthew laughed along now, the last tension in his body dissipating. “You really had me fooled… Marriage and kids… I should’ve known you were fucking with me.”

Jace’s face sobered. “Some day, I’d love that, don’t get me wrong. But I know that’s not what you’re after, and that’s fine. I heard you loud and clear, and I’m okay with that.”

Somehow, hearing Jace voice the very conclusions Matthew had come to himself made them sound harsh and cold. And disappointing, which didn’t make sense at all. “Does that mean you’re saying yes?”

“That means I’m telling you to get better ASAP so you can deliver on your promises of fun in bed.”

Matthew swallowed, heat flashing through him. “Yeah? Think we’ll have fun?”

Jace’s eyes were pure fire, and Matthew was hard in seconds, his cock filling so fast it took his breath away. “Oh, I know we will. I’ve seen your cock, and I’ve got just the place where you can put that…”