Chapter Six #2
“Yeah, it does. You okay to get messy?” I found myself stumbling over a reply, my nerves and awkwardness appearing out of the blue when I least wanted them to show their dumb faces. “Or we can just eat dinner, have cake, and sit around.”
“Naked?”
Aiden smiled. “Naked or clothed, whichever you prefer.”
“Okay, let’s see what we feel like after we eat.”
Maybe we’d just want to sit around with coffee and cake while we got to know each other better. That would probably be the wisest thing to do…
***
The steaks were grilled perfectly, just a touch of pink, and served with some asparagus and a fancy Dijon mustard sauce.
He tossed a salad then warmed some crusty bread on the grill.
It was so delicious I nearly forgot about cake.
Probably because of his witty banter, good looks, and the way he made me feel important.
Dessert came after the dishes and kitchen had been cleaned up and the dog was fed.
Lady seemed very happy to stay in the house, lying down on a rug in front of the fireplace Aiden had lit with a long match.
Music streamed out of his phone resting in a dock atop the mantle.
The air was thick with the scent of rich chocolate coffee, pine logs, and frozen chocolate-dipped key lime pie.
“This may be the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted,” I said around a mouthful of pie.
“All the credit goes to the bakery in Arizona that I order them from.” He took a bite of his pie, sighed dreamily, and then swallowed.
“I did my studies at the University of Arizona, and there was this little bakery about three blocks from campus. The prices were astronomical but worth every penny I made scrubbing exercise equipment and floors at a local gym.”
“I’d scrub barn floors with my toothbrush for another slice of this pie,” I tossed out. Aiden laughed out loud, which made me feel really special.
“You’re funny. Would you really like another slice?” He went to stand, but I shook my shaggy head soundly.
“No, I mean yes, but I better not. I kind of get fixated on a food then eat it until I can’t move or throw up.
” He chuckled as if he thought I was kidding.
I wasn’t. I’d once eaten a whole dish of Mom’s lasagna then threw up all over the den.
Mom was not impressed. Neither was my aunt since I vomited on her beloved Gucci purse.
“I’ll stop at one. Thanks, though, for feeding me your favorite college pie. ”
“What good is pie if you can’t share it with someone you’re attracted to?
” He forked up his last bit of pie, leaned closer to me as the sofa cushion between us sank from his weight, and offered me his last bite of pie.
Even though my stomach was full, I could not refuse that forkful.
Something about him feeding me was so comforting.
As he watched me chew, Baker’s craggy voice spoke up in my subconscious.
“You have some chocolate right at the corner of your mouth.”
I tried to lick at it but ended up tonguing his thumb as he tried to clean it off.
That set off a billion forty-two alarms that rang out all kinds of warnings.
So many, I wasn’t sure which one to listen to first. He had smooth moves that was for sure.
Somehow, even though I knew he was a he-whore, I wanted to get naked with him.
I wanted to lie down on the couch with his hot flesh next to mine so I could taste him all over and not just the tip of his thumb.
But naked would lead to sex—hopefully—which would lead to awkward stuff.
I already liked him way more than I should, yet here I was now sucking on his thumb as if it were an all-day sucker.
My cock was throbbing with want. It had been a long, long time since I’d been with anyone.
Guys in bars thought I was weird or creepy, so they avoided me.
That made me feel weirder and creepier, so I stopped going to clubs altogether.
Aside from one night when I wished I’d gotten to The Ruby Garter a little earlier…
“You look a thousand years away, Ford,” Aiden whispered, yanking me from that night like a starter rope for a chainsaw.
I came back to the sofa, the fire, and the sexy man with a rush of unease that must have shown on my face, for he eased his thumb from between my lips.
“Look, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.
I thought we both were feeling the same way, but—”
“No, I…” I swallowed down whatever it was lodged in my throat when I thought of that night.
“I would really like to get naked with you.” He threw a shoulder back slightly, his expression one of deep doubt.
“No, I would. I just…” I ran a finger back and forth over the cuff of my shirt as I worked to find the right words.
“Hey, Ford, it really is okay.” Now he sounded worried.
Because I was weird and itchy. Now he’d pull back from me, never let me bring Lady home, and for sure never kiss me again.
Shit. I’d gone and ruined every—“Ford, hey, it’s all good.
