by Zoey Marcel
“You’re not getting your shit back, and that’s final. Bane wanted you protected, and that’s exactly what you’re going to be. You should at least respect his wishes even if you can’t keep your pants on.” Stetson turned and walked away.
That final whore remark was the last straw. She scanned the ground, picked up a small rock, and hurled it at his ass. The sight of it smacking the cowboy’s buns gave her a smug sense of satisfaction.
Take that, you jackass.
Stetson stopped walking and slowly turned to face her with a lethal expression that let her know she was toast. He calmly closed the distance between them and unfastened his belt buckle. The clink sound of it coming undone titillated the hell out of her, but she was confused. He hated her. Why was he taking—
“Clearly your father didn’t beat your ass enough,” Stetson told her as he yanked his belt out of the loops of his jeans and doubled it with a startling degree of confidence. “Maybe I ought to fix his mistake.”
Oh, shit, he was going to spank her with his belt. Jade panicked and got behind Sawyer. “Don’t come near me!”
Sawyer glanced back down at her with a saucy grin. “I’d get between you, but I have this irresistible hankering to see your gorgeous ass blushing cherry red. You might even enjoy getting spanked by Stet. God knows what a sadistic bastard he is.”
She bolted over to Doc and got behind him instead. “Doc, save me. I’ll stay if you do.”
Doc looked down at her with a sad smile and then turned to face them. “I have cancer.”
Stetson stopped walking toward them, looking like he’d seen a ghost. Sawyer and Kellan appeared equally shocked.
Jade couldn’t believe Doc told them. She wanted to be spared the god-awful belt spanking, but she wasn’t sure she wanted anyone else to get hurt by his news. Still, it was good that he told them. They had a right to know, and he deserved to be well cared for during his final days on earth.
“You what?” Sawyer asked.
Stetson looked at Doc seriously. “You’d better watch yourself making up shit to keep a whore from getting the spanking she deserves. Cancer isn’t anything to joke about.”
Doc’s voice caught for a moment like he was getting choked up. “I’m not joking, Stetson. I have lung cancer.”
Stetson’s lips parted and he just stared at Doc in silence.
“Lung cancer? You son of a bitch, why didn’t you tell us?” Sawyer tossed the saddle down and glowered over at Doc.
Kellan gaped at him, looking devastated. “Doc, why didn’t you say anything? How long have you been sick?”
“A while now,” Doc replied sadly. “I would have said something sooner, but—”
“But what?” Stetson growled.
“I didn’t want to worry y’all none.”
Kellan snorted. “Didn’t want to worry us? Jesus, Doc, we’re your friends. It’s our job to worry if you get sick.”
“Have you tried chemo and all that other shit, you dumbass?” Sawyer inquired.
Doc nodded. “Nothing worked. I was too far along by the time they found the cancer.”
Another moment of stunned silence followed.
Kellan ran his hand down his face in worry. “Doc, what does that mean?”
Jade saw Doc swallow, and his eyes slid over to meet Stetson’s shocked stare. “It means I’m dying.”
Stetson’s eyes squeezed shut and he turned and walked away without a word.
Kellan ran his hand down his face again. “Doc, why?”
Sawyer’s head bowed and his eyes closed, but he didn’t say anything.
Jade squeezed Doc’s hand, not knowing which of the men this must be hardest for, Doc or his friends.
“Do you need anything, Doc?” Sawyer asked in a hushed tone.
“I’m fine, thanks. It would be nice if things could just be the same as they always are,” said Doc.
Kellan shook his head, looking miserable. “I don’t see how that’s possible.”
Doc sighed and walked slowly back toward the house. “I’m awful sorry about all this. I wanted to wait until the right moment, but I reckon there never would have been one.”
Kellan’s eyes misted as he picked up the pile of wood he’d set down and then headed back over to the shed.
Sawyer picked his saddle up off the ground. He must have noticed the tears in her eyes. “You all right?”
