A Wild Ride (5 page)

He carefully lifted the covers and slowly got out of the bed, making sure he made no quick or jarring movements. Ryan continued his soft snoring without interruption. Once Dante had put the covers back in place, he hurried to the bathroom to retrieve his clothes, thankful he wouldn’t have to try to hunt them up from the floor. Dante silently closed the door and felt his way into his clothes. Once dressed, Dante opened the bathroom door and quietly made his way toward his escape.

“Didn’t anyone teach you any manners?” Ryan asked groggily from the bed, and Dante stopped in his tracks, swallowing hard. There was no way he could explain why he was leaving and keep his dignity intact. He’d completely come apart for Ryan and… Dante shook his head and slowly moved back toward the bed.

“I didn’t want to wake you, but I have to go,” Dante whispered without providing any explanation. Ryan sat up, the white bedding slipping away from his chest.

“I understand,” Ryan told him with a soft sigh, and the thought that he might really understand and see what was bothering Dante scared him half to death. Why was it this guy seemed to see inside him? All he could think was that he had to get out, away, and back to the familiar, back to where he was in charge. Ryan reached for him, and Dante went without thinking and was engulfed in a warm hug. “I hope you find what it is you’re looking for and what you need.” Ryan then kissed him, and Dante felt Ryan stroke along his cheek with his thumb. Dante pulled away and swallowed hard as he hurried toward the door. “Good-bye, Dante,” Ryan said as Dante opened the door.

He paused, the light from the hall spilling into the room. He actually considered walking back into that hotel room, but couldn’t bring himself to do it. Dante knew who he was: a bull rider and one of the toughest guys out there. He could take whatever life dished out, no matter what. Hell, he’d already been through hell more than once and come through it alive. But the thought of what Ryan represented scared the shit out of him. A stranger, a perfect fucking stranger, had not only gotten
through
his defenses, he’d acted like they weren’t there at all.

Dante slowly walked down the hotel hallway to the elevator and pushed the button. As he waited, he turned around, looking back toward Ryan’s door. Part of him hoped Ryan would come out, hurry down the hall, and lead him back.

The hallway remained still, and the elevator dinged as it reached the floor and the doors silently slid open. Dante stepped inside and pushed the button for the ground floor. The doors slid closed and the car began to descend. Dante closed his eyes and leaned against the wall, breathing deeply and steadily, trying to catch his breath, but he couldn’t seem to. Once he reached the lobby, he hurried out to his truck as fast as he could. By the time he pulled open the door and climbed inside the truck, his chest felt as though it were being squeezed. Dante leaned on the steering wheel, breathing hard and deep, forcing air into his lungs as he pushed away the abyss of loss that threatened to overwhelm him. He’d only met Ryan a few hours ago, and yes, they’d had sex that had completely fried his brain… but how could he feel like he was doing something he’d regret? “It was only sex with a near stranger,” he told himself, trying to get the words to sink in, but it didn’t work. Dante kept breathing, and the wave of panic eventually passed. He’d had an incredible night, but it was over, and it was time for him to return to reality.

R
YAN
woke to light peeking around the curtains and someone knocking on his hotel-room door. He got up and padded over. He was about to open it when he remembered what had happened the night before and that he wasn’t wearing anything. “Just a minute,” he said and hunted up a pair of jeans. He pulled them on and jumped a little to get the light denim on before fastening them and then opening the door.

“I’ve been waiting for you to call for hours,” Jacky said as he rushed into the room, then stopped to look at the bed. “Where is he?” Jacky turned toward the open bathroom door.

“He left in the middle of the night,” Ryan said.

“Was it a wham-bam?” Jacky snapped his hips and then burst into giggles, and Ryan rolled his eyes.

“No, it most certainly wasn’t,” Ryan said, trying not to sound offended. Regardless of whether he knew the men a long time or for just a few hours, Ryan was never a wham-bam kind of guy. He believed in taking his time and that the reward was more than worth it. It had been for him last night, and he hoped it was the same for Dante.

“So what happened?” Jacky asked excitedly as he sat on the end of the bed.

