RENECADE

Cameron Dane

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ReneCade

Cameron Dane

This e-book is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing
locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or
are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments,
events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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Loose Id LLC

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www.loose-id.com

Copyright © March 2008 by Cameron Dane

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ISBN 978-1-59632-645-3

Available in Adobe PDF, HTML, MobiPocket, and MS Reader

Printed in theUnited States of America

Editor: C. B. Calsing

Cover Artist: Anne Cain

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Dedication

For Lisa (See? I used your name!). Ren and Cade each could have used a caring cousin like you. As for
Michael, thanks for saying nice things about me every once in a while. It keeps everyone confused, and
you know how I love that. Hope this is sufficiently “heaving” for your tastes. Love you both, CD

Prologue

Cade McKenna slid his notebook into his uniform shirt pocket as he entered the air-conditioned home
of rancher Caleb Hawkins. He wiped the sweat from his brow and rejoined his boss, Sheriff Duke
Boone, in Caleb’s office. Caleb sat behind his desk, fire burning in his eyes.

Cade nodded his head at Caleb, and then turned to Duke. “Deputy Stuart and I have interviewed
everyone on our lists. She is loading the evidence into your truck for transport to the lab inBozeman . If
you’re ready to head back --”

The sheriff’s cell phone trilled to life. Duke lifted his finger and took a half-dozen steps away from Cade
and Caleb.

Caleb Hawkins turned to Cade. “How do you feel about the interviews?” he asked.

Cade crossed his arms and rocked back on the heels of his boots. “You have a bunch of honest,
straightforward employees, Mr. Hawkins.”

“Caleb, please.”

Cade dipped his head. “Thank you. Like I said, it seems like you have real good people working here.
That’s great for you. If you’re looking for the person responsible for this act of sabotage among them,
though, I can’t say I feel one anywhere in the group I interviewed. Deputy Stuart didn’t get a bad read in
her bunch either. Obviously, I haven’t talked to the sheriff yet --”

“Listen, Caleb” -- Duke stepped back into the conversation -- “I apologize, but I’m going to hand the
lead on this case to Deputy McKenna. I have a situation in town developing that needs my attention.”

“Everything all right?” Cade asked.

“Let’s hope so,” Duke answered. “In any case, I was just getting ready to ride over to the hatchery and
talk with Ren and Risa about what happened, and see if they have any thoughts.” Duke backed up
toward the exit. “I need you to do that for me now. Let him know the regional fish and wildlife rep is on
his way. Ren will want to talk to the man himself about what will happen to the stream next. I couldn’t get
ahold of Ren on his walkie-talkie, but I’m sure he’s at the hatchery shack. Risa’s probably there with him

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too. Go ahead and finish up. Keep me informed.” With that, Duke left.

Cade’s heart immediately kicked hard, knocking against his sternum.

“I assume you know how to ride?” Caleb asked Cade.

Cade followed the rancher out of his office. “Yes.” Cade’s voice suddenly sounded scratchy.
“Absolutely.”

“Excellent. I’ll get you a saddle and mount. You can cut across the property to the hatchery. I’ll give you
directions. I’m sure Ren and Risa are there.”

“Right.” Cade kept his tone steady and professional. Meanwhile, his insides twisted up in a million, telling
little knots.

Cade knew why, too.

Ren Boone. The boss’s son. Ren was stunning, and lately, Cade’s body always noticed. And reacted.

Shit.

Chapter One

“Oh yeah,Tex , fuck me, fuck me…”

Ren Boone reached across the scarred surface of the old worktable and held on asTex pounded his ass
from behind. Sweat covered his back and torso under his shirt, a result of the late August day blazing
outside, just as much as the sex. A suffocating air sat thick and heavy in the small shack, lending an
additional layer of heat to the moment.

Ren’s chin scraped against the nicked-up surface, and his stomach butted against the edge time and
again from the force ofTex ’s pumping hips. Strong hands gripped Ren’s waist in their sexual fury, and
furry haunches rubbed against the back of his thighs each time his ass took a shafting fromTex ’s cock.
Ren reached back to cover one ofTex ’s hands, butTex pushed the touch away as one would a nagging
fly.

Putting his hand back on the table where it was supposed to go, Ren pushed down the sick feeling that
roiled low in his belly at the small rejection. The cut of the gesture went away completely when the dick in
Ren’s ass shoved in deep andTex ground his hips against Ren’s butt. Ren knew what that signaled, and
just to torment his friend, Ren squeezed his ass channel around the man’s cock as tight as he could.

“Oh fuck,”Tex groaned from behind. “I’m gonna come…I’m gonna come.”

Just like that,Tex started spurting. Ren’s rectum warmed, and he moaned with pleasure. He reached
down to his own prick and fisted it in long, painfully tight drags. BeforeTex finished coming, Ren cried out
and spilled his own seed down on the floor of the shack.

No weight fell on Ren’s back afterward;Tex didn’t rest his body against Ren’s before pulling away. Ren
winced at the quick, less than thoughtful pullout, but he couldn’t really say anything.Tex had never been

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fucked, and so wouldn’t understand the small discomfort that didn’t have to be.

Ren straightened, and as he adjusted his jeans, he covertly watched blond, beautifulTex remove the
condom and do the same.

Texshoved his T-shirt inside the waistband of his jeans and waved at Ren as he opened the door to the
shack.

“All right, dude,”Tex said, his voice as easy and friendly as anything Ren had ever heard. “I’ll see you
later. Maybe we’ll get a group together and drive over to the rodeo inBozeman next weekend. What do
you say?”

Ren smiled. “I’ll have to see when I’m working. I need to make sure Risa can cover the hatchery project
before I make a commitment. Give me a call, and I’ll let you know.”

“Sure thing.” With that,Tex waved good-bye again and left.

Unfortunately for Ren, he didn’t remain alone for long.

“You can’t let him keep doing this to you,” a protective, feminine voice told him from the half open door.
Ren looked up at green-eyed, strawberry blonde, hellfire menace, Risa Forrester. She andTex were
Ren’s two best friends.

“Geez, Ris, were you standing right outside listening?”

“Well, I couldn’t exactly walk in, now could I?” Risa said sarcastically, and then quickly got right back
on point. “Tex Bruester is never going to leave his fiancée, you know. Even if he did, it wouldn’t be for
you. He may be fucking you, but he is not gay.”

Ren glared to cover the sting. “No shit, Sherlock.”

Moving inside the shack, Risa added, “I’m not saying this to hurt you. I know you’ve had a crush on the
guy for a long time. You’re struggling with the things you’re feeling, and it’s hard to let go of a fantasy. I
hate to see you taking scraps like this; you deserve someone who wants you just as much as you want
him.”

That hit just a little too close to Ren’s secret dreams for comfort. “I could say the same thing about you.
You want someone who is never going to give you what you want, either, Risa.”

Risa blanched, but her back stiffened right up straight. “You don’t know that.”

“Yes, I do. I know my father, and he will never put his position as sheriff in jeopardy by chasing after a
girl half his age.”

“I’m not a girl. I’m the same age as you. I have two freaking jobs and am more responsible than most
people who are ten years older than I am. Don’t,” she growled, “call me a girl.”

“Doesn’t matter what I call you.” Ren’s dark brows suddenly drew together in sympathy, his need to
hurt gone. “My father is never going to buck small town convention and start dating a woman who is
twenty years younger than he is. It’s just not going to happen.”

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Risa took one of the seats at the worktable and kicked the other one out with her cowboy boot. She
nodded her head at the empty chair. Taking the hint, Ren sat down.

“I don’t think you give your father enough credit,” Risa shared, her green eyes shining just a bit too
bright to sell the cavalier tone of her voice. “I think if Duke really wanted something, he would take it,
and damn the consequences.” Risa stared at Ren with uncomfortable scrutiny. “I also think he would be
more upset to learn you were letting yourself be used by a man you have absolutely no chance of having
a relationship with than he would to find out you’re gay in the first place.”

Ren and Risa had had this conversation at least a half-dozen times. “I won’t risk his career here in order
to find out. My father maintaining a casual friendship with your brother and his partner is one thing.
Openly supporting a son who is gay is another.”

Risa threw up her hands. “Fine, it’s your loss. I shouldn’t have to tell you what a good man your father
is.” She rose from her seat and made her way to the door. “But then again, I shouldn’t have to tell you
that a man who thinks it’s okay to take you sexually in secret, but never once gives you something in
return, is probably not someone who cares about you in the same way he cares about his fiancée. But
hey, what do I know?

“Anyway, I’m going to walk the stream and check the tro --” Risa’s comment stopped in midstream as
she swung the door open all the way. Ren got right to his feet in order to see what had shut Risa up
during one of her lectures.

A man stood at the shack door. Tall, wide shouldered, eyes so brown they were almost black, dark
brown hair, scarred and handsome in the most incredibly unconventional, rugged of ways -- and
uniformed. One of his father’s deputies.

Cade McKenna.

Moreover, Ren felt pretty damn sure the man had heard every word he and Risa had shared.

Crap.

Chapter Two

“Afternoon.” Touching the brim of his tan Stetson in greeting, Deputy McKenna spoke first. “Risa, I’m
glad you’re here.”

His dark gaze then lifted and settled on Ren. “Ren, something has come up. If I could have a word with
you.”

Cade McKenna had a hard face to read. A map of scars covered half of his face. On one side, three
thick, angry lines ran from the outer edge and under Cade’s eye, down his cheek, to where one of them
cut over his lips. That one slashing wound in particular pulled at Cade’s mouth, making it hard to tell if he
was deliberately frowning. Ren certainly couldn’t tell, and his legs went loose beneath him.

“Is my father okay?” He moved closer. “Did something happen to my dad?”

“What?” Cade’s olive skin paled. “Oh, hell. Shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you think that. This is

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an official matter, but not regarding the sheriff. Your father is fine.”

Risa touched Ren’s arm, her fingers fluttering unsteadily. “Thank God.”

Relief flooded Ren too. “What do you need?” he asked the deputy. “How can I help you?”

Cade’s gaze went from Ren to Risa, and then back to Ren. “There has been an attempt to poison the
stream that runs through Hawkins Ranch land. The department has spent all morning with Caleb
Hawkins, as it is specifically the stream that runs primarily through the old MacLesten property.” Of the
three Hawkins brothers, Caleb ran that stretch of land.

“Willow Stream?” Ren asked incredulously. “Caleb has spent the last two years working with a
representative from the Fish, Wildlife, and Parks Department to bring the ecosystem back to health and
repopulate that water. Why would someone poison it?”

“That’s what I aim to find out,” Cade answered. Ren read clear intent in Cade’s eyes, even if he
couldn’t make out the expression he worked at with his mouth. The brown in Deputy McKenna’s gaze
shifted considerably darker, and Ren saw that nothing but pure, determined purpose lived there.

Cade McKenna would catch his prey; it vibrated out with steely confidence from his very being.

“What do you need from me, Deputy McKenna?” Ren asked, suddenly feeling rather determined
himself. “How can I help you figure out who did this?”

“You can start by calling me Cade,” the deputy replied. “That goes for the both of you. Second, you can
take a ride with me and let me show you where the perpetrator polluted the stream. I only saw one horse
roaming in the paddock outside, but I came over on another straight from Caleb’s house, so Risa can
double up with me.”

“Oh, well,” Risa broke in before Ren could say anything. “Actually, it’s time to feed the fish in the
hatchery, but I’ll be eating at the diner with my brother later, and then working at Nate’s. You can catch
up to me at either place. We can talk later, if you don’t mind? It’s a small town, Cade.” She winked
cheekily. “I’m not hard to find. See you.” With a smile, Risa pushed past the big deputy and left the two
men alone.

“Christ, she’s charming.” Cade chuckled. He turned back to Ren, his eyes twinkling in a way Ren had
never previously witnessed. His stomach flip-flopped in response.

Quickly, Ren shook off the uncomfortable, unfortunate flash of attraction. “Let me saddle my horse” --
he grabbed his cowboy hat off a nail in the shack wall and settled it low on his head -- “and you can
show me what happened.”

* * * * *

“Damn.” Ren squatted down at the grassy edge of the creek and dipped his fingers in the icy water,
sending ripples waving across the five-foot, shallow span of stream. No iridescent or spotted bodies shot
away from his hand. He knew for certain life no longer grew within the eggs buried beneath the surface,
either. “We just introduced a small population of bull trout in this area about a month ago with the hopes
that they would reproduce. I guess we’ll have to start over from scratch.” He turned to Cade. “Have you
gotten in touch with Travis from FWP? He’s our regional contact, and he’ll need to come out and see
this himself.”

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“We did,” Cade answered. “Caleb called him, and the sheriff spoke to him. He’ll be here late this
afternoon.”

“All right. Good. Thank God Caleb didn’t have cattle in this particular valley right now. There could
have been some serious damage to his livestock.”

“Unlikely.” Cade kneeled down too. When Ren looked over, he found brown eyes on level with his.
“The person who did this used two bleach containers, the kind people buy to do their laundry. I don’t
think it would have been enough to fatally damage the cattle, not once it got diluted in the water. Caleb
feels the same. He was, however, damn pissed off that someone harmed his fish project, and that
sabotage occurred on his property, period. I can’t say I blame him. We collected a few things around
this area here.” Cade gestured in a wide arc with his arm. “We’ll send prints over toBozeman and have
them analyzed in their lab. Your rep will take the dead fish we have collected in some netting
downstream.”

Ren stood up and wiped his hands on his jeans. “What kind of evidence did you find?” He wandered a
small length down the stream, searching for signs of life that, with sadness in his heart, he knew would not
be there. He glanced over at Cade, who had regained his feet as well. “That is, if you don’t mind my
asking?”

Cade crossed his arms against his wide chest and leveled a stare on Ren that made swallowing past the
sudden dryness in his throat difficult.

“No,” Cade answered. “That’s fine. Hell, you work for Caleb Hawkins. He says he puts you wherever
he needs you, and you’re able to fit in well and get along with everyone. You must know most of the men
who work for him, and maybe have some insight about who could have done this and why. Anyone got a
beef with the boss? They grumble about him behind his back?”

“Those that have aren’t with Caleb’s outfit anymore,” Ren answered. “If you do a good job for Caleb,
you get nicely rewarded for your hard work. Conversely, if you piss around and cause trouble, Caleb
fires your ass right away. He doesn’t have tolerance for anyone not doing the job he’s getting paid to do.
That might be a place to start.” Ren shrugged his shoulders. “Get a list of the men he fired in the last year
and find out what they’re doing now.”

Cade’s mouth did a funny little tugging thing that made Ren think the man was laughing at him.

Ren’s face bloomed with heat. “What?”

“I already did that,” Cade shared, “but thanks for the suggestion. You are your father’s son. I guess it’s
inevitable that some of that detective’s way of thinking has to be in the blood.”

“More like in the rearing,” Ren corrected, surprising the hell out of himself for doing it. He met Cade’s
startled gaze head-on. “Duke Boone is not my biological father.” Ren offered information that not many
people in this town knew. He didn’t know what made him do it. “Duke married my mother when I was
five and adopted me officially a few years later.”

“Huh.” Raising an eyebrow, Cade mused, “I never would have guessed it. I can’t say I’ve ever seen a
father so quietly proud of his son the way the boss is of you. Besides which, you both have a similar cut
to your jaw, kind of severely angled, that would make me think you’re blood kin.”

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Ren couldn’t help the warmth that filled him up and constricted his chest. From the time he’d been able
to understand such things, he’d always thought the same thing about his and Duke Boone’s faces. Only
Ren had never said anything to anyone out of a fear of being told he was indulging in a childhood fantasy
of seeing something familiar, something that as a kid who no longer had a mother needed to see when he
looked in a mirror.

Ren rubbed at the back of his neck, feeling scrutinized in a way he’d never experienced before. “I’d like
to help you, Cade. Tell me what else you found out here and maybe something will hit me.”

Nodding, Cade indicated with a crook of his finger that Ren follow. He stopped beside a small
structuring of three rocks that were big enough to rest a boot on, but nothing more. “This is where we
found the bottles of bleach.” Cade stooped down, and Ren did the same. “You can see here where the
grass is burned a bit. The perpetrator must have spilled some of the bleach here, or possibly, droplets
remained in the bottles when he tossed them down and left. I’m going to guess the first: that he opened
the bottles here and accidentally spilled some before upending the damn things right over the water until
every drop was gone.”

“Makes sense.” Ren glanced in the direction of the stream. “Probably right there, would you say?” He
pointed about two feet away, right at the bank to the water. “There looks like some break off of fresh
grass right down to where that clump of rich dirt shows through. That shouldn’t occur, not even if the
cattle were grazing in this valley and drinking from the stream themselves. That break looks like the heel
of somebody’s boot slipped and dug in hard enough to tear a thick chunk of grass away.”

Cade nodded. “Yeah, I saw that. Until I get something better, I’m going with that theory too. The only
other piece of evidence I turned up was a couple of cigarette butts directly across from us on the other
side of the stream. With some luck, the tech guys inBozeman will be able to pull some fingerprints off
them and come up with a match.”

“How likely do you think that is?” Ren asked. “Because I’ve got to say, I don’t really see some dude
with a record already in the system doing some half-assed stunt like this. I mean, this was stupid and it
did some damage, but it doesn’t exactly seem professional to me.” Ren got to his feet and started in the
direction of the grazing horses. When Cade stepped in alongside him, Ren looked over at the taller man
and added, “Am I wrong about that?”

“No, you’re not wrong. Nevertheless, maybe we’ll get lucky and something will turn up. I’m hoping for
a viable fingerprint that will match up in any one of a number of systems that are available to search for a
match. We’ll see what happens.”

Ren hoisted himself up on his mare, a beautiful, russet-colored animal with white socks and a four-point
star on her forehead. He waited for Cade to do the same on a pretty chamois-colored Appaloosa. As he
did, Ren quickly turned away to hide the heat that crept up his cheeks when he noticed -- and
appreciated -- Cade’s tight, firm ass molded in the pair of well-worn jeans he wore with his uniform shirt.

Ren scrambled for something to cover up his sudden sexual awareness of Cade McKenna. “Umm, well,
I can tell you one thing for sure.” He swung his horse in the direction of the shack, and didn’t need to
look back to see if Cade followed. He was strangely, suddenly, all too aware of Cade’s presence, and
could feel the man fall in line beside him. “With the evidence of the cigarettes, you can eliminate all of the
employees on Hawkins Ranch. They don't allow smoking of any kind out on the land. The Hawkins men
are firm believers in not helping to create problems that don’t need to be. All it takes is one butt that’s not
fully put out to get tossed in grassland that’s just a little bit dry, and before you know it you’ve got a
blazing, out of control fire.”

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“Yeah, Caleb mentioned that when he saw the cigarette butts, too,” Cade said. Shifting his gaze, he
glanced at Ren from across their horses and raised an eyebrow. “You work with these men when Caleb
Hawkins isn’t around to impress and kiss up to, though, so the question is: do they follow the letter of
Hawkins’s law when the boss isn’t around?”

“Actually,” Ren answered without hesitation, “they do.” He easily read the “you’re shitting me” look in
Cade’s eyes. Ren chuckled and grinned. “I’m not lying to you, Cade. I’m really not. While normally I’d
look exactly like you do right now --”

Cade’s eyes darkened to black. “Not on your worst day would you ever look like me, kid.”

His spine shifting ramrod straight in the saddle, Ren laid an unwavering stare on the scarred man some
three feet away from him. “First, don’t pull that sympathy bullshit with me, Deputy McKenna, because
you know damn well women eat up that wounded hero crap. Second, if you want me to call you Cade,
and you want to be able to call me Ren in return, then don’t call me kid again. I’m twenty-two years old,
and I work to earn a paycheck, just the same as you. Besides, you can’t be more than thirty.”

Those black eyes flashed again. “Actually, I’m thirty-one.”

“Doesn’t matter. Still doesn’t make you nearly old enough to be a parent to me, and so that means
there’s no damn way I can be your ‘kid.’ Got it?”

Cade dipped his head. “Fair enough.” He started his horse walking again. When Ren fell in beside him,
Cade looked over and added, “Can you finish what you were saying, about why the ranch men wouldn’t
be caught smoking behind the boss’s back?”

“Because,” Ren explained, “in this case, we’re told when we start working for the Hawkins brothers that
one slip up of this nature will cost you your job. No second chances, no excuses. And I’ve got to tell
you” -- Ren finally allowed himself a look at Cade -- “people don’t want to get fired from Hawkins
Ranch. It’s prestigious. Their employees rarely leave once they’re in, so it’s hard to get in anymore at
all.”

“Then how did you get in?” Cade quickly held up a hand. “If you don’t mind my asking. It’s not an
official question. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

Cade’s curiosity stroked Ren’s newfound interest. “I lucked out. I was just old enough to start working
on a ranch when the Hawkins brothers bought the MacLesten property. They got rid of a lot of guys who
couldn’t conform to their way of working with the animals and the land, and who couldn’t seem to
respect all three of their bosses equally. They were looking to replace a bunch of people, and I had just
turned eighteen. Caleb interviewed me. He said since I was young and still moldable he would let me do
a little bit of everything and see where I fit. Turns out, I kind of fit everywhere, so he just left me to it. I’ve
been going wherever he needs me ever since.”

“And what about this fish repopulation thing?” Cade asked. They came to a stop, back at the hatchery
shack, and while Ren climbed down off his horse, Cade remained on his. He settled his hands on the
saddle horn and looked down at Ren. “Have you noticed Caleb meeting resistance to what he has set in
motion? Have either you or Risa encountered any kind of hostility or negativity over what you’re doing?”

“No, absolutely not.” Memories of the property’s former owner filled Ren’s head. “You didn’t know
Justin MacLesten, but let me tell you something, he left a bad taste with the people in this town before he

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died. He stripped Willow Stream bare by overfishing it without any care to the consequences of his
actions. The fact that Caleb is working to bring it back to health is just one more wound he’s helping to
heal that Justin MacLesten inflicted on this area. So, no,” Ren said. “I can’t imagine why anyone would
deliberately hurt the good work Caleb is doing with Willow Stream. It doesn’t make sense to me.”

“Fair enough.” Putting pressure on the reins of his horse, Cade swung the animal around until he faced
the direction of Caleb Hawkins’s home. He danced the horse to a stop at Ren’s side and looked down,
and this time Ren could not mistake it; Cade McKenna did not attempt to affect a smile. He looked
downright fierce.

“Just one more thing before I go. I read the panic in your eyes when you saw me on the other side of the
shack door earlier.” Cade looked Ren in the eyes and held his gaze. “It’s not my place to speak on
anything I overheard. You don’t have to worry; I don’t share the personal information of others.” Pausing
for a moment, he then added, “With anyone. I do think your friend Risa was right, though. You’re better
than letting someone who can’t respect what you feel use you, man or woman.” Something Ren couldn’t
identify flickered over Cade’s eyes right then, but it disappeared before Ren had a chance to determine
its source. “Just my opinion.”

Cade pulled his hat down low on his forehead. “If I have further questions about the stream, I’ll get in
touch. Have a good day.”

Without another word or looking back, Cade rode away.

Meanwhile, Ren stayed rooted to the ground, unable to move. He stood there with his jaw hanging open
and his eyes peeled wide, looking like a complete idiot to someone who suddenly fascinated him
immensely.

Deputy Cade McKenna.

Yet another man that, likeTex , Ren had no shot at having.

Chapter Three

Hauling a drunk and disorderly through the station, Cade nodded his head at Sarah, the
receptionist/dispatcher, and Shelley, a waitress from the diner across the street.

He unlocked one of the ancient jail cells and guided his arrest inside. When he had the cage shut and
locked, only then did he reach through and unlock his charge’s handcuffs. The guy was a regular and
could get belligerent when drunk, but for the most part was harmful only to himself. Cade made a
promise to bring him a meal when he sobered up, and then moved back to the bullpen.

Shelley had apparently gone back to work, and Sarah waited at Cade’s desk with a twinkle in her
brown eyes. “You are such a sucker, McKenna.” Shetsked him and wagged her finger. “Beneath that
intimidating body is the biggest sap I have ever met. And let me tell you something” -- she bumped her
hip against his when he moved to his chair -- “I’ve known a lot of guys in my life, so that’s saying
something.”

Cade wanted to smile, but after two and a half years of living with his damaged face, he still had not
gotten used to the strange way it pulled on his mouth. He knew his attempts to share an easy grin came

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off less than ideally, so he cocked a telling eyebrow instead.

“All right,” Sarah conceded as she went back to her desk, “so I’vewatched andobserved a lot of guys
in my life. It’s sort of the same thing.”

Cade grabbed the Hawkins file he wanted to discuss with the sheriff and got to his feet. Taking the long
way around, he dropped a peck on the top of Sarah’s head. “Nope. Not the same thing at all, kid.” The
small endearment reminded Cade of Ren, and the hour they’d spent talking together. Pale blue eyes and
dark inky hair entered his mind, automatically heating Cade’s skin. He shook off the wrongheaded,
unwanted thoughts and got back to Sarah. “When you meet the right guy, sweet Sarah, you’ll be thankful
they are very different things.”

“See?” Sarah pointed a chewed-down-to-the-nub finger at Cade. “That’s exactly what I’m talking
about. Even when unsuccessfully flirting with you, you somehow manage to brush me off in the least
offensive, most endearing…” Her thought ran out as the phone rang. She picked it up, slipping into
professional Sarah mode with a “Good afternoon, Quinten Sheriff’s Department. How may I help you?”

Cade chuckled and walked away. He gave the sheriff’s office door a customary cursory knock before
turning the knob and entering. He came to a complete, stupefied standstill when he found Ren Boone on
the other side of Duke’s desk.

Ren glanced up and, suddenly, those glacier blue eyes from Cade’s imagination looked right at him. The
fine hairs on the back of Cade’s neck stirred, and he distractedly rubbed his callused hand against them,
trying unsuccessfully to push the irritation away.

Cade cleared his throat and moved into the small, orderly office.

“Uh, hi,” he offered. “I'm looking for your dad.” As soon at the words were out of his mouth Cade
immediately wanted to kick himself for saying something so patently obvious and stupid.

“Right.” Ren grinned. “Me, too. That’s why I’m here” -- Ren scanned the room before his gaze landed
back on Cade -- “in his office.”

Cade’s lips thinned down to a hard line, something that naturally happened when uncomfortable in a
situation. He felt the tug at the edge of his mouth that meant he probably looked like he was frowning. His
cheeks heated, too, but he couldn’t stop any of it from happening.

“Well,” Cade said, “I’ll let you get back to whatever you’re doing and try again la --”

“No, wait! I want to talk to you.” Ren shot out of Duke’s seat and circled the desk, not stopping until
less than two feet separated them.

Damn it, Ren stood so close Cade’s skin felt raw and sensitized. He swallowed, stepping backward until
his back hit the door.

“What is it?” Cade heard the thickness of discomfort coloring his tone. “What do you need?”

With his brows drawing together, Ren leaned back and rested his butt against the desk. “Information.”
Ren crossed his arms loosely against his chest. A chest that Cade had never seen, but, Christ, he could
just imagine was hairless and stunning underneath that gray western-yoked shirt that fit him so well. Cade
shook himself out of his dangerous thoughts and heard Ren finish with, “Identification on the bleach

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bottles and cigarette butts.”

Thank God Cade could deduce Ren’s full question with the little bit he’d heard. “Still waiting on the
results for the cigarette butts,” he shared. The tightness in his stomach eased as he regained his footing on
familiar ground. “They ran the bleach bottles first. Unfortunately, nothing viable turned up. There were a
few partials, but they were too smudged for a match. My guess is they’re probably the prints of whoever
stocked and straightened the bleach at the store where it was bought, and they were smudged by our guy
wearing gloves when he did the job. The guys inBozeman say they’ll have the results from the cigarette
butts in a few days.”

“Okay.”

Ren pushed off the desk and moved to the door, pausing in front of Cade. He rocked back on the heels
of his boots, and slid his sexy, long fingers down into the front pockets of his jeans. As Ren looked up
those few inches that separated their heights, Cade could swear the man’s sky blue eyes twinkled with
laughter. It jammed Cade in the stomach, hard.

“It sure isn’t overnight identification like we see on TV, is it.” Ren said. “I guess we don’t have a lab with
fifty people, half of whom are working on the same case, huh?”

That sparked a bark of laughter out of Cade. “Not inBozeman ,” he admitted, and tried to smile. Christ,
he hoped it didn’t look freakish. “And definitely not here in Quinten.”

“Yeah.” Ren nodded. “I think I’ll stick with the trade-off, though. The prettiest green land as far as the
eye can see, mountains just a horseback ride away, people who care if you don’t show up where you’re
supposed to be. I’ll take that in exchange for cities that have quicker amenities, but never seem to stop to
breathe and sleep.”

The dreamy look in Ren’s eyes lulled Cade, and he rolled his shoulder against the door until he faced the
man head-on. “I’d point out that you’re making generalizations,” Cade said, his tone soft, too soft, but he
couldn’t seem to stop it, “except that I’ve been in both, and I kind of agree with you.”

“Kind of?” Ren leaned in some, and suddenly less than a foot of space separated them. Ren’s breath
brushed over Cade’s face as he said, “What holds you back from agreeing with me totally?”

The air thickened between them, pulling Cade in by the strangerightness of it; something he’d never felt
in his life.

“I wouldn’t want to agree with you too easily, Ren Boone,” Cade answered. “I get the feeling it’s
probably a good idea to keep your ego in check.” He possibly teased and flirted. Maybe. He’d never
been very good at it, and he’d certainly never done it with a man, so he couldn’t be sure. Cade tried to
smile, again. “That, and I do occasionally miss having a dozen movies to choose from when I decide I
want to go out. I’ve gotten real acquainted with prime time television and Netflix in the past two years.”

“You might try socializing a little more.” Reaching out, Ren tapped the badge on Cade’s chest. His pinky
finger grazed Cade’s shirt instead of the badge, and Cade’s heart seized. The small, incidental touch
heated his skin beneath his clothes. Abruptly, Ren’s hand fell away, but their gazes caught and held.
“You’d be amazed how many home-cooked dinner invitations that piece of hardware on your shirt will
garner you, Deputy. This town will take you in and let you make it your home if that’s what you want, but
it needs a little encouragement on your end to get it started.”

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“I’m trying,” Cade admitted. Heat flushed his cheeks. He didn’t know for sure if he and Ren were
talking literally anymore. It didn’t matter; his response was equally truthful and the same, either way. “I’m
not very good at making myself the focus of anyone’s attention, and I don’t like putting myself in new,
unfamiliar places. It makes me feel like a specimen being scrutinized under a microscope.”

“I get that.” Ren shifted forward, and Cade swallowed convulsively. When Ren’s gaze softened, and
then darkened to pure blue, Cade thought he saw awareness flare in their depths. Too quickly, though,
the man straightened from his casual, forward slouch, and the moment disappeared.

Ren suddenly grabbed the doorknob between them and inadvertently covered Cade’s hand, wrapping
his fingers around Cade instead. The nerve endings in the back of Cade’s hand popped and fired to life
under the surprising hardness of Ren’s palm. In the split-second it took them to yank their hands away,
Cade’s cock pushed against his jeans and told him in very definite terms the truth with which he had
grappled for the past six months.

Ren Boone stirred him up unbearably inside, and he wanted the younger man, sexually, in the worst
possible way.

“Anyway,” Ren blurted first, drawing Cade’s eternal gratitude with one, simple word, “I’ll be up in the
high country for a couple of days for work. I wanted to let my dad know, and tell him that I’d see him
either Saturday or Sunday. I left him a note there on his desk, but if you see him…”

“Of course,” Cade jumped in quickly. “I’ll make sure to tell him. Have fun. Catch lots of stray cattle.”
Christ, Cade felt like such an idiot. “Or, I mean, I guess… Well, whatever it is you do up there.”

“Thanks, I will.”

Ren opened the door, and this time, blessedly for Cade’s sanity, Cade stood a good two feet away,
eliminating the chance of their hands colliding again. Instead of going through and leaving, Ren paused
again and looked back at Cade.

“I’ll have one of my cameras with me up in the mountains,” he shared. “I like to take pictures of wildlife,
and the crew at work. I could bring them in after I develop them. That way, you can see one of the things
I do in my job. Not just me, of course, all of the cowboys around these parts, really. I could do that” --
Ren shrugged his shoulders -- “if you want.”

In that moment, something inside Cade stomped down the cautious, sane part of himself, and took over
use of his tongue. “Yeah,” he agreed, even as his pulse raced crazily with uncertainty. “I think I’d like
that. Thank you.”

“Sure thing.” Ren grabbed his cowboy hat off a wooden peg in the wall. Nodding, he settled the gray
brim low on his forehead. “I’ll see you later.” Ren closed the door behind him, leaving Cade alone in the
sheriff’s office, staggering.

The boss’s son. Good Christ, Cade wanted tofuck the boss’s son.

Unwittingly, Cade reached up and fingered the nasty scars that marred half of his face. Each stroke of
Cade’s fingertips over the pulled, puckered ridges of damaged flesh reminded him that his desires were
not something openly accepted in this world. This situation -- too eerily familiar for comfort -- filled Cade
with dread.

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Cade could not let himself fall for Ren Boone. Disaster lay in that direction.

Right now, Duke seemed to like and respect Cade. The sheriff could snatch his good will away in a
flash, though. Cade was reminded of that cold truth every time he saw his mangled face in a reflective
surface. He didn’t want another good friend to become a vicious enemy with the dawning realization of
Cade’s desires.

Cade wouldn’t let himself be pulled in by the heat of passion again. He would suppress. He would deny.
If he didn’t, he wasn’t sure he’d survive the fallout this time.

“Damn.” Cade hit the wall with his fist.

He had never felt so alone in his life.

Chapter Four

Ren sifted through the notes Risa had left for him, glossing over them before going back and checking for
details. The neat file let Ren know who had come and done the hatchery feedings on the rare occasion
when he couldn’t do it himself. Each person who did a feeding had to sign a chart and note the exact time
they’d fed the fish in the hatchery ponds. Risa’s notes also included which portions of the stream she’d
walked, and what she saw living under the surface of each particular grid.

Ren, Risa, and Caleb’s interest extended far beyond repopulating the stream with bull trout. The fish
required the entire stream’s ecosystem’s careful regeneration. Many years ago, someone christened bull
trout with the nickname “the cannibal ofMontana ’s streams” because they survived primarily on other
fish. Consequently, it had become necessary to systematically repopulate the ten-mile stream with lesser
fish before small schools of reproductive-ready bull trout could be placed there. However, the smaller
fish also needed a healthy environment in which to survive, so they had introduced and monitored a slow
reintroduction of indigenous plant life, bugs, small amphibians, and a host of other things too.

Ren hadn’t minded having the project thrust upon him three years ago, even if he had been completely
naive about how much time it would consume in his schedule. He snorted derisively at that thought and
reminded himself that he didn’t have a line of men complaining about not making enough time for them.
Hell, he didn’t even haveone .

Although Ren had thought, just for a few seconds in his father’s office, that Cade McKenna had looked
at him with a spark of interest shining in his dark eyes. Just as quickly as Ren thought he saw it, it had
muted and disappeared. As he didn’t possess any expertise in reading attraction in other men, Ren had
chalked it up to a flash of burning sexual attraction on his own end that he’d projected onto Cade.

Ren had woken up to enough wet dreams of Cade lately that he could believe his mind had been
overrun with sex when he’d bumped into Cade at the station. Awakening from a particularly powerful
fantasy about Cade just last night, Ren had released in his sleep. Not nearly enough to settle his cock
down, he had rolled over and humped his hand and mattress, crying out as he spilled again.

The intensity of the private moment had scared Ren. More than just masturbating and coming, for one of
the first times in Ren’s life, the picture of the man he screwed hadn’t beenTex -- the fantasy Ren had
suffered since the ninth grade. In his mind last night, Ren had fucked Cade’s ass deep and hard, pounding
away at Cade’s sensitive channel until they both exploded from the power of it. And good God, the

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strength of his orgasm left him shaking in the aftermath and had him thinking that maybe his body knew
something intuitively that his head couldn’t quite so readily accept.

It just went to show that Ren’s body didn’t know shit about anything. Cade McKenna didn’t want him.
At times, Ren wondered if anyone ever would.

“Oh, man, thank God you’re here,”Tex ’s familiar voice spoke from outside the open doorway, yanking
Ren out of his wandering thoughts. Beautiful and disheveled, Tex filled Ren’s vision, his fingers already
working his belt buckle as he entered the shack, closed the door, and locked it.

Texwent on in a familiar and casual tone, similar to when he and Ren discussed sharing homework
before class in high school. “I need it, man. I need a quick fuck. Shelley got me all hot and bothered
letting me feel her up and play with her tits, but she put a lockdown on getting up her skirt.”

“Just like always.” Ren automatically stood and started working his belt too.

“Yeah. She watched while I shot one off, and damn, watching her watch me come gets me hot, but it
isn’t enough.”

Texpulled his prick out of his underwear, moaning as he stroked the six-inch piece of meat, his moss
gaze shining with purpose. He crossed the room to get at the condoms and lube stored deep in the back
of a messy junk drawer. As he did, Ren got a view ofTex ’s perfectly tanned, tight ass. An ass that Ren
had never had, an ass that he barely got to see, and one that he’d certainly never touched.

Cade’s words, “You deserve better,” rang in Ren’s head, underlying the carnal thoughts that had filled
Ren’s mind about the deputy these past two weeks. Even more searing, Risa and Cade’s words about
respecting himself pushed determinedly to the forefront of his mind.

Ren blinked and looked down, seeing himself as he behaved with Tex, waiting with his hand
outstretched to take the lube and ready himself for Tex’s fucking, the way he had done for a year now.
Ren no longer even questioned it anymore; he just slicked himself up, bent his torso over the worktable,
and took whatever he could get from this man he’d had a crush on for so long.

It suddenly appeared very pathetic to Ren, and if not quite humiliating, then certainly pretty damn sad.
So with deliberate intent and shaking fingers, Ren reached out and caressed the smooth, warm skin
ofTex ’s buttocks.

“Whoa!”Tex immediately jumped out of Ren’s reach. He spun, fire glowing in his eyes. “What in the hell
do you think you’re doing?”

Ren metTex ’s gaze, and through the racing in his chest, he put himself out on a limb that he couldn’t
back away from if things didn’t go his way.

“I don’t mind you coming here and fucking me, and I don’t think I need to tell you how much I like it. I
don’t think I hide it very well.”

“No,”Tex said. A small smile flickered over his mouth. “I don’t have any experience with anyone but
Shelley and you, but I would have to say that you’re a talker, dude. A screamer.”

A furious heat crept up Ren’s neck and inflamed his face.

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“Shit, don’t get embarrassed,”Tex added. “You like it, and it gives me what I need. What’s wrong with
that?”

Ren rubbed his sweaty palms on the front of his jeans and forced himself to faceTex without cowering in
shame. “The problem is that I want more than the occasional fuck from you when you can’t take the
celibacy anymore. I want to touch and kissyou , and I wantyou bent over the table sometimes with me
taking you. That’s the problem,Tex. I want a little more give from you, along with what you take from
me.”

“Damn it,”Tex said. “You know I’m not gay. I told you that right from the start. This is a substitute for
what Shelley won’t give me until we’re married. I love Shelley, Ren; I really do. I’m not confused about
that, and I told you that from day one.”

“I know,” Ren agreed softly. He didn’t have a legitimate fight withTex. “You didn’t trick me into doing
this. I’m not mad at you. I’m really not.” In his room one afternoon a little over a year ago, Ren had
recklessly offeredTex his ass after listening toTex moan about having blue balls. “I offered freely. You
took me up on it. I started this. I know it.”

“No,”Tex admitted, “I didn’t have to take you up on your offer.” It squeezed Ren’s heart to hear the
man say it. It would have been easier ifTex had been an asshole, but he wasn’t, and that just made Ren’s
reasons for having a crush on him that much more legitimate. “I didn’t have to fuck you that first time,
especially not when I always kind of suspected you liked me, you know, in a gay way.”

