Page 21 of Wanted
Knox looked up at their hosts as he pushed away the pizza dough dick. “Sorry for my boyfriend, he’s unhinged but only loveably so.”
Ezra pursed his lips. “Should I prepare bibs to go with your breakfast?”
Liv swallowed, glancing at Knox. “Only if you serve us those… what are they—”
“Crayfish,” Knox added, grinning so wide his cheeks dipped a little.
Frank shook his head. “You’re not getting crayfish for breakfast.”
Ezra swallowed a sip of tea and offered Frank a smile. “At least they’re both male, so neither of them will suddenly end up pregnant with twins.”
Liv grinned and stole a kiss off Knox’s sauce-stained lips. “Yep. That’s the great thing about being gay. No condoms needed.”
Knox’s gaze followed Liv, and when he licked his lips after the kiss, Liv definitely felt a shiver go down his stomach. But it was probably just his body being happy about pizza.
“Yep, this stomach is staying hard and flat,” he added, placing his hand on Knox’s belly as his head drummed with the sound of his heartbeat.
“I sure fucking hope you two are on PrEP,” Ezra whispered.
Liv winked at him. “No, only he needs to prep.”
Knox’s blue eyes went wide, his face reddened, and he slapped Liv with a slice of pizza. “Don’t fucking tell them that kind of shit!”
Frank got up. “I see you’re both done if you’re playing with your food. Let’s go get the mattress.”
Knox packed the rest of the slice into his mouth. Man, that thing had lots of capacity, and Liv definitely shouldn’t bethinking about it in the context of shampoo squirts and Knox looking up at him while on his knees.
What. The. Hell.
“Thank you for everything, and sorry about everything too,” Liv babbled, watching Ezra, who stared at him as if he were being forced to share a dining table with a hog. “I pretty much raised myself, so… feel free to tell me which cutlery to use for fish and shit. I’ll do anything for more of that home cooking.”
Ezra cleared his throat. “I didn’t make that—”
“You baked it for us, and that’s what counts!”
“I guess I did.” Ezra put a little piece of pizza into his mouth. Liv had to admit it was an amount that also allowed him to speak without mumbling. This guy had his shit together.
Frank led them to a small room with a single bed which might have been where they would have stayed if Ezra hadn’t suspected them of being psycho murderers. Which was fair enough. They grabbed the mattress and followed Frank outside.
Liv had no idea what time it was, but his stomach was full, his body clean, and he was about to rest his sore muscles in dry clothes. After days of uncertain misery, the current arrangement seemed luxurious, and while the workshop was filled with all kinds of junk and had a dusty smell, it would be a safe place to rest.
But instead of telling them to just put their new bed down, Frank continued through the workshop, to a door on the other side, and when they entered, Liv was astonished by how warm the interior behind it was.
While rough around the edges, the little office they found themselves in was clean and spider web-free, at first glance at least, and there were even two wooden pallets prepared for them to rest the mattress on. Ezra’s idea, no doubt.
Frank pointed to a little radiator in the corner as they put down the mattress. “You can turn it up if it gets too cold at night,and you’ve got a bottle of water here as well, next to the bedding. There’s a restroom at the very back of the workshop if you need it.” He then squinted at them. “But if you decide it’s a great idea to abuse my generosity by trying to rob me or run away, maybe think back to what you saw earlier tonight.”
Knox shook his head. “Never! We are so fucking grateful, man.”
“Sofucking grateful. No one has ever been so generous to us,” Liv said and gave Frank a hug, which made him feel like a chihuahua trying to socialize with a mastiff, but he wanted to express that all this kindness meant a lot. “I was so damn worried about Knox’s health, and here you are, a good Samaritan in the junkyard.”
Frank sighed but eventually patted Liv on the back with a stiff gesture, which was, hopefully, a sign that he wouldn’t try to get into any of their pants. What a relief! Liv would rather not need to blow Frank for a bed and dinner, but the idea of anyone touching Knox filled him with vicious anger.
“Don’t come over for breakfast before eight,” Frank said on his way out, leaving Liv and Knox in a cocoon of warmth.
Knox smiled when he smelled his sweatshirt. “It smells so nice.”
“I know, right?” Liv exclaimed, fondling the front of his own top. “And the clothes are so soft. I don’t think I’ve ever worn anything like this!” he said, stepping closer, until he and Knox almost touched by their new bed.
