Chapter 4
“Damn it!” Kitt growled and tossed his pillow across the bedroom.
The clock read four thirty in the morning, and he hadn’t slept a wink all night.
The television in his bedroom played an all-night marathon of Gunsmoke.
He’d watched all five shows, wishing his brain would turn off so he could get at least a minute of sleep. It didn’t happen.
Kitt’s hard-on stayed unyielding no matter what he did to relieve the tension.
He’d jacked off twice and tried a third time, but nothing helped.
Kitt even went to his last resort; the thing sure to bore his brain into sleep.
He got up to do his accounting. The farm’s bookkeeping should have done the trick and firmly knocked him out, but it didn’t work because about every thirty seconds, no matter what he did, his mind strayed back to Austin Grainger.
Hands down, Austin was the hottest man on the planet. He’d been Kitt’s crush since high school. It was Austin’s yearbook photo and newspaper sports page snapshots Kitt had used to stroke himself off when he was just a typical hormonal adolescent boy.
Austin left town straight after high school to begin a modeling career.
Those photos carried Kitt all the way through high school and into college, jacking off about every other day.
He’d even learned that if he whispered Austin’s name softly when he came, it made the orgasm just a little bit better in the end.
It took a couple of years, but it was Austin’s first movie role that finally made Kitt admit to himself that straight dudes didn’t fantasize over being with men. Well, not men. A man.
Only one man, but it was the image of Austin Grainger in Kitt’s mind that helped get him through those dark days when he first admitted to himself, he truly was gay.
Back then, Austin stayed etched in his brain all the time to help fight the depression, giving him hope like only a high school crush could do.
Seeing him in person, he understood he’d never lost the intensity of those feelings, not even after all these years.
That was probably the single greatest thought fueling his anger while they stood outside this afternoon.
Stunned beyond words, Kitt’s heart seized in his chest when he saw Austin standing in front of him. Almost struck dumb by the guy’s presence, he fumed when his body betrayed him. It hardened and responded to just the air Austin breathed.
How could Austin still be so good looking after all these years?
He wasn’t that same youthful, sunny, blond boy running around town who charmed everyone in his path.
Instead, he’d grown into a gorgeous man with thick, sandy-colored hair, and strong, alluring facial features.
His cheekbones were high and accented a long straight nose that flared just slightly at the end.
His mouth was wide and his lips—Dear God, those thick full lips!
—spread into a glorious easygoing smile.
Kitt always imagined his cock would fit perfectly inside Austin’s mouth, and a groan resonated in his chest just from the thought of Austin giving him a blow job.
God, he wanted that so badly! He could see Austin on his knees in front of him.
His fingertips running along Austin’s strong, chiseled jaw and chin, Austin’s deep cobalt eyes lifting to lock on Kitt’s as he sucked him deeper inside his mouth.
Austin’s hair was just long enough to thread his fingers through, to grip on to and guide himself deeper down Austin’s throat. Man did he want to fuck Austin’s mouth…
Refusing to allow another image to appear in his overactive brain, Kitt forced himself to think of anything else, and his eyes landed on the pile of dirty clothes.
He needed to do his laundry. He rose from bed, gathered the clothes, and tossed them into the washing machine.
Kitt started the machine with a push of a button and leaned a hip on its side.
He may not have wanted to think about Austin anymore, but he didn’t seem to have a choice.
His brow furrowed as he thought about Austin’s movie career.
Kitt owned every single one of Austin’s movies, all the magazines from his modeling days up until now and regularly jacked off to every one of them during the long, lonely spells between visits with Sean.
He’d heard Austin planned to retire. How had it not occurred to him that Austin Grainger could be the person buying his land? And what the fuck would happen now?
Kitt took a chance and grabbed his phone as the time ticked closer to five in the morning.
He sat with a thump on his small sofa in the living room.
He began a text to Mike. They’d been friends since college.
Kitt had been in the graduate program. He’d just finished his master’s degree, working on his PhD, when he first met Mike who was just starting school.
Mike came up and helped him when his dad died and when Kitt fired his dad’s foreman.
