Page 60 of Never To Suffer (The Hollywoodland #4)

“Yep, we should be clear. I did a bit of framing and carpentry work growing up. Dad worked in contracting.”

He steps back, taking it all in. The door would end up just off both kitchens, connecting the dining rooms. “Perfect. Let’s do it.”

“What? Now?”

He checks the time and nods. “How long does it take? Five or six hours?”

“You, uh, don’t do much building, huh?” I shake my head with a laugh. “If I run to the store, we can probably have it done in a couple of hours. Assuming we don’t hit any weird. Electrical wires, plumbing, dead bodies.”

“Okay, let’s hope there’s no dead bodies, but uh, here.” He unlocks his phone and hands it to me, a level of trust clearly established between us. “I’ll work on clearing out anything in the way on my side. Order whatever we need. Get it delivered and put it on my card.”

“You’re serious?”

“I am. About the door, about us, about becoming one. Yeah.”

An hour later, I wrap up the first stages of the new door frame, which isn’t anything more than a big ass, door-shaped hole in the wall.

While we wait for the wood and other supplies to be delivered, I peek through to watch Theo working in his kitchen, measuring out ingredients with precision.

He’s a machine in there, and I have to admit it’s sexy as hell watching the muscles in his forearms flex while he works. Brains and skills.

“That’s how you handle the stoner snacks? I expected a pizza and a bag of popcorn or something.” His head snaps around, almost knocking over the bowl he’s stirring. “Sorry, didn’t mean to spook you. What are you making?”

“Strawberry jam for a Fraisier cake.” His tongue swipes across his lips as he stares at me, reminding me I took off my shirt a while ago. I duck my head down, trying hard not to blush. “Do you want to try it?”

He beams with pride and pulls a spoon out when I nod.

He holds a scoop up for me, his other hand under it to catch anything that drips.

The intense flavor that explodes the second it hits my tongue has me moaning before I can stop myself.

“Doc! I could eat this all day. This can’t be only jam, it tastes too good. ”

“Well, for one, we’re high. But also, those are fresh strawberries, so that always helps.” He grins up at me, and I catch the faintest dusting of pink on his cheeks before he turns away. “The, uh, door looks nice.”

“Thanks.” Now it’s my turn to look away, my ears burning.

He reaches up and my heart slams into my ribcage as he swipes his thumb across my bottom lip, pulling back a bit of the jam. He goes to grab the towel, but I catch his wrist, staring him right in the eye as I close my mouth over his thumb, sucking it clean.

“Wouldn’t want to waste a single drop from you, Doc.” I say after popping his thumb out of my mouth.

There’s a split second when we both stare at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move.

I’m not sure which one of us pounces first as we both bust forward, our mouths slamming together as our bodies fight for dominance and fewer clothes.

It’s a fight I’m too close to losing as he pins me against the counter and undoes my belt.

I’m kissing him again, ready to give up the struggle and let him take the lead, until a knock at the door freezes us both.

“Should we ignore it?”

“Could be important,” he counters

“More important than this?” I reach down, cupping his bulge as I nip at his lip.

Before he can answer, there’s another knock, this time more urgent. “I’ll be right back. In the meantime? Why don’t you take your pants off and put your hands on the counter for me?”

Well, fuck me.

Xander didn’t tell me he found himself a daddy . I wait till he’s across the room before I give him a whistle. He can see me when he turns, but the counter blocks the important part as I let my jeans fall to the ground with a quiet thud.

“Don’t make me wait too long, Chef.”

“A quick learner. I like that.”

“Excuse me, sorry to bother you. Are you Mr. Lucas Fitzpatrick?” The young kid at the door asks.

“Shit,” I swear under my breath and head toward the door. Theo watches my hands as I walk toward him, re-button my pants and grab my shirt. I could swear he groans when I pull it back over my head.

“Don’t worry. Just means we start all over again.” I wink and turn to the kid. “That’s not my name anymore.”

“Shit, I’m so sorry! You’re right, I read the wrong line!” The kid jerks the envelope out, eyes darting between us as he tries to work it out in his head. “I’m supposed to deliver this.”

I take the envelope and, sure enough, it says my name and my dead name. I hate how archaic our government enjoys being. I glance up at the kid and his eyes still dart between us, trying to figure us out.

“We’re roommates,” Theo enlightens him, rolling his eyes as he tucks his hand into the back pocket of my jeans and giving my ass a squeeze.

“Right.”

Under normal circumstances, I would play along and make a fun show of it, but I’m too distracted by the name on the envelope.

It’s a law firm, but not any law firm. It’s the one that represented me when we tried to go after the woman who caused my accident.

I can’t focus. A dark curtain comes down over my vision.

The air in the room turns thick with smoke and everything smells like gasoline.

I can hear the sizzle of flesh, and I know it’s mine.

Theo catches me before I hit the ground, and I don’t register when he helps me to the couch until he comes back with a glass of water and a look in his eye I’ve seen too many times before. Pity.

I open the letter, scanning it as much as I can with my hands shaking the way they are.

“Do you need to talk about it, or?”

“There’s new evidence in my accident. The lawyers want to talk to me.”