“Got it! You are afraid—for me, for you, probably for everyone.” Brendon lay down on the bed beside Zeke, who watched him warily. “This, however”—he reached down and stroked Zeke’s rapidly growing shaft—“this tells me that you do want me. You can shake your head, grumble and deny all you want, but your body tells me the truth.” Brendon jerked the blanket off Zeke, exposing the full erection making a lie of the feeble denials.
“This is the truth, babe,” Brendon whispered as he slid down the mattress until his lips brushed against the mushroomed head. Smiling up at Zeke, Brendon ran his tongue over the top of the glistening cock, then down to the sensitive underside of the head. Zeke gasped and jerked his hips, seeking more.
“I know what happened to you.” Brendon licked a thick vein that had caught his attention. “I know how you were jumped, how your knee got fucked up.” He laved his way across Zeke’s balls, suckling one of the orbs as his hand trailed over the wiry hair nestled around the base of the bobbing cock. Zeke moaned, loud and long as Brendon made his way back up to the tip of his lover’s dick. He paused, mouth against the rigid length, staring Zeke in the eyes.
“I know what you’ve been through, and I’m not scared, Zeke. I’m not walking away, and neither are you.” Brendon sucked Zeke’s cock down until the head bumped his throat, the action pushing aside any response Zeke might have wanted to make. He couldn’t speak since he was too busy groaning and thrusting his dick into Brendon’s mouth, and somewhere in the back of Brendon’s mind, he decided this was a pretty damn good way to shut the man up.
Zeke fisted the sheets, unable to do more than hold on and jerk his hips as Brendon sucked, swirling his tongue along the length of Zeke’s engorged cock. He knew he should protest, should pull Brendon off his dick and make him leave, but damn, Brendon was right. Zeke wanted him, and not just for tonight. He was so tired of being lonely, of being scared and ashamed.
Brendon trailed his fingers from Zeke’s balls to hole then slid two digits in. He crooked them slightly to peg his prostate.
Stars exploded behind Zeke’s eyeballs. He cursed and his body coiled tight, pulsing with the hot jets of spunk shooting from his cock. Brendon purred his approval, sucking and licking and thrusting his fingers until he had wrung out every single bit of pleasure from Zeke. Only then did he withdraw his fingers and release the softening cock from his mouth.
“Damn,” was about all Zeke could manage, and even that was elaborate in his opinion, all things considered.
Brendon chuckled softly, scooting up to settle against his side and pulling the covers over them both. Zeke was dimly aware of the swollen shaft pressing against his hip and reached for it feebly only to have his hand slapped away.
“Oh, no, you don’t, babe,” Brendon whispered in his ear. “That’s part of my evil plan to make you cooperate and let me stay with you tonight.”
Zeke managed to pry an eye open to look at Brendon, noting the smug smile but feeling too sated to worry about it.
“You’re a fair man, albeit an exhausted one. I’m a horny-as-hell man, but willing to wait until you’ve had some recovery time. I’m sure you wouldn’t toss me out without…well, tossing me first, would you?” Brendon punctuated the question by tracing the shell of Zeke’s ear with his tongue.
Nodding, Zeke had to agree. He wouldn’t want to send the man away unsatisfied, that would just be cruel—especially after the blow job Brendon had just given him. And if that excuse was lame, at least it allowed Zeke to stave off the loneliness, to hold Brendon and sleep with him for a little while during the night.
* * * *
Zeke woke early, years of working the ranch ensuring he was up before dawn. It would be great if he could stay in bed and just enjoy the warmth of Brendon’s body curled up against him for a while before waking the man up properly, but there were chores that couldn’t wait. Stifling a sigh, he eased out from underneath Brendon’s limbs and stood at the side of the bed, looking down at the sexy as hell man sprawled on his bed. Brendon was all long legs and lean muscles, with a tight ass that almost broke Zeke’s determination to leave the man in peace. He couldn’t recall ever having seen such a breathtaking sight. Forcing himself to turn away, Zeke grabbed some clothes and slipped out of the room, heading for the guest shower so as not to disturb Brendon.
* * * *
“Morning, Zeke.” Charlie, one of the two ranch hands Zeke had found who was willing to work for him, was waiting out by the barn.
