The Baker (14 page)

“Glad you noticed.” Ian grinned and moaned again. It felt too good to stop. Somehow the fact that Cameron was watching him ramped up his arousal even further. “Come here.”

Cameron did as asked and made his way to the bed with gratifying urgency. Ian slowly pulled out his fingers and wiped them on the towel before handing him the condom. Cameron sheathed himself in record time. Then he took a deep breath and smiled.

“Scoot back for me? I want both of us to be comfortable. And as much as I want to pounce on you, this is our first time together….” Cameron shrugged. “A little slower can be nice too.”

Ian melted inside at the unexpected emotions rolling off Cameron. He turned a little and moved up the bed until his head hit a pillow. Cameron slowly approached, got on the bed, and kneeled between Ian’s spread legs. He slid his arms under Ian’s knees and angled him just right for the tip of his cock to touch Ian’s hole, making him gasp with need.

Cameron pushed forward, and his cock entered Ian in a deliciously slow, even glide, not stopping until he was all the way inside. Ian reached out for him and pulled him down, at the same time sliding his legs around Cameron’s hips until they were locked together and able to kiss. Sensations he’d never felt before coursed through him as Cameron slowly rocked into him while kissing him breathless within seconds. He’d only ever had toys inside him, but this was nowhere even close.

“Cameron. Shit. So good.” Ian caressed Cameron’s strong back as his arousal rose. The occasional touch of Cameron’s hard abs on Ian’s cock was more than enough to bring him to the edge only minutes later.

“Ian.” Cameron sped up his strokes and looked Ian right in the eyes as he kept pushing both of them higher, little beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. “Love you.”

Ian couldn’t hold on and shot with a scream he’d normally be embarrassed about. But Cameron looking at him like that, telling him how he felt while making love to him, was all he needed. He came hard enough to see stars. Right after his final spurt, Cameron let go and thrust one, two more times before he stiffened and filled the condom.

“Love you, Cameron.” Ian pulled the taller man down onto his shaking body and held on.
So good!

CAMERON AWOKE
the next morning as the sun was rising, feeling happily sated. He listened to Ian softly snoring against his chest and smiled at how tightly Ian clung to him. It seemed they hadn’t let go of each other all night, not since pulling apart for cleanup, then coming back together and kissing until they fell asleep. God, making love to Ian had been amazing. He’d never thought it possible, but making love really was different from fucking. The emotional connection he’d started to feel with Ian over the almost three weeks he’d known him had somehow grown even stronger last night.

A few minutes later, Ian woke up with a start, blurting something like “work” and “late” before opening his eyes and checking the time on the bedside alarm clock. “Shit! Seven thirty. That’s really late.”

“Shhh, it’s okay.” Cameron smiled and kissed his lover. “You don’t have to go to work today, remember?”

Ian looked confused for a second, then his eyes widened, and he nodded.

“You’ll be fine. We can have a leisurely breakfast, then maybe go to the station to see what equipment there is and what you’ll need. That gives us enough time to buy whatever is missing and get ready for you to start Monday morning.” Cameron had no intention of letting Ian even think about ever working during a weekend again. He was selfish enough to admit he wanted that time to be uniquely theirs.

“You were really serious about me using the station’s kitchen?” Ian frowned. “And they’ll get permission that quickly?”

“Oh yeah. I’m pretty sure Terry is going to call the captain today, at home, no less, and will have the man sign on the dotted line before lunch.” Cameron grinned.

“Okay, cool. And I know they said they’d pay, but I was serious. Those four officers and Terry will get their donuts for free while I’m using the police kitchen.” Ian gulped. “That’s actually a little scary, to be around so many cops all the time. I’ll have to make sure I paid all my parking tickets before I go in.”

“At least you’ll be safe.” Cameron smiled, then frowned. “And you have absolutely no parking tickets. At least not in this town.”

“You checked?” Ian looked horrified.

“No!” Cameron had been tempted, just to find out anything he could about Ian, but reason had prevailed, and now he was glad he’d held back. At the same time, he was sure Ian didn’t have any outstanding tickets.

“But you wanted to.” Ian grinned and held a finger across Cameron’s mouth before he could answer. “No, you don’t have to answer that. I wouldn’t want you to incriminate yourself.”

Cameron laughed out loud and carefully removed Ian’s unresisting hand. “I do like your sense of humor.”

