by Carol Lynne
Jacko sat, beer in hand. “Did you make it to the bank in time?”
“Uh…no. I’ll have to come back earlier in the day sometime this week. Get what you needed at the parts store?” Jamie flipped open the menu.
“Ordered it. It’ll be here on Friday. Can you wait that long to come back to the bank, or do you want me to run you back into town tomorrow?”
“Friday’s good.” Jamie winced at the slight crack in his voice, but he wasn’t in any hurry to chance meeting up with Brian again. He hoped to hell Jacko hadn’t noticed.
“You okay?” Jacko nudged Jamie’s foot with his own.
Jamie glanced up. He could see the concern in Jacko’s face. “Yeah, I’m fine. I think I’d rather get something to go and eat it on the way, though. Kinda want to get you alone.” He mentally crossed his fingers Jacko would buy it. “We can come back later this week and go to the department store.”
A foot slid up his leg to his shin. “Okay.”
While they waited for their steak sandwiches, Jamie drank two more beers and another shot. Jacko kept a close eye on him but said nothing until he went to order a third. “Trying to get pissed?”
“Huh?” Jamie asked. “I’m not mad.”
Rolling his eyes, Jacko chuckled. “Haven’t you lived in Oz long enough to know the slang? Pissed means drunk.”
“Oh. Uh…no. I’m just thirsty.”
“Then I’d suggest a cola.” Jacko leaned in and whispered in his ear, “Can’t very well fuck the life out of you if you’re passed out.”
That was enough to have Jamie pushing his beer bottle toward the center of the table. “I’m done.”
Laughing, Jacko slapped Jamie on the back. “I thought you might say that.” Jacko stopped and stared toward the bar.
Jamie peered over his shoulder and saw Brian standing with three of his friends. Jamie didn’t know if the guys beside Brian were the other people who had beaten him up that night, but from the expression on Jacko’s face he guessed they were.
When Jacko started to stand, Jamie put a hand on his arm. “Forget it. Let’s just get our food and go. We have better things to do than try to fight four men.”
Jacko glanced down at Jamie for a few seconds then back to the smirking men. “You’re right. Lochie would kill me if anything happened to you.”
Jacko signaled for the waitress. She held up her finger and went back toward the kitchen.
Jamie snagged his beer and finished it off. Shit. I’m really going to hear it when Jacko and Lochie see my arm.
The waitress brought over a to-go bag and handed it to Jacko. She followed Jacko’s stare toward Brian and his mates. “Best if you two get out of here while the pub is still in one piece. Charlie said the food was on the house.”
Digging money out of his front pocket, Jacko smiled and handed her several bills. “That’s okay, Miranda. Keep the change.” He jerked his head toward the door. “Let’s go.”
Jamie tried to hold his head high as he walked past Brian. He was almost to the door when Brian called him a poofter again. He turned back just in time to see Jacko stop in his tracks. “Jacko. Come on. Let’s go home.” Jamie left, heading as quickly as he could to the pickup. He just prayed Jacko would follow.
Several seconds later, Jacko stalked to the truck. They climbed in and Jamie barely had his seatbelt buckled when Jacko shot away from the curb toward home. The tension in the cab was so thick it was hard to breathe. Jamie cracked his window before digging the sandwiches out of the bag. He unwrapped Jacko’s for him. Handing it to him, he had to ask, “What’s a poofter?”
The muscles in Jacko’s jaws tightened. “I don’t want you to ever say that word again.”
“Fine. I won’t say it. But at least tell me what it is. I’ve heard it several times now, and I don’t even know what kind of look to put on my face. I mean, I can tell it’s not good, and I imagine it has something to do with being gay, but I’d like to know.” He took a bite of his sandwich before he realized that his mouth was as dry as dirt. He took a swig from the bottle of water he’d grabbed from home.
“Any man who doesn’t act like an ill-bred mongrel like Brian and his mates, they reckon is a Sheila.”
“Oh.” Jamie decided to keep his mouth shut until they got home. He wouldn’t put it past Jacko to turn around and tear the pub apart.
