Page 5 of All of Us

We kissed a few more times, then finished dressing.

“Be safe on the road and keep in touch.”

“Of course I’ll text as always. Oh, I forgot. Arthur said you should take your riding lessons on his mare, Amber, and take her to the dude ranch with you.”

Amber was a perfect trail horse and had been trained by Montgomery. There was nothing that would spook her, and since Joe was going to be on the trail for several days, a horse he was familiar with would be a bonus.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. I’m nervous. You should come with me. You can be my assistant during the photo shoot.”

“I don’t know how to ride.”

He looked at me, surprised. “Well, you need to learn, then we could go riding together, they say it’s amazing and relaxing.”

“I might when I get back. Martin Wilson has someone lined up to teach you, probably one of his hot ranch hands. If it is, I want details.”

I’d only met a few of the guys who worked at the Circle W Ranch, but those I had met were hot. I kept meaning to get to know them better and learn how to ride, but time flies. I gave him one last kiss.

“Have fun learning to ride. Maybe you can find a cowboy to ride, too.”

“You never know.” He said with a smirk.

When I got home, I still buzzed a little from the sex. Having Joe as a friend has been a lot of fun. I had no plans to be in a relationship, but if that changed, Joe would be the first one I would gravitate to.

The sad fact was I had given my heart to my high school sweetheart, and when he had to run from his oppressive family, I was left behind, broken-hearted. Jacob was everything I had ever needed or wanted. My heart never let go of him, so even when I tried, I ended up comparing the man to him—Jacob—they wouldn’t be as good, and the relationship would fall apart.

Joe was the first one to break down some of those walls, but I still couldn’t soften enough to love. At least I no longer threw my body at men trying to stop the hurt. Montgomery Wilson had befriended me, and that was the last time I used my body to numb the pain. So here I was having amazing sex with a great guy, and it was probably the most content I had felt since I was in high school.

The next morning, I boarded the private plane with DRACO band members and their families. My boss and his husband insisted that any team member could bring family, and I sometimes wished I had someone to join me. Regardless, I felt good knowing that I worked for such a quality company.

“Hey, Dusty.” I looked up and saw Arthur looking expectantly at me.

“Oh. Hi. Hey.” Suddenly, I felt embarrassed. Was it possible he knew what I did with his brother? I blushed.

Arthur gave me a funny look. “You okay? You’re sweaty.”

Thoughts of Joe’s mouth wrapped around my cock came to mind, and vivid memories rushed through me—I shivered. “What? Oh. Yes. I’m fine.” I hoped he didn’t see my body’s reactions.

“Did you talk to my brother last night?” He asked while I tried to shake off the memory.

“What? Why? Nothing happened.” He narrowed his eyes at me.

“Um. Okay. Does that mean you did or didn’t talk to him?”

“Yeah, I talked to him. I told him that he should ride Amber.”

My behavior wasn’t suspicious at all. I needed to stop thinking about how good his brother was at sucking dick and how much I wanted to do it again. Drachen, the green dragon that Arthur had as an emotional support animal, cocked his head at me like he knew what I was thinking. I glared at the animal, willing him to keep it to himself. I was spiraling.

There was no particular reason I hadn’t told Arthur that his brother and I were fooling around. We were both adults, but for some reason, it felt like I was doing something dirty. And obviously, Arthur, and more importantly, my boss—Arthur’s husband—scared me a little when it came to this particular situation.

I gave him a weak smile. “He said he was nervous about the lessons.”

Desperate to avoid any conversation about his brother, I stowed my bag and went to talk to the concert manager to see if there was anything she needed. When I returned to my seat, Mont looked at me, clearly curious about how I was acting.

Arthur leaned over, “You sure you are okay?”

“I am great. Had a great evening. This trip should be great.”

“That’s great,” Mont said to me sarcastically.