“I’m glad.” Ian kissed him before lying back down and snuggling closer. “We’ll also have to go to my apartment, so I can pick up some stuff.” Ian looked up. “If you were serious about me moving in?”

“I was.” Cameron nodded. “And we can start packing and bringing more than a few clothes over, if you want? With both our cars, we should be able to get a lot done. And we can always arrange a U-Haul rental or something for the furniture.”

“The apartment is furnished, so we won’t need to do that. I don’t have a lot of things.” Ian looked away. “And even though it’s a month-to-month place, I hate losing the deposit for breaking the lease.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it. We’ll work something out for the money part, okay?” Cameron couldn’t care less how much or how little Ian had. He just wanted him here with him. “I can clear out the guest room, if you want? It would give you somewhere to use as office space. I use the den downstairs, so that one could be yours.”

“I don’t need an office. I’d much rather have a corner of the kitchen.” Ian grinned when Cameron licked his lips. “And anyway, what if your family wants to come visit? You’ll need that room for them, right?”

“They won’t be coming for a visit.” Cameron pressed his lips together.

“They….” Ian stilled. “Hey, you don’t have to talk about it. My parents certainly won’t come see me. Aileen and Tom and the kids might, but they live close enough they don’t have to stay overnight. And the same with Senga, but I’m not sure she’ll defy my father.”

“But I need to tell you at some point, and now is as good a time as any. Not that there’s much to tell, but it still hurts. So I don’t talk about it often.” Cameron sighed, then took a deep breath for courage. “I had an older brother, Robert. He was five years older than me, so there were a lot of things I missed. I remember him fighting a lot with my dad before he left home. My dad was a lawyer, a good one, and he was very strict. Not as bad as yours, but he knew what he wanted. And that was for Robert to follow in his footsteps and become a lawyer too. But Robert wanted to be a musician.”

“What happened?” Ian whispered.

“Robert left home to become a street musician. My father swore he wouldn’t help him mess up his life, but Robert didn’t care. The next winter, I don’t know how it happened, Robert froze to death. They found his body under a bridge, and my parents never recovered. I was fourteen and had to watch my dad drink himself into an early grave three years later. As soon as I turned eighteen, my mother left to go live with her sister in Alabama, and I never heard from her again.” Cameron hated the tear that made its way down his cheek, but as much as he thought he was over it, he didn’t think he’d ever recover.

“Oh my God. That’s awful!” Ian’s eyes were big and suspiciously bright.

“I signed up to join the Marines a week after she left and never looked back.” Cameron shrugged.

“I’ll share Aileen with you. I’m sure she and Tom and the little monsters they call kids will love you. We can be our own family, right?” Ian looked so earnest it made Cameron’s heart warm.

“You say the nicest things.” Cameron smiled.

“And I mean it! I think we should go see them tomorrow.” Ian looked at Cameron, batting his eyelashes in such an exaggerated way, he had to laugh.

“Okay, okay, you’ve convinced me!” Cameron pulled Ian close and kissed him, long and deep, trying to put everything he felt into the kiss. Then he pulled back. “Thank you.”

“Anytime.” Ian beamed at him.

BY SUNDAY
afternoon they had gotten everything done as planned. Ian had been personally greeted by the captain while he was taking inventory of the kitchen. They’d bought the missing equipment and a whole lot of baking ingredients under guard of two highly amused yet motivated patrol officers, then delivered it to the station for use on Monday. Much to Cameron’s relief, the worst reaction he’d seen was a disdainful look sent in their direction as he was helping Ian set up, but most guys they ran into didn’t even bat an eye. Cameron would bet money that had a lot to do with Ian’s charm, and the fact that he was now their in-house donut supplier.

They’d moved Ian out of his apartment and had canceled the lease by that evening, then enjoyed a cozy night at home watching a movie, eating popcorn, and making out. Cameron fucking loved being so domestic, but if anyone asked, he’d deny everything, of course. He had an image to maintain, after all.

Now they were walking up Aileen’s driveway. What had seemed like an excellent idea only the day before suddenly seemed a lot scarier. What if she didn’t like Cameron? After all, he’d played a big part in ending Ian’s future as the next owner of the Scottish Bakehouse.

“Don’t worry, honey.” Ian quickly squeezed his hand. “They’re gonna love you.”

