A Cowboy's Dance (White Oak Ranch Book 1)

by Diana McKinley

  “I’d say it just means we have a lot of lost time to make up for,” Everest rumbled. He briefly leaned in to rub his nose across Cole’s, playing a bit.

  “Sounds like a perfect plan to me.”

  Cole was melted, but he managed to keep petting Everest’s body because he wanted more of the man, even though he knew it would be a while before his dick got hard again after two back-to-back orgasms.

  “Maybe after a nap, though,” Cole suggested. “I swear, you wore me out, Everest.”

  Everest started laughing, and it built until his whole body was shaking, causing his softening cock to slip from Cole’s body. Cole groaned at the odd sensation. Everest let his forehead drop until it was touching Cole’s, their eyes so close to one another’s that Cole could once more see the blue flecks mixed in with all the gray.

  “Love your eyes,” he confessed and darted his tongue out to trace Everest’s lower lip. “Always have.”

  “I love you,” Everest whispered in return.

  Cole framed Everest’s face in his hands, and he traced the blonde stubble on Everest’s cheeks with his calloused fingertips.

  “I know I haven’t said it yet, though I already feel great affection for you, Everest. More so than I think I even realize yet, now that I can allow myself to really acknowledge what’s between us. You’re my best friend, and now you’re my lover, so I know it won’t be long before the words come.”

  “They’ll come when they come, Cole,” Everest interjected in a gravelly voice. “You only say what’s in your heart to me, and that’ll be all I need.”

  “I know,” Cole murmured.

  Everest leaned in for a tender kiss and Cole held on, savoring the love that he could already feel flowing between them. It wouldn’t be long before he uttered the words, but Cole was thankful Everest wasn’t looking for more than he was ready to say. Which should seem odd, Cole thought, given what they’d just shared. But, somehow, offering Everest the words held a significance to Cole which he didn’t want to cheapen by rushing. The perfect moment would come, and then he’d say them to Everest and mean his pledge wholeheartedly.

  “Will you join me in a quick shower? Let me clean us up before we pass out for a little while?” Everest asked, interrupting Cole’s thoughts.

  Cole’s eyes flickered back to Everest’s, and he saw Everest giving him that warm smile once more.

  “Yeah.” Cole nodded. “But only if I get to help wash you, too. I wanna touch you some more.”

  “Hell, yes,” Everest ground out. “You can touch me all you want, honey. Anytime you feel like it.” Everest pushed off the bed and extended his hand to Cole, not willing to leave him behind even for a second.

  Cole let Everest pull him upright, and then he followed him to the shower, finding that he liked the way Everest wanted to lead him in even something as simple as a bath. It was nice, Cole conceded, to have another looking out for him at every turn.

  Chapter 8

  Everest opened his eyes and saw pale light coming in through the windows of Cole’s bedroom. One glance at the clock on the bedside table showed that the day was just beginning. Sure beat getting up at four in the morning, he thought, loving his and Cole’s day off. He smiled when he looked down to see Cole’s head on his chest. His lover was snuggled up against him with one leg thrown over Everest’s, effectively pinning him in place. Cole was a possessive man in his sleep, and Everest loved it.

  Not wanting to wake Cole, Everest remained there, unmoving, just savoring the warmth of Cole’s body pressed against his. Everest thought about everything that had happened the previous evening and how drastically their lives had changed, though to the outside world nothing was different.

  Sometime that day they were going to need to discuss the way in which they handled their relationship, before the business on their ranches pulled them back to their respective properties. Cole had said the night before that he was ready to live openly as a gay man in order to have the kind of partnership he’d always dreamed of. Everest knew, however, that even though Cole had made that decision before he’d come over and claimed the man, it was still going to be a significant step for them to join hands in front of their friends and neighbors and put their desire to be together into action.

  Everest was determined to give Cole whatever amount of time he needed to come to terms with the two of them living openly as partners as their current reality shifted. Though for Everest, he’d been planning for this for so long that he wished they didn’t have to wait even one single day to be together. Still, he would give his cowboy all the support he could, even if that meant not waking up beside him every morning for a while.

  Everest sighed at that thought.

