Hard Luck Ranch

by Nan Comargue

  He pulled away from her hand. “Then it’s a good thing I’m not in public, ain’t it? No conscientious citizen of Desert Rose would be caught dead in this place nor in your fine eshtablishmens next door.”

  Everett stared into the long mirror peeking through the bottles of liquor behind the bar. Through it, he could see glimpses of his tumbled hair and his bloodshot eyes.

  “Take Wes Miller, for inshance,” he went on. “I predict you won’t be sheeing any more of Wes, Kim. Ishn’t it a shame? That means you won’t get to meet hish pretty little bride either.”

  The mention of his friend’s name brought a gleam of comprehension to the madam’s violet-blue eyes.

  “Wes got married already, didn’t he?” Her thin face was thoughtful. “You were banking on the fact that he wouldn’t take to his mail order bride or that she wouldn’t cotton on to him but it didn’t turn out like that, did it? He liked her and she liked him and now they’re husband and wife. And there’s nothing you can do about that, is there, sugar?”

  Everett felt a muscle in his jaw working so hard it might pop right through the skin.

  “He’s my besh friend, Kim.”

  “He’s more than that, isn’t he?” she asked gently. She pitched her voice so low it was just a bare breath of air. “Ken loves you, Ev, if that means anything to you. Let Wes go. He’ll never return your feelings.”

  “He’s my besh friend,” Everett repeated, shaking his head.

  Kimberley looked up and nodded at a figure standing at the far end of the bar. A moment later, a steaming cup of black coffee landed on the counter in front of the sheriff.

  He pushed the mug away with a scowl. “I don’t want thish—”

  “You may not want it,” a new voice said, “but you surely need it, partner.”

  Partner. It was a word that got bandied around an awful lot and, depending on the context, it could mean anything from friend to bastard. But this man who stood before Everett, his hands resting lightly on the bar’s polished top, meant it just as the dictionary defined it. He and Everett were partners in bed and outside of it—but not yet partners in life.

  Everett’s scowl deepened although he picked up the mug and took a swallow of coffee.

  “I’m not in the mood, Ken.”

  Kimberley vacated her chair, leaving the two men alone in that part of the saloon.

  Kenneth Danton had his older sister’s thin mobile face and alert violet eyes. In a man, they were oddly disconcerting.

  “As far as I can tell,” Ken countered in a low, pleasant voice, “you’re always in the mood, partner. Even after you’ve already fucked all of the vinegar out of me.”

  “Shut up!” Everett looked around swiftly but finding only the doddering dedicated drinkers on the other side of the room, he returned his attention to his coffee. “Leave me alone, Ken.”

  It was easy enough to say, but Kenneth’s words had already conjured up erotic images that he would have a hard time getting out of his head. ‘Fucked all the vinegar’ out of him. He’d done a lot more to Ken the last time they’d met, but Ken had also wanted more. A real relationship. A commitment. After two years together, off and on, it wasn’t too much for the other man to ask but it was more than Everett had to give.

  His heart wasn’t his own anymore. It belonged to another man. Always had.

  “You look dead on your feet,” Kenneth told him, reaching out a friendly hand. “Come on, partner, let’s take you upstairs and get you into bed.”

  Everett didn’t budge. “Ken—”

  For once it was Kenneth’s mild voice that showed a hint of steel. “Come on, Ev. No arguments. Not today.”

  Everett followed the other man without another protest.

  * * * *

  Kenneth’s room was at the end of the tavern’s second floor, right next to the back entrance to the Rose Parlor. He ran the Rose Tavern, his sister ran the parlor, and together they made a good living. A very good living. They serviced far more than just Desert Rose and its neighboring towns. Men came from as far as Galveston and San Antonio to partake of the Rose’s offerings, which included a beautiful mixed race Indian woman and two sisters from China.

  But, with his sister’s assistance, Kenneth had gone to college in the state capital. He’d come back to Desert Rose only as a temporary stop on the way to a big bright career in the city. Except he’d gotten to know Everett Montgomery during that brief stopover and the temporary visit had become a permanent settlement.