“Morning, Charlie.” Zeke tipped his head at the man. “Is Miguel already out with the herd?”
Charlie nodded, following Zeke into the barn. “Need some supplies, boss. Thought maybe I could run into town and pick them up, if that’s okay.”
Zeke looked back at him. Charlie knew that it wasn’t safe for him to go into McKinton, not as long as he worked at the ranch. Zeke had made it clear that he ordered all supplies from Fort Worth or Dallas—anywhere but locally. He wouldn’t risk his men being harassed or worse because of him, nor would he contribute financially to the town any more than he had to. Still, occasionally, Charlie would push the issue.
“You know better, Charlie. If you don’t want to drive into Fort Worth for whatever it is we need, and it can’t be delivered, then I can send Miguel or pick it up myself.” Zeke was not budging on this.
Charlie shook his head. “Ya know, boss, it ain’t ever gonna change if ya don’t make it. You keep punishing everyone in that town for what a few people did—”
“Enough!” Zeke snapped. “We’ve been over this before, so quit pushing me, goddamn it!” He stormed over to Charlie, shaking with anger. Brendon was on him, his cowhand was on him—his own conscience was on him. Zeke was ready to hurt someone, even though that was the very thing he was trying to prevent. That realization had his temper evaporating. What the hell was wrong with him that he flew off the handle so easily? He took his hat off and ran shaky fingers through his hair as he took a deep breath.
“I’m sorry, Charlie.” Zeke looked at Charlie, expecting to see anger, condemnation, some type of justified judgment. What he saw instead was understanding tinged with compassion, which made him feel like an even bigger asshole. Charlie reached out and patted him on the shoulder.
“It’s okay, boss. I shouldn’t have, well… It’s a nice day for a drive, and if you don’t need me here, I reckon I’ll head on in to Fort Worth, ’kay?”
Zeke murmured an agreement, slapped his hat back on and turned to his chores, forcing everything out of his mind except what needed to be done. Thoughts of Brendon, soft lips and hard cock, threatened to distract him. What he offered Zeke—a relationship, something more than he’d ever had with another man before—tempted him sorely, and he wondered if there was some truth to Charlie’s words. After being jumped a couple of times in town, being harassed and called names, Zeke had let fear slowly creep in and take over his life. No, he hadn’t exactly let it take over, he just hadn’t known it was happening, and when he realized it, hadn’t known how to stop it. Added to that was the damned panic attacks which had only gotten worse since his mother’s death.
So, what should he do? Throw Brendon out, leave him to spend the summer at Gloria’s? Zeke believed the man when he said he was staying for the summer—at least. No doubt Brendon wouldn’t bother trying to hide his sexuality, and while it wasn’t like he was anywhere even close to flaming, the rumors would start once he turned down a couple of dates with some of the town’s beauties. Zeke knew what would happen then, and wasn’t that a good enough reason there for him to keep Brendon close?
Cursing soundly, he finished up and headed back to the house, confusion and desire swirling around in his head. Well, he might not know what to do about the confusion, but for the other, he was going to slip back into bed beside Brendon and lose himself in the depths of the man’s body.
Zeke’s dick filled with blood and pressed hard against the seam of his jeans. He reached for the back door and caught a whiff of something…bacon? His stoma
ch growled, reminding him that supper had gone forgotten last night, and breakfast hadn’t occurred to him. Was Enessa back, then? Disappointment surged through Zeke as he slipped into the house. He had hoped for a little more time with—
Brendon stood in the kitchen, wearing nothing but jeans, flipping bacon as it sizzled in a cast iron skillet. Pancakes were stacked on a platter, kept warm by the heat of the stove. Zeke felt a rush of relief at seeing the man, so much so that it actually felt like his heart grew lighter in his chest. He knew he had to have the silliest grin ever on his face, but he just couldn’t help it.
“Morning,” Zeke said, not wanting to startle Brendon as he was scooping the bacon out of the skillet. Brendon grinned at him over his shoulder.
“Morning, Zeke. Heard you come in the back door, but I wasn’t sure…” Brendon trailed off, grin faltering as he looked away, and Zeke felt like pure shit. He walked over to Brendon and pressed up against his back, wrapping him in a tight hug. Zeke closed his eyes and buried his face against Brendon’s neck, soaking in the scent of him.
