Hot & Sweet

by Sean Ashcroft

  These freeze well but I watched you eat them so I don’t think you’re ever gonna freeze any

  Kai’s heart almost stopped as he got to the final lines under the recipe.

  Anyway, that’s the recipe I promised you.

  Love you,

  Wyatt

  Wyatt had been carrying this all day and planning to give it to Kai tonight.

  This was how he was going to tell Kai he was in love with him. And then he’d gotten fired, and that was, if not Kai’s fault, something he could have at least tried to prevent.

  And that might have cost Kai the best thing he’d ever had.

  Kai sniffed, wiping away a tear that had escaped him, and stood. He folded the recipe carefully, tucked it safely in his pocket, and headed out into the night air.

  He had to get Wyatt back, and for once in his life, he even knew what he had to do.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Wyatt hadn’t especially wanted to find himself back in Donna’s office at all, ever again, but he wanted it even less with Kai there.

  This was just like the first time, the two of them retreating to their own sides of the room, arms folded, the silence between them stony.

  Well. Wyatt’s arms were folded and he wasn’t in the mood to talk. Kai was looking at him more or less like a kicked puppy.

  Which was the way Wyatt felt about all this, but he was trying not to show it. He would have given anything to just forget the whole thing and pretend it didn’t happen, but he knew that bitterness would drive him crazy if he did that.

  Unless he had to move home first, and leave Kai behind.

  There was another woman here this time—a blonde, with a manicure that could take someone’s eye out. Donna had introduced her as Marnie, head of programming, and Kai seemed to know her.

  If Wyatt hadn’t been really sure Kai was as gay as it was possible to be, he might have assumed they’d been screwing, based on the way she looked at him. But then, that was probably the look of a woman who’d found the next big thing, and was expecting to profit from it.

  “Okay, Kai. Tell us why we’re all here,” Donna said.

  Wyatt turned his head to look at Kai, surprised. Donna had called him here, as far as he was concerned.

  “It’s come to my attention that I need to renegotiate that very generous contract you offered me,” he said, looking at Marnie. “I don’t think I’ll need an agent, my condition is pretty simple.”

  “Then let’s hear it,” Marnie said, obviously just as confused as Wyatt was.

  What was he even doing here, if this was about Kai’s contract?

  Kai glanced over at him, his eyes soft and unsure at first, but then hardening with determination. “Wyatt is my condition. I realize now that I was stupid to assume he was being offered something similar. But I’m not much of a host without him, and I can’t in good conscience take this job knowing that the man who got me here is out in the cold.”

  Marnie looked over at Wyatt critically, her assessing gaze making him feel as though he was standing butt-naked in front of her, as though she could see right through to his insides, too.

  “So you want… what?”

  “Wyatt as my co-host,” Kai said. “Same deal for him as for me, whatever deal that turns out to be now. I’ll give up whatever you need to make this happen.”

  Marnie paused, looking between the both of them. “Would you consider-”

  “No,” Kai interrupted. “I don’t care what the deal ends up being, but I’m not taking anything that isn’t equal. I assume you’ll need time to consider this.”

  Marnie pursed her lips, her eyes narrowing just the tiniest amount.

  “Okay,” she said. “And by that, I mean, okay, we’ll consider it. I can’t promise you anything now. This is a sweeping change.”

  “I understand that,” Kai said, glancing at Wyatt again.

  Wyatt’s head was spinning. Kai was taking a huge risk for him right now, and he really wasn’t sure what he’d done to deserve it.

  He had to say something.

  “Don’t do this for me,” Wyatt blurted out, turning all eyes in the room on himself. “Don’t… give up your dream for me.”

  “Wyatt,” Kai said softly, turning to face him. “I love you.”

  Wyatt swallowed. What was he supposed to say to that?

  His pulse pounded in his ears at the thought. Kai loved him. Kai was doing this for him.

  It was probably the nicest thing anyone had ever done, and Wyatt didn’t doubt for a second that he was being sincere. He could have had his dream job, and he was giving it up to help Wyatt out.

