Release Me (The Music Within Book 2) (15 page)

If
he had been alone, he’d be running through the gears as fast as he could, letting
the wind blow through his hair. Since Cade was snuggled up against him, he was
going to take his time and enjoy the feel of this man’s chest leaning against
his back. Cade placed his chin on Mal’s shoulder and kissed behind his ear
before turning his attention to where they were going. Mal didn’t feel the need
to talk. Not yet, anyway. He started on one end of the property and slowly made
his way around the fence line. Cade’s hands were splayed across Mal’s chest and
stomach with his pinky inching closer to the band of Mal’s jeans. Mal’s dick
started coming to life inside his pants as he thought of stopping by the pond
and having his way with the sexy drummer.

Mal
pulled up alongside one of the fences and turned the motor off. “Are we getting
off?” Cade asked. Mal choked back a laugh, and Cade smacked him playfully on
the arm. “Off the four wheeler, you dirty cowboy.”

“Yeah,
we’re stoppin’ here.” Mal waited for Cade to throw his leg over the seat before
sliding off behind him. “This is where my hundred acres stops. Technically,
it’s not mine anymore, but you know what I mean. This over here is what I need
to take a look at,” he said as he opened the gate separating the fields. They
walked through, and Mal closed the gate behind them. The dogs took off running
like they knew where they were going. They did, considering they had been pups
before this part of the land was sold off. “It’s been awhile since I had this
much land to tend to, but I’m really lookin’ forward to it.”

Cade
reached for Mal’s hand and laced their fingers. What Mal wouldn’t give to have
this every day. To be able to share this life with someone. With Cade.

“It’s
so peaceful out here. There’s nothing but grass, but there’s something
beautiful about its simplicity.”

“You
should see it in the summer. Lightnin’ bugs cover the pasture, and stars fill
the sky. There are no lights to mar the view. Sometimes I grab a quilt and lay
on the ground, just starin’ at all those stars.” Mal envisioned him and Cade on
their backs, holding hands, gazing at the wonders above them.

“I
would like that, seeing it in the summer. Maybe…” Cade didn’t finish that
thought. Instead he asked, “What do you have to do to get it ready? Looks like
you could just turn some cows out now.”

“The
grass needs to be cut shorter, and I have to check the fence line for holes. I
can’t have the new owner invest in a lot of cattle just to have ‘em killed off
like mine were. I’m gonna get Walt to help me at first, but dependin’ on how
many head the owners get, I’ll need to hire a hand or two eventually.”

“As
long as you hire old, fat men to help you,” Cade grumbled.

Mal
turned to see if he was joking, and by the frown on his face, he wasn’t. “Old
fat men can’t do what I need ‘em to. I need fit, young men to be able to hang,”
Mal teased. And what did it matter? Cade would be gone. With Cade out of the
picture, Mal might be tempted to test the waters again if he hired just the
right person.

“I
got something hanging for you right here,” Cade growled, grabbing his junk, and
closed the gap between them.

Mal
laughed loudly until Cade slammed his mouth down on Mal’s. The intensity of the
kiss was something Mal had never known, not even with Cade. Hell, he’d tried to
keep Cade from kissing him at all back at the hotel. Now, he would never get
enough of this man’s mouth on him. He had a feeling if he ever did hook up with
someone else down the road, they would never measure up to the one who was
thoroughly invading not only his mouth but his senses in that moment. Mal
pulled back and said, “Come on, it’s gettin’ dark.” He let out a whistle, and
the dogs came running back.

They
climbed on the four wheeler, and Cade moved in closer, if that was possible.
Instead of hanging on to his stomach, Cade let one hand drift farther down
Mal’s body and cup his hard-on through his jeans.

“Jesus,
Cade. You want me to wreck?” Mal called out over his shoulder.

“Yeah.
I want you to wreck
me
with this,” he purred in Mal’s ear as he squeezed
his dick.

“Fuck
me,” Mal groaned. This man was going to kill him. Mal made a beeline for the
barn. When he shut the motor off, he pushed his ass back against Cade. “Off,
now.”

Cade
was off the vehicle quickly, and Mal followed behind, grabbing Cade’s hand and
pulling him into a stall that was lined with hay bales. “I hope you got a rubber
in your pocket, ‘cause if not, I’m fuckin’ you bare,” Mal growled as he started
jerking Cade’s jeans undone. If Cade thought he could say shit like that
without Mal doing something about it, he was wrong. Now that Mal had gotten a
feel of Cade’s ass molded perfectly around his dick, he wanted it again. Hell,
he wanted it twenty-four, seven. It’s a wonder his cock had any skin left after
all the hand-jobs he’d given himself in the shower. Before Mal could shove
Cade’s pants all the way down his legs, Cade pulled a condom and small tube of
lube out of his back pocket. Mal should’ve known the man would be prepared.

