Page 26 of Love and Chaos

Kairo rose as well and slid his hand across the nape of Izzie’s neck, pulling him in for a deep, toe-curling kiss. Izzie wrapped him up tight, kissing him with the same desperate passion.

“Good,” Kairo murmured as he broke off the kiss to pepper him with a smaller one. “I can’t wait to be yours. To be your fiancé. Your husband. And finally, a father to our kids.” He punctuated each sentence with a kiss.

“Yes,” Izzie whispered, his heart so full he was sure it was about to burst. “Yes, to all that.”

He was so ready for their next adventure.

BUILDING A FOREVER HOME: AN EDISON AND MAX SHORT STORY

Edison strolled out of the bathroom and into the master bedroom wearing only a pair of loose shorts. He rubbed a towel across his damp hair and looked up to find his adorable lover seated on the bed with his laptop. As soon as Ed appeared, Max slapped the laptop shut. His expression was way too innocent, bringing a wicked grin to Ed’s lips. He tossed the towel into the hamper as he ambled to the bed.

“Whatcha looking at?” Ed teased.

“Nothing important. Work.”

Ed threw himself next to Max on the bed so that he landed sideways, causing Max to bounce and grab at his laptop to keep it from tumbling to the floor. “Really? Work? Last I checked, work doesn’t make you blush like a virgin when I catch you looking at it.”

That only made Max’s face turn an even brighter shade of red.

“What? You think I was looking at porn!”

Ed only had to stare at him. No words needed.

Max made more gasping and scoffing noises, but he wasn’t opening his laptop. “You’re insane.”

“Show me.”

“No!”

Ed leaned in close, pressing his face into Max’s neck, nuzzling his man until he made some adorable noises. “Show me. I wanna see what’s got you so worked up. It’ll be fun.”

“Holy fuck, you’re going to be so disappointed.”

“It won’t. I promise.” He kissed the soft spot behind Max’s ear and then turned his attention to the laptop as he felt Max lift the screen.

He was not disappointed.

But he was very, very confused.

Max hadn’t been looking at porn. Unless he was the type of person who was into real estate porn.

The picture of a single-story redbrick house with dark shutters and a neatly trimmed lawn filled the computer. It was listed as a three-bedroom, two-bath house with a fenced-in yard.

Max had never mentioned buying a house, settling down, or any of that. They were living a wild and free life, traveling here and there. They’d go on adventures with Charlie and Kairo, lounge around in Izzie’s many homes across Greece, take part in digs throughout Egypt when Max was invited to join in, or Max would sometimes teach classes in Gaoxing.

Ed’s shock deepened when he glanced at the top of the display to note where the house was located. It was a suburb of Chapel Hill, which wasn’t far from where his family lived.

“See! I told you it wasn’t anything exciting.” Max laid his hand on the top of the computer and started to close it again, but Ed stopped him.

“Wait. I’m confused. Were you just looking?” He paused and narrowed his gaze at Max. “Was my mama getting in your ear? If she’s pressuring you⁠—”

Ed’s words died off at Max’s wild cackle. He finished with a sigh and dropped onto the mound of white pillows at his back. “I guess this is a good time to come clean. Ed…I’m getting old.”

A groan of disgust escaped Ed as he scooted up the bed to lie against the pillows next to Max, smirking at the man. “You just turned thirty-five a month ago. You’re not old.”

“Yeah, but my bones ache now when I’m crawling out of crypts. I’m getting old.”

“Uh-huh. I’m older than you.”