Axel winced as he bent over and picked up her cowboy hat.Holding it felt like holding a piece of her, familiar, fragile, and far too easy to break again.He put it up against his nose.It smelled of Jenna.Pretty.Fresh soap and female.
He plopped the hat on his head and made his way to the ranch house, the persistent ache between his legs a reminder of what had just transpired.
Man, he’d been so close to ripping off her clothes.So close to making love to her right then and there.So damned close.It had been too long for them to be apart.Too damned long.
He knew that’s what she wanted.What they both wanted.It had always been that way between them.The attraction between them hadn’t changed.It had only grown.
Entering the ranch house, he lifted the cowboy hat off his head and placed it on the peg just inside the door where he’d seen it earlier.Then he spotted Nick standing by the sink, casually leaning against the counter, sipping on a glass of water.The sight of Nick steadied him.He was a reminder of the life he’d survived, and the one he was trying to build now.
Nick looked much better than earlier.The blood that had streaked his face was now gone, and he seemed to have regained some of his composure.
“You clean up quite good,” Axel complimented.
“Thanks to Jenna.It’s amazing what some pain killers and tender touches can do for an injured man.She told me about what happened here last night.She figures it’s the same guy.”
A flicker of something sharp twisted in Axel’s chest.Protectiveness, jealousy, guilt, it was all tangled together.
“Yeah, guess we should have gone over and warned you.”
Nick shrugged, unconcerned.
“Hey, you guys didn’t know he was still around.And the conk on my head might have been worth it as Jenna plays nurse very well.By the way, your food was quite delicious.Had two helpings.”
“I can tell you what that meatloaf would taste good with,” Axel growled, knowing Nick would understand his meaning.Back in prison they’d done some mighty fine taste testing by smearing food on their intimate parts after they’d smuggled some form of rare delicacy or another out of the cafeteria.
“And she wanted me to lie down in the back bedroom and play patient,” Nick remarked with a grin.
“That worked out well,” Axel grinned back, feeling his cock swell even harder at the appealing thought that they could have some alone time in that bedroom with Jenna being outside.
Nick’s eyes sparkled with mischief.
“You know me, I can’t sit still for too long.And when I heard the truck coming back…I didn’t expect to see you and Jenna kissing.That was one hell of a kiss, I’m surprised you’re still standing,” Nick’s gaze flicked pointedly to the juncture of Axel’s pants, his teasing clear.
Heat crept up Axel’s neck, not from desire, but from the raw vulnerability of being seen.
“Didn’t figure you a voyeur,” Axel grumbled as he strolled toward the table attempting to regain his composure.
Yeah, some alone time with Nick would certainly alleviate his immediate problem.
Things sure didn’t turn out the way he’d wanted for the three of them.He’d thought they would have enjoyed a nice meal together, discussing what repairs needed doing, but he’d screwed it up quite nicely by taking off and then pissing off Jenna.
“Actually I believe I’m jealous,” Nick said as he moved in behind Axel and wrapped his arms around Axel’s waist.The familiar weight of Nick’s presence grounded him, pulling him back from the edge of his spiraling thoughts.
Axel’s breath caught and he swore softly at the feel of Nick’s burgeoning erection pressing intimately against the crack of Axel’s clothed ass.
“Easy, there, cowboy,” Axel muttered as he tried to concentrate on heaping food onto a plate.He swore if Nick pressed himself even closer, Axel would forget the food, turn Nick around, and take him right there against the table, using the butter he’d set on the table earlier, as lubricant.
Thankfully, Nick moved away with a chuckle.
“Where’s our stuff?I didn’t see them in any of the bedrooms,” he asked.
“We’re sleeping in the hayloft in the barn.More private.So you hold onto that erection as it appears you got mighty turned on watching us,” Axel said as he fixed his gaze onto Nick’s tented pants.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Nick replied.
Just then a low rumble of thunder whispered into the kitchen.The sound echoed the turmoil still churning inside him.
“Oh oh, sounds like a storm coming.Going to go out and see how bad it might be,” Nick said and headed for the door.
