Chapter Eighteen #2
Next time. Finley loved the sound of that and quit fighting the inevitable.
He gripped Kieran’s strong thighs and fucked him until dots danced before his eyes.
Kieran pumped his hand faster, crying out when he came all over his chest and abdomen.
The vise around Finley’s cock tightened, milking his orgasm from him with enough force to render him mute.
His breath snagged in his chest, and not even a squeak escaped his lips.
He fell forward, nearly forgetting to put his hands down to brace his fall.
Kieran chuckled and pulled him down the rest of the way.
Finley took his first breath when Kieran wrapped his arms around him and held Finley against his chest. He didn’t care that Kieran’s spunk would likely seal them together like glue.
He eased up enough to pull his oversensitive dick from Kieran’s ass, then returned to rest his full weight against Kieran’s solid chest. Lips pressed against his temple and his hair.
“How soon?” Finley asked, his voice gruff and unrecognizable.
Kieran’s chest rumbled under him. “I’ve regressed to a horny teenager since arriving at the ranch, so I should be good to go before your sweat dries.”
Finley chuckled and pushed up to support his weight on one forearm. He reached for the lube and lifted it into the air. “I can see you’ve been busy.”
“What can I say? I went nearly two years without so much as jerking off, then landed on a ranch where my walking wet dream also lived.”
Maybe he should’ve thought the wet dream comment was crude, but Finley wanted to preen instead.
It kept him from thinking about the other thing Kieran had said was in the bag until the handsome devil grinned like a loon.
Groaning, Finley dropped his head on Kieran’s chest. “Okay, tell me what the note said.”
“Nothing bad,” Kieran replied. “I buried it in the drawer. I couldn’t bring myself to throw it away.”
Finley jerked into a sitting position and rifled through the nightstand’s contents until he found the scrap of paper under Kieran’s sketchpad.
My son,
Different cures for different aches.
Love,
Mom
Finley set the note down. “Could’ve been worse.”
“Words I always want to hear from a naked man after sex,” Kieran said.
“You think that’s funny?”
Kieran laughed and nodded. Finley dove in with curled fingers, searching for ticklish spots, but Kieran was stronger and faster.
He pinned Finley to the bed and proved he had an outstanding memory too, homing in on each of the spots he’d uncovered before sex.
Finley would’ve expressed outrage that he had enough brain cells left after their shared orgasm, but he was breathless from laughing so hard.
Finley banged his fist against the mattress and shouted, “Uncle!” Kieran collapsed beside him on the bed, and they lay there, grinning at each other for a long time.
Finley reached over and brushed the backs of his knuckles over Kieran’s cheek.
“I mentioned taking things slow because you’ve been through a lot, and I’m sure I don’t even know the half of it.
My track record with men is horrid, and I carry baggage of my own.
We could have something amazing, beautiful, and rare, but I worry about codependency issues.
I fear I might want too much too fast, and—”
Kieran quieted him with a kiss. “I’ll tell you if I feel overwhelmed and need some solitude, and you can tell me when you need me to open up more.
I trust you like I’ve never trusted anyone else, and it has nothing to do with codependency.
It feels like I put out a call to the universe, and you answered. ”
“Pack,” Finley whispered. Kieran cocked his head to the side in confusion. “You reminded me of a lone coyote when we met. Something about you spoke to me, and I could hear your howl echoing in my soul.”
Kieran tightened his hold around Finley. “And you answered.”
“And I always will.” No matter what their future held, Finley would always answer Kieran’s call. He pressed a kiss to one perfect pec, then pushed up into a sitting position. “Can I ask for that favor now?”
Kieran smiled, cupped the back of his neck, and pulled him back down for a kiss. “I’m lying here in a boneless heap, covered in my spunk because you rocked my world. You can have anything.”
“I’m curious about your sketchbook,” Finley said. “You had it with you in the laundry room, and I’ve wondered about the kinds of things you draw.”
Kieran inhaled long and slow as he considered, and Finley knew it was a big request. He exhaled just as slowly before saying, “Nothing until the past few weeks. Some of the sketches are pretty rough.”