Ren’s attention shot off the floor and up toTex. “Even before? You knew I liked you before I said what
I said that day, about relieving yourself with me?”

“I didn’t know for sure or anything,”Tex corrected. “But I’d catch you staring at me sometimes, and it
felt kind of the same as it feels when Shelley looks at me. I thought you might be, but I don’t know
anything about gay stuff, so I wasn’t sure.”

Ren chuckled and shook his head. “You thought it, but you never called me a fag or a queer, and you
never pushed me away or outed me to any of our friends.” Ren heldTex ’s gaze. “Thanks, I appreciate
that. You don’t know how much.”

Texflashed Ren a big smile, and time slipped away, as if they were both twelve years old again and
meeting in the schoolyard for the very first time. “Hey, man.”Tex put his jeans to rights and buckled back
up. “Remember when that honking big dog of Mr. Keilor’s attacked me? If you hadn’t jumped on his
back and pulled him off me he probably would have ripped my face off before Mr. Keilor dragged him
away. You saved my life. We’re buds. The difference between what you want and I want doesn’t
change that.”

“A friendship sealed in shared dog scars?” Ren peeled back his shirt and revealed four barely visible
scars that curled around his shoulder. “Right?”

Texripped the snaps on his shirt open and exposed matching scars that ripped over his chest and down
his stomach. “You got it.”

They covered back up, knocked fists, andTex moved to the door. He opened it and walked through,
but turned around and looked back in, his gaze settling on Ren once again.

“So this is it, huh?”Tex ’s smooth voice sounded almost wistful.

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“Yeah.” Ren nodded. He leaned his hip against the worktable and crossed his arms. “I think so. I…I
want…things” -- Ren almost choked on the word -- “affection and reciprocation that you can’t give me.
I’m sorry; I don’t know what to say. I can’t give you the relief you need any more.”

“Nah.”Tex waved his hand negligently. “It’s all right. I can live with celibacy for nine months until the
wedding. It’ll build my character, and God knows my dad always fucking says I need more of that.”

“No,” Ren cut in, his eyes drilling in onTex. “You are filled to the brim with character, Michael Texas
Bruester. Yours is tweaked a little bit, and not everybody understands it, but it suits you very well. I’d
hate to see it ever change. I’m sure Shelley feels the same, or she wouldn’t have agreed to marry you.
You’re not a bad person. Don’t ever let your dad make you believe that you are. You got me?”

“I’ll remember that.”Tex dipped his head, and the evening sun caught at the golden richness of his hair,
almost casting a halo effect around his head. He looked up, his smile shining just as bright, still with the
power to skitter Ren’s stomach.

“See you around town,”Tex added. Ren walked to the door, watching asTex back-walked to his
battered old Chevy truck, withPete’s Garage emblazoned on the side. “Don’t forget, there’s still that
rodeo traveling around the state. We definitely need to get a group together and catch it before it gets too
far away.”

“Maybe we’ll do that,” Ren hedged, swallowing the lump swelling in his throat. “We’ll have to see how
everyone’s schedules shake out.”

Texnodded. Grateful thatTex seemed to understand and didn’t push, Ren leaned his shoulder against the
doorframe, waving goodbye asTex gunned the engine and pulled away. Ren’s chest ached as he stared
down the dirt road that led away from the hatchery shack, and did his damnedest to push down old
feelings of rejection he hadn’t let himself think about in close to a dozen years.

His mother didn’t deserve even a minute of his thoughts.

Stamping down an old pain he didn’t want to remember, Ren got back to work.

Chapter Five

“How you doin’ with them fish, boy?” Hank Bailey, a fellow cowboy, asked Ren. “How long before I
can throw a line in the water?”

“That’s still a little ways off.” Ren didn’t make a fuss at the word “boy” because Hank was more than
sixty years old and still doing the job of men half his age.

Ren and Hank rode a stretch of Hawkins land, checking on a herd of grazing cattle. A soft breeze
floated on the morning air, and the sun had not yet begun shining too high or hot; one more reason on a
long list for why Ren could never see himself leavingMontana .

The squealing sound of rubber burning into asphalt broke the quiet. Both Hank and Ren whipped their
heads in the direction of the unseen road that led to town. They both waited for a second in silence with
held breath, only breathing again when they didn’t hear a subsequent crash of metal crunching into trees,

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or worse, more metal.

“I’m gonna go check it out,” Ren said. He wheeled his horse in the direction of the road, tapping the
walkie-talkie clipped to his belt as he did. “I’ll radio Risa back at the ranch if someone needs help.”

“Keep it synced up to me,” Hank instructed as he checked his own walkie-talkie. “Channel 21, just in
case you need immediate help. I’ll go ahead and get started. I won’t stray too far away.”

“Got it.” Ren double-checked the channel on his radio. “I’ll let you know either way.”

Ren put his horse, Athena, into a full gallop and cut across a deep pasture, half-filled with cattle. He
picked up speed, urged Athena on, and jumped a low fence in his path. He and Athena forged through a
six-deep barrier of thick trees and brush that separated the grazing land from the paved, public road. Ren
walked his horse up to the shoulder, keeping Athena’s spirited, prancing hooves steady. His gazed
zeroed in on the back of a black SUV about a quarter mile down the road. The truck faced north, half in
the ditch on the other side of the pavement.

Goose bumps popped up all over Ren’s arms, and cold raced through his blood. With a quick burst of
speed, he pushed Athena into a full-on run.

“Dad!” Ren would recognize the sheriff’s truck anywhere. “Dad!”

Lightning fast, Ren pulled up alongside the driver’s side door. He tugged on Athena’s reins, bringing the
horse to a fast stop. In one move, he jumped off the animal and yanked open the door. “Dad!” There
was no one inside. Ren crawled in and checked the back, hoping to satisfy the frenetic racing of his brain
and heart. Nothing. He pulled back out and ran around the truck to the grassy shoulder. “Where are
you? Dad!”

“Stop yelling,” a whiskey-rough voice muttered. Cade McKenna came into view from the thick trees.
“It’s not your dad.” The big man had a bundle tucked in his arm. “Damn it” -- Cade winced and rolled a
massive shoulder -- “that’ll have a bruise tomorrow.”

“Shit.” Ren rushed over to Cade and put an arm around his waist. “Are you all right? Your head is
bleeding.” Ren eyed the mud-covered, furry little body cradled in one of Cade’s big arms and noticed its
backside matted with dirt and blood. “Damn, is that a puppy?”

“Yeah,” Cade answered. “I almost ran him over.”

They made it the short distance to the half-ditched truck, and Cade leaned back against it, clearly still
shaken. “Can you open the passenger door for me, so I can set him down inside?”

“Yeah, sure.” Ren let go of Cade and rushed to do as requested. Holding the door open, he watched,
his insides melting as Cade settled the puppy down on the seat. Looking more closely from over Cade’s
shoulder, Ren thought the puppy looked like an Irish setter.

Cade straightened and shut the door softly.

Stepping back a bit, Ren eyed the blood trickling down Cade’s temple. “Listen, I’m gonna get Hank on
the radio and have him come get Athena for me, and then I’ll drive you back into town. I don’t want you
behind the wheel until someone has looked at that cut on your head.” Ren reached up and fingered
Cade’s hair away from his temple to get a better look. At the first touch, Cade jerked away, his dark

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eyes flashing, and Ren let his hand fall back to his side, unused.

“I’ll be fine,” Cade insisted. He pressed his fingers to his skull, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment and
compressing his lips down to a thin line. It made him look angry and unapproachable. “I already radioed
for Mike’s to send out a tow truck and haul the SUV back into town. Damn thing jammed up for some
reason, and I can’t get it to restart. The sheriff won’t like that. We have one of the deputy vehicles in the
shop already.”

“Oh, okay.” Ren nodded. “So that’s why you have the sheriff’s truck, instead of my father.”

Cade nodded sharply. “Yeah. Sorry about giving you a scare. The damn puppy was curled up right in
the middle of the road, looking like a ball of trash. I was almost right on top of him before he showed
signs of life. At the last second, I saw his little head lift up, and when I jerked the wheel to miss him, he
ran in the same direction I turned, so I almost ended up hitting him anyway. Damn little bugger took off
into the brush and trees.”

Ren bit his lip so that he didn’t smile. “He probably gave you a heart attack bigger than the one I got
when I saw the truck, yet you still got out and searched for him anyway.”

“Well” -- Cade pushed his weight off the side of the SUV and paced in the direction of the back of the
truck -- “he might be a pet, in which case someone is probably looking for him, and we’ll hear about it
down at the station. More likely, though, somebody didn’t want him and threw him away, which makes it
an act of animal cruelty and a crime I will pursue if I can trace ownership of the animal. Either way” --
Cade turned mid-pace and started back toward Ren -- “I needed to apprehend the puppy so I can
figure it out.”

“Apprehend.” A formal word for a straitlaced man. “Riiiighht,” Ren drew out slowly. He leaned a
shoulder against the passenger side window and peeked in at the sleeping puppy. “Saving the puppy is all
about the job for you. Not that you couldn’t bear the thought of the little guy dying out here on its own. It
couldn’t be that you plan to rush him right to the vet, probably already radioed Sarah back at the station
and had her put a call in to Dr. Crowley.” Cade’s eyes darkened, and his face flooded with color, but
Ren pushed anyway. “I even bet you’ve already told Mike you’re going to make a stop on the way into
town so that you can drop the puppy off at the vet’s first, just in case there’s something seriously wrong
with him.” Cade’s face turned hard, and his jaw clenched with each sentence Ren spoke, but still Ren
couldn’t stop. “It couldn’t be any of that, Deputy.” Ren poked, and he did it knowing that he provoked a
bear. “It’s just the job, and you’re an officer of the law doing his sworn duty. Right?”

Cade moved in closer, looming bigger and taller than Ren’s decent-sized six-two frame. Even with
Cade’s damaged face, Ren could tell he had tested the man’s patience. The scars on Cade’s face
covered and hid a lot, but Ren quickly found they didn’t mask his displeasure at being teased.

Cade’s jaw ticked visibly. “What are you doing?” he growled. “Why are you pushing me?”

Ren lost his courage, and stumbled. “I…I don’t know.”

Cade caged Ren in against the truck, pressing the flat of his hands against the black metal on either side
of Ren’s head. “I’m having a shitty morning, Ren,” Cade bit off, “and it’s only going to get worse when I
have to tell the sheriff about the accident with the truck. After I explain myself, I have to get a new vehicle
and finish delivering the bad news to Caleb Hawkins that they didn’t turn up a fingerprint match on the
cigarette butts we found near the creek. So, I repeat,Ren ” -- Cade barked his name like a curse -- “why
in the hell are you being a jerk and messing with me? Today, of all days?”

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Ren couldn’t break away from the fire in Cade’s nearly black eyes. More than that, he didn’t want to.
He blurted the first thing that came to his mind. “I told Tex Bruester he couldn’t take me anymore.”

“What?” Cade’s eyes flashed more of that dark fire. His stare reached out and pushed its way into Ren,
setting his blood boiling. Ren watched Cade’s jaw tick some more, before Cade pushed out, “What did
you just say?”

“I know what you overheard that day.” Ren felt his cheeks slash with heat. “I know you know what I am
and what I let happen withTex. Two days ago, I put a stop to it, and I won’t let it happen anymore.” Ren
searched Cade’s gaze, one that hadn’t so much as flickered away from Ren’s face from the moment he’d
started trying to explain his crazy confession. “I don’t know why I’m telling you, but I wanted you to
kn --”

“Stupid son of a bitch.” Cade’s eyes narrowed, and his scars pulled at half of his face, making him a
truly intense sight. “Why in the hell did you have to tell m --”

“I needed you to know,” Ren said, almost desperately. He could feel his entire body stringing tight, and
God, Cade stood so damn close that their belt buckles touched. “I needed you to know.” Ren’s chest
pounded erratically. “I needed you to know.”

“Good Christ.” Cade tore his gaze away. “It’s surely going to kill me this time” -- his eyes, so fierce
looking, came back to Ren -- “but I need this too.”

“What?”

“This,” Cade growled low, and then crushed his mouth against Ren’s. He forced Ren’s head back
against the truck in a hard, searing kiss. “Christ, I need exactly this.” Cade bit, attacking roughly. His
fingers slid down Ren’s sides and dug into Ren’s hips, tugging their bodies into full contact.

Ren legs buckled. He thanked God for the support at his back -- and his front -- as he threw himself
recklessly into his first real kiss. As he grabbed Cade’s head between his hands, Cade hissed a curse
against Ren’s mouth, and Ren immediately slid his hands down, locking them around Cade’s neck
instead.

“Better?” Ren murmured, remembering that Cade had a cut on his head. Cade took advantage of the
question and slid his tongue inside Ren’s mouth, licking deeply and thoroughly. Ren moaned and held on
as his cock jumped to life in his jeans and pressed against Cade in the process.

A purring growl reverberated through Cade. He dug his hands between Ren’s back and the truck,
pulling at Ren’s shirt. Ren arched away and helped, and then,oh God , Cade pressed his palm against the
small of Ren’s back, no shirt as a barrier. He pushed his fingers down in the top of Ren’s jeans and
caressed the soft skin at the cleft of Ren’s ass.

Ren gasped against Cade’s hot mouth and reached back to shove Cade’s hand down deeper. Cade
swore, almost inhumanly soft and low, and wrenched himself away. His face pulled tight and hard, and he
looked just as angry as he had when he’d swooped in with his mouth only moments ago.

“What?” Ren slid his fingertips over Cade’s chest. Cade shuddered, and bit his jaw down with a
snapping click. Ren pressed again. “What?”

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“What nothing, damn it.” Cade’s voice washed over Ren, cold as ice. “Christ, I can’t do this.” He wiped
his mouth and took a giant step away from Ren. He took another, and then another, almost as if he didn’t
have any choice in the matter. “Your father is my boss, Ren. My. Fucking. Boss.” Cade’s face became
mask of dark control that Ren didn’t yet understand how to read. “I respect Duke; I respect him a great
deal. And I’ve got to tell you, I don’t think I’d last too long in this town if he knew I’d spent part of the
morning with my tongue shoved down his son’s throat.”

“Probably not.” Some of the passion of the moment started to ebb away from Ren’s overheated body.
“Not if he didn’t know his son liked having another man kissing him, which he doesn’t know, if you
remember.”

“Oh, that’s right,” Cade responded sarcastically. “He’d not only think me a fag pervert and run me out
of town, he’d think I was a molesting fag pervert who’d attacked his innocent, heterosexual son. Even
better, because then he’d just kill me on the spot and not have to worry about the potential harassment
lawsuit.”

Ren rolled his eyes.

Cade stalked up to Ren, getting right back in his space. “Oh, you don’t think he would? You don’t think
your dad loves you more than anything else in this world, and wouldn’t take my head off for just looking
at you with lust in my eyes?”

“Do you?” Ren’s heart constricted with excitement. “Do you look at me with lust in your eyes?”

“What the hell do you think, based on what just happened?”

Ren opened his mouth to speak, but before the first word got out, the walkie-talkie clipped to his belt
crackled to life.

“What the hell you doin’, boy?” Hank’s voice snapped over the line. “Does someone need your help, or
are you just pissing away the morning while I do all the work?”

Ren lifted his gaze to Cade’s, and after a long, drawn out silent battle, Cade said, “Go on and tell him
you’ll join him soon. I’m fine.” Cade’s eyes burned with determination. “Nothing else will happen here
today. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever. Do you hear me?”

Shame and humiliation rolled through Ren, and he turned away. He pulled the walkie-talkie off his belt
and put it to his mouth. “Everything’s fine, Hank. Help is already on the way. It shouldn’t take me more
than fifteen minutes to catch up to you. I’ll see you soon.”

“Damn well better,” Hank grumbled through the walkie-talkie. “Hank out.”

Ren slid the walkie-talkie back on his belt. When he turned around, his eyes met Cade’s.

“Well, go on.” Cade’s tone brooked no argument. “Get out of here and get back to work before you
get in trouble, and the sheriff strips my hide for that too.”

“He wouldn’t do that.” Ren defended the only father he’d ever known. The only person who’d ever
picked Ren over everyone else. “He’s a good person, and he’s not prejudiced. He respects Cain
Hawkins and Luke Forrester as an open couple. He wouldn’t treat you any differently if he knew how
you felt; that’s not who he is.”

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“Oh?” Cade crossed his arms tight against his chest. “Is that why you ran home and told him about it the
first time you started having feelings for other men? Oh no, wait.” Cade’s lips flattened, viciously pulling
his mouth down at the corner. “You haven’t done that, have you? You’re still hiding your sexuality from
him.”

Panic at losing Duke shivered through Ren. “Don’t act so smug,” Ren charged back defensively.
“You’re doing the exact same thing. You’re hiding, too. Only, you’re worse than me because you’re
trying to deny it to yourself, as well as to everyone else.”

“I deny nothing. I just don’t choose to do anything about it. Ever.”

“You wanted me just now.” Ren boldly looked Cade up and down, aggressive posturing covering his
fear as he did it. “I felt how fucking hard you were when you pressed yourself against me. Your cock
jammed into my stomach hard enough to leave a dent, and you reached for my ass, not the other way
around. You wanted me, Cade, just as much as I wanted you.”

Cade uncrossed his arms and wiped at his face with his hands. He rubbed vigorously, almost as if with
enough effort he could wipe what he felt inside away. Ren suddenly knew Cade never would have let
Ren see the gesture if he’d realized how exhausted, vulnerable, and maybe even a little bit afraid he
looked, with just that one small movement of his hands.

“I want peace and quiet, Ren,” Cade said. Ren watched the truth of the confession wrapped itself
around the big man like a cloak. “I just want to do my job and go home every night without worrying that
something I do will come down on my head like a sledgehammer. I feel an attraction between us; I admit
that. I’m just saying I need to make it clear that we seem like very different people at very different stages
in our lives, who probably want very different things.”

Hurt stabbed Ren in the gut. “You don’t know that. You don’t know me well enough to say that.”

“I can’t afford to know more.” Cade tilted his head back and looked up at the sky. “Why don’t you go?
I think I hear my ride coming up the road.”

“Right.” Ren nodded and circled the truck, back to his horse. “We wouldn’t want anyone to see two
men standing by the road together,” he said sarcastically, because, God, he just couldn’t help it. Cade’s
rejection still reverberated through his body, making him shake. “Because, hey, there’s no way two men
standing on the side of the road could be innocent, right?”

“But it wasn’t innocent,” Cade said, keeping the truck between them. “That’s the point.”

Ren vaulted up onto Athena’s back in one smooth move and reeled the horse around, clicking his cheek
in command. As he looked over his shoulder, he saw the tow truck looming closer.

He glanced back to Cade and caught his gaze. “Just remember one important detail when you look back
on this little moment,Deputy McKenna .” Ren smiled as Cade flinched at the renewed formality. Good,
let it bother him. It fucking bothered Ren, too. He could still feel Cade’s kiss all the way down to his
toes. “You kissed me,” Ren reminded the civilized, taciturn man. He then peeled away to head back to
work, just as Cade had practically ordered him to do.

Ren left Cade standing on the side of the road, visibly vibrating with some kind of emotion he couldn’t
quite hide.

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Ren just wished he knew whether Cade’s reaction had more to do with boiling anger…or suppressed
desire.

Chapter Six

Climbing out of his truck, Cade slammed the door and found Ren waiting for him by the gate that led
into the hatchery ponds, his face pale, and his hair in disarray. A memory of their kiss two weeks ago
slammed through Cade’s insides, but he pushed it down determinedly. This, today, was work.

“He used kerosene this time.” As Ren led Cade through the organized maze of created ponds at the bull
trout hatchery he looked up, his eyes wide pools of hurt and confusion that tore Cade up inside to
witness. “All the fish in the contaminated pond are dead.” Ren’s Adam’s apple bobbed convulsively as
he spoke.

The young man’s obvious pain at the destruction of this quirky little fish project permeated the cool
morning air and sank into Cade’s bones. For however much Ren occasionally behaved impulsively or
showed that he could be a hothead, he did take his job seriously. The bull trout project had obviously
become very personal to him. That made this case incredibly important to Cade, no matter how irrational
or unprofessional his growing feelings for his boss’s son.

Cade followed Ren to the back row of ponds, and as they got closer, the sharp stench of kerosene
grew. Small, iridescent-scaled fish floated on the shiny surface of dark water, bunched in small clumps
like pieces of a sad, eerie puzzle. Cade crouched down beside the pond and dipped the tips of his fingers
inside. Rubbing his fingers together, he brought them to his nose for a sniff -- not that he needed the extra
proof.

Another case of sabotage had hit the bull trout project.

Ren’s gaze hit on Cade’s from across the small pond. “Why would someone do this?” he asked, his
voice rough and scratchy. “I can’t understand why anyone would want to kill a bunch of fish. It doesn’t
make any sense.”

It didn’t make a lot of sense to Cade, either. One might construe a single act of vandalism as a stupid,
expensive prank; two became an attack on the people involved. This project directly effected Caleb
Hawkins’s money and land. His interest had started this ecological project, and his dollars paid for it. In
Cade’s estimation, that meant the time had come to start looking into a deeper list of Caleb Hawkins’s
enemies. The guy needed to start talking about his past, whether he wanted to or not. Hell, Connor and
Cain Hawkins needed to make a bigger list of potential suspects for Cade to study, too. They owned the
land equally with Caleb, even though Caleb solely ran this particular piece of Hawkins Ranch Holdings.
In addition, although it hurt Cade’s chest just thinking about it, Ren -- and possibly even Risa -- would
get added to the list of possible targets as well.

In Cade’s mind, today this had become more than a costly joke on Caleb Hawkins. He would
reexamine evidence, and talk to the sheriff about ordering more extensive testing on everything they had
collected thus far.

Cade rose to his feet, and beckoned Ren to follow. Cade glanced Ren’s way, and stamped down the
desire to soothe the man with comforting words or a touch to the small of his back. Christ, Cade couldn’t

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afford to give in to his desires right now, no matter how much he wanted to take Ren in his arms with a
promise that he would take care of everything, and that from here on out his fish would be all right.

“Listen, I need you to clear the area.” Cade popped the latch on the back door of his SUV. “I have to
go over every inch of this place before it gets compromised any further.” Quinten didn’t have a crime
scene crew, so everyone on staff had taken courses and knew the basics of evidence collection.

Ren dogged Cade’s heels. “How long will you be?” He grabbed Cade’s arm, and heat sliced through
Cade’s entire body. Cade’s gaze jumped to Ren’s, and awareness flashed in Ren’s pale eyes. Ren
immediately let go, and taking a step back, he cleared his throat as red stained his cheekbones. “I…I
wanted to know because I haven’t had a chance to feed the fish yet.”

“I’ll have help from the sheriff soon.” Saying that aloud sobered Cade like nothing else could. He needed
constant reminders that Ren’s father was Cade’s boss. “He was consulting on a conference call when
you phoned the station, so I told Sarah to relay your message as soon as she could.”

“Oh, okay.” Ren rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands, and then pushed his fingers through his
already mussed hair. “Let me get back on the walkie-talkie and see if anyone has been able to track
down Caleb. He’s down south looking at a rodeo stock contractor operation. Damn.” Ren wiped his
face, and it cut Cade up to see Ren so defeated and worn down. “Caleb won’t like getting pulled away
from that to hear about shit like this. I’ll get in touch with Travis and let you talk to him, too. He’ll need to
come and take a look at the damage done to the pond, and I need to consult with him about how to
proceed. You do your work.” Ren walked to the shack. “I promise I’ll stay out of your way.”

Sympathy snaked in and took Cade’s voice over. “Ren?” he called out hoarsely.

“Yeah?” Ren moved back to Cade’s side in two long-legged strides. He looked up, a small smile
wobbling his lips. “What is it?”

Cade squeezed his hands into fists, and forced professionalism to the surface. He could not get involved
with this young man. “Nothing. I…I…” Christ, he couldn’t offer Ren comfort. Not right now. Not ever.
Cade grabbed his box of gear from the truck, and backed away from the hurt searing Ren’s gaze. “I’ll
work as quickly as possible so that you can feed your fish. All right?”

“Right.” Ren straightened his spine, and a curtain shuttered his normally open gaze. Seconds later, he
had erased any hurt from his eyes. “You do your work, and I’ll do mine.”

Cade tightened his muscles, forcing himself not to lunge for Ren and wrap the man up in his embrace.

* * * * *

“Hey, Cade.” Robyn Fallon, the forensics specialist fromBozeman , answered Cade’s call. “Thanks for
getting back to me so quickly. I have something from your Willow Stream case that might interest you.”

“So fast?” Only two days had passed since the incident at the hatchery. Cade sat up straight in his chair,
the thrill of a possible break racing through his veins. “Lay it on me.”

“My guy has run only a dozen prints so far,” Robyn clarified, “but this one might be worth looking at.
You have the prints of someone with a record all over that place. One Michael Texas Bruester. We ran a
comparison on the massive batch you gave us, and his prints show up on the gate, the fence, and, very
interesting, on the pump and piping that filter and send the water to the fish ponds.”

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“A record?” Cade tried to keep his voice even, although his mind raced right in one direction.Tex , the
name of the guy who’d been using Ren for sex. Cade cleared his throat. “What do you have on him?”

“Drunk and disorderly, and destruction of property. The record concerns an incident inBozeman a
couple years ago. He’s still on probation as a result of a plea bargain. The system shows an address
listed in Quinten:425 Sullivan Street . Pete’s Garage is his place of employment. I figured you’d want to
ask him a few questions.”

“Absolutely.” Cade slid out his chair. “Thanks for the info. Let me know if you turn up anything else.”

“Will do.”

“Bye.”

Cade pulled on his Stetson, pausing by Sarah’s desk. “When the boss gets back, let him know I’m
chasing down a possible lead in the Willow Stream case. I’ll give him an update as soon as I know
more.”

Sarah jotted the note down on a pink Post-it. “You got it.”

“Thanks. I’ll be back in a bit.”

Cade headed for his truck, anticipation filling him to the brim. He had a possible suspect, and he could
admit, at least to himself, it didn’t bother him at all that it turned out to be Tex Bruester.

* * * * *

Cade entered Pete’s Garage through an open work area.

“Excuse me.” He grabbed the first guy he saw, a good-looking blond man. “I’m looking for Michael
Bruester.”

“That’s me.” The blond god held out his hand with a friendly smile, and Cade’s heart fell into his
stomach. It figured the man would be gorgeous. “Everyone calls meTex. ” Cade accepted a firm
handshake from the man. “Can I help you with something?”Tex eyed Cade’s uniform shirt and badge. “Is
something wrong?”

“I’m Deputy McKenna.” Cade introduced himself. “Can we talk for a minute?” He glanced into the
garage and saw two men working within hearing distance. “Maybe step outside?”

“Sure.”Tex wiped his hands down the front of his coveralls and followed Cade outside. His gaze
skittered to Cade. “Did I do something wrong?”

“I just want to talk,” Cade said. He leaned against the grill of the deputy vehicle, reflecting a casual
stance. “I have a few questions.”

“All right.”Tex slid his hands into his pockets. “Shoot.”

“You may have heard someone vandalized Caleb Hawkins’s property, related to his bull trout project.”

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“Yeah.”Tex nodded. “Ren Boone is a good friend of mine. He practically runs the project. He told me
what happened. It’s terrible.”

Cade stamped down a bout of immature jealousy that made him want to shove his kiss with Ren inTex
’s face.

He cleared his throat instead. “Yes, it is. We’re doing everything we can to figure out who is behind
these malicious pranks.”

“Good,”Tex said quickly. “I hope you catch him.”

“I’m glad to hear you say that,” Cade responded casually, his eyes never leavingTex , “because when I
get a call from the lab tech inBozeman telling me I’ve got a person with a criminal record whose prints
show up all over the filtration system out at the hatchery, you understand I have to ask some questions.”
Cade kept his voice nice and even, and let his gaze convey his seriousness. “So, do you want to talk, or
do we need to take a ride to the station?”

“Who, me?”Tex paled. “You think I would sabotage my best friend’s work? Why would I do that?”

“Don’t know.” Cade shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe he did something to piss you off, and you’re
retaliating. You have a record that proves you have a bit of a short fuse. You can understand how I might
make the leap to vandalism, can’t you?”

Texsqueezed his fists, and his green eyes flared wide. “My fiancée and I spent the weekend visiting her
cousin inBozeman . We had a heated disagreement, and I went to a bar to calm down. I ended up
drinking too much and got in a fight when the owner found out the waitress served me based on a fake
ID. I acted like an ass and started arguing with him, it escalated to me throwing a punch, and I damaged
some property. I’m on probation; I spent half the year sending the owner part of my paycheck to pay for
what I broke. Everything is fine now. You can call my probation officer and ask him if you don’t believe
me. Hell, you can call the bar owner. He flat out told me he didn’t expect he would ever get any money
out of me, and it impressed him that I honored my word.”Tex practically vibrated with emotion. “I am not
maliciously destructive, and I damn well don’t appreciate you implying I would hurt my best friend like
that. I never would.”

Damn it, Cade didn’t like the deflation his body experienced listening to Tex. Fuck. He believed the
man. That, however, didn’t mean he could walk away without getting answers. “You want to tell me why
I found your prints all over the water pump and piping at the hatchery?”

The tension inTex ’s features completely eased, another sign that he had no concerns about covering his
own ass.

“I did Ren a favor,”Tex explained. “The pump went down some time during the night. I guess this
happened around four months ago or so. Ren needed it fixed as quickly as possible, or risk losing fish.
I’m pretty good with machines, and can fix a motor on just about anything. He gave me a call, and I went
out there to take a look at it. He had a blockage in the piping as well as an issue with the motor, so I
fixed it for him. I did it as a favor and didn’t care about getting paid, but Ren mentioned it to Caleb
Hawkins, and the man sent me a check for the work. You can ask him about it. I’m sure he keeps a
record. That should give you all the proof you need for my prints on those pipes.”

“I’ll do that,” Cade murmured.

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Shit. He would too, but just to have for the file. The guy clearly spoke the truth. For stupid, selfish
reasons that he didn’t like feeling, Cade almost wanted to hear a lie, but today he had not.Damn .

“Are we done?”Tex asked. He glanced in the direction of the open garage. “I’ve gotta get back to work
before I get in trouble.”

“Yes, thank you.” Cade stuck his hand out and behaved professionally, even as wished he could walk
away without another friendly word exchanged between them. “I appreciate you taking the time.”

Texreciprocated the gesture, equally as professional. “No problem.” He backed up. “I don’t like being
accused, but if you can eliminate me and get one step closer to finding the person responsible for doing
this, then I guess I can live with it.”

“Thank you for cooperating.” Cade slid his sunglasses on and moved to the driver’s side door. “You
have a good day.”

Tex’s nodded and disappeared back into the garage. Cade headed back to the station, right back at
square one.

* * * * *

“Shit!” Cade slammed the phone down on its receiver hard enough to draw the attention of the sheriff
and Sarah, who chatted at Sarah’s desk. Even the puppy, Crash, who lay curled up in a little bed beside
Cade’s desk, lifted its rust-colored head and looked at Cade with curiosity in his chocolate eyes.

Cade addressed the sheriff. “Another fucking big fat goose egg of nothing.”

“The fingerprint results fromBozeman ?” Duke asked.

“Yep.” Cade threw his pencil down on his desk in disgust. “They finished the prints we collected from
the hatchery. Every one is identifiable to someone who aided in feeding the fish in the hatchery at one
time or another.”

“I expected that.” Duke became the voice of reason. “Don’t lose patience, Cade. We will figure this guy
out. Don’t forget, we still have the DNA tests on the cigarette butts that we finally got approved. It’s a
long shot, but something might turn up with that.”

“Yeah.” Cade forced himself to agree. “I know.”

Privately, Cade didn’t know how Duke kept so cool. A week had passed since the second act of
vandalism, and that half day working so closely with Ren had tested Cade’s ability to stay aloof. The kiss
they’d shared on the side of the road entered into his mind again and again. Pair Cade’s attraction with
his need to comfort Ren while at the hatchery, and his burgeoning feelings had become almost impossible
to ignore.

Christ, Cade wanted to hold Ren tight and protect him against the world with every weapon he had at
his disposal. He’d never felt anything like that before. At least, not while dealing with such a deep, sexual
attraction at the same time. The pull intensified daily, and every time Cade came into contact with Ren for
the purposes of this case, he had a harder time hiding the myriad of feelings wreaking havoc inside him.
He wondered -- and worried -- about what would break first, the case or him.

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“Hey, Dad.” The molasses-thick voice that had been haunting Cade’s dreams became reality.

Cade looked up just in time to see Ren lean down and peck Sarah’s cheek.

“Sweet Sarah” -- Ren tousled the young woman’s hair -- “how are you?”

Sarah made a funny face and grumbled, “Cade calls me that, too. It’s not fair that two incredibly sexy
men call me that so nicely, but neither one of you will sleep with me.”

Sarah’s teasing words spread heat throughout Cade’s entire body. He stared at his computer screen,
trying his damnedest not to listen or look Ren’s way. Out of the corner of his eye, though, Cade could
see Ren with Duke and Sarah. Briefly, Ren’s gaze flickered Cade’s way. As it happened, Cade felt it,
almost like a caress, as if Ren’s fingertips touched against the smoothness of his undamaged cheek. Cade
curled his fingers against the keyboard so he didn’t reach up and double check that Ren hadn’t somehow
found a way to reach across the station and touch him telepathically, as he couldn’t shake the sensation
of gentle fingers on his face.

“Anyway, kid” -- Duke playfully covered Sarah’s mouth -- “what brings you to the station today?”

Sarah slapped Duke’s hand away and glared.

Ren smiled. “Right. Sorry. I wanted to let you know I won’t be home tonight or tomorrow night, so not
to worry.”

Cade’s entire body seized.

“Okay,” Duke said. Christ, Cade wondered how the man missed the truth beneath Ren’s words.
“Everything all right?”

“Yep.” Cade caught a soft smile tilting the corner of Ren’s sexy mouth, and he quickly gave up any
pretext of pretending not to listen. “It’s work related. Risa was going to help me out, but Caleb has a bull
rider friend at the house for a few days. His name is Micah, I don’t know if you remember him from
when he came last time. Anyway, she bailed on me. He showed up this morning, and Risa managed to
talk him into critiquing her riding and giving her some pointers.”

“Son of a mother,” Duke swore, his voice dangerously soft. “Damn fool, thinking she can ride a bull.
Does her brother know about this? I can’t believe Luke would condone this crap. One of these days,
she’ll get herself killed.”

“Of course Luke knows about it,” Ren said. “He trusts Caleb’s skills as a champion bull rider, so he
knows she’s not being put in any kind of negligent harm.”

“It’s still damned dangerous and stupid.” Duke’s lips thinned down to a tight line. “If she didn’t have all
them damn fool Hawkins brothers charmed with her little smile, they’d all realize the ridiculousness of
letting a puny, hundred-pound woman get on the back of an animal whose only goal in life is to throw her
off and stomp her to death.”

Ren openly laughed in his father’s face, and Duke added tersely, “What?”

Ren wiped his mouth and recovered a somewhat more dignified expression. “Do you want me to list
how many things were wrong with that statement?” Duke just stubbornly sat there and glowered back at

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his son, so Ren went on. “First, Risa isn’t hoodwinking any of the Hawkins men with her charms.
Second, she has spent most of her life trying to get by without falling through the cracks of poverty. She
won’t take her brother’s new money; she wants to earn her own. And finally, there ain’t nothing puny
about Risa. She left ‘little’ behind a long time ago. She’s five ten if she’s an inch, and she’s damn proud
of the fact that she’s pretty much solid muscle.”

“Yeah…well…” Duke Boone scrambled, surprising Cade. He had never witnessed the sheriff flustered
before. “I guess since I’m six-five, every woman looks small and delicate to me.” Duke pushed off the
desk and moved to Ren’s side. “I think I’ll give Luke a call and explain the foolishness of what he’s
letting his little sister do. Don’t work too hard. I’ll see you in a couple days.”

Duke moved to his office, Sarah took a phone call, and suddenly, Cade felt quite alone in the bullpen
with Ren. He slowly lifted his gaze from his desk, so unsure of what to expect from Ren. Cade needn’t
have worried. As soon as he latched on to Ren’s blue gaze, the man hesitated for only a moment,
nodded his head in acknowledgment, and left.

Ren’s easy dismissal so crushed Cade that he almost forgot what had clutched at his heart just a few
minutes ago.

No fucking way.

Cade shoved out of his chair, strode across the small office, and pushed open the swinging glass door.
He quickly glanced up and down the sidewalks on either side of the street, and not seeing Ren’s
long-legged stride, Cade took off with a purposeful walk. He headed in the most logical place for Ren to
have parked. Sure enough, Cade rounded the abandoned brick building two down from the sheriff’s
department and saw Ren across the parking area, closing in on the only vehicle in the lot.

Cade moved with the stealth of a predatory cat and grabbed Ren’s arm, yanking him around until they
were face-to-face. Cade’s breath quickened and tightened his chest. Whether nearness to Ren or his
own fear caused it, Cade couldn’t say. Truthfully, it didn’t really matter.

Cade’s goal remained the same either way.

“You arenot to hide out at the hatchery, with the goal of catching this guy on your own when he attacks
next. Do you hear me?” Cade hissed under his breath. Christ, if he didn’t force himself to speak softly,
he’d likely shout at the top of his lungs. “You are not the law in this town, and you are not trained to
catch the bad guys. Do you understand me?”

Ren glanced down at Cade’s hand wrapped around his upper arm and then looked back up, right into
Cade’s eyes. “I understand you seem to think you have a right to tell me what to do.” Ren’s voice stayed
so calm Cade itched with the need to rage even more. “Besides which,” Ren added, his stare
unwavering, “you’re wrong. I’m not hiding out at the hatchery tonight.”

Cade rocked back on the heels of his boots. His hand loosened on Ren’s arm, sliding down until it
caught on Ren’s wrist. Looking into Ren’s eyes, Cade could see the truth there. Damn. Cade thought for
a certainty that he had correctly read Ren’s intentions back in the station house, and when it came to
cases, his gut rarely steered him wrong. This time, Cade could tell, it had.

“All right,” Cade conceded, feeling the fool. “I apologize.” He looked down, starting when he got a look
at his hand curled around Ren’s lean, strong one. He immediately broke the connection and took a hasty
step back. “I thought I heard something in your voice that made me think you had more than work on

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your mind.” He forced himself to look up and stop hiding from his mistake. Uncomfortably, he found
Ren’s probing gaze waiting for him. “Again, I apologize.” He jerked his head at Ren’s truck. “You can
leave now.”

“Geez.” Ren doffed his Stetson. “Thanks for the permission.”

“Right. Sorry.” Cade turned and started back in the direction of the sheriff’s department, listening to the
sound of Ren gassing the engine, bringing the truck to purring life. Instead of gunning it, Ren pulled up
alongside Cade and came to a stop.

Engine still running, Ren leaned across the front seat and rolled down the passenger side window. He
tossed something in Cade’s direction, and Cade reached up, automatically grabbing a little white package
from out of the air.

“I second-guessed whether or not I should give you that,” Ren said, his voice incredibly clipped, “but I
couldn’t help myself. I knew when I saw him sleeping so peacefully you would end up with him. Seeing
him made me think of you, and I had to take it. Anyway, keep it if you want. Bye.”

This time, Ren did gun the truck and tear out of the small parking lot. Cade leaned back against the side
of the empty building, his legs weak as he stared at the small, white tissue-wrapped package in his hands.
With shaking fingers, he unfolded the soft, thin paper, unearthing the back side of a wood picture frame.
Cade turned it over, and his heart squeezed tight, leaving him momentarily lightheaded. The photo swam
in front of Cade’s eyes before he remembered to breathe.

It was a picture of Crash, the puppy from the side of the road. As of last week, Cade had taken
ownership of the animal. In the photo, Crash lay curled up fast asleep in a little bed he’d used while
recovering from his injuries at Doc Crowley’s office. The dog had grown by leaps and bounds in the last
three weeks, but in this picture he still looked like that tiny, fuzzy-faced ball Cade had rescued on the side
of the road.

