Carol Lynne Read online

  Without thinking, Tyler rested his cheek against Hearn’s broad chest. “Thank you,” he whispered, wrapping his arms around Hearn’s waist.

  Hearn returned the embrace, resting his own cheek on top of Tyler’s head. “No. Thank you. Knowing what I now know, it was pretty brave of you to come over here to check on me.”

  “You’re the most important person in the world to me. Of course I came,” Tyler admitted.

  He felt Hearn’s entire body tense. “What did you say?”

  Shit! The last thing Hearn needed was a declaration of love at a time like this. “I said you’re important to me. You may not know it, but you’re my best friend.”

  Hearn kissed the top of Tyler’s head. “You’re my best friend, too.”

  Chapter Two

  Nate was putting the finishing touches on dinner when Ryan came through the door. “Mmm. Something smells good.”

  Nate spun around and lifted his chin. “It’s the new cologne I picked up at Wyn’s.”

  Chuckling, Ryan buried his face in Nate’s neck. “Yep, that smells pretty damn good, but I was talking about dinner.”

  “So was I,” Nate quipped, cupping Ryan’s cock through his jeans.

  Ryan’s mouth latched onto the skin just below Nate’s ear. While his lover busied himself sucking up a bruise, Nate took the opportunity to unzip Ryan’s jeans.

  Ryan pulled his mouth from Nate’s neck and moaned. “Feels good, baby.”

  “Damn right it does,” Nate agreed, pumping the shaft in his hand. Sinking to his knees, Nate pushed Ryan’s jeans down until his lover’s erection sprang free. “Mmm. Yummy,” he giggled, running his tongue from root to crown. After enjoying the taste of Ryan’s pre-cum, Nate’s lips slipped over the tip.

  A cold breeze stirred the air moments before another cock jabbed his cheek. Nate opened his eyes and looked up to see Rio thrusting his tongue down Ryan’s throat. Grinning around the girth in his mouth, he wrapped his fingers around the bouncing cock in front of him.

  The cold feel of Rio’s length surprised him. Releasing Ryan’s cock, he blew hot air on Rio’s erection. “Poor baby’s almost frozen.”

  “It’s fucking cold outside,” Rio defended.

  “I know it is,” Nate placated. “Thank you for feeding the horses.” He leaned in and swallowed Rio’s length. He was really getting into it when a finger began tapping the top of his head. “What?” he asked, abandoning his work.

  “As hot as that little mouth of yours is, the dinner is hotter.” Rio gestured towards the smoking oven.

  “Shit!” Nate cried, jumping to his feet. He narrowed his eyes at Ryan as he grabbed a pot holder and pulled his burnt chicken out of the oven. Dropping the roasting pan onto the counter, he propped his hands on his hips. “Well, that sucks.”

  Ryan wrapped his arms around Nate’s waist. “It doesn’t look too bad. We’ll just scrape off the black stuff.”

  Nate shrugged. “I guess so.”

  “Why don’t you help Rio set the table, and I’ll take care of the chicken,” Ryan offered, kissing Nate’s neck.

  He knew he was a bit of a perfectionist, but he loved giving his men a meal fit for kings at the end of their day. Nate nodded and reached for the dishes. After handing the stack to Rio, he turned to face Ryan. “Do you want me to help you with the side dishes?”

  Ryan shook his head. “I’ll take care of it, baby. You just suck that pretty little bottom lip back in and let Rio take care of you.”

  Nate grinned. “Can I make him do anything I want?”

  Ryan glanced over at Rio who was setting the plates on the table. “Do you even have to ask?”

  Nate clapped his hands. “Well then, I’m off to put my pout on.”

  Ryan rolled his eyes and gave Nate a swat on the ass as he walked away. Rubbing his butt, Nate stuck his bottom lip out even further and got out the silverware. Strolling towards the table, he began placing the eating utensils on either side of the plates.

  Rio pulled out one of the dining room chairs and sat down. “Come over here, little man,” Rio said, patting his lap.

  Nate was giggling his ass off on the inside, but he didn’t dare let his glee show on the outside. It had taken him a long time to learn each man’s weak spots, but he’d become an expert at exploiting them for his own sexual gain.

