Page 11 of Boy Toy Not Included

Chapter Five

Punch.Punch.Kick.Punch.Dodge. The pattern continued nonstop. Sweat soaked through Diesel’s white shirt, molding to his chest and sticking to thick abs. Several times, Diesel had barely missed taking Kuba’s head off when he swung the mitt for Kuba to dodge. Truth be told, maybe he should have had Diesel as a trainer all along. The distraction he presented had Kuba focusing twice as hard as usual. With Jayme, sometimes he fell into a trance and did everything by muscle memory. There was no disassociation with Diesel. He couldn’t turn his brain off if he tried.

“Hold on. This wet shirt is restricting my movement.” Diesel tossed down the punch mitts and then pulled his shirt up and over his head. He tossed the wet material aside and reclaimed the mitts.

Kuba watched every second with a thirst he thought might kill him. He had to focus on something else. “You picked up the moves with a little too much ease. Have you trained before?”

Diesel shrugged. “I let a friend talk me into taking some boxing lessons with him in high school. It’s been a good seven or eight years, but I guess my body didn’t forget.”

Kuba couldn’t have stopped his gaze from sliding down Diesel’s body if he tried. “Let’s get some water.” He had to cool down. As they dipped under the ropes, Kuba kept talking to stop himself from doing anything dumb. “So what do you do to stay in such good shape?”

“Mostly weight training.”

Kuba glanced his way. “No cardio?” He wasn’t trying to sound like a dick. The question just came out sounding that way.

A sexy smile stretched Diesel’s lips. “I jog in the mornings.”

“That’s good, so do I. When you said weights, I worried you wouldn’t keep up with me, and being outside is where I’m most vulnerable.”

Diesel nodded, looking as if he took the matter seriously. “One of my past clients used to train for marathons. I had to be right there, running right alongside her.”

“Even in the marathons?” His words were laced with laughter, just picturing some person running with a bodyguard hovering. Of course, that would be him soon too.

The way Diesel kept smiling said he didn’t take any of Kuba’s questions to heart. “Yep, even during marathons.”

“Huh. Well, I can tell by just doing this that you’ve got stamina.” Why in God’s name did he just say that?

Diesel didn’t laugh. He simply nodded along. “This can be a dangerous job. I have to be able to move fast and keep my reflexes sharp. It’d probably kill me if anyone got hurt on my watch.” Diesel cleared his throat. His gaze slid away. “Plus, some clients can get a little handsy.”

Kuba’s stomach dropped. “I don’t want to be one of those people.” The words simply burst from Kuba. He always talked too much.

Diesel’s gaze snapped back to holding his stare. He didn’t say anything, but he looked like he had all the words and didn’t know where to start.

“You can say whatever you’re thinking. Technically, you’re not my employee yet. I’m aware I say way too much when you’re around. If I’m comfortable with someone, they’re in trouble. I can’t shut up.” He tried pressing his lips together in hopes of making his tongue stop.

Diesel focused on tightening the lid of his water bottle. It was such a painfully awkward motion that even Kuba cringed. He finally set it aside, but he still didn’t meet Kuba’s stare again.

“I wasn’t trying to insinuate anything. So, risking that you’ll take this the wrong way, I just meant I’ve worked for a lot of people who acted like they owned me in every sense. Not that I feel that way about you.” Diesel’s gaze finally moved back to his. He looked horrified. “Scratch that, okay? Let’s pretend this never happened. I’m just digging my hole deeper over here. I just meant that in the past I’ve dealt with some uncomfortable situations. You don’t make me uncomfortable. I like the way you look at me.” Diesel threw his hands up and paced away. “Jesus Christ.” His shoulders expanded and then fell. He turned back Kuba’s way looking defeated. “It’s okay if you want a different guard now.”

Kuba couldn’t take it. He set his water bottle next to Diesel’s. “This has to stop.”

Diesel’s shoulders sank a little more.

Kuba closed the distance between them, bitching every step. “Your job is not in danger, but you might hate me in a second.” He didn’t give Diesel time to guess at his intentions. Kuba swooped in and covered Diesel’s mouth with his. He one hundred percent expected to get shoved away. It felt a lot like he proved he did, in fact, want to be one of those people. But in the most technical sense, Diesel didn’t work for him. He worked for Kuba’s dad, and not even that yet. The craziest thing happened as Kuba’s lips collided with Diesel’s. Neither of them stopped, nor did they explode into action. Diesel kissed him back in thesweetest of unsure kisses. Suddenly, he knew exactly what he wanted to say. He pulled away just enough so he could speak. “I don’t want to touch you because I think you’re my property. It’s because you’ve owned my every thought since we met.” He reclaimed Diesel’s mouth. They were both covered in sweat, and Kuba knew this kiss wasn’t heading anywhere. But the moment would definitely play on his brain for too long. He already knew that. No one had ever kissed Kuba the way Diesel did. It was soft and vulnerable. Kuba felt oddly cherished. Everyone he had ever kissed before Diesel had been just for the sex. Before Diesel, Kuba had been fine with that. This was different. Diesel was different. That was exactly why he had to stop.

Kuba pulled away even as his body swayed closer. When he spoke, his voice shook. “You can sue for sexual harassment now.”

Diesel laughed. It was a soft, sexy sound. His hand was flattened against Kuba’s chest, as if he had considered shoving Kuba away. Diesel lightly stroked the spot he touched. “I can’t have you worrying about that.” This time, Diesel made the gap between them disappear. The way Diesel’s tongue tried curling around his was sexy as fuck. Kuba’s knees weakened. When Diesel pulled away, Kuba worried a little for his sanity. “Now we’re even.”

Everything inside Kuba screamed to keep going. They had already crossed the line equally. What could it hurt—

The steel door squeaked open and then slammed shut. “I saw the light was on. I should’ve known you’d never take the night off.”

Diesel took another step back at Jayme’s arrival. His gaze didn’t waver, though. Diesel held his stare until Kuba had no other choice than to acknowledge his visitor.

He pasted on a fake smile. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be relaxing for the holidays.”

Jayme’s brown eyes sparkled with laughter the way they always did. “Ah, you know me, mate. The grass doesn’t grow beneath my toes.”