On the day he’d kissed Ren.

Ren must have taken this picture within a day or two after that, and Cade couldn’t help the fluttering in
his belly that told him Ren had not gone to Doc Crowley’s on other business. Ren had gone to check on
the dog and maybe to do this, especially for Cade.

The thoughtful gesture had him wiping beads of perspiration from his upper lip with an unsteady hand.
Good Christ, Cade chuckled humorlessly. How in the hell could he combat sweetness such as this?

Answer: he had no fucking idea.

Chapter Seven

“Oh yeah, that’s good. That’s so fucking good…”

Cade moaned in the darkness of his bedroom as he pumped his rock-hard cock in his hand. He twisted
and writhed on the bed, delving completely into the vision of another man sharing his body.

Not just any man. Ren. Dark-haired, light-eyed, sleekly beautiful, all man, Ren Boone. Christ, just

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thinking about how much he wanted to fuck the younger man had Cade’s dick spike-stiff and leaking so
much precum he didn’t even have to use any lube or lotion to slick up his prick.

Cade worked the overly sensitive skin on his cock, jacking himself off with long, slow drags. He knifed
up off the bed with keening pleasure as he pictured Ren’s mouth doing the work of his hand, driving him
crazy with sucking, wet heat. Damn, Cade knew Ren would be eager and thorough too, and take a
couple good licks at his balls. Geez, he’d probably slurp them right into his mouth and swirl around them
with his wonderful tongue. Cade knew for certain Ren had a wonderful tongue, too. He remembered
tangling it with his own by the roadside those few weeks back, and he gasped as he relived it in his mind,
aching in its clarity.

Cade’s nuts drew up tight with the memory of kissing and touching Ren. He pulled on his sac with one
hand while yanking hard on his juicing cock with the other, rolling on his side and curling up when the
sensation became too great. He panicked at the deep sense of pleasure that rolled through his body,
more than anything he had ever experienced before. Terrified by what he felt, Cade wanted to stop, but
could not. His body too far gone to regain control, he gave in to his basest desires.

He fisted both hands around his cock and squeezed, creating a constricting, tight vise around his dick
that in his mind became the suffocating, snug channel of Ren’s ass. Cade held his hands stationary and
shoved his cock in and out of the makeshift hole. Mouth slack and panting, Cade snapped his eyes shut
and dreamed of Ren curled up in front of him in bed, taking the full brunt of his ardor. Cade even went so
far as to push Ren over and mount him to finish his ride.

Ass starting in the air and then thrusting down, Cade fucked his clasping fingers into the bed, hard. His
cockhead jammed into the mattress, his slit smearing the sheets with his leaking seed. Suddenly, Cade
jerked and reeled, crying out Ren’s name as he shot a long stream of musky cum onto the bed --
something Cade viewed more every day as the hard body and tight ass of Ren Boone.

Cade groaned and rolled over onto his back, shaking in the aftermath. Christ, his fantasies of taking Ren
gained more power and clarity every day. More than physically intense, these experiences took a toll on
the level of pleasure Cade allowed himself to feel. Fear of losing all control over his desires and falling
down a rabbit hole of need from which he could never crawl out had overcome Cade at the end. As
much as he didn’t want to face it, he knew why he felt that way. It wasn’t the kiss, although how damn
good that had tasted really didn’t help matters.

No, Cade knew exactly what had done it. Ren’s gift from earlier today had weakened his resolve more
than anything else. The picture of the puppy. Somehow, Ren had known Cade would take the dog. Ren
had seen beneath Cade’s cool manners and stiff upper lip. He’d looked beyond the scary half of Cade’s
new face, and had sensed the pushover that existed underneath Cade’s tough exterior.

Christ, that terrified him. Cade didn’t want anyone to know about that weakness in him; life had already
cut him open one time too many in his past to risk vulnerability like that again.

No matter that Cade had never met a man sexier, or more stunningly gorgeous than Ren Boone. No
matter that the younger man had a sarcastic way about him that Cade actually appreciated and enjoyed.
No matter that he sweetly went out of his way to take a picture of Cade’s brand new puppy, before
Cade had even agreed to adopt the dog. And hell, it couldn’t even matter that he had boldly looked
Cade in the eye and told him to his face that he’d read Ren wrong about his intention to lie in wait at the
hatchery for this saboteur himself.

Jesus, that had humiliated him. Damn it, Cade thought for sure he’d heard something in Ren’s voice, a

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quiet purpose beneath his words when he’d told his father about his plans. In that moment, Cade had felt
something race through his own body, almost like frissons of fear attacking his nerve endings and leaving
him cold. The feeling had told him Ren had ulterior motives.

But he didn’t. Cade had made the accusation against Ren, and the man had stared him down and told
him he didn’t plan to hide out at the hatchery. He’d stood up to an officer of the law and told Cade that
he had made a mistake. He spoke the truth, too; Cade felt certain of that. Ren wasn’t at the hatchery
right now trying to catch a criminal on his own; he’d promised Cade of that without flinching --

Suddenly, every muscle in Cade’s body seized to attention, and the fine hairs on the back of his neck
quivered, sending a chill down his spine.

“You son of a bitch.” Cade tore out of bed and scrambled for his clothes. Throwing on the first things his
fingers touched, jeans and gray T-shirt, he then shoved his feet into running shoes and grabbed his keys
off the coffee table on his way out. He muttered under his breath, “You clever, stupid, arrogant son of a
bitch. I won’t let you get away with deceiving me ever again.”

* * * * *

Ren snapped his eyes open the second a bruising hand covered his mouth. His eyesight adjusted to the
starry night quickly, but the chilling ripple that cascaded through his body had nothing to do with the cool
night air drifting off Willow Stream. Quickly, Ren’s gaze focused on the shadowed, hard face of Cade
McKenna. God, he’d closed his eyes for just a minute, but it had taken nothing more than that for Cade
to appear, without even a hint of rustling grass to give his approach away.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t figure it out?” Cade’s whiskey voice scraped rough in the darkness. His
black eyes somehow managed to shine brightly in the midnight blue night. “You give me a technical truth,
and lead me to believe you’re not doing exactly what I knew you were doing, and you have no concerns
about me going into a black rage on your ass when I figure it out?”

Ren opened his mouth beneath Cade’s hand. The warm, tough skin dug into his face harder, and Ren
didn’t try to talk again.

“You carefully tell me the truth when you say you aren’t hiding out at the hatchery tonight,” Cade went
on harshly, “when you know damn well theimportant part of my order was that you not take it upon
yourself to catch this criminal on your own, not the much less relevant fact of where you intended to do
that.

“That was ingenious of you, Ren,” Cade bit off. He climbed on top of Ren and straddled his thighs, and
then leaned right down in Ren’s face. “Did you think it up on the spot so that you didn’t get forced into a
lie, or did you always intend to take watch here by the stream rather than at the hatchery?”

Ren didn’t think Cade really wanted an explanation, but rather looked for a place to let off his anger and
frustration over this case. Ren went hot all over, and he knew he desperately wanted this man to find
solace and comfort in him. Ren didn’t bother defending himself; he opened his mouth and darted his
tongue over the pad of Cade’s thumb instead.

Cade’s eyes flared with sexual awareness above him, so Ren did it again. After only a moment, Cade
pushed his rough finger between Ren’s lips and muttered, “Suck it.”

Ren did.

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“Oh shit,” Cade hissed. His lids fell to half-mast, his full focus on his thumb sliding in and out of Ren’s
mouth. Ren sucked on the digit, swirled his tongue all around the salty, coarse flesh and practically
nonexistent fingernail. Ren took Cade’s thumb as completely as he could, just in case Cade shied away,
and stopped this thing exploding between them before it ever got started.

In one fluid motion, Cade slid down Ren with the length of his body, and Ren’s flesh quivered. Cade
pushed Ren’s T-shirt up and dipped his head down to Ren’s taut skin, then pressed a soft kiss against
Ren’s stomach that made his muscles flinch. Ren’s throat tightened, and he barely withheld spilling himself
right there in that exact moment.

Cade ran his big hands under Ren’s shirt and up his torso, pushing the fabric away until it bunched
against Ren’s neck, exposing Ren’s heated skin to the cool night air. Cade didn’t stop there. He shoved
Ren’s arms above his head into the grass and worked the T-shirt up and off, baring Ren’s upper body to
his gaze.

With the shirt in a ball above Ren’s head, Cade slid his hands up the lines of Ren’s stretched arms and
linked their fingers. He looked down and settled his gaze on Ren’s.

“You scared the shit out of me when I figured out what you’d done,” Cade uttered thickly, the hard look
in his eyes confirming the truth of that admission. He pushed the backs of Ren’s hands into the dewy
grass above them, stretching Ren’s muscles in delight. “You could have been jumped by someone other
than me tonight, you dumb-ass jerk. You could have been killed trying to do a job that isn’t yours to do.”

Ren’s chest squeezed tighter with every word Cade spoke. “I --”

Cade’s eyes blazed black fire. “Do I look like I want to hear an excuse or an explanation from you right
now? Christ, I’m not sure I don’t want to beat the shit out of you at least half as much as I want to fuck
you and prove to myself that you’re okay.”

A low-grade thrumming ran all through Cade’s body, sharing with Ren just which one he wanted. God,
such power existed in the hands that held Ren down, in the entire body digging into him, really. Insanely
arousing, Ren reveled in the hulking, raw man above him, just barely controlling the strength in his big
body.

Ren wanted Cade to lose his control, so he pushed up with his hips, grinding the bulge in his jeans
against the one in Cade’s. He struggled against the hands that held him down, even though he didn’t
really care if Cade ever released him.

Ren met Cade’s thunderous gaze head-on and murmured, “I know which one I’m voting for.” He then
lifted his head off the sleeping bag, capturing Cade’s mouth with his.

Immediate pressure from Cade’s mouth pushed Ren’s head right back down into the ground. A
humming moan ripped up from Cade’s throat, and he aggressively took over the kiss. He forced Ren’s
lips apart and shoved his tongue inside. Ren got tangled and lost in Cade’s forceful, moist heat.
Everything inside Ren switched to full power, sending every nerve ending sizzling beneath his skin to
glorious life. Ren wanted more; he wanted everything. He captured Cade’s tongue and sucked it in his
mouth, taking long, hard drags. Cade jerked against him, and Ren knew that whatever he protested
tomorrow, right now Cade wanted this too.

Cade groaned and ripped his mouth away. He looked away, then down, before his dark, glazed gaze

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finally locked on Ren again. “I want to see your cock.” Cade’s voice came across gravelly, and Ren
knew it cost this man dearly to admit what he wanted. As he reached between their bodies and started
working the button and zipper on Ren’s jeans, he paused for a moment to look back up at Ren. “I want
to touch you and taste you, and I want to take you so deep you lose it and come in my mouth.”

Ren leaked against his underwear just hearing Cade speak the words, let alone do any of them. He
quickly helped Cade shove his jeans down his legs. The fabric got bunched around Ren’s boots, and
while Ren would have been fine with that, Cade pushed his hands away and finished the job himself.
Cade pulled Ren’s boots off, then his socks, and finally his jeans and underwear.

Until Ren lay before him completely naked. Aroused and proud, for the very first time, Ren didn’t hide
or feel embarrassed by his erection. Cade’s eyes moved up Ren’s legs until they found his prick curled
up hard and rearing against his stomach, and Ren got treated to another first that melted his insides and
pushed a stream of precum out of his slit. For the first time, Ren witnessed sexual heat flare up in another
man in response to looking at his body.

“Christ, you’re beautiful,” Cade whispered.

Ren shivered.

He reached down and wrapped his hand around his dick, wincing with pleasure at the acute sensitivity.
He held his stiff prick upright, offering himself for Cade’s taking.

Cade’s gaze lit up his entire, imperfect face. He quickly laid himself out between Ren’s legs and took the
head of Ren’s penis straight into his mouth. He sucked, just a little bit, and Ren almost cried.

“Oh God, Cade.” Ren moved his hips restlessly as Cade opened up wider and took more inside. He
sucked and licked Ren’s cock, learning every inch of Ren’s turgid prick with his tongue and lips. Ren
went up in flames. It felt so good, he feared he would come. He didn’t want to lose it so fast in front of
Cade, so he pulled away.

A pause hung heavy between them, and then Cade dropped his chin down to rest on Ren’s abdomen.
His stubbly, square jaw rubbed against Ren’s sensitive skin, and Ren gasped at the sensation. Cade
nuzzled his damaged, beautiful cheek against Ren’s stomach, and as he looked up, Ren’s chest lurched at
the uncertainty he read in Cade’s eyes.

“What?” Cade questioned, his voice wavering in a way that tore at Ren’s insides. “Did I do it wrong?”

Those five little words seared through Ren’s entire being. His muscles stopped clenching with
nervousness, and he started to relax.

Ren combed his fingers through Cade’s precisely clipped, by-the-book cut, mahogany hair. “Hell, I
don’t know anything either,” he admitted. He let his fingers trail down Cade’s temple, over his rough jaw,
until they flickered over Cade’s hard lips. “I haven’t done anything except” -- his face burned hot -- “
receivethose few times you overheard me talking about, so I have no idea what is right or wrong. I only
know that what you were doing felt so damn good I thought I would come. I pulled away because I
wanted to make this last just a little bit longer.”

“Oh, well, in that case…” Cade swooped in and took the top half of Ren’s raging cock in his mouth
again.

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“Oh God…” Ren moaned. Cade wrapped his fingers around the other half of Ren’s cock and started to
jerk him off while sucking at the same time, and Ren lost a little bit of his sanity. He dug his heels into the
sleeping bag beneath him and tried to hold on.

Ren had never known it could be like this, never known how intimate it would feel to have someone else
so focused on giving him pleasure. Every nerve ending in his cock screamed to life under Cade’s eager
tongue, and his pulse pounded as Cade’s hand crept up his stomach and rubbed his chest, grazing Ren’s
sensitive nipples with the tips of his blunt fingers. Ren’s penis reared in Cade’s mouth, pushing to get
deeper inside. Quickly, Cade let go of Ren’s nipples and went back to squeezing Ren’s swollen prick.
Faster than he wanted it to happen, ejaculate swelled Ren’s balls past painful as Cade pushed him to the
breaking point.

“Ohhh…God.” Ren humped his hips up, pushing his dick farther into Cade’s mouth. “Damn, Cade, your
mouth feels so good. Suck it, suck it…” Cade’s lips and cheeks tightened around Ren’s dick, pushing
and pulling with a wet, tight vacuum, making Ren buck wildly in response. “Yeah,
yeah…just…like…that.” Ren curled his fists into Cade’s hair and held on as a wave of overwhelming
sensation knocked him low, and then dragged him right under the tide. Cade pushed the flat of his
callused hands up Ren’s body and locked on his sensitive nipples, twisting each one between his thumb
and forefinger. Hard.

Ren howled and arched off the sleeping bag, unprepared for that one little move from Cade. Ren barely
felt his balls draw up in warning before he screamed out his pleasure, breaking the silence of the night like
an injured animal. Ren shoved up one more time, pushing his cock to the back of Cade’s throat. He
spurted his hot release, depositing every last drop of semen he had to give deep in the back of Cade’s
mouth.

He’d just had his first blowjob. And it had been wonderful. Ren laughed out loud just to hear the
happy sound.

Cade crawled up Ren’s body and sprawled on top of him, his face mere inches from Ren’s. “I hope that
laugh means you liked it,” he muttered thickly. His mouth flattened ruler-straight, the undamaged half of
his face cast in shadows, so Ren couldn’t read if the man teased him or not.

“Yeah,” Ren promised, still so uncertain of so many of the sides that existed within Cade. Hell, Ren
couldn’t yet tell how many sides Cade McKenna had. “You could say I liked it. Geez, Cade, it felt
incredibly hot having your lips wrapped around my cock.”

“Mmm…” Cade lowered himself until their lips were almost, but not quite, touching. “Do you want to
taste yourself on me? There’s still a hint of you there” -- Cade’s gaze glittered with pure sex -- “in my
mouth. Inside me.”

God, Ren wouldn’t have thought this particular man to have such a base, sensual core. Ren didn’t even
get the “yeah” out before Cade jumped him, taking his mouth in a hard kiss. He pushed through the seam
of Ren’s lips, thrusting his tongue inside, and damn, Ren could taste the sharp bitterness of his ejaculate
mixed in with Cade’s sweet taste. Whimpering under the sheer, brutal intimacy of the kiss, Ren kissed
Cade back and pulled Cade’s short hair, dragging the man as close as he could. At the same time, he
spread his thighs to better cradle Cade’s midsection and legs.

Ren pulled at Cade’s shirt, clumsily drawing it up the bigger man’s body. The T-shirt rubbed against
their fused lips, forcing their mouths apart. Yanking the fabric over Cade’s head, Ren threw it away so
that he could get at Cade’s hot, hard body.

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Cade reared up and braced his arms on either side of Ren’s head, forcing his sinewy shoulders and arms
to roll and flex. Ren looked upon Cade’s wide shoulders and sparsely furred chest, down his flat, hard
stomach to where a little line of fine hair trailed down over smooth olive-toned flesh until it disappeared
into Cade’s jeans. In the presence of such beauty, Ren’s throat went dry just looking.

Ren did more than look. He admired. He lusted. He craved. Then, he reached out and followed that
little line of hair with the tips of his fingers. Ren touched heated skin, and Cade’s entire body shuddered.
The telling reaction rolled under Ren’s hands, proof of a body that wanted, desired, in the same way that
Ren did.

When Ren would have pulled his hand away, Cade grabbed it and pushed it lower, made Ren feel the
thick ridge straining inside Cade’s jeans. Cade grunted and jerked against Ren’s hand, pushing into the
touch. Curious, Ren looked up and found shining black eyes waiting for him.

“I want you,” Cade admitted, his voice raspier than Ren had ever heard it. “I want inside your ass, right
now, more than I’ve wanted just about anything else in my life.”

“Plea --” Ren was near to begging for it, but then his heart plummeted as quickly as it had soared just a
short while ago. “I didn’t know I would see you tonight. We need stuff. I didn’t plan --”

Cade covered Ren’s mouth. “I came here understanding it would come down to strangling you, or
fucking you.” Cade rubbed his cock against Ren’s hand. “Since I comprehend the kind of time I can do
for premeditated murder… Well, anyhow…” Cade’s voice trailed off, and Ren couldn’t be sure, but he
thought he saw Cade blushing. “The stuff…condoms and lube…I thought…what I knew… Shit, this is
embarrassing.” Cade clenched his jaw and forced out through tight lips, “Damn it, I picked the lock at the
hatchery shack before I came here. I found your stuff. I figured what happened before, from what I
overheard, I guessed you did it there. Anyway, I found your stash and took it.” Almost comically
defensive in his tone, Cade abruptly stopped and blew out an exasperated breath. Ren bit at his lip to
keep from laughing when Cade spit out, all angry sounding, “Son of a bitch, Ren. Do you want to do it or
not?”

Ren answered in a way he hoped proved more convincing than words. He rolled over and gave Cade
an open invitation to his ass.

Chapter Eight

Good Christ, Cade had never seen anything hotter than the firm globes of Ren’s ass, pushed up in
offering. Like Ren’s sleek, long legs, his butt was a couple of shades lighter than the sun-kissed, tan color
of his upper body, evidence that when he worked on the land, he often did it without a shirt. Jesus,
noticing such a simple, but fucking personal thing, formed a tightness in the back of Cade’s throat,
temporarily robbing him of speech.

Ren’s back, all beautiful long, muscular lines, stole Cade’s very breath away. The deep ridge of his spine
just begged for Cade to lean down and lick it from top to bottom, and then keep going until he tasted
every inch of skin from neck to hole. Cade wanted to unearth that small opening from where it hid,
tucked safe away between Ren’s ass cheeks, and discover its color. Cade wanted all of that, but he
wanted one other thing much, much more.

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Reaching down, Cade clasped his hand around Ren’s slim hip -- and Christ, even just touching him in
innocence like this aroused his deepest desires to mate -- and turned Ren over until he lay on his back
once again. Ren’s light, wide gaze reflected in the moonlight, conveying his confusion.

Newness and uncertainty pressed down on Cade’s shoulders, but somehow he found his voice. “I want
to do it like this.” Christ, he found it so incredibly difficult to open up and share a piece of his desires.
Swallowing through the thickness, he tried again. “I want to look at you…at your face when I take
you…so I can see you…”

Cade couldn’t quite make himself say “so that you can look at me, too.” That would make him look
weak and needy, and ask Ren for too much. Cade’s mouth pulled down with tension in that terrible way
it did when he couldn’t make himself relax, and he hated it. He despised that he couldn’t forget about his
scars and pretend they didn’t exist, even when getting ready to have sex with someone who’d already
expressed a clear interest in him. Cade still couldn’t let go and justbe .

“Cade?” Ren pulled Cade out of his dark thoughts with a touch to his cheek. Cade’s ugly,
constant-reminder-of-his-reckless-choice, messed-up cheek. Ren asked softly, “Are you okay?” He
touched over Cade’s scars, his caress so matter-of-fact in its gentleness that Cade had to steel himself
not to let out the sob that sat trapped in his chest. “Did you change your mind?”

“No.” Cade made the word a statement to himself just as much as a response to Ren. He wouldn’t get
scared away by his own insecurities again, only to skulk home and take care of the raging boner in his
jeans with his own hand. “I want you. I haven’t changed my mind.”

A wicked smile hitched up the corners of Ren’s mouth and sucker punched Cade in the gut. “Good,”
Ren said mischievously. He went right for the fly of Cade’s jeans with his deft, insistent hands. “Because
I’ll admit it, I’ve been wondering what you look like naked ever since that day Risa pulled open the door
at the shack.”

“Really?” Cade’s voice squeaked. Ren’s knuckles grazed Cade’s cock through his jeans, and Cade’s
breath caught. Before Cade could process that it happened, Ren pushed Cade’s jeans down past his
hips, freeing his prick, and Cade started to feel a little bit drugged. His cock jutted painfully erect, in sight
of a male partner for the first time. Ren circled Cade’s cock with his long fingers, smearing Cade’s
pre-ejaculate all over his rigid length, and then pulled at Cade’s cock hard enough to make him fall
forward onto his hands.

“Where’s the stuff?” Ren ran his hands all over Cade’s chest and torso, setting Cade’s flesh on fire. “I
don’t want to wait or go slow. I want you to fuck me right now.”

“Oh Christ.” Cade groaned as Ren found his nipples and started to play. “I want that, too.” Cade
reached around to where his jeans bunched up against his knees and grabbed the box of condoms and
the small tube of lube, one in each back pocket.

“Give me, give me.” Ren snatched the lube out of Cade’s hand and clicked open the plastic hinged lid.
“You do the condom while I do this.”

Damn, having such an openly enthusiastic partner excited Cade, but daunted him, too, and he couldn’t
quite control the shaking in his hands. He tore open the small box and dug out one of the packets. The
tremor in Cade’s hands couldn’t compare to the hard thumping in his chest as he watched Ren reach
between his legs and finger his own anus. Ren’s long forefinger delved between his ass cheeks, and
Cade’s mouth filled with water. Gasping as his finger rubbed the tight ring of his ass, Ren readied himself

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for sex. Cade held his breath, fascinated, as Ren’s butt cheeks clenched and released, and then his finger
disappeared into his rectum.

Goddamn it, Cade wanted Ren’s ass for himself. So much so that jealousy over Ren’s fingers invading
that opening hit him hard, even as it turned him on more than he’d dealt with before. He watched,
enthralled, as Ren took his own ass with a second finger and pushed more lube inside.

Ren started rolling his butt up against his embedded fingers, clearly working at pleasuring himself.
Possessiveness immediately took over Cade’s thoughts, and he reached out, slapping Ren’s hand away
and knocking Ren’s fingers out of his pucker. “Tonight” -- Cade quickly tore open the condom packet
and rolled the protection on -- “that hole is all mine.”

Ren dropped onto his back and folded his knees up on either side of his torso with amazing flexibility,
effectively splitting himself wide open for Cade’s perusal.

He locked onto Cade’s gaze and whispered huskily, “If this is what you want, Deputy” -- he flicked his
asshole provocatively-- “come and get it.”

Something about the way this man called him “Deputy” had a way of sending Cade into a blazing, fiery
inferno. “Don’t say you didn’t ask for it” -- Cade guided his cock to the little hole he could see winking
out at him from between Ren’s crease -- “when I have my dick buried eight inches in your ass.”

“Tease,” Ren flirted back. “Less talk and more action would go a long way toward me believing in the
fierceness of that growl I hear in your voice. Do it. I dare you.”

Christ, Cade had never verbally played with a lover before. It went right to his head, and he couldn’t
deny himself what he needed any longer. Tilting forward, he pressed his mushroom tip against Ren’s
puckered opening, making first contact, causing them both to gasp and search out each other’s gazes.
Cade held Ren’s focus with his eyes, determined to figure out everything this man thought and felt. When
Cade thought he had the upper hand, he pushed down on Ren’s rectum again, harder, and,Christ
Almighty , Ren’s asshole gave way, and Cade slipped inside his body.

“Oh God.” Ren moaned from between clenched teeth, his eyes flickering with blue fire. His ass clamped
down with amazing power around Cade’s penis. “You feel so fucking good.”

“Uh, huh,” Cade grunted. He never could have imagined the invasion feeling like this. Cade dropped
lower over Ren’s body, his arms shaking and giving way as he tried to diffuse the raging sensations
enveloping his dick. Cade didn’t even comprehend thought. His body just shoved his cock farther inside
Ren, demanding, possessing, and yes, fucking -- goddamn it -- fucking another man.

“Oh Jesus.” His oath cursed the higher power as much as it praised Him. Cade turned his head away,
into the darkness. Biting down on his lip, he started to move. “You’re so damn hot and tight. I didn’t
know…I didn’t know.” He barely pumped, not even all the way inside yet -- at least he didn’t think so --
and sweat already poured down his back from trying not to pound away in a complete loss of control.

Cade could never have prepared himself for it to feel like this. He nudged, and nudged, each small
movement an exquisite, torturous delight squeezing around the buried length of his cock.

Eventually, he stopped moving and focused on a rock to the right of Ren’s sleekly muscled shoulder.
“Put your legs around me,” he ordered thickly, revealing a needy piece of himself that he hoped Ren
wouldn’t notice. “Lock them around my waist tight and don’t let go.”

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Ren circled his muscular legs around Cade’s waist and wrapped him up snug. The tight hold bumped
Cade inside Ren’s ass channel until he hit that stopping point again. Cade groaned and snapped his eyes
shut, uncertain of which thing affected him more: the unbearable squeezing of his prick inside Ren’s ass,
or dealing with someone who was willing to hold him tight, no matter how disconnected or harsh his
words sounded.

Ren made the next move. He slid his arm around Cade’s shoulders, guiding Cade’s face back to the two
of them, and what they did together. Ren rubbed the back of Cade’s neck, and Cade shivered at the
small, soothing caress. He had not felt such tenderness and kindness in what felt like forever, and he tried
to turn away again.

Ren locked his hands on Cade’s neck and held him tightly, absolutely not letting him go. “You know,
McKenna, you might enjoy this more if you weren’t trying so damn hard to pretend it’s not really
happening.”

Cade cracked a little bit. “I know it’s happening,” he snapped defensively. A band of pressure squeezed
down on his chest, making it hard to talk and breathe. “Christ, Ren, I’ve got my dick buried in your
asshole. Do you really think there could be anything on my mind right now other than that?”

“Yes,” Ren challenged, sending frissons of panic through Cade’s body. “But I want you to let some of it
go.” Ren slid his taut, sleekly bulging arms around Cade’s neck and held on tight, lifting himself off the
sleeping bag in the process. “Let me help you forget about everything else going on around us, just for a
little while.” Ren bumped up with his powerfully muscled hips and buttocks, and forced Cade’s
embedded cock the rest of the way inside.

Cade shuddered at the new depth, but managed to dig his fingers into the earth and hold on against the
tender assault.

“Take me,” Ren whispered, his mouth pressed against Cade’s ear. “I can feel how much you want to do
it. Stop fighting and take what you want.”

Terrified, Cade realized he had not hidden nearly as much as he thought from this man. Ren pressed
small, lingering kisses down the side of Cade’s face, popping goose bumps up all along Cade’s neck and
arms. Ren kissed Cade all over, moving ever closer until he flicked the edge of Cade’s mouth with his
tongue, requesting without words that Cade open up and let him in.

Cade didn’t have the strength to fight any longer. Unable to hold back, he took Ren’s mouth in a savage
kiss and ground them both down into the sleeping bag. He shoved his cock inside Ren’s ass until he
could go no farther, and then jammed upward, forcing Ren up onto his shoulder blades with his first,
brutal thrust.

“Yes…” Ren grunted low in his throat. “Just like…oh yes…” Cade shafted Ren’s tight tunnel deep
again. “Like that.” Ren grabbed onto Cade’s forearms and dug his fingers into Cade’s flesh. Cade
slammed Ren’s ass again, taking, stealing everything he’d so fiercely suppressed his need for his entire
life.

“Oh, Christ.” Cade practically sobbed as he took Ren’s burning tight rectum in long, deep strokes. “It’s
too much” -- Cade’s dick screamed with the need to grind, force, and possess -- “too much.” He gritted
his teeth and tried to slow down. “Too fast.”

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“Don’t stop, damn it,” Ren growled, the sound reverberating from somewhere low in his body.

Ren grabbed Cade’s head, pulling at him until they were nose to nose. He worked his hips and tightened
his chute against Cade’s novice cock in a way Cade could barely stand to feel. Ren yanked at Cade’s
hair, stinging Cade’s scalp. Shockingly, in response, Cade’s cock swelled deep within the walls of Ren’s
scorching ass.

Good Christ, he wanted this man to handle him.

Cade swooped down on Ren’s mouth and forced his lips apart, delving deep into the moist heat he
found there. He licked and bit at Ren’s kiss-swollen lips and swiped Ren’s teeth, cheeks, and tongue,
pushing all the way in until he tasted the back of Ren’s throat with the tip of his tongue, taking, taking,
taking.

Slipping his tongue out, Cade darted his gaze to Ren’s blurred, blue one. “Kiss me back,” he ordered,
his voice barely a rasp of sound. “Do it hard.” Cade had never experienced such primal desire for
another person the way he did for Ren. “Do it while I fuck you.”

Ren seemed to know just what Cade wanted. He practically strangled Cade with the strength of his
arms, and he writhed against Cade with the heated length of his body. Ren stuck his tongue inside Cade’s
mouth, taking voraciously in a way Cade had never been kissed or made love to before.

In exactly the way Cade had always wanted.

The loving went right to Cade’s head like the most powerful Scotch whisky and he started sliding his
prick in and out of Ren’s ass in piston-fast strokes. Cade moved frantically and without style. He grasped
great clumps of moist, fragrant grass into his fists on either side of Ren’s head, trying desperately to hold
onto a piece of himself as he rammed into Ren’s steaming ass with a less than gentle glide.

Ren kept slipping away every time Cade pushed in, and each time Cade couldn’t get his cock in as deep
as he wanted, he went a little bit mad. He broke the delicious kiss, buried his face in the crook of Ren’s
neck, and dug his hands under Ren’s back until their bodies were in complete contact. He wrapped his
fingers around Ren’s shoulders from beneath and held him in place, applying such pressure he knew he’d
leave bruising marks, but Christ, when he pushed up again, lodging in a place so deep inside Ren’s anus
that it seemed to grab hold of Cade and not let go, Cade didn’t care.

He had never been caught in a sweeter, tighter trap than Ren’s ass. His testicles swelled to painful, heavy
orbs, slapping between his legs with each thrust. Nearing his breaking point, Cade pushed just a little bit,
creating a slight friction without moving much at all.

The abbreviated motion, not nearly enough after all, had Cade taking Ren again, deep and up. He
gasped as pleasure rolled over him in waves, compelling him to penetrate with a more jamming force. In
immediate reaction, Ren grunted a beastly, animal sound next to his ear, and shame filled Cade to the
brim.

“I’m sorry.” Cade spoke against Ren’s throat, even as he dug his knees into the sleeping back and
worked his cock in Ren’s ass again. “I can’t stop.” He pulled out almost all the way and shoved back in,
humping his hips clumsily like a green kid, needing that full, deep stroke.

His sac hung too full and heavy to draw back, and he knew only one way to get relief.

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“Oh Christ, Ren,” Cade rasped against hot skin, still hiding his face as he pumped, “I’m… Oh n --”
Cade choked as the sensation hit in the stomach with the force of a baseball bat. His muscles jerked
painfully, and fear clutched him inside as he felt the first slam of orgasm roll through him. “I’m coming.
Oh, damn it, I’m coming…” A gushing tidal wave shot out of Cade’s balls and swirled through his belly,
tickling him in agonizing pleasure, taunting him with release. A split second later, burning liquid heat shot
through his painfully sensitive cock and filled the condom in the tight heat of Ren’s ass with jetting spurts
of hot ejaculate.

Cade pulsed inside Ren’s heat for long minutes, the protection of the condom no barrier to the
tremendous sensation rocketing through him in the aftermath of such a deep, guttural release. Sex had
never felt like this for him, where almost all the way through he had fought what his body experienced. So
uncertain of how he might behave in the end, Cade would have pulled out and spilled in the grass if he’d
had the power over his body to make it happen.

Not that it would have made any difference. Ren still would have seen him in that flash of time right
before he’d come, a space of time where Cade had had no power over what he did or how he looked.
Cade had not liked that one bit. Unfortunately, it was a necessary evil if he took Ren again.

And, against his better judgment, against the warning screaming in his head to be cautious and step lightly
with this man who he didn’t yet know very well, Cade really wanted to fuck Ren again.

Badly. Very badly.

Chapter Nine

Lying under the quarter moon -- not to mention still under Cade -- Ren felt quite in the dark about the
innermost thoughts and emotions of the man sprawled heavy on top of him. Cade had his face tucked
against Ren’s neck, seemingly hiding. His dick remained embedded deep inside Ren’s ass, though, so
Ren didn’t really know which side of the fence Cade would fall on in the aftermath of what they’d done.

Deciding to go for it, Ren cupped the back of Cade’s head, brushing his soft hair with the tips of his
fingers. Cade shivered against him, and Ren’s confidence kicked up a notch.

“If you feel like it, we can crawl over to the stream and wash up,” Ren suggested softly. Although
truthfully, he’d be perfectly happy lying here until sunrise with Cade’s big body draped over him. “If you
want, I can tell you what I’m doing out here. That is, if you’re in a better frame of mind to listen now.”

Cade pushed up on his hands, his dark gaze once again colliding with Ren’s. “You don’t want a second
showing of the black mood you put me in earlier tonight when I figured you out.” Cade reached down
between them and pinched the base of his cock. Ren trembled as, with consideration, Cade gently
withdrew his penis from Ren’s tender rectum.

Cade kept his focus down as he peeled the condom off, tying it in a knot. He added, “I suppose I can
listen for a few minutes.” He raised an eyebrow sardonically. “That is, before I tell you again how
ill-conceived it was for you to think you could take on a criminal by yourself.”

Ren curled his legs under his body and rolled to his feet, his cramped thigh muscles screaming in protest
the entire way. He stumbled to the stream edge and lowered to his knees. Out of the corner of his eye he
watched Cade, and a small thrill of victory shot through him when the man, almost reluctantly it seemed,

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adjusted his jeans back up around his waist and joined him.

“I wasn’t trying to catch the guy,” Ren began, keeping a respectable five feet of space between them, all
the while forcing down the urge to throw himself into Cade’s arms. He dipped his hands in the stream
and wrung them together, wiping the tackiness of Cade’s precum off his fingers. Ren stole another glance
at Cade, folded so stiff in place on his knees. “Caleb has started a night watch over the piece of stream
where we laid some almost-mature male and female bull trout. I took last night, obviously, and I’ll take
tomorrow, too. We don’t want it to get bleached like the other nesting area did. Caleb and I think a
body being close by for a little while will be enough to keep this punk bastard away.”

“It’s the same damned end result,” Cade swore. “Any one of you who is out here alone is potentially in
danger. I don’t like it.” Cade leaned over the water and sank his hands in, and then yanked them right
back out with a yelp. He shot a fleeting, murderous glance Ren’s way. “Shit, man, you could have
warned me. That shit is freezing.”

Ren sluiced water up his arms and over his chest. “Yeah, I suppose it is.” He tried to gauge it with his
biased, acclimated skin and estimated it to be around forty-five degrees. “I guess I don’t realize it
anymore since I’m elbow deep in it a couple of times a week.” He chuckled. “Although it is a little bit
chillier than I’m used to without the sun shining down on it.”

Ren watched Cade lift his head and look off into the distance, stared with fascination as the soft, cool
breeze lightly played with his stubborn, stern hair. Cade’s face slowly pokered up, hardening the line of
his jaw. “Sunriseisn’t too far off,” he said. “It’s probably not a good idea for me to stay too much longer.
I’m sure Caleb’s men start work early, and I still have to get home and give myself enough time to
shower and change for work. If I run late, it’ll rouse suspicion.”

Ren slumped down on the grassy bank and dragged a knee up to his chest, resting his chin there.
“Yeah.” Ren knew Cade made sense, but at the same time he wanted to take a swing at the man for so
immediately turning off his emotions and covering his own ass. “’Cause I bet you’ve never gone in late to
work a day in your life.”

“No, I haven’t,” Cade shot off defensively. He rose to his feet and stalked back over to the rumpled
sleeping bag. Reaching down, he snagged up his shirt and shrugged into it with sharp, jerking motions.
“And you don’t need to make it sound like some terrible, stodgy thing, you know. I take my work and
the responsibility that comes with it seriously, and I don’t like the thought of people expecting me to be
somewhere and then not showing up on time. It’s inconsiderate, arrogant, and rude. If you don’t like that,
or, I don’t know, think it’s old or square or something, then too fucking bad.”

Ren lifted up onto his knees. “Cool down, man. I’m just making an observation, not judging you. What
the hell has you so pissed off all of a sudden?” Ren wet down his hands and wiped at his rear, scrubbing
off the thin layer of lube between his crack and balls. He clenched his teeth and bit down an expletive as
his fingers swiped across the reminder of where Cade’s cock had entered him just a short time ago.
“Nobody forced you to do anything. I never implied that you have to go and tell it to the whole world
now that you have done something, either. I don’t know what in the hell has you so all fired up, but if
that’s it, then you can stop looking like a bolt of judgmental lightning will strike you down where you
stand. I won’t tell anyone anything.”

“Jesus Christ,” Cade cursed back, “Would you stop doing that, please?” Ren actually heard Cade’s jaw
crack as his teeth clamped down against each other. He turned away and gave Ren his back.

“Doing what?” Ren snapped. He wiped his hands dry in the grass and shot to his feet. “What in God’s

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name could I possibly be doing wrong that is making you so mad now?”

Cade spun around and stalked Ren until he towered over him. “You’re not doing anything wrong, damn
it,” he said savagely. “You’re doing everything perfect and right, okay? You’re standing there naked and
glorious with the sun getting ready to rise behind you, and you’re rubbing your ass and pushing out your
balls and cock from between your sexy, cowboy legs. You do nothing but make it damned hard for me
to keep my hands off you, when all I’ve done from the minute I got here is act aggressively. I put my
hands all over you, and shoved my dick into you and took you roughly, when I actually intended for just
the opposite to happen when I left my house in the middle of the goddamned night. Only now, I have to
go, because, yes, I do have to get ready for work, and so do you. It’s not like I can roll over and let you
do me. I’m leaving you without reciprocating what you gave me, acting like a bastard and taking only
what I wanted and not giving you anything in return, just like that other guy did to you before. I didn’t
mean to do that when I came looking for you, but you were so damned hot when I found you all I could
think about was having you, not even thinking I wouldn’t have any time to prove to you I’m willing to let
you have me too. Of course, that’s easy for me to say since I’m getting ready to walk away without
having to prove it, which is just the kind of one-sided thing you recently ended with that other selfish guy,
which now you’ll likely think I’m one, too --”

“Whoa, whoa.” Ren slapped his hand over Cade’s mouth. “Whoa.” Cade’s dark eyes stormed, but Ren
saw a whole new angle to it now. “You really know how to build up a head of steam and go full blast
when you get something in your mind, don’t you?”

