by Lynn Stark
By the time they finished eating and cleaning up, Chance was ready to fuck Chase on the nearest surface. He laughed as Chase grabbed his hand and all but dragged him up the stairs. The shower was their destination. They stripped off their clothes, tossing them carelessly around, and walked into the shower. The hot stinging spray pelted their skin.
Strong hands caressed Chance from shoulder to hip. Warm, wet lips plucked at his earlobe. Shivering with pleasure, Chance began his own play with his lover. Reaching between them, he pinched Chase’s nipples, rolling and pulling them, knowing how much Chase enjoyed it. His low moans were proof enough.
“On your knees, baby,” Chance told Chase. As Chase sank to his knees, Chance reached over to the wall to turn on the stereo. Slow, throbbing music filled the space, blending with the sound of the spray of the water. He moaned as Chase’s mouth slid down the length of his cock. “That’s it, sweetheart,” Chance crooned, leaning back against the wall. “Suck it hard.”
Chase was very good at doing what he was told. Chance’s head fell back against the wall. He groaned as pleasure radiated through his body, until his legs began to tremble. When his balls pulled tight to his body he tangled his fingers in Chase’s wet hair and held on as Chase’s head bobbed. Chase went wild, working his mouth quickly up and down the length of Chance’s cock. As he did so his fingers found Chance’s asshole. He played with the puckered flesh around it for a moment, before pushing a wet finger inside. Chance shouted as he came, his hips bucking as he held Chase’s head in place. Seconds later Chase was moaning around Chance’s cock. Cum splattered on Chance’s ankle and foot. He sighed and released his hold on Chase’s hair and reached out to grab the bar fixed to the wall of the shower.
Once they recovered enough to do so, they soaped each other, rinsed, and left the shower. They dried and headed to their bed for a nap. As they settled into bed, Chase cuddled to Chance’s chest.
“What do you say we go down and give the boys some exercise after we wake up?” Chase asked, drawing circles on Chance’s skin.
The “boys” were their horses. The ranch where they boarded them wasn’t that far away. They had debated about buying a place where they could keep the horses, but the glass house with the tremendous view had been too much to resist. Because they weren’t interested in ranching any longer, buying a ranch, even a small one, wasn’t an option. They would settle for keeping their horses elsewhere, going regularly to give them the exercise they needed.
“Sounds like a plan. We’ll take Henry with us. He needs to get out. He can run around in the arena.”
Less than two hours later they were awake and on their way to the ranch where they boarded their horses. The ranch belonged to the Gordon family. All the children were grown, but they hadn’t gone far. Most lived and worked on the property. A few had jobs in Silver, supplementing their incomes. The Gordons had also made changes to their ranch, taking it beyond raising livestock and growing crops, both of which could fail during bad-weather years. They now offered trail rides, glamping—a fancy form of camping—and riding lessons. It was the latter that delayed exercising their horses and letting Henry run around the arena. They groomed the three horses as they waited for the lessons to finish.
When they did so, the six female friends, visiting the area primarily for the skiing, they had been told by a ranch hand, decided to hit on Chance and Chase. It was both flattering and unwanted. He and Chase finally had to inform the women that they were taken. Neither of them relaxed until the disappointed women followed their instructor out of the stable, to go to the office for complimentary hot chocolate.
Chance and Chase warmed their horses up before putting them through their paces, laughing as Henry led Kane’s horse around by a thick rope lead. The two animals were bonded, Kane having the dog since he was a puppy. Henry and Jasper, Kane’s gelding, had travelled the rodeo circuit together for years. Now they were enjoying retirement together.
After finishing their workout, Chance took the lead off Jasper and tossed a large exercise ball into the arena. Both dog and horse went after it. He and Chase took the tack off their horses and let them go roll, something all horses seemed to enjoy a little too much. They left them to it, carrying the tack back to clean it, knowing they would have to clean their horses off as well.
They got a surprise when they left the tack room to go for the horses. Kane was walking down the aisle toward them, a grin on his handsome face.
