Hay and Heartbreak (20 page)

“Please, please, please,” Hector was babbling minutes later. “Please!”

Dan nodded, unable to speak, he was so turned on. He withdrew his fingers and unfastened his pants. As soon as he could, he had them and his briefs shoved down and he was rolling a condom on. He applied more lube to Hector’s hole, and spread some down his covered length.

“On your side,” he urged, helping Hector to roll over. Hector’s ass was curved beautifully like that. “Perfection,” Dan ground out. He sidled up into position, holding Hector’s top leg up. “Yes,” he hissed as he pushed into Hector’s tight heat.

Dan wanted to tell Hector how good it felt, how amazing and right and stunning everything was, but he couldn’t. The instant Hector squeezed those velvet-soft inner walls around Dan’s cock, Dan was lost. He thrust, cried out, and withdrew far enough to be able to slam back in.

Hector arched and reached for his own dick. Dan rode him hard and fast, seeking a closer connection, finding it with every sight and sound they shared.

Then his climax tore through him without warning. Dan fought it, wanting to last longer, to revel in the pleasure rushing through him.

Hector jolted as cum shot from his cock. That did it for Dan. He came and came, the intensity dimming his vision to gray as he gasped.

When he was able to think again, he carefully eased his cock from Hector’s ass. Dan removed the condom and tossed it in the trashcan by the dresser. He stared down at it. “Would you be interested in getting tested so when I move here, we can stop using condoms? We’ll be exclusive?”

“Dan,” Hector said, his voice hoarse.

Dan turned just enough to peek at him.

“We’re exclusive now, aren’t we?”

Dan licked his lips. “Well, yeah, but when I’m gone, you might want to—”

“No,” Hector snapped, narrowing his eyes. “Why would you even think that?”

“I don’t know what to think, except that I…I want us,” Dan said lamely. He groaned and covered his burning face with his hands. “I
want
to be able to have an intelligent conversation about this without blushing or tripping over my words!”

“Come back to bed, sweetheart,” Hector urged. “We’ll talk. I’ll tell you how I plan to never have sex with any other man than you, and you’ll promise me that you’ll only ever be with me, because I’m everything you’ve ever wanted, and we’ll make plans to be one of those nauseatingly happy couples that we used to grumble about.”

Though Hector’s tone had taken a teasing edge, Dan had been peeking through his fingers at Hector, and he saw the sincerity in his eyes.

“I do, you know,” Dan said as he lowered his hands. “Promise that. All of what you said.”

Hector nodded. “Me, too. I can wait to have sex until you come back to me. I can guarantee you no one else is going to appeal to me. You’ve got me all tangled up in you, and I don’t want to be free.”

Dan grinned as he bounded for the bed. “Good, because I’m keeping you.”

Chapter Fourteen

The trip home wasn’t nearly as exciting as the flight to Montana had been. Dan’s chest ached like he’d left his heart behind, and he suspected that was just what he’d done.

When he finally made it back to Birmingham, Dan smiled for the first time all day. “Clarence!” He waved.

Clarence grinned and waved back.

Dan wove through the crowd of people who seemed to think stopping in the middle of the walkway was the polite thing to do.

Clarence surprised him with a quick hug. “You’re not staying, are you?”

Dan frowned at him. “What?”

“Dan, you sounded happier and happier every time I talked to you when you were in Montana,” Clarence pointed out. He waggled his eyebrows. “So are you going to tell me about your mystery man?”

Dan felt himself blushing as he glanced around, glaring at one man who was standing close and sneering at him. “What?” Dan snapped out at him.

The man spun away and rushed off.

“Asshole,” Dan muttered.

Clarence laughed. “I was a little loud, I guess. But come on. Spill!”

“I don’t know, I’m pretty tired,” Dan hedged, teasing a little. He took his phone out of his pocket and turned it on. It began to ring immediately, and he couldn’t have stopped the smile tugging at his lips if his life had depended on it.

“Oh ho, so that’s him.” Clarence made a grab for the phone.

Dan turned away and answered it. “Hey, Hector. I just got in.”

“Hector, hm?” Clarence said, moving to stand in front of Dan.

Dan just let his goofy grin speak for itself in regards to Clarence’s obvious curiosity. “Tell me what’s going on at the ranch. Tell me about your day.”

Clarence tucked his arm in Dan’s and started them walking.

