Calum gasped into his mouth. “We can’t go back with wet patches on our jeans, and if you keep doing that with your hand, that’s exactly what’s going to happen.”
“Don’t want to stop,” Jasper panted.
He found the head of Calum’s cock and rubbed his finger over the denim.
“Jesus,” Calum gasped and grabbed Jasper’s hand.
“I want to suck you off,” Jasper blurted.
Calum jerked away and backed up a few steps, but the look in his eyes told Jasper he wasn’t running far. Jasper’s pulse kicked up a notch. Calum ran his tongue over his lower lip and then reached for his belt. But before he touched it, he straightened and looked around.
“Fuck it,” he snapped. “Someone’s coming.”
Jasper groaned.
By the time three horses came into view, Calum had remounted Blue. He adjusted his hat on the pommel to ensure it obscured his crotch, but his cock knew when it was beaten. His balls, on the other hand, made their displeasure very clear. They ached like hell. There was some comfort in knowing he wasn’t the only one.
“Howdy, dudes,” Melissa shouted. “What are you guys up to?”
Jasper had retrieved his bottle of water and sat on the rock with his left leg bent. Calum slapped a smile on his face.
“Call of nature.” Calum nodded to Ring, who nodded back.
“Ooh, what have you seen?” Janie asked. “Anything interesting? We spotted antelope and mule deer.”
Calum stifled his laugh at Janie’s misunderstanding and belatedly remembered he’d been supposed to point out the local flora and fauna to Jasper.
“We’ve seen prairie dogs too,” Melissa said. “They were so cute.”
Ring gave a pointed snort.
“And what do we find to add to our list when we come around that rock but a couple of good-looking guys.” Melissa wolf-whistled.
“We were hoping for elk,” Janie said.
Jasper’s laugh rang out.
“Or a bear,” Melissa said. “Ring said there might be one in these rocks.”
“Yeah?” Calum glanced at the wrangler who smirked.
“Did you use to be a rodeo star too?” Janie asked.
“No.” Calum walked Blue over to Ring’s horse. “You mean that one time you tried bull-riding and broke your arm?”
The wrangler scowled. “You ever sat on a bull’s back?”
“No, I have more sense.”
“I doubt that.” Ring glanced toward Jasper with a sneer on his face and Calum felt a ball of fury writhe in his gut.
My fucking father. The reason for the earlier call now clear, Calum slapped his Stetson back on his head.
“Since we’re here,” Ring said, “Jasper can join us for the rest of the ride. Go and help my father work on the barn.”
Calum imagined himself planting his fist in Ring’s smug face, and then thought of Jasper’s reaction, and the report back to his father by the women of an unprovoked attack. Before he did or said something that couldn’t be undone, he wheeled Blue away and headed up the slope.
By the time Calum was in sight of the ranch, he’d calmed down. He felt bad he’d ridden off without saying anything to Jasper. It was possible his father hadn’t sent Ring after him. It was too easy to see conspiracy where there was none, especially if you had something to feel guilty about, though the fact that Calum even felt guilty infuriated him.
After a blazing row with his father three years ago, Calum’s sexuality had never been openly mentioned again. Instead, Calum put up with all the snide comments, veiled threats and looks of disgust because he’d do anything to avoid an all-out confrontation and risk what happened during that vicious argument. His father had had a heart attack, ended up in the hospital and Calum spent three days thinking if he died, it would be his fault.
When he reached Bessie patiently waiting by the Neilson Ranch sign, Calum slid off Blue’s back and stroked his dog.
“Hi, girl. You been sitting here or did you sense me coming?” Or not coming, as it happened.
Calum walked Blue the rest of the way to cool him down, Bessie padding along beside. It was just as well he and Jasper had been interrupted. His father had made it clear that if he discovered Calum had messed around with a male guest again, he’d write him out of his will and it wouldn’t be Calum taking the reins on retirement—whatever came first.
Sometimes, Calum didn’t care.
But most times, the thought of losing the ranch made his heart ache fit to break.
When he led Blue through the large wooden doors into the stables, Gunner was in there cleaning tack.