Jade shook her head, feeling touched that he cared enough to ask. She clung to him and cried on his dusty, sweaty chest while he rubbed her back and lulled her gently.
“It’ll be okay, angel.”
“How?” she wept.
He pulled back, and his countenance was shadowed with doubt and grief. “I don’t know.”
He walked away, carrying the saddle over his shoulder.
Jade went back inside to look for Doc. She found him in his room, looking at a picture of someone. When he noticed her standing in the doorway he quickly turned the frame facedown and hid it under his holster, which was lying on the nightstand. His actions puzzled and intrigued her.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“I’ll be all right.” He grabbed one of his cowboy hats, a nice brown one, and donned it before brushing past her. “I think I’ll go out for a while.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I’d rather be alone right now,” he said with sorrow in his tone.
She nodded glumly and watched him leave. Then she remembered the frantic way he hid the picture when she walked in. What dark and titillating secrets lay beneath that man’s holster? She had to remind herself to keep her dirty mind out of the gutter when she asked herself that question.
Jade walked over to the nightstand and lifted his holster. She noticed an envelope lying next to the picture frame and saw her name on it. Intrigued, she picked up the envelope and rattled it a little. It felt like jewelry or something heavy rather than a letter. Should she open it? It was addressed to her after all.
Still, it wouldn’t be right to sneak a peek without Doc’s permission.
Or would it?
No, she should wait for him.
She set it down and picked up the picture frame. Her breath caught when she saw the man in the photo. It was a picture of Stetson. What dark and titillating secrets indeed.
Her mind called to light the weird way Doc had acted last night when she jokingly asked if he had feelings for Stetson. His denial was utterly bogus. Now she knew the truth. Men didn’t keep pictures of each other hidden in their bedrooms if they were simply friends and nothing more. Doc was in love with Stetson.
Chapter Six
Doc walked into Swifty’s Britches, the BDSM club he owned with Stetson and Sawyer. He went into one of the private rooms where he knew his sub would be waiting for him. He’d called Patrick O’Hara on his cell phone while driving and told him to meet him there.
Sure enough, Patrick was in the private room Doc had instructed him to wait in. Patrick was still clothed and rested on his knees with his head bowed. He was only twenty-one, about fourteen years younger than Doc, but the man was a natural-born submissive and eager to please.
The only thing was that the little guy would never stop talking. Doc generally found it amusing, but there were a few times when Patrick ended up getting spanked for his inability to shut his trap while his Dom was giving him orders.
His head flew up when he saw Doc and his face lit up like the Fourth of July. “Oh my God, you’re here! Oh boy! You want me to get naked? ’Cause I will. I’ll do it for you, boss. Sir. Master. My esteemed leader. Yeah, you know I will.”
Doc normally would have laughed, but this time he could only manage a feeble smile. His heart was too heavy with memories of the anguish on each of the Brooks brothers’ faces. It was either drink himself to death or find a reason to smile with the chatty little man who never failed to make him laugh, even during the most difficult days of his disease.
“You got here fast,” Doc said.
Doc hung up his duster and hat, dwelling on the way Stetson’s eyes had closed when Doc gave him the lousy news. His best friend cared about him. He knew that, but Doc would give anything for those feelings to run far deeper than the meaningful friendship they had.
Patrick rattled on in his cute, friendly voice. “So then I said to myself, ‘hey buddy, you know the club’s not far. Why don’t you just walk instead of drive?’ ‘Well, what a good idea, Patrick boy.’ So I ran all the way here. But don’t you worry none. I always wear deodorant. Gotta smell good and sexy for my man.”
“I’m not your man, Patrick.” Doc walked over to the cabinet, trying to decide which tool he wanted to use on his sub’s ass. Being referred to as Patrick’s man made him a lot happier than it probably should have.
Patrick sounded sheepish. “Sorry. I meant my Dom. I wasn’t hitting on you, but if you want me to, I will, boss.”
“I told you to call me Sir.”
“Right, sorry, Sir. What are you going to do to me this time? Are you going to make a man out of me?”