“Kane, we didn’t expect to see you until tonight!” Chase exclaimed as they hurried forward to greet him. “How did you know we were here?”
Kane bent to kiss each of them. “Wild guess. I saw Henry was gone, so I figured you guys came over to work the horses. I thought I’d see how Jasper is doing.”
“He’s getting old and fat.”
They turned to walk toward the arena with Kane. “How was your date with Ellen?” Kane asked Chance.
“A lot of fun. Very exciting. I do think she’s the one for us.”
Chase laughed and bumped shoulders with him as they leaned on the gate and watched Henry and the horses chasing each other. “Now all we have to do is convince her that we’re more than pretty faces.”
“You do realize that she probably won’t want kids. She has a grown daughter and a grandchild.”
“Actually,” Chance told Chase. “She has two daughters and three grandchildren.”
“Wow, we would be instant grandfathers,” Chase said, a note of amazement in his voice. “That would be so cool.”
Kane laughed. “You’re getting too far ahead, baby. Ellen might not be interested in anything of a permanent nature. She might just be out for fun. Have either of you thought of that?”
“Yeah, but who wants to be so negative?”
“We have to remain positive, until we hear it from Ellen,” Chance said, trying not to think about the possibility that Ellen wouldn’t be interested in a relationship with the three of them. He had learned that she had been married to two men, that she had been widowed ten years ago. A ménage wouldn’t be a strange concept to her, although it didn’t mean she wanted another one either, he admitted to himself. Yeah, they had to keep this real, no getting ahead of themselves. “Let’s just see how it goes. No rushing her.”
“Very wise,” Kane agreed, opening the gate and going in. He whistled and Jasper came running, sliding to a stop in front of Kane and then butting him in the chest with his head. Kane rubbed his hand down the center of the gelding’s head, and then reached up to scratch him between the ears. “Ellen’s very special. We’ll give her all the time she needs.”
Because Kane had more experience with women, having been in two long-term relationships before meeting Chance and Chase, Chance knew they would rely on his knowledge to help guide them. He knew he didn’t want to screw this up. Deep down inside, he felt Ellen was the right woman for them. Smart, funny, sexy, beautiful—she was perfect in a lot of ways.
“How did work go today?” Chase asked as they led the horses down to the crossties so they could clean them up again.
“It went well. It’s getting closer to being a done deal on the hotel on Paradise Lake. We’ll be signing the papers Friday. After that, I’ll be taking bids, followed by organizing the contractors.”
“Sounds like everything is moving along well.”
“It is. The hardest part was getting the owner to sell.” Kane laughed as he ran the brush over Jasper’s winter coat. “I know it’s unrealistic, but I’m hoping there aren’t any major problems in the future.”
“You’re right. That’s not realistic. The building is over a hundred years old. You said Mag is still planning to come to help?”
Magnus Driscoll was Kane’s younger brother. He was a whiz at getting things done and was excited about the new project. He called several times a week to go over ideas he had for the new hotel. Although he had helped his brother with projects in the past, no one had seen him this excited about any of them. Chance had to admit that the hotel at Paradise Lake was som
ething special, which was probably why the elderly owner hadn’t wanted to part with it. Kane had told the man that he was not planning anything but improvements, returning the grand lady to her former glory. It was likely Kane’s sincerity that had swayed the man. Now Mag would be there to help his brother achieve his vision and keep his promise.
“Of course. I couldn’t get Mag to change his mind if I tried, which I’m certainly not about to do. He’s a Svengali with difficult contractors and others.”
“Not to mention getting his big brother to wear a bright yellow chicken costume for Halloween three years ago,” Chase murmured, never one to pass up a chance to tease their lover.
“Yeah, about that. Some things are better forgotten.”
Chance laughed as he put his horse, Crackers, into his stall. “That’s not going to happen, and you know it.”
“Nope, not a chance,” Chase agreed. “I still have those photos hidden in a secret location. I’m keeping them for an emergency.”
“Emergency what?”
Chase shrugged, grinning. “You never know when I might want to get a blow job out of you.”
