A Stroke of Love (BL)

Chapter Four

A knock sounded at Lux's door. He added the finishing touches to a paragraph before he paused the music and pushed back from his desk. He had placed an order for take out about fifteen minutes ago and was pleasantly surprised at how quickly the delivery had arrived. He answered the door the way he usually did when he ordered food, very carefully. He'd already had an experience where a fan pretended to be the delivery person. They wouldn't leave until Lux agreed to sign a copy of his latest book. After that incident, he'd always cautiously open the door, making sure it was only wide enough for him to reach out and snatch inside whatever was on the porch.

Lux opened the door, his gaze falling to the mat. His brows pulled together, a small crease forming between them as he stared at a pair of golden floral patterned boots. Dark denim was tucked into the boots, the thighs of which were distressed to the point a muscular tattooed thigh was almost completely uncovered. Well, this obviously wasn't his take out.

Lux took a step back, straightening up. He lifted his chin, blinking up at the stranger. He had fully intended to tell whoever this was to piss off, but before he was able to form a sentence, he choked on his words. Light brown eyes held his gaze, a hint of an excited sparkle making them shine brightly. A bright smile softly curved the corners of a full mouth, revealing straight white teeth with canines that were sharp in a way that made Lux's lower abdomen tighten and his skin tingle. Twin dimples snuggled side by side in the stranger's left cheek, making his smile appear a bit more boyish in nature.

"Lux?" The stranger spoke, breaking whatever spell Lux had fallen under.

He blinked a few times before answering, "Who are you?"

The stranger extended a large manicured hand. "I'm Rhys. Rhysend Williams. It's nice to finally meet you in person."

Lux stared blankly up at Rhys. He'd only heard Rhys' voice once, well now twice, and the deep, honeyed voice that made his stomach dip the first time, definitely matched Rhys well. Lux felt awfully small standing in front of his editor which, for whatever reason, made his heart leap into his throat. Lux lowered his gaze to stare at the hand. A black band with bright sunflowers held a smart watch on Rhys' wrist. Lux once again lifted his eyes to stare up at Rhys.

"Why are you here?"

Rhys chuckled lightly. His grin became sheepish, his honey brown eyes softening as he answered, "We have yet to meet face to face and I need to apologize. I decided why not kill two birds with one stone?"

Lux wanted to be angry at the intrusion, but he was too busy internally freaking out. He wasn't expecting anyone to come over nor was he anticipating his new editor just dropping by. Out of the blue. When Lux looked like a fucking gremlin.

Why does it matter how you look?

It shouldn't matter, but for some odd reason, Lux was suddenly extremely aware of the oversized Heart Pirate's sweatshirt and ratty gray sweats he had on. His hair was loose, the curls wild and uncombed as they hung around his shoulders. The only thing keeping the lilac dyed coils out of his face was a black headband. He fought against every urge to slam the door in Rhys' face. He did however, give in to the desire to point out,

"You thought it would be appropriate to show up to my house unannounced."

"I was told by Kerin that this was the best bet to get you to open up."

Lux was going to kill Kerin.

He had been avoiding Rhys on purpose. He wanted to make the editor sweat. Wanted to make him feel bad enough to apologize. Just not like this. Lux was expecting an email, a phone call, a text message, but a drop in?