Ryan glanced at the clock and groaned. “It’s barely seven in the morning. I was sleeping until you decided to come pounding on my door.” Ryan wiped his eyes and picked up the phone, dialing room service. He asked for coffee, orange juice, and a croissant before hanging up again.

“You were with Dante Rivers last night, and I want all the dirt.” Jacky bounced on the mattress. “Did he fuck you? Did you fuck him?” Jacky shivered visibly.

“Look, I don’t kiss and tell and you know that. I’m not going to discuss what happened between Dante and me.” Ryan pushed open the top of his suitcase and pulled out a T-shirt. He tugged it on and pulled it down to cover his chest and stomach.

“But it’s Dante Rivers,” Jacky squealed, like a high school cheerleader who’d just been told another girl had been selected squad leader.

“No, Jacky,” Ryan said firmly and settled into the chair. “What about the cowboy you left with?” Deflection was the only recourse when Jacky got like this.

“He was okay. I mean, the guy was huge, but sometimes everything isn’t proportional. Not that I’m some big size queen or anything. It’s what you do with what you’ve got, and he could have been King Kong and he wouldn’t have known what to do with it.” Jacky shook his head. “I got him off and sent him on his way.” Jacky was obviously disappointed and some of the energy slipped out of him, momentarily. “So tell me about Dante.” He instantly began bouncing again. “Did you get an autograph? Did he sign your butt for you?” He burst into another fit of giggles, and Ryan was tempted to drop his pants just to demonstrate that his ass was indeed signature-free.

“No, I didn’t get his autograph,” Ryan said and waited for Jacky’s laughter to subside. Ryan didn’t need an autograph or any other keepsake to remember his night with Dante. For some reason, Ryan knew he’d remember last night for the rest of his life.

When Jacky’s laughter did subside, he looked like he kept expecting him to say something, but Ryan simply stared at Jacky. Slowly the other man’s expression became more serious, and eventually Jacky’s eyes widened and his mouth formed an “O.”

“Yeah, exactly,” Ryan said, turning to answer the door when he heard a soft knock. A waiter brought in a tray and set it on the desk. Ryan tipped him and said thanks, and the waiter left.

“But it was good, right?” Jacky asked, and Ryan nodded.

“Don’t ask for any details, because you aren’t going to get them,” Ryan said.

Jacky held up his hands in surrender. “The last thing I want to hear about is any of the kinky things you do,” he said.

Ryan knew he’d meant it as a joke, but it didn’t sound one bit funny to him. Ryan had picked up the coffeepot, but now he set it back on the tray with a bang. “Look, it wasn’t like that at all. And I’d appreciate it if you’d keep your ignorant opinions to yourself.” Ryan loomed over Jacky. “You know nothing, and acting flip isn’t helping. What happened was serious, and someone got hurt.”

“I know. But it wasn’t your fault,” Jacky said softly, all hints of mirth vanishing. “I was just teasing.”

“Well, it wasn’t funny,” Ryan said. He turned away and walked over to the curtains, pulling them open with a snap to let some sun into the room. “I honestly thought I’d left all that behind. That I’d learned my lesson.”

“There was no lesson to learn,” Jacky said.

“Yes, there was. Because of me… well, you know what happened, and we don’t need to go over it again.” Ryan pressed his eyes closed to block out the memories. To his surprise, what he saw instead was Dante laid out on the bed, squirming and writhing as Ryan slowly took the bull rider’s long, sweet cock down his throat. He’d wanted so badly to reach down and press his cock to Dante’s lips, but last night hadn’t been about him; it had been about Dante. That it had been one of the most erotic experiences of his life for Ryan as well had been a bonus.

“Have something to eat; you’ll feel better,” Jacky said, and Ryan slowly turned away from the window. He accepted the filled mug from Jacky and ate half the croissant before setting the rest aside. “I’m going to clean up and get packed. I’ll meet you in the lobby in forty-five minutes, and we’ll head for home.”

