Candy Hearts, Vol. 2

Chapter 6

Hawthorne House was the most magical place Ean had ever known. For the last several days, he’d felt like he was living in a dream there with Leland. He felt safe, warm, and cared for, which he hadn’t even felt growing up. He’d had enough to eat every day, and no one had shouted at him or told him off for hanging around and basically taking Leland’s cooking classes for free.

And now a man he’d never met before was offering him a job? A real job?

“Ladies and gentlemen, could I have your attention, please,” Mr. Hawthorne called out, tapping his glass.

Ean’s thoughts continued to spin as the room went quiet. A real job working in a kitchen. If it was anything like the last couple days had been, he knew he could do it. Cooking wasn’t something that required a ton of reading. Not once he knew and understood the recipe. And if the people in the kitchen at The Chameleon Club were half as nice as Leland, they would help him.

Leland. All of Ean’s hopes flattened when he thought about leaving Leland.

Maybe it was a good thing that Mr. Hawthorne’s speech snagged his attention and cut his thoughts short.

“We’re so pleased to welcome you all here to Hawthorne House for our first annual Valentine’s Day supper,” he was in the middle of saying. “This year has brought a lot of changes to Hawthorne House, but one of my favorites is this trend we’ve started of hosting delicious suppers.”

A few people laughed and a few others applauded.

“Rest assured, we definitely have plans to continue this tradition,” Mr. Hawthorne went on. “We might even expand it to hosting suppers once a week, or at least once a month.”

“We haven’t talked about this yet, dear,” Mrs. Hawthorne said from where she was still seated at Mr. Hawthorne’s side.

A few more people laughed.

“Whatever the case,” Mr. Hawthorne went on, “we couldn’t do any of this without our amazing chef, Leland Page.”

He extended a hand to Leland and everybody in the room applauded for him. Ean applauded for him, too, but his anxiety was back in full force. Now that he had a job offer, maybe Leland would want to get rid of him. He didn’t have to feel responsible for him anymore. In fact, Ean didn’t want Leland to feel any sort of obligation to keep him around because he couldn’t take care of himself.

“Thank you,” Leland called out in answer to the applause. “But I couldn’t have done it without help from someone very special to me, Ean Jones. Ean and my teen class are responsible for the amazing cakes you’re enjoying.”

Ean sucked in a breath as the applause started up again. Only this time, everyone was looking at him.

Never in his life had a room full of people looked at him with smiles and appreciation, and no one had ever applauded for him. He didn’t know how to feel about it, and he definitely didn’t know how to react.

For a second, he thought he might pass out. But Leland reached for his hand and held it tightly. That gave Ean the courage to smile and wave at the room.

“I’d also like to thank Rhys’s painting class for the colorful artwork on the walls,” Mr. Hawthorne went in.

Ean didn’t have enough working brain to pay attention to what he was saying. Not only did he need Leland to give him the strength to keep standing, the man at the table who said he would hire him pulled out a business card and handed it to him.

“Give me a call when you’re ready,” the man said.

Everything was a whirlwind from there. Mr. Hawthorne finished speaking and Leland nudged Ean into motion. They had more cakes to deliver to people, and once that was done, they returned to the kitchen to eat their own suppers before the massive clean-up began.

“Truly, you’ve done an amazing job,” Mr. Hawthorne said when he came into the kitchen half an hour later, as the clean-up hit full swing. “I don’t know if it’s Leland’s teaching prowess or your natural talent, but those cakes were amazing. The biscuit you made for Janice earlier was incredible as well. You do amazing things with sugar.”

“It’s all Ean,” Leland said, wiping his hands on a towel as he moved to stand by Ean’s side. He slipped an arm around Ean’s waist, smiled at him, then continued with, “I don’t know what I’d do without him.”

“Interesting,” Mr. Hawthorne said, rubbing his chin. “You know, if we continue to host these suppers, we might need regular help in the kitchen. It might even become a staff position.” He glanced to Leland, raising his eyebrows a bit, like he was asking an even deeper question.

All Leland said in return was, “We have a lot to talk about.”

