Short Stack - Lily Morton Page 0,85
here, it’s likely to fall off.”
“I hope not,” I say huskily, rubbing my hand over the front of his jeans. I smile as I feel him harden.
“Never that,” he mutters. He looks around as if surprised to find that we’re still at the foot of the stairs. He looks at his watch and pulls me after him. “Come on. I promised you a fuck in the shower, and then we’ve got the Christmas carols to go to.” He smiles. “Then a nice meal and Christmas presents in the morning by the tree.”
I grin. “It’s not exactly Pornhub, is it?”
“No, but then that’s the site that gives people the impression that twinks seem to fall out of the sky fully lubed and ready to go.”
“Is that bitterness I detect?”
He grins. “Not likely. I like that you’re not self-lubricating. I enjoy taking care of that.”
I wrinkle my nose as he pulls me down the long gallery towards our apartment. “That is the least sexy thing you’ve ever said to me.”
Silas chuckles. “Stick around, baby. We’ve only been together a few months.”
He glances up at the walls, and his steps stutter before he stops altogether.
“You okay?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “Oz, I’m having some sort of non-drink-induced hallucination.”
“That sounds fun,” I say peaceably. “Why?”
“Because I could swear that all my ancestral portraits have red noses stuck on them.”
“Well, that’s not a hallucination.” He stares at me, and I smile happily. “I did it this morning.” I look up at the portraits. “Personally, I like it. It makes them look positively jaunty, which, let’s face it, is a massive step up from being on the brink of a homicidal rampage.”
He glances at me again before walking down the long line of miserable gits. When he reaches the one on the end of his father, he stares up at it for a long enough time for me to start getting worried. Have I overdone it? Then he starts to laugh. Great breathless laughter that shakes his body and makes tears appear in his eyes.
“Oh fuck,” he chokes, looking up at his father’s grim red face before giving another peal of laughter.
I bite my lip, trying not to laugh because Silas is seriously contagious when he’s like this. Finally, he gets himself in control and reaches into his pocket to draw out his phone.
“What are you doing?” I ask curiously.
He grins. “Taking a picture for Henry.” He looks at the phone and starts laughing again. “Fuck, that’s funny. I wish the old bastard had worn that all the time. It might have made him more approachable.”
“Let’s not go too far. It’s a red nose, not a fucking miracle.”
That sets him off again, and I shake my head, grabbing his arm and towing him after me. “Come on. Let’s get back on our schedule. We’ve got time to fit in a fuck if we minimise shower time and après-sex cuddling.”
He lets me tow him along, his face alight with laughter. “It’s like being sexually ordered around by a sergeant major.” He winks at me, and I try not to laugh. “It’s actually very erotic.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Silas. There’s no room on my list for role-play.”
The village church looks like it should be on the front of a Christmas card. It was built in Norman times and is utterly charming during the day, but tonight in the twilight it’s beautiful. It’s lit up with golden floodlights which shine on the old brick and make the snow around it glisten.
We crunch up the torch-lit path, following a trail of villagers. From the open doorway, comes the sound of the excited chatter of children and an organ playing Christmas carols.
The vicar waits at the door to greet people. After shaking his hand, I stand back slightly so he can speak to Silas. He does this with the accompaniment of a back-slapping hug and a thank you for Silas’s contribution to the fund for the church roof repair.
I smile at the people moving past us and take the time to admire the sight of Silas dressed in an expensive-looking navy suit with a white shirt and red tie. He looks very fine indeed in the more formal clothes even though his hair is quite wild and needs a cut and I’m sure his beard is approaching biblical proportions.
I look down at my own outfit of skinny black trousers and a white shirt with a thin black tie over which I’m wearing my black peacoat. I’ve even broken out