  Settling himself in Rio’s lap, Nate tilted his chin up for a kiss. Rio wasted no time delving his tongue deep into Nate’s mouth. Pulling back, Rio grinned. “Just for the record. I know you’re playing me like a violin right now, but you’re so damn cute I don’t mind.”

  Nate winced. “The lip too much?”

  “Just a tad. Besides, it’s not all our fault you were greedily munching on our cocks instead of watching your dinner.”

  Nate crossed his arms. “Don’t hold your breath until the next time I decide to munch your cock.”

  “Like you could stay away,” Rio chuckled.

  He’s got me. Nate threw his arms around Rio’s neck and kissed him. “You’re right. I’d starve without my daily dose of protein.”

  “Oh, God,” Ryan drawled as he set the platter of chicken on the table. “Get off Papa Bear’s lap, Goldislut, and eat your porridge.”

  Laughing, Rio pinched Nate’s ass. “You heard Mama Bear, get up.”

  Giggling, Nate jumped up and moved to his chair. “Aww, this fits just right,” he joked. Although the dinner he’d prepared wasn’t perfect, Nate couldn’t wait another minute to talk to his men. “Sooo, I was thinking today…”

  “Oh no. How much is it gonna cost us?” Ryan interrupted.

  “Would you let me finish.” He slapped him on the arm. “I want to run for mayor,” he stated before bracing himself for the teasing that was sure to come.

  Rio and Ryan looked at each other. They seemed to be having some sort of Vulcan mind meld right before his eyes. Finally, Ryan reached out and took Nate’s hand. “You’d be a fantastic mayor.”

  “Really? You think so?” He’d never been so happy to have been wrong in his life. The fact Rio and Ryan supported his decision meant everything to him. “I mean. I know I don’t have a lot of experience, but I think I could make a real difference.”

  “You could. And don’t sell yourself short. You’re good with people, you have a head for business and you may be the one person in all of Cattle Valley who could endear himself to Carol.” Ryan grinned and took a bite of his rosemary potatoes.

  * * * *

  Hearn handed Tyler a cup of coffee. “I put a little Bailey’s in it. I know you like it, and I thought we could both use something to take the edge off.”

  “Thanks.”

  The way Tyler was curled up with his feet tucked up under him, made the man appear even smaller. Hearn had never thought of himself as oversized, but compared to Tyler, he felt like a giant. He remembered the first time he’d ever laid eyes on the florist. It was before the floral shop even opened its doors. He’d just picked up another Christmas present for Mitch from Wynfield’s Department Store, when he spotted a wood nymph among a sea of realistic evergreen trees. Curious, he’d crossed the street and peered at the small man in the window of the old flower shop. Tyler had smiled and waved, dropping one of the artificial trees on his foot. He’d gestured for Hearn to come in. Stepping into that store had forever changed his life.

  “Hearn? Are you okay?” Tyler asked from his position on the sofa.

  “Yeah.” Hearn sat next to Tyler and took a sip of his cooling coffee. “I was just remembering the day we met.”

  Tyler’s entire face lit up from within. “I remember that. I was a klutz and dropped one of the display pieces onto my foot.”

  “A tree. It was one of those artificial trees you put in the window,” Hearn added.

  Tyler smiled and nodded in remembrance. “I wasn’t near ready to open the shop, but I didn’t want the windows empty at Christmas time.”

  The smaller man gazed down into his coffee. “I was working away, and I happened to look
up into the deepest brown eyes I’d ever seen.” Tyler chuckled. “Anyone would’ve forgotten what they were doing with a view like that.”

  Hearn didn’t know how to reply to such a statement. He’d never thought of himself as overly gorgeous. He knew he had a few good features, but the overall package had never seemed like something to brag about. Maybe if it had Mitch wouldn’t have gone looking. “Why do you think he did it?”

  With a deep breath, Tyler set his cup on the table. “Mitch?”

  “Yeah.”

  Tyler reached out and held Hearn’s hand. Damn Tyler’s skin was soft, his fingers so thin and long.

  “It wasn’t you,” Tyler offered.

  Hearn opened his mouth to argue, but Tyler cut him off. “Cheating isn’t about the person being cheated on. It’s about the person doing the cheating. Evidently, Mitch didn’t feel good about himself. He needed to find as many people as possible to reaffirm his self-worth.”