Both Chance and Kane rolled their eyes and laughed. “You never have to worry about that, baby,” Kane reassured him. “I’ll give you a blow job anytime you like.” With the horses back in their stalls, and a dusty Henry ready to go home, they headed out of the stable and to their vehicles. Kane kissed each of them. “I’ll meet you at home. Then we’ll see about that blow job.”
Once they arrived home, they went upstairs to enjoy a little relaxing time together before Kane went to his office to get back to work. While he was shut away in there, Chance and Chase went over the new routine, tweaking it here and there, and deciding on their costumes for the New Year’s Eve performance.
Despite how busy they kept themselves, however, they both kept bringing up Ellen. One thing was certain, she had made an impression on them. It was impossible to prevent thoughts of her from coming to mind, which led to the discussions.
Kane left his office when Chase began making stir-fry. They took their plates to the living room and sat on the long leather sofa, enjoying the sunset as they ate. As they did so, Chance had to wonder if Ellen would like living in a glass house with them.
When Chance decided he was torturing himself, he jumped up off the sofa and headed toward the kitchen, taking their dishes out. “Who’s up for some skiing?”
Rushing down a hill on two sticks was sure to keep his thoughts clear of a certain beautiful woman. He was clearly becoming obsessed with Ellen Reed.
Chapter Four
With her pleasure increasing by leaps and bounds, Ellen stood in the open doorway as her youngest daughter, Cynthia, and her twin grandsons, Brad and James, hurried along the sidewalk. “I can’t believe you’re here! It’s a big surprise.” she cried, scooping up the two small bodies to hug them close. They giggled and gave her smacking kisses on each cheek. “Oh, Grandma loves her babies.”
“Not babies!”
“No, Grammy, we’re not babies.”
It delighted Ellen to tease the toddlers. They were growing up so fast and she was missing most of it, despite phone calls and online chatting. It just wasn’t the same as gauging their growth with hugs and seeing them regularly in person.
“No, you’re both getting so big,” Ellen agreed. “Pretty soon, you’ll be old men with girlfriends.”
That comment brought the expected reaction. Both cute little freckled faces scrunched up and tongues came out. Squirming, they now wanted down. She bent to set them on their feet. They gave her one last hug before running to the large room she had set up as a playroom. It was off the foyer and between the living room and the kitchen, which ran the width of the rear of the house. The dining room was on the opposite side of the foyer and the pocket doors were kept shut to keep curious children out of it.
Cynthia hugged Ellen, stepping back to give her a smile. “Where’s Lyle?” Ellen asked, peering through the oval glass in the front door to see if there was any sign of her son-in-law.
Cynthia grimaced, looking sad. “Working. Always working.” She took off her coat and headed to the nearby coat closet. “I know we need the money for the house we want, but sometimes I don’t know if it’s worth the sacrifice of time spent with each other and the boys.”
She knew it was pointless, but she made the offer anyway. “I can help. I have more than enough to help out my families.” Her expenses were few. She lived rent- and utility-free. Even her groceries were part of her deal with working as Redford Manor’s housekeeper. With the exception of her contribution to a 401(k), the generous salary she was paid was basically put in the bank and left untouched. “It would give me great pleasure to help with the down payment and a little extra thrown in for a new play fort in the backyard.”
“I’ll talk to Lyle, but I won’t hold my breath. Sometimes the man has too much pride. He’s a hard worker and a devoted husband and family man.” Cynthia smiled crookedly, in a way that Ellen had always liked. “I can’t fault him for wanting to do this for us.”
“Are you close to having the down payment?”
“Close. Just a few thousand more. We’ve started looking at houses. There’s one between a park and a very good school. It has a large yard and you should see the photos of the inside. It seems to have everything we want or could ever need. There’s even room for more kids.”
Ellen smiled and nodded. “Sounds great. If I can help, just let me know. Now, why don’t we go make snacks for a couple of boys we know? Your sister should be back soon. She’s out Christmas shopping with Megan.”
As they walked to the kitchen, glancing in to see Brad and James playing with snap-together plastic blocks, Cynthia teased, “What’s this I hear about naked men running around the house?”
