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Thorne touched the spine of the first book, The Big Red Barn.
“My mom read it to me every night when I was a toddler,” Riley explained. “She tried to cajole me into hearing a different book, but I always insisted it was the only one I wanted.”
Next was Charlotte’s Web. “I used to wish I had a friend as loyal as Charlotte. No one came close until I met Marc.” He looked up. “And then I met you.”
“I’d protect you no matter what,” Thorne said, as serious as Riley had ever seen him.
Riley reached up and cupped Thorne’s cheek. “I know. I’ve seen you in action.” Thorne had punched a former client of Riley’s at an art museum Christmas party because the man insulted Riley by assuming he would be interested in a three-way just for the money. The man was now banned from the museum.
Holding his gaze, Thorne said, “I’d do anything to make you happy, anything you’ll let me do.”
Riley was tempted to give in, to say he’d take the money for the business and anything else Thorne wanted to offer him, but he didn’t. “I need time to figure out what I’m okay with.”
“I want to give you gifts, to help you, to support you. I hope you don’t think I expect something in return.”
“I just want to be sure there are some boundaries, that I don’t let you run everything for me. That would be far too easy.”
Thorne looked taken aback. “Riley, I want you to be you. I don’t want to control you.”
Riley raised his brows. “A few minutes ago, you said—”
Thorne gave a dramatic sigh. “I was joking, you know.”
Don’t be an ass. Riley decided to listen to his conscience. He reached for Thorne and pulled him into a hug. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Thorne said, before pulling away. “Go unpack the rest of your clothes. I’ll handle the cookbooks and videos”—unlike a lot of guys his age, Riley still bought DVDs—“then we’ll have cheesecake.”
Thorne was managing him, but he decided to accept it.
Later, when they’d made a good dent in the boxes, Thorne declared it cheesecake time.
“I should do more of my homework now,” Riley said as he scooped up the last bit of ginger sauce with his finger.
“No, you should come to bed with me. You’ve not been getting enough sleep.”
“And you’re going to let me sleep?” Any time they went to bed at the same time they ended up at least giving each other a handjob.
“I am. Don’t you dare try to seduce me either. You’ll get nowhere because I have no intention of touching you.”
“Mmmhmm.” Riley had heard these lines before.
“Seriously, you’ve been pushing yourself hard for weeks. You need to take a break.”
Riley grinned. “Just listen to you. Imagine yourself saying that when we first met.”
“You taught me well—in fact, as they say, you’ve created a monster.” Thorne grinned, monstrously, at Riley. Then he stood and held out his hand. “Come on. Listen to your own advice.”
Riley pushed back his chair and took his plate to the dishwasher. “Fine, but only because you’ll nag me no end if I don’t.”
“Me? Nag?”
“You. Yes.”
Thorne narrowed his eyes in mock anger. “I do not nag. I insist, and when I insist, people do what I say.”
“Some people do what you say.”
“You’ve always been an exception.”
A few minutes later, they’d brushed their teeth and settled into bed. When Thorne pulled the covers up, Riley pushed at his shoulder, encouraging him to turn over so Riley could spoon him.
Surprisingly enough, Thorne was serious. He made no attempt to convince Riley to do anything but sleep. So moments after getting in bed Riley drifted off, tightly holding the man he loved.
CHAPTER SEVEN
By the time Riley finished his long day of classes, Kathryn had arranged a shared-use commercial cooking space for Susan and him, one that Susan and Riley had looked at before and dismissed as too expensive. He and Susan had insisted that the fee for the space be deducted from their earnings, but since the museum board was paying them way more than they expected, they’d still come out nicely.
Susan had already met Kathryn at the space midday to check it out.
“It’s a great space,” Susan explained as he accepted a cup of coffee and sat down at her kitchen table. “Top-quality equipment just like they show on the website, and good lighting so you don’t feel like you’re in some massive warehouse while you’re there. It will take some getting used to, but we can do it.”
“And if we get more jobs, maybe we can get a contract of our own there.”
Susan nodded. “I’d really like that. I’m nervous as hell about pulling off the fundraiser job, but if we do…”
“You really want to expand now instead of waiting, don’t you?”
Susan frowned. “What I want is whatever’s right for both of us.”
