Oh my God, the apartment was on fire.
“Jameson!” I called out as I dumped my bag and pulled my coat over my nose. “Jameson? Are you in here? Are you okay?”
My heart began to pound as I moved farther into the apartment, trying to see where the fire was. Then Jameson walked out of the hallway with a hand towel and a frown on his face.
“Oh hey, GQ.” He gave a tight smile and pulled out a barstool, calm as you please, as though the blaring sound of the smoke detector wasn’t deafening.
“Are you okay? Where’s the fire?”
“No fire,” Jameson said as he climbed on the stool, waving the towel beneath the smoke detector, and then he reached up to press the silence button. When the room finally fell silent, the ringing continued in my ears.
“No fire?” I looked at him, confused. “Then where did all this smoke come from?”
Jameson smirked and pointed to the oven, where I could see a saucepan. “Your dinner. Or, at least, what was going to be your dinner.”
When the smoke had somewhat dissipated, Jameson climbed down from the stool and glanced at the ceiling he’d just been fanning.
“Well, at least my attempt at cooking wasn’t a complete waste of time. Now I know your smoke detectors are all up to date and work.”
My lips twitched as I stepped around him and walked to the stove. I peered into the pan, which now held two charred pieces of meat. “What were these?”
“Rib-eyes. But clearly they’re charred-eyes now. I hate electric stoves,” Jameson grumbled.
I bit into my lip to keep from laughing, then turned back to the stove and poked at the meat with the fork lying beside it. He’d been cooking me dinner—or at least attempting to—and that was about the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for me.
“We could still eat these. They’re just…well done, that’s all.”
Jameson came over and looked in the pan. “I appreciate the gesture, but how about we just order in?”
I reached for his hand and turned him to face me. “Thank you.”
“For not making you eat that? You’re welcome. I don’t want to eat it either.”
“No.” I laughed and wrapped my arms around his waist. “For making me dinner. That was very nice of you.”
“It would’ve been nicer if I hadn’t almost burned your place down.”
“Our place, and I wasn’t too worried, considering your day job. Just maybe don’t quit it for a cooking one.”
Jameson swatted me on the ass with the hand towel and took my lips in a kiss that left me breathless. “What do you feel like for dinner? And don’t say nothing.”
“Hmm, well, despite it being burnt, the steak does smell good.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. Unless you don’t want that.”
“A steak sounds great, obviously. Is there anywhere around here that you like in particular?”
“Have you ever been to Exquisite?”
Jameson arched a brow. “Do I look like someone who would eat at a place called that?”
“You never know. I didn’t want to assume.”
“Trust me, your assumptions about me going to a fancy-ass restaurant are probably spot on.”
I chuckled and pulled out my phone. “You know, you remind me a lot of Alexander’s husband.”
“Really?” Jameson looked as though he didn’t believe me for a second.
“Yep. Sean. He’s a detective with the CPD, and very…”
I trailed off, and Jameson crossed his arms. “Very what?”
Damn it. I hadn’t really thought this through, and now that I was saying it out loud, I wasn’t sure if Jameson would be offended.
“You know, like…” I grimaced. “Rough around the edges.”
Jameson’s eyes narrowed.
“Not in a bad way. I love Sean. Not like that, obviously.”
“I don’t know, GQ. Doesn’t seem too obvious to me.”
Was he kidding? I couldn’t actually tell. Jameson had the best poker face around.
“I mean, when he came to work as Alexander’s bodyguard, I might’ve had a little bit of a crush on him. But that was forever ago, and because he was all gruff and protective, like you. He wasn’t into fancy things either.”
“Uh huh.”
Shit, this was not going well. “I just… Apparently I have a type, and you’re it.”
“Gruff, rough-around-the-edges guys.”
I let out a sigh of exasperation and put my hands on my hips. “Sure, or maybe we could just call it sexy, frustrating grumps and leave it at that.”
When Jameson’s lips twitched and he started to laugh, I arched a brow.
“Calm down, GQ. No need to get so worked up about things.”
“Calm down?” I shoved him in the arm. “I thought I’d offended you.”
“By calling me rough around the edges?” Jameson shook his head. “Trust me, I’ve been called worse.”
“I can’t imagine why. But anyway, I think you and Sean would get along well.”
Jameson wound an arm around my waist, then slid his hand under my jacket to cup my ass. “Do I need to worry about this Sean guy?”
Wait, is that a glimpse of jealousy for real this time?
“Doubtful. He’s married to Alexander.”
“So? You’re super fucking sexy, and if I heard you had a crush on me, it’d be damn near impossible for me to resist you.”
I slid my hands under Jameson’s shirt. “I do have a crush on you.”
“Exactly, and was I able to resist?”
I trailed my fingertips back down to his jeans. “No. I’m kind of hoping that continues.”
Jameson kissed the corner of my mouth. “I don’t see it stopping anytime soon.”
“Then I guess Sean’s just out of luck, then, huh?”
Jameson growled, picked me up off my feet, then headed toward his bedroom. “You want dinner now or later?”
“Later,” I said with a laugh. “Much, much later.”
Chapter 30
Jameson
“IF YOU’RE GOING to shower with me, you need to wake up, GQ.”
Ryan groaned and stretched beneath the covers as I nuzzled in under his ear and began to kiss my way down his neck.
“I don’t wanna.”
“Wake up or shower with me?”
He wriggled his tight ass back into my morning erection, making me groan.
“What do you think?”
I chuckled and wrapped an arm around his waist, reaching down to stroke his stiffening dick. “I think you’re bluffing, because you sure feel awake to me.”
Ryan arched back into me, pushing his hips forward, seeking out the friction he wanted most.
“If this is what you want, you need to get up and in the shower, or we’ll both be late.”
“Can’t we just stay here?” Ryan turned his head. “I could lie forever next to you.”
The second the words left him, Ryan tensed and quickly rolled over.
“I’m sorry, I—”