F ord woke up late, and he knew it because of the way the sun slanted across the floor. Hell, he never left his curtains open, so why was the sun creeping in anyway?
He opened his eyes, finding himself in Stoney’s room, alone. There was a steaming cup of coffee and a blueberry muffin sitting there on the bedside table.
Well, there went that little fantasy of waking Stoney with some hot rubbing and bumping.
Time to get moving.
Still, someone had left the treat for him, hadn’t they? Ford was gonna take that as a good sign. He crept from Stoney’s room to his so he could grab a quick shower and get dressed.
He made it to the hallway when he ran into Stoney, the man still in his socks.
“Hey.” Ford waved the muffin. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” He got a shy little smile, Stoney looking surprisingly young without his cowboy uniform.
“Still got all your toes?” Ford asked.
“It looks like. We got another foot of snow overnight. We’ll all be hanging out for a few. I’m letting Hetty and Angie borrow the snowmobiles to check their horses after dinner.”
“Good deal. Any word from Ty?” Ford was pretty sure he knew the answer, and honestly he would feel better if Ty stayed down in the Junction.
“I told him they had to stay there. No one needs to be driving in this shit.”
“Good man. Quartz has a new horse to distract him, right?”
“God, yes. He’s all Black Stallion about this one.”
“Well, that means the poor thing will get good treatment, that’s for sure.” Ford chuckled. “No brand on it?”
“Nope. As bad shape as this thing was in, there’s no way he’s a stray.”
“Poor thing.” Ford shifted from foot to foot. “You, uh, get a shower already?”
“Just fixin’ to grab one. Angie has Quartz in the barn.”
“Wanna save water?” He wasn’t going to pussyfoot around. They were both adults, and Ford wanted to see for himself that Stoney was all there and safe.
Stoney licked his lips, the move pure, unadulterated hunger. “I can handle that, yessir.”
“I bet my bathroom is bigger.” Also a lot less of a chance there of Quartz walking in on them.
Stoney gave him a short, sharp nod, touched his wrist. The tiny motions made Ford hard as nails, made his belly ache.
He sucked in a deep breath before grabbing Stoney’s hand and slipping down the hall. God, he wanted to run, to shout.
More than that, he didn’t want anyone to interrupt him. He needed some time to look and touch and kiss. Stroke.
God, he wanted to stroke Stoney off and make him shoot. He wanted to see and smell and taste. He tugged Stoney into the bathroom and began yanking off clothes.
“Doors are locked?” Stoney tore at his belt buckle.
“Yes.” God help him, he was going to strain something getting his damned jeans back off, and he’d barely gotten them on.
“Good.”
His cock pushed right out toward Stoney’s fingers, like there wasn’t anything else on earth his body wanted to do. Ford refused to let this be weird. He just let it happen, Stoney’s fingers closing tightly on him.
“Oh, I remember this.” Stoney looked at him as if he were breakfast.
“I’m not sure I do, so that’s impressive.” Ford hadn’t exactly been celibate, but the last few years had been a hell of a dry spell.
“I couldn’t forget you.” Stoney turned bright red and pushed into his lips, kissing him stupid.
Ford moaned, wrapping his arms around Stoney’s waist. He’d wanted this so badly since they’d had it out about Brit, since he knew that Stoney still needed him.
Since he’d gotten that shotgun, breathed in Stoney’s air.
He grunted when he got Stoney out of those jeans, their skin meeting when it was finally bare. Oh, fuck, no one had ever felt this way. No one but Stoney made his heart race and his freaking knees weak.
Jesus, he was losing his goddamn mind.
“I want….” Stoney rocked against him, and Ford remembered he had hands. They could really give each other some happy touching.
“Shower. We should….” He grabbed hold of Stoney, though, stroked him from base to tip, over and over.
“Yes. Oh, there.” Stoney showed him where there was by rubbing under the head of Ford’s cock with the tip of his thumb.
His jaw clenched, electricity shooting through him, snapping from his balls to the base of his neck. Ford danced, hips rocking. He wasn’t even going to make it into the water.
Hell, he wasn’t even going to make it to turning on the water.
Ford flicked his thumb where Stoney had touched him, giving the feeling right back. Stoney’s teeth sank into his own bottom lip, and Ford grinned, even though he was fairly sure he looked like he was just going to eat Stoney alive.
“More, Ford. Christ, it’s been so long.” Stoney didn’t appear worried at all.
“Yeah. Tell me about it.” Later. Stoney could tell him all about it after they both shot.
Stoney laughed, tugging at Ford’s cock with both hands, making him grit his teeth, his belly pulling in tight. He matched Stoney, stroke for stroke, both of them right there, teetering on the edge.
