by CJ Turner
“Upstairs,” Manu ordered. The dog gave him a baleful glance but trotted away and up the stairs to the loft above. But that didn’t stop Alister readying to go on offense.
“Is that so?” he tossed out as a challenge.
Manu wiped his eyes.“Buddy, I’ve never seen a guy try so hard to act cool, and it’s fucking ridiculous.”
Alister’s eyes widened with his growing indignation. He opened his mouth to spit a retort, but his mind did the math of his hardened dick, and Manu sitting there like sex on a stick blew a circuit in his brain. Impulsively, he leaned over and planted his lips on Manu.
In a second, the seriousness of what he’d done struck him, and he tried to pull away. But Manu wrapped an arm around him and pulled him closer.
Manu’s mouth covered his, hard and questing, enticing Alister to open his mouth and take Manu’s tongue. Recklessly, Alister took it, and their tongues danced against each other, fueling Alister’s lust. Manu cupped Alister’s cock, and Alister lost all sense of time and place. He crawled on top of Manu and felt the man’s excitement under him.
Alister gripped the edge of the man’s T-shirt and pulled it up to reveal the man’s chest full of dark hair and his dusky brown nipples. He bent and sucked one nipple in his mouth, and Manu gasped. Good. He liked it when a man’s nipples were sensitive. He dropped that nipple and took the other between his lips, but lightly pinched and pulled the neglected one with his hand.
Under him, Manu’s cocked swelled, promising more than Alister expected. Sometimes big men’s bodies overpromised what they could deliver, but not this burly mountain man. Alister feasted on Manu’s nipples and sucked on his neck. He didn’t seem to be able to get enough of him.
Manu gripped Alister’s ass, pulling him closer, and they bucked against each other. Alister groaned as his mind raced ahead to his next move. So far, they had kissed, which didn’t carry as much risk. And he took the PrEP pills. Finding out that his last boyfriend was a player freaked Alister out, and he hiked it to the family doctor to get the medication.
Manu now sucked on Alister’s neck, while his hand slipped between them to rub Alister’s cock through the thin fabric. There was no thinking after that. Alister moaned his appreciation for Manu’s attention. And without prelude, Manu tore Alister’s sweatpants down, and his cock sprang out, hard and dripping, and pointed towards Manu’s mouth.
Manu shot a searing gaze filled with lust and opened his mouth.
“Give it,” he ordered.
The words alone almost made him shoot, but he wanted what Manu offered.
“Okay,” he said. And he leaned forward.
Unexpectedly, someone pounded on the door as if the police were about to break the door down. Jack ran down the stairs, barking furiously.
“Fuck,” said Manu. “I guess I should get that.”
Alister scrambled off Manu’s lap, disappointed at the interruption. He sat with a huff and pulled up his sweatpants. Manu stood and walked to the door.
“Open up, damn it!”
Manu pulled open the door cautiously.
“Is there a problem?”
“My friend, Alister, is here. I came to get him.”
Manu opened the door but stood behind it for an outstanding reason, though sadly, that reason was fading fast. Alister pulled the afghan over his lap until he calmed down.
“Where the hell have you been?” snapped Sebastian when his eyes lighted on Alister on the couch.
“Excuse me? Who left me alone on a mountain while he chased after his dog?”
Jack sniffed around Sebastian’s legs, probably picking up Sargeant Pupper’s scent. He circled Sebastian and huffed and walked away, to fall at Alister’s feet.
“Why didn’t you follow?”
“Improper footwear and the forces of gravity don’t mix well. If it weren’t for Manu, I’d still be sitting on that incline.”
“I went back for you, and you had disappeared. I’ve been frantic looking for you.”
“Why?”
“You know why, Alister. And your parents would kill me.”
“Don’t be silly. Neither has a murderous bone in their body.”
“Let’s go,” said Sebastian. “And you, Martin, stay away from him.”
Manu’s mouth twitched. “Why would you say that?”
