Chapter Thirteen
The morning seemed to stretch on forever, and Ivan found himself watching the clock.
He tried his best not to act like a petulant child denied his favorite treat, but that’s exactly how he felt.
Ivan was too mature to act in such a way, and Rory deserved more consideration from him.
Rory didn’t exist solely to bring him pleasure, though the look in his eyes earlier said otherwise.
Ivan propped his feet on his desk and leaned his chair back, lacing his hands behind his head.
“I’m desperate to taste my honey on your tongue.
” Had he really said that? Yes, and he’d meant it—and not just the golden liquid his bees made.
Ever since he’d uttered the words, Ivan couldn’t stop picturing Rory on his knees with his seed smeared across his lips.
His office door locked, and they could make the fantasy a reality.
Rory had been jealous of Ivan’s first, but this would be one they could experience together.
Hell, there were several firsts Ivan wanted to share with Rory.
He closed his eyes and let the rest of his office blow job fantasy play out.
“Well,” Rory said from the doorway. Ivan had been so engrossed he hadn’t heard him arrive. “Someone is working hard.”
Ivan lowered his feet and spun his chair around to face the door. He lowered his legs, parted them, and cupped the semi erection through his jeans. “I’m getting there.” He crooked his finger for Rory to enter his office. “And shut the door.”
Rory did as he was told, but he didn’t head straight for Ivan. He detoured over to where Ivan’s research data, honey production charts, and weather reports hung.
“Welcome to my office,” he said, gesturing around.
Rory stepped farther into the room but didn’t shut the door. “More like a mad scientist’s laboratory.”
The remark made Ivan smile, but it also reminded him of what was at stake. Everything on the wall represented the dream he’d been building for five years. Today was an opportunity to take the business to the next level as long as he didn’t fuck it up.
“Ivan,” Rory said softly as he came to stand in front of him. “Is everything okay? I meant the mad scientist remark as a compliment. Maybe I should’ve used a better quantifier. Sexy scientist?” Rory was worried he’d said something that had offended Ivan or hurt his feelings.
“Mad scientist is probably more fitting,” Ivan replied. He patted his lap and Rory sauntered across the small room and straddled his thighs.
Ivan cupped the back of his neck and pulled him down for a hot, hungry kiss.
When they broke apart, Ivan reached into his top desk drawer and pulled out a small tin of lip balm.
He removed the lid and ran the pad of his forefinger over the smooth, gold surface.
“I would love nothing more than to drizzle the actual honey over your lips and tongue and suck it off, but it would make a horrible mess. I’m already a nervous wreck.
Perhaps lip balm made from my beeswax will be a good substitute until we can disappear behind locked doors.
” Ivan rubbed the balm over Rory’s lips, and he pursed his mouth into a cute pout.
“And here I thought you were going to drizzle your honey on my lips.”
Ivan released a hungry growl before capturing his mouth in another kiss. “We’ll do that too, but first I need to get through my interview.” He checked the clock. “Roberto will be here in two hours.”
Rory stood up, and Ivan clenched his fists to keep from reaching for him. “Assume he’ll arrive earlier than that. Is that what you want to wear?”
Ivan glanced down at his flannel shirt, jeans, and boots. “Yes, unless you think I need to dress nicer.”
“This is perfect. The orange and navy in your shirt make your amber eyes pop. You’d make a burlap sack look hot, though.” Rory leaned forward and kissed him. “You’re going to do great. Let’s run through some tips on posture and posing. I assume he will want to take pictures.”
Ivan nodded. “I’m not taking him to my beehives, though. Not willing to give away my trade secrets.”
Rory spent the next twenty minutes demonstrating what Ivan’s posture should look like when he was sitting down or standing. They tried a few different angles to see what looked best before he decided that Ivan looked good in all of them.
“I don’t think that’s an objective opinion,” Ivan said.
Rory waved him off and suggested they practice answering questions again. After two or three, he dusted off his hands and said, “I believe my work here is done.”
Ivan tugged him back onto his lap and they made out for a little while, making sure not to take anything too far.
Rory rested his forehead against Ivan’s. “You make me forget my name.”
“Rory,” Ivan said.
The gorgeous man shook his head. “That’s just a nickname.”
“What’s your first name?”
“What do you want it to be?” Rory teased, giving Ivan a glimpse of the minx who’d first arrived on the ranch. “Seriously, what’s your name?” Ivan could look it up in a heartbeat, but he wanted Rory to tell him.
“Maybe I’ll save that for one of our confessions.”
Ivan thought of the whispered words they’d shared in his bed and realized he liked the idea. “What if one of us offers something deep and meaningful and the other only imparts a trivial tidbit?”
Rory tipped his head to the side and considered the question.
After a few moments, he straightened up and pinned Ivan with the most serious expression he’d seen yet.
“Nothing you tell me would be too great or too small. I’ll give everything equal weight, and your confessions will always stay between us. ”
Ivan realized he was right. Nothing he learned about Rory would feel trivial or small. “Deal.”
