Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
Soyer got there fast, and while he kept to his word and didn’t scare off the group of four who sat at his table with their black wings folded neatly behind them, he did make Ben leave. Personally, I figured that was a good thing. Maybe Ben had been inspired and would take the writer some flowers.
Elias stopped by too, and he monopolized my time and attention for a good hour. The patrons came and went, but at one point, we had to make them wait for a place to sit, which wasn’t something I had ever seen at the Moonlight.
As busy as the grand opening to the underground was, the day went by fast, and all in all, things were uneventful. The Wednesday was much the same—still busy enough to keep the four of us occupied and Kasey without much of a break in the kitchen.
Thanksgiving rolled around quickly as a result, and I woke to an empty bed. I stretched out and turned over to Soyer’s side, but the sheets there were already cool to the touch. My firebird had flown our nest and let me sleep all by myself.
He’d left my bathrobe out for me though, and I slipped it on as I made my way downstairs, where he was already busy in the kitchen. Specifically, he was taking a knife to a really big pumpkin.
“Where the heck did you get that monster?”
I was still on the stairs, so he had to look up at me, his lips curling smugly. “I bought it from a greengrocer. She delivered it today and kept to my exact specifications. Isn’t it nice to get just what you want?”
I frowned. “Soyer, I think I’ve discovered your secret. You enjoy taking your fancy knives to innocent gourds.”
“Well, there goes my mysterious background. Do you want coffee? I can’t have you eat anything before dinner, unfortunately, but you can try some of the cookies once they’re done.”
He gestured at the oven, which was already running, not preheating like I had thought.
“You’re making cookies? Like, Christmas cookies?”
“No. They’re gingerbread spice cookies.”
“But that’s the same.”
“Mine are good, Christmas cookies are frivolous. Now, do you want coffee or not?”
I leaned on the counter, looking at his gourd. Its skin was shiny, spotless, and I could see towels and even a brush next to the sink. He’d probably scrubbed it down; not an easy feat given the size of the thing.
“Yes, please. Did you know that I’m perfectly capable of pouring it myself?”
He put his fancy Japanese knife aside, wiped his hands, and got a mug from the overhead cabinet.
It was one of the new ones he’d bought from the Pottery, big but light, with the little black kitten on the side.
He’d caught me smiling at the set, and that was enough for it to go in his shopping basket.
“You are? I had no clue. But that seems kind of risky. You might get ideas about going through my cabinets in search of hidden jewelry, and I can’t have that, Amory.”
I poked his pumpkin, running my finger along the deep ridges. I wasn’t sure, but this one looked like a muscat squash to me. I liked those, remembered my mom cooking one once, though not this size.
“I already found all the hidden jewelry I want in your cabinets.”
He put a cup of steaming coffee in front of me. “Good, then there’s no reason for you to not let me serve you.” He picked his knife back up. “You want to watch?”
“Yeah, although you sound a little too excited. Wouldn’t want to be the pumpkin.”
“Would you rather be a fairy-tale princess who travels by pumpkin?”
“I guess.”
He nodded. “I’ll remember that.”
His knives were very sharp, but getting through the shell still looked like work, and I was more than a little worried that he’d slip and cut himself. But if anything, the meticulous work made Soyer extremely focused on his task. With him in that state, the pumpkin didn’t stand a chance.
“Can I at least help with cleaning it?” I asked him. Soyer was arm deep in pumpkin guts, which went into a stainless-steel bowl next to him. Even the seeds were pretty big.
“No, I can see how that would end. I’d want to undress you. It’s simply too distracting, Amory. Have mercy.”
I moved my weight from one foot to the other. “Fine, but I’m getting myself another cup of coffee. Watch me.”
“Oh, I can see you.”
He sounded firm, almost like the big Black Shuck he wanted to be, and he was indeed watching me, his sharp, unflinching attention in overdrive. I thought maybe this was a dare. I went for the coffee he’d had ready before I’d even come down the stairs.
“I’m picking up the thermos.”
“Yes, I can see that.” He plopped a handful of pumpkin guts into the bowl, flicking his fingers. I heard the juice splashing against the metal.
“Opening it.”
“Yeah. That’s how that works.”
“And pouring.”
“Oh, Amory.”
The thing was, he didn’t sound pissed. He sounded delighted. He tossed another handful of seeds and slippery stuff into the bowl, then walked toward me.
“Uh, your hand.”
Before I could escape, he was right in front of me, caging me in against the counter.
“This hand?” He tipped my chin up with it. His fingers were cold, and he smelled of freshly sliced vegetable.
“Careful. I don’t want to spill hot coffee on you.”
My voice was a husky mess. I couldn’t even blame waking up early for that. No, this was all Soyer. His presence, his attention. I couldn’t escape him. I didn’t want to escape him.
“I understand. In that case, you’re going to have to really concentrate. You have to make sure you don’t spill anything.”
“But—”
He pulled my bathrobe open. I’d been tired last night, and I’d just fallen asleep in Soyer’s arms. I was still wearing my boxers, and he was looking at me now, almost as if I were another vegetable he was sizing up for his oven.
