by Jodi Payne
Tyler peeked around him. “The girls didn’t follow us in. I guess they found the chocolate.”
“Undoubtedly.” The master was mostly huge king and two dressers. “I cleaned this one out for you, and there’s room in the closet. The bathroom’s through the door there, and the private porch is through the French doors.”
“You cleaned a dresser out for me?” Tyler dropped his backpack on the bed and took the suitcase from his hand, setting it down. “You’re so thoughtful. Come down here so I can thank you.”
“Yes, please.” He sat down on the bed, arms open. He had to fight the tremble in his hands, the excitement that he knew he was going to have to hold in. “I’m so glad you’re here, honey. So damn glad.”
Tyler sat right on his knees and stroked his beard with both hands. “It doesn’t feel real yet, you know? I feel like my feet aren’t quite on the ground. Your girls are so sweet, and your home is lovely…but I have everything I need right here in my hands.” Tyler kissed him softly, almost as if he were fragile.
He sighed into the kiss, hands draped around Tyler’s waist as he held on, feeling like a sparrow in a hurricane.
“I’m here, Matt. It’s real.” Tyler hugged him, pressing close. “Thank you for letting me just show up.”
“Thank you for trusting. You—God, I’m so—You’re here.” He held on, panting softly, his entire body awake and alive.
He felt Tyler’s deep breath, the lean chest expanding against his arms. Tyler leaned back, clear blue eyes locking with his. “Kiss me like you want to. It’s okay. I’m not going anywhere.”
He didn’t hesitate. No sir. He hooked one hand behind Tyler’s neck and tugged him in, kissing the fine son of a bitch like he needed to, diving into the sweet lips and letting Tyler know how bad he wanted, how much he’d missed.
Tyler moaned and answered his need, shifting in his lap, hungry fingers digging into his biceps. He plundered Tyler’s mouth, wanting to push the sweet body over, strip them down and make love.
For once Tyler was ahead of him. He felt his shirt buttons opening one by one until Tyler got his hands inside, hot palms spreading out across his chest.
“Honey…” He groaned, his body arching like he didn’t have an ounce of control over it. His nipples were like little rocks, and his dick ached in his jeans.
“I know.” Tyler nodded against his cheek, whispering. “We need this. I should have known that kiss would never be enough.”
“We do. I want to… I need to love up on you, honey.” He wanted to touch and lick and see every goddamn inch.
“I fed the dogs, Daddy.” There was a quiet knock at the door. “And Emma wants to show Tyler the goats.”
“And what’s for dinner?” Emma’s voice followed her sister’s. That was Emma, always looking forward to the next meal.
Tyler leaned back, pale skin flushed and eyes shining. “Right. Girls.”
“Yeah.” He took a deep breath. “I’m going to grill hot dogs for y’all. We ate on the way back, so we’ll eat a snack late. I’ll be right there, babies.”
Fuck him raw.
Tyler slipped between his knees, fingers going after his fly. “What’s their bedtime?”
“Uh. N-nine. They go upstairs at nine.” He blinked, the sight of Tyler kneeling there making him stupid as all get out.
“Okay.” Tyler tugged his cock right through his fly. “You can pay me back then. God, that’s a pretty cock, cowboy.” But he only saw it for a second before it disappeared between Tyler’s lips.
He made a strangled sound, and then every single fiber of his body jerked and went taut, his toes curling in his boot. “Oh, sweet fuck.”
He reached out, curling one hand around Tyler’s shoulder, his ass clenching as he fought not to thrust up.
Matthew was fixin’ to die, and it would be worth it.
Tyler’s hands wrapped tight around his ass and tugged, inviting him deeper if that was possible, and wasn’t subtle at all. They both knew this was a means to an end. A fucking hot one.
He didn’t fight it, his eyes rolling back in his head as his balls emptied in a rush. He’d come a lot in the last bunch of years, but at his own hand. Not…not like this.
“Mmm.” Everything about Tyler that had been heated and urgent became slow and sensual, easing him, gentling him back down to earth.
“I—” He blinked down. “Damn, honey. That was…better than llamas.”
Tyler snorted and climbed back into his lap. “Told you so.”
“You did. Damn. Thank you. I want—”
“Daddy! Daddy, come out! We made y’all iced tea!”
