by Sky Winters
But what greeted him was a shock. Peter was in the bedroom, but he wasn’t alone. He was standing at the foot of the bed, with another man Lewis recognized from the gay bar kneeling on the ground with Peter’s cock in his mouth.
“Surprise,” Lewis said weakly, unsure whether to fly into a rage or crumple to the floor in tears.
“What the fuck are you doing back so soon?” Peter asked, pushing the other man away and reaching for a blanket to cover his erection.
“Don’t you mean, what the fuck are you doing with your cock in another man’s mouth?” Lewis retorted, his rage mounting.
“It’s not…I was just…”
“What, lonely? You poor baby. Get the fuck out of my house.”
Peter was frozen, staring at Lewis in disbelief. Lewis had never raised his voice to Peter, no matter how frustrated Peter had made him. The perfect patsy.
“Now!”
They gathered up their clothes and Lewis chased them both out of the apartment with his fists balled. He was glad his answer had been to fly into a rage. Peter wasn’t worth the tears. In some way he had known that from the start. But he had let himself get caught up in the idea of being with a handsome, shallow man, even though he knew he should have been smarter than that.
Lewis sank down into one of the chairs at his dining room table and sighed heavily. How could he have let himself fall for such a wily man’s charms? And the worst part was, he had always known on some level exactly what kind of person Peter was. If the world didn’t revolve around him, he would go out in search of people who would make sure that Peter felt like the most important thing in their lives. He wanted to be the center of attention at all times, and when he wasn’t he threw a fit. If he gave Peter a chance, he knew Peter would try to turn this around on him, complain that it was because he was never around.
But Lewis was a grown man. An adult, and a mature one with a great career. He wasn’t going to just drop everything to nurture an attention whore and narcissist. That wasn’t the way they were going to play it, and he would be damned if that’s what Peter demanded. Drop his life and career or else he’ll act out and cheat on Lewis? Like hell!
His cell phone began to vibrate in his pocket and Lewis pulled it out angrily, sure that it was Peter calling to give some half-assed explanation and try to make Lewis feel bad for being the one who had left him alone for two months. He checked the caller ID, ready to throw the phone across the room, but it wasn’t Peter. It was his boss.
“Larry?” he asked, trying to keep the edge out of his voice. If he snapped on Larry the way he wanted to do with Peter, he might not have a job anymore. That would make his day just perfect.
“Hey Lewis, I have the perfect job for you. Are you ready for this?”
Lewis sighed. What would Larry know about the perfect job for him? And what did it matter when it felt like his life was falling apart?
Lewis cringed. He had to pull himself together. It wasn’t as bad as it felt. He would move on, and Peter would soon be a relic of the past. Everything would be all right.
“What is it, Larry?”
“I know how into environmental issues you are. And you write so much better when you’re passionate about your cause.”
“Uh huh…” Lewis said, biting his tongue to keep from telling Larry to get to the point.
“Black bears are being reintroduced to the Ozark mountains, and I was thinking we should send you there next to cover the reintroduction efforts and chronicle the success. Talk to local officials and enthusiasts, people who might not want the bears to be there. There’s so much opportunity for a story here, I know you’ll find a good angle.”
“The Ozark mountains, huh?” Lewis said thoughtfully. “I suppose that could be interesting.”
“Of course it will be interesting!” Larry exclaimed. “There’s going to be a lot of ground to cover with this one. If you’re lucky, you might even be able to get up close and personal with some bears of your own.”
Bears had always been a private fascination of Lewis’. He had always wanted to see them in person, but his life had taken him to NYC, where he couldn’t always go out into the wilderness, and even the travels for his job kept him mainly in cities. Although northern New York was beautiful, he had always wanted to travel to the mountains and see the wildlife in its natural habitat. Now, apparently, he was going to get the chance.
“Count me in,” Lewis said. “When can I leave?”
