Page 44 of Home Grown Talent
Hearing Owen heading into the living room, Mason shook off his unease and concentrated on the task at hand, dusting each dish carefully with icing sugar, before setting everything on a tray and carrying it through.
Pausing in the living room doorway for a moment, he drank in the sight of Owen relaxed on the sofa, long legs stretched out across the cushions, hair still delightfully sex-rumpled, bare feet crossed at the ankles. He looked unbelievably sexy in those butter-soft jeans that hugged every line of his muscular legs and that flannel shirt that Mason longed to rub his cheek against. Hell, the thought of curling up next to Owen and snuggling into his chest was nearly irresistible.
“Hey,” Owen said, smiling warmly and shifting his legs to make room for Mason on the sofa. “Okay?”
“I think you fucked my brains out,” Mason said, laughing. “I could barely remember how to make coffee.”
Owen grinned as Mason set the tray down on the low coffee table and came to sit next to him, hip to hip, their eyes meeting in one of those intensely intimate moments they’d been sharing since that night at the awards dinner. It occurred to Mason that Owen’s eyes were the exact same faded blue as his jeans.
“That was really great,” Owen said seriously. “You were amazing.”
Face heating, Mason felt himself grinning. “You were pretty amazing, too.”
“Yeah?”
Mason leaned in and kissed him, a gentle kiss this time, all soft lips and smiles. “Yeah.” Sitting back, he picked up one of the dishes on the coffee table and handed it to Owen. “Now try this.”
Owen’s gaze lingered on Mason for a moment, then turned to the plate in his hand. “Wow.” He looked impressed. “This is so pretty. It feels wrong to eat it.”
“You’d better eat it,” Mason said, nudging him. “And you’d better take the leftovers home, too. I can’t afford that amount of temptation in my fridge.”
Owen groaned around his first spoonful, a low, sexy sound that had Mason’s cock twitching again.
Christ, what was it about Owen Hunter that made him so fucking horny all the time? He’d gone out with men who were probably more conventionally handsome, but, somehow, he couldn’t think of anyone who had even a quarter of Owen’s appeal. There was just something about Owen that drew Mason in, a compelling mixture of intense sexual attraction coupled with a desire to just… snuggle into him.
“Bloody hell, that’s good,” Owen said, between mouthfuls. He polished off the whole dish in less than a minute and quickly agreed when Mason offered him seconds.
“Have your own first, though.”
“It’s okay,” Mason laughed, getting up. “I haven’t even started yet.”
He brought Owen a larger slice the second time, watching him demolish it as Mason slowly made his way through his own serving, relishing every mouthful. He didn’t eat sweet things very often and rarely something as good as this, even if he did say so himself.
Once they were done, he fetched the coffee. He knew by now that Owen liked it strong and black, and when Owen sipped the rich, dark brew, his tiny sigh of contentment made Mason smile.
Owen leaned into the corner of the sofa, stretching one arm along the back and lifting an eyebrow in invitation. After a moment’s hesitation, Mason scooted closer and snuggled up against Owen’s side.
“Perfect,” Owen said, sighing happily.
Mason agreed, feeling ridiculously sated and cosy.
They stayed there together for a while, quietly sipping their coffee, and Mason’s thoughts began to drift. Their empty plates sat together on the coffee table, forks askew, and he realised with a beat of frustration that he hadn’t taken a pic of their desert for Insta. Shit. Unless…
Actually, this might work better.
Pulling out of Owen’s hold, he grabbed his phone from the coffee table, then settled back and snapped a quick pic of their two plates, just a sliver of his leg looped over Owen’s in the foreground. He showed Owen. “What do you think?”
Owen appeared nonplussed. “Uh…about what?”
“I’m going to post it on Insta. Something like ‘This evening’s going well…’” He turned to look at Owen, who was frowning slightly. “Is that okay?”
“Uh, sure,” Owen said. Doubtfully, he added, “Is that the sort of thing your followers like? I’d have thought they’d rather see a picture of you.”
Mason smiled, nudging his knee. “Well, they see a lot of pictures of me. This is like…a glimpse into my life. A tease of…you know, us.”
“Right,” Owen said slowly. “Well, I’m sure you know more about it than I do.”
That was clearly true, and Mason felt another beat of unease. “I’ll tag you,” he said as he posted the pic—#GardeningHottie #WeekendWellness #WatchThisSpace. “Then you can reply. You’ll get the hang of it.”