Three Men and a Bounty (13 page)

Breathless, Troy asked, “Now what?”

“What do you want?”

“I-I…”

“Let me help you.” James grasped Troy by the shoulders and turned him around so that Troy’s back rested against his chest. They proved so evenly matched in height that Troy’s cleft perfectly cushioned the head of James’ hard cock without James having to crouch, stand on his toes, or otherwise make an adjustment. James rubbed himself up and down the crack between Troy’s butt cheeks and closed his eyes at the groan that escaped Troy’s lips. His arms
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automatically went around Troy, imprisoning him as he hugged Troy tight. “Lord, you feel so good! I can’t wait to get inside you.”

“I can’t wait to feel you inside me.” Troy reached back and grasped James’ shaft, drawing it closer to his hole.

James about shot off at the feel of Troy’s fingers gripping him, at the promised warmth of Troy’s anus surrounding his cock.

Rather than ram himself forward the way he wanted, James took a deep breath and slid one hand down to Troy’s ass. He eased a finger inside, pushing past the first ring of muscles and feeling Troy clamp down on the digit right firm. Lord, he was tight!

“You need to relax.”

“I’m trying, but…I’ve never…I’ve…”

James bent his head to nibble Troy’s earlobe, heart clenching in his chest at what he thought Troy tried to say. He proved tight enough to be a virgin, but…“You’ve never had a man inside you before?”

Troy silently shook his head, then leaned it back to cradle against James’ shoulder and worked his jaw muscles.

James reached up his free hand to cup Troy’s cheek. His palm rasped against the other man’s light stubble. He felt Troy’s shudder all the way through his own body. He ached to have this powerful, unusual man under him, to bury himself deep inside Troy and ride him until they both exploded like nitro.

His gaze shifted to find Chris standing in front of Troy with an indulgent expression on his face. He’d almost forgotten the boy was there with them and smiled at Chris’ look. He seemed so old, much older than his years. There proved so much pain and wisdom in that gaze, too.

As much as either he or Troy had seen, James decided.

“We’ll help you through it,” he murmured to Troy and watched Chris nod his agreement.

Yep, right old and wise beyond his years.

“I know it’ll be painful, but I want this. I’m ready to—”

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“Don’t have to be no such thing, at least not awfully so.” James bent his head and placed his lips on Troy’s throat. He caught a small piece of flesh between his teeth and nipped before licking and sucking the sore spot to take Troy’s mind off of the coming invasion. He’d have to soften him up right and proper to make sure this experience proved as painless and pleasurable as possible. He wanted Troy to enjoy himself, not fear what James would do to him.

Troy squirmed in his grasp, and James let his imagination run wild without letting his hand do the same. Slowly, he added another finger, pushing past the second ring of muscles inside Troy’s anus until his fingers disappeared to the third knuckle.

Troy opened himself up then, pushing back against James’ hand and riding it.

“Take it slow, Troy. We’ve got time,” James whispered in Troy’s ear. Not as much time as he would have liked. He wanted to savor being with Troy the same way he had been with Chris. He wanted to experience having both of them in a place they all called home.

Lord, he was jumping ahead of himself!

Focusing, James held Troy close with one arm as Chris went down on his knees in front of Troy—a full frontal and rear assault.

James smiled at the thought.

He wiggled his fingers inside Troy, stimulating the delicate nerve endings and making Troy’s muscles spasmodically clench right before he slid his fingers out. James grasped himself and used his pre-ejaculate as a lubricant, coating his shaft and mixing it with the water that still covered him. Extra moisture would have helped, and he wished he had come more prepared. However, he hadn’t had much forewarning before this jaunt. Certainly not enough that he could have brought along what he considered the essentials for this situation.

Oh, the things he had learned from the Chinese and the Greeks, the knowledge he had acquired to make sex more gratifying! Thanks to his own powerful curiosity and that rancher teaching him to read,
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he had picked up all sorts of information that could help him please another man. And he was eager to use it.

James synchronized his first thrust with Chris’ first stroke, watching as the young’un swallowed Troy almost to the hilt. Troy stiffened, then bucked his pelvis, and James put his hands on his shoulders to hold him still. He breached Troy’s anus with a decisive plunge, effectively pinning him between a rock and hard place as Chris’ lips reached the base of Troy’s cock.

Troy quaked as Chris sucked him, and James pushed farther until he rested balls-deep and his pelvis smacked flush against Troy’s ass cheeks. He felt Troy barely holding off coming. He barely held off himself, focusing before he began to circle his hips in a gentle but firm rhythm. The head of his cock just teased the spongy organ inside that James knew would make Troy go off like a rocket once James really stroked it.

Troy’s head fell forward. He buried his hands in Chris’ hair and made fists as if trying to get control of himself.

James would have none of it. He wanted Troy to lose control and angled his hips, changing the direction and intensity of his thrusts. He pushed forward as deep as he could while Chris heaped on his own efforts, drawing Troy into his mouth hard.

Troy released a hoarse cry that James was sure would have stirred the bears from their hibernation had it been winter.

“Oh…God!” Troy went stiff as a corpse and his every muscle tensed before he finally released into Chris’ mouth for the second time since they had come out to this little hideaway. James ran his hands up and down Troy’s smooth back, then drew his arms around him. He stroked Troy’s stomach, also smooth but for a smattering of hair and the scars.

James kissed Troy’s neck like he couldn’t get enough of the feel and taste of him, comforting himself more than he knew he comforted Troy.

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Troy’s scent proved raw and natural, like the trees and the grass around them, the underlying animal aura of the wolf hovering just beneath. It all moved James as surely as a punch to the gut. It made him hunger even after he had indulged in such a succulent meal.