No pressure. None at all. Okay?” Instead of backpedaling, he placed a hand on my thigh, by my knee, and began kneading the twitching muscle.
“This has been a nice night. We had fun, talked a lot, and shared a love of pie. There does not need to be anything more.”
“I did want more. Naked more. But then I went there and…” I shrugged, my sight falling from his eyes to his strong hand. “That feels good.”
“Nothing beats a good quad rub,” he commented softly.
I could only agree. The fire spit and hissed as Lady lay there with her feet in the air, her belly warmed by the flames.
“I don’t want to push, but you looked pretty pale for a moment.
Is there some medical situation I need to know about in case of emergency? ”
“No, I, no. Nothing medical. I mean nothing that isn’t treatable with meds. I’m normal.”
“I never said you were anything but normal,” he assured me, his voice low and gentle, as if he were trying to calm a scared horse. Great. Now he thought I was a Palamino or something. “Normal and incredibly handsome.” That made me cough. “Why don’t I get us some more coffee?”
“Okay, thank you. I’d like that a lot. Sorry for drifting off while we were getting all erotically charged.”
He pressed a kiss to my lips, which I chased afterward. “It happens. We’ll get back to that charged place another time. I’ll be right back.”
Feeling like a total ass, I lay down on the sofa, knees tucked to my chest, and watched Lady rise from her toasty bed to pad over to me.
How do dogs know when we need solace? She climbed onto the sofa as I moved onto my back—I wasn’t sure if she was allowed, but I wasn’t going to tell her no—to spread herself over me, then let her head fall to my shoulder.
Tears welled. I held her close, so close I could feel her heart thumping slightly faster than mine.
She smelled like a dog, but not in a bad way, in the good dog way.
My eyes closed. The weight of her atop me felt calming, like one of those weighted blankets.
This weight was much better. So much better that within seconds I was fast asleep, my arm thrown over the dog, the memories of a bad night lost to dreams of dark brown eyes and sweet coffee-chocolate kisses.
The dog leaving the sofa gently roused me. Blinking awake, I looked up to see Aiden standing over me, an amused look on his face.
“My poor ego. I bring the best-looking man in Bastian Grange into my home, feed him, kiss him, and share my pie with him, and he falls asleep on me.”
“I am so sorry,” I mumbled, shamed to my very core.
“I’m teasing. I always find it reassuring that someone feels comfortable enough in my home to nod off.
” I sat up then pushed my fingers through my hair.
“You’re more than welcome to stay. I have an emergency call to deal with out at the Preston place.
Seems they had a predator get into their sheep pen. ”
“Damn. What kind of predator?” My feet hit the floor with a soft thud. The Preston ranch was only about forty miles from our land. It bordered us. I recalled seeing the sheep grazing a few times when we were out working on the line cabins or fixing fences.
“Not sure yet.” Lady did a small dance by the front door. “I’ll put her out then get her back into her pen for the rest of the night.”
“What time is it?” I patted my back pocket for my phone, but it wasn’t there.
“It’s a little after two. Your phone is on the mantel. I found it on the floor.”
Two in the morning? Holy shit. I’d been sleeping on his couch for hours.
Lady whined loudly. Aiden moved to the door with purpose.
“Shit, it’s so late. You should have woken me up.”
“You looked so comfy I hated to wake you.” He took a moment to pull on some boots and a coat, grab his keys from a dish on a side table, and turn to look at me. “I’m serious. Coming home to you would be pretty delightful.”
“Oh, I…” Yeah, that did sound delightful. Scary but delightful. “I should probably get home. Baker might need the truck in the morning. Next time, maybe?”
“Next time.”
After getting Lady settled in her pen, we went our separate ways after a firm, long hug.
Him in his vet truck, me in Baker’s truck, wondering all the way home if I should have kissed him goodbye, or better yet, if I should have waited for him to come back from his emergency.
I got tingly and itchy thinking about both options.
That was probably why I didn’t notice Baker watching me creep up the stairs after getting home.
He was exiting the bathroom when I hit the top riser.
“You’re out late. Have any troubles with the truck?” he asked in a whisper so as not to disturb everyone else.
“No, no troubles. Just out late.”
“With Aiden?”
“Maybe.”
“Ford…”
“Night.”
Shutting my door in his face felt good. And bad. Rude yet justified. Why did family always tie a person’s emotions into tight knots?