“Want me to see to him?” Gunner asked.
“Thanks.” Calum handed over the reins to the elderly, white-haired ranch hand and patted Blue on the neck.
Gunner had worked for his grandfather as well. The man was well past the age when he should have retired, but Calum suspected his father would let Gunner keep going as long as he wanted.
“Thought you took someone out with you on Zander,” Gunner said. “Lose them?”
“He’s coming back with Ring. Seems the rodeo star needed help handling the rhinestone cowgirls.”
Gunner laughed.
As Calum headed to the ranch house, he saw his father coming the other way looking unsurprised to see him. Bastard. Harsh words bubbled in Calum’s throat but he held them back.
“I need you to go to Jackson,” his father said. “Vera has a list of stuff and there’s a bunch of documents I want picked up from Hardy’s.”
And you couldn’t have asked me to do this yesterday when I went to the airport?
“Okay,” Calum said, and added, “Did you get that fence sorted?” Because he couldn’t help but think the whole thing had been made up just to find out where he was.
“Yep, Dave went.”
“Any cattle get loose?”
“I called Marty and asked him to check.”
Marty ran the adjoining ranch, but he and Calum’s father didn’t get on. Calum wasn’t sure if he’d ever known why. He did know that no man alive could hold grudges as long as his father. The guy had made it a work of art. Which led Calum to suspect his father lied about phoning Marty as well.
As Calum carried on walking, his father called, “Ask your sister if she wants to tag along.”
Calum clenched his jaw. It was almost as though his father could guess what he was thinking—which had been to wait until Jasper returned and then the two of them could go to Jackson together.
“Hardy’s waiting on you, Calum. You need to set off straightaway. Take the SUV.”
“Okay, Boss.” And fuck you too.
Calum ran up the steps and found Vera in the private lounge.
“Dad says you need something from Jackson.”
She handed him a strip of paper. “Thanks, Calum. It wasn’t urgent, but—”
“Does Angie want to come?”
“I doubt it. She’s desperate to finish her necklace.”
“Okay. I’ll go on my own.” He turned to his dog. “Bessie, stay.” Calum snagged the keys to the SUV from the rack and headed out. Maybe a drive would help him sort out his head.
The inane chatter of Melissa and Janie ruined Jasper’s ride back to the ranch. He tried riding ahead, but it wasn’t easy to make a horse lead when he didn’t want to. Zander didn’t have an alpha bone in his body. That bastard Ring managed to wedge Jasper between the two girls by riding his horse with its nose up Zander’s backside. Jasper ignored all the wrangler’s comments about Zander being gay. Ring obviously missed the point that his horse was the one interested in Zander. Ring was such a bloody wanker.
Maybe Calum was too. His sudden disappearance had been disappointing. He’d ridden off without a word, and considering what Jasper had been about to do, he couldn’t help but feel hurt. Though maybe it was for the best. They hadn’t talked much, but enough for Jasper to understand Erik Neilson wasn’t happy about his son’s sexuality. Jasper didn’t want to make trouble for Calum.
/> Within minutes, the girls had given him a splitting headache. Jasper refused to believe it was the sun. It appeared neither female had an unspoken thought.
“I can’t wait to do the overnight trip,” Melissa said.
“It sounds so romantic, sleeping under the stars.” Janie sighed.
“Cooking our own food,” Melissa added. “It’s going to be fun.”
“It’s cold at night,” Ring said behind them.
“We could snuggle up.” Melissa grinned at Jasper. “Share body heat.”
“What happens when the sun goes down?” Janie turned to Ring.
“We build a fire, cook, eat, drink. I play the guitar, some like to sing and tell stories. Then we go to bed. It could even snow.”
“That would be so great,” Melissa said.
Jasper thought Ring was going to choke laughing.
“Cooking on a campfire, roasting marshmallows.” Melissa sighed. “Do you have those in England? Marshmallows I mean, not campfires. They’re sort of round and mainly white and pink but at Easter and Christmas and Halloween, you can get them in different shapes and colors.”
She went on and on, and finally Jasper had more than he could stand. “Do you know what marshmallows are made of?”
