by Ariel Tachna
“I’ll be there.”
Caine didn’t see anyone as he walked back to his house. He didn’t make a conscious effort to come in discreetly, but he also didn’t call out to Kami to let him know he was there like he usually did. He’d worry about that when or if Macklin started spending the night there or if Kami asked specifically where Caine had been the night before.
Going upstairs, he showered quickly, pulling on clean briefs before putting Macklin’s long underwear back on underneath the work clothes for the morning. If they had time, he’d shower and change again before they left for Boorowa because he didn’t really want to smell like sheep for the long drive. He tossed a change of clothes and some toiletries in his backpack, wishing he had lube and condoms, but he hadn’t expected to need them when he moved to Australia. Maybe Macklin would have some. Packing done, he went down for breakfast.
“What do you mean you’re coming back tomorrow?” Kami’s demand was the first thing Caine heard as he walked into the kitchen. “What happened to your annual trip to Sydney?”
“I decided not to go this year,” Macklin replied, nodding to Caine as he came in. “I thought with a new boss on the station and with the storms we’ve been having, it might be a good idea to stay close to home. Caine and I will drive to Boorowa tonight, pick up the supplies in the morning, and be home tomorrow evening.”
“It’s your choice, I suppose,” Kami said, “but don’t take it out on me when you’re grumpy because you didn’t get laid this winter.”
Caine coughed to hide his smirk. Macklin would be getting laid a whole lot more often than one week a year if Caine had anything to say about it.
“I’ll be sure and not mention it,” Macklin promised, his eyes twinkling as he looked at Caine. “Come on, pup. Let’s leave Kami to finish breakfast. I want to run a thought by you about the organic farming idea.”
“Sure,” Caine said, following Macklin out into the living room. The moment they were alone, his laughter escaped. “Oh, G-g-god, if K-kami only knew,” he wheezed between fits of laughter.
“If you don’t talk a little softer, he’ll know anyway,” Macklin said, but he was smiling, so Caine didn’t worry about trying to contain his laughter.
“So what was your thought?” Caine asked when he finally stopped laughing.
“That I wanted to get you alone so I could kiss you,” Macklin replied, suiting actions to words. Caine returned the kiss, smiling when they parted.
“You keep saying you don’t know anything about relationships, but you’re doing just fine this morning.”
“Good to know,” Macklin said. “Let’s eat so we can get the rams moved into the pens and get on the road. It gets dark early, and I want to be in Boorowa before that if we can.”
“Ready when you are,” Caine said. “I packed before I came down this morning.”
They ate breakfast with the rest of the hands, heading out immediately afterward to start moving the rams in with the flocks of ewes. The big males weren’t nearly as biddable as the ewes, fighting the dogs and the men, trying to go anywhere but into a pen with a hundred other sheep. Finally, though, they managed to get all of them in the pens where Macklin wanted them.
Macklin thanked the summer jackaroos, shaking hands with each of them in turn and wishing them well. Caine waited to the side, adding his own thanks to those who stopped to speak to him before leaving. When only the year-round residents remained, Caine glanced at his watch. “We should pack sandwiches for lunch so we can eat on the way.”
“Good idea, pup,” Macklin said. “I’ll ask Kami to put something together for us while we load the ute.”
“He’ll tell us to make them ourselves,” Caine warned.
“He won’t tell me that,” Macklin said.
Caine looked at him skeptically, following Macklin into the kitchen. “Kami, could you make us a couple of sandwiches for the road?”
“Bread’s in the bread box, meat’s in the refrigerator,” Kami said without pausing in his chopping.
“Told you,” Caine mouthed to Macklin. “I’ll do it,” he said aloud. “You load the ute. It won’t take me long, and then we can toss my pack in before we leave.”
“Bloody foreman,” Kami muttered when Macklin left. “Always assuming everyone will do whatever he says just because he says it.”
“He is the foreman,” Caine pointed out.
“And?” Kami demanded. “This is my kitchen. I decide what happens in here, not him.”
