Chapter Nine
No one could possibly know how much Kash hated leaving a sleeping Ledger behind.
But Ajax had a job for Kash and Kash had to do what he had to do.
This was life. Kash still worried Ledger would get sick of this at some point.
He knew he was good. There was no danger on the horizon.
Prince Noir had his back. He had complete faith in that, but what Ledger thought mattered.
As those thoughts took hold, Kash pulled into the parking lot of the first grocery store he came to on his way home.
His feet moved faster than necessary. Kash’s heart raced.
Panic pressed on his brain. Ledger couldn’t give up on him.
While Kash had lived his entire life having no one in his corner, Ledger had always been there until Kash had disappeared to save Ledger from him.
Now Ledger was actually his, and he couldn’t go back to an empty life. Kash just couldn’t.
He headed straight for the flowers and grabbed the prettiest bouquet he saw.
They didn’t feel like enough. He eyed the balloons.
None of them fit his purpose. His mind raced to think of what else he could do.
He spotted a sign that marked the candy aisle.
As he moved that way, he saw an end cap with sundae toppings.
A smile stretched Kash’s lips. Yeah. That was what he needed.
He froze. Damn. He needed a cart or something.
Kash backtracked and found a hand basket.
He had to stack everything carefully inside, but he found every ingredient he could possibly need.
As he put the bags in the SUV, the hot fudge caught his attention. He froze. The past swept over him, unearthing a long-forgotten memory.
“I can’t believe how much stuff you bought. Surely, this many toppings will make the ice cream inedible.”
Ledger focused on Kash with a smile that made his breath catch. That had been happening all too often. Kash’s chest hurt. He shouldn’t beg the universe for the things that would never be, but here he was.
“You haven’t had my famous sundae yet. I promise you’ll love it.”
Kash shrugged. “I’ve only had the hot fudge sundae at that carhop joint next to work. It probably won’t take much to impress me.” Plus, Kash always loved everything Ledger made for him.
Ledger stared at him in silence long enough he wished he hadn’t admitted to that.
Before Kash could ask him to forget he said anything, Ledger shook his head.
“We definitely have to fix that. I promise it won’t be inedible.
The secret ingredient is love.” He winked. It got harder for Kash to breathe.
“Yeah. I’d eat that.”
They held each other’s stare. Neither of them looked away, but they also didn’t show an ounce of emotion.
The microwave dinged. “Shit. I forgot to stop this to check it every fifteen seconds.” He grabbed a potholder and pulled the jar from the microwave.
The glass container slipped from the slick glove and shattered on the floor, sending hot glass and lava-temperature fudge flying.
Ledger jumped backward, narrowly escaping the splatter.
Kash flew into action. He threw his arm out in front of Ledger, physically pushing Ledger away from the mess.
“I’ve got this. Don’t move. I don’t want you to cut your feet.
” Once he was certain Ledger wouldn’t move, Kash rushed to put on his shoes.
After stomping into his work boots, he grabbed the broom.
Kash immediately set to work, making sure not a single sliver of glass stayed behind.
He glanced up and found Ledger watching him with an expression Kash didn’t understand.
With his elbows braced on the countertop, Ledger rolled a glass container between his hands.
When Kash caught him staring, Ledger held up the jar.
“It’s a good thing I bought two.” They burst into laughter.
Kash had no idea why, but—as always with Ledger—he was having a great time. He never wanted the night to end.
Kash still felt the same way every day with Ledger. He couldn’t let that end.
Ledger stood inside the refrigerator door and zoned out. He wanted something, but he didn’t know what. There was a craving he couldn’t place. Kash was gone, and Ledger felt aimless. Maybe if he ate something sweet, he would be satisfied. Something just felt off.
The back door opened, and Kash came through the door. He toed off his shoes. Ledger eyed the gorgeous bouquet of various flowers and bags of groceries hooked on his arm. Kash kept his gaze locked on his feet.
“On the way home, I realized I really need to get another car. If anything happens while I’m out, you won’t have anything but my old car. I can’t have that.”
He looked up.
Ledger watched his every move.
Kash smiled. “Hey, baby. I got you flowers.”
A smile exploded across Ledger’s face. “I was hoping those were for me.”
Kash looked confused. “Who else would they be for?”
A chuckle rumbled from Ledger. “You really need to learn when I’m joking.”
Kash’s expression cleared. “Oh, sorry.”
Ledger furrowed his brow. “Is everything okay?”
Kash closed the distance between them and stole a kiss. “Come see what else I got.”
Ledger didn’t press. Kash had always fought against dark thoughts. Ledger pushing wouldn’t help anything. Kash needed happiness to dissipate the ugliness.
“What did you get? I was just searching for something.”
Kash set everything on the island.
Ledger joined him and smelled the flowers.
He spun the vase, looking at the bouquet from every direction.
“These are beautiful. Thank you.” His gaze caught on the items Kash pulled from the bag.
“Oh, my god. It’s like you read my mind.
I haven’t eaten a sundae in years.” The dessert reminded him too much of Kash. Now he couldn’t wait to dive in.
Kash pulled two jars of hot fudge from the bag.
Ledger burst into laughter.
Kash flashed him a smile. “Just in case.”
Ledger shook his head. “I’ll never live down that destruction.”
In a move Ledger didn’t see coming, Kash suddenly plucked Ledger from his feet and set him on the counter next to his haul.
He pulled Ledger to the edge and stood between Ledger’s knees.
His gaze never moved from holding Ledger’s stare.
“I can’t eat ice cream anymore without remembering how badly I wanted to eat that sundae off your sexy body. ”
Ledger licked his lips nervously. Sometimes, Kash was more intense than usual. Ledger couldn’t stop himself from embracing the fact he had wanted the same thing. “Do it.”
A heartbeat passed. Kash snatched the bags and Ledger. Ledger wrapped his legs around Kash and hung on for the ride. When Kash lowered him onto the bed, Ledger scrambled out of his clothes while Kash stripped. Once they were nude, they dove into the bags.
Ledger found the whipped cream first. “Hell yeah.” He squirted Kash’s cock as fast as possible so he could get the drop on Kash. Ledger had Kash’s dick in his mouth before Kash could react.
“Fuck.” Kash grabbed his hair. For a second, Ledger thought Kash might pull away. Instead, his grip tightened. “Damn. I can’t let it go down like this.” He gently pushed Ledger away. “We’re in this together.”
Ledger watched Kash twist the lid off a caramel jar. He didn’t hesitate to slide back and make room for Kash to sit on his face. “Yes. I want it.”
Kash passed Ledger the whipped cream he abandoned. Once Ledger was settled, Kash straddled him where Ledger could do whatever he wanted. Kash poured caramel over Ledger’s hard cock, making him squirm. “Delicious.”
The sexy way that word left Kash’s lips had him poised on the edge of a knife. He always felt like Kash would make him come in two seconds. Ledger wasn’t going down alone.
Kash sucked Ledger’s dick, like he wanted every drop of that caramel. Ledger didn’t need more whipped cream. He had Kash down his throat.
Kash moaned around Ledger’s cock. Ledger lifted his hips, chasing the sound.
Kash whimpered, and suddenly, Ledger had all the patience in the world.
Before the end of the night, they would have to throw these bed coverings away, and Ledger would taste every item in those bags on Kash’s body.
This was his version of heaven. He could spend eternity right here.