Staccato (Magnum Opus #2) - E.M. Lindsey Page 0,78

a fraction with Adam’s soft touch. “I don’t know,” he confessed. He used his free hand to rub his face, then laid his head back against the seat. The day had just been so damn much. First Catherine, and then the reality of his father’s situation. He just needed some peace. “I need to not think for a while.”

“Okay,” Adam told him. “Are you hungry? Our lunch was kind of interrupted.”

Nik let out a soft, pained laugh and shook his head. “No, but I’m assuming you are.”

Adam sighed. “Growing boy. And my T shots tend to make me a little extra hungry sometimes. Do you mind if we stop?”

Nik squeezed his fingers before setting their joined hands on top of Adam’s thigh. “I’ll cook for you. I’m no gourmet chef, but I can make us something. I just…I need to be home.” He knew his voice sounded small, pleading—weak, but Adam didn’t seem to mind. He let Nik keep his hand as he pulled away from the hospital and started on the familiar drive.

Nik thought cooking would be a self-imposed form of torture, just another way to get him to keep his hands off Adam, but it ended up being soothing. He whipped up a quick stir fry—stealing some of the vegetables Van had prepped for the week to cook for their dad, and he threw chicken in, and started a pot of rice.

Adam had kissed him when they got in the door, a short, perfunctory thing, then disappeared, and Nik was grateful that his lover understood what he needed—even if he hadn’t understood it right away himself. Just a moment to gather himself before he could give himself fully to Adam.

He plated all the food in one big bowl, then set it on a tray and added water before he headed for the stairs. He took them slowly, careful not to spill, and as he reached the landing, he heard something. Music. It wasn’t classical—an electric guitar, a keyboard, an electric bass. The voice was rough as it came out through Nik’s speakers, a deep rumble with melody that was oddly haunting and captivating for all that it was untrained.

He paused in the doorway, but the music turned down, letting him know Adam saw him walk in. “Is it dark in here?”

“Nope. I stole Van’s lamp again. I don’t have your whole eating without watching my hands skill yet.”

Nik laughed as he found the bed with his foot, then slid the tray onto the mattress. “Yet?”

“Why not. Anything you can do…”

“I can do better?” Nik finished. He reached hands out, and Adam took them, rising from where he was seated, and he crowded into Nik’s space. “We don’t need to compete. Your skills have already impressed me.”

Adam snorted a laugh, nosing along Nik’s cheek before trailing kisses against his warm skin. “Don’t want to let the romance die. What did you cook for us?”

“Stir fry,” Nik said. “Nothing authentic or fancy. Van already had some zucchini, squash, and asparagus chopped and washed, so I took it.”

Adam took a step back, letting their hands part in a slow drag, then he grunted as the headboard knocked against the wall. “Are you taking food out of your dad’s mouth to feed me?”

Nik’s stomach sank a bit as he settled next to his boyfriend and pulled the bowl close. “He won’t be eating it.”

There was a pointed silence, then Adam’s heavy breath. “Fuck.”

Nik didn’t want to talk about it, so he didn’t answer, instead spearing chicken and vegetables on his fork and shoving them into his mouth. Adam didn’t push him to keep talking. Instead, he nestled close and sighed.

“Feed me?”

Nik raised his brows. “You want me to shove a fork toward your face? Feeling brave tonight?”

Adam laughed. “More like lazy. I’ll meet you half-way.”

Nik couldn’t hide his grin as he speared more of the food, then held it up over the bowl. He felt Adam shift, heard the scrape of teeth along the metal, and the fork got lighter. “Well?”

“Very tasty for a man who can’t cook.”

“I never said I couldn’t, it’s just not my favorite thing,” Nik defended. He ate a bit himself, then held another bite for Adam, who quickly took it. “Thank you for picking me up.”

Adam nuzzled against his shoulder, and Nik heard more than felt when he dropped a kiss there. “I’m sorry I had to. Do you want to talk about what happened this afternoon?”

“No,” Nik confessed, then he felt a wash of guilt because