“I was…. Okay,” Jacky said, and Ryan went into the bathroom. He shaved, brushed his teeth, and took a quick shower. By the time he emerged from the bathroom, Jacky was gone. Ryan dressed and packed everything up. He checked the room for anything he’d left behind but found nothing. The bedding was strewn all over the floor, and Ryan picked it up, throwing it on the bed. Something chinked on the floor. As he walked around the bed, he caught a glint of silver. He reached down and pulled up a belt buckle with what had to be Dante’s belt still attached.

Ryan ran his thumb over the inscribed design of a bull’s head before curling the belt into a tight circle and tucking it into his bag. Then he gathered the last of his things and pulled open the door. He threw his carry bag over his arm and wheeled his suitcase into the hall. The hotel room door closed behind him, and he walked toward the elevator.

“Are you ready?” Jacky asked as he approached, just before the elevator door slid open. Ryan nodded. He was more than ready to go home.

T
HE
ride home took a few hours. Jacky dropped him off, and Ryan said good-bye before carrying his stuff into the lobby of his condo building. He rode the elevator to the top floor, and once inside, collapsed in one of his leather living room chairs, looking out the window toward downtown Houston rising in the distance.

He didn’t move for the longest time. He was tired, and his mind kept running over the night before. He knew he needed to get Dante out of his mind, but he just couldn’t. His phone ringing finally broke Ryan out of his thoughts.

“Hey, how did your trip to the rodeo go?” Marie asked when he answered. They’d been friends and colleagues since he started at the brokerage house six years earlier.

“It was fine. Jacky and I had a good time. He, of course, was nuts most of the time, but I have to thank you for your help getting the tickets. They were the perfect birthday present for him.”

“You’re welcome, as always,” she said. She paused before saying, “Are you just tired, or has something got you down?” Marie could usually read him pretty well. “Look, if you’re just tired, go to bed, because your calendar is full tomorrow, like it is every Monday. But if it’s something else….” Marie paused again, and Ryan knew she was waiting for him to say something, but he wasn’t in the mood to talk. “Okay. But if you feel like talking, you know where I am. So how was the rodeo itself?”

“Really exciting,” Ryan said, brightening. “The whole thing came down to the very last ride, and the spread between first and second was two one-hundredths of a point. Dante had the ride of his life and he came up just shy. It was almost heartbreaking.” Ryan remembered the tension in Dante’s body. He hadn’t realized exactly who Dante was until Jacky had introduced himself.

“Dante?” Marie was a huge rodeo fan. She’d been planning to go, but a family commitment had come up, so she’d sold him the tickets. “Do you mean Dante Rivers? Wow. He must have had one hell of a ride to come up that far in the standings.” He could hear papers rustling behind Marie.

“It was one wild ride,” Ryan said, and he’d never been so happy to be alone in his life, because right at the second, he wasn’t picturing Dante on the bull, but Dante on the bed, butt in the air, getting ridden for all he was worth.

“I didn’t think you were into rodeo much,” Marie said suspiciously.

Ryan swallowed. “Let’s just say that his technique caught my attention.”

Marie paused, and Ryan knew he’d gone too far. There was no way she was going to let that one go. “Just what type of technique are we talking about? Because I somehow doubt you’d know good bull-riding technique from bad.” Marie laughed. “So spill it.”

Ryan sighed. “Jacky took me to a bar after the rodeo, and I met Dante. We played pool, and he was flirty.” Ryan sighed softly. “You are to tell no one about this.”

“What, didn’t things go well? There have been rumors that he was gay for a while, so I doubt you’re going to out him or anything,” Marie said, and Ryan heard her sip from a glass.

“Things went well. Better than well. They were….” Ryan sighed again. “The thing is, when we were together, it….”

“Hot?” Marie asked.

“Yes, but more than that. I think I was able to really see what he needed and give it to him.” Ryan got up from his chair and wandered through the apartment before opening the liquor cabinet and pulling out a bottle of whiskey. Ryan got a glass and some ice and then poured some of the amber liquid into it. “Let’s just say we had an amazing time, but in the middle of the night he tried to sneak out.”