Cade pulled Ren’s hand away from his mouth, but Ren twisted Cade’s hand and grabbed it, keeping
them linked together, before Cade could let go and retreat.

Cade tugged just once before giving up the battle, and then let their entwined fingers rest between them.

“Sorry,” Cade blurted. His scars pulled down the corner of his mouth, making him look mean, even
though he behaved in just the opposite manner. Ren knew at least enough by now not to trust what half
of this man’s face conveyed, because it just seemed completely out of his control. “I didn’t mean to
blabber like an idiot, or make you think I was trying to pretend what happened between us didn’t
happen, or that you had enticed me in some way that didn’t make me responsible for my actions. I’m not
that guy, I promise.” Cade’s eyes begged that Ren believe him, grabbing right at Ren’s heart. “I’m really
not that g --”

“Okay, you really need to stop apologizing,” Ren cut in before Cade got on a roll again. He smiled to
soften the interruption. “You didn’t do anything inconsiderate or wrong.”

“But I did what that other guy did,” Cade insisted, honorable, it seemed, to the core. “I came to you and
took what I wanted, and now I have to leave without letting you have me. I’m not selfish like that, and I
don’t want you to think I am.”

“Okay, let’s get a couple of things corrected here.” Ren laid an unwavering stare on Cade as his bare
skin heated and steamed in the frigid morning air. “That selfish guy you keep referring to has been one of
my best friends from the time I moved here, and we’re still friends today. He is not a bad person, and is,
in fact, quite a decent and good man, so I will thank you for not assuming that you know his character
just because you know about that one thing that happened between him and me.

“Having said that,” Ren continued, “stop thinking just because you fucked me but didn’t automatically
jump right up and spread your ass for me in return means what we did was in any way detached or
clinical, or designed to scratch an itch, like what basically happened with that guy. I mean, my God,

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Cade, you sucked my cock and let me come in your mouth. That’s a freaking big deal to me. More than
that, you touched me and kissed me, and let me touch and kiss you in return. So here’s the deal. I don’t
feel deprived because of what didn’t happen here tonight.” He reached up and rubbed his thumb over
Cade’s lower lip. “I feel really excited about what did happen. Okay?”

Cade nodded. “Okay.” His voice grated rough and whiskey-thick. And in Ren’s mind, sexy as hell, too.
Cade held Ren’s hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss against its core before letting go and pulling away.
“And now, I really do have to go.”

“All right.” Ren reluctantly released Cade’s other hand, severing contact. “Have fun catching the bad
guys.”

That paused Cade in midstride. “Speaking of which” -- he spun around and locked onto Ren’s gaze,
challenging once again -- “you said you would take watch here again later on tonight, right?”

Ren didn’t cower under Cade’s intimidating stare. “I did.”

“I think you need some professional supervision,” Cade replied, oh-so-seriously. He combined it with a
shining glint in his eyes, and the effect turned Ren’s knees to jelly. “I think I know just the right man for
the job.”

Ren didn’t know how he didn’t stumble. “You know where to find me,” he managed to get out in an
even tone. Right away, his cock jumped up and pointed north, giving him away.

Cade glanced down, took a long look that only jerked and stirred Ren visibly even more, before sliding
up the length of Ren’s nudity to his eyes.

“Indeed I do.” Cade dipped his head and walked away, back in the direction of the hatchery.

Ren behaved as casually as possible, leaning down and grabbing up his clothes, all the while watching
Cade get smaller as he walked along the stream line. Ren kept a nonchalant smoothness to his
movements while he got dressed, always watching Cade’s back until the man disappeared and no risk of
an audience seeing him remained.

Then, Ren could not contain his excitement any longer. He swooped and pumped his fist in the air,
reenacting a Rocky-like victory circle.

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” Ren did a few, fast, kung fu fist punches into the air in front of him, getting the last of
his excitement out. Finally, he dropped to his knees and rolled up his bedroll, tucking inside the condoms
and lube that Cade had forgotten in his hasty retreat. Ren pulled on his cowboy boots and whistled an
upbeat tune as he walked back to the ranch.

* * * * *

Straightening the cuff on his perfectly neat and starched uniform shirt, Cade checked for parts that might
not be in their right place. He did it for at least the tenth time since getting out of his truck. He knew he
behaved completely ridiculously, and that he looked fine. Wearing his uniform shirt, jeans, boots, and
Stetson, with his watch sitting heavy on his right wrist, his deputy star attached on his chest near his heart,
his handcuffs placed at the back of his waist, and his firearm harnessed at his side, he knew he looked the
same as he did every other day. Everything was just where it should be, with nothing out of place or
wrong about him.

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Except for one major difference. Cade knew he had just left Ren approximately three hours ago, after
having sex with him. Beyond that, it had been so wonderful he didn’t see how everyone wouldn’t guess
what had happened, just by looking at him. Damn it, he liked Ren so much already. Cade figured he
fucking glowed because of it, and when people saw it, they would begin to ask questions.

One very important, observant person would surely notice.

Duke Boone.

Christ, Duke finding out what Cade had done with his son had unmitigated disaster written all over it.
Cade just hoped that when discovered this time, he survived the fallout.

“Morning, Deputy McKenna,” a lilting, Irish voice singsonged, breaking Cade out of his doom-filled
thoughts.

Cade glanced around and noticed a woman waving to him from across the street.

“Hey there, Mrs. Pritchard.” Cade waved back. Mavis Pritchard, easily seventy years of age, sported a
head of shocking orange hair of which she was damned proud. She owned the diner across the street.
“You look real pretty today.”

“Thank you, sweetheart.” Mavis Pritchard fingered her loose bun. “You come have lunch with me, doll.
I’ll save you a piece of chocolate cake for dessert. On the house.”

“Black Forest?” Cade salivated. “You make it yourself?”

“With my own two little hands.”

Cade smiled -- as best he could, anyway. “I’m there.” He touched the brim of his hat and nodded
good-bye before turning on his heel and heading in to work.

“Good morning, Sarah.” Cade greeted the only person in the station. “How are you today?”

“Not bad.” Sarah looked up from her desk. “Although clearly not as good as you. You’re beaming like
a freaking floodlight. What’s up?”

“Mrs. Pritchard’sBlack Forest cake.” Cade said a quick, silent prayer of thanks for the kind woman
giving him an additional, truthful reason for being in such a good mood, because Christ, he did not lie very
well. He slid into his seat and grabbed up his messages. “I saw her outside, and she offered me a slice,
no charge.”

“You men and your sweet-talking ways,” Sarah complained good-naturedly. “You don’t see Mrs.
Pritchard offering me a free any --”

“Hey, Sarah?” Cade cut the young woman off as he shuffled through the small pile of messages.

“Yeah?”

“I see that Robyn Fallon wants me to call her.” Cade glanced up, holding the note in the air. “Did she
mention why?”

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“No.” Sarah shifted in her chair and faced Cade. “One of the lab assistants made the call. He said she
had some information you would be interested in hearing. I figured it probably related to some work
they’re doing for you.”

“Yeah, except I don’t have any reports waiting to come back.” Cade grabbed up the phone.

“Well, he just called like five minutes before you walked in, so I would guess she’s there right now.”

“Yeah. Let me give her a call.” Cade started punching numbers with the eraser tip of a pencil. “Hey,
Sarah?” He tossed a paper clip at the young woman’s desk to get her attention. When she looked up, he
jerked his head to the right and asked, “Have you seen the boss yet?”

“Nooo-yesss,” Sarah’s answer changed in midstream when Duke strode in through the front door at that
precise moment. “Ask and ye shall receive. Morning, boss.”

“Morning.” Duke paused at Sarah’s desk and held out his hand. “Messages?”

Sarah slapped Duke’s hand down. “Already transcribed from voice mail and on your desk.”

“Him too?” Cade piped in from his desk. “Damn, girl, you really did get here early. Hey, Robyn,” Cade
transitioned easily when a no-nonsense, feminine voice picked up his call. “I got your message. What’s
up?”

“I have something for you,” Robyn said. “The local guys picked up a dude a few days ago on an
attempted rape charge. One of my guys took his DNA and ran it through the system. It brought up one
of your cases I had red-flagged in my computer.”

“Which one?” Cade perked up. “I don’t have any assault cases pending right now. Sure it wasn’t
somebody else’s case?”

“It wasn’t an assault case,” Robyn corrected. “It involves your Willow Stream case. The computer
kicked this information to my attention. We have a close match on the unidentified DNA on your
cigarette butts found at the scene.”

Cade’s entire body shot up straight to attention, and he snapped his fingers to get the sheriff’s attention.
They had about given up on getting any kind of useful information out of the small amount of evidence
collected when the DNA hadn’t initially given them a match. “My guy is inBozeman on attempted rape
charges?” His blood ran cold just thinking about it.

“No,” Robyn corrected him quickly again. “But someone close to him is. You need to look for a close
male relative to my guy, one Samuel Johnston Simmons. Go through your list of suspects and see if you
get a family hit, probably a brother, and you’ll have your smoker.”

“No shit.” Cade’s blood raced hot through his arms and legs, making him tingle. “Lady, you’re getting a
big-ass bouquet of flowers delivered to your desk sometime today, because this is fucking awesome.”

“Anything except lilies.” Robyn chuckled. “They make me sneeze.”

“You got it.” Cade rose to his feet. “You’re the best. Bye.

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“Sarah?” Moving into action Cade asked, “Can you get on that for me?” He pulled out his wallet and
tossed her his credit card. “I need flowers delivered to Robyn Fallon over inBozeman . Other than lilies,
you decide whatever you think is prettiest.”

“On it.”

Cade turned to Duke, amazed that something more important had come up and settled any discomfort
he might have felt with this man.

“Boss” -- Cade started for the door -- “you feel like going for a ride?”

Duke fell in right behind Cade. “What in the hell is going on?” Duke steered them toward the sheriff’s
truck, parked right out front. “Where are we going?”

“Caleb’s place for a little chat.” Cade slid in on the passenger side of the vehicle and buckled his seat
belt. He shot Duke a gleaming look that only another law enforcement officer would understand. “We’ve
got ourselves a suspect in the Willow Stream case.”

Chapter Ten

Ren hung back in the shadows of Caleb’s office and watched Cade prepare to do his job. Jasper
Simmons, nineteen-year-old younger brother of Samuel Simmons, sat across from Cade at a small table.
Cade had just finished informing Jasper that they were just talking right now, and to speak up if he
wanted to stop and request a lawyer.

Ren had worked with the shy kid a number of times and always got along with him. For that reason, his
father had contacted him on the walkie-talkie at the hatchery and asked him to come to Caleb’s office so
that Jasper had a friendly face close by. Ren figured with the intimidating presence of the sheriff, a
deputy, and Caleb Hawkins, Jasper needed all the friends he could get. From Ren’s vantage point, he
could see Jasper’s hands twisting on each other under the table, the young man clearly scared as hell.

“Did I do something wrong?” Jasper asked Cade, his voice almost a squeak. “Am I in trouble?”

“Well, here’s the thing, Jasper,” Cade began conversationally. “We talked about a month ago and then
again a few weeks ago. Do you remember that?”

“Yeah.” Jasper nodded. “You talked to everybody on the property after Gus and Hank found them
bottles of bleach by the stream, askin’ if we knew anything about it. When someone gassed the fish at
Ren’s hatchery, you asked us again to try and remember if we saw anything important.” Jasper’s blond
head whipped around to Ren, and his eyes were like saucers. “I’m really sorry about your fish dying,
Ren.”

Ren wanted to reach out and comfort Jasper, but he kept his hands locked at his sides. He liked
working with Jas a lot, but at the same time, he had begun to trust Cade, and needed to let the man do
his job without interfering.

“I’m sure Ren knows how you feel about him.” Cade guided Jasper’s focus back to him. “I want to talk
to you about something you said you didn’t know anything about when I questioned you, Jasper. I want
to talk about the cigarette butts that were found at the stream, and how every man and woman on this

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property, including you, said they didn’t know anything about them.” Cade’s dark gaze settled on Jasper
in a way that would have made Ren confess to just about anything. “Do you want to change that
statement, or do you still maintain that those cigarette butts must have come from whoever poured the
bleach in the stream? Because you told me that no one on Hawkins’s property is allowed to smoke, and
so it couldn’t be anyone from the staff that did this.”

“I’m sorry, boss,” Jasper said. The kid looked up at Caleb, and Ren saw frightened, big eyes settle on
their boss. “I know you don’t allow no smoking on the land, but the other cowboys teased me hard
because I don’t know how to play five-card stud. I had to get out of the bunkhouse for a little while. I
tried to quit smoking before, but the guys made me feel so piss-poor and stupid, I grabbed my pack and
took them with me. I smoked a few down by the stream, like the deputy here obviously figured out. I’m
sorry.”

“Oh, Jasper.” Caleb dropped his head into his hand. “You were doing so well.”

“Please don’t fire me,” Jasper begged. “I swear it won’t happen again.”

“I can’t let it go, kid.” Caleb took the hard line, although to Ren it looked like it killed him to do it. “You
know the rules, and you know the consequences of breaking them. All the men do. If I let you off, then I
start in a direction of my people thinking they can get away with whatever they want. Once I take that
first step, I can’t come back down from it without looking like favoritism. I’m sorry, but you know I have
to let you go.”

The kid crumbled in his chair, his whole world obviously shifting off its axis.

Unfortunately for Jasper, Cade hadn’t yet finished with him. “So you’re changing your statement and
saying you left those cigarette butts.” Cade spoke in an even tone. “Is that right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Do you want to change anything else in your statement?” Cade said, locking his gaze on Jasper’s. “It
might go better for you if you did. It might go a long way toward your defense if you come clean and tell
me the rest right now.”

Dawning horror flickered in Jasper’s eyes. He shot to his feet, knocking his chair over with a clattering
thunk that echoed in the silent room.

“Wait a minute!” Jasper exploded. “You can’t think I did those things to Ren’s fish? No way! I would
never! Never!”

“You did lie about the cigarettes, Jasper,” Cade pushed, although he remained seated. It somehow
made him more intimidating and powerful than every other man in the room who stood tense on his feet.
“How am I supposed to take your word as being truthful about one part of your statement when you’ve
already admitted you lied about the other?”

“Because I know how hard Ren works with them fish, trying to get the stream back to the way God
made it.” Jasper’s attention wildly ran over everyone in the room, landing on Ren. “Shit, you believe me,
Ren, don’t you? We’re friends. You don’t think I could do this, do you?”

Ren knew he should keep his mouth shut, could see the warning in his father’s amber eyes from the
corner of his vision. He could also see Cade’s flat, unreadable, dark ones, and Jasper’s frantic, terrified

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hazel ones. Right now, his gut said only one of them mattered.

“Yeah, Jas,” he assured the younger man, “I believe you.”

Jasper stumbled, but turned and strode over to Cade, still sitting so frighteningly calm at the small table.

“See?” Jasper said. “Ren believes me. He knows me better than you do, and even better than the boss
does. I swear I didn’t kill them fish, and I’ll take one of them lie detector tests if you want, because I
didn’t do it, and there ain’t nothin’ gonna make me say I did.”

Cade sat there quietly for the longest time, without so much as looking like he breathed, let alone
twitched or moved a muscle. Finally, he blinked and broke the oppressive cloud sitting in the office. “I
don’t think I need to haul you in for a polygraph test, Jasper.”

“Okay.” Jasper slumped into his chair. Sliding his elbows onto the smooth surface of the table, he then
dropped his face into his hands and rolled his head in Cade’s direction. “Does that mean you believe
me?”

Cade reached over and touched Jasper’s arm. “It means I’m not going to arrest you,” he said by way of
an answer. “All right?”

“Okay.” Jasper’s sandy head bobbed in agreement.

Cade stood, and Duke moved in, righting the chair Jasper had knocked over. He took a seat next to
Jasper, clasping his hands on the tabletop.

Cade walked to the door, beckoning to Ren and Caleb as he did. Ren immediately followed, but Caleb
moved to the table, rather than the door.

“I think I’ll stick around,” Caleb said. The man emanated authority through his very pores, but Ren
noticed once again that Cade deferred to Duke, and waited until he got a nod before opening the door
and leaving.

Ren held his tongue until he and Cade were standing in the foyer. Cade stood big and sexy in front of
him, and Ren asked, “Would you have forcibly dragged Caleb out of his own office if my father hadn’t
given you the green light to let him stay?”

The pull at the edge of Cade’s mouth told Ren the man tried to grin. “Let’s just say I would have
advised him strongly of the only choice he had.”

“Ever the diplomat with your words,” Ren teased. Quickly though, his thoughts went back to the kid in
the office, and his smile faded. “I know you were hoping to close this vandalism case today, but I’m not
sorry it didn’t happen. I don’t know how I would have handled it if a nice guy like Jasper had turned out
to be the one doing this.”

The motion clipped, Cade nodded. “Yeah, Jasper will have a hard enough time, without having a record
added to his troubles.”

Ren’s gut twisted with empathy. “He lost his job for what he did. Caleb won’t cave in and let it slide. As
much as he might want to, he’ll stand firm and let Jasper go.”

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“Not only that,” Cade murmured softly, almost to himself.

But Ren paid attention to everything Cade did these days, so he’d not only heard it, he saw the flash of
pain slide across the man’s dark gaze.

“What?” Ren questioned, standing up straighter. “What is it?”

Cade glanced toward the front door, to the office behind Ren’s shoulder, over to the stairs that rose up
straight from the center of the foyer, to finally down the hall. He seemed to make a decision, and then
beckoned Ren with the crook of his finger to follow.

Cade led Ren under the stairs to a narrow, darkened corridor. When they got to a place where nobody
else was around, with no doors for anyone to pop out of, he said, “The authorities have Jasper’s brother
in custody inBozeman on attempted rape charges.”

“Oh, no.” Ren slumped against the wall at his back. “Are you sure?”

The line of Cade’s mouth pulled even more grim than usual. “Forensics inBozeman red-flagged my
unidentified DNA on those cigarette butts. When Samuel Simmons’s sample went through the system to
compare it to a sample left on the victim, it highlighted the DNA in the Willow Stream case file as a male
relative match. I have a good memory for names and immediately remembered talking to Jasper. I also
recalled him mentioning that he used to live inBozeman before he came to Quinten. It’s him; we’re sure.”

“Poor guy,” Ren sympathized. “He won’t have anybody if his brother goes to prison. His grandmother
died a couple of years ago, and that was the only other family he had. He followed a girlfriend here to
Quinten, but that didn’t work out. Now he lost his job, the one thing he really cared about.”

“A man can survive hell on his own if he has to,” Cade answered. Ren’s gaze narrowed on Cade at the
deep resignation in those words, but then Cade shifted his head, and Ren only got his scarred cheek.
“Jasper will be all right. Anyway” -- Cade turned back to Ren, his eyes shadowed -- “the information
about his brother is a matter of public record, and that’s the only reason I shared it with you. The sheriff
and I don’t intend to tell it to anyone else, and I don’t think Jasper needs word of his family’s problems
being spread throughout town. I’d appreciate it if you keep what I told you to yourself.”

“Of course. You didn’t even have to say it.”

Cade’s glance darted to the right down the darkened hall, and then back the other way to the dozen feet
of cover before the hall opened into the back end of the foyer. “I need to get back.” He pushed off the
wall. “It won’t take them too long to give Jasper the news, and then the sheriff and I need to get back to
town.”

“Yeah, all right.” Ren reached out, snagged Cade’s big hand, and hauled the man around. He crowded
Cade up against the hallway wall and pressed in, so close Cade’s breath tingled heatedly against his lips.
“I need to get going too.” He took Cade’s hands and pushed them up against the wall, effectively
trapping him there. God, it felt decadent to press his body up against Cade’s big, warm one. “Our FWP
rep is coming to look over Willow Stream again and take some more samples. When Caleb comes out,
can you tell him I went to find Risa and Travis?”

Cade’s gaze darted around frantically. “If you’ll let me go so that we don’t get caught together like this,”
he whispered, “I’ll tell him anything you want.”

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Ren chuckled softly. “Come on now, Deputy.” He pressed the backs of Cade’s hands into the cool
plaster wall. “You’re trained to take down a suspect in any kind of situation.” He lifted a heavy gaze up
to Cade. “If you really didn’t want me touching you like this, you could easily overpower me and get
away.”

Cade’s eyes sparked with sudden fire. “Do you want that?” he asked, his voice thick and husky. “Do
you want me to exert my superior strength over you? Wrestle you down to the ground?”

Ren groaned. “Another day.” He pulled away before he got hard. Or, harder, actually. “Today, I really
do have a lot of questions for Travis. If you could let Caleb know?” He started walking backward down
the short length of the hall.

“Sure.” Cade rolled his back against the wall until he leaned against it with his shoulder, his gaze glued on
Ren.

“Ren?” Cade blurted, his boot heel clicking in a fast, staccato beat on the marble floor.

The nervous gesture made Ren stop in his tracks.

“Yeah?” Ren asked, his heart tugging because of that damn tapping boot. “What is it?”

Cade looked away, then down, before finally facing Ren again. “Should I still come and find you by the
stream tonight? Same time as last night?”

Ren was on Cade in a shot, had him back against the wall again in seconds. Visions of what had already
happened with this man, and what would happen raced through Ren’s mind, leaving him hot.

“Absolutely,” he promised, his gaze flickering on Cade’s uncertain one before closing in and taking his
mouth in a hard, lip-mashing kiss. Ren licked and tasted until he felt Cade relent under him, until Cade
gave in and started kissing him back. Only then did Ren give the man one more fast kiss before
reluctantly tearing his mouth away. He smiled at the redness suffusing Cade’s lips already, just from that
one brief touch. Ren reached out and fingered the small swelling, just because he had to.

Letting his fingers slide down Cade’s front, Ren touched over Cade’s hard chest. “Now, I hate to say it,
but I really do have to go.” He pulled himself away and walked backward toward the foyer. Pressing a
kiss to his hand, he waved. “I’ll see you tonight,” he added, and then disappeared around the corner.

Cade hid in the shadowed corridor until his hands stopped shaking. Christ, he was in trouble. He
couldn’t understand how it happened so damn fast, but Ren Boone had already burrowed under his skin
and locked on tight in every way.

Cade had no idea how to pull himself away.

Chapter Eleven

“I hate to see the little guy limping up the stairs like that,” Duke shared with Cade. “It seems like such a
struggle for the small victory of eight steps.”

Cade glanced up at Duke from the bottom of the stairs that led to Duke’s home. Ren’s home too, for

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that matter. Cade had visited with Duke in the white farmhouse with the navy blue shutters and
wraparound porch on a half-dozen occasions, but in this instance, his heart skittered like a priest in a strip
club worshipping naked breasts for the first time.

Cade shook off the fear of discovery and put his attention on Crash working his new little body up the
steps. “Doc says he will do fine with only three legs.” Cade started up the stairs himself, once Crash
made it to the porch without assistance. “You should see him tearing around my apartment at night.”
Cade chuckled as Duke held the door open, and the dog raced inside. “It’s like he doesn’t know he’s
supposed to get tired and go to sleep.”

“What do you expect? He sleeps at the station all day,” Duke said from over his shoulder. He led the
way to the kitchen with their dinner, a pepperoni pizza. “You should think about hiring someone to come
and pick him up a couple of times a day, take him outdoors to play, tire him out a little bit.

“Oh, hey, kiddo.” At Duke’s words, Cade skidded to a halt. “What are you doing home?”

And there Ren was, all sexy and beautiful, obviously fresh from the shower in jeans and a Minnesota
Twins T-shirt, his big feet bare. He stood at an old-fashioned stove with fire burners, stirring a spoon in a
pot. Jesus, right away Cade wanted another kiss from Ren, just like the one they shared this morning in
the hallway at Caleb’s house. Cade craved it so much he actually took a step back, needing to hide his
desire from sight, and ended up making a spectacle of himself when his heel came down on a little paw.
Crash yelped a horrible, little, high-pitched cry.

“Oh shit.” Cade dropped to his knees and scooped the gangly little guy up with one arm. “Damn it. I’m
sorry, little dude.” Cade lifted the dog up to his face with one hand while he rubbed at the injured paw
with the other. “I didn’t see you behind me.” He scratched Crash’s soft, furry head. “Are you all right?”

The Irish setter yipped and licked Cade’s nose and left eye.

“I think he forgives you,” Ren said with an easy chuckle. He moved across the kitchen to Cade’s side,
lifted Crash right out of Cade’s hand, and transferred him to the crook of his arm. Ren stroked the dog’s
fur absently, but his eyes stayed solely on Cade. “If you want to be absolutely sure, though” -- he
smiled -- “you can get a hot dog out of the fridge and bribe him with a treat.”

Cade’s heart raced much too fast, and he thought for sure everyone could see how hard it slammed
inside his chest.

“I’ll do that.” His voice sounded raspy. Mortified that the others would read him like a book, he
coughed to cover it up. “Thanks.”

“So, kid.” Duke poked his nose in the pots on the stove. “You know I love your company, but why are
you home cooking spaghetti? I thought you were working tonight.”

Cade could feel his face flaming with heat as the primal, raw things he and Ren did while Ren had been
“working” last night raced through his mind. Not to mention what they had planned to do again later on
tonight. Grateful for the refrigerator hiding his red face, Cade knew if Duke could see him, Cade would
have given his and Ren’s secret away.

“It’s not a cancellation of the plan, just a change of nights,” Ren said. “At the last minute, I swapped for
a night the week after next with a guy who remembered it’s his girlfriend’s birthday on the day he had
scheduled. We switched so that he wouldn’t get his ass whipped for not taking her out to dinner.”

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“Nice save.” Duke laughed as he took a seat at the table. “I’m sorry you went to the trouble to make
dinner, though.” Duke tilted his chair back and balanced it on two legs. “I didn’t expect you, so I bought
a pizza. I thought I was flying solo tonight so I invited Cade to share it and watch the ball game on TV.”

Cade sensed he wouldn’t get a better out from this nightmare of discomfort than what Duke had just
said. He closed the fridge, and finding Crash back on the floor, he scooped the dog up, carefully avoiding
physical closeness or eye contact with Ren, who had moved back to the stove.

“Listen, since Ren’s cooking the two of you a nice dinner, I think I’ll go. Let me pay you for the pizza
and take it with me.” He reached into his back pocket for his wallet. “That way neither meal goes to
waste.”

“You don --”

“Cade, don’t go --”

Both men’s protests died when Risa filled the kitchen doorway. Her head turned down, she toweled her
long, strawberry blonde hair dry, clearly oblivious to the larger crowd.

“Geez, Ren, I don’t think I’ve ever felt more muscles protesting at the same time than I did today.
Thanks for lending me some clothes and letting me use your shower. I’ve never ridden anything quite that
hard before. It was a dirty, smelly business.”

“What the hell!” The chair legs holding Duke upright screeched out from under him, and he hit the floor
with a hard thud.

Risa glanced up at the group with wide eyes while Duke cursed a litany of foul words under his breath.
Ren bit his lip, and Cade just knew he did his damnedest not to laugh. Ren reached down, grasped his
father’s hand, and hauled him to his feet.

“Bulls, Dad,” Ren shared. “She meant riding bulls. I swear.”

“Of course she did!” Duke exploded, a completely changed man from the one sitting and chatting
amiably with his son only moments ago. “I got the gist of what she said right away. Why in the hell else
would I tell her she’s a fool if not for the fact that she’s doing something that she’s not meant to do?”

“A lot of women ride bulls these days, Duke,” Risa answered smoothly. She sauntered into the kitchen
and took a seat at the table.

Duke’s face turned statue hard. “I’m not talking about when you rode those smaller bulls against other
women on the tour; we’re talking about you now wanting to ride them big monsters, one-handed grip,
against men. That is not the same as what other women do, and you know it.”

“I have a few things that most other women on the circuit don’t have going for them, Sheriff.” Risa got to
her feet and spread her arms wide. “I’m taller than most of them. I also work on my core strength with
Caleb.” She lifted Ren’s borrowed T-shirt up to her bra line, revealing a smooth, alabaster stomach.
“Feel it.” She gave herself a good whack on the tummy, and not the slightest inch of flesh jiggled. “Go
ahead,” she challenged Duke, “take a punch at it.”

Duke now looked like Cade had felt a little bit ago when he’d first noticed Ren standing in the kitchen.

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The hard line of his mouth thinned and paled.

“Hell no, I won’t,” Duke bit off.

“Chicken.” Risa turned to Cade, shirt still half up and showing her “core strength.” “Go ahead, Cade,
give it a little punch.”

“Uh…umm…” Cade felt his neck heating as all eyes turned on him. “No.” He shook his head and held
up his hands. “I think I’ll take a pass, too.”

Risa rolled her eyes and turned to Ren.

“Oh, all right, fine,” Ren said, sounding just like an impatient sibling. “God, Ris, you’re such a showoff.”
Ren thwacked Risa’s stomach with an open hand, to the young woman’s obvious triumph.

Ren turned to Cade. “She never flinches. I swear to God, she is all muscle.”

“That doesn’t make her fit to ride those big bulls in competition,” Duke said from the table. “Hells bells,
why can’t anyone see that but me?”

“Because you haven’t seen me ride.” Risa spun around and faced Duke. “But you will. This Saturday.”

“What happens Saturday?” Duke asked, his voice sounding just a little bit dangerous.

“Caleb and his rodeo friend have agreed to sponsor me in my first minor league PBR competition against
the men this Saturday in Junction Creek. I want you to come.” She took a step toward Duke. “I want
you to watch me ride before you make another snap judgment about my abilities.”

“Not on your life.” The hard edge of Duke’s voice cracked through the kitchen like a whip. “I will not
give credence to this insanity by pretending I support what you’re doing. You want to break your neck?
You can do it without me standing at the rails watching it happen.”

Cade had never seen a face go from elated to broken in the span of a few small words the way Risa’s
did right then. He had also never seen a spine straighten so quickly, or wetness blinked out of hurt eyes
so proudly, either.

“Your absence won’t stop me.” Risa held her head high. “I’ll have other supporters there. Ren, for one,”
she shared. “My brother and Cain. Caleb and Micah, of course. Maybe even a few more.”

She turned uncertain eyes on Cade. “I’d like for you to come.” Her hands twisted in front of the flat,
hard stomach of which she was so proud. “That is, if bull riding interests you.”

Cade could not reject this young woman. Not after what he’d just witnessed.

“Hell” -- he shot for casual and easy -- “I grew up inTexas , so I’ve gone to a few rodeos in my time.
I’d be honored to watch you ride.”

“Thank you.” Risa reached out and grabbed his hands. “I’ll be amazing; you’ll see.”

The phone on the wall by the back door suddenly rang shrill and loud, jerking everyone out of his or her
temporary paralysis. Ren squeezed through the tight space between Risa and Cade to answer it. As Ren

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and Cade’s bodies brushed against each other, their gazes met, singeing awareness to fiery life. In a split
second of time, Cade saw Ren’s thoughts, saw himself stripped of his clothing and his flesh worshipped
by Ren’s mouth. The moment passed quickly, but it made Cade hungry as hell. Ren slid past to get the
phone, and Risa remained, right there in front of him, reading everything Cade thought and felt, clear as
day.

Cade wanted to sink into the floor and disappear forever. That is, until Risa smiled and discreetly
touched his hand. Cade’s focus then shifted to not embarrassing himself by sobbing like a baby at the
simple kindness from this young, innocent woman.

“Dad,” Ren called. He held the corded phone in Duke’s direction. “It’s for you.”

Duke got up and took the phone, turning his back on the room for privacy. Ren paused as he passed by
Cade again, only this time he slid his fingers along the small of Cade’s back, sending ripples of pleasure
up Cade’s spine.

Ren leaned in and whispered at Cade’s ear, “Time to eat, Deputy. Take a seat.”

Christ, Cade didn’t understand how every word this man spoke evoked visions of raw mating and
fucking between them, pictures of things he’d wanted for so long he’d created an elaborate fantasy life in
the comforts of his own bed. Something as simple as eating made Cade think of how he’d eaten Ren’s
cock last night, how he’d wanted to taste more before getting caught up in fucking him until they both lost
their minds.

Cade swallowed past the nervous excitement fluttering in his stomach, and took a seat at the table, while
Crash crawled under it and curled up in a furry little ball. Cade’s eyes strayed to Ren -- to his
jean-covered ass in particular -- as the man opened the dishwasher and grabbed plates and utensils,
clinking them together as he piled them on the counter. Cade ripped his gaze away before he got caught,
just in time to see Duke hang up the phone and move across the spacious kitchen to the table.

“That was Deputy Stuart. I have to go.” Duke swiped his keys off the table where he’d thrown them
earlier. “Someone broke into a house in town.” He settled his hat low on his head, all business once
again. “The owner was at home, and she got knocked around a bit.”

“I’ll come with you.” Cade automatically got to his feet. “Let’s go.”

“Nope.” Duke held up his hand as he backed out of the room. “We have a couple of deputies already
there. I’m just going in because I don’t like these kinds of things happening in my town. I intend to
reassure everyone around the victim of that. I have to show my face; they need to know I take it
seriously.”

“All right.” Cade sat back down reluctantly. “If it turns into something bigger, give me a call.”

“It won’t. Have a good meal. Save me a bowl of spaghetti and a slice of pizza; I’ll eat it cold when I get
home. Bye.” With one last dip of his head, Duke left.

Risa rubbed her arms and shivered. “Geez, I hope whoever got hurt will be all right. I want to go home
and check on my mom. I just feel like I need to see her and assure myself thatshe’s okay.”

“Take my truck,” Ren offered. He leaned down and pecked a kiss high on Risa’s cheek. “The keys are
on the coffee table. Just remember to come and pick me up for work in the morning, all right?”

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“Sure thing.” Risa turned vulnerable, sad eyes on Ren that Cade caught, too. “Thanks for inviting me to
dinner.” Her chin went up a notch. “You gave me a shot to convince him, and I appreciate it.”

“Sorry he didn’t come around,” Ren commiserated. “I’ll try again before Saturday. At the very least, I
can make him see the hypocrisy of judging you without having even seen you at work. He might wish he
could ignore the truth of that, but I don’t think he’ll be able to. Let me give it another go. Okay?”

Risa nodded and smiled. “I am going to ride, either way. I’ll still have a big crowd of supporters, too.”
She turned to Cade and stuck out her hand. Cade took it in a good, solid shake. “Thanks for agreeing to
come.” The light from earlier crept back in her eyes. “You guys will get a show you won’t soon forget.”

Cade couldn’t help smiling back. “Can’t wait. You have a good night.”

“Bye.” Risa waved, and in seconds was gone.

Cade found Ren’s gaze across the kitchen and locked in place. Each breath Cade took became heavier
and harder while he stared, transfixed. He strained his hearing, listening for the click of the front door,
and then the firing of an engine, the final signal that let him know he and Ren were truly alone.

Christ, Cade wanted Ren. Hewanted so damn bad that it scared him to feel it.

Ren broke the silence first. “I would have found a way to get in touch with you about not being at the
stream tonight. I didn’t want to call you at work, but I wouldn’t have let you show up there and jump
another man before realizing it wasn’t me.”

“I know.” It had never even entered Cade’s mind that Ren would have left Cade open to detection.

“So, now that we cleared that up” -- Ren smiled -- “do you want to sit there and pretend we care one
bit about eating, Deputy?” Ren’s eyes flashed as he said that last word, and damn, he obviously knew
exactly how much that name licked Cade to life. “Or would you rather see the bed where, for the last
month, I come like a damn geyser every time I think about fucking you?”

Cade shot to his feet, but he didn’t throw himself at Ren.

He bolted for the front door.

Chapter Twelve

Cade barely got his hand wrapped around the doorknob before Ren slammed into him from behind,
sending Cade into an absolute panic of fear and need.

“Hey, what’s the matter?” Ren’s low, smooth voice whispered in Cade’s ear. “Why did you run away?”

Cade clutched at the door for dear life as Ren’s cock rubbed against his rear through their jeans. With
Ren molding him to the door from behind, the strength and weight of the other man hit Cade like the
headiest of drugs. The teeth nibbling at his earlobe made his knees shake, too. Ren slid his hands around
Cade’s waist and dipped down, rubbing his crotch. Cade whimpered and jerked against the tantalizing
touch.

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Pressing his scarred cheek against the cool wood of the painted door, Cade forced it to sober him, and
scrambled for sanity in a situation fraught with dangers.

“We can’t do this here,” he said, his voice barely making a sound. Ignoring Cade’s words, Ren slid his
hands up Cade’s stomach to his chest and began working the buttons on Cade’s uniform shirt.

Before Cade lost his mind, he grabbed Ren’s hands and covered them, stopping him before he could
undo another button. “For Christ’s sake.” Cade twisted in Ren’s arms, facing him. “Be reasonable. We
can’t have sex in your father’s house.”

Ren’s heated gaze softened and turned surprisingly indulgent. “Is that what sent you running?” he asked
gently. “Are you under the impression I occupy a little room next to my dad’s that still has Spiderman
posters on the walls and peewee T-ball trophies on my bookshelf?” Ren took Cade’s hand and tugged
him away from the door, bypassing the stairs for a small, darkened hallway on the lower floor. “No,
Cade.” Ren opened a door at the end of the hall and pulled Cade inside. “This isn’t just my father’s
home; it’s mine, too.”

The door closed behind him, and Cade’s heart started pounding, flooding his body with need as he
looked around at a very adult-looking room done in deep blues and grays, half of it cast in late evening
shadows.

Ren crowded Cade against his second door in five minutes and looked up at him, a sweetly indulgent
blue gaze. “You don’t have to worry. My father and I respect each other’s need for privacy.”

“Still…” A hundred terrifying thoughts of getting caught raced through Cade’s mind, dizzying in their
intensity, instant messaging nightmares of his first attempt to hook up with another man into his psyche.

“Excuse me.” Cade’s voice came across rough and scratchy. He pushed Ren away and stumbled to the
edge of the bed as blackness fogged his vision. Spreading his legs, he dropped his head into his hands
between his knees and inhaled great gulps of air as he struggled to regain his equilibrium.

“Hell, Cade.” Ren dropped to his knees in front of where Cade sat and caressed the back of his head.
Tunneling the tips of his fingers through Cade’s hair, Ren soothingly rubbed his scalp. “I don’t have to
take you if it makes you this scared just thinking about it. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want
to, I swear.”

Cade snapped his head up, and then wished he hadn’t when dizziness swamped him once again. “It’s
not that.” He forced himself to keep his head up, even as he felt like a total pussy for letting Ren see him
lose his cool. Worse than that, though, Cade didn’t want Ren to think he didn’t want him. Cade did.
Desperately. “The thought of you taking me doesn’t scare me.” He pulled Ren’s hand from his hair and
kissed it, and then held it to his smooth cheek. “I promise.”

“You sure?” Ren cupped Cade’s other cheek, his damaged one, and pulled him close. The corner of
Ren’s mouth tilted upward as he leaned in and planted a soft kiss on Cade’s lips. He landed a couple
more before pulling back. “It scared me the first time.” Ren’s brows drew together as he sat back on his
heels. “Although I guess I shouldn’t assume this is your first time.”

“It is. You are the only man I’ve been with. I’ve had two women, but they were a long time ago.
Doesn’t mean I’m afraid, though. I’m not.”

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“Something has you scared,” Ren pressed perceptively. “I saw fear in your eyes when you pushed me
away a minute ago.”

A tremor shook Cade’s hands. Christ, he didn’t want to talk about his awful history with Ren yet. With
anyone, really.

“The idea of getting caught does make me nervous.” Cade gave the simple, boiled down version instead.
“I don’t want your father coming home and walking in on us having sex.”

