Page 71 of Wellspring
“When I’m not worried about this”—Cade ran his fingers over Erick’s scar—”causing you pain, I’ll flip you over and mount you as hard and fast as any stallion, but until then, you set the pace.”
Erick leaned onto his elbow, bracketing Cade’s chest so he could tweak at Cade’s nipples.“This is… so much more than I ever dreamed.It is good for you?”
Cade sat up enough that he could capture Erick’s lips with his own.He never wanted to hear such doubt in Erick’s voice again, not in relation to them.“It is everything I could have hoped for and more,” Cade promised when he broke the kiss.“That you are here with me at all, much less that you would let me be the first to touch you this way….You are a gift beyond price, one I will spend the rest of my life cherishing if you will let me.”
He didn’t know what he’d do if Erick said no, but since Erick leaned forward to kiss him and picked up a rolling rhythm with his hips that had Cade struggling to keep up, he hoped that was a yes.He dropped back onto his elbows, the better to brace himself so he could match Erick’s gait.When Erick reached for his own cock, though, Cade slid the rest of the way to his back so he could bat Erick’s hand aside and replace it with his own.Hewanted to be the one to lavish pleasure on his lover tonight.He might not be able to swear yet that Erick would never have to take care of himself again, but not while Cade was right there in bed with him.He bent his knees, planted his feet, and thrust harder, determined to push Erick over the edge before giving in himself.“What do you need?”
“The head,” Erick grunted.“Your thumb.”
Cade swiped his thumb over the slick tip of Erick’s cock and through the slit.Erick threw his head back with a shout, every muscle in his body going tense as release swept through him.The exquisite pressure on Cade’s cock stole the last of his control and he followed Erick over the edge into oblivion.
Erick gasped and panted roughly as he lifted enough to let Cade slide out and nestle beside him.Cade wondered if it still hurt Erick to breathe, but he didn’t want to break the tender mood by asking.
“Now I am claimed.”Erick lay with his head pillowed on Cade’s shoulder, drawing patterns through the streaks of milky fluid on Cade’s chest and stomach.
“I’d say you claimed me too.”He lifted Erick’s hand to his lips and sucked his fingers clean.“Anyway, you’ve been mine since the moment I saw you on the dock in Galveston.You just didn’t realize it right away.”
“I scarce dared to hope such a strong, capable man would return my regard.”Erick raised his chin until he could reach Cade’s lips.“You were everything I wanted and everything I dreamed to become.”
Humbled, Cade returned the kiss with all the emotion swelling inside him.When Erick broke the kiss to lay his head on Cade’s shoulder again, Cade said, “You don’t need to become me to belong here.You’ve carved out your own place, which is better than trying to fill someone else’s boots.But as for the rest, you have me.For as long as you want me, I’m yours.”
He stopped short of asking for a declaration in return, not because he doubted Erick’s feelings but because making such a commitment without observing the rituals he had grown up with seemed wrong.Still, now that Reichardt was dealt with and Erick was on the mend, he’d see to things as quickly as he could, because having tasted a hint of what life with Erick could be like, he did not want to go back to the way things were before.
Erick spooned into Cade, an arm around his waist and a leg over his, and pressed a kiss to the side of Cade’s neck.“And I am yours,” he murmured sleepily.Cade listened as Erick’s breathing, still a little uneven from the exertion or the injury, slowed and deepened before letting his own eyes fall closed.They’d both need their rest for what he had planned when they woke up.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
“WITH WHATwe acquired from the JR auction last month, we should be able to double the number of head we send to Abilene compared to what we sent to Sedalia last year.”Grace glanced at Erick, who nodded confirmation.
“Auction” was a bit of a misnomer, from what Erick had heard.Once it was confirmed that Reichardt had not left a will and had no known relatives to inherit, Judge Morrison had called a meeting with all the ranchers whose land bordered the JR’s.He rolled out a map Marshal Parnell had provided and turned to Grace.“As the most aggrieved party, it’s only fitting to give you first choice of the property available.”
