Chapter Three
Tyler’s brain threatened to short-circuit from the volume of information and sensations bombarding it.
His heart swelled with emotions he struggled to process and contain.
Owen loved him. No, he’d always known that.
Owen was in love with him, which was something Tyler had never allowed himself to imagine.
But the truth of his words shimmered in his blue eyes.
So this is what romantic love looks like.
It felt like Tyler was seeing it for the first time in his life, which was ridiculous.
He’d grown up with parents and grandparents who openly loved one another.
Why hadn’t he recognized it from Owen? Had he been oblivious, or had Owen masked his feelings this entire time?
He must’ve been silent for too long because the shimmering light in Owen’s eyes dimmed. Then, his seductive smile melted into a grim line, and his grip on Tyler’s hips loosened. “We don’t—”
“Have you always looked at me like that?” Tyler asked before Owen could rescind his offer to let Tyler explore his body.
It was hard to say what he was most excited about—having free rein with Owen’s body or knowing that he’d receive each gesture in return.
A kiss for a kiss and a touch for a touch.
It startled Tyler just how much he wanted both things.
And Owen had handed the reins to him. No one did that.
The Booths raised their children to follow—the word of God, the will of their parents, and the rule of law.
The one time Tyler had taken the reins, he’d ended up as a broken-down rodeo cowboy with a pain pill addiction.
Owen was the one who’d taught Tyler how to trust himself again and demonstrated that faith once more by putting him in charge of their pleasure.
“Like what?” Owen asked, interrupting Tyler’s rambling inner monologue.
Owen’s blue eyes resumed their sparkle, and his lips curved into a wry smile.
Was he enjoying Tyler’s awkwardness or just forcing him to be as honest as he’d been?
Owen had never made fun of him, so it had to be the latter, and wasn’t that fair?
Damn. Tyler’s inner monologue was off and running again, and Owen deserved better from him.
“How do I look at you?” Owen prompted.
Tyler swallowed hard. Here goes…everything.
“Your eyes look softer and less guarded. They shimmer with a light I’ve never noticed before tonight, and it feels like it’s just for me.
The lines bracketing your mouth are from smiling and laughing, not tension.
Your lips look fuller and softer. I can’t stop staring at them and wondering if I imagined how soft they felt against mine.
” Tyler forced his gaze back up to Owen’s pretty eyes.
“Part of me thinks this is all a dream.”
Owen cupped the back of Tyler’s neck and pulled him down until their lips touched.
So fucking soft. Too quickly, Owen broke the kiss.
“Not a dream, and we have the pictures to prove it.” He took a deep breath and said, “I’ve hidden my feelings from you the best I could because I didn’t want to risk our friendship.
My guard has slipped occasionally, and I’m pretty sure everyone else on the ranch noticed. ”
He thought back to his conversations with Hope and Nick. “I’m pretty sure the others noticed our relationship was taking a new direction for me too.”
“I didn’t realize anything had changed for you until I bumped into your erection in the photo booth,” Owen said. “Then I saw your expression in the mirror.”
It was Tyler’s turn to ask, “What did you see?”
Owen inhaled long and slow before replying. “Curiosity and desire. Two things I’d always hoped to see looking back at me.”
Tyler’s heart swelled until he thought it might burst. That would be a crying shame since it felt like he was on the precipice of something truly amazing. He rubbed his aching chest and breathed deeply. “I’m afraid.”
“Me too,” Owen admitted. “We don’t—”
Tyler stopped him with a kiss. Owen’s lips parted on a sigh, and Tyler took advantage to sweep inside his mouth.
Exhalations turned into groans as their tongues rubbed and rolled.
Tyler’s inexperience was glaringly obvious against Owen’s skill, but their differences motivated him instead of deterring him.
Tyler’s skin tingled everywhere as if a million ants crawled beneath his flesh.
And it was too tight, like it didn’t fit his bones anymore.
His dick throbbed and pulsed in time with his racing heart, and his balls drew tight against his body.
There was an unfamiliar ache in Tyler’s core, and it took him a minute to realize it was arousal.
He’d had sex a few times in his late teens with his girlfriend and had jerked off a lot, but this was the first time the yearning had bordered on painful.