Before Cameron could reply, the door flew open and a female version of Ian stood there with open arms and the widest grin on her face. She wore jeans and a sweater, her curly black hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she wore only minimal makeup. A tall blond guy with blue eyes stood next to her, his grin almost as wide as his wife’s. Two little boys, both with black hair, and a cute little girl with brown locks were hiding behind their father’s legs but staring at Cameron with curiosity.

“Welcome.” Aileen embraced Ian and pulled him inside where the kids pounced on him while Ian tried to shake the tall man’s hand. “And you must be Cameron.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Cameron held out his hand, only to find himself pulled into a tight hug instead.

“I’m Aileen, and if you ma’am me again, there’ll be no pie for you.” She stepped back and pointed at her husband. “That’s Tom.”

“Hi, Tom, nice to meet you.” They shook hands, and Tom smiled.

“Hey, good to meet you as well. Come on inside so we can close the door, and I’ll introduce you to the kids.” Tom made sure the door was closed, then turned around and took Aileen’s hand. He whistled loudly, and all three kids faced him and almost stood at attention they were so still. Tom pointed as he spoke. “This is Jamie, he’s nine, then there’s Cal, who’s seven, and the little lady is Edmé, who is four.”

The pride in Tom’s voice was unmistakable, and Cameron smiled at the kids, uncertain what to do. Ian walked up to him and took his hand. Cameron knew Ian had discussed this with his sister, but he tensed up a little at being so open about their feelings for each other.

“This is Cameron. He’s a detective and my boyfriend.” Ian spoke softly, but his tone made clear he was totally serious.

Jamie frowned as he stared at their linked hands. Cal’s jaw dropped, and he looked at his dad for guidance. Little Edmé tilted her head as she studied Cameron.

“Are you getting married?” Edmé was the first to recover.

Cameron almost swallowed his tongue. Well, that was unexpected. Ian stared at the girl, clearly not sure what to say either.

“Don’t be stupid.” Jamie pulled himself up to his full height as he used his older-brother voice with her. “Two men can’t get married!”

“Actually, Jamie, in many states they can. And that includes Wyoming.” Ian smiled at his nephew. “Cameron and I haven’t talked about it, but we might once we know each other better.”

“Ha!” Edmé stuck out her tongue at Jamie in what must be a rare moment of triumph. Then she turned to Ian. “Can I be flower girl?”

“If we decide to get married, sure.” Ian suppressed his laughter by pressing his lips together. Cameron had a hard time not hugging him tightly right there.

“Good.” Edmé looked at Aileen. “Can we have cake now?”

“In a moment, Edmé. Why don’t you go and play for a bit while we finish talking?” Aileen watched Edmé run off, the issue clearly solved in her mind, then turned to her sons. “Do you have any questions, boys?”

“You think this is okay?” Cal waited for Tom to nod, then shrugged. “Okay.”

“I don’t know what to think.” Jamie looked at Cameron. “Do you like Uncle Ian?”

Cameron nodded.

“Are you going to protect him if people want to beat him up because he’s gay? And will the other cops help you?” Jamie was a curious little interrogator.

“Sure, if he lets me.” Cameron smiled when Ian looked at him gratefully. “But I don’t think that’s going to happen. We’re going to be very careful, and we’ll only tell people we trust.”

“Okay, that makes sense.” Jamie nodded. “Do you like to play Wii games?”

“I’m not sure. You’ll have to teach me.” Cameron wasn’t even sure he knew which of the many gadgets kids today seemed unable to live without was a Wii, but he’d give it a try if it made this cute kid happy.

“Yay!” Jamie fist-pumped the air and ran off, probably to retrieve the thing.

“You’ve done it now!” Ian grinned. “Jamie is going to love you forever.”

“I can live with that. He seems like a cool kid.” Cameron might survive this after all.

After the kids had finished their cake and were off watching a movie in the family room, with a promise for some Wii time later, Tom and Aileen settled on one sofa and Ian and Cameron on the other.

“Have you heard from our father?” Ian had wondered if and what he’d told Aileen.

“Boy, have I ever.” Aileen grimaced. “He hasn’t even spoken to me since Christmas, but yesterday he stormed in here and started yelling about the ‘sinful life’ you are now leading, Ian. It was a good thing Tom had taken the kids tobogganing, or they’d have gotten an earful of some very inappropriate language.”