Chapter Four
Kuba’s nausea had nausea. He stared at the pancakes in front of him and tried not to gag. Any other day, he would be thrilled to have a homemade breakfast. It turned out an entire bottle of rum didn’t like to stay down. He wondered if he looked as bad as he felt.
Nova was a morning person. She flitted around the kitchen, full of happy chatter.
Kuba kept a smile in place only by the grace of God.
Diesel looked fine. Of course, he had spent his adult years next to partying rock stars and whatnot.
Kuba had spent his years with the strictest of disciplines.
His diet didn’t include alcohol. He could honestly die.
In fact, Kuba would have to feel better to die.
Fingertips caressed the back of his neck. Kuba’s eyes fell closed. He wanted more. Unfortunately, he didn’t think Diesel meant the move to feel quite so intimate. Kuba wasn’t sure Diesel saw anything about himself at all. He had a strange, awkward innocence for such a sexy as fuck guy.
Diesel leaned his way. “Drink the coffee I made and eat the toast. I promise you’ll feel better afterward.” The words were said quietly against his ear while Nova worked on making Christmas treats and chatted about opening gifts after breakfast.
Kuba fought the urge to lean closer. Instead, he tried to do as Diesel suggested. He started with the corner of the toast and then moved to sipping the coffee when he didn’t gag.
“Good. You’ve got this.”
Kuba fought for his life for a different reason.
How did this man not know Kuba would shove this sickness all the way to the back burner if Diesel would stop teasing him?
Jesus, he had never wanted anyone so badly.
Diesel wasn’t like anyone he had ever met.
The guy genuinely had no idea how much he turned Kuba on.
Kuba hadn’t meant for these feelings to happen.
He hadn’t realized the way Diesel made him feel immediately.
At first, Kuba was intrigued and confused by Diesel.
Then they had sat side by side on that couch, and their gazes had met.
Holy shit. The instant he realized Diesel really looked at him with the same desire building inside Kuba, boom.
Everything had made sense. They had clocked each other immediately without even realizing it.
Now he didn’t have to feel weird about the way Diesel definitely made his dick hard.
Of course, there was still the pesky detail of Diesel working for him.
Kuba wouldn’t act on his desires. Maybe.
Possibly. He just really enjoyed the way he felt with Diesel.
Who was he kidding? He would totally act on his desires.
“Look at you. You got it down.”
Kuba glanced at his plate. Sure enough, the toast and coffee were gone. Diesel was right. He did feel better.
Kuba looked Diesel’s way. Their gazes met the way they tended to do and, as always, didn’t budge.
He wondered if Diesel realized how his every feature transformed when he looked at Kuba.
At first, Kuba had thought he imagined things.
There was no denying the matched desperation for long.
Diesel obviously had no plans of admitting it, but he definitely wanted Kuba too.
Diesel’s thumb stroked Kuba’s nape again, making Kuba realize Diesel’s arm rested on the back of Kuba’s chair.
The world disappeared. Diesel looked away first. He blushed.
Kuba followed Diesel’s gaze. Nova leaned against the counter and watched them while sipping her coffee.
Kuba was unbothered. He liked her. Kuba really liked her son.
It was best there were no misunderstandings from the start.
Her son was in danger with Kuba. She tried—badly—to hide a smile behind her coffee mug.
Kuba smirked. Nova winked, and it hit Kuba.
This invitation hadn’t been out of pity.
Nova was matchmaking, and Diesel was too clueless to notice a thing.
Kuba kind of wanted to laugh, but he also didn’t want to give away her game.
Diesel stood. “Let’s open presents.”
Kuba pushed to his feet and carried their dirty dishes to the sink. Diesel headed for the living room.
Nova leaned close and lowered her voice, speaking quietly and quickly as if she didn’t want Diesel to hear. “Good luck. He’s not an easy one to catch.”
“I’m not worried.”
With her laughter trailing behind her, Nova joined Diesel in the living room.
Kuba hesitated and took a deep breath. This was such a dumb move. Absolutely nothing about this would end well. He should back off now before it was too late. Kuba smelled him before he saw him. Whatever cologne he wore suited him perfectly.
Diesel’s palm slid across his lower back as Diesel moved to stand close. “Are you okay? Do you need something for nausea or a headache?”
Kuba returned to his cocky self. “Nah. I’m good. Let’s go do this thing.”
Diesel eyed him for a moment before nodding.
They made their way to the living room. A surprised laugh burst from Kuba when he spotted a filled stocking with his name on it waiting for him on the couch.
