Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One

“ A nd that, y’all ladies, is how y’all make a southwestern lasagna, where you freeze one, and you serve this one. You can ramp the heat up and down, you can go fruity or smoky. Not only that, it didn’t cost the Earth! And y’all take notice, how long did it take us to make? Totally a weeknight meal. Now, everyone come grab you a plate, and I hope that y’all have a wonderful afternoon here at the ranch.” Nathan waved the Lions Club-slash-Ladies Auxiliary Club-slash-Baptist Women’s Coalition-slash-St. Francis Books and Snacks- slash whoever, whichever class he was teaching today, off.

It didn’t matter what the group was. They all wanted the same thing—a chance to get together, relax, eat some good food, and listen to him flirt in Texan.

He loved it.

Kase had come up with some sort of plan where he taught one class a month to one of these social organizations, and these social organizations in turn ended up doing some sort of a scholarship for one of the foster kids.

It was a win-win situation for all concerned. The women got what they wanted. Kase got the money they needed for these scholarships so it wasn’t coming out of their pocket. The kids got practice applying for the grants.

It didn’t matter. Nathan was having a ball. He enjoyed teaching, he enjoyed cooking, and he could talk to trees. So why not?

He nodded to the couple of hands Kase had allotted him for the cleaning up. “There’s not a whole lot to do, guys, just the bowls. We used recyclable compostable pans for the food. Just take the extra one over to the big house. The family will eat it later.”

He’d fed the cowboys this meal yesterday.

He got a quick grin from one of the cowboys. “You and Ames aren’t going to eat it?”

He shook his head. “Nope. Ames is cooking. I didn’t ask what. I am totally in.”

The other cowboy—Greg maybe, or Gorgon, or George? He couldn’t remember—looked at him with huge, wide, very, very young eyes. “Mr. Ames cooks?”

“He does for me.” And that was that.

He laughed, going to table touch a few of the women who were lingering before taking his leave and stopping by the office to peek in at the bosses.

He knocked on the door, and Ryder opened it, eyebrows rising.

“Nathan, how’d it go?”

“Fine, fine it was lasagna. You all have that for dinner. Everybody enjoyed it, but if we’re gonna keep meeting outside, you’re gonna have to get me heaters.” It was only September, and it wasn’t bad yet, but he could tell. The Texan in him knew cold weather was coming, and it wasn’t going to be pretty.

“Oh man, it’s gonna be too chilly for you to do classes outdoors. No, heaters are not gonna work. I’ll have to put you inside. I mean, heaters could maybe cover you for October’s class, sure, and…” Ryder’s eyes went wide, as if a light bulb had gone on. “Also, so that you know, the Halloween party is… You do know about Halloween, right?”

He stared at Ryder. Had the man lost his marbles? “No, no, they don’t do Halloween in Texas. What day is it?”

“I will hit you over the head with a shovel.”

“You sure could try, Shorty. What’s the deal about Halloween?” He had finally figured this out. This was less a boss situation and more a say you won’t situation. And he was beginning to fit in with this whole thing. These guys had realized he was going to provide food that was going to fill them up and give them energy and taste good. And the guys had stopped telling him how to do his goddamn job.

He was overjoyed, and so were the bosses.

“So you see, Halloween is my—our—anniversary, and also we have a huge haunted hayride. Oh, and there’s trick or treating. So there’s gonna be the anniversary party. That’s sort of the family party with the kids, and you know, everyone cheers. There’s the food for the hayride, so if there’s anything you want to put together for that, it would rock. And then there’s the fact that I’m leaving town with Kase and taking him on a cruise, which he doesn’t know about. So we’ll be gone for ten days.”

“Okay, so. Haunted hayride. Scary haunted? Cute haunted?” It was an important distinction, and his mind raced.

“One of each.”

“I can do that.” He grabbed the pad and pencil that lived in his jacket pocket, jotting down notes. “Family party—real family, potluck catered family party, what?”

“I want chili and cornbread with all the fixin’s. I’ll provide the cake; expect seventy.”

Jesus. All on the same day? “Fair enough. What do you need for when you’re gone?”

“Backup for Nanette, mainly.” Ryder winced. “Can you provide say five of the ten suppers that we’re doing? Don’t have to be fancy. You don’t have to be there. Just something that the grannies can throw in the oven, or Charlie can. Plan for fifteen per meal. That should cover it.”

That was easy enough, no problem. “Do you need me to make sure Sophie stays here, like here at my house, here, not here, here where I’m standing, which is the exact opposite of what I was asking. Let me start over.” He took a deep breath. “All right, do you need me to keep Sophie at home?”

“Please. We’ve got more teenagers now than we have little ones, and another teenager isn’t going to help.”

