Page 57 of Brokered Betrayals

Sawyer groaned as he headed to the refrigerator. He opened the freezer drawer and said, “You answered my question.”

“I did? Because I’m pretty sure I blacked out.”

“That was my answer.”

Royce moved to Sawyer’s side and gasped when he saw the six half gallons he’d selected. “I think we should just kick them all out now and live off brookie sundaes until there’s nothing left.”

“Tempting, but no.”

“Okay, okay.” Royce reached down and grabbed the mint chocolate chip and peanut butter chip. “This is a celebration dinner, and we should cap it off with a dessert equal to or greater than the food from the previous course.”

“Does that rule come from theRoyce Locke Book of Entertaining?” Sawyer set down the cherry cordial, vanilla bean, and strawberry ice cream cartons on the island, leaving fudge swirl for Royce to retrieve.

“No,” he replied. “I’m trying to find a reason not to lick the brookie and yell ‘mine’ at the top of my lungs.”

Sawyer growled playfully and tugged Royce into a hug. “I love being on the receiving end of those possessive licks.”

“Yeah?” Royce maneuvered his husband a few feet to the right, shielding them from prying eyes in the living room. He nuzzled his nose against Sawyer’s neck before licking a path up to his ear. “Mine.”

Sawyer shivered hard, and his dark eyes glittered with arousal. “Lower next time.”

“All the more reason to boot these people out of our house.” Royce stepped back to put some room between them before things got out of hand. “What else do we need to lay out?”

Sawyer tipped his head toward the walk-in pantry. “The rest of the supplies are in here. Wanna help?”

Royce’s pulse kicked up a notch. “For real, or is this a ploy to get me to yourself?”

“Yes.”

They ducked into the pantry and shut the door. Royce backed Sawyer up against the nearest shelf and feasted on his mouth. Who needed fancy foods and desserts when he could have this? He tangled one hand in Sawyer’s hair, angling his head to deepen the kiss. Sawyer slid both hands under Royce’s sweater and slid them upward to caress his back.

Royce tore his mouth free and whispered, “I could drop to my knees and claim you now.”

Sawyer was seconds away from telling him to do it when someone rapped on the pantry door.

“Um, guys,” Eddie said from the other side. “Do you want us to head on out?”

“No,” Sawyer said as Royce replied, “Yes.”

Sawyer playfully pinched Royce to make him behave. “We’re just getting out the rest of the ingredients for the sundaes.”

“Uh-huh,” Eddie said. “Didn’t mean to interrupt the hunting and gathering. Carry on.”

They waited until his footsteps faded before breaking into unhinged laughter.

“What’s happened to us?” Royce asked. “Sneaking into our pantry for a quick fumble with a house full of people. For shame, for shame.”

Sawyer waggled his brows. “Hot as hell though.”

“We should role-play this when we’re alone.”

“Deal.” Sawyer kissed him once more before turning to pull items off the shelf. He pulled the bottom of his shirt out to act as a pouch and chucked three different nuts, multiple flavored syrups, and a variety of sprinkles. “Will you grab the whipped cream and the container with fruit from the refrigerator?”

“Sure.” Royce retrieved the items and helped Sawyer organize a brookie sundae bar on the island.

“I forgot to grab the paper bowls from the pantry.”

“I’ll grab them.” Royce turned and walked backward. “Want to help?”