  “And if you don’t want this… fine, tell me now and we’ll forget I said anything, but… you’ve been so kind to me, even when I didn’t really deserve it, and I’m trying to pay you back now. And trying to get you to keep spending time with me, if… if you don’t hate that idea?”

  “I don’t hate that idea,” Wyatt said, his heart still hammering in his chest.

  Wow. Kai was willing to do this for him because…

  Because he loved him. He wasn’t going to get over that anytime soon.

  “Love you too,” he murmured, looking down at the floor, embarrassed that he’d had to say it aloud for the first time under these circumstances.

  That didn’t make it any less true, though.

  Kai’s warm, graceful fingers curled around his hand, squeezing tight.

  “So, there you have it. I’m not likely to budge on this. You want me, we come as a package deal. Because I’d be miserable without Wyatt. And miserable doesn’t make for good TV.”

  When Wyatt looked up, he couldn’t help noticing that Marnie’s eyes had changed. She didn’t seem mad anymore.

  She seemed like she was a kid looking at a Christmas tree.

  That had to be a good sign, didn’t it?

  “Expect a new contract by Friday,” she said decisively. “I think you’ll find it easy to agree on the contents. Together, of course.”

  Kai nodded, squeezing Wyatt’s hand again. “Thank you,” he said. “I’m not trying to be difficult, but some things…”

  “Some things are worth fighting for,” Marnie agreed.

  She’d gone from being mad to taking this really well, which Wyatt suspected meant she’d had an idea.

  As long as Kai was with him, it couldn’t be too bad.

  “Well, if that’s all?” Donna looked between all three of them, apparently not thrilled that they were taking up her office for a discussion that didn’t even include her.

  Obviously, she’d just been Kai’s way of getting Wyatt to come along. It’d worked, so as far as effectiveness went, it was a good plan.

  Wyatt was still reeling from everything that had just happened, his whole world having shifted in the space of the last five minutes.

  Kai was in love with him.

  So in love with him that he was willing to risk his future for Wyatt, because losing him was, apparently, worse.

  No one had ever loved him like that, as far as Wyatt knew. Just Kai.

  “That’s all,” Kai said. “We’ll get out of your way,” he added, tugging on Wyatt’s hand.

  Wyatt followed him out of the office, all the way into the front street, without saying a word.

  As soon as they were outside, though, he turned on Kai, blood pounding in his ears. “You didn’t have to do that,” he said. “I mean… I don’t deserve…”

  Kai pulled something out of his pocket, and Wyatt took a moment to realize that it was his pancake recipe. He looked between the piece of paper and Kai’s face, hope welling up inside him.

  “I love you,” Kai said. “And you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I never even dreamed that my success was coming at the cost of your life. So yeah, I did have to do it, because I couldn’t have lived with myself if I didn’t.”

  “Kai-” Wyatt began, but Kai held up a hand to stop him.

  “I made this choice because it felt right to me. Because I
’d rather have you than anything else in the world. And I know I’m not the greatest catch in the world, but I’ll take care of you and be there for you and love you, with all my heart, because I can’t lose you. You mean too much to me.”

  Wyatt smiled softly. “I was just gonna say I love you, too,” he said, reaching out to stroke his cheek.

  People were looking at them.

  Wyatt didn’t care.

  “And to ask you to come home with me,” he added.

  Kai swallowed. “I think I could go along with that.”

  Wyatt grinned, taking his hand again and tugging him in the direction of his apartment.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Wyatt pinned Kai to the door the moment they were inside his apartment, kissing him hard. Their noses bumped together, and Wyatt managed to bite his lip, but Kai really didn’t care.

  His whole world had come crashing down when he thought he’d lost Wyatt. He’d known, immediately, what this incredible, kind, gorgeous man meant to him, and he’d only figured it out as he’d watched Wyatt walk away.

  He was so happy right now that he really didn’t care about a few bites or bruises out of enthusiasm.

  Wyatt paused with his hands on Kai’s waist, holding him against the door, but backing away far enough to look him in the eyes.

  “You really wanna be stuck with me on a new show?” he asked, his eyes glittering as he smiled the broadest, happiest smile Kai had ever seen on him.

