Rescued by Love

by Deirdre O'Dare

  It was all Garrett could do to stay out of the way. Curiosity nagged at him and the delicious scents drifting out of the kitchen through the open windows provided a potent lure. With effort, he managed to stay busy. He unpacked several cartons of the parts he’d ordered and began the painstaking assembly of the vintage scooter. The old bike had been a beauty, and he’d do his level best to see it regained a functional level.

  He wasn’t too familiar with motorcycles and most of the guys he knew who had one preferred the Harleys. Still, he remembered an uncle raving about the Indians, classic machines from the early twentieth century. It wasn’t much different than working on cars as he’d done with his dad or small machines like snowmobiles, so he felt his way along and figured he’d get the job done sooner or later.

  Mandy paced back and forth, going frequently to peer through the back door, sometimes sliding in through the doggy door only to slip back out soon, returning to keep an eye on Garrett. It was clear her loyalties were becoming divided. She was and always would be Garrett’s dog first and foremost. The intense training they’d shared had strengthened the special bond between them even more. Despite that, her stomach responded to the tempting odors of cooking, and something about Dan Boudreaux definitely drew her. It seemed to go deeper than just the fact he’d been one of her targets, one she’d played a big part in saving.

  Garrett set down the fender he’d been sanding after he smoothed out a dent. He stooped to scratch her ears. “It’s okay, Mandy girl. I’m feeling kind of antsy too. It’s not going to be easy when our star boarder decides to head on down the road. I expect he will, and there’s likely not much we can do about it. Yeah, we’re going to miss him, both of us…We can’t nail his foot to the floor though.”

  * * * *

  “Come and get it.”

  Garrett almost knocked everything off the workbench when Dan’s cheerful yell sounded through the back door. Mandy had been dozing to one side. She leaped to her feet and her flying tail barely missed sending the freshly painted front fender onto the dusty floor.

  She beat Garrett to the kitchen door.

  He took a quick trip to the sink in the utility room to wash up and then followed his nose into the kitchen. Two places were set at the small table, as prettily set as he could ever remember his mother doing for special meals. Dan had found the good china, the stemmed glasses, and the matching set of tableware. Garrett skidded to a halt.

  “Holy mackerel! Look at this. What’s the occasion? Is it somebody’s birthday or something?”

  Dan actually blushed, a ruddy stain coloring his tanned face. “Nah, nothing like that. Did I do wrong to get out the good dishes and stuff? I just saw it and everything looked so nice. I wanted this to be a special meal, my way to start saying thanks for all you’ve done for me. I really can cook. I told you, it’s what I was planning to do for a career.”

  “Well, the smells say you did a bang-up job. What are we having?”

  “The names of the dishes prob’ly won’t mean a lot to you. They’re mostly Cajun French, and translated they just don’t sound the same. So just eat and enjoy. Oh, wait, I hope you aren’t allergic to shellfish. Damn, I never thought of that. A lot of people are.”

  Although Garrett was briefly tempted to say he was, he couldn’t dampen Dan’s obvious enthusiasm and delight. “Nope, far as I know, I can eat anything. Let’s have it.”

  The first course was a spicy, thick soup. Garrett recognized the crunch of celery and the flavors of garlic and peppers. There were bits of sausage and some tiny shrimp in the mixture also. It was followed by a dish of shrimp and shellfish in a rich, highly flavored sauce, which Dan called what sounded like ay-tu-fay with the last syllable accented. The Cajun served it over a bed of fluffy rice and it came with a side of “wilted greens,” somewhat like stir-fry vegetables, and warm French bread.

  Garrett dug in with a will, smacking his lips. “Oh my gawd, my taste buds think they died and went straight to heaven. If you want a job, I’ll hire you in a minute to cook for me!” He could barely remember his manners enough not to simply wolf it all down, hardly pausing to breathe.

