Chapter Five #2
It was a two-hour drive to get to the ranch, which gave him too much time to think.
Artem and he made this drive to each other all the time since Artem’s move.
How long would it take Quince to get tired of making it?
Jathan couldn’t do it all the time. He had to focus on anything.
Jathan had no idea why everything was so under his skin today.
Maybe it was just nerves. This next game had everything riding on it, and damn.
That was a lot of pressure. He didn’t need anything else weighing on him.
When the ranch came into view, Jathan forgot everything.
He automatically strained to see any sign of Quince.
His truck sat parked near the humongous barn, housing Tip and Artem’s many horses.
As he pulled into the driveway, a guy he didn’t recognize stepped from the barn.
It was obvious he waited to find out who Jathan was.
Jathan parked behind Quince’s truck and stepped out.
As he neared the barn’s entrance, the guy moved his way.
“Can I help you?” He was all smiles and good looks.
Jathan would put him close to his age. His strawberry-blond hair whipped in the breeze and his light green eyes were all good humor.
Truth be told, he looked like a player. His eyebrows rose before Jathan had time to respond. “Oh, wow. You’re Jathan Dexter.”
Jathan smiled. “I am.” He had always been a bit uncomfortable with the fame part of his career. Jathan just wanted to play ball. “Is—”
Quince appeared behind the man. “Hey. I didn’t know you were coming.”
The guy between them turned slightly, giving his attention to the entire exchange.
Jathan only had eyes for Quince.
Again, before anyone let him truly talk, Artem and Tip came from the direction of the house.
Artem bounced like a kid. “Jathan! I didn’t know you were coming.” He rushed Jathan and hugged him.
Jathan immediately felt the weight of the world lift from his chest. From the first time they met, Artem had brought something to his life Jathan had been missing for a long time—real friendship.
“Hey.” He hugged Artem back. “Yeah. Sorry for not calling.”
Artem waved off his words. “You never have to, but we are—unfortunately—on our way out.” He motioned the stranger’s way. “Tip’s brother, Sterling, is in town. We’re on our way to our first and likely very disastrous dinner with Tip’s mom since they started talking again.”
Neither brother looked upset by Artem’s words. In fact, they both smiled like they adored Artem.
Jathan nodded at Sterling. “It’s nice to meet you. You’re the polo player, right?”
Sterling turned twice as bright. “Yep. That’s me. It’s incredibly nice to meet you. How excited are you to likely be headed to the finals?”
“Ecstatic.” His gaze slid toward Quince. He was impatient to touch him again. “I won’t hold you up from your dinner plans. Quince can entertain me.”
Artem laughed and smacked his arm. “I’ll bet. Have fun. I’ll hunt you down and bug you when we get back.”
While wearing a huge grin he couldn’t squelch, he kissed Artem’s temple. “Go. Try to behave.”
The three gave him a wave and said their goodbyes before heading as a unit toward a nearby SUV.
Jathan didn’t watch them go. He only had eyes for Quince. “Hey. Does that offer still stand to spend the day with you?”
“Hell yeah.”
Jathan’s smile grew. “Maybe I can spend the night too?”
Quince motioned for Jathan to come inside the barn.
Jathan followed him inside. The moment they were out of sight, Quince hauled him inside the closest stall and closed him inside.
He was all over Jathan. Their mouths clashed and tongues fought.
Quince squeezed his ass and Jathan was ready to do whatever he wanted.
“It’s good to see you too.” Jathan said between kisses.
Quince pulled away with laughter in his eyes. “Sorry.”
“I’m not.” Jathan snagged his shirt and pulled him back in for another kiss. “Mhmm. Damn. That’s good.”
“Hey, boss. You in here?”
Quince dropped his forehead to Jathan’s shoulder. “Yeah. What’s up?” He called the words sounding way more normal than Jathan felt.
A brown-haired guy Jathan had seen around several times poked his head over the stall door. “Oh, hey, Jathan.”
Jathan smiled. “Hey, Buck.”
Buck focused on Quince. “We’re headed over to move the herd to the south field. The fencing is done.”
“Sounds good.”
Buck slapped the door twice. “See you two later.”
“Always good to see you, Buck.” Jathan covered his eyes.
Quince’s sexy laugh had him dropping his hand. He didn’t look uncomfortable with anyone knowing about them. In fact, his hands slid back down Jathan’s back to hold his ass. “How was the rest of your day with your mom?”
Jathan was glad to feel normal for once.
In Quince’s arms, he felt oddly safe and like they created their own bubble.
“I mean, after the police left, it was pretty typical. We ended up going to lunch. She teased me about not telling her about you. I didn’t want to tell her last night was our first night together.