“Sorry,” he whispered, but he couldn’t ignore them any longer. It wasn’t right. “Y’all rock! I’ll be right there!”
“Don’t be. I wanted you to feel good, that’s all. We’ll have time later.” Tyler kissed him quickly. “I’m just going to freshen up, I’ll be right out.”
“Take your time. I’m going to go start hot dogs and let them get in the pool, which is what they really want.” He stripped off his nice shirt and threw on a T-shirt before heading out to his girls, closing the door behind him.
“Is Tyler coming? When will the hot dogs be ready?” Emma fell in right behind him, following him to the kitchen.
Sophia was already there, stirring iced tea. “Oh. Is Tyler tired? Is he napping in your room? Sorry if we woke him up.”
“He’s washing his face and just letting himself be quiet a second. Did y’all put the leftovers from the truck in the fridge?” He felt—well, shit, he felt like a trillion bucks, loose-limbed and goofy.
“Yes, sir. They smell good.” Sophia sat a glass of tea in front of him. “Is he staying all the way to the Fourth of July party?”
“He is. He can stay as long as he wants.” Matthew wanted some time to get to know each other, to work their shit out.
“See? I told you he would!” Emma sounded smug. “We have plenty of time to do stuff.”
“We have time, but we have to remember to give him some space, if he wants it. He isn’t with our crazy selves all the time normally.”
“But Daddy, isn’t New York full of a ton of people all the time?”
“Yes, baby, but he lives all alone.” And the girls didn’t understand, but he felt way more alone in that huge city than on the ranch. He thought, in some ways, Tyler did too.
“Hey. Am I too late for tea?” Tyler joined them, looking relaxed in a clean T-shirt and a happy smile. “I took a fast shower, hope that was okay.”
“Perfect.” He handed over a glass. “Do y’all want one each?”
“Are there buns?” Emma asked, beaming when he nodded. “Then I want one with cheese and mustard.”
“I want just mustard on mine and cooked extra dark.”
He nodded and grabbed them out of the fridge. “I’m on it. Dogs are fed? Chickens are in the hen house? Goats have water?”
The girls nodded in concert.
“Then go get your suits on. You can get in while I’m cooking.” He had all the paper plates and shit out there in the new kitchen deal. The sooner they ate and swam, the sooner they could go to bed. “You want to come sit and chat while I burn these for the girls?”
“Yes, I’d like that. I’ve got our tea.” Tyler grabbed their glasses and followed him out to the grill. “It feels so strange to be out of the city. I haven’t been anywhere in a very long time.”
“Yeah? It’s going to be a nice night. The sun’s going to go down soon.” The grill was right near the pool, so he could watch. He had a perfect view of the front acreage too—goats, chickens, the…ah yes. There they were. “Can you see the horses? They’re coming up for water.”
Tyler set his glass down and followed his gaze, eyes lighting up. “Oh wow! Those are yours? All of them?”
“Those are the ones that aren’t being doctored. There are a couple in the other pasture.” He lifted his head and whistled. “Sugar! Sugar, what you doing, pretty girl?”
She lifted her head and wh
innied, greeting him.
“That’s so cool. I want to meet them up close. Can you… I mean, are those the kind you ride? Can you teach me?”
“Yes, and absolutely. We can go out tomorrow, if it isn’t rainy. If it’s raining, we’ll sit in the hot tub and relax and watch the girls play in the mud.”
He got the wieners going, chuckling as the girls came streaking out of the house in their swimsuits.
“No running, chicas! Be careful!”
“Yes, Daddy!”
He rolled his eyes as they jumped in the pool.
“Hot tub. Oh, that sounds just as good.” Tyler stood close, closer than friends, and tucked a hand into his back pocket. “I’m looking forward to seeing that W tonight.”
“You’ll see it, honey, and everything else you want.” He leaned into the touch. “What did you think of my fancy-assed bathroom?”
He’d traded a few calves for the tile work, and the plumber had wanted two puppies for his sons.
“Oh man, it’s gorgeous. And huge. Your shower is like a whole room by itself. It literally is the fanciest place I have ever been.”
“I have imagined amazing things we could get up to, in that shower.” He had lube and condoms in the bathroom, the bedroom. All over.