Harry sent Ivan a text to let him know that Roberto had checked in at the gate, and she’d let him in. The editor would be there in moments. His anxiety started to spike again when he read the message out loud to Rory.
“You’ve got this. I’ll be here the entire time to cheer you on.”
Ivan opened his office door, then turned to look at Rory.
“Wait, you said Roberto knows you. Maybe you should head back to the ranch or old homestead. I don’t want to take a chance on your location getting leaked, even by accident.
I’ll be fine by myself. You prepared me thoroughly.
” He could tell Rory wasn’t convinced so he pressed a quick kiss to his lips.
“I won’t show Roberto my beehives, but I’ll take you there after he leaves. ”
Rory looked smug as hell as he headed toward the door. “I’m going to check out the library. I might lie on the couch and read a book while I wait for you to finish.”
Ivan suddenly imagined Rory stretched out on the sofa with his nose tucked in a book and his feet on Ivan’s lap.
Ivan would have a book in one hand and would massage Rory’s feet with the other.
All three cats would be cuddled around them, and a fire would crackle in the fireplace, casting a warm glow in the small room.
Foot rubs would lead to calf rubs, then up to the thighs and beyond.
Books would get tossed, clothes would fly, and cats would scatter.
Ivan would take Rory in front of the fireplace so he could watch the play of light on his skin as he sank into him.
The scene was pure domestic bliss—something Ivan didn’t expect to have for himself, yet it seemed wholly attainable when Rory was nearby.
“I’ll join you as soon as I can.” Ivan’s voice sounded rough and gritty, and Rory responded with a wide smile.
“I don’t know where your mind went just now, but I like it.” Rory stood on his tiptoes and pressed a quick kiss to Ivan’s lips before heading out. “Good luck, not that you’re going to need it. I know you’re going to be great.”
Ivan heard a car pull up not long after Rory left and took steadying breaths to settle his nerves. He forced a smile to his lips and headed outside to greet Roberto, who would act as the interviewer and photographer. The editor had black hair, an olive complexion, and twinkling brown eyes.
“Ivan, thank you so much for meeting with me. Especially on such short notice. Cash said interviews aren’t normally your thing, and that makes me even more grateful you agreed to this one.
Your honey is superb, and I can’t wait for my readers to learn more about you and your operation.
” His warm demeanor put Ivan at ease right away and that held throughout the interview.
Ivan wasn’t sure if it was because Rory really had prepared him well or if it was just knowing that Rory would be waiting for him after everything was done, but the interview wasn’t as horrible as Ivan had anticipated.
Roberto was kind and genuinely interested in what Ivan had to say.
The experience was nothing like Ivan’s previous encounters with the press when it had always felt like the reporters were trying to catch him out and trip him up so he’d look like the asshole they wanted him to be.
Cash arrived near the end and greeted Roberto with a backslapping hug.
They took a few minutes to catch up, and Roberto pivoted to questions they both could answer.
At no point did he employ gotcha tactics, and Ivan felt silly for being nervous at all.
Then they transitioned to photographs. Roberto snapped pictures of Ivan and Cash individually and together, but he spent most of his attention on the little barrel of honey.
Harry arrived with a basket of baked goodies and another barrel of honey just as they walked Roberto to his car.
The man was delighted with the treats and helped himself to a muffin as he was buckling his seat belt.
Roberto drove off with a honk and a wave.
Ivan turned to Cash once he left. “How’d the meeting go with the FBI about Salvation Anew?”
Something dark washed over Cash’s features, but it was gone before Ivan could place the emotion.
It wasn’t anger or fear. More like annoyance.
“It was probably a waste of time, through no fault of Nick’s.
The agent I met with, Joplin, didn’t seem too motivated to dig into their background.
There have been no violent acts or laws broken. They’re just a nuisance right now.”
“What did he suggest if anything?” Ivan asked.
Cash quirked a brow. “Joplin said I needed to counter their recent bullshit targeting the ranch with positive deeds the community will rally behind. He suggested hiring a PR person.”
“Sounds like a job for Rory,” Ivan said. “He worked wonders preparing me for my interview.”
“I can see that.” A knowing smile crept across Cash’s face. “I’ll talk to him about it tomorrow. I’m sure Rory has better things to do than to talk marketing strategies on a Sunday afternoon.” He slapped Ivan on the shoulder and said, “And I won’t keep you either.”
“Yeah, I have some laundry to catch up on.”
Cash snorted as he headed to the ranch house. “Sure you do.”
Ivan couldn’t wait to tell Rory all about the interview but kept his gait slow and steady in case anyone was watching.
He found Rory lying on the couch beneath a blanket with three cats piled on top of him, a book in his hand, and a fire crackling in the fireplace.
The scene was almost an exact replica of his recent fantasy.
The only thing missing was him, and Ivan planned to rectify that immediately.