Erick had helped Grace pore over Wellspring’s assets in the week after the trial, using what they estimated was a fair cost per acre to determine how much she could afford to offer.It meant stripping the ranch’s savings, but it was a risk Grace and Payne were willing to take to ensure passage to Eldorado without leaving Wellspring property.The cost per acre Judge Morrison quoted, though, was less than half what they had estimated.Grace was able to almost double Wellspring’s total acreage.After that, the judge turned to the two smaller ranchers who abutted the JR, each of whom purchased adjacent parcels.Finally, he offered what was left to Ulrich.
Along with the land, Wellspring had acquired an equal proportion of the JR’s assets, including cattle, horses, and supplies.Wellspring’s hands had spent the past several weeks inspecting the new herd, replacing the JR brand with Wellspring’s, and culling the stock that was ready to sell.
“If we can get them there,” Payne grumbled, arms crossed in front of him in a gesture Erick had come to recognize during his convalescence.“Twice as many cattle with no extra hands and my best set of eyes missing for three weeks now on some godforsaken errand he didn’t even bother to tell me about.”
Not that Cade had told Erick any more.A week after their night together, a wonderful week in which they’d taken every opportunity they could steal to be together (and to make love whenever and wherever they could), word arrived that Judge Morrison had set a date for the auction of the JR’s property.Erick didn’t know why, but the news left Cade uncharacteristically quiet and thoughtful.The next day, he’d told Erick he had some personal business to attend to that would require him leaving the ranch.It was clear from his demeanor that he hadn’t wanted to talk about it, and Erick hadn’t felt it was his place to push for answers Cade clearly didn’t want to give.Cade had promised to return as soon as he could, but that had been three weeks ago, and Erick couldn’t help but worry as he lay in his lonely bed at night.He’d seen for himself on the trip from Galveston the kind of dangers Cade might face, from weather to bad terrain to dangerous animals, not to mention JR hands looking for revenge.And Cade had no one to watch his back.
“And I don’t care what Marshal Parnell says,” Payne continued.“I ain’t convinced those JR fuckers are gone for good, so don’t give me any shit about how many hands I plan to leave behind.”
“Who’s left?”Grace countered.“Carter, Sanders, and Reichardt are all dead, and without them, the others are just leaderless cowpokes.Sure, maybe they bought into Reichardt’s bullshit, but they don’t have the brains or the resources to do anything without someone backing them up.And most of those didn’t stick around, as you well know since you’ve been all over the old JR homestead.More than once.”
The survivors who’d taken part in the raid on Wellspring had managed to disappear after Reichardt’s conviction with the exception of Collier, who would be serving twenty years hard labor, despite his argument that he was only following orders.Erick suspected few other JR hands wanted to work for a woman and a black man.No loss, since he wouldn’t want to work alongside such bigots.“Braddock and Freeman seem to be good, solid hands,” he said, though they could use another dozen like them.
“Becca Spencer has been talking with Michele,” Grace warned.“She grew up on a ranch, but Reichardt never let her work anywhere but the kitchen.You can expect her to be asking to ride the herd soon.”
“Annie Dawson also,” Erick added.“She is capable of much more than washing laundry.”
“When you get back from Abilene, you’ll need to build another bunkhouse for the women,” Grace told Payne with a smile.
“Four when I could use forty,” Payne retorted.
“Don’t exaggerate,” Grace scolded.“I’d settle for half that, male or female.”
“And a bunkhouse for women.What’s this world coming to?”He grinned when he said it, or maybe it was a grimace.Erick could never be sure.His expression turned grim when he continued, “I’ll need at least ten hands to wrangle that many cattle if we have any hope of holding them together on the trail to Abilene.And that won’t leave you enough to work the herd that’s left.”
“We’ve done more with less before,” Grace said with a philosophical shrug that didn’t seem to mollify Payne in the least.
