by Jenna Byrnes
Sky accepted the water and chugged down half of it. He wiped his mouth with the back of his arm and looked at Billy. Curly blond hair gave his cousin the perpetual appearance of bed head, no matter what time of day. A soul patch below the lower lip was his only facial hair, and there was usually a cigarette hanging from the edge of his mouth. Tonight was no exception.
“I’m okay.”
“I know.” Billy twisted off the beer cap and, after removing his smoke, took a swig. “Ruby and I were kickin’ back for the night. Checking if there’s anything I can do for ya before we go.”
“No thanks.” Sky felt slightly guilty. It was bad enough he was crashing at his cousin’s apartment, dampening any shreds of privacy the man had. Now he’d interrupted what was happening between his cousin and Ruby, his perky girlfriend with curly red hair and the biggest tits he’d ever seen on a woman the ripe old age of twenty-one. Barely. He shook his head and offered a small smile. “Sorry, man. I’ll keep it down.”
Bottle and cigarette in one hand, Billy ruffled Sky’s short, spiked brown hair with the other. “Nah, it’s all good. Just remember… The prick is gone. Prolly doing time in Leavenworth by now. He can’t hurt you anymore.”
Sky hugged his arms around his chest. “I know. Damn it! I’m fucking tired of these nightmares. Makes me look like such a pussy.”
“It doesn’t. You had a fucking broken shoulder, man. Even three months after the surgery and physical therapy, I know it still twinges. Prolly never be normal.”
“Thanks for that.” Sky smiled at his closest relative in the world. Billy had been like a brother growing up in Kansas. When his aunt had moved Billy to Colorado for her job, they’d both taken it hard. They’d kept in touch, and any time one of them needed the other, they’d come running.
Like Billy had, when Sky’s former partner Duke had ratcheted domestic violence up to a whole new level. He’d thought his cousin was going to kill the man, but there hadn’t been anything Sky could do about it from his hospital bed. What he had had a choice about—and what Billy could never understand—was Sky’s going home with Duke when he’d been released from the hospital. That fact was still a sore subject between them.
“If you’re sure you’re okay…” Billy motioned toward the other room.
Sky nodded. “Thanks for the water—and everything.”
“Any time, dude. Get some sleep.”
“You do the same.”
Billy grinned. “No promises.” He backed out then closed the door.
It wasn’t five minutes later that Sky heard his cousin’s headboard banging against the wall. He had to smile.
He polished off the last of the water then tossed the empty aside. Leaning back, he tried to face his demons because the therapist he’d seen a couple of times had told him that could make the bad dreams go away. It hadn’t worked yet, but Sky had hopes.
Duke. He closed his eyes, picturing the man he’d loved passionately for three years. Big and burly, with long, unruly brown hair and a full beard to match, Duke was ruggedly handsome—a definite bear in the gay community. Sky wasn’t a twink—at six foot two he was strong and muscular in his own right—but Duke was just so much bigger than him.
It had all been good in bed. Back then he’d loved being dominated by his aggressive partner. Until Duke had begun taking small steps over the line, eventually ending up miles away from the nice guy Sky had fallen in love with.
“Fuck him!” Sky swore, determined to break the hold Duke had over his dreams. “He’s in prison, and I’m in Colorado working at the best bike shop in Lakewood. Life is great.”
He closed his eyes but knew sleep wouldn’t come that quickly. “Leave me the fuck alone, Duke.”
* * * *
“I made pancakes. But you have to wake up.” Billy’s presence in his room indicated it must be morning. The whiff of air in front of his face smelled good, like Billy’d brought a plate in with him.
Sky sniffed, appreciating the appealing aroma, but didn’t open his eyes. It’d taken him a long time to fall back to sleep and he still felt tired. “What time is it?”
“Eleven a.m. So I could have made lunch. I went with pancakes. Rise and shine.”
He opened one eye. Billy did have a plate of pancakes, and he was eating from it. He grinned as he chewed. “You want some? Get up and serve yourself.” He walked out.
Sky stretched and tested his shoulder for pain. So far, so good. After rolling out of bed, he slipped into jeans and made a pit stop in the bathroom before heading to the kitchen. He grabbed a plate and looked around. “Ruby still here?”