Ean’s heart plummeted again and stayed in his stomach after Mr. Hawthorne left and they continued with the washing up. If his life had taught him anything, it was that he should never trust it when things seemed to be going well. Chances were Leland’s talk would involve telling him to go away because he wasn’t wanted anymore.

Then again, Leland had kissed him. On the cheek, but still. He’d been flirting earlier, Ean was sure. And that was without taking the sexual tension in the air between them.

Ean dreaded it when they finished tidying up the kitchen and Leland extended a hand to take his. “Come on,” he said, his expression all concern. “Let’s go upstairs and talk about things.”

“Okay,” Ean croaked.

He cleared his throat and took Leland’s hand, letting himself be led like a lost lamb. The truth was that he felt incredibly lost. He’d been lost and Leland had found him. Now he was afraid that if Leland let go, he’d be lost forever, even if Mr. Patrick Tate had offered him a job.

It almost made things worse that Leland’s flat felt like home once they got upstairs. Leland directed him to sit on the couch, then made tea for them. By the time he brought it to the couch and sat with him, Ean was shaking.

“You think I should take the job at The Chameleon Club, don’t you,” he blurted without so much as sipping his tea. “You don’t want me here anymore. You want to go back to your life.”

“What? No!” Leland blinked.

He took the mug of tea out of Ean’s hand as fast as he’d given it to him and put both their mugs on the coffee table. That felt like a metaphor for everything in Ean’s life.

“I’m in the way,” Ean blurted, flailing a little. How could he not flail when everything he’d ever wanted and finally got was being taken away from him? “You don’t want me here. I’m just some random guy who showed up in your life a few days ago, and now you want me gone.”

“No,” Leland said, catching his hands and holding them tightly between the two of them. “Sugar, that’s not it at all.”

Tears stung at Ean’s eyes over the sweet name Leland had started calling him.

“I know that it might seem like I only brought you here because I felt sorry for you,” Leland went on. “And I definitely do feel responsible for you. But it’s so much more than that. I’ve always liked you, Ean. I’ve always wanted you. These last few days have been absolutely wonderful. I’ve enjoyed having you around so much.”

“But now you want me to go,” Ean said, fighting not to cry. Leland couldn’t possibly want someone as emotionally fragile as him. He never used to cry like this, but life had become much too much for him.

“Hey, listen,” Leland said, stopping his spiraling emotions by cradling the side of his face. “Just listen to me without jumping to conclusions, okay?”

Ean swallowed and nodded tightly. He could do this. He could sit there and listen to Leland burst the happy bubble he’d been living in for five beautiful days.

“I don’t want you to leave,” Leland said. He stopped there, pressed his lips together, and seemed to think about things before he went on. “Okay, I’m going to be really blunt, because I feel like you’re expecting me to say one thing, and if I don’t spell things out really clearly, you might misunderstand me.”

Ean wasn’t sure what that meant, but he nodded.

Leland took a deep breath, then said, “I really like you, Ean. I liked you years ago, but in these last few days, I’ve seen a whole other side of you. You’re still the same Ean I was friends with back then, but you’re so much stronger now, and you’ve been through so much.”

“I’m not strong,” Ean blurted, even though he was pretty sure he wasn’t supposed to talk. “I can’t take care of myself. I just want someone to take care of me. I want you to take care of me. Like, a lot. I’m not sure it’s right. You probably think I’m pointless and stupid.”

“Ssh.” Leland touched a finger to Ean’s lips, sending a shiver of longing through him. “I don’t think you’re stupid or weak,” he said. “If I’m totally honest, I like how you need to lean on me for support. I keep thinking that maybe it’s a bit wrong for me to like it so much, but if what I’m hearing is right, you want what I want.”

“I want to stay here, with you,” Ean whispered, afraid that everything would evaporate as soon as the words were out.

But Leland smiled and continued to caress Ean’s face. “I want you here with me, too,” he said. “I can’t tell you how jealous I felt when Tate offered you a job. If I didn’t know it before, I knew it then. I don’t want you to leave. I want you to stay with me as mine, my friend, my boyfriend, maybe other things, I don’t know.”

