Lustful Gaze (London Loves #6) (10 page)

Scott strolled into the kitchen and found his darling hubby standing in front of the ironing board, pressing a shirt. On the kitchen table were all their other shirts that he’d just picked up from the ironing service. Scott couldn’t comprehend why Paul bothered to spend even
one
pound with them, because he always came home and re-ironed everything. They’d argued about it the first few times, but now Scott just let Paul get on with it. Whatever made him happy.

“Good evening, hot stuff,” Scott said, halting in the kitchen doorway.

Paul glanced up. “Hey, I didn’t hear you come in!”

Scott chuckled. “You were engrossed in getting your collars paper-smooth!”

Scott strutted over to join him behind the ironing board, feeling his cock hardened. His man was so adorable – totally fuckable. Even after twenty years, he couldn’t keep his hands off him. And this afternoon with Harry had been distractingly arousing.

Paul twisted to greet him with a sultry smooch. “I love you.”

“Love you, too, hun,” Scott said. “Mind you don’t burn your shirt.”

Paul glanced at the iron in his hand, which was still resting on the material. “Shit!”

They both chuckled as Paul propped it up at the end of the ironing board. Then he turned to face Scott again and draped his arms around him. Scott kissed him tenderly on the lips. The kiss quickly became more passionate.

“Time for a quick fuck before dinner?” Scott asked, as Paul nibbled his neck.

Paul stood up straight. “Oh. Er, Edward’s just gone to get the groceries. He’ll be back in a minute.”

Scott tried to hide his disappointment. “Ah well, we can continue this later!”

Paul pulled him close again. “Actually, Edward’s offered to cook tonight, so we can sneak off while he’s doing that!”

“Alright!” He draped his arms around Paul’s neck, and gazed into his eyes. “So how did it
go
with Edward today? Did you know he turned up at the gallery this afternoon?”

Paul sighed. “Yeah, he almost lost us our Japanese clients.”

“What? How?”

“Er… He swore in front of them. But he apologised straight away, so it’s okay.”

“And the clients were alright about it?”

“Sam sweet-talked them, thank goodness.”

Scott grinned. “She’s good at that.”

“She is. And thankfully Edward got on with his work really well after that. He’s a great worker once he sets his mind to it – bright kid.”

“So are you gonna offer him some work experience?”

“I’d like to. I guess we’ll see how it goes tomorrow. Are you happy for him to sleep here again tonight?”

“Yeah. I was kind of assuming he would.”

They shared a smile; there was no way they could chuck him out onto the streets.

Paul kissed Scott on the lips. “And how was your day with the hot heavenly Harry?”

Scott cringed. “Um, babes, I wanted to talk to you about him.”

Paul pulled away, looking vexed. “What happened?”

“Nothing. What do you mean?”

“Nothing!” Paul’s guilty face relaxed. “So… what’s up with him, then?”

Scott had been rehearsing this all the way home, and he still wasn’t sure quite how to put it. It’d been easier with Kate somehow, because it’d all happened so fast. But this was going to be a planned thing –
if
it happened. Scott took a deep breath. “Well, the thing is, Harry was wondering… he’s worried about not knowing what to do with a guy when he goes to university. He had a bad experience with a woman, and it’s become this massive phobia for him.”

Paul’s face washed with pity. “Poor kid – that must be hard.”

“Yeah, it is. And, well… you don’t have to agree, but I said I’d ask you.”

“Ask me what?”

“Harry’s basically wondering whether we – that’s you and me – would be willing to give him a… er… practical demo of how to please a guy?”

Paul’s face broke into a grin of disbelief. “What!”

“I know; I knew you’d say no – I warned him you probably would. So I was thinking, what do you reckon about Harry and Edward? If he wants sex tips? Surely Edward picked up a few tips as a rent boy.”

Paul’s grin faded. He turned back to the ironing. “Hm… I don’t think that’s
all
he picked up.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was just thinking it might be a good idea to get him checked over at a clinic. You know… for STDs.”

“Oh. Well, I think that’s a good idea, too. Are you gonna take him?”

“Yeah, I’ll make an appointment and go with him. And we definitely shouldn’t be pimping him out to Harry. The idea is to empower him to stop viewing himself as a sex worker, isn’t it?”

“I know; you’re right. So maybe we
could
do it – as per Harry’s request? You know like what we did for Kate last year? But this time make the demo more, um, educational.”

Paul’s eyes twinkled with mischievousness. “I guess it could be kinda fun.”

