Page 14 of Decorated

“You joined up to be all noble,” he said. “And here I was, insinuating you did it to get laid by a bunch of buff men.”

“I didn’t need to join the RAF to get laid,” Alfie said with the perfect touch of irony. He glanced at Blaine with wickedness in his eyes as he made a turn.

Blaine’s entire body went hot and his jeans turned uncomfortably tight. “No, I’m sure you don’t.”

“Apparently, you don’t either,” Alfie said.

“Pardon me,” Blaine said in an overly posh voice, “but there is a limit of three humiliating comments directed at me in this shopping trip.”

Alfie laughed. Blaine loved the sound.

So much that he wanted to keep hearing it for a long time to come.

“Actually, I prefer a softer, gentler sort of man to built ones,” Alfie went on after a pause.

“What, like twinks?” Blaine asked, cringing a little.

“Do you consider yourself a twink?” Alfie asked.

“No!” Blaine laughed.

A moment later, he caught his breath as he grasped the implication of the question.

“There’s no shame in being horny,” Alfie went on before Blaine could say anything more, which embarrassed him even more. “Sex isn’t Christmas baubles. As long as you’re safe, sane, and consensual, I see no problem in going out there and having as much of it as you’d like.”

Oh God. Safe, sane, and consensual? Was Alfie kinky?

Blaine suddenly couldn’t speak or think or function as the image of Alfie dressed in black leather, slapping a riding crop in one hand popped to his mind. Not that he’d ever tried anything like that before, which was a minor miracle, considering his past, but there was a first time for everything.

“Blaine?” Alfie asked, darting another concerned look his way.

“I’m fine,” Blaine wheezed. “Just trying to recover from an attack of overactive imagination.”

Alfie laughed again. There was something decidedly inviting in the sound.

The rest of the journey back to Hawthorne House was uneventful compared to those first few minutes. They talked about decorations and what Blaine had in mind for the rest of the dining hall for the party. Blaine asked about Alfie’s military service at one point, but Alfie shrugged and winced a little, mentioning he had planned to leave the service, but that had the potential to change, then changed the subject.

They stopped at Asda before reaching Hawthorne House on Alfie’s insistence. Blaine whinged and complained about being seen in the story, then proceeded to gasp and gape like a kid at the sheer variety of Christmas baubles, lights, and other decorations, and at the prices.

“I thought you didn’t like Christmas,” Blaine said as he loaded boxes of glittery, plastic baubles into the cart Alfie pushed.

“I don’t,” Alfie said.

“Then why is it that you know how to find the Mecca of Christmas?”

Alfie just laughed.

It was definitely a sound and sight Blaine could get used to.

By the time they returned to Hawthorne House and unloaded their haul, taking everything through the family section of the house and into the dining hall, Blaine was both exhausted and buzzing with delight.

“This might be the best decorating job I’ve ever done,” he said as he spread all of the boxes of decorations they’d bought across one of the tables, then turned to glance around the room, already envisioning where everything would go.

“How many parties have you decorated for?” Alfie asked, standing by like he was waiting for orders from Blaine.

“Hundreds,” Blaine said, making a decision about the big tree set up at the front corner of the room. “Before Dave and I went into business together, I worked with a party planner in London. I did a lot of weddings and high-end parties.”

“That explains Harrod’s,” Alfie said, following Blaine to the big tree with a smile.

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