Savaro's Honey Buns (4 page)

"I thought you'd be busy today."

"That was today," Laird said, blowing on his loot.

"It's night now. Have you been outside today?"

Savaro made a face. "Yeah. I was about to leave when a customer came in to order honey buns."

"Tell him to come back on Monday."

"Can't. Already promised to have them sent to his hotel."

"So—is this stranger a cute stranger?"

Savaro burst out laughing. He darted around the

others while he grabbed ingredients from all over the kitchen. He had to get the cakes done before he went home so they could cool overnight. Frowning, he grabbed a tray of eggs and placed it beside the bowl.

"Didn't you say you had some saved for me?" Laird asked.

"Yeah—so?"

"Give him those," Laird shrugged. "Just as long as I get them back from your next batch."

"Really?"

Laird shrugged once more. "Yeah."

Savaro hugged him and grabbed a beautiful

container from a nearby shelf. Taking a breath he walked back out to his guest who was now eating his salad.
What
the devil did he say his name was? Jackson? Jason? Jakal?

Savaro sighed. He was never any good with names.

It was surprising he remembered Rajan and Laird. Licking his lips he walked over and stood by the table waiting for the man to look up.

"Well you're in luck," he said extending the can.

"My brother decided he was would part with these so I can give them to you."

The man arched a brow over a brown eye and

peered at Savaro. "Look… er…"

"Jamal."

"Jamal. Did you want the honey buns or what?"

"Of course! I heard
your
honey buns were the best. I can't just walk away without sampling them now can I?"

Why does that sound like an innuendo?

Savaro placed the tin on the table and opened it. He watched Jamal peek in then smiled. Reaching in, the man pulled one out, broke off a piece and pushed it between those beautiful, thick, dark lips. Savaro fought the urge to sigh. A growl escaped Jamal's throat and Savaro arched a brow and smirked. "Do you like it?"

"Yes."

Their eyes locked and Savaro could swear he saw

something flash in Jamal's eyes. Though he couldn't tell what it was, he felt proud he'd caused it. Heat pulsed through him, causing the hair on his arm to stand on end and his heart to race like it had never done before.

"My mom makes these all the time. But since I'm not home as often I miss them. I've tried finding someone who could make them but they haven't been able to make it right."

"I'm sorry." Savaro bowed his head. "I am happy I could bring back just a little bit of what she is to you while you are away from her."

"Thanks—are you busy at the moment Savaro?"

He blinked and shook his head slightly to clear it.

"Busy? No, I was heading home until you asked for honey buns. Why do you ask?"

"Join me?"

"That is not a good idea."

"Why?" Jamal asked, lifting another piece of the sweet concoction to his lips. "Afraid you might fall in love?"

"Fall in—of all the hair-brained—what makes you think I'm gay?"

"It's only a drink, Savaro. I am not asking for your body, or to sign away your life."

"How did you know? You don't know me."

"It's not hard to tell." Jamal rolled his shoulders. "I could say something like, I can sense it in your chi or something equally as corny but that's pointless. I took a guess… tell me. Was I right?"

"The gaydar… I really hate it when people use that dumb phrase. There's no such thing as a gaydar and the sooner they come to that realization the better."

"I never said anything about a gaydar. Truth be told I don't believe in it either." Jamal stopped and stared at him for a while.

Savaro felt as if the man's brown eyes were

undressing him slowly. A shiver ran down his spine causing him to lick his lips and curl his toes. But then Jamal laughed.

"What?" Savaro questioned.

"Nothing—I was only thinking."

"That you made a mistake in asking me to join you?"

"It's all right, Savaro Anatolis. You do not have to join me for dinner. It was a simple question. Just never deny who you are."

The man stood up and was reaching for his wallet

when Savaro stopped him. "No—your dinner is on the house. What do you mean denying who I am?"

"There are men, Savaro," Jamal leant in. "Men that are quite proud to be gay. The fact that they love the raw roughness of another man turns them on beyond words and they couldn't care who knows it. They couldn't wait to come out and get on with it. Then there are men who want to hide it for as long as humanly possible. Oh! I almost forgot the other kinds. There are men who are out not because they had to be, but because they just didn't want to deal with the problems that come with it to move on living a life of loneliness and regret. Which one are you?"

