Some Like It Hot

by J. D. Light

  "Bess you," Ricki told Arden.

  "If you're not bound up, then what the hell is your problem?" Wagoner asked, leaning close to his brother again, which Cashin didn't seem to appreciate, if the hand to the center of Wagoner's forehead and the shove were anything to go by.

  "I was at Maddox's house before I came here."

  "Oh," Kent said, nodding before blinking. "And Maddox is?"

  "My client. He was born with a deformity of the legs that could have been corrected with braces when he was still really young, but since his mom was in and out of jail, he was passed around between his family a lot, and he didn't get the proper care, so he has to use arm crutches to walk, and sometimes a chair. He's actually really self-reliant, but sometimes he just needs a little help with stuff at home, especially when he's tired. He doesn't have any family, and his boyfriend is a fucking prick."

  Mark leaned forward across the table, his voice dropping to a somewhat terrifying growl I wouldn't have expected from a man his size. "What do you mean?"

  "He treats Maddox like shit. Maddox is gold and always lets it roll off his back, but I can tell it bothers him."

  "What kind of things does he do?" Mark asked, drawing Devon, his husband's attention away from the babies.

  He rose slowly, watching his omega as he moved around the table.

  "Easy, Da," Cashin said, cringing. "He's not physical… that I've seen. He just says these snarky-ass comments. Maddox can use his arm crutches most of the time, but when he knows there is going to be a lot of walking, or he's tired, he has to use the chair. Randall acts like everything is a big fucking ordeal if Maddox goes."

  He snarled his lip slightly, and I had to admit, this was not at all the man Grant had described to me as Cashin. He was far from laid-back and easy-going at the moment. In fact, the longer he sat there, the angrier he seemed to be.

  "That's why I'm late. Randall wanted to go on a hike, but when Maddox acted like he wanted to go, Randall got all pissy. Told him he wanted to actually enjoy the hike, not push Maddox's fucking chair around the whole time. Maddox said he'd use his crutches, but I knew he'd end up hurting something, trying to keep up with that dickhole, so I offered to go and push the wheelchair. Randall was a pouty little dick about it, but I didn't give a shit. I took my own car, because I thought I'd leave there and be on time, and I'm glad I did. Randall fucking left us on the trail, and met up with some of his friends, and then took the car and left."

  "He tried to say he called and there wasn't a signal, but I seriously don't believe him. I don't think Maddox did either. And why the hell would you just take off without your boyfriend? He could have been hurt. Or I could have, and then Maddox would have been stuck. Maddox kept apologizing to me, because he knows I have family dinners on Saturdays, but that's not what I was pissed about."

  By the time he was done, it was pretty obvious he was pissed, and I was really enjoying watching Grant's reactions to Cashin's anger. It was honestly like he'd never seen it before in his life.

  "What is Randall's last name?" Mark asked, sounding truly terrifying, and I turned slightly to look up at the seething man, just as his husband wrapped his arms around him from behind, pressing his mouth to his neck.

  "No, Mark."

  "What?"

  "No."

  Chapter Seven

  AUGUST

  My front door opened, and I smiled to myself as I continued to put the steamed broccoli on our plates, waiting for Bates to come into the kitchen and perch himself up on the counter to watch me, like he always did when he came to my house to eat.

  We'd long since stopped knocking to gain entry into each other's apartments, since we'd been dating nearly three weeks, and spent as much time as possible together, which meant most of the awkwardness that had come with us being in a new relationship had worn off, and we were starting to settle into the familiarity of spending time together.

  He came up beside me, and I turned slightly, gripping his hips and helping him up onto the counter, stopping to get my kiss before going back to preparing our plates. When I was done, I scooped him off of the counter and into my arms, and then into his chair at the table, before going back for our food.