“My father won’t be home for hours.” Ren rose to his knees and undid the rest of Cade’s shirt.
“Logically you know that because you’ve worked with him in situations like this.” Cade weakened as
Ren worked the last button on his shirt and tugged it out of his jeans, chuckling as he unveiled another
layer of fabric. “Damn, you wear an undershirt.” Ren leaned in and kissed Cade’s chest through the thin
fabric, sending Cade’s heart skittering wildly. “That’s so fucking cute.”

“Have to,” Cade answered, his voice shaky. Ren pushed Cade’s arms up and drew the white T-shirt
off. Then, Christ, Ren pressed little kisses along Cade’s bare shoulder. Shaking his head, Cade forced
his brain back to where his thought had trailed away. “The uniform shirt scratches without it.”

“Right,” Ren said, the word vibrating against Cade’s flesh. He kissed a path up to Cade’s jaw, chin, and
mouth, pausing to trade glances with Cade when they came face-to-face again. “Do you really want to
talk about the wearability of certain clothing right now, Deputy?”

Cade shook his head, his voice completely abandoning him.

“Then we’ll do that afterward,” Ren needled. He looked so sweet and sincere as he did it, though, that
Cade didn’t shy away or get self-conscious the way he normally did when someone teased him.
“Now” -- Ren slid his hands down Cade’s stomach, sending the butterflies there to soaring -- “we have
all the time in the world to do this, if you want. You can choose to be well gone and home by the time my
father gets back.” Ren ran his hands around Cade’s waist and dug his fingers into Cade’s back, making
Cade’s toes curl in his boots. “Or you can end up out in the living room watching the ball game on TV,
acting like nothing ever happened. It’s up to you. But either way, we’re gonna get naked.” Ren leaned in
and captured Cade’s mouth in a fast kiss, and then smiled again in that sweet way that turned Cade to
mush. “Right?”

“Yeah.” Cade crushed the edge of the bed in his hands and held on for dear life as he made another leap
he swore he would never make again. “I want you again,” he admitted, not that it was such a revelation.
Ren could easily see the raging hard-on pushing against his jeans. Cade lifted his gaze and let Ren see the
deeper swirl of passion living inside him. “But I want to know what it feels like to have you inside me
even more. I want you to fuck me.” Cade fell down into a place of vulnerability unlike any he had known.
A damned scary place, but he went anyway. “I want you to fill me, and I want to feel every bit of your
weight pushing me into the bed as you take me. Make me feel you, Ren.” Cade had never given anyone
a piece of his soul. He gave it to this man now. “Take me so completely and thoroughly that no matter
how much I want to, there won’t be any safe place for me to hide from you.”

Ren didn’t have the words to answer a declaration like that, so he gave it to Cade in the only way he
could. He leaned in and took Cade’s mouth in a raw, uncompromising kiss that held a hint of savagery.
Cade’s mouth eventually relaxed under his, and the man started kissing him back with equal fervor. Right
then, Ren lost a fraction of his cool.

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God, Ren wanted this to be good for Cade. He wanted Cade to experience everything Ren hadn’t the
first timeTex had taken him sexually. Quickly grabbing Cade around the waist, Ren pulled the bigger man
flush against his chest, determined not to let thoughts ofTex enter into this moment. Ren tugged on Cade’s
jaw and forced his mouth open wider, taking as much of that humid, dark heat as he could with deep
forays from his tongue. Cade pushed back, their teeth clinking with rough need.

Ren groaned and tore his mouth away, his breathing hard and painful, his entire body strung tight with the
desire to master and possess. He tilted Cade’s head back and licked his way down the long column of
Cade’s throat, pausing to suck on the bump of his Adam’s apple, a gesture that produced a muffled little
moan of pleasure from Cade. Ren pushed down farther, to the wide expanse of Cade’s chest, finding
flesh so hot Ren knew he could produce a shimmering cloud of steam if he poured cold water over it. He
loved that Cade had chest hair, just enough to make it exciting and different from his own body, but not
so much that it hid Cade’s stunning form from view.

“God, Cade.” Ren ran his fingers over every inch of hot, smooth flesh he could reach as he looked
blissfully and freely at Cade. “You have the most amazing body.” Cade was all hard muscles and
olive-toned, warm skin, a body built for maximum efficiency through hard work and honest living,
something Ren found incredibly attractive and alluring.

Ren buried his face against Cade’s flesh and inhaled, absorbing hints of sweat and -- God, he couldn’t
believe it -- Old Spice, mixed in with a clean-smelling soapy fragrance. Every little thing about this man
sank headily into Ren’s senses, and he burrowed lower, nipping and licking until he latched onto what he
wanted, the big, flat disc of Cade’s nipple. He opened his lips wider and started to suck.

Cade’s hips knifed into Ren stomach. “Ohhh Christ, that’s so fucking good…” Cade moaned and
shoved his bulging cock against Ren’s stomach. He clamped down on the back of Ren’s head, holding
Ren’s mouth prisoner to his puckering nipple. “More,” Cade pleaded. He gyrated against Ren’s belly.
“Give me more.”

Ren bit at the tiny pinprick tip, and Cade cried out above him. Smiling, Ren kissed across Cade’s wide
chest, working his way to the other side. He loved learning Cade had extremely sensitive nipples, and
that it drove the man batty to have them lavished with attention.

Ren darted out the tip of his tongue and swirled it around Cade’s other nipple, moving in a spiral until he
reached the pouty little point. Cade dug his fingers into the back of Ren’s head hard enough to sting, and
in answer Ren slid his other hand up the hard, taut flesh of Cade’s side. He veered in, taking the moist,
neglected flesh he’d just sucked on moments before between his thumb and forefinger, and started to
tweak it with pinching twists.

Cade’s thighs clamped around Ren’s waist, squeezing him hard. “Christ, Ren,” Cade muttered through
gritted teeth. He pulled Ren’s mouth away from his tormented flesh. “You’ll make me come without even
getting me out of my pants if you keep that up.”

“We can’t have that.” Ren looked up at Cade through half-closed lids. “I don’t want you still in your
jeans when you explode.” He dove for Cade’s buckle and pulled on the length of soft, well-worn leather,
his throat going dry just thinking about what he did want. “I want you somewhere much more pleasurable
when you lose it.”

Cade’s cock jumped against the fly of his jeans, and Ren glanced up at Cade’s face, pulled so taut in its
pleasure that he looked angry. Ren knew better now. Smiling again because he couldn’t help it, Ren

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pulled the brown leather out of the belt loop and tossed it across his darkened floor. “You’re thinking
about it, aren’t you? You know where I want your prick when you come, don’t you?”

Cade nodded, the darkness of his big pupils and dark irises blending into piercing black orbs.

“Say it,” Ren pushed. His own dick pressed against his zipper, pushing eagerly to get out of his jeans.
Thank God he’d jerked off in the shower earlier, not even realizing at the time how much he would need
that immediate pressure to orgasm relieved so that he could do this with a semblance of calm. “Tell me
where you think I want you to come.”

Eyes so glazed he looked almost drugged, Cade said, “In your mouth.” His raw voice shot shivers up
Ren’s spine. Cade lifted his hand and brushed the callused tips of his fingers over Ren’s mouth, the
roughness catching on Ren’s lower lip and pulling it down. “You want me to spill on your tongue and
coat it with my cum until it slides down the back of your throat and you swallow, taking a part of me
inside your body where even fucking me can’t let you go.”

“God, Cade.” Ren’s cock leaked heavily in his jeans. “You say the most incredibly arousing things
without even trying.” Ren shifted to the side and tugged on Cade’s brown cowboy boots, yanking them
off with frantic hands.

He peeled Cade’s socks off slowly, watching Cade’s eyes as he performed the task. The moment
became so intimate Ren had a flash of himself running from the room and hiding. He ripped his gaze away
from the dark intensity in Cade’s stare and put his attention on the button fly of Cade’s jeans instead,
knowing that he wanted Cade desperately, even if the vulnerability that came with it sliced fear through
his core.

Ren grazed his fingers along the thick ridge tucked inside Cade’s jeans. He manipulated the buttons
open, and each time he worked one more, Cade’s hips rolled in an abbreviated, jerking motion in
response. Ren got the fly open and folded back, and with it came the sharp, decadent smell of sex and
aroused man. Pre-ejaculate soaked the front of Cade’s white cotton underwear, making Ren’s own cock
weep a little bit more in answering excitement. He reached down and adjusted himself, gasping at the
shock wave of intense pleasure that ran through him from the small touch, so much more than he’d ever
experienced when touching himself before. He stroked his growing erection and pushed into the pressure
from his own hand, squeezing his squished length, trapped between his groin and the snug fit of his jeans.

Cade’s big hand covered his, and Ren’s gaze shot up, meeting the dark, knowing eyes waiting for him,
not half a foot away.

“You want me to take care of that for you?” Cade asked. His long fingers slid down Ren’s bulge and
pressed between his legs. Ren choked and lurched forward, forcing Cade’s hand all the way between his
legs, giving Ren’s balls the hard cupping they needed. “I could give you an encore performance of last
night.”

Ren opened his mouth to say yes. Before the word got out, his gaze landed on the triangle of white
showing between the V of Cade’s unbuttoned jeans. Suddenly the idea of doing anything but learning
every inch of Cade’s penis with his mouth fled from Ren’s thoughts.

“Lift up,” Ren instructed. He tugged on the waistband of Cade’s jeans and underwear when the man
complied.

Slowly, like the stem of a flower lifting itself to the sun, Cade’s thick-veined, red cock slipped out from

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the cover of his underwear, all big and proud, weighted heavy with arousal. Cade had not been
exaggerating last night with his threat. His prick jutted out straight; eight long, fat, glorious inches of
beauty, with a big, angry slit that just seemed to fit with the persona of this uncompromising man. Cade’s
sac sat low and heavy between his legs, and something about knowing it hung heavy with semen because
of him made Ren heady with a power of mutual attraction he’d never felt before.

God, Ren needed to see everything. He grabbed the fabric bunched around Cade’s thighs and pulled it
the rest of the way off his legs, giving him the sight of Cade completely naked for the first time. Ren
started at the top and worked his way slowly down. A strong, honest face, broad shoulders, corded
arms, wide, naturally muscled chest that tapered to a flat, hard stomach, bracing hard thighs, even tight
calves that didn’t give to an ounce of fat.

Cade was magnificent. Arresting, even.

“Good God.” Ren ran his hands up the length of Cade’s lightly furred legs and leaned down to press a
kiss to the inside of Cade’s left thigh. “You are something to behold, Cade McKenna.”

A tremor quaked through Cade’s legs, and his cock streamed a line of precum.

“I should correct you,” Cade whispered roughly, “but, Christ, I really don’t want you to see the truth.”
His fingers burrowed into Ren’s hair and stroked. “Not if I can help it.”

Nothing to Ren’s ears had ever felt so much like a silent plea to be touched and worshipped. An aching
reply from somewhere within that Ren didn’t understand had him leaning forward and taking Cade’s
rearing cock into his mouth, salty, moist human lubricant smeared over it and all.

“Ohhh…ohhh, please…” Cade’s body jerked as Ren took half of him inside, his body going taut as a
drum all around Ren. Suddenly, before Ren could process what he felt in his mouth, Cade’s cock
popped, and just like that, Cade started coming. He grabbed onto Ren’s head as his entire being
convulsed, and he quickly spurted hot ejaculate into Ren’s mouth, losing it before Ren even got Cade to
the back of his throat.

Ren had barely swallowed before Cade pulled away and rolled off the bed.

“I apologize,” Cade said, his voice stripped and hard. He leaned down and grabbed his jeans, his
motions as abbreviated as his tone. “I got too excited. I’m not very comfortable with this. I should just
go.”

“No fucking way.” Ren tackled Cade and wrestled him down onto the bed, facedown. He crawled on
top of the bigger man and held him down, pressing his mouth against the curve of Cade’s ear. “You’ve
got to stop assuming you know my thoughts.” Ren pushed Cade’s legs apart, settled in between them,
and pushed up against Cade’s exposed ass. “Feel that?” Ren asked. He ground his erection into Cade’s
crease again, making Cade whimper and push up beneath him. “You haven’t turned me off in the
slightest.” Ren folded his cheek against Cade’s and spread his fingers down the length of Cade’s arms
until their hands were intertwined, linking them up in as many places as possible, giving Cade that
dominating weight he’d spoken of wanting. “I still have a painfully stiff prick that wants inside that tight
little hole you keep offering me each time you circle those sexy hips of yours up against me.”

“I still want it,” Cade mumbled against the comforter, half of his face crushed against it because of Ren’s
hold on him. “I was just…It was just…”

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“A little embarrassing?” Ren answered for him.

Cade only nodded, but with Ren right there against his face, he felt the answer through the connection.

“Not a big deal, baby. I swear.” He squeezed Cade’s hands reassuringly. “Hell, I wanted to take it.”
Ren let go of Cade’s hands and delved for Cade’s sides with poking fingers, tickling just enough for it to
be fun but not torturous. Eventually, Cade’s tension loosened beneath him, and Ren pressed a loud,
smacking kiss on Cade’s smooth, flawless cheek.

Only then did he rise up on his knees and straddle Cade’s waist. “On the other hand” -- Ren pulled off
his T-shirt -- “if you really feel like you need to build up stamina for street cred, you could probably talk
me into taking care of you a couple times a day until you feel like you’re up to par.”

Cade rolled over beneath Ren and caught his gaze, and it felt as natural as anything that they were
together like this in bed.

“You’re very comfortable with people,” Cade said softly. He looked so handsome with his tousled head
lying on the pillow Ren slept on every night. “You always seem to know the right thing to say to put
people at ease. I admire that.”

Ren didn’t want to tell Cade that he wore that “cool” as a protective façade. He felt nervous, scared,
and insecure all of the time.

“With you, I try real hard.” He admitted the truth in a roundabout way. “I don’t ever want you to feel
uncomfortable with me.”

Cade’s cheeks bloomed red. “You do a good job.”

Ren leaned down until his lips almost touched Cade’s, putting them so close neither one of them could
look away. Something about Cade’s face tugged hard at Ren’s core, stabbed at him in a way he couldn’t
ignore. It might be that Cade’s mouth couldn’t quite make a smile anymore, even when pleased, that so
got to Ren. Whatever did it brought Ren’s protective juices out for this man in a way he didn’t quite
understand, as he’d never experienced anything exactly like it.

Abruptly, Ren pulled his weight up and sat on Cade’s stomach. “Have you ever put anything inside you
before?” he asked. This time,his face filled with heat. “I mean, I know you said that you haven’t had sex,
but have you ever used a dildo, or a butt plug, or anything?”

Cade’s entire body flushed a deep, rosy pink. His Adam’s apple worked convulsively before he
confessed, “Only a couple of fingers, and not very deep.”

So Cade didn’t have any idea how it felt to have a cock fully embedded inside his rectum. Ren steeled
himself to do his damnedest to go gentle and slow.

“All right.” Ren climbed off Cade and stood beside the bed. He unsnapped his jeans and slid the zipper
down, and Cade’s gaze went right to the bulge in Ren’s underwear. Good for him. Cade needed to see,
to remember exactly what he’d sucked to completion last night. He had to know that very shortly it
would find a new home inside his ass.

Ren pushed his jeans and boxers down his legs, kicking them to the side. He stood there with his dick
sticking out long and proud, eager to get to a place where it could find release. He stroked himself under

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Cade’s watchful eyes, watched them widen as he calculated the massive difference in size between a
larger than average cock and a couple of fingers.

“Are you still sure?” Ren asked, offering one last out.

Cade tore his gaze away from Ren’s prick. He swallowed and met Ren’s gaze. “Yeah,” he said thickly,
“I’m sure.”

“Then roll over on your stomach.”

With one last meeting of their eyes, Cade did exactly as told.

And Ren staggered.

Chapter Thirteen

Ren reached for the edge of his nightstand as his legs went weak beneath him. Until that moment, until
Cade had rolled over so compliantly and offered up his body for the taking, something fatalistic that lived
inside Ren had thought Cade would change his mind and say he didn’t want Ren after all.

But he did.Oh God , he did.

Ren tore open his nightstand drawer and grabbed the tube of lube. Quickly, he rifled past a handful of
toys and snagged one of the condom packets.

Dropping the stuff on the bedspread, Ren crawled between Cade’s legs and pushed them open with his
hands. Sweet mercy, with Cade’s bare ass so tight and firm right there in front of him, Ren’s entire body
shook with want.

“Grab those extra pillows and slide them under your belly.” Ren watched through desire-filled eyes as
Cade did as instructed. He even knew to settle them low enough beneath his body that it pushed his ass
up into the air, putting himself in a vulnerable, submissive position that Ren knew must be difficult for
anyone to do, let alone a man like Cade McKenna.

Ren looked upon the olive-toned globes of flesh, admired rapturously, and quite suddenly knew that
with this man, looking would never be enough.

Ren stretched forward over Cade once again, covered him completely from behind, and started to rub
his cock into the crease of Cade’s ass. Cade started beneath him, but Ren put his mouth to Cade’s ear
once again. “It’s all right, baby.” The man under him jumped again. “I’m not taking you yet.” Ren stroked
again. God, it felt insane to get his cock in between those tight cheeks. “I want to get used to feeling you
against me for a few minutes first.”

“It’s making me hard again.” Cade’s words carried to Ren’s ears thick and heavy. “I think it means I
like it.”

Ren chuckled and bit at Cade’s neck. “You think?”

“All right,” Cade mumbled into the pillow, “so it might be a little more than like.” Cade’s body rumbled

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with laughter beneath Ren, and it skittered right to Ren’s stomach, clenching him in a hard, painful jerk of
emotion. With that one little action, Ren felt like he could do whatever he wanted without fear of
frightening Cade away.

An ease, a sense of peace, washed over Ren, and he suddenly felt free. He grazed his mouth over the
warm, hard flesh of Cade’s shoulders and upper back, kissing and dipping the tip of his tongue in a
wandering, wavering line as he learned the shape and feel of Cade’s body at his leisure. Ren kissed
occasional little forays to the center of Cade’s back, making Cade shiver every time he licked into the
inverted ridge of his spine with his tongue.

Ren moved steadily lower, covering every inch of hard, muscular flesh with a kiss, lick, or touch, until he
reached the base of Cade’s spine. He planted soft little kisses along Cade’s waist and back up his side,
but paused when his tongue licked over a raised line of skin. Another scar. Cade tightened beneath him
as Ren traced it with his finger around the curve of Cade’s body. Ren sensed a story went with this scar,
too.

“What happened to you?” Ren questioned softly, pressing a little bit, just to see what he’d get. He
settled his cheek over the eight-inch scar and looked up, even though he could only see a small corner of
Cade’s face. “How’d you get this scar on your back?”

Cade hesitated for a significant length of time before he said, “I had a kidney removed a couple of years
ago.” His shoulders rolled in a modified shrug. “It’s no big deal.”

The tension riding through Cade’s body told Ren Cade hadn’t shared the whole story, even if he knew it
must be a technical truth. Cade never lied, Ren was somehow sure of that, at least. Ren let it go; he
didn’t need to know. Trust didn’t come easy to him either, any more than it apparently did to Cade.

Cade’s muscles lay locked up tight beneath Ren, waiting and worrying, Ren knew. Ren did exactly the
opposite of what Cade so clearly expected. Instead of pushing, he dipped his head, opened his mouth
over the curve of Cade’s buttocks, and bit him, tugging the smooth flesh between the clamp of his teeth,
just like a dog with a chew toy.

Cade cried out and reared his hips up against Ren’s face, but Ren just snagged another piece of Cade’s
ass between his teeth and did it again.

“Jesus Christ, Ren!” Cade yelped. Cade tried to look over his shoulder, but Ren reached up and gently
pressed Cade’s head back down into the pillow, stifling Cade’s voice. “What are you doing to me?”

“Seeing what you taste like.” Ren soothed the playful little bites with his tongue, and then kissed his way
to the center point of Cade’s small, tight butt cheek. He started to lick, suck, and learn, leaving marks of
his presence in a way he’d never had free rein to do before. A little purring hum rolled through the man
beneath him, and Ren smiled.

Not nearly enough, Ren wanted more. He wanted to see everything. He wanted to do everything. Most
of all, he wanted this man screaming before the night ended.

Unable to hold back his curiosity, desires, and needs any longer, Ren slid his hands up the slope of
Cade’s slim hips and caressed the flesh he’d just lavished with attention. He curled his fingers around the
globes of Cade’s ass and kneaded them apart, separating them, and good God, finally got his first
glimpse of Cade’s tight little asshole.

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Tinged a shade darker than Cade’s olive skin, the puckered ring pulsed as if it had its own heartbeat.
The tight little muscle sat so beautiful and inviting that Ren leaked in excitement against Cade’s thigh.

Just as quickly as it happened, Cade slid his hand down to his leg. Ren glanced up just in time to see the
man pull his fingers back, all shiny and wet, covered in the precum that had leaked from Ren’s cock.
Cade pushed his fingers into his mouth and licked them clean, one digit at a time. Desire punched right
through Ren, darn near enough to knock him over. Ren stared, transfixed, and forgot to breathe.

His gaze slid to Cade’s, all glittering dark and guileless, and Ren just barely regained control over the
urge to come right there, just by looking at Cade.

“You don’t have any idea how fucking sexy you are right now,” Ren whispered, entranced.

A visible flinch hit Cade’s hard features.

“No,” Ren corrected quickly, “it doesn’t have anything to do with what your face looks like, or that you
think I’m being fooled because I can’t see your scars, hidden against the pillow. It’s you. It’s how you
move, and the way you watch everything so intently. It’s the things you do when you don’t stop and think
you shouldn’t do them.” Ren’s attention dropped briefly to the sheen on the corner of Cade’s lips,
residue from what Ren’s body had produced in reaction to this man. “It’s what you did, just now. Not
because you thought I’d even notice, but just because you wanted to. I want you, Cade. I want you so
damned much.”

Cade’s cock hardened at Ren’s words. He knew he was falling for Ren too hard, too fast, but he
couldn’t seem to stop, or even know how to brace himself against the sensual onslaught.

“Fuck me, Ren,” he begged. Cade needed it so bad he reached back and guided Ren’s hand to his
crack. On his own, Ren pushed down through the seam and touched over Cade’s hole. Cade gasped
and gritted his teeth, but held Ren’s hand between his cheeks and pressed. Ren hadn’t even slipped a tip
inside, and already it felt too exquisite for words. “Please” -- Cade pushed his ass up in blatant
invitation -- “fuck me now.”

Ren’s gaze found Cade’s in the semidarkness. “You sure you’re ready?” He folded up on his knees and
reached for the condom. “I wanted to play with you a little bit, try and get you more comfortable with
what will happen.”

Cade shook his head. “Afterward. You can do whatever you want afterward.” His words were frantic,
and in perfect alignment with the buzz of sensation running all the way through his body, just under the
surface of his skin. “Right now I want you to fuck me.”

“God knows I’m only human, and you don’t need to offer me your ass twice.” Ren grabbed up the lube
and crawled between Cade’s outstretched legs. “My chivalrous streak just came to an end. Bend your
knees up and spread your legs for me.”

Cade did as bade, and with half his face shoved into Ren’s pillow, and his ass thrust up high, he’d never
felt so primally sexual, yet also completely, openly vulnerable at the same time. He heard the click of the
tube of lube opening, and a fear of the unknown attacked him, popping beads of sweat up on his
forehead. Cade felt a thousand times more like an untried virgin than the first time he’d had awkward sex
with a woman. He felt even more ill-prepared than when he’d taken Ren last night. This was different. He

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wanted this desperately, but at the same time, suddenly it terrified him.

“God, Cade, your cheeks are all spread open for me back here,” Ren murmured softly. “I’ve never seen
anything hotter in my life.” He traced Cade’s crease with the tip of his finger, and Cade shivered. It
turned to a shudder when the blunt tip of one digit settled on his hole and started a small, circular rub,
pressing cool lube against his excited sphincter.

Cade began shaking and going a little bit crazy. “You don’t have to be gentle.” He clutched the
bedspread and twisted it in his hands. Christ, the ever-increasing pressure on his rectum drove him nuts,
as an itch denied the scratch of a fingernail. Cade wanted to get to the next part, fast. “I know it will hurt
at first. You don’t have to go slow and stretch it out.”

Cade’s sphincter gave wayright then . He slammed his head against the headboard, wincing as Ren’s
long finger pushed through the clenching of his anus and filled him up. Cade could tell Ren had already
pushed in past the second knuckle, and with Cade’s ass constricting so unbearably tight, it hurt like the
very devil. Cade grunted, tensing with panic as the pain spread throughout his middle and into his
stomach.

“Poor choice of words,” Ren said from behind. His finger slid out, and then pushed back in. Cade
gritted his teeth to take it as his eyes rolled in his head. “You need a little bit of stretching, baby. You’re
barely letting my finger inside you. How do you expect to accept my cock if you don’t get used to what it
feels like in smaller stages first?”

Cade rolled his forehead against the smooth wood of Ren’s headboard and made a deliberate effort to
take deep, even breaths. “I just will.”

Good Christ, Cade needed Ren to move this to the next step. He needed Ren to take him right now,
before his mind started screaming that this wasn’t the spontaneous kind of thing he did, and he changed
his mind.

“Just do it,” Cade pleaded, the words choking him, revealing his desperation. “Please, Ren, please…”
He reached back and grabbed for something, anything. He got the outside of Ren’s thigh. “I beg you.”
Sweat poured off Cade’s body, the beginnings of panic. He squeezed Ren’s leg as hard as he could,
sending Ren his every damn frantic feeling through that connection. He growled, feeling like a trapped,
feral animal. “Damn it, Ren.” Cade gasped as Ren’s questing finger slid out of his sensitive rectum.
“Fuck.Me. Now.”

Ren did just that.

He gave Cade exactly what he wanted and shoved his cock deep inside Cade’s virgin ass. Cade howled
and reared back, fighting off blinding flashes of white, dizzying light as pain suffused the whole of his core.
“Oh…oh Christ…” Cade rolled his hand into a fist and punched the headboard, needing something to
diffuse the pain that burned in his anus. He hit the wood again and again as his body fought the invasion
with a vengeance. His entire being seized in a cold sweat as his body tried to reject the very thing he’d
wanted ever since he started realizing his attraction to men.

It ripped a piece of Cade’s soul to know that maybe his body didn’t want this either, and that maybe he
couldn’t be with a man any more than with a woman.

It seemed like forever, but likely no more than a minute passed before he heard Ren whispering at his
ear, “Lean back on me, baby. Let me help you relax.” Ren slid his hand around Cade’s waist and guided

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him upright until he rested against Ren’s chest. Ren made soothing circles on Cade’s tense stomach with
the tips of his rough fingers, and Cade fought the urge to cry.

Cade had his legs folded up along the outer line of Ren’s, and although they rested on their shins, Ren
still had his dick buried deep inside Cade’s pained ass. Shame for last night’s behavior caught Cade hard
in the chest. He’d had no earthly idea what he’d done to Ren while he’d fucked him so vigorously, and
he had the crazy desire to apologize for taking something so enthusiastically before he’d had any idea
what it felt like to receive it first.

Cade had the hysterical, manic thought that a Hallmark card probably didn’t exist for such an apology.

“Look at me, Cade.” Ren’s insistent voice broke through to Cade, tearing him back into the moment.
Into the terrible mistake he’d made in thinking he could ever be just a regular guy who always wanted
and loved sex, no matter what.

Ren slid his hand up Cade’s chest and glanced his fingers over Cade’s nipples, shocking a jolt of heated
sensation straight down into Cade’s taut lower belly. Ren kept going and wrapped his strong, lean hand
around Cade’s neck, drawing Cade’s head to the side until their faces nearly touched. Cade knew Ren
could see the uncertainty living inside him, and he hated that he hadn’t taken naturally to this one damn
thing. This one thing he’d wanted so desperately to give to Ren, and just by virtue of the fact that he
wanted it so badly, excel at it.

But even this, somehow, because he couldn’tjust let go , Cade had screwed it up.

“I’m so --”

Ren leaned in and captured Cade’s mouth in a clinging, gentle kiss, effectively shutting him up. Cade
melted and opened up, allowing Ren’s tongue to slip inside and mate.

The kiss, a searching, tender, I’ve-got-all-the-time-in-the-world-to-sit-here-and-explore-you
connection between their lips, eased the rest of the tension thrumming through Cade. His head fell back
automatically, letting Ren teach him the decadent seduction in a kiss. Cade’s heart started beating wildly,
his arousal resurging as he accepted Ren’s authority. He turned to molasses, his entire weight sinking into
Ren’s frame as he leaned back and mentally allowed himself to drift away from that source of initial,
terrible pain.

Ren held Cade’s throat firmly in the palm of one hand, but slowly the other one stopped rubbing
soothing circles against Cade’s stomach and slid lower in aching, arousing degrees. Cade cried out into
Ren’s mouth as Ren’s hand closed firmly around the base of his cock.

Ren started to work Cade’s length in long, gentle strokes, and Cade moaned as his flaccid length quickly
sprouted back to hard, sensitive life.

“There you go,” Ren encouraged, briefly breaking their kiss, just enough to glance up and catch Cade’s
gaze. “Just let yourself feel it, baby, and let me take care of the rest.” Cade felt weak and exposed, even
as his penis reared under Ren’s ministration, oozing all the lubricant needed to slick him up for the
handjob Ren gave him.

Cade wanted to look down, had a base need to watch Ren’s hand squeeze and pull on his cock. Cade
desperately wanted to, but he couldn’t make himself break away from the trap of Ren’s penetrating, pale
blue gaze. As Ren teased the pad of his callused finger across the slit of Cade’s cock, Cade keened a

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high-pitched cry of pleasure. His hips jutted forward in automatic need for more, and in doing so, pulled
half away from the buried length of Ren’s cock in his ass.

Cade froze as the alien discomfort deep inside his rectum assaulted him once again.

“Don’t, please.” Cade reached back and dug his fingers into Ren’s thigh; a feeble attempt to stop him
from moving so much as another centimeter. “I…I…it’s…” Cade’s face flamed as he struggled to find
words that wouldn’t bury him six feet under in shame and embarrassment. “I… This…” Even filled with
mortification, Cade still couldn’t look away. “I…I must be made wrong,” he finally spit out horribly. “I
don’t think it’s supposed to feel like this.”

Ren’s gaze softened completely, and it tore through Cade’s heart like wildfire. “Like your body wants to
push me out?” Ren asked with a raised eyebrow. “Like you feel as if you have to go to the bathroom a
little bit when I pull out?”

Relief poured over Cade in a shock of recognition. He nodded, unable to say it aloud.

“There’s nothing wrong with you, baby,” Ren promised. He leaned in and took Cade’s mouth, pressing
a half-dozen soft, chaste kisses there before pulling away with a lopsided half smile. “It’s your first time,
and you have a foreign thing pushed pretty deeply inside your body. When you can relax and get
comfortable with me, it won’t feel like that anymore. Or at least, you won’t feel terrified that you’ll do
something humiliating for the brief amount of time at the beginning while your body adjusts to mine inside
you.”

“Promise?” Cade asked softly, his voice sounding very much like that of a small child. It scared him to
think that perhaps he couldn’t be with a man either, and that God meant for him to be alone. The fear
forced up terrible memories of losing everyone he’d ever loved, emotions that Cade had hidden from
everyone since his move to Quinten, but that he couldn’t hide from this man right now. “If you tell me that
it’ll be all right” -- he reached up and tunneled his hand into Ren’s hair -- “then I’ll believe you.”

Ren slid his hand around Cade’s neck and held him in an exact replica of Cade’s hold on him. “It will be
all right, Cade.” He scratched the back of Cade’s head, a teasing, affectionate gesture that melted the
final piece of Cade’s heart.

Ren moved his hand away from Cade’s cock and wrapped his forearm snugly around Cade’s stomach,
holding him tight. “I’m going to lift my hips up against you a little bit,” he shared. “I just want you to move
up and back with me at the same time. All right?”

Cade nodded. He kept his focus on Ren’s eyes, and felt the first small thrust against his backside. Ren
lifted his hips and slowly guided them both to their knees. Holding tight against Cade’s middle, he kept
them completely fused, and drew them back down to their heels together in one smooth move. Ren
moved them again, putting them in the motion of fucking. They moved in harmony, though, so Cade
didn’t feel that strange discomfort he had before. They rocked up and down as one, so Ren’s cock
barely jostled inside Cade’s ass. Just enough that a hint of pleasure started to bloom, but not so much
that he feared that weird feeling again.

“Better?” Ren leaned in and nuzzled Cade’s nose.

Cade nodded. “How did you know what to do?”

Twin lines of red grew bright on Ren’s cheeks. “I read a lot,” he said. He caressed Cade’s throat down

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to his chest and brushed against Cade’s nipple, sending rushes of pleasure to the quickly puckering flesh.
Ren grinned mischievously and tweaked Cade’s sensitive flesh again, making Cade gasp. “And” -- Ren
didn’t let up on either Cade’s nipples or his ass -- “I have an overactive imagination that keeps me up
late into the night thinking about all the things I want to do with you.”

Cade’s ass clenched in acute, pleasurable response to Ren’s provocative confession.

Ren grunted and grabbed Cade’s waist, stilling their gentle gyrations. “Please don’t do that,” Ren
requested through clenched teeth, “unless you want me to take your scorching, tight ass -- that happens
to be gripping me like a custom-made glove -- with a lot more force than what we’re doing right now.”

Cade suddenly understood Ren didn’t nearly possess the skills or cool about fucking that his patience
conveyed. He only pretended this little morsel Cade offered filled up his empty belly, when he really
hungered for a full meal. He had totally faked it, for Cade.

Cade didn’t know why, but knowing that tore down the hesitation, uncertainty, and fear. It stripped
away every wall Cade had ever built to protect himself in his life, and gave Ren total access to not only
his body, but also his soul.

Lowering Ren’s hand to his cock, Cade let the man feel how damn hard he still was. Excited and
aroused, Cade hadn’t gone soft like he had when Ren had pushed inside him that first time.

Holding his hand around Ren’s, Cade stroked them both over the rigid, nerve-sensitive length of his
prick. Finding Ren’s eyes waiting, questioning, he uttered thickly, “Take me, Ren, the way you want to,”
and started to move.

Ren’s pale gaze darkened to blue slate. He steadied Cade’s hips and withdrew his cock almost all the
way from Cade’s rectum, and then slowly pushed back in. Cade didn’t know if maybe his body had
finally adjusted enough to Ren’s invasion, or if he simply convinced himself that it had, but this time the
motion elicited a shocking streak of pleasure through his stretched channel, rather than pain. He bumped
back against Ren’s prick and tried it again, just to see.

Cade hissed as another shockwave of skittering pleasure jolted through his body. “Oh Christ, Ren.”
Cade started moving clumsily back and forth on Ren’s prick as joy shot through him. “I…I think I can do
this.”

Ren didn’t need any further incentive. He held Cade’s waist steady with one hand and used his other on
Cade’s cock, squeezing and pulling. Within Cade’s ass, Ren started to thrust. Cade clutched at Ren’s
hand on his stomach, needing an anchor as he got catapulted into a sensual assault on both ends. His ass
fluttered with pleasure at Ren’s fucking, all pain gone, and in the front Ren manipulated his prick into a
frenzy of delight with the tight fist of his dragging fingers.

Ren dipped his head and swirled the circle of Cade’s ear with his tongue, sending shivers down Cade’s
spine. Then, as if he hadn’t already done enough to shoot Cade’s senses into overload, Ren slid his
tongue inside Cade’s ear and began a small fucking in that orifice, too.

Ren moved their hips into a sharper frenzy, and with each push and pull, Cade’s cock pushed more
deeply through the tight grip of Ren’s fingers. Everything happened simultaneously, sending Cade’s brain
and body into overdrive.

“You’re going to make me come again,” Cade whimpered, pleading for mercy. “You’re fucking me so

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damn smooth, and you’re making my cock so hard it hurts.”

Ren didn’t pull back one bit. “Come for me,” he said thickly into Cade’s ear, his breath hot against the
moist skin there. Ren slid his other hand down and reached between Cade’s legs, driving Cade crazy as
he played a little roughly with the heavy weight of his balls. Cade winced and bit his lip as he tried to hold
back the inevitable, but Ren seemed determined not to let him. “Come right now, Cade. I want to watch
you lose it and shoot all over my bed while I’m fucking your ass.”

The raw language, spoken so deliberately into his ear, pushed Cade right over the cliff.

“Ohhh, Jesussss, Ren…” Cade looked down and watched Ren’s hands jerking his cock and squeezing
his nuts, teasing him to the point of insanity, far beyond anything his limited sexuality understood how to
prolong. Too much input for him to control or handle, Cade’s balls sucked up against his body within a
split second of looking. The first jolt of his orgasm rocketed through him hard enough to make him shake.
His hips jerked back and forth in a frantic, uncoordinated dance, driving him to cover Ren’s hand on his
cock, still so desperately needing that connection as his cock swelled and started to spew his load.

Ren’s cock surged deep into his ass right in that moment, right as Cade’s own release hit him full-on. A
jet of Cade’s cum sprayed down on the dark comforter, just where Ren’s hand around Cade’s spurting
prick guided it to land. Cade had never been a part of anything so base and heady, and he cried out
hoarsely as it jerked another orgasm from his body, shooting another line of raining ejaculate down onto
the bed.

“Oh God, Cade…” Ren jammed his cock deep into Cade’s ass and started pounding Cade in a less
than controlled manner, sending Cade’s channel into excited confusion with an entirely new series of
sensations. “Lean forward, baby, lean forward.” Ren’s voice grated, primal and low. He couldn’t seem
to wait for Cade to do it, and shoved Cade’s hands against the headboard himself, bending Cade in half.

Cade held on as Ren’s rock-hard cock shafted his ass time and again. Ren took deep strokes almost to
the point of complete withdrawal before shoving his long dick back inside Cade’s channel as deep as it
could go. Holding Cade’s hips in a death grip, Ren’s fingers dug in so deep Cade knew he’d have five
little bruises on each side come the morning. Rough and without finesse, Cade exalted in everything Ren
did to him, flaming tenderness in his anus and all.

“Oh Christ.” Cade started to get hot all over again. “Don’t stop. Don’t” -- Ren’s dick slammed all the
way inside -- “ever” -- Ren’s weight came down heavily on Cade’s back -- “fucking” -- Ren locked his
arms around Cade’s middle hard enough to make breathing difficult -- “stop.”

“I don’t want to.” Ren’s voice slurred next to Cade’s ear, so blissed out Cade barely understood him.
“You’re killing me, baby.” Ren started moving behind Cade in an upward thrust, the force of the motion
lifting Cade’s knees off the bed as it happened. Cade took it and loved it, because each motion came
with a grunt of deep pleasure from Ren. And then, “God, Cade, your burning tight ass is killing me.”

“Just like yours did to me last night.” Cade gasped as Ren bit down on his shoulder, stinging his flesh. “
Just like you did to me last night.” Cade clamped down on every muscle near to his ass, and hoped
like hell it pushed Ren right to the brink of what he could tolerate.

It did.

“Oh God, oh God…” Ren’s voice changed from dominating to almost frightened. He squeezed Cade’s
chest in a vise. “Oh God, Cade.” The man covering Cade like a blanket froze in place, and Cade felt a

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warmth spread in his ass, just as Ren keened, “I’m coming…Oh God, I can’t stop it, I’m coming.” Cade
didn’t move at all, but he felt the cock in his tender rectum swell and pulse as Ren reached orgasm, the
heat touching Cade deep inside. Ren buried his face in the crook of Cade’s neck, tucked in tight, as it all
happened.

Cade blinked back tears. It was the most beautiful thing that had ever happened to him, even more so
than taking Ren last night. Even so, he couldn’t stamp down the trill of caution and panic that quickly
moved in and took over in a heartbeat.

“I should go.” Cade said the words, even as his heart screamed at him to shut up, for once.

Ren said just one word, but he made it the right one.

“Stay.”

Chapter Fourteen

Ren felt Cade stiffen beneath him, and knew the answer before Cade spoke.

“I don’t think that’s a wise idea, Ren.”