“Because your reputation is shit in this town, and you know it. Why you haven’t folded your tour business is beyond me. I don’t need my friend hurt because of your half-assed approach to safety.”
Manu crossed his arms and glared at Sebastian, who was a half a head shorter than Manu. Alister had half a mind to tell Sebastian to take a hike, but the angry expression on Manu’s face telegraphed the party was over.
“Let’s go, Sebastian, before I have to bail you out of jail. Thanks for helping me off the mountain, Manu. I do appreciate it.”
Manu flicked his gaze to Alister, but shot him the same icy stare he rained on Sebastian.
“Sure, anytime.”
Sebastian turned and left Manu’s house. His feet clattered on the floorboards of the cottage’s porch without Sebastian speaking a word. Alister had never seen cool and collected Sebastian so pissed.
Sebastian’s key fob chirped, and he strode with crisp steps on the driveway gravel to the driver’s side of his SUV. Alister peered over his shoulder to find Manu a half step out of his door. But when the mountain man caught Alister’s glance, he stepped back inside before Alister could raise his hand. The door shut with a slam.
Alister sighed. It had been too damned long since he touched anyone, and he loved Manu’s responsiveness. Some men were “let’s get the main event” types, but Manu enjoyed Alister’s expanded menu of possibilities. Sebastian had the worst sense of timing.
The passenger-side door popped open.
“Are you getting in or what?” said Sebastian. He sounded irritated, and Alister almost understood that. Alister had arrived in the dead of night without notifying him, and at the first opportunity got lost on a mountain, making him worry. Then Alister made Sebastian his taxi service and retrieved him from a guy’s house who Sebastian clearly did not like. It was a shit show all the way around, and Alister might have sympathy for him if Sebastian hadn’t acted like a dick to Manu.
Alister climbed on the leather seat of the SUV with his lips pursed in thought. He clipped the seat belt into its buckle and stared forward as Sebastian fired the engine and rolled down the driveway.
“What’s your problem?” said Sebastian.
“I’d rather not have this discussion.”
“I don’t care,” said Sebastian. He swung out onto the two-lane highway at the end of the drive.
“Do you want a fight? I’d rather not get into it with my host.”
“No, I don’t,” said Sebastian tersely. “Look, I have a big deal pending, and I don’t need it blown by an out-of-town guest that doesn’t know what’s what around here. Manu Martin is poison around here, and it’s best if you stay away from him.”
“What did he do that’s so terrible? Because short of murder, you have no right to act like such a big swinging dick with him.”
“A man almost died because of his sloppiness. People don’t trust him for good reason. And he’s being sued.”
“Oh, sued,” said Alister drawing out the word sarcastically. Living in the upper-income strata, it was the reason why Alister had his own lawyer since the age of four. Alister learned early that some people thought lawsuits were a pathway to instawealth. He had little sympathy for such people.
Sebastian’s fingers tightened on the wheel of the SUV, and his face grew grim.
“I recommended Manu’s tour to the man and have heard no end of grief about it, okay? So do me a favor and stay away from Manu Martin.”
Alister crossed his arms and stared out of the windshield, at war with his desire not to anger his forever friend and host and his lust for the mountain man. Alister was smart and knew the dangers of sticking his dick in the wrong pla
ces. But in his gut, he didn’t see Manu as the danger that Sebastian laid out. His inner voice told him something was “not right,” and Alister had learned to trust that voice.
Still, Alister dropped the subject with Sebastian. He had no idea how long he’d stay at Mountain Shadow Lake and didn’t want to wear out his welcome too fast.
When they reached the house up the long drive that could be its own mini-highway, they found a stack of packages at the garage door. Alister heard Sargeant Pupper barking furiously.
“Wonderful,” said Sebastian sarcastically. “Whoever delivered the packages couldn’t wait or call? What if someone stole them?”
“Chill. No one would come up here, especially with that beast of yours barking like a fiend.”
Between the two men, they dragged in the assortment of packages to Alister’s room.
“I’ll go see about something to eat. I’ll probably order something and pick it up. Is there anything you want?”
