Page 18 of Blue Gold

The line rang and rang, and I wondered if Elliot might have gone to sleep when he finally picked up.

“Daniel!” he gasped. “I thought you wouldn’t call.”

His slightly out-of-breath voice placed some dirty thoughts in my mind, and I coughed to hide my growing arousal.

“Were you asleep?”

By now, speaking French with him felt so natural I didn’t even struggle.

“Oh, no. I was in the shower when I heard the phone, and I ran to get it.”

Heat pooled low in my stomach at the thought of his fit body, all silky and naked underneath running water, hair wet and pushed back while soap slid down the curves of his neck to his collarbones and⁠—

Dear Lord. All he mentioned was a shower, and here I was, getting ahead of myself.

“Daniel?”

“At least tell me you managed to put on a pair of pants first,” I tried joking, but it came out wrong, especially with how rough my voice sounded, like a low growl.

Elliot’s rolling chuckle came in response, the sweet sound causing my cock to take notice of the situation.

God. Calling him now was a mistake.

“No, I’m completely naked,” he said.

I lowered in my chair and spread my legs, eyes already traveling down to my crotch as I doubted my morals. The thought was tempting—beyond that, even—but instead of caving to the need burning inside me, I coughed to clear my throat.

“Please put on something so you won’t get sick. It’s still cold outside.”

He let out that damn chuckle again.

“Sometimes you sound like my father.”

There goes my erection.

“Okay, that was a lie,” he quickly said, catching my attention back.

Sensing the shift in his mood, I strained in the chair. “How come?”

“He never cared enough about me to worry I’d get a cold.” He snorted. “In fact, he didn’t care enough even to call to check on me after he left my maman for his mistress.”

The sadness in his voice gnawed at my stomach, and I clenched the phone harder.

“I’m sorry to hear that, Elliot.”

“Thank you.”

“So you’re not close with him?”

“He passed away a few years ago in a car accident.”

Learning those details about him was somehow shocking. In the short time I’d known him, Elliot had been nothing if not a walking sunshine. No matter the circumstance, whether he’d gotten lost on the subway or worked until late at night, he always had a smile on his precious face. Who knew such a tragedy lurked behind so much kindness?

“I’m terribly sorry to hear that, and I can reassure you that it was his loss for losing contact with you while he still lived.”

“You think so?” he asked.

“Of course.”