  He loved the tall blond sheriff and he would never accept a life without him. Even if that meant sharing his heart with Wes Miller.

  “Lay down.” Kenneth gave Everett a small push to propel him across the big bedroom and down onto the bed. “Let me make you more comfortable.”

  He’d intended no more than to undress Everett and tuck him under the covers, but pulling down his trousers revealed Everett’s thick golden cock and Kenneth couldn’t resist sliding his hand up and down its generous length. Everett’s dick was already semi-aroused. From thinking about Wes, Kenneth guessed, hating the other man for a brief, irrational moment.

  But he couldn’t really hate Wesley. He’d fallen in love with Everett knowing how he felt about his lifelong friend. The only saving grace was the fact that Wes didn’t return Everett’s feelings in the slightest. Everett had always been firm about that reality. But that didn’t quite explain how Everett had come to nurse such a slow burning torch in the first place.

  There must have been some incident in the past that had first lit that fire…

  Kenneth was too afraid to ask. He didn’t want to hear the story of some boyhood romp, of the two friends tussling together in a hay loft or out in the wide open range, how they ended up kissing and tugging on each other’s dicks until they were both panting and hard.

  He didn’t want to picture how Everett’s face would look, lit with love as he kissed another man. As he lowered his golden head and took Wes’ cock gently into his mouth…

  Lost in thought, Kenneth involuntarily squeezed Everett’s dick, wringing an almost painful groan from him.

  “Love me, Ken,” Everett moaned. “I need you.”

  They were heady magic words and Kenneth didn’t need any further formula to dip his head and suck up the head of Everett’s rounded cock. His cheeks hollowed as he sucked on the smooth tip, laving it with the flat roughness of his tongue. He held his teeth firmly back, cushioning them with his lips so that he gave the perfect fluid rhythm.

  He loved this man and he loved this cock, better than any other he’d ever touched or tasted.

  “God, yes,” Everett grunted, reaching his hand out to tangle his fingers in Kenneth’s hair.

  His need was obvious as Kenneth slitted his eyes open to stare up at Everett’s tortured face. But his eyes were tightly shut. Was he thinking of the man kneeling before him or was he thinking about Wesley?

  Kenneth no longer wanted to know—but that didn’t mean he didn’t care. He cared far too much.

  Abandoning his thoughts, Kenneth surrendered to the pleasure of giving. With one hand, he lightly chafed the base of Everett’s member while he drew most of the shaft into his mouth. Now the thick head touched the back of his gullet, making him fight against the instinctive need to gag. He hummed a little, soothing sounds that helped him calm down and ignore the erection growing in his own trousers. This was about Ev, not about him.

  The humming caused Everett to twist, his hips writhing in helpless desire as he tried to fuck Kenneth’s wide open mouth. The movement forced Kenneth to draw back or else risk violently gagging on his lover’s penis. Everett moaned as the cool air touched his dick where Kenneth’s warm mouth had just been.

  Kenneth licked up and down Everett’s shaft. He squeezed down around the base, trapping the blood in it and keeping it relentlessly hard. Everett’s groans sounded like the hard snorts of a wild mustang running against the wind.

  Kenneth stared up at this man he loved, his stern face completely altered by
what he was doing to him. Then he bent his head and took Everett’s penis inside him as deep as he could manage until the familiar battering touched the back of his mouth. This time he managed to suppress his reflexes and savor the hard shape and size of the cock he held against his tongue and palate.

  He relaxed his throat and took another inch of Everett’s big dick. Then another. Until finally, with a tremendous effort as if he were swallowing a huge rock, his lips met the crisp golden hair at the base of Everett’s shaft and he held all of his lover’s member inside his mouth.

  Performing this feat always gave him a wonderful feeling of fulfilment and protectiveness. He was sheltering Everett’s most vulnerable body part inside himself. Every other day, during every other moment, it was Everett who was strong, who protected the town, but at this moment, it was he who held the big man within him.

  Everett’s fingers tightened in his hair and Kenneth knew that his lover was growing restless. So he withdrew his mouth and replaced his fingers at the base of Everett’s cock and started to rub it vigorously as he eagerly licked and sucked at the rounded tip.

