Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Damn, life was good.
Bax liked riding fence. Well, all right, if he was honest, he liked riding fence with Jason. Somewhere after the first hour, Jason would take that starched shirt off and tie it to the back of the saddle, leaving him in just a tight, white undershirt, and damn. Oh, damn, Bax loved that.
Licking sweat off his upper lip, Bax leaned down to check a post joint, grinning when it wasn’t as dry rotted as he’d thought. “You think your momma’s baking right now?”
“Yup. She’s making a pie and one of them cakes you like. I saw beans on the back of the stove, so it’ll be brisket and cornbread for dinner.” Mini’s momma was as predictable as the day was long and, lord, that woman loved to cook.
“Oh, you know I like that.” Damn, his knee was throbbing. He pulled his bad leg up, leaning back in the saddle and stretching it out.
“You need to walk some, man?” Jason rode up closer, horses touching noses as Mini reached out, fingers hot on his knee. “It’s pretty swolled.”
The feel of that hand on him made him jump, even through work glove and jeans. “Nah. I’m good. I just need to remember not to lean so hard on the stirrup.”
“‘kay.” He was given one more stroke—the crookedy thumb on Jason’s riding hand rubbing the inside a bit.
His cheeks heated up, and he was damned glad of the sun. Long as they’d been riding together, Bax’d never told Jason a bit what the man could do to him with just a touch.
“Anyway, we ain’t got much more to do today.”
“Nope. You want to ride to the river? Swim?” That straw hat was pushed back, the collar of Jason’s T-shirt wet with sweat.
“Shit, yes.” That water would be like bathwater, but it would be so damned nice to get wet. Bax approved. “Come on, slowpoke.”
“Slow… Oh, you old bastard!” Jason whomped Heidi, the two going tearing across the pasture, ass tight as a boar’s backside in that saddle.
Bax sat there for a full five seconds with his teeth in his mouth. Then he whooped and spurred and he was off, too, Little Bit happy to be heading for the river and giving it some speed.
It did him a world of good, just to flat-out run, to lean down and let the bullshit go. Jason was feeling it, too, the constant fucking pressure, the need to keep on his game. It made shit like this more and more important.
Lord love him, they both loved what they did, but it was getting more and more commercial and… Jesus, fuck, look at that man ride. Just look.
“Come on, Bax. That water’s waiting on your scarred-up ass.”
“Yeah. It’s waiting for the water, too.” He nudged Bit a little closer before sliding down and ground tying her easy as you please. Bax groaned, his leg stiff as a board.
“Here. Let me loosen it up. There ain’t no one here to point and say you’re getting old but me.” Then Jason knelt, hands on his leg, working his bum knee.
Staring down at that bent head, Bax thought about Heaven, and how it might be just like this. Of course, if he started entertaining fantasies about what should happen next, it could get some embarrassing. “Thanks, buddy.”
“I know it’s gotta be sore as a boil.” Fuck. Fuck, he could feel Jason’s breath on his thigh, on his knee.
“It’s pretty hot…” His voice sounded like sandpaper. Christ on a pogo stick.
“Yeah. I can feel it. You gotta rest it some.” The back of Jason’s neck was red, a nice deep, dark red.
Bax cleared his throat. “Not ‘til I get that swim in. Come on, man, or we’ll miss supper…”
“Yeah. Yeah, sure.” Jason scooted back, stood up, and headed toward the bank, bending to tug off his boots.
That ass was enough to give a man palpitations. Hadn’t he seen thousands of female heads turn to watch it go by? Turning his back, Bax worked one boot off, but couldn’t get the other.
“Goddamn it, Jason. Can you help me with this?”
“Yup.” Jason chuckled, bent down again and grabbed his heel. “Pull, old man.”
He pulled, his knee creaking, all but going ass over teakettle. Jason’s shoulders felt right and tight under his hands when he caught himself and tried to balance.
“There you go.” Jason looked up, that mouth just right where he’d like it to be. He was fixin’ to die.
Right here. Right now.
God help him.
Time stopped short. He could smell the water, the bright green scent of the broken grass blades. He could hear the wind blowing, the birds, but all he could see was Jason Scott’s perfect mouth.
Blinking, Bax nodded. “Yup. There you go. Thanks.” All he could do was stand there and stare, one foot up like a stork or something.
“Uh-huh.” Jason didn’t move for a long second, just took a deep, deep breath as if Jase was filling his lungs with Bax-flavored air.
Finally Bax moved, putting his foot down carefully on the prickly ground and backing off. “You going in wearing your jeans?” he asked, going for teasing and almost making it.
“Nah, they’ll chafe riding home.” Jason stood, giving him a peek at something full and hard in those Wranglers. A quick thump and a grunt, and Jason started working them off.
Oh. Oh, Lord. Curse him for a coward, but he just didn’t have the gumption to reach for that. Bax wanted to. He sure as Hell did. But he didn’t want to ruin nothin’. Jason was his best friend. He gave his own crotch a good whack and got to getting naked.
Jason draped jeans and T-shirt over some brush and waded in, nothing but that beat-up hat on.
Fuck him, that was fine. Even with the bruises and the so-pale-it-glowed ass, Jason was the prettiest thing he’d ever seen.
Bax got bare and slid on down the bank, the water feeling slick and cool on his skin.
“That better on your knee, Bax?” Jason leaned back, moving lazily, just keeping his hat brim out of the water.
“Shit, yes. Taking the hurt right out.” It was almost like the hot tub at that one hotel that time… Well. They’d both been real drunk, then.
Real drunk. Real happy. Horny as fuck and needing.
It was still his favorite memory to jack off to.
“Good deal. I do love this spot.”
“Mmmhmm.” His toes popped right up to the surface for a moment, making him hoot before his ass started to sink. “Pretty and peaceful and all…”
“Yup. I used to come out here when I was a kid, spend hours avoiding the chores.” Jason’s toes wiggled.
“Lazy-ass.” There wasn’t no ‘avoiding chores’ at his house. Bax would’ve got his butt beat.
“You know it. Daddy was raising pigs at the time. You ever smelled pigs up close?”
“Yes. Not my idea of a good time.” Stink. Lord. Stretching, he groaned happily, arms moving just enough to keep him in place.
“Nope. Big, stinky and meaner than bulls.” Jason chuckled, kicked a little. “Not meaner than KC, though. That’s a bad-tempered son of a bitch.”
That was the God’s honest truth. “That’s not just mean. That’s stone crazy.”
“Yeah, well, you grew up looking like an undead monkey, you’d be mean, too.”
“Well, you ought to know all about that, you little chimp…” Oh, if Jason connected with that swat it was gonna hurt.
The water took most of the slap, but those fingertips got him but good. Bastard.
“Don’t make me twist your nipple off, buddy. You’d be all lopsided.” He would, too, if he had to.
“I need that for balance, Bax. That titty’s worth thousands.”
That had him laughing so hard that he all but sank and drowned. “The million-dollar boob.”
“Yep. Worth a fortune. Not just for decoration.”
They both got to laughing, the sound echoing, ringing out.
They spent their time in the pond, and the sun had moved a good ways over in the sky when they finally climbed out of the water, all wrinkly and thankfully not worrying about springing a happy. “I bet your momma has upside down cake by now.”
“You know she does. Come on, old man. We’ll get fed, and then we can drive into town and shoot some pool.”
“Sounds good.” No one would bother them a bit at home, and he could ogle that sweet ass to his heart’s content.
Kind of like he was doing now.