Finally Ford knew he was about to go right over, so he leaned in to kiss Stoney hard, stealing their breath clean away.
He wouldn’t know, after the fact, who shot first, but it didn’t matter. They both grunted, heat splashing over hands, balls emptying.
Ford swayed, and Stoney caught him, the embrace natural, both of them holding on.
Their lips met, the kiss starting slow, but he could feel the fire building between them. He backed off and got the shower going, more than a little in love with the tankless water heater Stoney had apparently bullied Ty into a few years ago. The steam started almost immediately, and Ford tugged Stoney with a hand on one hip, getting them into the shower. Time was a luxury since it was Thanksgiving, and he wanted one more go at that lean, hard body.
Stoney took a deep breath when the hot water hit him and stepped right into the curve of Ford’s body.
“You look amazing.” There were scars now, and some lines that hadn’t been there, but now Ford didn’t have to imagine what a fully mature Stoney looked like naked. He knew.
“Do I look different to you?” Stoney’s hand slipped down his belly, not heading for his cock, he didn’t think, more just petting.
“Some. I mean, we’re both a lot older, right?” Ford hoped he looked good to Stoney.
“You look better. Stronger. You’re so fucking pretty.” The praise sounded like prayer from Stoney’s lips.
“I’ve dreamed about you, baby.” That was the truth. Somewhere deep inside he’d never given up the idea that he would get Stoney back.
Stoney’s deep gray gaze shot to his, burning up at him. “No shit?”
“Nope. I was so fucking mad,” Ford said, then shook his head. No. None of that now. This was for touching. Loving. “Now I just want you.”
“I’ll piss you off again, eventually. Let’s take what we can get.”
Ford laughed, then nodded. “Probably. Kiss me, Stoney.”
Stoney ran both hands back up his chest, fingers barely teasing his nipples before they wrapped around his shoulders, and Stoney went up on tiptoe, tongue ramming between his lips.
Ford moaned, sliding one arm around that strong back, pressing them together. His cock rose hard again, surprising him, and Stoney stepped even closer, totally unafraid to snuggle up to him.
They slipped and slid together, the hot water easing the way, the steam keeping them shrouded in a world of their own. At some point the soap came into play and the scent of sandalwood and citrus filled the air.
“Nice.” Stoney rubbed a cloth over Ford’s chest.
“Mmm. I buy it at the Loretto in Santa Fe. There’s a soap shop.” He raised his arms when Stoney scrubbed at his ribs, making him laugh.
“I like it.” Stoney surprised him, nibbling at his nipple.
“Uhn.” His toes curled up, his cock jerking.
He felt Stoney grin. Little shit. Then the bite came again, the sensation like a hit of fire.
“Teasing man.” He tangled his fingers in the wet length of Stoney’s hair. Ford held on, this whole situation like a fantasy come true.
“Just want to… can I?” Stoney knelt down, and Ford’s heart stopped for a second.
Could he?
Fuck yes.
Words failed Ford, so he pushed forward with his hips, his cock rubbing along Stoney’s cheekbone. The stubble rasped him, and the soft touch of Stoney’s tongue made him feel weak-kneed.
He shook, fingers tracing the contours of Stoney’s face.
Like it hadn’t been years, Stoney took him in, sucked him in and made his toes curl. Stoney was still his lover, still knew what he liked.
Maybe Ford wasn’t the only one who’d dreamed.
Maybe he was just starting to wake up.
Stoney took him all the way in, down to the root. Ford blinked hard, trying to process what he was seeing. Blond hair, plastered on Stoney’s scalp, red lips wrapped around his shaft, the sight magnified by the sensation of Stoney’s tongue dragging over the heavy vein underneath.
Ford panted, his asscheeks clenching. God, he was losing it. When Stoney reached up, cupped his balls in one callused hand, it was all over but the crying.
He shot again as if he hadn’t come just minutes ago. His balls emptied, and Ford arched back until his head banged against the wall. Holy God in heaven. He swore he could feel every ridge on the top of Stoney’s mouth, every bit of the length of Stoney’s tongue.
When he could breathe again, he tapped Stoney’s shoulder. “What do you need, baby?”
“I….” He heard their phones beep, in concert—Stoney’s ringtone a donkey’s bray and his a minion screaming, “Kum-by-yah!”
Geoff.
“Someone thinks it’s time for us to make an appearance, I reckon.”
“Uh-huh. Doesn’t mean I can’t make you come again if you need it.” He wasn’t going to leave Stoney wanting.
Stoney stood up, pushed up to give him a kiss that tasted like him.
He held on, not wanting to lose this moment.
