Gone Away (3 page)

Pressing in slowly, Mason tried to take his time slipping into Riece, but the heat was intoxicating, and he needed all of it
right the fuck
now
. It had been a while for both of them, and he knew he wasn’t going to last long. Judging by Riece’s moans and the way his abs quivered, he was almost there as well. Riece pulled his knees up and dug his heels into the backs of Mason’s thighs, urging Mason to a faster pace.

Gripping Riece hard, Mason bent down and plunged his tongue into Riece’s mouth in time with the motion of his hips. He licked along Riece’s jaw and sucked on the tender skin of his neck. Mason’s rhythm faltered, and the heat in his balls radiated out to ignite a tingling at the base of his spine. He captured Riece in a brutal, desperate kiss, shoved himself as close as possible, and shuddered repeatedly as his cock throbbed inside Riece. Mason held his breath for a few beats, then gulped in one huge breath. With a loud, long moan, Mason clamped the fingers of one hand in Riece’s hair while with his other arm, he held Riece so tightly at his waist Mason’s fingers would probably leave marks.

Riece clung to Mason’s shoulders, his head fell back, and he shoved his hips against Mason, meeting every one of Mason’s thrusts. Gentling his movements, Mason dropped more of his weight against Riece and moved his hips in a side-to-side motion while he ran his lips up and down Riece’s exposed throat. He used his body and hands to prevent Riece from moving around much, knowing how much Riece liked relinquishing control during sex.

Riece gulped, exhaled a groan, went completely still for a second, then shoved against Mason, gasping and trembling. Mason felt Riece’s cock pulse against his stomach as hot, sticky fluid spread between them. Mason’s heart pounded, and the feeling of Riece’s heart echoing against his rib cage was a special thrill. After a minute, their beats fell into sync so it seemed as if they had one heartbeat.

Mason lifted himself up far enough to rub his hand over Riece’s hair and caress his cheek. He used his thumb to stroke lightly over Riece’s beard, smoothing down the hairs before he kissed Riece’s cheek.

“This is a really hard surface,” Riece said, but didn’t make an effort to free himself or get off the dresser.

Mason grinned and eased away from Riece’s body. Standing straight he held out his hands for Riece to take and helped him to his feet. Riece took a few deep breaths.

“That was a really good welcome to South Dakota,” Riece said and grinned brightly.

“We’re in Wyoming.”

“So, I’ll get another welcome to South Dakota when we get there?” Riece tilted his head.

Mason laughed. He pulled Riece into a hug, taking advantage of the mood while he could. After kissing the side of Riece’s head, he said, “And every other state you’d like a welcome to.”

ONCE THE
sun set, the air turned from pleasantly crisp verging on warm to decidedly chilly. Riece flipped the collar of his shirt up and stuffed his hands into his pockets as they walked to the main lodge.

“The temperature drops fast at night, even in the warmer months. This close to winter it gets colder faster,” Mason said. He wore jeans, a Henley, and a dark leather jacket that matched his hair and set off his blue eyes.

Riece thought about stepping closer to Mason, which would encourage him to put an arm around Riece and share some extra body heat. Mason had always been willing and happy for any such opportunity. Riece held back, not sure if it would give Mason the wrong idea. Then again, they’d just had very memorable sex, which probably gave Mason all sorts of ideas, and Riece wasn’t certain any of them would be wrong. The truth was Riece wasn’t sure what he wanted Mason to think. He could barely sort out what his own thoughts were.

As they walked Mason nudged his arm and pointed up. “Check it out.”

Riece stopped and gazed up. “That’s…. I wish I’d come to this part of the country sooner. I completely understand why you love it here so much.”

The sky had darkened to a deep purple-blue. With no city lights, Riece saw the Milky Way, a vibrant speckling of glitter arched across the sky. Brighter points of light dotted the whole area from horizon to zenith.

“Did you ever think of trying astrophotography?” Mason asked.

“Yes.” Riece sighed. “That takes special equipment, but I think I’m going to get serious about looking into it more.”

Mason laughed and pulled the door to the lodge open, standing to the side while Riece went inside. In the bar and grill, they were seated near the far end, close to the window wall and next to the fireplace. Riece was happy to see a cheery fire burning.