Dan listened to everything Hector said, imagining every detail.

“They still haven’t found the guy that shot Joaquin,” Hector said at one point. “I really wanted them to, before Joaquin got to come home, but…”

“How is he?” Dan had seen Joaquin in the hospital, then in the rehabilitation center where he’d had to stay.

“Anxious to get back to work. I told him, just a few more days and he could lie around and commiserate with Duke. Joaquin wasn’t amused.”

“I bet he wasn’t. Maybe I’ll be back sooner than not,” Dan said, hoping it was true.

“You can come back before you get the settlement. I’m sure Carlos would be okay with that.”

Dan closed his eyes, glad he was in Clarence’s car by then. “I want to, but I need to do this.
We
need to do this.”

“
We
don’t have anything to prove, despite what you think,” Hector argued. “But I won’t bring it up again. You do what you have to do. I’ll be here, waiting.”

Dan wondered if he was being foolish, insisting they take this time apart. He just wanted Hector to be sure, to never doubt they were meant to be together.

And if they were meant to be together, then they’d make it through being apart. “I’m going to go get tested tomorrow,” Dan said, changing the subject.

“You can do it at the foundation,” Clarence whispered. “It’s one of the services they offer.”

Dan hadn’t known that. He hadn’t thought to ask.

“Who’s that?” Hector asked. “Clarence?”

“Yeah, that’s him. He’s full of questions.”

Hector laughed. “Well, you tell him what you want him to know.”

Dan swallowed around a lump in his throat. He felt an overwhelming wave of homesickness, for Montana, for Hector, for Duke and Frankie. “I’ll do that.” He pushed through it. “Has anyone seen Sebastian?”

“No. No, I guess he’s long gone.”

Dan figured Hector was right. A few days ago, Sebastian had left a note for Carlos at the shelter they’d gotten him into. He’d said he wasn’t going to wait around to be hunted down again. There was video of him leaving on his own, so everyone hoped he was safe. Dan couldn’t blame the man for running. He didn’t know the extent of what Sebastian had been through, but guessed it to have been pretty horrific.

“Oh! I’ve got to tell you!” Hector was saying. “We think we know what spooked Diablo.”

“What’s that?” Dan asked.

“Troy spotted a mountain lion not a quarter mile from the house,” Hector said. “That’s way too close. I’m not sure what they’re going to do about it. Trap it, that’d be my guess. No way is Will going to agree to having it killed.”

Dan agreed and he enjoyed the rest of his conversation with Hector. They ended the call when Clarence pulled up to Dan’s place.

Dan tucked his phone away. “Thanks, Clarence. Come on up unless you’re too tired or can’t be gone from the house much longer.”

Clarence shut the engine off. “Are you going to answer my questions?”

“Not if you’re asking about sex,” Dan retorted.

“You are no fun, man.” Still, Clarence got out and followed Dan up to his apartment.

It felt wrong, walking into the efficiency. Too empty, too small, and too devoid of cowboys, especially one specific cowboy.

“You don’t look happy,” Clarence said as he sat on the futon that was also Dan’s bed. “Are you sure you made the right choice in coming back here?”

Dan sighed and sat beside Clarence. “Well, it seemed like the right thing to do. I spent two very intense weeks with Hector and, you know, it was only two weeks. We were trying to get everything out of those two weeks together that we could. I know he said he wants a relationship with me, but what if it was just…just a thing because we were there?”

Clarence leaned back and scowled. “You make about as much sense as a drunk mule.”

Dan scowled right back at him. “How the hell did
that
comparison make any sense?”

“Because I’ve seen a drunk mule, and it was crazy,” Clarence explained. “Don’t ask. I wasn’t always the stable guy I am now. I did some experimenting when I was younger.”

Dan couldn’t keep back a horrified, “With drunk mules?”

Clarence blanched. “Whatever you’re thinking, no! We got the mule drunk, and my uncle beat the shit out of us. We had it coming. Apparently mules and booze don’t mix. If that mule had died, I’d probably not be here today.”

“I’m not sure you
are
here today,” Dan told him. “Unless that was a talking mule, you still aren’t making sense.”

“No, I guess not,” Clarence agreed. “You still spewed gibberish about why you came back. How are you going to know if y’all can have a working, healthy relationship together if you aren’t actually together?”

“If we can make it through a month or two apart, and we still feel the same way toward each other, then we’re solid, don’t you think?” Dan asked.