Real life was waiting, right behind that door. Ford knew there would be a lot more of that than he wanted to admit.
“Can we, maybe, see each other tonight? After the feast and the feeding?”
“Yes.” He kissed Stoney hard. “We can see all of each other we want. Ready to go get your thanks on?”
“Yeah. Yeah. I got stuff to be grateful for, I think. New stuff.”
Damn. He sure hoped that meant him, not a half-dead horse. Ford rinsed them both off carefully, knowing they had to get out there and be family.
Stoney stole one more kiss before handing Ford a towel and grabbing one for himself.
They got dressed, and Stoney pulled those ridiculous socks back on. Ford popped the man on the ass, just loving the shocked look. “You look like a porn star, baby.”
“You’re a turd.” Stoney’s cheeks went bright red.
“Yeah.” He paused. “You have any idea how tickled I am to hear you say that to me?”
“That you’re a turd?” The shocked look made him grin.
“Yes. In that tone of voice. I missed you.” Ford had missed this man so much, and now he needed to get to know Stoney again.
“Yeah. It was the hardest thing ever, walking away, but it had to be done.”
“We’ll disagree about that a lot, I bet. But right now, I bet your son is looking for you.” They walked out together, and Ford decided why hide it?
“Daddy! You’re wet!”
“I was taking a shower. What’s up?”
“Geoff made horsey-overs!”
“Horsey-overs? My favorite!”
Ford raised his eyebrows. “What are those, Quartz?”
“Horsey-overs. The appetizers!”
“Duh, Ford.”
Oh, he was going to beat Stoney’s butt. Little shit.
“Oh! Horses’ ovaries,” Ford said, pulling out Ty’s favorite joke.
“That’s what Grampa says!” Quartz grinned up at him, and Ford had to smile back. He had to.
“What’s your favorite one?” Ford asked. “Did Geoff make cheeseball?”
“Cheeseball and there’s veggies and ranch and there’s crackers and cheese and, oh! Sausage balls!”
“Did Geoff make anything he would eat, son?”
Quartz shrugged. “Does he still not eat cheese?”
“I’m not sure.” Stoney looked a little worried. Geoff seemed to have a bit of a self-destructive thing.
“I’ll ask him,” Ford murmured.
“Thanks. He’s going to fade into nothing.”
“Really?” Quartz asked.
“Nope. That’s just an expression, kiddo.” Stoney was side eyeing Ford and nodding, though.
They headed for the kitchen, finding Angie there, boots off. “Hey! I’m in charge of stirring soup while Geoff goes potty. Wanna help, Quartz?”
“I do. How’s Jellybean? Uncle Ford, Angie said I could name her.”
“Jellybean, huh?”
“Yes! She’s the color of red and black jellybeans melting together.”
Oh, Lord. That was hilarious. “What’s the soup?”
“Butternut and apple. It smells amazing.” Angie handed Quartz the spoon. “Stir.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Ah, something Geoff can eat.” Ford grinned.
“The stuffing has vegetable stock too. He’ll feast.”
“Excellent.” Ford knew Stoney worried, so now he worried.
“Yeah.” Angie rolled her eyes a little. “He gets down sometimes.”
“We can cheer him up!” Quartz ran over to a stepstool and pulled open a cabinet. “I’ll make his favorite tea.”
“I thought you were going to stir,” Angie said, and Stoney shook his head.
“I’ll do it. Quartz makes the best tea.”
Ford wandered, grabbing a sausage ball. “What should I do?”
“Grab me one of those?”
“Here.” He snatched up another and held it to Stoney’s lips.
Stoney opened up, and Ford heard Angie gasp. He didn’t pull away, though. He had dick-all to be ashamed of. This was something he needed to start out like he could hold out, and God knew, half the staff was queer.
“God, that’s good.” Stoney hummed softly, and smiled. Lord, that was a fine expression on Stoney’s face.
“Thank you.” Geoff said it from directly behind Ford, the boo factor making him jump.
“Jerk.”
“Boss, you wound me.” Geoff clapped his hands over his chest.
“Geoff! I’m making you tea!”
“Are you?” Geoff smiled at him and Stoney before going to catch a leaping Quartz. “What kind?”
“Your favorite. The red box with honey.”
“Oh, yum. You can help me make hot chocolate too, right?” Geoff asked.
“Uh-huh. I’d love that.” Quartz hugged Geoff tight. “Make sure Daddy’s stirring your soup right.”
“I can see from here that he’s doing great. Ford will help him.”
Ford nodded, breathing deeply. God, the kitchen already smelled amazing, spicy and meaty and bready.
“It’s going to be a good Thanksgiving.” Angie sounded satisfied down to the bone.
