Stig

I am downstairs when Nathan finally shows up. I picked the room furthest away from the master bedroom where he is staying, dropped the bag there and then rushed back down here. I should have had a shower but that seemed like the worst idea ever. Being naked after what I have seen... Seriously a bad idea.

So I did the next best thing: I play with the brand new console that was begging me to touch it since I walked in here. I have no idea who owns this house and how this precious little box ended up here but it is a shame to see it go unnoticed.

Even immersed in some beta game that is loaded, I can't resist throwing a look on him as he moves through the open space. He is wearing a pair of sweatpants and call me crazy but for some reason, I know he goes commando under those. The idea of that soft cotton fabric caressing his delectable buttocks and his- Fan! Not again.

I focus back on the game even though I have lost the space race or whatever it was I was doing before he strutted in here with that tight t-shirt on his body. I reload the game and hope that the nerd in me will outdo the horny bastard.

"I'm cooking dinner," his husky voice fills the area.

Nerd 0 - Horny Bastard 1. I have heard some of the Valkyries swoon over the voice of their Riders but I thought they were talking nonsense. That they were putting too much into that trait. Now? Not laughing at all. Nathan's voice, especially tired as he is, is the sexiest thing I have heard.

"OK," I say and struggle to stay focused on avoiding some asteroids.

"Anything special you'd like to eat?"

You, the thought comes at me faster than the comet that explodes my spaceship into smithereens. This is getting more fucked up. I look up to him blaming him for the second consecutive loss. I never lose in games. Ever. And yet around him, I seem to be completely at loss. He looks back unfazed and somewhat bored as he stifles a yawn.

"Allergies?" He asks.

I shake my head.

"Spaghetti good?"

I shrug and start the game again. Third time is the charm. Or so I have heard Vik repeat over and over again. But it's fruitless. My eyes drift from the screen to the man moving in the kitchen with grace. He is concentrated on the job at hand and he looks good enough to eat more than what he is cooking. Good enough for me to feel tempted to go over, push him against that counter and kiss those pouting lips and see if he will moan for me.

My eyes follow his long fingers while they deal with the ingredients and I am mesmerized. I hear some warning sounds from the game but I don't give a shit. All I can do is watch him sideways, not daring to turn my head to him as my whole attention has done. So? He is cooking for you. Wood cooks for you all the time. No big deal. It's just that the last time someone cooked for me, it was-

I get up and head for the kitchen. He looks up to me and I see that same flash of desire that has brought me here. Now what? I open the fridge and take a beer.

"Want one?" I ask Nathan.

"Sure."

I open the bottle and give it to him. We both drink looking at each other. After a few seconds, Nathan puts his beer down and concentrates on what is stirring in the pot.

"What is it that you do?"

Why the fuck am I making small-talk?

"I find people."

"Hm."

"What?"

"I do that sometimes."

"I bet you do. I find people that don't want to be found. Or people that others don't want me to find."

"Yep, know the feeling," I drink from my beer. "So, how can someone employ you?"

"You interested?"

Way more than I should, I admit silently and I gulp more alcohol which is not a very bright idea if I am honest.

"Nah, just curious."

"You post a certain ad in a local paper I read every day."

"Wow! Very Equalizer."

"Very what?"

"You got to be kidding me!" I almost drown with my beer. "You don't know Equalizer?"

His frown tells me he doesn't.

"OK, not the 80′s series but the Denzel movies?"

"I don't watch movies," he throws at me and looks for plates. "Waste of time."

I give him a side smile and head back to the living room. I pick up the controller and look for the movie.

"Forget it!" He calls from the kitchen.

I get up and walk to him. I don't know what's gotten into me but I just want him to sit his fine ass down and watch the movie with me. I bite my lip ring and I see his Adam's apple bob as he watches me.

"Come on, man. You might even get some ideas."

"τStig-"

"You are going to enjoy it. I promise."

He glances at the living room and then back at me. He hands me a plate and grabs a beer from the fridge before strolling into the living room and making himself comfortable. I smile again and I grab a beer too.

When I enter the living room, I have like a thousand options on where to sit. But what I do is sit close to him. I kid myself that it's the right angle to look upon the screen but I know it's him. It's like there is a gravitational pull around him and I am just drawn closer and closer. Till I collide with him and create a thunderous bang.

I discard those dark thoughts and press play. I have watched this movie two times already and both I was alone. I have no idea why, but most Riders are not so much into movies. Not even their Valkyries. I guess they have other ways to occupy themselves. I fucking love watching movies and I hate doing it alone. What's the point if you can't comment, laugh, cringe and share?

For a while, we just sit there and we eat. The food is decent but I have been regularly fed by Wood so I am not impressed. Now and then I glance his way to get a glimpse of his profile. Now that is impressive. He is impressive.

"Wow, that was cool!" He smiles widely.

Goddamit! He looks so fucking hot smiling. And he does that a lot too. Yet his smiles remind of Wood. Not now. Now that motherfucker has a smile that goes from one ear to the other. But before Tamie? He had that same smile, the one that is simply a move of his lips, not a real smile. Nathan, just now though, looking at Denzel Washington kicking some ass with a bottle opener he is really smiling.

I can't resist it. I put my plate down and discreetly fish for my camera. I aim and shoot. I will not be seeing the man again but I will always have this photo of his gorgeous face illuminated by the TV light and that smile in place. This photo and the one by the pool.

At the thought of him in the swimsuit makes stiffen in my pants. And when I remember him with only a towel wrapped low around his waist, I go full on hard and aching. And to make matters worse, Nathan turns and looks at me. He glances down at my camera and then back into my eyes.

"Did you just take a photo of me?"

"What if I did?"

There is mischief in his eye as his smile widens.

"You seem to be doing that a lot. I am wondering why."

I have nothing to answer to that so I just pull my lip ring and bite my lip.

"Stop doing that!" Nathan says and his voice has dropped a few octaves.

It's a promise and a threat that is carried in his voice. A promise of something salacious and steamy and I am so close to taking what he is offering.

"You don't like me taking photos of you?" I ask.

Nathan leans to me. He is close. Very close now. His spicy breath scorches my face and his body heat gets me up in flames.

"Stop playing with that damn lip ring of yours," he almost whispers.

There are a thousand things I could do now. I could push him away. I could turn and focus on the movie. I could punch him in the face. I could get up and dance Macarena. What do I do? I use my tongue to pull the lip ring in my mouth.

"Pretty boy," he warns me.

What the fuck am I doing? Why the fuck am I doing this? He is giving me time to take an out. Lean back to the couch, stuff my mouth with food and pretend this little "moment" never happened. An easy thing to do. Again. My brain has stopped following orders. It has barely been functioning ever since Ava knocked on my door with that man in tow.

My eyes fall on his lips and I look back into his slowly. I leave my camera aside and imperceptibly, I draw closer to him. All this short time we have met, he was the one toying with me, playing this subtle seduction game. Now, at this moment, I have turned the tables. Is it because we are away from the Riders? In private? I don't care.

All I care about is this. Sharing food and a movie. This quiet night that we are not a Rider and a bounty hunter. This night that we are just two men, free to do whatever we please. And, by Tyr, I want to please him.