Page 36 of Wellspring
Cade grinned at her ferally.“Only if you’re right there beside me.Otherwise, no promises.”
“Deal.Now, you keep an eye on our spies.I’m going to warn the others.And don’t do anything stupid.You haveplansfor after dinner.”
Chel spurred her horse and rode off before Cade could think up a suitable retort.Besides, she was right.He did have plans.Wonderful, sexy, intimate plans with a wonderful, sexy, gorgeous man who somehow seemed to find Cade just as attractive.He couldn’t wait for it to be time to head back for dinner so he could tell Erick about Chel’s offer.He wassogetting lucky tonight!
ERICK TRIEDnot to keep looking over his shoulder for Cade as he picked at his dinner.No doubt it was another of Javier’s flavorful creations, but he was not tasting a bit of it.After working with the mustangs all day, he’d cleaned himself thoroughly in the shower, hoping fruitlessly that Cade might again join him.He’d dressed in the best of his limited selection of clothing and dawdled as long as he could in the bunkhouse before he needed to join the other hands for dinner.Cade and Michele arrived as Erick was getting his plate and pulled Payne aside into a low-voiced discussion.Just as Payne headed toward the ranch house and Cade and Michele lined up for food, Burke dropped into a seat at the table.
“So tell me, Hoss.MacRae says you and Wolf Boy were looking pretty cozy while you were shooting last night.Is there something we should know about?”
“You should know that MacRae’s new leg needs some adjustment.It leaves him off balance and difficult to aim his rifle”
“Don’t try to distract me, Hoss.Mac and I worked on that this afternoon.When do you think he told me about last night?I’m not judging.I don’t judge.Ask anyone.I don’t have any room to judge.So tell me.What’s going on between you two?”
“Nothing that is your business, Burke.”Before he could continue, Cade slid onto the bench beside him and dropped a hand on his shoulder.
“Are you bothering my… friend, Burke?”The heavy pause in his voice conveyed what his words did not.
Burke blinked once.“Nope.Not at all.Not me.No, sir.Wouldn’t think of it.”He picked up his plate and moved to another table.
Erick turned to Cade.“That is a skill I need to learn.”
Cade laughed.“He’s seen me shoot and he’s convinced I’m just crazy enough to shoot him if he pushes me too far.That’s all there is to it.”
The idea of being with Cade was too new for Erick to want to share it with anyone else.At least not before they had exchanged more than a few stolen kisses.He’d spent the previous night imagining baring Cade’s body to his view and touch, and now he could look forward to the privacy they needed.“I have some news,” he said instead.“Payne is going to add me to the rotation to ride out with the herd as soon as I finish training the last two mustangs.”
“That is good news.”Cade’s smile lit up his face.He leaned in closer so he could speak without being overheard.“I have good news too.Chel has offered to stand lookout when we go for our reading lesson tonight so we won’t be disturbed.”
“Then you should finish your dinner.”Erick turned to his own plate with newfound hunger.“I am sure tonight’s lesson will be quite comprehensive.”
Cade’s pupils contracted, making his eyes seem even bigger and brighter than usual, and his gaze grew hot before he turned his attention to devouring his food.“Give me ten minutes to take a shower,” he whispered when he had finished eating.“I’ll meet you at the spring.”
Erick forced himself to remember the last respectable noblewoman his mother had tried to interest him in so his own eagerness would not be apparent.He thanked Javier for the meal when he returned his empty plate and then stopped at the bunkhouse to pick up the books he’d borrowed, even if he was sure they would not be opened.Michele was waiting at the head of the trail that led to the spring, though he was grateful she did no more than nod to him as he passed.Then he had nothing to do but wait in growing anticipation for Cade to join him.
Chapter Twenty-One
IT TOOKless than the promised ten minutes, though it seemed an eternity to Erick, before Cade came hurrying down the trail, his blond hair still dripping water onto the collar of his shirt, and threw himself in Erick’s arms.He kissed Erick like his life depended on the contact of their mouths, a kiss Erick returned with all the longing he’d kept bottled up since his first sight of Cade on the docks in Galveston.When Cade finally pulled away, panting into Erick’s shoulder, he gasped out, “Oh God.Fuck me now.”
Erick had spent most of the day and the previous night imagining just that, but with Michele’s assurance of privacy, there was no need to rush.Not before he’d gotten his hands on the magnificent body he’d fantasized about.“You are too fine a gift to partake in haste.”He unbuttoned Cade’s shirt—an easy task since half the buttons were already undone—and leaned forward to kiss a path down Cade’s throat.
Cade’s head fell back, giving Erick full access to his skin, golden and smooth in the gathering dusk.“You… and your… fancy… words,” Cade panted.“You know I’m… a sure thing… right?”
“That does not make you unworthy of being appreciated as you deserve.”Erick didn’t know how much experience Cade had, but he was determined to drive the memory of any other lover from Cade’s mind.And cherishing Cade would give Erick as much pleasure as it did Cade.He ran his hands beneath the shirt panels to caress the strong planes of Cade’s back and continued to press kisses across the wealth spread before him.He could sate himself on the taste of Cade’s skin, cool from the shower but heating beneath his touch.
Cade arched into the caress, shrugging his shirt off completely before wrapping his arms around Erick’s shoulders.He ran one hand into Erick’s hair, dislodging his hat.Erick paused to see if Cade would guide him, but the touch stayed light, encouraging but not directing.
Erick wished he had thought to take the blanket from his bunk, though that would open them to too many questions when they returned.Instead he sank slowly to his knees, unfastening Cade’s gun belt and setting it on the ground before moving to the buttons on his dungarees.
“Eriiick!”Cade’s knees trembled and almost gave out on him.Erick grabbed his hips to help steady him until Cade managed to lock them straight again.He gave a throaty chuckle.“If you’re gonna suck me, I either need a tree or a place to lie down.”
His mouth already watering at the prospect, Erick maneuvered Cade to the swing and managed to work his fly open before sitting him down.Cade’s cock sprang free, thick and ruddy, and Erick lapped his tongue over the tip before taking it as deep into his mouth as he could.This was a pleasure he had only dreamed of, and he intended to savor it to the fullest.
Cade spread his legs as wide as he could with his pants hampering his movements, slid his hips forward to the edge of the seat, leaned his head against the back of the swing, and gripped Erick’s shoulders tightly.“Fuck, that’s good,” he groaned.“Almost as good as fucking you will be.”Then, as if he realized what he’d said, he lifted his hands and his head and looked at Erick.“If you’d want that, I mean.Some day.”
“What have I done to deserve you?”Erick pushed up to reach Cade’s lips, the hunger in his kiss at the thought of taking what Cade offered an answer in itself.But that was for later.Tonight was for Cade.To leave no doubt, he added, “I would want that very much.But just now I have weightier matters to attend to.”He stole one more quick kiss before kneeling back down to resume his most pleasant task.
Cade’s groans fell like raindrops on Erick’s ears.He kneaded Erick’s shoulders and rocked his hips slightly in time to the up and down motion of Erick’s head, but beyond that, he gave himself completely into Erick’s care.His trust redoubled Erick’s determination to lavish all the pleasure on Cade that he deserved.
Wrapping one hand around the base of Cade’s cock, Erick reached the other up to flick over a peaked nipple.It took a few moments to synchronize the motion of the swing and the rocking of Cade’s hips and his own slide up and down the delicious length to keep from choking, but he found the perfect rhythm at last, to judge from the increasingly frantic sounds he was wringing from Cade.