Billy leaned against the counter. “Nope. She’s the perfect girlfriend. Here when I want her to be, then she goes home.”
“You’re a pig.” Sky piled his plate full and doused the cakes with syrup. He took a seat at the kitchen bar and cut off the first bite. “But you’re a good cook. Thanks.”
“You bet. Not much time during the week, but sometimes I like to make breakfast on the weekends.”
“And I like to scarf breakfast on the weekends, so that works out fine.”
Sky polished off the first plateful then went back for more.
His plate empty, Billy lit up a smoke. “What else do you like to do on the weekend, cuz? You’ve kept a pretty low profile, working and hanging around the house. You wanna get out and meet some people?”
Sky shook his head. “Not sure I’m ready for that.”
“I didn’t say get engaged. I said go out and do stuff. Like today, my motorcycle club is taking a ride to Central City, about thirty minutes away. The town’s got casinos, some good chow halls and all kinds of stuff to do. Wanna come along?”
“Sounds like a bunch of rough and rowdy one-percenters to me.” Sky teased about the nickname given to hardcore bikers who had trouble obeying the law.
“We’ve got some of those, but most prolly won’t be going today—not their ‘style’. Whatever. You wouldn’t want to hang with the rough crowd anyway, would ya? I thought you were done with that type.”
No truer words. He thought about the offer. It’d be fucking awesome to get out on the road for the day. Since he’d arrived in town, he’d stuck pretty close to home and work. He’d belonged to an MC in Dodge City and had enjoyed the camaraderie. Maybe a ride on his Harley was just what he needed to clear the cobwebs from his head. “Eh, sure. Why not? The guys in the club are cool?”
“Guys and gals, mind you, and yes, they’re ‘cool’. Haven’t lynched a gay member yet. ‘Course, they haven’t met you.” Cig hanging from his lips, he winked and rinsed his plate in the sink before loading the dishwasher.
“Prick,” Sky muttered jovially as he followed suit and took care of his dishes. “Guess they’re asshole-friendly if they let you in.”
“Oh absolutely! Get your shit together and we’ll leave in about half an hour. We’ll gas up then meet the others at the shop.”
“I’m on it.” Sky returned to his room and dug some clothes out. The autumn weather was turning cooler and if they were riding on the highway he’d definitely need his leather jacket. He showered and changed into jeans and a plain black T-shirt. He grabbed his sunglasses and met Billy in the living room.
They donned their full face helmets and headed out to fill up with gas before meeting the other club members. The bike shop where Billy worked and had gotten Sky a job was a few minutes from his cousin’s house. Fifteen to twenty people had gathered in the shop parking lot. Almost all of them wore the same jacket as Billy, black leather with the Rebel Riders emblem on the back, a silver bike encased in orange flames.
They parked and climbed off their bikes, then removed their helmets. Billy glanced around surreptitiously. “Okay, so there’s several gay guys in the club. Caesar is in his sixties so he’s prolly out. Jake is in a committed relationship. I can’t think of the others off-hand but if I do, I’ll point them out.”
“Would you stop that?” Sky gave him a shove. “I agreed to the ride to get out of the house, not for yo
u to fix me up.”
“That’s good, because it looks like slim pickings here today. But like I said, if I see any prospects, I’ll let you know.”
“Great.” Sky rolled his eyes then turned sideways to get out of the direct sunlight. He popped his sunglasses into place and surveyed the scene. Mostly men but there were, as Billy had mentioned, a few women dressed in full leather riding gear. One guy had a sidecar for his lady friend. One older couple had a Harley three-wheeled trike, which he knew to be very expensive.
“Light turnout today.”
He glanced around at the sound of the voice and saw a tall, muscular man with messy dark hair curling around his ears. The deepest brown eyes he’d ever seen peered back at him. The new arrival wore a club jacket over a tight white T-shirt and even tighter black leather pants. The scents of musk and citrus wafted around him, the fragrance so enticing it caused Sky’s heart to pump faster. Oozing masculinity, the handsome guy gave Sky a start. He struggled to remember how to speak. “Is it? I don’t know. I’m not from around here.”
