by Tinnean
His statement was a trigger, and Will took immediate offense to what he saw as his condescending attitude. Throughout his life, people always responded to his troubles with, “Can’t be that bad,” or “I’m sure you must be overreacting.” His parents, Katrina, George, no one ever took him seriously. Why did everyone treat him like he was not important? No one in his entire life had ever heeded his call for help. “Will is just overreacting,” “Will can take care of it himself,” “Will doesn’t matter.”
Eli isn’t interested in my life. He has already said in the most unflattering way possible that he finds me undesirable and considers me to be a party to blackmail. There was no danger that he would ever damage my virtue. All of these feelings came to a startling head as he responded coldly to his statement. “No, of course not. How could anything in my life be that bad?” The indignation he felt began to flow and became unstoppable. He was done playing games.
“I don’t like you, Mr. Hunter. I think you are the worst kind of man. The kind that gains a little money and with it, a little power. Suddenly you believe that the rest of the world is beneath you and there strictly for your entertainment. Sure, you can jerk Katrina and me around for a while with your promises, but in the end, you will do as you please. What we say and do will have no bearing on your need for satisfaction and a good laugh.” Will stood up. “I’m not going to stay here and try to jump through your stupid hoops. Do whatever you need to do. Go ahead and take my land. I’ll sign it over and save you the trouble of fighting it out in court. I can’t afford a lawyer, anyway.” He was walking away in a most impressive huff when Eli grabbed him by both shoulders and swung Will around to face him. His face was a mystery. His expression kept changing. Will couldn’t tell if he saw anger, confusion, or compassion.
“Where in the hell did all of that come from?” Eli nearly shouted.
Will tried to shake loose of his grip, but Eli just pulled him closer in order to keep him still. When Will looked up, Eli’s face was just a few inches from his. Elijah stopped squeezing Will and moved his hand to Will’s back, pressing him close even though he tried to resist. He soothed him and relaxed his outraged muscles by running one hand up and down Will’s spine while his other hand pressed Will’s head to his chest and massaged his scalp. He rested his chin against the top of Will’s head. He kept up the pressure and the rhythm, and it wasn’t long before Will’s resistance gave way and he found himself molded against Eli’s body. Every curve, every muscle, every movement was apparent. He felt warm, comfortable, secure; he felt very good. Will began to calm, and his breathing slowed. It almost felt as if Eli were hypnotizing him with the movement of his hands and the rhythmic beat of his heart.
“I never said that your problems weren’t important or that they didn’t matter,” he said very softly against Will’s ear. It sounded as if he actually cared that he had upset him. “Whatever I said and however you interpreted it, I never meant to offend you.”
“It doesn’t matter,” he said flatly. “It’s just me overreacting.” His voice was muffled against Eli’s shirt.
“You don’t strike me as someone who’s in the habit of overreacting.” He spoke very softly, but still with definite authority. “I think I struck a nerve.” He was all too correct on that point. “If you’d like to talk about it, I’m more than willing to listen.” His fingers continued their slow circular motion. Will hadn’t realized it, but at some point his arms had come up to encircle Eli’s waist. He was using him as a support and holding Eli almost as tightly as Eli was holding him.
Eli slipped his hand down along Will’s jawline and tilted his face up to his. Eli’s eyes traveled his face before settling on his mouth. Will dropped his arms and began to move away from him as Eli’s head descended toward him, but Eli’s arm brought Will up tight against him; there was no way of escape. Will froze in disbelief as Eli’s lips, warm, moist, and sensuous covered his completely. He moaned softly as the thrill of it surged through his body, killing all reservations as blood rushed away from his brain toward a very different piece of his anatomy. Eli pressed deeper and deeper until Will’s lips were forced apart and he was free to plunder the softness within.
