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CHAPTER TWENTY

Austin

Seeing the relief on Kane’s face and feeling his body sag against mine as I wrapped my arms around him told me I’d made the right call to get on a train as soon as he’d told me about his call with Miles.

It’d been a little bit chaotic abandoning the shoot to shower, throw some clothes in a bag, get to the station, and hurl myself on the first train to London, but the guys I’d been filming with had all pitched in to help get me out the door.

In fact, Theo had been the one to volunteer to pack me some clothes while I showered and Kai had called an Uber while Jake shoved various drinks and snacks into a bag for me, just in case. Kai, who was probably the most sensible of all today’s co-stars, had promised to lock the house up using the spare key when they were finished and put it through the letterbox for me to find later, and I knew I’d come back to the place being absolutely spotless.

It was one less thing to worry about in the long run and I was very grateful to them.

I ran my fingers up and down Kanan’s spine as he leant against me, his face buried in my neck like he wanted to disappear from the world. “It’s okay,” I said softly, kissing the side of his head. “It’s okay. I’m here. It’s all going to be all right.” He made a humming sound that was somewhere between exhaustion and acceptance, and I bit back a smile. Whatever my thoughts and feelings about the situation and however guilty I was feeling over my potential role in it, this moment wasn’t about me.

My only job was to make sure Kanan felt supported.

“Can I come in now?” I asked. “Or am I meant to spend the rest of the evening on your doorstep with you using me as a pillow?”

“I suppose,” Kane said as he stood upright and took a slight step back. “Henry’s still here, by the way. We were just about to open a bottle of wine.”

“Sounds good to me. I could do with a drink.”

I followed him into the house and toed off my shoes, dropping my bag on top of them. I’d take it upstairs later when everything had settled down. Besides, I was intrigued by the idea of finally meeting Henry, and I wasn’t going to go wandering off when Kane could be introducing us.

Kane led me towards the living room where a tall, elegantly dressed man was lounging on the sofa with his phone in hand, looking utterly at ease in the space, like he’d been here all along. He turned his head as we entered, a smile breaking out across his handsome face and a mischievous glint dancing in his dark eyes. It was easy to see why he’d been voted the world’s sexiest man and why people fell over themselves to get near him. He was trouble, but definitely the fun kind.

“Ah, this must be the man of the hour,” Henry said, hopping gracefully off the sofa and stretching out his hand to shake mine. “Fuck me, you really are gorgeous. No wonder Kane is mad about you.”

“Good to know my reputation precedes me,” I said as I shot him a charming wink and smile and watched the faintest hint of a blush colouring his cheeks. A feeling of smug satisfaction curled through my chest. It was good to know I could still make men completely flustered with one look and a well-placed smile. “It’s nice to meet you. Kane’s told me a lot about you.”

“All of it rotten I’m sure,” he said, returning my smile as he stepped slightly closer and, oh yeah, he was definitely trouble. I didn’t know if he had a partner, but I was betting he needed a firm hand to keep him in line and stop his ego running away with him. “The truth is all much worse.”

“Oh, I’m sure of it.” I let go of his hand and turned to Kanan, who was watching us with amusement. There was the tiniest hint of jealousy in the way his lips pouted, and I tried not to let how much I liked that show on my face. I had no idea what a jealous Kanan would do to me, but I was interested in finding out. “Did you say something about a glass of wine?”

“An excellent idea,” Henry said. “And then later I’m treating you both to dinner. It’s all arranged. And there’s a car coming to pick us up at seven.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, looking between him and Kane, who already seemed on board with this. Maybe they’d already discussed it. Now I was the jealous one imagining the two of them spending the afternoon on the sofa together. I knew Kane would never do anything, and Henry seemed like a flirt but also one who knew where the line was and wouldn’t cross it without permission.

There was just something about the two of them being here when I couldn’t be that itched under my skin, but I couldn’t work out what the reason behind it was.

Fuck, I couldn’t wait to get Kanan into bed later and kiss every inch of him, sucking marks into his skin in places where only we’d be able to see them before filling him with my cum.

Turned out, I was a bit of a possessive bastard too.

“Of course. After all of this stress, the least we deserve is a nice dinner and a few drinks.”

I couldn’t really argue with that.

Kane went to fetch a bottle of wine and three glasses and I went with him, just in case he needed a hand. And because I needed to kiss him again.

“Don’t think I didn’t see you,” Kane said with a quiet note of amusement as he retrieved a bottle of white wine out of the fridge along with a couple of posh picky bits he apparently had lying around.

