Real World, page 17
“I’d love some. I’ll cook if you get us ready to go.” Baconator Dan.
“Sounds good to me.” Weldon leaned down and kissed Dan like it was the only thing he ever wanted to do. Long, leisurely, the kiss made him wish he’d stayed under the covers and begged a quickie.
Weldon pulled back. “I like you in my bed, man.”
“Me too.” Dan felt as if he’d awakened to a new day, one where he wasn’t going to pretend he didn’t want this.
“Cool.” Weldon popped his hip playfully. “Now get out of there, and let’s go play. We have today and part of tomorrow to be lazy before I have kids and you have to get ready to work Monday morning.”
“I do!” Maybe that was why he had a new lease on life. A purpose, even if all he did was pick up nails. The new guy always did scut work. He understood that, and he didn’t give a shit. He wanted something to do.
Dan rolled back off the bed, tugging up his jeans. Riding. Lord.
Weldon looked him over. “You can borrow a T-shirt. It’ll be tight, but I don’t mind that one bit.”
“I’m good if you are.” Dan would love to show off some. Weldon’s easy admiration soothed his soul like a balm.
“Oh, honey. I’m fixin’ to ride and fish with the guy that turned my ass inside out last night. I’m so much better than good that there’s no telling.”
Dan hooted and leaped, grabbing Weldon for a kiss. “Bathroom, then bacon.”
“Good plan.” God, Weldon’s eyes were stunning this close. Seriously.
“’Kay.” They danced around until Dan hit the head, and Weldon left him to his business. An old T-shirt was hung on the bathroom door for him, and he could hear Weldon whistling in the kitchen.
Dan washed up and brushed his teeth with an extra toothbrush he found in its package. Whoa, minty.
He looked out the bathroom window into the back of beyond. There were little girls’ bicycles, a battery-operated Humvee, a muddy old Barbie house painted up to look like a haunted house, and what was either a dog toy or a decapitated doll.
Lord have mercy.
He remembered Dix’s perfectly manicured lawn when he’d been with Ron, his first husband. Poor Randi must have sat on her hands all the time.
He grabbed the shirt, tugged it on, and flexed. No hiding a thing in this one, huh?
When Dan made it to the kitchen, Weldon’s burning hot gaze proved that thought right. He preened a bit, flexing. “Like it?”
“Oh, sweet Jesus.”
Good answer. Dan winked. “Point me toward the bacon.”
“Bottom left drawer in the fridge.”
When Dan opened the refrigerator, it hit him how fucking super organized it was, compared to the rest of the house. In fact, it looked just like Dix’s fridge.
“I forget sometimes that Jakob is blind,” Dan said.
“Yeah? He’s amazing, huh? He’s never seen a thing, so for him, it’s easy as breathing. He makes noise about being different, but I don’t think he’s feeling much stranger than any other kid his age.”
“He’s amazing. You think he would work with Dix on the Braille? He’s really struggling.”
“They’re working on it, but I’ll mention that he might spend a little more time. Right now he’s super-computer boy. Online all the time. I tell myself not to worry—porn’s a visual medium, but then… shit, the stuff where people chat at you is way scarier.”
“Yeah.” Dan had spent some time in chat rooms before he moved out of his folks’ place. A man needed to be careful there. “Well, maybe he’d like a chance to teach Dix something.”
“I bet he would.” Weldon began making sandwiches while Dan started the bacon. “You remember when you had to look shit up on the library computer for school?”
“Mom and Dad had a computer at the house, but I hear you.”
“Oh, rich folks.” Weldon pinched his butt.
Dan hooted. “No, Dad needed it for work.”
Weldon snorted. “Like I grew up poor. We were just country as hell. I got horses and shotguns for my birthdays. Hell, my folks have smartphones, and they still don’t have a computer.”
“Who needs one now? The phones have more memory than my first desktop.”
“No shit on that. It’s amazing. Emma wants a phone already.”
“Ouch. Do you make your kids earn them with chores and stuff?” Dan asked, really curious about Weldon’s parenting.
