Cowboy Gangster 02 - Gunnin' for Love (CMS) (MM) (5 page)

♦

His headache was now reduced to a dull throb, yet Kane refrained from any sudden movements. Breakfast was a no-go, though he was fairly sure food may have helped his overall shitty feeling. But his stomach rebelled at the thought and he didn’t think it wise to argue with it. Zoe made him a fresh pot of coffee then ordered him to stay home, insisting she could run the office alone for today. Their hours were shorter on Saturday and she was competent to take care of things. Kane didn’t have the will to argue and, frankly, the thought of setting foot outside the apartment made him cringe as he was certain his headache would come back full force once he attempted to do anything productive.

Zoe had left twenty minutes ago and he sat at the kitchen table, a cup of coffee before him –and his phone. He had yet to check his messages to determine if Zoe was just messing with his mind…or if he had really done something truly fucking stupid while under the influence.

He slowly twisted the cell over and over, eyes heavy, as he sipped the black coffee. He liked black coffee about as much as he liked liquor. But it seemed to help the best on mornings such as these.

Don’t be surprised if you get a surprise visit from a very horny mobster.

Kane cursed the funny tickle in his navel caused by the recollection of Zoe’s “warning”. He sniffed and started to shake his head then thought better of it, fearful of stirring up the blinding pain from earlier. A mental effort to shove the Egyptian from his mind proved futile.
He’s only lingering because it’s the first time you’ve had sex in ages. It could have been with anyone and you’d still be thinking about it.

It had just been sex, that’s all. Fan-
fucking
-tastic sex –but still just sex.

A different throb began to thump in his crotch and he groaned irritably.
Just give it a day or two, and the effects will wear off. You’ll forget about it –forget about him –and everything will go back to normal.

Doubt lingered heavy, though, as he stared at his cell. He scolded himself for being such a fucking coward, afraid to turn it on and find out the truth of the matter. Had he really sent the man a text? If so…what the fuck had he said that would’ve gotten the man “horny”?

Something tells me it wouldn’t take much.
Kane closed his eyes and groaned again. The memory of the Egyptian pinning him against the SUV in a crushing, fucking hot kiss reminded him how close to the surface the man’s passion and sexual hunger clearly hovered.

A slow frown knit his brow. If he’d sent a text…had he received one in return? And if not, did that mean the guy hadn’t actually gotten Kane’s? Maybe there was hope yet. Zoe hadn’t mentioned anything about a return text. Or…was that what she had meant about the surprise visit?

“Fuck,” Kane hissed, annoyed with himself. “Grow a pair already.” He pressed the power button and watched the device come to life. That was as far as he got before his fingers stalled. He released a hard breath –then jumped when the phone went off, dropping it onto the table. “Shit.” His hand shook as he picked it up, experiencing a bittersweet mixture of relief and disappointment when he saw that it was Zoe. He took a deep breath and released it slow, then answered the call.

“Just wanted to remind you to eat breakfast,” Zoe said.

“You’ve only been gone twenty minutes,” Kane mumbled. “I’ll eat in a little bit.”

A pause, then – “You sound…anxious,” she spoke low, a sly tone to her voice.

“I have a headache,” he muttered. “In case you forgot.”

He swore he could hear the smirk in her voice. “Who did you think was calling?”

“I’m going to hang up now.”

“Did you check your messages yet?” she asked, clearly delighted.

Kane groaned. “No.”

“You think I’m just teasing you, don’t you?” she laughed lightly. “I’m not. You were a bad, bad boy last night, Uncle Kane.” She snickered. “Or at least you wanted to be.”

“Goodbye.”

“Check your messages. You’ll see-”

“I said
goodbye,
” he sighed heavily and ended the call. The phone dropped onto the table and he rubbed his eyes. When he lowered his hand, his vision was hazy and he blinked until the phone came into focus again. He picked it up and after another hesitation, opened his messages.

His pulse quickened when he found the outgoing text he had hoped didn’t exist.

