STORY EXCERPT

Opening the door to his truck, Taren took a breath, put his left foot on the running board, and hefted his body into the cab. Pain shot through his leg and back, and he sat there until he could breathe once more.

“Are you okay?”

Taren nodded stiffly. “I will be in a minute. Don’t you feel bad for leaving your friend?”

“Not really. It’ll teach him not to be an asshole when he’s around me. Are you sure you don’t need help or something? I can drive, if that would help.”

“Thanks, but I’ll be able to manage soon. It just takes a while for things to settle into place.”

“That must suck,” the guy said sympathetically.

For the second time that night, Taren found himself laughing. “Yeah, it does. Are you from around here?”

“No. I’m from Arizona. I’m Keith Midland. My butthead friend and I came here to do some hiking and rock climbing.”

“Taren Winters.”

“Wow, Taren, cool name.”

“Thanks.” He finally closed the truck’s door and put the key in the ignition, starting the truck. “Where do you need to go?”

“How about home with you?”

Taren had expected one of several different answers. Town, possibly one of the campgrounds in the area, or even one of the motels along the highway. Going home with him hadn’t been one of them. Shock ricocheted through his body as he contemplated doing exactly what Keith suggested. It had been almost five years since he had been with anyone. Not that it had been an issue. At first, he had been recovering from his injuries. After that, it was a matter of a complete lack of interest. His partner had died, and with it his desire. It had lain dormant for so long that his cock now stirring to life in his jeans was yet another shock.

Nodding jerkily, Taren put the truck in gear and drove out of the parking lot. Keith put down the window and waved to his friend. Well, he flipped his friend off and called him a jerk before putting the window back up.

“Have you guys known each other long?”

“Sure, since we were kids. Our moms lived together for a long time and got married two years ago. He’s my stepbrother now.”

“Has he ever been anything else?”

There was silence for a moment, as if the question took time to sink in. Then Keith was twisting in his seat to stare at Taren. “Eww, gross, fuck no!”

Taren chuckled as he made the turn toward his ranch. It wasn’t until he had driven another mile before he thought of something. “Damn, I have to get something in town.”

“What?”

“Condoms and lube. I haven’t needed them in a while.”

He glanced at Keith again, waiting for his reaction. The man was nodding his shaggy head. Taren couldn’t wait to tangle his fingers in all that hair.

“We’re definitely going to need them. I want you to fuck me until tomorrow turns into the day after.”

He could do that. Taren figured that once he had the guy out of his clothes, his level of desire would shoot through the roof. But he didn’t respond to that ballsy statement. Instead, he asked, “Won’t your stepbrother get mad for leaving him?”

“Cory? No, he’s cool. Well, when he isn’t being a jerk. His mouth has no filter and he doesn’t give much thought to anything he says. He’s not a bad guy, he just has to learn to be more sensitive and less obnoxious.”

“If you say so.” Losing interest in the subject, Taren decided to practice his social skills. God knew he was rusty. “How long have you been rock climbing?” he asked with genuine interest. There, that hadn’t been so bad.

“About five years. We usually go with a group, but this time we decided to go out on our own. Have you lived around here long?”

“All my life. I own a small ranch. It used to be part of a much larger spread, but my father split it up between my brothers and me.

“That’s cool. Do you have cows and stuff?”

Keith sounded so hopeful that Taren didn’t want to disappoint the guy. He would have to, however. “I have one horse and a couple of old steers. I never got around to stocking the place.”

The memory of the reason why sent a shaft of pain through Taren’s heart. His fingers tightened around the steering wheel and he focused his attention on the illuminated road ahead.

“Why not?”

Taren took a breath and let it out slowly. It seemed Keith had spent a little too much time with Cory. Most people wouldn’t have delved into a person’s private life after such a short acquaintance. Especially since the plan was fuck each other, not get to know the details their lives.

“My partner died. I didn’t care much about things after that.”

“Did it happen at the same time you got hurt?”

His answer was clipped. “Yes.”

“I’m very sorry that happened.”

Keith sounded so sincere that Taren couldn’t take offense at the intrusion into his private life or the resurrection of memories he had done his best to bury. They surfaced from time to time. It was difficult not to think of the man who had meant so much to him, the plans they had made together, and the future that had been destroyed with Lenny’s death.