“No.”
“Rats. Please. I’ve been a good boy. Now make me a bad one and then spank me for it. I need it bad, Doc.”
“What did I tell you to call me, Patrick?”
“Master. Nope, wait. That’s not it. Sir. I’m supposed to call you Sir.”
“Then do it.” Doc selected a riding crop. “Take your pants off and lean over that bench.”
“Hell yes, I will.” He heard Patrick drop his pants. “You like my tighty-whities, boss?”
Doc turned to look at the lithe redhead with the bulging crotch. He just barely refrained from moaning. “Yes, they’re very nice. Take them off.”
He almost laughed at the speed with which his sub yanked his underwear down.
“Get a load of this guy.” Patrick proudly pointed to his swinging penis.
Doc grinned. “He looks like he needs to be chewed on.”
Patrick’s blue eyes sparkled with delight. “Yes! You want him?”
Doc tried not to smile. “I thought I told you to bend over that bench.”
“Oh yeah, huh? You want me to take my shirt off first? I’ve been working out more. I don’t look as good as you, but no one could. You want to see, boss?”
“Sir,” Doc corrected him.
Patrick misinterpreted and whipped his shirt off. “I’m the man now, huh? Well then, fool, get your ass over here so I can beat it.”
It took every ounce of energy to keep from laughing his ass off. Doc walked over to Patrick and forced him down over the spanking bench, giving his cute, perky ass a nice slap in the process. “I told you to call me Sir. Remember?”
“Oh yeah. Sorry, I’m kind of tired today. Maybe I need some coffee.”
Doc smirked. “Caffeine is the dead last thing you need.”
“Well, they make decaf you know. But then that wouldn’t help wake me up, so that doesn’t make any sense. You’re a funny man, boss. Ow!”
Doc swatted his butt with the riding crop. “That’s ‘Sir’ to you, brat, and stop talking.”
Patrick groaned. “Gosh, I love it when you call me names and turn all Schwarzenegger on me.”
Doc grinned as he secretly admired the tight little buns of the younger man. “I’m losing weight, Patrick, and even in my prime I was never Arnold.”
Patrick’s tone softened. “You are to me.”
That touched Doc for some reason. It was refreshing to be revered and worshiped by someone. He always appreciated the way he could come into one of the private rooms with Patrick and be completely himself. The youngster was the only one who knew Doc was bisexual, but the little Irish guy never told anybody. He was good at keeping secrets.
“Thank you,” Doc said in a quiet voice as his fingertips gently skimmed over his sub’s buttocks.
Patrick moaned. “I bought some lube.”
“I’ve told you before, Patrick, I’m not taking your virginity.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t want you to get attached to me.”
His sub snorted. “Well, it’s a little late for that. I think you’re awesome and I want you to make a man out of me.”
“No, and the fact that you went against my wishes and bought lube just earned you more spankings.”
“But it wasn’t intentional, boss.”
Doc whacked his ass for that. “Sir, and don’t lie to me.”
“But Sir, I didn’t mean to be presumptuous. It just occurred to me that I should have it just in case. You know, in case the tube accidentally popped open and the lube inadvertently squeezed itself into my asshole, and your hard cock just happened to fly right into my butt. How great would that be? Haven’t you ever heard of that phenomenon?”
Doc grinned at the way Patrick rattled on and gestured with his hands. The man could talk, but he always put a smile on Doc’s face. “No, sub. I’ve never heard of that phenomenon. Now stop talking while I discipline you.”
“Yes, Sir. I can do that, Sir. If that’s really what you want me to do, Sir. Ouch! Sir.” Patrick finally shut up after the slap to his fanny.
Doc snickered a bit before catching himself. “That’s better. I need you to be quiet this time. I have a lot on my mind.”
“Me, too. That’s another thing we have in common. We both have brains with things on them.” Patrick flinched when Doc struck his bottom again. “Ow! Sorry, Sir.”
