Seeking Kokopelli

by Shelley Munro

  “I’ll meet you back here for the gig,” Cade said. “I’m meeting Maggie’s parents tonight since they’ve come from Montana to visit her. I won’t be back at the motel later, either,” he added to Nate. “Don’t wait up.”

  “You’re like a clumsy ox stumbling around in the dark. You wake us up every time,” Adam said.

  “Hey, I can be quiet,” Cade protested.

  “Nope.” Nate shook his head. “I’ve yet to see it.”

  “Don’t you mean hear it?” J.T. asked, grinning. “Why do you think I chose to room with Morgan?”

  “Well, you could have mentioned it to us,” Adam said.

  “I’m not listening to this denigration of my good character,” Cade said. “Catch you later tonight.”

  Nate and the others walked outside to the van. As soon as they exited the pub, the hair on the back of his neck prickled. It wasn’t his imagination. He’d thought someone had followed them from the motel, yet hadn’t managed to see anything or anyone out of the ordinary. An overactive imagination, he’d decided. Now he wasn’t so sure. Eyes watched them. He’d stake his life on it.

  “Hurry,” he barked at J.T. and Morgan.

  J.T. shot him a look of surprise. “Who lit the fire in your britches?”

  “I’m starving,” Nate said.

  “Me too,” Adam agreed, and Nate let a breath ease out when his lover climbed inside the van. This preternatural awareness had something to do with Adam. He didn’t like all the weird things that had happened and wasn’t about to ignore his instincts this time.

  Back at the motel, Nate ordered chili con carne and cornbread and added salads in the interest of a balanced menu. They met up in Nate and Adam’s room and, to Nate’s intense frustration, seemed inclined to linger. No way did he intend to invite them in for drinks later tonight.

  “Hell, look at the time,” he said suddenly. An hour for them to shower, change and get back to the pub. Their room cleared magically. Nate closed the door and locked it before turning slowly to face Adam. “We haven’t had much time alone recently.”

  “Is that a complaint?” Adam tugged off his boots and socks so he was barefoot like Nate.

  “A statement.”

  “What did you have in mind?”

  Nate’s heart lurched, fear taking a grip before he could shake it off. “A kiss?” The words came out as a distinct question. Damn, he didn’t know what he was doing when it came to Adam. Oh, he knew what he wanted, but the directions to get to his destination were murky. He felt as if he wandered, lost in the badlands.

  “A kiss I can do,” Adam said, his agreeable tone helping Nate relax and stretch his imagination to more than a kiss.

  “Maybe a quick shower together and a bit of a grope before we leave? That’s all we’ll have time for.”

  Adam’s nimble fingers started to unbutton his shirt. “I like the way you think.”

  Nate stared, eyeing the golden skin Adam revealed with each release of a button. He shrugged it off his shoulders and let the shirt drop to the floor. The rest of his clothes followed. Nate was lost, his emotions more entangled with Adam than he cared to admit. He was falling for the other man and knew it, despite his continuing reservations.

  “Are you gonna shower in your clothes?”

  “What? No!” Nate dragged his T-shirt over his head and followed Adam to the shower. Mesmerized, he watched the flex of Adam’s buttocks as he leaned into the shower to turn on the water. With trembling fingers, Nate unfastened his jeans and pushed them down, maneuvering carefully past his erection. By the time he’d undressed, Adam was already inside the cubicle, ducking his head under the water momentarily before staring at him through spiky dark lashes. Nate stepped inside, walking into his arms and breathing in Adam’s scent with a sense of rightness.

  “Tonight,” Adam breathed before he took possession of his mouth. Firm lips caressed his, the touch seeming to zip straight to his groin.

  God, he loved kissing Adam. Those lips that sang so sweetly kissed with real passion, teasing a groan from him. Hands wandered, stroked and squeezed. Wrapped around his dick. The air hissed out of Nate in a laugh while his pulse rate spiked in anticipation.

  “We don’t have time to do this.”

  Adam laughed. “Yeah, we do. You’re the driver and I’m the lead singer. They can’t go without us.”

