Chaps and Hope (Mossy Glenn Ranch 1) (12 page)

“I bet it does.” Carlos let Will suck the tip for a while, until Troy started to squirm. “Can’t have you hurting yourself,” he told Troy as he nudged Will’s chin.

Will left off with a lewd pop. His chin was shiny with spit and his lips swollen and red. Carlos didn’t think he was going to be able to keep rein on his usual control tonight. He grabbed Will under one arm and lifted him right up off the bed.

“Fuck him hard,” Troy rasped, fondling his cock, working that tip and right under the cap. “Make him scream for it.”

Someone was feeling the need for rough again. Of course, Will loved it, loved being pounded into. Troy generally liked slow and easy when it was him being fucked, but there was the occasional exception, like the night Carlos had tied him up. Judging by Troy’s demands, he was wanting more of the same again.

Will was already whimpering for it. His cock was dripping pre-cum all over the place and Carlos was going to make use of it.

“Better milk this out, ’cause it’s all I’m using.” He massaged Will’s dick once he had him bent over the side of the bed. Will moaned for him, his body shaking as Carlos gathered up the pre-cum. “You hold on, and I’ll fuck you through two rounds.”

Will lowered himself until his shoulders were on the bed and his pert ass up in the air. His ass cheeks spread and Carlos saw that tight little pucker. He looked at Troy and grinned, then he delved right in, licking a stripe down Will’s crack.

“Yes! Fuck! Eat me, please,” Will begged.

Carlos pulled one cheek back and left off teasing Will’s dick. He’d get him wet this way instead. He smacked Will’s ass hard enough to leave a mark. Troy made a sound almost like the one that slipped past Will’s lips, a needy, breathy exhalation full of need.

Carlos slapped Will’s ass again, pulling back from eating him out long enough to see the impact of hand to flesh. A third slap brought Will up on his toes, a shout leaving him. His ass clenched and the scent of cum reached Carlos.

“Uh uh. You weren’t supposed to come yet.” Another swat, harder than the last. Will’s ass was dark red, even purple in a few spots.

“You—you know I can’t stop it,” Will panted. “I can’t, I can’t—”

Carlos did know that. He wasn’t mad—this was all part of the way they played together. “Still, you were supposed to wait. Now I’m gonna have to think about fucking you as long as I wanted to. I might just fuck your face first, then plough this sweet ass.” Another spank, not as hard, because Will was already going to be feeling the swats tomorrow, and likely the day after, too. The thought of burying his dick in Will’s throat was enough to have Carlos’ control wavering. He pushed Will’s cheeks apart until his hole gaped then he licked into it, teasing them both.

Will keened and cursed, begged and bucked for him. Carlos finally flipped him over then dragged him around until his head hung off the bed. His feet were close to Troy’s ribs, but not the injured side, so Carlos wasn’t too worried about Will kicking, especially not when Troy started caressing his legs.

“Open up for me,” Carlos said as he rubbed his cockhead all over Will’s face. Will moaned and started to bring his hands up. “Nuh uh. You can use those on your tits, make ’em pretty and rosy for us while I’m taking your mouth.” He put on his sternest expression. “What do you do if it’s too much and you need me to stop?”

“Tap the bed if my mouth’s full, Red if it isn’t.”

There wasn’t normally a need for safe words between them, but on occasion when there was something new or risky to be tried, Carlos made sure his men were aware and on board with him in regards to safety.

Confident that Will would be responsible, and that he himself would be cautious, Carlos lined his cock up and sank it into the moist heat of Will’s mouth.

The sounds Will made were maddening as Carlos pushed past his lips again and again. Will’s tongue never ceased to flick all along his length, urging him on. Carlos cupped Will’s head, giving him some support, and he began pushing deeper, breaching his throat.

His balls slapped against Will’s face, covering his nose for precious seconds before he pulled back. Carlos was careful, paying little heed to his own pleasure no matter how good Will sucked him.

Will had hinted and flat-out asked for more breathplay, and Carlos was giving it to him, although on Carlos’ terms. He knew all too well that sometimes what you fantasised about turned out to be a nightmare in reality. He had been through that with cock-and-ball torture. He used to get off thinking about having it done, but he’d tried it in his younger days and had absolutely hated it.

Will’s nipples were getting a harsher workout than Carlos normally gave them. Will was whimpering around his cock, and every time Carlos pushed in and let his balls rest over Will’s nose, Will just about twisted his titty plumb off.

Troy wasn’t quiet either. His breath was coming in choppy waves as he rubbed the head of his cock faster and faster. His gaze was glued to Will’s mouth, and Carlos’ dick filling it.

