Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 1

get back to worrying if Cal was going to bail on him. He eyed the clock and decided he should get the steaks on the grill soon if he didn't want the teen-aged garbage disposals to gut the refrigerator because he'd failed to feed them quickly enough.
    He waited until Thomas finally threatened to start gnawing on the woodwork if he wasn't fed soon. Jordan exhaled a loud sigh and headed for the grill with the plate loaded with steaks. He had to acknowledge that he just might have pushed Cal too hard. He'd reacted completely on instinct, feeling pretty good about the results, but he'd hated leaving Cal alone with time to reconsider, which is exactly what it seemed he'd done.
    Jordan scoffed under his breath, turning from the grill to return the dirty plate to the kitchen. He would not pout, damn it. He was telling himself that for the third time when he heard the knock. His heart jumped in his chest like a freaking tween-aged girl, but he was Lord of the Manor when he opened the door.
    Cal looked dark and intense and shiny and new. Freshly shaved, hair curling as it dried from the shower, he wore clean denim with a black T-shirt. He clasped a six-pack of some kind of imported beer in one hand. His snuffling white dog held against his chest with the other was the only thing keeping Jordan from dragging him in by a handful of T-shirt and throwing him against the door to have his way with him.
    Instead, he settled for stepping to the side of the door so Cal could enter, then nudging him back against it and planting a hot, possessive kiss on his lips. He lingered, rubbing his face against Cal's like a cat. "Mm. Smooth." He added a brush of fingers across Cal's jaw before releasing him.
    Cal shifted uncomfortably and shoved the six-pack towards him, so Jordan took the hint and backed off. "Relax, sweetheart. We are going to talk later. But right now, let's just get these kids fed and enjoy what's left of the beautiful day." He stole a quick kiss. "Okay?"
    Thomas's dog, a very old basset hound, moseyed into the kitchen and sat at Cal's feet. She waited patiently for introductions, accustomed as she was to welcoming guests into their home. Jordan rubbed her head, making her long ears flop. "This is Sadie. She takes her job as hostess very seriously."
    "Um." Cal blinked at the dog, whose sad brown eyes somehow managed to appear maternal.
    "Put B down, and she'll show him the ropes." Cal hesitated, but Jordan nodded his encouragement, and the protective man carefully set the pup down so the dogs could sniff each other out. Seconds later, the two trotted off like lifelong friends.
    Jordan laughed at the look on Cal's face. Or he might have just been giddy as a school girl that the man finally stood in front of him as a guest—a date—in his home. "I bring a lot of strays home. She's gotten pretty used to it."
    Cal nodded and followed Jordan, who suddenly remembered the steaks on the grill. "Damn." He handed Cal a bottle of beer and set the rest in the fridge. "Follow me," Jordan tossed over his shoulder. "I think I need to save the meat." He hurried through the sliding glass door and left it open for Cal.
    Thomas and Kody were tossing a baseball, hanging out in the backyard that was several steps down from the wide patio. Jordan called out to Thomas, "You got that salad ready, son?"
    "Yeah, Dad." He snatched the ball from the air easily with his mitt. "Is it time?" He caught sight of Cal behind him. "Oh, hey, Cal. You made it."
    "Hey." Cal smiled at Thomas and nodded at Kody, who was staring again. "Kody."
    "Uh, hey, Cal."
    Jordan turned his back to the boys. "Kid's been watching me like a science experiment since they got here."
    Cal took a sip from the sweating beer bottle. "Yeah, he was all kinds of weird after you left." He grimaced. "I was hoping he'd be done with it by now."
    "No such luck." Jordan directed Cal towards the table already set for dinner. "Grab a seat." His eyes burned their way over Cal from head to toe. Jordan growled low in his chest. "Hurry up before I make another scene that poor Kody will never forget." He stepped close and brushed against Cal on his way to the door. "God, you're tempting." The quick flash of heat in Cal's eyes—and his cheeks—made Jordan pause for a quick kiss that only increased the tight ache in his groin.
    Cal moved quickly to the nearest chair, propping an ankle over his knee and cupping his bottle strategically in his lap. Jordan smiled, not so subtly adjusting his own length