Ean blinked, hardly believing what he was hearing. “You…want me?”

“So much, sugar,” Leland said.

He clasped Ean’s face with both hands and leaned in to kiss his lips.

It was everything Ean had ever dreamed of in a kiss and more. Leland was powerful and demanding. He turned Ean’s bones to jelly with the strength of his want. And he was a damn good kisser, too. He knew how to use his lips and tongue and everything. Ean had so little experience with really good kisses that he could only hover there, eyes closed, letting Leland have everything.

“I want you, too,” Ean managed to push out when they broke for air. “I want everything. I want to stay with you, and I want to go to bed with you.”

He gasped when he realized what had just come out of his mouth.

But instead of looking at him in disgust or jumping him and taking what he wanted right there on the couch, Leland smiled. He smiled with a light in his eyes that seemed to come straight from his heart.

“Honestly, I want that, too,” he said. “I’ve wanted you under me since that first night.”

“You can have me,” Ean said, scooting closer to him. “I’m a bottom. I like sucking cock. I think I’d really like it if you fucked me.”

Leland laughed, then silenced his verbal bomb with another mind-stopping kiss. It was everything Ean needed to settle his soul.

“First things first, sugar,” Leland said, breathless himself, when they broke apart. He looked deep into Ean’s eyes and said, “I don’t mind if you take a job at The Chameleon Club. I think you would do amazingly in a kitchen. But before you start panicking—” and Ean had definitely started panicking, “—I don’t want you to live there, in London. It’s an easy commute to The Chameleon Club from here by train, so I want you to stay here, with me.”

“You want me to live with you?” Ean asked, his voice rising an octave.

“Yes,” Leland said, smiling. “And even though I’m sure they’ll train you at the club, I want to keep you around for a few months first, giving you cooking lessons myself.”

Ean’s heart felt like it would leap out of his body. “But you’re, like, a master chef.”

“Yep.” Leland grinned. “So when you do walk into that kitchen, you’ll have had the best training that money can’t buy.”

“You would do that for me?” Ean squeaked, overflowing with emotion.

“I’d like to do a lot more than that for you,” Leland said, heat in his eyes.

Ean could only sit there and gape at him, gape at the amazing good fortune he’d stumbled into. And to think, it had all happened because he’d had a lottery ticket filled with the wrong numbers.

“I love you,” he blurted. Immediately, he squeezed his eyes shut and cursed himself. “Shit. I mean, I shouldn’t say things like that. I can’t just blurt?—”

“I love you, too, sugar,” Leland said.

Ean opened his eyes, amazed at the love he saw reflected back at him. “Really?”

Leland nodded. “I think I’ve loved you for years. I’m so lucky that fate brought us back together. I don’t ever want to let you go again.”

“Okay,” Ean said, bubbling with laughter. “I won’t go, then. I’ll stay here and be your friend, boyfriend, boy, lover, whatever you want me to be.”

“Sounds like a deal,” Leland said.

Ean was certain he looked and sounded ridiculous, but Leland made him feel the exact opposite of ridiculous when he surged forward hard enough to push him to his back. He splayed across the couch for a second, his body coming alive at the feel of Leland’s weight and the hard bulge in his trousers as it pressed into his thigh. Blood immediately rushed to all the right places in him as well, and as Leland slanted his mouth over his, stealing the air from his lungs with a kiss, his cock perked up and pressed wantonly against Leland’s belly.

It was glorious. Ean didn’t have a ton of experience, and the experiences he’d had hadn’t been that great. But Leland was so big and sure of himself that even though worry poked at the back of his brain, he could ignore it and just focus on how turned-on he was.

They lay there, kissing and touching each other, getting hotter by the second, for a few long and lazy minutes. Then Leland pulled back, panting, his chef trousers tented in front of him.

“Do you want to go to bed with me?” he asked, extending a hand to Ean. “I have lube and condoms in my bedroom.”