The answer was so veryCade that Ren actually grinned against the man’s neck. “I didn’t mean all night,”
he clarified, “but just for a little while.” Ren hugged Cade around the middle as a frothy kind of affection
washed over him, one that made him want to push and see how far he could ruffle this hard man’s
feathers. He glanced at his alarm clock, jolted to see that barely more than an hour had passed since his
father and Risa had left them alone. It seemed to Ren as though by the very nature of what they’d done
together, a more significant amount of time should have gone by. Goddamn it, Ren couldn’t believe he’d
fucked another man, even though the fact he still had his cock lodged in Cade’s ass proved he had.

He didn’t want to, but Ren pulled back gently and withdrew his dick from Cade’s rectum. Before Ren
could even attempt to grab a corner of the bedspread and try to clean Cade’s backside, Cade rolled
over to the edge of the bed.

The gaze that looked up at Ren from the deeply shadowed room appeared oh-so-incredibly wary and
unsure.

“Come on, Deputy,” Ren said, compelled to make another effort. “I can grab the pizza and some drinks,
and we can hang out for a little bit longer.” Ren peeled off the used condom, threw it in the metal basket
under his nightstand, and turned his attention right back to Cade. “What do you say?”

“You want to eat in bed?” Cade tilted his head in the cutest way, one that made him look younger than
his thirty-one years.

“Chowing down in bed was my plan.” Ren leaned over and switched on a lamp, casting his bed, and
Cade, so sexy in his nakedness, in a soft, dusky light. “And while I don’t necessarily like to pat myself on
the back” -- he waggled his eyebrows -- “I happen to think it’s a damned good idea.” He caught Cade’s
gaze and sobered. “But only if you say you’ll stay.”

Cade shook his head, but a small smile tried to tug its way out from the edge of his mouth; Ren could

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see it.

“I haven’t eaten in bed since I was eight years old,” Cade revealed almost shyly.

“Then I think you should start again tonight.” Ren pounced, suddenly animated in his small success. “You
stay right there.” He crossed the room and grabbed a pair of sweats out of his bureau, slipping them on
quickly, without underwear. “I’ll be right back with the pizza. Oh hey” -- Ren spun around from the
door -- “--what do you want to drink? A beer?”

Cade spread his fingers over the bedspread, drawing a small, circular pattern over the blue fabric. “I
don’t drink alcohol.” Cade’s gaze barely met Ren’s before looking down again.

“Of course you don’t. I should have known better than to ask a silly question like that.”

Bristling, Cade sat up right straight. “Okay, fine. Whatever the hell you mean by that. Listen, maybe I
shouldn’t hang around after all.” Cade scrambled across the bed, and Ren raced back across the room.
“I need to go. I have to get Crash home; I haven’t fed him --”

Ren slapped his palm right to the center of Cade’s chest and forced the big man back down onto the
bed. Cade looked up with snapping fire in his eyes, and Ren knew he’d touched on that sensitive
“square” button again.

“I wasn’t making fun of you.” Ren rubbed Cade’s chest, trying to soothe with touch as well as words. “I
just meant that as I get to know you a little more every day, I think I should have guessed you don’t
drink, based on what I’ve seen and heard so far. We have soda, water, and probably even fruit punch.”
He raised his knee and slid it against Cade’s thigh on the bed, leaning in. “You’re not getting away that
easily, Deputy.”

Cade’s dark gaze glittered. “But Crash --”

“I’ll feed him some spaghetti when I grab the pizza.” Ren lowered his head until their lips almost touched,
their gazes clashing and challenging each other for trust. “I’ll give him a bowl of water, I’ll scratch him
behind the ears and tell him what a good boy he is, and I’ll promise him that his daddy hasn’t abandoned
him and will take him home in a little wh --”

Cade’s gaze turned absurdly dark. Without warning, he wrapped his big hand around Ren’s neck and
dragged him down, fusing their mouths together in a fierce, deep kiss. Cade moaned and bit, the sound
muffled against Ren’s mouth as it reverberated against his lips.

Just as quickly as he’d started it, Cade tore his mouth away, ending the kiss. Both men panted for breath
in the aftermath.

“I like when you do that,” Ren shared softly. He fingered the redness of Cade’s kiss-swollen mouth. “I
like when you take what you want without apologizing. You should do it more often.”

“I don’t always read personal stuff like this right,” Cade confessed, his eyes shuttering, closing off his
emotions. “People can get hurt when you guess wrong.”

That one sentence hinted at one hell of a history; Ren felt certain of it. “Well, I’ve got a tip for you.” Ren
smoothed his palm over Cade’s cheek, feeling the thick ridges of scars that held another story. He
reluctantly slid his knee off the bed and pulled away. Pausing at the door, he looked back, and for once

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in his life didn’t hold anything back behind the familiar comfort of bravado.

“Whenever you think I want you to kiss me” -- Ren smiled as he pulled open the door -- “act on it.” He
winked -- God, he’d never done that before either -- and added, “Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right
back.”

Wise or not, Cade indulged in another fantasy he’d never thought to get in his life.

He stayed. Someone wanted him around, and he stayed.

* * * * *

“Your baby is fine,” Ren announced from the doorway. He backed his way into the room, pushing the
half-closed door open with his heel and then squeezed through, finally kicking it all the way shut behind
him.

Ren hadn’t been sure what to expect on his return from the kitchen, and his insides flooded with relief to
see that other than putting his jeans back on, Cade hadn’t moved. Ren stooped down and leaned his
shoulder into the wall, flipping the switch for the overhead light.

With the truth of full light, Ren’s gaze couldn’t help but drift to the huge dark spot on his bedspread. He
lifted his attention back to Cade and saw the dark, ruddy spots of color creep up Cade’s neck to his
face, as the memory of how it had happened obviously raced through his thoughts.

“Just shove that thing onto the floor.” Ren crossed the room to the bed. “I’ll throw it in the washing
machine in the morning.”

Cade folded the cover neatly before lowering it over the foot of the bed. Ren had to bite his lip so Cade
wouldn’t see him suppressing a chuckle. He didn’t want to embarrass the guy, who so clearly took his
neatness and orderly hang-ups very seriously.

It only made Ren want to fluster Cade a little bit, and maybe even coerce a genuine laugh out of him.

“So, like I was saying” -- Ren settled on the bed, facing Cade. He put the plate of pizza down between
them and held up a bottle of water and a can of Coke, letting Cade choose. He popped the can of soda
for himself when Cade took the water -- “your puppy is fine. He’s curled up in a cute little ball under the
table, sleeping the evening away. I put food and water down for him, just in case he wakes up.” Ren
took a slice of pizza and swallowed down a big, tangy bite. “When he’s sleeping like that you can’t even
tell he lost his leg. Clever name, by the way” -- he nudged Cade’s leg with his foot -- “Crash.” Ren
quirked a brow. “Must have taken a lot of thought. Very unexpected and original.” Ren waited, and held
his breath.

Cade paused only for a moment, and then said, “Ha, ha.” The good feeling spread to Ren’s belly as
Cade grabbed a slice of pizza and started eating. “For your information, Mr. Smart Ass,” Cade went on,
“they gave him that name down at Doc Crowley’s. He already answered to it by the time they talked me
into taking him home.”

“Ah.” Ren nodded sagely. “What would you have named him if he’d gone home without one?”

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Cade flushed again. “Crash.”

Ren threw back his head and laughed uproariously. “I love it.” He quickly righted himself before he
spilled his drink and knocked over the plate of pizza. “You are too damned cute for words, McKenna. I
bet if you’d gotten married and had kids, you would have named them John and Jennifer, huh?”

“What’s so wrong with that,Ren ?” Cade stressed that last word, snapping Ren right out of his good
mood. “You can’t have loved growing up with such an unusual name. Where did it come from? The
family Bible? Something noble and honorable, or so rich in history that you’re uncommonly proud of its
originality?”

The blood in Ren’s fingers went cold, making them numb, and he quickly set his drink down on the floor
before it slipped out of his hand. He didn’t have any particular love or hate for his name; merely that
when he thought about it more than in passing, it conjured up memories and feelings he’d as soon as not
remember. He looked at Cade, though, sitting on his bed trying to do something that clearly made him
nervous, and Ren did something he rarely -- and with this, never -- did.

Instead of deflecting with easy humor, he talked.

“Footloose,” Ren shared. He felt his face heating, knowing that the truth didn’t come even close to a
proud family name.

Cade put his second slice of pizza, barely touched, down on the plate. “Excuse me?” His eyebrows
narrowed as his head tilted to the side. “I don’t know what that means.”

“It means the movie.” Ren’s voice arced unnaturally high as he tried to sound casual. “You know the one
with Kevin Bacon? My mom loved it. She once told me she’d seen it more than a hundred times before
she had me. She named me Ren, after the main character in the movie.”

“Oh,” Cade mused. “I’ve seen the movie, of course, but I never once associated your name with it.”

“You should have asked me my middle name,” Ren said dryly. Appetite suddenly gone, Ren crawled up
in bed and stretched out on his side. “If you had, that would have put it right in place for you, for sure.”

Cade moved the plate to the nightstand and slid in bed too, facing Ren. He tucked his hands under the
pillow, his gaze searching Ren’s, almost as if he were determining the wisdom of speaking.

Finally, he asked, “Why do you say that?”

“Because it’s McCormick.” Ren shook his head and rolled his eyes. “The last name of the character in
the movie. That’s me. Ren McCormick Boone. Formerly Ren McCormick Bennett, before I turned eight
and Duke officially adopted me.”

“My parents died when I was eight,” Cade confessed, shocking the hell out of Ren. The way the man
doing the talking stiffened, it had clearly surprised him too. “They were killed by a drunk driver in the
middle of the morning. Isn’t that crazy? People always worry about an intoxicated driver hitting them in
the late hours of the night, not in broad daylight. Their car was pushed across the road into oncoming
traffic, killing them instantly. People told me to take comfort in the fact that they didn’t suffer, but I didn’t
really get that as a kid. They went away and left me alone. I couldn’t really process any more than that.”

Cade’s gaze, which had hazed and drifted to cloudy, suddenly snapped back to Ren, completely

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focused once again. “I don’t know why I told you that. I didn’t do it to one up you or make you feel
sorry for me.”

“No, of course not.” Ren reached under the pillow and took one of Cade’s hands in his. He pulled it
across the small space between them and tucked it under his cheek, snuggling against it. “I would never
think that.”

“I wasn’t completely alone,” Cade clarified, almost as if he scrambled, to backtrack and play down
what he’d just shared. “My mom’s uncle took me in. It was different than what I’d had before, though.”
Something flickered over Cade’s eyes right then, something that Ren couldn’t read, but it tugged at his
heart just the same. “He was old,” Cade said, “set in his ways. Not bad, mind you, just different. I tried
very hard not to make any trouble for him, and in return, he got involved with my schooling as much as he
could. I always cleaned up after myself, stayed quiet and out of the way as much as possible, and he
gave me a steady adult presence and a roof over my head until I turned eighteen. It was a good
exchange, and now that I’ve been in law enforcement for over ten years, I’ve seen enough to know how
much worse my life could have been. I got lucky, and I know it.”

So many quirky things about Cade made so much more sense to Ren now. “A couple of hard knocks
like that would send a lot of kids in the other direction,” Ren pointed out, praising without actually saying
the words. He already knew Cade would never accept them. “One that would have gotten you in trouble
with the law, rather than joining up with them the way you did.”

“It made sense to me. I had a lot of discipline, and I was already used to keeping my nose clean and
doing well academically, for my uncle’s sake. The police force seemed a natural fit to the skills I’d
already acquired. I lucked out that I took to it fairly naturally, and when my uncle told me he thought my
parents would have approved… Well…”

Ren smoothed his fingers over Cade’s brow, smiling at the picture of adoration Cade made right then,
while thinking of his mother and father. “Nothing could have changed your mind after that, huh?”

“Not a chance.” Cade blushed profusely. “I guess that’s the perfect cliché, huh? Wanting your dead
parents to be proud of you from beyond the grave. How about you?” he asked. “Do you ever wonder if
your mom looks down on you with pride?”

“Oh.” Ren’s hand dropped away from Cade with a thud. “I guess you would think that, wouldn’t you?
My mom isn’t dead. At least, I don’t think so.” Hard memories slid Ren back into the familiar ground of
flippancy. “My grandparents didn’t say anything one way or the other the last time I talked to them. Of
course, they might not know themselves. That could be just as likely.”

“I’m sorry.” Cade pulled away. “I’ve made assumptions and intruded on your privacy.” He rolled away
toward the edge of the bed.

Ren latched onto Cade from behind, holding him locked to his body.

“Don’t go.” Ren curled his front into alignment with Cade’s back and tucked his chin against Cade’s big
shoulder. “It’s not you; it’s my mother. Or maybe it’s me,” he admitted reluctantly, hating to do it. “I
can’t help it. I get ugly whenever I think about her. Based on what little my dad and I say, you had every
right to draw the conclusion you did. Don’t think the nasty look on my face was for you, Cade. It
wasn’t.”

Eventually, Cade relaxed back against Ren. His fingers flickered, almost hesitantly, over Ren’s forearm,

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but eventually he closed his hand over Ren’s, inviting the intimate hold.

“You don’t have to tell me anything.” Cade’s voice drifted back to Ren, soothing in its sincerity. “A
person has a right to his or her privacy, and I’ve never been of a belief that anyone should ever bargain
for information. We can just lie here like this for a while and enjoy the quiet until it’s time for me to go.”
Cade smoothed the tips of his blunt fingers over the back of Ren’s hand, making Ren shiver.

Cade really meant what he said, and Ren knew it. Not only because he wasn’t the kind of guy to push,
but also because he seemed to be a man at peace when order, calm, and silence reigned supreme. None
of those things tended to happen when learning about another person. Things often got messy, and with
the way Ren had spouted off so callously about his mother, Cade must surely think an unpleasant,
uncomfortable story lay in that direction. Ren always thought about it that way, too.

Ren had kept his former life away from his new life, the one he’d created for himself from scratch at
twelve years old when he and Duke had moved toQuinten,Montana . He wanted to be a strong, stoic
cowboy, so that nothing and no one could ever hurt him again. He built a whole new persona during the
car ride from his old home to his new one, and by the time he and Duke had arrived, Ren had morphed
from a gangly, scared boy, to the tough, new kid in town. One without a past.

It had worked. In the beginning, people asked about his mother, but Ren brushed them off by saying it
was just him and his dad, and then cracking a joke to make everyone laugh and forget. It hadn’t taken
long before people stopped asking, and when that happened, Ren finally settled down into his new life.
Almost to the point where he sometimes forgot he had a mother. Almost, but never completely.

“My mother is an addict.” Ren spoke softly, saying the words he’d sworn never to tell another soul. His
heart kicked so fast he thought it would make him sick. Cade did one thing, just a small thing, but it
settled Ren completely. He slid Ren’s tightly clenched fist up his body and tucked it under his chin.
Somehow, that made everything bearable.

“She always battled something.” Ren dredged up memories of a childhood he wanted to forget.
“Alcohol came first. I remember the first time I couldn’t wake her up, although at the time I didn’t know
why. I was four years old, and God, she scared me. My grandparents came over one time not too much
longer after that and found her passed out, but rather than taking her somewhere for help, my grandfather
dragged her into the bathtub and somehow woke her up. While he did that, my grandmother showed me
how to dial their phone number, telling me I had to make sure to call Grandma and Grandpa whenever I
couldn’t wake up Mommy.”

“Not the best course of action.” Cade’s voice rumbled back to Ren, warming him up inside. “I don’t like
it for the fact that it put you in such a terrible position. Unfortunately, often it’s the families who live in the
most denial when problems like this occur.”

Ren smiled against the back of Cade’s neck, loving how naturally Cade shared facts and statistical
truths, rather than just saying the standard line that his grandparents had been wrong.

“Yeah,” Ren agreed. “Duke came into our lives shortly after that, and he changed everything for me. He
moved into the apartment next to ours, came over, introduced himself to my mom and me, and explained
he was in law enforcement, and that my mom could call him if she ever had any kind of problem.”

“Nice pickup line.” Cade chuckled. “Using the badge to score a woman. It’s an oldie but a goodie.”

Ren pulled Cade down until he rested on his back, and then crawled on top of him, folding his elbows

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on Cade’s thick chest. Unable to take his eyes off Cade’s uniquely handsome face, he said, “I know it
would work on me.” He rubbed his cock against Cade’s through their pants, gasping as they both stirred.
His gaze dropped to Cade’s lips and he leaned down, pausing just the barest second before scraping his
mouth across Cade’s wide, sensuous lips, before looking back up. “At least it would if you were the one
delivering it.”

Cade growled and nipped at Ren’s lips. “Christ, you are good for my ego.” His gaze darkened to black,
and his big, warm hands slid seductively down Ren’s back, digging in when he got to his hips. “But
dangerous as hell for my peace of mind, honey.” He very deliberately shifted Ren off his cock, putting the
lower half of Ren’s body back on the bed. “Finish telling me your story before you get me all worked up
again and I can’t think straight.”

“No, I don’t think I want you thinkingstraight , Deputy. If you did, we couldn’t lie in bed together like
this. Not to mention the fucking.” Ren needled Cade, but he did slide the rest of the way off Cade’s
frame. Rather than going back to his side of the bed, he used Cade’s chest and shoulder for a pillow.
Almost as if he did it every night, Cade slid his arm around Ren’s waist and pulled him in close. The
moment mirrored Ren’s most secret dreams, making his chest hurt.

“Tell me what happened when the sheriff came into your life,” Cade asked, squeezing Ren for emphasis.
“You said it changed then.”

“He’d just become Detective Boone back then. He didn’t wear a uniform, so me, being a very sharp
five-year-old, openly challenged his claim. He showed me his badge, let me hold it, and man, that was
about the coolest thing someone had ever done for me. He started taking my mother out right away, but I
liked it because a lot of the time he would do things where I could come, too. I thought from date one
that he would be my new dad, and boy did I love the thought of that.”

“It’s funny how much kids pick up, don’t you think?” Cade mused, his breath ruffling Ren’s hair. “You
were five years old, and in your little head you understood that a man taking your mom out could lead to
them getting married. Kids are amazingly perceptive in a very streamlined, logical kind of way. They
connect more dots than adults give them credit for.”

“Yeah.” Memories cut through Ren, leaving him cold. “Mom even tailored her drinking with Duke
around. Now, as an adult, I can understand she only drank what she absolutely had to in order to
function when Duke came over, but back then, all I understood was that my mom was alert and able to
play with me when Duke showed, and that made Duke Boone like magic to me. His very presence kept
my mom awake and present. I got a mom like the ones I saw when I went to my friends’ houses, and to
me, Duke made it happen.

“It went really well…for a while. Then my mom had one of her all-day sessions, and when she passed
out, I couldn’t get in touch with my grandparents like I normally did. I got hysterical and panicked, but
then I remembered Duke said we could call him if we ever needed help. I took his card off this
corkboard we had next to the telephone and called him at work, crying that I needed him to come and
take my mom to the bath because I couldn’t wake her up. I didn’t know what I had done. I didn’t
understand I outed my mom as an alcoholic.”

Cade pressed a kiss against Ren’s hair, as if saying, “I understand,” without words.

“What happened then?” Cade asked, his voice as soft and light as air.

“Duke didn’t understand me. He thought my mom was dying or dead. The firefighters and EMTs beat

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him to the apartment and started doing things to my mom to wake her up. But then, amidst all the noise
and strangers, in walks Duke. Before he even goes to my mom, he scoops me up in his arms and
promises that he’s going to take care of me. He tells me that everything will be okay, and I don’t ever
have to be scared for my mom again.

“He got my mom into rehab, and during that time I went to live with my grandparents. Duke came to see
me almost every day, always assuring me that he would be there when my mom got better and came
home. She came home all pretty and happy and normal, and not much longer after that they got married.”

“Wow,” Cade said. “That’s moving fast for an addict. It surprises me that the sheriff made a rookie
move like that.”

“Duke was younger than my mom, and I think he got blinded by this wild woman putting all of her
attention on him. Anyway, they started the adoption process for me immediately after they got married.
Everything went well, until my mom transferred her addiction from drinking to eating. When I saw her
sticking her finger down her throat, she begged me not to tell Duke. In my mind though, Duke had fixed
her before, so he could surely fix her again. I sought him out for answers to everything by that point. Go
to Duke, and he’ll make everything all right.”

“So you told him, and in the process, outed your mom again.”

“Yep.” Ren shuddered at the memory, hard enough that Cade squeezed him around the middle and
soothingly rubbed his arm. “It made her so mad, Cade. She yelled that Duke wasn’t my real dad, and
that Duke turned me against her. Duke talked her down, and convinced her to get help. She went away
again, and when she came back, she apologized for making me cry.

“She was my mom, you know.” Desperation sliced through Ren as he relived those old times. “It made
me so happy to have her back that I immediately forgave her. I should have known better.” Ren’s jaw
clenched so tightly it ached. He took a deep breath and forced himself to relax. “I never gave her a pass
after that. When the drugs came next -- and that happened fairly quickly -- Duke got me out. He offered
to get my mom into a rehab program, but at the same time, he started divorce proceedings and petitioned
the court for full custody of me.”

“That must have been tough for the sheriff. Legally, I mean,” Cade amended. “To go up against a birth
mother and maternal grandparents in a court of law, and expect that he, the adopting father, would be
granted custody of a minor that didn’t biologically belong to him. I don’t know the statistics, but it can’t
have favored the outcome you guys ended up having.”

Ren nodded against Cade’s chest and fiddled with the fine line of hair snaking down his stomach. “It
helped that Duke was a respected member of law enforcement, and that he knew how to keep a
properly documented library of my mother’s activities. My grandparents still couldn’t fully accept my
mother’s drug habit, and their denial showed in their court statements. The day the judge rendered his
decision, my mom didn’t even show up for court, and that sealed the deal.”

“Oh, Christ,” Cade muttered, the words a curse and an endearment all rolled into one. He slid down and
hugged Ren close, settling his chin on Ren’s head. “Christ.”

Ren burrowed into the warmth, hating that he was still vulnerable to his past. “You can’t give custody to
a parent that doesn’t even show to ask for it,” he said against Cade’s throat. “She made it very easy for
the judge to give me to Duke. We tried staying inMinneapolis for a while, but when it became clear my
grandparents were using my visits to let my mom have unsupervised time with me -- when she bothered

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to show up -- Duke realized he needed to get me away. It traumatized me too much to see her all jacked
up on drugs. He couldn’t make my grandparents understand that, so he found another job, packed us up,
and we left.”

“And came here,” Cade finished it, his voice soft.

“Yep. It’s the best thing that ever happened to me, and I try not to ever look back.”

“Then I apologize for dredging it up.” Cade rubbed his hand into the small of Ren’s back, and the
gentleness warmed Ren all over. “Will you be all right?”

“Yeah.” The tension slowly ebbed out of Ren’s muscles, and he settled like a blanket against Cade’s
strong, furnace-hot body. “I will be as long as you keep holding me and don’t let go.”

“I won’t.” Cade pecked a kiss to the top of Ren’s head. “I won’t.”

Words would have seemed intrusive after that, so for once, Ren shut his mouth and let the intimacy of
silence steal over the room. He looked out his window and stared at the vast valley of green stretched
out forever behind the farmhouse, a pretty picture that reminded Ren how much he lovedMontana .

Ren listened, too, as the cadence of Cade’s breathing changed, shallowed, as the controlled,
by-the-book man holding him in a lover’s embrace relaxed, and drifted to sleep.

Ren kissed Cade’s chest, and smiled.

Chapter Fifteen

Cade rolled over onto his stomach and hugged the pillow against his chest, moaning into the cool
darkness as he slowly emerged from the most wonderfully tantalizing dream. Remnants of dark, sexual
sensations whispered across his senses, drawing him back down into sleep. Pushing his ass into the air,
Cade invited the lips and teeth that played with his flesh to take more, to do it harder and make him feel it
all the way to his core.

“Ohhh, yess…” He groaned as a textured wetness tickled his asshole, inviting a whole new level to his
wet dreams, one he had never even considered before. “That’s so good. Oh, damn it.” He reached
down and grabbed his cock as the flickering against his sphincter got more insistent, driving him batty.
“Do more. Please.”

“I plan to,” a disconnected voice answered, one that vibrated against his ass. Cade jerked against the
foreign, pleasurable sensations -- and then just as quickly jolted right out of his dream to complete
wakefulness.

Only the wet dream didn’t stop when Cade opened his eyes; the play around his ass continued, licking,
nipping sexual play that had too much detail for the ebbing remnants of a fantasy. It was real, and in a
flash Cade remembered where he was.

Ren’s bedroom.

Christ.

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Cade faced the nightstand, and he almost had a heart attack when he saw the numbers glowing in the
darkness. 11:45 p.m. The time taunted Cade like an evil, four-eyed monster, reminding him that nothing
came without consequences. And tonight, like back inTexas , he would pay, royally.

“Stop, please,” Cade pleaded, changing his tune from pleasure to panic in a heartbeat. “It’s almost
midnight. Oh Christ…Ren!” Cade got dragged under a wave of overwhelming delight, moaning as
something penetrated his rectum and swept the sensitive tissues just inside the opening. He tried to pull
away but Ren grabbed his hips and held his ass in place. The glorious feeling went deeper, so acutely
pleasurable Cade thought he might weep for it.

Cade clutched the pillow beneath him into a ball and dragged it to his mouth, biting down so he didn’t
scream and bring the entire town down on them, even with fifteen miles between this farmhouse and the
next nearest home. He knew what Ren did to him now; without looking, he knew. Something so intimate,
Cade had never imagined regular, normal people did it in real life; he thought it reserved for pornos or
erotic books. But dear heaven, it wasn’t.

In this bed, right now, Ren ate at his ass. And good Christ, Cade had never experienced anything so
amazingly personal and powerful in his life. He couldn’t walk away from what Ren did to him, no matter
the consequences.

Looking over his shoulder, Cade found Ren’s shadowed figure lying between his legs. Heady from the
sensual image, the picture of Ren blurred a little bit hazy before his eyes. He saw enough, though. Cade
saw that Ren had his ass cheeks drawn wide apart, and had his mouth and nose buried in the crack.
Cade could feel --hell yes, he could feel -- Ren’s tongue swirling in his sensitive channel, stirring it to
shouting life. But strangely, most enveloping of all, Ren’s pale blue eyes looked up at him, reflecting the
moonlight, shining with pleasure at what he did. It became a hell of a lot more than Cade, in his novice
state, could handle.

He dug his hand between his body and the bed, grabbing for his dick, needing to give relief to the rigid
length that had only gotten harder seeing Ren’s face tucked into the split of his ass. Cade grunted and
pulled at his thick, swollen piece of meat, felt the big veins full of blood that created a raised roadmap all
over his erect cock.

Just as he gave himself a good, hard tug, Ren pushed between Cade’s legs and shoved Cade’s hand
away. He slid his tongue out of Cade’s ass long enough to say, “Don’t touch. That’s mine, too,” and then
jammed Cade’s anus with his tongue again, making Cade jump and leak a puddle of precum into the
sheets. The licking, sensual torture started all over.

“Oh Jesus…” Cade groaned into the soft pillow, drowning in forbidden feelings as Ren fucked him in the
ass with his tongue. In and out, over and over again Ren’s wet tongue curled and darted into Cade’s ass,
kissing him deeply in a way Cade felt certain people shouldn’t kiss. But Christ, it felt so damn good Cade
couldn’t care that it might be wrong; he only knew that delicious sensations raced through his channel and
up and down his spine, bringing him to the brink of completion in the most dragging, wonderful way.

“Ren, Ren…” Cade stuffed the corner of the pillow into his mouth as thrilling sensation rocketed through
his core, almost unmanning him in its base beauty. “Oh Christ, Rennnn.” Cade clamped his teeth and
squeezed his eyes shut. “If you don’t fucking stop right now,” he growled thickly as the pleasure in his
balls grew unbearably heavy, “I’m gonna…ohhh Christ, I’m gonna come.” Cade ground into the mattress
and gave his cock the friction it needed before he died from denial right there on the spot.

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Ren flipped Cade over onto his back with surprising strength, momentarily shocking Cade out of his
sensual haze. Quickly, Ren wrapped his mouth around Cade’s cock, sucking deep drags of more than
half of Cade’s length inside. At the same time, he delved between Cade’s legs and pulled on his nuts,
making sure Cade didn’t come quite yet.

Aroused beyond belief, Cade stared through a half-lidded gaze, mesmerized by the magnificent line of
Ren’s hard, nude body, his head bobbing up and down over Cade’s shaft as he took Cade deep. The
image moved beyond intoxicating to Cade’s senses; it stirred his blood to hot, rich life in his veins.

Cade could no longer remain passive in this encounter; he needed to drive Ren crazy, too. He craved
the chance to make the younger man lose control, as Ren so easily did to him.

Cade reached his hand out, wrapped it around Ren’s thigh, and yanked Ren’s body around,
repositioning it until Ren straddled his chest. The position put Ren’s pretty, pale ass only inches away
from Cade’s face. At first, Ren stiffened on top of Cade, pausing in midlick up the top side of Cade’s
prick, but then he purred and settled quickly, and went right back to slicking up Cade’s pole with the flat
of his tongue.

That kind of comfort and confidence both terrified Cade and aroused him unbearably at the same time.
He wanted desperately to keep up.

“Christ, you have the sweetest ass,” Cade murmured, but then grunted, knifing his hips as Ren took his
dick deep, kissing his ultrasensitive tip to the back of Ren’s throat. Cade moaned and speared his hips up
again, pushing his cock even deeper inside. Ren gurgled around Cade’s thickness, but didn’t gag or spit
him out. Cade got so excited he oozed a line of pre-ejaculate down Ren’s throat.

Cade needed to come so badly his legs trembled with it, but Ren still held his sac and denied him the
right. So damned good that it bordered on painful, Cade gratefully accepted Ren’s help in holding back.
He wanted Ren crying for mercy first, before he came himself.

As Cade slid his hands up Ren’s haunches he felt a little shiver roll through Ren, giving away his seeming
cool. Ren’s flesh burned hot with life beneath Cade’s palms, and Cade luxuriated in watching his darker
fingers knead the globes of Ren’s pale, firm ass. Cade made it a game at first, squeezing in time with each
pull of Ren’s mouth on the length of his cock, but within a half-dozen strokes Cade reached a point
where he couldn’t stand it anymore. He needed to see more. He separated Ren’s cheeks, pried him
open from top to bottom, and got his first close look at what he’d already taken with his penis the
previous night.

Ren’s puckered, rosy asshole.

Snapped shut tight, but pulsing with life, the entrance almost begged for attention. He studied Ren’s ring
closely, intimately, and all around where Cade held Ren wide open, the man’s skin sprouted chill bumps,
betraying his excitement.

Cade couldn’t yet be as brave as Ren with his mouth and tongue, but he knew exactly what he did want
to do. Excited with his thought, Cade’s cock jumped between Ren’s lips, pushing him even closer to the
edge. Practically vibrating with anticipation, Cade stuck two fingers into his mouth, juicing them up with
saliva. Then, without so much as a warning, he jammed his middle finger into Ren’s ass with one smooth
move.

“Oh goddamn it!” Ren howled with first contact, but almost immediately pushed his hips back toward

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Cade, clearly inviting more of the invasion. Before the spit could dry, Cade worked his second finger
inside next to the first, taking Ren’s heated ass with a thicker penetration, sending Ren’s hips into an
undulating, backward thrust, telling Cade everything he needed to know. Ren liked it, and he wanted
more.

Cade pulled his fingers almost all the way out, leaving just the blunt tips resting inside Ren’s snug ring.

Ren gasped, jumping at the quick loss of full penetration. Cade’s cock slipped free from Ren’s lips as he
pleaded, “God, baby, don’t stop.” He glanced over his shoulder, his pale, glittering gaze finding Cade in
the darkness. “Give me more.” He pushed his hips back and tried to recapture what Cade had taken
away. Cade expected the move and pulled back too, not letting Ren have it.

“Not yet, honey,” Cade teased, trying to flirt and be casual, something extremely foreign to his nature.
“You have to do something for me first.” Cade slid his index finger into Ren’s rectum to where he knew
Ren wanted it, tickled just enough for Ren to tense and shudder, and then pulled back, holding right at his
stretched opening once again.

“What?” Ren questioned, his eyes glazed with passion. “I’ll do anything.” Ren’s focus shifted from
Cade’s eyes down to his own buttocks, where surely he could see Cade’s fingers sitting, just the tiniest
bit inside his asshole. Ren’s sphincter clenched, tugging hard at Cade’s digits as his gaze drifted back up
to Cade. “Tell me what you want.” Arousal made Ren’s voice high and barely audible. “I’ll do anything
to get your fingers fucking my ass again.”

Cade drew up his legs and spread them open in a butterfly. “Then let go of my nuts.” He pumped his
hips, the hold still wrapped around him making him hurt. “And fucking let me come. Please.”

Ren’s eyes rounded and turned apologetic, but just as quickly his smile became truly wicked. Without
saying a word, Ren turned forward and opened his beautiful, sensuous mouth over Cade’s straining
cock, took him inside the wet cavern, and started to suck.

Cade lost his mind. “Please, please…” He begged for release, uncaring anymore of how it made him
look or sound. He didn’t think his penis had ever been so damned sensitive in his life. The nerve endings
on the surface of his prick shrieked with need, so revved up Cade thought he could come from a feather
alighting upon his cock -- if only Ren would let his nuts go.

Cade jammed his fingers into Ren’s steaming ass deep again, his bargain forgotten. He thrashed about
on the bed, trying desperately to escape the tormenting, exquisite pleasure of a never-ending blowjob
that he began to think might kill him. “I need to come. Oh, please.” He choked and cried out, lifting his
hips up for more. He shoved his cock all the way to the back of Ren’s mouth, pushing it down his throat.
“Now…please…” He fucked Ren’s mouth with his cock, and the man’s ass with his fingers. “Ren…”
Cade mewled and twisted, exhausted by too much sensation to care. “Please,” he sobbed, “let me
come.”

Suddenly, Ren released Cade’s testicles. And just like that, in the blink of an eye, hell disappeared, and
Cade shot straight to heaven. His balls slammed up almost all the way into his body as an orgasm unlike
any he’d ever had ricocheted through his entire being, zapping at every nerve ending, short-circuiting his
system, sending him into convulsions as he came, and came, and came. Cade spurted, dumping a load of
semen deep into the back of Ren’s warm, suctioning mouth.

Before Cade could even drift down from his own release, Ren pushed his hips backward and worked
himself off, reminding Cade that he still had two fingers buried deep inside Ren’s scorching anus. Ren

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rocked back into Cade’s fingers again and again, his head hung low, the tips of his hair brushing against
Cade’s still extremely sensitive cock. Ren grunted his pleasure, squeezing Cade’s fingers with his ass
muscles every time his swollen prostate got rubbed with the tips of the buried digits.

Cade had played with himself enough to understand how to take care of Ren; he knew just where to feel
for the bump, just where to rub to drive Ren wild. He tickled and touched, and then shoved his fingers in
deeper, taking that direct contact away, making Ren squirm and pant in desperation above him. The
room grew overwhelmingly thick with intimacy, and Cade didn’t think he could reach any higher level of
closeness than the things he and Ren had already shared this night.

Ren showed him how wrong he was.

Reaching between his own legs, Ren grunted and gasped. “Oh God, oh God…” He grabbed his
ejaculate-heavy balls in his hand and pulled. “Oh God, baby,” he keened to Cade, “I need to come.”

Ren scrambled backward on his knees over Cade’s face and reared up, looking down at Cade from
above as he worked his long cock in his hand, jerking himself off. Cade’s heart kicked into high gear,
dizzying him with trepidation and excitement as pure sex cloaked the room and dragged them both to a
place neither had ever gone before.

Ren’s pale gaze glittered down on Cade, needful and defiant all at the same time. He dragged on his
cock and uttered gutturally, “Open your mouth for me.”

Cade didn’t even consider denying Ren’s order. He lowered his jaw and stuck his tongue out, knowing
without Ren saying a word what Ren wanted to do. The sight of Cade’s compliance did something fierce
to Ren, because suddenly Ren let his nuts go and cried out, high and wailing in the darkness of the night.
Seconds later, with his prick aimed right at Cade’s mouth, Ren came, Cade’s tongue the target for the
fountain of cum shooting out of his cock.

Thick, hot ejaculate poured down on Cade’s tongue from Ren’s dick, some of it hitting its mark and
sliding down Cade’s throat with barely a hint of its bitter flavor assaulting his taste buds as it happened.
Ren’s sticky, warm semen liberally splashed over Cade’s jaw and chin, too. His cum practically coated
the lower half of Cade’s face by the time Ren finished jerking above him, by the time his cock had
emptied completely of his seed.

Finished, Ren fell back against the headboard, clearly exhausted and spent. Sliding down the wood
panel, he didn’t stop until he sat on his pillow above Cade’s head. He spread his legs out on either side
of Cade’s shoulders, and Cade felt enveloped in warmth and sweetness, even though some part of his
brain told him that what he’d just let happen must be wrong. Cade had relished the wet spray of Ren
ejaculating on his face, marking him in a territorial way. A messy and fundamentally demeaning act; deep
inside, Cade thought he should surely feel offended by what Ren had done to him. At the same time,
Cade owned that if Ren wanted to do it again right then, Cade would let him.

Cade wondered if he might be deviant in some way, or that if in some secret place inside he must want
Ren to humiliate or subjugate him. Christ, he’d never had such a thought before, and he really didn’t like
the idea that such a fantasy could be living inside him somewhere right now.

Gentle, caressing fingers combing through his hair snapped Cade out of his terrifying thoughts. He
looked up and found Ren’s lopsided smile quirking down on him, light twinkling in his eyes. “Now I’m
going to have to clean you up all over again.” Laughter laced Ren’s voice.

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“What?” Cade blushed as he thought about what Ren had just done to him. “What do you mean?”

Ren leaned over and grabbed one of two towels from off the nightstand. “I mean what do you think I
was doing” -- he dipped the fresh, dry cloth into a bowl of water -- “when I got distracted by the
possibilities of what I could do with your ass?” Ren brought the wet, cool washcloth down on Cade’s
cheek and started to wipe.

Cade couldn’t speak, the lump in his throat too suffocating for words. Neither could he look away from
the hold of Ren’s gaze. He watched the flickering of those eyes as Ren gently cleaned the sticky, drying
cum off his face, so deliberate and sweet that Cade could have cried. No one had ever ministered to him
so lovingly, especially not after being in such a carnal, explicit place only moments before. Cade had
never felt so mixed up inside, and he knew he already opened his heart to too many feelings for this man,
much too fast. So much so that right now, even after everything they’d already done tonight, he still
wanted to reach up and drag Ren’s mouth down to his, and start kissing him all over again.

“Jesus Christ!” Cade knifed upright in a shot. He leapt off the bed and grabbed his clothes, strewn all
about the floor, all amorous thoughts forgotten. “Look at the fucking time. I have to go.” He jammed his
legs into his underwear and jeans, flittering about the room in a complete panic, rambling curses at
himself. “How in the hell did I let this happen? Damn it, how could I have fallen asleep?” Cade jerked
into his undershirt and threw on his uniform shirt, leaving it unbuttoned as he grabbed for his boots and hit
the edge of the bed to put them on. “I knew I needed to get out of here before your father got home.
Christ, I’m surprised he hasn’t busted in here and put a gun to my head for what I did with his son.”

Ren leapt across the bed and clamped his hand over Cade’s mouth. “That’s because he’s not here.”
Ren climbed onto Cade’s lap, facing him. Cade automatically braced his legs and slid one hand around
Ren’s back to steady him. Ren scooted forward, curled his hands around Cade’s shoulders, and started
to massage them. “You don’t have to worry about my father discovering your secret. He isn’t home yet.
I’d have heard the front door; I always do when he comes in late at night. I can also hear when he putters
around in the kitchen for food, and I haven’t heard him tonight. You’re still safe. We both are,” he
amended quickly. “All right?”

“But what about when we fell asleep?” Cade questioned. “What about then?”