“Jerk off,” Carlos ordered as he pulled back. Will grabbed his cock and tugged with one hand while keeping the other on one red, pointy tip. “Show Troy how much you love this.” Carlos pushed in again, a steady drive into Will’s throat. Will swallowed around him and Carlos cursed, his climax boiling up and trying to burst forth.

Will’s cock spewed again, and Carlos jerked back, letting his balls drag heavy over Will’s face. Before Will’s cock stopped shooting, Carlos had him pulled around and bent over the bed again. He needed to fuck Will and come
now.

Carlos lined his cock up and thrust. Will’s body sucked his cock right in, burying it in silky, rippling heat. Will keened and rocked back, but Carlos pressed down on his back at his shoulder and above his hip. He needed, and Will was giving it to him. Carlos held him down while Will mumbled a litany of “yeses” and “fuck me harders”.

Carlos did, watching his cock split Will’s ass open for several thrusts before looking at Troy, watching him splatter cum all over the place.

“Harder,” Troy said after he stopped shaking and coming. “Damn, look at you two.”

Carlos couldn’t see much of anything then, because Will’s ass clamped down so tight on him it stole his breath and possibly stopped his heart. He slammed in and froze, cum pouring out of his cock and into Will. Carlos jerked when Will’s inner walls spasmed around his length, pulling another spurt of jizz from him. He was just going to collapse onto the floor once he could make himself pull his dick free of Will’s warm body.

That plan was trashed once Carlos’ mind cleared a bit. He helped Will onto the bed, covering him with his own body even though his cock slipped out. The bed was wet and cold in spots, but he was worn out, and Will was supple and warm against him. Carlos sighed contentedly and peeked at Troy, not surprised to find him out again.

They’d all be sticky messes in the morning, and likely have to peel the blankets and sheets off them, but that was all right. Carlos closed his eyes and let sleep steal him away with his men.

Chapter Twelve

Three days after nearly having his ribs cracked, Troy was feeling almost human again. His ribs would be tender for a while, but that was nothing compared to having them fractured or broken, both of which he’d experienced when he’d taken a turn on his dirt bike way too fast. He’d been seventeen and certain he could handle anything. He’d handled the pain of that injury by bawling and begging to be knocked out. The pain in his side was an annoyance rather than a searing agony, so Troy wasn’t worried about it.

But damn, he wished he didn’t look like someone had tried to tenderise the side of his face. His eye was still swollen, though not as bad as it had been. The bruising, however… Troy didn’t even want to look at himself to shave. Tricky, considering he liked his head smooth to the touch. He’d never thought of himself as really vain, but seeing himself in the mirror turned his stomach.

If Will and Carlos hadn’t been touching him and loving on him so much, Troy wasn’t sure how he’d have handled being so ugly. At least with the dirt bike wreck, he’d had a helmet on his noggin.

Despite his rough appearance, or maybe because of it, Troy hadn’t been in too many fights, and the ones he had been involved in had been over pretty quickly. Troy was fast, and he didn’t like the idea of another man hitting him.

Except for Carlos, but that was totally not the same. Hitting them in anger was something Carlos would never do. What he did to them was consensual and so fucking hot it could have given the sun competition.

Troy walked out onto the porch to join Carlos for their morning cup of coffee.

“Getting some more cattle in today,” Carlos said right before he nuzzled Troy’s unbruised cheek. “Almost got as many as we need to get this place going right.”

“That’s good.” Troy stood shoulder to shoulder with Carlos and sipped his coffee. The morning was chilly, and the heavy flannel shirt he had on wasn’t quite heavy enough. He shivered and drank faster. Carlos moved closer and talked about the incoming cattle and the plans to put them in the east pasture first, along with numerous other ranch-related details. Troy hadn’t learned as much as he’d hoped about ranching, but he would, eventually. He nodded and commented where he was supposed to, but his mind was jumpy this morning. He needed to get some exercise before his brain jumped right out of his skull.

“Will still talking with Drake?” Carlos asked him.

Troy frowned as he retraced his steps earlier. “Didn’t see them in the kitchen. There’s a stack of biscuits and pancakes on the stove, and I figured Will was off doing something, which is true enough. He’s trying out help Drake out.”

“Coulda mentioned that breakfast was done sooner.” Carlos gave him a steely look that just served to make Troy’s cock grow erect despite the cold. Carlos’ lips twitched and he dropped his gaze. Troy felt it like a touch running over his body and settling on his groin. “You’re about ready for me to ride, ain’t you?”

At the thought of having Carlos riding his shaft, Troy almost came in his jeans. “You know it. Maybe at lunch, if we don’t have a shitload of chores still?”

Carlos tipped his head and went inside. Troy took that for the ‘yes’ that it was and wondered how he was going to put up the security cameras Will had got in the mail yesterday with a boner. He’d be lucky if he didn’t fall off the damn ladder and break his ribs.