  “To start,” Kai said, and he meant it, and that was huge and scary but it felt so good that he couldn’t do anything other than grin back, his heart full to bursting.

  He could keep Wyatt.

  He could keep Wyatt, and love him, and Wyatt wasn’t running away or telling him he was too much or too little or anything other than exactly what he wanted.

  “It’s kinda hot when you get all assertive,” Wyatt said, looking Kai up and down. “You might wanna tell me what you want, because I can’t decide what I wanna do with you first.”

  There were a lot of things Kai wanted. It was hard to pick just one, even if it was only to start with, even if he knew he could have everything.

  Even if what he wanted, mostly, was Wyatt.

  Would he sound ridiculous if he said that?

  “You,” he murmured before he could stop himself. “Just… you.”

  Wyatt’s whole face changed, softening immediately.

  “Yeah,” he said, a smile turning up the corner of his lips. His eyes were dark, and a little glazed, but mostly, they were kind.

  Kai was never going to get enough of Wyatt’s kindness. Not for as long as he lived.

  “Yeah,” Wyatt repeated. “Pretty much what I want, too.”

  Kai surged in again, needing to taste and touch and feel Wyatt, the excitement of having him too much to contain. He slid his hands up under Wyatt’s shirt, pushing the soft fabric out of the way until his fingertips grazed Wyatt’s nipples, drinking in the way Wyatt’s breath hitched as he stroked them, feeling them peak under his touch.

  “And by that,” Kai said. “I mean I want you naked and on a bed as soon as possible.”

  A shudder ran through Wyatt, matching arousal pooling in the pit of Kai’s stomach, making his skin feel too tight.

  Wyatt kissed him again, catching his lower lip between his teeth, nipping playfully and then swiping his tongue over it to soothe, and hell yes, this was exactly what Kai wanted.

  He wanted to feel like he could play with Wyatt, forever, whenever he liked, because Wyatt loved him, and he loved Wyatt, and everything had worked out okay.

  “Go,” he murmured against Wyatt’s lips, giving him a gentle shove and then extracting his hands from the inside of Wyatt’s shirt.

  Wyatt laughed, took a step back, and then swooped in again.

  “Love you,” he whispered in Kai’s ear, and then pushed away from the door and turned on his heel, heading toward the bedroom.

  Kai was already panting for breath, his lips kiss-swollen, his belly tight with need, and for a moment, all he wanted to do was indulge in watching Wyatt walk away from him, pulling his soft long-sleeve tee over his head and revealing his beautifully-sculpted back, a silent invitation.

  “I want you to pull my hair,” he called after Wyatt, which made him stop in his tracks.

  Wyatt turned back just far enough to look at Kai, his eyes wide and dark, the tips of his ears bright red. He wet his lips, and then nodded silently, and took off for the bedroom like he was being chased.

  Not wanting to disappoint Wyatt, Kai took off after him, laughter bubbling up in his chest. He barely stopped grinning and laughing when he was around Wyatt, and he could have that, now.

  He could keep Wyatt, the best thing that had ever happened to him, forever.

  By the time Kai rounded the corner into the bedroom, Wyatt was already down to his underwear, his thumbs hooked into the waistband, about to shove them down his spectacularly muscular thighs.

  Kai leaned against the door frame to watch, taking in every inch of Wyatt’s body.

  He wasn’t interested in Wyatt for the way he looked, not really—he loved him for his kindness, and his warmth, and for the fact that he’d dragged Kai out of his shell without ever making him feel uncomfortable, but…

  Well, the way he looked was definitely a huge bonus.

  “Okay, so maybe I have a thing for your hair,” Wyatt said, sliding his underwear down to reveal his half-hard cock.

  Kai stared. He could get really, really used to Wyatt undressing for him.

  In response, he reached up and pulled the plain black tie out of his hair, shaking his head so it fell loosely around his shoulders.

  “I have a thing for your thing for my hair,” Kai said, pulling the tie over his wrist. “So I think we’re all good.”