“As soon as possible!” Larry said. “I can give you a few weeks home first, of course.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Lewis said. “Get me a flight out tonight. I’m ready now.”
Chapter 3
Lewis boarded the flight with nervous butterflies in his stomach. He hadn’t been expecting to be back on an airplane so soon, but with the way Peter had behaved, he didn’t want to be anywhere near New York. Everything about the city just seemed to reflect exactly the same shallow mindset that Peter had always had. Although it had been pivotal for Lewis’ career to live in the city so close to publishers and people who could recognize his talent, there were a lot of issues that he had with living in a place like New York.
He had always felt like he belonged more in a more rural area. He’d been born outside of New York and moved to the city as a child. His parents were wealthy, but had disowned him when they’d found out he was gay. He’d gotten past that years ago, realizing he didn’t need them if they couldn’t accept who he truly was. It was better for him to strike out on his own, and every time his parents heard his name on the radio, they would remember that their son wasn’t a fuckup in the eyes of anyone but themselves.
After a long flight and two layovers, Lewis was finally in the Ozark mountains. As soon as he stepped off the plane he could tell the difference between the air quality in the mountains versus the air in New York. There was no smog here. And nobody was begging for change. In New York, he would have had to weave through the beggars and stop in to donate to the local shelter. But there weren’t any homeless shelters here. Apparently there didn’t need to be any.
A rental car was waiting for him at the airport and he hastily filled out the paperwork. Throwing his suitcase in the back, he got in. By all rights, he should have felt exhausted, but instead he really felt like heading to the bar to drown his sorrows. Even though he knew that he was better off without Peter in the long run, he had still wasted two years of his life on a person he had been hoping to make a more significant commitment to. It was devastating, in a way, to know that Peter had probably been doing things like this right from the start. This wasn’t the first long trip Lewis had taken during their relationship.
Lewis was shocked by how tiny the town was, and found the bar nearly right away. It was a small, out of the way establishment, with a rustic look and comforting feel. Lewis parked the rental car and headed inside, not sure what to expect.
The lights were dim and there were bikers scattered throughout the bar. All of them were dressed in leather and turned their dark, serious eyes onto Lewis. He waved meekly and made his way to a stool at the bar and sat down heavily.
“Whiskey please,” he said.
The bartender came to him with glittering eyes and grinned. “New here?” he asked, sliding a shot of whiskey to Lewis.
“Very,” he said with a sigh. “My flight just arrived.”
“Ohhh,” the bartender said, tapping the bar with his fingers. He looked a little bit mean and Lewis wasn’t sure he wanted to talk to him. “Interesting. You don’t happen to know the rules here then, do you?”
“Leave him alone, Ernie,” a deep, masculine voice spoke out from behind Lewis. Lewis was startled and turned around to face the man who had defended him. He was tall, rugged, and handsome, with menacing brown eyes and thick, dark hair that was wild and unkempt, but in an attractive sort of way. His face was covered in a thick five o’clock shadow. There were men in New York who would have spent hundreds of dollars for that look, but on this man it seemed to
be his natural state of being. And it was extremely sexy.
“What’s your name?” the man asked, lowering himself beside Lewis. He smelled of cedar wood and fresh air, as if he had just come in from outside. The man’s arms were bare, and he wore only a leather vest with a bear’s paw print on the back of it. His arms were thick and muscular, full of tattoos. Lewis did everything he could to avoid looking at the bulge in the man’s tight jeans. He turned his eyes to his drink, clearing his throat before he answered.
“I’m Lewis.”
“Lewis huh?” the man snorted, grabbing an unopened beer from the bartender and popping the bottle cap off with his bare hands. “Sounds like your parents must have been snobs.”
Lewis laughed, delighted by the man’s honesty. “Try present tense.”
“Ouch,” the man said, his handsome face breaking out into a smile. He offered his beer bottle to Lewis for a toast and Lewis clinked his shot glass against it.