“Okay, next question. Do you need me to bring any teenagers to our place? We could keep a couple more for two or three days.” He hoped. He assumed he probably should ask Ames first, but he hadn’t. So there was that.

“No, we have a system. We’re good to go, and Charlie’s coming home, so… Charlie is like the hammer of death. I think that I would probably choose her over the grannies at this point to run the kids roughshod.”

Damn. That was impressive. “Right, well, then I will deal with the food part. I will send over a list of supplies and things, also heaters. I want heaters for outside, because it’s cold. Or it’s going to be?”

Regardless, heaters were important.

“Good deal. What are you gonna do for the October class?”

“Green chili pumpkin soup.” Duh.

“Ooh, I like that. Make enough for that we can all have some after, please?”

“You get me the pumpkins, I’ll get you the soup.”

“We can do that. Corn, beans, and squash. Staples around these parts.” Ryder reached out to clap him on the shoulder. “Good to have you on the team, man.”

He grinned, feeling as though he were part of a brigade. Somehow that made things easier. His feet were on solid ground again.

It didn’t hurt that he had Ames at his back now, and a real place to go home to.

“Okay, I’m on puppy duty this afternoon. Y’all holler if you need me, but the kitchen is cleaned and closed.”

“The guys will deliver lasagna?”

“You know it.” Ryder did love his Italian food, even if it was a New Mexican hybrid.

“Cool. Hey, can you tell Ames I texted him? I swear, he’s the only cowboy I know who’s not glued to his phone twenty-four-seven.”

“Tell me about it.” Nathan rolled his eyes. Ames was so old-school it was kinda cute. “Is it bad?”

“Nah. Just herd maintenance.”

“Got it.” He headed out to his SUV, shivering a little. He and Ames were heading down to Santa Fe this weekend to get him winter boots and socks, sweaters, and a coat.

Maybe long johns.

The clothing kind, not the doughnuts.

Hmmm. Doughnuts. He had some extra time…

He got to the house, which now proudly held all his shit too. It was kind of hilarious, all his kitchen stuff in Ames’s kitchen.

The smell of some kind of red sauce hit him as soon as he walked in the door, and he sniffed hard, heading for said kitchen to see what Ames was up to.

“Something smells good.”

Ames was in the kitchen. It was adorable—he had on a pair of tissue-paper thin jeans and an ancient retro Tim McGraw T-shirt with holes in it, and his feet were bare.

Nathan couldn’t be more in love if with the fine son of a bitch if he tried.

“I am making spaghetti sauce. Not weird green chile spaghetti sauce. Not basil pesto sauce that goes on spaghetti. Not anything with artichokes or sunchokes or choking anything. No sunflower seed-based spaghetti sauce, just spaghetti sauce with hamburger.”

“That sounds amazing.” He wasn’t going to argue. He wasn’t cooking. He didn’t have to. That was fine. “Do you need any help?”

Ames stared at him. “Well… Sophie made bread. The sauce is already cooking, so you can’t touch it. Um. Salad?”

“I can totally make a salad. I like salad.” Silly cowboy. “Let me get changed.”

“How was your class?”

“It was great. I had a ball. They loved the lasagna, thank you very much. The boss says that he texted you.”

“I’m not at work,” Ames stated.

“Okay.” That was not his circus. Not even marginally his monkeys.

Ames followed him into the bedroom—into their bedroom, and it felt damn good to be able to think that, didn’t it?—those hard hands on his hips, his ass in the cradle of Ames’s body. “Well, hello.”

“Hey, I’m glad you’re home.”

“I’m glad I’m home too.”

Ames kissed the back of his neck. “This is Sophie’s mom’s sauce recipe.”

“Ah, cool. She’ll be so tickled.” He grinned, rocking his hips some.

“Evil man. Do it again?”

“Mmmhmm. I thought I was on salad and then puppy duty.”

“Oh, God, Sophie and Gracelyn took the puppies over to puppy training with Hansen. You know, the hand that does the flyball and stuff?”

“That’s cool.” That meant an empty house for a few minutes… That sounded like fun.

“The sauce can sit and simmer for a bit.” Ames swayed, almost dancing with him, one hand sliding to his belly. That made things below that hand pretty happy.

“I do like a sauce that can simmer.” He stretched, reaching up tall and then putting his hands behind Ames’s head.

That move brought them even tighter together and gave his belly the perfect, long arc. Oh, he liked that.

Ames responded by tightening his fingers and rocking that heavy cock against him, making a promise that had his dick filling.

It was a rare thing when the two of them were alone together at the house—no teenager, no puppies. He loved their life, but this?

This was necessary.

“Did you close and lock the door?”

“I did.”

“Good man.” Ames began to unbutton his chef’s coat.

“You’re getting good at that.”

“Weeks of practice.” Ames pinched one of his nipples, making him gasp. “Arms down, babe.”

