All I Want Is You Read online

  http://margueritelabbe.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  “All I Want Is You” Copyright © 2012 by Marguerite Labbe

  Cover Art by Fae Sutherland

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of Marguerite Labbe, except where permitted by law.

  “All I Want Is You” is a spin-off of “All Bets Are Off” published by Dreamspinner Press, December 2011.

  For all my girls on Twitter who kept encouraging me,

  You know who are.

  All I Want Is You

  By Marguerite Labbe

  Chapter One

  “I CAN think of a hundred things wrong with this picture.” Eli gestured toward the windshield and the mist filled valley that dropped off to their right. The tall mountains were covered in a mix of evergreens and trees stripped bare for the winter, and the steep sides hugged the winding, narrow dell that peaked through the white-gray veil.

  Ash tore his eyes from the fog wreathed trees and looked at Eli, a smile tugging on his lips at the look of disgust on his partner’s face. Eli didn’t fool him one bit. He lived for views like this. If they weren’t here to visit his family he’d be enjoying every minute of this trip. In fact, Ash would consider himself lucky if he managed to get Eli indoors at all.

  “I think you’re exaggerating, Doc.” Ash sat up straighter and stretched, working the kinks out of cramped muscles. Breaking the road trip up into two days helped some, but he was ready for it to be over. Jabbers took the motion as an invitation for loving and thrust his cold, damp nose against the side of Ash’s neck and whuffed. Ash rubbed the beagle’s head and Jabbers returned to his crack in the window to watch the scenery go by.

  “I’m serious. If we were home we’d be having a white Christmas.”

  “Technically, we’ll be back home on Christmas day. You’ll have all the snow you could want.” And then some. Ash should call Wayne before they left to head home and make sure that the road up to the Hermitage was clear.

  “It’s not the same if you’re not with me to share it.” Eli tried to temper the disgruntlement in his voice and failed. “I’m not mad at you. I know why you have to work. Just ignore me, because I’m working myself into a mood for no reason. What will be, will be.”

  Of course Eli neglected to say what was really bugging him and it had nothing to do with the lack of snow or the fact that Ash was going to be gone most of Christmas day. Ash lost his fight not to smile and nudged Eli’s side, determined to tease Eli out of his brood. “It didn’t seem to bother you when we spent last Christmas in Savannah and that wasn’t a white Christmas either.”

  Eli glanced at him, his gray eyes softening, his auburn hair laying in a thick, loose tangle well past his shoulders. “That was different. I got to meet the rest of your family. That was more than worth not having any snow for the holidays.”

  And there lay the problem. This time they were visiting the rest of Eli’s family. Ash hadn’t gotten a chance to meet Eli’s mom and dad yet. Somehow plans kept falling through, much to Eli’s mom’s disappointment. It was like Eli was stuck in the past, back at the confrontation with his dad when he’d been discovered with his first boyfriend. As far as Ash could tell, he didn’t think Eli had ever brought a man home for his parents to meet since then.

  This visit mattered, despite Eli not wanting to care what his parents thought. He wanted it to go smooth, for them to accept Ash as much as Ash’s family had accepted Eli. He’d worked himself up to the point where Ash was wondering if he’d have to do an intervention before they got to Eli’s parents’ house.

  “This will be worth it too,” Ash assured him.

  Eli didn’t respond anymore than a humph under his breath and a skeptical glance. Well Ash could work with skepticism. And Eli couldn’t say that most of his family wouldn’t be very happy to see them. His mom, Aunt Barbara and his cousin Gareth all said it numerous times.

  All those reassurances did nothing to quell Ash’s own nagging concerns. He had to remember that this visit mattered quite a bit to Eli. That had to be a good sign. Ash knew that Eli loved him. He told Ash so often and showed it in a hundred other ways. And God knew he was crazy, head-over-heels in love with Eli. So what kept holding Ash back from asking Eli to marry him?

