Chapter Seventeen

CONCENTRATING ON charming strangers and spreading the word about the ranch and all the good it did was a challenge when all Jordan wanted was to climb back into Russ’s bed and spend the rest of his life there. Even the wreckage he’d left behind in Virginia didn’t seem so overwhelming while his body and heart were humming with happy hormones. The floodwaters of the tidal wave had receded for the moment, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to look that gift horse in the mouth.

Was that responsible adulting?

No.

Was he going to do it anyway?

Hells, yeah.

“Jordan, is that it?” Phyllis called as the last SUV headed up the gravel drive toward the road.

“I think so.”

She blew out a breath and shook her head. “Another Sunday over and done with. I think we did well today.”

“Me too.”

She put a hand on her lower back, stretched, and groaned. “Will you check all the gates one more time for me, make sure no one forgot to lock up? I’ll go in and get supper ready.”

She moved slowly toward the house and leaned heavily on the railing as she climbed the steps.

“Hey, Phyl,” Jordan called.

“Yeah?”

“Why don’t you just take it easy? We’ve all had a long day. Russ and I can scrounge something for dinner. You don’t have to cook for us.”

Even from his short time on the ranch, Jordan expected her to argue, but she smiled tiredly and nodded instead. “Thanks, hon. I could use a little lie-down, I won’t lie.”

“Do you want us to bring you something later?”

“That’s sweet, thank you, but I’ll grab something on my way. There’s plenty of leftovers tucked away in the fridge.” She paused for a second as a grin split her face. “I think I’ll spend the rest of the night in my room, so you two enjoy your evenin’, all right?”

Jordan wasn’t exactly sure if she was talking about what he thought she was talking about, but he felt himself flush anyway. After clearing his throat, he said, “Good night, Phyllis.”

“Good niiiigghht,” she sang back to him as she opened the screen door and disappeared into the house.

After inspecting all the pens and making sure everyone had been fed, watered, and settled for the night, he jogged back to the house and up the stairs to the second floor, taking them two at a time. In the bathroom, he ripped off his sweat-stained, dirty clothes and hopped into the shower for a thorough scrub. If tonight was anything like last night, he needed to make sure every inch of him was clean and ready. His cock throbbed, filling as his mind replayed all that Russ had done, but he resisted the urge to take care of it. If he’d learned anything last night, it was the power of delayed gratification. His one-night stands had been all about the rush to get off—still fun in their own way, but ultimately unsatisfying. Apparently, deep down, he was a romantic… or a sensualist, at the very least.

“Who knew?”

His reflection in the bathroom mirror didn’t answer back.

“Shit,” he swore as he turned this way and that in front of it, frowning.

His muscle definition was slipping. The ranch worked him hard, so he hadn’t put on any weight, but the six-pack abs and high and tight ass apparently only came from the gym. He’d need to find one soon. Now that he had someone who wanted to be familiar with every inch of him, he couldn’t afford to let himself go.

Except thoughts of the gym stirred the floodwaters of everything he was trying to avoid. He couldn’t really afford a gym membership now. How far would he have to go to find one? He couldn’t get an extended membership because he didn’t know how long he’d even be here. And even if he went, he’d have to pay for gas. And what about insurance? There was no way he could afford to continue insurance on the convertible.

Closing his eyes, he gave himself a shake, shoving those thoughts down as far as they would go. He wasn’t ready yet, and somewhere downstairs, a super-hot, horny cowboy was just waiting to rock his night.

After quickly blow-drying his hair and sculpting it with product, he changed into a pair of designer khakis and a polo shirt. Hopefully, he’d be naked for the only working he was going to do tonight, so he could wear his own clothes in the meantime.

The screen door banging closed downstairs was his cue to hurry up and get down there. After one last quick look in the mirror to make sure he hadn’t missed anything, he hurried down the hall and the stairs to meet Russ by the front door.

“Hey there,” Jordan said as he sauntered down the last couple of steps.

Russ’s eyes sparked as they raked Jordan from head to toe. “Well, don’t you look shiny.”

Jordan stepped in close, but Russ moved back. “I’m all over dirt. I just got back from a ride. Wouldn’t want to muss you up, with you looking so nice and all.” He glanced over Jordan’s shoulder, and a slight V formed between his eyebrows. “Where’s Phyl?”

Jordan’s grin widened. “She was tired, so I told her we could fend for ourselves. She said she was going to spend the night in her room.”

“Oh yeah?” Russ’s lips curved into a crooked smile. He left his hands in his pockets, but he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Jordan’s neck, just beneath his ear. “I suppose we could find something to do with ourselves,” he murmured between light nibbles, nuzzling, and warm sweeps of his tongue over Jordan’s surprisingly sensitive flesh. “I can think of something I’d like you to feed me right now.”

