Deidre O'Dare You Were Always On My Mind

ERE

LWAYS

IND

…Garth prepared to shake hands in a formal, business-like

manner and escort Peter out. He knew his office staff had left
for the day so it was up to him. Somehow that didn’t happen.
They walked together through the doorway from Garth’s
office to the reception area. Garth collected his suit coat off
the back of his office door before he passed through it.
Slinging it over his shoulder, he glanced at Peter, who shook
his head, a wry twist of a smile on his mobile lips.

“You’re too damn pretty now, buddy. I liked you better in

T-shirts and cheap, no-brand jeans. But then that guy couldn’t
do for me what you’re able to do, could he?”

Garth shrugged, disturbed by something in Peter’s gaze, by

the words which were spoken in an almost wistful tone. “The
old saw about the clothes make the man, I guess. Clients like
you, who are among the ranks of celebrities, expect a lawyer
to look a certain way, especially a successful one. I have to
maintain an image, just like you do.”

Peter had the grace to lower his gaze and grin, more that a

little abashed. “Point taken.”

They proceeded toward the closed outer door, Garth in the

lead. Suddenly Garth was stopped in his tracks as Peter gasped
his shoulders from behind in a talon-like grip and halted him.

“No. I’m not walking out that door and letting you push

me out of your life again. You’re about to put on your distant
“I’m your lawyer and I have to keep objective” manner and

very politely set me aside. I don’t know about you, but I’ve
never forgotten the night at the lake. Yeah, it was another
lifetime for both of us, but I still never forgot.”

“Me neither,” Garth mumbled, rooted to the spot…

LSO

EIRDRE

O’D

ARE

Armed And Amorous

The Chess Master’s Queen

Cowboy First Aid

Cowgirl Up

Daring Delights

Daring Dreams

Doggone Love

Dude Ranch Nights

Fire On Ice

Journal Of A Timid Temptress

Karola’s Hunt

The Maltese Terror

Nellie’s Rogue Stallion

Pickup Man

Portrait Of A Cowboy

Randi’s Hellacious Adventure

Rescued By Love

Revolution!

Saved By Sam

The Taming of Jaelle’n

To Protect and…Seduce?

Treading Dangerous Ground

YOU WERE ALWAYS

ON MY MIND

DEIRDRE O’DARE

MBER

UILL

RESS

, LLC

http://www.AmberQuill.com

ERE

LWAYS ON

IND

MBER

UILL

RESS

OOK

This book is a work of fiction.

All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of

the author’s imagination, or have been used fictitiously.

Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales,

or events is entirely coincidental.

Amber Quill Press, LLC

http://www.AmberQuill.com

No portion of this book may be transmitted or

reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission

in writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief

excerpts used for the purposes of review.

ISBN 978-1-60272-321-4

Layout and Formatting provided by: Elemental Alchemy

PUBLISHED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

To R Carlos Nakai, Robert Mirabal and

several lesser-known Native American musicians from whom

I gained an appreciation for the amazing music of

the tribes of the southwestern US. Some have gone on to

create amazing fusions of native styles with rock

and other musical genres—Peter Nightrider would be a

proponent of such a sound. I hope to portray my

Native American characters as real people, not any sort of

stereotyped “Indian” and would add that many of

them I know are just as happy to be called “Indian” unless

their tribal affiliation is used, even if that is not

politically correct in some circles. So I tend to use both

terms interchangeably.

Thanks as always to my publishing “family”

at Amber Quill Press for their unflagging support, friendship

and encouragement. And most sincere thanks to

the readers who also encourage me to keep writing and keep

forging into new themes and ideas. With such

inspiration I just have to go on!

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

CHAPTER 1

Garth Talent shifted in his cordovan leather chair, blank

stare fixed on the gleaming top of his mahogany desk. Behind
him a wide window revealed a panorama of the Las Vegas
strip and the distant mountains spreading into hazy distance.
For him to be distracted was a rare occurrence. As one of the
top attorneys in the unique specialty of protecting and
defending people in the performing arts community, he
seldom had the luxury of inattention. But today he was
meeting with a special client, one he had not seen for fifteen
years, one who had been his hero, his best friend and, briefly,
even more. Not a day had passed in those fifteen years that he
hadn’t thought at least once about Peter Nightrider.

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

Back in high school, Garth had been the nerdy kid, who

was also poor. Rich nerds might get by on Dad’s money, but
nerd sons of struggling single mothers were considered almost
sub-human. In spite of his Native American blood, Peter was
one of the BMOC, an athlete, a cocksman by reputation, and
the boy parents hoped their daughters would not date.

The unlikely friendship between the two was a mystery no

one could quite solve, not even Garth and Peter themselves.
The fact Garth did half or more of Peter’s homework might
have had some influence, but was far from the sum total of it.
Part of it might have been Peter’s habit of championing the
underdog and taking in strays, too. Yet there was still more
involved in the complex relationship.

After high school they had gone their separate ways, Garth

to the state university on a scholarship and eventually to law
school. Peter had done one semester at Stanford, dropped out
and formed the band which had become one of the most
popular, successful and imitated in the Native-Pop crossover
genre. Native Nightrider had two top selling CDs, MP3
downloads flowing like a mountain torrent and sell-out
concerts from coast to coast.

But this afternoon Peter was coming in with a problem,

one he had not elaborated on, simply saying he needed a good
attorney and he knew Garth was the best. Garth’s mouth felt
dry, his heart seemed to be beating out of its normal rhythm
and an itchy heat flashed through his body, stiffening his cock
inside the well-cut trousers of his Armani suit. The first and
only time he and Peter had experimented with sex played

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

through his mind in high-def, brilliant color and excruciating
detail. He shifted in his seat again.

It had been the night of the senior prom at Bradshaw High

School. Since they were escorting the Baldwin twins, and
since Garth didn’t have a car, they used Peter’s Camaro. Peter
had joked that Garth’s presence had probably won the consent
of the elder Baldwins for Sarah and Serena to accompany
them.

The evening had been a big disappointment. They left the

festivities early, determined to test the twins’ reputation for
being wild. Either the reputation was drastically overstated or
the girls were simply not in the mood. Before midnight, they
delivered Sarah and Serena to their door, elaborate gowns
scarcely mussed.

“Let’s go get some booze,” Peter suggested. “After that

bomb-out, I’m ready to drown my misery. Then maybe we can
pick up some girls from Valley High. They’ll be out prowling.
Their prom was last weekend.”

“We’re not eighteen yet. How’re you going to get liquor?

The cops’ll be on us like stink on shit. You know how they
watch us kids on prom night.”

“I have my sources.” Peter’s tone was smug. “Won’t be

any trouble at all ’cause we won’t make the buy ourselves.
Cousin Devin’ll get it if I give him enough for his own bottle.
Done it before.”

With two six packs of beer and a bottle of Jack Daniels,

but no girls, they drove out by Arrowhead Lake, going around
to the reservation side where no one was likely to bother them.

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

Not wanting to get grass or mud on their tuxes, they both
stripped down to their underwear before they settled on the
grassy bank in a small inlet, the six packs between them. The
bottle they passed back and forth, taking a sip and chasing it
with a beer.

Some time later, more than half drunk, they got into a

wrestling match over who had taken more than his share of the
whiskey when the bottle suddenly turned up empty. Rolling
together in the grass, two hard, hot young bodies, still charged
with frustration and hormones, responded to the only warm
flesh that was close. Grappling became an embrace. Lying half
atop Peter, Garth started to say something and stopped when
he found their faces almost touching. For a moment their
warm breath mingled, scented with alcohol and the cigarettes
they had smoked. Then lips found lips in an urgent kiss that
added fuel to the rising flame.