  Ash rubbed the hard lump in his coat pocket and quelled the stupid surge of nerves. He couldn’t very well ask Eli if he hadn’t met his parents. Of course that was his excuse this week. He’d been carrying around the ring for months. At first he told himself to wait till Thanksgiving when they went down to Savannah again, so that Ash’s whole family could celebrate.

  Yeah right, he’d ditched that idea the moment they’d hit Savannah. He’d told himself that he should ask in private, in their home when they got back. That hadn’t happened either.

  He could stand his ground during an insurgent attack in Iraq, but when it came to nailing down his headstrong, free spirited lover, his nerve left him. Eli was independent. He loved to go his own way. As far as Ash could tell, Eli didn’t see a point in getting married when people seemed to get along fine just living together. Of course he hadn’t questioned Eli that closely on his beliefs either so he could be blowing his worries out of proportion.

  This time though, he was asking, no more excuses.

  “Something on your mind? You’ve gone awfully quiet.”

  The sound of Eli’s voice broke Ash out of his circling thoughts. He reached over and took Eli’s hand and smiled as those long fingers clasped around his. A little over a year ago he never would’ve believed that one man could tie him up in such knots. Eli still managed to do it with ease and Ash couldn’t be happier. Okay, yes he could be. He was sure that if they were engaged he would fall on the other side of the much happier line. “I’m wracking my brain to think of something to distract you from your worries.”

  “Can’t be done.” Eli fished his cell phone out of his pocket. “You don’t know my family.”

  “Wanna bet on it?”

  Eli chuckled and flashed Ash a glance, amusement breaking through the irritability in his eyes. “No thank you, last time I lost a bet I found myself naked and helpless for two days.”

  “Good times,” Ash grinned and propped his foot up on the dashboard. “Very good times. You know the bet doesn’t have to be sex based.”

  “You aren’t fooling me for one second. Either you’ll find a way to turn it to sex or you’ll try to wiggle out of paying the consequences for your last bet. Not going to happen. I’m enjoying the fact that I won that one.” Eli handed him the cell phone. “Do me a favor and call Gareth. See if any of the cabins have opened up.”

  “It’s better to tackle the enemy then to keep circumventing them for years,” Ash said and pulled up the contact list. “Even if he has the space eventually you’ll have to face your parents, why not get it over with?”

  “I’m not hiding, I’m planning my strategy,” Eli insisted, some of the irritation bubbling back to the surface in the tone of his voice. Ash rubbed his thumb over the back of Eli’s hand in silent apology for his pushiness. It was a fault of his. He saw a problem and wanted to fix it. “This way we all get breathing room from each other. We can go to our separate corners if it gets tense, which it will.”

  Eli glanced at him with a glint in his eyes that Ash knew very well. Was it bad of him to get such enjoyment out of Eli’s tempe
r? Because he really couldn’t help himself. He knew just how hot Eli ran when he simmered. “Besides, I want to be alone with you at nights,” Eli added.

  “Well then, that’s all you needed to say.” Alone time. The jump in his pulse made his nerves known again. If Gareth managed to drum up a cabin for them then he should take that as a sign and ask toight. He could lay out Eli in front of fire, make sure the mood was just right. A proposal should distract Eli from angsting over his parents’ reaction to bringing home a boyfriend. Or it could make it worse. Why add more pressure onto an already tense situation?

  “Yeah, I thought that might grab your attention,” Eli said with an amused shake of his head.

  They shared a grin, then Ash brought up Gareth’s number and rolled his eyes at the ultra country ringback tone. “Your cousin has bad taste in music.”

  “Gareth likes just about every genre of music there is. There are bound to be a few bad ones in there, leave him alone.”

  “You’ve got amazing timing, cuz, I was just getting ready to holler at you,” Gareth answered with a laugh. It seemed like every time Ash had a chance to talk to Eli’s cousin and closest friend, he had laughter in his voice. Ash was looking forward to getting to know him more.

  “Actually, this is his other half,” Ash said.

  “The sexier half.” The laugh deepened. “How’s it hanging?”