“Hush now. I’m going to make your ass nice and red. If you’re a good boy and don’t talk, I’ll let you come afterward.”
Patrick gasped. “Oh my God, I love coming! I would always be coming if I could.”
“Even at the grocery store?” Doc teased.
His sub laughed. “Especially at the grocery store. I’d be shooting it all over the place and scaring everybody away. I’d be like the horny version of Godzilla, terrorizing everybody, and then you could step in as one of the other monsters, and our cocks could duke it out if you know what I mean.”
Doc smiled, but his chest hurt as did his lungs when he took deep breaths.
“Do you know what I mean, boss?”
“Yes, sub, I know what you mean. Now shut your trap.”
Patrick yipped when Doc slapped him with the crop, but he stopped talking. Doc normally enjoyed the swift slapping sounds of the crop hitting his sub’s ass, but this time they barely registered to him.
His mind was plagued with swarms of heart-wrenching thoughts. Saying good-bye to his chatty but sweet little sub would be depressing. Watching Bane leave with the woman Doc loved would break his heart. And the fear that he’d lost Stetson’s good opinion forever crushed him.
He should have told them he had cancer sooner. They probably hated him now. Why couldn’t things just stay the way they were? Why did he have to say good-bye to everyone that meant anything to him?
The way Patrick winced and grunted when Doc spanked him was deeply personal to him. The naked young man was so innocent and trusting of him, it had forged a special bond between them since the beginning.
Doc had always had women as subs, but a few months ago he’d taken Patrick as his submissive, though their BDSM relationship was a secret. It was a way of taking his mind off his obsession with Stetson. Patrick looked nothing like him. He was years younger than Stetson, and Patrick’s appearance screamed of Irish descent with his red hair, blue eyes, and fair skin.
Doc had never penetrated him or allowed Patrick to do so to him. The orgasms shared between them had come from blow jobs and manual stimulation. Doc had never even undressed completely for Patrick.
Doc had made it clear from the beginning that they weren’t to associate outside t
he club, but his sub had managed to weasel a few lunch dates out of him. Doc had let him know that their relationship didn’t extend beyond the physical or a casual friendship. Patrick had agreed, but Doc sometimes noticed the way the younger man looked at him. He was young, though. He’d look at any bedmate that way simply because the hormones had blinded him.
Doc set the crop aside when it was over and smoothed his hand over Patrick’s bottom. He would love to sink his cock into his sub’s virgin ass. He wanted to know what it felt like to tunnel in a man’s rectum and spill his seed in there. He was also curious to know what it would feel like to have a man in his.
Doc had never wondered about such things before he fell for Stetson, but whenever he was with Patrick and the little man waved his ass and erection at him, Doc fantasized about it all the more.
A tormented cry of need tore from his sub’s throat when Doc bent over him and reached around to fist his cock. The man was hard, and Doc could already feel his dick throbbing with the urge to come.
“Oh God, I can feel your hard dong,” Patrick groaned. “Please. Take me. I want it. I need you.”
Talk like that always made Doc nervous. “I need you” could be translated two different ways. How did Patrick mean it?
“Please sex me up,” he pleaded. “I won’t tell anybody. I need your wang.”
“What did I tell you to call it?” Doc licked the outline of his ear, enjoying his shiver.
“A cock, Sir.”
“Good boy,” he whispered against the tender spot behind Patrick’s ear. He gave the sweet spot a tiny lick before kissing him gently there. “I’m not fucking you, sub, but I do want you to come for me.”
“I need you bad, Sir. I can’t hold back anymore. I can’t pretend—”
“Shh.” Doc reached around and cupped Patrick’s balls with his other hand. He rolled and squished them gently while his right hand stroked his sub’s cock.
The young man whimpered and pushed into Doc’s hand more. “Doc, I’m serious. I can’t hold back anymore. If I come I’ll—”
Doc yanked his head up by his short red hair, smiling at the way Patrick gasped. “Stop talking.”
“I’m going to kick you,” Patrick warned.