The hairs on Jordan’s arms and the back of his neck stood up, and he shivered. It was still going to take some getting used to, but this instant-boyfriend thing definitely had its perks. Russ didn’t waffle or hesitate. He acted like they’d been dating for months, not hours—or at least what Jordan imagined that would be like. If Jordan hadn’t held them in his own hands and felt for himself how soft they were, he would’ve sworn Russ had balls of steel, and that confidence was so fucking sexy.

Without any more warning than that, Russ leaned back, hooked a finger over Jordan’s belt, and dragged him into the living room. He shoved Jordan against the wall, dropped to his knees, and opened Jordan’s belt, button, and zipper. Jordan’s brain had no chance to catch up before Russ sucked Jordan’s cock to the back of his throat in one quick, hot slide.

“Jesus, Russ!”

Russ hummed, and Jordan’s knees wobbled. Drawing off with a wet pop, Russ winked up at him and said, “Keep an ear out for Phyl, just in case.”

Before Jordan could form a reply, Russ sucked him back into that fantastic, heavenly mouth, and Jordan was gone. Phyllis could have come out of her room with a marching band and he wouldn’t have heard her, nor would he have cared. No way was he going to tell Russ to stop.

He spread his legs as wide as his bunched pants would let him and tilted his hips forward. He thrust tentatively at first, until Russ moved his hand from the base of Jordan’s cock to Jordan’s hip and gripped him tightly, urging him on. With a stifled groan, Jordan fucked Russ’s mouth, keeping his eyes wide open, afraid to miss one second of his cock sliding in and out of that gorgeous, talented mouth.

“I’m going to come,” he warned breathlessly.

Russ sucked harder and dug his fingers into Jordan’s hip, egging him on. Jordan’s balls drew up tight. He gripped Russ’s thick brown hair, curled inward, and unloaded into his mouth, biting his lip to stifle his cry. The muscles in Russ’s throat worked, milking every drop out of him. Then Russ pulled off and placed a gentle kiss on Jordan’s cockhead and another on his inner thigh before grinning up at him.

“I’m a man of my word,” Russ panted.

“Come up here,” Jordan ordered lazily.

Jordan pulled him in for a kiss, but Russ didn’t let him meld their bodies together. “I wouldn’t want to get you dirty.”

With a chuckle, Jordan rolled his eyes. “You just sucked my dick not thirty feet from Phyllis’s bedroom door. I think I might already be just a little dirty.”

As Jordan blinked up at him in postorgasmic lassitude, Russ dragged the backs of his fingers down Jordan’s cheek. “I’m going to go get washed up. Why don’t you see if you can scrounge us somethin’ to eat? I’m gonna need my strength to keep up with you.”

“Okay,” Jordan replied, but he was the one feeling like he needed to catch up. “Hey,” Jordan called when Russ reached the bottom of the staircase.

“Yeah?”

“What about you? I feel like a little reciprocation is in order.”

“No need,” Russ said with a grin. “I busted when you did.” He held up both hands and wiggled his fingers. “I’m a multitasker, and like I said, you’re fuckin’ gorgeous when you come.”

Jordan watched Russ’s ass all the way up the stairs, but he waited to let out a completely besotted sigh until Russ was out of earshot.

In the kitchen while Russ showered, Jordan stood in front of the refrigerator at a loss. Neatly stacked plastic containers held the remnants from previous meals, plus the rest of the shelves and drawers were packed full of ingredients, if Jordan only knew how to cook. After having a housekeeper and cook to rely on his whole life, he didn’t have a clue what to do in a kitchen. At school, he’d always just eaten out. No insult to Phyllis’s cooking—in fact, the food was quite tasty—but everything in Texas was so damned heavy. Even the salads had cheese and bread in them, and he hadn’t seen a leaf of kale or a scoop of quinoa in weeks.

He’d have gone to the grocery store for himself except that required not only money—of which he had a limited supply at the moment—but some sort of knowledge of what to do with the food once he got it. Just the thought of that made his stomach and chest tighten with a sense of dread. Plus, he didn’t want to insult Phyl by bringing in his own food, and he was pretty sure that was what would happen if he tried. He was Southern enough to know at least some of the rules of being a good guest.

He was still staring into the refrigerator and worrying his lip when Russ strode into the kitchen. He was wearing a pair of boxers and T-shirt so worn, Jordan could almost see through them, and his dark hair was still damp and curling against his forehead.

“Find something?”

With a grimace, Jordan shrugged. “I wasn’t sure what you’d want.”

After a slight hesitation in which a hint of a frown came and went on Russ’s face, he smiled and clapped his hands together as he joined Jordan in front of the refrigerator. “I’ll eat pretty much anything. We can have more of the chicken we had yesterday, or I could whip us up a few sandwiches. What’re you in the mood for?”