Peter ground his mouth against Garth’s, demanding until

Garth opened to his invading tongue. As they pressed fully
together, face to face, their cocks dueled, rigid in anticipation.
Peter found Garth’s poking out through his fly and wrapped
one hand around it. Electricity shot through Garth’s whole
body as the other youth stroked his stiff prick, almost roughly
enough to be painful yet still fiercely exciting.

This is way better than jacking off by yourself.
Something about the touch of another person’s hand took it

to a whole new realm. Shuddering and bucking in rhythm with
Peter’s jerks, Garth fought to make it last, but also to reach the
pinnacle. He came in a sudden rush, ejaculating against Peter’s

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

bare belly.

Shoving him away, Peter swore. “Sonuvabitch. What’d

you do that for? You could’ve warned me. You gotta suck me
now to make up for that.” He rolled onto his back then,
peeling off his briefs. Garth rose to his knees and edged
between Peter’s bent legs. In the moonlight, Peter’s cock
looked a foot long and as big around as the business end of a
baseball bat.

Even through the fog of alcohol, Garth felt a flash of fear.

God’s balls, he could choke me to death with that. Or he could
stick it in my ass and rip me wide open. Yet somehow neither
possibility was enough to scare him out of doing what he’d
been told to do. He bent forward and swiped his tongue
tentatively across the head of Peter’s dick. Peter’s peter. He
swallowed a chuckle at that irreverent turn of phrase.

Gradually he eased his mouth down over the swollen head,

flicking the underside with his tongue as he tried to take in as
much of the quivering shaft as he could. It took a moment to
get the feel of it, but in a few seconds he mastered the motions
of bobbing up and down to simulate the classic fucking action.
Within moments Peter came, whooping at the instant he
spurted into Garth’s mouth before he could pull away. He spat
the sticky, salty fluid onto the ground, but it wasn’t as horrible
as he had imagined it might be.

After that they both got into the water and cleaned

themselves up. Not quite sober, but rapidly losing the impact
of the alcohol they’d consumed, they made their way back to
town, hardly talking. Peter dropped Garth off at his home and

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

went on. Garth slipped in through the window he’d
deliberately left unlocked so he wouldn’t wake his mother
whose bedroom was just a thin wall away from the front door.
If she knew how late he got home, she never mentioned it or
chastised him.

The two never spoke of the incident afterwards, and that

summer their friendship began to fade. Peter found a steady
girlfriend, and Garth worked to be sure he’d have enough
money for college when the fall term started, scholarship or
not. But it didn’t mean he forgot. Whether Peter did or not he
had no idea.

At that moment, his intercom jingled softly. Melanie

Davis, his secretary, announced his visitor. “Mr. Nightrider is
here. Shall I send him in?”

Garth steadied his voice by sheer will. “Give me a couple

of minutes. Tell him I’m on the phone.”

He pushed a button to light one line, just in case Peter was

paying attention. When he hung up and it went out, Melanie
escorted Peter to the door.

He’d seen pictures, of course. The likeness of a star of

Peter Nightrider’s caliber was splashed across magazines,
television and the internet daily. Still, there was no way Garth
could have prepared himself for the reality. Beautiful,
masculine, arrogant, and exuding a raw animal energy that
defied definition, Peter Nightrider in person lived up to his
reputation. He resembled a force of nature, a compelling,
overwhelming presence.

The bad boy had become a man, and what a man. The

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

rebellious youth had morphed into a charismatic performer
who was always on stage, who played into his persona and
wore it like a perfectly tailored costume. Peter dressed
simply—jeans and a denim shirt, decorated with fringe and
beading in an elaborate but tasteful design. His hair swept his
shoulders, sleek and ink-black, shiny as spilled oil on water.
Age had sharpened the blade of his nose, carved hollows
beneath his high, strong cheekbones, and traced a fine web of
lines at the corners of his eyes. He still had a sensual mouth,
lips more fine than full, but carrying just a hint of curves and
softness, parting now in a smile over even white teeth.

Garth did not always get up and circle his desk to greet a

client. Often he remained in his seat to establish his status. The
client had come to him for help, not the other way around,
which put him in the driver’s seat. This time he could not
resist the magnetic tug of his charismatic guest.

He stood, hesitated a moment to make sure his hard-on

wasn’t too obvious, and circled the desk. “Peter. It’s been a
long time. Looks like you’ve done very well.”

Peter continued to smile. “You’ve not done so bad yourself

for a kid from the wrong side of town. I’d bet the rent for this
office runs more per month than your mom’s house cost for
five years. They say you’re the best there is when we
performers get in a bind. I’m here to put that to test.”

Instead of holding out his hand, Peter bypassed Garth’s

offered handshake to settle both hands on his shoulders.
“You’re taller than you were, too. Late bloomer?” His grin
took the sting out of his words, and his steady gaze

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

acknowledged a new equality.

They were now almost of a height, although Garth had

always been a few inches shorter than Peter when they were in
school. He found himself gazing straight into Peter’s jet-black
eyes, close, almost too close. He swallowed, torn between
wanting to span the small gap to bring their bodies together
and an urge to get a safe distance away as fast as he could.

After a long moment, Peter dropped his arms and took a

half-step back. For a moment a flash of uncertainty crossed his
face as his expression went somber. “I’m not sure how bad a
problem I really have, but it could be a big one. Underage
groupies in the hotel suite, statutory rape, booze and drugs—
and there’s just enough truth in the story to make it believable.
Only thing is, I wasn’t there. But Derek told the kids he was
me. We look enough alike they bought it, especially when
under the influence.”

“I didn’t realize your kid bother had joined the group.

Have you got an alibi?”

Peter shrugged. “I don’t really. The lady I was with would

be mighty embarrassed if the fact we spent the night together
came out, and her husband would be positively savage. I
wouldn’t ask that of her unless it becomes a lot more serious
than I hope it’ll be.”

Garth shook his head. “Shit, man, when you get in a bind,

you do it up proud, don’t you? I suppose you have the detailed
charges? I’ll need to look everything over and see if I can find
any loopholes for a start. Where’s Derek? Can I get a
statement from him?”

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

He motioned Peter to a seat and got back behind his desk.

He had to get his mind on business and forget about how
much he wanted to touch and taste this latest case, to ignore all
the rules of attorney-client interaction and lose himself in
smoking hot sex.

Not only would that be unethical, he knew it would

probably be a piss poor idea from a personal standpoint as
well. From what Peter was saying, he preferred to seek his
pleasure with the fair sex anyway. One juvenile experiment
didn’t mean he’d pursued that any further. There had been no
rumors or even hints the notorious Nightrider was gay, but
plenty of tabloid pieces about the many women with whom he
was seen. There was hardly a blonde starlet or pop diva who
hadn’t been photographed clinging to the handsome Indian
like ivy to a brick wall.

For the next three hours, Garth pored over papers and

questioned Peter at length about the incident. The cops had
made a couple of minor procedural errors, but probably not
enough to get the case thrown out or even to make it
questionable. He’d have to find more than that to hang a
defense on if he was going to keep Peter out of serious trouble.

Unfortunately, one of the girls involved was the daughter

of an influential politician who made combating vice a big
part of his platform, always coming back to the theme of
protecting vulnerable youth from the corrupting forces of sex,
drugs and rock ’n’ roll. The man was pushing hard to have the
whole Nightrider group put away for a long time, and the DA
was right in his pocket, pursuing the case with avid intensity.