He felt like a kid again. Kuba picked it up and sat where it had been.
He eyed the large, bright red stocking that bulged with whatever was inside.
“Oh my god. This is awesome.” He looked Nova’s way.
She wore a bright, happy-looking smile. “I guess Santa knew where to find you.”
He shook his head. Kuba hadn’t gotten a stocking from Santa since he was twelve.
Diesel handed him a gold-wrapped present. “Merry Christmas.” He passed another box Nova’s way before Kuba decided how to react.
“Thank you.” He didn’t open the gift in case they had a traditional way of opening presents.
Diesel kept handing out gifts. He had five before all the presents were gone from beneath the tree, minus the bag of gifts he had brought.
“Go ahead and pass those out too.”
With a nod, Diesel placed another box on top of his waiting stack of gifts and then handed the last one to Nova. Diesel sat on the floor when he was finished. “Okay. Open up, guys.”
Kuba blinked in confusion. Diesel’s stack sat nearby on a recliner. “What about you?”
“I want to watch you two first. That’s my favorite part.”
Damn. Was this guy for real? There was no way he was for real. Kuba didn’t think people like Diesel existed. There had to be something terrible about him.
Diesel motioned for him to get started.
Kuba cautiously opened a gift. Discomfort sat heavily on him.
He did a lot of shit with thousands of fans watching.
Somehow opening a gift with Diesel watching, as if he was in more suspense than Kuba, was more nerve wrecking.
All of that was forgotten the second the wrapping paper fell away.
A smile exploded across his face. It was a Lego set.
Not just any set, but the LOTR’s one with the Eye of Sauron.
“Whoa. I love it.” He met Diesel’s stare.
Diesel smiled like an idiot. He really looked as if he enjoyed watching Kuba’s reaction as much as Kuba loved the gift. “How did you know?”
Diesel shrugged. “It’s my job to be observant. When you gave me a tour of your place, I noticed you have a hobby room, and you had all the LOTR sets but this one.”
Damn. He was about to be the best guard anyone could ask for. “Thank you. This is amazing.”
Diesel kept smiling.
“Oh my gosh, Kuba. This is too much. You shouldn’t have.”
Kuba looked Nova’s way to see her holding the necklace he bought her. Diesel was right. It was awesome seeing someone love their gift. “Why? It’s perfect for you.”
She looked taken aback. “This had to have cost a fortune. I’ll be scared to wear it.”
Kuba set the Legos aside and moved her way. He took the necklace from her and placed it around her neck, securing it before stepping back. “There. Wear it. Don’t worry over it. It’s meant to be worn. If anything happens to it, I’ll get you another. It’s no big deal.”
She stared down at the diamond hanging from the gold chain. “It’s really beautiful. Thank you.”
Kuba winked and reclaimed his seat. He opened his next gift, this time from Nova. It was courtside tickets to an upcoming Wizards game. “Awesome. I love the Wizards.”
“Diesel said you had a lot of memorabilia, so I took a chance.”
Kuba waved them in the air. “There’re two tickets. Which of you plans to be my date?”
Nova laughed. “Diesel, for sure. Sports bore the hell out of me.”
Diesel nodded. “I’ll go. Unless you have someone else in mind, of course.” He looked uncomfortable as he tacked on the last.
Kuba couldn’t have that. “Please. It’ll be fun.
” He opened another gift just to keep things moving.
It was a Mario Lego set. “No way. I’ve been looking at these, but I hadn’t pulled the trigger yet.
It’s like you’re a mind reader.” He met Diesel’s stare again.
“You know you’re setting yourself up to have to help me do this, right? ”
“I’d be honored.”
Kuba shook his head. He was having the best Christmas he could recall in years.
He opened the rest of his gifts in awe of these people who had decided to adopt him.
They were amazing. Diesel seemed thrilled with the watch Kuba bought him.
It was the highest tech out there, but he had no clue if Diesel was a watch guy.
Unlike Diesel, Kuba wasn’t that observant.
That was a thing he hadn’t realized about himself before Diesel.
He would work on it. Diesel deserved that much.
It was the best day. Even after way too much alcohol the night before, he felt fine. Everyone seemed to love their gifts. A good time was had by all. Kuba had stayed for lunch before dipping out. The house immediately felt less alive without his larger-than-life presence.
“I really like Kuba. Not just because he buys expensive gifts,” Nova added with a laugh. “He seems like a great kid.”
Diesel nodded. “I get the impression he really needed to be here.”