Ghost from the Past

by Carol Lynne

  With a hand to the back of Rio’s neck, Ryan pulled him in for a deep kiss. There was more passion in that one kiss than Rio had felt from Ryan in a couple of years. This was what he’d missed from his partner. It wasn’t about fucking or not fucking, it was about the passion. Right or wrong, Rio needed to feel like Ryan was consumed by his feelings and couldn’t wait to act on them.

  “Fuck me,” Rio begged.

  Ryan shook his head and pushed Rio back on the bed. He insinuated himself between Rio’s legs and pressed the tip of his cock against Rio’s stretched hole. “This isn’t about fucking,” he growled as he impaled Rio with his cock. “Somewhere along the way you seem to have forgotten just how much I love you. This…” he thrust his hips, driving his cock in to the root “…is a reminder.”

  Rio’s skin broke out in gooseflesh at the invasion. He made a point of staring into Ryan’s eyes, hoping to give back some of what he’d taken from Ryan early in their relationship.

  As Ryan moved in and out of Rio he whispered words of love, telling Rio over and over how he couldn’t imagine a life without him. It warmed Rio’s heart while at the same time it put more guilt on his shoulders. Although he couldn’t and wouldn’t admit it to Ryan, he had been thinking a lot about Jack over the last several days.

  Pushing thoughts of Jack out of his mind, Rio hiked his legs higher around Ryan’s torso. “Harder,” he begged around a moan.

  “Any harder and we’ll break the damn bed,” Ryan panted, slamming into Rio.

  Rio traced the veins in Ryan’s neck as they bulged with the intensity of the man’s thrusts. “So sexy.”

  Ryan chased Rio’s finger with his mouth until he caught it between his teeth. He gave the digit a bite hard enough to make Rio wince and his cock throb. Rio pulled his finger out of Ryan’s mouth and reached down to grab his cock. “You’re going to make me come,” he warned.

  Ryan’s nostrils flared. He leant down until he was nose to nose with Rio. “Do it,” he ordered.

  Rio never could resist Ryan when he used his bad-assed Sheriff’s voice. The first shot landed on Rio’s upper chest as his back bowed, almost toppling Ryan to the bed.

  “Shit, you’re like riding a damn bull,” Ryan said, resettling himself.

  Rio gathered cum on his fingers and licked them clean. “Kiss me.” He opened his mouth to show Ryan the pool of white seed clinging to his tongue.

  With a growl, Ryan jammed his cock deep once more and came. He collapsed on Rio’s chest and thrust his tongue deep into Rio’s mouth.

  Fuck! Rio silently cried as Ryan devoured every drop of cum from the recesses of Rio’s mouth. They continued to kiss long after their bodies had given up on them. The closeness he felt at that moment was only missing one thing. “Why’d Nate have to go into work?”

  “He didn’t,” Ryan mumbled, rolling off Rio to land beside him.

  “Then where did he go?”

  “I’m here,” Nate answered.

  Rio rose up at the distressed sound of his partner. Nate sat in a chair just inside the room with a large breakfast tray on his lap and tears in his eyes. “Morning,” he greeted, trying to understand the cause of Nate’s emotional appearance.

  Nate stood and took a deep breath. “I’ll need to warm this stuff up.”

  When he started to leave the room, Rio’s heart broke at the sagging shoulders and bowed head of his partner. “Wait. Come over here and join us.”

  Nate stopped in the doorway and shook his head. “Thanks, but I’d really rather not.”

  Without another word, Nate disappeared.

  Rio glanced down at Ryan. He thought of the long conversation the two of them had had earlier about Nate. “How much do you think he heard?”

  Ryan groaned and threw his arm over his face. “By the sound of it, I’d have to say he’d been there a while.”

  “Fuck!”

  Chapter Four

  “I’m fine,” Nate said for the hundredth time. He expertly tied his bow tie and stepped back from the mirror to adjust his tuxedo jacket.

  “Come on, I know you’re not, so stop pretending.”

  Nate turned to face Rio, who had taken up position in the bathroom doorway. “I don’t have time to go over this again. Now if you’re going with me, you’d better get your ass in gear and get dressed.”