  As many people as possible? “Wait,” he said, shaking his head. “Jax wasn’t the only one?”

  Tyler’s eyes rounded. “I’m sorry. I thought Jax told you.”

  Hearn didn’t know how it was possible, but his chest constricted even more than it had earlier. He’d been able to pass Mitch’s infidelity off as falling in love with another man. After all, wasn’t he just as guilty of that crime, but to hear there were others… “How many?”

  Tyler shrugged. “I don’t know. Ezra just told me Jax wasn’t the only one Mitch had secret rendezvous’ with.”

  How many, Mitch? Did you at least wear a fucking condom? Why didn’t I see it? The answer was sitting right in front of him. Because I was too busy falling in love with my new best friend.

  He gazed into Tyler’s chocolate brown eyes. Hearn had always been fascinated by the man’s lashes, and the way they fanned over his cheeks every time he blinked. No. He couldn’t blame anything on Tyler. According to Jax, the affair between him and Mitch had gone on for years. Tyler had only been in town for a little over a year.

  Hearn thought about the late nights Mitch often kept. His partner had always had a plausible excuse, a dinner meeting that ran long, car trouble, or the weather, it was always something. Hearn had never dwelt on it because the truth was, he enjoyed the evenings Mitch wasn’t home. His lover was constantly bitching at him for something. Some shortfall he felt Hearn needed to change. How many evenings had he secretly wished for something that would give him the strength to leave?

  “I wish I’d known. My life with Mitch sucked the last several years we were together, but we’d been partners since college. I tried to ride out the rough patches. I felt I owed him that.” He laughed. “Evidently Mitch had a different kind of riding in mind.”

  Tyler squeezed his hand. “You’re a better man than he was.”

  Sobering, Hearn returned the squeeze. Tyler had been a loyal friend since they’d met. Even after the accident when Hearn had tried his best to push the smaller man away, Tyler never stopped trying. “He meant to do it you know.”

  Tyler’s head tilted to the side in question. “Do what?”

  “Run into that tree,” Hearn confessed. He’d carried the secret too long. If he did nothing else right in his life, he knew he needed to tell Tyler the truth about that night.

  Tyler’s entire body seemed to tense up. “I know,” Tyler whispered.

  “You do?”

  Tyler nodded. “He confronted me before we got into the car.”

  Now it was Hearn’s turn to tense. “About the talk he and I had after I danced with you?” Had Tyler really known of his feelings all this time?

  Tyler appeared more confused than ever. “I didn’t know the two of you had talked.”

  “What exactly did he say to you?” Hearn asked.

  Tyler broke eye contact and studied the flames flickering in the fireplace. “I was trying to find you in the crowd. Mitch found me first. He grabbed my arm and told me he knew.”

  Hearn swallowed around the lump in his throat. “Knew what?”

  “That I’d fallen in love with you. He told me I couldn’t have you. That he’d worked too long to gain your trust.” Tyler stopped and shook his head. “Actually, what he said was that he’d worked too long to gain your trust fund, but I thought he’d just made a mistake.”

  My trust fund? While trying to let that bit of information sink in, he realised he’d bypassed the most important part of Tyler’s statement. “Are you?”

  “Am I what,” Tyler mumbled, still refusing to look at Hearn.

  Hearn cupped Tyler’s cheek and turned the smaller man’s attention back to him. “Are you in love with me?”

  Tyler’s jaw dropped before snapping shut. When it appeared Tyler wasn’t going to answer, Hearn continued. “Because the night of the accident, I told Mitch I was planning to move out.” Hearn slid his hand to the back of Tyler’s neck and pulled him closer. “I confessed that I’d fallen in love with my best friend.”

  The truth of Hearn’s words seemed to dawn in Tyler’s eyes moments before Hearn kissed him. He didn’t push things, choosing to keep the kiss short and sweet.

  When he pulled back, Tyler’s eyes were filled with tears. “Why didn’t you tell me before?” Tyler asked.

  “It was because of what I’d told him that Mitch purposely ran into that tree. I didn’t know he’d been fucking around on the side. I thought I’d betrayed him. That the thought of losing me had driven him to do it.”

  A single tear slid down Tyler’s cheek. Hearn swiped the moisture away with his thumb. “Now I’m not sure why he did it. Maybe his goal was to kill one of us, maybe it was to injure himself enough that I wouldn’t leave.” Hearn shrugged. “We may never know.”

