The Tin Star (11 page)

Jamie shook his head. “Nope, but it might be a little awkward once someone realizes we’re missing and comes looking for us tomorrow afternoon.” Jamie lifted up. Ethan’s cock slid from his body.

Ethan groaned. “I’m too relaxed to move.”

Jamie chuckled. “Come on, Cowboy.” He grabbed Ethan’s hands and pulled him up. Ethan tried to get away, but Jamie pulled harder. Before he knew it, he was sitting on the edge of the bed with Jamie yanking him to his feet. Once he was standing, Jamie kissed his jaw and left. He got right inside the bathroom door and looked over his shoulder at Ethan. “Come on.”

“If you are always going to be this energetic after sex, I’m making you sleep in your own room.”

A laugh echoed from the bathroom.

Chapter Eight

The phone rang.

“Hello?” Ethan said, voice scratchy and sleepy. The phone rang again. He blinked open his eyes, pulling his fist away from his ear. Damn, that had seemed so real. Another shrill tone filled the night. The digital clock read 12:02 a.m.

He reached for the receiver just as an arm flew over him, slapping at the alarm clock, startling him. Realizing it was Jamie, he grinned and grabbed the phone with one hand and Jamie’s arm with the other, settling Jamie’s arm around his own waist, then placing the phone to his ear.

“Hello?”

“Ethan, what are you doing?”

He glanced at Jamie and felt a sudden stab of guilt. He sure as heck didn’t know how to tell John. Eventually, he’d have to, of course, because he had no intention of giving up what was looking more and more like the best thing that would ever happen to him.

Still, first things first. The quality to John’s voice had vanquished the last remnants of sleep.

“I was sleeping. What’s wrong?”

“Sorry, I didn’t think you’d be asleep yet.”

“What’s going on, you sound pissed.”

“I
am
pissed! I had another fight with Daddy.”

This was probably going to be a long talk, so he slid up, propped his pillow against the headboard and got comfortable. He absently rubbed Jamie’s arm, which had slid to his thighs. “Another?”

“Yeah, we’ve done nothing but fight since he kicked Jamie out. First, it was over him actually kicking Jamie out. Then somehow my coddling Jamie is what made him gay.” He snorted. “Next, it was over you taking Jamie in. That, of course, is
my
fault because I begged you to do it. Oh, and now he wants to meet with you.”

“Fine, I’ll meet with him, but it isn’t going to change anything. Jamie’s mine now and I’m keeping him.” Ethan winced. Talk about double entendres. “I’ll even tell him you had nothing to do with me offering Jamie a job.”

“Not that he’ll believe you. I think he’s going to try and use the steakhouse deal to force you to get rid of Jamie.”

Jamie’s arm squeezed him tighter, then he nestled even closer and nuzzled his face into Ethan’s hip.

Ethan groaned. His cock should have been too tired to take notice, but it wasn’t, filling with blood instead. He combed his fingers through the thick black hair, brushing it out of Jamie’s face. Damn, he looked so sweet.

“Yeah, tell me about it.”

What?
Oh, John thought he was groaning over Jacob Killian trying to back out of their business deal. “Why the hell would he trash an agreement that’s going to make him a lot of money? To spite me? He’d be doing himself no favors.”

Ethan ran his fingertips over Jamie’s pale cheek and felt the overnight growth of stubble just beginning to make its appearance. The cheek twitched at the caress, so Ethan went back to combing his fingers through the dark hair.

“He doesn’t want him around. Says it would have been best if I’d just let him go, that we don’t need ‘his kind’ ’round here. Can you believe that shit? I can’t! And to think I’ve got that son-of-a-bitch’s blood running through my veins.”

“The more I hear, the less I like what I’m hearing.”

“The more I hear from him, the more I want to kick his ass. I had no idea he could be such a coldhearted bastard. I know he never gave Jules and Jamie the attention he gave me, but still ... to disown your own child and over something like this?” John paused to take a deep breath. “That’s just fucked! I’m damned close to moving out.”

“Why don’t you?”

Sky-blue eyes blinked up at him, then a small smile curved Jamie’s lips. Ethan smiled back and continued to twine his fingers through his hair. His dick was completely hard now, aching for more of Jamie.

“Hell, Ethan, the Quad J has been in my family for as long as the Tin Star has been in yours. I’ve been trained practically since birth to run the place. I even got a freakin’ degree in agriculture.”