  “A little to the left, low and lazy. You know how it goes.” Ash grinned at the sound of Eli’s snicker. It still didn’t take much to make Eli smile, even when he was brooding.

  “That I do. Need to let those suckers breathe. So I take it Eli is hanging all of his hopes on me finding a cabin and wants an update of my mojo and prowess?”

  Ash glanced at his partner and fought another smile at the way Eli kept giving him hopeful, stolen glances. “Oh you know it. He looks like Jabbers with the promise of a treat hanging over his head.” At the sound of his name Jabbers thrust his head into the front seat again with a happy bark for attention and licked Ash from chin to hairline.

  “Jabbers.” The beagle knew that tone in Eli’s voice and he dropped back with a little rumble of discontent. “I know, we’re almost there.”

  “Well you can ease his mind. We had a last minute cancellation and Ma said you and Eli could have it on the condition that you come to dinner at her place tonight.”

  “I have no doubt that he’ll agree to those terms.” Ash gave Eli a thumbs up.

  “Yes! Hot damn.” Eli pounded his fist on the steering wheel. “Gareth, you’re the man.”

  Gareth laughed. “Tell him I said, I know and to get his skinny ass over here. It’ll just be me and Ma and you two hooligans. After dinner, I’ll show you to your place. Aunt Anita and Uncle David aren’t expecting you tonight are they?”

  “No. I was planning on finding a place in town to calm Eli down some before we all got together tomorrow morning.”

  “He’s reached that stage already, hmmm? Well, I have faith you can restore his Zen. The cabin should be perfect for you two. See ya soon.” Ash disconnected the call and looked up to see that the road had gotten narrower and more winding.

  “Calm me down?” Eli asked.

  Ash took Eli’s hand and rubbed his thumb over his ring finger. “Well you have to admit you could probably use a bit of down time. This drive has given you too much opportunity to think, brood and worry.”

  “And just how do you plan on calming me down?”

  Ash smiled and lifted Eli’s hand to his lips. “I have my methods.”

  “As I said, can’t be done, not this time.” Eli said, pulling his hand away to navigate the road. Night was descending fast and the thick trees on either side of the road crossed over in places with low, bare limbs, deepening the shadows. It was impossible too see around the close curves of the road.

  “Wanna bet?” Ash asked with a laugh.

  “Anyone ever tell you that you have a serious gambling problem?” Eli laughed, the sparkle returning to his eyes. “There are places where you can get help for that you know.”

  TWENTY minutes later Eli pulled into the driveway of Aunt Barbara’s rambler and Jabbers started barking and whining, pacing from one window to another when he recognized the place. The front door opened and Eli found it impossible to think of gloom and doom at the sight of his cousin stepping out onto the porch.

  Eli stopped the truck, tossed off his seatbelt and was out of the truck in a flash, Jabbers right behind him with happy cries for attention. Eli caught Gareth in a rough bear hug. Seeing him again was like all the intervening months between visits fell away. Gareth hadn’t changed one bit from the battered boots, worn jeans to the scruff on his cheeks. There might be a new tattoo or piercing, but the blue eyes, and the heartfelt welcome in them, remained the same.

  Gareth gave him another hard squeeze, then stepped back to take Ash’s offered hand and pulled him into a hug. “This is who I really wanted to get my hands on. Shame on you Eli for sequestering him in the Great White North and depriving the rest of us red blooded American gay men from the opportunity to appreciate his sexiness.”

  “You can appreciate all you want, Gareth, he’s still coming home with me.”

  “Yeah,” Ash agreed. “First Eli seduced me and then Amwich did. Next thing I knew this poor Southern boy was settled down in New England.”

  Jabbers sat on his haunches, pawed at Gareth leg and let out a bay that set off other dogs down the road. Gareth crouched down and rubbed Jabbers sides as the beagle wiggled and danced and tried to lick all at once. “I see you haven’t taught him any manners yet.”

  “Yeah well, for some reason he seems to like your ugly face and wants your attention.”