  He waited until I sat down, before reaching out and petting my chest. He seemed to be fascinated by my chest hair, and since I truly enjoyed being touched by him as often as possible, I'd started taking to not wearing a shirt around the house, knowing he'd either be swinging by later, or I'd be going over to his place. One or the other, because we were seriously spending every single evening together, and cuddling up together in one bed or the other, when it came time for sleep.

  Some people would probably say we were moving fast, but apparently my family had a history of moving fast, and it all felt perfectly on time for me.

  "So, I have something to ask you," Bates said after a moment, dropping his hand from where he was slowly running his fingers over the hair at the center of my chest, where it was the most dense.

  I frowned, not at all minding that he was asking me something, but not necessarily caring for the fact that he sounded almost nervous about it. He knew I couldn't deny him anything. What on earth did he have to be nervous about? "You can say no. I swear I won't get mad, because I know it's really soon."

  I frowned slightly, tilting my head to the side, and waiting. "Okay."

  He chewed on his lower lip for a moment, watching me. "Seriously, you can say no. It's not like it would be permanent, and it wouldn't really be any different than how things are now, but I definitely don't want to pressure you. I do have friends I could ask, though it probably looks like I don't. Okay, I don't have close friends, but I have people who would probably do me a favor… if I paid them. Lukas is––"

  Reaching out, I grabbed him and pulled him into my lap, immediately sliding my fingers into the hair on the back of his head and pulling him in for a kiss. He sighed happily, melting into me as I allowed myself to enjoy the taste of him.

  When I finally pulled back, he whimpered, leaning in to sip from my bottom lip again, while my hard dick pressed against his hip.

  "I thought you were over this thing where you get nervous around me," I whispered, letting my lips drag deliciously against his.

  He groaned. "Apparently not."

  "I don't want you to be nervous. I want you to be happy and comfortable."

  "Damn, you're really sweet." He cupped both sides of my face, running his thumbs just below my cheek bones, over the stubble of new growth.

  I'd been keeping everything trimmed up for the most part, but my whiskers were pretty relentless, and it was after five, so I was sure things were prickly just above my beard, but Bates always seemed as fascinated with that as he was with my chest hair, so I definitely wasn't going to complain.

  "What do you need, baby?" I asked after a long moment, watching his pretty eyes.

  He sighed, dropping his head to my shoulder. "I love it when you call me that."

  Is he stalling? It definitely sounds like he's stalling.

  "Bates," I said warningly, even as I brought his hand to my lips, kissing it gently.

  "Can I stay with you for a few days?" he blurted, jerking his head up to look at me again. "They're fixing that north wall and pulling the carpet up and putting new carpet down."

  "How do you not already know the answer to that? You've been staying here, or I've been staying at your house practically all the time already."

  Hell, I honestly wasn't sure if I could sleep without him cuddled up next to me on the bed, and I wasn't inclined to find out either.

  "Yeah, but I'll be in your house when you're not there."

  I frowned, narrowing my eyes on him as he gave me that worried look chewing on his poor bottom lip again. "Are you going to steal Cat?"

  He scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I can't steal something from you if you don't actually own it."

  "What about my dead bodies?"

  "No thanks," he said, with a shrug. "I have my own."

  I
smiled, tightening my hold on him and leaning in to press my forehead against his. "In that case, you can stay with me for as long as you want."

  He hummed, wrapping his arms around my neck, and pressing a loud smack of a kiss against my cheek. "Be careful. I might not leave."

  "That would be okay too," I confessed quietly, making him gasp and blink up at me hopefully.

  "Oh. Really?" His eyes widened, and he shook his head with a laugh. "Don't answer that. You were just being nice, and I got serious. I mean, three weeks of dating is hardly time for love confessions, right?"

  "Is it?" I asked, truly not entirely sure what was too soon, considering the family I was from.

  I, myself, was more than ready for love confessions, since I was absolutely crazy about him, but I'd been unsure how to even start that particular conversation.

  "Wait! Do you love me?" Bates asked, making me laugh before he once again widened his eyes and shook his head, hard. "Don't answer that either. You tell me when you're ready, not when I blurt out a question like that. Not that I'm saying you love me. I'm sure you're not. It's only been three weeks!"

