Since the three of them started to work for Jason, Stace had seen dozens of guests come and go, but none of them had ever really mattered. He'd enjoyed the sex and the challenge of meeting their needs and desires, but nothing like this. What the fuck is the matter with me? Get a grip, man! You're the original love 'em and leave 'em tumbleweed cowboy.
It wasn't until late, close to bedtime, that he finally gave in to the insistent urge to go to Jared's room, hoping for a final bit of quality time this last night. He slipped quietly out of the bunkhouse and headed across the grounds to the lodge, moving as soft-footed as his Native American ancestors.
He told himself he'd be cool about it and tell Jared he'd just wanted to check on things and be sure the Californian had been satisfied with his stay. Maybe arrange the time to start back to Las Cruces tomorrow. Nobody could find anything strange or out of the ordinary in that, could they? He didn't explain to Spark and Casa, but then they didn't ask.
Chapter 5
Jared sprawled on his bed, wearing only his shorts. He'd already packed most of his stuff and the quiet evening seemed to drag. Although the long hours of riding had left him tired, he was far from exhausted. As he stared unseeing at the TV, unable to connect with the news of the outside world, he started to feel a sense of reluctance about heading home. His vacation had passed way too fast.
This time tomorrow, he'd be back in Burbank, picking up the reins at Montague with a mass of email, faxes, letters and calls to deal with. Marty had only called twice, but Jared felt sure everything was just waiting for his return--emergencies on hold until the boss got back.
Inevitably, his thoughts turned to the cowboys and Stace in particular. Leaving the unique man who'd done so much to fulfill Jared's wishes was not going to be easy. He couldn't quite nail down a reason. Sure, the African American cowboy presented a fine specimen of manhood. He had a great sense of humor and a quick mind, an amazing sense for figuring out just what Jared craved, and, of course, an exceptional way of doing all of his dude wrangling tasks. Hell, Jared would bet the man would be a standout at just about anything he tried. If I could find a way to entice him to leave the ranch...
Just then, a soft knock sounded on the door.
"Who is it?"
"Jus' me, Stace. Wanted to be sure everything was okay and find out when you needed to be at the airport tomorrow."
"Door's not locked. Come on in."
The door opened without a sound to reveal Stace. He wore skintight jeans, soft and faded almost white, with a blue denim shirt, open down the front to show of a wedge of muscled chest and tight, sculpted abs. He had moccasins on his feet and the leather barely whispered on the tile floor as he stepped into the room.
His dark eyes widened slightly when he saw Jared lying there almost nude. For a breath, he paused, then he strode toward the bed. "I wanted to see if there was anything else you needed. I 'spect you're tired like all the rest. We rode well over a hundred miles in three-and-a-half days over some rough country, but seemed like everyone enjoyed it."
Jared nodded. "I sure did. Missed some of the other activities, but that was a real nice trek. Can't see anything like that in Burbank for sure. When I can work it out, I plan to come back."
Stace smiled. "We'd be real happy to have you anytime you want to come out."
"We or you?"
Stace sucked in a breath. "Us, but me, too." He took another step that put his legs against the end of the bed. "Like I said, if there's something else you'd like..."
Jared found himself grinning. "If you'll get out of those clothes and down here beside me, we might be able to think of something."
Stace didn't miss a beat. He shrugged out of the shirt and tossed it aside, kicked the loose footgear off and undid the buttons down the fly of his Levi's in one fast sweep.
"I aim to please," he said, as he put a knee on the bed and then sprawled forward to land at Jared's right side.
"You've been in charge all the time and I liked that, but this time, I'm calling the plays," Jared said after a moment. He leaned up on an elbow and looked across at the other man. Stace's sleek dark skin gleamed in the soft light. His chest rose and fell with each breath, in a gradually accelerating rhythm.
Jared took in the sculpted beauty of Stace's face, combining traces of both African and Indian features. What a unique and utterly beautiful man he was! Totally masculine, but modeled by a Master Sculptor who'd added a sharp mind and also the honor and courage to go along with it all.
Jared reached across and ran a hand down Stace's arm, then across his chest, lingering over the budding dark brown nipples and tracing the shape of each well-defined muscle. "Damn, you're almost too pretty to be real, but I could look at you till doomsday."
"I'm real," Stace muttered, his voice low and carrying a hint of hoarseness. "All the way through and inside out. You are, too--that's what I like about you."
Jared held his smile at the other man's gentle admission. "Hey, I like you, too. I don't guess there's any way I can coax you to come out to California with me, is there? I don't have a need for a cowboy, but I'd bet I could find something for you to do."
Stace's expression went sober. "I don't doubt you could, Mr. Langford, but that's not my place and not the way I want to live."
Jared realized he'd pushed and in the wrong way. "No, I'm not trying to make a pet of you or anything. You're too much man for that. I'd find a real job for you, something I really needed to have taken care of. I have a hunch you could do just about anything you set your mind to and do a damn fine job while you were at it."
Stace shrugged, still not looking at ease. "I 'preciate the honor, but that's just not me."
