Love Life & Circumstance (11 page)

This day should have been the most miserable of his life. He’d miss his dad; miss the goodness that his pastor father engrained into him, and miss the father son bond they’d shared. But, as much as Eli knew he’d grieve for his folks, he couldn’t feel sad. Circumstance saw fit to bring Seth into his life and gift him with a daughter he never thought he’d have.  He was going to take what he’d been given and make the best of it, even if it had grown from something bad. He wanted Seth, wanted to be a dad, and by God he was gunna be good at it, too.

After hitting the horn three times with no response, Elijah decided to get Seth moving himself. He left the big pink teddy sitting in the car and snagged the bag containing the condoms and lube. He walked up the pathway that lead to Seth’s home and mentally started taking stock of a few minor but needed repairs. The place was lovely and had a homey warmth that Hope would thrive in when she visited…when they both visited, hopefully.

All of the hopes and dreams swirling around in his head, especially the ones relating to Seth, crashed down around Eli’s heels as he walked onto the rickety porch. Seth wasn’t alone. In fact, from what Elijah could see; Seth was very much involved with someone else.

The man had his back to Elijah so he couldn’t see his face, but his hands were splayed across Seth’s chest and making their way south pretty damn quick. Elijah didn’t wait. He opened the screen door, but didn’t look at Seth or his guest; he didn’t want to know what the hell was going on. At least, that’s what he told himself. He’d been a God damned fool. He’d thought Seth was single, but obviously, he wasn’t. Elijah threw the bag containing the condoms and lube onto the floor.

“You’re out…thought you might need these. It seems I was right about one thing and wrong about another.” Elijah didn’t look back, but leapt from the porch and stalked to his truck. His whole body was coiled; he wanted to hit something, pound it into a million little pieces and grind it into dust. He slammed the truck into drive and floored the gas, leaving behind plumes of acrid smoke and the stench of burned rubber in his wake.

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CHAPTER TWELVE

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Seth emerged from the shower to the sound of knocking on the front door. Sticking his head out into the hallway, he yelled. “Come on in, it’s unlocked. I’ll be out in a minute.” Quickly, he rubbed himself dry and stepped into clean boxers and jeans. With the damp towel draped around his neck, he swung the door open and hurried down the hall only to pull up short.

“Rhett. I wasn’t, umm, I wasn’t expecting you.”

“Yeah, you were expecting Eli. He’ll be along in a minute.” The man rose from the sofa and sauntered toward him. “I don’t think I said it before, I’m sorry you lost your sister.”

Seth gave him an offhand shrug unwilling to revisit the grief. “Thanks. Is there something I forgot to sign?”

“No everything’s taken care of. I actually came out to apologize.”

“Yeah okay, no reason to. I’m sure you were upset about Pastor Deacon.”

Rhett laughed and laid a hand on Seth’s bare arm. “That’s not what I meant.”

The slightly shorter man moved into Seth’s personal space and glanced up at him almost coyly. “It seems I was a bit hasty in my demand that you leave Eli alone. It seems he’s taken quite the fancy to ya.”

“I don’t’ know what you mean.” The lie sounded forced even to his ears. Devereux’s lips quirked.

“Oh, but you do, Seth.” Rhett edged closer and lifted a finger to rim Seth’s exposed nipple. “He and I have done some crazy shit together, but I never would have expected him to have a hot little suck n’ fuck right after his daddy’s funeral, practically on his grave.” Seth paled while reflex had him knocking the man’s hand away.

“You saw that? I thought everyone was gone.” He’d never done anything that public before, but Elijah had looked so lost. When he’d turned around to see the large man down on one knee beside a fresh grave, his feet automatically carried him forward. Elijah called to him on a primitive level. Nothing short of the earth opening up to swallow him would have stopped him from crossing that cemetery to offer Elijah some measure of comfort. Although he hadn’t intended the events that followed, he didn’t regret them either. The taste of Elijah’s release still lingered in his mouth.

“I sure did and enjoyed every bit of the show. Elijah is sexy as hell when he comes.” The last comment brought a frown to Seth’s face. He did not like the thought of this man with Elijah.

“Hell yeah he is, and he tastes like heaven, in case you were wondering.” The snarky comment wasn’t Seth’s usual style, but Rhett got under his skin. The other man chuckled, and undeterred by Seth’s obvious lack of interest in his advances, edged closer.