  “But—”

  Adam sank to his knees in front of Nate and grinned up at him. “However, I’m gonna move this along because it’s unprofessional for me to be late.”

  And when it came to music, Adam took things seriously. Nate moved a fraction so the water didn’t hit Adam in the face.

  “You know, I don’t want to be all furtive and quick about his.” Adam changed his mind, stood to grab the soap. “After the concert, okay? You and me. A room without Cade. Privacy.”

  “Sounds great.” And it did. Nate clasped the back of Adam’s head. Their bodies rubbed together, wet skin gliding seductively. Nate liked the way Adam’s dark lashes fluttered closed when he directed Adam’s mouth to his. Their breath mingled, and a hushed moan emerged from Adam seconds before their lips met. Adam’s taste was addictive, filling Nate with a yearning for even closer physical contact. When he lifted his head, they were both breathing hard, their erections brushing. Temptation. It rippled through Nate, making him long to pounce, to force Adam against the wall of the shower cubicle and take his pleasure.

  “Later,” Adam whispered. “Know that every song I sing tonight is for you.”

  A chill worked through Nate, despite the spray of warm water pouring down over their bodies. “Later,” he confirmed, wondering when Adam had managed to supplant Rosa in his memories.

  Chapter Eight

  The hands of the clock showed it was after midnight by the time they arrived back at the motel. Adam climbed from the van and stretched, holding his hands at the small of his back, his mouth cracked open in a wide yawn.

  “No wonder you don’t have a date,” Morgan said. “That’s as attractive as hell.”

  “Huh! How many pairs of lacy panties did you have chucked at you tonight?” Adam smirked, knowing he’d have Morgan beat hands down.

  “I have a date,” Morgan countered, his grin telling Adam to beat that.

  “I’m so tired, I doubt I could get it up,” Nate said. “Adam snores. Any woman who dates him should get a warning.”

  J.T. and Morgan hooted at that.

  “I’ve heard Viagra cures a limp dick,” Adam said.

  “I’m too tired to even argue about it,” Nate said, taking off his hat and lifting it in a gesture of farewell. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

  “What are you gonna do?” Adam asked J.T. He had to force himself not to stare at Nate’s butt as the man walked away.

  “I’m gonna grab a beer and veg in front of the tube.”

  Adam nodded. “Sounds like a plan. Maybe I’ll do the same thing.”

  “Come to our room,” J.T. said.

  “Nah, I’m pretty tired too. I’ll watch the TV in my room. That way, if I fall asleep, I can do it in comfort. See you tomorrow.” Adam trailed after Nate, having a hard time keeping to a walk instead of breaking into a jog. Anticipation thrummed inside him, and outside their room, he fumbled for his key, dropping it on the ground in his haste. The outside light had blown and it didn’t make finding his key easy. He cursed softly, retrieving the key and shoving it in the keyhole. The door jerked open before he could turn the key, spilling light over the flourishing green shrub right beside their room.

  He sent Nate a sheepish smile. “I dropped my key and couldn’t find it in the dark.”

  Nate waited until he stepped inside and turned the lock. He’d stripped off his shirt, and Adam’s eyes followed the tanned skin, the bulging muscles and the lightly furred chest. His finger itched to touch, and he wanted to taste and lick Nate’s flat nipples to hard peaks.

  Nate’s chuckle jerked Adam back to the present. Color instantly invaded his face, and he t
hanked his parents for his golden-toned skin that didn’t give away his embarrassment easily. “What?” he asked, pretending innocence.

  “You’re looking at me as if you’d like to eat me for supper.”

  “And what if I said that’s exactly what I would like?”

  “You’re not worried that getting closer to me is a bad thing? I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  Adam stared at Nate in surprise. “Don’t you mean you’re worried about you getting hurt?”

  “That too,” Nate agreed. “Everything is happening so fast. If people learn that you…that we…” He trailed off in obvious discomfort.

  “If they find out I’m queer or that we have a relationship, then they’ll have to deal with it. I’m not going to apologize for being with you, for preferring men to women. I’m not going to give you up because some people think an intimate relationship between two men is not God’s will.”

  “What about J.T., Morgan and Cade? What will they think?”