  A few seconds later he felt Cole shift slightly and then he stretched and looked up at Everest with half-lidded eyes. Everest smiled down at him and threaded his fingers through Cole’s soft hair, petting and stroking as Cole blinked a few times to clear the sleep away.

  “Mornin’, honey,” Everest said, his voice gruff as he spoke for the first time that day.

  “Mmm,” Cole hummed. “Mornin’.”

  Cole brushed his lips across Everest’s chest, and then he pushed up for a kiss. Everest happily gave it to him, cupping Cole’s jaw, so he didn’t pull back too soon. Cole chuckled into the kiss, but he opened, and their tongues glided slowly together, making Everest’s dick harder than a rock.

  Cole hummed again when they broke apart and laid his head alongside Everest’s on the pillow. Everest loved that it didn’t look as though Cole wanted to get too far away from him. He’d always wondered if Cole would be a snuggler, and he was mighty happy to discover that the younger man was. Cole settled his hand on Everest’s chest and began to caress him in slow, sweeping passes.

  “Gonna tell me what had you soundin’ so blue a few minutes ago?” Cole asked and stared directly into Everest’s eyes.

  Everest huffed out a soft laugh and resumed petting Cole’s hair. “Caught that did ya?”

  Cole nodded against the pillow. “No secrets between us, okay? I’ve had enough of that with the one who came before you.”

  “Cole.” He frowned, turning on his side to cup Cole’s face. “Honey, you don’t have to worry about that with me.”

  “I know I don’t. So start talkin’.” Cole playfully poked him in the ribs.

  Everest flinched, and the right corner of his lips turned up. “Love that you feel comfortable enough with me to get a little bossy.”

  “Oh, really?” Cole’s grin held all kinds of mischief.

  “And I just gave away one of my secrets. But since you hold every part of me in the palm of your hand, I’ll gladly share them all.”

  Cole moved his hand down Everest’s body and wrapped his long fingers around Everest’s morning erection.

  “In the palm of my hand, huh?” Cole’s eyes practically danced with mirth as he tried to hold in his laughter.

  Everest didn’t hold back, and he chuckled as he thrust his hips forward into Cole’s touch, loving the feeling of Cole’s warm palm surrounding his cock. He loved their easy banter, too. Hell, he just loved Cole, plain and simple.

  Cole pressed in close and captured Everest’s mouth in a plundering kiss. Everest held the back of Cole’s head, keeping him there as Cole began to pump Everest’s dick with little twists of his wrist every time he passed by Everest’s cockhead, adding to the friction.

  Everest groaned into their kiss, and then he felt Cole slowly rolling him onto his back and moving over on top of him. Everest slid his palms up Cole’s sides as Cole settled his dick against Everest’s and propped himself up on his arms. He stared down into Everest’s eyes as he began to roll his hips, slotting their weeping shafts together.

  A slow smile spread across Cole’s swollen lips as he moved over Everest, their bodies undulating together in a dance as old as time, and all Everest could do for several moments was hold his lover and stare at him in wonder.

  “God,” he whispered. “You�
�re really mine now, aren’t ya, Cole?”

  “Every last part of me,” Cole assured him and ground their cocks together before he picked up speed.

  Cole leaned in and nuzzled Everest under his chin. Everest tilted his head back and gave Cole full access, wanting Cole to have whatever part of him he desired. Cole’s lips moved up to his ear and then over to his stubbled cheek until their mouths connected again.

  It was all so good. The friction. The passion. The effortless harmony between them. It seemed to Everest that they’d been doing this forever, so right and perfect did it feel. Regardless of the past, which had kept them apart, Everest knew they had every day henceforth to enjoy one another’s body and pleasure – and they would.

  Everest ran his hands down Cole’s back until he reached the firm globes that had made his mouth water on many an occasion. Cole’s ass was a thing of perfection – high and tight and solid muscle. He flexed his fingers and pulled Cole toward him, adding to the force of Cole’s next thrust. Cole groaned and rocked back into his hands, finding pleasure no matter how he moved.