* * * *
Getting out of the SUV, Jamie noticed the sexy man lounging on the verandah. He smiled and walked up the steps. Lochie was sound asleep with his comfy shorts on. Damn, I love those shorts. Lochie was so cute when he slept. His bottom lip always stuck out in a childish pout. Jamie felt Jacko behind him and was pleasantly surprised when Jacko ran his hand over Jamie’s ass. Maybe Jacko wasn’t as mad as he’d thought?
Jamie wiggled his butt when he bent over to place a kiss on Lochie’s lips. Lochie opened his eyes and his mouth at the same time as Jamie pushed his tongue inside. Someone’s been drinking whiskey.
Jamie broke the kiss when Jacko rubbed his stiffening dick against Jamie’s ass. “Mmm. That feels nice.”
Lochie unzipped Jamie’s jeans. As Lochie pulled Jamie’s pants down, Jacko removed Jamie’s boots. Once he was naked from the waist down, Jamie glanced from Jacko to Lochie. “Well? You’ve got me mostly naked and hard. Now what?”
Without wasting time, Lochie unzipped. He spat onto his palm before fishing his erection out of his shorts. “Ride me.”
The chair was just wide enough for Jamie to get a foot on either side of Lochie’s hips. Lochie squeezed Jamie’s ass and separated his cheeks. Fuck! Jamie winced and jerked his body forward, away from the touch. “Sorry. As much as I’d love to ride you, boss, I’m still a little sore back there.”
“Sorry, babe,” Lochie said.
Jacko kissed Jamie’s neck. “Thanks for being honest.”
Jamie shrugged. “I guess a few good things have come out of our talk earlier. Carry me inside. I want to go to bed and hear about your visit to Red’s.” Jamie grinned.
Lochie sighed. “Jacko, can you carry this big baby to bed? I can’t very well stand up and walk with my damn shorts around my ankles.”
Jamie nipped Lochie’s chin. “Your baby.”
“You know it.”
Jacko scooped Jamie off Lochie’s lap then headed for the bedroom. Jamie felt safe and loved in Jacko’s strong arms. He cuddled against his chest and sighed.
“I love it when you guys carry me.” He knew it wasn’t very manly of him, but what the hell. If he liked it and his guys liked it, what was the problem?
“You need to use the bathroom?” Jacko asked when they reached the hall.
“Yep,” Jamie answered. He had a very set bedtime ritual which involved peeing, brushing his teeth and usually lubing his hole, but tonight he’d just take care of the first two.
Jacko set Jamie on his feet. “Can you walk to the bed when you’re finished, or should I wait and carry you, Your Highness?”
“Thank you, manservant, but I can manage from here.” Jamie shut the door.
After cleaning up, Jamie went to the mirror then peeled the sleeve of his shirt up. “Oh, fuck.” He studied the bright blue and purple bruise. Lochie and Jacko would have no problem seeing how it got there, either. The cops could have probably taken fingerprints off the damn thing. The perfectly formed finger impressions were as plain as day. Jamie knew he had to hide the bruise for at least the rest of the night. He wouldn’t put it past them to storm into town and get into a fight with Brian and his buddies.
With the shirt sleeve back in place, Jamie turned off the bathroom light and headed toward the bedroom. He found Jacko and Lochie already undressed and cuddled together in the center of the bed. “Is this a private party or can anyone join?”
They broke apart just enough to each extend a hand, but it was Lochie who spoke. “Not just anyone, but you’d better get that sweet ass over here before we come and get you.”
Jamie flipped off the bedroom light and prepared to undress.
“Hey,” Jacko grumbled. “What, no strip show tonight?”
Jamie quickly divested himself of his clothes. He slid between the sheets, only to be pulled into the center of Jacko and Lochie’s embrace.
“Didn’t want to get the two of you too excited. I’m sleepy,” he lied.
Jacko ran his rough hands down Jamie’s torso to his half-hard cock. He plucked at the piercing as Lochie began to play with Jamie’s nipple rings.
