Essential Master (Doms of Napa Valley) (15 page)

After washing the pills down, he handed the
cup back to Nicky, who finished it off. “You have no idea. She becomes a
bulldog when she’s in her mothering mode.” Nicky set the cup aside and nuzzled
Zeb’s neck. “I’m sorry,
il mio colibrì.
I
didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Tipping his head back and to the side, Zeb
exposed his neck to his Sir. “Don’t worry about it. I pushed it today by
driving Davis’s truck. It’s a manual and the constant need to shift on the way
over stressed my knee before I even got here.” Staring at his swollen knee, he
sighed. “I guess this means, however, my surprise for you is off. I can’t drive
right now and…” Unreasonable tears sprung to his eyes. He’d so wanted to show
both Steph and Nicky the property his grandfather had left for him.

“Shhh…if it means that much to you, I’ll
drive.” Nicky soothed as Steph came back in carrying…a bag of frozen peas?

“Here we go. This’ll fix up that knee for
you.” She wrapped the frozen bag in a dish towel before laying it over his
knee. He groaned as the cold seeped through the cloth.

“Damn that’s cold.” He stared down at the
bag perched on his knee.

“That’s the idea, Sexy.” Steph squatted
down next to his leg. “Let it sit for about twenty minutes, and we’ll see how
it looks.”

Zeb nodded. “You know this day hasn’t
exactly gone as I’d planned.”

“Shit happens, Zeb.” Nicky’s palm idly
rubbed over Zeb’s stomach as they watched Steph tidy up the room.

“I know I just wanted to take both of
you….” Zeb rubbed his hand over his face. “…lets just say I wanted to share one
of my special places with you.”

Nicky paused his exploration of Zeb’s
stomach. “Your Grandfather’s place?”

Zeb nodded. “Yeah. I wanted you to come see
the place I was thinking of converting into the bakery. To get your and Steph’s
opinions on the layout of it. I even packed a lunch for us.” Poking at his bad
knee, he scowled. “Now because of this damn knee, I won’t be able to show it to
you.”

“Show us what?” Steph looked up from the
mass of papers she’d been stacking on the opposite side of the room while
muttering about Nicky’s slob-like tendencies.

Nicky resumed his caressing while he
addressed Steph. “He wanted to take us to his Grandpa’s place.”

She placed her hands on her hips. “And who
says you can’t, Sexy?”

Zeb shrugged. “Well, I can’t drive and even
if we take your vehicle, I’m not going to be mobile enough to show you around…”

Nicky chuckled, pressing his mouth to the
side of Zeb’s throat as Steph tossed her hands up in the air. “Is that all?”

“Well, it’s a valid reason…”

She came over and leaned down to look him
in the eye. “Did you ever think for a moment to ask us for help? I bet you
won’t get any complaints from Nicky, if you let him haul you around.”

Zeb opened his mouth to protest. “But…”

“Listen, Sexy. You want to go to your
Grandpa’s old place, but your knee is aching, right?”

He nodded, wisely shutting his mouth.

“Then let Master carry your stubborn ass,
and we’ll all be happy.”

Zeb glanced over his shoulder at Nicky.
“You wouldn’t mind?”

“What do you think?” Nicky ran his hand
down Zeb’s thigh. “It’ll give me a chance to touch this sexy little body.”

Steph smiled widely. “Then it’s decided.
We’ll leave in an hour, and I don’t want to hear any protests.”

Chapter Fourteen

Sitting
on the counter inside the mission style home, he
’d
hoped he’d be able to one day turn into his bakery, Zeb watched as Steph and
Nicky worked to clean off a place for them to eat. While most of the
furnishings had been sold off or given away right after his grandfather had
passed, the huge oak table, which had graced the dining room when he was a
child, remained. It was one of the items he’d refused to sell off. Zeb had many
fond memories of his grandmother bringing heaping bowls of mashed potatoes and
gravy, platters of sliced roast beef and turkey, and baskets of the best damned
yeast rolls he’d ever tasted to that very table. Each knick and gouge told a
story.

Like the one Nicky was currently tracing
with his fingers. It’d happened one Thanksgiving when he and his cousin had
gotten into a shoving match to see who would sit next to Grams. Elbowing had
led to shoving, and the next thing he knew, he’d fallen forward with his butter
knife in hand, and gouged a long groove in the wood. His grandfather had been
pissed, but his grandma had merely taken the knife away from him and hushed her
husband. Later, however, she’d sat him down and stressed the importance of not
wrestling at the table, along with sentencing him to being her kitchen helper,
not that he’d minded. He loved being in the kitchen with her.

“So what’s the smile all about?” Nicky
asked as he wiped off the table with a damp rag. A moment later he sneezed.

“Just thinking of the Thanksgiving my
grandfather nearly paddled my butt for horsing around at the table. Grams saved
me, but I ended up on KP duty the rest of the vacation.”

Steph wiped down one of the two long
benches on either side of the table. “So is that who you get your love of
cooking from?”

“Yeah. She was a whiz in the kitchen. She
made the best damn yeast rolls and pies I’ve ever tasted. She urged me to go to
culinary school after I graduated, rather than follow my dad’s footsteps into
the auto industry.”