“But this stretch is so good.” He chuckled, and Ames tickled his ribs, getting his arms down straight away.

“I can show you some other things that feel good.”

“Better than a stretch?” he teased.

And Ames shot back with, “You’ll have to tell me. We’ll take a poll.”

He did love this relaxed Ames, the one who was willing to tease and play and make him shiver on a bone-deep level.

“I can do polls.”

“I know. You’re a smart puppy.” Ames bit at his neck, which made his hips buck in the best possible way.

“Damn, babe. That’s fine.”

“Mmmhmm. Salty.” Ames licked his skin as he shoved off his chef’s jacket and started on his undershirt, tugging it out from his checks, baring his belly.

“You got the best hands, babe.”

“Do I?” Ames laughed, the sound deep and husky. “I like to use them on you, that’s for sure.”

“Well, I’m all for that.” He turned, sliding his arms around Ames’s neck. “So, what are you going to show me then?”

Ames grinned at Nathan, then took a kiss, figuring he would go with actions over words. God, he loved to kiss Nathan, because those soft lips and that stubbly face were the best kind of contrast.

He ran his hands over Nathan’s bared skin, wanting to touch every inch, then taste it too. This was his new favorite pastime.

Nathan grunted when he hit a particularly sensitive spot, going up on tiptoes to press against him. They broke for air, then dove into the kiss again, and he got to work on Nathan’s pants. He wanted to see and feel the rest.

“So what is it with the weird pants? I thought chefs were allowed to wear like, jeans and shorts and stuff now.”

“Checks were designed to resist heat, give air flow, and the black and white pattern hides stains. I like them better than jeans and cargoes because cotton is the death fabric.”

“You sound like a rafting guide.”

“Well, it’s the same idea, right? You get cotton wet and it clings. This checks stuff, awful as it is, doesn’t.”

Ames pushed the pants down and off. “Well, I’m not complaining, since I get to make them disappear, right?”

“You do. And I can wear what I want. I like to go full bore with the students.” Nathan leaned back, stared at him. “Do you really care about that right now?”

Ames chuckled, fluttering his eyelashes, going for silly. “Only because you’re not naked.”

“I can arrange naked.” Nathan didn’t tease—there was a shiver, a wiggle, and the briefs under the pants hit the floor. He did love a willing man. This man in particular.

“Fucking beautiful,” Ames murmured, running his hands over all that hot, bare skin.

“Mmm. I’m glad you think so.”

“I know so.” He kissed and licked and danced Nathan over to the bed an inch at a time, his whole body ready for the main event.

“You are wearing entirely too many clothes, babe.” Nathan sat on the bed, then tugged at his belt buckle, getting it popped loose so he undo Ames’s jeans.

Ames shrugged out of his shirt, nodding. “I am at that. I like that you’re a solution kind of guy.”

“I am. I work with my hands.” Nathan didn’t glance up from his work, and Ames stared at those amazing hands, scarred and peppered with little burn marks. They looked like heaven against his skin, and he was bare in no time.

“Oh, now, there we are.” Nathan bent forward to nuzzle his belly.

“God. Your mouth.” He stroked Nathan’s shaggy auburn hair, the thick stuff clinging to his fingers.

“I love the way you smell,” Nathan nuzzled in, that cleft chin with the barest hint of stubble brushing the tip of his cock. Someone had shaved before teaching his class, otherwise it would have been more rough, more raw. As it was, it was the barest hint of a tease.

He would have answered, but his mouth was dry, just from watching this, being able to feel those scarred-up hands on his skin. He’d never imagined how physical a chef’s job could be until he’d seen Nathan at work.

Until he’d seen how sharp those knives were and how fast they could move. That didn’t even count the fact that, from the elbows down, Nathan’s skin looked like he’d been in a war.

Burns and cuts had caused thousands of scars. And each one of them felt different on his skin.

Ames loved it.

Nathan’s touch slid around his body, the heat moving across his waist and down until Nathan cupped his ass, fingertips digging in as he tugged him up into that hot waiting mouth.

If Ames had ever doubted there was a God, he knew now that there absolutely was, and then He’d offered Ames this amazing guy.

“Focus.” Nathan’s fingertips dug in and dragged along his butt cheeks, making him give an uncontrolled thrust up as his glutes tightened.

Nathan grinned up at him, eyebrows gesticulating like mad. “Somebody likes that.”

Ames’s lips twisted as he fought his laugh. Lord have mercy, he was stupid for this fine son of a bitch. “Don’t you have something better to do than to give me shit?”

“Not a thing.”

He winked down, tugging that heavy hair real careless. “Then get back to it, man. You make me crazy.”