“Sugar,” Janie said.
“And gelatin,” Jasper said. “Know what gelatin is?”
“No.” Melissa shook her head.
“It’s a thickening agent made from animal bones and skin.”
After a few exclamations of disgust, they were quiet for a blissful two seconds before it started all over again.
“It never gets really cold in LA. Does it get cold in the UK?” Melissa asked.
“At times,” Jasper said. Oh God, will she ever shut up?
“Not like here,” Ring said. “You have to be a real man to cope with our winters. The wind’s so strong, sometimes the snow doesn’t even reach the ground.”
Jasper bristled. “No pretend men live in Wyoming then? Only real men?”
The girls laughed and Jasper’s spine prickled. No doubt Ring’s laser eyes were boring into his back.
“That’s rich, considering you probably spend your days sitting on your backside in air-conditioned comfort,” Ring snapped.
“We’re a bit short of open ranges in London.”
Jasper kicked Zander on and after some hard, persuasive work with his thigh muscles, he managed to get him ahead of the other horses. Jasper pulled away on a diagonal and then mentally pleaded with Zander to pick up the pace. He wouldn’t.
“Where are you going?” Ring called.
“I’ll call if I need you for anything.” Jasper clicked Zander on and to his relief, this time the horse cooperated.
According to the literature guests were not required to ride with the wrangler. They only needed to stay within shouting distance in case they needed help. Jasper wouldn’t lose sight of Ring, but he damn well didn’t need to ride with him.
It wasn’t long before the three of them were well ahead and Jasper turned back to tag along behind. When the ranch was in sight, he slipped off Zander’s back and walked him the rest of the way. Ring and the girls didn’t bother. That was fine with Jasper. He couldn’t stand another minute of their company. He just hoped he wasn’t supposed to ride with them tomorrow.
By the time he led Zander into the stable, his shirt was sticking to his back. Ring was in there taking the saddle off the horse Janie had been riding while a white-haired guy removed the tack from Melissa’s. There was no sign of the girls. Guests might not have to look after their horses, but he disagreed. How could you bond with the animals if you didn’t take care of them? Jasper had already loosened Zander’s cinch. Now he went through the rest of the procedure—removing the bridle, putting on the halter, taking off the saddle. Years since he’d done this, but it was second nature.
He talked quietly to the horse as he worked and then walked him over to a bucket holding a damp sponge so he could wipe him down. Aware of Ring’s gaze, Jasper treated Zander like a prince. He cleaned the horse’s mouth and even brushed his hair flat.
“Like handling all that male flesh?” Ring whispered. “Does it make you hard?”
Bastard. Jasper ignored him, but how did the guy even know he was gay? Though ignoring him rather than reacting with indignation had probably told Ring what he wanted to know. Jasper checked Zander’s hooves to make sure he hadn’t picked up any rocks and then ran his hand over his flank. Zander nuzzled insistently against the pocket with the mints and Jasper smiled. “Not yet.
“In a stall or outside?” Jasper asked.
“Inside,” Ring told him.
The stalls were all named so he walked him down the center until he found Zander’s, between Blue and Misty. Both horses were in their stalls. So Calum was back.
“Halter off?” Jasper asked.
“Yep. Hang it on the hook.” It was the older guy who spoke this time.
Jasper shut the door on Zander and offered him a mint.
“Did a good job there,” the guy said as he came up behind him. “Makes a change not to have to take over.”
“Thanks. I’m Jasper.” Jasper offered his hand and the man shook it with a smile.
“The guy who threw up. I’m Gunner.”
Oh Christ. “Am I going to always be known as the guy who threw up?”
Zander snorted. Traitor.
Gunner laughed. “Until you earn yourself a new name.”
Note to self: “Guy who fucked the owner’s son” had a nice ring to it.
Chapter Five
While the guests ate lunch and exchanged stories about their morning ride, Jasper sat and listened, thinking how he’d freak them out if he told them what he and Calum had been up to. Nearly been up to. Except he had an unhappy suspicion that the chances of finding himself with his arms around the cowboy didn’t look good. No sign of Calum at lunch, though Jasper tried not to read anything into that.
