“You’d like to see how demanding I can be, hm?” he asked in a husky tone.
His whispered voice sent a shiver of excitement up James’s spine.
“Yes, please,” James said.
Cassian wet his lips and hummed.
“Tonight,” he said simply.
James lunged forward and caught Cassian’s mouth in a fiercely passionate kiss. Once they parted, Cassian encouraged James into the house with a playful shove.
“In the meantime, James, you can press the flowers into Jacob’s book,” Cassian said, following him. “Afterward, I’d like—”
“Brandy?”
“Yes,” Cassian said. “Also—”
“Your slippers,” James finished for him. “I know.”
Cassian hummed happily. “Exceptional service. As always.”
When they neared the library, Cassian squeezed James’s rear end as he walked past. James smiled to himself as he watched Cassian collapse onto the sofa with a sigh. Immediately, Quinn came up to chat with him some more. Because as intimidating as Cassian sometimes was, Quinn still loved him. Soon enough, little Jacob joined them too.
James fetched the blotting paper from the kitchen and then returned to press the flowers with a couple of heavy books. Once he was finished, he looked up and caught Cassian’s eye. Cassian threw him a wink, and James’s stomach fluttered. Several long, wonderful seconds passed like this, with the two of them looking lovingly into each other’s eyes while the boys chattered nearby, first to Cassian (though he clearly wasn’t listening very well) and then to each other. All the while, James thought of nothing except for how lucky he was.
And then, Cassian crooked an eyebrow and said, “James, my brandy?”
James shook his head.
“Right. Sorry,” he said.
And then he hurried off to fetch his favorite person in the whole world his favorite liquor and favorite pair of slippers, feeling cherished and treasured and loved.