  “It killed me to watch you mourn for that man as long as you did. He treated you like shit when he was alive. Never giving you enough credit for the intelligent man I know you are.”

  Hearn gave Tyler’s hand a tug until the smaller man was seated on his lap. “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free,” he quoted.

  Tyler grinned and buried his face against Hearn’s neck. “I never thought I’d get the chance to be here, like this.”

  Despite Tyler’s words, Hearn remembered what they’d talked about earlier in the day. “So, who’s this new guy you have your eye on?” He wondered if it was someone Tyler had met in the months following Mitch’s death.

  “Not a new guy,” Tyler mumbled. “It’s you. It’s always been you.”

  Hearn could almost feel his fractured heart begin to mend. “As much as I’d like to take you into the bedroom and ask you to prove it, I won’t. I’d like to ask you out on a proper date first.”

  “A date?” Tyler asked.

  Hearn could feel Tyler smile against his neck moments before soft kisses landed on his heated skin. Hearn’s hold on the smaller man tightened. The image of his little wood nymph under him was almost more than he could bear and still maintain control. Tyler deserved more than a hasty fuck. He’d proven worthy of a proper courting first.

  When Tyler’s kisses became licks, Hearn groaned. “I’m trying to be a gentleman, but you’re not making it easy.”

  “Chivalry is overrated,” Tyler answered back. “I’ve dreamed of this moment for too long to let it slip through my fingers without at least getting a taste of you.”

  Tyler’s hands began working their way under Hearn’s T-shirt. If Hearn’s cock weren’t already painfully hard, the gentle pinch to his nipples would’ve done the trick. His hands went to Tyler’s hips, pushing the little sprite down against the bulging fly of his jeans. The press of that sweet little ass against his throbbing erection, snapped every ounce of his reserve.

  Grabbing the bottom of Tyler’s long-sleeved sport shirt, Hearn pulled the soft cotton over his soon-to-be lover’s head. Just as he’d hoped, Tyler’s chest was sleek and hair-free. “Oh, shit,” Hearn panted, running his fingers over the smooth skin.

  “Sorry,” Tyler mumbled. “I’ve never been accused of ha
ving a manly physique.”

  “You’re perfect.” Hearn’s touch travelled across Tyler’s dark brown nipples, to the thin line of hair trailing down below his belly button. He wanted, no, needed, to see more. “May I?” he asked, hands poised on the button of Tyler’s jeans.

  Tyler licked his lips and grinned. “What? No steak first?” he asked with a chuckle.

  Hearn immediately pulled his hands back. “I’m sorry. I guess I just got carried away.”

  Laughing, Tyler reached down and unfastened his own jeans. “I was kidding.”

  “Maybe so, but I can’t do what I’d like to anyway, no condoms. With everything I’ve learned about Mitch…” Hearn shook his head. “Guess I need to be tested.”

  “I get tested every six months whether I’m active or not. The last one was before Thanksgiving. I’m clean,” Tyler declared.

  Hearn gave a short nod. “Well then we just need to wait for my results. Until then, maybe it would be better if we stuck to necking like a couple of teenagers.”

  Tyler rolled his eyes. “Kissing’s always felt better than fucking anyway.”

  Surprised, Hearn pulled Tyler in for a kiss, sweeping his tongue through the interior of the smaller man’s mouth. Groaning, Tyler began sucking on Hearn’s tongue. Hearn answered by opening even wider. The pressure from Tyler’s teeth against his stretched mouth split his lip. The metallic taste of blood snapped Hearn out of his lust-haze. Breaking the kiss, he immediately ran his tongue around his lips until he found the small slit in the skin. “Maybe kissing before my results are back isn’t such a good idea either.”

  “Maybe not.”

  Trying to resist the lure of those pretty pink lips, Hearn hugged Tyler to his chest. “By the way, if kissing feels better to you than fucking, someone should be ashamed of themselves.”

  “Hmmm, maybe I’ve just been waiting for you?” Tyler replied around a yawn.

  Hearn kissed Tyler’s forehead. “Maybe.” He gave Tyler a playful squeeze on the ass. “You’d better go home and get some rest.”

  “I don’t want the night to end,” Tyler mumbled.