Riece looked over the menu, taking in his choices between beef, chicken, venison, and bison. Mason sat quietly while Riece scrutinized the choices. It was a gift Mason had and one Riece didn’t possess, the ability to make a choice off a menu with little information. Riece remembered Mason’s mention of a friend employed here and came to the conclusion he’d tried some of the offered dishes and already had a favorite. Riece made a few mental notes of which details of the various dishes to ask about before he decided on an order.

A man arrived at their table, and Riece assumed he was about to inquire who would get the check. “I should buy our dinner since I initiated sex.” Riece’s words rushed out a little louder than he’d intended.

Mason bit back a smile and folded his hands on the table in front of him. The man standing next to their table rocked on his heels and looked around the room.

Taking a deep breath, Mason said, “Riece, this is my friend, Tyler McCall. Tyler, Riece Burrell.”

Tyler grinned and held out his hand. “Pleased to meet you, man.” The slight difference in accent alerted Riece to the fact Tyler wasn’t a Wyoming native. With long, messy blond hair that fell over his eyes, bushy moustache, and tanned, toned body, Tyler looked more like he should be surfing off the Baja Peninsula, not driving a beer truck around the Black Hills. Clear eyes, one blue and one green, twinkled and sparkled as he extended one hand. He was obviously one of those outgoing, really cheerful men.

“Hello,” Riece said quietly.

Pulling a chair up and turning it so he straddled it, arms crossed over the back, Tyler looked from Mason to Riece and back again. “It’s great to finally meet you. The only thing Mason’s talked about for weeks is you. I feel like I’ve known you for years.” His smile widened. He took a breath, glanced between Riece and Mason again, and added, “So how do you like Wyoming so far? Is your room okay?”

Riece focused on Mason for a few seconds, genuinely surprised by the remark that Mason had talked about him to his friend. The next thing he realized was that Tyler had said “room” not “rooms.”

“Uh, yes, it’s… they’re fine, really fine…. It’s… uh, a pleasure to meet you too.” Riece fumbled to get the words in his head out.

Tyler reached out and tapped the menu. “I’d be happy to give you some recommendations, but I have to admit I’m a steak and potatoes man myself. Simple and good. The filet mignon is to die for.” His eyebrows disappeared into his scraggly bangs. “If you want to give the venison a shot, I’d suggest the stew.” He stood up. “I should let you two catch up. Name your poison—wine, beer, whiskey, soda?”

“Do you have lemonade?” Riece asked.

“Sure do.” Tyler smiled and stood up. He looked at Mason. “Usual? Or are you on duty?” He winked at Riece and jerked a thumb at Mason. “Dudley Do-Right here is too upstanding to drink while he’s working.”

Mason shook his head and grumbled under his breath before looking up at Tyler. “What’s on tap?”

“We have something new I think you’ll like.” Tyler stood up, tapped the tabletop, and ambled away.

“He’s….” Riece wasn’t sure of the word he wanted.

“Interesting?”

Nodding, Riece added, “But he’s nice.”

“Tyler is a great guy,” Mason said. “He can be a little too in your face, sometimes, but a good guy.”

“Did you… a date…. Is he?”

Mason shook his head. “No. Tyler and I are pals. That’s all. He had some rough breaks. Do you really want to talk about Tyler?”

“No,” Riece admitted and shrugged. “But just because you didn’t have sex with him doesn’t mean you aren’t interested.”

Mason used both hands in a keep-your-voice-down motion. “Riece, this part of the country isn’t like where we went to college. The atmosphere here is a bit… different. Let’s not advertise we’re gay.”

“We’re two men having dinner at a romantic resort. I think that secret is out,” Riece said and grinned. “And the rooms have supplies for making love.”

Mason laughed softly. “Okay, you got me there.”

“You really talked about me to your friend?”

Mason nodded and sipped from one of the glasses of water on the table. “I didn’t think he’d announce that, though. I should have known better.”

“The fact he works here is not the reason we stopped at this place, is it?”

Mason took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair. “Look, Riece, I didn’t plan for us to… to do what happened earlier. I wasn’t lying when I said there aren’t a lot of places to pit stop between the Billings airport and Jewel Cave. I did think you’d like seeing this area, and driving six hours to turn around and do it again made my ass hurt to think about it.” He stopped talking when a woman came by with their drinks and to take their orders. A gulp from his beer and a big sigh, and Mason fiddled with his silverware for a minute.

