Arrow Inferno
Chapter 24: Stanley ‘STAN’ Norris vs. Ian ‘WILL’ Williams ~ Danger and charm… With his words!

***

Will was shaken at what he'd felt when Stan uttered those words. The sheer audacity of his statement had stunned him into silence. He'd been disturbed by the image those words had conjured in his mind but at the same time, totally aroused. What was that! He sure as hell wasn't going to bend over for anyone. And he would have told Stan exactly that too but...how the fuck was the man always able to get to him with just a few words so easily? He washed his hands till he felt he was composed enough before he turned around to face Stan.

"Tell me what to do," he said, wiping his hands dry.

"Luckily, Mr. Osei gave us a ricer so this is going to be easy. Here, take this." Stan gave the ricer to Will. "Just fill and press into this bowl." He pointed at the glass bowl beside the pan of boiled potatoes.

"Got it." Will got down to work as Stan put some heavy cream on fire.

He took a serving bowl and dished some of the beef and mushroom sauce into it. Then he transferred the nicely done lamb chops onto a plate and took that and the bowl of sauce to the dining room. When he came back, Will was done with the potatoes.

"Thank you." Stan took the bowl of hot fluffy potatoes and poured in the bacon fat to give it a nice flavour. "Please set the table." He reached for the butter. "Sure."

"There's wine in the fridge but if you'd rather continue with your beer..."

"Wine is perfect, thanks." Will went to set the table, still a bit flustered.

***

Will stared at Stan with an expression of shocked pleasure on his face. "Fuck," he muttered and then scooped more mashed potato into his mouth. Stan chuckled as he watched Will. It was obvious that his mate liked the mashed potatoes but he still asked, "like it?"

"It's rich, creamy, and full of flavor," Willed gushed. "That bacon took it to another level. Christ!" His words made Stan laugh. "It is absolutely sinful."

"Glad you like the mash too." Will had already tasted the lamb chops and scored him ten out of ten. "Now let's hear the verdict on the sauce." He said as he watched Will scoop some of the beef and mushroom sauce onto his mashed potatoes. "We both know I'll love it." He grinned and then took a mouthful. His exaggerated moan made Stan laugh.

"I can't assume that moan was because of the food."

"Well, no one is blowing me under the table so it must be the food." Will shot back. "This is good food. I have to call Rosanne and tell her what an amazing cook you are."

"You should." A smug Stan took a sip of his wine. "You need to leave room for the cheesecake."

"Oh, shit I forgot about that." Will groaned. "I'm definitely going to do justice to that cake." He grinned.

"Glutton!"

Will laughed. "I can jog it off later. Hey, how about we run together this evening?"

"No, thanks. I enjoy running alone." And in his head, Stan was saying, not on your life.

"Oh, but I wanted to show you something."

"Something?" Stan stopped munching on the lamb in his mouth and kept his gaze on Will. "What?"

"Remember that wolf I talked to you about?"

Stan swallowed too quickly the lamb went the wrong way, making him cough. After quickly drinking some water, he focused on Will. "Huh?" He knew what was coming. "Are you okay?" At Stan's nod, Will explained. "The wolf that..."

"Attacked you, uhuh?"

"Well, we're pals now so...I thought we could go see it together."

"Is that so?" Stan said slowly.

"Yeah. You'll love it, Stan. It's so intelligent and sweet and..."

"So now you two are..."

"Friends. It's like my pet now..."

"The fuck!" Stan couldn't stop his growl. He was no one's pet.

"Cool, right?" Will grinned. "It is my pet." He repeated, completely oblivious to Stan's incensed state.

"Is it? And I supposed you've given it a name." His tone was pleasantly sarcastic in the face of wanting to snarl.

"No." Will's eyes widened at that, completely missing the sarcasm. "I can't believe I haven't thought of giving it one all this while. I have to think of something." "Don't."

"Why not? All pets have names."

"This one won't appreciate one."

"And how the fuck do you know what my wolf wants and doesn't want?" Will looked totally amused.

"I read somewhere that wolves hate being named."

"Bullshit!" Will burst into laughter. "Anyway, I want you to meet it."

"No."

"Aw come on, don't be a pussy."

"Not gonna happen."

"It will not harm you, I promise." Will laughed. "I will protect you."

"How sweet, but no thanks."

"You're such a killjoy." His groan conveyed how disappointed he was. He'd been really looking forward to the two meeting. "Now I don't have any choice but to tell it my roommate is a pussy." "You're going to tell the wolf about me." Stan's voice was rich with amusement and warmth.

"I do that all the time," Will admitted before he caught himself. "Shit, that made me sound crazy."

"Sounds sweet," Stan smiled. "But you're right. It sounded crazy as fuck." He laughed. "What do you tell it about me."

"That you're a nutcase."

"Is that all?" Stan remembered his mate saying that once.

"Yes."

"Liar." He said softly. "Anyway, I'm glad you have a canine friend. They're very loyal so..." He shrugged.

Will set his fork down on his plate with a clink. "I am stuffed."

"And had a lot to drink," Stan observed. "Sure you can still have that cake?"

"I'll have that for dinner." Will stretched. "For now, I just want to sleep."

"I have work to do so I'll take a quick shower and get on with it." Stan stood up. "I smell of food."

"Same here." Will stood too and began to gather their plates. "I think a shower will help me sleep better."

The two men cleared the table, did the dishes, and then stored the leftover food in the refrigerator. Will thanked Stan for lunch when they left the kitchen.

"I'll return the fav..."

"No, no, no..." Stan cut him off before he could complete his sentence. "I value my life." He laughed, opening the door to his room. "I didn't sign up for death my poisoning in Achiase." "Fuck you." Will flipped a laughing Stan off and then entered his room. "Damn, I'm full," he groaned as he flopped onto his bed.

After some minutes, he got off the bed and turned on the air-conditioner. As was the norm, the weather was hot. All the more reason he needed that shower. He'd been having a lot of those since he landed in Ghana. After his shower, Will wore just sweats and then got into bed. But sleep completely eluded him because his brain kept conjuring up a certain blue-eyed hunk and his teasing smile. He thought about that mouth and all the things he wanted to do to it and cursed darkly. To keep his mind off the lustful feeling coursing through him, he picked up his phone to return Akua's call as he'd promised but...

"Fuck this." Will threw his phone back onto the bedside table and then jumped out of bed with just one destination his mind.