“I don’t want to critique your work. I just want you to share it with me when you’re ready.”
“Go ahead,” Kieran said, nodding toward the nightstand.
Finley retrieved the sketchbook from the drawer and sat up. “Are you sure?”
Kieran rolled onto his side, bent his arm, and rested his head on his palm. “I am. I think you’re going to get an idea of where my head has been since the moment I arrived on the ranch.”
The first few sketches were landscapes and animals.
Finley could tell Kieran’s first strokes weren’t quite confident, but the technique sharpened with each turned page.
The subject changed from trees, mountains, dogs, and horses to Finley.
Images of him performing various tasks filled the page.
Finley’s favorite was a sketch Kieran had made of him hugging Tiny Dancer.
He’d drawn it so beautifully that it looked like a black-and-white photo.
The tears shimmering in his eyes in the sketch were so lifelike.
And because life imitated art, Finley’s eyes filled again.
“You’re killing me,” Kieran said. “You’ve been staring at that drawing for several minutes.”
Finley jerked his head up. “Have I?”
Kieran bit his bottom lip and nodded. “Do you like it?”
Swallowing hard, Finley said, “I love it. You’re so talented.”
Kieran snagged Finley’s hand and brought it to his lips. “The subject obviously moves me.”
Finley struggled to tear his gaze away from the sketch. He’d never looked better than through Kieran’s eyes. “Have you ever wanted to pursue a career in art?”
“It’s always seemed like a pipe dream,” Kieran replied. “I’d hoped to take some courses to hone my skills, but I’ve never been able to pull it off.”
“Until now. You’re surrounded by people who want to see your dreams become a reality.”
Kieran captured his mouth with a long, lazy kiss that left him reeling. “I want to see your art too.”
Finley snorted. “Even my stick figures are unrecognizable.”
“Nice try,” Kieran replied. “I want to see the photos that made Harry gasp.”
Finley released a long exhale and set the sketchbook down.
If Kieran could put himself out there, then he could too.
He leaned over the edge of the bed and retrieved his phone from his pocket.
“I used Harry’s laptop to save them to my digital storage.
” He tapped on the app and accessed the folder before handing over the device.
Kieran lay beside him and held the phone where they could both see it.
He said nothing as he scrolled through the photos twice.
He set the device on the bed and rolled onto his side.
Finley turned his head and bravely met his gaze.
“I’ve never liked pictures of myself. They were a visual reminder of how I never fit in.
” He set his hand on Finley’s racing heart.
“I always looked so out of place…until now.”
“You do belong. Pack.”
“Pack,” Kieran whispered.
A loud knock at the door interrupted their beautiful moment. “Special delivery from the kitchen,” Harry hollered from the small porch. “Don’t get used to this and give me a two-minute head start before you open the door. I don’t want to bleach my eyes.”
Finley pulled on his jeans and only zipped them before heading to the door.
“Thank you,” he shouted at his sister’s rapidly retreating form.
She waved her hand without turning around, and Finley laughed.
He hoisted a heavy paper grocery sack into the air and got a whiff of waffles and bacon.
“This is without a doubt the best day of my life.” He set the bags on the coffee table and went into the kitchenette for utensils.
Kieran slid off the bed and located the lounge pants Finley had borrowed that morning, then hooked his arm around Finley’s waist when he tried to return to the food.
“Should I be insulted you didn’t express that sentiment until after the food arrived?” Kieran asked, his breath tickling Finley’s ear.
“The food is just the whipped cream on the waffle,” Finley replied, turning in Kieran’s embrace.
“Whipped cream?”
Finley grinned and waggled his brows. “Mmmhmm. And I’m pretty sure there’s enough food to sustain us for the day.” Sunday was a minimal chore day, and there were more than enough crew members to share the tasks.
“It’s settled,” Kieran said. “We’ll hide away in here all day.” With a playful wink, he added, “Save some whipped cream for later.”
They ate and dozed, had sex again and dozed some more, then ate and dozed again.