“So your dad is a mechanic?” Nicky dried
the table as Steph moved onto the second bench.

“No. He designed the electronic harnesses
for a lot of the new vehicle models that have come out in the past ten years
while my brothers all went into various fields related to the auto industry.
Sam is a body worker in Fresno, Nathaniel works for a custom restorer, and the
twins, Daniel and Joseph, own a motorcycle shop in Los Angeles.”

“Wow, your folks had five boys?” Steph
straightened, taking the towel from Nicky.

“Five boys and three girls in total. It was
crazy around my house growing up.” He sighed, remembering cramped quarters and
kids piling on top of one another in the car. “I told you my mom died when I
was eight, right?”

“Yeah, rough blow.” Nicky pulled out the
checkered tablecloth, covering the scarred wood.

“Yeah, well Dad remarried a couple years
after my mom’s death.” He tapped his chin. “I think I must’ve been ten or
eleven at the time. Anyway, Louisa, his new wife, had Sam and Nathanial
already. They were three and four. She’d lost her first husband in a mill
accident when Nathanial was an infant. Let me tell you, at that time, I wasn’t
pleased with the idea of these two toddlers taking over my room.” He chuckled
at the memory of his younger step-brothers getting into his Legos and Hot
Wheels.

“So that’s two of the eight. Where do the
rest of the kiddos come in?” Steph set the basket down on the tablecloth.
Easing off the counter, Zeb joined them.

“Well, my Dad being a devout Catholic, he
and Louisa had the twins a year after they married, and the girls each came
about once every couple years after that. At one time we had a newborn, a one
and half year old, a three year old, two four year olds, an eight and nine year
old, and a fifteen year old living in a four bedroom house.”

“Dear God.” Nicky shook his head. “How the
hell did you manage to stay sane?”

“Well, Dad took pity on me and sent me off
to his parents during the summer and during breaks from school. I think he
realized how stressful having eight kids at home was on me. Then he got a
promotion at work, which relocated him and Louisa to Detroit. The money was
very good, so he moved Louisa and all the younger kids there. I ended up
staying with Grams and Grandpa. I was sixteen, and didn’t want to change schools
and move half way across the country.”

“Well, I can’t blame you there.” Steph
began to unload the basket, pulling out various tubs and containers.

“Yeah. I had a blast staying with them. It
was really hard on me when Grams died during my second year of culinary school.
She had an aneurysm during the night and died peacefully in her sleep. If it
hadn’t been for Grandpa insisting I finish, I probably would’ve come back and
taken care of him.”

“So in essence, your grandparents raised
you.”

“Yeah, not that my dad wasn’t around. He
loves me, even after I came out. Not that he ever really understood my
bisexuality.” As Nicky settled down on the far bench, Zeb started pulling lids
off the containers. “Anyway, thanks for helping me clean up. I haven’t been here
for a couple of months…” He wanted to kick himself. He really should’ve come
over and done some light cleaning, but he’d been too anxious to bring Sir and
Ma’am to worry about a little dust. “…in fact, the last time I here was just
before my second surgery.”

“Well, then you’re forgiven. We can’t have
our man trying to clean with a bum knee.” Steph blew Zeb a kiss as she settled
down on the opposite bench from Nicky. “Besides, it keeps Nicky humble when he
has to clean.”

“You’re treading the line,
cara mia
, to having a warm bottom.”

“Sorry, Master,” she told him as he reached
for the nearest container of cut veggies and dill dip in the basket. From his
position, Zeb had to stifle his laugh as she stuck her tongue out at him.

Sir didn’t even look up before he spoke.
“One of these days, Steph, I’m gonna rip that naughty tongue right out of your
head.” There was no heat behind Nicky’s threat, but Steph obviously found it
hilarious because she burst into peals of laughter.

“But, Master, if you do that, who’s going
to suck your cock the way you love?” She widened her eyes and tried to look
innocent.

“Well, there’s always me...” Zeb offered as
he reached inside the basket for the plates. He rummaged under the napkins,
looking for the utensils when he noticed the silence. Looking up, he saw Nicky
had frozen in the process of eating a carrot stick covered in dill dip, and
Stephanie had stopped with her hand over one of the sandwiches he and Bella had
put together this morning. “What?”

When they continued to stare at him, he
nodded to the sandwiches. “You have your choice between oven roasted turkey and
smoked roast beef.”

Finally Steph cleared her throat. “You know
you really shouldn’t tease Master that way, Sexy. It’s been so long since he’s
felt a man’s mouth around him, he might take you up on your offer.”

Confusion filled him. “Excuse me? What do
sandwiches….” Then he stopped and thought about it. His face reddened. He’d
offered to suck Nicky’s cock. Not that he didn’t want to - he did. He just
hadn’t thought about how it would sound when he’d spoken. “Ah…I wasn’t…” He
busied himself by pulling the napkins and utensils of the basket.

