Page 34 of Wellspring
“In fairness, I have shot a pistol before,” Erick observed.“I have not had much cause to use one before now, but it is easier to carry than a rifle.”
Cade had spent a pleasant evening showing Erick how to use his pistol on their way back from Galveston, but then they’d had to be careful not to use up all their bullets, so once he was sure Erick could use the pistol in an emergency, they’d stopped.
“Unless you’re riding herd and need to hit something at a distance.”Mac stepped back to reload again, ceding the target to Erick, who fired off several shots that all hit the center ring.“Not such a greenhorn at all, I reckon.”
“Then you’ll just have to keep practicing until you can beat him,” Cade goaded.“As good as you are with a pistol, it won’t take you long.Then you and I can give it a go.If you think you can take me.”
“Ain’t looking to get into a pissin’ contest with you.Just want to be able to ride with Kit again.Once I get used to this contraption.”Mac’s next shots edged the inner ring.“Burke may be a pain in the ass, but he does have his uses.”
Since getting Mac back on shift with Kit was Cade’s primary goal as well, he’d go along with anything that reached it.“Amen to that.And that shot woulda taken out anything you’d need to hit on the range.A rattler or any other varmint, animal or human.Just in case you weren’t sure if you were ready.Now we just have to get Heller here ready.”
“I do not think Payne intends me to work with the herd.”Was that regret in Erick’s voice?“I would welcome the opportunity, but Grace—Mrs.Roarke—mentioned bringing in more horses.And there must be enough hands to guard the ranch should JR men attempt to make good on Reichardt’s threats.”
Cade stifled his disappointment at the thought of not getting to spend the days with Erick.“Even if you’re at the house most of the time, when it comes fall and we have to drive the herd to Abilene, we’ll need all the hands we can get.And if you are guarding the house, it’s all the more important that you’re ready.MacRae, go bother Logan and leave us to practice.”
Mac gave him the stink eye but slung his rifle over his shoulder.“Is that what you’re calling it now?”he asked as he limped away.
Fortunately Erick didn’t seem to catch what Mac was implying.He hit the bullseye with his remaining shots before sliding the pistol into its holster.With MacRae gone and Erick’s aim improving, Cade was free to admire the way the holster clung to Erick’s thigh and had to force his attention back to what Erick was saying.“… see you use your bow.I had little opportunity to watch you hunt with it on our journey here.”
Cade never said no to a chance to show off with his bow, but the request meant more from Erick.With anyone else, it was one-upmanship, a chance to prove the skills he’d learned from his Comanche family had as much value as their bullets.With Erick, it was more, a chance to prove he could protect and provide if called upon to do so.And sure, he’d done both on the trip from Galveston, but then it had just been practical.It meant something now.Oh, he knew Erick could provide for himself just fine.He’d done his share of the hunting on their trip.And he’d just shown he was capable of protecting himself.That didn’t change the values Cade’s family had instilled in him.
He set his pistol aside, settled his quiver over his shoulder, and picked up his bow.“The advantage of the bow is that it’s silent,” he said as he drew and fired.“Or close enough.There’s no retort to alert your target to your presence.”
He took a step and fired again, the fletching of the second arrow brushing against the first one in the center ring.
“That is… most impressive.”Erick reached out to run his fingers down the wooden curve, stopping short of Cade’s hand.“You learned this from your adoptive family?”
“Yes.”Cade turned his hand so their fingers touched.“Although these days some of them use rifles too, when I was a kid they still hunted using the old ways.Erick, I….”
Erick drew in a breath.“Cade, if I have misjudged, forgive me, but….”He leaned forward and brushed his lips against Cade’s, feather soft, then looked up to meet Cade’s gaze.
“Nothing to forgive,” Cade choked out before diving back in for another kiss.He tried to keep it as soft as the one Erick had given him, but he wanted too much after fearing for so long that Erick wouldn’t feel the same way.He forced his hands to stay at his sides, but he couldn’t stop the hungry groan that escaped his throat at the way Erick’s mouth felt beneath his, sweet and supple, and just as eager for more.
“Perhaps this would do better without weapons?”Erick’s eyes twinkled but his breath came faster as he removed his gun belt.His fingers brushed against Cade’s, stoking a flare of heat as he imagined the gentle touch on other parts of his body.“And where others might not join us?”
Cade snorted inelegantly.“Why d’ya think Mac and Kit have their own cabin?”He stole a kiss from Erick’s lips, unable to resist a moment longer.“Nowhere’s really private.Too many busybodies.”
Erick removed the bow from Cade’s clasp and set it on the ground, then settled his hands on Cade’s hips and drew him closer.“I would prefer no interruption, but Grace assures me I will find no judgment here.That alone is worth any risk.”The kiss this time was firmer, coaxing Cade to part his lips and let Erick’s tongue trace them.
Cade sucked Erick’s tongue deeper into his mouth and pressed a thigh between Erick’s legs so he could grind their hips together.Erick was as hard as he was, and it drove Cade wild.He wanted to throw caution to the wind, bear Erick to the ground, and fuck him—or get fucked by him—right there, but common sense won out.It was nearly dark, they weren’t anywhere private, and who knew whether any JR hands were prowling around?Or the usual predators for that matter.“We have to go back,” he murmured against Erick’s lips.
Erick rocked against him and slid a hand to the back of his head, pulling him into a kiss that was hard and wet and claiming.“Lieber Gott,” he panted when he finally let Cade breathe.“I have longed for this since we met.”
Cade groaned.“I wish I’d known.”He nuzzled Erick’s jaw, stubbled at the end of the day the way it never was in the morning.“All those nights on the trail with no one within a hundred miles….”They’d never manage that kind of privacy on the ranch unless they rode two days south to the waterfall.He rutted against Erick’s thigh as he imagined all they could get up to there.“I wanted you the minute I saw you calm Zephyr down.”He turned and kissed the hand that still rested on his shoulder, the hand that had caught the rope and calmed Zephyr with such a masterful touch.“And it’s just gotten stronger the more I’ve gotten to know you.”
“If we had not already showered….”Erick arched against him, the jut of his erection riding the crease of Cade’s thigh.“Perhaps I will sleep in the barn tonight.I would not have to listen to Burke’s innuendo, and I would have privacy, even if I cannot share it with you.”
Sparks danced up Cade’s spine, sorely tempting him to join Erick in the barn, but if he did that, someone would come looking for them, and he refused to have their first time together ruined by interruptions.“So you’ll just make me listen to Burke’s innuendo alone.”He gave Erick another kiss, desperate for more contact, even if kisses were all he would get tonight.“Sleep in the barn if you’ll be more comfortable there tonight.I’d join you if I thought I could get away with it without someone coming looking for us.”
Erick’s smile was positively wicked.“I would much prefer to have you join me, but now I have more than imagination to satisfy myself.”
Cade suddenly realized why Erick wanted privacy, and the idea of his pleasuring himself to the memory of their kisses made his cock jump.“Fuck, Erick, you can’t say something like that when I have to go sleep in the bunkhouse alone.”
“Tomorrow we will find somewhere after dinner,” Erick promised.“We could make some excuse to ride back to town, if it is the only way to be together.”
“Let me think about it.”Like he’d be thinking about anything else.“If I can’t come up with a better idea, we’ll do that.”And listen to everyone give them shit for it, not that they’d get any less for going off alone on the ranch, to the waterfall or elsewhere, because no matter how subtle they tried to be, Chel would see through them for sure and Mac already had—or at least thought he had.
That didn’t bother him nearly as much as it probably should.
