Bought by the Lone Cowboy

by E. Walsh

  “Well, tell him if he misses the next practice, he won’t be playing in the next game,” Duncan said.

  “What?”

  “I don’t want to do it. We need Steve now that we’re in the quarters, but we need a focused, reliable Steve—not one too lazy to show up for practice. Tell him he needs to get his head out of his ass if he wants to stay on the time.”

  Jonah nodded. “I understand. I’ll tell him.”

  *

  Jonah planned to confront Steve that evening, but when Steve finally came home that night, he was drunk, drunker than Jonah had ever seen him.

  Jonah sighed. “First, you skip practice for the third time in a row without telling anyone why, then you come home waster. What’s going on with you?”

  Steve grinned before talking in a slurred voice. “You sound like my wife.”

  Jonah frowned, though he had to admit he did sound a little like a wife scolding her husband for coming home late and drunk. “Quit it, McDaniels, you might own the team, but if you don’t get your shit together and show up at practice tomorrow, you’re sitting the next game out.”

  Steve snorted.

  “Duncan means it,” Jonah added.

  “Who cares about Duncan?”

  “Well, you should if you want to stay a part of the team.”

  “Listen to you talk. You didn’t even want to stay with the rest of the team before.”

  “But I did because I’m serious about basketball. Are you?”

  Steve chuckled. “You really look cute when you’re angry. Do you know that?”

  “Don’t change the subject.”

  “That’s why I liked to tease you before.”

  “Steve, this is serious. The team needs you. We’ve made it this, far but if you’re going to act like a…”

  “Shut up or I’m going to kiss you.”

  “You’re not—”

  Steve planted his full lips against Jonah’s. At first, Jonah couldn’t move, too shocked the fact that Steve was actually kissing him. Just as he was about to close his eyes and kiss Steve back, Steve fell on top of him, unconscious. After a few more seconds, he started snoring.

  Jonah stared at the ceiling, debating if he should wake Steve or just pass out, too.

  *

  The next day, Steve didn’t seem to have any memory of his antics and Jonah tried to pretend it never happened. He acted as normally as he could. Steve, however, was not back to his usual self. Although he finally attended practice, he wasn’t focused or interested in it and when the next game came along, Steve didn’t deliver. He missed his shots. He turned the ball over. He hardly played defense. Ultimately, he threw away the game. Jonah tried to save it, but the opposing team was too good. It was the quarterfinals, after all.

  As the team moped in the locker room, a furious Duncan pushed Steve against his locker.

  “What’s wrong with you, man?” he asked angrily. “What the hell happened out there?”

  Steve simply looked away, not an ounce of fight in him.

  “What? You don’t have an excuse for messing up? No apology?”

  “Why should I apologize?”

  “Why should you apologize?” Duncan placed his hands on hips as he nodded, then punched the locker next to Steve’s. “Because you messed up, McDaniels. You messed up big time. This was the first game of the quarterfinals.”

  “I don’t care.”

  “What?”

  Steve looked at him. “I said I don’t—”

  Duncan raised his fist to punch him, but Nate stopped him. “That’s enough, Duncan.”

  Duncan glared at Steve. “You might not care because you’re just passing through. Whatever happens here in college, you’ll still be a billionaire. You’ll still be able to see the world and buy everything you want. But we’re not like that. Our future hinges on every game we play. That’s why we care. That’s why we need to win.”

  He paused to take a deep breath and continued in a calmer tone.

  “I thought you were different, Steve. I really did. But you’re just another spoiled brat.”

  Steve said nothing.

  “Get out of my sight,” Duncan told him. “If you don’t want to win like the rest of us, then there’s no room for you on this team.”

  Steve ran away the moment Duncan stepped back. Jonah chased behind him.

  “Steve, wait!”

  But Steve didn’t wait. He ran to his car and sped off. Jonah tailed him to the edge of the city until Steve finally stopped at a hotel. Confused, Jonah followed him inside.

  “Steve, wait!” he pleaded again.

  Surprised, Steve turned to him. “What are you doing here?”

  “I want to talk to you.”

  “There’s nothing for us to talk about.”

  Jonah followed him into the elevator. They stood in awkward silence, waiting for the other passengers to get off. The doors opened on the fourth floor and Steve bolted. Jonah chased behind him.

  “Steve, whatever it is you’re going through, you can tell me.”

  Steve didn’t answer, heading straight to his room and unlocking the door.

  Jonah shoved his arm in the door so Steve couldn’t close it and followed him inside.

  “Duncan didn’t mean what he said,” Jonah continued. “And I know you didn’t mean what you said, either.”

  “How would you know?” Steve slammed the door shut. “You don’t know me. You don’t know anything about me.”

  Jonah’s eyes narrowed. “I know you’d never turn your back on your team or on your friend. I’m your friend, aren’t I?”

  Steve shook his head. “You wouldn’t understand.”

  “Then make me.” Jonah grabbed his arm. “When I was in a pinch, when I lost my way, you helped me. Please let me do the same for you. Let me help you.”

  “You can’t help me.”