Finley awoke to an urgent erection pressed against his backside.
It was something he’d love to get used to but reminded himself to take things nice and easy.
The room was dark except for light from the full moon invading the tiny crack between the curtains.
As much as he wanted to roll over and kiss Kieran or simply part his legs in invitation, an even better idea was taking form.
“Can I show you my Colorado?” he whispered in the dark.
Kieran nestled closer. “This is my Colorado.”
Finley’s heart threatened to melt, but his determination persisted. “I promise you won’t regret it.”
Kieran huffed out a short sigh. “Fine, but not on horseback. I’m not confident enough in the saddle to attempt riding in the dark.”
Finley laughed. “Grandpa’s truck will be our steed.”
He left Kieran at his cabin long enough to make a thermos of hot chocolate and grab his sleeping bag and more lube.
He’d have to suck it up and get a bigger supply from his mother but not yet.
She’d ask too many questions and push for meeting Kieran.
The time for that would come but on his terms, not Hope’s, which was an unfamiliar concept to her.
He hustled back to Kieran’s cabin and smacked into a wall of muscle as soon as he rounded the corner of the original homestead.
He immediately recognized Ivan’s scent and braced himself for another lecture.
Instead of releasing Finley, Ivan wrapped his arms around him in a hug. “I was wrong to be so critical of your man. I’ll try harder.”
Finley rested his forehead against Ivan’s muscular chest as tears tickled the back of his eyes. What was with the waterworks lately? “Thanks, Ivan. That means the world to me.”
“I’m still going to give him shit.”
Finley stepped back and looked up at the big man, whose white teeth gleamed in the dark. “But that’s your love language.”
Ivan’s laughter followed him all the way to the small cabin.
Kieran grinned when he saw the sleeping bag and quirked his brow at the thermos. “You don’t need to ply me with alcohol to have your way with me under the moon.”
“Trust me,” Finley said, “you’ll get drunk off the night view and forget I exist. This is hot chocolate to keep me warm when it happens.”
Kieran snorted his disbelief as they exited his humble abode.
The radio came on loud when Finley started up the truck. “Oops,” he said and turned it down. He was glad he hadn’t turned the radio off when he recognized P!nk and Chris Stapleton singing “Love Me Anyway.”
“These two make an unlikely duo,” Kieran said.
Finley met his gaze. “Sometimes those are the best kind.”
Kieran’s smile was nearly blinding. “Show me your Colorado.”
Finley slowly drove the bumpy, winding path down to a meadow.
The moon looked huge in the sky and hung low enough to make a cowboy think he could lasso it.
The burbling stream glittered in the moonlight as if the mountains had deposited a million diamonds in its depths.
But the real showstopper was the stars twinkling in the sky.
“Oh, wow,” Kieran said breathlessly. “I think this is what they call a religious experience.”
Finley turned his head and narrowed his eyes. “You better not be thinking about joining that damn cult.”
Kieran looked at him with eyes as big as the moon, and Finley burst into laughter. “How could you even joke about that?”
“The same way you joke about jail,” Finley replied.
“I’m taking away its power over me.” He unbuckled his seat belt and leaned toward Kieran.
“And if you want a religious experience, I’ll give you one.
” He didn’t wait for a reply. Finley got out of the truck and walked around to the back, where Kieran met him with an eagerness that made his heart leap with joy.
After lowering the tailgate, Finley unzipped the sleeping bag until it lay flat, then the two of them spread it in the truck bed before climbing up and lying on their backs.
“This will be even nicer this summer when its—”
Kieran cut him off with a kiss. It started out chaste but got dirty in a hurry.
Kieran pulled back abruptly and looked up at the sky.
He reached over and laced his fingers between Finley’s.
“I don’t know who I am or what I want to do with my life.
There’s so much I still need to figure out.
” He turned his head and met Finley’s gaze.
“I don’t know what I can give you except for my tomorrow and the tomorrow after that. ”
So this was what love really felt like.
“I’ll take all your tomorrows,” Finley whispered.