  Adam frowned, not liking the direction of this conversation. “I don’t know what they’ll think. We could tell them and find out.” Why the hell was Nate trying to put distance between them? “Nate, if you have a problem, tell me. If something is worrying you, spit it out. We can’t fix a problem if I don’t know about it.”

  “I…” Nate’s shoulders slumped momentarily before lifting again. “No problem. Just tired, I guess.”

  Adam sensed he was lying, but he couldn’t push too hard. No matter what he said or how hard he pretended to himself, he knew the truth. Nate was the one for him. He didn’t want another man. He definitely did not want a woman. “Why don’t you go to sleep? I’m gonna grab a beer and watch TV for a while. I’m still high from the show.”

  “It was a great show,” Nate said. “'Alone’ will be a huge hit.”

  “I don’t have a grandmother. You know that, right? Every time I sing ‘Alone’, it’s for you.” His voice broke in an unmanly croak toward the end of his sentence, emotion getting the better of him. Nothing less than the truth, though. He didn’t intend to lie to Nate.

  A strange expression flashed across Nate’s face. Adam didn’t know whether it was pleasure or shock or something in between. It made him hesitate, suddenly unsure. Had he read more into this relationship than he should have? He knew Nate still thought about his wife a lot. It was only natural. Nate didn’t screw around. He’d known that, admired it, but he had to admit it was difficult to fight a dead woman. And kinda sad on his part that he thought of Rosa as a competitor.

  “That’s dangerous. What if an enterprising reporter or fan decides to dig into your family tree?”

  Adam shrugged and hoped he managed to hide the sliver of fear that snaked down his spine. Nate was right. He didn’t want anyone knowing about his past, and since he hadn’t hidden his real name and still used it, an enterprising snoop might strike gold and hit on information about his background or the hundred-pound gorilla that lurked in his closet along with his sexuality. Most people were uneasy in the presence of the supernatural. Kokopelli definitely resided in the supernatural section. And if he continued his relationship with Nate, he probably should tell him. Maybe.

  “What? What’s wrong?” Nate frowned, tension rippling through his upper body.

  “Nothing. You’re right.”

  Nate’s brows rose. “I am?”

  “Yeah.”

  “That would be a first.” Nate unfastened his trousers and slid them down his long legs, then pulled back the covers of the bed he’d been sleeping in for the last couple of days.

  Damn, Nate really did intend to go to sleep. Adam shoved aside the physical desire crawling through his gut. The last thing he wanted was for Nate to think he was sex-mad, no matter how close that was to the truth. A grimace distorted his face as he sauntered over to the fridge and snagged a bottle of beer. “Will the television keep you awake?”

  “Nah, I’m so tired I could sleep through anything.” To illustrate his point, his mouth opened in a wide yawn as he crawled between the sheets.

  Yup, no sex tonight, Adam thought glumly.

  Ten minutes later, Nate’s deep breaths told Adam he was asleep. Adam finished his beer and decided he’d crawl into bed with Nate. If they couldn’t have sex, at least they could sleep close, hold each other.

  Without giving it another thought, Adam switched off the light, stripped and slipped under the covers. The heat emanating from Nate drew him in, and Adam settled his body against Nate’s, sighing in contentment. There was no other place he’d rather be.

  Someone woke him, hours later or it could have been minutes.

  “I don’t remember inviting you into my bed,” a familiar husky voice said.

  Adam cuddled closer without opening his eyes, savoring the soft texture of Nate’s chest hair, his muscled thigh sliding between his legs. “I wanted to be near you.”

  “Yeah?”

  “That’s right. Do you have a problem with that?” Adam wriggled closer, unabashedly rubbing his cock against Nate’s leg.

  “What am I going to do with you?”

  “Fuck me?” Adam said, hearing the hopeful note in his voice and not caring if it gave away his vulnerability and need.

  “That could be arranged.”

  “Good, but you have too many clothes on.”

  Nate laughed and wriggled out of his boxer-briefs. “That better?”