Jared nodded. "I know. It's just my wishes and imagination." He stopped talking then and bent forward to press his lips against Stace's rich and inviting mouth. He tasted just as good as he looked and kissed with as much skill as Jared had expected. Up until now, they'd been fast and direct, no playful foreplay or tenderness. Kisses were not part of the domination he'd indicated he desired. Tonight would be different. He'd try to leave them both with some memories that would not quickly fade.
For a while, they lay side-by-side, kissing and exploring each other's bodies with languid touches and gentle caresses. This was the direct opposite of the scenes Jared usually experienced in the clubs, bathhouses and one-night stands he'd partaken of in California. No one had ever gotten close enough to make him want more. Nobody had ever reached him in anything but the most simple, superficial and raw, physical way.
The difference both excited and terrified him. What would it be like to have a long-term lover, a partner and someone to share at least parts of his life with? Someone to keep going back to?
Finally, Jared rolled atop Stace's solid body and lay over him like a blanket. The other man supported him with no apparent effort, but Jared eased his knees down on either side of Stace's thighs to take part of his weight and then edged one arm down to carry some more. Now their hardening cocks began to stir between them. Jared's slid down between the round warmth of Stace's muscular riders' thighs. Stace's prick twitched and pushed, moving between their bellies.
"I'm not used to being the bottom," Stace murmured "but this ain't too bad. What are you fixin' to do here?"
Jared stiffened his arms and looked down at Stace from that pose. "What do you want me to do?"
Stace grinned, a flash of teeth gleaming in the dim room. "That's my question--except when I just take charge and do it. You're still the guest, and I'm still the cowboy at your service."
Jared shook his head. "Nope, for this one time, we're just two people with some mutual needs and desires--no employees, no hired hands, no doms or subs. No games at all. What would you like?"
Stace shifted his body, letting Jared feel the eager iron of his now fully aroused cock. "I've fucked you –twice. How about this time you fuck me? If we do it right, I can get off, too, but I want you to have something special. It's not an offer I make very often. I ain't quite a
virgin there, but you can't turn no semi around in my asshole, for sure."
"I can do that. In fact I'd like it a lot and I appreciate your suggestion." Jared reached down and caught Stace's legs, first the left and then the right, and slung them over his shoulders. That opened Stace's ass to view and the sight almost stole Jared's breath.
"I better get a rubber." He shifted enough to reach the nightstand and found a foil packet in the drawer. His hands were not quite steady as he tore the envelope and took the condom out. Under Stace's keen gaze, he managed to roll it on.
"There should be some lube in the drawer, too," Stace said. "We keep all the supplies stocked for our guests."
Jared found the tube and squirted a generous stream beneath Stace's firm, rounded balls and down around the tight waiting hole. Stace squirmed as Jared rubbed the slick gel around and then worked some inside with his fingers.
"Come on, man. I'm ready, more than ready. Give it to me."
Jared did. Stace had not lied. Although Jared knew he wasn't super-large, he wasn't undersized and he found Stace a snug fit. He took his time, easing in a bit deeper with each slow stroke. "Oh, man. Oh, God, that feels good."
At last he seated himself fully and began to rock in and out, picking up the pace as the lubrication warmed and spread. He arched up for a moment to let Stace's dick rise and then settle between their bodies so the friction of their fucking would stimulate him, too. For a while neither of them spoke. There was no need. The muffled slap of their bodies and the grunts and groans they could not hold back said everything.
Jared felt his climax building as his balls drew up tight, aching with the need to shoot their load. He felt Stace tighten beneath him about the same time.
"Now, man, harder!"
He slammed into the other man one more time, so deep he felt like his prick might thrust out through Stace's navel. The eruption still took him by surprise, waves of convulsive shudders that seemed to go on and on. Sticky moisture blossomed across their bellies as Stace came, too. They rode out the last spasms together before Jared pulled out and they rolled to lie face to face again, breathing in tortured gasps as their pounding hearts began to slow from their frantic rhythm. It was several minutes before either of them could move again. Finally, Jared pulled back and propped up to look at the other man. He shook his head in wonderment.
"Was that about the most amazing thing you ever felt, or is it just me?"
"Pretty damn amazing," Stace agreed. "I almost wish I could come to California with you, but I can't. I can't do that to my buddies; can't do it to my boss. That means you've got to come back whenever you can."
"I plan to do just that," Jared agreed. "I was already thinking about it, but this kinda sets the idea in cement. I've never had an experience even close to this before. You and I have something special and we need to explore it some more."
Stace nodded, his expression more somber than normal. "I gotta agree there. You and me, somehow it's that synergy stuff, more than each of us alone and even more than the pair of us should be." He let out a slow breath. "I gotta ask, even though you might tell me it's none of my business. Have you got a brother? I--I knew a guy who looks an awful lot like you."
The question took Jared by surprise. "Yeah, I do, but I haven't seen him for about fifteen years. Last time I was a junior in college, and he kicked my ass. We didn't part on real good terms, so I haven't had anything to do with him since. You see, our folks split up when I was just a little guy and he was about twelve or so. I went with Mom, and he stayed with our Dad. We didn't see each other for a long time until he finally tracked me down."
