The Baker (6 page)

“That’s putting it politely.” Ian thought back over his options. “It’s why I don’t think talking to my sisters will do any good. If in doubt, he’s not going to listen to them.”

“But they might give you some moral support.” Cameron leaned forward and took Ian’s left hand in both of his, squeezing lightly as he smiled. “And I think you can use all the support you can get.”

“Yeah, I can.” Ian was a team player, and he loved his family—his father’s stupid attitude notwithstanding. Ian had never gone against what his father wanted, be it where to go for family vacation, or what clothing was appropriate to wear. Jeans, for instance, were not on his father’s “approved” list, so Ian didn’t wear them outside of his own home. It was kind of pathetic, really, so he pushed it to the back of his mind. He’d rather focus on the feeling of Cameron’s warm hands on his skin. “You’ve been great about this.”

“I didn’t do anything.” Cameron moved a little closer. “I was tempted to give you a hug for support, but I wasn’t sure it would be welcome. And it was too risky in public.”

“Yeah, God, can you imagine if word about me hugging a man got back to my father? He’d probably have a heart attack!” Ian laughed, but it wasn’t funny. He didn’t feel like losing his temper in front of Cameron.

“Let’s make sure he doesn’t find out, then. Not that it would be any better if one of my colleagues saw me hugging you—or any man—unless it involved some macho backslapping.” Cameron grinned. “Although, they might be okay with a bit of warning. After all, one of the captain’s nephews is rumored to be gay, so they’re not totally oblivious to the realities of the twenty-first century. But still, I don’t want to push it. Not yet.”

“What do you mean by ‘not yet’?” Ian moved a little toward Cameron, trying to bridge the suddenly too-big distance.

“I’m not one for keeping secrets, for hiding who I am. Not after years of DADT in the Marines, back before they finally got the repeal enacted just over three years ago.” Cameron looked straight into Ian’s eyes. “Once I meet the man I want to spend my life with, I will come out. I don’t want him to be my dirty little secret.”

“But… but what about the consequences?” Ian blinked, tempted to look away, yet fascinated by the intensity in Cameron’s eyes. “What if ‘your man’ isn’t ready to come out?”

“That’s a good question.” Ian frowned. “I have to admit I always thought it would be a joint decision.”

“It should be.”
And why the hell are we discussing this?
Ian shook his head. “You’re not a dictator, you’ll figure it out.”

“Yeah.” Cameron’s gaze softened a little. “Yeah, we will.”

And wasn’t that an interesting slip of the tongue. Ian swallowed, suddenly unable to speak. He was totally hypnotized by Cameron’s closeness, the scent of Cameron’s light cologne mixed with a manly musk making Ian sit up and take notice. Cameron started to caress his wrist with a thumb, looking at him as if wanting to devour him—in the best possible way and totally with Ian’s full agreement and cooperation. Really.

“I want to kiss you.” Cameron’s voice had gone low and husky.

“Please.” Ian had never shared a kiss with any of his hookups on his very occasional trips to Cheyenne. Bathroom stalls and public parks in the dark hadn’t seemed like the right place for such an intimate act. But here with Cameron, safe inside the detective’s beautiful house? Ian was so willing to give it a try.

Without hesitating a single second, Cameron moved even closer, until their thighs touched. He slid his right arm around Ian’s shoulders and pulled him closer. Ian looked up into Cameron’s ruggedly handsome face, the first traces of beard growth giving him a roguish appearance. Ian slid his arm around Cameron’s middle, for something to hold on to, and it made Cameron smile.

Then Cameron lowered his head and brought their faces together. Closer. And closer. So close their noses almost touched. Cameron moved so slowly, Ian had more than enough time to change his mind and move away. But he didn’t want to.

With a small sigh, a mixture of anticipation and exasperation, Ian moved forward to meet Cameron’s lips. Just a short touch, but the effect zinged from his lips outward through his entire body. His eyes widened on their own accord, and he pulled back slightly to check if Cameron had felt it too. Judging by the slightly dazed look, Cameron was just as affected as Ian. That was good to know.

Cameron blinked, then he initiated the next kiss. This time Ian closed his eyes and sank into feeling Cameron’s hot lips on his, the heat of the moment making him tingle all over. If this was what it was like to be kissed by a man, he was in for more. Nothing about this situation was like the furtive kiss he’d exchanged with some boy, whose name he couldn’t even remember, during his last year in high school.