  Dan ate too, although he spent more time watching Garrett, offering seconds, and looking anxious. There could be no doubt he meant this to be a very special meal.

  The repast finished with dessert, rich again. It was a scrumptious concoction with caramel, chocolate, pecans, and cream cheese—smooth, sensual, and slid down as smooth as greased silk, leaving a lingering sweetness on the tongue contrasting just right with a cup of strong, slightly bitter coffee. After the last bite, Garrett tried to swallow a belch and failed. “‘Scuse me. I heard in Japan a good burp is considered a compliment to the chef. Please take it in that vein.”

  Dan nodded. “S’okay. I think you enjoyed it, no?”

  Garrett grinned. “Très bon. That’s about the only French I know. I think it fits. You just whipped up one fine meal.”

  They rose together and bumped into each other reaching to clear the dishes. “I thought the cook was one job and the cleanup was another. I’ll be glad to do my part.”

  Dan shook his head. “This is my treat.” He turned back to face Garrett. “Hey, you’ve got chocolate on your chin.” He grabbed a napkin and scrubbed at the spot, licked a corner of the napkin and dabbed again.

  Garrett caught his breath, frozen by the intimacy of the innocent gesture. Dan’s expression was serious, intent. He was just so close. Garrett could count the individual lashes rimming Dan’s dark chocolate eyes, see the tiny fine lines at their corners, which were just starting to develop from the sun. The shorter man’s lips were parted and the tip of his tongue slipped between them as he concentrated.

  “Lose that damn cloth and come here.” The order emerged in a sound so close to a growl Mandy looked up with a start from the frying pan Dan had put down for her to lick clean.

  Dan’s gaze flew upward to clash with Garrett’s. “What?”

  “You’re driving me crazy. Quit trying to mother me and come here.”

  Garrett found Dan’s mouth hotter and sweeter than the dishes they had just shared. He opened at once to the probe of Garrett’s tongue and answered it with similar darting thrusts. His lips molded against Garrett’s as if they had been created for the purpose.

  Garrett was hard before ten seconds had passed. He wrapped his arms around Dan in a crushing embrace. The heat of the other man’s body felt so good, so right, so essential. In a dim corner of his mind, Garrett recognized his stomach might be satisfied, but there were other appetites just as eager and needy.

  “Bedroom,” he managed, in between avid kisses. “I want to get naked and feel every inch of you with every inch of me.”

  Still embracing and kissing, they stumbled together into Dan’s room, losing clothes as they went. By the time they got to the bed, their shirts were gone, trousers falling down around their knees and only shoes, socks, and briefs remained in place. Dan sat back on the bed, kicked off the loose sweatpants, and started fumbling to release the cords lacing the brace on his leg.

  Garrett hopped from one foot to the other, kicking off his athletic shoes and peeling the socks off his feet before he could get out of his jeans. By the time he was done, Dan had the brace off and tossed it to the floor beside the bed. This time there were no casts in the way…nothing except smooth, hot skin.

  One he’d shed his clothes, Garrett collapsed onto the bed beside Dan and they rolled to face each other. He ran eager hands over as much of Dan’s tight, compact body as he could, wishing he had at least two more to do the job. Dan zeroed in on Garrett’s cock, folding one hand around it and starting to stroke slowly all the way from the base to the head. A shudder ran through Garrett’s whole frame at the caress. Had he ever felt anything so wonderful?

  Dan paused. “Did I do something wrong, hurt you?”

  “No way. Don’t quit! No, it just felt so damn good it made me shiver.”

  When Garrett reached for Dan’s cock, the Cajun shook hi
s head. “No, not yet. This first time is for you. I’ve wanted to do this from the first night, but you’d never let me. With that damn cement suit on, there wasn’t much I could do about it. I was beginning to think you weren’t into me after all.”

  Garrett’s prick twitched in Dan’s grasp, blood surging through it and the first drop of precum beading the tip. “What do you want me to do?”