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

Dusk had fallen by the time Garth felt he had a start on the

case, enough to get to work on it the next day. He looked up
and met Peter’s ebony stare.

“I can’t promise you any miracles, but you know I’ll give

it my best effort. I’d do it even if I’d never met you before, but
we do have a history, and I can’t totally forget or ignore that.”

“I hope not. Old friends are few and far apart in my world.

Like fame and success changed me somehow, like I’m too
good for family and the folks I used to know. Shit, I could be
behind bars in a few weeks, everything lost and no better than
one of my cousins from the rez who gets into a bar fight and
busts a bottle in somebody’s face.”

“I don’t think it’ll go that far,” Garth said. “Somehow

we’ll prove you were not there and that even Derek didn’t do
half the things he’s accused of as your surrogate. Maybe we
can get a statement from your”—he hesitated over a word, not
sure how to refer to the woman Peter had been with—“your
date that will allow her to remain anonymous, at least to the
public, but will corroborate your whereabouts. Give me a
couple of days to work on this, okay?”

They both stood. Garth prepared to shake hands in a

formal, business-like manner and escort Peter out. He knew
his office staff had left for the day so it was up to him.
Somehow that didn’t happen. They walked together through
the doorway from Garth’s office to the reception area. Garth
collected his suit coat off the back of his office door before he
passed through it. Slinging it over his shoulder, he glanced at
Peter, who shook his head, a wry twist of a smile on his

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

mobile lips.

“You’re too damn pretty now, buddy. I liked you better in

T-shirts and cheap, no-brand jeans. But then that guy couldn’t
do for me what you’re able to do, could he?”

Garth shrugged, disturbed by something in Peter’s gaze, by

Peter had the grace to lower his gaze and grin, more that a

little abashed. “Point taken.”

They proceeded toward the closed outer door, Garth in the

lead. Suddenly Garth was stopped in his tracks as Peter gasped
his shoulders from behind in a talon-like grip and halted him.

“No. I’m not walking out that door and letting you push

me out of your life again. You’re about to put on your distant
“I’m your lawyer and I have to keep objective” manner and
very politely set me aside. I don’t know about you, but I’ve
never forgotten the night at the lake. Yeah, it was another
lifetime for both of us, but I still never forgot.”

“Me neither,” Garth mumbled. His mind raced, telling him

all the things he should do and more that he should not do, but
he stood immobile, as if rooted to the spot.

The first yank dislodged Garth’s tie, a tug hard enough to

snap his neck. The next sent buttons flying off his silky
broadcloth shirt. They scattered to the carpet without a sound
and vanished into the pile. The third took his shirt off, almost

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

ripping the fabric away from his body. The white shirt
fluttered to the floor, just a piece of unwanted distraction.

Garth dropped his suit coat beside the shirt as Peter’s

hands raced over his upper torso. The calluses on Peter’s
guitar player’s fingertips abraded Garth’s skin. Each touch felt
like a match had been struck at the spot. Sparkles of heat and
energy, rife with sexual excitement, danced over Garth’s body.
He went rock-hard in seconds.

No longer content to be the passive recipient of Peter’s

attention, Garth reached back to seek some contact himself.
He found Peter’s ass and dug his fingers into one muscled
buttock, feeling the heat and power through Peter’s jeans. As
Peter pressed close behind him, he could feel Peter’s cock,
stiff as his own, nudging against his butt, although separated
by layers of fabric. Excitement too volatile to contain flared
through him. Yes, oh, yes. This is Peter and he’s here. We’re
finally together.

Still holding one another, they stumbled a few steps until

Garth was stopped by Melanie’s desk. They released each
other long enough to fumble with belt buckles and zippers,
desperate to get their pants out of the way.

For a moment, choking panic stopped Garth dead still. He

remembered how big Peter’s cock was. Since that long-ago
night, he had known others from small to large, but none that
quite matched his memory of Peter’s. Lube. We need some
kind of lube!

As he bent forward across the cleared surface of the desk,

a tube of hand cream caught his eye. It certainly wasn’t meant

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

for the purpose, but it would do a lot better than nothing. He
made a grab for it and held it back to Peter. “Here, I don’t self-
lubricate like the ladies. We’re gonna have to use something.”

Peter laughed. “Oh, man, you’re too funny. Okay, I

wouldn’t want to ream you a new one, not really. I hope it
doesn’t smell too flowery, though.”

Garth shrugged. “Just do it. Fuck me. I can’t stand to wait

much longer.”

Still it took a few seconds while he leaned there, shaking

with urgency, listening to the small sounds as Peter slipped a
condom on and rubbed the lotion onto his prick. Then he
slathered a stream down between Garth’s cheeks, rubbing it
around and into his anus. The scent of the cream was more
medicinal than floral, he decided as a whiff drifted his way.
Then all thought faded as Peter thrust into him in a sudden
lunge. The edge of the desk cut into his thighs, but he hardly
felt it, too caught up in the savage, searing urgency of Peter’s
movements.

There was nothing gentle or hesitant in the act, yet it

satisfied Garth as many other encounters had failed to do.
There was something so completely right in living one of his
long-term fantasies. How many times had he visualized this?
Perhaps not exactly this scenario, but close enough.

Slowing for a moment in his driving thrusts, Peter reached

down and squeezed Garth’s balls. Then he stretched around
with the other hand and grasped Garth’s cock. Another couple
of pumps and Peter exploded, giving a war whoop as he came.
Garth felt the spasm in every cell of his body. Even though he

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

didn’t climax himself, he felt a similar release and lay still as
Peter slumped down over him for a moment.

Peter pushed himself upright after he caught his breath.

“Okay, now I’ll give you a blow job or take you to dinner or
both. What do you want?”

Garth straightened and spun around, tugging his pants up

from their tangle around his knees.

He wasn’t able to talk to anyone in such a state of disarray,

not even Peter—maybe especially not Peter.

“You don’t have to do either one,” he said. “I’m not some

street ho who has to be paid off, one way or another.” The
implication stung and he realized he’d spoken more sharply
than perhaps was warranted.

Peter held a hand up, palm out. “Whoa, you know I didn’t

mean it that way. I’m not buying anything from you except
legal services. This is a totally different transaction, something
I think both of us wanted and needed. I know I did, and you
sure didn’t act reluctant. Anyway, my asshole is a one-way
street, but I don’t mind sucking you if you’d like it. I’m bi, not
totally gay, at least not strictly. I mean I’m the fucker, not the
fuckee, whether it’s male or female. That’s just how I play it.”

Garth nodded. “Okay. I might be too sensitive sometimes.

It just hit me a little wrong. I’ll take a pass on the BJ, but I’d
like dinner if we can go Dutch. Nothing too fancy. I’ve got a
ruined shirt and I’m not going to look my GQ best.”

“You and your fixation on being perfect! Come on, man,

live a little and walk on the wild side. You must work out or
something—you don’t have the desk man flab anyway. Show

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

off that nice chest with an open shirt.” He winked and then
laughed again. “You might be surprised whose eye you’d
catch.”

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

CHAPTER 2

Garth spent the next two days in an exhaustive effort to

assemble all the information he could about the case. Still, he
found his usual concentration difficult to maintain. His most
recent encounter with Peter kept slipping into whatever he was
doing. He’d suddenly find himself recalling the scent of the
other man’s hair—a smoky juniper mixed with sage; the
feeling of his lips and teeth against Garth’s neck, ears, and
face; the crushing strength of his embrace and the near
savagery with which he’d divested Garth of his tie and shirt.

