Cattle Valley 26 - Shadow Soldier (12 page)

Ray gave his sauce a quick stir before turning on the flame under the pasta pot. Once he was satisfied the sauce wouldn’t burn, he went in search of Brent. “Hey,” he said, finding Brent sprawled out on the sofa in front of the television. “You didn’t even give Mike a chance to unpack before making him uncomfortable.”

“I couldn’t help myself.” Brent snuggled his way into Ray’s arms. “One look at those big muscles in that tight T-shirt he was wearing and I almost tripped over my tongue.”
“I agree that he’s pretty damn incredible looking, but this is an entirely different situation than we’ve ever put ourselves in. We need Mike to head up this construction project. The last thing we can afford is to piss off our contractor before he even gets started.”
“So you’re telling me he’ll be here for months, and I’m not allowed to touch him?” Brent gave Ray a quick kiss, using only the tip of his tongue to tease. “I’m not sure I can do that.”
“Well you’re going to have to try unless Mike makes the first move.” Ray silently prayed that Mike would make a move. It was the first time since he’d agreed to indulge in the occasional threesome that he really wanted another man besides Brent. He gazed into Brent’s sapphire blue eyes. “If Mike’s okay with it, I’m okay with it, but it needs to be his decision. Got it?”
Brent licked his lips. “Can I tease him until he gives in?”
“Make him uncomfortable and I’ll kick your ass,” Ray warned.
“You mean you’ll kiss my ass,” Brent countered.
Ray had often wondered what his life would’ve been like if Brent had never wandered into his lecture hall and caught his attention. If the affair between them had never been exposed, and Ray hadn’t been fired, would they still be together or would their relationship have already fizzled on its own? The fact that Brent had quit college to follow Ray back to his hometown of Kansas City was another thing Ray often considered, because although Ray had already loved Brent, he hadn’t felt responsible for Brent until he’d given up everything to be with him.
“Where’d you go?” Brent asked, moving to straddle Ray’s lap.
“Just thinking.” Ray squeezed Brent’s ass. “Have you talked to your parents lately?”
“Yesterday,” Brent said, grinding his erection against Ray. “Mom sends her love.”
“But Dad didn’t, right?” Ray ran his fingers up and down the seam of Brent’s jeans. There was definitely no love lost between Ray and Brent’s father. Brock believed Ray had taken advantage of Brent’s youth and led his son astray, while Ray had come to realise that Brent had a bit of a daddy fetish and had always gone after older men without his father’s knowledge.
“Forget about my father and fuck me.”
Ray was incredibly tempted. It had been a while since the two of them had enjoyed spontaneous sex, but they had a guest in the house. “I’d love to, but I told Mike to come down for dinner after he showered.”
“And he did,” Mike said from the doorway. “Sorry to interrupt.”
Ray removed his hands from Brent’s ass. “Would you do me a favour and stir the sauce? I’ll be in shortly.”
“Sure.”
After Mike left, Ray pulled Brent’s head down for a kiss. The kiss started hot and progressed until it was a blending of tongue and teeth and raw need. What Ray wouldn’t give to strip Brent out of his jeans and fuck him right there over the sofa, but he knew half of the passion he felt was a direct result of Mike walking in on them. He pulled back and smiled at Brent as he wiped his chin. “Later.”
“For you maybe. I’m gonna go into the bedroom and finish myself off,” Brent said, standing. He pulled Ray to his feet and palmed the front of his jeans. “You sure you don’t want to join me?”
“Dinner’s waiting,” Ray reminded Brent. He left Brent and walked through the formal dining room on his way to the kitchen. Before entering, he took a couple of deep breaths, trying to get his cock under control. “Sorry about that,” he said, joining Mike at the stove.
“Your house,” Mike reminded.
Ray uncovered the homemade pasta he’d made earlier in the day. “I hope you like spaghetti.” He picked up the angel hair pasta and gently dropped it into the boiling water.
“You bet. Although I’m not sure I’ve ever had anyone make it from scratch like this.” Mike lowered the flame under the sauce and set the spoon to the side. “Where’d you learn to do this?”
“My Grandma DeMonico insisted all her grandchildren learn how to make the family recipes before she died.”
Mike bumped his hip against Ray’s. “Now I have even more reason to be jealous.”