“I didn’t go to sleep,” Ren replied with a teasing, knowing little smile. “You did. I just laid here in bed
next to you and enjoyed the view.” Ren ran his hands up and down Cade’s arms, soothing him with
touch. “My father is not in some dark corner of this house waiting for you, Cade. And even if he was” --
Ren leaned in and brushed his lips against Cade’s, and Cade immediately craved more -- “he would
never beat you up. You work with him. You know he’s not that kind of man.”

Amazingly, Cade’s cock stirred to life in his jeans. He quickly stood up, taking Ren with him. Stealing
one more kiss, he memorized the way Ren’s mouth moved under his, the way his breathing shifted, the
way he tasted, the way he liked to bite at the tip of Cade’s tongue. Cade’s toes curled in his boots, but
he reluctantly dragged his mouth away, and very deliberately laid Ren on the bed.

He kneeled down and brought Ren’s hand to his mouth, brushing his lips against the knuckles. He did his
best to smile, knowing he hadn’t completely succeeded when Ren shifted his focus from Cade’s mouth to
his eyes, as if double-checking what he thought he saw.

“I’m not mad,” Cade promised. Leaning back on his heels, he began to button his uniform shirt. “But
you apparently don’t perceive just how much it will shock your father to hear that you’re gay. I don’t
want to compound the trauma of that discovery by giving him the chance to walk in on us before he

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knows.” That, of course, assumed Ren intended to tell Duke about his sexuality. Cade didn’t feel he had
any right to ask Ren his intentions regarding his father. That presumed too much about a relationship that
felt way too new for comfort yet. “Do you understand?” Cade asked. His words rang inadequate to his
ears, but his confusion about what he and Ren now meant to each other prevented him from explaining
his feelings any more clearly. “Do you see my point?”

“I’m not ready to tell Duke yet,” Ren confessed. “If he didn’t accept me…” Ren curled onto his side
and tucked his hands under his cheek. His gaze shone, unnaturally open, and for once Cade could read
him clearly. He had fear in his eyes. And in that fear, Cade could see the little boy living inside, the one
only Duke Boone had stepped up to save. “If he couldn’t accept me,” Ren tried again, his voice scratchy
and raw, “I don’t know.” Ren blinked away the brightness. “It might be enough to make me suppress
what I am in order to keep him as my dad. I don’t know. I’m not ready to make that decision yet, not if I
don’t have --”

“Shhh.” For once, Cade covered Ren’s mouth. He smoothed his fingers over Ren’s lips, lingering over
their soft warmth. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me. I understand.” Flashes of the last time Cade
had seen his uncle raced through his mind, searing a pain straight to the center of his heart. Determinedly,
Cade pushed it away and stood back up. “I don’t want you to do anything you can’t take back. That’s
all the more reason why I have got to get out of here, right now, before the choice is taken away from
you.”

“I’ll walk you out.” Ren rolled to a sitting position.

“No.” Cade moved in on Ren, pressing him back down. “If you follow me” -- Cade felt himself blush for
at least the hundredth time in the last twenty-four hours -- “I’ll never get out of here. I’ve proven myself a
slave to your charms enough for one night. Let me leave with at least a little bit of my dignity still intact.
Please.”

“All right.” Ren flopped back onto the bed, apparently comfortable and careless of his nudity.

Cade couldn’t remain immune, and he took a step back.

Ren landed his baby blues on Cade from his prone position. “Can I at least have a good night kiss
before you go?”

“No.” Cade chuckled and backed away. His tummy flip-flopped like a goddamned teenager in the
throes of his first crush. “Now I’m really leaving, damn it. Go to bed.” He pulled open the door. “Good
night.” Cade got the hell out before the sound of Ren laughing could tempt him into losing the rest of his
sanity, all in one night.

Cade followed the darkened, narrow hallway to the quiet living room and cut across to the kitchen, the
room bathed in glaring, fluorescent light. He silently gave Ren a grateful little “thank you” for leaving the
overhead light on, as it prevented Cade from stepping right into Crash’s little puddle.

Crash trotted up to Cade right away, moving a little sideways until he got there. He immediately bumped
his head against Cade’s ankle and looked up with round, brown eyes that took over most of his sweet
face. Right on cue, Cade melted and reached down to scratch the puppy behind his floppy ears, just
where he liked it.

“Yes, I did miss one of your scheduled outings, didn’t I, baby?” Cade circled the wet spot and went to
the counter, grabbing some paper towels to clean the mess. “I don’t know if Ren would have put such a

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big bowl of water down for you if he’d thought about this.” Cade talked to the dog conversationally, as
he’d taken to doing from the first night he’d brought the puppy home with him. “But then again” -- he
kneeled down and wiped, using wet and dry, the best he could without bleach and a mop -- “you’re so
sweet and cute he probably would have given you whatever he thought you wanted.”

Cade tossed the big wad of paper towels in the trash and washed his hands at the sink. He scooped
Crash up in the crook of his arm, but his thoughts automatically drifted back to the man he’d just left in
bed.

“Oh, puppy.” Cade breathed unsteadily as he scratched the dog behind his ears. “I like this man.” His
heart pounded erratically as he said it aloud for the first time. “I like him so, so much.” Panic sliced
through his insides. “Maybe too much.”

Cade got the hell out, before he ran right back to Ren.

Chapter Sixteen

“I don’t know.” Ren hung back from the phone Risa had stretched out in his direction. “Maybe Cade is
trying to send me a message.” The man hadn’t made a single attempt to contact Ren in almost a week,
and had barely said “hi” to him when they’d crossed paths at the diner two days ago. “Maybe I misread
what happened between us.” Hurt pressed on Ren’s chest as he finally admitted aloud the fear that had
filled his mind for five long, quiet days. “He might not really like me for anything more than…” Shame
filled Ren’s belly, making him sweat as Risa stared him down from across his kitchen. “You know, than
for what we did.”

“This isn’t likeTex ,” Risa said gently. “Don’t start getting all weird and thinking it is.”

“You don’t know what Cade’s thinking.” Ren couldn’t make his feet move to Risa and the phone. God,
he hated the thought of begging for a person’s company. He didn’t want to back someone into a corner
who didn’t want to spend time with him. “It could be exactly the same.”

“Or it could be completely different.” Risa thrust the phone out again. “You won’t know if you don’t try.
The rodeo tomorrow is the perfect excuse. Come on now.” She grabbed his arm and dragged him to the
phone. “Do it.”

“Geez, you’re bossy,” Ren grumbled as he took the phone. “If this rodeo thing doesn’t pan out, you
might look for work as the dictator of a small country.”

Risa handed Ren a slip of paper that had Cade’s phone number on it -- a number Ren had looked up in
the phone book because Cade had never provided it on his own. Insecurity wrapped itself around Ren
again, making him pause.

Risa crossed her arms and raised a brow. “I won’t leave this kitchen until I see you dial some very
specific numbers and speak to someone on the other end of the line.”

Ren knew she would stand there all night if necessary, too.

“Fine.” He ignored the tremor in his hands as he punched the correct numbers. “But just so you
know” -- he leaned his shoulder against the wall as the first ring sounded in his ears -- “when you get

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your first boyfriend, I’m gonna do this exact same thing to you.”

Hurt filled Risa’s gaze, and Ren could have kicked himself for saying such a thing. She only wanted his
father, and at this point, she wouldn’t even look at another man. He opened his mouth to apologize when
a rich, deep voice answered his call.

“Hello.” Cade’s voice came through the line, making Ren shiver. “Cade McKenna speaking.”

“Cade, hi.” Ren sounded breathless, and he wanted to take his first words back. When Risa waved bye
and left him alone, he cleared his throat and tried again. “It’s Ren.”

“Oh.” A long pause hung uncomfortably between them before Cade added, “Hi.”

“Hi.” God, Ren felt like such an idiot. He’d already said hi. He could have sank right into the floor and
died on the spot. “Look.” He scrambled to recover. “I wondered if you still plan on supporting Risa at
the rodeo in Junction Creek tomorrow.”

“I told her I would,” Cade answered. “So, yes, I will be there.”

Damn it, of course Cade would. He didn’t break his commitments. Ren pushed his fingers against his
forehead and took the plunge. “I’m going too.”Fuck . “Which you already know. My point being that we
can drive together, if you want. No sense in us both wasting gas.”

“Oh, well --”

“It’s just an idea,” Ren cut in. God, he didn’t think he could muck this up any worse. He’d never asked
anyone out before. “I don’t see how it would look like that big a deal. Other people are gonna be there,
some driving together. So, I don’t know. What do you think?”

“Umm…” More silence on Cade’s end. Ren hated phone conversations. He preferred to look right at a
person when he talked to them. Finally, Cade said, “Okay, we can do that. Do you want to drive, or
should I?”

Ren slumped against the wall as his legs turned to jelly. “We can take my truck. I’ll drive there, and you
can do the drive back? How does that sound?”

“Fine. That’s fine.”

“So, I’ll pick you up around, say, three?”

“Yeah, okay,” Cade said. “Let me give you the address. You got a pen and paper handy?”

“Yeah.” Ren quickly jotted the info down and tucked it in his back pocket. “Okay, so, I’ll see you
tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

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Ren hung the phone up, and slid to the floor. He’d never sweated through one damned phone call so
hard in his life.

* * * * *

“So.” Risa pulled Ren away from the small group, her green eyes sparkling bright. “How are you doing?
How do you feel?”

“Me?” Ren gaped. “Hell, Ris, I’m not the one an hour away from climbing onto the back of a big, angry
bull.” Ren shot his friend an incredulous look and then took a deliberate glance around their surroundings.

They stood smack-dab in the middle of a rodeo. The familiar smells of hay, cedar chips, and manure
filled the air. The sounds of braying animals and murmuring people slowly filing in hummed all around
them too. As much as Ren loved the atmosphere, it couldn’t distract him from one much more important
thing.

Cade. He stood not twenty feet away, chatting with Risa’s cheering section, which consisted of her
brother Luke, his partner Cain Hawkins, Cain’s brother Connor, his wife Cassie, and Caleb. Ren
chuckled as he noticed all those damn C names.

Risa yanked Ren’s arm, tugging him out of his thoughts.

“What?” Ren raised a brow at her pointed stare. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing,” Risa insisted. She very deliberately slapped her leather glove against the cognac colored
chaps covering her jeans, a nervous gesture if Ren had ever seen one out of his tough friend. “Except that
this is my first official PBR-sanctioned event.” She leaned in and squeezed his forearm. “And your first
official date. Both happening on the same night.” She pulled back, practically bouncing in her cowboy
boots. “Isn’t it exciting?”

“Shh,” Ren hissed, covering her mouth. Heat rushed his body as he glanced at Cade across the way.
“It’s not really a date.” He leveled a hard stare on her. “We shared a ride. That’s all.”

“No. You called him and asked to do something together, and he said yes. In my book, they call that a
date.”

Ren still couldn’t feel so secure. His focus strayed Cade’s way, and God, even from the side he looked
sexy in his jeans and white button-up shirt. He had everything all combed and shaved and tucked in
exactly so. Cade looked so precise and perfect in every way that Ren wanted to run his hands all over
the man until they both panted and gasped for breath. He wanted to remind Cade that not long ago he
had writhed stark naked beneath Ren, begging Ren to fuck him until he came.

“It doesn’t really matter if we’re on a real date,” Ren finally said, forcibly putting his attention back on
Risa, “because it can’t look like anything more than a friendship anyway. We can’t be open about it and
let it turn into something more.”

“That’s your choice. You could tell your dad, but you choose not to.”

“Oh yeah,” Ren snorted defensively. “Because when I pointed out that he should come and see you ride
before he judged you again, he agreed right away.” Ren spread his arms and turned in a circle, his hard
gaze landing back on Risa’s. “Oh wait, that’s not what happened. He’s at home, being stubborn and set

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in his ways.”

“That’s not the same thing at all.” Risa poked Ren in the chest, her short, neatly trimmed nail digging in to
make her point. “Don’t hide behind how your father behaves with me as a reason not to tell him the truth.
You should thank your lucky stars you have the father you do.” Her face turned briefly bitter. “Not
everyone shares the same good fortune you do.”

Ren’s entire stance immediately softened. “I know.” He reached up and rubbed his thumb over Risa’s
translucent skin, smoothing out the harsh lines that bracketed her mouth, evidence of her memory of her
own father, an abusive man who many years ago had attempted to kill her mother before ending his own
life. “I’ll think about it,” he offered solemnly. “How about that?”

“I’ll take what I can get.” Risa leaned in and wrapped her arms around Ren’s neck in a tight hug.

“I can’t give any more. Not right now.”

“Okay.” Risa pulled away and straightened her Kevlar competition vest, emblazoned with three whole
sponsorship logos, Hawkins Ranch Holdings, Forrest-Hawk Rehabilitation Farm, and Nate’s Bait and
Saddle Shop. She smoothed her fingers over each patch, clearly touched and proud. “Tell everyone bye
for me, okay? Micah is behind the scenes checking out the bulls, and I want to get some last-minute
pointers from him. I’ll see you later.”

“We’ll be cheering for you.” He waved and blew her a kiss. “Good luck.”

Risa waved back before the crowd quickly swallowed her up.

Ren turned and walked back over to their group, slipping in beside Cade. Their arms brushed, and
although casual, heat slid up Ren’s limb and tingled throughout his body, landing too dangerously near his
cock for their public location. Ren did his best to cover the catch in his breath, but when he looked up
and found Cade’s gaze on him, he knew that at least Cade had noticed his reaction. Ren boldly didn’t
break the stare, and just for a few seconds it smoldered, as if nobody else around them existed.

Cade still wanted him. That reassured Ren, especially after the week of emotionally bouncing back and
forth with the confusing “does he” or “doesn’t he” that had taken over Ren’s thoughts lately.

Ren smiled, and he felt for sure Cade tried to smile back. His eyes danced, even if his mouth didn’t pull
upward in the right direction. Cade gave Ren an almost nonexistent little nod, and Ren swelled with
pleasure, knowing he’d guessed correctly.

Ren had gotten a little better at reading Cade, and if given the chance on any kind of a regular basis --

“Ren, hi,” a familiar voice spoke up from behind Ren, breaking his focus on Cade. “What a surprise.
How’s it going?”

Ren turned, and before him, as blond and gorgeous as ever, stoodTex.

Chapter Seventeen

Ren couldn’t help the familiar warmth that fused his body as he took in the picture ofTex , all tall and

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lanky, classically sexy in jeans and a faded denim jacket. Before anyone could notice, Ren swallowed his
sudden discomfort.

“Hey, man.” Ren stuck his hand out in greeting. “I’m fine. How are you?” His gaze drifted toTex ’s left,
and he smiled at the three other familiar faces. “Shelley.” Ren greetedTex ’s fiancée, a tall, willowy
blonde. “Good to see you. How’s business at the diner?”

“Very busy.” Shelley slid her arm throughTex ’s. “But Mavis has promised to hire another girl to help
out.”

“I’m sure that’ll be a big help.” Ren smiled at Shelley and then turned to the others in the group. “Chris.
Dean.” He made quick work of shaking hands with the other two men, guys they’d known since junior
high. “Evening.”

Both men nodded.

Quickly,Tex said, “Listen, Ren, I’m glad I ran into you. I wanted to talk shop for a minute, if I could.”

“Um, sure.” Ren metTex ’s steady, pale green gaze, searching for a clue as to what he wanted. He got
nothing. “Does everybody know everybody?”

Ren turned, and his gaze collided with Cade’s dark one. Ren didn’t know how to read exactly what
Cade’s gaze said now, but it definitely didn’t dance or convey a smile anymore, he could at least see that.
In fact, the scar that clipped Cade’s mouth actually pulled it down, making Ren feel as if he had to
apologize, when he hadn’t even done anything wrong.

“I know everyone,” Cassie Hawkins said. She straightened away from Connor, her big, overly
protective husband. “You go on.” She shooed Ren off. “I’ll make sure everyone gets properly
introduced.”

Ren nodded and followedTex away from the group, all the while wishing he could say something to
Cade, even something as simple as “I promise I’ll be right back.”

Ren very deliberately pulled his focus from his troubling thoughts and settled his attention onTex. He ran
his gaze overTex ’s beautiful face and rangy body, and the familiarity and comfort in his friendship
withTex struck him with the urge to burrow his head intoTex ’s chest and hold on tight. Ren wanted to
cling to this person that he’d known for almost half his life, to inhale the grease fromTex ’s job as a
mechanic that seemed to stay with him, no matter how clean he tried to get. The desire to spill his guts
about his sweeping emotions for Cade almost overwhelmed Ren. He wished he could sit down withTex
and tell him everything, knowingTex would listen with a patient, supportive ear, as they’d done for each
other for ten years.

Ren started and jerked upright, snapping himself out of thoughts that he could not afford to have, for a
host of reasons, for either one of them. He grabbedTex ’s arm and pulled him out of the flow of traffic,
coming to a stop off the crowded path at a place of relative privacy.

Ren glanced atTex and saw a familiar stubbornness emerging that he knew very well. In that moment,
the remainder of the stretched nerve Ren had lived on for the last week snapped.

“All right, damn it,” he said, “I think this is far enough away for whatever you have to say. Whatever it is,
just get it said right here. Spit it out.”

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“All right,”Tex bit back just as sharply, his voice hissing low between them. “Here it is. Are you mad at
me? Aren’t we friends anymore? Because I thought we had settled things between us. Is our friendship
over, and you’re just too pussy to tell me to my face?”

Ren reeled. “What?” He gaped incredulously. “Of course we’re still friends. What in the hell are you
talking about?”

Texheld his ground with a rigid stance. “Well, I’ve said we should go to a rodeo for months now, and
every time I did, you put me off until time ran out and it passed us by. You kept saying you had to get
back to me because of your commitment to the bull trout project. Only now, here you are, so it makes
me think the fish didn’t keep your answer vague, but that you simply don’t want to hang out with me
anymore. So, is that it?”Tex ’s pale gaze turned to grass, anger edged out by hurt that couldn’t be
hidden. “If we’re not doing” --Tex glanced around quickly before landing back on Ren, his voice
dropping even lower -- “that other thing anymore, then we’re not going to hang out at all. Is that what
you’re trying to tell me?”

“No,” Ren uttered, horrified to his core. “Of course not. You’re my best friend.”

“Risa’s your best friend,”Tex interrupted. “I don’t kid myself that you share things with me on the same
level you do with her.”

Ren arched a brow wryly. “We definitely shared one thing that I will never share with her.”

“Yeah.” Red marredTex ’s cheeks. He turned away for a few seconds before coming back to Ren. “But
I couldn’t share enough, which apparently bothered you more than you’re saying. If you’re blowing me
off for good, I just want you to tell me to my face. I don’t like being jerked around by people. You know
that. I guess that’s why it hurts so much that you’re the one doing it now.”

Ren staggered, and he had to reach out and grab onto a metal railing for support.

“Do you really think that?” he whispered, his throat bone dry. “That I would throw away a ten-year
friendship because you wouldn’t let me fuck you?” Hurt cut through Ren’s middle, rendering him weak.
“Do you really think I’m that petty a person? And if you do,” he challenged, standing up straight as anger
unlike anything he’d ever felt rolled through his entire body, “then why in the hell would you want to be
friends with me anyway? God,Tex. ” Ren just barely resisted the urge to punch his friend in the stomach.
“That’s about the stupidest damned thing I’ve ever heard in my life.”

“Well, what in the hell am I supposed to think?”Tex argued in a heated whisper. “We’ve barely talked in
two weeks, and then I come to the rodeo -- something we’ve always done together -- and I find you all
relaxed and easygoing with a completely new group of friends. What the hell else am I supposed to think,
other than the fact that you don’t want to hang out with me anymore?”

“You’re supposed to think I’m at this particular rodeo supporting one of my other good friends as she
takes the next step in her bull riding career.” Ren leaned in furiously, adding, “You’re supposed to take
five minutes and think about the group of people that is gathered here with me, most of whom are either
literal or emotional family to Risa, and draw a logical conclusion that it has something to do with her.
What you’re not supposed to do -- with a guy you keep saying is your friend, by the way -- is drag him
off and start hurling accusations about his integrity and calling him a pussy. God, man. I’ve never felt so
insulted in my life.”

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“All right. Geez, I’m sorry.”Tex backed off, his hands up in surrender. “I apologize. I had a shitty week,
and my temper is on a short fuse. When I saw you, I got defensive and pissed off. We’re friends. I
believe you. I don’t need assuring again.”Tex stuck out his hand. “Cool?”

Ren pretended to consider it for a minute, eyeingTex ’s hand sticking out in his direction, a hand that
always looked dirty even when scrubbed clean. “Yeah, all right. I guess.” He claspedTex ’s hand and
pulled him close, thumping his back in a modified hug. Ren eyedTex , bumping his shoulder as they
started walking back in the direction from which they’d come. “You know too many of my secrets for
me to just dump you,” he said as he slid his hands into his front pockets. “I can’t brush you off. I’d have
to kill you.”

“Ah,”Tex mused drolly, “something to look forward to. Great.”

“That rough a week, huh?” Ren sympathized, knowingTex ’s moods like the back of his own hand. “Do
I only get one guess?”

Texshot Ren a hard, brittle look before facing forward once again. “You only need one.”

“What did your dad cut you down about this time?”

Texshook his head. “Another time maybe.” He nodded in the direction of their group. “I don’t want to
upset Shelley, and I don’t think everyone else wants to hear about my problems.”

“Yeah, okay.” Ren understood, and backed off.

As they drew closer to the group, Ren’s gaze immediately latched onto Cade’s strong, wide back. His
mouth went dry at the thought of peeling Cade’s crisp white shirt off his shoulders and kissing his way
down Cade’s finely sculpted back, learning every inch of warm, olive flesh all over again. As if Cade
could sense Ren’s thoughts, he looked over his shoulder and found Ren through the crowd. Ren
swallowed thickly, immediately heating from the inside out with just that one glance.

With great reluctance, Ren pulled his gaze away from Cade’s dark one and shifted his attention back
ontoTex. “You know you can still talk to me about anything. My dad doesn’t mind you being at the
house. If you don’t want an audience, you can always come and see me at the shack. I didn’t mean to
imply that you could never come and visit me again when I said we needed to stop doing…you know.
You can still come whenever you need to talk. Okay?”

“Okay.”Tex nodded, and Ren could actually see some of the tension loosen from his limbs. “I definitely
will. Thanks.”

“No problem,” Ren replied benignly, knowing he would be overheard as they rejoined the crowd.

Ren transitioned his smile to Cade, accepting that he would now come under the attention of a
detective’s professional scrutiny. Cade’s deep brown eyes swept Ren’s entire being, subtly looking him
over from top to bottom. The gaze that finally landed back on Ren at the end did not appear satisfied
with the results of the answers he sought to unearth.

Ren decided to take a chance and risk detection from the group. He leaned across the circle and flicked
a nonexistent piece of fluff off the sleeve of Cassie’s blouse, garnering a glowering “get your hand the hell
off my wife” look from Connor as he did it.

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“Piece of hay,” Ren fibbed.

As he got the hell out of Connor’s way and back to his spot, Ren “accidentally” moved back in the
wrong space, and backed up into Cade’s front.

Cade’s big hands immediately curled around Ren’s arms, steadying him.

Ren savored Cade’s fingers locked around his upper arms, holding him tight.

“Sorry about that,” Ren said softly.

Cade suddenly dropped his hands away, and Ren moved to Cade’s side. When he did, he brushed
against Cade and discreetly cupped his palm over the back of Cade’s hand. Ren quickly curled his
fingers around Cade’s, sliding electricity through the small touch, breaking the contact only when Cade’s
dark gaze snapped down to his, fire shining in their black depths.

Ren liked when Cade’s gaze turned black. It meant Cade grappled with feeling something powerful, and
that he experienced it at a level he found challenging to control. Good. Ren felt better knowing Cade
struggled to keep his mind off heated mating and animal sex, just as he did.

Caleb spoke up, and saved them both from detection. “Risa’s up third. We should go find our seats.”

Everyone quickly agreed. The two groups parted to their respective seats, and Ren breathed a silent
prayer of relief.

* * * * *

The announcer shared the first bull rider’s name, and everyone applauded.

“Everything all right?” Cade murmured to Ren. They sat unbearably close in bleacher style seating, and
Cade’s skin felt sensitized and tight under his clothing -- as it had from the moment Ren had walked off
with the beautifulTex.

Immediately, Cade had gone all hot inside as he watched Ren leave withTex. His mouth had dried up,
and his heart had started fluttering so fast he felt sick with it. Cade had never experienced this particular
kind of discomfort before, but he knew exactly why he felt it this time.

Suffocating, debilitating jealousy.

In that moment, Cade had wanted to drag Ren’s mouth to his and kiss him long and deep, put a public
claim on him that marked him as taken. Out of pure jealousy, he’d wanted to reveal their secret affair
with a searing kiss of ownership, and without words, tellTex not to even think he had a chance of
resuming his previous sexual relationship with Ren. Knowing that he couldn’t, Cade had gone very rigid
instead, biting his tongue and pretending indifference, when on the inside he felt anything but ambiguous.

Last evening Cade had taken a huge step in saying yes to Ren when he’d called about the rodeo.
Flummoxed by Ren’s call, and completely unprepared, Cade hadn’t known what to say when he’d
recognized Ren’s voice on the line, and that he phoned for personal reasons. Instinct told Cade to pull
back, that he had rushed too quickly into this relationship with Ren, and that too many dangers lay in the
path of them ever being together.

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Duke Boone discovering their secret affair sat right at the top of Cade’s list.

Cade had missed Ren this week though, barely fighting through his desire to call, especially since,
because of Duke, he already had Ren’s phone number. When Ren had suggested sharing a ride to the
rodeo, Cade’s mouth had opened, prepared to politely decline. Instead, when he’d gone to say no, out
came yes.

Only now that they were out in public together, Cade didn’t know how to behave.

“Well?” Cade pressed softly, unable to hold back his curiosity. He applauded the scores of the first bull
rider on an automatic cue from the crowd.

“Well, what?” Ren slid a telling glance Cade’s way.

Cade’s jaw ticked, frustration welling. More applause erupted as the voice over the PA system
announced the second rider. Cade went along, not having heard the name at all. “Well” -- he raised an
eyebrow -- “just what I said. Is everything all right?”

“Ask me what you really want to know, Deputy,” Ren said. He sat casually facing forward, as if they did
nothing more than talk about the rodeo. “I’ll answer anything you want, if you can do it without playing
me like a suspect you want to trap into a confession.”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Cade backtracked defensively. He clapped again. “I was just curious. If you
don’t want to tell me, then don’t.” Christ, Cade couldn’t just ask. That would render him completely
vulnerable, and give Ren all the power in whatever this thing was they had going together. “If it was that
private,” he bit off between tight lips, “then it’s not my right to know about it anyway.”

“I didn’t say that…” Ren’s words trailed off as a booming voice announced Risa’s name over the
loudspeaker. Ren jumped to his feet, hooting and hollering.

A group of guys behind Ren and Cade booed and laughed, drowning out the announcer’s words. They
loudly threw slurs against Risa’s gender into the crowd.

Cade turned and found the group of rowdy guys causing the ruckus. He sussed out the ringleader and
laid a hard, cold stare on a man who didn’t look more than twenty-five years old.

The little bastard looked right at Cade and called out, “Go home, bitch!”

“Hey, you.” Cade delivered a cool, friendly greeting, well aware of the fact that he had a crowd of
innocent bystanders around him. “I don’t know where you’re from, but we don’t boo at events around
here. It’s a family environment, so if you can’t cheer with the rest of us, then sit quietly until they
announce the next contestant. You hear me?”

“I’ll say whatever the hell I want to say, you ugly son of a bitch.” The little punk puffed up his chest and
waved his beer. “If you don’t like it, you can kiss my ass!”

“Actually,” Cade stated, his voice infuriatingly calm, knowing it registered so much more intimidating that
way, “I won’t kiss your ass. I’ll have it arrested on a drunk and disorderly charge.” Cade slipped his
leather folio out of his back pocket and flashed his badge. Just as smoothly, he folded it and slid it back
into his pocket. “Make a choice: sit down and shut up, or I make one phone call and you and your
friends” -- he slid his gaze along the others in the group -- “spend the night in lockup. Your choice.”

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The jackass actually leaned in toward Cade, but his buddies pulled him back into his seat. Satisfied,
Cade nodded and turned back around just as they released the gate to the holding chute and a two
thousand pound bull bucked out of the stall with Risa on its back. Ren yanked Cade right back out of his
seat.

Risa jerked forward and back on the bull from right out of the pen, her body twisting and bending like a
rubber band. She held one hand wrapped around a rope and the other in the air, and maintained her
balance on the back of the contorting bull. The time on a big digital clock ticked to four seconds, then
five. It hit six seconds, and the crowd swarmed to its feet. Suddenly, the bull shot high off the ground,
threw its head back particularly hard, and Risa lost her grip on the rope. She went flying through the air
and landed on her side, her hip and shoulder crashing into the dirt with a hard, resounding thud.

The entire crowd gasped and fell silent. The rodeo bullfighter raced in and lured the bull away so that
Risa could escape without harm. Risa immediately rolled to her feet and raced to the metal fence. As she
climbed up to the top rung, she popped the snap on the chinstrap of her head protection, peeled the
helmet off, and threw her arm in the air.

Although she didn’t make the eight seconds and earn a score, the crowd still went wild. Risa pumped
the fist clutching her headgear one last time for the audience, a natural show woman. Everyone in their
group hugged everyone else, shouting their happiness that Risa had survived the first ride at her first
official PBR event.

With everyone happy and hugging, it seemed the most natural thing in the world to accept when Ren
grabbed Cade up in a tight bear hug. Cade hugged Ren back, shivering inside as Ren slid his hand down
Cade’s back. Cade sought out Ren’s pale blue gaze right in the middle of the crowd, and found clear
sexual intent waiting for him.

Cade’s entire body flared to quick life. He sat down fast and leaned forward to cover the suddenly
half-hard state of his cock.Christ, this wasn’t good .

Ren sat down, and it got even worse.

He leaned in and murmured softly near Cade’s ear, “I haven’t forgotten what you did for Risa with those
guys.”

“I did it for you,” Cade admitted thickly, compelled to embarrassing honesty every time he spoke with
this man.

“You’re a sweet man,” Ren said, and bumped his shoulder against Cade’s.

In a public setting, amidst a crowd of thousands, Cade grew unbearably hard in his jeans.

Speechless and terribly aroused, in that moment, Cade could only gulp.

Chapter Eighteen

“Did you have a good time?” Ren asked Cade.

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Cade’s gaze briefly slid off the road to Ren in the passenger seat. “Yeah. I’m glad Risa invited me.”

“Me too.”

“You’re a good friend, Ren. Risa really appreciated you being there for her tonight. And that other
guy,Tex , you stepped right up when he needed to talk to you, too.”

Ah, so now it began. Ren had wondered how long it would take Cade to go fishing for answers
aboutTex again. It had only taken the rest of the rodeo, a celebratory dinner afterward, and finally an
hour on the open road in the darkness of the wee hours of the night for Cade to crack.

It amazed Ren that with everything Cade had going for him he wouldn’t just speak up and ask what he
really wanted to know. Ren turned, shifting under the protection of his seat belt until he half faced Cade.
“Are you jealous of my friendship withTex ?”

“What?” Cade shot Ren a horrified glance, his dark eyes round and wide. “Why would you say that?
I’m curious,” Cade said, his gaze darting to Ren’s. “It’s a natural side effect of my job. If you don’t want
to tell me, you don’t have to.”

“Oh.” Well, hell, now Ren didn’t know what to think. He thought he’d read a territorial, jealous vibe in
Cade earlier tonight. It had made Ren happy, if only because it mirrored what Ren had already begun to
feel for Cade.

As a result -- as immature as it made Ren feel -- he had actually gotten a little high thinking Cade jealous
of the private talk he’d had with Tex. Ren hadn’t wanted Cade to feel bad or insecure, but it felt nice
thinking Cade might be a little bit protective of their new friendship.

Only Cade didn’t feel jealousy, but rather mere curiosity. Great.

Deflated, Ren confessed, “Texthought I was mad at him.” Leaning the side of his head against the
backrest, Ren stared at Cade’s hard, contoured shadow as he drove them home. “I haven’t talked to
him much in the last couple of weeks, and when he saw me he thought I had set him aside for a new
group of friends.”

“But you reassured him you hadn’t. Right?”

“Yep.” Ren watched Cade drive, mesmerized by his strong profile. “I explained the special
circumstances, and Risa’s participation in the event. That seemed to settle him right down.”

“Oh.” Cade’s square jaw ticked. He added a “hmm,” under his breath.

Ren narrowed his gaze and sat up a little bit straighter. “Did you want me to tellTex we were on a date?
I mean, he knows about me, but I didn’t feel as though I had any right to tell him about you. Should I
have?”

“Is that what happened tonight?” Cade took his eyes off the road and found Ren’s in the shadows,
holding for a moment before turning back to the driving. “Did we go on a date?”

Ren’s palms grew sweaty. “Risa thinks we did.” He wiped his hands on his jeans.

“What do you think?” Cade’s voice came across rough, the scratchy timbre snaking through Ren’s

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insides, swirling around his chest and down through his belly before capturing him by the cock and
wrenching him to full, painful life.

The wave of sexual pull Ren had fought to hide all night long finally dragged him under. So, smart or not,
Ren unbuckled his seat belt, slid across the seat, and whispered against Cade’s ear, “I think I’ve wanted
to kiss you ever since you opened your door, looking so handsome and sexy in your button-up shirt and
crisply ironed jeans.” Ren licked the shell of Cade’s ear and blew cool air over the moist skin, grinning
when Cade shivered. “You did iron them, too.” Ren ran his hand down the top of Cade’s hard thigh.
“Didn’t you?” He traced the tips of his fingers up Cade’s inner thigh to his crotch, his breath hitching at
the big bulge he discovered there.

Cade’s cock jumped under Ren’s hand. “I wanted to look nice for you.” Cade’s voice sounded hoarse.

“You succeeded.”

“Thank you,” Cade breathed, the words unbelievably soft.

Grinning, Ren darted his tongue in Cade’s ear, and licked.

Right away, Cade rolled down the window and exhaled an unsteady, whistling breath.

Ren pushed, needing to. Something near to panic rippled through him, driving him recklessly in the
direction of complete intimacy, a place he’d had no firsthand knowledge of until meeting this man. He
needed Cade there with him, too, so that he didn’t feel so overwhelmed all by himself.

Rubbing the thick ridge of Cade’s cock through his jeans, already scorching hot, even through the
material, Ren gained a hiss of pleasure from the man driving his truck. Ren knew Cade couldn’t be nearly
satisfied just having his prick touched, so Ren reached in between Cade’s legs and cupped his balls,
squeezing and pushing the tips of his fingers up behind them, into that ultrasensitive area of fragile flesh.

Cade yelped into the silence of the night. “Jesus Christ.” One of Cade’s hands flew off the wheel and
covered Ren’s over his nuts. “What in the hell are you doing to me? I’m trying to drive.”

“I want you.” Ren delved under Cade’s arm and kissed Cade’s hard chest through his shirt, working his
way up the warm flesh of Cade’s throat, licking salty skin on the underside of Cade’s jaw. Ren kissed up
the trio of scars that ended in three streaky, angry lines halfway down Cade’s neck. He leaned in farther,
practically draping himself over Cade’s body so that he could continue to trace the pulled, puckered lines
with the tip of his tongue. Exploring the warm skin beneath the ridges, Ren licked their permanent map
that led up and over Cade’s strong, square jaw, over the entirety of his cheek, to the starting point at the
edge of his eye and temple.

“Stop that.” Cade’s voice scraped coarsely over Ren. He let go of the wheel with one hand and
tunneled through Ren’s hair, drawing Ren’s face to his. Cade’s dark gaze already looked a little bit out of
control. “If you keep this up, I’ll run us right off the road.”

Butterflies erupted in Ren’s stomach, and he suddenly felt very powerful in this relationship once again.
“I think you can keep this truck on the road no matter what I do.” He ran his thumb over Cade’s
enticing, hard lips, gasping when Cade dipped his tongue out and licked him. The moist caress raced
straight through Ren’s body, jerking his cock in his jeans. “And I’m gonna prove it.”

Ren made quick work of Cade’s belt, snap and zipper, peeling back Cade’s jeans to reveal stark white

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underwear. Opening Cade’s pants released the thick fragrance of his essence, sending the distinctly male
scent right into Ren’s nostrils, hitting on erogenous zones he’d never known existed until he’d been
allowed to get up close and personal with another man’s cock.

Glancing up the length of Cade’s torso, Ren pressed a kiss against Cade’s stomach through his shirt. He
pushed the front of Cade’s underwear down, springing Cade’s big prick free. Red, heavily veined, and
beautiful, it bobbed and reared toward Cade’s stomach, right in the direction of Ren’s mouth, almost as if
asking for a suck.

“Ren.” Cade’s voice sounded strangled. “You wouldn’t.”

“I would.” Ren wrapped his hand around the base of Cade’s steaming cock and swallowed the upper
half in one smooth motion. He went more than halfway down and sucked Cade’s burning hot member
with every muscle in his mouth.

“Jesus Christ.” Cade pumped his hips up, pushing more of his length into Ren’s mouth. Ren took it
eagerly, tightening his lips and licking up and down along the heavily ridged veins. He moved up Cade’s
thick pole and rimmed his tongue around the edge of Cade’s mushroom tip. In response, Cade’s hand
slipped on the wheel and blasted the horn jarringly into the silent night, proof that he enjoyed what Ren
did.

God, Ren loved Cade’s dick. He could suck on it a dozen times a day and not get tired of the shape of
it in his mouth. The wide, fat slit drizzled salty precum like a broken water faucet, and every drag of his
lips over Cade’s turgid length caused it to swell and grow hotter against his cheeks and tongue, filling his
mouth more. Ren sucked Cade’s dick hard, making Cade squirm his hips in miniscule gyrations, almost
as if he simultaneously tried to get away from the sensation and make it more acute at the same time.
Reaching inside Cade’s underwear, Ren touched his balls, and Cade cried a high, little sound into the
night

Cade’s slip of control excited Ren unbearably. He yanked Cade’s jeans and underwear down and out
of the way, and pushed his face between Cade’s thighs. Burrowing up though the humidity, he licked,
smelled, and learned all about Cade’s lightly furred sac, something he’d only used his hands on up until
now. When he got to where he wanted, Ren opened his mouth and took Cade’s balls inside.

He swirled his tongue around their swollen, heavy shape, and Cade went wild.

“Christ, honey.” Cade doubled over Ren’s back, groaning and jerking as the truck swerved sharply.
“You’ve gotta stop.” Ren wrapped his hand around Cade’s cock and started to jerk him off, doubling his
pleasure, doubling his challenge to withstand it.

“Ohhh, Jesus…” Cade dug his fingers into the back of Ren’s skull, biting in their pressure. He spread his
thighs on the leather seat and pushed Ren’s head even higher between the V of his legs. As Ren sucked
Cade’s sac and moved his hand up and down his dick, Cade growled, his voice harsh, “Damn it,
Ren…don’t stop. Oh, Christ, you’re so fucking good; you’re going to get us killed.”

Ren let Cade’s nuts slide from between his lips. He looked up, bleary-eyed with lust. “I love it when you
say my name,” he admitted, so far gone in that moment he couldn’t care how much power he gave away.
“I love it when you call me honey, too.” Ren’s face heated at his confession, so before he gave even
more of himself away, he turned his face back into Cade’s lap and ate up the length of his cock once
again.

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Cade’s tip hit the back of Ren’s throat. Rather than pull back, Ren relaxed his muscles, sliding more of
Cade’s penis deeper inside.

“Oh Jesus…” Cade went crazy. “I can’t take it anymore.” He clutched the back of Ren’s neck, pulling
the man away from his cock as their drive home came to a screeching halt. Cursing up a litany of foul
words under his breath, Cade jerked the steering wheel and drove the truck off the little back road,
bumping them over uneven grassland. Cade turned the truck sharply again, grinding the brakes and
bringing the truck to a spinning stop.

