Chapter Fourteen

Seeing the truck parked in front gave him the strangest fluttering in his gut. Marius smiled at it, wondering if that was what so many spoke about. Butterflies in their stomachs.

It was nice, feeling things he'd only heard about, mostly in movies and television shows. Still, he wasn't used to it. He worried it meant too much. He worried he liked them too much.

Looking at the house in the twilight, the way the colors in the sky were a painting on the entire thing, knowing they were inside, waiting for him…

It wasn't something he could deny that the men in the house were incredible. So what if he wanted them too much?

He got out of the SUV and started for the porch. The closer he got, the more he heard music.

Country music.

So, that was one big flaw, their choice of tunes, but he could live with it. He could even live with being submissive to the hot cowboy. In fact, that was something totally unexpected, but once experienced, he couldn't get it off his mind.

He jogged onto the porch, and Ruben threw the door open to smile wildly at Marius. "Hey! You're late!"

"Late? I didn't think there was a time!"

Ruben came into his arms and kissed him sweetly, lingering on his lips as he smiled, and his eyes lit up. If nothing else came of this weird thing they had, he was happy that he could help Dallas make Ruben smile like that.

"I missed you."

"I wasn't gone."

Ruben kissed him again and then took him inside, yanking him, actually. As he was tugged into the house, he saw Dallas casually lying on his side on the floor in front of the fireplace, no shirt covering that amazing fucking chest. One boot kicked up over the other. The man was a god.

"Well, hello there, cowboy."

His eyes cut to Marius. "Hey there, mobster."

Marius went to him, kneeling on the floor to grab his face and plant a kiss on him that was as rough as Dallas was. "You look mighty sexy down here."

"Do I?"

"No fucking yet," Ruben yelled. "I'm cooking!"

Marius and Dallas both chuckled. Dallas whispered to him, "Ruben is cooking."

"Good. I wasn't looking forward to meatloaf."

"Isn't it just like a giant meatball?" Ruben asked snidely. "Man, picky fucking people," he said as he left them to get into the kitchen.

"Take a squat. Stay a while."

Marius did, lying on his back on the hard floor. "Not this again. I'm used to nice, comfy mattresses. Why aren't we sitting on those perfectly good couches?"

"You'd never make it on a ranch. We sleep outside a lot during roundup."

"You can keep sleeping outside, too. Bugs and animals and…ugh."

Dallas moved so quickly Marius didn't have time to react. Dallas was over him, with him on Marius's waist, leaning over to hold his wrists to the floor so he couldn't move. Not that he wanted to. "Oh, my, cowboy."

"Gonna fuck you again soon. You don't have to sit a horse."

He barked a laugh that faded quickly. Those intense eyes, as green as shamrocks in a field in the middle of the day, looked ominous. "No, I sure don't."

Ruben came in to find them that way and huffed, "I swear, if my burritos get cold…"

Dallas grunted, "We're coming. I can wait to use him until after we eat."

"How generous of you," Marius smarted him.

"Maybe you'll sit and watch me eat, hmm?" Marius's stomach chose that moment to growl loudly, and Dallas looked between his legs. "Guess not."

He chuckled, but he was hard as a rock. "Feed me, then I'll feed you."

"Oh, you think?" Dallas chuckled darkly and got off him, then held down a hand to help him to his feet. Once there, Dallas grabbed his face and kissed him. "Let's go eat."

Ruben jumped a little and clapped, then led them into the kitchen.

At the counter, there were two candles and their plates made and lined up in a row. "We have light this time. No need for candles," Marius said, but grabbed Ruben's ass. "It's pretty, though."

"Thanks!"

They all set down to eat the best burrito of his life, and Dallas must have thought the same. He scooped up that food like he was starving to death.

The meat was well seasoned, the chili on top was spicy and delicious and the tomatoes covering it were ripe and sweet. It was the perfect combination, and he stopped in the middle of his meal and said, "Ruben is hereby the dedicated cook for us."

"Damn straight! Best burrito I ever had," Dallas said, then started again.

Ruben sat and preened at the praise. "Thanks! I hardly ever get to cook."

Marius cleaned his plate and offered to clean the kitchen, but he wasn't alone. Dallas and Ruben helped and in no time, Ruben pulled them out on the porch to watch the sunset together.

There were no deck chairs, but Marius could see some nice ones where they could sit each evening to throw off the stress of the days. Dallas sat between them, and Ruben was holding his hand.

Marius half expected him to be uncomfortable about it, but he seemed more content than he'd ever seen the guy.

"Don't know if I'm supposed to talk about it, but you two have been here for all the bullshit. Dante and his IT guy think the sheriff is going to get off our asses about the missing person and the dead one."

"Oh?" Ruben asked. "Why?"

"Daily thinks Harrison killed the woman. I have no idea how he got to that conclusion."

Ruben reasoned, "Maybe she did something to him to make him that angry."