Clarence shook his head. “I think you’re running scared, and nothing I say will make you see that.” He stood up. “I’m not going to ask you any more questions. You can tell me what you want, when you want. But, Dan?”

“Huh?” Dan glanced at him.

“You ought to be in Montana. Sleep on that.” Clarence left.

Dan sat on that futon for hours, until his ass was numb and he had to move or risk damage to his rump. He got up and stripped out of his traveling clothes, then took a long shower.

He might have taken Clarence’s parting advice, but sleep was a long time coming.

* * * *

Trying to respect Dan’s wishes sucked ass.

Hector was snarly and miserable. He tried to keep to himself as much as possible. Part of him understood what Dan was doing, but most of him hated it.

Still, he’d give Dan the space he needed, even if Dan didn’t see it as such. Hector could wait for him.

“You’re almost as surly as Joaquin,” Duke observed a couple of weeks after Dan had left, as they sat on the bunkhouse porch. “And that’s sayin’ somethin’.”

Hector rolled his eyes. “I’m not that bad.” He watched dark clouds forming in the distance and wondered if it’d be rain or snow coming soon. It was getting colder every day.

“My baby brother’s bein’ an idiot.” Duke sighed. “He thinks everyone’s going to abandon him at some point. I’m surprised, actually, that he still calls you, that he hasn’t been slowly easin’ back.”

Fear—Hector hated that emotion, and he felt a shit load of it. “He’s not going to do that.”

“I hope not.” Duke stood up and grimaced. “Another couple of days and I’ll be completely cast-free. Yee-haw!”

“He’s not going to do that,” Hector reiterated.

Duke patted Hector’s back. “No, probably not. I just know how hard it is for him to trust in the people he cares about.”

Hector remembered all too well how he’d let Dan down once before. He cocked his head as an idea began to formulate in his mind.

Duke grunted. “Hey, here comes Ian, drivin’ that cop car like a bat outta hell.”

“Maybe he’s got news on Sebastian or the guy who kidnapped him,” Hector guessed. “Ian’s still a ways off. We could get over to the main house and follow him in so we can listen to what he’s coming here to say. I doubt we’ll get ran off.”

“Yeah, sounds like a good idea.” Duke got his crutch. “I hate this fuckin’ thing. Be so glad when I’m done with it. Now that the mountain lion’s been caught, maybe my bad luck is over.”

“You have Frankie, so you don’t have bad luck,” Hector pointed out.

“True that.” Duke went down the steps. Hector was right behind him. They made it over to the main house and Hector had gotten Carlos, Troy and Will, as well as Drake, alerted to Ian’s impending, official visit. At least, Hector thought it was official, and when Ian pulled up then got out of the patrol car, he knew he’d been right. Ian had his bad-ass cop face on.

“Spill it,” Carlos said.

Ian leaned against the car. “Well, remains have been found, a dirt bike, a rifle, bones. Most the rest of the body’s gone, but it hasn’t been there long.”

“There, where?” Will asked. “Specifics, Ian. Speak in whole, not-cop-sentences.”

Ian’s lips twitched. “Remains of a man, approximately a month and a half old—the remains, not the man—were found by hikers at the base of the mountains. Also found was a rifle, which is being tested to see if it was the same one Joaquin was shot with, and a dirt bike. The working theory is, this person was hauling ass up the mountain path on the bike, lost control, and went over the side. It obviously didn’t end well for him.”

Carlos arched one eyebrow. “Did this man have any ID on him?”

“If he did, it hasn’t been found yet. The bike was stolen. Just got that information when I was headed out here. Also, Sebastian has been arrested in Bozeman. Loitering,” Ian added.

“Can they hold him there?”

“Why, Carlos? What are you going to do?” Ian threw that down like a challenge.

But it was Will who answered. “Don’t be a dick, Ian. We just want to help him.”

“Some people don’t want help.” Ian sighed. “I can call and ask if they’ll keep him at the jail.”

Carlos nodded. “Thanks. Is there anything else you can tell us?”

“No, not officially. My gut feeling, though?” Ian shrugged. “I doubt we’ll ever know who the man was that kidnapped Sebastian—and I think Sebastian knows more than he’s shared.”

That seemed to give Will and his men pause, but only for a moment. “Call the jail,” Will said before grabbing Carlos and Troy by their hands and going inside.