by Sara York
Jazz and Suz headed outside together followed by Zander, Marshal, Grant, and Matthew. Duff was close behind, the smile on his face wide.
Tanner made his way outside with the pot of corn ears and set them on the work surface by the grill. Jazz was getting the music set up with Matthew’s help. They looked happy. Mike came outside and their gazes met. His stomach twisted and his body heated. He really needed a night alone in Colorado Springs. Jesus, he needed to find someone to have sex with soon. He was sure that would help, at least he thought it would.
He turned away from Mike and moved to ask Roger if he needed anything for the grill. Mike came into view and a whisper of a thought struck him. Even if he found someone to fuck all night long, taking pleasure every which way he could come up with, it wouldn’t be enough. He wanted to see what Mike looked like naked. He’d sure as heck stared at his butt enough with clothes on to have it memorized, now he wanted the full show, with Mike standing in front of him, his ass bare, his cock standing proud—
“Earth to Tanner, what’s going on with you?” Suz asked.
He shook his head, staring at Suz and noticed Roger and Grant looking at him. “What?”
“I asked if you wanted to help me get the buns and condiments out here.”
“Um, sure.” He followed her into the house where they ran into Duff, Davis, and Ryan. “Hey, guys.”
“Tanner, we were just talking about you and Suz,” Davis said.
“Um, okay.” He felt off. Possibly because how he’d been thinking about Mike, or it could just be his brain was fried after the long class with Jazz. That had to be it. The guy was super smart and knew so much about the new ways people were hiding their locations as they hacked. He had created a method of tracking locations. Of course, once they found the information, they had to decide what to do with it.
“We were wondering how you were dealing with being here with a relative,” Duff said.
“Yeah, I was telling my dad that adjusting to living here with him while I adjusted to life with my lover was odd.”
“Really?” Tanner glanced from Ryan to Davis. They seemed happy too. They were holding hands. Actually, almost every time he’d seen them together they’d been holding hands if they could.
“How did that work out for you two?” Suz asked from behind him.
“It was okay,” Davis said.
“What he means to say was we were getting it on and then he’d have this irrational fear his dad would want to talk and it would kill off any desire he had. It took me tying him to the bed and torturing him to get him to have sex,” Ryan said.
Davis gasped and Duff chuckled. He watched as Davis turned and slapped Ryan on the shoulder.
“You did not have to do that.”
“Yeah, but now I want to.”
Suz chuckled behind him and he shook his head. He would have felt uncomfortable if he’d been in a situation with his dad close by while he had sex.
“You’re looking a little pale there, Tanner,” Duff said.
He shook his head then glanced over at Suz before speaking. “I was just thinking about having sex with my dad close by. It would be terrible.”
Ryan laughed and hugged Davis. “I give him a hard time—”
“Literally,” Davis said.
Duff rolled his eyes and shook his head. “You two are too much.”
Ryan chuckled before continuing. “It took some getting used to, but he’s good with it now.”
“I am. You know, living with a relative can be challenging, but it has its rewards. I’ve spent time with my dad. We’d not been getting along and both of us made assumptions which led to us not being as close. Now we’re close and it’s good.”
He didn’t say anything and Suz answered for him. “That’s awesome. We’re already growing closer.”
“Does she do that often?” Ryan asked.
“What?” Tanner was confused.
“Talk for you?”
He shook his head. “No, she just knows when I’m having a hard time completing my thoughts. If it gets too bad, she speaks. Before we left home and went our separate ways, we were fairly in tune with each other.”
“I can see that.” The door opened and Ryan moaned. “The food is cooking. Let’s get out there so we can eat.”
“I’m starving,” Tanner said.
“You always were hungry,” Suz joked.
They all laughed and he grabbed the buns and ketchup from Suz. The sun was sinking behind the mountain and their fire pit was heating up. Someone had a pile of sweatshirts on a table for them to slip into if they got cold. Suz and Zander already had sweatshirts on. Jazz was warming himself at the fire pit. Matthew handed him a sweatshirt and helped him get it on. The kiss they shared made Tanner’s heart squeeze.