“My name is Jake,” the man said, after a long swig of beer. “Why’re you here?”
Lewis was used to making small talk with strangers, but this question struck him as odd. It was as if he was being protective of turf that Lewis wasn’t entirely welcome in. And from the way the other bikers in the bar were staring at him, he wouldn’t be surprised if that was truly the case.
“I’m a writer,” Lewis said reluctantly, gesturing to the bartender for another shot. The bartender glowered at him, but when Jake raised his eyebrow at the man, he reluctantly poured the shot and slid it to Lewis.
“Thanks,” Lewis said.
The bartender said nothing, just sneered and turned his back on the men, walking to the other end of the bar to wait on three bikers who were staring at them with the same look of resentment as everybody else.
“A writer, huh?” Jake said with a low whistle. “Most of the guys in here can barely string a sentence together. That’s pretty impressive.”
The intensity of the glares increased but nobody said anything back to Jake. Lewis shifted nervously. Maybe he should leave.
“Are you published in anything?”
Lewis couldn’t tell if this man was being sincere or if he was just trying to lure him into some kind of trap. He was so handsome that Lewis wanted to believe that he was being sincere. But previous experience had proved that if a tough guy sensed any of his gay vibe, it could result in some serious physical harm. Maybe it would be better if he just disengaged from the conversation.
But when he tried to say he was leaving, the man’s gentle brown eyes kept Lewis captive in his seat. There seemed to be nothing malicious at all about him. He was genuinely interested in Lewis’s work. And for some reason, Lewis really wanted him to be.
“Actually, I’m really successful in my field. So yes. I’m in newspapers and magazines quite frequently.”
“What do you write about?” Jake asked.
“Whatever it is that my editor wants me to. Usually if he knows it’s something I’m passionate about. That’s when I do my best work.”
“So then, Lewis, what is it that you’re passionate about here?”
Was that a seductive gleam in the man’s eye? A flirtatious tone in his voice? Lewis couldn’t be sure. But usually, when a man was interested in him, it was safer to find out in the city, surrounded by other friends who could protect him. Out in the country, with all these angry looking tough guys, Lewis could easily find himself in major trouble.
“Well, I was assigned here because of the black bears being reintroduced in the mountains. I’m supposed to get some feedback from the locals and learn what I can about how the efforts are going. Whether or not it’s successful. Maybe chronical as much of the transition as possible…”
Lewis trailed off as his mind wandered back to Peter. When he’d left Mexico, he had been hoping to lie low back in the condo for a few months and spend some much needed time having his carnal desires catered to by the person who was supposed to love him. Lewis was exhausted. Traveling constantly could be really tiring. Sometimes he just felt lost without having anywhere to go to call home and feel settled. And god, he was horny.
“That’s fascinating,” Jake said, his eyes suddenly hard for some reason. Had Lewis said something wrong? “I’m quite interested in the efforts myself.”
“Oh?”
“But enough about that,” Jake said, moving closer to Lewis. “It looks like there’s something on your mind.”
Lewis cringed. How had the man been able to tell?
“No…”
“Come on,” Jake said. “It looks like you haven’t slept in days. And now you’re here taking shots alone in a strange town you’ve never been to. Tell me what’s really going on with you.”
Lewis took a deep, shuddering breath. Could he really trust this man with his sorrows? Jake was staring at him, one eyebrow raised and his handsome face lit with anticipation. Lewis wasn’t sure he could refuse.
“My…relationship broke up,” he said carefully. “I found the person I was with, with another man.”
“Oh,” Jake said with a frown. “Sorry to hear that.”
“Yeah. I always thought it was going to be easier when you found someone. You would think after two years, he—”
Lewis cringed. He’d let the cat out of the bag. But maybe Jake hadn’t noticed.
“So it’s a he, then,” Jake said. “I thought so.”
“It’s not what you…” Lewis stood, knocking over his empty shot glass in a clumsy attempt to get away from Jake. But Jake just watched him scrambling away, a wry smile playing his lips.
