Page 5 of Back Where He Belongs

CHAPTER FOUR

DADDY

Douglas turned the Range Rover into a dark, tree-lined driveway and slowed, crunching over thick unblemished snow. The headlights lit up an old traditional, white, two-story stone cottage that sat in a forested valley. The only color came from yellow lamp light in one of the downstairs windows. It looked magical.

“Welcome to my humble abode,” Douglas said drolly as he parked as close to the front door as he could manage. “If ye could gie’ us a hand to unpack, I’ll get the fire on and then plate up the scran.”

“Sounds good,” Kier’s belly rumbled at the thought of one of Dougie’s stews. The blizzard had ceased for the moment, but the wind still howled, and the air was frigid. Exiting the car, Kier rubbed his gloveless hands together and pulled his reindeer hat tighter over his ears. Douglas hefted two plastic crates of groceries and carried them to the wide oak front door. He put them down and unlocked the door then picked them up again and backed into the house. Kier followed around to the back of the vehicle and collected two boxes.

“Careful on this floor, the flagstones can get slippery,” Douglas advised. They entered a short stone-paved hall that led to an open plan room. The scent of beef stew immediately hit Kier in the gut and made him salivate.

The room had two main areas—a large cottage kitchen with a weathered pine dining table in the center, and a lounge. The lounge had a huge traditional open fire that, from the warmth remaining in the room had been lit and left unattended with a metal fireguard for safety.

Douglas laid his boxes down, switched on an overhead lamp, and strode to a rickety white timber doorway that, in keeping with most Highland stone cottages, led upstairs. He unlatched and opened the creaky door, leaned into the stairway and hollered,

“MAC, DADDY’S HOME!” then Douglas paused as if to listen for movement or a verbal response.

Kier stumbled with his boxes at hearing the call. He bit his lip to stop himself from laughing out loud. It wasn’t a huge surprise that Douglas was in a sub/Dom relationship, after what their relationship had entailed. Dougie had been his sub, but he was no longer the waif he’d been back when he belonged to Kier.

Kier couldn’t help himself; an image popped into the front of his mind of this now older, brawnier, hairier version of his ex-boyfriend in his pup gear and chest harnesses, their roles reversed with Douglas pounding away in his ass. Admittedly, from the warm hardness in his jeans it was a sight he would like to see—and experience. But what about this new boyfriend, Mac?

Kier couldn’t deny the feeling of dread that washed over him at the thought of how hot Dougie boyfriend must be. Of course, he was hot, how could he not be? Dougie was a great catch, and from what Kier remembered, being Douglas’s only boyfriend before they parted, Dougie he had pretty good taste in men.

Douglas had been a caring, thoughtful boyfriend, and a compliant sub. Kier had been too blind and fearful to see what he’d owned and tossed away when he threw Dougie back into the sea of single gay men looking for love.

That something that had lain dormant reawakened in Kier’s belly. It was fierce and protective—demanding even. He hadn’t felt this strongly in years—he hadn’t allowed himself to feel at all and his chest was tight with the expanding size of all the feelings he’d tried to repress.

Kier had forced himself to avoid all thoughts of Douglas McLelland while he was in Australia—out of sight, out of mind—but now, in Douglas’s presence—in his home. Douglas was a step away, and Kier’s skin buzzed with the electricity of their closeness. There was something about Douglas that bought the unnameable feelings straight up to the surface. A part of Kier felt like he still belonged to Douglas, owned Douglas. It was ridiculous, of course. Dougie didn’t belong to him anymore. Kier made his choice, and now Douglas had moved on. His ex-boyfriend had the right to be happy, and Kier knew that, in the end, he’d been a coward, and had not made Douglas happy. He shook his head and forced the aching feelings back down into the dark recesses of his heart.

Hearing no response from upstairs Dougie sighed affectionately, “Ah, the lazy bugger must be in bed. Nae worries, you’ll meet him soon enough.” The sentimentality in Dougie’s voice made Kier clench his jaw.

“Can ye put those boxes on the table,” Douglas instructed. “There’s a couple more, and your rucksack and were done,” he said as he left the cottage to return to the car.

Kier hefted the boxes he was carrying onto the well-worn kitchen table. He looked around the open plan, cozy living room noting the traditional features of dark timber beams and white painted stone walls. He saw the old timber trunk in front of the couch. It was the same one they had used as a coffee table when they’d lived together in their final year as students. Strangely, seeing that trunk, Kier felt a pang of loss. He recognized some of the belongings that Dougie had owned when they shared a ramshackle cottage near the uni. Kier let his gaze wander as he took in the room. This was the life he could have had with his childhood best friend and lover. This could have been his and Dougie’s home. As his eyes swept the room, looking from the television to the bookcase brimming with books, then to the comfy couch in front of the fire, the old worn timber trunk, photo frames, and personal knick-knacks on the mantle, Kier wondered why the hell all of this familiarity and comfort had been so terrifying to him five years ago.

“C’mon, Freckle, don’t just stand there! Yer letting the heat out”, Douglas scolded and nudged Kier with his hip as he passed him, loaded up with groceries.

“Aye, Sorry,” Kier said dazedly, and then hurried back into the icy wind.

At the car, he retrieved his rucksack and the last two boxes of supplies and closed the boot. Kier paused in the doorway, seeing Dougie in the hall for the first time without his coat and hat. Kier took in the sight of all grown-up Douglas McLelland. Dougie filled out his tree design Christmas sweater with broad muscled shoulders and a well-developed chest. He was still slender at the hips, and his thighs clung to his black jeans displaying firm muscle. Wild dark curls had been released from where they’d hidden under his hat and, seeing them; Kier fondly remembered how he used to twirl those perfect curls on his fingers. His mouth went dry. Douglas strode towards him, lifted a hand, and aimed it at the car. He pressed the car lock button on his fob and smiled at Kier in the most disarming way. Kier shuddered to action again, stepped into the hall, and nudged the front door closed.

It was such a relief to be out of the biting cold wind. He followed Douglas inside, placed the boxes on the floor in the kitchen and lowered his rucksack. “D’ye think yer gonna be snowed in fer a month? You’ve got enough here to feed an army!” Kier exclaimed as he nosed in one of the boxes.

“Aye, you know what it’s like. Best to be stocked up, it’s not just me. I’ve got my boy to look after too.” Douglas dropped to his knees before the hearth. He picked up a couple of dried turf briquettes from a wicker basket and tossed them onto the low fire to reawaken it. They caught alight quickly, and the warmth and the distinctive earthy scent of burning peat wafted into the room.

The familiarity of the earthy smokey scent made Kier smile, “God, I love that smell,” he said, his voice tinged with nostalgia, and as it mingled with the scent of beef stew, he knew that he was well and truly home.

Douglas looked across the room at Kier, his eyes reflecting the firelight. “Aye, you know I make a mean Beefy stew!” he said.

The look touched Kier as being full of promise. But, the promise of what? A hearty meal or something more? He looked away and the reawakened something clawed at his guts.

Douglas stood, strode to the kitchen, and perused the boxes and carrier bags filled with Christmas food. “If we get all of this stuff unpacked first, then we can relax. D’ye mind?”

“God, no,” Kier exclaimed “I’m getting free bed and board on Christmas Eve. Put me to whatever use you see fit.” He snickered.

“Righty-oh. There’s a sleigh parked out the back with, at a rough guess, five hundred million pressie’s to deliver…” Douglas joked, and Kier burst into laughter.

Douglas began to unpack a bag of groceries and store the items in the refrigerator. “And anyway, who said I was giving free bed and board? You’ll pay, Sonny!” He flirted.