Will had been kissed before, but never like this. George’s amateurish attempts at passion didn’t even come close to the power of this simple, heart-stopping kiss. Eli’s touch, his taste, his smell, all ganged up on his ability to think and to reason. All Will wanted was for this feeling to never end. He responded, returning Eli’s kiss as ardently as he was giving it. Eli’s tongue was in his mouth, doing things to him that set his senses aflame. He heard and felt a low sensual groan start in Eli’s abdomen and echo all the way to his fingertips. He could feel the muscles in Eli’s arms and chest flexing and crushing them together.
Suddenly, there was a noise from behind them. Someone was coming into the room. It was just enough diversion to force Will back to reality. Elijah felt his resistance, but instead of releasing Will, he only deepened his kiss and pulled him even closer. Will became embarrassed and frantic in his need to pull away. Finally, Eli moved his lips from Will’s mouth across his cheek to rest against his ear, but still he held Will solidly to him. Eli drank in the scent of his hair and his skin. He’d never known a man to smell so damn good. Why do I have to feel like this… about this guy… this gold digger?
Will seemed to struggle to compose himself, yet Eli didn’t care that someone was going to see them in this intimate embrace. He wasn’t ready to release Will… not just yet. He’d had the urge to kiss him ever since they met on the road. He looked amazingly sexy all disheveled and sweating. At the time he thought it was pure hormones, but the urge never left.
“Excuse me, Mr. Hunter,” Mrs. Coleman stammered and quickly exited the room. She was bringing a fresh carafe of coffee for Mr. Drake, but then realized that coffee was probably the last thing on Mr. Drake’s mind at the moment.
Elijah slowly loosened his hold, but kept Will within the circle of his arms. His eyes went immediately to Will’s, silently searching. Embarrassment flooded Will’s face. Will wanted to speak, to say something, anything.
“To think I wondered why you weren’t afraid of your neighbors calling you gay,” Will said with more sarcasm than he meant to.
“If you tell me you didn’t enjoy that, you are a liar.” Elijah flinched at the harshness of his words.
Will pulled away from him and stepped back, his eyes dark and angry. “I will not stay here.” He turned away from him toward the door.
“Not so fast, Mr. Drake.” He spoke formally and with an undertone of immense authority. “You would do well to rethink your desire to leave. You agreed to stay until the thirty-first. If you renege on that agreement, I will, with all the power and influence I have, take your home, and I will make your life and the life of that miserable sister of yours a living hell.” He stood over Will, looking down at him as he drove home the seriousness of his statement. “Do not make the mistake of underestimating me.”
“What guarantees do I have that my home is safe even if I stay? Tell me why, exactly, I should trust you.” Will tried to match the hardness of his tone but fell short.
“There are no guarantees, but there is hope.” He reached out and pushed a stray lock of hair back from Will’s face. Will flinched, but didn’t move. “Stand by your word to me, and I will consider tearing up the contract. Break your word, and I will destroy you and Katrina.”
Will didn’t remember agreeing to stay. He remembered listening to Eli telling him he was staying, but he never agreed. Eli must have assumed that by saying nothing, he was agreeing. There was something about the man that just got his back up. He brought out every unpleasant aspect of Will’s personality. George used to complain that he was too aggressive when they argued, which was rare since George wasn’t good with confrontations. If George had witnessed the last few minutes, he would have been floored, but Elijah wasn’t the least bit fazed by it. Apparently it would take a lot more than a few harsh words to g
et the best of him.
“I will abide by the agreement,” Will said without emotion, “but I maintain little hope. Good night, sir.” He turned on his heel and left the living room, returning to his bedroom. He sat for several minutes on the edge of his bed, staring at the floor. The memory of Eli’s embrace was burned into his consciousness. He would never forget how Eli touched him and how good it felt. Will would also remember how Eli belittled and embarrassed him. He’s a big cat playing with a little mouse, and he will keep playing until it isn’t fun anymore. “Why is it that he can make me feel like this, stirring up emotions and needs that I don’t have time for right now?” he said out loud. It was probably the stress and uncertainty of the entire situation that had him so off balance. Will needed to get his bearings and figure out what Elijah really wanted. Eli is keeping me here for a reason other than collateral. What sort of satisfaction is he after and what part will I play in his quest for such?