He liked this group of men. Wild Bluff was beautiful, but it was the guys and Suz which made it feel like he could call this place home. The food was delicious, the company perfect, and the atmosphere better than he’d ever experienced. He really liked living here. Sitting outside under the stars, the fire pit going, guys chatting, it was one of the best nights he’d ever had.
After they cleaned up their food stuff, Duff was the first to head to bed, followed closely by Billy and Tucker. Then Grant and Marshal went in. Ryan and Davis took a walk around to the front of the house and he imagined they would be having sex out front soon if they already weren’t. Suz went to bed, and the rest of the guys headed in. He glanced around and realized he was outside alone with Mike.
His heart sped up and he wondered if he should go inside but he didn’t want to make the situation any more awkward. Then Mike stood and he was about to get up too when Mike settled in the chair next to him.
“The stars are awesome tonight. The fire in the pit is almost out, and we could head to the other side of the barn so the lights on the house don’t interfere with the sight. You game?”
“Um, sure.” They both stood and he glanced back at the pit. Only a few embers burned red. He poured his water on the fire then Mike shoveled some sand on the embers. He felt secure the pit would be cold before they headed to bed.
He followed Mike around the barn and glanced up. He hadn’t noticed Mike had brought a blanket with him. He watched as Mike laid it on the ground then sat on the blanket before leaning back to stare up at the sky. He followed Mike’s lead and stretched out.
“You can see so much out here. It’s not like in the city.”
“No, not at all. It’s beautiful.” Tanner felt uncomfortable for a moment, but the awkwardness faded as they silently stared up at the sky. He saw a shooting star and lifted his hand to point.
“I see it,” Mike said.
Again, silence settled but it wasn’t uncomfortable. He closed his eyes for a moment and was surprised when Mike started talking.
“We were in Florida; a house blew up. Glass hit me hard, blew through my shirt, straight in like a knife. At least that’s what it felt like.”
“How’s your arm feel now?”
“It’s okay. Little pain. It’s been a while, I’m good though.”
Tanner stared at the stars, his thoughts on the ranch now instead of distant galaxies. “How often does everyone get injured?”
Mike was silent for a while. “Not too often. I mean, it happens. We get shot at. We’ve all been hurt. Zander is coming along nicely, and Marshal is improving. We’ve had some bad luck, but really, we’re just not afraid to jump in when we need to and do what has to be done.”
“I can see that.”
They watched the stars for a long time. The crisp air felt good and he felt comfortable with Mike. After a while, awareness crept over him. A part of him wanted to reach out and take Mike’s hand, but he hesitated.
“It’s getting late,” Mike said.
“Yeah, I probably need to head to bed.” He stood up and then reached down to help Mike with the blanket. They folded the material, their hands brushing together once. He pulled back, heat filling his face. Thankfully the dar
kness hid his red cheeks.
They rounded the corner of the barn and noticed the lights had been turned off.”
“Guess they thought we were already in,” Mike said.
“Will the door be locked?”
“If it is, we’ll just go around to the front.”
Tanner stayed back while Mike tried the door. “Locked,” Mike said. He followed Mike around to the front of the house. As he stepped onto the porch Mike turned and bumped into him. He lost his footing and Mike grabbed his arm, holding him steady.
After he was stable, Mike pulled him close, their bodies touching. It was dark, too dark to see Mike’s expression, but he could feel his breath on his face. All he had to do was move just a little, maybe an inch, maybe less and they’d be kissing. A shiver snaked through him as desire spiked. Mike sighed, his breath warm on Tanner’s cheek.
The light came on and Mike moved quickly. “Sorry about that, didn’t mean to knock you over.”
“Sure, no problem.” Heat filled him. Mike had been in his arms and then it ended so fast his head spun.
The door opened and Matthew stepped out. “I didn’t realize I’d locked you two out. Come on in.”
“It’s okay,” Mike said. “I’m headed to bed. It was nice talking to you, Tanner.”
“Yeah, good talking to you. Thanks.”