“Shh, relax, I’m not going to demand you
get down on your knees right now.” Nicky’s hands covered his. Looking up to see
Nicky standing beside him, the indulgence on Sir’s face was a surprise. “Just
next time, Zeb, think before you speak, so you don’t drive me crazy with
wonderful ideas sure to get me in trouble.” He pressed a kiss to Zeb’s nose.
“Now, did you say something about roast beef?” Nicky turned to the tub and
smiled widely as he pulled out the thick sandwich. “Smells delicious.”

“Ah, thanks.” He stuck a large spoon in the
potato salad and yanked the potato chips out of the basket. “Chips or potato
salad?” he asked Nicky.

Steph eyed the potato salad hungrily “Is
that Bella’s?”

He nodded. “Of course. I can make a decent
potato salad, but it doesn’t ever turn out as well as hers.” He smiled. “It was
one of her contributions to the meal.”

Scooping some potato salad onto his plate,
Nicky arched a brow his way. “Only one of them? What else did she prepare?”

“She helped me with the fresh veggies, and
of course assembling the sandwiches.” He turned back to the basket, spotting
the two smaller tubs Steph had missed. “There’s also a sinfully divine
chocolate mousse she contributed.” Zeb glanced towards Steph. “She saw how you
went nuts over it at the barbecue, and stuck a container of it in, just for
you, Ma’am.”

“Oooo…” Steph looked at the hamper, greed
in her gaze. She even rose to grab it when Nicky ordered her to sit down.

“Nope, not ‘til you clean your plate, young
lady,” he scolded, then smiled at Zeb. “You shouldn’t have told her about the
dessert. She always wants to eat it first.”

Zeb chuckled. “Of course. Is there any other
way?” He selected a turkey sandwich for himself. When he noticed Steph pouting
as she piled chips and potato salad on her plate, along with a roast beef
sandwich, he offered her an olive branch. “So I suppose I shouldn’t mention my
contribution to the basket until after we eat?”

Nicky slid onto one of the long bench
seats. “And what’s that?”

“Ah, just something I whipped up this
morning in the kitchen.” He sank down next to Steph, his thigh brushing hers as
he settled in.

“You baked something?” Nicky asked
hopefully.

“Yep.” Zeb helped himself to a turkey
sandwich. “A little birdie told me you loved petit-a-fours, so I made a variety
of them from my Grams’s recipes. Mind you, they aren’t as good as the ones she
made, but I do a reasonable facsimile of them.”

“Where?” Nicky reached for the first of the
two smaller containers. Zeb’s brows rose as Master opened one, then the other.
A wide smile crossed his face before he looked up at Steph and Zeb. He pulled
the larger of the two close to his chest. “Mine.”

* * * *

Steph
moaned happily as she dragged her lips around the tines of her fork. In her
mouth, the light creamy texture of chocolate and sharp bite of espresso coated
her tongue. Just like the previous weekend, it was like having a mouth orgasm.
“Damn, Zeb, maybe you should sweet talk Bella into supplying
your new bakery with this.” She took another bite of it, ignoring the surprised
looks on Zeb and Nicky’s face.

“I tried to get the recipe, but it didn’t
happen. Said it was some family secret.” Zeb sipped on his tea. “But I might be
able to get her to make some as an occasional special.”

“Speaking of which.” Nicky bit into one of
the luscious small cakes. “Have you given any more thought about when you want
to go out and talk color schemes with Steph?” Nicky glanced around the dining
room. “I could easily see this being a perfect place for you to open up your
bakery. This room is the right size for several small tables and chairs, and
you could use this table as a set up for coffee urns, perhaps even chai lattes,
and what not.”

Zeb nodded. “Yeah, that’s what I thought
too, but right now I’m not to sure how soon I’ll be able to open a bakery.” He
sat down his drink. “I got served last weekend. Allison is suing me for half of
everything in my safety deposit box, which means there goes half of the deposit
money I need for a loan towards ovens and equipment if she wins. So I may have
to wait awhile.”

Steph swallowed another bite of the mousse.
“So fight her in court. Didn’t you tell us everything in your lock box was
yours?”

“Yeah.” He rubbed the back of his neck.
“It’s just that the Teelens are wealthy, and I did open the lock box with her
on the papers as the co-owner.”

Steph froze with the fork half way to her
mouth, dread pooling in her stomach. “Are we talking about Allison Teelen of
the Napa Valley Teelens?”

He nodded, toying with his napkin. “Yeah.”

“Well, did she ever put anything in the
safety deposit box?” Nicky asked, seeming to be unaware of the turmoil building
inside of Steph.

“No. At least I don’t think so. The only
time she ever went with me was when I opened the safety deposit account. After
that it was all me.” He shifted in his seat next to her as he continued on.
“Looking back now, I think the only reason she went with me when I opened it
was to exert control over me. I think she figured if she let me have the box,
but made sure she was on the account, it would keep me in line.”

Steph bit her lip. Pieces were sliding into
place, and horrifying as it was, she knew exactly why she’d been served papers
to be a material witness for Allison in her upcoming trial. Her former client
wanted her to testify for her character in open court. How could she have been
so stupid?

“Ah, does this place have a bathroom,
Sexy?” She scrambled off the seat, nearly knocking Zeb over.

He seemed surprised. “Yeah, down the hall
and to the left. Although I don’t know if there’s any toilet paper or towels in
there…”