  “I’ll try anyway.”

  Steve looked into his eyes, hesitating.

  “Please, Steve, tell me what’s going on.”

  Steve wrenched his arm away. “You wanna know what’s going on? Fine. I’ll tell you what’s going on. I got dumped, that’s what.”

  For a moment, Jonah couldn’t speak. That was it? Steve was dumped? Jonah didn’t even know he had a girlfriend. Besides, what kind of girl would dump someone like him?

  “Listen, man. It’s her loss.” Jonah squeezed Steve’s shoulder. “You’ll find another girl, I’m sure. A better one.”

  They weren’t exactly the words he wanted to say, but if they were the words Steve needed to hear, so be it.

  “It’s not her,” Steve said softly.

  “I’m sure she has problems, too.”

  “What I mean is it’s not a ‘her’,” Steve spoke louder. “It’s a ‘him’.”

  Jonah looked at him in confusion. What?

  “I didn’t have a girlfriend, Jonah. I had a boyfriend. I’m gay.”

  Jonah froze, unable to believe what he’d just heard. Steve liked guys?

  “So you see, I’m not fit to be a part of the Jackals,” Steve went on. “In fact, I don’t think I’ll ever be a professional basketball player.”

  “Don’t say that.”

  “But it’s true. I’ll never amount to anything.”

  “Is that what your…boyfriend said?” Jonah asked curiously.

  “Just leave me alone, Jonah.” Steve shook his hand off. “You’re not supposed to be here with me.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I might kiss you,” Steve confessed. “I’ve been wanting to, you know, even when I had a boyfriend. Now that I don’t have one, well, I just might do it.”

  Jonah paused. So that kiss Steve had given him the other night was no accident?

  “For fuck’s sake, Jonah, you—”

  “Do it.” The words left Jonah’s mouth before he could think.

  Steve turned around slowly. “What did you say?”

  “I said do it,” Jonah urged, serious now. “Kiss me.”

 
; Now it was Steve who looked confused.

  “Kiss me,” Jonah repeated.

  When Steve still didn’t do anything, Jonah grabbed his arms and kissed him instead, sealing Steve’s lips with his own. It was a fierce clash of lips from the start that only grew wilder as Steve responded, lips parting so tongues could mingle and devour each other hungrily. Their hands wandered across each other’s hard bodies, touching, rubbing, squeezing. Jonah wasn’t drunk, but he might as well have been, his head spinning as his temperature rose.

  When Steve rubbed his crotch, Jonah gasped, trembling. Steve stroked his hard cock through his shorts then slipped his hand inside, his fingers wrapping around the sensitive flesh. Skillfully, Steve moved his hand up and down, the pad of his thumb pressing against the swollen tip of Jonah’s cock every so often. Jonah grabbed his arms as his knees shook, each stroke bringing him closer to release.

  Before he could reach it, though, Steve stopped and in the next moment, he was on his knees in front of Jonah, lowering his shorts and his boxers so that Jonah’s cock was right before his eyes. He kissed it reverently, then started sucking.

  Jonah grabbed Steve’s hair, trying to hold on as the pleasure became even more intense. He wasn’t able to hold back, though, and within minutes, he came, filling Steve’s mouth.

  Jonah was breathless. He sat on the edge of the bed, exhausted, but felt a fresh burst of vigor as he watched Steve undress, revealing inch after inch of bare skin.

  Damn that perfect body.

  One look at Steve’s cock, hard, long and elegantly curved and Jonah’s own sprung back to life. Steve grinned then pushed him down on the bed. Again, they kissed while Steve ground their cocks together. Then Steve did something that Jonah had never expected him to do. He straddled Jonah’s hips, grabbed his cock, and guided it to his ass. He held his breath as he lowered himself little by little.

  As the tip of Jonah’s cock entered Steve, Steve gasped but he didn’t stop. Jonah watched him, mesmerized by his features twisting in both pleasure and pain and when he was completely sheathed inside Steve, he let out a gasp of his own.

  Damn, Steve was tight. But it felt incredible.

  As Steve started moving, the sensations heightened, the pleasure turning into ecstasy. Before long, Jonah was moving as well, grunting along with Steve and when the skin around his cock hugged him even tighter, he came a second time, his cum spurting inside Steve even as Steve’s cum gushed out to land on his shirt.

  For a moment after, they both remained still, silent except for their rasping breath. Steve lay on the bed beside him.

  “Why did you do it?” he asked, breaking the silence. “Why did you kiss me?”

  “Because I wanted to,” Jonah answered simply. “I’ve been wanting to do it.”

  Steve’s eyes grew wide. “You mean you…like guys, too?”

  Jonah shrugged. “I know I like them more than girls.” He looked at Steve. “Do you like me?”

  Steve met his gaze. “Why else do you think I chose you to be my roommate?”

  Jonah, nodded, understanding everything. Living together, teasing him, helping him—it was all because Steve liked him. And somehow, that knowledge made him happy.

  “So, what happens now?” Steve asked.

  “That depends,” Jonah answered.

  “On what?”