“Interesting. I’ve never had that pleasure. So, you can imagine my surprise when he told me he was coming over here and invited me to come play. We’ve never shared a male before. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Irritation clouded Seth’s mind as he tried to combat Rhett’s wandering hands.  He’d never given Elijah the impression he would be open to a threesome. But, Elijah had spoken of having several with Rhett as a third. Was this Elijah’s way of letting him know what he wanted? While questions tumbled over themselves in his mind, Rhett took advantage of his distraction. Warm lips landed on his chin to place gentle kisses along his jawline. The towel slid off his shoulders and the kisses continued from his throat out across his collar bone. Agile fingers teased his nipples before sliding lower. Still jacked up from his encounter with Elijah, Seth’s body responded to the stimuli, but he didn’t want this, didn’t trust the man. If Elijah wanted a third partner in the mix, it would have to be someone else. Seth didn’t share; he was a one man at a time sort. Bland maybe, but he knew what he wanted.

“No, you have to stop.” Seth brought his hands up to push the other man away. Rhett countered and slid his hands down into the loose waistband of Seth’s jeans. “Don’t fight this, Seth. I can make you feel so good, and when Eli gets here, we’ll both be hard and ready.” Warm air fanned across his nipple, and a not so gentle bite had him gasping in shock.

Elijah’s voice and the sound of the screen door slamming snapped Seth from stunned immobility. Through the open curtains, he saw Elijah stomping back to his car. When the hell had he driven up? Seth hadn’t heard him. Desperately, he shoved at the man blocking his way to the door. He tripped over a bag just inside the entrance and hit the screen hard enough to burn his cheek from the friction. At his feet, condoms and bottles of lube scattered over the hardwood floor. Strong hands caught at his waist as he tried to right himself.

“What’s your hurry, Seth? We were just getting warmed up.”  Struggling free of the other man’s hold, he stumbled outside into the muggy heat. Too late. Loose rocks spewed under Elijah’s spinning tires as he fishtailed out of the driveway.

“Elijah!” He shouted uselessly, knowing the man couldn’t hear him. Frustration ran beneath his skin prickling like live fire ants nibbling his flesh. Pissed beyond belief, he watched Elijah speed away.

“He seems to be in a bit of a hurry.” Rhett’s nonchalant voice lit a fuse and the boiler plate of emotions of the last few days came to a head and overflowed. He whirled around, and before he knew what he was doing, his fist connected with the other man’s eye.

“You fuckwit.  What have you done?” Seth loomed over the man sprawled in his driveway. Anger at the situation, at the man prostrate in the dirt, and at his own stupidity made his stomach roll. Slowly, he bent at the waist, grabbed the funeral director by his shirt and hauled him to his feet. “Mr. Devereux, it’s time for you to leave.” His gaze tracked the driveway and a frown marred his face. “Where the fuck is your car?”

“Around back, beside yours.” Rhett jerked free of Seth’s hold and brushed at the dirt on his clothes. The flirty disposition was gone. Devereux’s face hardened. “I told you to leave him alone. Now I don’t have to worry about it. He’ll steer well clear of you.” The man actually had the audacity to smirk. “Mission accomplished.”

“You fucking bastard!” Barely controlling the urge to slug the man again, Seth stalked past him and jumped onto the porch. “Get out of my yard, and don’t come back.”

Back inside the air conditioned house, Seth fell onto the sofa and scrubbed his hands over his face. His knuckles throbbed from the punch. Emotions swamped him, a maelstrom churning its way through his system. He fought the effects determined not to give in. Five days ago, he’d been content with his life, settled in his new home and just starting to think about finding a partner. In three short days, everything had fallen apart. He’d lost his twin sister in an accident that was her fault; an accident that killed an innocent man and left him with a niece who fought every minute to live. Fate being a bitch had decided to throw Elijah into his path, the right man at the wrong time.

At Bethie’s graveside that morning, he’d never felt more alone. Standing there, dry-eyed for once, as they lowered her casket into the ground, he desperately longed to be back in his bed surrounded by Elijah Deacon. Grief, loneliness, worry, fear; they had all wound together to band around his chest. But, snuggled against Elijah’s massive chest with the man’s heavily muscled arms wrapped around him, he’d felt just a touch of peace, something that had eluded him since his parents’ deaths years ago. In a matter of minutes, Rhett Devereux ensured that peace would once again be elusive. He groaned when moisture gathered in his eyes. Grounding the heels of his hands against his eyes, he sat up.  No time for tears, he needed to get his ass to the hospital and check on Hope and stop the pity party. He’d had his crying jag the day Beth died. Time to man up and get on with life. Too bad, a fucking crater seemed to have opened in his chest.