Jared shrugged. "Guess he didn't like who and what I was. I always figured it was because I was gay. He lit into me after I introduced him to my roommate, who was my boyfriend at the time. Jay, my brother, was kind of the cowboy type, and I figured cowboys and being gay just didn't mix. That's what made it so amazing to read about this place. I always dreamed of the wild west, even though Mom kept me living in the city."
Stace nodded, a strange look crossing his face. "Okay. I guess that kind of explains a lot." He started to say something else, but clearly thought the better of it.
"Do you still know this guy?" A strange premonition stirred in Jared's gut, an icy chill of worry, but also a fine, warm trace of hope. Maybe somehow he and Jay could patch things up and find a way to get along...
"Er, kinda, not real well. He ain't around any more, at least not right now."
Jared sensed that Stace was keeping something under wraps, but he would let it go for now. "That's okay. Maybe if I get back before too long he'll be around again and you can introduce us. If it is my brother, maybe there's a chance we could make peace and become a family again. I miss that. My Mom passed away a few years back and it's been pretty lonely since then."
Stace nodded. "I can understand that. I come from a big family, but they weren't real happy with the way my life went. Spark and Casa and me have been family. That's been pretty good, and our boss, he's like our uncle or something."
"You do know I'm going to be back every chance I get, don't you?"
"I sure hope so. In fact, I'd be real disappointed if you don't."
Jared lay silent for a time, one arm draped casually across Stace's body. Finally he drew back, sitting up on the bed. "I guess you need to get back to the bunkhouse, don't you? I'd be happy if you'd stay, but...well, I know you need to get up early to do chores and stuff and I don't want to mess up your routine."
Stace shrugged. "I could stay, but reckon we've said and done about all we need to for the time being. I'll bring the pickup around after breakfast in the morning and run you back down to catch your plane."
The cowboy hesitated a moment before he rolled off the bed and collected his clothes. Rummaging in a pocket of his shirt, he drew out a card. "This has my personal cell phone number on it. I'd be real happy to have you call once in a while until the next time you can come spend some time with us." He handed Jared the card and then turned his attention to dressing, his movements a bit more jerky and awkward than normal.
"It would be good to catch up on what's going on," Jared admitted. "Thanks. You can bet I'll call, just to keep in touch."
Stace finished dressing and turned away. "See you in the morning." He let himself out the door and did not look back.
Jared felt a momentary pang, but then he decided the night had turned out a lot better than he'd expected. Given time, he and the unusual cowboy just might grow into something lasting, something powerful and good, and something he'd hardly realized he deeply needed.
Hell, I might even be able to move the business out here to New Mexico. They've got a thriving film and recording industry going from what I've heard. Guess there's no rule that says Montague has to be close to Hollywood. What we do is separate from that and as different as sea and sand.
It was something to look forward to, anyway. Now going back to California, at least for a while, did not seem nearly as onerous. He grinned to himself. He'd shock Marty's socks off with this new idea, but then Marty had no say in what Jared chose to do. Jared had never mixed business and pleasure, so Marty had never been his lover and never would be. Maybe his assistant would realize how much this vacation and unexpected turn of events had affected Jared. Whether Marty would consent to move from his home world anytime in the future was another question, but right now, it didn't really matter.
He'd trade a hundred Martys and all the sycophants who surrounded him in Burbank for a single true-blue cowboy. Maybe he'd found one, too. One he could run a brand on. Yep, he'd definitely be back.
Deirdre O'Dare
Deirdre O'Dare, who also writes milder (roughly PG-13 rated) romance as Gwynn Morgan, has loved reading and writing since early childhood. Writing came naturally to Deirdre/Gwynn, who scribed her first simple verse at age eight. An avid reader, she devoured hundreds of books while growing up and later as an adult. Somewhere along the way she found romance and then romance with more explicit and
detailed love scenes. "Ah ha," said she, "I think I have found my niche!" In the last decade after leaving her "day job" as a civilian employee of the U. S. Army, she finally settled into romantic fiction writing as a second career. Deirdre has a growing number of shorts and novellas, all published by Amber Heat.
With Irish and Welsh ancestry on both sides of her family, Deirdre has always been enthralled by the history and customs of the Celtic peoples as they have come down to us. The Mother Goddess idea particularly resonates with her as well as the notion that physical expressions of love between consenting couples are both a divine gift and a sacred duty to honor the Mother. Deirdre admits her favorite heroes are cops, cowboys and Celts.
* * * *
Don't miss Beyond The Shadows, by Deirdre O'Dare,
available at AmberAllure.com!
First-year Border Patrol officers Rhys Davis and Liam Malone have been friends since second grade. When their new assignment puts them on the front line in tracking down a vicious and inhuman killer, an unearthly Soul-Eater, along the southern border, they must call on every resource at their disposal.
The most potent of these resources turns out to be memories they share from two thousand years ago, a time in the British Isles when they were partners in every way, forming an eternal bond that allowed them to defeat this same enemy in that lifetime.
Now, Rhys and Liam can't help but wonder...will crossing the line from friends to lovers in this lifetime destroy their friendship or build on it?
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