  “Kneel over me, here like this.” Dan urged Garrett into position, straddling his body with his cock inches away from Dan’s mouth. “Yeah, right there.”

  If Dan’s hand felt good, his mouth felt fantastic. He swirled his tongue around the head of Garrett’s cock, licked the length twice from just behind the head to the base and then slowly took first the head, then better than half of Garrett’s whole length into his mouth and began to suck. Garrett leaned down to brace his hands on the headboard, not sure he could trust his legs to support him as the surging pressure built until he could no longer contain it. He came in a powerful spurt, thrusting into Dan’s mouth as everything exploded.

  Shaking too hard to stay upright, he sank to one side and collapsed, unable to hold his own weight any longer. He opened his eyes after a moment to see Dan’s smiling face, just inches away. His lips still glistened with moisture.

  “Man, oh, man. That was fierce.”

  “Good. Rest a few minutes and get ready for act two.”

  Garrett laughed. “Did you sneak some Spanish fly or something into your stew? I shouldn’t even be able to get hard so soon after such a heavy meal. Somehow it hasn’t slowed me down a bit.”

  “Cajun cooking has a reputation for being an aphrodisiac. I never took it seriously before. I didn’t put anything unusual into it…It does seem to pack quite a wallop for us, though.”

  Quicker than he would have thought possible, Garrett’s dick came to life again. They lay face-to-face, languidly caressing each other’s bodies, kissing and talking sporadically. The next thing Garrett knew, their cocks were doing a sensual dance, rubbing together and fencing in erotic patterns.

  After a few minutes, Dan rolled over and shifted to drop his legs off the edge of the bed. Facedown, he rose on his arms and looked at Garrett with an avid, eager gaze. “Come on and fuck me,” he said. “I’ve been dreaming about that since the first night, when you gave me one incredible BJ. I knew there was no way while I was in that damn cast. Now there’s nothing to interfere.”

  Garrett turned over and got to his feet, moving to stand behind Dan. The other man’s smooth, tight ass beckoned, cheeks hardened by the long hours on the cycle and yet still rounded enough to tempt.

  “You sure about this? I’m pretty big and I don’t want to hurt you.”

  Dan laughed. “You know the old song from the seventies…or maybe it was the sixties? Dad used to sing it for Mom when he’d had a few beers. Something about ‘make it hurt so good.’ Sounds perfect to me. Just do it, man.”

  There was a jar of body lotion Dan had brought home from the hospital on the nightstand. Although as lube went it wasn’t the best, Garrett figured it would do. He pumped a couple of squirts into his hand and rubbed it around the head of his cock. Then he sprayed a dollop at the top of the crack of Dan’s butt and rubbed it down around his anus. Tentatively he slipped in one finger and then two. They slid in easily, slicked by the lotion. He felt Dan deliberately relax his inner muscles in preparation. He didn’t need any other hints.

  Withdrawing his hand, he put the tip of his cock at the entrance and began to ease in. Dan was tight, hot, and perfect. It only took a few strokes before Garrett was on the brink of losing control, harder than he had ever been as the pressure built, lifting and tightening his balls and creating tension almost a pain deep in his groin.

  “Oh, man,” he groaned. “Oh, my God, that feels good.” He withdrew almost fully and slammed in deep again. That was all it took. He came in an explosive rush, so hard and so violently he thought he was going to split apart. He managed to pull out and stagger to one side before he collapsed across the bed.

  “Yeah, très bon for sure,” Dan murmured as he rolled onto his side. “Every bit as great as I imagined it would be. Thanks.”

  “Don’t thank me,” Garrett protested. “I sure got as good as I gave, if not better.”

  They lay quietly for a little while. After a few minutes, Mandy came padding in to check on them. She nuzzled their bare feet, hanging off the bed, and gave each foot a lick before she went to the next. Dan let out a whoop, startled by the warm, wet tongue sliding up his sole from heel to toes.