Scott opened his mouth to reply, but they heard the front door open. They fell silent as Edward breezed in with the bags of shopping, which he dumped on the table.

He threw them both a sweet grin. “Hi, Scott.”

“Hi, Edward. Nice day?”

He winced sheepishly. “Yeah, ah, I wanted to say sorry about fighting in the gallery earlier. I never meant to embarrass you in front of your clients.”

“It’s okay. Harry explained what happened.”

Paul smirked. “And
then
he made a request.”

“Did he?” Edward asked.

Paul opened one of the carrier bags and started to unpack it. “Oo, look at all this lovely food. What are you making Edward?”

“Caesar salad, if that’s okay with you guys? It’ll be awesome to cook proper food in a good kitchen.”

Paul placed a lettuce on the table. “Sounds lovely – thanks, Edward.”

Scott transferred his attention to Paul, hoping to get a definitive answer on the Harry situation. “So shall I tell Harry ‘yes’?”

Paul shot him a pensive look. Scott wasn’t sure if it was because he was worried about how attractive Harry was (and therefore slightly envious) or because he didn’t want to discuss it in front of Edward. But if Edward was going to live here for a while, then he’d need to know what was going on.

“It wouldn’t be sexual,” Scott said. “Just be to ease his mind.”

Paul held up a box of croutons. “Why’s he so insecure? You said he’s a good-looking lad – surely he can’t be that worried.”

Edward fondled a bottle of Caesar dressing. “Er… I think this might be my fault. I didn’t mean to worry Harry. I was just…”

He stared at the table.

“What did you say to him
exactly
?” Scott asked.

“I just wanted to… um… get some info.”

“What sort of info?”

Edward glanced at Paul. Paul shook his head in a ‘don’t tell’ way.

Scott’s suspicions rumbled deep inside his bones. “What’s going on? Paul, did
you
send Edward to speak to Harry?”

“No, absolutely not!”

Scott flicked his gaze towards Edward. “Well – what happened?”

“Paul didn’t send me. I… He tried to stop me, but I wouldn’t listen. I just wanted to give him reassurance that you… weren’t… you know.”

Realisation dawned over Scott like a cracked egg. He glared at Paul. “You sent Edward to check I wasn’t shagging Harry behind your back! You arsehole! I’ve promised you so many times that I’d never cheat on you. But you can’t believe me, can you!”

Paul raised his hands defensively. “I tried to stop Edward from going to the gallery but the Japanese clients turned up – I couldn’t chase him down the street, could I?”

Scott’s heart thumped hard in his ribcage. “But how did Edward know that you were suspicious in the first place? You don’t trust me! And you discussed it with him, rather than me!”

Paul hung his head guiltily. “I’m so sorry, babes. I was scared. Threatened by an eighteen-year-old – can you believe it?”

Scott frowned as he gazed at his wonderful hubby. He loved this man so much – how could he stay angry with him, when he was simply consumed by fear and insecurity? What he needed was love and understanding. Scott’s irritation dissolved and was replaced by kindness. “You don’t need to be threatened, Paul. I love you.”

“I love you, too. I’m sorry.”

Scott smiled tenderly, vowing to talk to him properly about this after dinner. But then another realisation struck him. “Wait a minute, Edward, did
you
suggest to Harry he should ask me for sex tips?”

Edward winced. “No… well, sort of. I asked him if he’d already
asked
you for sex tips, in the hope that he’d confess his intentions towards you.”

“You put the idea in his head! This is your fault.”

“Sorry,” Edward said.

Scott threw his attention back to Paul. “No, this is
your
fault. Poor Harry.”

“I know,” Paul said. “I never wanted him to feel bad. I wonder if there’s any way I can make it up to him?” Paul’s worried expression warped into a mischievous grin. “Ah.”

Scott smirked. “Yes, you can let me demonstrate a blow job on you – for Harry’s eyes only. Just to help him.”

“Oh yeah, just to help him.”

“Right. I’ll tell him to come over tomorrow night. Glad we’ve got that sorted out. Now, Paul, let’s leave Edward to prepare the dinner while
we
go and have a long hard talk about this envy of yours – in the bedroom!”

The following evening, Edward strolled towards the front door trying to push away his nerves. He had no idea what Paul and Scott were doing in their bedroom, but their music was blaring out and they hadn’t heard the front door buzzer. Edward had heard it, though. And he knew who it was going be. The guy he couldn’t stop thinking about.