  The feel of skin on skin made Adam groan out loud. “Hell, yeah.” Blindly he reached for Nate, searching for his mouth and finding it in a fierce clashing of lips. Rough stubble and softer beard hair abraded his cheek, his mouth. Nate’s taste filled him, and with it came the joy of feeling wanted. It hit him in that instant how right this felt, loving Nate. He wrapped his arms around the other man, thrusting his hips and shuddering because it felt so good. Before he knew it, they were rocking against each other, gasps and moans filling the air. Hands stroked, teeth nipped and the pleasure grew as they moved together. Adam reached between them, grasping both cocks in his hand, firmly pumping until his balls were so hard he thought they might burst. A final hard stroke and he exploded, his belly muscles tensing as his dick jerked with the force of his release.

  “Damn,” Nate muttered, his breathing loud in Adam’s ear.

  The splash of semen against his chest made him ease back on the hand action. Nate shuddered against him. Adam kissed Nate again, this time slowly, putting everything he felt and couldn’t say into the kiss. When he finally pulled away, they were both breathing hard.

  Adam forced himself to move. “I’ll get a cloth.” It was best he left before he said something he shouldn’t, admitted his love and put real pressure on their fragile relationship.

  In the bathroom, he gave himself a swift lecture, his eyes bleary in the bright light. Grabbing a cloth, he turned on the tap and waited for it to run hot. Then his eyes widened and a gasp escaped. The Kokopelli mark on his chest. After he’d left the village, cast out by his father and the other villagers, the tattoo, for want of a better word, had faded until only he knew where it had once been. But now it was returning. It was much darker, dark enough that Nate would see it and ask questions. The rest of the band would notice if he removed his shirt.

  Frowning, he swiped the stickiness from his chest and refreshed the cloth for Nate. What did this mean? Had something happened to his brother? Hell! No way did he want to return to the village to carry out the Kokopelli duties. He couldn’t give up his music. Damn, he wouldn’t. Music had saved him once, and these days he lived to play with the band, to sing and write his songs. He’d never return to the village to face the narrow-minded people from his childhood because that would mean giving up Nate.

  Deep in troubled thought, he switched off the light, paused to let his eyes adjust and returned to Nate. When Nate reached for the cloth, he slapped his hand away. “No, let me. I like touching you.”

  Nate didn’t argue, but merely relaxed back onto the mattress and waited for Adam to cleanse his chest. �
��Are you going to let me back into your bed?”

  “Now?”

  “Yeah, I want to sleep with you.”

  Nate snorted and shifted over a fraction. “Somehow, I don’t think I have an option. You’ll just creep back once I go to sleep.”

  “Probably. Besides, Cade isn’t here. When he’s here, we don’t have the opportunity to sleep together. I miss it.” He smirked suddenly. “I sure as hell won’t grieve over skipping my turn to sleep on the rollaway bed.”

  “There’s always the next stop. Okay, but the minute you start snoring or try to push me out of bed, you’re outta here,” Nate warned.

  Adam grinned. Somehow he didn’t think Nate meant that. He tossed the cloth aside, dragged the covers over them and snuggled against Nate’s slightly larger frame. He could have easily gone another round, but Nate was already close to sleep, each of his breaths coming slow and steady. Adam grinned and closed his eyes, soaking in the other man’s closeness and his scent. Plenty of time for sex. Relaxed and warm, he started to think about music, lyrics for a new song drifting through his mind. He fell asleep halfway through the second verse.

  The slide of a key in the lock and a soft curse woke him. Half-awake, Adam took longer than usual to process the sounds.

  “Fuck,” Cade muttered.

  The distinct thunk told Adam that Cade had walked into the table. He threw back the covers, ready to scramble into his bed, but the sudden flare of the light stole the stealthy option from him.

  “Fuck,” Cade said again, this time in shock.

  Adam shot a guilty glance at Nate and saw he was awake and fully alert, his inscrutable expression doing little to indicate how Adam should react.

  “You’re in bed together,” Cade said. “Naked.”

  Give the man a prize. Adam wanted to curse a blue streak and then do it again. Too late. “What are you doing here? I thought you were meeting us at the studio.” A flick of his wrist yanked the covers over to screen his nakedness.