“So what? I have a degree in criminal justice. A degree don’t mean squat; you can do other things or do the same things elsewhere.”

Jamie’s hands started to wander, caressing his thighs and hips, then he ducked his head under the covers and lifted himself to settle between Ethan’s legs.

John sighed. “Yeah, but that’s just it. I don’t want to do anything else anywhere else. I’m a rancher, damn it, and this is my home! It’s what I was trained to do; it’s what I love, and this is where I’m supposed to be. I also have a bunch of people counting on me to keep things together. God knows, left up to Daddy, he’d run off all my best ranch hands. Those men need me to make sure the Quad J doesn’t come apart, Ethan.”

“Well, if you decide to strike out on your own, you know I’ll help you any way I can.” He pulled up the covers and looked down at Jamie. The rascal grinned, waggled his eyebrows and tugged at Ethan’s cock, squeezing. Ethan barely held in a moan. His eyes rolled back in his head and his stomach clenched in anticipation.

Damn, he couldn’t do this now! He was on the phone, with John, for crying out loud. When he mouthed
I’m talking to your brother
, Jamie shrugged. Then, with those big blue eyes staring into his, Jamie’s tongue flicked out and swiped across the tip of his engorged prick. Ethan dropped the covers, letting them fall over Jamie’s head.

“But that’s my point! I
have
a ranch. And, for the most part, I run the place. There is a lot of history here, and I’d hate to leave it. The Quad J is my heritage, my birthright. Hell, I’m the one who has hired most of the staff we have. I can’t just up and leave them all. Sure, I could set out on my own, but I wouldn’t have enough to pay them all if they came with me.”

A breath of warm air trailed down his shaft, followed by a wet tongue. His cock jerked at the sensation. God, that felt good! His balls were nuzzled briefly, then that hot moist mouth closed around them. “Oh, fuck!”

“What?” John asked.

“Nothing I just thought of something I forgot to do.” Ethan mentally patted himself. How was that for quick thinking? He lifted the covers again and frowned down at Jamie. Blue eyes twinkled up at him; Jamie’s mouth stayed right where it was. Ethan released the sheets.

What had they been talking about? Oh, right. “Well, you could always move into your own place and go back and forth to the Quad J.” Shit. That wonderful tongue was back, licking up and down his shaft. It was absolute torture ... and absolute pleasure. Ethan lay his head back and closed his eyes.

“I’ve thought about that, and I gotta tell you it’s not a bad idea -- assuming the old bastard doesn’t disown me, too. Hell, I haven’t even told you the
pièce de résistance
yet ... he wants me to get married.”

“Oh, God!” Ethan wasn’t really sure who he said it to, because Jamie’s mouth had closed over the head of his cock just as John had dropped that bomb. His eyes popped open and he flipped the covers from his body.

John went on and on about the fight and how his dad kept insisting he get married, but Ethan barely heard him. He was more interested in the mouth working up and down his cock. What a wonderful sight! The hollowed cheeks and the pink mouth leaving a wet trail on every ascent were enough to make his balls pull up tight. What Jamie lacked in technique, he made up in sheer unadulterated enthusiasm. Every time those eager lips moved down on his dick, a soft humming sound of delight escaped them.

Ethan spread his legs a little wider and settled back to watch. Jamie looked up at him, releasing his cock, which flopped out of his mouth and against his stomach. Then those lean fingers brought his shaft back toward that warm mouth. As they stared at each other, Jamie tilted his head and slid his lips up the length of Ethan’s cock again.

Ethan shivered. “John. Listen, I’m gonna have to let you go. Try not to fret, and tell your daddy I’ll be there around noon.”

“You can tell him yourself, I’m not talking to him until I have to.” He sighed. “Get some sleep, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Later.” Ethan put the phone back on the cradle, then glared at his tormentor. “Do you know how hard it is to concentrate with you doing that?”

Jamie pulled his cock out of his mouth and smiled. “I guess that means I’m doing a good job.” Abruptly, he swallowed Ethan’s cock all the way down, then gagged.

“Yeah, good job. Take a deep breath and try that again.”

Jamie inhaled and exhaled, then slid his mouth down until his nose hit the dark curls above Ethan’s cock. If the sight of Jamie deep-throating him wasn’t enough to make him lose control, the feel of his tongue on his cock was. He grabbed Jamie’s head and thrust his hips up.

Jamie choked.

“Use your hand; don’t go so far down.”