  “You’ve missed this ugly face.” Gareth grinned up at him. “I wish we could get together more often.”

  “It’s been a crazy year, between graduation, and Kurtis coming up with his family for a little recuperation, then training and starting a new job. We’re making plans for next year.” Ash cast Eli one of those puzzling, quick looks that he’d been doing for what seemed like weeks now. “I’m excited to see what the New Year will bring.”

  “Eli told me that you were involved with the Wounded Warrior Project,” Gareth said, straightening and running a hand through his unruly hair.

  “I help when I can, when we’re up at camp. One of the retreats is not far from there.”

  Gareth clutched a hand over his heart. “You are too good to be true. So when are you going to realize that New Hampshire is the back end of nowhere and come on down to a real state?”

  “Stop trying to steal Ash. It’ll never work between you two.” Eli shouldered him to the side and got a light shove in return. Gareth didn’t change at all and that was one of the things that Eli loved about him. He could count on his cousin’s affection and friendship as a constant in his life. Not that he didn’t love Lu, but she was more like a mother and sister rolled into one instead of a cousin. Gareth was… well Gareth.

  “And why the hell not?” Gareth demanded. “I’m an amazing kisser, you said so yourself.”

  Eli’s face flooded with heat as Ash gave him a look of pure, astonished speculation. He was going to kill Gareth for bringing that up. “Gareth doesn’t like baseball. He’s into college football. He thinks baseball is dead boring.”

  Gareth rolled his eyes and grabbed Eli’s arm, tugging him toward the house. “You would bring that up.”

  “Jackass, I’m not the one with the big mouth.” Eli could not believe that Gareth had mentioned that incident from when they were kids.

  “I’m sorry, but not liking baseball is a deal breaker for me.” Ash took his head as they walked toward the house. He didn’t ask about Gareth’s kissing comment, but Eli knew that didn’t mean he was off the hook. Ash would just wait till they were alone to bring it up. He whistled for Jabbers who came bounding up, then raced to the porch when Aunt Barbara opened the door.

  “We were only eleven,” he said in an undertone to Ash. “And tr
ying to figure out what was different about us from our friends. Gareth has never let me live it down since.”

  Gareth slung an arm around his waist for a quick hug and a laugh. “I can’t help it. The look on your face gets me every time.”

  Ash watched Gareth bound up the steps and swing his mother around in a hug. She squawked and swatted his arm. “Put me down, buffoon. You’re not the one I want to see.”

  “Eli, we have to come up with another plan. I can’t believe I agreed to let that man tattoo me. Are you sure he can sit still long enough to do it?”

  “Sometimes he may act like a squirrel who OD’d on sugar, but he can focus when he wants to. His tattoos are amazing.” Eli grinned at him. “Sorry, Georgia, you’re not wiggling out of your bet so easily. Don’t worry, the Red Sox logo is going to look fabulous on your arm.”

  “You’re evil, just freaking evil.”

  Eli picked up his aunt and swung her around as she came forward to greet them. She was even shorter than Gareth and she’d cut her gray hair into a low maintenance bob since the last time he’d seen her. “Elijah Michael! Put me down! What is it with you two? I swear you’re the worst together.”

  Eli set her down and gave her a hug. “I know, but I had to. You haven’t gotten any taller Aunt Barbara.”

  She grabbed him by his ears and hauled him down for a kiss on his cheek. “You’re not too old for me to separate the two of you.” She turned to Ash and gave him a hug as well. “And you must be Ash. It’s so good to finally meet you. Come on in. I’ve got some catfish and skillet corn bread just waiting for ya’ll. I even have something for that mutt of yours.“

  Eli patted his growling stomach with a groan. “Words that I’ve been waiting all day to hear.”

  “I do know your love for a home cooked meal.” Aunt Barbara opened the door and the scent of hot, fresh dinner rolled out. “You have to catch me up on everything, you two. After dessert, Gareth can take you on up to the cabin.”