A wet nose bumped against his cheek and he opened his eyes. “Three days and I’m already in over my head with him. I have to stop thinking about him.” The dog’s warm tongue bathed his cheek. Seth slipped an arm around to scratch his ears. “He’s in a relationship, Rock. What was I thinking, what am I thinking? I can’t be the other man.” With an exasperated sigh, Seth gave the lab one last pat and shoved to his feet. “Come on, old guy, let’s do ya business so I can go visit Hope.”

An hour later, Seth pulled into a space at the hospital. His eyes tracked the lot searching for one car. When he didn’t find it, his shoulders slumped with a mixture of relief and misery.
You aren’t here to see him anyway. Get your shit together and go see that little girl.
Obeying his own mental order, Seth popped the door and exited the truck. His feet followed the familiar path to the neo-natal unit. Halfway through his scrub, he glanced through the window into the nursery and froze. Elijah stood by the incubator, one hand inside the warm cubicle. Nestled in his palm, Hope lay on her stomach. One tiny hand grasped Elijah’s thumb. At his side, Rhett stood with one hand also inside angled toward the warmer. He watched transfixed as Rhett reached over to run a finger down Hope’s back. The smile on Elijah’s face widened as the baby wiggled under the caress. It was the last straw, the one that broke the load. The hole in Seth’s chest ripped wide open. Loneliness and grief clawed at his throat.

“Mr. Jacobs, are you ready to come in?” The nurse’s question brought Elijah’s head up, his eyes landing on Seth. Instead of answering, Seth shook his head and back-pedalled into the hall. Calmly, he jogged through the hallways, and then the parking lot, fighting the overwhelming sense of isolation. Enclosed in the cab of his truck, he turned the ignition before the emotion he’d been battling washed over him in a tidal wave. The air conditioning hit him in the face, but there was no stopping the tears this time. They streaked down his cheeks and dripped from his chin as sobs shook his shoulders. Beth was gone, his parents gone, Hope likely gone. He had no one.

“It’s okay, Seth. I’ve got you.” Familiar words in a soothing voice broke the silencen and then gentle hands pulled Seth across the seat. Stunned that Elijah had followed him out, he struggled to stop the tears, embarrassed that Elijah saw them. The large man didn’t seem to mind the crying as he settled Seth in his lap with his legs stretched awkwardly across the seat. Seth didn’t care if he was a pretzel. The embrace he’d needed all day encircled him. He clutched at Elijah’s shirt.

“Let it out, it’s the only way to start the healing.” As Elijah stroked his back, he turned his face into the warm skin of Elijah’s neck, and let the misery leech out of him. When the stream of tears finally ceased, Seth shifted in an effort to sit up. Elijah refused to let him go, keeping his arms locked around Seth’s waist.

“Better now?”

Seth nodded. “Yeah. You should have stayed with Hope. I’m a big boy, she’s just tiny.”

“Who was he?” The quiet question wasn’t what Seth expected. Placing a hand on Elijah’s chest, he pushed up and met troubled blue eyes.

“He didn’t tell you?”

Elijah gave him a strange look. “I didn’t stick around and introduce myself remember.”

Seth watched Elijah’s eyes carefully and found only confusion.

Seth sighed. Rhett had lied just as he’d expected. He should have known. Elijah wouldn’t have left so suddenly if Rhett was telling the truth. “It doesn’t matter. He left very shortly after you did.”

“Seth, tell me who it was.” Beneath the demand, Seth heard the hurt. He desperately didn’t want to cause problems between the couple. Rhett’s jealousy was obvious, but Elijah didn’t seem to share the other man’s’ feelings. He’d been clear they were not in a relationship. Seth worried his bottom lip with his teeth until Eli’s fingers pressed against them.

“Just tell me, Seth. If we are going any further with whatever this is between us, I need to know I can trust you.”

There was no way; Seth could not answer him at that point. “I was in the shower and I thought it was you knocking on the door. I just yelled come in while I pulled on some jeans. I didn’t look.”

“Seth, I can tell you’re stalling.”

Glancing out the truck window, Seth heaved a sigh. “It was Rhett. He said you sent him after our…after the cemetery. He saw us.” Seth turned his gaze back to Elijah when the man remained silent.