Sex.

With Russ looking and smelling good enough to eat, it was pretty much all Jordan could come up with, but he figured Russ wouldn’t go for that just yet. He had some weird fetish about making sure Jordan ate. Maybe he had an Italian grandmother somewhere back home, though he hadn’t made it sound like he had anything quite so loving and traditional in his family tree.

“Whatever you feel like is fine. I had a big lunch.”

Russ pulled out far too many containers and heaped two plates with way too much food before popping each in the microwave. While they ate at one end of the enormous scarred rustic wood table, they traded anecdotes from the day and soft, tender touches. Russ didn’t even seem to be aware he was doing it, but Jordan felt every caress of Russ’s rough fingers or brush of his thigh beneath the table. Coming from a family that barely managed hugs on birthdays, Christmas, and after long absences, this sort of intimacy didn’t come naturally. Jordan had to make a conscious choice to reciprocate, but he loved and craved every single touch he received.

“I’m almost done,” Russ said, wiping his mouth on a napkin. “You need to get busy and finish so we can take this conversation upstairs.”

“I’m done,” Jordan replied eagerly, grabbing his plate to take it to the sink.

“Hold on there,” Russ said, gripping Jordan’s arm. “You haven’t even eaten half of what’s on the plate.”

Jordan was about to laugh and blow it off, but that slight frown came and went on Russ’s face again, and Jordan plopped his butt back on the bench. After studying Russ’s face for a few seconds, he said, “You seem awfully concerned with my eating habits. Is there something I should know?”

“I just want to make sure you’re getting enough calories is all. Ranch work burns a lot more than you’re probably used to. Don’t want you fainting on us again.”

Jordan rolled his eyes. “That was dehydration. I just didn’t drink enough, and I was exhausted from not enough sleep. I’m not a complete wuss. I’ve never fainted before in my life.”

His concerned frown didn’t ease as much as Jordan would have liked, but Russ said, “I know you’re not a wuss. I never said you were. But I do know for a scientific fact that you’re burning more calories than you’re taking in, and that’s going to leave its mark on you eventually.”

Now it was Jordan’s turn to frown as he smoothed his shirt over his belly and shifted self-consciously. “I like to watch what I eat. Everyone where I’m from does the same thing. It’s not a crime to want to look good.”

“I didn’t say it was. Don’t go reading anything into what I’m sayin’ here.” Russ grabbed the hand Jordan had been fidgeting with. “Look at me,” he said.

Jordan met his gaze, and Russ smiled softly. “I’ve been doing this for a long time, so maybe just trust me that I know what the work takes from a man. Every inch of you is fucking gorgeous, inside and out, just as you are. I can’t believe my luck that you want to spend time with a gristly old man like me.”

Jordan snorted out a laugh and rolled his eyes. “You’re neither old nor gristly, whatever that even means, and you know it.”

“Yeah?” Russ grinned. “You like what you see?”

“You know I do.”

“Then maybe I know a little bit of what I’m talking about?”

Jordan narrowed his eyes and huffed. “Fine. See? I’m eating.” He shoved a few more forkfuls of food into his mouth and forced them down. “Happy?”

“Ecstatic,” Russ agreed. “Now you eat just a little more while I clean up. Then we can go upstairs, give Marina a quick check on my laptop, and see where the rest of the night takes us. How does that sound?”

“A little like blackmail. You’re going to make me fat with the promise of sex.”

Russ laughed on his way to the sink. “I’m sure we can find some way of working off a few of those calories. And if you’re really worried about it, we can think up a rigorous exercise program we can perform together, whenever and wherever you like.”

Jordan’s cock jerked in his slacks even as he groaned at the cheesy pun and threw his napkin in Russ’s general direction.

It wasn’t a bad thought, though. Instead of a gym, maybe he’d just google the best sexual positions to work his abs and his glutes. Squats could be hot, depending on what he was squatting over.

He took another few mouthfuls and pushed away from the table. He was not going to be some kid showing he’d cleaned his plate so he could have dessert. He might be feeling a bit pathetic and helpless everywhere else in his life right now, but he was an adult, and he’d eat when he was hungry, not because someone told him he should.

He scraped what was left in the trash and set his plate in Russ’s outstretched hand. Russ didn’t say anything as he rinsed it off and added it to the rest of the dishes in the dishwasher, so Jordan couldn’t help but hover anxiously at his elbow. Despite his pretentions of maturity and independence, Jordan hated not meeting peoples’ expectations of him, even if those expectations were wrong or unfair. It was one of the few things he had talked with his therapist about, at length—not that it had done much good, as his life up until a few weeks ago clearly demonstrated. The look of disappointment on his parents’ faces still haunted his nightmares, no matter how hard he tried to avoid thinking about it during the day.