Tyler tore his mouth from Owen’s and stared into dazed blue eyes. “I’m more afraid of not trying.” Recalling the rules of engagement Owen had laid out, Tyler slipped a hand beneath Owen’s shirt to stroke his abdomen. “Touch for touch.”
Owen’s wry grin turned downright wicked as he reciprocated. Tyler’s abdominal muscles trembled beneath the caress, and he craved so much more. Maybe Owen could read the want in his gaze because he whispered, “Show me what you want, Ty.”
A shiver of longing rolled through Tyler, propelling him to his feet. Owen blinked up at him, and his smile faltered until Tyler extended a hand.
“You mentioned something about stretching me out on the bed.”
Owen took Tyler’s hand and stood up. “So, I did.”
Tyler pressed his body against Owen’s. “You always keep your word.”
“And for you, I always will.” Owen backed Tyler across the small cabin until his legs bumped into the bed. “How much nudity are you comfortable with? Want to just start off by kicking off our shoes and removing our shirts?”
Tyler’s overwrought brain calmed for the first time since they entered the booth.
It locked on the memory of his hand roaming over Owen’s chest until his fingers bumped into a denim waistband, and he growled his frustration at the intrusion.
When Owen arched a brow, he realized he hadn’t just made the noise in his head.
Tyler answered the inquisitive expression by dropping his hand to Owen’s waist and opening his belt.
Owen sucked in a sharp breath as he matched Tyler’s gesture.
He wasn’t sure how far he was willing to go, but Owen’s complete acceptance made Tyler brave enough to unzip his jeans.
Blue eyes burned hot enough to set Tyler on fire as Owen went to work on his zipper too.
Tyler reached for Owen’s jeans again, then realized they still wore their boots.
There was nothing sexy about getting tangled up and falling on their asses, so he eased down to his knees.
Owen groaned lustily and slid a hand through Tyler’s hair.
The position put him at eye level with Owen’s crotch, and he could smell his arousal.
Tyler’s mouth watered, and he nearly forgot about his intentions in his haste to get closer to the enticing aroma.
He had the strongest urge to press his nose against Owen’s cotton briefs and inhale his scent deeper.
Was that something guys even did to each other?
Indecision paralyzed Tyler until he lifted his head, and Owen’s scorching gaze reminded Tyler that he was in control.
He quickly untied Owen’s boots and pulled them free.
His socks followed, and then Tyler eased Owen’s jeans down lean hips and long, toned legs.
The fabric remained pooled at Owen’s feet when Tyler’s attention snagged on the erection tenting the boxer shorts and the tantalizing wet spot on the fabric.
Fingers itched to touch the flesh Tyler bared, and so he did, starting at Owen’s calves and working his way up.
The friction of crisp leg hairs against his palm woke something primal inside Tyler.
Evocative images of pressing his nose against Owen’s cotton-covered dick flashed in his mind.
Maybe he would have found the courage to act on his instinct if Owen hadn’t moaned and tightened his fingers in Tyler’s hair.
“My turn,” Owen said, his voice sounding as raspy as a chain-smoker’s. He stepped out of his jeans and held out his hand to Tyler.
Rising on shaky legs, he tried not to hold his breath as he waited for Owen to match his gestures.
Owen stood close enough that his body created a delicious friction against Tyler’s during his descent, and his breath ghosted over Tyler’s bare abdomen.
Owen’s stubbled cheek brushed against Tyler’s underwear and made removing his boots and socks the most erotic experience of his life until the focus turned to opening Tyler’s jeans with deft fingers.
Owen inhaled deeply, and his nostrils flared.
He darted his tongue and swept over his lips like he really wanted to taste Tyler.
A soft growl echoed in the room, and Tyler was surprised to realize it had come from him.
Owen cocked his head to the side and smiled wickedly as he pulled Tyler’s pants down. Callused thumbs brushed over his skin, igniting sparks like a match against a strike plate. Owen slowly rose to his feet, and they stood staring at one another, their labored breathing the only sound in the cabin.
“Shirts and underwear?” Owen asked to break the silence.
Tyler whipped his shirt over his head and tossed it to the ground. Owen reached for his own hem, but Tyler stopped him. “Can I?”
“I’m all yours, baby.”