Page 55 of Gambling with Time

“Bell–” I warned. He did that on purpose, not because he wanted me right this minute, but because he wanted to cook. “You aren’t playing fair.”

“Uh, demon, what do you expect?”

“Lex, can you help a little?”

“I’d burn the breakfast,” he said absently from the sofa. He didn’t even look over at us from the movie that was playing.

Bellamy chuckled, his touch bolder as he stroked me through the material.

“I swear, if you get fluids in the pancakes, I will make you both regret it.” Raiden dropped onto the stool across from us.

“You might like the special sauce,” Bellamy replied. The smile I could hear in his voice reminded me of the Bell I used to be friends with. It was good to see the change in him. Hell, it was great that he had forgiven me enough to be touching me without wanting to cause pain.

In fact, all of this felt amazing. Lex, Sam, him, and even my growing friendship with Raiden. It was home. Wherever they were was where I wanted to be.

“If you add anyone’s special sauce, it better not be yours.” Rai added sugar to the coffee he just poured from the pot. He lifted his gaze back to us as he stirred. “The pancakes are burning.”

Bellamy squeezed my now hard length through my sweats. I moaned, and the spatula clattered to the pan as I gripped the countertop surrounding the grill. Fuck.

The burnt scent of the pancakes filled my senses, and it finally sunk in what Raiden had said. Bellamy had already scooped up the spatula and he was flipping the charred remains to the empty plate.

“Looks like you do need help,” Bellamy said.

“I would have been fine,” I replied as he nudged me out of the way now that he got what he wanted. He picked up the bowl of pancake batter and poured out perfect circles. He hummed happily, and I shook my head. “You’ve made me hard and aching…and you’re just going to leave me like this?”

“Alastor, everyone is hungry. I have to cook for them.” His voice was filled with fake outrage, but his mouth tilted up in a knowing grin as our eyes met.

“I could probably cook you two under the table,” Rai said with a shrug. We both turned our attention to him, and he wiggled his eyebrows. “Secret about firefighters, they can cook. We live at the station for days at a time. If we don’t learn how to cook, we will end up with pizza every night.”

“Nothing wrong with pizza,” Lex replied, proving that he had been listening to everything that was going on.

“I’m curious why a God and a demon know how to cook,” Rai added.

“We learned together,” I replied. “Bellamy used dirty tricks then, too.”

I palmed myself through my sweats. Although, the things he did when we were younger hadn’t left me hard as a rock. Well, not in his presence anyways.

“His mom showed us. She started with the easy stuff, like grilled cheese. I never got the hang of baking, but I can cook.” Bellamy flipped the pancakes with ease as he replied.

The elevator doors dinged before sliding open, then Tyler strolled into the penthouse.

“Hey, sorry I’m late.” He sniffed, his face scrunching up. “Did you burn something?”

“Alastor did. But I’ve got it under control now.” Bellamy laughed as he shot me a look.

“Actually, I am pretty sure he had a good handle on it until you came along,” Raiden said in my defense.

Bellamy just grinned and moved the done pancakes to an empty plate, before starting another batch.

Pushing away from the counter, I headed for the bathroom. Walking around with a hard-on was not an option. At the last second, I pivoted toward the bedroom. “I’m gonna wake Samantha up.”

Lex threw his arm over the back of the couch as he eyed me. “Tell her Ty is here, so she keeps it down.”

“Oh gross, I didn’t need to know that,” Tyler groaned as he folded into the armchair.

The guys' laughter followed behind me, but I was already focused on Sam’s sleeping form. She looked like an angel with her hair spread out on the white pillow and her lips parted softly with each slow measured breath. I trailed my fingers over her cheek, and she sucked in a deep breath as her eyes opened.

“Hey,” she whispered once she saw me. “Something smells good.”

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