When they reached the edge of Silver, Taren pulled into the parking lot of a convenience store. Keith put his hand on Taren’s arm, stopping him from getting out of the truck.

“I’ll go. Small, medium, or large?”

Taren didn’t know whether to be offended or relieved about being stopped from getting out of the truck. He didn’t know if Keith was trying to save him the added pain he would experience getting out and back in the truck, or if he didn’t want to be seen with him.

He decided not to take the gesture so personally. “Extra-large,” he told Keith dryly. “And get a bottle of lube, not packets.” He pulled money out of his pocket and handed it to the grinning, nodding man. “Buy snacks and beer, too, if you want. I don’t have any of that kind of stuff at my place.”

Keith nodded again and opened the truck door. “Sure thing. I’ll get something to keep our strength up.” His amber eyes slid over Taren like a caress. “I hope you fuck like a beast.”

ADULT EXCERPT

With only his T-shirt on, Keith kneeled on the seat facing the passenger window and offered his ass to Taren. After he poured lube over his fingers and down the shadowed crevice of Keith’s ass, he decided to slow things down for the moment by rimming the puckered hole with the tip of his finger. He wasn’t about to be a total bastard and shove a dick in the guy, just so he could get his rocks off. He wanted Keith to be ready so there would be no chance of hurting the man.

When Keith began to moan and whimper, pushing his ass back a little, Taren pushed a finger into the man’s tight asshole. Watching his finger disappear and reappear caused a shudder of pleasure to rack his body. His balls tightened even more. He wanted to play all night. He wanted to fuck all night. But it wouldn’t be both. Not here and now. He added a second finger and scissored them, relieved when Keith pushed out to ease their entry.

Soon the man was fucking himself on Taren’s fingers. Taren grabbed the base of his own cock and squeezed as he took a deep, calming breath. It was almost pointless. The sight of his fingers plunging into the man, the dangerous situation they were in, was exquisitely erotic and had his blood flowing like molten metal through his veins.

Taren stretched Keith’s asshole as quickly as he could without risking injury to the man. He added a third finger, and then a fourth. They would play later. There was no time left for preparation.

“Please, Taren, I need you to fill me with that huge cock of yours.”

Pulling his fingers free, he wiped them on his jeans and reached to adjust the driver’s seat. It slid all the way, making room between his body and the steering wheel. He then lowered the back of the seat so he was almost prone. Before he could tell him to do so, Keith was there, straddling his lap and grabbing Taren’s cock to guide it to his stretched hole. Keith planted his feet and his muscular legs kept him balanced as he slid down the length of Taren’s cock. He moaned the entire time, his head thrown back until he bottomed out. Then he pulled his shirt off and leaned forward enough to brace his hands on Taren’s chest. With their gazes locked, and their breathing was ragged, the man began to ride Taren as if his life depended upon it.

Taren’s hips began moving, almost of their own accord, countering Keith’s movements, thrusting upward as Keith lowered his ass. The shaggy head bobbed the faster Keith rode Taren’s cock. He fucked like a wild man, his eyes closed, his bottom lip caught between his teeth. That didn’t prevent the cries from escaping him, however.

Taren closed his own eyes now that the image was captured in his mind, burned there, he suspected, permanently. He reached out and grabbed onto Keith wherever he could get a handhold. He ignored the pain in his body and focused solely on the pleasure of being within the silky, dark channel. He pumped his hips, he pulled Keith down hard onto his cock, and he fucked the man even as he was being fucked. Passion and lust coiled tightly in his lower belly. He knew it wouldn’t be long before he came.

“Come for me, Taren!” Keith begged in a voice ragged with raw passion, reaching down to jerk his cock almost violently. Pearly ropes of cum erupted from the tip to land on Taren’s shirt and face. Keith’s dark channel clenched down hard on Taren, making it almost impossible for him to move. “Come for me. Fill me with your hot cum.”

Taren’s back arched as his orgasm ripped through him and he roared his pleasure. His fingers bit hard into Keith’s flesh, but he gave it no thought as powerful spurts of cum left his clenching balls to fill the condom.