Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Trey
D espite the arousal coming from Cassidy, Trey was anxious as hell, which was why his hands dropped to his sides. Narrowing his eyes, he searched Cassidy’s expression. He really did want to talk, but every time he was within touching distance of Cassidy, the need for him left little room for anything else. Trey did something that was way more difficult than it had ever been before and took several steps back. When that didn’t seem to help, he reached to open the door and inhaled.
“You okay?” Cassidy asked, coming towards him, his brows drawn together. Trey stepped outside onto the porch.
He offered a tight smile. “I’m all good, if you keep your distance.”
Cassidy’s crestfallen expression set off Trey’s wolf, who growled at him. “I didn’t mean it like that.” He rubbed at his bristly jaw in frustration. “The need to touch you makes me crazy. It always did, but now I can’t seem to talk sense to myself and keep my hands at bay.”
A familiar lopsided smile appeared, and it struck Trey that he was never gonna be able to resist Cassidy. Two years of pretending things were causal between them because they only had sex meant fuck all to how much he’d always wanted this man. His claim on him happened long before he sank his teeth into his flesh. It was galling to realize he had wasted so much time when he could have spent it with Cassidy figuring this out.
“I’m not sure I’m seein’ a problem.” Cassidy’s aquamarine eyes glittered with confidence and grabbed Trey right by his balls.
“Cass, you’re killin’ me. If we’re gonna talk, then I can’t get too close to ya.” He held up his hands, taking a step back. The porch creaked under his boots when Cassidy moved towards him.
The sexy motherfucker grinned and tucked his hands into the front pockets of his jeans, eye fucking him. “I’m listenin’.”
Trey had to move, or he was going to have Cassidy inside his cabin and never let him back out. He eyed the porch swing and sat on it. The other cabins didn’t seem to be occupied as Trey listened out, searching for anyone close by that might overhear them.
When satisfied they were alone, he returned his attention to Cassidy. He had kept a little bit of distance between them and was leaning against the porch rail, watching him. “How do you see this workin’?”
Cassidy’s brows tugged together as he held his gaze. “We’re mates.”
Trey shook his head. “It ain’t that simple, is it?” He pointed out at the land stretched out before him. “You live here on the ranch, work here. I live in town and own a bar that requires a lot of my time. How do we merge those things to make this work?” He asked all the valid questions Kendrick had asked him, to which he still had no answers.
The frown lines grew deeper, and Trey got an unsettled feeling in his gut as Cassidy lost his confident pose. “What are you sayin’? That we won’t be able to make it work?”
Trey got up and went to Cassidy, wanting to remove the uncertainty he could see in his expression, and took hold of his shaking hands. “No, that’s not what I’m sayin’. But it’s gonna take some workin’ out. If I’m honest, Cass, I don’t like the idea that I’m gonna have to leave soon and go to work. That I might not get to have you close by when I finish work.”
Cassidy eased his hands from Trey’s and came close to slide his arms loosely around his middle, meeting his worried stare. “I can come to town tonight.”
“What ‘bout tomorrow and the day after that? This thing we did…”
Trey felt Cassidy’s body tense. “What?”
“It might not have been planned, but I want to make plans so that we’re together in the same place, not miles apart.”
His cheeks darkened, as did his eyes, and Cassidy tightened his hold, laying his head on Trey’s shoulder. He rubbed his nose up the side of Trey’s neck in a move that made Trey feel all kinds of things. “I want that, too.”
The whispered response eased some of Trey’s tension. “Okay… okay. How’s ‘bout you pack some clothes to leave at my place and come to town with me, we can get somethin’ to eat, then you can eye fuck me while I work. How’s that, for starters?” They had to start some place.
The kiss Cassidy placed against Trey’s bouncing pulse gave him a fluttering feeling in the pit of his stomach. “I could do that. I’ll have to leave early in the mornin'. Is that gonna be alright for you?”
Apprehension was there, but with it was hope. “As long as you don’t go forgettin’ my kiss before you leave, we’ll be fine.”
Cassidy chuckled and lifted his head. “I’m sure I can manage that.”