“You haven’t seen the chart yet, have you?” When he shook his head, Weldon led him to this crazy mudroom off the dining room. The thing was huge, a laundry room with six separate clothes baskets, places for boots and jackets, and then covering one wall was a huge chalkboard-painted wall. It was framed out, and there was a name over five sections with chores and dollar amounts, rewards for good grades, deductions for television time. Everything.
It looked like a weird, huge checkbook, kind of, and Jakob’s part was done completely with magnetic dots while Kenzie’s and Caleb’s had stick-on stars for theirs.
“Wow. That is some organized shit.” He wondered if Audie had seen this. Sometimes Randi and Grainger got away with shit.
“I have five kids who are all smarter, younger, and have more energy than me. I need all the help I can get.”
“You do great.” Dan returned to the bacon, slapping pieces into a skillet.
“Thanks. I do my best, and I haven’t killed one yet.”
“That has to be some sort of record, I bet.” Dan pulled out eggs as well and some orange juice.
“I’m proud of myself. The temptation is periodically huge.” Weldon almost kept a straight face.
Almost.
“I bet. You need frequent orgasms to blow off all that steam.”
“Oh, wouldn’t that be a dream?” Weldon kept walking close, touching him.
“Yep. I can provide this.”
“My hero.” The words sounded like Weldon was prepared to believe them.
“I have also discovered there is magic in making bacon. Even your kids would like that.”
“My kids will like you. Maddie already told me that it was okay with her if I went with you.”
“Yeah?” Dan flushed with pleasure. “I don’t want to screw up, you know?”
“No one ever does, honey. We will. It happens.”
Dan couldn’t decide whether Weldon was the easiest-going Zen master redneck on earth or if he’d been married so long he knew how relationships worked.
Maybe both.
Either way, Weldon fascinated him.
“I made peanut butter sandwiches and some oatmeal cookies for our fishing snack.”
“Yum.” He liked simple food when he was out and about.
They managed breakfast and cleanup, and then, before he knew it, he was face-to-face with a huge, gentle gray mare. Oh man. They’d started him on the horse used for scared kids.
“Can’t wait to tell Audie I can help him with the horses and see the look on his face,” Dan said.
“Audie’s horses and these guys are in two different universes. These aren’t fancy-assed beasts. They’re lovers.”
“True.” The old girl he was contemplating bent to nibble his shoulder.
“Sapphire. No biting. C’mere, honey. Grab this flank strap.”
Dan followed Weldon’s instructions, doing the best he could to get that saddle on. Weldon checked him, showed him where to tighten, and it felt easy as pie to work together.
That part was way simpler than hauling his ass up in the saddle.
“Christ, how do you make this look so natural?” He finally got his ass settled, but it seemed fifty miles wide.
“Years and years of practice, honey. Your body will remember.”
“I sure hope so.” He’d always liked riding when he’d tried it.
“Come on. Let’s go catch us some fish.”
“Sounds amazing. What are we using for bait, by the way?” He’d used everything from worms to lure to corn.
“Velveeta,” Weldon said.
He looked over, damn near running the horse into Weldon’s. “What?”
“Velveeta. Cheese. You shape it around the hook and boom. Fish bite.”
“You’re shitting me.” No way. No way would they eat that shit.
“Nope. Almost as good as beer-soaked corn.” Weldon grinned hugely.
“You really are a redneck, aren’t you?”
“God, yes. I have dress gimme caps, honey.”
Dan looked at the sky, laughing. “It’s gonna be the best day.”
“You know it. We’re gonna play.”
He’d said thank you a million times, so Dan concentrated on keeping his heels down and his ass in the saddle.
Chapter Twenty
THEY CAUGHT a couple of bream and a handful of baby bass, but they weren’t down there to catch. They were there to stretch out on a blanket and neck in the sunshine like a pair of teenagers.
Now, that seemed to make Dan so happy he couldn’t stop smiling.
Weldon was in heaven like he hadn’t been since Krista left him. Dan was fucking hot, and funny, and when he stopped worrying about making mistakes, he was a good rider and an exceptional fisherman.