“I thought you’d still be asleep, babe.” He nibbled on the strong column of Brendon’s neck, tonguing the artery that pulsed beneath his lips. The spicy taste sent a bolt of fire zinging straight to Zeke’s cock, snuggled tight against the crack of the firm ass he’d been thinking of filling.
“Mmm, needed food,” Brendon answered, pushing against Zeke’s erection. “And you need to eat, too.” He waved the plate of bacon in one hand and grabbed the platter of pancakes with the other. “Wouldn’t want all my hard work to go to waste, would you?”
Zeke grunted and stepped back enough to let Brendon turn in his arms, then startled the man with a hungry kiss.
“You know, that’s really not fair when I have my hands full,” Brendon pointed out, trying not to tip either of the plates he was holding and feeling a little breathless from the affection. He’d really expected to be kept at a distance this morning, not held snug, not licked and kissed senseless.
“I think it’s perfectly fair,” Zeke argued playfully, “because all I’ve thought about since waking up is getting my hands—and a few other parts—on you.” He gave Brendon’s ass a firm squeeze before releasing him. Zeke swiped the bacon and placed it on the table. Plates and utensils had already been set out, so Zeke poured them each a glass of milk before he sat. A comfortable silence filled the kitchen, broken only by the occasional sound of the men enjoying their meal. They were almost through with breakfast when Brendon’s phone rang displaying Gloria’s number on the caller ID. He thought about excusing himself from the table but discarded the idea. He didn’t want Zeke to sneak off on him.
“Hey, Gloria, what’s up?” Brendon watched Zeke, noting the stillness that came over the man. Was he expecting trouble? Or was he always this paranoid? Not that he didn’t have his reasons, but Brendon found it sad all the same.
“Oh, nothing much, just wanted to make sure everything was okay?” Gloria’s cheery voice could be heard across the kitchen, so he knew Zeke heard every word, though the man didn’t relax. Brendon got up and walked over to stand behind him, placing a hand on Zeke’s tense shoulder, massaging as best he could.
“Everything here is just fine, Gloria. You and Nessa heading over?” God, he hoped not. He needed some time with Zeke to show the man what they could have together.
“Actually, Bren, if it’s okay with you and Zeke, we thought we’d head over to the Dallas-Fort Worth area for a few days. Sort of take a mini-vacation and, you know, give you two a chance to get to know each other. Um, if…ah, y’all haven’t already?”
Brendon was glad he was standing behind Zeke so the man couldn’t see the grin splitting his face. No way was he going to answer the question Gloria was hinting at, though, it just wasn’t her business. Besides, what he and Zeke had shared was too new and fragile to pull out and pass around for examination.
“That’s fine with me.” Better than, really. “Zeke? You okay with it?” And there, didn’t Gloria just get an answer to her earlier question? Damn it, he would have smacked himself on the forehead but he didn’t want to stop touching Zeke. Brendon watched Zeke’s head bob hesitantly up and down. Yes! “He’s good with it. Y’all stopping by here first?” He crossed his fingers. Please, please, let them just go.
Gloria laughed, loud enough that Brendon jerked the phone away from his ear. “Don’t sound so thrilled with the idea, Bren! And, no, Nessa has clothes with her, plus we plan on having a shopping spree or three. You two have fun—and lots of it!” Her laughter boomed through the phone again, causing Brendon to hold the phone at arm’s length as he finished the call then tucked the phone into his pocket.
He could still feel the tension in Zeke’s shoulders, so he began working at the knotted muscles with both hands. Brendon leaned down, placing his lips against Zeke’s ear. “Hey, it’ll be okay, all right?” He straightened, massaging the tense flesh under his hands until he finally felt the man relax. Zeke reached up and grabbed one of Brendon’s hands, bringing it to his cheek. The tenderness of the gesture hit Brendon so strongly he felt his eyes prick with tears. Not the time to be a damn puss, he thought.
“I hope so, Brendon, I really do.” Zeke twisted in his chair and, using the hand he had captured to pull Brendon around, settled him on his lap. He stared at Brendon, not bothering to hide his fear or his desire. “I want… I just don’t know if I can believe it. If we’ll be safe,” Zeke said wearily. He closed his eyes briefly and sighed.
