Chapter Seven

Rodney, who from his past behavior, would seem to be the very last person to act tenderly, was the picture of gentleness as he led Gideon into the tiny back bedroom of the trailer. When Gideon tried to speak, Rodney silenced him with a sweet, soft kiss, and then a finger placed lightly over his lips. “Don’t speak. Just feel.”

With the utmost care, Rodney undressed Gideon, revealing silky skin only slightly tarnished by the ravages of age, and a sprinkling of gray hair on an otherwise smooth chest. The only other marks were the reddish rashes from scraping the pavement when he wrecked his bike. His cock was full already, thick and nested in dark hair. Never had Rodney seen anyone as sexy as Gideon. He may have been a beauty when he was younger, but in Rodney’s opinion, age had done nothing but enhance Gideon’s good looks.

“Oh, man. I want to take you hard, fuck you, make you scream my name, but not this time. This time, I want it slow, easy. I want to taste you, commit every inch of you to memory. Lie back on the bed for me. Let me look at you.”

Gideon lay back, scooting until his head bumped the headboard. His skin was flushed, as if he were embarrassed to be seen, but Rodney barely noticed. He wanted to taste that blood-flushed skin, lick it, suck it into his mouth and leave his mark on it.

“Take your clothes off, too, Rodney. I want to see you.” Gideon’s whisper was hoarse and needy.

Rodney did as he was told, stripping down to nothing but his eyepatch. That would remain on—he was far too aware of his scar’s ugliness, and too sensitive about it. When Gideon reached for it, he batted Gideon’s hand away. Not now, not this first time. Maybe later, if there was a later. This time, he wanted everything to be perfect.

He crawled up over Gideon’s body, letting their skin touch. Everywhere their bodies met felt like sweet fire as he moved to reach Gideon’s lips. Holding himself up by his forearms, he leaned down and took Gideon’s mouth, tongue sweeping in to taste Gideon fully. It was the taste of corn and caramel and jalapenos—sweet and spicy and delicious.

Gideon’s hands were not idle as Rodney ravaged his mouth. They slid over Rodney’s body, dancing lightly over his skin, exploring. They moved over the broad of his back to the small, and lower, to cup Rodney’s ass cheeks, squeezing lightly, making Rodney moan into Gideon’s mouth.

“Keep that up and I’m not going to last long enough to teach you a goddamn thing,” Rodney chuckled. He inched down, freeing his ass from Gideon’s hands, and allowing his lips to reach Gideon’s throat. There he suckled, bringing purpling marks to the surface. He backed off just long enough to admire them. “There. Now everyone will know you’re mine.”

“I’m yours?” There was a hint of play in Gideon’s voice. “Did I fall asleep and agree to that?”

“Make no mistake. You’re mine. And I’m yours. For now, at least. For tonight.”

“And if I want more than just tonight?”

“I might just let you have me for as long as you want me.” Rodney grinned at Gideon.

“I might just take you then.”

Rodney moaned when Gideon raised his head and took a nipple in his mouth. That sweet wet tongue circled it, flicked over it, and made Rodney’s cock wet with desire. As much as Rodney wanted it to last, this was going to be over quicker than he’d anticipated. He decided to help it along. There was always later for a round two.

He straddled Gideon’s hips and took both his cock and Gideon’s in hand. A little spit and precome slicked the way as he stroked them together, slow at first, then faster, until both he and Gideon were moaning.

Gideon came first, shooting hot white come over Rodney’s fist and cock. Then Rodney joined him, his head thrown back, howling his pleasure to the ceiling. By the time they were done, they were both a sticky mess, but neither was complaining.

“Believe it or not, I got a teensy tiny little shower in that bathroom. Might not be big enough for two, but I figure we can squeeze in,” Rodney said, grinning at Gideon.

“That was fucking unbelievable. I never came like that before. So hard, so…” His voice trailed off for a minute. “Yeah, a shower. Then a nap? Then maybe more?”

“A man after my own heart,” Rodney said and led the way into the tiny bathroom.

***

Morning followed hot on the heels of night, and the bright light streaming in the window woke Gideon and Rodney up—both with raging headaches. Rodney slipped out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom, returning with a glass of water and a couple of Tylenol for each of them. He handed two to Gideon along with the water, then swallowed his own dry. “Tylenol ain’t gonna do much for the whopper hangovers we’ve got, but it’s better than nothing.”

They’d made love twice more that night, the first time long and sweet, and the second fast and hungry. When they slept, it was as if they fell unconscious rather than drifted off. Now, however, in the face of the sun’s bright rays, they were paying the piper.

