Elliot rubbed his thumb over Knight’s hand, still in awe that he got to touch such an amazing man. “I will have to make changes on my Youtube channel.” Fantasizing of this imaginary future dropped weight from Elliot’s shoulders. “Maybe change my nickname too. Make a grand comeback after all this time.”
“Yeah? What would you change?” asked Knight, and it didn’t even sound like the kind of dismissive questions people asked to be polite. Knight really wanted to know.
“I’d change my look, since The Count was a tribute to Fane. I would expose what Fane did to help those he hurt find peace. And it’s important to give Laurent the recognition he deserves. Since he’s my great-great-grand uncle and all that.” He leaned in for another kiss. Fortunately, Knight was just as handsome when seen with one eye, as he was with both.
Knight’s mouth curved into a smile, and he pulled Elliot closer, stroking him with such care as if Elliot really was worthy of his attention. As if he were worthwhile and precious. Elliot was ready to make all the sacrifices in the world to not let him down.
Elliot closed his eye with a smile. “I’d also invite a local genealogy expert as a regular guest.”
Chapter 28
Elliot would have never imagined a man like Knight could be so tender and caring. When he’d first met Knight, he’d only seen the force hiding in the thick arms, and the confidence in every step Knight took through the world. And yet, despite being a biker, and an outlaw at that, since Elliot had no doubt there was morally dubious activity going on in the club, Knight had been at the hospital every day until Elliot was ready to leave.
Every day, Knight would bring him some little gift, or sneak in some food, or crawl into Elliot’s bed that barely had enough room for the two of them. Even though they hadn’t spoken about it, Knight had also paid all the medical expenses which were surely so staggering that thinking about them had Elliot nauseated.
For now, Elliot decided to stick with the eye patch, especially since his abused eye socket was still healing, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted a fake eye in the future. The idea of the eye patch was growing on him, especially that Knight said it would make Elliot look ‘dangerous’, ‘mysterious’, ‘like a man who’s been through a lot and survived’.
With so much attention and sympathy showered on him, Elliot didn’t even have time to grow much concerned about how the scar would affect his physical appearance. Still, being discharged triggered all sorts of uncomfortable feelings, and despite declaring so many times that he wished to return home with Knight, the moment the two of them stepped through the threshold of the hospital his mood plummeted.
Knight held him by the hand as if he didn’t care about people staring, and led Elliot to one of the large SUVs owned by the club. They then set out of Brecon and toward the clubhouse.
Elliot watched the muddy road in front of them as they drove through the slush-filled landscape. “Is the club named the way it is because it’s in the devil’s home?” he asked after a long silence. He hadn’t thought of that before, but it came together in his mind all of a sudden.
Knight frowned, and he must have hit the brakes, because the car slowly came to a halt on the side of the road. “Fuck. I don’t know. King used to say it was because, like the devil, we made our own rules, but by the time I found out the devil actually existed, he was already dead. Who knows?” he asked and shot Elliot a wide smile.
There hadn’t been much snow since a recent thawing, and so despite it being January, the scenery was more like that of late autumn. Depressing and brown-gray like Elliot’s heart.
Elliot wasn’t sure why they stopped, so he looked around, but no reason occurred to him. “I could ask. That could be interesting. King’s an attention seeker.”
Knight put his arm around Elliot’s shoulders, pulling him closer to the fragrance of his strong body. Not all the guys in Elliot’s life had been outright abusive, but none of them acted so tenderly toward him either. It was confusing to be treated as if he actually mattered.
“Tell me about it. The bastard needed to be in the spotlight constantly, but when he was there, he had this charisma that made you forget what a shit he was.”
Elliot instantly wrapped his arms around Knight. Was this a chance for a quickie? “Sounds like Fane. He knew exactly what to say to get his way.”
When Knight groaned his displeasure, his body trembled against Elliot. “That’s what I wanted to talk about. If you really want to live with us, we came up with precautions so that he won’t endanger you or anyone else. There’s still time to back out. I could rent you a room in town.”