  Garrett chuckled. “I think she’s trying to tell us something, maybe that we ought to get up before dark. Anyway, I have something I want to show you.”

  “Okay, might come back later. I guess we can let her have her way for now. She gets fed about this time, doesn’t she?” Dan reached down to scratch behind Mandy’s ears. She leaned close and her eyes drifted half shut.

  “This dog is a bottomless appetite. She’ll eat anytime she can find something edible, but yeah, I usually dump some kibble in her dish about this time.”

  They joked as they retraced their steps to the kitchen, picking up and putting on clothes as they went. Before they got to the back door, they were both dressed again. Dan paused there, struggling with his brace. Garrett knelt in front of him and helped him draw the lacing tight.

  “You know, we’re doing this the hard way. There’s a hook and loop fastener down the inside I hadn’t noticed.”

  “What the hell? Aw, shit, I know I’m not totally dumb. How could I miss that?”

  Garrett arose, opened the door, and held it wide. “Your surprise is in the garage. It’s not a done deal yet, though I’ve been working on it while I gave you some time and space to get back on your feet and ready to move again. My inclination was to hover and I knew hovering would bug you bad.” He led the way to the garage, reached in, and flipped on the lights. Then he stepped to one side to offer a good view.

  Dan sucked in a quick, hard breath. “Oh, man. Sacre bleu! It’s my bike, isn’t it? It never looked this good before. Last time I saw it, it was in pieces in the back of your truck, looking more like a pile of scrap than…I couldn’t bear to look after one glance or even think about it, thinking Pop would kill me for wrecking it. How did you accomplish this so fast?”

  “I’ve been fooling with it since about two days after we got here, ordered parts on eBay and seeking advice from some buds of mine who ride. It isn’t quite ready to roll yet. Another week will have it there.”

  Dan took a couple of steps closer, then stopped. “I—I don’t know how to thank you, but damn, are you that eager to see me go? I mean I couldn’t blame you. You’ve gone way out of your way for a stranger and everything. I guess I thought…”

  Garrett laughed, shifted closer to Dan’s side, and slung an arm around the shorter man’s shoulders. “If you’ll cook, you can stay here as long as you want. I told you I rattle around in this big, old house like a baseball in a boxcar. I just thought maybe you’d want to go on with your travels. I planned to have this ready when you were.”

  Dan nodded slowly. “Okay, so long as we’re both on the same page here. I know I want to try to get into a cooking school, become a real chef, licensed or diploma-ed or whatever it is, and someday maybe have my own restaurant. There’s no big rush, we’re both pretty young still. You’ve got your SAR stuff with Mandy and your computer business. I don’t know if or how we can fit all it all together, but I’d sure like to try.”

  Just then Mandy nudged between them. She slipped through and turned around to sit and look up at them, pink tongue lolling in a triumphant doggy grin. Her wise golden eyes moved from one face to the other. While Garrett knew she could not speak the words, he would have sworn she nodded and said, Well, I think this job is done. One rescue completed in the best possible way. That’s my specialty—rescue by love.

  THE END

  ABOUT DEIRDRE O’DARE

  A lifelong reader, Deirdre learned to write—po
ems and stories—as soon as she could print the letters and try to spell words. She went pro with women’s fiction as Gwynn Morgan after she retired from a US civil service job and switched to erotic romance some years back. A confirmed desert rat, she sets most tales in her beloved southwest and slips in her ranch and outdoor background with adventures and ‘critters’ as secondary characters.

  Although all of Deirdre’ s tales are explicit, she emphasizes she writes love stories and not just sex stories because she believes Love in all its forms is the One True Thing. She also believes that every human deserves to find and enjoy it. She currently resides in central New Mexico and serves as chauffer and household staff for two amazing dogs. She enjoys many creative hobbies and spending time with friends and her spectacular grandkids when she can escape from the keyboard.

  For more information, visit deirdredares.blogspot.com.

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