Leo Tops Aries (Signs of Love #1.5)

Part 2

"Coffee," Theo murmured to Jamie's mom as he schlepped into the kitchen. "Please. Coffee."

He jumped as fresh-faced Jamie appeared from behind the open fridge, chuckling. "Morning, kitten."

Theo scowled at him. This bone-weary, aching tiredness was all Jamie's fault. Damn him for being nigh irresistible.

Jamie hummed to the song trickling out the radio and spooned natural yoghurt into bowls.

"Coffee," Theo pleaded.

"Out of coffee, I'm afraid," Mrs. Cooper said, drying her hands on her apron. "All we have is tea."

Theo rubbed his eyes and rested his forehead against the cupboard. In his peripheral vision, Jamie plucked a banana from the fruit bowl and peeled it slowly, smirking.

Theo slammed his eyes shut.

"You seem tense today, Theo," Mrs. Cooper said.

"That he is," Jamie said flatly. "Really pent up."

The cheek! Theo composed himself and calmly opened the cupboard for a mug. Just for that, he'd hear Jamie beg before the day was out. "Tea sounds perfect."

The phone rang and Mrs. Cooper left the kitchen to answer it. Theo flicked on the kettle and planted a tea bag into a mug on the bench.

Opposite him, Jamie sliced banana into the bowls, running a languid gaze over Theo's rumpled hair and favorite red JLM shirt. He took in the jeans Theo had slipped into. "Couldn't find pants of your own?"

Theo hooked a thumb into a belt loop, casually pulling it enough to reveal what little else he wore. Banana half cut, Jamie paused and murmured heavenward, baring the smooth column of his throat.

Theo wanted to leap over the island, shove him against the wall of family photos and suck his neck until debauched moans tickled his ear.

He spun for the kettle and poured water into his mug.

"Sean rang this morning," Jamie said. "We're meeting him and Leone around ten."

"Meeting for what?" In the snippets of sleep Theo got last night, he'd pictured spending the day rolling around with Jamie in bed.

"Cherry picking."

"The whole day?" Theo smoothed out his whine, and shrugged. "Super."

Jamie finished cutting the banana, a knowing twinkle in his eye. "Don't worry, Theo. When mom leaves, we have the house to ourselves for an hour beforehand." He lifted his brows. "Was there anything... particular you wanted to do?"

Theo dunked his tea bag into the water. Jamie's eye followed the motion; the dart of his tongue over his lower lip had Theo pausing.

He dazzled Jamie with his dimples and slowly, ever so slowly, dunked the teabag again. "I can think of something."

"What's that?"

"Crack open my laptop and touch up some web design work."

Theo couldn't be sure, but he thought he heard Jamie growl. Actually growl. His dimples deepened as he dunked that tea bag again.

Jamie reached over and grabbed a couple of apricots from the fruit bowl. He rolled them in the palm of his hand, eyes trained on Theo's mug. "Excellent. I've got work to plough through as well."

Theo gently squeezed the teabag. "We can do it side by side. What do you think?"

Jamie's gray eyes darkened. He pressed his fingers into the apricots, lips pressed in a tight line.

With a smirk, Theo lifted the teabag to his lips and sucked out the remaining tea.

"That was your sister, Jamie dear," Mrs. Cooper said.

Theo slapped a hand over the teabag he was debasing. The knee-jerk reaction shoved the teabag into his mouth just as Jamie's mom re-entered the room. Heat washed up his neck and bitter fruit grains seeped onto his tongue.

"She'll be home tonight. Would you and Theo make dinner while I pick her up?"

"We'd love to. Isn't that right?"

Theo's eyes watered. But that might have been the thought of cooking dinner.

Shaking his head, Jamie took pity on Theo, setting his apricots down and sidling around the kitchen island. "Doorbell rang, Mom. Might want to check."

"That bell is far too quiet from here..." Mrs. Cooper left again.

"Oh, Theo," Jamie said as he pinched the edge of the paper tab stuck on Theo's bottom lip. He tugged out the teabag and set it on the banana peel. Bracing a hand on Theo's hip under the edge of the T-shirt, he leaned in. His breath fanned warmly over Theo's nose before he sucked the beads of raspberry tea off his lips. "You have no idea."

"No idea?" Theo asked. "Of how much you want to jump me?"

Jamie's gray eyes smoldered and Theo's insides plummeted to his toes. Jamie fisted the JLM letters on Theo's shirt and pushed him against the hard lip of the island counter. Their thighs and lower stomachs pressed together. Theo grabbed Jamie's ass, fingers skating over the soft slacks he wore, dipping into his crease. Jamie was as hard as he was.

He grinned.

A hard squeeze came to the back of Theo's neck and Jamie dropped a single, feather-light kiss on his lips. "Let's eat." At Theo's last-ditch effort at turning that dirty, Jamie rolled his eyes and added, "Breakfast."