Then he’d have to find a reason to call and ask Peter a

question. His newest client had left for a concert in the
Midwest, but would be back once that was over. Garth was

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

already anticipating Peter’s return—and hating himself for it
every moment. I can’t even consider having an affair with a
client. That’s totally unprofessional, unethical and just plain
wrong! One encounter was bad enough. There’s no way I can
let it happen again.

Yet, if he were totally honest, he knew it would. There was

something so elemental, so compelling about Peter Nightrider
that resisting was akin to trying to stop a tornado or shift the
direction of a flash flood by one’s will. The Native American
had hinted he wasn’t gay, or at least not exclusively. Did that
mean Garth would have to share him with other lovers,
probably both male and female? The notion rankled, and he
knew he’d be distressed each and every time Peter was with
someone else. Could he learn to live within such an open
relationship? His own inclination was to be exclusive and
totally faithful to one person, which was clearly not Peter’s
way.

Garth’s latest legal clerk, Michael Dragone, had made no

secret of the fact he was available. Although Garth did not
wholly approve of inter-office affairs, they were not nearly as
bad as relations with a client. Michael was a handsome and
personable young man, working toward his LLB while he
served as a legal clerk and assistant. He had a sharp, quick
mind with a sound grasp on most legal principles already.
They worked well together, but Garth simply could not get
excited about Michael. He had tried to discourage the younger
man without being harsh, but he wasn’t sure if it was working
or not. He sighed. Why does life have to get so fucking

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

complicated?

Monday afternoon, Peter roared into the Talent Law

Offices like an unleashed storm. Still riding on the high of a
well-attended and successful performance, he radiated such
energy and excitement Garth felt his presence the moment he
surged through the outer door. Peter did not wait, but strode
right on in to Garth’s office.

“Well, have you got a defense put together yet?”
“The difficult I do at once, but the impossible takes a little

bit longer,” Garth responded, his tone more than a bit wry and
also sarcastic. “I can’t find a foolproof defense for you that
doesn’t involve testimony from the lady you spent the evening
with.”

Peter shrugged. “Okay, she said she’d make a statement if

it’ll save my ass. It’s Sharon Shilling, by the way. We’ve been
seeing each other off and on for a couple of years.”

The name stopped Garth in his tracks. “You’re joking, Tell

me you’re joking! She’s— Damn, man, that’s Senator
Shilling’s wife, the mother of one of the girls involved in the
case. This is the most insane thing I’ve ever heard. How does
she feel about her baby girl having sex with a drunk band
member and smoking pot and…”

Peter grinned, a purely wicked smirk. “Like mother, like

daughter, maybe. Only I was sober, and we didn’t smoke any
weed.”

“You asshole! I don’t believe this. Why didn’t you at least

give me a hint? I figured it was one of the usual bimbo starlet
types you’re seen and photographed with every week for the

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

National Tattler.” Garth shook his head. “You know what’s
going to happen when the press gets wind of this, and they
will, no matter how quiet we try to keep it. Somebody will
leak something and the senator will go ballistic!”

Peter shrugged. “It’ll work out, one way or another. If he

does, he might get a domestic violence charge slapped on him,
which would get him out of our hair for the time being.
Without him pushing the case, I have a hunch there’d be a lot
less pressure behind this.”

Garth wanted to pound his head on his desk in sheer

frustration. “My God, when you step in it, you do a great job. I
think I smell the dog shit from here.” Right then he didn’t
even like Peter, but that didn’t mean his nerves weren’t
stretched like guitar strings, while arousal hummed along them
like electricity in high tension wires.

“Get up out of that chair and come around here before I

come get you. Don’t think I didn’t figure out why you were
calling every couple of hours all weekend. We have some
unfinished business.”

Garth wanted to refuse. He opened his mouth to say, “Hell

no. No fucking way,” but his feet were already moving. He
circled the desk and walked straight into Peter’s outstretched
arms. It felt like coming home. He cursed the feeling, but there
was no denying it.

His lips found Peter’s in an open-mouthed kiss. Their

tongues tangled and fenced until they were both panting for
breath.

Finally Peter released his hold, taking a half-step back.

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“Man, you’re hot. I’m not used to that, not this way, at least.
What is it with us, our history or something else? I don’t get it.
I came to you because I heard you were the best at defending
against some of the spurious or at least partly spurious charges
and suits brought against celebs. That was all I expected to
get. Instead, I find enough heat to burn half the rez to a cinder
from a man who’s half a friend and half almost an enemy.
What’s the deal?”

Garth shrugged. “I don’t understand it any more than you

do, Pete. I just know the minute you walked in the door last
week I felt it, a heat and hunger like I haven’t felt in years for
anyone. You make me a little bit crazy. I can’t do this. It isn’t
right and it isn’t ethical. You can’t be a client and a lover at
the same time. How do I handle this?”

Peter’s gaze dropped to the floor. “Tell me and we’ll both

know,” he muttered. He looked up again, his expression keen
and measuring. “I don’t have any problem with fucking my
lawyer. Hell, that’s a real switch, isn’t it? Usually works the
other way. Sorry, bad joke and a low blow as well, but you
know the stories as well as anyone. Still, if we offend your
integrity somehow, I can’t tell you what to do. I say quit
fighting it and let what happens happen. There’s some energy
here, a magnetic attraction. When I feel something like that, I
tend to go with it, wherever it leads.”

“Yeah, even into the bed of a senator’s wife, and Lord

knows how many gorgeous blondes with names like Brandi
and Bambi and Brittany.” The bitterness in his tone surprised
even Garth. He hadn’t realized how much he resented

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visualizing Peter with a bevy of sexy young beauties, the kind
that flocked to him like birds to a feeder.

“I am who I am, Garth. There isn’t a hell of a lot I can or

am willing to do about it. So what you see is what you get. For
what it’s worth, though, I’ve followed your career real close
and was proud of you, every step you made. Nobody ever
handed you any freebies, but you made your own
opportunities. Talk about a self-made man. I don’t see where
us enjoying each other takes anything away from who you are
and what you’ve done. So what’s the problem?”

Peter’s words made a lot of sense, even if he still wasn’t

comfortable with the notion. Garth decided, for now, to go
with the other man’s ideas anyway. It would be a lot more fun
than fighting the near-irresistible pull of lust.

His decision must have been reflected in his face. Peter

smiled.

“Why don’t you come out to my ranch and spend a few

days? You can talk to Derek and get a blow-by-blow on what
happened straight from the horse’s ass. I may be able to
convince Sharon to come out, too. If you can talk to her,
maybe it won’t seem quite as over the top as you seem to think
it is.”

Garth hesitated, but the decision was really already made.

“Okay, give me about an hour to get some things lined up here
and then we can go. I’ll put my clerk to work on a couple of
other cases I have going. He’s sharp and reliable.”

Peter showed no sign of leaving, so Garth summoned

Michael, in spite of his misgivings on how the younger man

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would react to Peter’s magnetic presence. Actually Peter had
no business listening in on their conversation, which would be
strictly about business, but he probably would not make much
sense of it anyway.

Much to Garth’s surprise, Michael showed little interest in

Peter, just greeted him politely and promptly turned his
attention to his boss. Either he knew which side of his bread
had the butter or he did not find Peter his type. Their business
didn’t take the hour Garth had expected, so he and Peter
walked out some forty-five minutes later and got into Peter’s
SUV for the drive out to his ranch.

* * *

Garth wasn’t sure what he expected to find at Peter’s home

place. He knew the location to be in a scenic canyon area
about thirty miles from Las Vegas, but beyond that, he didn’t
have a clue. Once they were on the way, he wondered why
he’d never taken the drive out to see for himself. He’d known
for some time about Peter’s acquisition of the old ranch
property and had heard about the entertainer’s extensive
renovations. Some said it was quite a showplace now.