While
Mal undid his own pants and rolled the condom on, Cade bent over the hay bales
and shoved his now slick fingers in his hole, getting ready to take Mal. The
sight of Cade fingering his own ass had Mal ready to blow right there. He often
fingered his prostate while jacking off in bed, but he’d never seen someone
else do it to themselves. Goddamn, it was such a fucking turn-on. He grabbed the
lube and slicked the rubber before slapping Cade’s ass. “I need inside you.
Now.”

Cade
removed his fingers from his hole and pulled his cheeks apart so Mal had a good
view of where he wanted to be. Where he needed to be. Mal needed to replace the
memory of what happened so long ago with a new one. He didn’t go easy, though.
He breached Cade’s entrance and slid all the way home in one slow motion.

“Motherfucker,
you’re bigger than I remember. Fuck me, Cowboy. Ride me. I want to feel you
into next week.” Cade grunted as he pushed his ass back against Mal’s body. Mal
grabbed onto Cade’s hips and gave him what he asked for. He didn’t know if they
would have another chance at sex before Cade left, so he wanted it to last.
Only problem was, it was too good. This wasn’t just fucking, even though Mal
was pounding the shit out of Cade’s hole. Mal ran one hand up Cade’s spine,
raising his shirt as he went so he could see the ink coloring his back and
shoulders. He did his best to keep the intense rhythm going while he focused on
the individual pieces that blended together to make one large piece.

“Come
on, Cowboy. Fuck me like you mean it. Pound that rod in my ass,” Cade begged.
Mal’s balls were already slapping Cade’s taint every time he slammed home.

“Grab
your dick, Rock Star. I want you comin’ when I do, and I’m really fuckin’
close,” Mal demanded. He slid his hand back down Cade’s spine, trailing his
fingers across the top of his ass where two sexy dimples indented his skin. Mal
wished he’d stayed at the hotel with Cade and learned every single inch of his
body. Inside and out. He should have let Cade kiss him for hours. Should have
let him do whatever the fuck he wanted to do. Mal wanted everything Cade could
give him physically, but he didn’t know how to keep the emotional part out of
it. His body was begging for more. His heart was pleading for Cade to keep his
distance.

Mal
growled and dug his fingers into Cade’s sides. His grip tightened with every
thrust. The pressure in his balls was becoming almost painful, but Mal was
willing his orgasm to hold off, just a little bit longer. Even though the
connection he felt with Cade was messing with his head, in that moment, it was
something he didn’t want to let go of.

“Goddamn,
Cowboy, I’m coming,” Cade warned. Mal tried to hold out just a little longer,
but when Cade’s ass tightened with every pulse of his orgasm, it was impossible
not to shoot. He held Cade’s ass against his groin and let wave after wave of
come fill the rubber. Mal didn’t pull out. He stayed skin to skin, drinking in
the man bent over before him. Mal loosened his grip on Cade’s hips and tried
his best to rub out the pain he was sure he caused. He let his hands roam over
Cade’s back and down his bare thighs. He leaned over Cade’s back and wrapped his
hands around the drummer’s stomach, pulling his body up so he was now standing.
Mal held onto Cade, never wanting to turn him loose.

Cade

Cade
leaned farther into Mal’s body as Mal kissed his shoulder. Bit his ear. Licked
his jaw. Cade turned, searching for his mouth. Mal grabbed Cade’s chin and
angled their heads so he could lap at Cade’s lips. The kiss was urgent, needy.
Cade didn’t know who needed whom more at that point, but it didn’t matter. He
groaned when Mal pulled free of his ass. Cade twisted so their fronts were
touching, and Mal grabbed two fistfuls of Cade’s hair, pulling him closer. Cade
should pull up his pants and leave before his heart latched onto Mal any more
than it already had. This was just supposed to be sex. Fucking to be fucking.
Cade had never made love, not even with Tag. He knew this because he wanted to
take Mal to bed and make slow, gentle love to him. That right there was the big
flashing neon sign yelling “Get the fuck out of Dodge, right fucking now.” 

He
didn’t get out of Dodge, nor did he take Mal inside and make love to him.
Suzette was in the house, and he wouldn’t disrespect her that way. He also
wouldn’t scare the ever living fuck out of her with his loud, lude words. Cade
knew the next time he and Mal were together in a bed, everything would change.
Maybe not for Mal, but for Cade. There was no way he could be with Mal and not
make love. The ass-kicker in all of this wasn’t that he wanted it with Mal, but
that he realized he’d never had it with Tag. For fifteen years, he had loved
Taggart Lee Holloway, body and soul. They had fucked for several of those years
before Tag decided it just wasn’t what he wanted. Looking back on their
intimate time together, Cade knew it had been just that – fucking.