“He said something about getting supplies for the winter,” Caine said, not about to get into that argument with Kami. He and Macklin could duke it out between themselves. “Did you give him a list? And if not, is there anything in particular you need? I can make sure we pick it up while we’re in town. I’d hate for you not to have what you need for the winter.”
“You’re a good boy to think of me, Caine,” Kami said. “Your uncle would have been proud of you.”
The compliment surprised Caine so much he couldn’t think of a reply. “Thank you,” he said finally. “I’m glad you think so. Do you have a list?”
“I gave it to Macklin a week ago,” Kami said. “He’s a good boy too. Makes me hope history will repeat itself.”
That was even more of a surprise. “I… I d-d-don’t know what to s-say.”
“Don’t say anything,” Kami replied. “I’m a sentimental old fool.”
“N-no, that isn’t what I m-meant. I m-meant—”
“Don’t say anything,” Kami repeated. “Macklin will tell me what he wants me to know when he’s ready for me to know it. This was just between you and me.”
Caine nodded and finished making sandwiches for Macklin and himself. He tossed them in a rucksack along with a couple of bottles of water and some chips, enough to tide them over until they reached Boorowa, although Caine was sure they’d be ready for dinner when they got to the hotel.
Leaving the sack by the front door, he hurried up to his room to get his backpack. Macklin was waiting for him in the living room when he came back down. “Ready, pup?”
“Ready,” Caine said, grabbing their lunch and following Macklin outside. Macklin tossed Caine’s backpack in the back of the truck with his own gear and gestured for Caine to climb in.
Caine waited until they had passed through the first gate and out of the main station before leaning his head back against the headrest. “You said Kami knew Donald too, right?”
“Yes,” Macklin said. “Kami was already cooking here when I arrived. I don’t know his whole story, but from what I’ve pieced together, Michael took him in much the same way he took me in, about ten years before I arrived at Lang Downs. Why do you ask?”
“Just something he said, that’s all,” Caine replied, not wanting to say too much. “It made me wonder what he knew. He also said Uncle Michael would have been proud of me.”
“He’s right,” Macklin agreed. “I didn’t think you’d make it a week, much less months. I expected you to give up before you had a chance to toughen up. I was wrong. We’ll make a grazier out of you yet.”
Caine smiled. “I know I’ll never be as comfortable with it as someone like you or Jason who grew up with it, but I want this to work. I want the people of Lang Downs to be proud of me.”
“We are,” Macklin assured him. “You won me over, and I was determined to keep my distance.”
“You just want to fuck me,” Caine teased.
Macklin’s breath hissed out at the provocative words. “Not saying I don’t, but that alone wouldn’t have been enough to change my mind,” Macklin insisted after a moment. “There have been plenty of good-looking jackaroos coming through the station over the years, and I never acted on any of that. Your appearance wouldn’t have swayed me if you’d been a different caliber of man.”
Caine’s heart melted a little at the words. “I’m glad. You are going to fuck me, though, right?”
“Right here in the ute if you don’t stop pushing me,” Macklin threatened.
/> “Is that supposed to discourage me?” Caine asked with a grin.
“Yes, because there’s not enough space to do it properly.”
“I’m sure you know where the closest drover’s hut is,” Caine said.
“Of course I do, but that’s hardly any better. Narrow bunks and no heat,” Macklin retorted. “Behave yourself until we get to Boorowa, and then we can discuss what we will and will not be doing to each other tonight and tomorrow morning.”
“Or we could discuss it while we drive and then do it when we get to the hotel,” Caine suggested optimistically.
“If we discuss it, we won’t be driving for long,” Macklin said. “Tell me where we are with the organic certification.”
They spent the rest of the drive discussing the ins and outs of beginning the process of organic certification. By the time they hit the main road, they had worked out the remaining details. It would take another month or two to finish putting everything in place, but Caine was hopeful they could begin the certification process in the spring.
They spent the final hour talking about what Caine could expect on the station over the winter. He was a little concerned that the weather had gotten cold earlier than usual, but they would deal with whatever happened as best they could.
