Page 14 of Redemption Ridge Vol II

“Mmhmm,” Owen said after a second lick. “I want to eat this every day.”

Did he mean the cream or the ass? Tyler was okay with either and would roll around in the cream until it covered him from head to toe.

“Sugar and spice,” Owen said as he worked his way closer to Tyler’s butt crack. He pulled the cheeks apart to expose even more of Tyler. “And everything nice.” He felt Owen’s hot breath against his quivering pucker. Surely, he wouldn’t lick him there. People didn’t do that.

Owen chuckled and said, “Oh yes, they do.” Tyler didn’t realize he’d spoken his thoughts out loud. Owen turned his head and rubbed his face against Tyler’s ass and then nipped one of the cheeks. “But only when you’re ready.”

Tyler wanted to scream he was ready now, but it would be a lie, and they promised complete honesty. He did like it when Owen licked the filling off his ass, so he pointed to his right cheek and said, “I think you missed a spot.”

Their phones went off simultaneously with incoming texts, eliciting groans from both men. They never received messages before breakfast, which meant they were either getting harassed in a group chat or there was an emergency.

“We could ignore it,” Owen suggested.

Tyler inhaled deeply and rolled over to sit on the couch. “Better not. My phone is across the room. What’s yours say?”

Owen reluctantly removed his phone from his pocket and looked at the screen. “It’s a message from Cash. He’s requesting a family meeting at breakfast.”

Tyler checked the time on his alarm clock and snagged the towel off the floor and the crushed whoopie pie off the couch. “Better get a move on.”

He got dressed and ready in a matter of minutes, but Owen stopped him at the door before he could open it.

“We don’t owe an explanation to anyone, okay?” Owen looked suddenly nervous, as if he worried Tyler might regret what happened between them if someone mentioned it.

“These are our friends.” Then, he recalled how Cash phrased his text. “Our family,” Tyler corrected. “They only want the best for us.”

Owen scrunched up his face for a few seconds as he considered that. “I’ll give you that,” he said, “but the two of us have stuck our noses in a few places they shouldn’t have been. It’s hard to imagine there won’t be some payback, though I suspect I’ll take the brunt of it.” He pressed a kiss to Tyler’s mouth. “You’ll tell me if it gets to be too much?”

“I promise.”

They bundled up and stepped out into a winter wonderland. At least a foot of snow had fallen overnight, and the early morning sunrise bathed their surroundings in pink light. Someone, Owen suspected it was Ivan, had already plowed the driveways and accesses to outbuildings. Their beautiful setting drove the worry from Owen’s mind as they headed toward the large ranch house. “Looks like cotton candy on the roofs instead of snow,” he remarked.

Tyler laughed. “Reminds me of playing Candy Land as a kid.”

Owen glanced over in time to catch a wistful expression on Tyler’s face. “What’s that?”

Tyler met his gaze with a raised brow. “You never played the board game as a kid?”

Owen had told Tyler a little about his childhood but not much. A family who played kid-friendly board games was a foreign concept to him. His first stepdad taught him how to play poker before Owen learned the alphabet. The one after that taught him how to barter their precious food stamps for cigarettes and beer. He didn’t want to get into any of that just then, so Owen simply said, “Nope.”

“My sisters were obsessed with it.” The wistful smile returned to Tyler’s face again. He hadn’t visited Texas in nearly two years, and Owen wondered if he was missing his family. “I pretended to be annoyed every time they dragged the box out, but I secretly loved it. Not as much as Chutes and Ladders, though. I clobbered my brothers and sisters at that game.”

Owen loved hearing stories about the Booth family and would have probed for more information if they hadn’t reached Cash’s house. Someone had already shoveled the steps and porch and treated the surfaces to melt the icy layer underneath. Owen and Tyler stomped off the snow on the outdoor rug, then let themselves inside the house. They removed their boots and set them on the mats by the door with everyone else’s before hanging their winter gear on the pegs. Voices and laughter drifted down the hallway from the large dining room where the crew had gathered for breakfast. Owen closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Coffee, bacon, maple syrup, and a variety of warm spices tantalized his senses and made his mouth water.

“Smells like pumpkin,” Tyler said.

Harry was the pumpkin spice queen, and Owen loved to see all the ways she introduced it into their meals. He sniffed again. “French toast?”

“Or pancakes.”

“We could pop into the kitchen to see if she needs help,” Owen suggested.

Tyler shuddered hard. “I’d rather surprise a rattlesnake.” He nudged Owen and offered a playful grin. The crew knew better than to enter her domain until she was ready for them to help carry food to the dining room. “Besides, you’re just trying to delay the teasing you’re convinced will happen.”

Owen rolled his eyes. “I’m just hoping Harry needs a taste tester.”

Tyler grabbed his shirtsleeve and tugged him toward the dining room. It did not surprise Owen that Tyler was on to him, but he didn’t want the others to pick up on his discomfort. That would only add fuel to whatever fire they were planning. Owen knew he deserved whatever the hell was coming his way, but he didn’t want to make it too easy for them. Tyler dropped his sleeve right before they stepped into the room. They were the last to arrive and drew the attention of every person there. Conversations stopped midsentence, and heads swiveled in their direction. A quick scan of the room revealed a few quirked brows and smug grins, but no one settled up their bets.

Owen had harassed everyone without mercy except for Keegan, so it was hard to predict which one of them would throw the first jab. He held his breath while waiting for the blow to land, but everyone resumed their conversations instead of taking a shot at him.