  He yelled that last part, making me jump slightly, and I smiled slowly, watching him carefully.

  "Oh. Three weeks is too soon?"

  He snorted a laugh, rolling his eyes. "No. I'm already…" Trailing off, he cleared his throat, looking away. "No."

  "Did you just almost confess that you love me?"

  Groaning, he closed his eyes, once again biting that poor bottom lip. "Let's forget this conversation."

  "No way," I said, chuckling. "So, how long do you think I should wait to admit that I'm in love with you?"

  He gasped again, his eyes going bright with excitement. "Are you?"

  "Yes. Absolutely. And now you're moving in with me."

  "What? No I'm not."

  I pursed my lips, pouting as hard as I could manage. "Why not?"

  "Three weeks is definitely too early for that."

  "Fine," I sighed. "But, you are staying here for a couple of days, right?" At his nod, I leaned forward, pecking him on the mouth. "And maybe a couple more after that?"

  ***

  I groaned, grabbing his shoulders and giving them a little shake. "We have been over this at least seven times, because that is how many sessions you've had since we started dating, and I still don't have a problem with this, Bates. If it ever starts to bother me, I'll let you know, okay?"

  "Okay," he said, but I could tell by the way he opened his mouth and then shut it, and then opened it again while wiggling around on the edge of his bed that I'd far from alleviated his worry.

  "What?" I asked patiently, kneeling in front of him on the floor.

  "Nothing."

  Now, I definitely knew it was something, because his beautiful bottom lip was being gnawed to death by his pretty teeth.

  "I'm serious, baby. It doesn’t bother me that you do this, and I'm going to be right here watching and enjoying."

  I wasn't sure why he'd allowed me to continue to watch after that disastrous first time, when I'd lost control of my damn self, and jizzed all over him, inserting myself in his scene like a fucking dumbass, but he'd practically insisted on it, and I absolutely loved to watch him touching himself while looking at me, like he was picturing me doing all those things he was doing to himself. I just had to force myself to be coherent enough not to climb up on that bed with him and take his gorgeous dick in my mouth, or even flip him onto his stomach, bend him over the side of the bed and press inside him, all while the camera was still rolling.

  There had definitely been a few close calls.

  "How would you feel about touching me?" he asked finally, on a whisper.

  I frowned, sliding my hands up his legs and back down. "You know I love to touch you. I'm touching you right now."

  He licked his lips, swallowing hard. "I mean during the scene."

  I froze, blinking up at him, and his hands came down on top of mine. "You want me in the scene?"

  "There have been requests," he whispered, going after that lip with his teeth again.

  "Oh really." I peeled the poor thing out, soothing it gently with my thumb. "What kind of requests?"

  "They want your hands on me."

  "Oh damn," I groaned, really, really liking the idea of helping him get off for his viewers. "That's… That could be fun."

  "Mmhmm."

  "And you don't think my ugly mug is going to–– Ow!" I said, cutting myself off when he smacked his palm against my bare shoulder. "What was that for?"

  "You know what it was for," he grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at me.

  I sighed, rolling my eyes, which might have been the wrong move, considering how much harder he glared when I did that. "I just mean, they sign up for your scenes to see you. You are absolutely stunning to look at, and you can't deny it. You have a large fan base because of it." I leaned back to look him over, dragging my hand down from his face to his chest, running my hand over a smooth pec. "Do you really think people who sign up to see all this smooth beauty getting off will want to see a hairy beast with his paws all over you?"

  He let his eyes close with a groan, pressing harder into my hand. "There were a lot of requests for it."

  I paused the touching, and he lifted his head to look at me. "How much is a lot?"

  "One of the members did a poll, and over seventy percent of the voters wanted you on there and twenty-five percent said they'd take me however they could get me. The other five were split between some random acts that a few members put up before the guy who made the poll turned off the little feature that let them add suggestions."

