Hay and Heartbreak (5 page)

Hector guessed Dan could have been startled by him. Hector hadn’t really flirted—yet. “So how long are you gonna be staying out here?”

Dan adjusted his seat, scooting it back to stretch out those long legs of his. “A few weeks at most. Guess it just depends on whether or not Duke and Frankie need me around to help out. I don’t want to be in the way.”

“Let me tell you,” Hector began, getting comfortable as he drove, “Duke’s been a bear. He isn’t so good at having to be laid up, and the man’s broke in a couple of places. Bruised his ribs, too.”

“Frankie didn’t mention that,” Dan said. He looked at Hector. “You sure he’s going to be okay?”

“Yeah.” Hector nodded for emphasis. “Frankie insisted on all kinds of tests and X-rays, and an MRI, too. Both breaks are clean as can be. It’ll just take time for Duke to heal. Man, your brother’s gotta quit this getting hurt shit. First the concussion, now this. Maybe I should get him some kind of good luck charm.”

“A few of them,” Dan agreed. “About half a dozen, at least. I don’t remember Duke being accident prone when we were kids. Must be a new development.”

“Nah, just bad luck or whatever,” Hector said. “We still don’t know how he hurt his head last year.” He’d had enough of talking about Duke and wanted to get to know Dan better. “So, what do you do?”

Dan seemed to curl into himself just the smallest bit then, tilting his head down as his shoulders curved into a slump.

Hector hurried to cover whatever mistake he’d made. “I’ve been a ranch hand since I was fourteen. Well, younger, even, but wasn’t getting paid until then. My daddy had a job on a ranch south of Bozeman. He moved with my mom down to Florida last year. He said they’d had enough cold weather.” He laughed. “I never thought they’d be living anywhere but here. They seem happy enough, though. Dad talks about golf like he used to talk about horses. Weird, but hey, whatever makes them happy, right?”

“Yeah,” Dan rasped.

Hector kept talking after that, trying his damnedest to make up for causing Dan’s earlier discomfort. By the time they pulled into the drive at the Mossy Glenn, Hector’s throat was mildly sore from all his yakking, but Dan appeared to have relaxed somewhat.

“There’s the bunkhouse.” Hector parked and shut the engine off. He unbuckled and got out. It was dark, close to midnight and the starts overhead were a sight not to be missed. “Dan, look up.”

Dan had been walking toward the bunkhouse, head down. It was a habit, a way to hide, Hector suspected.

But Dan stopped and looked up, and his soft gasp sent a shiver down Hector’s spine. He knew then that he was more drawn to Dan than he’d thought. It was scary and tantalizing, and Hector wasn’t interested in studying his attraction to Dan. He just wanted to go with it.

“That’s a glorious sight,” Dan said, his tone reverent. “I’ve never seen so many stars out. And look! There’s a shooting star!”

Hector liked Dan’s enthusiasm, the excitement he displayed, pointing at the falling star and pivoting to follow its path across the sky.

“Yeah, we have a lot of nights like this.” Then he saw Dan shiver. “Shit. Inside with you. If you catch a cold or worse, Duke will make my life hell.”

“He’s going to do that anyway if y’all don’t hurry in here,” Frankie whispered loudly from the porch.

Dan strode on ahead. Hector eyed his butt for a second, deciding it was a nice, lean ass that would fit perfectly in his hands, then he trod after Dan.

Frankie was hugging Dan like they’d not seen each other in years, but that was Frankie’s way. He’d become one of the most affectionate people Hector had ever known in the past year.

And happy! Frankie was clearly comfortable in his skin and in love with his man. Granted, he’d been not so happy lately, since Duke had gotten hurt, which was understandable.

Hector waved off Frankie’s thanks and was the recipient of a glance back by Dan as Frankie led Dan off to see Duke.

“So that’s Duke’s brother?” Ramsey asked. His partner, Barney, was curled up beside him on the couch.

“Yup, unless I brought back the wrong guy and Frankie’s desperate enough to latch onto anyone,” Hector replied. “Why’re y’all out here?”

“There was a spider in the bedroom,” Ramsey muttered, his cheeks darkening with a blush. “Fucker ran right across my nose when I was dozing off. I swatted at it and don’t know where it went. I’ll be so glad when our place gets fixed. Fucking plumbing.”

“Couldn’t find the spider,” Barney added before yawning so wide his jaw popped. “Ow.”