Pulling his shoulders back and narrowing his eyes, Jordan decided if Russ wanted to judge him over something as stupid as how much he ate, he would let Russ have it like he had on Saturday. But apparently their disagreement was all in his head, because, after wiping his hands on a dishtowel, Russ turned to him, wrapped an arm around Jordan’s waist, and tugged him close. With a lazy smile, Russ pressed their bodies together from bellies to knees and said, “You ready to go to bed?”

“It’s only a little after six.”

Russ licked his lips, and his smile widened. “I think we can find some way to pass the time. Don’t you?”

“Maybe,” Jordan said with an answering grin.

This time Jordan led the way, all too aware of Russ following close behind him. The night before had been a bit of a blur. Jordan hadn’t really had time to think before he’d found himself in Russ’s bed. Now all he wanted was for his brain to shut up and let him enjoy his very first “second date” with a guy.

Luckily, Russ appeared to be a master at making Jordan’s brain shut down. The man had supernatural skills in that department. Jordan didn’t even get a chance to work up more than a hint of performance anxiety before Russ was there with his magic hands and whispered compliments in his slow Texas drawl that made Jordan want to melt at the same time it made him hard as a rock.

Damn, but Russ knew all of his buttons already. How was that even possible?

Jordan hated feeling this needy, but gobbled up every caress and every word like he was starving anyway. Still, he liked to think he gave as good as he got too.

Naked, straddling Russ, his knees pressed into the mattress, Jordan lowered himself onto Russ’s cock with a long, low groan. He’d never taken his time like this before, never had the opportunity to put on a show. But Russ had said he liked to watch, and Jordan was more than happy to oblige. Daylight still streamed through Russ’s bedroom windows as Jordan rocked his hips experimentally and arched his back. He could feel Russ’s hot gaze on him like a physical touch. The man’s eyes were almost black with passion as he looked at Jordan as if he were the only thing in the world.

“You can keep an eye on me this way too,” Jordan gasped out as he fucked himself on Russ’s fat cock.

“Oh hell yeah, I can,” Russ moaned.

The thick muscles in his neck corded, and the veins popped beneath his darkly tanned skin as Russ threw his head back, gripped Jordan’s hips hard, and thrust upward, meeting Jordan’s downward slide.

As Jordan picked up speed, Russ wrapped his fist around Jordan’s cock and pumped.

“Shit,” Jordan gasped. “I’m not going to last long.”

Russ grinned and propped himself on his free arm. “Go ahead. Do it. We got all night, remember?”

Russ’s grip on Jordan’s cock tightened, and Jordan saw stars. He shot between them as his rhythm faltered. He only had the chance to gasp a few breaths before Russ pulled out and flipped him onto his back. Kneeling between Jordan’s thighs, Russ pulled off the condom and pumped his dick until he cried out and shot all over Jordan’s spent cock and belly.

“You’re pretty gorgeous when you come too,” Jordan panted, blinking up at him.

Russ gave a lopsided grin before flopping to the mattress next to him. “Glad you think so,” he said between breaths. He rolled onto his side and kissed Jordan tenderly. “Not bad for an old man, eh?”

Jordan rolled his eyes. “You’re not old.”

“I’m past forty. In some circles that’s close to being put out to pasture.”

“Well, lucky for you, I haven’t spent much time in these circles you speak of, so I haven’t developed stupid prejudices like that,” he said primly.

Russ propped himself on an elbow and worried a corner of his lower lip. “Out of curiosity, how much time have you spent?”

Jordan quirked an eyebrow. “Are you asking me about my sexual exploits?”

Russ grimaced. “No. I can tell you’ve had experience. But you said you just came out, so I wondered….”

When it became obvious Russ wasn’t going to finish that statement, Jordan shrugged. “I’ve been to the clubs up near Dartmouth and a few other places, but I was completely in the closet, so it wasn’t like I could really make gay friends or do much actual socializing in ‘the community.’ There’s a reason it’s going to take me a while to get used to the whole boyfriend thing, since I’ve never actually had one before.”

Russ pursed his lips. “Am I going too fast for you? Pushing too hard too soon? It’s okay. You can tell me…. You wouldn’t be the first to say it.”

With a helpless shrug, Jordan shook his head. “To be honest, I wouldn’t know if you were going too fast. But I don’t want you to slow down. You make me feel good and wanted… and happy. I need this. I want it. I’ve never felt like this before. I don’t want you to change a thing.”

Russ’s smile made Jordan feel about ten feet tall. Trailing gentle fingertips over Jordan’s chest and through his hair, Russ said, “I’m glad. I like seeing you happy. I’m giving you the reins on this one, though, because you’ve got a bit more to deal with than I do right now. Use ’em if you need to, okay? Promise?”

“Yeah, okay. I promise.”