  All day Rio and Ryan had hovered over him, asking him question after question, and Nate was sick of it. It didn’t matter what any of them said, the conversation he’d overheard couldn’t be taken back.

  “Let’s just stay home and work this out,” Rio pleaded.

  Nate marched right up to the bigger man and pointed his finger in Rio’s face. “Look, you can shirk your responsibilities all you want, but I’m not about to. I agreed a year ago to host this party, and I’m not about to call and tell them I can’t come because my lovers want to talk.”

  Rio reared back. “What responsibilities am I shirking?”

  “Hello? You have a fucking gym to run and you haven’t even bothered going in for over a week.”

  “I’m on vacation,” Rio argued. “Besides, what’s the point of hiring people to run the place in my absence if I don’t trust them enough to do their damn jobs?”

  Nate threw his hands in the air and pushed Rio out of the doorway. Three steps into the bedroom, and his pace slowed. “I’d like you to come,” he said without turning around. “I haven’t spent a New Year’s Eve by myself in ages.”

  “You won’t be by yourself. You’ll have an entire ballroom filled with people who seem to mean more to you than I do!” Rio bellowed.

  “Fuck you,” Nate mumbled as he left the room. For days he’d tried to get close to Rio only to be rebuffed. Hearing his two partners talk about him like he was merely a filler in their relationship had pushed Nate over the edge into don’t-give-a-shit land.

  He grabbed his keys and was in the process of pulling on his expensive wool topcoat when Ryan came into the room. Dressed in a black suit, white shirt and red tie, Ryan was devastating. “I’m leaving. You coming?”

  Ryan took a drink of his beer and glanced around the room. “Is Rio ready?”

  Once again it was a reminder that Ryan’s first priority would always be Rio. “Forget it. You two have fun.”

  Ryan caught up with Nate halfway down the sidewalk. “Wait just a damn minute,” he said, swinging Nate around by the arm to face him. “You’ve acted like a hateful brat all day. Now I’m sorry you heard what you did, but we’ve both tried to explain things to you all day.”

  “Explain what exactly? How the two of you are so much better because you found me to fill the voids in your lives?” Nate shook his head. “That’s bullshit and you know it. Until today I have never felt like the third wheel in this relationship. And you know what? I don’t have to feel like that. I’m a whole person, not just the bits you two need me to be.”

  Ryan pulled Nate into a hard kiss. “Shut up,” he growled. “That’s not true and you know it. That man in there, that you’re so thoughtlessly pushing away, needs us now more than ever. He’s hurt and he’s confused so cut him a fucking break. You wanted in to this relationship. We didn’t force you into anything. Newsflash, a relationship isn’t all about the good times. So either suck it up and help us fix it or…”

  Ryan’s mouth clamped shut.

  “Or what, get the hell out?” Nate shook his head and took a step back. “I’m going to the party.”

  * * * *

  Rio stepped into the ballroom with Ryan on his arm. He’d had enough arguing for the rest of his life, and all he wanted was to dance with his men and kiss them at midnight. “Do you see him?”

  Ryan pointed towards a crowded table. “Holding court as usual.”

  Approaching Nate after the argument at the house seemed too daunting for Rio to tackle at the moment. “Do you think we should go over or wait and see if he’s willing to come to us?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine,” Ryan said in Rio’s ear. “Why don’t we hit
the buffet and find a table?”

  “I wondered if you were going to show up,” Mario said, coming to stand beside Rio.

  “Yeah, well, it took me longer to get dressed.” Rio hoped Mario bought his excuse.

  “Well I’m happy to say it was time well spent. You look good,” Asa said, handing Mario a drink.

  Mario took the glass and bumped his partner with his hip. “You’re not supposed to notice other men.”

  Asa flashed Mario an indulgent smile. “You may have stolen my heart, but I still have perfectly functioning eyes.”

  Mario chuckled and returned his attention to Rio. “So how’s vacation been?”

  “Good,” Rio lied. “Just gearing up for January.”

  The first month of the year was always busy at The Gym with people intending to stick to their newly proclaimed resolutions. The numbers usually dropped off dramatically by spring, but Rio always enjoyed the burst of revenue while it lasted. He gestured to the food tables. “Have you eaten?”

