Chapter 9 #2
Greg said good night as well and told them he’d call the police in the morning to explain to them what they had found out. Mom followed him out, leaving Brendan and Lucas alone in the living room. The house was so quiet, and he didn’t quite know what to do.
“Come on. Everything will wait until tomorrow.”
“I need to check on the horses and make sure the barn is closed up for the night. I’ll be right back in,” Brendan explained, and hurried outside. Everything was as it should be. He checked the mangers and water troughs before returning to the house.
The lights were off except for the one over the stove.
He locked the back door and checked the others before heading upstairs and going to his room, where Lucas waited for him, his rich skin shining against the dim light.
Brendan swallowed and slowly entered the room.
“You’re….” Lucas wore only his boxers, his legs crossed at the ankles, hands behind his head.
He was a sight beyond anything Brendan had imagined.
“Come here,” Lucas said, his voice deep and seductive. Brendan couldn’t help moving closer. It was like he was outside of himself in the best way possible.
“Damn,” he said under his breath, unable to help himself.
Lucas was hot as hell, with his strong arms and chest, belly cut with lines, and legs like tree trunks.
Part of him wondered if Lucas was too strong, but he knew he would never hurt him.
Lucas was all power, and yet he drew Brendan in like a moth to flame.
“You like what you see?”
Brendan nodded. Lucas was as hot as any man Brendan had ever seen, and there was no way he could lie. What does he want with me? he asked himself, even as he drew closer, and Lucas reached out, taking him by the hand, pulling him gently to the bed.
“What’s going on behind those incredible blue eyes of yours?
” Lucas asked. “I can see you worrying about something.” He drew Brendan down until their lips touched.
Lucas slipped his hand around the back of his neck and held him in place, deepening the kiss.
It was like something inside him gave way, like a dam bursting.
Brendan climbed onto the bed, and Lucas enveloped him in his arms, holding him as he stroked his back up under his shirt.
“Jesus…,” Brendan sighed, pulling away for only a moment. Lucas took that time to tug his shirt off before kissing him again. This time they were skin to skin, and warmth spread though him. “What are you doing to me?”
“What do you mean?” Lucas whispered.
“You… I don’t know. You come into our lives through Greg, and suddenly things are so very different. Jameson is happy—you two cook together. You figure out how to make the stables safe and help catch a vandal who has been a pain in the butt. Then you make me feel like I can have a life again.”
Lucas chuckled. “You always had a life. You just needed to figure out what you wanted.”
Brendan rolled his eyes. “You saw my life—or the one I had. It left me with an ex-wife whose family is a pile of crap.”
“That same life brought you Jameson, and it was because of your ex-wife’s family that the lines of our lives crossed.”
Brendan looked into Lucas’s eyes. “Yes, I know that. But what happens when it all ends? Because everything does. It certainly did with Jenn and….”
Lucas kissed him again, and Brendan almost forgot his train of thought.
Lucas tasted like musky, rich heaven, and it was enough to send his mind spinning.
“You need to stop worrying about the end of things. This is the beginning, and we don’t need to worry about the end.
” He kissed him, and this time, he tugged Brendan down onto the bed, rolling them until Lucas had him tight in his arms. “Just live for today. Don’t worry about the rest.”
Brendan wanted that more than anything, especially if it came with the way Lucas held him.
He wanted this so badly. If he were honest, he had dreamed about this since the first day he saw Lucas in Greg’s office.
But he didn’t dare hope… and now… Jesus!
Lucas snapped open his pants and slid them down his legs.
“Maybe if I had thought about something like this, I would have worn better underwear.” He meant it to be serious, but Lucas chuckled.
“Sweetheart, they aren’t going to be on you long enough for you to worry.
” Lucas’s voice was so rumbly and hot that Brendan quivered with excitement.
And Lucas was as good as his word, stripping off the last of their clothes.
He was smooth and so powerful. Brendan liked that.
In most areas of his life, he was the one in charge, the one who had to make all the decisions and watch after Jameson.
He was the strong one, the one who had to stay calm in a crisis.
But here, that was Lucas, and Brendan was more than fine with that.
He loved how Lucas kissed him and touched him, warm hands sliding over his hips and thighs.
