With another glance at James and Kit, Darius started unbuttoning his lavender shirt.
Kit had thought Darius’s forearms were hot. His shoulders were riveting. The sleeveless white undershirt clung to his chest, thin enough that his dark skin showed through where it stretched over muscle.
“Oh,” Kit said, struggling to remember the conversation. “That makes sense.”
“Is the striptease really necessary?” James sounded more amused than annoyed.
“Of course,” Darius said innocently. “I don’t want to get paint on my nice shirt.”
James’s hands dropped to rub Kit’s shoulders, massaging into tender muscle. His touch was so warm even through Kit’s sweatshirt.
Kit felt like a rabbit being circled by two foxes. “Yeah, getting paint on his shirt would be super terrible.”
James’s laughter stirred Kit’s hair. He hooked his leg around Kit’s body, pulling him even closer, and his heel teased Kit’s cock through his tight jeans. “You’re such a neat freak… First the couch, then Darius’s shirt… What’s next?”
“What about the couch?” Darius asked.
Kit wriggled out of James’s grasp before he popped a boner. Being hard for this photo shoot would be weird. “Long story. Where did you get all this stuff? The Halloween store?”
Darius waved a tube of fake blood at him. “No, I borrowed it from my sister.”
Kit stared. “Your sister? You didn’t tell her why you wanted it, right?”
“Miranda knows not to ask questions about my job,” Darius said, then winced. “But she makes her own assumptions. She told me to send pics from the convention.”
“And you said?” James asked
“To fuck off,” Darius replied cheerfully.
James jumped down from the counter with a laugh. “Miranda’s a total nerd.”
That didn’t really explain it.
Darius shrugged, continuing to sort out the supplies. “Miranda’s into cosplay. Really gory cosplay. I used to help her get ready for conventions when we were kids, which is where I picked this up. She still goes to cons, but now her girlfriend is her makeup artist.”
“Did you go to conventions with her?” Kit asked, suddenly curious.
Darius barely glanced over—but Kit still caught the wariness in his eyes. “No, not my scene. One second. I forgot something in the car.”
As soon as Darius fled the kitchen, Kit whirled around to face James. “I need photos of him cosplaying.”
“Mission accepted.” James rubbed his hands together, looking like his birthday had come early. “I’ll hunt them down, no matter what. Even if I have to hire Bishop to help.”
“Perfect.” Kit glanced at the door and held a finger to his lips. “This is top secret.”
“My lips are sealed.” James pulled Kit’s finger away and kissed him. Light, teasing, gone before Kit could steal more from him.
Fuck, Kit could get used to these little moments. Unfortunately, when Darius returned, it was time to get to work.
Darius patted the table. “Let’s get started.”
Kit exhaled and shrugged off his sweatshirt. Another new piece of apparel bought with James’s money, though Kit picked this one out himself. Black with neon blue bats. “I don’t want paint on this either.”
James openly leered. “That would be super terrible. What about the tank top? You don’t want to ruin that either.”
Kit slung the sweatshirt over the back of a chair. “I don’t give a fuck about the tank top.”
“What about your super special, super cute jeans?” James tried.
