Page 31 of Never To Suffer (The Hollywoodland #4)

There’s a thud down the hall, and when I glance up, I find two giant dudes with blue jumpsuits on. They’re heading toward our place, and I panic until I read their uniforms.

The movers.

Aunt Melody.

Shit!

“Dani, hey, I gotta go. I’ll call you back before my flight. I love you, Beetle!”

“Xander! Fine, okay, fine. I’ll talk to you later, you weirdo! I love you!”

I barely hear her last words as I end the call, shoving the phone into the pocket of Theo’s sweats and walking toward the door.

“Hey, uhm, you guys are the movers, right?” They both stare at me for stating something so obvious.

Any other day I’d pick a fight with them or be a raging dick, but I need these guys and I’m in too damn good of a mood to mess it up over something stupid, I said.

“Right, yeah, duh. I’ll get everything out of your way, not that there’s much, and I’ll prop the door open for you. How much did you bring, anyhow?”

One of them, the tall one with a nose that looks like it’s broken looks between his partner and I. “Uh, she told us to bring everything. That’s half a storage container. She said whatever you don’t want, we take it back and store it again.”

“Everything okay?”

I spin around to find Theo leaning against his door frame, wearing only a pair of gray sweats as he sips his coffee. I hope I’m not visibly drooling right now.

“No, I, uhm, I forgot about the furniture delivery.”

“Oh, so today you have help. Good. When you get a minute, come back and tell me what you need from the grocery store. I’m gonna go grab some stuff to make breakfast before the cat eats our eyeballs.”

I don’t know how long I stand there, gawking at the man, but it must be a while based on the way the mover clears his throat to regain my attention.

I nod to Theo and head back into my place to move the boxes and make sure I didn’t leave any obvious condom wrappers lying around the bathroom or bedroom. It doesn’t take me long.

“Where do you want this?” They ask, rolling a large desk into the door, careful not to dent the desk or the wall.

Based on how gingerly they’re treating the stuff, I’m gonna guess Aunt Melody is paying them extra.

I point to an open wall and tell them to pile everything they’ve got wherever there’s room.

That earns me an eyebrow raise as they look at the sole piece of furniture already in place.

They head back down for the next thing, and another team of two comes into the room with a chair and a small nightstand.

I wanted a desk. Only the desk. Now, we’re about to have a furnished apartment.

Dani will either kill me, sell it all while I’m in Tokyo, or think it’s brilliant—there’s no way to know.

After I tell them the same thing I told the first two guys, I duck out and slip back into Theo’s place.

He’s in the kitchen, making notes on a piece of paper, and for a moment, I watch in silence. It’s old school, but it’s also sexy.

“Really? A shopping list on paper? How old are you, grandpa?”

“Keep that shit up and you won’t get breakfast. Trust me, you’ll regret that.”

I lean against the wall, staring at the marks on his back.

Bruising from my fingers, a few bite marks, a scratch here and there.

It’s a mural that tells the tale of one hell of a long night.

He turns, his front equally decorated, but I don’t have time to stare as his hands slide up my jawline and he pulls me in like it’s our first kiss.

Explorative instead of rushed, soft instead of teeth clashing against each other.

My hands find his hips, squeezing enough to elicit that moan I’ve come to crave overnight.

There’s a groan from somewhere deep, like it’s coming from somewhere… under the sink?

“Fuck!” He moves me out of the way and throws the cabinet doors open in time for a spray of water to coat him.

It takes every part of me to not laugh, and I have to turn away and bite my finger, but he still notices my shoulders as they shake.

“Yeah, laugh it up, whatever. Go get me a towel, would ya?”

“Yeah, absolutely. I’m impressed though; you took that so well Daddy. All over your face and?—”

“Towel, Xander,” he growls, and it’s not helping make him any less hot or this any less funny.

I come back with some towels and get to work helping him.

When we get the water under control, his face has turned red and the muscles in his neck look like they are about to bulge out of his skin.

I slide my hand up his arm, coaxing him to relax.

“Hey, take your list and get the groceries. You were supposed to do that yesterday, and I kept you from that. So go, you could use the fresh air and break from all this.”

“I can’t, I have to fix?—”

“I’ve got it. I mean, I can get it fixed enough for now, and I’ll come back after Japan and—” His face drops, I hadn’t told him yet. “Shit, I’m sorry, Theo. Everything happened so fast and—It’s a business trip, with my dad. I don’t want to go. I wish I didn’t have to.”

“It’s fine. When do you leave?”

“Uhm, in a few hours.” I wince, feeling like shit.

“Do I still have time to make you breakfast?” I nod and his smile comes back. “Good.”

“When I come back from Japan, I’ll fix your sink for you. Like, for good, fix it.”

“Do you even know what you’re doing?”

“Ouch. Yeah, I know how plumbing works. That wasn’t a pun or innuendo, either. Now get the heck out of here and get me some food.”