However, the crack of a rifle in the distance moved all three of them a second later and shattered the balance and peace.

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Laughter exploded from a chest that up until that moment had
been filled with a tight ball of indignation.

Still fuming from what had been seen, by the idea of what those
men did to each other.

What in tarnation!

Eyes blinded by the abominations they experienced today. A body
hadn’t seen that coming. Maybe if it had, a body could have prepared
better.

There was no preparation for this kind of shock, a doozy to the
system to be sure.

Hadn’t wanted to play a hand too soon but had to do something to
stop the madness. Also, patience had been stretched too thin. Things
had gone on too long to be tolerated. By then, a body proved ready to
burst with rage.

How dare they?

Oh, what fun watching them duck and scramble for cover from the
three shots fired into the air. A body would have been plumb
privileged to see bullets strike and rip through their wicked hides.

They deserved nothing less.

There would be no bloodshed today, though. No. A body wanted
to be up close, see the eyes of the ones who’d been so disrespectful
and make sure they knew what sins they had committed and why they
were about to die.

The marshal remained firmly at the top of the hit list. However,
now that young pretty drifter and the freak-of-nature Barrow had
gotten themselves involved right and proper. No turning back now.

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It proved a dilemma, for sure. Didn’t have no beef with the two of
them. They did wrong, though, so very wrong, and they had to be
taught a lesson—just like that colored marshal.

Had to settle back against the trunk of a tree, needed to focus.

Cradling the rifle in the crook of arms aching to do more, a body tried
to relax—and plan its next move.

First, let’s see if the three fornicators went back to town and
reformed.

It proved too late for all of them. However, it would be a sight to
see them try.

* * * *

As soon as the shots went off, Troy instinctively grabbed Chris and shielded him with his larger body.

James followed the same impulse, seeming to gauge the direction of the shots and putting himself in front of Chris and Troy like a shield as if to fend off any approaching bullets.

“Get your clothes and get back to the horses!”

“What about you?” Chris struggled in Troy’s grasp.

“I’ll be right behind you. Now git, young’uns!”

Troy’s throat tightened at the thought of James sacrificing himself for them, protecting him as if he couldn’t protect himself. He hadn’t been anyone’s
young’un
since Pa. He’d never felt as cared about even if he knew he could defend himself and Chris if need be.

Nonetheless, he scooped up their clothes with one hand and dragged Chris through the forest with the other.

“We can’t leave him,” Chris said.

“We’re not. Put your clothes on.” Troy began doing just that as he watched Chris stubbornly plant his feet and fold his arms across his chest. He wished he had more time to appreciate the spirit and beauty of the kid, but they needed to move.

“I’m not a kid. I can help.”

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“The best thing you can do to help is get dressed so you’ll be ready to go once James catches up with us.”

Chris paused as if thinking things over, then hesitantly took the clothes that Troy handed him and began dressing.

Troy took it as a good sign that they hadn’t heard any more shots.

It didn’t mean that they were out of the woods yet or that James was safe by himself.

He couldn’t let anything happen to them, not after finally discovering Chris and James. He wouldn’t let anything happen to either of them.

Crouching low, Troy took Chris by the hand. “I need you to get the horses geared up and bring them to the edge of the woods. Have them ready when we come out.”

“You’re going to go get him?”

“I’m sure he doesn’t need any rescuing, but yeah, I’m going to check on him.”

Chris took a deep breath and smiled. He seemed to calm down at Troy’s words. “Promise?”

“We’ll be back directly. Promise.” How many people had broken that promise in the kid’s life? How many times had people walked out on him and never come back?

Troy didn’t want to think about it, didn’t want to remember the kid proved as alone in the world as he. He didn’t want to believe that anyone was that miserable and without anyone in their lives.

Troy took his rifle from its sheath on the side of his horse and headed back to where he and Chris had left James. He found James fully dressed and peering into the dimly lit woods as if he knew someone was out there watching them.

The idea that someone had been spying on them when James had…that someone had seen them in so intimate a position made Troy sick.

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The moments he’d spent with James and Chris belonged to him, moments he could go back and relive in his memory again and again for years to come if he had to.

He didn’t want to rely on just his memories of what had happened this afternoon. He wanted to make new memories every day to supplement and relive what he and James and Chris had done together.

“Chris all right?” James asked without turning.

“Yep. Worried about you, though.”

James turned, smiling as he took several steps toward Troy and paused. He reached out a hand to cup Troy’s face, his thumb rasping over the whiskers on Troy’s jaw, making him close his eyes to immerse himself in the sensations.

“What about you? Worried, too?”

Troy opened his eyes and smirked. “I’ve seen you in action.”

“I’ve seen you, too. You’re mighty fast with that rifle.”

“I do all right.”

“You do better than all right. One day you’re going to have to sit down and tell me exactly how you got to be such a quick draw.”

Troy stared at him, wondering what went on behind those brandy eyes. He wondered if James knew anything about his outlaw past. If he did, it didn’t seem to make a difference to him, not as far as being with Troy.

“We’d best be getting back. I don’t want Chris to start worrying.

He doesn’t do well following directions or being alone for too long.”

Troy grinned. He understood James’ allusion to what had happened at Nellie’s the other day. “He cares about you.”

“I care about him, too, and I don’t want to see anything happen to him, especially not because of me.”

Troy frowned, trying to frame his next words just right. “You think those shots were meant for you?”

“I think they were meant as a warning. Now as to which of us they were being delivered to…” James shrugged. “Could have been for all
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three of us. I know I’ve made an enemy or two. And I’m thinking you’ve made more than a couple of your own.”

“What makes you think that?” Troy wanted to know, wanted everything out in the open. If James had a problem with his past, Troy needed to know about it now before they took their relationship any further.