  Hot spunk spurted into his mouth, coating his tongue with its salty-sweet taste. He drew strongly on Everett’s shaft to suck out the last few creamy drops and Everett cried out hoarsely, his powerful body clenching and unclenching in an age old rhythm. Kenneth stroked his muscular thighs in an attempt to soothe him. At last, he let Everett’s dick slip from his mouth, feeling a stab of mournful loss that had become familiar.

  Kenneth lay sprawled across Everett’s thighs as both men waited for their breathing to return to normal. But Kenneth didn’t feel any of the satisfaction Everett did.

  He shifted, trying to ignore the stiff rod hanging between his own legs.

  This was for Everett, he told himself. He mustn’t be selfish.

  But Everett wasn’t about to let him get away with that.

  He pushed his strong fingers through Kenneth’s tumbled red-gold hair. “What about you, Ken?” he asked huskily.

  Kenneth lifted his head to meet his eyes, his heart pounding with renewed emotion. How he loved this incredible, sexy man!

  He smiled up at Everett. “I’m a big boy, Ev. I can take care of myself.”

  Everett’s blond brows came down over his gray eyes. A corner of his mouth lifted in what was almost a smile, but not quite.

  He cupped Kenneth’s cheek. “I know you are, Ken. But why should you? That’s what I’m here for.”

  He’d stopped slurring his words, Kenneth noticed, and there was certainly no hint of inebriation in the way Everett tossed him face down on the bed and pinned him there with one hard thigh. Kenneth’s blood pounded through his veins for an altogether different reason—not love, but its red hot cousin, lust.

  Everett made short work of unbuttoning Kenneth’s trousers and shoving them down to his knees. Then he lowered his head to Kenneth’s ass and, parting his pale cheeks, gave his asshole a thorough licking.

  As Kenneth started to moan, Everett moved his hand around to find his member and give it a slow rubdown. Kenneth’s moans became screams as he tried to push his ass into Everett’s face and shove his dick into his capable hand. He couldn’t do both at the same time so his hips merely rocked helplessly, fucking Everett’s strong fingers with his shaft while his asshole grew hot and moist with his spit.

  Finally, when Kenneth could take no more, Everett hauled him up onto his knees, positioned himself behind, and entered his ass with a single thrust.

  Everett caressed Kenneth’s cock, giving him time to grow accustomed to the huge rod up his rear chute. Then, when Kenneth started to push back against his hips, Everett held him still with his hands and proceeded to fuck his ass slowly and mercilessly.

  Kenneth came first. It felt like he’d been so hard for so long. He’d devoured Everett’s dick and now this was his reward as he ejaculated into his lover’s sturdy hand.

  “Good lad,” Everett murmured into his ear, continuing to play with Kenneth’s gently swaying balls.

  The words made Kenneth feel warm all over. Even better than Everett’s penis and his tough but tender lovemaking was his love and approval.

  If only he could have both—forever.

  Everett continued fucking Kenneth’s asshole with strong strokes, gradually picking up speed until the whole bed was shaking with the force of his thrusts. Sweat poured off their bodies, lubricating their skin to glistening slickness. Their grunts made up a chorus that filled the air.

  Finally Everett shoved his cock deep inside Kenneth’s moist hole and gave a shout of release, his spunk pouring into Kenneth’s ass. So much spurted out that it dripped and stained Kenneth’s crease and thighs with hot liquid.

  As Everett fucked Kenneth’s ass ever more slowly now as he wrung out the last few drops from his climax, Kenneth turned his head and sought out his kiss. They pressed their mouths together in a tender kiss, tangling their tongues sweetly, tasting their bodies on each other’s lips.

  Kenneth still had Everett’s spunk in the corners of his mouth when he collapsed on the bed beside him. He loved the way Ev looked at these times, relaxed and satiated from their lovemaking.

  He reached out to smooth the tumbled blond strands from Everett’s damp forehead.

  “I love you, Ev. So very much.”

  Everett pulled Kenneth’s hand down to his mouth and kissed it but he didn’t say the words in return. He never had.

  Chapter Three

  Standing at her bedroom window, plaiting her long hair, Emma greeted the new day with a feeling of happy contentment.