“You think that the problems of the world could be handled over a fishing hole?” Dan asked.
“Eh, this is Austin. There’s folks that’d hang us for catch and release.”
“True. Good thing you own the pond.”
“Stock it too. I like knowing there’s something for me to catch.”
“This is the best. Oatmeal cookies, even.”
“Uh-huh. The kids love them, and they don’t melt.”
“True. The peanut butter ones hold up well.”
“Uhn.” God, he loved a peanut butter cookie right out of the oven.
“We should make some. Randi does ones that are eggs, peanut butter, and sugar.”
“Yeah? I’m a whore for peanut butter. There’s no way I don’t like it.”
Dan nodded. “Cookies it is. I bet Caleb likes them too.”
“Caleb eats rocks, honey. This is not a way to gauge good.”
“Hmmm. Maddie, then.”
“She does. Jakob and the others too. We go through a big jar a week.” He wasn’t too proud to admit that sometimes supper was just a peanut butter sandwich for everyone, two for Jakob. Time got away from them all.
“Cool. I know Randi and Grainger get two cookies a day.”
“Yeah? My guys might stage a revolt.”
“Well, they both bounce with too much. Despite having a horse operation, I think they get out less than your brood.”
That wouldn’t surprise him. His kids had always been outside, starting with Jakob. They didn’t want their oldest to be scared, so he’d done everything the others would eventually do.
“They’re great. Yours and Dix and Audie’s. I mean that.” Dan nuzzled in, that bristly face a whole new world of sensation.
“I like this. A lot.” He cupped Dan’s jaw, petting the strong line of beard.
“Yeah? I tried to decide if it was hot or not.” Dan chuckled and leaned into his touch.
“I approve.” He’d never made love with someone with a beard.
“We’ll see what you think after I blow you, huh?”
The words sent a jolt through him, and he nodded, tickled as shit. This was Dan at his very best—all of that waffling seeming to drop away—relaxed and easy in his bones, teasing and happy.
This was far more dangerous to his heart than ever before. Good thing he’d never protected that too closely.
“So, what do we do now that all the fish are exhausted from fighting us?” Dan asked.
“We stare at clouds and invent phallic shapes for them to look like. Then we neck like teenagers.”
“Oh. I never knew clouds could be phallic.”
“Totally.” Weldon leaned back and searched out a grouping of clouds. “Like that one. It looks like a penis shot through a heart.”
Dan squinted. “So it does. That one looks like a guy who has an, uh, angle built in.”
“Dude, that could make for awkward jacking off.” He tilted his head. “Oh, there’s a two-headed squirrel with elephantitis of the balls!”
“Are you sure it’s not a beloved cartoon character with a hard-on?”
“Oh. Oh, I see it!” He started laughing, the sound ringing out, happy as shit.
“Yep. That’s just wrong.” Dan chortled like a kid, hand grasping his.
He leaned over, dropped his lips on Dan’s, giving it all he had. He wanted Dan to know how good this all felt, how fucking happy he was.
Dan wrapped both arms around him, holding him close, kissing him until his ears rang. That was what he needed, way more than breathing. That scruff of beard rubbed his skin, the tingle enough to make Weldon wiggle. As soon as he shifted, though, Dan was at his neck, driving him crazy.
That mouth…. Dan was talented with it and liked to lick and kiss and bite.
“Damn. Damn, honey.” Weldon felt lit up from the inside.
“Mmm-hmm. Gonna scare all the animals.”
“Prob’ly yeah.” That was okay with him.
“Oh, good. As long as we’re on the same page.” Dan struggled with Weldon’s jeans.
Weldon’s eyes popped open, because for all his teasing, he hadn’t expected this. Welcomed it, sure; expected it, no.
Dan gave him a warm, intimate grin. “I did warn you.”
“Uh-huh. You did.” He thought about giving praise, because he wanted this about as bad as he’d ever wanted anything.
“No thinking.” Dan used his line on him, getting Weldon’s cock right out in the sun, palm slapping against it when Dan closed one hand around its length. Then Dan leaned down and scraped his chin over Weldon’s shaft, nerves were damn near screaming.