He considered going fishing that afternoon with Matt and Paul until Melissa and Janie decided to go. The thought of it set off Jasper’s headache again. The two couples wanted to do the Jeep tour. Jasper wouldn’t be joining them either. Nor did he want to go for a ride in case he ended up with Ring. When he’d booked this, he hadn’t thought he’d be the only single. He’d imagined several people riding together every day. Jasper slunk back to his room and changed into his swimming trunks. With a bit of luck, he’d have the pool to himself.
Jasper sighed with relief when he saw he’d been right. Almost. Calum’s dog appeared from nowhere, her tail wagging.
“Hi, Bessie.” Jasper rubbed her head and the dog arched her shoulders so he’d scratch behind her ear. “We friends now?”
She rolled onto her back and presented her belly. Jasper laughed. He snagged a blue towel from a neat pile on a table and laid it on a lounger. Bessie moved to lie in the shade beneath. Jasper gave her a final stroke and then slid into the cool water, dropping beneath the surface to wet his head. He enjoyed swimming, liked imagining life was different as he did a slow crawl for lap after lap. Jasper didn’t often get the chance to swim in the open air under warm blue skies.
As he swam, he thought about Calum. What was he supposed to do when he saw him? Pretend the kiss, the touching, the offer to suck his cock had never happened? Treat him with civil cordiality? Spend the rest of the week riding as the third wheel with Ring and the sparkly twins? Jasper thought he’d rather not ride, except being on Zander had reminded him of what he’d been missing. And it is my fucking holiday.
If there were fewer guests than usual, maybe he could ask Erik to send him out with Gunner.
Swimming relaxed his body but not his mind. Jasper couldn’t stop thinking about Calum, wanting Calum. It had been a long time since Jasper had been with anyone, which was probably the reason for his current slobbering. If it hadn’t been for the fact that Calum seemed just as keen until his sudden departure, Jasper would be worried he’d lost his touch. There had been something betw
een them. So why hadn’t Calum appeared at lunch.
Jasper hoisted himself out of the pool to find Bessie still lying under his sun lounger and Angie sitting on the one next to it threading beads on a strand of thread. She was a really pretty girl, but Jasper could see there was something not quite right in her expression, as though the world she saw was not the same as the one seen by everyone else. She wore a pink T-shirt and denim cut-offs, and looked longingly from Jasper to the pool.
“I’m not allowed in the water without supervision,” she said.
Jasper dropped onto his lounger and brushed the water from his face. “Can you swim?”
“Yep, I can swim real good. Calum taught me.”
He glanced around before he asked his next question. “Is Calum on the ranch?”
“He had to go to Jackson to do stuff for Mom and Dad.” A cascade of small blue beads fell onto the pool deck and Angie groaned. “Ah darn it.”
Jasper bent to help her pick them up. “What are you making?”
“A necklace.”
He could see that the beads would drop off the end again if she didn’t enlarge the knot in the thread. “Can I do something to help?”
“Sure.”
He made the knot bigger and handed the beads to Angie for her to rethread. She chewed her lip as she concentrated, and although Jasper had thought she’d chat, she didn’t. Tempted as he was to ask questions about Calum, he resisted.
Angie attached fastenings to the necklace and hung it around her neck.
“That looks lovely,” he said and she beamed.
“I’m going to make you something now.”
Oh God. “Oh good. Thank you.”
Jasper lay back on the lounger, turned his face to the late-afternoon sun and closed his eyes.
The next thing he knew cold water hit his face and he jerked upright. Bessie emerged growling from under his lounger as Jasper coughed, blinking drops from his eyes. What the fuck?
“No,” Jasper snapped at the dog as she darted toward Matt and his ice bucket.
Melissa shrieked with laughter and jumped in the pool to join Janie and Paul. Matt put the bucket down and dived in before Jasper could follow up on the reconsidered inclination to let Bessie bite him. He stood and picked up his sodden towel. A bracelet made of blue beads had been tied around his wrist. He must have been in a really deep sleep not to notice Angie doing that.
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