Jacko chuckled when Jamie immediately went hard. “Don’t seem too tired to me.”
“I’ll never be too tired to get it up with two gorgeous men fondling me.” He thrust into Jacko’s hand. “Okay, you’ve convinced me. Do your worst. Just stay away from the ass.” Jamie spread his arms and legs as far as he could and let his two men love him.
Chapter Six
The sound of Blue barking woke Lochie in the middle of the night. It took him several seconds to untangle himself from the bundle of arms and legs. He pulled on his shorts, surprised that Blue’s noise hadn’t disrupted Jacko’s or Jamie’s sleep. It was unusual for Blue to bark like he was unless something was trespassing on the homestead. Usually, it was nothing more than a wild animal, but just in case, Lochie grabbed his registered shotgun from its place over the door.
“Bloody hell.” Lochie turned back. “Jacko, wake up. I need you and Jamie out here now!” Lochie screamed then took off toward the small equipment shed which was fully engulfed in flames. Lochie scolded Blue to stop barking and get to the verandah.
Instead of following his master’s orders, Blue went to the road and continued to bark. “Blue,” Lochie yelled at the barking dog. He was just about to reprimand Blue again when a thought struck him. He ran over to Blue and kneeled down, setting the butt of the rifle on the ground beside him. “Is someone out there?” Lochie peered down the graveled road. It was still too dark to see anything, but the way Blue was carrying on, Lochie was sure something or someone was there. What if the person who’d set the fire was still around? Was he just trying to draw them out of the house so he could do something worse? Shit.
Spotting Jacko and Jamie racing across the yard, Lochie called to them, “I’m over here. Blue seems to think there’s someone down the road. You two stay here. I’m going to get the ute and see if I can find whoever’s responsible for this.” Lochie took off without a backward glance.
Jamie bumped his hip against Jacko. “Why aren’t we trying to put out the fire?”
Jacko wrapped an arm around Jamie and kissed his forehead. “This homestead is set up to withstand one of the buildings catching on fire. Around here, unless it’s a matter of life or death, you don’t waste the water trying to fight it. These buildings are set far enough apart that unless a strong wind comes up it should be contained in that shed.”
Leading Jamie by the hand, Jacko strode into the big shed. He picked up a couple of shovels before handing one to Jamie. “Our job will be to make sure the fire doesn’t spread. Not much grass around, but there are a few blades here and there. Just flip dirt over the top of any sparks you see.”
Jamie gave him a quick kiss. He turned back to the burning building. “Lochie has insurance, right?”
Jacko closed the shed door. “I’m sure he does, but I don’t know how much. Luckily, the big equipment is still in the paddock.” He walked with Jamie to the burning building. He started to say something but stopped abruptly, his gaze zeroing in on Jamie’s arm.
Jamie knew that Jacko had seen what he’d tried earlier to hide. He flinched as Jacko lifted Jamie’s arm.
The muscles in Jacko’s strong jaws started clenching and unclenching as if Jacko was trying to gain control of his anger. “Who did this?”
Jamie pulled his arm out of Jacko’s grasp. “My arm’s not important right now. We’ve got a fire to watch.”
Narrowing his eyes until they were mere slits, Jacko took another step so that he was nose to nose with Jamie. “Fuck the bloody building. You’re more important to me than a shed. Now I’m going to ask again. Who did this?”
Jamie tried to turn away, but Jacko reached up and held Jamie’s face in a gentle but firm grip. “Jamie?”
“Brian. He stopped me before I could go into the bank.” Jamie jerked his face out of Jacko’s hand. He knew Jacko was just concerned and feeling protective, but Jamie couldn’t help but feel like a weakling who couldn’t take care of himself. He’d never really had this problem before coming to Australia. Not that he’d been in a lot of fights, but he sure as hell hadn’t backed away from them either.
