Cowboy Love on Hold [Love: The Cowboy Way 1] (9 page)

The bed shook as Wade crawled up behind him, and Brandon almost came on the spot when Wade leaned down and grazed his teeth over Brandon’s shoulder as he drew level. His already rigid cock throbbed in anticipation when he felt the tip of Wade’s huge shaft teasing at his opening. Bunching the bedclothes in his hands, Brandon bit down on his lip, almost drawing blood as Wade’s cock inched inside him. Brandon panted as he stretched to accommodate Wade, and, although he hadn’t let anyone take him this way in a very long time, within seconds, his discomfort had turned into intense pleasure.

Wade groaned long and low in the back of his throat and pushed his dick all the way into Brandon’s ass with one mind-blowing thrust, sliding in so deep that their thighs touched.

“Oh, fuck!” Wade shouted, his hand coming down hard on Brandon’s flanks as he pulled out and slid in again. “Fuck,” he said, softer this time, sounding a little stunned by it all.

Brandon pushed back the next time Wade came forward and jerked helplessly at the intense friction when the tip of Wade’s cock rubbed over the sensitive gland inside him. Wade set a slow, careful pace, and soon, Brandon was frustrated that he was being so gentle.

“Stop fucking around,” Brandon said over his shoulder. “Don’t hold back. I can take it.”

“You asked for it,” Wade warned, adjusting his hold on Brandon’s hips and jabbing his cock inside Brandon’s ass with such force that his knees left the bed. The walls echoed with the sounds of their moans and shouts as Wade kept up the brutal rhythm, and Brandon received it gladly.

Brandon dropped his head onto the pillows, unable to support his weight and keep his balance while Wade fucked him half senseless. He reached beneath his body and grabbed his erection, closing his fist around his bulging tip. One of Wade’s hands tangled in Brandon’s hair, tugging his torso upwards to deepen the angle, and Brandon balanced his weight on his free arm, the other hand still pumping up and down on his prick.

When Wade started talking dirty, Brandon knew he was about to come. Brandon answered Wade’s grunted questions as well as he could, given that he could barely breathe and was about to have the most intense orgasm of his life. Wade fell forward, resting his massive weight on Brandon’s back, his hands pulling on Brandon’s shoulders when his orgasm began. Wade shuddered, letting out a feral growl as his cock plunged in and out of Brandon’s ass, and he wrapped a strong arm around Brandon’s chest, trapping him, so he had no choice but to take Wade’s savage thrusts.

“Fuck, yes!” Wade ground out his words in time with the jerking of his body, his voice cracking. “Love you…Brandon, I fucking love…”

When the man he worshipped shouted his name and confessed his love for him, Brandon surrendered to Wade completely. The knowledge he could drive Wade so mad with lust tipped him over the edge, and he hit his own climax. Brandon tightened the fist sliding up and down his cock, his cries echoing Wade’s as he came harder, faster, and longer than he ever had before.

Brandon collapsed onto his chest, taking Wade down with him. He groaned when Wade pulled out of him and flopped onto the bed, already missing the intimate connection they’d shared. The snap of latex told him that Wade had got rid of the condom, and he turned over to look as Wade reached down to drop it in the bin next to the dresser. Brandon watched the play of muscles in Wade’s back as they shifted and rolled under his golden brown skin and couldn’t resist the urge to run his hand across them. Wade smiled over his shoulder and stood up to put on his pants.

“Come on. Kimber’s gonna wonder where we are.”

Brandon sat up. “Is she expecting to see me?”

“I called her when I decided to drop by. She told me to do whatever it took to get you to come back home.”

Come back home
. Brandon longed to do just that, but it would have to wait. He was leaving town in a few hours. The decision wasn’t his, but he didn’t want to try and explain that to Wade any sooner than he had to. Facing Kimber was going to be hard enough, especially when he wouldn’t be able to tell them what was really going on. “I don’t suppose she’ll take no for an answer, huh?”

Wade reached down to offer Brandon his hand, and tugged him to the edge of the bed. “Has she ever?”

When Wade wandered into the bathroom, Brandon threw on his clothes and stepped into his boots. Checking to make sure Wade was still busy, he reached into the bedside drawer and took out a handgun. Ensuring that the clip was full and the safety was off, he slipped it down inside his sock and went to meet Wade out in the hall.

Chapter 9

“What do you mean you’re leaving?”

Brandon stared back at her, unfazed by her anger. He crossed his arms and leaned back against the dining room wall. “I have to go. I’m sorry, but that’s just the way it is.”

“That’s not fair, Brandon. I thought we sorted this out?” Wade banged the table with his fist, jangling the cutlery on it and making the vase full of flowers in the center tremble. Kimber put her hand on his forearm, trying to remind him to keep his head. He shook her off and got to his feet. “Are you leaving because you’re still having doubts about our relationship?”

“What? No!”

Kimber got up and stood beside Wade, the pair of them trapping Brandon in the doorway to the kitchen. “Then why are you going?”

Brandon turned away. “I have my reasons. Isn’t that enough?”

She grabbed his arm and dragged on it until he came around to face her. “It’s nowhere near good enough. Why on earth would you do this to us?” She felt her lip quivering and closed her eyes against the tears, angry that she couldn’t handle the thought of him leaving again without getting as emotional as she had the last time. “Are you really gonna do this to me again?”