  Cole’s hips began to piston against Everest a little faster, and Cole managed to lift his head in time to lock gazes with Everest before he cried out Everest’s name. The sensation of Cole’s warm seed splashing over his abdomen called to Everest’s release. His balls tightened, and seconds later he came, shuddering and holding hard to Cole as his cum joined his lover’s.

  “Yes!” Cole whispered and made a sound suspiciously like a whimper as he nodded at Everest and then let his body relax. Cole lay down on top of him, pressing close and trembling a bit.

  Everest wrapped him in his strong arms and kept Cole right against his heart, savoring the amazing man whom he loved like no other. He reveled in the feel of all those muscles and solid strength stretched out over him, finding that he quite liked having Cole’s weight pinning him down.

  “That was delicious, Cole,” he rumbled.

  “Yeah, it was.” Cole buried his nose in the crook of Everest’s neck and inhaled deeply. “Damn, you smell good.” Cole licked him there and then bit Everest enough for him to feel it, but not hard enough to break the skin.

  Everest shivered from head to toe. “Mmm, so do you.”

  He began running his hands over Cole’s back again, taking the time to knead his butt before he moved higher, tickling the nobs of his spine. Then, he reversed course and did it all over again, mapping out his lover’s body in exacting detail. Everest hit a spot just above the twin dimples lying at the base of Cole’s spine that made Cole flinch and his cock twitch between them.

  “Someone likes that,” Everest mumbled as he buried his nose in Cole’s hair, inhaling deeply as he tried to capture everything about the moments they were sharing – just in case he didn’t have Cole in bed with him the following morning.

  “Wonder who?” Cole drawled and teased Everest’s neck with his teeth again.

  Everest popped Cole on the ass, and Cole jerked his head up, staring down at Everest. Cole’s green eyes narrowed, but Everest saw the way his lips turned up just the tiniest bit. Yeah, he thought, someone likes that a lot.

  “Oh, I think I know. Could be the fella who stole my heart some time ago.” Everest gave Cole a slow wink and watched Cole’s skin pink slightly.

  Cole’s playful expression gave way to a more thoughtful one as they continued to look at one another. Cole gave him a gentle smile and then framed Everest’s face in his hands and caressed his stubbled cheeks with his thumbs.

  “Now that we’ve taken the edge off, you gonna talk to me and tell me what was weighing so heavy on your mind?” Cole asked.

  Everest lifted a hand and tucked a lock of Cole’s hair behind his ear. He traced the shell of Cole’s ear, delighting in the fact that he now had free access to every part of Cole’s body. Even the littlest parts, which seemed to make Cole shiver the most.

  “I think it’s pretty amazing that we know one another well enough that we’re already pickin’ up on each other’s moods.”

  “That’s not an answer to my question, Everest.” Cole shook his head slowly and smiled, looking completely undeterred. “Talk to me, handsome.”

  Everest chuckled.

  “What? I can be as stubborn as you.”

  “You can at that.” Everest watched Cole’s eyes widen. “Once you get your mind set on a course of action, it’s hard to dissuade you. Yet another thing I love about you, honey. You don’t quit, even when the going gets tough.”

  Cole leaned in and kissed Everest between each word as he said, “Talk. To. Me. Or I’ll be the one popping some ass.”

  Everest’s eyebrows rose high on his forehead just before he lunged. He rolled them and had Cole flat on his back before Cole had time to react. Everest loomed over him, holding Cole’s arms pinned to the bed. Everest knew damn good and well that Cole could hold his own in a tumble, even though Everest was larger than Cole, but it gave him a heady sense of satisfaction knowing that Cole let Everest manhandle him and put him where he wanted him. Talk about trust.

  Cole slid one leg up and nudged Everest’s balls with his knee. “Gonna start talkin’ now?” He smirked and gently bumped Everest’s sack again.

  Everest threw back his head and laughed. “You’re not deterred at all, are you, honey?”

  Cole grinned and flexed his fingers, though he didn’t try to break Everest’s hold on him. “Why would I? You feel good on me.”

  Everest melted. He released Cole and slid to his side. He reached out and cupped Cole’s face, turning him for a tender kiss. When he pulled back, Everest rubbed their noses together.