“That’s what I do,” Riece said.

“What?”

“Rearrange the table.”

“I just wanted to know…,” Mason said in a low voice. He paused, then continued, “When I saw your name and found out someone would be assigned to take you around, I asked for the job. It was my good luck you were coming in a few days early, and Tyler said he’d set us up. I thought if I could have a little time without worrying about jobs or other people, you’d explain to me what I did wrong.”

“Nothing,” Riece said. He was beginning to see what Mason was getting at, and he didn’t know what else to say. He grabbed the napkin in front of him and twisted and turned it.

“Riece, you called me one day and told me you were moving across the country. With no explanation, you ended what I thought was a good thing.”

“It was a good thing,” Riece confessed, more to the napkin than Mason. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Mason reached across the table and laid one hand on Riece’s. “I’m not expecting to get back together or anything, but, Riece, you could at least tell me why.”

“I told my mom about us,” Riece said.

Mason shrugged. “I met her lots of times. I’m sure she figured it out, and you said she knew when you were a teenager you were gay.”

“She liked you, but she said I couldn’t depend on anyone wanting to stay with someone like me. Especially someone like you.”

“Someone like you and someone like me,” Mason echoed. Riece could see the anger well up in Mason.

They fell silent for a few minutes when their food was brought to the table, along with fresh drinks. Riece watched Mason relax a tiny amount after a few deep breaths.

When they were alone again, Riece said, “She told me I’d end up hurting you, and you’d hate me eventually because of how I am. You know, not really normal.” He shoved his food around on his plate. “I couldn’t stand it if you hated me.”

“Look at me, Riece.”

Riece glanced up. Mason was always gently reminding him when it was polite or appropriate or necessary to make eye contact. He opened his mouth to apologize but changed his mind when he remembered a few arguments with Mason over the fact he tended to apologize too much.

Mason leaned forward and rested both arms on the table. “I’m saying this once and for the last time. There is
nothing
wrong with you, Riece. Yeah, I’ll agree sometimes you see the world in a different way than I do, but that’s not… hell, I don’t even know what. I know your mother meant well, but splitting up like we did hurt me far more than any of your quirks ever could’ve. Do you think I stayed with you out of pity or something?”

“No. Of course not. Why did you stay with me?”

Mason shook his head and chuckled. “Partly because you have no clue what you’re really like. What I see is someone sweet and funny and smart and caring. I like spending time with you.
And
, you stayed with me despite the fact I rub most people the wrong way.” He turned his attention to his plate of food.

“So my hot bod was not a consideration?”

Chewing, Mason shook his head. He swallowed and said, “Nope.” Then he went back to his meal. “Oh, and you are paying for our meal,” he said, took a long draft of his beer, and offered Riece a snarky smile.

“Should we discuss our…. What we…. I shouldn’t have pushed you like that,” Riece said quietly.

“Riece, how long have you known me? When was the last time someone pushed me into doing a damn thing I didn’t want to do? Did you hear me complain?”

Riece scratched at his chin. “I didn’t think of any of those things.”

“Look, I didn’t plan for it to happen, but I’m glad it did,” Mason said in a low voice.

“It was pretty amazing.” Riece scanned the room before focusing on the windows. “Could we walk around outside after dinner? It is breathtaking here. I’d like to try and get some photographs. I think it’s time I try to get serious about trying new techniques.”

“Want to swing by your room first and grab your equipment?” Mason asked. Riece coughed down the sip of lemonade he was taking, and Mason grinned. “Your mind is always in the gutter. I was talking about your camera.”

Their dinner went by too fast, but Riece was inwardly congratulating himself for coming up with the idea for a walk later in the evening. Mason wasn’t a man who needed constant talk, and Riece always appreciated him for that. They could spend hours together, never really talk, and have a perfectly pleasant time. Riece simply liked being around Mason.

“Are there wild animals in this area?” Riece asked as they walked back to their rooms. “The big game type?”

“We’re out in the middle of wilderness Wyoming,” Mason said. He followed Riece into his room and leaned against the wall next to the door. “This area has quite a few that are indigenous, so, yes.”