Lucas seemed like the kind of guy who took his time, and that drove Brendan wild with need because each touch made him want more.
It was like Lucas was a drug, and he couldn’t get enough.
“Damn, what you do to me,” Brendan whispered.
“Good. I hope I keep doing it to you.” He smiled as he looked deeply into Brendan’s eyes.
God, it was like Lucas could see into his soul and read his mind.
It was almost frightening, but he refused to worry about it.
Lucas has shown him gentleness and kindness.
So maybe opening up to him wasn’t such a bad thing.
“Okay.” He almost chuckled, but stopped himself. He didn’t want to kill the mood, but Lucas made his mind sort of skip around… a lot. Maybe it was good that he couldn’t concentrate on anything or anyone but Lucas at the moment.
“No. You deserve some attention. You care for everything else on this farm, so it’s time that someone looks after you.”
“And I take it that you are applying for the job?”
Lucas stilled. “So this is a job, is it? Does that make this sexual harassment?”
Brendan growled. “No. It makes this an interview. So, I suggest you put your best foot forward, and show me what you got.”
“I see,” Lucas said. “Then I better get to the task at hand.” He slid down Brendan’s body, blazing a trail with his lips that took Brendan’s breath away. Soon, all he could manage was a half-strangled cry as Lucas slid his lips over his length and took him to the root.
The air rushed from his lungs, and Brendan could only lie on the bed, his mouth open, as Lucas did things to him he had only dreamed about.
Somehow, he managed to pull oxygen into his lungs before he blacked out.
By then, Lucas had taken him once more, and his eyes crossed in sheer blissful wonder. “Lucas…,” he whimpered.
“Say that again,” Lucas said after pulling away. “I love the sound.”
“Lucas,” he said softly, and drew Lucas up into a sloppy kiss that set his heart on fire. “I’ll say it a million times if you keep doing that.”
“Oh, sweetheart. I intend to do just that and a hell of a lot more.” Lucas’s eyes danced for a few seconds and then he kissed him again before returning to what he’d been doing, taking Brendan’s breath away.
Through the open window, Brendan heard the first drops of rain as they fell to earth.
Lucas was sound asleep next to him. He slipped out of bed and dressed quickly before going downstairs.
Brendan’s muscles ached in all the best ways, and he smiled to himself as he tugged his shirt on over his head.
He pulled on boots and a jacket in the back mud room before going out to the barn.
Everything was quiet, and almost twenty heads peered out of their stalls to see who had disturbed them at this ridiculous time of the morning.
He went right down to the last stall and peered in.
Princess lay on her side, and two hooves had already appeared.
Jameson was going to be disappointed that he missed the birth, but Brendan figured she’d give birth in the middle of the night.
It always seemed to happen that way. She breathed deeply, and Brendan could see the contractions as they moved through her abdomen.
“What are you doing…?” Lucas asked. Brendan put his finger to his lips and motioned him over. He stood still, and Lucas joined him quietly. “You have to be kidding me.” He shook his head and leaned slightly against Lucas. “How long does it take?”
“Not long from here. See, the head is making an appearance, and right after that….” The foal’s head came out, and just after that, the rest of the body slipped out.
The entire process took no more than ten minutes.
Brendan entered the stall and used straw to clean the foal and make sure it was breathing properly.
Princess was already turning, and Brendan backed away, preferring to let nature take its course as much as possible.
Thankful that he had brought his phone, he took a picture of the foal as he took his first steps and began nursing. He sent them to Jayanne and her mother to announce the birth.
“You know that Jameson is going to be sad he missed it.”
“Yeah, I know.” He watched mother and son for a while, his head resting against Lucas’s shoulder. “I love this part of my job.”
“Have you had to intervene before?”
“Yeah. A few times. The veterinarian is just a mile or so up the road. Mitchell is amazing. Two years ago, he and I pulled a foal together. He got the front hooves in the right place, and we helped along the birth. Mostly, that sort of things is for the movies and television.”
“Can we go back to bed?” Lucas asked.
“No. There’s still the last part of the process, and once Princess expels the placenta, I’ll take care of it.” Then it would be over.
“How long does that take?”