“Doing what?” I asked as innocently as I could manage as I grabbed some large glasses out of the cupboard.

“Using your powers.”

I grinned. “What powers? I didn’t know I had magic powers.”

“Yes, you do.” Kanan put the wine and food on the kitchen counter before crowding me against it. “You’ve used them on me multiple times and I’ve heard you boast about your smile.”

“Ohhh, that. Are you jealous?”

“I don’t know. Are you jealous about me spending the afternoon with Henry?” He raised an eyebrow and smirked. I cursed under my breath. “You’re not as subtle as you think you are, my love. You have a strong case of resting bastard face.”

“I’m not jealous.”

“Really? Would you like to tell that to your face? And if this is going to be a problem, you need to say now because we’re potentially going to be filming sex scenes together, and if you’re going to get jealous of me getting semi-naked with a work colleague, then that’s going to be an issue. I won’t have you being a possessive asshole about me doing my job. Especially not when I respect you doing yours.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, letting my hands rest on his hips and feeling suitably chastened. Kane had a point and it was on me to deal with it. “And for the record, the idea of you two working together doesn’t make me jealous. I think it was… it’s more the idea that he’s been here for you this afternoon and I haven’t been. I always want to be here for you, Kanan.”

“You’re here now, though. And as much as you’d love to, you can’t exactly teleport yourself from York to wherever I am.” He smiled and leant in to brush his lips against mine. “You being here is more than I could’ve asked for, and I’m so fucking happy. The fact that you got on a train, when I didn’t even ask you to, and came to see me is… it’s everything, Austin.”

“You needed me,” I said. “I could hear it in your voice. And wherever I am, whatever I’m doing, I want you to know that you’ll always come first. If I can be here, I will be, no matter what it costs or how long it takes. I love you, Kanan. And I’m not going to let anything in this world—not time or distance or people—keep me from you. You are the most important thing in my life.”

It was the first time I’d told him how I felt and I watched his face for a reaction, my heart racing so fast it felt like a hummingbird’s. I’d been trying to wait for the perfect moment, something so romantic it could never be replicated or forgotten, but it turned out there wasn’t such a thing as the perfect moment. There was just this moment and the realisation that I needed Kanan to know how much I cared for him.

He stared at me, eyes wide and beautiful mouth slowly falling open. “You love me?”

“Of course. I have done for a while now.”

“But I… I’m…”

“Fucking perfect? The most beautiful man I’ve ever met? Funny, charming, and demanding? Sharp and adorable? Do you need me to go on, kitten?”

“No,” he said breathlessly. “Just say it again.”

“I love you,” I said, kissing him. “I love you. I love you. I love you .”

“I love you too. More than I ever thought possible.”

“That’s good. I was worried this might be one-sided.”

“Not a chance.” Kanan kissed me again and then smiled, resting his head against mine. Then he chuckled softly. “Henry’s probably wondering where on earth we’ve got to.”

“He’s probably been listening.”

“I think we all need that glass of wine now. Or some champagne if you’ve got it.” I was only joking about the champagne but Kane grinned.

“I do actually. It’s always good to have a bottle on hand, just in case.”

“That’s the most pretentious thing you’ve ever said to me,” I said with a laugh. “And I kind of love it.”

“This is one of those moments where I try to pretend I’m shocked that fame and fortune have changed me, when I know damn well they have. And it’s seventy percent trauma.”

“Do we need to get you a therapist, darling?”

“Probably,” he said. “But for now let’s drink champagne, eat Mexican food, and let Henry tell us wild and fabulous stories.”

“I have a few of those too. So do you.”

He chuckled and kissed me again. “But some of those are definitely not suitable for sharing. Remember that time in the hotel hot tub on your twenty-first birthday?”

I winced and grinned. “Yeah, we’re never sharing that one.”

Kane stepped back and went to the fridge for the bottle of champagne, directing me to grab some flutes out of the cupboard instead. When we carried them through to Henry, he looked up at us and smiled. I was sure he’d heard most of our conversation, but his expression didn’t say that. He really was a phenomenal actor. “Are we celebrating something?”

“Yeah, we are,” Kane said. “Firstly, you for helping me potentially get my job back. And secondly, Austin, because he loves me and he came all this way just because.”

Henry beamed. “Those are definitely worth celebrating.”

I grinned as Kane popped the cork on the bottle, feeling lighter than fucking air.