Page 27 of Up In Flames
A laugh tore out of me, and I plunked a piece of it onto his plate, then another onto mine. “That’s fine. But, really, it’s beef. What’s not to like. And we never know what we like until we try it, right?”
“Right.” Oren tugged his gaze away and cleared his throat. “Right. Ah, this looks amazing.”
Opening the rest of the containers revealed mashed potatoes, gravy, and a side of roasted carrots. We filled our plates, and Oren directed us to the living room. The dining room table was currently covered in lawyering stuff. Books and papers surrounded his laptop.
“What are you working on?” I asked, motioning to the sea of legal stuff.
“Oh, I’m trying to close a few legal loopholes. It’s not that thrilling, I promise. Not half as thrilling as spending the day making this. Holy shit, it smells unbelievable.”
“Thanks.” Balancing my plate on my lap, I slowly cut into my Wellington, and I waited for him to do the same. I watched,holding my breath as he cut off a piece and popped it into his mouth.
The moan he let out made my cock twitch to life. His eyes fluttered shut, and he let out another happy-sounding noise. It should be illegal to make sex sounds while eating. Or at least frowned upon more than it clearly was.
“Will… oh, my God. This is...”
The look on Oren’s face made it clear he was truly enjoying himself. It was hard not to picture him underneath me making those noises. That face. That open expression of rapture. It was obscene.
I was obscene.
“Try a piece,” he urged me, and I tore my eyes away from him and concentrated on getting a bite onto my fork. Did he notice that my hands trembled? That I could scarcely breathe around him sometimes because the want was so ferocious? I felt his stare on me while I tried my first bite.
“Holy shit,” I said through a mouthful of food.
“Right? You outdid yourself. This is amazing. If you ever want a career change, you should become a chef.”
I shook my head. “Nah. I like cooking too much to turn it into a job. You know what I mean.”
Oren laughed. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a hobby that I liked enough to worry about losing enjoyment if I turned it into a job.”
“Is working the weekend alone in your apartment your hobby, Oren?” I popped another bite into my mouth.
“That and jerking off.”
It was funny. Truly. And if Oren thought my sudden coughing fit was brought on by a laugh that made a piece of Wellington lodge in my throat, then he’d never know that it was the way I instantly pictured him naked and writhing under his own touch, then under mine. And he’d never find out because I was going to die.
Coughing a couple times, I reached for a drink but realized there wasn’t anything handy to wash the food down with. Making a fist, I pounded on my chest and that’s when Oren’s laughter died.
“Will? Shit.” The plates disappeared from our laps, and then he was hauling me to my feet. His arms wrapped around me from behind. His grip tightened on me
and then I felt the first plunge of his entwined hands as he squeezed me. The first squeeze did nothing.
“Shit. Shit. Don’t worry, Will. I got you.”
Oren did it again. It hurt far more than I expected it to. Especially because by this time I was getting no air. Black spots swam in my vision. Then Oren did it a third time. He squeezed me so hard and so sudden that the piece of food flew out of my throat and landed… somewhere. It didn’t matter where.
Breathing was a wonderful thing. I sucked in great lungfuls of air, gasping and coughing when I did. Oren was still swearing, but less frantic now.
“Sit down before you fall over.” He steered me to the couch, and I sat down gratefully, suddenly aware of how close to death I’d been. If I’d been alone, I wouldn’t have made it.
He appeared at my side a second after I’d had that terrible thought and pressed a drink into my shaking hand. “Take small sips.”
He rubbed a hand up and down my back. I loved that he didn’t mind touching me. I needed his touch. His presence reassured me that everything was okay when it had almost not been okay.
A few sips and some more coughing later, my appetite was thoroughly ruined, but Oren was still glued to my side.
“How do you feel?”
The furrows between his eyes had never been deeper. His eyes shone, and I saw my own fear mirrored back at me. I’d beenthrough a lot of shit, but usually it was me pulling people out of danger.