  “Yeah, but we could probably be persuaded to sit with the two of you while you stuff your faces,” Mario answered.

  Rio wouldn’t deny his love of food. And at seventy-five dollars a ticket, he wasn’t about to let his money go to waste. He led the way across the crowded room, stopping occasionally to say hi to friends. He thought he’d caught Nate staring at him out of the corner of his eye, but when he turned his head, Nate was once again engaged in conversation.

  Rio filled two heaping plates and asked Mario to grab him a drink from the bar. Although the room was crowded, most people seemed to either be dancing or mingling so it wasn’t hard to find a table. He pushed the dirty dishes towards the centre and set his plates down.

  Before he’d even had a chance to take a bite, a waiter rushed over to clear the dirty dishes. “Sorry about that. Two of the waiters decided to call in sick.”

  As soon as the man rushed off, Asa shook his head. “What the hell’s wrong with people today? You make a commitment, you stick to it.”

  Rio bit his lip. It was the same thing Nate had tried to tell him earlier. Suddenly food wasn’t what he needed. “Excuse me.”

  “You want me to come with you?” Ryan asked.

  Rio shook his head. “Let me take care of this one.” He didn’t miss the confused expressions on Asa and Mario’s faces. He didn’t usually broadcast his problems and he saw no reason to start now.

  As he crossed the room, Rio wondered how Nate would react to him. The closer he got to his intended target the more determined he became. “Excuse me,” he said to the group surrounding Nate.

  Carol smiled and pulled George and Trick out of Rio’s way. There was a certain twinkle to Carol’s eyes that told Rio she had a good idea he was in the doghouse. “Have you finally come to whisk our host onto the dance floor?”

  Rio nodded. “You bet.” He stared into Nate’s eyes and held out his arm. “Dance?”

  Nate stiffly took Rio’s arm and flashed a fake smile to his friends. “How can I refuse?”

  Rio had the urge to sling Nate over his shoulder and carry him off to one of the many hotel rooms in the lodge, but he knew that would only garner him another lecture. “I’m sorry,” he said, pulling Nate into his arms.

  Nate nodded absently but continued to smile and wave at people around them.

  “Would you look at me, please?” Rio asked.

  Nate eventually met Rio’s gaze.

  “I love you. I need you to forget everything you heard earlier. That was a whole lot of hurt talking, and never in a million years would I ever consider you a filler.”

  Nate’s eyes rounded.

  “Yeah. Ryan told me.” Rio cupped Nate’s face in his hands. “If I’d known you were home this morning, I would have yelled until you brought your skinny ass upstairs and joined us. But like the asshole I’ve been lately, I just assumed you’d run off to City Hall.”

  Nate shook his head. “I wanted to make up for Christmas morning by making you a big breakfast in bed.”

  It was one more instance where his partners were trying and Rio hadn’t been receptive. “Tell me what I can do to make it up to you?”

  “Promise you won’t leave. That’s all I want from you.”

  “Hello, Rio,” a deep voice greeted.

  Rio closed his eyes. He knew the voice all too well. Dammit, I thought I’d have more time. Keeping his arm around Nate, Rio turned. “Jack.”

  “You’re Jack?” Nate asked. His eyes narrowed as he looked Jack up and down. “You’re short.”

  Jack smiled. “Yes, lucky for the two of us, Rio doesn’t seem to mind a shorter than average man.”

  Before Rio could react, Nate threw a punch directed straight for Jack’s nose. Despite the surprise attack, Jack easily captured Nate’s fist with his hand, stopping the punch from landing. Rio knew Jack was capable of breaking Nate’s fingers with just his grip. And as Nate and Jack continued to stare at each other, Rio got an uneasy feeling.

  “Don’t do it, Jack,” he warned.

  “Stay out of this, Rio,” Jack said. “For some reason this man seems to think he has the right to touch me. I just want to show him what happens to people who make that mistake.”

  “Fuck you,” Nate spat.

  Normally Rio would be proud of his partner for not backing down from a fight, but not this time. “You really need to calm down,” he told Nate before returning his attention to Jack. “This isn’t the way to get me back.”