Savaro could smell his cologne,
Heat
. He never liked that scent before but on the man before him, Savaro felt primal, ready to leap across the table and take him. The fact there was people all around them did nothing to assuage the feeling of complete lust that tore through him like a storm ravishing a countryside. It took everything in him to keep a moan from escaping his throat. Gripping his thighs to avoid idle hands and to keep himself from allowing the sensations to take over, Savaro tilted his head.

"That's none of your business."

"You're right," Jamal dropped money on the table.

"That's why you couldn't sit down and have a drink with me, right? All right. I'll buy it."

"I said dinner is on the house."

Jamal smiled but made no motion to retrieve the

money. Instead he picked up the tin, covered it and turned out the door. Savaro on the other hand growled and stormed into the kitchen almost knocking his brother into a nearby pastry chef who was carefully measuring vanilla into a large bowl.

"Jesus! Sav!"

"Sorry, Laird." He apologized then turned for his office muttering every profanity he could think of under his breath.

"And a
bracka bracka
to you too."

"I'm sorry, that man is just getting on my damn nerves," Savaro explained. "He's giving me advice on being gay. Can you believe it? I can't even remember his name and he wants to lecture me."

"So he
is
gay! Hmm, that could open the door for a world of possibilities."

"Who cares? He's a pain in my ass."

"No, no, dear brother. You wish he was a pain in your ass. Why? Because chances are he could make it hurt so good."

"You really need to get laid."

Laird laughed softly. "Touché."

Savaro eyed his brother warily and shook his head.

He wanted to say something but the truth was he had no come back to that.

"Well, look at the bright side. You won't have to see him again."

Savaro groaned. He wasn't sure he wanted that

either; perhaps after he'd had a chance to sample those delectable lips. That, he didn't voice to his brother but removed his outer cloak from his uniform and dumped it into a nearby laundry bin. He picked up a few things before raking his fingers through his hair and turning to his brother. "You coming over tonight?"

"Nah. I'm going out for a few beers with José."

Laird shrugged.

"If you end up on some small island you can't pronounce with a ring on your finger," Savaro grinned,

"please call so I can laugh at you."

Laird rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, it's only José.

You wanna come?"

"Nah… Not good company right now. You go and have some fun. Say hello to José for me and let him know I'll take a rain check."

"Uh-huh, sure you will." Laird picked up a candy off the desk and unwrapped it. Dropping the wrapper in the garbage he popped the red sweet into his mouth. "Are you sure you don't wanna come? Last chance. Speak now or forever hold your peace."

"You're a drama king. Go."

"All right." Laird hugged him then turned out the door.

Savaro heard him saying good night to the staff and after they replied, Savaro picked up his phone to call Rajan then changed his mind. Rajan would just laugh and joke about the whole Jamal incident just like Laird had.

Frowning, he wondered why he had two brothers and they were both jerks. Chuckling, he took a deep breath and exited the office. Saying good night to his staff, and reminding Pablo to close up, he ducked out into the dark.

Jamal stood by his window long after the hotel had gone quiet. Music played softly from his iPod and he folded his arms over his bare chest. He just couldn't sleep.

He tried watching television but he couldn't focus. All he kept thinking of was Savaro and the way he'd all but pulled into a shell when asked if he was gay. Taking a deep breath he shook his head. He knew Savaro was gay—the way he'd reacted to the question confirmed it but why did he care?

Why did he feel so obsessed over a man he barely knew?

Walking to the kitchen, he poured himself a glass of water and sat on a stool peering at the television, playing on mute. It was on SPIKE TV playing a program called
1000

Ways to Die.
It was a funny show despite the name since most of the deaths were just humans being idiots. After the episode with two guys getting impaled by cactus, he rolled his eyes and switched the channel to a re-run episode of
Criminal Minds.
Even that couldn't take his mind off the man he'd met in the restaurant. By the time morning rolled around, all he wanted to do was just stay in bed. Instead, he stuck his headphones back into the iPod, strapped it to his arm and headed out for a run.

