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CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Austin

“How would you feel about meeting some of my friends?” I asked later that night when we were both sitting on the sofa watching one of Henry’s superhero movies. It was cheesy and fun and I had to admit Henry looked pretty good in spandex. The fitness routine to get the abs he was sporting must have been hell, though.

“You have friends?” Kane asked with a teasing smile. He was leaning against the arm of the sofa with his legs thrown over my thighs and I was so tempted to pull him onto my lap.

“Hey!”

He laughed as I playfully tried, and failed, to tap the side of his ass. “I’m sorry, I just can’t imagine anyone else wanting to put up with you.”

“That’s low, Pendleberry,” I said. “And after I made you ragu too.”

“I’m sorry,” he said again, sounding slightly more sincere. “Maybe you’ll have to punish me.”

“Maybe I will.” I smirked. “No pistachio croissants for breakfast.”

Kanan gasped in actual horror. “You wouldn’t.”

“I would.”

“You know I could just go and buy them myself,” he said, pulling his knee up to prod my thigh with his toe.

“I know,” I said as I ran one finger down the sole of his foot, making him snort and squirm. “But you won’t.”

“How do you know?”

“I just do.” I grinned and leant down to kiss him. “Mostly because I’m always the one who goes while you stay in bed.”

He gasped and gently pushed my chest away. “No, I usually have a shower because I’m either full of cum or covered in it, and I can’t leave the house.”

“Hmm, I suppose that’s a good enough reason,” I said, trying to get around him for another kiss as he laughed. I’d never get bored of the sound of his laughter.

It was strange, considering we hadn’t actually been together that long, that I already knew I wanted to marry him. It would just be plucking up the courage to ask him. And I didn’t want to rush anything either.

We had all the time in the world.

“Who are these friends then?” Kane asked. His lips were so close to mine I could feel his breath on my skin when he spoke.

“Theo, Jake, Kai, maybe Peter if he’s around. Sean too, although I know he’s been in California and I’m not sure if he’s back. And Felix is in Ibiza for the summer, causing chaos. They’re all guys I film with but they’re friends too.” I wasn’t close with all the men I worked with—sometimes it was a one-and-done thing—but some of them I’d just clicked with and we kept in regular contact outside of filming.

Theo was one of my best friends in the world because, despite his bratty behaviour and insistence on being overly involved in my life, he genuinely cared and wanted the best for me. We’d met not long after he’d started out, and despite the fact he was a couple of years older than me, his sweet looks had made me worried people would try to take advantage of him. I’d been determined to help keep him safe and get his footing in the industry.

Of course, that was before I realised how vicious he could be. Underneath all the ruffles was a beautiful man who took absolutely no shit and would probably commit violent, unspeakable horrors if someone threatened the people he loved.

And there was a good chance he’d do it while wearing the frilliest dress in his wardrobe, complete with ruffled petticoats, hair bows, and knee-high socks.

“That’d be nice,” Kane said. “I’d like to meet them. Maybe we can all have dinner next time they’re up? Or if they’re not here all at once, we can do it in small groups. I don’t mind cooking, or we could go and get burgers.”

“Oh yeah, we could totally take them to see Astrid. I can’t believe I’ve never taken them before.”

“Is she still thinking about getting you to do a pin-up meat-pun marketing campaign?”

“Shit, I’d forgotten about that,” I said. “We should totally do that.”

“You just want to get your buns out and show off,” Kane said with a laugh. “Slut.”

I snorted and kissed him again. “One hundred percent. But only for you. And burgers.”

“I’m gonna get you a T-shirt that just says Burger Slut on and you can wear it next time we go there.”

“Don’t tease me, kitten. You know I’d totally do it.”

“You would,” he said, grinning fondly. “I’ll get you a second one we can cut at chest length and you can wear it with some ripped denim booty shorts for Astrid’s marketing. But only if we get a print of it for our houses so I can look at it every day.”

“Done.” I kissed him and ran my hand down his thigh. There was some sort of chase scene going on in Henry’s film and a lot of explosions, but I wasn’t really paying attention anymore. I had other questions on my mind. “Can I ask you something else?”

“Of course,” Kanan said, picking up the remote and pausing the film, leaving Henry Lu striding sexily away from a fireball, his hair perfectly mussed and oil smeared on his taut pecs. “What’s up?”

“This is probably quite random, but are you okay with keeping both houses? I mean, I love you but I really don’t fancy living in London.”

“Oh, you’re definitely not selling this house,” Kanan said quickly. “I love it here! It’s the perfect retreat from London and besides, you love it. I’m not going to ask you to give this up.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course!”

“But what about your house?” I asked, wondering if it was really that simple.