Peter drove like he did everything else—skillfully, fast and

with little apparent effort. The miles rolled behind the SUV’s
spinning wheels as they talked, casually for the most part,
catching up on each other’s lives since they had left their
northern Arizona home. Once they entered the canyon, Garth
found himself gazing around, taking in the fabulous scenery.
The place was little short of spectacular. Finally they rounded

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a bend and came to the ranch.

The sprawling house, built in pueblo style, looked as if it

had been there for centuries, even though Garth knew it was
less than five years old. The outbuildings were mostly low,
simple and blended into the surroundings. Nothing appeared
ostentatious or garish. I should’ve known. He might affect a
flashy personal image, but the native ways prevail in the rest
of his lifestyle. If Garth were to choose one word to describe
the place, it would be “comfortable.” There was a welcoming
feel to everything, outreaching warmth that invited one to
come in and feel at home. He liked it at once.

Peter pulled up at one end of the house and parked under

an open carport. “Here we are. Come on in.”

Garth followed his host into the house through a back door

leading directly into a kitchen and casual eating area, one
clearly well used. Peter went directly to a coffee maker on one
counter and poured them each a cup. “One of my paleface
vices,” he said, passing one cup to Garth. “Caffeine works
better for me than alcohol, and mostly better than recreational
drugs. I really don’t like to be out of control.”

Somehow, they had reached a level of camaraderie where

silence was no longer uncomfortable. Garth sipped his coffee
and waited to see what Peter would say or do next.

“Ever use a sweat lodge?”
The abrupt question caught him by surprise. “No, why or

how would I?”

“No, I guess you’d never have had the opportunity. Well,

I’d like for you to join me. It’s often one of the first things I do

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

when I get home after being away. Helps me to unwind and
clear the garbage out of my head. Come on.”

Peter rose, set his cup back by the coffee machine and

headed back out through a different door than the one they’d
used to enter the house. Garth followed at his heels. The sweat
lodge was about fifty yards from the house, a simple hut built
in the traditional style, little more than a low, dome-shaped
structure made of sticks and mud. A blanket covered the
doorway.

Peter ducked in, took a lighter out of one pocket and

touched the flame to a ready laid pile of twigs. Within
moments, he had a small but vigorous fire going. A circle of
stones waited nearby, already heating on one side as the fire
blazed brightly. Peter turned them, using a pair of sticks like
tongs to expose new surfaces to the blaze. Then he stepped
back and undressed with a few swift and economical motions.

Garth hesitated a moment, but realized he needed to

disrobe also. He shed his shirt and tie, then his trousers, shoes
and socks. Hunched there in his briefs, he felt out of place.
Peter had dropped his underwear along with his outer clothes.
He crouched nude in the glow of the fire, reached to pull close
an olla full of water, and carefully eased two stones into the
water. It bubbled into a boil almost instantly and a cloud of
steam rose, steam carrying a pungent scent of desert plants.
Before long the confined space was full of steam, so much so
sight was dimmed as if through a cloud.

Sweat broke out on Garth’s skin, moisture running in

ticklish rivulets down his chest, sides and back. Peter’s bronze

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

body gleamed with it. He still crouched, eyes shut, swaying to
a whispered chant Garth could barely hear. He found himself
mesmerized by the primitive beauty of the other man’s
muscled body, shining wet in the flickering firelight. Although
he knew his lusty thoughts were not proper to the locale, he
did not try to resist them. Peter’s magnificent masculinity was
too potent to ignore.

Coming to the end of his chant, Peter rose, although he had

to stoop under the low, curved roof. He looked across at
Garth, a mischievous smile making him look young and sexy.
“You know that’s not what this is about. But I agree with
you—it is arousing, isn’t it? Maybe just the fact we’re both
naked. But the next step will kill that hard-on, at least for a
few minutes.” With this cryptic remark, he ducked out the
door.

When Garth collected his wits enough to follow, he found

Peter with a big cup, sluicing cold water over his body. The
evening was warm, but a light breeze, coupled with the cool
water, brought a distinct chill. It was more effective than a
cold shower.

Peter gathered their clothes and led the way back to the

house, unconcerned about his nudity.

Following him, Garth watched the flex and shift of the

muscles in the other man’s buttocks and legs, marveling at the
power and energy displayed there. It never occurred to him to
ask where they were going. For a moment, he didn’t even
wonder if there was anyone else in the house. The fact he had
seen or heard no one didn’t mean there wasn’t anybody there.

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

Surely Peter had household staff, whether they were currently
around or not. Then he hoped they would not run into anyone.
He wasn’t used to parading around without a stitch on.

The door through which Peter passed at the end of a wide

hall led to what was obviously his bedroom. More of a suite
than a simple room, it held separate areas divided by
groupings of massive log furniture. There was a bookcase here
and a screen there, a half-wall topped by a counter, a partition
holding paintings by native artists and a couple of traditional
rugs draped across it. A huge, solidly built bed dominated one
corner of the space. Peter strode to it and flipped back the star
quilt coverlet to reveal white sheets beneath.

“Now is the proper time for the things you were thinking

about in the lodge. Join me?”

Garth swallowed, suddenly abashed at the blatant

invitation and eagerness in Peer’s dark eyes.

When he didn’t respond, Peter reached out and grasped his

hand, drawing him forward and then giving him a quick shove
that toppled him onto the bed.

Peter laughed, amused by the shock Garth knew had to be

painted on his face. “So the powerful lawyer isn’t used to
someone else taking charge, eh? Well, get used to it. I take
what I want, when and how I want it.”

With that he followed Garth onto the bed and settled

straddling his legs, just above the knees. That put him face to
face with Garth’s erection, which revealed no doubts or
misgivings about the situation.

“I owe you a blowjob, and you’re getting it whether you

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

want it or not. I’d say Willie here is more than willing,
whatever the rest of you says.”

Garth could not deny the truth of Peter’s observation. He

could only lie there and take what was given to him. With
Peter’s butt firmly planted on his thighs, he was not going to
go anywhere without a real struggle. Still weak from the steam
bath and the shock of the chill afterwards, he wasn’t sure he
could shake off the other man if he tried. To save face, he
wouldn’t try.

Peter grasped Garth’s cock with a hand larger, stronger

and much more sure than the boy Peter had, years ago.
Though no longer the novelty it had been then, Garth still felt
the clasp in every cell of his being. The heat and power of
Peter’s hand seemed to engulf him. Then Peter began to stroke
him, long and slow at first, from the base of his cock to the
groove beneath the head.

Garth shut his eyes, bit down on a deep moan of delight. It

felt so good, so bloody damn good.

After about five strokes, Peter dipped his head and swirled

his tongue around the tip of Garth’s prick, tasting him, teasing
him with fast, wet licks. Garth could only buck his hips a
slight bit with Peter’s weight on his legs, but buck he did.
Peter laughed again, deep in his chest. Then he dove down
over Garth’s throbbing length, taking much more of it into his
mouth than Garth would have guessed possible. This time he
could not silence the groan welling up from the root of his
cock, the tight sacs beneath it and the depths of his groin. All
sensation and awareness centered there now, as if the rest of

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

him had ceased to exist.

The pressure built, the tension coiled in a tightening spiral

heading for the inevitable explosive eruption. “I’m gonna
come,” Garth gasped. This time it would not be on Peter’s
belly, but in his mouth. I hope he doesn’t mind or… The
thought went unfinished as he ejaculated in a fierce spasm that
shook his whole body. Peter did not release him until the final
spurt. He’d overcome any fussiness about jizm, it seemed. He
didn’t even spit.