“I’m not picky,” said Alister.
“Since when?” replied Sebastian.
“Since I decided to be the best guest ever. Whatever you want is fine with me.”
Sebastian’s expression said he didn’t believe Alister, but Alister meant it. He was grateful for Sebastian taking him in, especially after his stunt of walking out on his family.
“Fine,” said Sebastian.
With Sebastian gone, Alister tore into the packages. It was like Christmas, but on a smaller scale, and he had paid for it all. But Daniel’s selections pleased him. The clothes were killer, and Daniel had sent not only a phone charger but a burner phone as well and a computer plus a new prescription for his PrEP pills. Alister also found a debit card, and he wondered about that until he read Daniel’s note that said he could only put ten grand on it, so use it with care. Alister frowned. Ten grand was a start but not anywhere near what he spent in a week. He’d have to make do.
“I’m getting the food now. I’ll be back in a half hour,” called Sebastian.
“Thanks.”
Alister sighed with relief and decided there was a thing he must do while Sebastian was out of the house. He fired up the computer and took a dive into the world of Manu Martin.
Chapter Six
Manu
“Damn!”
The front door slammed and rattled in its doorframe. Jack whined and slunk to his old bed under the stairs that Manu didn’t bother to move.
Things were just getting good with the twink when Sebastian Brevard showed at his door. The man’s timing sucked, and his attitude worse. Manu couldn’t change ancient history, but it was attitudes like Sebastian’s that didn’t help Manu’s business get off the ground.
Manu tried to tell himself that his anger wasn’t because Sebastian interrupted his make-out session with Alister. But an annoying low-level burn ran through every nerve ending.
“Come on, Jack,” said Manu. “Let’s take a walk.”
Jack picked up his head and put it down. He appeared depressed, and why wouldn’t he? George abandoned the pup and left him on Manu’s doorstep while Manu was out of town trying to work out the legal problem that kept his business in trouble.
It sucked that Manu had no money of his own for a lawyer. But as he learned in New York, he was no lawyer either.
He and Jack walked up the trail again, the very same one where he found Alister. At the same rock, Manu sat and watched as the sun set. The mountain tops stretched before him took on a purple cast as rare cumulus clouds rolled overhead, promising rain. But the Rockies could lie, too. The wind currents churned and swept over the land quickly, not caught in any valley. One day it could snow three inches, and on another the sun would shine, and the temperature could be eighty degrees. That’s what he loved about these mountains. Each day brought something new, like today they brought Alister.
Manu shook his head. But now, Brevard would have soured Alister on anything having to do with him. Besides, it was just better not to get involved. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, the whole George thing still sent tiny stabs to his heart when he thought about it.
And he hated that.
“Come on, Jack,” he said. “Let’s get home.”
But Jack circled the area as if looking for something, returned to the rock, sniffed Manu, and gazed up at him as if perplexed.
“What are you doing?”
Jack whined and pushed his head under Manu’s hand. With a shock, Manu recognized this from earlier when Jack did the same thing with Alister.
“He’s not here, buddy. He went with Sebastian, Sargeant Pupper’s dad.”
Jack gave him a sad face.
“Stop,” huffed Manu. “Some things don’t work out. You should know that from experience.”
Manu decided to take a walk to the road to check the mail. Jack didn’t mind the extra exercise, but all Manu found was a stack of bills. And an ominous letter. But all letters from lawyers looked like death was about to descend on you.
He sighed and walked up the hill with Jack trotting along or ahead faithfully. When he got home, he opened the mail to get the grim news and pulled out his laptop to check the grimmer news of his account balance. When Manu logged onto his bank account, he got a shock. He stared at the screen.
Someone had deposited $700 into his account. This was the amount of a full-day horse tour in the mountains. Scrambling, he opened his email to find the reservation for tomorrow, at eight for one person, to meet at the horse farm where Manu rented horses for these trips. He blinked. This one day would take care of several monthly bills.
His phone rang on his business line.
