“Okay, yeah, that’s fine. What did you make?” He went to the small bath, leaving me to ogle his backside. The seat of his long johns was damp with sweat, so they clung to his tight fanny quite nicely. A rush of heat rushed over me that had nothing to do with the nearby stove.
“Oh, a dish our cook used to make for a side. It’s like lasagna but without the noodles. I found some spongy zucchini in the fridge.” The door to the dryer closed. I snuck closer, not to peek, but just to make speaking easier. Shouting was rude. It would be terribly impolite to wake up the sleeping goat. The shower curtain rings rattled. My dick twitched. Back to the wall, I pressed the duke into my chest to try to quell my thumping heart. “There is no meat of any kind either. When cook made it, she would add sweet Italian sausage to her dish. I think she used to order it from a local deli in the downtown area, and they’d run it out to our place. Most of the shops were happy to send a delivery person out to the Bradford Woods. Cook always tipped well for those special deliveries. Her favorite place to call was Columbo Brothers on Bates Street. They always sent her the best cuts for our table. My mother liked their beef a great deal. She always joked about our main course coming from butchers in rumpled raincoats, and she thought that was hilarious. Of course, my brother and I didn’t have a clue what she was tittering about into her fifth glass of chardonnay. When cook showed us a clip ofColumbo, we got the joke. It was a really lame joke, but when one is half-soused before the appetizers arrive, the puns get a little wilted.”
I drew in a breath as the water burst to life in the shower. Knowing he was naked made me hard instantly. Zipper tight against my dick, I drew in a shaky breath, turned to take a wee peek, and found myself staring right into his slate-gray eyes.
“Oh shit!” I yelped, letting the duke slide downward to cover my boner. His sight flitted downward with the duke. “I thought you were in the shower.”
“Were you trying to peek at my bare ass?”
“What?!Me?!Oh no, of course not. I wanted to finish the story about the casserole and didn’t wish to yell. Bitsy is sleeping.” I waved the book at the snoring goat, remembered I had an erection, and slapped the book back over my groin. His eyes narrowed. “She’s tired. She had a long day. Uhm, oh, is that food I smell? I should go check the casserole.”
He watched me intently as I backed away. I bounced off the corner of the kitchen table, smiling widely, the book still in front of my crotch. The door to the bathroom shut. I exhaled so deeply I got lightheaded.
“Dick,” I growled at my penis. “You’re getting out of hand here.”
My prick didn’t seem to take the hint. Nothing quite like checking the casserole with a boner. I highly doubt Julia Child ever cooked in this condition.
Well DUH
I tossed the book on the table and took a cleansing breath.
After opening the stove and poking the food with a fork—the zucchini was soft, so that meant it was done? Right?—I turned down the heat. Pity I couldn’t do that for myself. My libido was out of control. As soon as this week was over, I was going home and getting laid. First man who waved his dick at me was the chosen one. This nonsense with my cock was going to ruin my chances of scoring a big win for Team Decker. Pacing around the kitchen, I checked my messages in the hopes that…nope. Not one reply from my family. That really irritated me to no end! Hearing the water running in the bath, I scooted to the wall phone and made a quick call to my PA, Jillian. Bless her heart, she picked up on the third ring.
“Jillian, darling, I am so glad to hear your voice!” I exclaimed, moving to stand by the bookshelves. “I know it’s technically the holidays and you’re probably with Teddy…”
“Hey, Decker,” I heard Jillian’s fiancé Teddy call. Jillian giggled.
“Go away,” she said to her man. “Okay, what’s up, Decker? How did the meeting with Melios go?”
“Well, it’s still under negotiation,” I fibbed, pushing the naughty mental imagery of a wet, naked Acosta from my head. “I’m staying for the week.”
“Oh, Decker, it’s Christmas. You should be with your—” I waited with a weak smile. “Oh, sorry.” She knew my family well. She’d served as not only my PA the past year, but one of my best friends. We’d gotten incredibly close quickly. She’d even asked my thoughts about Teddy before they got engaged. Both had proposed on the same night. It was so damn romantic! She was five-foot-nothing and Teddy was six-four. She was Black, he was White, both loved little dogs and ice cream sodas. They were the cutest of the cute. “Is he as bad as the other reps say he is?”
“No, actually, he’s quite lovely. Nice. A little irritable at times, sullen as well here and there, but…yes, lovely.” I pushed at my hard prick. Dick thought Acosta was lovely as well. “Anyway, I think all will work out here. What I wanted to know was who was it that put the final approval on the Melios file that I was given? I know it wasn’t you, as it came from contracts and compliance.”
“Why? Was something wrong with the information?” She sounded worried.
“A few key facts seem to have been left out,” I passed along in a whisper. The water was still running, but surely he’d be done soon. I doubted he manscaped, which was kind of hot in a flannel rustic fuck me over a hay bale sort of way.
“Damn, I’m sorry. That could be because of the holiday. People tend to get scattered. Let me check what was sent to you and who gave the final go-ahead. I can pull that up on my laptop.”
“I am so sorry for interrupting your night. If I could, I’d do it here, but I only have a landline to work with. And the internet is abysmal. I kid you not, I think there are hamsters on wheels keeping the internet running here. It’s terrible. How do children even do homework?”
“Yeah, it’s a problem in the rural areas. And don’t worry about it. We were just watchingHeartstopperfor the seventh time.” Jillian and Teddy were both bisexual. Another reason we got on so famously. Rainbow brothers and sisters unite.
“Oh my God. Hashtag Charlie and Nick forever.” The water stopped. I spun around, eyes wide, as Jillian gushed about Tara and Tao. “Any chance you can do that searching faster?”
“Oh, sorry. Yep, I have the file here. Let me scan it real fast. Oh. That’s odd. It came from distribution and not C and C. Let me see who signed off on it. Ah, your brother gave it the final nod. Huh, that’s weird. Since when does Frank Jr. do anything other than walk around the warehouses like a banty rooster while bragging about his sexual conquests?”
“My brother signed off on the informational file for Acosta Melios?” That made no sense. I stared at the far wall, trying to make it all fit, but it wouldn’t. The bathroom door opened. Steam rushed out. “I have to go. Merry Christmas! Kiss Teddy for me. Bye!”
I raced across the room, gently placed the phone back into its cradle, and threw myself into the rolling chair by the desk, my sight frantically searching for the duke. Where had I left him? Damn it all. ACK! Where was the duke?! Ah, there he was. I pushed myself across the room to the kitchen table. Bitsy’s head shot up when I crashed into the sofa.
“Blah!” she scolded.
“Sorry! I’m not as good at wheeling as you are,” I replied on the down low, then rolled my way into the kitchen. I grabbed the book, threw it open, and crossed my legs right before Acosta came sauntering out in fleece pants, thick knitted socks, and a flannel shirt of red and blue that was unbuttoned. My eyes flew to his flat belly and the scanty treasure trail dipping into his waistband. The man was going to kill me. Men could die from perpetual blue balls. That’s a fact. Not really, but it felt as if it could be a fact. “Oh, hey, done already?”
He nodded, long hair dropping water onto his shirt, back, and chest. “Enjoying the book?”