The man eyed his plain jacket. “So I see. A friend of Billy’s?”
“Cousin. He invited me along today.”
Tall, Dark and Handsome smiled. “Sure. The more the merrier. So where are you from, Billy’s cousin?”
Sky thought he could sink into the deep pools of the man’s gaze and be quite happy there. There was a small cleft in his sculpted chin, barely hidden by three-day beard growth. He imagined exactly how the scrape of his chin would feel against Sky’s flesh, and his cock immediately hardened. Yet, as enticing as he appeared, Sky had learned to be cautious. He wasn’t ready to spill too much information. “I, uh, live here now. The name is Sky Warren.”
“Sky? Wow. Your parents must have used the same ‘Naming Baby’ book as mine. They liked the chapter on turning one-syllable nouns into names.” He extended a hand. “Task Rivers.”
Sky had to smile as he shook the man’s hand. “Task, eh? Nice. Different. That’s why I’ve always liked my name. I was the only Sky in school. On the other hand, sadly, I could never find a keychain with my name on it when we went on vacation.”
“No shit!” Task hooted. “Try to find a little license plate for a bicycle, or even a fucking coffee cup with ‘Task’ on it. Not happening.” He chuckled jovially.
Laugh lines creased his eyes and the corners of his mouth in an extremely sexy way. There didn’t seem to be any other lines on the fellow’s sleek physique, from what Sky could see under the gear, anyway. He guessed the man to be about thirty—a few years older than him, but close enough.
Sky closed his eyes. What am I thinking? He’d made such an issue to Billy about not being ready to look for men, and the first guy that talked to him had his mind running off in all kinds of crazy directions. And it was crazy, because he had no idea if Task was gay.
Billy waved at him from across the parking lot. Sky shrugged back. “What?” he mouthed.
His cousin pointed to a burly, bald guy sitting atop a Harley. He smiled and nodded.
Sky waved him off and looked away.
“Have you ever been to Central City?” Task changed the subject.
“I haven’t. I heard they have casinos and stuff to do.”
“Best casinos in the area, they say. I check ’em out once in a while.”
Sky tried to ignore Billy motioning behind Task, pointing to a different man this time, with frizzy blond hair and a large number of tattoos, visible even from a distance. Billy was pointing, grinning and nodding.
Task glanced over his shoulder casually then back at Sky. “What the hell is he doing?”
Sky rubbed a hand over his face. “My cousin is, uh… Well, shit. He’s trying to make me feel welcome.”
The handsome man blinked. “How’s that?”
His face heated. “By pointing out the gay men in the club.”
Task’s brown eyes widened before he grinned. “Is that so?” He turned and called, “Hey, Billy! Thanks, man. We got this.”
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About the Author
Jenna Byrnes could use more cabinet space and more hours in a day. She’d fill the kitchen with gadgets her husband purchases off TV and let him cook for her to his heart’s content. She’d breeze through the days adding hours of sleep, and more time for writing the hot, erotic romance she loves to read.
Jenna thinks everyone deserves a happy ending, and loves to provide as many of those as possible to her gay, lesbian and hetero characters. Her favorite quote, from a pro-gay billboard, is “Be careful who you hate. It may be someone you love.”
Email: [email protected]
Jenna loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and author biography at http://www.totallybound.com.
Also by Jenna Byrnes
Convincing Cate
Second Time Around
Carnal Collision
Taking Control
Secret Santa
Night Shift
Stroke of Luck
Practice Makes Perfect
Legal Maneuvers
Unexpected Love: Nothing to Lose
Unexpected Love: Worth the Risk
Unexpected Love: Having It All
Cattle Valley: Truth or Dare
Cattle Valley: Fool’s Gold
Rose and Thorn Society: Switching Seth
Rose and Thorn Society: Never Say Never
Kansas City Heat: Dixon’s Duty
Kansas City Heat: Peyton’s Pursuit
Kansas City Heat: Cameron’s Code
Kansas City Heat: Taylor’s Task
Lasso Lovin’: Fortune’s Way
Pleasure Bound: Aloha Kaua
Hard Riders: Clear Blue Sky
My Secret Valentine: Secret Rendezvous
Frost Bite: Night Fall
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