Page 79 of By Rude Strength

“Elly!” Cass cried in warning.

LA thought he was ready for it.

He was not.

The first pulse completely filled LA’s mouth, the second overflowing and spilling out down his chin before he couldswallow. He tried to keep sucking and move his tongue, but he was fighting not to choke.

“Oh, oh, oh, sweetheart! Ohfuck!” Cass groaned hungrily as he tugged LA’s hair.

LA didn’t think he’d heard Cass curse before, and he took it as high praise as he continued to gulp down as much of Cass’s come as he could. He pulled off when he thought Cass was done, staring up at him with a breathless grin, some of Cass’s come running from his chin down his neck. “There. Now we’ve even.”

“Uh… huh.” Cass squeaked. “Even.”

LA reached for Cass’s paws to pull himself up with a grunt. “Wanna help with one last cleanup?”

“Absolutely.” Cass wrapped his arms around LA to bring him in for a sweet kiss.

LA could feel the stickiness fading and he grinned. “Mm, you are pretty fuckin’ magical.”

“So are you.” Cass purred away. “Thank you, Elly. I’ve, I’ve very, very much enjoyed our time together.”

“So have I.” LA kissed him. “Now come on. We got some food to enjoy, probably some moreFireflyto watch, and…” He paused. “What’s tomorrow?”

“It is the fifteenth.”

“Shit.” LA’s stomach dropped. “It’sFriday.”

“Yay!” Cass cheered. “TGIF!”

“No, no. It’s my appointment with the lawyer.”

“Oh… So no TGIF? Or is it still a TGIF situation?”

LA forced a smile. “I guess we’ll see, right?”

“No matter what happens, I will be here with you,” Cass soothed. “You arestrong. You are powerful and wonderful and creative. If you get your old job back, then yay! Great! I know you will be happy. But even if you can’t, you’re still going to have a bright and fulfilling future. I believe in you, Elly. Everything is going to be okay.”

LA clung to Cass and shut his eyes, taking a deep breath.

Fuck, he hoped Cass was right.

He really, really did.

Chapter eleven

LA didn’t sleep wortha fuck.

It would have been easy to blame it on the massive heartburn he got from eating way too much delicious Italian food, but the truth was he couldn’t stop thinking about the meeting with the lawyer.

It was important.

It might decide whether or not he could get his job back and return to a career he loved.

With people heloathed, but still.

Part of what kept LA up was realizing he’d almost forgotten about it.

He’d been so distracted with seeing Brandon and picking out paintings and talking about feelings with Cass and then kissing Cass andotherthings with Cass…