Irritation snapped through him.Axel couldn’t believe Nick was tossing what Cyn and the guard had said in his face and niggling about what happened yesterday.The reminder scraped against new and old wounds.The fear of losing freedom, the fear of losing Jenna, the fear of losing Nick.
“Let’s not mention guards or prisons.Jenna is the same.She wouldn’t send us back,” he said.
Or would she?The words came out too fast, too sharp and the flicker of uncertainty that followed made his stomach tighten.
“Just proceed with caution, please.I don’t want my ass back in prison.We might not get so lucky next time.”
“There won’t be a next time, Nick.”
The horses shifted restlessly as they waited for Nick to push open the gate, but neither man paid them any mind.
“You want Jenna, don’t you.The fantasies we had were just supposed to be fantasies and now that you’re here, you want her.”Axel said, knowing the truth.
Nick’s throat worked as he swallowed.
“Yeah, now that I met her, I want her.I wantbothof you.”
The confession hit Axel like a blow.It wasn’t painful but it was staggering in its honesty.It cracked something open inside him he’d been trying to keep sealed.Being on the other side of the prison walls had changed the dynamics.They weren’t in fantasy land anymore.He’d spent years preparing for the idea that he would most likely never see Jenna again, convincing himself she was better off without him.
But now?Now he had Nick.A man who for some crazy unknown reason calmed Axel.He was all solid muscle with a quiet need to be loved.
And now he also had Jenna.That kiss they’d shared had solidified what he’d seen in her eyes.She still loved him.
She still belonged to him in ways he didn’t deserve.
But he wanted her and he wanted Nick.
He inhaled slowly at the next thought.
He wanted to see Nick’s hands on her, touching her, pleasuring her.He wanted to hear her cry out forbothof them as she came.The thought sent a strange heat through him.This time no jealousy, no fear, but a wild, impossible longing he didn’t have a name for.
“What are you thinking?”Nick asked.
He almost told him exactly what he was thinking.That he wanted to watch Nick make love to her.But reality stopped him.
Jenna had been a prison wet dream to keep them going.She was a widow now.Grieving.Nick was right, he needed to keep his hands off her and respect her grief.
“I’m thinking we need to get our asses in gear and get the rest of the horses out before it gets dark,” he snapped.
Nick nodded, opened the gate, and pushed past Axel, leading his horse into the pasture.Axel followed.
Prison life had made them both hard in some ways.They’d learned to keep their emotions in check and not show them.They’d learned to ask permission before doing anything.But now being out here, being free, he could feel the restraints already loosening.
Axel followed Nick, closing the gate behind them.
They let the horses go and watched as the two trotted off, their manes tossing in the morning breeze, already forgetting their human handlers.
“Let’s get back to the barn,” Axel said as he turned and opened the gate.Nick was close behind him and to Axel’s surprise Nick gave him a sharp smack to his ass.
The playful sting broke the tension, pulling a reluctant smile from Axel’s lips as they headed toward the barn.
“Remember tonight, you’re mine again,” Nick said.
“I owe you a smack on the ass,” Axel replied with chuckle.
Nick laughed, low and rough.
The sun was already higher now and their second day of life on Bear Valley Ranch was stretching out before them.