Before Garth could regain enough control to move, Peter

grasped him by the hips and literally flipped him over, like
one would turn a bag of feed or bundle of blankets. Garth
found himself face-down, his head between two thick pillows
and his ass high, supported by Peter’s hold. In self-defense, he
drew his legs up to get his knees under him. That was clearly
what Peter had in mind. He reached past one of Garth’s
shoulders into a cubby at the head of the bed and grabbed a
tube.

Moments later, Garth felt the cool, oily contents trickle

down the crack of his ass as Peter squirted it there and rubbed
it down around his anus. He was ready when the head of
Peter’s heavy cock nudged into him, stretching and filling him
in spite of the easy slide in. Garth groaned again. The
sensations were so intense they were almost painful, yet it was
a pleasure-pain, one he’d never tire of feeling. Were Peter any
bigger, it would be more pain than pleasure, but as it was,
everything seemed just right. Garth surrendered to the
powerful strokes of Peter’s fucking, losing himself in the

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

rhythm of it. He felt the other man come, the last powerful
thrust and the spurt and throb in his depths. Then they both
collapsed.

Garth lay still under the weight of Peter’s body, almost

crushed and yet absorbing the sensation of being totally
possessed. How many times had he visualized something like
this? How many times had he wished and wanted and
wondered if the two of them would ever be together?

The reality was so much greater than his dreams and

visions there was no comparison. To have this, he thought he
could tolerate almost anything. He knew he might not ever
have Peter completely to himself, but maybe having part of
him was better than not having him at all.

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

CHAPTER 3

The next day, Peter insisted Garth had to go riding with

him. Garth was not really comfortable on horseback, but
saying no to Peter was only a little easier than turning the tide,
so he agreed. They rode up into the hills above the ranch,
where Garth had to admit the views were fantastic, and turned
back before the midmorning sun got too strong and hot. He
was only a little stiff when he dismounted back at the corrals.

As they unsaddled and rubbed down the horses, Peter

looked across at Garth. “Sharon will be out for lunch. I told
you I’d try to get her here to talk to you. I think she’s willing
to help us out, but it’s up to you to tell her exactly what you
need and how shaky a limb she’s got to go out on to do it. I

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

don’t want to see her hurt, but then she’s a grown woman and
able to make her own decisions.”

Garth hesitated, unsure how to frame the question he felt

compelled to ask. “Do you have a real relationship with her or
was it just a casual thing?”

Peter shrugged. “Not quite either one. She’s a friend, for

the most part. She needs someone to talk to at times, someone
who treats her like a person and not just a prop to be used for
photo ops and then forgotten until the next occasion. Shilling
treats her like shit, and she doesn’t deserve that. This last time
I told her she ought to divorce him.”

Something in Peter’s expression told Garth more than his

words, but he went on. “It’d serve the sanctimonious bastard
right. He cheats on her all the time, but somehow that never
makes the news or even the National Tattler. Sharon’s a good
woman, probably too good for the likes of me, but…well,
that’s another story. For now, let’s just say she’s a friend. And
for your information, I spent the night with her, but we didn’t
sleep together. We never have.”

That stopped Garth in his tracks. He’d had some trouble

trying to reconcile the image of Peter with the chilly and
distant-looking woman who appeared in the background of
many of Senator Shilling’s photos. She never looked happy, a
silent, stiff figure standing in the shadow of a flamboyant man.
Now he understood a little bit more. Somehow Peter had met
and befriended her. The details were probably not important.

Peter had a kind heart. Garth knew that from his own

experience. Peter took in stray, abused animals, tried to help

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

down-and-out members of his tribe, and honestly hated to hurt
anything or anyone. He might be heedless at times and
hedonistic, but he was not cruel.

They were walking back to the house from the barn when

the sleek, silver-gray Lexus pulled up, edging into the car port
beside Peter’s SUV. Garth stood back and let Peter go greet
the driver as she stepped out. This was not the Sharon Shilling
from the news photos. Her hair was much less blonde, more a
soft brown, her dress quite casual and her demeanor far from
the stiff, sober look she showed the world.

Peter grabbed her in an enthusiastic hug. “Hey, lady, I’m

glad you could make it. Good to see you.”

She laughed. “You’re just an overgrown kid, Peter

Nightrider, but you’re fun to be around. Maybe that’s why I
keep coming back.”

With a hand at her waist, Peter steered her toward Garth. “I

don’t know if you’ve met Garth Talent or not. He’s my
attorney, like I told you, and I trust him completely to do all he
can to keep your name out of the mud.”

She smiled as she held out her hand. The shake was firm

and almost masculine. “I know you by reputation, Mr. Talent,
but not in person. I’m glad to meet you at last.”

“Please, call me Garth. I’m only Mr. Talent in the

courtroom or when I am really trying to intimidate someone.
With you, I’m sure it’s not necessary or appropriate.”

“I don’t suppose you do divorces, do you?”
He shook his head. “I’ve handled a few, but it’s not my

specialty. If you need someone, though, I can give you a

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

couple of recommendations.”

She laughed, a small, rueful chuckle. “Before this is over I

expect I might, but I realized I couldn’t stand by and let Barry
railroad Peter for things he didn’t do. He was with me that
night, the whole night, and I’m prepared to swear as much
before both God and Satan if necessary.”

“How about your daughter? I understand she was one of

the juveniles involved.”

A shadow swept across Sharon’s fine featured face.

“Charli is eighteen, no longer a juvenile, and she’s hardly an
innocent, naïve child. She’s been quite the thorn in her father’s
side, to be honest, and he’s had to pull a lot of strings to keep
her exploits out of the news. He happens to be good at that and
quite experienced. He’s been covering his own ass for twenty
years well enough.” Her sigh spoke more of the sorrows she
bore than her words conveyed.

“She’s spoiled, no doubt. And just as headstrong and

willful as her father. If there was an instigator for whatever
went on that night, she was probably the prime mover. Two of
the four other girls were not quite eighteen, but they’re all
college students and certainly no strangers to sex, drugs and
all the excesses of the rock ’n’ roll world!”

At that moment, Peter broke in. “I think Delores has lunch

ready. Let’s go find out before she gets mad and throws it all
out for the dogs.”

The three of them went in and found chairs at the same

small table where Garth and Peter had enjoyed coffee the
evening before. Indeed lunch was ready and it was delicious.

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

For a while they kept the conversation casual as they enjoyed
the meal.

Over coffee, Sharon turned back to Garth. “What do you

need from me in terms of a statement, a deposition or
whatever? I can put it in writing, come into your office in a
few days and be recorded—anything you need, I’m willing to
do.”

“Isn’t it going to make things difficult for you?” Garth had

to voice his concern. His respect and liking for this woman
had grown rapidly as he’d watched and listened to her. He
noticed there were no significant glances between her and
Peter, or casual touches that spoke of intimacy.

She gave him a twisted smile. “Yes, Barry will be livid

when he finds out, but perhaps it’s time I put an end to the
farce of our marriage. It’s been a sham since shortly after
Charli and Conner were born. Charli is eighteen, and Connor
will be seventeen next month. We’ve lived in the same house,
but more like strangers than spouses all those years. I’ve had
enough of it. At least Peter treats me like a person. There’s no
way I can let him be sent to prison or even plea bargain a
milder punishment. He didn’t do anything wrong!”

At this Peter did reach out and lay his hand over hers. “He

won’t get abusive, will he?”