Trey had a week of shifting his schedule around, with Cassidy doing the same, and as much as they’d been able to see each other every day, the nights had become an issue. Trey’s wolf was pretty sure Cassidy was pregnant. The nights sitting at the bar, waiting for Trey, weren’t good for their little chick, especially when he had to get up at dawn for work. Cassidy didn’t say a word about the pregnancy, so Trey held back the need to go into protective mode. That was something he was dealing with, though maybe not totally when Kendrick was ragging on his ass about his mood swings. He kept hold of those in front of Cassidy when he didn’t want his mate feeling he was to blame.
He had gotten Cassidy to agree and go back to his cabin to sleep, so he got rest. Trey fucking hated waking alone and being sensible. He wanted to head to the ranch every night and wake Cassidy up to…
“If you keep wipin’ at that like it’s pissed ya off, the thing is gonna need replacin’.”
Kendrick’s voice broke through Trey’s brooding, and he eyed his friend, thinking he’d be a better target to take out his frustration on. The beer taps were so shiny, Trey could see his grumpy expression on them.
“Whatever ya got goin’ on in that head of yours, forget it. I ain’t in the mood for a boxin’ match when we gotta open up in half-an-hour,” said Kendrick.
“You sure? I ain’t the only one in a fuckin’ mood.” He wasn’t. Kendrick had been off for the last few days, which wasn’t like him. “Your new fuck buddy leave town?” Trey hazarded a guess.
“What you know ‘bout that?” Kendrick snapped back, now wearing a similar expression to the one Trey wore.
“I ain’t heard anythin’. Just putting the numbers together, is all.”
Kendrick eyed him for several seconds before he cursed. “That guy Rue, him and one of the others in the group he came with. We got a thing goin’. It was… interestin’.”
Trey arched his brow, taking the distraction. “Interestin’ how? And I didn’t notice anyone hangin’ with the rhino shifter.”
“Did you notice anything other than Cass sitting at the bar eye fuckin’ ya?”
Trey grinned, his good mood returning despite knowing Cassidy wasn’t coming in later. “Why would I want to notice anythin’ else?”
“Fuck you!”
“Only person doin’ that with me is Cass,” Trey pointed out because he could, and it made him feel like a damn pack leader. “So Rue, he gone back to Hazardville with Silas and his brothers?”
Kendrick gave a disheartened sigh, and Trey narrowed his gaze on his friend. “You’re interested in more than fuckin’,” he exclaimed, not giving Kendrick a chance to answer.
“It seems this”—he lifted his hands, air quoting—“wantin’ more, seems to be catchin’.”
Trey slapped at the bar. “Holy fuck, man, I never thought I’d see the day?—”
“Don’t go fuckin’ gloatin’. You were the one pissed off ‘bout Cass not comin’ in tonight.”
There was no arguing with that, and Trey deflated, growling at his friend. “What a fuckin’ pair we are.”
“At least you have Cass. He’s your mate.”
That stopped Trey as he went to take a step. “You wanna mate with Rue and this other dude?”
Trey didn’t think Kendrick was going to answer. He wouldn’t look in Trey’s direction as he lifted a tray of clean glasses out of the dishwasher.
“Thinkin’ ‘bout possibilities,” he muttered.
What Trey felt for his friend was mixed. He didn’t want him to leave, but he also knew if anyone deserved happiness, it was Kendrick. “Would they be interested?”
He shrugged while emptying the tray of glasses. “Don’t know.”
“If there’s anything I can do to help, ya know I will.”
“I know, thanks.” He glanced back at Trey. “Did you know ole man Granger? He’s selling his small holding out on the Hudson?”
Trey’s pulse gave a nice nudge. “I didn’t hear that.”
“Yep, he’s movin’ in with his daughter after a fall left him with a dodgy hip. Think it’s just gone on the market. You're acquainted with Granger, maybe there’s a deal to be struck there. Ya know, if someone was looking to set up a home that had land for their little chick. Also, maybe it’s time to get someone to do some of the bar work to free up your time in the evenin’s.”
“Is that right?”
Kendrick chuckled. “It is. Way I see it, you could take a trip out there and have a look for yourself before it gets busy. And say I put out some feelers to see if anyone is lookin’ for some bar work?”
Trey shook his head even as he grinned, his mind racing at all the potentials. “Don’t suppose it would hurt.”