Page 107 of Ride a Cowboy

She had to do this.

Chapter 9

Joel leaned against a stall in the barn to take a breather. He’d woken up this morning with a smile on his face. A big one. Last night had blown his mind. And then some.

He hadn’t anticipated how much he’d love the touch of another man on him. The memory of that experience alone would probably keep him hard for weeks, but when paired with the sight of Sadie, bound to the table, writhing in pleasure as their submissive captive, Joel found his knees going weak with need.

He ran a hand over his growing erection and tried to think of something less dangerous to his libido. There were too many hours to go between quitting time and climaxing.

They’d convinced Sadie to let them take her out on a real date tonight. Of course, they hadn’t worded it that way. After they’d untied her, they’d taken turns cuddling with her, and then Oakley had said he wanted to buy her a big-ass steak dinner.

Sadie had laughed, but Oakley hadn’t backed down. When she tried to reason with him about it being unwise for the three of them to be seen together too much in public, she’d tweaked Joel’s stubborn streak. He’d thrown his support behind Oakley and after a few minutes of verbal—and physical—persuasion, she’d relented.

Joel glanced across the barn. Oakley was cutting boards with a table saw. He’d taken off his shirt, unwilling to see the clean cotton covered in sawdust. Joel took several moments to enjoy the sight of Oakley’s muscular back as he ran each board over the saw. He had never found himself attracted to the male form before. Now he wondered how he’d been so blind.

Joel’s head reeled over his friend’s kisses, the blowjob, the unexpected pleasure he’d found in Oakley’s touch. It was all so new, and while there were still parts of the intimacy they’d left unexplored, Joel couldn’t deny he enjoyed being with Oakley every bit as much as he did Sadie.

So much for being straight.

He chuckled to himself, then crossed the barn, hoping to build on last’s night’s adventure. When he walked up beside Oakley, his friend turned off the saw, obviously thinking Joel needed to ask him something. The sudden silence after the loud roaring noise of the saw was instant.

“What’s up?” Oakley asked.

Joel gave him a wicked grin and pointed at his crotch. “This.”

Oakley’s brow rose in approval, his grin growing wide.

Unable to resist touching him, Joel wrapped a strong hand around the back of Oakley’s neck and pulled him toward him for a kiss.

Oakley didn’t hesitate and didn’t pretend he wasn’t just as hungry for Joel. Their lips parted and the kiss went from lukewarm to sweltering in seconds. Things probably would have escalated very quickly from there if not for the female gasp coming from the barn door.

He and Oakley jerked apart and for a split second, Joel expected to see Lorelie.

Instead, he found himself gazing into the horrified eyes of his mother.

“Oh shit. Mom,” Joel said, his stomach clenching tightly.

She slowly raised her hand, the trembling painful for Joel to watch. “You left your jacket at my house on Sunday.” She placed the leather coat on a shelf near the door, and then turned and walked away without another word.

Joel started after her, Oakley’s apology following him.

“God, Joel. I’m so sorry.”

“No, Oak,” he said over his shoulder. “Don’t. Don’t apologize.”

He didn’t say anything more as he raced across the front yard. His mother was nearly running to her car. Obviously the sound of the saw had prevented him from hearing her arrival. He caught her just as she reached for the door.

“Wait. Mom. Please. Just wait.”

Mom looked at her car door, not turning to face him. “I think it would be best for both of us if I left right now.”

“You can’t leave like this. I can see you’re upset. If you could just let me explain?—”

Her head shook violently back and forth. “No. No no no no no no no no no.”

Joel ran a hand through his hair, wishing there was something he could say to make this better for her. In the end, he couldn’t offer her anything more than the truth. “Mom. We have to talk about this. You saw me kissing Oakley.”

She whirled on him when he said Oakley’s name. “It’s that man’s fault, isn’t it? What has he done to you?” She stepped closer to look at his eyes as if he were delusional or sick. “Are you on drugs? Did he get you high?”

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