“I had some guests over. It’s nothing more than that.”
Taking small plates from the cupboard, Ellen lined them up before going for the containers in the refrigerator she had prepared for the visit.
Cynthia chuckled. “It’s been a long time since you’ve had guests. Anything serious? Are we getting stepfathers?”
The question jolted Ellen. She opened containers and began to scoop out the contents onto each plate. Was she serious about the three men? It really was too early to tell. Fantastic sex was one thing—a lifelong commitment was another. Did an anxious feeling deep in her belly mean anything? She and Chance had parted a few hours ago and she already wanted to see him again. Kane and Chase, too, of course. She didn’t know why. She’d had her fun. The itch had been scratched with superb skill by Kane, and then Chance. It had been disappointing that the night hadn’t gone as planned. A ménage encounter had a lot of exciting variables. Did she really need more from them?
“I doubt that. We just met.” It was the best answer she could give at the moment.
It was such a new situation Ellen hadn’t given it much thought. Not beyond the obvious, of course. She had a date the following night with Chase and she was looking forward to that. Thoughts of anything permanent were premature. They might not be looking for more than a good time, too.
If it did become more serious than hot sex, she would also have to give consideration to the age factor. Ellen guessed Kane and she were close in age, but there was a definite gap between Chance, Chase, and herself of maybe eight to ten years. It was rather unnerving to think it might be more than that.
“Okay, so no stepfathers—for now,” Cynthia said with a laugh. “But I think it’s great that you’re dating again. Megan does, too, except for explaining the naked man thing to Mya.”
Ellen chuckled. “I let her handle it, of course. She did very well, explaining that grandmas were allowed to have naked men in the house if they wanted them, but it was private and she shouldn’t talk about it with anyone. Megan then changed the subject to graham crackers and milk and, as far as I know, the subject hasn’t been brought up again.”
“I’m glad Brad and James weren’t here. They
wouldn’t stop talking about it.”
With the plates of fruit and cottage cheese assembled, Cynthia went to call them in to eat. They ran through the kitchen to the bathroom to wash their hands. They ran back out for inspection before climbing up on their chosen chairs to begin eating.
Ellen and Cynthia caught up as they ate, making plans to go Christmas shopping later that day. Megan and Mya arrived just as they were finishing, clusters of shopping bags in their hands, although Mya’s were considerably smaller.
“I got your present, Grammy!” Mya exclaimed, rushing forward. She dropped the bags to give Ellen a fierce hug. She pulled back, giving Ellen a look filled with regret. “But I can’t tell you what it is. It’s a secret for Christmas.”
“Ooh, the best kind of secret. Is it Christmas yet? I can’t wait to see what it is,” she teased, touching the tip of Mya’s nose.
Mya shook her head. “No, not yet. There’s still two more days.” She pouted adorably before her face brightened with excitement. “Grammy, can we go get your tree today?”
Nodding, Ellen smiled. So many things to do, but she wouldn’t have it any other way. Family was everything to her and building memories for them all was very important. “We’ll do that. And we can make some ornaments for it. I found the ornaments your mommies made when they were little. They will all make our Christmas tree that much more beautiful.”
Children and grandchildren were an excellent distraction. After naptime, they bundled up and headed out to search for the perfect tree for Christmas. Ellen and her daughters weren’t surprised when the three children insisted they get a tree that was every inch of eight feet tall. It was trimmed, bundled, and delivery promised. Ellen offered an extra twenty dollars if it could be set up for them. As far as she was concerned, her days of wrestling evergreens were over.
One of the great perks of being a grandmother was being given the right to spoil grandchildren. Ellen didn’t go overboard, but she did take them for hot chocolate and cookies at the diner. Supper was still a couple of hours away. She gave them each a coloring book and boxes of crayons she had hurried into the drugstore for. Their excitement was contagious and Ellen pointedly ignored the amused looks her daughters gave her. She accepted the crayon she was given and began to trace a picture of a bear, soaking up the moment like a sponge.