Cade
pulled Mal’s hands out of his hair and entwined their fingers together. He
slowed the kiss, making love to Mal’s mouth the way he wanted to with his body.
Still holding their hands together, Cade wrapped both their arms around Mal’s
back. He broke the kiss and rested his cheek against Mal’s. Neither one said
anything for a long moment. When their bodies began rocking back and forth,
Cade leaned back and asked, “Do you like to dance?”

Mal
shrugged. “I don’t know. I never got the chance.”

Cade
had an idea. “Let’s get cleaned up. I want to dance with you, Cowboy.”

“We’re
goin’ out?” Mal responded with a frown. They clearly weren’t on the same page.

“No,
but we are going to dance. Trust me.” Cade had been dancing since he was old
enough to walk. Music moved him in more ways than one. Being raised by parents
who lived in society’s eye, he was given ballroom lessons at an early age. He
not only had rhythm in his hands, but in his feet and hips as well. The last
time he had slow danced had been at prom in high school. He and Tag never
danced together, just another indication their relationship had been about the
physical release.

Mal
made quick work of the condom and tossed it in the garbage can. He showed Cade
where the sink was and, side by side, they washed their hands. Mal closed up
the barn, and Cade led him to his rental vehicle. Cade pulled the key from his
pocket and got into the car. He rolled down the windows before sliding the key
into the ignition and turning the switch to accessory. He scrolled through
several stations before landing on one that played soft jazz. He turned the
volume up just loud enough for them to hear it outside the car. He slid out of
the vehicle and closed the door. “May I have this dance?” he asked Mal and held
out his hand.

“You
can, but if I step all over your toes, don’t blame me.” Mal was visibly
uncomfortable with this idea, but Cade thought it was brilliant.

He
pulled Mal in close and said “Wrap your arms around my neck and don’t think.
Just feel.”

Mal
did as he was told, linking his hands behind Cade’s neck. Cade put his hands on
Mal’s hips and let his body feel the music. “Close your eyes, Cowboy.” Mal did,
and Cade took the opportunity to study his face. Up close, he was even more
stunning. Several small scars lined his skin, but they didn’t deter from his
beauty. If anything, they added to his rugged good looks. Cade felt when Mal
exhaled and relaxed. That was his cue to step in a little closer and allow the
music to take over.

Several
songs played, and Cade directed Mal’s body with silent cues as the tempo
changed, but the man was a natural. Mal’s fingers playing with Cade’s hair was
another first. Sure, he’d had his hair pulled by just about every lover he’d
ever taken to bed, but none had sensuously run their fingers through it,
massaging his scalp in the process. Mal’s breath was warm on his ear when he asked,
“Have you ever seen anything so spectacular?”

Cade
pulled back. Mal was looking up, so Cade followed his eyes. The sky had slipped
from twilight to complete darkness, and it was full of stars. Cade stopped
moving and stared in awe at the thousands of twinkling lights. He had seen the
Aurora Borealis a few times in his travels, but that didn’t compare to being
under a blanket of stars with Malcolm in that moment. Cade couldn’t remember
ever being in a wide open space with no lights obscuring what was overhead.

“Honestly,
no. I haven’t.” Cade reached in the car and turned off the radio and rolled up
the windows. Now, the only light was coming from a lamp inside the house. It
was such a huge difference from the first time Cade had been there and
everything had been lit up, inside and out. He stepped behind Mal and wrapped
his arms around his waist. In that moment, Cade felt something he couldn’t
remember ever feeling so profoundly – peace. When he bought the land, it was
for Mal. For Suzette. Now, he knew he’d made the right decision. Everything
around him for over a thousand acres was his. Everything except the man in his
arms. Somehow, he was going to change that. He didn’t know how long it would
take, but Cade knew they belonged together. Maybe not now. They both had their
own paths to take. Eventually, those paths would converge, and Cade would get
his cowboy.

Cade
woke up in the flower factory, his ass aching delightfully. It had taken every
ounce of willpower he had to stay in his bed and not go find Mal in the middle
of the night, knowing what he looked like naked. Cade tormented himself with
thoughts of all Mal’s unblemished skin just waiting to be surveyed. Cade didn’t
consider the scar running across Mal’s chest a blemish. It was a badge of
honor, in his opinion.

