“Does someone here have a problem with my cousin?” he asked, and two overgrown kids looked at him in surprise.
“Mercier,” said the taller one, wrinkling his freckly nose.
“That’s the spirit. Now get lost.”
Laurent made a miserable face at Knight and moved closer. There. So he did know what was good for him.
The two teens looked at each other, clearly torn between boyish bravado and a healthy sense of self-preservation. They were probably thinking that there were two of them against Knight and Laurent but also knew well who Knight was. Wisely, they finally left, after spitting into the snow.
How very brave.
Laurent wrapped his arms around himself. “Their actions were so very uncalled for.”
Despite his earlier annoyance with Laurent, Knight patted him on the back. “You’re safe with me.”
Knight wasn’t a boy anymore to harbor silly grudges. He was a man who respected his commitments. He had responsibilities to his family and his club as VP, and making sure his prez’s property was safe was one of them. It sure as hell didn’t mean he wouldn’t be having any fun in the future, but when Elliot stumbled out of the trailer looking around with an uncertain expression, Knight knew which duties came first.
“It’s all good,” he said to Elliot with a smile, and pride swelled in his chest.
Chapter 34
“And that’s how I lost my eye, met the ghost of William Fane, decided to change my name, and got a boyfriend in the process,” Elliot said with a deep exhale, looking into the camera Knight was holding.
The story he prepared for his new Youtube channel couldn’t contain the whole truth about everything that happened, but it was close enough.
The Count was dead, Mr. Mercier was born. And even though he hadn’t changed his name just yet, Elliot couldn’t wait to do so. Sharing one surname would make them belong together with Knight even more. He’d also decided to keep his eyepatch for now, because apart from the loss of an eye, the scars around it were still fresh and ugly even if Knight told him every day that they weren’t.
It seemed Knight found little flaw in him, and he went out of his way to assure Elliot he wasn’t plain. Maybe one day Elliot would actually believe him. For now, it was enough that he was accepted and loved the way he was.
Originally, Elliot had wanted Knight to appear in the new introductory video alongside him, but they eventually decided against it because of Knight’s other activities—namely those related to the Kings of Hell. But what mattered most was that he was there to help and even advised Elliot regarding the script. All in all, the recording had been a positive experience, especially that they’d built a small set in one of the empty rooms, decorated with secondhand furniture that fit the style of Elliot’s new show. It was such a change to Elliot’s formerly miserable life that he still felt like he was dreaming.
“Do we keep the flirting in the video?” Knight asked, switching off the camera.
“I mean… it could drive traffic. And we can cut out the dirty bits. You really do forget other people are listening, don’t you?”
Elliot loosened the slim black tie that was a staple of his new style. He stuck to black for the most part, but after years of living in that dumpster of a trailer, it felt special to reinvent himself as someone more sophisticated and elegant.
Knight grinned and called him over with a gesture. “I don’t mind the dirty bits as long as I’m not on screen. It’s about what you want your channel to be.”
Elliot rushed over with a smile and hugged him tightly. “I will have to assess every dirty joke on an individual basis.”
Knight hauled him into his lap in one powerful move. Being handled like this always took Elliot’s breath away. Knight gave him one kiss. Then another, as if he couldn’t get enough of Elliot’s lips. “Travis is a naughty boyfriend.”
“And I’d like to keep him that way. I want everyone to know just how desired I am.” Elliot wrapped his arms around Knight’s neck. He’d never believed someone would reciprocate the intensity of his own feelings. For years, his heart had been a black hole, and now it was a supernova, stuck forever in that moment of brightness before death.
Knight hummed and rubbed Elliot’s shoulders. “You are. Joker wants a go at you, and he had the audacity to ask me. I think we should give him a show at the next party.”
“A show of what he can’t have?” Elliot grinned wider, happy to hear that Knight was getting a signal someone else liked Elliot too. There was nothing wrong with a bit of jealousy to spice up almost-married life.
Knight pushed his long hair back, and then stood up, placing Elliot back on the floor. “It goes both ways. You can’t fuck around either, smartass.”