“So what’s first on our agenda?” Caine asked when they reached the outskirts of Boorowa.
“We let Paul know we’re in town so he can put together our order for pick-up tomorrow,” Macklin said. “Then we check in to the hotel so we have our rooms for tonight, and then we can think about dinner.”
“Rooms?” Caine said. “Do we need more than one?”
“Only if you want one of your own.”
“After last night, do you really have to ask that?”
“Yes, I do,” Macklin replied seriously. “I don’t want to assume I know what you’re thinking and end up arguing because of it. I know what I’d prefer, but you have a say in this as well.”
“We only need one room,” Caine said.
“Then we’ll check in to our room and then think about dinner,” Macklin amended. “But one room or two, we have to talk to Paul first. I faxed him a list a week ago, but I didn’t have the definite date we’d be picking things up, especially since always before, I’ve gone to Sydney for a week before picking up the supplies.”
“We’ll take a trip to Sydney,” Caine promised, “but because we want a week in the city rather than because we need to hide what we’re doing. I’ve always wanted to see a performance at the Opera House.”
“You’re an opera fan?” Macklin asked as he parked the truck.
“Not especially, but I’ve heard such amazing things about it that it seems like it would be worth it.”
They went inside the store, Macklin calling out a greeting to Paul.
“Well, well, if it isn’t the blow-in,” Paul said when he saw them. “Ready to give up yet?”
“Absolutely not,” Caine said, “although I do have a few more things I need to buy while I’m here besides the supplies Macklin ordered. It’s colder than I expected up at the station.”
“I’ll have your supplies ready next week like usual then?” Paul asked Macklin.
“I’m not going to Sydney this year,” Macklin said. “Too much to do at Lang Downs. We’ll load up in the morning if you can have everything ready by then. The day after at the latest.”
“I can have them in the morning,” Paul said. “I’ve been putting the order together already to make sure I had everything you needed. Let me just take care of your blow-in and I’ll finish the rest.”
“My name is Caine,” Caine insisted. “Not blow-in.”
“Let me just take care of Caine, then,” Paul said, his voice betraying his surprise at Caine standing up to him that way.
“He needs long underwear,” Macklin said. “He’s freezing his arse off without them.”
“I’m sure we have something that will suit,” Paul said. “They’re over on the back wall.”
Caine found the area Paul indicated and selected several sets. He paid while Macklin discussed business with Paul, and then they were done and on the way to the Boorowa Hotel. The receptionist at the hotel didn’t blink an eye at them checking in with only one room, but Caine figured she thought they were simply sharing a room to save on expenses. Now that he knew Macklin better, he would have suggested it even if he didn’t have hopes for the evening, so she wasn’t completely off base.
They left their bags in the room and went back to the hotel restaurant for dinner. As much as Caine wanted Macklin naked in that bed, his stomach was demanding dinner. If they ate first, they wouldn’t have to worry about interruptions later.
Fifteen
CAINE COULDN’T have said later what he ate or what they talked about. He went through the meal on autopilot, his whole body buzzing in anticipation of the night to come. If Macklin shared Caine’s nerves, it didn’t show, but then Macklin rarely let anything peek out from behind the stoic mask he wore. It made the rare glimpses of emotion that much more precious.
By the time dinner was over and they headed back to their room on the second floor of the hotel, Caine was practically vibrating with his need to hurry. Only the necessity for discretion kept him from grabbing Macklin’s hand and dragging him up the stairs. The moment the door closed behind them, he threw himself in the other man’s arms, diving into a reckless kiss designed to drive them both wild as quickly as possible.
Macklin returned it willingly, but after several long moments, he lifted his head. “Slow down a bit, pup. We have all night. You have some promises to keep.”
“L-l-like?” Caine asked, already stuttering from arousal.
“I think you said something about showing me what I’d been missing,” Macklin said. “I don’t really know what that means, but I’d sure like to find out.”
Caine swallowed hard, remembering his promise from the night in the drover’s hut when he’d realized how little experience Macklin had with anything except fucking. “T-t-take off your sh-sh-shirt.”