The
smell of bacon wafted down the hallway, enticing Cade to get out of bed and go
see his man.
His man? Shit.
Cade couldn’t think that way. Not yet. He
pulled on the clothes he’d worn the night before and made a pit stop in the
bathroom to take a piss and brush his teeth. He padded barefoot down the hall
and stopped at the doorway. Surprisingly, Mal was wearing nothing but low slung
jeans. Cade wanted to go over and lick his way up Mal’s back then down his
front. He wanted…

“Good
mornin’, Rock Star,” Mal said, arching an eyebrow. Yep, busted. Cade didn’t
care, though. There was nothing wrong with enjoying the view. Except now, his
cock was stirring back to life.

“I
want a four wheeler,” Cade blurted. He had never driven one, but he had driven
motorcycles, and they couldn’t be that much different. Cade had a vintage
Harley Davidson in his garage at home. It had been a long time since his bike
had seen the outside of the garage, and this reminded him how much he missed
it. As soon as he got home, he was going to get his old bike out and knock the
dust off.

While
he tossed and turned after lying down, he thought back over everything they had
done the night before. While riding bitch with Mal had been fun, Cade would
much rather ride his own so they could wind the vehicles up and have a little
fun.

“Are
there a lot of places to ride in LA?” Mal asked, clearly not getting what Cade
was after.

“No,
but you have a thousand acres here. I’d say that’s plenty of room.”

“You
want to buy a four wheeler for one day?” Mal’s frown deepened.

“No,
I want to buy a four wheeler to ride whenever I come to visit. I know you’re
getting horses, but they scare the bejeezus out of me. I can’t control them. I
can control an ATV.” Cade stepped closer and put his hand on Mal’s hip. “Mal,
if you don’t want me coming back to visit, let me know now. Otherwise, I plan
on being here every weekend I have downtime.”

When
Mal didn’t respond, Cade felt like a fool. Obviously, Mal didn’t feel the same
way Cade did. “Listen, forget it. After breakfast, I’ll call the pilot and head
back home.”

“Call
the pilot? You have your own fuckin’ airplane?” Mal tossed the spatula onto the
stove and turned his back on Cade.

“It
belongs to the corporation. I just borrowed it,” Cade explained, leaving out
some very important facts. Yes, it was the corporation’s, but he didn’t let Mal
know he owned that particular company. When 7’s Mistress bought the jet, they
had no idea it was already Cade’s. Then when the band broke up, he bought it
back from them. Now that Cade had a holding company for Mal’s land, Gerard had
put the jet in the company’s name. Something about tax write-offs.

If
Mal ever found out the truth about the corporation and who now owned his land,
he would probably never forgive Cade. That was another reason he couldn’t get
to sleep – the nagging in his gut to tell Mal the truth. “Mal, I think we’ve
already had this discussion. I have money. A lot of it, but I’m not going to
apologize for that. I can’t take it with me when I die, so I’m going to spend
it in ways that make me happy. Spending time with you when I can makes me
happy. Now, if you can’t see past the fact I have money in the bank, then I’ll
walk out the door right now and never look back.”

“What
kind of car do you drive?” Mal asked, turning back around.

“Does
it matter?”

“Please
answer the question.”

“A
Ferrari.”

“How
big is your house?”

“I
don’t know, about six thousand square feet?” Cade was getting pissed at the
questions. Not that it wasn’t Mal’s business, but this felt like an
interrogation.

“How
many servants do you have?”

“Seriously,
Mal? I’m done. I can see you can’t let this go. I thought you were a bigger man
than to let something as petty as money get in the way. I’ll see myself out.”

Cade
retreated to the bedroom and began tossing his things haphazardly in the bag.
He really thought he and Mal had something.

“There’s
a Honda dealership not too far from here,” Mal offered from the doorway, now
sporting a faded Green Day t-shirt. Was this his way of offering an apology, or
at the least, a truce?

Cade
zipped the bag and sat down to put his socks and boots on. He pulled on the
first sock as he told Mal, “I’ve always been leery of people who wanted me for
my money and what I could do for them, instead of wanting to be with me for me.
Now, I’m faced with someone who doesn’t want me because of my money. It’s a
fucking no-win situation. I thought we had something good, Mal.”

“We
did. I mean, we do. I think. Hell, Cade, I don’t know what to think. Yeah, your
money bothers me because I don’t have any. Never have. I don’t know what it’s
like to go buy a fuckin’ four wheeler just because I want one. I bought mine
out of necessity, and even then I had to make payments on a used one. I never
know if the bitch is gonna start or not. Sure, things are gonna get better
because I have someone else footin’ the bill goin’ forward, but it’s not the
same. I’m gonna be as tight with their money as I have been with mine all these
years. It’s the only way I know to be. So forgive me if your nonchalance is
off-puttin’.”