“Did you enjoy getting yourself coffee, hmm?”
“I—I—”
He placed his hand above the waistband of my boxers before raising his gaze and looking into my eyes.
“Did you?”
“Maybe a little.”
“Ah. But what did I get to enjoy? I didn’t get to pour you that refill, and I didn’t get to see you smile and thank me for it. I have to do something about that, Amory.”
“Soyer…”
“I want to touch you. Is that okay?”
“R-right here?”
“Oh, I’ll clean up after, don’t you worry about that. May I?”
“Okay, but…” His fingers skimmed past the elastic, making me shiver all over. “I don’t know. I forgot.”
He chuckled. “Good. That’s good. You hold on to that coffee cup. Make sure you don’t spill anything.”
“Oka—fuck!”
He’d used only his first two fingers to graze the head of my cock, and it was enough to make me tremble, very nearly spilling the hot liquid on him.
“Ssh, watch that cup, Amory.”
“S-Soyer…”
With his other hand, he pulled my boxers down so that I was naked before him. Except I didn’t feel naked. I felt sheltered by Soyer, by the way his body was positioned in front of mine, almost as if he were ready to protect me from any danger, even here in our home, this place he guarded so well.
“Yes. I was watching you closely, pouring yourself that coffee. Perhaps you’ll know better next time to let me do that for you. To let yourself be served instead of trying to rob me of the moment when you thank me for it.”
“I-I just—”
He touched me, his hand slick from where he’d pulled seeds and other sticky innards from the pumpkin.
I gasped when his thumb pressed on my tip, putting pressure right on my slit, then circled around it.
His eyes were bright, and he looked at me eagerly, as if I were a fruit whose shell he wanted to crack to get to the juices.
“You just wanted to do what you know you’re not supposed to, but that’s fine.
This way, you know what happens, and then the next time when you’d rather rob me of the chance of giving a gorgeous man a cup of coffee, you know there will be consequences.
” He leaned in and whispered in my ear. “Few things in life are as satisfying as consequences. Watch that cup, my heart.”
I did. Or tried to. It was difficult to keep the hot liquid from spilling when Soyer was touching me.
I had no idea whether it was his vast experience or just that he knew me so well, but I was close already, just from his touch, and he kept up the pressure, kept watching me.
I had no proof, but I was pretty sure that only some kind of minor catastrophe could’ve made him look away from me in this very moment.
I moaned. I was so close, about to come between us and make a mess all over the both of us.
I wanted to tell him, wanted to ask him for a towel maybe, but I wasn’t quite sure what to say to him, couldn’t string the words together.
I could barely keep an eye on the cup while he was giving me this handjob.
Soyer licked his lips when I clenched my thigh muscles and sucked on my own bottom lip, and he sped up, making my head drop back.
“Soyer!”
I came in hot waves, and the slick stickiness spread between us. Then I remembered I was holding a hot drink and looked up, all my muscles trembling with pleasure, Soyer’s hand still on me.
I’d spilled, both cum and coffee. The mess of it had run down my belly and dripped to the floor. I was standing in a puddle, and right in front of me, Soyer looked like a man under a spell.
“Beautiful.” He released me and then licked his fingers.
“You…you have pumpkin guts on there.”
“Hmm. Can barely taste that. It’s your flavor that comes through.”
I took a few deep breaths, willing my heart to slow down. “Even over the coffee?”
“Yes.” He let out a long breath, then took my now only half-full cup from me. “You can go shower now. I’ll have a fresh cup waiting for you when you come back downstairs.” I blinked and looked at him. At his crotch, specifically. Soyer chuckled. “What? Did you want more of a show?”
“No, but are you okay?”
He ran the knuckles of his juice-free hand over my cheek. “Are you worrying that I didn’t enjoy making you come in my kitchen? That’s cute, but unnecessary. Think of this as a pagan ritual to bless this harvest kitchen with the fertile seed from a man’s loins.”
I snorted, then broke out laughing. “You think my fertile seed is any good for that? Really?”
He shrugged. “That’s the thing about ritual. Doesn’t matter what your intention is; the show is all that matters. Smoke and mirrors. The first magic shows were tinged with prayer.”
I curled my toes in the messy puddle I was standing in, possibly spreading the mess even farther. “That from a man who’s going to make this huge pumpkin disappear in his oven.”
“Oh, that? Yes, I guess that’s magic. Now, to perform that trick, I need the audience to leave me be. Go take your shower, my heart. The cookies will be done right when you come back downstairs.”
I put the cup aside and draped my arms around his neck instead. “You could’ve told me you don’t want to be disturbed while you cook.”
“I don’t mind having you here, and you can’t disturb me. Just don’t help yourself around my kitchen when I’m here, hmm?”
I leaned my forehead against his, enjoying the closeness.
“I have to say yes to that, you know. You asked very nicely.”
His dark eyes met mine. “Damn right I did.”