"I was just - " Cy tried.
The other guy cut him off. "No! We're not doing that again. You can't just kiss me and make it 'all better,' Cyan."
"I was trying to apologize, and you're just pushing me away again. Every time, that's what you do. Well, I'm tired of it. I don't like how - "
I flicked on the lights, my eyes seeking the source of the second voice. The old halogen lights sputtered as they warmed up, but it was enough. There, pinned against the wall was Ashton, Violet's supposed best friend. Holding the side of his face like I'd just interrupted a kiss was Cy. Both of them looked my way in surprise. Both of their eyes were a little too glossy, like they were about to lose control at any moment.
Suddenly, all the little pieces fell together. So many half-thoughts and unfinished sentences now made sense. Violet hadn't been with Cy, Ash had. I'd thought they were all together, but I'd been wrong. She'd been the third wheel. She'd been the one who was "just a friend." And somewhere along the way, these two hadn't worked out.
"Sorry," I said, stepping back. "I forgot you were coming back today, and I didn't mean to interrupt."
"Fuck!" Cy roared, pushing Ash against the wall even as he backed off.
It wasn't too hard, but that was not a lover's move. I paused, thinking I should make sure Ash was ok, but Cy was a man on a mission, and he was pissed. I had no idea what I'd missed, but clearly emotions were running high. I'd been there a few too many times, and the last thing I wanted to do was make this worse, so I stepped back, intending to let Cy storm past me.
Instead, he stopped just in front of me, turning to glare at Ashton. "You want to know how it fucking feels to have the rug pulled out from under you? Maybe it's that easy to forget what happened, but it feels just like this."
Then Cy grabbed the side of my face and stepped in. One push shoved my back against the wall, giving me nowhere to go, then his mouth followed, crashing into mine. I could feel the coarseness of his beard against my lips, tangling in my own scruff, and my lips just... opened.
His tongue was right there, demanding, thrusting, taking from me what he wanted. This man was so powerful that there was nothing I could do about it, but I didn't try. I simply matched him. I'd wondered. I'd thought about it. He tasted like beer and felt like granite. I could feel my dick swelling, caught against my jeans, but I didn't stop.
I kissed back. I wasn't sure if I was helping, getting even with Ash myself, or something else. Ever since Cy had told me he slept with men, I'd been curious, and I wasn't the kind of man to be afraid of shit. No, I grabbed a fistful of his shirt and let him lean in a little more. His fingers shifted to the back of my head. His lips caressed mine before his tongue was back, and something about him softened just before he leaned into me.
"Fucking dick," Ash roared, and then Cy was gone.
I gasped, feeling like the world was spinning. What had just happened? What had I done? Had I liked it? Only feet away, Ash threw his fist into Cy's jaw like it wasn't the first time, but I couldn't think about that right now. I'd just kissed a man. A fuckingman!The problem was that I was pretty sure I'd liked it.
Cy was strong. He was powerful. He was confident, driven, intelligent, and more. He was all the things I said about Violet, but not a woman. He also had a fucking dick. He had a damned beard! But I hadn't hated it. My heart was racing in my chest. My lips burned from his mouth, and my mind was stuck in molasses trying to figure out which way was supposed to be up.
I watched blankly as Cy grabbed Ash's arm, spinning him around so he couldn't get sucker-punched again, but Ashton was the scrappy kind. He ducked out of it and shoved back. This was nothing like any lover's quarrel I'd ever seen. This was a full-on fight, and neither of those men looked like they were going to back down.
I knew I should pull one of them off. Probably Ashton, because Cy could at least be reasoned with. Instead, I just lifted my hand to touch my lower lip where Cy's mouth had been a moment before. He'd tasted good. Feeling him push me against the wall had been like when Violet tried the other day, but more. So much more.
Then there was my dick. It was starting to hurt at that angle, so I reached down to fix it, knowing I needed to let that go down before I left the barn. What would Violet think if she knew I'd kissed a man? Fuck that. What didIthink about kissing a man?!
"Just fucking stop!" Cy yelled, cutting through my thoughts.
"You kissed him!" Ash roared. "You bastard!"
"Stop," Cy said again. "Yeah, not my finest moment, but I need you to stop hitting me for a second because I fucked this up, Ash."
Then he turned Ash toward me. In that moment, everything paused. Our eyes met and I had no clue what to say. Would sorry even cut it? Clearly, things between these two were hot, and the kind that no one should get in the middle of, but now I was, and all I could do was flop my mouth, getting out nothing but partial sounds as I tried to find one single word.
"Fuck," Ash said, the fight going right out of him. "Go inside," he told Cy even as he moved to me. "Tell Violet what you've done."
"No!" I snapped, making both men stop. "I'm straight."
"Are you?" Ash asked. "Looks to me like my ex just rocked your world."
"I'm fucking straight," I said, forcing myself off the wall. "Why is it that whenever you show up, Ashton, shit gets real western around here? Stop helping me." Then I made my idiot legs carry my ass back toward my truck.
"Fuck!" Cy roared, following after me. "Luke? Luke! Fucking stop or I'm telling her."
Yeah, that worked. My feet locked up two steps from the door of my truck. "Just..." I turned back, but I couldn't meet his eyes. "Give my horses another flake of hay and leave the tractor. I'll get it in the morning."
"I'm sorry," Cy said, taking another step.
I lifted a hand. "I don't want in the middle of that."
