All Kidding Aside - Macy Blake Page 0,43

me, and that’s saying something.”

Victor had considered it, but the list of people they would trust with the sensitive matters Victor dealt with could be counted on one hand. Eduard trusted him to handle their family business, and the only way he’d managed to let go of the reins was because Victor had been right there to pick them up. Of course, Victor hadn’t been in the midst of multiple construction projects at the time. And he hadn’t been distracted by… anything else.

He just needed to find a few more hours in the day, that was all. He could get up earlier and… Victor glanced at Riggs. But that would mean leaving the warmth of Riggs’s big body in bed. And that had proven to be more difficult than Victor imagined it would be. He’d been surviving on only a few hours of sleep each night for years. Now, he wanted to stay curled in bed for days, soaking up Riggs’s warmth… and soaking up whatever else Riggs offered.

Victor shivered, remembering the night before. Riggs had filled him so completely but held such tight control. Victor had never experienced anything like it in his life. Exquisite pleasure. Even remembering how it had felt to come on Riggs’s cock, those slow, maddening strokes bringing him to the brink and holding him there precariously until Riggs had finally given in and let them both find release.

Riggs’s hand trailed up his thigh, and Victor looked to find him staring, as if he, too, had remembered the night before. “Time to eat.”

Shelly moved deftly through the tables toward them with a tray in hand and a smile on her face. Ryan walked beside her, looking quite proud of himself. “Mr. Victor, I made you my special stir-fry. It has chicken and broccoli and carrots and peppers. And teriyaki sauce. I didn’t make that, though. It is served with a side of coconut rice.” Ryan beamed and looked up at Shelly. “Did I do it right?”

“Perfect,” Shelly said. She placed the plates in front of Victor and Riggs with a smile. “Enjoy.”

“Ryan, it smells incredible,” Victor said. And he meant it. “Excellent work. Kudos.”

Ryan smiled even wider and leaned against Shelly. “What’s kudos mean?”

“That means highest praise,” Riggs said. “And Ryan, this is the best stir-fry I’ve ever had in my life. I’d like to say more, but—” Riggs stuffed another forkful into his mouth, earning a delighted giggle from the boy.

“Thank you.”

“Chickey!” Gus exclaimed, reaching for the food on Victor’s plate.

Victor captured his greedy little fingers. “Let’s use our spoon, Gus.”

“Poon!”

“You’re tormenting me, aren’t you? Every word but my name.”

“Bird!”

Riggs snickered, earning a glare from Victor. Gus used the distraction to snag a piece of chicken off Victor’s plate and shove it into his mouth.

“I cannot win with you two!”

Gus beamed at him. He had ketchup all over his face. In his hair. Down his bib. And Victor couldn’t help but smile back. “Such a mess.”

Gus snagged another piece of chicken and held it up to Victor’s mouth. “Chickey!”

Victor tried to guide his little arm, but Gus insisted. Victor finally caved and took the bite from his fingers.

“Yay!” Gus clapped and ketchup splattered all over the place.

“Eat,” Riggs said.

Victor swallowed the bite in his mouth, trying to pretend it hadn’t come from the grubbiest, if cutest, fingers in existence. He pushed Gus’s plate back in front of him and moved his own out of reach. There was only so much he could handle.

“Want me to take him?”

And that was the problem. Victor didn’t know what he wanted. His thoughts and emotions were in turmoil, and he didn’t understand why.

“I’ve got him.” Victor concentrated on his food while making sure Gus actually chewed the food he continued to shovel into his mouth. He stole a glance at Riggs and found Riggs staring at him with that same unreadable expression.

Victor fought the urge to squirm in his seat. He wasn’t the type to be wrapped up in emotion. He dealt in numbers. One plus one equaled two. It was as simple as that. He didn’t want… this. Whatever this was. Victor wasn’t even sure he could define it. And yet, the thought of not having grubby ketchup-covered fingers trying to steal the chicken off his fork shook him to his depths. The thought of going to bed at night without the warmth and security of Riggs’s big form behind him was unfathomable.

He needed to nip this entire thing in the bud quickly. But he didn’t want