“Mr. Martin?”
“Yes.”
“This is William Chatsworth of Chatsworth, Brown, and Holder.”
Manu swallowed hard. He hadn’t heard of this lawyer before.
“Do you have five minutes to talk?”
He might as well get this over with. “Yes.”
“I’ve been reviewing the details of your case, and I know the plaintiff’s lawyers well. I believe I can get them to withdraw the suit with your permission, of course.”
Plaintiff? That didn’t sound like the language a lawyer used about his client.
“Excuse me? I didn’t ask you to look into this. And I can’t afford a lawyer.”
“In a case like this and the wealth of the plaintiff, it’s always best to have representation. But don’t worry. You won’t have to pay a thing. We do pro bono work on occasion, and a friend asked me to look into this.”
“This is very strange.”
“I can understand your reluctance. I’m messaging you paperwork to permit me to act as your lawyer. Look it over, have any lawyer look at it if you wish. Sign it and return it if you want me to work for you. You can fax me a copy so I can get working right away, and return the originals to me.”
Manu typed the lawyer’s name into his computer’s browser, and his eyes narrowed.
“You are a New York firm.”
“It always pays to hire the best. We have several satellite offices, and one of them is in Denver, licensed to practice in Colorado. It’s your choice, and I’ll stand by any decision you make.”
“Isn’t it odd that you call someone you don’t know and offer your services for free?”
“Check us out. I’m sure you’ll find we have a solid reputation.”
“I’ll do that. Thank you for calling.”
Manu hung up the call and wondered which fairy godmother dropped a bunch of bennies on him today. The tours could happen any time, though, for the past year, those have been few. But the lawyer calling from out of nowhere? That was weird. Still, if things didn’t check out, he could always tell them “no.”
“Hey, Jack. We have a tour tomorrow. What do you think?”
Jack wagged his tail and barked.
“Well, let’s get ready and hit the hay. We’re up early tomorrow.”
But Manu felt too jazzed to fall asleep quickly. He couldn’t find any information on th
e guy that booked the tour, Daniel Patterson. His searches on Chatsworth, Brown, and Holder turned up that they were upstanding members of the bar and had zero complaints against them. Manu hated not knowing the scoop on anyone, though he supposed the only thing he needed to know about Mr. Patterson was that his cash spent as well as anyone else’s. The lawyer was a different story. He had to wait until those papers arrived to decide that. Still, he couldn’t shake the idea their interest in his case was damned odd.
Finally, his eyes closed, and he floated into a dream where a handsome twink crawled on top of him and—
His alarm blared, and Jack exploded with a fit of barking, startling Manu awake. He rubbed his face, trying to decide if he could grab more shut-eye. It was too early. The sun hadn’t met the horizon yet. Then he remembered today he had a client. “Why didn’t you wake me sooner?” he grumbled to Jack.
But as soon as he dragged his butt from bed, showered, and hit the road, he felt better. After an uneventful ride to the horse farm where he rented a small office and horses for the day, he entered his element once again. He pulled his backpack from his truck while Jack ran around joyfully sniffing and reacquainting himself with his old haunt.
For the first time in months, things almost felt “right” again.
As he rounded the truck, Manu spotted the twink.
Alister Grant stood against the corral with his round ass sticking out, staring at the horses their owner, Mrs. Thurman, put out for Manu. One was a chestnut mare, Sally, who had an even temperament and, Thunder, a huge black gelding who could be a terror to ride. Manu liked him, though, and Thunder returned the favor, so they had fun on treks.
Jack spotted him as when Manu did and ran barking toward the man, who turned and flashed a smile at the canine. Jack jumped in his excitement, but Alister held out his hand and said, “no.” Incredibly, Jack stopped in his tracks, wagging his tail. Alister waved Jack to him and petted him vigorously.
“Daniel Patterson, I presume.”
Alister looked up and grinned that incredible smile, and Manu almost melted on the spot. Not that he was a melt-to-the-ground type of guy, but the damned twink had that effect on him.