Lost in his music and his mind, Jamal turned down the path for the beach. The lane was lined with evergreens on both sides that flowed heavenward and kissed at their peaks, leaving the path shaded from the morning sun. Dew misted the air, leaving it fresh and flowing. The air was a little nippy but it wasn't all bad. He inhaled deeply, enjoying the feeling of complete protection. When he exited the lane he felt disappointed but kept running until he crashed into something hard.

Jamal shook his head to clear it and when he

refocused he was staring smack, dab at Savaro Anatolis.

"Oh for crying out loud!"

"What's the matter, Jamal?"

"The matter?" he asked, pressing his hands to his hips. "The problem is that I want to kiss you right now. But you still haven't decided to tell me if you're gay or not."

"Right—and I'll never tell you because I don't want you to kiss me."

"Really?" Jamal smirked, stepping closer. He reached up, wrapped his hand behind Savaro's head and stopped. "Push me away then, Savaro. Tell me to stop."

With each second Savaro hesitated, Jamal inched

closer and closer until Savaro's breath bathed his face.

When the chef still said nothing, he took Savaro's lips, roughly and without mercy. He used his tongue to tease them until they opened and Savaro moaned, falling against his chest. With a slight whimper, Jamal sucked Savaro's tongue in, nipped it before sliding his tongue over it. When he finally released the tongue, Savaro whimpered but Jamal simply licked against his lower lip and freed him.

"Liar," Jamal whispered, staring down into Savaro's eyes, caressing his cheeks gently. But Savaro's eyes were closed. Even with that, Jamal could still see shame wash over his face. "What's the matter?"

"I shouldn't be doing this. I can't be doing this."

"Why not? I felt the way you reacted to me—what's the problem?"

"My body always leads me astray."

"Have dinner with me."

"Jamal—I don't know anything about you. I

shouldn't be having dinner with you."

Jamal smiled, tracing his thumb over Savaro's nose.

"That's no excuse to push so hard. Just dinner and I promise I will not do anything you don't agree to."

Savaro's eyes opened and Jamal's breath caught in his throat from the deepness of the grey of them. He ached to lean in and take Savaro's lips once more but held off. In fact, the stepped back to put some space between the heated mass of their skin. "It's just dinner."

"All right—just dinner."

"I'll pick you up at seven?"

Savaro nodded and extended his hand. "Give me your phone."

Jamal handed the phone over and watched as

Savaro added something then gave it back. With one final look, Savaro took off jogging down the beach. Jamal was unable to help himself and just stood there, staring at the perfect ass until he could no longer see the man that owned it before glancing down at his phone. When he searched it and found Savaro's address, he smiled. Turning in the opposite direction, he went for another twenty minutes then gave up and returned to the hotel. Running was the last thing on his mind; by then he was trying to figure how he was going to survive the day until seven.

* * * *

Savaro waved at Laird's secretary. "Is he in?"

"Sav! Yes. He just finished a conference call. You can go on in."

"Thanks hon." He reached over and pressed a kiss to her cheek before entering Laird's office and closing the door behind him. "I need to talk to you."

Laird looked up from his computer and arched a

brow at him. Savaro sighed and flopped in the chair across from the desk, eased down and stretched his legs out before him.

"It sounds serious," Laird said. "You all right?"

"Someone asked me out to dinner," Savaro pouted.

"I didn't want to go but that kiss—oh God that kiss."

"Whoa! Back up! What kiss?"

"Remember that guy from the restaurant?"

Laird nodded.

"Well I went on my run this morning and crashed into him; literally. We had another one of our little tiffs—it seems since the moment I met the guy we've been having these enlightening conversations that drive me nuts.

Anyways, he assumed I wanted him to kiss me."

"Didn't you?"

"That's beside the point! I'm telling the story here!"

"All right! All right!"

"Anyways, he took me in his arms and my brain kept screaming for me to push him away. It screamed at me to get out of his arms, away from his touch but he was so strong and warm and just—his eyes locked with mine and it was over."