"Victim blaming much?"

Dallas laughed and said, "Yeah, he did just do that."

"No! I didn't mean that. I meant, in Harrison's head, she did something that made it okay for him to kill her. It's like that up here. It's the old west, I swear to God."

"It is," Dallas agreed. "But whatever did it, if Daily is off our ass, and he thinks it's a one-off, then we can hope he's right and be done with it."

Marius agreed happily. "With that stress gone, maybe we can all sleep better."

"I slept great," Dallas informed him. "It helps to fuck two men in the ass before bed, though."

Ruben giggled and Marius laughed, both watching Dallas's pretty smile bloom. "Can you say that without blushing?" Marius asked him.

"I tried. Didn't work."

"Getting fucked in the ass didn't hurt my sleep any," Ruben started. "But waking up wasn't fun."

Marius leaned over to tell him, "I had the same problem."

Feeling mighty good with himself, Dallas just smiled, chin raised. "Purty sunset."

Ruben moved to sit on Dallas's thighs and kissed him sweetly. "Conceited."

"I have every reason to be."

"Yeah, but…what if that was a one-off?"

Dallas's glower told a story in itself. "You're riding a horse tomorrow. Best quit with pushing me."

"I have a mouth."

Marius groaned as his dick swelled instantly. That mouth, that cock. The thought of it made him crazy. "Stop! I can't fuck tonight unless I'm in an ass!"

"You ain't getting in mine," Dallas said, "and this one is cut off until his days off."

"That sucks," Ruben said, pouting. "And, by the way, as I've mentioned, I suck, too."

"Oh, I heard ya just fine."

Marius groaned, "You two are killing me."

"What the hell you gonna do when the place is packed to the rafters with fine men? You're gonna be some pooch, humping on legs."

"Yeah, tell me about it. I've never been to a place like they're planning. I've sneaked into clubs a few times but was mostly scared to get caught."

"Can't see you being scared of much."

"I talk a good game," Marius admitted. "Have to have brag and bluster with the people I work around. I was never so happy as when my group meshed with the Carrillos. Having one of their top people gay and out? I knew things would get a little better."

"He tapped you to be here," Ruben said. "He wants you to be comfortable in your life."

Marius went quiet but then said, "Never in my life thought I could have a guy of my own. Let alone two of them. I thought I'd be sneaking into clubs once every couple of months to get my dick sucked, and then I'd go home alone. The one time I tried having a guy, he was in a family too, and thought, well, we both know the consequences. It didn't feel right. I didn't care much for him. He was…a liar for one thing."

Dallas stared over at him, and Marius could tell that surprised him. "You want a relationship?"

"Well, yeah! Do you think I'm here for a quick fuck before other guys come along?"

Ruben tried to play mediator. "Listen, we're so new that we aren't sure where this is going, but I think we all want to be here, right?"

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't," Marius snapped. "I could give a fuck about other people right now. I have a job and two guys that I…care about, okay? That's all I can handle, and it's all I want to handle!"

He was up and storming off before either of them could blink. He was heading away from there before shit got serious.

But those two men had different ideas. They followed him as soon as they could, and once Marius was at the SUV, Dallas pushed him into it, then spun him around in a show of strength Marius wasn't expecting. "Listen, you street punk, and yes, that's what you've been most of your life. I just asked because I ain't walkin' into something with two men that might feel different once this place is crawling with hot ass."

Ruben was there and was a bit softer. "I'm worried too, you know? I like you both a lot. I thought I'd only ever like Dallas until he told me to go fuck myself. Now, here I am, liking you two. I don't care about anyone else!"

"That's just it," Dallas said as he backed away from Marius. "You never thought you'd like anyone else until he came along. Now you like us both."

"Where the fuck is this coming from?" Marius demanded.

Ruben held up his hand to calm Marius long enough for him to say, "From fear."

"Fear," Dallas scoffed.

"Yes. We all feel it! If we'd listen to each other for one fucking second, we'd all hear that! I'm afraid–you are, he is," Ruben said to Dallas. "But we're here! We know that just around the corner, there will be a thousand hot men walking around and we're still here! Doesn't that mean anything to the two of you?"

They both stared like they didn't understand, and Marius had to admit to himself he was confused as fuck.

"God, you two are dumb," he said. Then they both saw Dallas really to lose it. "We all know that, right? Dante said he would like to open during Pride month, right?"

"Right," they said in unison.

"That means we all know that there will be plenty of guys to choose from, and yet, here we are, trying to see if this relationship can work. We're already worrying! That means something!"

Marius got it then. If they knew hundreds of men would be there to choose from, they'd have never started toward a relationship unless that relationship is what they really wanted. "Dallas, you just came out to the world, too. You could be interested in playing around a few years before you settle down."

Dallas's head had dropped after Ruben's admonishment, and it stayed that way as he shook his head. "Don't want that. I fucked around enough."

