STORY EXCERPT

Patches of snow littered the grounds of the ranch, and the cold Wyoming air bit through Garrett’s jacket as he reached the bunkhouse and started inside.

“You might want to give them a little warning first.” Clayton’s voice froze him in his tracks.

He released the doorknob and stepped back from the door. The low but steady beat of dance music pulsed against the dark sky. Laughter and conversation could be heard from inside. “A wild night?”

Clayton emerged from the shadows. “Not any wilder than usual. But I don’t think they’re expecting you.”

In the soft light of the reproduction lantern hanging by the knotty pine door, Clayton’s handsome features took on an old cinema radiance that caught Garrett’s heart and gave it a squeeze. Fantasy Ranch, a resort ranch where women came for a week of make-believe love, was known for its gorgeous cowboys, but even here Clayton was in a league of his own.

“Why aren’t you in there?” Garrett knew better than to think he could fill a bunkhouse with a dozen beautiful gay men and expect them to keep their hands off each other.

Clayton leaned against the exterior wall. The ever-present sparkle in his soft blue eyes had been the vision that kept Garrett awake at night. And tonight it grabbed him by the balls. Relief that Clayton wasn’t inside sharing his body with another man flooded his chest. But that was something he needed to get over. The beautiful cowboy was off limits.

He’d worried himself sick three years ago when his brother, Gavin, risked the ranch and fell in love with one of the guests. That had turned out better than anyone expected, but lightning didn’t strike twice. Only a fool would dip his pen in company ink. And Garrett wasn’t a fool.

The light dusting of the short, neatly trimmed beard Clayton had started to wear worked for him in ways most men could never pull off. Not a thick lumberjack look, but just enough hair to scream masculine sex appeal. Facial hair had never turned Garrett on, but he itched to feel Clayton’s textured jaw beneath his hand, against the inside of his thigh, grazing every inch of his body.

Clayton stared at him with a look that penetrated his thoughts and reflected them right back at him.

“Aren’t you cold out here?” Garrett asked.

“Not anymore.” He gave a low throaty laugh that sent another surge of heat to Garrett’s belly. “And that scene’s not my speed.”

“What’s your speed?”

Clayton dipped his gaze slowly from Garrett’s eyes down to his boots. “About six-two. Built like a dream and drop-dead gorgeous.”

The heat that flared between them when their eyes met again sent the fire that had pooled in Garrett’s belly rocketing to his groin. Clayton had never hit on him before. Sure, they’d joked around, like he did with all the men who worked at the ranch. He might have even caught Clayton’s lingering glance once or twice. And lord knows he’d imagined that sweet body against his more times than he could count. But nothing more than that. Never more than that.

The crisp night hovered around them and the air practically crackled with tension. Clayton moved closer. Their chests almost touched. His cheek lightly brushed Garrett’s, and his voice was barely a whisper. “I want … No. Ineed to kiss you.”

Garrett’s blood pulsed in his ears and his cock jumped.

Clayton leaned closer. Their lips barely touched, but Garrett felt the jolt of that connection straight to his boots.

He stumbled back like he’d been punched. Surprise quickly followed by hurt registered in Clayton’s eyes, and disappointment settled across his handsome face.

Biting back the desire that whipped through him was like wrestling a full-grown bull to the ground. He didn’t stand a chance of keeping it pinned down.

Garrett strode away from the bunkhouse, his breath escaping in clouds around him. He didn’t look back and he didn’t slow down. He couldn’t trust himself with Clayton. Not tonight.

ADULT EXCERPT

Clayton stopped outside the door of the room he used on the weeks he worked at the ranch and glanced down the hall toward the lounge area. “If you don’t want me half as bad as I want you, you’d better not follow me in here,” he said in a low, sexy voice that shook Garrett to the core.

Garrett stepped inside, heart pounding. Clayton reached around him to close the door and then pressed his body close. He slipped his hand between them and flattened his palm against Garrett’s crotch, then leaned closer, stroking the edge of Garrett’s ear with his tongue.

“I have to have you. I have to suck you, feel your big cock in my hand, taste your cum. I have to. Don’t tell me no.”

Garrett swallowed hard. “The men...” He made a half-hearted attempt to tilt his head in the direction of the lounge area, but he couldn’t tear himself away from Clayton’s touch or the warmth of his breath.

“They won’t come back here, and I only need a minute.” Clayton chuckled softly. “This is just going to be a little something to make you want more.”

“I already want more.”

“You’re going to get more. A lot more.” He rubbed Garrett’s cock through the denim and pressed himself closer.

“I want to fuck you.”

Clayton shook his head and dipped low to place a kiss on Garrett’s throat. “Not this time, cowboy. I’m going to suck you until you come in my mouth. You can fuck me later.”

Garrett groaned. His cock had stretched to a burn. He pumped his hips against Clayton’s hand. “Suck me now.”

Clayton’s mouth landed on his in a kiss that took his breath away. His lips were soft and strong. The taste of his tongue sparked a craving so deep in Garrett’s gut, he moaned. There was nothing about this man that didn’t fill him with the need for more. He grabbed Clayton’s hips and pulled him close. Clayton’s hands went to Garrett’s belt buckle and his hard cock ground against Garrett’s erection. The hunger that raged between them left a sheen of sweat on Clayton’s handsome face and brought a flush to his neck that made Garrett want to lay him down and fuck him until they’d both spent everything they had.

Clayton’s tongue heated Garrett’s neck. His hands quickly gained access to his pants, and in one sweet second his fingers closed around his cock. Clayton’s head came up quickly, his eyes dark with passion. “You’ve got the sweetest cock I ever put in my mouth.”

Garrett grabbed the back of his head and pulled his mouth back for another taste. He didn’t trust himself to speak. He was dangerously close to saying things he didn’t need to say. Not yet. Clayton drove him wild, physically and emotionally. They’d spent one night together and already Garrett needed him. Needed. Not wanted. Needed.

He ate at Clayton’s mouth and filled his palm with one sweet cheek of his ass. He held tight, but Clayton pulled free.

“We don’t have long.” Clayton pushed Garrett’s jeans over his hips and sank to his knees.

Garrett’s chest burned with the breath he held. The same breath that flew out in a heated gust the instant Clayton’s lips closed around his dick. Clayton cradled his balls and sucked his cock. One talented finger reached back, stroking the sensitive skin between his sac and his ass.

Garrett speared one hand in Clayton’s hair and gripped the doorknob with the other. He could barely stand. Barely breathe. His body belonged to this man and his soul threatened to fly out and latch onto him, too.