“We have a lot to be grateful for,” Ford agreed. For the first time in years, he wasn’t at a fine-dining restaurant with the rest of the single-but-not-lonely crowd. The food was a little less gourmet, and he was in jeans and a sweatshirt, but he was surrounded by laughing cowboys, an enthusiastic kid, and one crazy vegan.
“Someone needs to rescue the cinnamon buns,” Geoff said.
“I’m on it.” He grabbed the oven mitts and pulled the doors of the big commercial oven open, the scent of cinnamon and brown sugar like heaven on earth. “Muffins, cinnamon rolls… man.”
“Yeah. I thought we’d have guests, but they had to cancel, huh?”
“I’ll eat them,” Quartz said.
“Me too!” Tanner said, stomping snow off his boots. “Me and the boys are starving. Lord, boss. You order this snow shit?”
Stoney snorted. “Please do not forget that I am a Texan, born and bred. I had absolutely nothing to do with this nonsense. Blame Ford. It’s his first year back home.”
Ford chuckled. “I brought it from Santa Fe, huh?”
“Brought it from somewhere.” Stoney grinned at him, lips quirking, and he wanted to kiss them, taste that smile. He didn’t, because Stoney’s son was right there, but he wanted to.
Tanner went to warm his hands at the oven, distracting him.
“Still got all your parts, Tanner?” Ford asked.
“Thanks to Geoff, yeah.”
“He was trying to turn into an icicle. It wouldn’t’ve been a bad look for him.” Geoff pinked, but the expression was more pleased than embarrassed, Ford thought.
“Miracle worker. Do I smell cinnamon rolls?”
“Cinnamon rolls, blueberry muffins, sausage balls, coffee, and there’s hot chocolate coming. It’s a feast, y’all. We need to set a fire in the foyer too. It’ll warm the whole place up.”
When they put in the new meeting hall, it would feature a huge fireplace as a focal point. People loved that shit. Hell, Ford loved a ski lodge with a roaring fire. Maybe a little bar area. They were zoned for it, and they had their liquor license for when they served wine with meals to guests. Stoney and Ty had laid an amazing foundation. They just needed his contacts to move it to the next level….
“Dish up or get out of the way, Mr. Bossman.” Tanner winked at him.
“Huh? Oh. Right. I was woolgathering.”
“Planning his takeover of the world, more like it.”
“Hey!” That was close enough to the mark that he flushed and resisted the urge to stick his tongue out at Stoney.
He stepped out of the way after stealing a cinnamon roll for himself.
Tanner dove in with his bare hands, the heat from the just baked pastry not even seeming to faze him. “Oh God, that’s good shit. Pardon my French.”
“The swear jar is in the pantry, Tanner.” Quartz was going to put himself through college with the damn thing.
Tanner sighed but licked his fingers after plopping his roll on a plate, then moved to drop a quarter in the jar. He poked his head back out of the pantry, eyebrows almost at his hairline. “Someone have a bad day yesterday?”
Geoff blushed. “Shut up.”
Tanner grinned over, shook his head. “Turkey.”
“Gobble gobble.”
It sucked that Tanner was straight in that boobie-boobies-boobies sort of way. Totally sucked, because Geoff was making goo-goo eyes at the lean cowboy. Tanner was a great sport, though, and Ford got the feeling Tanner would let Geoff down easy.
Some guys just had the worst luck.
Shit, who was he kidding? Up until a few nights ago, he would have counted himself in that number. Now….
Ford glanced at Stoney, who watched him intently. Now, he was lucky as fuck.
He shook his head and reached for a quarter to put in the swear jar without even thinking about it.
Quartz laughed. “You didn’t say anything, Uncle Ford.”
“I will.” He’d have thought it, no question.
“Oh, okay.” Quartz gave him a funny look, all crossed eyes and wrinkled nose.
Stoney chuckled softly, the sound intimate, warm enough that it made his cheeks heat.
“Okay, you bunch of ravening beasts. Get your brekkie and get out my way.” Geoff held up his hands and roared.
Quartz giggled softly as Stoney came after Geoff with the spoon, waving it menacingly.
“Boo!” Tanner leaped out of the pantry, making all of them crack up.
Angie loaded up plates and such, leading the way to the real dining room. Geoff needed space. The man was in his element, the world condensing down to a single meal.
Next year, Ford intended to have a crowd, dammit. Something worthy of all this work.
Not that family wasn’t important, but Geoff deserved to shine. So did the ranch.
Stoney touched the back of his hand on the way past him, and he tried not to jump. This was going to be an amazing day, one way or the other.
Ford found that he just couldn’t wait.