Page 8 of Kipp

‘Yeah, he’s definitely not old-old,’ Dale blurted out, immediately regretting his outburst. ‘Sorry. I mean, not sorry. But you know.Um, what was I saying?’

Dale wanted the earth to swallow him up as Max and Kipp clearly exchanged a look between them and seemed to both repress their smiles. And the playful kick that Dale felt under the table from Marshall told him that his very obvious discomfort was plain for all to see.

But fortunately for Dale, Marshall had his back and quickly got the conversation back on track.

‘You’re away for two weeks?’ Marshall asked, arching his eyebrow. ‘Will I be getting extra pay for having more responsibilities?

‘Hey, I respect the hustle,’ Max replied. ‘And, of course,yes. I pay my staff what they’re worth, you know that. Any extra work you do will be reflected in your paycheck.’

Dale watched as Marshall and Max had another moment of heightened tension between them. And when he turned away, he quickly saw that Kipp had his eyes very much trained on him.

Kipp was big and intimidating. Maybe even a little bit scary. He looked like he was in his early forties, maybe a bit older. But there was no doubting that he had one hell of a body underneath his tight, well-worn grey t-shirt and rugged jeans.

Before Dale could stop himself, he was eying up Kipp’s shovel-sized hands and wondering what they would feel like all over his body. The idea of Kipp using his strength to rip the clothes off his body was sending a very direct signal straight to Dale’s briefs and he had to stop himself from squirming on his seat as he felt his manhood come to life and begin to strain and grow bigger by the second.

‘Earth to Dale?’ Marshall said, bringing Dale out of his fantasy and back into the real world. ‘Max was just asking if you wanted to start tomorrow?’

‘Oh, yeah, sorry, tomorrow’s great,’ Dale replied, still flustered and unable to stop his eyes from darting back to Kipp as he towered over the booth. ‘Thank you again for the opportunity, Max. I do appreciate it a lot.’

‘Hey, seriously, do a good job and it’ll bemethankingyou,’ Max chuckled. ‘Now if you’ll excuse me and Kipp, we’ve got some basic stock training to go over. And I just know that he’s going to love it.’

‘Yeah, right,’ Kipp barked. ‘Let’s get this over with.’

With that, Dale watched as Max and Kipp walked to the staff only door and disappeared into the diner’s rear.

‘Woah,’ Dale said, taking his OJ and gulping down half. ‘That was…intense. Who the hell is Kipp?’

‘Kipp is kinda new, kinda not new,’ Marshall said. ‘Word has it that he left Eagle Ridge under a cloud a long time ago. But he’s back now. He inherited his uncle’s ranch. And yes… he’s single. And yes…’

‘Don’t say it!’ Dale said. ‘Don’t say he’s a…’

‘Kipp is one hundred percent Daddy,’ Marshall said, full of glee. ‘And if the way he was looking at you is anything to go by, then he’s all set on making you his boy.’

Dale covered his face with his hands in sheer excitement and embarrassment. He was only coming back to Eagle Ridge for a while. He wasn’t looking for a Daddy, and he certainly didn’t want to find himself getting into anything long term when his plan was very much to leave when he had saved enough money. And on top of all that, the heartbreak with Benson had kind of put him off the idea of a relationship at all.

But Kipp was something else. Dale knew that he had to be strong. He couldn’t let himself fall for Kipp in even the smallest way. Dale resolved to do his shifts, save his money, and then book himself the first flight out of there.

There’s no way anything can happen.

No matter how hot he is.

Kipp Styles can keep his distance. I’m just not interested.

Chapter 4

Kipp

As Kipp stood in the stockroom and listened to Max go over the various routines and requirements that he would need to supervise in his absence, Kipp was finding it almost impossible to keep his mind on the job.

All Kipp could think about was Dale.

Max could have been explaining how the diner stockroom was a secret portal to another dimension and it wouldn’t have registered with Kipp even in the slightest.

As far as Kipp was concerned, the only thoughts in his head revolved around the incredibly pretty young man he’d just met. Sure, Marshall was cute too – but Kipp knew that he only had eyes for Dale.

There was something about the glint in his eyes and the hint of mischief in his smile that sent Kipp into the best kind of tailspin. Dale seemed shy but sassy – the perfect combination as far as Kipp was concerned. And his body was to die for too. Kipp had tried to keep his eyes from devouring Dale’s svelte but curvy body too obviously, but whether he had succeeded was anotherquestion. Right now, all Kipp could do was try to picture what he might look like minus his t-shirt and jeans…

‘Bro, are you listening?’ Max asked, bringing his stock-taking monologue to an abrupt conclusion.

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