A negligent twitch of her shoulder dismissed the notion. “I

don’t think so, but if he does, I guarantee he’ll rue the day. I’ll
see his political career blown to smithereens if he lays one
hand on me. And I’ll warn him as soon as the news begins to
leak, as well as remind him I have the power to destroy him if

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

I want to. If he’ll accept a quiet divorce and a reasonable
settlement—I won’t ask for the moon—he can go do his thing
in peace. And maybe I can find some measure of peace for
myself.”

She had beautiful eyes, Garth realized. He felt no stir of

attraction but could acknowledge her beauty. The fact she and
Peter were not lovers made that easier. She looked first at
Peter and then at him, a sudden and genuine smile blooming,
which made her truly lovely.

“I just had a totally wicked thought. Here I am with two

handsome and virile younger men. What if I decided I wanted
to experience their attentions for the rest of the afternoon? All
the while Barry’s enjoyed his liaisons, I’ve been discrete and
mostly celibate. But perhaps neither of you find me
attractive…”

Peter looked at her steadily for a moment. Then his gaze

flashed to Garth, something like a question in his expression,
or was it even more?

Oh my God, is he going to do this? Am I going to have to

get involved? Please, I can’t go there.

Pure panic surged through Garth at the idea—the three of

them entangled on Peter’s huge bed. It was a vision he could
not accept.

After a moment Peter’s gaze returned to Sharon, and he

shook his head. “No, my sweet, I don’t think we can help you.
You had no reason or way to know, but we’re both gay. We
just found one another again after half a lifetime, and right
now we’re pretty well focused on each other.”

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The words so jolted Garth by their unexpected import that

he almost lost track of the conversation and of Sharon’s
reaction.

Did he say what I think I just heard? But how about all the

tabloid stuff, even the things he said the other night? Can it be
he’s been keeping this under wraps for some reason? And
does he really mean he’s focused now on me?

His heart was beating so hard he thought it might lunge out

between his ribs.

A shadow crossed Sharon’s face—disappointment,

embarrassment, resignation. Her shoulders slumped. “I know.
I’m just not good at this, at being a sexy, exciting woman.”

Once again Peter reached out to take her hands in his. “No,

you’re wrong. You might need some practice but that’ll come.
Don’t take it so hard. Don’t let me bring you down—you’re a
very sexy, attractive lady, and if you want to try some
adventures, there’s at least three guys in my band who’d jump
at the chance. I can introduce you, if you’d like. You and I can
still be friends, but that’s really all it can be. And we aren’t
going to mess that up by silly games.”

“In other words I’m not one of those gorgeous young

blondes. You’re just trying to say it nicely. Be honest, Peter.
You’ve always been direct with me before, so don’t stop
now.”

Peter frowned a moment, then his face cleared. “If you

were to ask in private any one of those bimbos I’ve been
photographed with, she’d tell you I never slept with her. It’s
the photo op thing, publicity, part of the image. The gossip

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was good for their careers and mine as well. That’s all it was
about. I don’t actually do women. Never have. Oh, I’ve kept
up appearances, but sooner or later the truth will out—or
maybe ouch. Now I think it’s time to open the closet door.”

Sharon nodded then, understanding gradually smoothing

across her face. “I believe you. Maybe I should have realized.”
Her gaze darted back and forth between them. “The two of
you make a…I’m not sure what to call it, but an interesting
couple, a study in contrasts, but now that I know, I can see the
connection. As for the offer to help me hook up, let me think
about that one. It’d be hard with someone I didn’t know and
trust.” She even managed a smile.

Garth could not deny a surge of admiration then. She’s got

class. I have to give that much to her for sure. He tuned back
in to catch Peter’s next words.

“Take all the time you need. I’ll still be here for you in all

the other ways, just like I have been. Friends are blind to
everything but what’s in a person’s heart. You don’t see color,
religion, sex…and I do consider you a friend.”

“As I do you.” She exhaled a short sigh. “I think it’s time

for me to go.”

They walked her out to her car together. Peter gave her a

kiss on the cheek and held the door while she got in. “You’re
going to be all right, Shar. You’re strong and you have right
on your side. Hold your pretty head high and let your inner
light shine proud. There are men out there who’ll appreciate
you, treat you like the regal lady you are, and love you silly. I
guarantee it.”

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After the Lexus disappeared around the bend in the road,

Peter turned to Garth. What Garth saw in the other man’s dark
eyes almost stopped his heart. He stood for a moment
paralyzed and finally gasped out his urgent question.

“Is that true, all you told her? I mean, I thought, well…”
Peter shot him a crooked grin, then frowned. “Are you

calling me a liar?” If Garth had not seen the grin he would
have fallen back in shock for Peter’s tone was harsh, hard as
cold iron.

“No, I didn’t mean it like that but…well it’s completely

different from everything I’ve heard, and even from what you
seemed to be saying before. I don’t know what to think now.”

“Maybe I can show you then, if words aren’t doing the

job.”

Peter grabbed Garth’s hand and almost dragged him down

the hall to the bedroom. He slammed the door behind them
with a crash that echoed through the house. Then he turned
and grabbed Garth in a fierce embrace.

“I finally found you again, discovered a chance to go back

and rebuild our friendship. Man. I’ve got you in my
headlights. There’s no way you’re going to get away now.
Since I get a distinct feeling you can be really possessive and I
know you value loyalty and fidelity very highly, I can change
my ways. Most of that really was just hype, but if I have to let
my playboy image go to keep you, hell, it’s already gone.”

He whirled on one foot and shoved Garth toward the bed.

“Maybe I can prove it this way.”

As Garth watched, too shocked to comment, Peter almost

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

tore his clothes off, scattering them around the room in his
haste. Then he stood, naked and aroused, looking at Garth
with a heat that nearly singed off his new jeans and Night
Rider T-shirt.

“You dress well, Garth, but I like you better undressed.”
Then, before Garth’s unsteady hands could even begin,

Peter started to peel away Garth’s clothes. First the T-shirt
went flying, yanked over Garth’s head so fast it almost took
his ears along. His belt buckle clattered as it fell to the floor,
dragging his jeans off of his hips. Peter planted a powerful
hand in the middle of Garth’s chest and laid him out on the
bed with a single shove. Next Peter dropped to his knees on
the floor between Garth’s legs, folded over the edge of the
mattress.

Without hesitation, Peter grasped Garth’s twitching cock

and stroked it into total stiffness in mere seconds. “I’m going
to give you the blow job to end ’em all.” He growled the
words, almost making them a threat, an instant before his
mouth closed around the head of Garth’s dick. His lips felt
hotter than the steam in the sweat lodge. It took only seconds
for Garth to approach the pinnacle, his hands clenching in the
bedspread until he gave in to the demanding urge to fist them
into Peter’s thick hair while he pounded into the heated cavern
of his lover’s mouth. He came in an explosive burst.

Peter didn’t pull back until the last pulses faded away. He

swallowed, then wiped his lips with the back of one hand.
“That’s just the appetizer. There’s more coming as soon as
you’re ready for it.”

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

“I’m ready if you are. Just let me roll over.”
Before he did, though, Garth got a glimpse of Peter’s

wolfish grin. It told him he was in for a wild ride. Floating on
a euphoric cloud as he was at the moment, the prospect did
nothing to dampen his soaring spirits. While Peter’s
enthusiastic loving did not actually confirm the things he’d
said, Garth wasn’t going to resist a second of it. He’d waited
far too long for the one man he craved to the depths of his
soul, the one man he had silently and secretly loved for fifteen
years.