Brandon tried to brush the tears from her cheek and sighed when she shrugged him off. “I’m not running away again, I just won’t be around for a while. That’s really all I can tell you. The less you two know, the safer you are.”

Wade stepped in front of her, blocking Brandon from view. “If you think you are just gonna say something like that and then stroll out of here without telling me what is going on, you can forget it. There is no way in hell you are gonna put Kimber in harm’s way and then refuse to tell me what I need to do to protect her.”

“I shouldn’t have said that. I made it sound worse than it is. The danger is mine, not yours. Besides, I’m not leaving for good, just until this little problem I have is sorted out.”

Kimber moved to stand beside them, tired of being left out of a conversation that involved her, too. “Will you please stop talking about me like I’m not here? I don’t need either of you to protect me. I can look after myself.” Brandon and Wade ignored her, too involved in staring each other down to care what she had to say. “Fine, I don’t need you to listen to me anyway!”

She shoved Wade out of the way and went back to the table, grabbing at the cutlery and making as much noise with it as she could. Kimber marched past them and dumped it in the kitchen sink, even though it was still clean, and went back to get the rest of the stuff she’d set the table with. If they thought she was cooking for them now, they were crazier than she’d given them credit for. She stacked the plates and dumped them in the kitchen, then reached down into a cupboard for a cloth and a bottle of spray cleaner.

Kimber went back to the table to wipe it over, but changed her mind and slammed the cleaning stuff down on the surface. She looked their way for the first time in five minutes to find Brandon watching her silently, his hands braced behind him on the windowsill and Wade leaning with his back against the wall by the door, arms folded, gaze fixed on the tip of his boot. Mad as she was, she couldn’t help thinking that they looked like a couple of naughty schoolboys. Despite herself, she laughed.

Relief flooded Brandon’s tense features, and Wade finally looked up from the floor. All of a sudden, she felt stupid. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have lost my temper. I just don’t like being ignored…okay?”

Brandon moved to stand beside her. “Don’t apologize. It’s my fault. I’ve relied on myself for so long that it’s hard for me to listen to what other people have to say.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry, too.” Wade stayed where he was, obviously still pissed off at something. He looked at Brandon. “But this wouldn’t have happened if you were being straight with us.”

“If it’s any consolation, I wish I could tell you, but I can’t.”

“You mean, you won’t.”

“Okay, won’t!” Brandon looked at his watch. “I can’t stay much longer. I’ve got to finish a few chores and then hit the road.”

Kimber rushed forward to wrap her arms around Brandon’s chest. “You’re leaving so soon?”

Brandon kissed the top of her head. “I really shouldn’t have come at all, but I wanted to say goodbye to you personally.”

Wade seemed to realize the battle was lost and came to stand beside them. “Why didn’t you tell me this a few hours ago?”

“Because you’d have tried to talk me out of it and I didn’t want to waste the little bit of time we had left arguing about it.” Brandon reached out to grab Wade’s shirt and dragged him closer, opening his arms to embrace him and Kimber together. The three of them hugged silently for a moment longer, and then Brandon sighed and pulled away.

Wade hooked the keys to his pickup out of his jeans pocket. “I guess I better take you back to your place.” He turned to look at her. “You gonna come along for the ride?”

Kimber shook her head. “Not a good idea. I’m barely keeping a grip on my emotions as it is. I’ll say my good-byes here.”

“It won’t be for long, darlin’. I’ll see you real soon, okay?”

“You’d better.” Cupping Brandon’s face in her hands, she pressed her lips to his and ran from the room, fighting back a sob.

She hid out in the kitchen until the front door banged shut and had a good cry when the sound of Wade’s truck pulling away told her they’d left. She was surprised to hear footsteps behind her a few minutes later when she returned to the kitchen after going to the utility room to put on some washing.

“Did you forget something?” she called out, hoping it was Brandon coming back to say he’d changed his mind.

Suddenly, someone grabbed her from behind and a hand clamped over her mouth. “No, but thank you for asking. I think I’ve got everything I need right here.”

* * * *

“Pull over!”

Wade stood on the brakes and scanned the road. “What?”

Brandon shut his phone. “Turn around. We’ve gotta go back—now!”

“Who was that on the phone?” Wade asked as he pulled away and jerked on the steering wheel, spinning the truck in the dirt as he hit the gas, blindly obeying Brandon’s instructions. A driver behind them honked his horn and gave Wade the finger as he almost sideswiped the truck, but Wade didn’t care. His main concern was finding out why Brandon had gone pale as a ghost and was pulling a gun out of his boot.

“That was my boss. I’ve got a lot to tell you, and it will be quicker if you just shut up and listen.”

Wade nodded. “Okay. What’s going on?”

Brandon took a deep breath. “Up until my discharge, I was part of a Special Forces team—”

“Special Forces?”

“I need you to focus. This involves Kimber.”

“What?” Wade put his foot down hard on the gas, pressing the pedal to the floor.

“Last week, there was a guy at my mother’s funeral, another Special Ops agent that I used to work with. I got in touch with my unit and asked why Travers was checking up on me. The chief said he’d look into it. I didn’t hear anything else until this morning when I got a call to let me know that my old team suspects Travers has been in regular contact with a guy I sent down five years ago—someone who hates me enough to want me dead.”

Wade swerved to overtake a tractor, swearing as the truck fishtailed on the road before he got it under control. “If your team is on to Travers, isn’t he being watched?”