The kitchen was empty when he and Carlos entered it. “Should we knock on Drake’s door?” Troy asked.

Carlos shook his head. “Let ’em talk. Will knows we’re out here. Neither one of us steps lightly on these wooden floors.”

Troy brought the pancakes and biscuits to the table. Carlos brought a pot of gravy and a stack of sausages from the oven. A metal pitcher of orange juice was already on the table, along with four glasses. “I’m guessing Drake was planning to join us.”

“Looks like,” Carlos agreed as he loaded his plate. “I’m glad he’s talking to Will, though. Hopefully he’ll get whatever’s been bothering him off his chest.”

“Yeah.” Troy ate a piece of bacon, chewing it slowly to enjoy that first flavour of man candy on his tongue.

“You think maybe you can call the hardware store and see if anyone there knows how that kid Fred is doing?”

“Yeah, I can do that.” Another bite, then Troy continued talking. “Rocky told me no one knows for sure what set the old man off yet. She was talking to Rona in town, but that’s all she’s heard. Meant to tell you last night but Will jumped on you like a flea on a dog.”

“Sucked me dry,” Carlos said happily. “Then he blew your mind, too.”

Troy grew warm from thinking about it. “He always does.”

“Mmhm.” Carlos looked past him, but his gaze was unfocused. “Ain’t no telling what set that guy off, Troy. I know you told me Will had called right before that, but I don’t think that had anything to do with it, do you?”

“Maybe. I heard Fred Sr hollering at his son. Maybe he thought—” Troy stopped short.

“Thought what?”

Troy rubbed his head, as if he could massage out the rest of that sentence. “I don’t know what he thought. I can’t comprehend doing what he did.”

Carlos pushed his plate back a few inches and leaned against the table. “I can’t either, but there’s people in this world who are just plumb filled up with hate. Decent people won’t ever understand that ’cause they aren’t the same inside.”

“I guess not.” Troy stood, only wincing a little inside at the slow burn of pain along his side. “You know what time the cattle are coming?”

“Sometime in the afternoon. I’ll call the delivery driver in another couple of hours and see if she’s still on schedule.” Carlos stood as well. “You ready to put those cameras up?”

“Yeah.” Troy looked out over the land he could see. The Mossy Glenn itself was right at fifteen hundred acres. Carlos had said it used to be almost twice that before Antonia started selling off parts of it. Nick, Rory, and Annabelle, the owners of the place, had tried to buy back as much of it as they could, but money wasn’t talking as fast as they’d like. The land was beautiful, mountains shadowing them on the North side of the property. Troy hadn’t ridden out over all the land yet, but he hoped to once things were up and running at full steam.

“How many cattle will we have with the next load?”

“Six hundred, and that’s pushing our maximum capacity until we get the soil in better shape and have more grass growing. We’re gonna have to feed with hay more this time around and that’ll hurt us. Grass is a helluva lot cheaper than hay.” Carlos put his hand on Troy’s shoulder. “I’ll eventually have to go to the bank for Nick and them, do what most ranchers do and borrow money until we sell the calves. I don’t see any other way with the three of them wanting to buy up the property to the west. If they’d leave it be, we’d be fine for the time being, but that’s the way of ranching. Let’s just hope things don’t go to shit before the sell-off.”

“I thought we were financially okay for now.” Troy felt like his head couldn’t hold all the new information he was learning, or trying to. “Sounds like ranching is more of a gamble than anything else.”

“That’s what makes it fun.” Carlos grinned and started down the steps. “And we are all right money-wise, but if they want to shell out thousands for land because they’re thinking more of their lost heritage than making what they do have a success, I can’t stop ’em.”

“Have you explained that to them?”

“Yep.” Carlos stopped and tipped his head up, looking at the blue sky. “Maybe I should talk with Chance. He’s less emotionally invested in this than the other three are.”

Chance, Rory’s husband of several years, was a level-headed man about the same age as Carlos. Rory was in his twenties and probably prone to making his decisions based on his emotions, Troy supposed. He didn’t really know the guy very well.

An hour into setting up the cameras, Will came out. “Can you come talk with me for a few minutes?” Worry lines were etched around his eyes, and Troy wondered just how bad Drake’s situation was.

“Yeah.” He climbed down the ladder, joining Carlos, who’d been reading the directions to him again. Troy thumbed the fine lines and Will huffed.

“Damn it, I’m going to need Botox or something soon. Stress is
not
my friend.”

“You look gorgeous and you know it,” Troy told him.