He tried to break away from Jacko, but he was held in a tight embrace. Jamie shoved against the other man’s chest. “Look. You get mad when those guys call me a poofter, yet you and Lochie both treat me like one. So, yeah, maybe I let you two carry me around, but that doesn’t make me any less a man. I’m a man, dammit! Stop treating me like some fragile weakling.” He pushed hard and Jacko finally let him go, with his mouth open in surprise at Jamie’s outburst. “Let’s just watch the fire. I told you I’d talk to you later.” Jamie picked the shovel off the ground where it had fallen. He stepped around Jacko to the other side of the shed.
* * * *
Jamie didn’t know how long he’d walked the perimeter of the shed searching for stray sparks, but when he heard Lochie’s truck, he stopped and glanced up. He knew what was coming. It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate the obvious show of love and concern from Jacko and Lochie, but he was tired of being protected. He needed to stand up and pull his own weight if he was going to last in the Australian bush for the long haul.
Deciding to meet the problem head on, Jamie walked to the vehicle where Jacko was already in animated conversation with Lochie. As he approached the two men, they both stopped and stared at him with their hands on their hips. Jamie cut off their questions before they started.
“Later,” he said. “Tell me what you found out there.” Jamie motioned down the gravel road.
Lochie’s gaze went immediately to the bruise on Jamie’s arm. He started to reach out but seemed to stop himself. “I followed a cloud of dust for miles. There was definitely someone else driving in front of me, but I never caught up to them. At this time of night, and with us being kilometers from other homesteads, it tells me the fire was intentionally set.” He glanced at Jamie’s arm again. “I’ve a strong feeling it was the same person responsible for that.” He nodded at Jamie’s bruises.
Jamie peered over his shoulder at the burning shed. It had burned almost to the ground now and he could see the blackened skeletal remains of the four-wheelers he’d just bought Lochie, Jacko and himself. The shed held only them and some miscellaneous tools. Nothing that couldn’t easily be replaced, but what would Brian and his friends torch next? That was what he was afraid of. The fire had been set because of him. No one in town, including Brian, knew that Jacko was even with them. Unless…had they overheard him tell Jacko they needed to go home? Had he outed Jacko without even realizing it? Jamie’s stomach turned at the thought of someone setting fire to the house while they’d slept. He loved Lochie and Jacko with all his heart, but if walking away would keep them safe he’d do it.
With his mind made up, Jamie turned on his heel and started back to the house. When Lochie and Jacko started to protest, Jamie held up a hand. “I need a moment.” He kept walking without turning around.
After Jamie disappeared into the house, Lochie looked at Jacko. “What’s wrong with him? Doesn’t he know how much we love him?” Lochie ran a hand down his face. Eating dust for almost two hours while worrying about Jacko and Jamie had taken its toll.
Jacko slipped his arm around Lochie. “He’s angry. I’m not sure if it’s at us or himself. He told me earlier when I questioned him about his arm that you and I get angry when people call him a poofter, yet that’s the way we treat him.” He shook his head. “Do we treat him like that? He just seems so small and fragile compared to us. I can’t help but want to protect him after what happened at Red’s party.”
“I don’t know,” Jacko mumbled.
They walked hand in hand toward the smoldering shed. “Let me think on it while we wait for the fire to burn itself out.” Lochie picked up a shovel and started flipping dirt onto the smoking remains of the shed.
Jamie eventually rejoined the effort but refused to make eye contact with them. Lochie decided to give Jamie the space he seemed to need, at least for a while.
An hour later, Lochie felt the fire was sufficiently contained. “I think that’s good enough. Why don’t you go get a shower, Jamie?” He hated to sound like he was ordering Jamie around, but he needed to talk to Jacko in private.
With a sharp nod, Jamie handed Lochie his shovel before retreating to the house without a word. Lochie glanced at Jacko and sighed. He watched as smoke continued to rise through the loose tan soil, wondering what to do next. The sun was up and it was already getting hot. Wiping his brow, he stared toward the house. He hoped like hell Jamie would cool down enough to talk, because they had a lot of it to do.
Lochie touched Jacko’s arm. “Come on. Let’s go get this over with.”
Jacko stopped shoveling. “If we decide to go after Brian and his mates, we’ll have to include Jamie. It’s the only way.”