Will was suddenly jolted out of his considerations by the telephone ringing. He had a telephone in his bedroom and was duly impressed. Will recognized Katrina’s whiny tone instantly.
“I’m sorry, Will,” Katrina began and then sobbed. “I didn’t know what to do. He was letting me go, but I had to leave before you arrived.”
“That’s not what he told me. He said it was your choice to leave before I got here. I would like to have spoken with you before you hung me out to dry.” Will was sharp and impatient.
“I was afraid he might change his mind if I took too long.” Katrina’s explanation was feeble. “I knew you would do this for me. It’s just until the thirty-first. He really wants you there.” She was rambling, trying to come up with something that Will would accept. “The exchange was his idea. He spoke with you on the phone, and then I told him about you, and then he demanded that I get you to Montana.”
“Why didn’t you warn me that I was going to be a prisoner here?” Will was barely holding his temper.
“I didn’t know that part. I didn’t know he was going to keep you and let me go until today.” She sounded sincere, but Katrina was an impeccable liar. Will remained doubtful of her ignorance.
“He came back to the ranch after helping you change your tire, and he told me to leave.” Katrina’s voice picked up a high pitch that she used when she thought she wasn’t being believed. “I’m telling you the truth. You can ask him yourself.”
“What are your plans?” Will decided to move on to a more practical and important issue.
“I don’t have $500,000. I have no idea what I’m going to do.” Will knew that statement to be the truth. “I have to return to the ranch by the thirty-first and give him all that I have, which isn’t much. My bank account is less than $10,000, and I haven’t much property.”
“Just remember to come back, please,” Will said firmly.
“I’ll figure something out, and I’ll be back. I promise,” Katrina assured him. It was a shallow pledge, but it was better than nothing.
ELIJAH WENT to bed earlier than usual. He lay there thinking about nothing except the young man in the bedroom next to him. It was obvious he wasn’t going to get much sleep tonight. His mind continued to analyze Will’s every word, his every action. Will had a lot of anger in him, he noticed. No one knew anger and its destructive capacity more than he did. His thoughts drifted back to the living room. Will felt so right in his arms. If Mrs. Coleman hadn’t interrupted, who knows what might have happened. Will had responded to him; he tried to resist, but it didn’t last. Is he sincere, or is he playing me? He would find out in time. No one could maintain a facade of conservative purity for too long if it was not truly part of their character. He smiled ruefully and drifted to sleep.
IN HIS own room, Will could hear a whimpering sound. Someone was in distress. “Where are you?” he asked. Their cries were so clear, but he couldn’t find them.
“Will, Will, wake up.” Who was that calling for him? There was someone with him. He woke with a start to see Eli leaning over him. He was seated on the edge of Will’s bed, and his hand was stroking his face.
“Elijah? Where am I?” was his first response as he quickly sat up.
“You’ll remember as soon as you’re fully awake, and you can call me Eli,” he said. He moved closer to Will and gently smoothed his hair back from his face. “What were you dreaming?”
Will stared at him for a moment before realization hit him, and with it came a sudden rush of embarrassment. He glanced at the clock; it was 2:48 a.m.
“I’m sorry that I woke you,” Will said apologetically, his eyes taking in the soft smile that barely curved Eli’s lips yet shone brightly in his eyes. He looked different, gentler, in his cotton pajama bottoms and ruffled hair. Will liked this look, although the sight of Eli’s bare chest, with its dusting of black hair, and the blatant masculinity of his muscles caused his heart rate to quicken a bit. Will averted his gaze back to Eli’s dark eyes that were, at present, studying him closely.
“What were you dreaming?” he repeated.
“I was picking blueberries,” he began, struggling to recall the content of his dream, “I was with my family and then all of a sudden I was alone in the woods and it was dark. Then this black bear came out of nowhere and started chasing me. I kept running and running, but every time I looked behind me, he was still right there on my heels. I eventually found myself lost and alone in a dark forest. I heard someone calling out to me, but I couldn’t find them.” He was slightly breathless from reliving the dream. “Thank you for waking me.” Will gave him a weak, grateful smile.
