Page 77 of Baiting Kong

“Would have been worse if I hadn’t found it when I did,” he replied. “Did Scout give you a heads-up about tonight?”

“About Kong joining us for dinner,” Axel replied. “Yeah, he wanted to make sure I was okay with it first.”

“And are you?”

“Yeah, actually, the more I thought about it, the more I realized I was being irrational when I jumped to the conclusion that he was bringing Kong over to tell us that he was leaving us to go with him.”

“That’s not Kong’s endgame,” Carl explained as he rubbed his hand down Axel’s leg before guiding the bike out of the alley.

“Then what is!” Axel yelled over the roar of the engine, not that he bothered answering.

This seemed to be one of those wait-and-see situations where Axel was the only one left completely in the dark. It might have pissed him off if he didn’t trust Carl, but he did, so he pressed his head to the back of Carl’s shoulder and clung for the duration of the ride.

The scent that reached them as they headed up the stairs made his mouth water, while the sight that greeted them left Axel frozen in the doorway with Carl pressed against his back, peering over his head, chuckling.

“I see he put you to work,” Carl said as he nudged Axel enough to get him moving again.

“Never knew cooking got this detailed outside of a restaurant,” Kong muttered while carefully slicing something on a chopping board.

A sizzling pan threw off a tantalizing aroma as Scout stood barefoot in front of the stove, wearing cutoff jean shorts and a tank top that showed off all his pretty tattoos. Axel almost forgot the rules about shoes on the carpet in his haste to reach Scout’s side, then his brain caught up and he veered off course to take them off and put them on the rack beside the door. Axel itched to touch Scout since it had been hours since he’d last seen the man, though he was also curious to see how Scout would react to being caressed right in front of Kong.

When Axel’s hands slid up Scout’s back, Scout inclined his head, sighed, and pressed into Axel’s touch, groaning when hehit one of the sore spots on Scout’s shoulder, then letting out a low moan when Axel started massaging it for him.

“Need me to take over the pan?” Carl offered as he stepped up beside them.

“Yes, please,” Scout slurred, hand trembling a little as he held the flat wooden spatula out to him. “But give it a minute or two before you stir it again.”

“Will do,” Carl said, as Axel guided Scout to a seat only to find himself yanked into Scout’s lap the moment he sat down.

“How was your day?” he asked, fingers sliding into Axel’s hair and gripping the strands at the nape of his neck.

He tugged just enough to get Axel to incline his head so Scout could nuzzle beneath his chin and kiss over the edge of his jaw.

“Slow, which was nice,” Axel slurred, shivering. “Got a good chunk of the floor stocking done, which means I get to spend the afternoon in the cooler.”

“Good place to be when it’s supposed to hit eighty-seven by noon,” Scout replied before kissing and nipping more. “I’m glad I’ll be on the water.”

“You got any plans for after your surfing lesson?” Carl asked.

“Not really,” Scout replied. “I picked up stuff for the next few nights and made sure it would stretch enough for lunch the next day, though Night fed me before we left the compound today, so my leftovers from last night are still in there.”

“Midnight snack,” Axel declared.

“Damn right. I’ll split it with you if you’re still up watching Vampire Diaries.”

“Admit it, you got as hooked on it as I did.”

“There could be some truth to that.”

“Hooked on the show, or a particular vampire?” Kong asked, shocking the hell out of Axel. “That guy who plays Damon is worth catching a few episodes for.”

Fucker even winked when he said it, which was when it dawned on Axel that he watched it too.

“I might have to check out this show just to see what the hell you guys are raving about,” Carl said, before stirring the sizzling pan.

“Just a few flips,” Scout cautioned. “We want a bit of crackle on the rice.”

“Yes, chef!” Carl replied, throwing him a quick salute before stirring once more and setting the spatula aside.

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