“Oh, God.” Weldon sank his fingers into Dan’s too-long hair, holding on tight. Not pushing. Much. “Please, honey. Please.”
He wanted more. Everything.
“Not gonna leave you hanging.” Dan licked the tip of his cock, then sucked lightly at the head.
He pushed up on his elbows, staring down so he could see every goddamn second, every inch of his cock disappearing between Dan’s lips. Dan sucked like a dream, head bobbing over him, wet sounds rising up where their skin met. He felt the heat seconds after he saw Dan go down, so his mind felt like it was constantly trying to catch up.
That hot, talented tongue worked the underside on every push, then tickled at the sensitive glans. His toes curled, and he cried out as his ass clenched tight.
“So hot, babe. You know, at some point, you need to fuck me.”
“In a bed. Tonight. Promise.” Right now, don’t stop sucking.
“Yes.” Dan nodded, and thank God, bent back to the task at hand.
Weldon needed that tongue and those lips more than he needed his next breath, dammit. He touched whatever skin he could reach, the textures of Dan’s body adding to the pleasure he felt with every suck.
The best was the brush of stiff beard against his balls, the way their hair dragged together.
Friction. God in heaven.
He petted and praised, stroking Dan’s shoulders, and the more he talked, the harder Dan sucked. It was like magic. Dan was the real magic, though, generous and enthusiastic.
He’d never…. Never ever. Not ever with…. Oh, sweet Jesus, yes.
Dan slid one hand up under his balls, palm pressing them tight to the base of his dick.
“Dan.” His belly jerked, everything going tight-tight, and it pulled hard, deep inside Weldon as his orgasm rolled through him, his soul pouring out with it.
A long, low moan vibrated around him, Dan taking everything he gave before licking him clean. That hum added a tiny extra sensation. Weldon jerked, his belly aching deep inside. He wasn’t going to be able to ride home as sensitive as he was right now.
Stroking his thighs, Dan eased away, chuckling. “You’re inspiring, babe.”
“I’m melted. Bone-deep. Seriously.”
“It’s an amazing look for you. I love that smile.”
Love. He didn’t say it, because one, he wasn’t stupid, and two, he was a guy, and three, still not stupid. He thought it, though.
Weldon reached for Dan’s cock, but Dan caught his hand. “I went off when you came for me, babe. Tonight you can really give it to me good.”
Okay, how fucking hot was that? Seriously. “You got my word. I’ll turn you inside out.”
“Thank God.” Dan laughed, surging up to kiss his mouth. “God, I feel amazing.”
“Good. You deserve to.” He wasn’t sure why Dan got so down, but he was tickled as shit that he could help. He guessed it came with being in combat, all that stress and shit.
“Think so?” Dan snuggled right in against his side. “Well, the horses didn’t run off.”
“They know who feeds them. They’re not interested in fending for themselves.”
“I guess not. I can see that.” Dan was getting pretty heavy, clearly dozy.
“Mmm.” He eased Dan down on the blanket, tucking that pretty prick away. There were places no one needed sunburned.
“Sorry. Been sleeping for shit,” Dan murmured, almost unintelligible.
“I got you, honey. No worries. I’m right here.” Whatever Dan needed.
“Wake me up if I sleep too long.” Then Dan was out like a light, breathing becoming deep and even.
Weldon nodded and stretched, not the least bit sleepy. In fact, he’d never been more awake, more lit up from within. He guessed everyone reacted in their own way; he was tickled to help Dan relax.
He grabbed his phone and cued up the book he was reading, then leaned back, soaking in the sun.
This was the fucking life.
Thank you, Jesus. If this is all there is, thank you.
He’d take it.
Chapter Twenty-One
DAN STIRRED the spaghetti sauce. His mom’s recipe never failed to please, and since the kids were coming home tonight, he figured he’d make a kid-friendly meal. Randi and Grainger loved this stuff with noodles and salad and garlic toast….
Weldon came wandering by with a huge armful of clean laundry. “They’re pulling up. I see Mel’s monster mobile.”
