Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 93984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Fuck. He had to know, or it would drive him insane.
Cursing Gabriel under his breath, Justin quickly locked his computer and then trudged up the stairs to the main floor of the house. From the exterior, the house looked like your average middle America two-story house with big windows and a brick front. But Justin had spent the better part of a year building in false walls, little escape hatches, and even a hidden room. The basement, though, was his sanctuary. It was reinforced like a goddamn fallout shelter but had all the comforts of an average family room with a comfortable sofa and a big leather chair. The important thing was that it housed all of his computers, servers, and coolest toys. No one could enter but him.
The kitchen was empty when he walked through. He paused long enough to grab two beers, but just barely stopped himself from pulling the tops off both. Most people would see it as a polite gesture, but he knew the missing top would drive Gabriel insane with wonder and doubt. No, he wanted Gabriel relaxed in his house. After a long day of work, it was time to play.
Gabriel stood in front of the grill with two large, thick steaks sizzling over the fire. A pair of foil-wrapped potatoes were being kept warm on an upper shelf. Justin held out one of the beers and gave a loud groan as his eyes caught on the black tank top that stretched across Gabriel’s chest and left his beautiful biceps bare.
“Really? Now you put a shirt on? Why bother?”
Gabriel’s smile was wolfish, but his words held a mocking innocence when he motioned to his chest and simply said, “Grease.”
Justin was willing to bet his left nut the fucker was not worried about grease splatter. Oh no, it was easy to taunt, tease, distract when Justin was safely out of the room. But now that Justin was within arm’s reach, Gabriel was all covered up and smug.
Dropping into one of the four high-top, swivel chairs that went with the table on the deck, Justin placed his beer in front of him and sighed. “Thanks for making dinner. I’ll cook tomorrow.”
Gabriel set the metal tongs he’d been using beside the grill and twisted the top off his beer as he turned to face Justin. His dark hair was nearly dry from his shower but hung around his face more than it had when he’d styled it. “No problem. I saw you also got chicken, and I don’t know many ways to cook chicken. I’m better with steak.”
Justin snorted. “Aren’t we all? Tenderize and then cook until it stops mooing.”
Gabriel took a drink of his beer and set it on the table across from Justin. “There’s a little more to it than that, but yes.”
“How did you know?” Justin suddenly demanded.
Gabriel’s laughter rang out across the yard and into the surrounding woods. Justin couldn’t help but sit back at the sound, his cock twitching to life after he’d managed to calm himself. He’d never imagined such a sound coming from Gabriel. Made him wonder what other sounds he could make.
“I figured those would be the first words out of your mouth,” Gabriel taunted.
“It was going to be, but you put a shirt on. That was more important.”
Gabriel snorted and Justin waved his fingers at him, beckoning him to quit delaying and spill the truth.
“You put the clock in the wrong place,” Gabriel finally said with a small shrug of one shoulder.
“What?” Justin lurched forward in his chair. “What do you mean it’s in the wrong place?”
Gabriel picked up the tongs and flipped over the steaks. The flames briefly flared higher, and the sizzling grew louder. Gabriel reached down and adjusted the gas. “The clock should be over the sink or the stove.” He glanced over his shoulder at Justin, who just shook his head at him in confusion, earning another low chuckle that went straight to Justin’s groin. “If you’re working in the kitchen, you want to look up to see the time, probably in relation to what you’re preparing or the timing of your guests. It’s not natural to turn completely around to look at the time. The clock is spying on you, not helping you.”
Justin slouched in his chair and snatched up his beer, chugging a hefty swallow before putting it on the table again. Gabriel made him feel like a goddamn novice. He knew the vast majority of people who might be in his house wouldn’t think anything of the clock placement or even consider a camera being there.
But those weren’t the people he was protecting himself from. He was worried about the Gabriels of the world.
“I haven’t located the camera in the bathroom yet,” Gabriel admitted. He gave a little shake of his head as he continued to stare at the steaks. “But I’m sure that you’re not using that one.”