All day at work, he’d been subtly dropping Harry’s name into the conversation with Paul and Sam. Any mention of India, Brighton, or the art gallery had caused his stomach to fizz with excitement. And now he was about to be reunited with the man himself.

He pulled open the door and saw Harry standing there, looking as divine as ever. This evening he was wearing expensive jeans and a designer T-shirt – which had probably cost more than all the clothes Edward had owned in his life. Harry threw him a tight smile, looking as nervous as Edward felt. Edward smiled back shyly. He wasn’t stupid – he knew a guy like this would never be interested in him. But there was nothing he could do to stop his yearning attraction for this captivating young man.

He decided that the best thing to do would be to act cool. He leaned on the doorframe. “Hey, Harry.”

“Hello, Edward.”

Edward swallowed down his desire – just the way Harry said his name was adorable. He pronounced the ‘W’ with a slight ‘V’. Edward could listen to that all day.

Edward stepped back to let Harry in.  “So you decided to go down the slut route, too, huh?”

Harry scoffed. “Actually, I just want some experience. I feel inadequate. They’re not paying me if that’s what you’re implying. They’re helping me.”

“None of my business what you do in your personal life. Scott and Paul are in their bedroom at the moment. I’m not sure what they’re doing, but we’d better wait for them. Do you wanna sit in the living room?”

“Sure.”

Edward led Harry to the living room. He loved this room. He loved this entire apartment. For the last couple of days, he’d been trying to be as helpful as possible, in the secret hope that Scott and Paul wouldn’t notice he was still here. The great news was that Sam and Paul had announced earlier that he could do the six weeks work experience while Sam was away in India. She wasn’t leaving for another three weeks, so that actually meant he’d be working there for nine weeks altogether. When they’d told him how much he’d be earning, he’d almost fallen off his chair. Unfortunately, now that he was back on the tax radar, the government would start demanding his student debts be paid off. Paul said his accountant would deduct it from his pay, but even that would leave him with enough to move into a shared house – with money left over for food and a comfortable life while he looked for another job. But actually, he hoped to stay here for a bit longer. Scott and Paul were like older brothers – kind, supportive, and fun.

The huge sofas in the living room were squishy and soft, and there was a breathtaking view over the city through the wall-to-wall bay window. The wall opposite the window had been chiselled back to reveal the brickwork, making it look rustic. When Edward had first seen it, he’d asked when they were planning to decorate; Paul had laughed and told him how much it had cost to expose the brickwork like that. Edward had apologised, and Paul had told him not to worry – it was Scott’s artistic vision. Paul had winked playfully, making Edward laugh.

Everything else in here was white, with splashes of colour – for example, Scott’s own bright canvases hung from the walls, and the huge fluffy floor rug was scarlet red. Paul and Scott had seemed coy when Edward had remarked that the rug looked soft enough to sleep on – probably ‘passionate rolling around’ was more common than sleeping on this rug.

The retro armchairs also looked as if they could be incorporated into sex-play. Or maybe it was just how Edward saw the world these days. He felt proud to bring Harry in here, even if it wasn’t actually his own place.

He gestured to the sofa. “Take a seat.”

“Thanks.”

Harry sat down and folded up like a deckchair, almost disappearing into the depths of the squashy sofa. Edward resisted rescuing him – or making a joke. Harry clambered out of the cushions and perched on the edge, as Edward made himself comfortable on an armchair.

They accidentally made eye contact, as if bumping into each other in a busy corridor. Edward glanced away. Harry seemed stiff and nervous, as if he was waiting at the dentist’s office. Edward felt terrible for inadvertently goading him into this. But maybe it would actually be good for him – it was what he wanted, after all, wasn’t it?

Edward smiled thinly. “Harry, I’m sorry if
I
caused this insecurity in you after what I said at the gallery. I really didn’t mean to worry you.”

Harry shrugged. “It’s okay. You made me realise that I need to do something about it before I’m let loose on Brighton.”

They both chuckled nervously.

“Okay, good,” Edward said.

“So are you living here now?” Harry asked.

“I’m not sure. I don’t wanna mention it in case they realise I’m still here and ask me to leave. They’re such nice guys, and the last thing I wanna do is rock the boat. I couldn’t bear to go back on the rent again...”

“No. You definitely shouldn’t do that.”

“Yeah. So, I’ve been tidying up and cooking dinner for the last few nights which seems to go down well.”