“You could have sprayed Raid all over,” Hector said. “There’s a couple cans of it under the sink, remember?”

Ramsey thumped the back of his head against the leather couch. “Man, don’t you think we did that? Now the room smells like chemicals and we still couldn’t find that spider—and it was a huge bastard.”

Barney held up his forefinger and thumb and held them about an inch apart. “Huge.”

“Smartass,” Ramsey grumped, swatting at Barney’s hand.

Barney was quick enough, moving before he could be whacked. “See?” Barney grinned. “That’s why you couldn’t catch the spider, either.”

“I don’t want to catch that damn spider, I just want it dead!” Ramsey huffed then closed his eyes. “We’re sleeping out here until we find the body of that evil shit.”

Barney whispered something that made Ramsey’s cheeks darken again.

Hector left them to their dirty talking, if that was what was going on. He fixed a glass of water then went to his room. His belly rumbled. Hector went back into the kitchen and made a sandwich. Ramsey and Barney were both snoring by then. He toyed with the idea of tickling Ramsey’s nose with something but decided the laugh he’d get wouldn’t be worth Ramsey being pissed off at him for possibly,
oh,
ever
.

Still, he imagined doing it and chuckled as he took his sandwich with him to his room.

He heard voices coming from Duke and Frankie’s bedroom. Hector was tempted to eavesdrop, see what he could learn about Dan. But that was too dishonest a thing for him to do, so he kept going.

The sandwich was gone in a few bites. Hector drank his water then undressed and grabbed his towel. He slung it around his hips and headed for the bathroom. There were two bathrooms in the bunkhouse. Neither were likely to be occupied, as late as it was. Hector opened the door to the closest one then stopped when it registered that he was hearing the shower running.

He couldn’t help it. Hector stared at Dan through the clear shower curtain. The man was thin, but he had padding where it counted, and it sure looked like he had a nice cock. His movements were leisurely as he washed his body, almost sensual, even.

And he was going to see Hector if Hector didn’t get a move on. Dan would think he was a creeping, peeping Tom.

Hector slipped the door closed then hurried to the other bathroom. By the time he reached it, his dick was half hard. He locked the door then leaned on it. He didn’t have to do more than tug on his dick a couple of times to get it to a fully erect state. Those two tugs were enough to let him know he needed something to smooth the way, too.

The pump bottle of lotion on the counter had almost certainly been used more for the very reason Hector squirted some into his hand than for moisturizing elsewhere. He’d bet most of the cowhands had soft-skinned—or even silky-feeling—dicks that smelled like vanilla. Hector smirked as he spread the thick cream over his cock. “Nice,” he murmured, careful not to make too much noise.

Closing his eyes, he pictured Dan. What was it about him that drew Hector in? Had to be more than just that glimpse of his personality and looks. Even so, Hector couldn’t pinpoint it. He opened his eyes and watched his reflection as he stroked his dick.

Watching was one of Hector’s pleasures—he definitely had a bit of the voyeur in him, though he’d never spy on anyone who didn’t want to be watched. He hadn’t stayed and watched Dan for more than a few seconds, and once it had dawned on him what he had been doing, he’d left.

Now, he could take some time and recall what he’d seen. Dan’s slender body, wet, pale pink skin, warmed by the water. He’d be fun to shower with. Hector hadn’t gotten a good enough look at Dan’s shaft. It’d be long and thinner than Hector’s, maybe with the middle of it being broader than anywhere else, so that it’d really give someone’s pucker a stretch midway in.

Hector sucked on his bottom lip while pinching one nipple. He jacked his cock faster, squeezing it tight. If he could have, he’d have gotten in that shower with Dan then kissed him until Dan was gasping for him. Dan would taste like musk and mint, and he’d hold onto Hector like Hector was his anchor.

As slim as Dan was, Hector would be able to pin him up against the shower wall and fuck him stupid. He’d push right into Dan’s tight little hole, first from behind, so he could thrust hard and deep and make Dan scream out his name, then he’d turn Dan around and go slower, sinking into Dan’s ass with all the patience he could muster.
How many times has anyone taken it slow and made love to Dan? As skittish as he seems, has anyone focused on bringing him pleasure?

Hector didn’t equate making love to being
in
love, but it was definitely different than fucking.

He wanted to lay Dan out and take his time learning everything that turned the man on. His fantasy switched to having Dan laid out on the bed, legs and arms spread, belly taut and trembling as Hector licked a path down it.