When Cameron started to move back and forth, sliding their lips together in a sort of dance, Ian tightened his embrace and moved closer to Cameron, to make sure there was no misunderstanding about how much he liked this. Ian wasn’t sure what else to do, so he started moaning his pleasure. Cameron groaned in response and pulled back.

“Don’t stop.” Ian didn’t care he was begging. All he wanted was Cameron’s mouth back on his.

“There’s no rush. We have all the time in the world.” Cameron smiled and lifted his left hand to caress Ian’s cheek. “I want to take this slow, give us time to learn each other.”

“So it’s not….” Ian trailed off, deeply embarrassed about almost blurting out the embarrassing truth.

“Not what?” Cameron furrowed his eyebrows.

“I’m not… doing this wrong?” Ian wanted to look away, but like before, Cameron’s gaze was mesmerizing, and Ian couldn’t stop looking at him.

“Wrong. I don’t think there’s such a thing as a ‘wrong’ way to kiss.” Cameron’s frown deepened. “Where did this come from?”

“Um….” Ian had to look away. The intensity was too much.

“Ian? Sweetheart?” Cameron’s finger slid under Ian’s chin, pushing until he was forced to look up. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing. I mean….” Ian sighed. “It’s just that I’ve never done this before, okay? I tried kissing once, in high school, and it didn’t go very well. So I’m twenty-nine, and I have no idea how to kiss, and it’s embarrassing.”

“I think it’s great.” Cameron smiled as he withdrew his finger and placed his warm hand on Ian’s thigh.

“You think it’s great that I’m embarrassed?” Ian’s breath caught.

“No!” Cameron shook his head. “No, I think that’s a little bit sad because you missed out on a lot. But for me it’s wonderful because I get to be the first man to really kiss you.”

“Oh.” Ian didn’t quite know what to say to that. He thought it was kind of wonderful too, if he was honest.

“Is that a good oh?” Cameron tilted his head.

“Yes, that’s definitely a good oh.” Ian smiled. “Can we get back to the kissing now?”

“Sure.” Cameron laughed. “How about we get a little more comfortable?”

“Anything.” Ian was so relieved he could have jumped up to do a victory dance. But that would kind of defeat the purpose of staying as close to Cameron as possible, so he stayed exactly where he was.

Cameron pressed his back against the sofa and slowly slid down until he lay on his side. Then he grasped Ian’s neck, caressing his nape while he did it, and exerted gentle pressure until Ian got the message and moved down to face Cameron. The sofa was plenty wide enough for both of them but not wide enough to leave much space between their bodies. Ian’s eyes widened again as Cameron entangled their legs and moved his free arm around Ian’s middle to hold him securely in place.

“Is this okay?” Cameron’s face was so close, Ian could feel his hot, slightly minty breath on his own face as he spoke.

Ian nodded, unable to utter a single word. The intimacy of the moment, the overwhelming feelings racing through his body, and the heat in Cameron’s eyes resulted in total speechlessness. He pushed his face against Cameron’s neck and sighed. He wanted to stay here forever and then some.

THE NEXT
evening Ian could still feel Cameron’s arms around him, his lips and tongue exploring Ian’s mouth. He had spent a magical afternoon and evening in Cameron’s house, and he’d never wanted it to stop. He’d finally found out why everyone was so enthusiastic about making out. That was all he and Cameron had done, but the power of that alone had Ian reeling by the time Cameron insisted Ian go home because it was a work night.

Friday in the bakery had dragged, especially with his father mostly ignoring him. Now it was early evening, and he was walking up to Aileen’s house for one of his occasional stints as a babysitter for his two nephews and niece. It was his sister’s date night with her husband Tom, and Ian intended to grab five minutes as she finished her preparations to talk to her about his run-in with their father.

“Hey, welcome.” Aileen opened the door before he had a chance to ring the doorbell. She looked stunning in a velvety dark green dress and with her curly black hair arranged in some elaborate bun-thing. Her makeup was done, and she looked ready to roll any second.

“Uncle Ian!” Jamie led his younger brother and sister as they barreled out of the living room and rushed him. As the oldest at nine, Jamie might be the first to reach Ian, but seven-year-old Cal and even four-year-old Edmé weren’t far behind.