Brendon wasn’t going to let the man doubt it. “It will be, babe. I’m not saying it will be easy, or always a barrel of monkeys, but sometime you have to start trying to live, Zeke. You can’t just avoid life.” He waited for the backlash, denial and anger, but Zeke only nodded.
“Charlie, my ranch hand and friend, pretty much said the same thing to me this morning,” he admitted. “I wanted to rip his damn head off,” Zeke said ruefully. “He’s tried before to get his point across, but this time, something snapped. Besides my temper.”
“Well, I think that maybe our first step should be for you to drive me over to Gloria’s to get my clothes and SUV. If it’s okay that I stay here, with you.” Brendon used ‘our’ deliberately, wanting to see Zeke’s reaction. He held his breath, wondering if there would be acceptance or rejection, knowing he was pushing past his lover’s comfort zone. Hell, he was blowing the whole zone to bits. Brendon watched as Zeke took a steadying breath, and that was when he noticed it.
The sweet scent was back, the one he’d caught a whiff of right before he’d felt that…nudge last night. The one he’d tried to forget, because it was just a little too scary to think about.
Still… “Do you smell it, too?” Brendon didn’t know if he wanted the scent to be real or not.
Zeke jerked his chin up so fast their heads almost smacked together. He stared into Brendon’s eyes, searching for long seconds before answering. “Sweet, subtle, like it’s carried through on a breeze?” he asked.
“Yeah, exactly like that, except last night…” Brendon suddenly had second thoughts about continuing that sentence. He didn’t want to sound like some spooked kid, but it was obvious Zeke wasn’t going to let it go. He bounced his legs, jostling Brendon.
“Last night, what?”
Brendon groaned, trying not to roll his eyes. He needed to learn to bite his tongue, but he hadn’t, and now here was the consequence.
“Last night, when you walked off and left me in the hall, bare-assed naked, I might add.” He couldn’t resist teasing Zeke, drawing a smile from his sexy lips.
“I’m sorry about that,” Zeke murmured, his gaze flickering away before returning to Brendon’s. “I was a complete asshole last night to say what I did.” Zeke tightened his arms around Brendon, the action as much of an apology as the words. “But, you really do need to quit distracting me and finish telling me what happened.”
“I wasn’t distracting you. I was just pointing out… Okay, okay. Anyway, I was trying to figure out
whether I should just give in and concede defeat, or go after what I wanted—you. So, there I stood, confused as hell, when that scent just appeared, and then…uhm.” Brendon glanced down at the floor as he considered whether or not he wanted to admit to what happened in the hallway last night. This was the hard part to confess, because if Zeke laughed at him, Brendon didn’t know what he’d do.
Zeke stroked a finger along Brendon’s cheek, down below his chin. He pushed gently, forcing Brendon’s head up, looking him in the eyes. “Whatever it is that you’re so worried about telling me, just stop worrying. You came in and found me last night. You know how you found me. You didn’t laugh, didn’t tease, instead, you helped me. Why would I laugh at anything that upset you?”
And just like that, with the sincerity shining at him in those beautiful green eyes, Brendon felt the rest of his heart tumble straight into Zeke’s hands. Sunk, for certain. He was terrified and elated…and Zeke was waiting for an answer. Brendon cleared his throat, trying to work out the tightness that had suddenly seized his vocal cords.
“You, ah, you wouldn’t, I suppose. It’s just kinda…heebie-jeebie-ish, creepy. I was standing there confused and such, like I said, then there was the smell, and then there was a, uhm, a nudge. On my back, like, pushing me toward your room, that kind of nudge. Now do you understand why I wasn’t real eager to explain it?” Brendon twiddled his fingers together, feeling like an idiot despite Zeke’s assurances.
“No feeling foolish,” Zeke ordered. “I don’t feel foolish, and I’ve felt a nudge, a push, even a caress sometimes when that scent hits. And it always comes when I seem to need it. I needed help last night, Brendon,” he whispered, melting Brendon with his gaze. “I needed you, and that nudge, that scent—you really are going to think I’m crazy, Brendon, but it’s the scent my mama always wore, and the way she would nudge and push to get me to do what she knew was right. She always knew what was right, babe.”
A Subtle Breeze Page 4