Disappointment made his stomach clench as he headed to his room. Once locked away, he stripped and headed to the bathroom. He stared at the wall, wishing it wasn’t separating him from Mike. While he brushed his teeth, he thought he heard Mike in his bathroom. Just the thought of the guy in his bathroom, probably naked, made his cock fill out. He finished brushing and grabbed a washrag so he could jack off in his bedroom.
He closed the bathroom door and leaned against it, stroking his cock. He closed his eyes and thought about how he’d felt when he’d been close to Mike. It had been amazing to hold the guy in his arms. He tried to focus on someone else, make up a man to take the place of Mike in his mind, but he came back to thoughts of Mike holding him, Mike kissing him, Mike fucking him. Mike’s big strong body above his, pumping in hard. He’d have his legs raised, head thrown back as he came. The thought made his balls fire. He came hard, his body pulsing.
After cleaning up he dropped to his bed, feeling guilty for his fantasies. He wasn’t used to feeling this way about anyone. He’d always been able to push desire away and focus on work, but here, with Mike so close, his desire was out of control.
Chapter Four
Mike woke and stretched, amazed how hard his cock was again. He’d jacked off last night after he dropped into bed, but just one thought of Tanner had him tenting the sheets. He rolled over and pushed at his dick, hoping it would go down. After a short second contemplating jerking off or just getting up, he settled for waking up and taking a cool shower.
Once he was dressed, he stumbled into the kitchen and grabbed a quick cup of coffee. Roger and Grant were sitting with Marshal and Zander. He moved to the table and took a seat nodding when the guys said good morning.
It took him a few sips of coffee to pick up the thread of what they were talking about. Once he finally got the gist, he held up his hand and shook his head.
“Okay, just a minute, how long has it been since you’ve heard from James?”
“Twenty weeks,” Marshal said.
“Something is wrong.” Mike pulled out his phone and checked his email. Sure enough, he hadn’t seen anything from James for a long while. “What do you all think?”
“I don’t know,” Grant said. “They could just be taking a break from us. You know, we’ve had a lot of difficult situations come up. Maybe they’re trying to focus on their lives and not ours.”
“Whose lives?” Davis asked as he stepped into the room.
“James and Brody. I haven’t heard from them in a while,” Grant said.
“Do you think there’s a problem?” Davis asked.
“I don’t know.”
Mike took a few more sips of his coffee. Duff stumbled in and Mike knew the man would have some words of wisdom. “Hey, Duff, grab a cup and come sit with us. We need input.”
“Sure, sure, just give me a minute to wake up.”
“Are you feeling okay?” Marshall asked Duff.
“Yeah, just a little rough this morning. I’ll shake it off.”
Grant went to stand beside Duff. “Maybe you should see the doctor.”
“No, I’m fine,” Duff growled.
Mike sipped his coffee but kept an eye on Duff. The man didn’t look good. He looked overly tired, beat up like he’d not slept at all. He would talk to Davis and Grant, see if they couldn’t get Duff to head to the doctor.
“Now, what’s the issue?” Duff asked after he poured himself a coffee.
“We haven’t heard from James lately.”
Duff took a sip from his coffee then started to walk to the table but hesitated. His coffee sloshed over the rim of his cup and Grant reached out to steady him.
“I’m fine,” Duff barked. “Just give me a minute.”
Fear pulsed through Mike. Duff wasn’t fine. The man looked ill. He swore last night Duff looked fine. Maybe he’d been wrong about Duff’s health. The last time Duff had a health scare they’d almost lost him. He didn’t want to go through that again.
Grant caught his gaze and lifted his brows. They were all worried and he wasn’t being overly paranoid about it. Davis’ lips were thinned but he didn’t jump up to help his dad.
Duff had always been independent. His life had been about strength and pushing past what might be considered the best political move. The man had spent his life focusing on doing what was right. With some miraculous insight, Duff had built this ranch. His efforts meant something.
Duff made his way to the table and set his mug down. He had a sour look on his face, as if he was daring them to say something. Mike had no doubt there would be a quiet meeting of the minds later where they’d discuss Duff’s health at length. He would be in that meeting, no question.