  Jack’s gaze went from Rio to Nate and back to Rio. He released Nate’s fist and straightened his expensive Italian-made tuxedo. “I didn’t start it.”

  When Nate began to take a step forward, Rio wrapped a tight arm around him. He glanced around for Ryan. He spotted his partner standing at the edge of the dance floor with his arms folded across his chest. Either Ryan expected Rio to deal with the situation, or he was trying his best to calm himself before approaching.

  Around them the dancing had stopped but the music continued. “I’m not doing this, Jack. Not here. Not now.”

  “This is not how I wanted it.” Jack took a step back and shook his head. “Happy New Year.” He lifted his hand as if to touch Rio, but dropped it back to his side before it made contact. “I’m staying upstairs. Give the front desk a call when you feel like talking.” He held up a single finger. “But know this. I’m not going anywhere until you give me a real chance to talk to you.”

  “Okay, you’ve had your say, now leave us to enjoy our evening,” Ryan said, stepping into the circle.

  “That’s it? After ten years, that’s all you have to say to me?” Jack asked.

  “Not hardly, but what I have to say to you will be said in private or not at all.”

  Jack’s eyes roamed the tattoos visible above Ryan’s shirt collar. “Is it my imagination or did the tattooing stop once you finally got your hands on my man?”

  Ryan took several steps until he was in Jack’s personal space. With narrowed eyes, he stared down at the other man. “Do you really want to start this here? Because I really don’t think you do.”

  Surprisingly enough, Jack was the one to back down. He turned his attention to Rio. “I’ll be in the bar if you want to talk.”

  As soon as Jack walked away, Rio regarded Ryan. “What was that about?”

  Ryan shook his head. “Nothing.” He turned that winning smile on Rio and Nate. “Who’s ready to dance?”

  * * * *

  An hour before midnight, Ryan sneaked away from the party. His first stop was the Grizzly Bar. Although the bulk of the festivities were going on in the ballroom, the Grizzly held a respectable number of New Year’s Eve revellers.

  Ryan scanned the dark corners of the bar until his eyes landed on Jack. He detoured towards the bar, surprised to see a worried look on Wyn’s face. Ryan immediately shifted into Sheriff-mode. “Something wrong?”

  Wyn looked around before leaning against the bar, motioning for Ryan to lean down as well. “Gabe Hawkins sent Bo a letter. He’s comin
g to town in a couple of weeks.”

  Gabe Hawkins? “Why do I know that name?”

  “He’s Joey’s biological father.”

  Fuck. “What’s he want?” Ryan couldn’t imagine the legal battle if Hawk, as everyone involved knew him, tried to get custody of his son. With Bo’s HIV status, his friend might be in for one hell of a fight.

  “Didn’t really say other than he’s looking forward to meeting his son.” Wyn shook his head. “Bo and Rance are beside themselves. They’ve even contacted a lawyer, just in case.”

  “Well, be sure and let me know if I can do anything. The last thing that sweet boy needs is to be caught in the middle.”

  Wyn nodded. “Can I get you something?”

  “Beer,” Ryan answered. He turned to lean an elbow on the bar and met Jack’s gaze. The conversation he needed to have with his old friend wouldn’t be pleasant, but Ryan needed to let Jack know where he stood.

  “Thanks.” He tossed a five on the bar. “Keep it.”

  Wyn tipped his head towards Jack. “Someone you know?”

  “Someone I used to know.”

  “He made it sound like he was considering moving to town.”

  “Yeah, well don’t get used to him, because despite what he said, he won’t be staying long.”

  Ryan carried his beer across the bar to where Jack sat. “We need to talk.”

  Jack pushed a chair out with his foot. “Have a seat.”

  After settling in the chair, Ryan took a swig of his beer. What did you say to someone who was trying to steal the man you loved? He eyed Jack for several moments before speaking. “I don’t think you realise how much pain you’re causing by showing up in Rio’s life again.”

  With his arm slung over the back of the neighbouring chair, Jack finished off his drink before saying, “I gave him up once to save his life. Looking back, I may not have done it in the right way, but my heart was in the right place. So now that being together isn’t a danger to him, I want him back.”