Nathan chuckled and went right back to his work. He licked and sucked until Ames was grunting and panting and trying not to lose his shit, and then he had to pull away, because he wanted more.

He wanted full-body contact sports here.

“Need to be with you.” He pushed Nathan back gently so he could crawl on the bed.

“I can get with that.” Nathan scooted back, then opened his arms so Ames could slide up between those wide-spread thighs and take a desperate kiss.

Nathan cradled him, kissing back with all that want and need, and Ames rubbed hard against him, pressing them together as much as he could from head to toe.

Breaking away, Nathan stared at him with those sherry-colored eyes. “You got lube, babe?”

“And a brand-new box of condoms. Top or bottom, honey?”

“Mmm… I catch and pitch, but right now, I could use a nice hard fuck.”

Ames’s eyes crossed and he shorted out a little bit, because damn. Damn, he loved to hear Nathan talk like that.

“I can do that,” he said once he got his breath back. Oh, yes. He could so do that. Ames sat back on his knees so he could grab the condom and lube from the bedside table.

“I do like that you’re all prepared, babe,” Nathan told him, eyes on his cock.

“And you will be soon.” He grinned, feeling more equal to the task now. He set the condom on the bed, then opened the lube. “Let’s get you slick, huh?”’

“I’m ready.” Nathan spread wide and planted his feet, lifting his hips up off the bed.

That was going to give him heart palpitations.

Hmm, wasn’t that pretty?

He got the lid off the lube and slicked his fingers up. Telling himself not to be clumsy but knowing he wanted this bad enough that his hands were shaking good and hard.

Nathan started stroking his prick, showing off some, giving him something to focus on, something to watch, and damn, that didn’t make the shivers any better.

It did make him feel as if he were the hottest cowboy on earth, like Nathan didn’t want anybody but him.

Those pretty eyes were laser-focused on him, and when he touched Nathan’s hole, his lover gave this long, low moan that was pure need.

Yeah, he could handle this.

“Need you, dear. Been aching for it.”

“All you have to do is ask.” Hell. Nathan didn’t even have to ask. He’d give Nathan anything, whenever.

He hadn’t quite gotten used to the idea there was somebody here with him. Not just to help with the day-to-day shit of life.

Ames had a lover, someone to share his needs with.

He grinned. That was a fine damn thought, and he didn’t rush the preparation. He gave Nathan time to feel every sensation, to know that he cared about getting Nathan open for him, slick enough to take him easily.

When Nathan was squirming and panting, chest and belly flushed the same deep rose as his face, his cock bobbing, Ames tugged his fingers free and muscled up between Nathan’s thighs.

“You ready for me, babe?”

“Fuck yes.” Nathan offered himself up, nice and easy

And Ames couldn’t resist that for anything in the world.

He lined his cock up and slipped in, the scrape making his eyes cross. His breath caught, and he stared down at Nathan, holding that gaze as he sank in all the way.

“God. That’s it. Just like that.” Nathan arched up, moving him closer, deeper.

Nathan’s body was the tightest, hottest place on earth, and he didn’t want to be anywhere else. So Ames began to move, pushing in, then pulling back, and every time he rocked away the tiniest bit, Nathan made this hungry noise…

He wasn’t going to last long at this rate.

“So fucking full.” Nathan levered himself up on his elbows and began moving with Ames, grinding them together.

“Tight, honey. Tight and hot. Fucking perfect.” Words kind of failed him then, because Nathan squeezed down and all he could do was grunt and rut like the animal he was right now.

Nathan made a noise that he took to be one of approval, because Nathan’s eyes crossed and that sweet ass tightened unbearably.

That was about all he could take. He grabbed hold of Nathan’s prick and started jerking it fast and hard, watching the open need flash in Nathan’s eyes with fascination.

“Come on, baby, I need it. I need to feel you come on my cock.” A sensation of pure power poured through him as Nathan writhed and arched underneath him.

“Fuck. Fuck cowboy. Please.” Nathan had barely hissed the words out before he was shooting. The spunk splashing over that tight, hot little belly.

Ames was going to die if he didn’t get to come soon. He needed this more than he needed to breathe. He managed to kiss Nathan, tongue slamming into those lax, parting lips before his rhythm became clumsy and awkward. He had to fight to keep his eyes open while he shot, needing to watch Nathan float down as he went over the edge.

“Mmm.” Nathan stroked his back, letting him know he was right there with him. “That was the ticket.”

“Uh-huh.” Was he expected to talk right now?

“Your sauce smells great.”

He grinned. “Thanks. It’s a good recipe.” A family one. And he was pleased that Nathan seemed receptive to him cooking.

“I can’t wait to try it.” Nathan hummed low, smile peaceful and easy. “Love you.”

Oh.

He did love to hear that.

“Love you too, babe.”

He didn’t mind saying it either.