Tanner walked in the room and moved to the coffee pot. When Tanner stretched, Mike’s eyes were drawn to him, spying the little sliver of flesh showing between his sweats and his shirt. Desire made his body hot. He had to look away or risk getting hard. There was something wrong, or maybe he’d just never met someone who made him feel like Tanner did.
“Morning,” Tanner said as he slipped into a chair next to Marshal. Nods and replies went around the room as they sipped at their coffee. Mike met his gaze, but Tanner looked away quickly.
“Good morning. We were just discussing a former team member who hasn’t contacted us in a while,” Grant said.
Tanner set his cup on the table, wrapping his fingers around the ceramic. He listened to them talk, batting around ideas about why James and Brody might not be communicating. Mike said little during the conversation. About five minutes after Tanner joined them, he realized he was staring at the man’s hands, thinking about those hands on his body. He shook off the desire and focused on the words flying around the table.
“I’m not too worried yet,” Duff said. “We should send a note, asking them to check in.”
“Why do they need to check in?” Tanner asked.
“This is why.” Marshal held up his arm, the shaking noticeable.
Mike’s whole body clenched. That night was etched in his memory. Carrying Marshal down the mountain, finding the bomb, and finally slapping the cuffs on Craig. That had felt good, too bad the fucker had escaped again only to shoot him in the arm. The pain was mostly gone, but showed up when he least expected it. The night Craig attacked Marshal was also the night they’d first met Brody.
“We have enemies. Many have no clue who we are, but if we’re hunting them, they are surely hunting us,” Grant said.
“That’s a sobering thought this morning.” Tanner lifted his mug and took another sip of coffee, his gaze briefly met Mike’s.
Suz stepped into the room, her smile wide. “What’s so
bering?”
“What Grant said,” Tanner replied.
Suz lifted a brow before taking a seat next to Mike. He noticed how Tanner’s eyes narrowed and he had to look away quickly. Could Tanner be jealous? But there was nothing to be jealous of. Sure, Suz was hot, but surprisingly, he wasn’t into her.
Mike spoke up. “A few years ago, one of our own turned dirty—”
“He was dirty from the beginning but I didn’t see it,” Grant interrupted.
“None of us saw it. You can’t blame yourself,” Duff said.
“We didn’t, not a one of us saw the bastard for who he was,” Mike continued. “He’s the reason Marshal is injured. He did some shit which put us all at risk. Tried to kill Davis at one point, then he shot me.”
“Wow, is he still around?” Suz asked.
“No, he’s dead,” Davis said. “He’s what brought me here though, so I’m kind of thankful.”
“How’s that?” Suz asked.
Davis told the tale, with the guys adding in bits and pieces. Ryan came in and put some biscuits into the oven and started making eggs. The food finished about the time Davis finished with the story. Suz glanced around and shook her head.
“I guess doing this job, taking on this responsibility, can be dangerous,” Suz said.
Duff stood and took his mug to the sink. “It can be, but it’s rewarding. I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished. I’m going to go take a nap.”
Grant opened his mouth to say something, but Davis put his hand on Grant’s arm. Once Duff was out of the room, Davis spoke in a quiet voice.
“I’ll check on him later. He’s feeling grumpy and doesn’t want us to make a fuss.”
“We’ll make sure he goes to the doctor later,” Ryan said.
“He’s going to be cantankerous about it,” Marshal added.
“I know, that’s just how he is,” Davis said.
After eating, Mike helped clean the dishes. Matthew and Jazz came in along with Tucker and Billy. They were laughing at something, bringing some levity to the room. He needed to do a few chores and wash his clothes. They shared a lot on the ranch, so he didn’t mind washing Marshal and Zander’s stuff. After finishing three loads of clothes, he began cleaning the kitchen. Davis and Ryan had somehow talked Duff into going to see the doctor. Marshal, Zander, Roger, and Grant were in the barn working. Tanner came into the kitchen. Their gazes met for a brief second before Tanner glanced away quickly.