Will tossed his hair back, the silky strands just brushing his shoulders. “I do not. Carlos is sexy as sin with his wrinkles. Those aren’t even wrinkles—those are experience and intelligence put right out there for everyone to see. I’ll just be a droopy old hag by the time I hit forty. But!” He flapped a hand. “This isn’t about me.”

“I was wondering if I should get offended there for a minute,” Carlos muttered. “Experience and intelligence, my ass. This is just old age sitting on my face.” He swiped a hand down his cheek. “But I look damned good carrying it.”

Troy hoped he was as confident when he was Carlos’ age.

“Not the porch,” Will said, grabbing them each by one arm. “Drake’s in the kitchen now, but I wouldn’t want him walking out and hearing us.”

“He knows you’re going to tell us.” Troy wasn’t sure if he was arguing or clarifying. “How about we head to the second bunkhouse? Everyone there is out working pastures and fences. We should have privacy.” He would
not
let his mind sink into the gutter, either. Will obviously had something serious to talk with them about.

“Sounds good.”

The second bunkhouse was a small structure that slept six hands, two to each bedroom. It had a front porch—Troy figured that was a requirement on any ranch housing, no matter what state you lived in. The living room was just big enough to hold two couches, a chair, a coffee table and a flatscreen TV. He and Carlos sat down while Will took a quick peek to make sure they were alone, then he joined them, sitting on the coffee table and facing them where they sat on the couch.

Will sat cross-legged and folded his hands in his lap. “Well, it was like we talked about. Drake’s ex was a cheating shithead, and he didn’t bother being safe about it. Now he’s HIV-positive, and Drake is scared out of his mind.”

Just hearing it made Troy’s insides go cold with fear. He couldn’t imagine how Drake must feel. “He’s getting tested, right?”

Will nodded. “He’s afraid we’ll fire him, especially if he is positive.”

Troy looked at Carlos, who was frowning mightily. “We wouldn’t do that, would we? We’re not going to be those paranoid people who freak out despite knowing that HIV isn’t contagious from someone safely handling our food?”

Carlos hesitated a second before shaking his head. “’Course not. I was trying to figure out what we could do about the insurance, health and on the ranch. I don’t know what the laws are regarding our responsibilities, and who we do or don’t have to let know if Drake is positive. I wouldn’t kick a man when he’s down.”

Will bobbed his head. “That’s what I told him, minus all the legal mumbo-jumbo. I offered to take him in to Bozeman for testing tomorrow, if that’s okay with you both. He didn’t want to try the at-home test, and he’s taking this real seriously.”

“Like he should,” Carlos said. “It’s not a joke.”

“Nope, but there are too many people who think it’s treatable like diabetes and such, and they don’t stop to think that those things kill people too.” Troy had heard it often enough in the club he’d been a bartender at. “It’s not just gay men, either. I think most of the younger generations, mine included, have forgotten the eighties.”

“I think you’re right, but we don’t know what anyone else is thinking.” Carlos sighed and leant back on the couch, stretching his arms out. “Man, I meant what I said, I wouldn’t fire Drake, but I sure hope he doesn’t have it. That’s a hard row to hoe for sure, and he seems like a nice guy.”

“Yeah,” Will agreed. He got up and insinuated himself between them, resting his head on Troy’s shoulder. “You know, he told me that Rigo, his ex, is the only guy he’d been with other than some messing around when he was a kid.”

Troy caressed Will’s hair while reaching for Carlos with his other hand. The pain in his side was annoying, but didn’t hamper him. “I am so fucking glad we found each other.”

* * * *

After Troy installed the last camera and Will made sure he could see everything he wanted to on his laptop, Troy felt kind of proud of himself. He’d seen the security cameras being installed at the bar he’d worked in before meeting Will and Carlos, but he hadn’t had anything to do with the installation.

Of course, he’d forgotten about the cameras when Will and Carlos had tempted him into the storage room. Fuck, but that’d been hot, Carlos all commanding and strong… Troy shivered, his groin warming as arousal stirred. They’d accidentally made a sex tape, and ever since, Troy had wondered about making one on purpose. He could just imagine watching Carlos fuck him on video while he fucked the stuffing out of Will—or Carlos. Carlos was what many would call a Dom, but he sure enjoyed taking cock, too. He just kept control while he did so, and that was sexier than anything Troy could think of just then.

Troy looked over at Will. “Where’s Carlos?”

Will didn’t look away from his laptop as he tapped at the keys. “He was expecting a call back from Glenn. I think he’s on the porch again.”

“Can’t blame him. That sky is something to see.” Troy shifted in the chair, his dick not willing to let him forget his thoughts from moments ago. He cleared his throat and Will stopped typing long enough to glance at him. Troy framed his package with his hands and rubbed his balls through his jeans. “You ever think about making a tape on purpose?”