“You’re welcome.”
Eli slipped his arm around Will and pulled him closer. Will looked up at Eli and instantly knew what was going to happen, and he did not object. Quite the opposite, actually. He brought his hand up and rested it on Eli’s warm chest with its tantalizing, silky-smooth, tanned skin. Slowly he moved his hand across to Eli’s shoulder, feeling the muscles and sensing the tension as Eli lowered his head toward him.
“I promise you, Will,” he said, his voice a husky whisper, “if you’re going to be eaten up, it won’t be by a bear.”
Eli kissed him long and deep, and Will kissed him back enthusiastically. He wrote off his inability to resist him to the weakened state of his mind and body. Having been awakened abruptly from a frightening dream, he simply wasn’t thinking clearly. With his guilt and responsibility pushed aside, he wound his arms around Eli and pressed himself against the hard wall of his chest. Eli reciprocated immediately with arms that bound them together with such force that the breath was squeezed from Will’s lungs. Will’s growing erection pressed hard against his boxer briefs as Eli gradually laid him back against the pillows, his mouth continuing its unrestrained exploration of his face and then trailing down Will’s throat. Will ran his fingers through Eli’s thick, black hair and held him, reveling in the sensations Eli was provoking with his mouth, his hands, and his body as he pressed Will into the lush comfort of the pillows with the weight of his body.
Gradually, rational thought began to overcome Eli’s need. He really did not know this man. He shouldn’t get this involved. As much as he believed he was in control, he knew that Will’s desirability was overwhelming him. His heart was thudding, and he was breathing as if he’d just run a marathon. He shifted as his hard-on brushed against Will’s thigh, eliciting a gasp of pleasure. With great strength of will, Eli pulled himself away, far enough to break the searing contact with his body.
“Oh, Will,” he groaned. “You should never have sent Katrina to do the gold digging.” His words cut across the bleary haze in Will’s mind. “Never send a girl to do a man’s job,” Elijah stated. “You, my darling, are much more adept at the skills required to capture a rich husband.”
Will lay there in stunned silence. How could this hateful man be the same man who was so gentle and loving a few minutes ago?
“Next time, Will, do the gold digging yourself. I guarantee you will hit the mother lode.” With that, he stood up an
d threw the blanket up to cover him. He walked toward the door, and Will watched his back in stunned silence, still trying to come to grips with what had just happened. Eli turned around before leaving and said, “Good night, and sleep well.”
“Go fuck yourself, you miserable pig,” Will answered in shockingly strong language, and Eli turned back to regard Will’s cold expression.
“I’ve been called worse.” His tone was no longer sarcastic.
“Color me surprised, now get out of my room,” Will declared, shutting off the light.
MORNING CAME very quickly. Considering the fact that Will thought he’d never fall asleep again, he actually slept quite soundly. He didn’t wake until the sun came through his window and shone on his face. It took him a few minutes to remember where he was and remember the events of the previous evening.
The memory came on him like a physical blow. He groaned and with effort, pulled himself out of bed to stand at the window. In the yard below, he saw several men standing together talking. One of them was Elijah. He looked up at him as if he knew Will was watching him. When their eyes met, he raised his hand in acknowledgment. When he did that, the other four men instantly looked up at his window. Will glared at Eli, quickly closed the curtain, and stepped back out of view. He went back to the edge of the bed and sat down to think. It was but a few minutes before he heard a gentle knock on his door. It was such a light touch, he assumed it was Mrs. Coleman and said, “Come in, it’s open.” To his consternation, Elijah entered. He was dressed in jeans and a chambray shirt, both of which were worn and dusty. He must start his day very early, Will thought in passing.
“Good morning,” he said and walked over to sit down beside Will on the bed as if he had every right to be there. How dare he act like nothing happened? His belittling words of the previous evening were still very fresh in Will’s mind.
