“Smart thinking.”
Jesse finally released Arthur’s hands.
“Did you really bring lunch?” he asked.
“Salted meats, cheeses, and fresh bread,” Arthur confirmed. “Oh! Pickled vegetables, too.”
Jesse’s eyes began to sparkle with a fondness that seemed to match Arthur’s own.
“Beautiful,” Jesse said simply.
Arthur asked, “Are you referring to me? Or the menu?”
Jesse pursed his lips for a moment. “Both. I think. Mostly the menu, though.”
Arthur threw his head back and laughed.
Chapter Ten
Jesse
Lying naked with Arthur in bed, Jesse planted a smattering of kisses on Arthur’s shoulder as he brought Arthur close to orgasm, his hand working fast on Arthur’s cock. It was the third Saturday that they had spent with each other now, and every second of it so far had been as blissful as the previous two. Jesse tried not to worry about the eventual, inevitable end of things and instead, fought to keep focused on how much fun he and Arthur had been having together.
Arthur’s toes curled. His beautiful, thick brows knitted together. Jesse kissed Arthur’s shoulder once more. He knew that Arthur was close.
Moments later, Arthur’s breath hitched as his cock began to pulse. Jesse continued to stroke Arthur through his release, and then he sat up on his elbow to press a soft kiss to Arthur’s lips.
“Thank you,” Arthur said in a breathy tone. It was something he always said after Jesse pleasured him. And each time, it made Jesse’s stomach swoop.
“Let me clean you up,” Jesse whispered before climbing out of bed.
After they were both clean, Jesse pulled the blankets up to their shoulders, and they cuddled close, exchanging soft kisses as the sun sank toward the horizon.
“Giuseppe will be home soon,” Jesse said.
Arthur hummed.
“Can I meet him before I head back?” he asked.
Jesse’s stomach sank. Giuseppe was as nice as they came. But, sometime in the last week or so, Giuseppe had come to the realization that he’d briefly worked for Arthur, though the two had never met. Years back, Giuseppe had been employed at a steel mill that had crumbled under Arthur’s leadership. Some of the workers, like Giuseppe, hadn’t even realized that the mill had been sold in those last few months of its lifespan. Giuseppe had only recently learned this fact when Jesse had been blathering on about Arthur’s past business ventures to him. Arthur had bought the mill for relatively cheap. He had hoped to save the crumbling, mismanaged company from failing and instead make it profitable again. But with many steel mills switching over to something called the Bessemer process, Arthur’s mill had been too far behind technologically and financially to catch up. Arthur hadn’t managed to switch the mill over to the more advanced production process before it began bleeding too much money to keep it open. Giuseppe was still upset over the mill having been closed so suddenly. Which then made the prospect of Giuseppe and Arthur meeting even more terrifying than it would have been otherwise.
“Uhm...” Jesse’s voice faltered. “I’m not sure if it’s the right time.”
“Why not?” Arthur frowned. “Is it because of that business with the mill? I told you, I’d only purchased it because I thought I could keep it running. I wanted to save it. Does he think I wanted to lose thousands of—”
“I know. I explained thatto him, but still—”
“You can’t hide me from him forever.”
“You’re hiding me from your family forever,” Jesse retorted without thinking.
When Arthur’s face fell. Regret slammed into Jesse with the force of an iron press, knocking the breath out of him. Dammit. Arthur was only treating their relationship with the kind of cautious care that was required. And Jesseknewthat. Oh, why had he said those words?
“You’re right,” Arthur said with a weary sigh. “It isn’t fair of me to expect you to introduce me to your friend when you haven’t met anyone in my life aside from Patrick. And even then, Patrick thinks that you’re someone involved with the fair’s creation. It’s hypocritical of me, Jesse. I’m sorry.”
Remorse twisted in Jesse’s stomach.
“Don’t be. I shouldn’t have said that.”