Ray lifted the pot and poured the pasta into a strainer. “What else are you jealous of? You want Brent?”
Mike sighed and turned to face Ray. “I don’t know. Seeing the two of you earlier must’ve melted my brain.”
Ray shook the pasta several times before pouring it onto a large platter he already had sitting out. “You have someone special back in Chicago, Mike?”
Mike closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. “There’s someone very special in Chicago, unfortunately, he’s in love with someone else.”
“Ouch, that sucks.” Ray carried the platter to the stove. He removed a ladle from the large utensil carafe and used it to spoon sauce over the pasta. “Did you have an affair with him?” he asked out of curiosity.
“No. Sidney’s hopelessly devoted to Nash.”
Ray was surprised to hear his architect’s name. “I’ve met them. They’re both nice guys.”
“Yeah, that’s the part that sucks.”
Ray opened the warming oven and removed the meatballs he’d prepared earlier and spooned them onto the platter on top of the pasta and sauce. “So, is there anyone besides Sidney?”
“Nope, at least not anyone I see on a regular basis.”
Ray’s biggest fear had always been Brent leaving him for one of their occasional lovers. “If anything happens between you and Brent or whatever, I need you to promise you won’t fall in love and try to take him away from me.”
“I tried for five years to fall in love with another man, and I couldn’t. I can’t tell you how hard I’ve tried to get Sidney out of my heart, but it simply isn’t possible.”
Ray noticed Mike didn’t deny the idea of getting together with Brent, but at least he’d feel better if he did. “Brent will try to torture you until he gets his way. If you’re not into it, just tell him, and he’ll back off eventually.”
“What about you?” Mike asked.
“What about me?”
“Are you open to the idea?”
Ray set the food on the table. “Probably, but I think it’s something the three of us need to really think about, because despite what Brent believes, this situation is different.” He cupped his hands around his mouth. “Brent, dinner,” he called.
Mike appeared deep in thought as he sat down and placed a napkin in his lap. “Because I’ll be here for so long?”
Yes, was the obvious answer, but it wasn’t the truth, at least not for Ray. He picked up the bottle of wine and poured them each a glass. “You’re different,” he said, handing Mike his wine.
Mike’s fingers brushed the back of Ray’s hand. “Can I be honest?”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” Ray relinquished his hold on the glass before picking up his own.
“I’m sexually attracted to Brent. Hell, I’d have to be blind not to be. But I
like
you. I enjoy talking to you, being around you…” Mike leaned towards Ray. “Looking at you. I’m not worried about getting too close to Brent to walk away. I worry about leaving you if this goes further.”
Ray felt the words like a physical touch. Brent’s arrival saved him from commenting and for that, he was grateful. “Food’s getting cold.”
Brent plopped down in his chair. “Yeah, but it was worth it. Damn, that felt good.” He smiled at Mike. “You enjoy jerking off?”
Mike took a sip of wine while maintaining eye contact with Brent.
Ray watched the moment between the two men with growing interest. What did Mike see when he looked at Brent? Did he think Ray was a fool for practically offering Brent up on a silver platter?
“Masturbation has its uses, but when you have someone who loves you, willing to do it for you, what’s the point? If I had that, I’d never take myself in hand again,” Mike whispered.
Ray squeezed his legs together, trying to alleviate the ache in his groin. He was surprised by the feelings of jealousy that raced through him as Mike spoke of his unrequited love for Sidney.
Brent stood and leaned over the table towards Mike. “And sometimes it’s fun to have a totally different hand touch your cock.”
“Brent,” Ray said, trying to rein his partner in. “Let’s eat.”
Brent chuckled and sat down. “Can’t blame a guy for trying.”
Ray refilled his glass, knowing Brent wouldn’t quit until he got what he wanted. And, for the first time, Ray was glad his partner was so persistent.

An avid reader for years, one day Carol Lynne decided to write her own brand of erotic romance. Carol juggles between being a full-time mother and a full-time writer. These days, you can usually find Carol either cleaning jelly out of the carpet or nestled in her favourite chair writing steamy love scenes.

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