Burning Slowly

Chapter 31

Stiles fidgeted in Derek's bed. He'd been given very simple instructions that were far too difficult to follow. Derek had told him to stay in the bed, not get dressed, and wait quietly. Derek should have just told him to turn air into gold or something equally ridiculous.

He counted the shells on the stand next to the bed, glanced at the picture of his mother. She would have loved Derek, and teased him mercilessly. She would have been so happy they found each other. He gently lowered the frame face down onto the nightstand so that her smiling face wasn't looking at him. There were some things a mother shouldn't see her son doing. Stiles was going to do all of them, unless Derek's heart gave out first. He grinned wickedly as the door opened and Derek entered balancing a number of plates, glasses, and bowls on a tray.

"What did you bring me?" Stiles sat up in the bed, his stomach rumbling at the promise of food.

Derek didn't say anything as he came over. He still only had a towel tied around his hips. He set the tray down over Stiles's blanket covered lower half and kissed his neck as Stiles shifted and moved things around on the tray to see what was there. Stiles picked up a banana and gave Derek an accusatory look. "Pervert," he said.

Derek smiled and took the banana from Stiles, peeled it and began eating it, or possibly making love to it. Stiles's face got red as Derek made delightful noises as he finished the suggestively shaped fruit. "You okay?" Derek didn't sound nearly as innocent as he pretended.

Stiles opened his mouth, made some noise that he couldn't define, and then closed it again. After several little shaky squeaking noises, and clearing his throat, his voice finally came back. "Totally good."

Derek grinned at him and picked up a bowl of strawberries and set them on the nightstand near the picture frame Stiles had set face down. Stiles shrugged and whistled innocently when Derek raised an eyebrow at him after seeing it.

"I don't get any strawberries?" There was a lot of food, but strawberries were delicious and Derek seemed intent on hoarding them all to himself.

"They're for me once you're finished eating." Derek got a hand under Stiles's blanket and brushed his knuckles along his hip.

"Why aren't you eating them right now?" Stiles's mouth was watering, he wanted nothing more than to dive head first into the breakfast, but Derek was weirding him out just sitting there staring at him.

"Because there's a tray in my way," Derek said. He licked his lips suggestively.

Stiles blinked down at the tray in his lap, then shifted to try to ease some of the tension that was starting to build in his lower body. First, he would eat the eggs that Derek had made for him, once that was done, they would get to the dessert.

Stiles ate his breakfast with a speed and ferocity that would have made a lioness feasting on a gazelle question the barbarism with which he dispatched the innocent looking food. "What?" He mumbled through a mouth that was full of equal parts eggs, sausage links, and buttered wheat toast.

Derek blinked at him and Stiles wondered what was wrong. Derek seemed terrified of something. Stiles looked to the other side of the room to see what Derek was worried about. There was nothing there. He looked back at Derek and tilted his head. He swallowed the food in his mouth and licked his lips in satisfaction. He took another bite of sausage.

"I don't think I ever realized how close to death anything is that gets near your mouth," Derek said.

Stiles huffed out a breath, choking slightly on the piece of sausage he was trying to finish off. He nodded his thanks when Derek patted him on the back to help him get it out of the wrong pipe in his throat. He didn't comment when Derek's hand slipped down to brush against the top of his naked ass. Stiles was planning on giving Derek the silent treatment.