“Men can be so fickle,” he said, slipping off his stool and facing Lewis.
Jake was about half a foot taller and Lewis peered up into his eyes, unsure of what to expect. Everybody in the bar was watching them closely, and Jake took a look around the room. He sighed, then put his hand on Lewis’ shoulder.
“Why don’t we go outside and get some fresh air for a few minutes,” Jake said.
“All right,” Lewis said nervously. He didn’t have the muscle he needed to refuse.
Maybe it would be safer out in the open away from the other men in the bar. He wouldn’t have to worry so much about getting jumped, at least.
“Over here,” Jake said, walking to the back of the bar parking lot, beyond the area where Lewis had parked his rental car. Lewis gasped when they reached an area that looked out over the mountains. He had never seen a view quite so beautiful. The moon was a clear silver over the trees, and Jake pointed out toward a specific mountain range.
“I heard that’s where they’ll be,” Jake said, looking into Lewis’ eyes.
His heart drummed in his chest. He hated how attracted he was to this rugged man. But on the other hand, Lewis was feeling a little nervous, staying aware in case anybody came to ambush him. He couldn’t be too careful, even if he wanted to relax with this handsome man and enjoy the view before him.
But Jake moved closer to him and once again Lewis was overpowered by his delicious, spicy aroma. Lewis had never been so near to anybody that made him feel so comfortable before. But it was a reluctant comfort. He wanted more than anything to trust that this handsome man could be legitimately kind and understanding, even if he was gay. But that wasn’t always the case and he was scared.
“I’m sorry about your boyfriend,” Jake said after a moment of silence, looking out over the mountains.
“Thanks,” Lewis said. “But he’s my ex. And honestly, I’m better off without him. I knew what he was like from the start but…I guess I let myself get blinded by what I wanted and thought he could be. Stopped paying attention to what he is.”
“That happens,” Jake said with a short laugh. “I guess there’s a reason I don’t date much. Not a lot of guys out there who get me.”
“Guys?” Lewis asked, a little too eagerly. He hated how into this man he was. He wasn’t usually the type to fall fast and hard for anybody, but somehow this man was irresistible. And he hadn’t been with a man in months. I
t was long past time. He felt like he would have done anything to get into bed with this man. And it was a feeling that scared him a little bit. He didn’t like to think that he was anything like the superficial gay men he’d met that couldn’t commit.
But he had already proven to himself that he was nothing like that. Was it really so wrong to want a quick release after a terrible experience? It made him feel sick that the last person who had touched him had probably touched tens of other men not long before or after. He needed to cleanse. It was time for him to purify. And maybe being with another man was exactly what he needed.
“Surprised?” Jake asked, smiling at Lewis.
“More like relieved, I think,” Lewis said, laughing and looking up at the sky. Missouri was full of beautiful, twinkling stars. He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt so at home in a place where he could see the sky. He had loved the way the sky looked in Mexico, but he was hardly comfortable there. If he hadn’t been exploring oil spills in the gulf, he probably would have preferred to stay home. But the world had the right to know, and they all trusted Lewis Olsen to tell them the truth about environmental issues.
“Where are you from?” Jake asked, his eyes twinkling at Lewis.
Lewis grinned. “New York City.”
Lewis was itching for a cigarette. He always did when he drank. But he had quit years ago. He couldn’t truly call himself an environmentalist if he was polluting the planet all of his own free will every couple of hours.
“Then you’re a long way from home,” Jake said. Before Lewis had a chance to reply, Jake’s mouth was pressed against his own and a hot flood of desire gripped Lewis where he stood.
He was overwhelmed by his lust and didn’t have the willpower to fight Jake’s advances. Even if this was some strange trick being played on him by the Midwestern bikers, he didn’t care. The man’s lips felt too good, charged with some kind of irresistible electricity that nearly brought Lewis to his knees.