Tyler blushed and shrugged. “I got up to a little solo fun, just to, you know, relax a little. Did you imagine that?”
“I was hoping. It means tonight we can take our time together.” He turned the hotdogs, his belly going tight at the memory of Tyler’s mouth on him. “That before—that was…damn.”
“That was an act of desperation.” Tyler laughed. “Wait until I have some time to play with.”
“The top of my head might come off. Boom.” He chuckled softly, the sound cutting off when Emma screamed.
“Daddy! A bug!”
“Scoop it out, honey.”
“It’s alive!”
“Ooh. I got this.” Tyler winked at him. “An alive bug? How dare it! Where is this trespasser?”
“Can you get it?” Sophia was trying to be brave, but Emma was already in tears. “Please?”
Jesus, those babies could fish crawdaddies, but a water bug got in the pool…
“Yep. I got it. Hang on.” He watched as Tyler lay down on his stomach and stretched an arm out to catch the bug, scooping it up onto the concrete. “Do we squash these guys or let them run?”
“If you squash him, do it on the grass. They’re juicy.”
“Ew. Like New York City cockroaches.” Tyler kicked the bug into the grass and made a show of stepping on it. “You ladies okay? Emma? You good?”
“Uh—uh-huh. Thank you.” She sniffled softly, then went back to play with her sister.
“You’re very welcome.” Tyler trotted back over, grinning, and stepped close. “I’m the tough New York bug hunter. Go me.”
“You are a prince among men.” Matthew chuckled and applauded.
“I love that you can just grill whenever you want. I mean everybody barbecues, I know, just not in the city. Will would have loved this. All this space. He talked about it all the time, wanting to get out of New York. But that’s where the work is, you know?” Tyler shook his head.
“I tend to grill a lot. That’s why I built the frame out and put the awning up, so I can grill in the rain.” He put the hot dogs on the buns and fixed them, putting them on the table. “Do you girls want chips?”
“No, thank you. Can we stay up late?”
Oh, there was no way. Not tonight. “You can get back in the pool until 8:30. Then showers and bed. Fair?”
“I guess.” Sophia sighed dramatically and sat at the table, a towel wrapped around her waist.
Emma sat too, digging right in. “Mmm. You got it just right, Daddy!” Emma was never going to give him a hard time about bedtime. She was going to be the one that smiled and nodded sweetly and then climbed out her damn bedroom window. He knew it.
Sophia was going to be his drama queen, but basically good, basically easy.
“What did y’all eat that you’re not hungry for a hotdog?” Emma looked at Tyler.
“Melted cheese. Tons of yummy, hot, melty cheese. And things wrapped in tortillas and fried. And more cheese.”
“That’s just queso, silly. The cheese stuff.”
“Oh, it’s not just anything. It was heavenly delicious.” Tyler rolled his eyes and both girls giggled at him.
“Daddy makes it all the time. He puts Jimmy Dean in it, and it’s so good. It’s one of my favorites.” Sophia beamed at him.
“Well you and I have a lot in common then, Sophia. Cheese is my favorite thing ever.”
“Cheese?” Emma wrinkled her nose. “Chocolate is the best thing ever.”
“Oh.” Tyler looked at her seriously. “Chocolate is a really close second, you’re right. I could live on cheese and chocolate.”
“Ice cream. Y’all. Ice. Cream.” Matthew grinned at them all, loving how Tyler just talked to the babies. “One day we’ll all go to New York and have pizza there. It’s so good, girls. It’s…whoa.”
“It’s true. It’s the best pizza anywhere.” Tyler nodded. “And I took your dad for ice cream. He got a strawberry cone.”
“Mamaw has a ton of ice cream in her big freezer for Daddy and Aunt Rachel and Uncle Jonas.” Sophia leaned closer to Tyler. “A ton.”
“Do you think she’d share?” Tyler asked, and Emma nodded.
“Mamaw is super nice, unless you’re nasty to her or her grandbabies. Then she will cut you.”
“Emma!” Matthew blinked. “Where did you hear that?”
“Mamaw said it to Miss SueEllen.”
“The hairdresser?”
Sophia nodded. “We went to get a trim while you were gone.”
“So it’s not just Aunt Kathy…” Tyler grinned at him.
