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Anticipation thrummed through Kip, which was a good thing, because he could hardly keep his eyes open after the three days of hiking through the woods. He’d always considered himself in decent shape, but he was proven very wrong.
It wasn’t nearly as bad as when Rogue had pulled him out of the mud, but Kip swore he could feel every muscle in his body and none of them were happy with him at the moment. The thought of a nice long soak in Rogue’s jetted tub sounded like heaven. Better yet, it would give him a reason to be at the man’s house for the night.
It wasn’t exactly late, only seven, but still, he was certain Rogue would insist on feeding him. Then the bath, and if he was really lucky, a shower first to wash all the dirt, grime, and sweat off him. There was nothing worse than sitting in dirty water because he hadn’t been clean enough when he’d gotten into the bath.
“Would you mind if I took a shower first?” Kip asked as they pulled into Rogue’s driveway. He couldn’t quite explain it but seeing the house through the windshield, a sense of being home overcame Kip. A feeling he’d never really had in his life.
Unbidden tears formed in his eyes. They must have dripped down his face for, suddenly, Rogue’s large hand cupped his cheek, his thumb brushing away a few of the tears. “What’s wrong, sweet cheeks? Are you hurting too much to move? I’d be more than happy to carry you inside if you need it.”
As enticing as that sounded, Kip placed a hand over Rogue’s and said, “No. I just...” How was he supposed to answer? The real explanation would sound way too needy and clingy. On the other hand, if anyone would understand, he was sure it was Rogue. “I can’t explain it, but just now, when I saw your house, it felt like a real home. I guess I’ve just never had that before.”
Rogue frowned and Kip feared he’d stepped over the line between possibly dating to stalkerish. “What about growing up? Didn’t you have a home with your parents?”
Heat rose along Kip’s neck and flooded his face at having to admit the truth of his childhood. But there wasn’t any way not to at that point. Well, he could have told Rogue he didn’t want to talk about it, but...
Kip let out a breath as he tried to calm the inner turmoil. It wasn’t easy to talk about, but with Rogue there, he suddenly wanted the man to know everything. He wasn’t sure if it was because he was falling in love with Rogue, or the exhaustion, but Kip went with it.
“For as long as I can remember, I didn’t fit in the community I grew up in. We lived in a what most people consider a commune, but ours was considered an intentional community.” After leaving, Kip had looked up the difference and although each group had a slight variance in some of their ideals, the fact was, they were quite similar.
“As you might have noticed when we first met, I tend to have issues with anger and blurting out whatever I think.” Kip tried to duck his head at that admission, but Rogue’s strong hand kept him looking right into those dark brown eyes.
“Never lose that fire. It’s one of the things that attracted me to you in the first place.” Rogue grinned. “That and your sexy as fuck body. But when you stood up to me and didn’t let me give you crap about your spa, I swear, all I could think about was picking you up and having you ride my dick until we both were both too exhausted to stand.”
A whimper of need spilled from Kip’s mouth and suddenly Rogue was kissing him with the same intensity as his words. Kip tried to climb into the man’s lap, but his seatbelt stopped him from being able to do that.
They broke apart chuckling.
“Maybe we should take this inside,” Rogue murmured. “I’m with you on getting clean and the shower is big enough for the both of us.”
Kip was all on board for that idea, if only his stomach hadn’t chosen that moment to protest, loudly, at that moment.
Rogue chuckled. “Okay, how about we eat, then we take a shower?” He moved his eyebrows up and down suggestively. “Trust me, we’re going to need our strength.”
Damn if Kip’s dick didn’t throb at Rogue’s suggestive tone. It was pushing so hard against his many layers of clothes, Kip was sure it was determined to punch a hole through all of them to get to Rogue.
But his stomach wasn’t about to be overruled as it once more grumbled noisily.
Rogue chuckled again and opened the driver’s side door. “Come on, sweet cheeks, let’s get you fed.”
Upon entering Rogue’s home, Kip felt that same sense of coming home as when they’d pulled up to the house. He had no clue why, since he’d only been there once, but he was discovering how much he liked it.
“Let me get the fire started in the bedroom, so it will be nice and warm when we take our shower.” The way Rogue’s tone had turned husky nearly had Kip skipping dinner. If only his damn stomach would quit complaining. “Why don’t you go the fridge and see what’s in there that you can eat,” Rogue suggested with a wink.
Despite the fact that Rogue had brought him veggie dogs and even tofu on the trip, he highly doubted the man would have anything else for Kip, except maybe vegetables. It wouldn’t be the first time that was all Kip had for a meal since many people just didn’t keep vegan foods in their houses.
Opening the fridge, Kip stood there staring in astonishment. Front and center were several types of vegan food with a note attached to one of the tofu packages. He reached in and peeled it off to read. Here are the vegan foods you asked me to get, love mom.
Damn if those tears didn’t start falling again. Rogue had to be the sweetest man he’d ever known. How he’d gotten so lucky to find a man like Rogue to fall in love with?
Kip stilled. I’m in love with him. I, Kip Larson, am totally and completely in love with Rogue Jennings.
He let out a small laugh as he grabbed a box of veggie burgers as well as several vegetables that he could cook and then pile on top of the burger since there wasn’t any portabella mushrooms for a bun.
Arms wrapped around him from behind. “Did you find anything?”
Kip pointed to the note his mom had left. “I can’t believe you did this for me,” he whispered, since a lump of pure emotion had developed in his throat. “Thank you.”
Rogue kissed the shell of his ear. “You’re welcome, sweet cheeks. Would you be okay with my eating a steak? If you’re not, it’s okay. I can find something you won’t have as hard a time with me eating, but I’m really hungry and a huge steak would really hit the spot.”
Those tears really started to fall. Kip turned and pushed into Rogue’s embrace. “Eat whatever you want. I’ll be fine.” Then he tilted his head up and kissed the whiskers that lined Rogue’s jaw, loving the way they tickled his lips. “But thank you for asking.”
If truth be told, Kip wasn’t sure he would be able to stomach Rogue eating that steak, but it was better for him to find out now.
Cooking was easy as the two of them worked side by side. Rogue thankfully had enough cookware to keep the steak, which he cooked on the grill to the side of the stove, away from Kip’s food. Kip fried his veggie burger in a small pan. Between the two of them, they cut up the vegetables, adding seasonings they both liked.
Kip had noticed that Rogue piled his veggies on top of his steak. He had a feeling Rogue did that to hide the steak itself. Touched that the man was so thoughtful, Kip nearly started to cry again. He had no idea why he was so emotional, but he also was beginning to realize that he might have just found his future and that wasn’t something he’d been sure he’d ever have.
