Page 40 of Saddles and Snowstorms
“Your turn,” Brooks said unexpectedly. “You said you left Austin because your ex made some trouble for you. What happened?”
His fingers had moved to my shoulder, tracing the curve there with surprising gentleness for hands so rough. For a man with such a gruff tone, he said so many soft, sweet things with his hands.
“I was up for a promotion,” I said, keeping it simple. “And he wanted it.”
“A promotion? Aren’t you just out of vet school?”
“Yeah. But the clinic wanted to make me a full partner. They were gonna put my name on the building and everything.”
Brooks quietly listened, waiting for me to fill in the gaps of a story I didn’t really want to tell.
“My ex and I started there at the same time right out of school. We both applied for the position, but I got it, and he wasn’t happy.” I let out a long sigh, the bad memories flooding back all at once. “We’d been fighting for a while, and I knew our relationship was on the rocks. But I never expected him to go out of his way to botch one of my surgeries to make me look bad.”
Brooks tensed, his hand on my back stopping instantly. “He did what?”
“Yep,” I nodded. “Then he accused me of malpractice, making up a bunch of lies about how he’d seen me ignore sterilization practices or how he’d seen me treat animals poorly behind closed doors. Between the lies and the fact that my patient didn’t survive post-op, the owners saw no reason to keep me around. They fired me on the spot.”
Brooks’s arm tightened around me, and I felt his jaw clench against the top of my head. “That’s fucked up,” he said, the words vibrating through his chest. “Man does somethin’ like that, he deserves a lot worse than losin’ a job.”
“Yeah, well...” I shrugged against him. “The worst part is, by the time I figured out what he’d done, the damage was already done. My reputation in Austin was shot. Nobody would hire me. But I got my revenge in the end.” I took another deep breath. “Tyler wasn’t very smart about covering up his tracks. I found a bunch of texts he sharedwith a friend about what he’d done. The day before I moved, I showed up at the vet hospital and dumped it all on my old boss’s desk. They fired him and offered me my old position before the day was out, but by then I was too upset to consider going back. I needed a fresh start someplace where nobody knew me.”
Brooks was quiet for a long moment, his fingers resuming their gentle path along my spine. “That why you ended up in Sagebrush? Ain’t exactly a hotspot for fancy vets.”
I laughed softly against his chest. “Not exactly. I just needed somewhere quiet to rebuild. Somewhere I could practice without people whispering behind my back. Small towns need vets too.”
“Lucky for me,” Brooks said so quietly I almost didn’t hear it.
The admission hung in the air between us, neither of us acknowledging it directly. Instead, I nestled closer, breathing in his scent, memorizing the feel of his skin against mine.
“Brooks? Why do you keep to yourself so much?” I asked after a while, my voice barely above a whisper.
But there was no reply. Only the soft, steady rise and fall of Brooks’ chest. I figured he’d fallen asleep, or the question was just too personal, and he didn’t want to answer it. Either way, I didn’t blame him. Tomorrow would come too soon, and reality was a harsh mistress. This dream, however sweet it might be, was going to end and both of us would have to go back to our old lives as if nothing had ever happened between us.
Chapter 15
Brooks
My sleep was fitful throughout the night. I wasn’t used to sharing a bed with anyone except maybe Hank when he snuck onto the bed in the middle of the night. Each time I woke up it took me a moment to remember that it was Rowan lying beside me. In his sleep he tightened his grip around me, snuggled into my chest, and kissed me softly, his lips brushing against my skin. Without really meaning to, I was lulled back to sleep each time, smiling completely by accident.
The night was filled with fleeting dreams, reliving those intimate moments I’d shared with Rowan. Each time I woke up I couldn’t help but palm my cock through the sheets, aching for more friction. Resisting what I wanted all those years was easy. But now that Rowan had thrown open the floodgates, there was no holding it back.
Morning finally dawned, gray and cold. When I awoke, I wasn’t sure what time it was. The first thing I noticed was the empty spot next to me in the bed. I reached a hand over, but there was no heat. Rowan had been gone for a while. And the second thing I noticed was the tented blankets at my waist. I was rock hard, pulsing, and when I reached down into my sweatpants, I found I was leaking pre-cum at a surprising rate.
“Fuck…” I groaned, unable to stop myself from swirling a thumb over the head of my cock. It felt so good and with the images of Rowan still in my head, it was hard to resist the urge to take care of it.
I leaned up on one elbow, looking out into the living room, listening hard. There was no sound beyond the crackling of the fire. As far as I knew, Rowan was gone. Not that I could blame him. We both knew nothing could happen between us. Still, before reality set back in, I could relive the memory one last time.
Focusing on that, I pushed the quilt aside and pulled the waistband of my sweatpants down, letting my cock spring free from its fabric prison at last.
The relief was immediate. I hissed through my teeth as the cool morning air hit my heated skin. My cock stood proud against my stomach, flushed and eager. I wrapped my hand around it, giving myself a slow, firm stroke from base to tip.
“Christ,” I muttered, falling back against the pillows.
The sheets still smelled like him—like woodsy cologne and that clean, masculine scent that was all his. I turned my face into the pillow where he’d slept, inhaling deeply as I continued to work my hand over my length. Behind closed eyelids, I could see him perfectly: those dark green eyes hooded with desire, muscular body moving above mine, the scar on his jaw catching the firelight.
I quickened my pace, hips lifting off the mattress to meet each stroke. Pre-cum slicked my fingers, making the glide easier, wetter. My breathing grew ragged as I imagined it was Rowan’s hand around me, Rowan’s weight pressing me into the mattress.
“Enjoying yourself?”