  “Love you,” he murmured.

  Cole bumped his nose against Everest’s as he nodded.

  Everest caved, knowing the time for stalling was over. Cole had asked him more than once to talk, and he wasn’t going to make his lover ask again.

  “I was thinkin’,” he began, resuming his now familiar habit of stroking Cole’s soft hair, “that we need to talk today about what comes next. We need to plan for how we’ll handle declaring our relationship to our friends and neighbors, and also how we’ll merge our lives together so we can truly live as partners. And I was thinkin’,” Everest paused for just a second before he pushed out his next words, “that I didn’t want to rush you through any of that, Cole. As much as I want you in my life daily and in my bed nightly, I’ll go at whatever pace makes you happy, honey. You deserve only the best, and I’m gonna give that to you.”

  Cole settled his hand on Everest’s chest, just above his heart.

  “I don’t want to take time to slowly show everyone that you’re mine, Everest. Fuck that.” Cole looked well and truly determined. “I’ve wasted enough years playing at having someone in my life, and I’m done hiding. I told you that last night, and I meant it.”

  “I know you did, Cole,” Everest said soothingly, not liking that Cole was getting himself so riled up. “I’m just trying to think through all of the pitfalls and hurdles, so we make it through the tough times that are ahead together.”

  “Well, the together part is already taken care of,” Cole assured him. “I gave myself to you, not just in body, but in heart and mind, too. I made a commitment to you, Everest, and I ain’t leavin’ your side lest you tell me you don’t want me there.”

  “And there will never come a day when that happens, Cole,” Everest said solemnly. “I will always want you. Rest assured that my love is constant and unwavering.”

  Cole dipped his chin once, and he drew in a deep breath. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “Now that I have you in my life as more than a friend, I don’t wanna entertain the thought of lettin’ you go. Even if it is for just one night.”

  “Then let’s figure this out, so we don’t have to separate.”

  Everest looked on as tension seemed to ripple out of Cole like a great wave. He continued to stroke Cole’s soft locks, trying to help him return to the calm they’d experienced since waking up in each other’s arms. Slowly but surely, Co
le settled under his attention and care, enough that Everest knew they could really make some headway together.

  “So,” he said and smiled at his man, “I think it makes sense for us to decide who we’re gonna tell first and then talk about living arrangements. Then, we can discuss how we’ll handle our employees and neighbors.”

  “I think family should hear it from us first and then those who work for us.” Cole pressed his lips together momentarily. “Maybe tell our respective foremen before the rest of the hands,” he proposed. “Let them have a chance to process the information so they can help us manage any fallout.”

  “I agree with you that family should definitely be told first. All of my family knows that I’m gay, Cole. Should I assume that your mother knows you are?” Everest asked. He felt sure that Lainey Gentry knew because Robbie had come to their ranch specifically to spend time with Cole, and no mother worth her salt would have missed the fact that another man was coming to sleep at her son’s house.

  “I told both of my parents when I was a teen, so Dad knew before he passed,” Cole said, his voice solemn. “He told me that as long as I was a good partner to whomever I married and stayed true as a husband should, it didn’t matter to him who I loved. So long as I was loved in return and happy.” Cole coughed and tried to stop any emotion from coming to the surface.

  Everest scooted just a little closer until they were touching from head to toe. “You know you can trust me with that, Cole. With your laughter and your tears.”

  “I’m not gonna cry.”

  “Maybe not. But you can. I don’t give a damn what people say about whether men should cry or not. You’re talkin’ about your father, and I know how much he meant to you. Just know you’re safe with me and I’m never gonna judge you.”

  Cole let his forehead rest against Everest’s. “I know.” He breathed deeply as he stared into Everest’s eyes.

  Ah, his tenderhearted man. Yet one more thing Everest adored about Cole. He was a sensitive soul and gentle to his core, though Everest knew in their line of work being described as sensitive was the last thing most ranchers wanted to hear. Good thing Cole wasn’t like most ranchers. Everest knew Cole would accept whatever praise Everest heaped upon him and never balk at any adjective he used. Cole was far too loving and kind for that – shy even, at times.