Adam nodded. “Hop up. Colt can take the weight.”
“Hop on? What, is this a bicycle or something? Do Ilooklike I’ve ever been on a horse before?” Rico grumbled, secretly delighted that Adam wanted him to come.
At that, Adam slid out of the saddle and came around the front of the horse to join him at the horse’s side. “Put your foot in the stirrup, and reach up to grab the pommel, then swing the other leg over Colt’s back.” He pointed to the knob at the front of the saddle, and Colt, as if sensing Rico’s hesitancy, shook his head and stamped a hoof.
Giving it all a dubious glance, Rico paused a moment until Adam whispered in his ear, “I’ll help you.” Goosebumps prickled on his skin, and he swallowed hard.
“Okay.” He slid his foot into the dangling stirrup and reached up for the pommel. As promised, Adam heaved his ass up higher, and Rico threw his leg over the saddle. Rico couldn’t help grinning like a kid when he looked down at Adam. “I did it.”
“So you did.”
Adam swung himself up with ease behind him, took the reins, and clicked to the horse, who began to walk forward. Nervous, Rico held on to the saddle for his life.
“I got you.” Strong arms tightened around him, and they walked out of the barn and into the bright sunlight. They rode for several minutes in silence before Rico realized he’d settled into the motion of the horse by leaning into the strength of Adam’s arms and chest. He stiffened and made to pull away, but Adam squeezed him closer.
“Don’t.”
He said nothing further, and Rico didn’t press. Something had upset Adam, veering him off the light and easy path they’d been on. Never one to chatter about nothing simply to fill the air, Rico nevertheless couldn’t help but wonder what had happened. Adam’s parents passed them by in the pickup, waving out the window.
“They’re doing their usual food shopping, which means they’ll be gone all day now; with you here, they’ll want to have a special dinner. We’re on our own for lunch, so I hope you don’t mind whatever’s in the fridge.”
“Of course not.” They rode in silence a bit longer. “So how long do you think you’re going to stay here? I have to say I don’t blame you for coming.” The fields stretched before him, and the sun shone strong even though it had barely reached ten a.m. The only sounds were the buzzing insects flying by and the occasionalmooof the cows they’d left behind. “It’s so peaceful here—not like the craziness of the city.”
“Nothing much changes here. That’s why I left. It’s great to come visit, but when I do, it’s like a time warp for me. And I haven’t anything much good to remember, except how good it felt to finally leave.”
They walked the field, coming to a dirt road, which Adam explained was the boundary between his family’s property and the next. The horse picked up his pace, jouncing him around a bit, his balls uncomfortably squashed by the hard saddle. He shifted a bit, and for the first time since they started the ride, Adam chuckled.
“Yeah, your nuts are gonna be sore, not gonna lie.” A shiver ran through Rico when Adam licked his ear. “If you want, I can give them a personal massage later.”
Heat flooded him, and Rico struggled to remember his promise not to give in to the temptation of Adam’s lips and hands, but with Adam nibbling and sucking at his neck, Rico found it increasingly impossible to remain strong.
Why not?Rico’s head fell back on Adam’s shoulder, and he luxuriated in the wet, hot slide of Adam’s tongue on his throat, while the up-and-down motion of the horse sent spiraling pulses of desire through his aching cock. Who was he kidding? All Adam had to do was touch him, and Rico was ready. He’d never been in such a state of prolonged lust with a man before, but Rico had grown tired of denying his desire for Adam. It hadn’t weakened one bit. He let go of the pommel with one hand to press against his jean-covered cock, hoping Adam might want to get off the horse and find a secluded place, when Adam jerked away from him, forcing Rico to sit up straight. It was then he heard the pounding and felt the ground shake. Two riders galloped toward them, cutting across the fields on the opposite side of the road.
Instantly on guard, Rico put as much room between him and Adam as possible. “You want me to get down?”
“No. I will.”
And before Rico could say another word, Adam stopped Colt and slid out of the saddle but kept a firm hold of the reins. As before in the barn, the light in Adam’s face had shut down, and Rico wondered what the hell was going on.
“Do you know these men?” Rico instinctively kept his voice low as the two riders drew close. One was somewhat older, in his late sixties perhaps, while the other man, in his early forties, bore enough of a resemblance to obviously be his son. Neither wore the friendly, welcoming expression on their face that Grace and Wes Barton had for him last night.
“Yeah.”
“Adam Barton, what the hell are you doing here?”
The older man controlled his horse expertly, but Rico noticed he allowed the stomping animal to parade near enough to Adam that Colt flicked his ears back and forth and huffed out a breath. Rico placed a hand on the big horse’s mane and patted it.
“Last I knew, this was my home.”
“Thought you done us all a favor and left it.” That came from the younger man, who eyed Rico with disdain. “Ridin’ with the help now, Adam? Is that where you find them?” The man’s eyes flicked over him dismissively, returning to pierce Adam with mud-colored cruelty. “Might as well go running back to New York and hide there. Your mama and daddy deserve better.”
“I told you over ten years ago how I felt about you two, and nothing’s changed. You’re insulting my guest, and I have no time to waste talking to either of you. Go back to being the narrow-minded bigots I know you are. On your own land.”
He turned his back and clicked to Colt, who moved between the two men and Adam as if he understood Adam needed protection.
“You say what you want, but you can’t hide the fact that it’s your fault Wayne’s dead. I hope you suffer every day like we do because of it.”
Rico sat stunned that these people spoke to Adam as they did, and wondered who Wayne was. Remaining silent, he held on tight to the pommel when Adam got back in the saddle. Adam’s arms came around him to grab the reins; tremors shook his frame, and his shirt stuck to Rico, wet and smelling of fear and sweat.