“Yeah,” he rasped, liking that fantasy very much. To be able to lick and love on Dan’s body would be divine, as far as Hector was concerned. He’d even like a turn riding him, so he could straddle Dan’s hips and take his cock in to the hilt.

Hector eased off playing with his tits and cupped his balls instead. He rolled them in his palm as he pictured Dan’s blissful expression while Hector rode him. Hector eased his fingers back from his balls. He propped one heel against the door and rubbed his digits over his hole.

That’s the ticket!
Hector rarely played with his ass, but in that moment, he needed to. His fingers were slick with a little lotion that had run down his shaft. It made pushing the tips of them into his ass easier than it would have been otherwise.

Hector tried to keep his eyes open as he imagined Dan fucking him—all-out, raw force, nothing but the need to fuck driving Dan. Jacking his cock faster, Hector tried to get a third finger in. At the same time, he thumbed his cock slit.

It became impossible to breathe as his orgasm slammed into him. Cum shot from his dick and splattered onto the cabinet and floor. Hector bucked into his hand, fucking it while clenching his ass around his fingers.

His spunk would look good against Dan’s skin. That made Hector moan softly as another spurt of cum was pulled from him. By the time he had enough sense to get moving, his ass ached from his fingers and his cock was pleasantly sated.

And Hector decided he was definitely going to pursue Dan, because that amazing jack-off session had done nothing to dim the attraction he felt for the man.

* * * *

The closing of the bathroom door sent a shiver down Dan’s spine—not one of trepidation, either. He’d caught a glimpse of Hector through the partially open door, and it’d taken every bit of restraint Dan had not to let on that he’d seen him.

Hector only watched him for a few seconds, but during that time, arousal had begun to course through Dan, pumping into him with every beat of his heart. He’d hoped, in a way, that Hector would join him, or keep watching, but he’d also wanted Hector to leave before he saw that Dan’s cock was semi-erect.

Dan shook his head. He shouldn’t be thinking about sex considering he’d just been visiting with his brother. And Duke had looked miserable. Being laid up certainly didn’t agree with him. Thinking about Duke being hurt put an end to Dan’s arousal. As much as he still felt like a stranger when he was around Duke, Dan loved his brother, and was fond of Frankie, too.

Instead of thinking about a certain sexy cowboy, Dan told himself to concentrate on building a better relationship with his brother. He was going to try. Duke was all the family he had left, and it was time for Dan to push himself to reach out more, or else he would never be a better man.
A stronger man. If I’m held prisoner by my fears, I’m not in a much bigger cell than I was before I was let out. The bars might not be metal ones, but they’re still there. It’s up to me to remove them.

It seemed a daunting task, more so today than it had the night before, because now Dan was really there in Montana with Duke, not just thinking about being there.

Dan finished cleaning up then he turned the shower off. Once he’d dried with a fluffy towel and put on some deodorant, he slipped on a T-shirt and pajama bottoms. When he stepped out of the bathroom, Frankie was leaning against the wall opposite the door. He looked worn out, and since it was after one in the morning, Frankie had every right to be tired. Plus, he’d been taking care of Duke and working, too.

“I was just wanting to make sure you found your room,” Frankie said, a half-smile on his lips. “And maybe talk to you alone for a few minutes.”

Worry curled in Dan’s gut. “Yeah, okay. Lead on.” He knew which room he was supposed to be staying in since he’d already put his bag in there. Regardless, Dan didn’t have a problem letting Frankie guide him to it.

“Here.” Frankie opened the door to the small room furnished with a twin bed covered in a colorful quilt. There was a raw-wood dresser and TV stand, as well as a nightstand and a trunk at the foot of the bed.

“Barney’s taken to making furniture in his spare time,” Frankie said, that smile of his growing. “He’s good at it. I love the yellow pine, and it smells good.”

Dan had to agree. “It does. Wish I had his skill.”

Frankie glanced at him. “Have you ever tried?”

“Had a wood-working class back in high school, but I don’t remember much of it.” Dan snorted. “I’m lucky I didn’t cut off any fingers back then. That was when I started messing with drugs.”

“Oh.” Frankie closed the bedroom door. “I think you should know, we haven’t told anyone here about your past. I mean, the bosses know. Duke told them a while back, but that’s it. And they don’t gossip. You’ll probably meet them tomorrow.” He checked his watch. “Or later today, I guess.”