Ruben explained, "Just because you can't really be out and proud at most ranches, that doesn't mean there isn't a lot of fucking around behind the barns, if you know what I'm saying."

Marius quipped, "Yeah, I'm not that dense."

"You sure?" he asked cheekily.

Dallas's head rose then, and he growled, "Don't smart talk him, Ruben."

The way the little man's eyes heated, it was like his entire brain was suddenly on fire. "Ruben, you get way off on being bossed around. I think I like that."

"You can boss him too," Dallas said gruffly. "I think we're gonna be sharing a little submissive pretty boy."

Ruben heated more, shifting as he stood, trying to turn from them. Marius could guess why easily. After grabbing Ruben's shoulders, he spun him to fully face Dallas. "He hard?"

"Oh, yeah, he sure is."

Marius moved his hand to the back of Ruben's neck, squeezing tightly enough to be felt. "I think he should suck, Dallas. I think he should suck us half the night. Then he can ride a horse all day long tomorrow."

"Well, that's not exactly true."

"How you figure?"

As Dallas's evil grin spread, he whispered, "Ain't fun riding with blue balls."

*****

Dante looked in on a happy Blaine, lying on the bed with Buster and Ming while Jasmine lay on the side of the bed, on watch. She lifted her head to glare at Dante, warning him to back off her person.

"You know, I'm your person too, Jasmine."

She growled menacingly, and Blaine giggled. "They're my dogs, Dante. When we have five kids, you pick one and that one can like you better."

"You're a real asshole sometimes, BB."

"Yeah, I know. And you adore me."

Dante kissed his fingertips and waved them at him. "I sure do."

He closed the bedroom door behind him to help shield Blaine from his world. It hadn't always worked, but he tried to keep things from Blaine. If anything happened and Blaine could be blamed, he'd never forgive himself.

He went into the living room where Barry waited, his computer on his lap. Neil was beside him with another laptop, and Dante watched as both sets of brows were drawn tight. "You're gonna get wrinkles. Both of you."

"Excuse me, sir?" Barry said as his head rose.

"Never mind. Listen, I needed to speak to the two of you about something. Now, we know that Vic, if she indeed wins the election, will be more favorable to us. That's a given, but still, she'll be an officer of the law. That changes some people. It makes them want to walk the straight and narrow."

"We can't have that," Neil said with a chuckle.

Barry said, "Dante, starting off by bribing is a bad way to go."

"No direct bribes, Barry. You see, I've heard from most all the ranch hands Vic is very much like a mother to them. They go to her for much more than just food. In turn, I'm sure she feels that about them, like they're her children. So, instead of bribing her…"

"We bribe them," Barry said. "Brilliant, sir."

"Thank you. I have my moments."

"What I was thinking as well, donate to her election fund. We can give everyone money for that purpose. We can't donate millions, but we don't need to in a little county like this. We donate only what's allowed, but there are several people in our families that live here already. If each gives the limit, her campaign would surely gather more money than her competition."

"Killing two birds with a fistful of cash. I like that, Barry. When Dex and Marius told me you would be the best consiglieri for me, I hoped they were right, and I'm glad to see they were."

Neil pulled up the list of ranch hands currently working. "We've got them and can give them bonuses for staying on the ranch, or joining it, for the newer people. They can speak to each other and to Vic, and she'll see what a good owner you truly are."

"Which ones have the most debt? We can pay it off for them."

"I think that's unwise, Dante," Neil said. "Give them all the same or our purpose might be noticed."

"Good thinking. Okay, you both can come up with the numbers. I'll have Marius run around with the checks in two days. Until then, look at campaign finance laws here, see where we can boost the local economy, too. Anything to keep Vic's eyes on the good we're doing instead of how we're doing it."

Barry was reading over his screen. "Sir, the other thing about the construction workers. As far as I can tell, they never made it back home. I'm looking in Chicago, Cincinnati, and Toledo."

"They didn't go home? There are four of them gone now!"

"Yes, sir. Two of them have children and one is a newlywed."

"What the fuck is happening? Who is trying to sabotage us?"

Neil promised, "We'll figure it out, Dante."

"We'd better, or this resort is dead before the end of the year."

Barry suggested, "Maybe Marius can go on a quiet search for them. If he took someone that knows the ranch well, they could search it a couple days every week, so maybe we won't be surprised if we find out they…met their ends."

"I'll speak to him about it tomorrow. He's with his men now."

"Men. I can't even imagine more than one," Neil said. "Sam is a handful."

"Sorry, fellas, I'm not into men, but as far as women go, I've read about those fundamentalist Mormons and others. I don't get it. I'm single because I can't handle one woman!"

"You've got eyes for that woman ranch hand. Bonita. I've seen it," Dante said, laughing.

"And you think I could ever handle her? She could beat me senseless!"

Neil whispered, "Yeah, so?"

"Yeah. She's…something."