‘I can’t get you out of my head. I want to fuck you so bad right now. How soon can you get here?’

Kane stared at the message, his insides churning and crotch throbbing. Zoe saw this? He moaned and rubbed his eyes again.
Shit
.

His stomach tightened when he realized there was more. A reply. Two simple words.
Call me
.

Kane swallowed hard. Had he? His hand trembled as he slowly, hesitantly opened his outgoing calls.

“Fuck,” he groaned in despair and hung his head, raking his fingers through his hair. What the fuck had he said to the man? The pulse in his cock filled him with a new dread.

Had they –
fucked
over the phone?

♦

“How you doing?” Clint dampened another towel and again washed Axel’s flushed, tear stained face. “Better?”

“Much.” Axel gazed at him, his pulse still fluttery and erratic. His mind felt hazed and his body sensitive from Clint’s recent touch.

Clint brushed damp curls from Axel’s glistening brow then kissed him between the eyes. “You ready to go back out there?”

Was he? Alone with Clint, he felt whole –or at least like he could be eventually –safe, unjudged. No one out there in the club was judging him, but Axel did it to himself in the face of Angel. He forced back the request that Clint take him back to the apartment and they spend the rest of the day making love. Everything felt so simple and easy when they were behind closed doors, just the two of them.

“You don’t have anything to fear,” Clint murmured and stroked his cheek. “Angel is reaching out to you. Don’t be afraid to reach back.”

“I’ll try,” Axel whispered.

Clint kissed his lips. “That’s all anyone can do.” Discarding the damp towel, Clint nodded toward the door. “Ready?”

Releasing a slow breath, Axel smiled uncertainly. “Yeah.” He followed Clint to the door and watched as the cowboy unlocked it, his gaze drifting over the man’s body. “You’re my knight in shining armor,” he said softly, voice trembling. “You know that, right?”

Clint went still, his hand gripping the handle. “My armor was tarnished a long time ago,” he mumbled, eyes on the floor. He turned a fraction and cast Axel a sidelong glance. “Don’t put me on a pedestal, Axel.” Quiet fear shadowed his eyes as he opened the door and held it for Axel. “I don’t want to disappoint you.”

“That isn’t possible,” Axel assured him quietly with a light brush of his fingertips across Clint’s arm as he exited the restroom. The cowboy’s stare was heavy on his back a moment before Clint followed him out and let the door close. Just before he reached the main club entrance, Clint gripped his arm gently and brought him up short, kissing him soft on the lips. Axel’s heart shuddered as Clint held his eyes and a faint smile pulled at the corner of his mouth and his thumb caressed feather-light down Axel’s cheek.

The man spoke volumes with his faint smile and fleeting touch, and his “words” settled warmly deep in the center of Axel’s heart.
I guess it just hit a little too close to reality…one I never thought I would ever have to deal with.
Clint’s confession from earlier that morning drifted back in and the warmth in Axel’s heart spread out through his body.

What would it feel like to hear Clint say…
I love you?

Axel pushed the thought away. Even if he came to feel it…a man like Clint might never be able to say it out loud. Could he himself even speak it aloud when or if the time came?

Concealing his thoughts, Axel walked with Clint out into the club. A different boy was dancing on stage, alone, and working up the small crowd. Axel spotted Angel on the far side of the club, Gavin was with him, holding the pup. A tiny twinge of jealousy flared then fizzled out just as quickly, leaving Axel puzzled by the sudden, brief spark. A quick glance at Clint, and he knew; Clint had given him Jonah. The pup had been like the final seal that bonded them. Axel couldn’t stop a part of him from wanting to keep Jonah all to himself. But the notion failed to take root when, even from across the club, he saw the joy on Gavin’s face. The kid had defended Jonah –to his own hurt. The pup might not be alive today if Gavin hadn’t stalled the abuser long enough for Clint to show up.

For that, he felt only gratitude towards the boy.