Those were dark days. The foreman didn’t go easily, but Mike stood by him the entire time.
Now, Kitt stumbled on his words, typing, erasing, and typing again.
“Hey, man, sorry about yesterday. I was pissed off.” Kitt finally hit send and cringed at the time.
Mike’s text came back immediately. “No worries. I knew you were and you had every right. They didn’t talk it over with me first. Sorry, man.”
“No sorry necessary. I don’t normally let myself get that upset anymore. I need to apologize to your ranch owner. Was I just pissed off or was that really Austin Grainger in front of me?”
“It’s him. I couldn’t say anything, part of my agreement. It’s grounds for termination and a lawsuit. He said he grew up around here.”
Kitt lay back, propped against the back of the sofa thinking that over.
“Yeah, I went to high school with him.” Kitt didn’t say anything more. It would be utter humiliation if anyone ever found his stash of photos.
“He asked me to ask you not to say anything. He doesn’t want people to know he’s here. Did you know him back in school?”
Kitt barked with laughter at the thought of knowing Austin. “Not really, he’s a few years older. He was out the door as I was coming in. Are we still set for the cattle coming in tomorrow?”
“So far we are. I need to check their schedule, but the first load should be here tomorrow. If you’re still willing to come? Micah’s coming, he signed an agreement, but it flows better with you here.”
“Of course, I’m coming! Text me and let me know the time, I’ll meet the trucks there.” Kitt had offered to help unload and register three semis full of cattle. His only saving grace, it would be true manual labor, something he couldn’t see a famous movie star signing up to do.
Mike replied, “Thanks, man. And seriously, Grainger seemed fine. He said he understood and agreed. He remembered the Kelly temper.”
“I hate that. I try not to be my dad,” Kitt typed in a rare moment of honesty about his father’s reputation.
“Don’t worry, you aren’t. I gotta go. I have a ranch hand meeting this morning at five. I need to lay down the law about your pond. Take care. I’ll text you later about tomorrow.”
And, with that, Kitt technically knew nothing more than before he’d sent the first text. As he sat back resting his head on the back of the sofa, he pulled up the message he’d received around midnight from Sean and re-read it.
“Kitt, I turned away a hot little number tonight. It’s a first for me, but I’m texting you to let you know how serious I am about my offer.
I’m planning to head down there tomorrow night.
Don’t stop me. Just send me directions. As time goes on, we can plan it better.
I’ll rent a truck, isn’t that what all you cowboys drive?
Now, think about the positive side. Sex, twice in one week.
How long has it been since that last happened for you? ”
Kitt planned to again ignore the text, just like he had when he first read it, until he looked down at his still partially erect cock sticking up in his underwear.
The underwear was Sean’s gift to him last Christmas.
Kitt should have been set for a few weeks, but then Mr. Hollywood made his presence known, effectively ruining the sex buzz from the morning.
Kitt finally texted Sean back, “I’ll send directions through email.
” It was all the enthusiasm he could muster.
Frustrated beyond words, Kitt took a too cold shower, standing under the spray until his cock finally settled. He dressed quickly with his teeth chattering and his fingertips blue, but the icy shower did the trick. Until his body warmed again, causing his cock to spring back to life.
=?=
After three of the quietest days he could remember, Austin lounged on the back porch.
He’d loved every minute of the peace. He refused to check email, and only answered text messages from Cara and his agent if necessary.
Except he rarely found them necessary. The nights were perfect in his little slice of heaven, and even though it was early fall, the days were as hot as he remembered.
The nights came on earlier every single day, and by seven in the evening, the air turned cool.
The only thing that vied for his attention were the crickets and shooting stars, shining brightly in the sky. God, he loved this life.
So far, Austin hadn’t found a need to turn on the brand-new television installed the day before, nor a desire to sit on any of the expensive leather furniture delivered that morning.
The back porch worked perfectly for him and represented all he seemed to really need in the world.
He kicked back in a lawn chair. The light breeze blew, an AM/FM radio played old country classics and he held an ice-cold Corona in his hand with a small cooler sitting at his feet.
If he stayed true to his most current goal, the cooler would be empty before he went back inside for the night.