He turned face down on the bed, then drew his legs up to

rest on their folded length, lifting his ass in a way to which
Peter could hardly fail to respond. Just in case he didn’t get the
message, though, Garth stated aloud exactly what he wanted.
“Come on, Nightrider, give me a ride I’ll remember ’til the
day I die. Fuck me stupid.”

“Okay. When you put it that way…ya ask for it, ya got it.”
Peter stretched to reach the lube in the headboard, coated

his prick, and squirted a good stream down Garth’s crack. He
rubbed it in with the side of his hand and then with an
increasing number of fingers inserted in Garth’s ass. Before he
was done, Garth writhed, aroused to aching eagerness and
wanting more, wanting it all.

He was ready when Peter grasped his hips, fingers digging

into the muscle at the tops of his thighs. This time there was
no hesitation, no careful probing. Peter thrust into him in a
single ramming lunge, going so deep his balls bumped against
Garth’s, shoved back by his folded legs. In to the hilt, Peter

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

paused only a moment. Then he began to fuck in earnest,
pulling back until only the head of his cock remained inside
before slamming into Garth again and again. As the bed
rocked with the forceful rhythm, Garth braced on his extended
hands, trying to keep from sliding across the mattress.

With a yell mixing equal parts of pleasure and pain, Peter

exploded. Garth felt the eruption in every atom of his body.
Pulling free, Peter threw himself down on the bed at Garth’s
side.

“If I was an inny before I think I’m an outie now,” Garth

said, with a chuckle. “Man, you damn near went clear through
me.”

Peter flung an arm across Garth and dragged him closer. “I

need to touch you, feel you close to me. I didn’t hurt you did
I?”

Garth shook his head. “No way. If there was any hurt it

was the good kind, the kind that makes it almost too
powerfully sweet to bear. I’ve waited half a life time to be
with you this way. Unless you literally tore me apart, it
couldn’t possibly hurt. Maybe even not then.”

“Oh, you and them big fancy lawyer words. I don’t know

sweet words, not even when I write my songs, but I guess if I
did I’d say them to you. I’m better at deeds than words,
though. It’s your turn again. If you’re ready to get it up
another time, let me find out what it’s like.”

Once more shock roared through Garth.
Did he just say what I think he said? Is he offering to let

me fuck him?

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

“You said you were the fucker, not the fuckee. I didn’t

think you did that.”

“I never did before, but for you, I will. I want to. You’re

gonna get a virgin, so enjoy it. You’re getting the last cherry I
have to offer. If that doesn’t prove to you exactly how I feel,
how I want things to be between us, I don’t know what will.”

For a moment, Garth almost wept. This was so

unexpected, so overwhelming. The great Nightrider shedding
his last bit of machismo and coming totally out of the closet to
stand in the glaring light of a new identity.

“Are you sure about this? Once it’s done….”
“Hell yes I’m sure.” Peter almost yelled the words. “Get

the lube and get on with it.” He drew his legs up and folded
down on them, lifting his butt. He even reached back and
spread his cheeks while Garth gingerly applied the lube.
“Come on, I’m not made out of china or glass or something.
Use your fingers and put it where it needs to go.”

Garth did, quickly shedding his hesitation as the arousing

site of Peter’s muscled and tanned ass lifted to welcome him
did its work. He was more than half hard when he started and
by the time he had the lubrication job done, stiff as a poker.
Still, he hesitated a moment, using his hand to draw his prick
up and down the crack of Peter’s ass a few times, then
nudging slowly into the tight waiting hole. He’d done this a
few times with others, but normally he just went for an
exchange of blow jobs. So this experience was still somewhat
of a novelty. This was Peter, too, the guy who was always the
aggressor, the guy Garth had dreamed about forever. Now

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

Garth was actually fucking him…and it felt more amazing
than anything he’d ever done.

He started slow, feeling the tight muscled walls grip him,

almost resisting his invasion, but starting to respond, to relax
and open enough to let him move. Peter groaned, deep in his
chest.

Garth hesitated. “You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m okay. In fact a hell of a lot better than okay,

but you’re still treating me like a virgin princess. Go after it. I
want to feel you get off like you’ve never done before.”

Peter’s rough, low voice was all the urging he needed.

Garth forgot his hesitance and went to work.

Holy frijoles this feels amazing.
He rocked back and thrust forward again and again, feeling

the tension build as his balls drew tight and the moment of
climax edged closer. Then all at once he came in a savage
surge, explosive and more intense than he could ever recall.
He heard himself yell, as if from a distance, before his
overloaded senses shut down for a moment and he almost
passed out.

He managed to pull free before he collapsed at Peter’s

side. They lay together then for a long time, arms around each
other and past the need for words. They were not quite asleep
but not fully awake either, yet bound by a sense of union too
precious to disturb. Finally the cooling of twilight crept into
the room and brought enough chill to force them to move.

Garth opened his eyes and gazed into Peter’s, mere inches

away. What he saw there dispelled the last of his doubts. They

YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY MIND

were together and they were going to be staying that way.
Even better, it didn’t look like he’d have to share Peter with
anyone at all.

“It almost ought to be illegal to be so damn happy.”
Peter smiled. “But it isn’t and I figure we paid our dues to

get here, don’t you? So let’s just enjoy it.”

“Works for me.”

EIRDRE

O’D

ARE

Deirdre O’Dare, who also writes milder (roughly PG-13 rated)
romance as Gwynn Morgan, has loved reading and writing
since early childhood. Writing came naturally to
Deirdre/Gwynn, who scribed her first simple verse at age
eight. An avid reader, she devoured hundreds of books while
growing up and later as an adult. Somewhere along the way
she found romance and then romance with more explicit and
detailed love scenes. “Ah ha,” said she, “I think I have found
my niche!” In the last decade after leaving her “day job” as a
civilian employee of the U. S. Army, she finally settled into
romantic fiction writing as a second career. Deirdre has a
growing number of shorts and novellas, all published by
Amber Heat.

With Irish and Welsh ancestry on both sides of her family,
Deirdre has always been enthralled by the history and customs
of the Celtic peoples as they have come down to us. The
Mother Goddess idea particularly resonates with her as well as
the notion that physical expressions of love between
consenting couples are both a divine gift and a sacred duty to
honor the Mother. Deirdre admits her favorite heroes are cops,
cowboys and Celts.

* * *

Don’t miss Rescued By Love, by Deirdre O'Dare,

available at AmberAllure.com!

Another installment in the best-selling Canine Cupid series…

With his life torn apart by tragedy, Garrett finds a true life-
saver in the Golden Retriever pup Mandy that he rescues from
a local shelter. Inspired by search-and-rescue heroics he sees
on television, he and Mandy become a trained SAR team.
Their first big challenge comes when a series of violent storms
with vicious tornadoes rip through the high plains.

Dan has returned home from Iraq, shattered by the horrors he
witnessed. Like his father and grandfather before him, he
takes off on an old motorcycle to try to find peace and outrun
his nightmares. Instead, he finds a storm that threatens to take
his life.

But a special SAR team comes to Dan’s rescue. And in Mandy
and Garrett, Dan finds the unconditional love he desperately
needs to become whole again…

MBER

UILL

RESS

, LLC

OLD

TANDARD IN

UBLISHING

UALITY

OOKS

OTH

RINT AND

LECTRONIC

ORMATS

CTION

DVENTURE

USPENSE

HRILLER

CIENCE

ICTION

ARK

ANTASY

AINSTREAM

OMANCE

ORROR

ROTICA

ANTASY

GLBT

ESTERN

YSTERY

ARANORMAL

ISTORICAL

IRECT

AVE

www.AmberQuill.com

www.AmberHeat.com

www.AmberAllure.com

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