  Wyatt chuckled, kicking his underwear off and crossing to where Kai was standing in the door frame. He reached out and shoved his fingers deep into Kai’s hair, gripping a good handful and giving a firm, experimental tug.

  Kai’s stomach bottomed out, a surge of sheer, white-hot lust hitting him hard. A needy little whimper escaped him, the image of Wyatt inside him, the whole of his hair wrapped around his fist too good to ignore.

  “You can braid it again after,” Kai offered.

  “There’s a new hair brush for you in the bathroom,” Wyatt said softly, stroking through his hair more gently this time. “Since I was kinda hoping you’d stay over enough to need it.”

  Warmth welled up in Kai’s chest, making his heart feel tight. That was so sweet.

  Which made it exactly the kind of thing Wyatt would do.

  “I’m planning on it,” Kai said, taking Wyatt’s other hand and squeezing. “You’re incredible, you know that?”

  Wyatt’s whole face lit up with the softest, warmest smile Kai had ever seen on him. “Love you, too,” he said. “But you’re wearing way too many clothes.”

  Kai shrugged. “Undress me,” he said. “I’m all yours.”

  Wyatt licked his lips. “All mine, huh?” he asked, reaching up to start on the buttons of Kai’s shirt.

  “All yours,” Kai repeated, because it was exactly what he wanted to be. All Wyatt’s, from now until forever.

  A needy moan rumbled in Kai’s chest as Wyatt’s hands roamed over him, stripping him layer by layer, kissing and licking at newly exposed skin, running his fingers where his mouth couldn’t reach, his broad hands sliding into Kai’s pants once they were open and squeezing the whole of his ass through his underwear.

  Lust flooded Kai’s belly at the touch, his cock twitching, his body already convinced that Wyatt touching him was the best thing that could possibly happen.

  He caught Wyatt’s mouth again, kissing him deeply, soft little sounds escaping both of them as their hips ground together lazily, little sparks of pleasure bouncing between them, a silent promise about just how good this was going to be.

  After a handful of moments, Kai kicked his well-worn boots off, his toes ca
tching in his habitual thick socks as he got rid of them, too. Once he was free, Wyatt lifted him clean off the floor by his thighs and encouraged him to wrap them around his waist.

  “Holy shit, this is hot,” Kai said, panting breathlessly as Wyatt carried him over to the bed, their cocks grinding together again through the thin fabric of Kai’s boxer-briefs.

  Wyatt laughed, turning them around and setting Kai down on the bed under him, diving in for another kiss.

  Kai moaned happily, locking his legs around Wyatt’s and rocking his hips against him, his skin tingling everywhere they touched.

  He reached out to grab the lube from where he knew Wyatt kept it stashed under the other pillow. His breath hitched at the thought that Wyatt would just have to find somewhere else to keep it, since that was going to be Kai’s pillow more often than not, now.

  At least, it was if he was going to have any say in it.

  “You okay?” Wyatt asked against Kai’s neck, his breath warming the sensitive skin there.

  “I’m fine. Just thinking you’ll have to start storing your lube elsewhere.”

  “Hmm?” Wyatt asked, his fingers sliding teasingly beneath the waistband of Kai’s underwear.

  “Because that’s my side of the bed now,” Kai murmured, raising his hips to encourage Wyatt to slide his underwear off.

  Wyatt made a warm, pleased hum in response, pulling Kai’s underwear down past his knees, leaving him to kick it off the rest of the way. Kai barely had time to press the lube into Wyatt’s hand before Wyatt was kissing his way down his chest, pausing to nuzzle his belly button and then continuing down, licking a long stripe up Kai’s suddenly rock-hard cock.

  Kai’s mouth fell open in a silent cry, his hips jerking up off the bed, and Wyatt took advantage of that by shoving a hand under him to hold him just a little way off the mattress.

  The click of the lube cap and the soft brush of Wyatt’s lips against the delicate skin of his inner thigh had Kai panting harshly in seconds, anticipation welling up inside him and making everything feel too hot and tight.

  He breathed a sigh of relief as he felt Wyatt’s fingers pressed against him—two to start, which Wyatt had been so impressed with the first time that it had made Kai laugh.