Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 39245 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 157(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39245 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 157(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
But he didn’t inspire music and lyrics in Ajax. Didn’t draw him in.
No, there was just something about Finn. Something beyond the surprising instant attraction.
“Still playing music in your head?” Ivor asked with a chuckle. “I’ll leave you to it. Just wanted to say it was nice meeting you and getting to hear a little of your new work. Finn’s on his way, so I’ll see you next weekend.”
“Thank you for filling in for him.” Ajax barely noticed him leaving, humming as he walked back to his bedroom to get dressed. He set the barely touched coffee down on the counter in the bathroom then looked into the mirror, happy with how well-rested he looked. He’d truly needed this sabbatical after so many years of non-stop touring and recording with BTC. He was close with the members of his band, but lately there’d been more dissent—especially with Barry and Thorn. Fame had a way of twisting some personalities, so Ajax was thankful for Matt, who’d managed to stay grounded. He supposed the werewolf’s long life so far had helped with that. For him, BTC’s fame was a blip in his world. But for the others, it had become everything. And a part of Ajax had started to resent them for that. Though he understood. Fame had a way of coloring everything in one’s life.
For Ajax, it was all about the creation of music and performing it. He thrived on being on the stage and on the audience’s reaction to the songs he created. It was unfortunate that those reactions often led fans to believe they deserved more of his privacy. That they had the right to know about his personal life and relationships.
That made him think of Alan, and he scowled into the mirror. His ex had blatantly exploited that, inspiring a song Ajax had thought to include on the new album but was now rethinking. The entire album was intended to create moods, and maybe that wasn’t the kind of mood he wanted in the mix.
Ajax left the mirror and turned on the shower. The whole time he washed, music played in his head. Music and images of Finn and those crinkly lines when he laughed. That electric anticipation came back and stayed as Ajax dried off, threw on some jeans and a T-shirt, and carried his guitar into that little nook he so loved. It had two wide windows that overlooked the trees and koi pond in the back, a warm, cozy area where his creativity seemed to thrive. He lit two candles, applied his lip balm, and with his small rituals out of the way, he settled into a chair and placed his guitar onto his lap. He could hear Ivor moving about in the kitchen, but he blocked that out, closing his eyes. The song he wanted to work on, the one that had gotten him out of bed so early, filled his mind.
The song about Finn.
Chapter Six
Finn
A strange sort of agitated restlessness colored everything Finn had done over the weekend. He couldn’t relax, often getting up to pace his apartment and the whole time, he thought about Ivor and all his ‘in the face’ sexuality. It wasn’t that Finn felt he wasn’t as sexy; it was just the other preternatural’s magic was sex.
And Ajax might be human, but he had more raw sexuality than any other human Finn had ever met. Finn spent half the weekend watching videos of the man singing. It was like he couldn’t help himself. His moves were slow, but he still managed to pump those hips to heavy, rocking beats—his utter sensuality blatant in both his body and powerful voice. He commanded the stage in a way that kept a person mesmerized, a way that said he owned that venue. That commanding presence was there in the man himself, yet he seemed softer in person, more approachable.
Too fucking approachable.
By the time Finn drove back to Ajax, he was a bundle of nerves—something entirely new to him. He wasn’t one for worrying or anxiety. He took life as it came. So now he felt like he wasn’t in his own skin, like he’d somehow disassociated from his normal self. He’d been like this since right before meeting Ajax, and it had only grown.
He didn’t like it.
Just as he wasn’t sure how to feel about the pure need to be back around Ajax. He wanted to be in the house with the man somewhere close by.
And he definitely wanted Ivor away from him.
When he parked and got out, Ivor opened the front door, greeting him with a wide, white-toothed smile. He had dark brown skin and long, thick black hair he was currently wearing loose. He stood as tall as Finn, but was built leaner, with a wiry, toned frame currently in tight jeans and a gray Henley. He reminded Finn of Xavier with his elegance, not to mention the hair. But that’s where the comparison ended. Ivor, unlike Xavier, was an open book, his genuinely friendly personality always on display.