Macklin unbuttoned his work shirt and tossed it on the chair before pulling his undershirt off. He turned back to Caine, waiting in tense silence. Caine took a moment to appreciate the sight in front of him. Macklin’s face might hint at his age with the lines around his eyes and the weathered skin, but he had the body of a much younger man, his shoulders broad and strong from a life spent working, his waist trim, the entire ensemble covered in hard muscle and a fine dusting of hair, enough for Caine to run his fingers through without crossing the line to hirsute.
“Well?” Macklin said after a moment.
“Well, you l-look good enough t-to eat,” Caine said, urging Macklin to lie down on the bed. “I c-could stare at you all n-n-night.”
“I hope you’ll do more than just look,” Macklin said with a soft laugh.
“D-definitely,” Caine replied, climbing onto the bed next to Macklin. He traced the pattern of hair from the lower edge of Macklin’s collar bone out around the edge of his chest and along his ribs to where it arrowed into the waistband of his jeans. There would be time to peel back the denim and follow that line of hair lower later. Some lucky man had probably given Macklin his first blow job years ago, but if Caine wasn’t the first to take his time with Macklin’s chest, he was one of only a very few, and that was more than good enough for him. The others had been fucks. He was Macklin’s lover, or he would be if things continued the way they had the past two days.
“Why don’t you take your shirt off too?” Macklin suggested.
Caine shook his head. If he did that, he’d end up distracted by Macklin touching him, and then he wouldn’t be able to keep his promise. “L-l-later.”
To keep Macklin from arguing, he bent swiftly and licked one of the roseate nipples partially hidden by the hair on Macklin’s chest. Macklin arched off the bed with a soft curse. Caine smiled and did it again, sucking lightly this time as he pushed Macklin back toward the mattress and found his othe
r nipple with his fingers. He tweaked and plucked at it in time with his sucking, determined to show Macklin the benefits of a real lover. Not that Caine had all that much experience, but at least he knew how to take his time making love.
Macklin tugged on Caine’s hair, pulling him up into another kiss. “The guy in Philadelphia who said you were boring in bed was a complete Galah. One touch, and I go up in flames.”
Caine smiled and kissed Macklin again. “The f-f-feeling is m-mutual. He n-never made me f-feel as g-good as you do.”
“We’re a pair, aren’t we?” Macklin said with a chuckle.
“Yes, but a p-pair of what?”
Macklin grinned and rolled Caine to his back, unbuttoning his shirt and pushing it off Caine’s shoulders. Caine lifted up so Macklin could pull the undershirt over his head as well. “Let’s see if I’ve learned the way of it, shall we?”
Caine hadn’t expected Macklin to leave him in charge for long, but he hadn’t expected it to happen quite that fast. He wasn’t complaining, exactly, but he hoped he’d get another chance to get his hands and mouth on Macklin’s chest. He wasn’t done exploring. He wasn’t going to get that opportunity now, though. Macklin had him pinned to the bed again, his heavier body holding Caine’s thighs still while his hands and lips moved over Caine’s torso with surprising gentleness. Given the tenor of most of their kisses and the speed of their first encounter, Caine hadn’t expected gentleness without some coaxing, but Macklin seemed to have picked that up on his own, keeping his teeth well clear of Caine’s nipples as he licked and sucked on them one at a time. His fingers kept up a steady stimulation on the opposite side, enough to bring Caine to full hardness but without ever crossing the line to being rough.
As hot as Caine’s fantasies had been, he found this even more arousing because Macklin obviously cared enough to be careful, and that was a far more potent aphrodisiac than sheer lust. Not for the first time, he silently cursed the stutter that made it almost impossible for him to talk when he was turned on. He wanted to tell Macklin how good it felt to be touched again, to feel as cherished as he was desired, but the fight to get the words out wasn’t worth it right now. He settled for wordless moans and groans, hisses and sighs, hoping they would convey his pleasure clearly enough. Macklin certainly didn’t show any sign of stopping, so Caine hoped he was getting his message across.