You know, since she’s my mom and all. Not that she knows anything about boundaries. ”
“I got that vibe from her.”
Jathan laughed. He was just so damn happy, and Quince looked happy too. Jathan wanted time to freeze so he could hang on to the moment forever.
Quince took a step back and eyed Jathan. “Hmm… let’s see. Tank top. Baseball cap. What looks to be old jeans. You look like a man ready to work on the farm.”
Jathan shrugged. “I figured if I planned to interrupt your day, then I should be useful.”
Quince grabbed his hand. “Come on.” He led Jathan to the back of the barn and nodded toward a ladder. “You can be useful up there.”
With a shrug. Jathan climbed the ladder. A plus of being abnormally tall, it didn’t take him long. It was a hayloft, which made sense. Up high was the best way to store hay.
Quince climbed the ladder behind him. “Hopefully, you’re not allergic.”
“Nope.”
Quince smiled. “Good.” He took Jathan down on the nearest pile.
A bark of laughter burst from him as he landed.
Quince used his strength to break the fall, but it still had been a shock.
Any time he fell, it was a long way down.
Unfortunately, he tripped more often than normal people, so he would know.
Quince’s huge body straddled him. He stole a deep kiss.
Jathan loved knowing Quince had gotten over the hurdle in his mind that had held him back.
Quince swiped his lips across Jathan’s again. “Sorry. When I saw you standing in the driveway, it made me realize something. I miss you when you’re not around.”
“Why are you apologizing for that?”
He rolled to the side but kept one leg draped over Jathan. “I don’t know. Maybe you would’ve thought I was being clingy. I might’ve scared you away.”
“Dude, I’m clingy. If anyone should be frightened, it’s you.
I’ll drive you crazy. You’ll wonder why you ever let me have your number.
Just ask Artem. I’ll bet, by the end of the first night we met, he almost blocked me.
He definitely already knew everything about me, down to the color of my toothbrush, because I didn’t shut up all night. ”
Quince’s smile made the confession worthwhile. “It’s blue. I saw it this morning.”
“What color is yours?” He loved this conversation.
“It’s black.”
“I can see that about you.”
Jathan never tired of listening to Quince laugh.
“Did you pack a bag?”
Of course. Jathan hadn’t taken any chances he might not get to stay. “Yes.”
“Did you check it for AirTags?”
Damn. That took a turn. “I don’t actually know how to do that, but my phone didn’t alert me of any. You know how it’ll sometimes tell you if you have an AirTag when you start the car.”
“That’s a good sign. If you let me see your phone, I can show you how to check to be certain. Just so you’ll have peace of mind.”
He wiggled the device from his pocket. Jathan nearly huffed when Quince didn’t move his leg to give him any room to get the phone he wanted to see.
Luckily, he managed it before getting aggravated.
He handed it over. “I’d really have peace of mind if I knew how they got into my garage. That’s bugging me more than anything.”
“I’ll ride home with you tomorrow and look into it,” Quince said absently as he tapped around on Jathan’s phone. “Okay. Look. Click on find my phone.” Jathan dutifully tapped the option.
Quince kissed his ear. “Now scroll down and look for AirTags.”
Jathan only had one hand with the way Quince currently seduced him. It was a good thing Quince held the phone. He tapped the AirTags option. “Okay.” Even he heard how breathless he sounded as Quince kissed the spot beneath his ear.
“Scroll all the way to the bottom and it should show you any unknown tags it’s picking up nearby. If you’re sitting in your car, and you don’t have a tag on you that’s yours, then you know someone has tagged your car.” Quince gave the speech while kissing Jathan’s neck.
“It’s a good thing I’m great at multitasking. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have heard a word of that with you teasing me.”
“I’m not teasing. You can put your phone away. I’m very serious.”
God, he was amazing. Everything about him was temptation. “What do you plan to do?” Whoa. He sounded horny as fuck. Jathan didn’t even try to reel it in.
“I haven’t decided. Probably something that’ll get us both really dirty.”
“Mhmm. Damn. Weird way to propose, but okay.”
Quince chuckled against his lips as he stole another kiss. As their tongues played, so much happiness grew in Jathan’s chest that he thought he might explode.
Quince’s hand slid down Jathan’s stomach and didn’t stop until he cupped Jathan’s erection through his jeans. He massaged.
Jathan could barely breathe through the lust. A million dirty things ran through his head. He planned to do every one to Quince.
“Hey, boss. You in here?”
Quince pulled away and dropped his head on Jathan’s chest. He pretended to cry before lifting his head again.
“Yeah. I’m up here. Just give me a second.” His heated gaze slid Jathan’s way. Sexual promise flashed at him. “Later.”
Chill bumps rose on Jathan’s skin at the promise. It was definitely a date.