Clint touched his arm and Axel glanced up. “Go on,” Clint said quietly, nodding toward Angel. That faint smile played on his lips, doing funny things to Axel’s heart.

Releasing a shaky breath, Axel returned a smile of his own. He started to lean up and plant a kiss on Clint’s lips, then faltered and aborted when he spied the three men at the bar, watching them with intrigue. Suddenly self-conscious and uncertain about how comfortable Clint was with open, public affection, Axel left his side and weaved through the sparse customers, walking in Angel’s direction.

♦

The elusive kiss left Clint’s lips wanton with need, but he let the kid go without drawing him back and completing what Axel had started. He watched him make his way across the floor toward Angel and Gavin, who flashed warm, friendly smiles when they saw him. He would be okay. He would learn to accept forgiveness, and forgive himself.

You’re my knight in shining armor.
Axel clearly had delusions of grandeur in his perspective of Clint…but his words nonetheless filled Clint with emotions that remained somewhat foreign to him. But was it the ‘knight in shining armor’ reference that had him all twisted up…or rather other words that had fallen from Axel’s lips, for the second time?

He isn’t even aware he spoke them.
Clint stared at Axel across the club, his heartbeat erratic and a bit “off”. Maybe it was best that he wasn’t. At the moment…Clint didn’t know what to do with them. And he didn’t dare analyze too deeply just when those three little words running around in his head ceased to be Axel’s and became…

Shifting his stare from Axel, Clint cut the thought short and turned toward the bar. He groaned inwardly at the sight of the three men awaiting him. What happened to the good old days when even those who knew him well walked softly in his presence?

Gabriel was never wary of you
, he mused. Gabriel had always been a little bit incorrigible, from the day Nathan Sanitini had brought him in off the streets. And after a few years at the club –the young man was downright impossible at times. Of course, Clint wouldn’t have it any other way. In light of recent events, it proved to him yet again Gabriel’s resilience and strength –his ability to go through hell and come out the other side still fighting. A survivor.

“A drink?” Gabriel cocked an eyebrow and smiled when Clint approached.

“Scotch.” Clint took the stool next to Gabriel and rested his elbows on the bar, watching the young bartender fill his order. He was new to the club. “What happened to Carl?” Clint asked.

“He’s still with us,” Gabriel assured. “He just found himself an…outside interest.” He grinned. “By the name of Lex Roaman.”

“Roaman…” he looked at Gabriel uncertainly. “The same…”

“One and the same.”

Clint nodded slowly. “A good man, by my standards.”

“And ours.” Gabriel said. “For damn sure.” He smiled at the bartender –a good looking guy in his mid-twenties with the body of a model and thick dark hair cropped short. “This is Riley. Riley, meet Clint.” He smirked. “Our local thug.”

The bartender slid Clint’s drink across the bar then held out his hand and flashed a gorgeous smile. “Pleasure to meet you, Clint.”

Clint scowled at Gabriel as he shook the man’s hand and nodded. When Riley drifted away to attend other customers, Gabriel exchanged looks with Cole and Dane who up till now had held their peace. Which –for Cole, at least –was out of character. Gabriel’s boyfriend was nearly as incorrigible as Gabriel himself.

“So?” Gabriel looked at Clint, his brow raised and a twist to his lips.

“So…
what?
” Clint stared at him.

The three young men chuckled. Gabriel cleared his throat. “The last I recall, Axel was running from you in tears. Now he’s brandishing your infamous belt buckle…” he flicked his fingers. “Fill in the blanks here. What did you do to the poor kid? Lasso him and seduce him with your sexy cowboy ways?”

Clint looked at him dryly and released a growling breath. “Boy…” he muttered. “Remember what I told you about messing with the bull?”

Cole laughed and nudged Dane who struggled to suppress a chuckle.

Ignoring the obvious threat, Gabriel licked his lips, his smile stretching. “I noticed you hot-footed it right after him when he walked out of here. That was an awful long
talk
you had with him.”