  She was in love. With her new husband. How wonderful was that?

  She hadn’t loved him two weeks ago when they’d been married in the stuffy front parlor of Reverend Maybee’s home. Instantly upon meeting the good preacher, she’d disliked his round doughy face and sulky red-lipped mouth. But least of all to her liking were his eyes, which were small and shined with a fanatical light.

  No, she hadn’t liked the preacher or his quiet, cow-like family who’d come to witness her wedding to Wes. And, on that first day, neither had she been so sure how she’d felt about her new husband.

  He seemed nice and was good-looking enough even to please finicky city tastes, but something about their first meeting had left a strange worry in the back of her head. Glancing back, she thought it had had to do with that friend of his, the sheriff.

  During the last few weeks, Wes had spoken often of his closest friend, and always favorably. Yet the other man hadn’t attended their wedding or visited the ranch since that first meeting. Though Wes didn’t say a word about the estrangement, Emma could tell that he regretted it. And she couldn’t get the idea out of her head that the rift was partly her fault.

  Everett Montgomery was apparently a confirmed bachelor and perhaps he’d expected his friend to remain in the same state. Yet Wes seemed pleased and happy with his decision to marry her.

  “Oh good, you’re up.”

  The warm voice made her smile. To think that less than a month ago, she wouldn’t have recognized him on the street! Now he was the most important person in her life.

  Emma turned, raising her eyebrows inquisitively. “Why shouldn’t I be up, husband of mine?”

  Wes walked swiftly toward her then swept her into his strong arms. He lowered his head to search out her ear.

  “Well, you did have an…active night. I thought you would be tired this morning.”

  Emma threaded her arms around his sunburnt neck and stared up into his good-natured face. “I know I ought to be—as I ought to have been tired the morning before and the one before that. Yet I haven’t been tired since that very first morning. Perhaps I am growing accustomed to the…activity.”

  “No doubt,” Wes agreed, his eyes solemn but his mouth twitching at the corners. “I’ve heard that it is good exercise. Perhaps you are growing stronger from it and less inclined to be fatigued.”

  Emma didn’t do as complete a job in suppressing her own laught
er. She liked it when Wes tried to match what he called her ‘city speech’. Contrary to the dire predictions her friends back home had given her to expect from a new husband, she’d found Wes eager to be corrected in such matters as grammar and pronunciation. He was even starting to read from the small library she’d brought with her and promised to order more books once those ran out.

  Emma sighed. Truly, she should be content with her married life. And yet…

  She leaned back to gain a better vantage of her husband. “Have you heard from your friend Mr Montgomery as of yet?”

  At her urging, Wes had agreed to put together a party to celebrate their new marriage since their wedding had necessarily been such a hasty affair. She’d suggested inviting Everett Montgomery specially.

  A shadow passed over Wes’ normally sunny face. “If you’re asking if he accepted our invitation yet then no, he hasn’t.”

  “Are you certain that he received it?” Emma worried. The postal service back home was rather erratic.

  “Arnie hand-delivered each one,” Wes pointed out, naming one of his ranch hands. “Although it could be that Ev pitched his straight into a trash heap and Arnie was too afraid to tell me.”

  “I don’t imagine he would do that,” Emma said, somewhat uncertainly.

  Wes leaned and kissed her hard on the lips, sending a now familiar thrill down the center of her body straight to her pussy. Wes had taught her that word, along with many others. Back home, all the pieces that belonged uniquely to a man or a woman were simply referred to as ‘private parts’, but generally they weren’t mentioned at all.

  Wes had taught her to love her pussy rather than be ashamed of it. Now, she was eager to spread her thighs to let him see it…and kiss it…and lick it up like ice cream. Meanwhile, she’d learned how to touch and stroke his cock and to tickle the head of it with the tip of her tongue. But best of all was when he pushed it into her cunny after he’d already made it nice and wet with his mouth and fingers, and he held her down and pounded his dick in and out of her, she visited heaven every time. It was a place where she thought she might like to live. Just as she’d started to love living at Hard Luck Ranch with Wes and Arnie and even Dorry.