Ean felt like he might leap out of his skin if he didn’t end up naked and spread in Leland’s bed within seconds. It was so considerate of him to be forthright and to make his intentions clear, too. He nodded and reached up to take Leland’s hand, ready for whatever Leland wanted.

“I’ll take good care of you, sugar,” Leland said, pulling him up, then leading him from the main room into the bedroom.

Everything was like a dream from there. They undressed, and when Ean had all his clothes off and tossed aside a few seconds faster than Leland, he rushed to help Leland undress the rest of the way. Part of that involved sinking to his knees as he helped Leland step out of his trousers and underwear.

Words weren’t going to happen with the state Ean was in, but he stayed on his knees and glanced questioningly up at Leland as he stroked his hands across Leland’s thighs.

“Only if you want to,” Leland murmured, brushing his fingers through Ean’s hair.

Ean definitely wanted to. He’d confessed to Leland a few days ago that he’d sucked a few cocks for money, but doing it now felt entirely different. He cupped Leland’s balls for a moment and nuzzled his face into Leland’s groin, breathing in the rich, salty scent of his skin. Leland’s hand went tight in his hair and he made a growling sound of appreciation, and that was before Ean ran his tongue up the underside of his cock, then closed his mouth over his head.

It was so amazing and so good to give pleasure to someone he really liked that way. Leland filled his mouth and had him salivating as he licked and teased his tip, then worked to take him as deep into his throat as he could. He didn’t even mind when his gag reflex kicked in a little.

Leland hissed and groaned with the pleasure Ean gave him. He widened his stance a little, kept a tight grip in Ean’s hair, and made a few involuntary thrusts into Ean’s throat as things grew more intense. Right or wrong, Ean loved it. He loved the feeling that Leland could do whatever he wanted to him, that he belonged to Leland.

“Okay,” Leland gasped, pulling back. “Too much more of that and I’ll come.”

“I don’t mind,” Ean said. In fact, his imagination instantly gave him a sexy fantasy of Leland coming in his face.

Leland laughed gently. “I do,” he said. “I want to come in a different part of you.”

Ean’s hole squeezed in anticipation. He scrambled up, practically throwing himself face down across Leland’s bed and offering his arse.

“I’m going to unpack this later,” Leland said, climbing into the bed and pulling Ean into his arms. “But for now, I’m just going to say that’s not how I want you.”

He turned Ean until he was on his back, and once he’d slotted himself between Ean’s legs, he stroked and caressed him while spinning his head with another soul-deep kiss.

Somewhere in the back of his head, dots connected and Ean realized this was what sex was supposed to be like. He only touched that thought momentarily before throwing everything he had into kissing Leland and embracing him with his entire body. Leland was so gentle but demanding and confident in what he wanted at the same time. He kissed Ean everywhere, nibbling on his neck, licking his nipples, and finally spreading him and bending him like a pretzel to get him just the way he wanted him.

Better still, he was attentive and considerate, putting on a condom and using the lube and his fingers to get Ean ready. It was more than any of the few partners Ean had been with before had ever done, and by the time Leland pushed in, taking his time as he went deeper and stretched Ean farther, the pain was minimal and the pleasure was amazing.

Ean relaxed into it, closing his eyes for a second and losing himself in how perfect it felt to be with Leland like that. Leland was everything to him, his friend, his savior, and the best lover he’d ever had. He couldn’t help but make truly porny sounds as Leland moved faster in him, and when he started to come, he cried out Leland’s name.

It was pure heaven, especially when Leland started to come only moments after him. The two of them were wrapped up in each other, as close to being one as two people could get, and it was perfect. The moment of bliss didn’t end when their orgasms subsided, or when Leland pulled out. He quickly disposed of the condom, then snuggled under the sheets with Ean, spooning him from behind.

“I’m so glad I found you, sugar,” Leland whispered, kissing Ean’s neck.

Ean twisted until he could kiss Leland’s lips. “I love you,” he said in reply. They were the only words he could think of, but they were the only words he needed.

I hope you’ve enjoyed Leland and Ean’s sweet little Valentine’s Day love story!