“Hi, monsters.” Ian grinned as he opened his arms and dropped to one knee, hugging the three spitting images of their parents and getting squished from all sides. “Are you ready for some fun?”

“Even if they’re not, Tom and I certainly are.” Aileen laughed and managed to close the door against the cold trying to invade her home. “It’s really great to have you at our beck and call for the odd break from the insanity we call a life.”

“I’m happy to spend time with these guys.” Ian rose, ruffling Jamie’s hair, as black and curly as Aileen’s, if a good deal more unruly. “Do you guys think you can give me five minutes to talk to Mommy before I come play with you?”

General groaning from all three children was followed by a hesitant nod from Jamie and, miraculously, the kids returned to the living room, probably to finish whatever movie they’d been watching.

“What’s up?” Aileen walked toward the kitchen, ushered him inside, and closed the door behind them. “Tom’s talking to a friend on the phone in his study, so we have a few minutes.”

“I’d like to hear your opinion about something.” Ian took a seat at the wooden table that bore the sign of heavy use by a horde of young children.

Aileen followed suit and nodded, then listened to Ian’s short summery attentively and with rising horror, expressed by widening eyes and her right hand gripping the edge of the table until her knuckles turned white. A short, barking laugh escaped her when Ian first mentioned the getting married thing, but when he told her about their father’s plan to have Jamie inherit the bakery, she jumped up.

“Oh hell no.” Aileen shook her head vehemently enough some of her curls came loose.

Ian winced, knowing she’d have to fix that, which would make her late. And she hated being late.

“He’s really lost it now.” Aileen exhaled heavily and dropped back into her chair. “Okay, so what did you say?”

“I didn’t. I was too shocked about the whole thing to respond.” Ian shrugged. “He didn’t just refuse to support me and help me win the competition for
our
business, he basically told me all the years I spent working at the bakery didn’t count unless I get married and have children, doing what he wants me to do.”

“And you won’t.” Aileen smiled. “Good for you. I never told you, but he tried to marry me off to some guy with money just so the business would be assured of continuing to exist.”

“He did?” Ian was learning things about his father he’d rather not have known. “But you didn’t listen to him, right?”

“No way. I’d already met Tom, and he may be well off, financially, but that was pure coincidence and had nothing to do with our father. He happens to come from money, as they say.” Aileen was still smiling. “He never even told me all the details until we were married.”

“So the reason for keeping your distance as much as possible isn’t just because you’re busy with the kids?” Ian was stunned.

“You’re right. Between him attempting to tell me whom to marry, and trying to interfere in how Tom and I raise the children with his
advice
, I minimize contact as much as possible. Have done for a while.” She swallowed. “It’s hard sometimes, but way better than the alternative.”

Ian nodded, trying to figure out where that left him. His father clearly wouldn’t listen to Aileen, that was for sure.

“I guess you wanted me to talk to him?” Aileen sighed. “I wish I could. I know how much you love that bakery and how hard you’ve worked, but I’m afraid I’d make things worse if I brought it up.”

Ian nodded again, feeling utterly helpless. Senga was too shy to speak up, so even though he planned to talk to her, he didn’t think it would do much good. A united front wouldn’t work with Aileen and their father not even on speaking terms, so he’d have to go back to trying to figure out the ingredients himself, or check if individual entries were acceptable. The thought of going against his father, his whole family in a way, made him cringe.

“You’re not going to cave in and marry a woman just to have children, are you?” Aileen narrowed her eyes.

“Um, no?” Ian frowned. Something about the way Aileen looked at him, not to mention her use of her “big sister is imparting her wisdom so you better listen” tone of voice, was making his hair stand on end.

“Good. Because if you want to have children once you meet the right guy, you can, you know? Even the
biological
children I am sure Father wants you to have.” Aileen winked. “But you shouldn’t rush into anything just becau—”

“What?” Ian felt as if someone had pulled the chair from under him, and he was about to hit the floor with his ass.

“You heard me.” Aileen smiled and reached out to squeeze his hand. “It’s okay. I figure while we’re having a heart-to-heart, I might as well lay it all on the table. I want you to know you have our support.”

“Y-your support?” Ian was never going to be coherent again.
How the fuck does she know?