Kane shrugged. “We keep that one too. It’s useful for work and having a base in the city is always nice. Maybe one day I’ll sell it and we can buy something a bit further out, or at least not in Chelsea, but that’s not a conversation we have to have right now.”

“All right then,” I said. “Both houses it is.”

He smiled at me softly. “Any other worries? Or things you want to ask?”

“Not right now. I’m sure I’ll think of something.”

“I guess I have one thing for you,” he said, biting his lip and glancing at the TV. “I know we’ve mentioned it before but there’s probably going to be sex scenes in Llewelyn , so I’m going to have to get naked and… you know…”

“Simulate fucking Henry?”

“Yeah. That.” He flushed slightly and it was adorable to see how awkward he suddenly was about it. “Do you mind?”

“Why would I? I actually fuck people for money and you don’t have a problem with that. Honestly, it would be hypocritical as fuck for me to tell you I did.” I stroked his thigh gently, watching the flush deepen on his cheeks. But it was less of an embarrassed blush and more of a “horny but trying to hide it” one. I smirked. I would forever be endlessly pleased by how easily I was able to turn Kanan on and how pretty and pliant he was under my fingers.

“Okay,” he said with a trembling voice. “As long as you’re sure.”

“I am. And if you’re nervous, we can talk about some tips to make sure you feel more confident. Plus you should have an intimacy coordinator on set at all times, and they’ll be able to advocate for you. And if you don’t have one, then let me know and I’ll come and raise a little hell.” I winked at him. “Consent and comfort are just as important in simulated sex as they are in real sex.”

“You’re not coming on set,” he said. “I’d break down laughing every time I saw you. Or I’d get an actual boner and that would be so awkward I’d die.”

I laughed. “You’d be fine. And if you’re worried, when you meet everyone, we can all tell you our best funny, awkward on-set moments to make you feel better. Jake and Kai have got a ton of them because they’re… well, them. And Theo will definitely tell you about the time I accidentally squirted lube in his eye.”

Kane snorted, laughter bubbling out of his chest as he visibly relaxed back into the sofa. “How the fuck did you manage that?”

“It’s a long story,” I said with a wave of my hand. “Ask Theo.”

“Oh, I definitely will.” He leant forward and kissed me softly before sliding up and into my lap, straddling my thighs and casually brushing his cock against mine. “I love you. Thanks for taking care of me.”

“Always, kitten. You’re the most important thing in the world to me.”

“Thing?” He raised an eyebrow, a playful sparkle in his eyes.

“Person, man, human,” I said, kissing him and wrapping my arms around his waist. “Beloved boyfriend, pretty toy. My Kanan.”

“Mmm, I like that,” he said, softening into my arms and grinding against me.

A possessive groan rumbled through my chest as I flipped him over onto his back, blanketing him with my body, and began to take him apart.

Even though I’d invited Kanan round to meet everyone, I was still nervous as fuck when he knocked on the door. We’d decided he’d come next door to the studio house rather than people coming to ours so that we could keep our space as ours and create a firm, physical boundary between our private life and my work.

“Is that him?” Theo asked, trying to crane his neck around to see the door from his seat on the sofa. But Kai put his hand on Theo’s thigh and gently pushed him back down as Jake straightened in his seat. They were all fully dressed and Jake had even put a proper shirt on—which was fucking unheard of—while Theo was wearing an overall dress in a pastel blue check with a frilly white blouse underneath—like a twinky, gay Dorothy.

“Let Austin go and fetch him, princess,” Kai said softly. “We don’t want to smother him.”

“I’m not going to smother him. I just want to say hi.”

“Give me two seconds and you can,” I said as I started to walk towards the door. I hadn’t been sitting down because I was too nervous and every time I tried, I hopped back up a couple seconds later and started pacing. I wasn’t sure why I was so worried, but maybe it was because I wanted Theo, Jake, and Kai to like Kane.

And because I didn’t want them to scare my boyfriend off.

When I opened the door, Kane was stood there with his customary charming smile, and it was a relief to know he was almost as nervous as I was. “Hey,” he said. “Is now okay?”

“Of course,” I said and leant in to kiss him, taking his hand in mine and leading him into the house. “I told you to come over, didn’t I?”

“Well, yeah but…” He chuckled and shook his head. “Ignore me. How’s your day been?”

“Good. Really good. Although someone could do with doing more work,” I called over my shoulder, directing my teasing comment to Theo, who’d spent half the afternoon complaining about how much his thighs hurt. Bloody pillow princess.

Theo gasped playfully. “You’re so mean! I can’t believe that’s how you’d introduce me to your boyfriend. Now poor Kane is going to think I’m a lazy brat!”