  I tilted my head to the side, watching him closely. "And you're sure you're okay with this? This is your career. I don't want to mess it up."

  "I would love for you to join me. Even if I lost some viewers, I would still have plenty, and I would still be making more than enough, but I really don't think I'll lose hardly anyone."

  Nodding, I climbed up on the bed against the headboard, giving him a smile as he turned his shocked expression on me. "You're going to do it?"

  "Are you kidding? A chance to touch my favorite camboy while everyone watches? I'm not passing that opportunity up."

  He blinked for several seconds before excitedly jumping up on the bed and moving toward me.

  "Don't forget to start the stream, baby."

  "Shit." He scrambled back off the bed and over to his setup, smiling and waving at the camera when everything was up and going, and then he turned to me, his eyes still bright and excited as he took a deep breath, clearly trying to compose himself, before climbing up on the bed and into the space between my legs, pressing his back to my chest.

  I started slow, sliding my hands up his arms, making him shudder and goosebumps pop up all over his skin. He gasped when the tips of my fingers found his neck, and I moved them lower. By the time I finally helped him get out of his underwear, he was whimpering and gasping.

  I used my hands to wring pleasure from his body, knowing everyone was going to love the spectacle he made writhing and rolling his dick against the air, seeking the friction he needed. By the time I finally got him off, I was seconds away from blowing in my pants from the way he was moving against me.

  I kissed the side of his head as he lay against me, flopping just like a cooked noodle, and I smiled when he grunted in response.

  "Thanks for watching, guys," I said quietly to the camera, before reaching over to the nightstand and picking up the little remote I'd just talked him into getting a little over a week ago, for moments just like this one.

  After I clicked the camera off, I pressed another kiss against the side of his head. "Aren't you glad you let me talk you into this, now?"

  His only response was another grunt, and I chuckled, gathering him close and scooting down in the bed to get comfortable. "I love you so damn much, Bates."

  Another grunt.

  Chapter Eight

  AUGUST

/>   "I won't disappear just because you pretend I'm not here," Da said, and I started, leaning closer to inspect the man sitting at my table.

  "So you are real?"

  "Mmhmm," he said brightly, holding up a cup of coffee. "Wait, do you dream about me in your kitchen often?"

  "He probably thought he was having a nightmare," Riley grumbled as I took the cup from Da's hand, bending down to kiss the side of the man's head before holding the delicious elixir of life aloft, like the future king of the Savanah, letting out a little awe in opera.

  I ran over to where Riley was standing in the doorway, leaning up slightly to kiss him on the cheek too. "Good morning, Riley. What are you guys doing here so early?"

  Riley pursed his lips, trying to hide his smile, but I saw it anyway. "It's almost not even morning anymore, and he made me," he said, pointing to Da. "Apparently, we've become best friends, or something."

  "He loves spending time with me," he assured me, before turning to give Riley an unimpressed look. "But if you'd rather, I could probably call Riker," Da said dryly, while plopping a piece of paper on the table and sliding it in my direction. "Here, fill out this form."

  "What is this for?"

  "Your wedding."

  I gasped, spluttering for a moment. "My what? I'm not… I haven't asked… and neither has he."

  Da looked at me like he didn't understand what I was saying, or how it possibly affected anything. "You're getting married in January."

  "Shouldn't I decide that?" I asked, glancing at Riley who simply rolled his eyes.

  "Probably," Riley said, dryly. "But that's not how it works around here. It's too late for some of us, but you still have time. Your lease isn't even up on your apartment yet. Learn to lock your door, and they might go away after a while."

  Da ignored us, preening happily as he pointed at the paper. "I've gotten so efficient since I first started planning these! Look. Everything is covered. You just mark a few boxes on preferences, and I'll get started as soon as Devon lets me."

  "Wait, why is there a box for marital status?"

  "Just covering all the bases. If I need to rush you through a divorce to meet the timeline, I will."