“Momma is a firecracker, no question there.” Matthew tilted his head. He was hot, sweaty, and he wanted a dip. “You interested in getting in the pool with the girls, honey? I could use a dunk.”
“Why not? I have this snazzy new suit. And then we—uh I have an excuse to use that amazing shower again.”
No blushing. None. Zero. Zip. “Totally. Gotta wash the chlorine off, right?”
“You got it. Should we go change?” Tyler started backing toward the house.
“Y’all stay out of the pool until I get back, okay?” He met each girl’s gaze. They were both good swimmers, but there was no reason to take a stupid risk.
“Okay, Daddy. We’ll just play out here.”
“Good girls.”
Tyler led the way to the bedroom, obviously looking forward to the swim. “I love them. They’re so sweet, Matt.” Tyler dug through the shopping bag and pulled out his bathing suit.
He beamed, so proud he could hardly bear it. He knew they were good girls, happy and dear and smart—but it felt great to hear it. “Thank you. I love them more than I can say.”
“It shows.” Tyler had to have known exactly what he was doing when he turned his back to pull on his new swim trunks. Matthew got a quick view of a pert, pale, perfect little ass.
“Mmm…look at that.” He hummed and reached out, fingertips trailing over the soft skin. “Pretty pretty.”
Tyler leaned into the touch for a second, then slipped away and pulled up his trunks, looking flushed when he turned around. “It’s not nine o’clock yet.”
“Not yet. We’ll play in the pool a while.” Matthew grabbed his trunks and sat on the bed, stripping down. “Then we’ll play in the bedroom.”
Tyler leaned against his dresser and watched him. “It’s weird, but part of me feels like I’ve been here forever already.”
“Yeah? You like it? I have done a lot of updating, since I inherited it. I think it’s a happy space.” Matthew loved it here, his soul was sunk into the space, into the land, into the dirt itself.
“It feels loved. I’m a little intimidated by how fancy it all is, you know? It feels…like you, though. Safe. Warm.”
> “It’s just a home. It’s not a showpiece.” He pulled up his trunks and stood, snorting at the idea of this place being fancy. It was a place for mud and suppers and laughing and dust.
“I like it.” Tyler slipped a hand into his as they crossed through the kitchen and gave it a squeeze. “I’m totally going to cannonball into the pool.”
“You totally can.” They went outside to find Sophia and Emma playing with the dogs, Buttercup racing to him when she saw him. “Baby girl!”
She jumped into his arms and he caught her. “Buttercup, Tyler. Tyler, Buttercup. Westley is her man.”
“Hey, Buttercup. You’re a pretty puppy.” Tyler patted Buttercup’s head like someone that hadn’t ever had dogs.
He put Buttercup down, and she sat, wagging happily. “Shake for Tyler.”
She lifted her paw, so dainty, so pretty.
“Oh my goodness.” Tyler took her paw and gave it a gentle shake. “Good girl.”
Westley watched everything with a suspicious eye, sidling over to herd the girls away from Tyler. “Come here, boy. It’s okay.” He grinned at Tyler. “Those are his two-legged puppies. He loves them fiercely. Come meet Tyler, Wes.”
Westley walked over and sat.
“Hold your hand out with your fingers curled under, Mister Tyler.” Sophia demonstrated. “And then when he has your scent and the body language is nice, pet him under the chin. That’s respectful.”
“Fingers curled…like this? Okay. Hey, Westley.” Tyler held his fist out for the dog to sniff.
Westley sniffed him, then licked his knuckles.
“Good boy!” Sophia beamed. “Now, love on him.”
Matthew nodded. Excellent. Sophia had a knack with dogs that would serve her well.
“Okay. Hey, Westley.” Tyler crouched a little and scritched the dog’s ears.
“Do they have dogs in New York?” Emma asked, completely serious.
“Oh, yes. I’ve seen all kinds of dogs. I just don’t have one. Actually, no one I know does. But I’ve seen everything from big shepherds to tiny little dogs people carry in their purses.”
“Aunt Kathy had a purse dog! He got eat up by a gator!” Emma grinned, eyes twinkling. “Can you imagine, a gator stealing a dog out of a purse?”
“Baby, it wasn’t in the purse at the time. Aunt Kathy had gone camping and let the little beast out.”