“Any ideas on what we should do now? Are we just going to wait around for Daniel to send in someone else to kill us both?” Gideon rubbed his hands over his face and moaned, then peeked at Rodney from between his fingers.

Rodney drew the curtains on the trailer bedroom’s one small window, casting the room into a more comfortable shadow. “No. That would be the worst thing we could do. We need to be prepared, and we need to be on the offensive. We don’t want to give Daniel any time to think of a plan or send anyone else in here.”

“So, what do we do? There are only two of us, and at least twenty members of the clan that are faithful enough to Daniel to kill for him. It’s a fucking army and they all have weapons. I mean, luckily, most of them are as bright as Goze and Rambo were, but not all of them, Rodney. If they come here, I’m afraid people other than us might be hurt or killed.”

“We need to get an army of our own,” Rodney said. “And I know where to find one. Whether I can convince them to fight for us is another story.” Rodney looked away for a moment, then sat on the bed and took Gideon’s hand in his. “I want you to leave, Gideon.”

“What?”

“I want you to go away. Find someplace where you can hide, keep out of sight until this is all over. I’ve got some money saved up. If it all goes sideways, I want you to take the first plane out of the state. Go to the farthest corner of the country—Alaska, maybe—where you’ll be safe. Where they won’t find you.”

“I’m not leaving you.”

“You have to! In case you didn’t notice, I’m not the most loveable kind of guy. I’ve been an annoyance to the people in this rodeo for years. I don’t have friends. Finding anyone to agree to fight beside me is going to be next to impossible.”

Gideon shook his head hard and gave Rodney a steely-eyed glare. “I’m not going anywhere. Not after last night. That meant something to me. Didn’t it to you?”

“Of course it did. I never felt anything like it before. I mean, not the sex, although that was great, it was the afterward, you know? The feeling I got holding you… Goddamn, I’m going to miss you.”

“I’m not going anywhere!” Gideon insisted again.

“I can’t fight the Red Wattle Clan while I’m worried about you!”

“I’m the capo of the clan. It might’ve been in name only, but the title still carries some weight. People might listen to me.”

Rodney huffed and stood up, reaching for his undershorts. He pulled them on, then grabbed his pants. “You can stay until I have enough people on our side to fight for us. Then we’ll talk about this again, okay?”

“We can talk, but my answer ain’t gonna change.”

“Are all turkeys this stubborn, or only you?” Rodney tossed Gideon the clothes Gideon wore the night before.

“My ma was pretty damn stubborn. Made me eat my turnip greens even though I hated them. Refused to let me out to play if’n I didn’t. Made me take the job with my uncle Daniel, too. Said the clan would protect me. Joke’s on her, huh?”

“I’m sure she meant well.”

Gideon looked sad and lowered his head. “She’s been gone ten years now. Cancer. I miss her every day.”

“I’m sorry. It’s hard to lose family.”

“Is that what happened to you? Is that how you ended up in that bar in Gasper, Kentucky? You lost your family?”

“I lost my family years before. I wasn’t much more than a kid. I got caught making out with a farmhand and my pa threw me out of the house. I guess I took a dark road after that. Didn’t trust anybody until I met Daniel Riggs. And look how that turned out. Never trusted anybody ever again, except maybe Darque and Knight, and Doc McCready.”

Gideon shrugged. “You trusted me.”

Rodney felt his face burn. “Yeah, there’s just something about you that makes me want to trust you. I can, can’t I?” I mean, this ain’t some big plot to get me dead, is it?”

Gideon chuckled. “You think I slept with you—and faked being a virgin—just so I could get you off-guard so I could kill you?”

“Weirder things have happened.”

“Rodney Randall Cogburn, I am not that good an actor.” He laughed, and after a moment, Rodney joined in.

“No, I guess not, huh?”

“I loved what we did together last night, and I want to do it again, lots of times. Whenever possible. Which is why I’m not leaving you. I’m not about to throw away something so precious, especially not now when I’ve just found it.” He pulled on his T-shirt, then sat down on the bed again, pulling Rodney down with him. “The Red Wattle Clan was supposed to be all about honor, about loyalty, about family. In the space of a day, you showed me how wrong they were about everything. You took me in even though you had suspicions about my motives, and you took care of me. You taught me what it feels like to be loved, to be tender. You are everything the clan was supposed to be but wasn’t. You are my family.”

“Okay, but what I said still stands. You can stay with me while I try to get people to fight against the Red Wattles, but when push comes to shove, I need you somewhere safe.”

“We’ll talk about it later.”

Rodney grumbled and growled but knew instinctively that Gideon would not be swayed or bullied into doing what he wanted. Damn him, that perfect, lovely, sweet man. Damn him. “Alright, let’s go.”

“Where?”

“First stop is the Freakshow.”