The dark head nodded even as a tight fist squeezed Ethan. Jamie’s mouth returned and worked in unison with his hand. It felt amazing and delicious -- the firm grip of his lover’s hand and the wet heat of his mouth. He watched everything, sweeping his fingers through the dark curls on Jamie’s head. Those red, swollen lips worked him fast and hard. He was so close to coming. He could feel it, his balls drawing tighter and tighter, his muscles tensing, his belly tingling.

He tugged at Jamie’s head and pulled him off his cock with one hand, then grabbed his prick with the other. “Open your mouth.”

Jamie blinked up at him in confusion but did what he was told. Ethan pumped his cock twice, moaned and spurted. A little come landed on Jamie’s chin and his cheeks, but the rest went in that wide open mouth. Jamie swallowed it all. He even wiped the semen on his chin with his hand, then licked his fingers clean.

Ethan groaned.

Jamie came to his knees, his own prick rock hard. He reached down and grabbed himself, those pale eyes closing. Ethan swatted him away and fisted that long, hard cock in his hands. He only pulled once before Jamie started thrusting into his hand. He looked absolutely beautiful as he writhed in his pleasure. Within seconds, that lean body tensed and Jamie gasped and came on Ethan’s hand, chest and the sheets.

Jamie collapsed face first next to him in a satiated sprawl. “I’m not moving ever again,” he mumbled into the mattress. Ethan chuckled and leaned back against the headboard, dropping a hand to Jamie’s back. He caressed the smooth skin for several seconds.

God, he felt good. He was so relaxed, he probably could sleep sitting up, but the come on his stomach was sticky and drying on his skin.

He threw his legs over the side of the bed and heaved himself up and into the bathroom. When he came back from washing up, the first thing he saw was Jamie tight, white ass. Jamie was in the same spot he’d left him in, snoring softly. Ethan chuckled and slid into bed. He nudged Jamie over and wiped him off with a warm damp rag, then tossed it toward the bathroom. “Get under the covers.”

Jamie snorted and rolled back over onto his stomach. “Huh?”

Ethan pinched him on the butt.

Jamie swatted at him, then turned onto his side with a yawn. He blinked his eyes a few times, then pulled his legs up and lifted himself enough to slide under the sheets. “What was that about? What did John want?”

“Turn over.” When Jamie complied, he pulled Jamie against him and wrapped his arm around his waist. Jamie sighed and snuggled into him.

“He had another fight with your father. And now your dad wants to meet with me.”

Jamie’s head popped up and he turned to look over his shoulder at Ethan. Words poured from him. “What? What about? You don’t think he’s going to give you any trouble, do you? I won’t have it! If I’d known he was going to go after you, I would never have accepted your offer. I’ll leave, Ethan. I don’t want to cause you problems.”

The rapid-fire babble reminded Ethan of Jules. He hid his grin and pushed Jamie back to the mattress. “Like hell you will! I’m not afraid of your daddy, Jamie. He’s probably going to threaten to back out of the steakhouse agreement, but so what? There are several others involved in it besides we two. We can find other investors.”

“Ethan, I --”

“Stop borrowing trouble, you have enough already. We’ll find out what he wants soon enough.” He slapped Jamie on the hip. “Go to sleep.”

It was quiet for several minutes and Ethan had almost dropped into unconsciousness when Jamie spoke again. “Ethan?”

“Huh?”

“If he backs out, can I be a part of it? Mama left me some money when she died. Technically, I won’t get it until I’m twenty-five, but maybe you or John could front me the money and I’ll pay it back with interest.”

“You want in?”

“Yeah, I do. It sounds like a good investment from what I’ve heard. I may not have the cattle to contribute to the venture, but I can buy stock in the company, right?”

“Right. Actually, your dad and I weren’t putting up the cattle, either. Even combined our cattle operations are too small for that. As far as I’m concerned, if you really want to get involved with this, it doesn’t matter whether your dad withdraws or not. A friend of mine from college put it together and I’m the one that brought your dad in. Why don’t you sit in on some of the board meetings with me? We’ll go over the specifics sometime tomorrow, and if you still think it sounds like a good idea, then we’ll contact the others, and I’ll front you the money.”

“Ethan?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

He grinned and kissed the back of Jamie’s neck. “You’re welcome, Blue Eyes.”

* * * * *

Ethan stepped up onto the porch of the old Victorian-style house and knocked on the door. It flew open seconds later, and he was nose to nose with Jacob Killian.