“That’s because you are,” I teased, watching as Kanan chuckled, covering his mouth to hide his laughter.

“I resent that! I’m a brat but I’m not lazy.”

“Then next time do some bloody work instead of expecting the three of us to do it all.” I led Kanan through into the sitting room, watching as Theo’s face lit up as he saw him. He was practically vibrating with excitement, the skirt of his dress rustling softly. “Theo, Jake, Kai, this is my boyfriend, Kane. Kane this is Theo, Kai, and Jake. They don’t bite, I promise.”

“Hi,” Kane said. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Theo beamed as he hopped up off the sofa, dashed over to Kane, and took his other hand, smiling at him delightedly but with a genuine, enthusiastic warmth that made my heart melt. Theo could be a pain in the ass, but he was genuinely one of the loveliest people I knew and desperately wanted the people around him to be happy.

“It’s so good to meet you,” Theo said. “I’m so glad you came to say hello! Austin talks about you all the time! I’m so glad he got off his butt and admitted how he felt because he’s been moping over you for years .”

“Hey, it wasn’t years!”

“Oh, yes it was!” Theo insisted, shooting me a look that brooked no argument. “And now look at you. You’re so happy and in love. This is why you should always listen to me. In fact, I think you should get me a present for being right and telling you to get over yourself. Maybe a guinea pig… I’ve always wanted a fluffy piggy friend.”

“I don’t think that’s how it works,” Kai said as he stood up and came over to say hello, holding out his hand to shake Kanan’s. “Hi, Kane. Welcome to the chaos.”

“Thanks for having me,” he said. I could see him relaxing and I wondered if he’d realised that none of these three cared who he was. Or if they did, they wouldn’t say anything. It would probably be oddly refreshing.

“It’s great to meet you,” Jake said, walking over to pull him into a half hug. Then he looked at me and smirked. Ah, fuck. I loved Jake, but he could be a real wanker sometimes. And I only deserved it for half of that. “Fuck me, Austin, he’s gorgeous. How did you land such a stunner?”

“Fuck off, I’m cute.”

“Not as cute as him,” Jake said. “He’s a proper ten. You’re an eight at best.”

Kane blushed. “I’m not…”

“I agree, you are very handsome,” Theo said, taking Kane from me and leading him over to the sofa. “Austin, can we have some drinks?”

“This is my house!”

“And Kane is our guest,” Theo said pointedly. “Get him a drink.”

“Baby boy, you are pushing it,” I said with a teasing smile.

“No, I’m not. Be good and get us drinks or I’ll tell Kane about the time you got sunburn on your bum because you insisted you didn’t need sun cream because we’re in Yorkshire and it’s ‘not that hot.’”

Kane laughed and raised an eyebrow at me. “Seriously? When was that?”

“Like two years ago,” I said. “It wasn’t that bad.”

“Maybe not,” Kai said with a wry smile. “But I’ve got other stories.”

“Ooh, I think I want to hear those,” Kane said, shooting me a wink.

“I’ll be happy to tell them,” Kai said. “Just maybe not over dinner unless we want to give the staff a heart attack.”

“Now I have to know,” Kane said and I groaned, knowing that these three assholes were about to share a rundown of my most embarrassing career moments. Why the hell had I hoped they’d be on their best behaviour? To them, this was probably it.

“I’m going to get drinks,” I said as I walked towards the kitchen, which was in a small, separate room at the front of the house so we could use it, and the living room, as additional film sets if needed.

I glanced at Kane as I was about to leave the room, but he was already deep in conversation with Theo. I watched him for a second, feeling the familiar kick of my heart and warmth flooding through my chest.

However much I’d loved my life before things had become serious with Kanan, I’d never imagined getting to have this. Porn and serious relationships didn’t usually mix well for a variety of reasons, but with Kane it felt so easy. Everything had clicked together like the middle pieces of a puzzle. And yes, we’d had the problem with the production company, but that was different. It wasn’t our issue; it was theirs.

But now the fucking love of my life was sitting on a sofa with my co-stars, chatting away and smiling like it was no big deal. Because it wasn’t.

Ten years ago, if anyone had told me that Kanan and I would go from casual fuck buddies who used sex as a means to escape and control our lives to a functional, grown-up, and deeply loving relationship filled with adoration and respect, I’d have asked what they’d taken because I’d never have believed it would happen.

But here we were: happy, in love, and planning for forever.

Fuck me. This was really happening.

And I’d never been so fucking happy in my entire life.

Kanan looked up and saw me lurking in the doorway. A smile blossomed across his face, love radiating from his gaze.

Yeah, my life was really fucking awesome.