  “If you start playing well again or not,” Jonah said to him. “If you score more than me in the next game, I wouldn’t mind giving this a try—though we have to keep it a secret, of course.”

  “Of course,” Steve agreed.

  “So you accept my condition? You won’t let the team down anymore?”

  Steve nodded. “But if I score ten points more than you, you get to be on top next time.”

  “On top?”

  “You know, you get to be the one to take it strong to the hole.”

  Jonah almost blushed at the idea of that.

  “Well?”

  “Is that a challenge?”

  Steve grinned. “What if it is?”

  Jonah’s lips, too, curved up into a grin. “Bring it.”

  * * *

  Chapter Ten

  Steve did bring it. The Jackals went on to win the next few games, riding their victories all the way to the championships. The next year, Steve and Jonah led the team to another and now, they were in their third championship in a row, the last for Jonah.

  “This is it, guys,” Jonah said. “It’s do or die time, winning time. Just two minutes left. Don’t you dare let go.”

  “The captain’s right,” Steve said. “We’re only up by one, it’s no time to celebrate. Focus and play like these are the last two minutes of your life.”

  The buzzer sounded.

  “Let’s go get ourselves a championship,” Jonah said.

  “Go Jackals!” the team cheered before going back to the floor.

  Steve put his arm around Jonah. “Let’s do this, partner.” In a whisper, he added. “If we win, I’ll give you a special surprise tonight.”

  Steve’s promise further excited Jonah. He wanted to end his college career with another championship and Steve was like icing on the cake. As the game resumed, he played defense like there was no tomorrow, forcing a crucial turnover. A quick pass to Steve resulted a missed shot, but the ref called a foul. Steve dribbled as he thought about the implications of his two foul shots. With Jonah’s help, he’d been consistently practicing since their first one-on-one game. Now, under pressure, his dedication showed as he sank his two shots and increased their lead to three points.

  But the game wasn’t over yet. The Cougars scored a three pointer in the next possession, tying the score and increasing the pressure. It was either going to be a Hail Mary shot or overtime. Jonah shook off the heat and fired off a shot past the three-point line before the buzzer.

  The bench erupted in cheers with Coach Henson the loudest of all. The Jackals converged on the court, a mass of excitement and noise, celebrating their third straight championship. For Jonah, it was the sweetest one yet. He almost cried as he gave his teammates a hug.

  In the midst of all the noise and the commotion, he whispered in Steve’s ear with a grin.

  “I can’t wait to get that surprise.”

  *

  Later that night after the partying had died down, Jonah and Steve lay in bed, naked under the sheets and thoroughly exhausted. For a while, they were silent, deep in thought. Then Steve looked at Jonah.

  “I guess your college basketball career is over, huh?” Steve asked.

  Jonah nodded. He was graduating at the end of the semester.

  “It went by faster than I thought.”

  “You’ll be playing in the NBA soon.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Jonah said quietly. “I got a tryout with the Rockies, but that doesn’t mean I’ll make the team.”

  “You’ll make it,” Steve said proudly.

  “Hope so, I guess.” It was a moment of sadness and joy. If he made the team he’d be moving to Colorado, thousands of miles away from Steve.

  “All your hard work is finally going to pay off.”

  “And when that happens, the first thing I’ll do is pay you back for the money you gave my mom.” Jonah reached for his hand. “And I’ll be waiting for you in Colorado.”

  “There are a lot of hot guys out there.”

  Jonah smiled and squeezed Steve’s hand. “I’m pretty sure none of them are as hot or as crazy as you.”

  He didn’t know what the future held, but he was only sure of one thing. He wanted Steve in it. Somehow, he felt that Steve was his lucky charm and as long as he had him by his side, he’d be able to play great basketball and do a lot of other amazing things.

  They were a perfect pair, after all. They were each other’s first string.

  THE END

  23. His First Time

  By: Cassandra Cole

  His First Time

  © Cassandra Cole, 2016 – All rights reserved

  Publ
ished by Steamy Reads4U

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, including electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events are purely coincidental. This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.

  This book may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please return it to the seller and purchase a copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  Warning

  This book contains graphic content intended for readers 18+ years old.

  If you are under 18 years old, or are not comfortable with adult content, please close this book now.

  * * *

  Chapter One

  Swish!

  The ball hit nothing but net then bounced past the baseline, the thud of the rubber against the hardwood ricocheting across the court.

  Jonah chased after it, the squeaking of his almost worn-out shoes adding to the noise. In a few minutes, the court would be filled with the sound of more squeaky shoes and more bouncing balls, and sharp whistles and chatter, too. Right now, though, he was all alone, using his spare time to become better at what he loved best.

  He had always loved basketball. When he was five, he had asked his parents for a plastic basketball and a hoop that he could hang on the living room wall so that he could play.

  They didn’t have money, though, so his father simply made a makeshift hoop out of some wires and electric tape. As for the ball, he used rolled up pieces of newspaper. He didn’t care that it wasn’t the real thing. He loved how he could never tell for sure if the ball would make it through the hoop until it did and each time it did, he felt a thrill unlike any other.