“That’s a good idea – make yourself useful.”

“That’s what I thought! I don’t suppose you’ve got any good recipes you’d be willing to share with me? I’m running out of ideas.”

Harry shrugged. “Sure, I know how to make a good veggie biryani. My father hates to see me cooking, but I enjoy it.”

“Will you give me the recipe?”

“Of course. It’s not too spicy for you people.”

Edward paused to process the ‘you people’ comment. He decided not to get defensive – Harry definitely wasn’t being rude on purpose.

He smiled. “Thanks. Don’t mention any of this to Scott and Paul, will you? I don’t want them to think I’m manipulating my way into their lives.”

“No, definitely not. So Paul gave you a job, huh?”

“Yeah, just some work experience while Sam’s away. I’ve already had a warning for shooting my mouth off in front of some important clients on my first day. But Sam said it doesn’t count because I wasn’t under contract. She’s so awesome.”

Harry smiled kindly. “You’re cheeky but charming, Edward. I bet that grin excuses you from many situations.”

Edward chuckled, trying to hide his blushes at the compliment. He decided to put the onus back on Harry. “So I guess
you’ve
got your life mapped out ahead of you? Rich parents, nice life; you’ve got it good, huh?”

“Well, I do have rich parents and a nice life, but I’m not sure if it’s all as great as you’re thinking.”

“Why not? You’re about to go to Brighton Uni. Think of all the wild sex you’ll soon be having with hot young students! And then a career in… what is it you’re studying?”

“Art, but –”

“A career in art – of course; very bourgeoisie. And if it doesn’t work out, you’ve got your parents there to support you all the way. Pretty cushy, huh?”

“Actually you’re totally wrong. I’m getting married when I graduate and then I’ll be starting work with my father who’s an oil trader.”

Edward stared at him. “Married to a woman?”

“Yeah.”

“A
woman
?”

Harry laughed. “Yes!”

“Why?”

“That’s how it is in my culture.”

“That sucks.”

Harry chuckled. “It does.”

They smiled into each other’s eyes. Harry severed eye contact and wrung his hands together nervously. Edward realised that this – what he was about to do with Scott and Paul – was a big deal for him.

“Would you like a drink?” Edward asked. “Glass of wine? Shot of whiskey?”

“Oh, no thank you. I don’t drink alcohol.”

“What? Not at all?”

“No. It’s forbidden for my caste to eat meat or drink alcohol.”

“Your
caste
? Jesus, what’s that?”

“It’s, like, the hierarchy in Hindu culture. We all belong to a certain ranking. I’m from a higher caste and there’s tons of things we can’t do. It’s all about staying pure and achieving enlightenment in this life – and the next.”

Edward scoffed. “Sounds totally made up.”

Harry chuckled. “It is. In fact, it’s becoming illegalised in India because it isn’t nice to put people in such rigid restraints. But it’s hard to shake off.”

“Okay… Well, would you like a cup of tea?”

Harry gazed gratefully into Edward’s eyes. “Thank you for your hospitality, but I really am fine.”

Edward opened his mouth to assure him that he’d be alright with Scott and Paul, but the living room door was pushed open, and the two men strolled in, looking out of breath. Edward had no idea what they’d been doing in preparation – but it’d probably involved something sexual judging by their loved-up smiles.

Harry shot to his feet as if the queen had just walked in.

“Harry,” Scott said, “this is my husband, Paul.”

Paul thrust out his hand and Harry shook it. “Nice to meet you, Harry. Wow, you
are
an attractive young man, aren’t you?”

“Thank you, Mr Paul.”

“Uh-uh,” Scott said playfully. “No ‘misters’ or ‘sirs’ here, please, Harry.”

Harry laughed coyly. “Sorry.”

They all stood together nervously.

“Would you like a glass of wine, Harry?” Paul asked.

Edward stood up. “He doesn’t drink alcohol – he’s a Hindu.”

“Oh right, sorry.”

“
I
was gonna make him a cup of tea.”

Harry held up his hands. “It’s okay. I really don’t want anything.”

Scott squeezed his arm affectionately. “Just relax.”

“Shall we go to the bedroom, then?” Paul asked.

“Yeah,” Scott said.

“Can I come?” Edward asked.

Scott inspected him for a moment. Then he turned to Harry. “Is that okay with you, Harry?”

Harry grinned at Edward. “Yeah, that’s totally fine.”

“Great,” Paul said. “Come on, then, let’s go.”