Letting go of the steering wheel, Cade gripped Ren’s head in the vise of his hands and shoved him back
down over his aching cock. His bare hips and ass went wild against the leather seat, making little
squeaking noises every time his sweaty skin rubbed against the material.

“Do it.” Cade’s voice turned fierce and harsh. He pushed his prick up deep into Ren’s mouth, moaning
as Ren took it past his throat again, muttering thickly, “Oh yeah…yeah, do it, damn it. Fucking make me
come.”

Ren wanted to, God how he wanted to. He bobbed up and down on Cade’s thick piece of meat and
circled his tongue all around its heat, dragging the tight O of his lips torturously, slowly up the pulsing
length. He nibbled on the ultrasensitive fat tip, drawing a hissing curse from Cade when he sucked on just
the leaking slit, teasing liquid out of it and lapping it up with his tongue.

Cade thrashed against the seat of the truck, his vocal cords creating a trilling, excited noise that sounded
like music to Ren’s ears. Cade would come very soon; Ren knew it. He needed one final push and his
cock would spew his release, giving Ren the gift denied him all week long.

Every last drop of Cade’s steaming hot cum.

Ren slid his fingers up Cade’s inner thigh, tickling the nerve-rich patch of softer skin. Cade’s entire body
trembled, reacting beautifully to the slight touch. Ren circled one hand around the thick base of Cade’s
prick and took it back inside his mouth, sucking deep drags of Cade’s cock. With his other hand, he
bypassed Cade’s testicles and went right for that thin membrane of skin between Cade’s scrotum and
anus, rubbing with the lightest, softest touch.

A shudder racked Cade’s entire body, stiffening every muscle tight. A scant second later, Cade erupted,
crying a high-pitched sound into the night as he came inside Ren’s mouth. Ren sucked Cade’s cock hard
and rode the wave as Cade’s body convulsed repeatedly, each jerking move spurting bitter, salty hot
sprays of ejaculate onto Ren’s tongue. Cade’s essence filled Ren’s mouth, giving Ren a piece of Cade
that no other man had ever had.

Ren took it all, swallowing the thick semen down his throat. He kept his lips wrapped relentlessly around
Cade’s dick until a hand finally delved through his hair and pulled him bodily away.

“No more, no more,” Cade gasped, winded. “My dick is too sensitive right now to take another touch.”

Nothing in him would let Ren stop now. “I want to fuck you,” he said thickly. He rubbed his cheek
against Cade’s knee and looked up, finding Cade’s dark, intense gaze with the help of moonlight. “If I
can’t have your cock again, then I want inside your ass. Right now.”

Cade’s pupils flared, flickering with shining brightness. His Adam’s apple bobbed, his chest rose, rustling
his shirt against his taut body. He said only one word, the most wonderful one Ren had ever heard.

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“Yes.”

Chapter Nineteen

Yes. To Ren’s mind, those three little letters constructed the most breathtaking word in the English
language.

Ren’s nostrils flared as he took in the heavy smell of sex already permeating the air, a unique, heady
fragrance that unequivocally showcased Cade’s excitement and release. Ren found Cade’s gaze, and the
unwavering intensity in it locked his chest tight, making his breathing a deep, conscious thing. The cab of
the truck fogged with steam, even with the cold breeze rushing in through the open driver’s side window,
chilling the air around them. An environment already so ripe with lust, Ren craved only one more thing in
that moment, a gift Cade had already agreed to give.

He wanted inside.

Desperate to take Cade’s ass, Ren’s cock ached for it. He felt sure that his very soul vibrated with it
physically, pushing his desires out of his pores, marking his body as someone who needed another
person. This person. The sudden vulnerability hit him, sharp and painful, and Ren felt certain his deepest
desires must be visible to the naked eye. Not for anything in the world did Ren want Cade to see the
need coating his flesh and shining in his gaze.

“Get on your knees and hold onto the window,” Ren ordered, abruptly shifting back to the shadowed,
passenger side of the seat.

Cade’s gaze followed Ren, openly questioning as he pushed off his boots and jeans, leaving them in a
neat pile on the floor of the truck. His shirt quickly followed. A flash of fear flickered in Cade’s dark
eyes, but he did as told anyway. He folded up on his knees and presented Ren with his ass.

Cade crushed the frame of the open window between his fingers, turning the knuckles stark white,
lurching Ren’s stomach at the message it conveyed.

“You don’t have to worry. I have stuff,” Ren said, compelled to soothe, pushed to reassure this person
who had way too much power over him already. He reached for the glove compartment and popped it
open. “I left the house tonight hopeful and horny” -- Ren covered the confession with a chuckle -- “so I
came prepared.”

“I wasn’t worried about that. Oh!” Cade gasped, his muscles tensing as Ren covered him from behind.

“Then what?” Ren asked next to Cade’s ear.

“You looked feral for a minute,” Cade revealed softly. “The thought hit me that I wasn’t exactly sure
what I’d agreed to do.” Cade reached back and clutched at Ren’s hip, squeezing him through his jeans.
In automatic response, Ren pushed his hips forward and rubbed his crotch against Cade’s ass.

“I want you so badly I hurt with it,” Ren owned roughly, in a terrible, needful manner. He pushed his
jeans down past his hips and tore the little square packet open, pausing for a moment to steady his hands
before rolling the protection over his raging cock. “I don’t think I can give you any more foreplay or go

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slow.” He squeezed a generous dollop of cool lube on his sheathed penis and stroked himself up and
down, groaning as the clear jelly spread over his stiff, sensitive prick. “Tell me right now if you can handle
that.” He offered Cade an out, something his entire body screamed that he not give. “Or else brace
yourself to take a less than gentlemanly ride.”

In answer, Cade’s forehead dropped to rest against the open window frame, and he spread his legs as
far as he could in the limited space. As if uncertain that would suffice, Cade slid his big, strong hands over
the globes of his ass, took a cheek in each one, and spread himself wide open, exposing his crack and
hole for Ren’s taking.

“It’s yours.” Cade’s body acted as a buffer and muffled his voice, but Ren heard him, and had to grab
the seat in order to stop the shaking that trembled in his hands. “I want whatever you have to give me.
Fuck me, Ren.” Cade almost seemed to plead for a demanding taking. “Fuck me good.”

“I intend to.” Ren’s gaze locked on Cade’s dark little asshole. He guided his cock to the closed-up
orifice and nudged his tip against the puckered ring.

Cade jerked in front of him, but he kept himself split open. Ren didn’t stop. He couldn’t. He braced his
free hand against the center of Cade’s back and pushed again, tucking his hips up and forcing his weight
against Cade’s body, nudging Cade’s sphincter harder. Ren applied insistent, demanding pressure,
making Cade grunt each time he did, until suddenly Cade made a choking sound beneath him, his ass
gave up the fight, and Ren slipped inside.

“Oh God, Cade.” Ren hissed as Cade’s scorching anus sucked his dick inside. “You feel so damn
good.”

“Take it,” Cade muttered, his voice slurred. He rolled his head to the side on the doorframe, throwing
the flawless side of his face into stark relief against the light of the moon. “Take whatever you want.” He
pushed his ass back on Ren’s dick, his teeth gritting. “It’s all for you.” Ren jerked in reaction, and shoved
in deep. Cade squeezed his eyes shut, his voice breathless. “Only for you.”

Ren fell forward, buried his face against the back of Cade’s neck, and started to pump in furious motion,
taking the tightest, hottest heaven he’d ever known, Cade’s ass. So quickly, it became almost too much
to feel, too fast, and that made Ren rough. He knew he needed to show consideration, but he couldn’t
slow down. He shoved his hips up against Cade’s tight ass again and again, violating Cade’s channel in
the most primal, elemental way. His cock screamed into overdrive, making him frantic and uncouth. Each
push of Ren’s dick in Cade’s rectum shoved them both forward, and before too long, both of their
sweaty bodies hung halfway out the open window, their torsos shoved over the side of the door, their
legs banging into the door on the inside.

Ren knew he bruised Cade’s thighs and lower belly every time he took his ass so deeply. A horrifying
shame filled him up to the brim, even as he shafted Cade’s dark, tight tunnel again. “I don’t want to hurt
you.” Ren’s voice stripped to guttural against the nape of Cade’s neck. He licked, kissed, and bit the
skin there, trying desperately to take as much of Cade as he could. “I don’t mean to, but it’s not like
before.” Thickness clogged Ren’s throat. He dug his knees into the truck’s door and bore down on
Cade, crushing him into the padded metal. Ren pushed in deep, his fur rubbing against the inside of
Cade’s crack, almost unmanning him in its intensity. “I don’t know how to go slow tonight.”

“You don’t have to.” Cade panted heavily, clearly having trouble talking. He winced, expelling a choked
half-breath as Ren fucked him hard again. “I can take it if you need me to,” he promised, his voice barely
audible.

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Cade’s back heaved up against Ren’s chest, and Ren knew he crushed the bigger man’s lungs against
the car door, and probably made him dizzy, too. Ren wanted to shout for help, anything that would slow
down this intense pressure in his chest that he couldn’t push away, but at the same time he didn’t want
Cade to see him like this: vulnerable, needy, and open.

Ren froze on that thought, his mouth hovering over Cade’s ear. Wanting to push everything he felt inside
away, he dug his fingers into Cade’s forearms and tucked his cock up deep inside the exquisitely narrow
cavern of Cade’s ass. Unable to outrun his emotions, Ren felt everything in that moment.Everything . He
experienced the sizzling, tight sensation of each nerve ending grazing against Cade’s body; he inhaled in
time with every breath Cade took beneath him, and he thought for sure the pounding of his heart beat in
conjunction with Cade’s, making them almost one person. Ren experienced perfect harmony with
another person for the first time in his life.

It terrified him to his core. Fear went straight into his bloodstream and his very marrow, right into the
fiber of his being. He dug his fingers into Cade’s wrists and rocked up hard, grinding in deeper, making
Cade cry out into the night. Still Ren pushed, shoving all of his weight against the furnace of Cade’s back.
Ren tried to fuse every inch of his flesh to Cade’s, wanted desperately to crawl inside Cade’s very being
and make himself so much a part of Cade that no matter how much he wanted to, Cade would never be
able to let Ren go. He bit at Cade’s neck and shoulder, needing to leave a mark, something that Cade
would see tomorrow when he looked in a mirror, something that would remind him of Ren and everything
they did and felt when they came together like this.

Ren’s chest seized with sheer terror at his thoughts. In answer, he rammed his raging cock even deeper
into Cade’s ass.

Cade grunted and bucked at Ren, his big body squirming with fight.

“Get off of me,” Cade ordered, his voice low and breathless. Cade pushed back, snapping Ren out of
his paralyzed state. “Get off, Ren. Right now.”

Rejection cut Ren to the quick.

Cut up inside by Cade’s order, but suddenly clearheaded once again, Ren lifted his weight off Cade and
pulled himself back inside the truck. He slid to his side of the seat as pain slammed down on him like a
ton of steel. Ren had never craved the shadows he hid behind more than right now, knowing for a
certainty that his hurt showed on his face, exposing him as a weak-willed, needy pussy.

Bracing himself to face Cade’s wrath, Ren quietly promised himself that he would survive it. Cade
crawled back inside the cab of the truck, wincing as his body unraveled from over the door. Ren told
himself it was fine and that he didn’t care, and that he had a tough enough hide to withstand hard words
from another man.

Cade didn’t yell or censure Ren with judgmental, hard eyes.

He did something so much worse than that.

Cade moved over to Ren and climbed on his lap.

Stricken, Ren watched, his head reared back against the seat as Cade rose up on his knees and
straddled Ren’s thighs. He took Ren’s stiff cock in his hand and lowered himself down over it, sighing as

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his ass smoothly took Ren’s prick all the way inside.

Ren’s entire body jerked with a thousand volts of electricity, so moved he couldn’t speak.

Cade murmured an appreciative sound as his ass muscles flared around Ren’s dick, milking it as he met
Ren’s gaze in the darkness. “Christ, Ren, I love how full my ass feels when it gets taken by your cock.
There’s no room for anything but you.” Cade started to move. “Only you.”

Ren’s heart seized. He pulled Cade’s face down to his, not stopping until their foreheads touched. “Why
aren’t you mad at me?” Ren slid his fingers through Cade’s short dark hair and held his head steady. “I
was so rough,” he rasped, hating that his emotions battled to take control -- and won out. “You told me
to get off.”

“You were crushing me,” Cade shared gently. His hands came up and encircled Ren’s neck, his thumbs
brushing Ren’s cheeks, almost lovingly. He held Ren’s head up straight, and Ren’s belly tightened and
fluttered under the scrutiny, rocking him even further off balance. “I couldn’t breathe.”

Ren had hurt Cade. He knew it. “I’m sorry.” He leaned in and captured Cade’s lips, sipping and
drinking, whispering his apology into Cade’s mouth. “So, so sorry.”

“It’s all right.” Cade kissed Ren back, nibbling on the edge of his lips and darting the tip of his tongue out
to taste in a way that made Ren’s breath hitch in his chest. “It might have looked smokin’ hot to anyone
peeping on us” -- Cade’s mouth pulled awkwardly in what Ren now thought of as Cade’s special
smile -- “but it was amazingly uncomfortable around my middle.” Cade pressed a finger against Ren’s
lips before he could say a word. “Not anywhere else, I promise.” He rocked forward, and Ren drew in a
sharp breath as the walls of Cade’s ass caressed his penis once again. “I don’t hurt anywhere that would
require you to stop what you were doing. Finish what you started, cowboy.” Cade’s eyes flared in the
darkness, and he clutched Ren’s shoulders through his shirt, digging his fingers in until Ren knew he’d
have bruises. “Fuck me until we both come.”

Ren slid his hands down Cade’s steaming, sweaty back, not stopping until he cupped Cade’s ass. He
rolled Cade forward, nudged his own hips up, and got them moving. Cade picked up the motion right
away, murmuring incoherent little noises as he lifted himself up and down along the length of Ren’s pole,
driving Ren a little bit crazy as he watched. The rapture on Cade’s face mesmerized Ren. His mouth hung
open and his eyelids dropped almost all the way closed. He worked himself off on Ren’s dick, seemingly
getting so much joy out of being taken that his prick stiffened and shifted, and started poking at Ren’s
belly.

Ren looked down, just to double-check. When he looked back up, Cade’s glazed gaze waited for him.
“Everything you do makes me hard,” Cade confessed, his eyes bright. Ren knifed up in response and
took Cade deep, making Cade gasp. Cade grabbed Ren’s shoulders and steadied himself, but didn’t
stop moving. “I never thought I would want another person inside me until I met you.” He lowered his
weight and circled his ass against Ren’s stiff prick, making them both moan and start. “But since you took
me my first time, I can’t seem to dream about anything else.”

Right then, the moment became too much for Ren to handle. Too much confession, too much raw truth,
too much brightness in Cade’s dark eyes, too much pressure behind Ren’s. Ren turned away, blinking
against the moisture that threatened to spill. He focused his attention on a tall wintergreen in the distance,
staring, hiding from Cade. A tight, suffocating sensation filled Ren with panic, and he had the crazed idea
to throw Cade off his lap and run away.

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Ren struggled for control, but then Cade pressed his face against Ren’s hair and moved his lips against
Ren’s scalp, more of a lingering, exploring caress than a kiss. Not base, or erotic, or meant to titillate; the
gentle touch evoked so much more than merely that. It conveyed intimacy in its purest form, and Ren
didn’t think anything could tug him under the tide or scare him more than that.

He needed only wait one more moment for Cade to prove him wrong.

Cade scraped his lips against the shell of Ren’s ear, and then rocked Ren’s world right off its axis.

“Don’t look away,” Cade pleaded, his voice soft and unsteady. His rough, blunt fingers crept up and
touched over Ren’s temple and cheek, making Ren shudder. “Please, Ren.” His voice hitched. “Don’t
turn away. Not right now.”

“Never,” Ren whispered, the word out of his mouth before he consciously thought it. He turned his head
and captured Cade’s mouth in a deep, sensual kiss, eating Cade’s cry of surprise. He rolled his hips and
started them moving again, his cock roaring back to life in Cade’s ass.

Ren pumped his hips up and maneuvered Cade’s down, putting them back on a road of sensual delight
that quickly had them both writhing, panting, and clutching, desperate to get to that release. Cade’s
openness catapulted Ren right to the edge, leaving Ren no time or room to go backward.

Tucked inside the confines of Cade’s burning ass, Ren’s cock rejoiced and sang. Every swipe of his
sensitive dick over Cade’s gripping walls swelled Ren’s balls between his legs, hanging heavily, painfully,
and full of semen. Ren grabbed the back of Cade’s head and pulled his hair, dragging their mouths apart
so he could look into Cade’s eyes. His lips pulling back in a snarling growl, Ren speared up into Cade’s
ass channel, slammed Cade’s body down against his lap, and held him prisoner there with the chain of his
arms. Watching Cade’s face as it happened, tied to him and unable to break away, Ren screamed a
resounding wail. His orgasm rocketed through his body, shaking his entire being as he swelled in Cade’s
squeezing anus and ejaculated with a shuddering release, emptying his seed into Cade’s ass, with only a
thin layer of protection between them.

Cade’s jaw went slack in front of him. A little jerk of surprise rolled through his lover’s body and he
clamped down on Ren again, pulling another quick spit of seed out of Ren’s cock. Cade’s rock-hard
length pulsed between their stomachs, also struggling to achieve release.

“Lie back, baby, lie back,” Ren instructed quickly. “I want to help you. Here.” Ren put his calves on the
dashboard, bracing his boots against the windshield. “Use my legs for a bed.” He guided Cade down
until his legs supported the other man’s back and head.

With the shift, Ren moaned as his cock slipped free of the hold of Cade’s ass. He pressed his palms
against Cade’s hard, thick thighs, loving the feel of coarse hair scraping against his hands, gently abrading
his flesh. Cade’s muscles relaxed under Ren’s touch, his throat producing the purring sounds of a
contented cat. Cade accepted Ren’s touch easily, letting Ren maneuver his legs until Ren had him folded
up with his bare feet pressed against the roof of the truck.

The shift gave Ren exactly what he wanted: Cade’s stiff, weeping cock, his swollen hairy balls, and his
winking dark sphincter, all close at hand, open and vulnerable to whatever Ren wanted to do with them.

Cade lifted his head, blinking with confusion as he took in the darkly sexual picture he made. He found

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Ren’s waiting gaze in the moonlit darkness, his eyes pools of blue reflecting light in the night.

“What are you doing? Oh Christ,” Cade groaned, his body bowing tight as Ren pierced his rectum with
two fingers, taking him again in another way. Ren knew right where to go. He delved straight for the kill
point and rubbed that insanely sensitive bump of flesh inside Cade’s burning rectum. Cade grunted, his
toes curling against the roof of the truck, grasping for purchase.

Cade bit his lip and squirmed against Ren’s fondling, feeling certain this must be terribly wicked, and that
nobody should ever feel this good just because they wished for it. But even as trepidation skittered
through Cade’s heart, he couldn’t look away, couldn’t stop his gaze from darting between Ren’s
focused, intense stare, and his determined, long fingers buried nearly halfway up Cade’s ass.

“Play with your cock, baby,” Ren ordered, his voice husky as it cut across the cab. He rubbed his face
against Cade’s calf, almost nuzzling it. “I’m thirsty again…” Ren tickled his fingers right over Cade’s
prostate, driving Cade wild. “I need you to come.”

Cade couldn’t deny Ren anything, even if he tried. And certainly not in that moment, not even if someone
walked up on them and shone a light on their coupling. With Ren, Cade had no control or ability to walk
away. Physically, the smallest glance or touch from Ren weakened him. Even more dangerous,
emotionally, Cade’s insides turned to putty just by looking or thinking about Ren.

Ren’s eyes flashed blue fire. “Go on.” He shafted Cade’s ass deep with his fingers. “Touch yourself.”

Cade reached down and wrapped his hand around his cock, shuddering and jerking in shock at his
sensitivity to the slightest touch. His gaze flew to Ren’s, and he flushed at the knowledge and awareness
he saw there.

“Don’t back off,” Ren instructed as Cade started to pull his hand away. “Don’t fight it.” He covered
Cade’s fingers and got him moving again, guiding Cade’s hand up and down his shaft in long, hard
strokes. Ren’s gaze drifted up their hands and landed on Cade. Pure sin twinkled in Ren’s eyes, and a
frightening, fleeting thought skittered through Cade’s mind: he was already lost.

Somehow, he had already fallen in love.

Suddenly, frantically, Cade fought, trying desperately to get away from the physical feelings that
intellectually he knew must be driving this fast attachment to Ren. This new sexual activity somehow
tricked him into giving name to this overwhelming wash of emotion choking at him and clawing straight
through to his heart. Cade rolled away, but Ren stayed with him, holding Cade as he threw himself onto
the seat and buried his face into the back cushion, cowardly trying to hide in just the way he’d begged
Ren not to do only a few minutes ago.

Cade managed to get free of the knowing scrutiny in Ren’s eyes, but stretched out naked against the
leather of the backrest cushion, he could not escape the drugging sensation of Ren’s touch. He couldn’t
hide from the rich sensations Ren pulled out of him, could not get away from the fingers still plundering
the ultrasensitive tissues in his anus, driving him to madness with pleasure too wonderful for a mere mortal
to withstand.

Cade bucked against the seat, driving his cockhead into the leather. He dragged his fist up and down his
painfully swollen length, unable to keep his hands off himself, unable to rise above the dictates of his
body’s needs.

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“That’s it.” Ren’s tormenting, beautiful siren’s voice whispered at Cade’s ear. He drove his two fingers
deep into Cade’s tender channel, choking a cry out of Cade that had him biting down on the leather in
front of him to ease the sensation. “Let it happen, baby.” Ren forced a third finger into Cade’s rectum,
stretching him wide open. “Just let go and let it happen.”

Cade did. He let everything go. His body shuddered with pleasure, his ass clamped down on Ren’s
fingers and tried to pull the invasion in even deeper, and his balls finally slammed up, releasing his orgasm.
He jerked his hips forward and silently spilled his seed against the seat. Outwardly, out of control, Cade
did all of that. Inside his head, for himself, he whispered the words he’d never spoken to another living
soul.

In his head, Cade said, “I love you,” because somehow, even though he didn’t understand how, ithad
happened.

Cade was in love.

Chapter Twenty

Ren pushed into the sheriff’s station, pausing just inside the swinging door to let his eyes adjust to the
change from the bright sunlight outside.

“Hey, Ren,” Sarah greeted him. “You looking for your dad?”

Ren smiled at Sarah. “Looking for everybody, actually,” he said, his words deliberately casual as he
perused the bullpen. Ren’s gaze lighted on Cade, and his lower belly churned with awareness. He
cleared his throat. “I have some photographs of Risa working with Caleb and Micah on the bulls. I
thought you guys might be interested in seeing them.”

Ren pulled out the packet of photos and handed them over to Sarah. Another deputy, Jace Maxwell,
drifted over to take a look too. Even Shelley, here to drop off lunch from the diner, hung around for a
few minutes and checked them out. Cade glanced up in the direction of Sarah’s desk from his position
across the bullpen. Ren smiled and offered him a small wave, but Cade didn’t acknowledge the invitation
and join the small group.

A sharp prick of pain twisted in Ren’s chest and, embarrassed, he pulled his focus from Cade.

Ren had used the pictures an easy, acceptable excuse to visit the station, and he knew it. Four days had
passed since the rodeo, and Cade had made no effort to contact Ren at all. It hadn’t escaped Ren’s
notice that Cade had given him the silent treatment twice now after they’d been together sexually. In
between feeling pissed and scared that Cade might be jerking him around, Ren had started to develop a
complex.

Almost of its own volition, Ren’s attention drifted Cade’s way again, his entire body aching to hold the
man. Ren missed Cade so much he couldn’t stay away from him for one more day. He’d searched for a
way to make casual contact, and with these pictures, he had thought he found it. Only now, Cade moved
to Deputy Stuart’s desk and began a conversation with her, ignoring Ren completely. Hurt flared in Ren,
and heat stained his cheeks.

With his stomach feeling sick, Ren answered questions about the pictures and Risa’s progress, but he

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did it with half a heart. His hurt flamed to shame when Cade and Deputy Stuart passed by Sarah’s desk
and mentioned they were going to lunch at The BBQ Place. As the two of them left, Cade threw a
courtesy wave in the direction of the entire group and left the station without having made eye contact
with Ren once.

Confusion, embarrassment, and humiliation tore at Ren’s core. Panic and rejection flared inside, but he
stamped them down, determined not to take the hurt into his heart. Cade must have had a good excuse
for completely ignoring Ren, and would surely tell him soon. Cade couldn’t be blowing him off.He
couldn’t . Ren pushed the pain away and tucked hope in his pocket. He turned his full attention on
Sarah, a big, fake smile on his face.

* * * * *

Cade walked into the station after lunch, saw only Sarah, and breathed a silent sigh of relief. He had
suffered through hell being in such close proximity to Ren earlier, and he knew if he stayed a second
longer, he would have given Ren’s and his secret away. Ren looked so sexy in his cowboy gear, and he
treated everyone so sweetly that Cade’s new love for the man punched him in the gut and left him weak.
He just barely suppressed the urge to walk over to Sarah’s desk and kiss Ren long and deep in greeting,
and then never let him go. He’d actually lifted his hip off the edge of Deputy Stuart’s desk for that very
purpose before realizing his amorous intentions and jerking himself back to reality. Cade knew right then
he needed to get away. Another minute in Ren’s presence and Cade may very well have done something
irreversible.

Cade felt sick about the slight. He would have to discreetly call Ren and let him know he hadn’t done
anything to cause it. He would, too. Just as soon as he figured out how to make it happen without
arousing suspicion.

“Deputy?” The sheriff broke into Cade’s inappropriate thoughts.

Duke caught Cade’s gaze from his office door, and Cade’s neck rushed with heat.

He rubbed his chest distractedly. “What is it, boss?”

“I’d like a word with you.” Duke opened his door and beckoned to Cade. His normally hard face held
no hints to his mood at all. “Now, please.”

“Sure.” Cade felt Sarah’s curious gaze follow him to Duke’s office. Christ, his heart started pounding in
triple time. “Is everything all right?” Cade entered Duke’s office, and Duke shut the door, the soft click
reverberating like a gunshot in Cade’s head. “Is there a problem?” Cade’s mind raced, but felt certain
Duke could not know about Ren and him. No. Way. “Do we have a problem with a case?”

“Sit down.” Taking a seat behind his desk, Duke clasped his hands on his calendar blotter and met
Cade’s gaze. No longer impassive, Duke’s face turned grim. “I have some news. I’m afraid it’s not
good.”

“Tell me.” Cade’s hands shook, and he dug his fingers into the armrests to make it stop. “What’s
wrong?”

Duke shared, and Cade crumbled.

* * * * *

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“I wouldn’t read too much into it, Ren,” Risa shared over the phone. “He’s probably just busy. You can
understand that; you’re a busy man too. Did you ever think of that?”

“Too busy to take five minutes and call me?” Ren threw himself down on the small bed in the hatchery
shack. “You weren’t in the truck on the way home with us that night, so you can’t understand what
happened between us. You don’t come together the way we did and then not attempt to make any
contact with the other person, not if you’re interested in him.”

“Don’t go down that route.” Risa’s voice rang with authority through the connection of their cell phones.
Ren’s was brand new, and it embarrassed him to know he’d bought it because of Cade. “Don’t start
putting your insecurities in Cade’s head and projecting how he feels about you. That’s not fair, and it has
no basis in reality.”

Ren shot up off the bed and started pacing in a tight circle. “I’m not insecure,” he snapped heatedly,
“I’m just reading the signs loud and clear.” A slashing pain tore through Ren’s middle as he finally
admitted that aloud. He ignored the shameful, telling weakness that roared through him and carried on.
“Like withTex , I’m apparently good enough for sex, but not enough to take five minutes one night and
call me to say hi. Only with Cade it’s worse because right from the start, he fed me a bunch of bullshit
and made me think we had so much more going for us than just sex. He made me think he respected me
and liked me, but it was all a lie. The only difference between what he and I did and whatTex and I did is
that Cade’s gay -- which, by the way, doesn’t make him any less of an asshole in my book.”

“Wow.” Risa chuckled. “You really like him.”

“Not any more I don’t,” Ren swore vehemently. His throat immediately constricted and proved him a
liar.

“Yes, you do.” Risa cut through his line of bull. “You’re a little upset and confused right now, and feeling
insecure.”

Mere insecurity couldn’t adequately define the turmoil Ren had suffered the last week and a half. First,
the blow off at the station, and then a phone call completely ignored. God, each day that went by had
been longer and harder for Ren to get through than the previous one. He hated it. Intensely. Rubbing his
sunken eyes wearily, Ren slumped back against the hard chair.

He ran his hand through his hair, tousling the disorder into even more of a mess than the dishevelment
already there.

“God, Ris,” he finally said wearily. “I don’t know what to do anymore.”

“Tell me again,” Risa said. “You swear you called Cade and left a very clear message on his machine?
What did you say to him?”

“Well, I didn’t say I want to fuck you, if that’s what you’re asking,” he answered. “But I did leave him
my new cell phone number and told him to give me a call. I said I missed him, and hoped to see him
again. I think I made the invitation clear enough.”

“Yeah, I guess you did,” Risa agreed. “Which came first? The station or the phone call?”

“The station.” Ren could still see Cade leaving the station, barely a nod before leaving. “Why does it

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matter?”

“Well, if he’d given you the cut direct --”

“Cut direct?” Ren snorted.

“Yes, it’s a real term. I’ve read it many times in books.”

“Ah.” The light clicked on for Ren. “You mean in your romance novels.”

“Do you really want to tease me about my reading habits right now, or do you want to hear what I have
to say?”

“Lay it on me.” Ren straightened up his bull trout project notes and slid them back in a manila folder. “At
this point, I don’t have anything to lose.”

“I think if Cade had behaved that way at the station after he’d gotten your message, then maybe you
could conclude he was trying to let you know he no longer has an interest in you. But the fact that it came
before?” Risa reasoned. “Maybe he just didn’t know how to treat you when he saw you the first time
after your date. As for the other, he might have gotten your message and hasn’t had a chance to call you
back.”

“In five days?” Ren asked, not bothering to hide his skepticism. “The guy totally ignores me the last time
we see each other, and then he can’t find two minutes to return a phone call and say ‘Hey, I’m thinking
about you, too’? You want to see something that isn’t there, Risa, when all I can see is one big message
coming through loud and clear. ‘I don’t want you for anything more than sex.’” He thought about how
much he had to psych up his courage to make that phone call in the first place, and anger and hurt
swelled in Ren again. “God, I can’t wait to give Cade McKenna a piece of my mind. When I think about
how he must have looked when he listened to my message, probably laughing at my stupid neediness. I
might as well be Crash, some eager puppy lapping at his heels --”

“Ren,” Risa cut in, “don’t get so upset. Don’t attack him and say something stupid you can’t take back.
You’re emotional right now.”

“Emotional?” Ren swore softly, hating the word with a passion because of its complete accuracy. “Hell,
Risa, I have stretched so far beyond emotional they don’t even have a word for how I feel right now. I
thought for sure that night in my truck meant something. More than the things we did, it was that we
couldn’t even wait to get to a motel for it to happen. I’ve never felt so much like someone wanted me so
completely. Me, regular old Ren Boone, who’s not anything too special to write home about, but he’s a
decent guy that a lot of people like well enough to call a friend. I thought Cade and I had something
more. I thought for once somebody saw me and liked me enough to want to build something special. But
it wasn’t that. Not special enough for him to make an effort to contact me after our previous time
together, and not special enough this last time either.”

“I don’t believe that.”

“Oh yeah?” Ren spit out. “Why the hell not?”

“Because I don’t believe there’s anyone who can be around you for more than five minutes and not
know how special you are.”

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Ren’s chest tightened unbearably, and he rubbed at it to ease the tension away. “I knew I kept you
around for a reason.”

“Of course you do. I have a really great pair of breasts, and most of the people in this town think we’ve
been screwing each other for years.”

“Yeah.” Ren chuckled. “There is that, too.” Thoughts of Cade quickly swamped Ren under again, and
he could not hold on to the lighter mood Risa tried her damnedest to pull out of him. “Cade knows
you’re not my girlfriend, though, so he can’t use that as an excuse for blowing me off.” Ren kicked the
table, sending it scraping across the plank floor of the shack. “He has completely ignored me twice now
after we’ve not only had sex, but after what I thought were some really good talks, too. I thought we
were getting to know each other, and that we liked what we saw.” Ren thought about the things he had
let Cade see in him, things he’d never told or shown to another soul. “I thought we had a connection.
Now I think this is what it feels like to be someone’s booty call.” He laughed derisively, grating his ears.
“Literally.”

“Don’t say that. You’re not a one-night stand kind of guy, and I don’t believe Cade McKenna is either.”

“Hold on a sec.” Ren cut Risa off as a soft sound rapped against the door. He moved across the small
room and unlocked the door. “Someone’s here.”

“Maybe it’s Cade.”

Ren opened the door, and anything else he’d been thinking in that moment flew from his mind.

“Risa.” Ren ushered his visitor inside and closed the door. “I’ll call you back later. Okay?”

“Don’t think the worst,” Risa ordered one last time. “You know where to find me if you need me.”

“Yeah,” he promised, barely hearing her voice anymore. “Bye.”

Tossing the phone on the table, Ren took a couple of steps and kneeled down in front of his other best
friend, where he’d taken a seat on the small bed.

“What in the hell happened to you?” Ren fingeredTex ’s hair back from his face, revealing the full extent
of the angry red bruise surrounding his left eye and radiating down over his cheekbone.Tex flinched, and
his eyes darted to Ren’s face, his pupils enormous inside the pale green circle of his irises. “God, man,
talk to me. Who’d you get in a fight with this time?”

“No fight,”Tex answered, his voice broken. “It’s never a bar fight or a scuff up at work.”Tex swiped at
the corner of his eye, turning his face away. “That’s just what I’ve always told you. What I tell
everybody. Even Shelley.”

A sick knot of dread twisted Ren’s gut, and he pushed off his knees, sitting down on the bed. He slid his
hand underTex ’s chin and tilted his face up until he could seeTex ’s haunted eyes.

“Your dad?” Ren’s mind raced back through the years, trying to pinpoint that first black eye. God, Ren
wanted to say they had started showing up when they were around fifteen or sixteen years old, no earlier
or later than that. “All this time?”

Texnodded, and Ren could see the shame fill up his gaze and take it over.

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“Shit.” Ren draggedTex in and held him close with a strong hand around his nape.Tex ’s head hit Ren’s
shoulder, and he wrapped his arms around Ren’s waist. “Why didn’t you tell me? I would have done
anything to help you. You know that.”

“I was already a man when it first happened,”Tex said, his voice clogged with emotion. “I let him do it,
and I didn’t fight back. I never once hit him back.”

Texdrew back, his face all sharp angles and thin lips. “Who’s gonna think a fifteen-year-old kid can’t
defend himself against a little rough treatment from his father? Who’s gonna think I should have stood up
for myself, and since I didn’t, I deserved what I got? Who’s gonna think I’m entitled to their sympathy
when at twenty-two years old, I still can’t make myself hit him back and then get out his house for good?
Who’s gonna think a pussy guy like that is good enough for marriage to his daughter? Who’s gonna have
any kind of respect for a man who knows he’s never going to get what he wants from his bastard of a
father, but still can’t walk away, huh, Ren? Who?”Tex wiped angrily at the hard line of his mouth.

“I would respect him,” Ren answered, his heart breaking at the moisture he sawTex trying to blink out of
his eyes. He tookTex ’s face in his hands and made him hold his head up, fighting against the strength
inTex ’s neck muscles that struggled to turn away. “Risa would respect him. My father would respect him
and help him. Shelley would respect him.”

“No, she wouldn’t.”

“Yes,” Ren insisted. “She loves you, and she would.” He rubbed a streak of grease fromTex ’s cheek
with the pad of his thumb, and wiped at a lone tear trickling from the corner of his uninjured eye. “Walk
away from your dad, Tex. Hold your head up high and walk away now. And if nobody else ends up
respecting you for it, at least you’ll start respecting yourself. You have so much good in you, and so much
to offer the world. Don’t let your father beat that truth out of you.”

“I’ve missed you telling me that,”Tex confessed, his gaze finding Ren’s. “I’ve missed talking to you every
day about important stuff and stupid stuff.”

“I have, too.” Ren’s mouth lifted up at the edges, and he smiled for the first time in days. He
scratchedTex ’s cheek teasingly. “We won’t let it happen again.”

“No,”Tex agreed, his voice tinged with softness. He captured Ren’s hand and drew it down to his lap.
“You’re right. We won’t.”

Then,Tex did the most shocking thing.

He closed the distance between them and pressed a soft kiss against Ren’s lips.

Chapter Twenty-One

Exhausted and weary to the bone, Cade unlocked his door and let himself inside his musty, closed-up
apartment. He needed to pick Crash up from Doc Crowley’s office, but he wanted to unpack his duffel
and garment bag first, maybe take a shower to get the dust off from the drive back fromBillings .

He tossed his keys on a narrow buffet table just inside his living room, and immediately noticed the

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flashing digital two glowing in the dark from his answering machine. Shaking his head, Cade pushed the
button to listen, wondering how pathetic it made him that he’d been gone five whole days and had only
accumulated two messages in his absence.

Cade only wanted to hear from one person right now, and his belly warmed as Ren’s smooth, clear
voice came through his machine, telling Cade that he missed him and to give him a call on his new cell
phone.Ren had not forgotten him . Relief washed through Cade, knowing that he’d botched that
moment at the station a week ago.

The second message finished playing -- one from Duke reminding Cade to call when he got back in
town. Cade grabbed the receiver off the cradle to call Ren right away. He had so much he wanted to talk
to Ren about, knowing that while away, he had wanted to find Ren and open up to him first when he got
back.

Cade flipped the phone over to punch in the number and instead saw the time glowing on the little green
panel. Instead of calling, he put the phone back down and grabbed up his keys, tiredness pushed to the
back of his brain and body. He went right back through his door, his heart thudding as he thought about
reuniting with Ren in person very soon. Talking on the phone wouldn’t be enough. Not after having been
apart for so long, and not after what he’d gone through in the past few days. He ached for Ren to hold
him tight. His lips tingled at the memory of Ren’s kisses, and even bone tired, Cade’s body hardened at
the thought of kissing and touching Ren again.

At this time in the afternoon, Cade knew just where to find him.

* * * * *

Tex’s surprisingly soft lips brushed against Ren’s, and Ren’s whole world turned upside down.

“What…what…” His mouth stung with otherworldly awareness, jolting his spine upright. He pressed his
hands againstTex ’s chest and pushed him away. Darting his gaze up toTex ’s, he found pale green orbs
waiting for him. Ren touched his own lips, certain he hadn’t felt what his brain told him he’d just felt.
“What just happened? What did you just do?”

Tex’s gaze darted down the length of Ren’s torso to his crotch, and then back up to his face. He bit at
his lip, and he covered Ren’s hand on his knee. “I’m willing, Ren.”

Ren’s breath caught high in his chest, seizing his throat. The hairs on the back of his neck rose, warning
him away. But the hairs on the back of his hand -- the oneTex awkwardly rubbed -- skittered with
budding life and pushed him forward.

“Willing what,Tex ?” Ren asked carefully, feeling like a piece of his consciousness stood outside of his
body, watching with hopeful eyes at this adolescent fantasy finally coming to life.

“I want to try and reciprocate what you need.”Tex ’s voice wavered. “I don’t know what to do, and I
honestly don’t know if I can.” He squeezed Ren’s knee, bruisingly hard. “But I’m so fucking horny, and I
miss you, and I feel so damned lonely inside, and I don’t know how to make it go away, and you know
everything about me, and I know everything about you.” Moisture filledTex ’s eyes, and he swiped at it
roughly with his wrist. “I know that makes me lame and weak, but I honestly don’t know where to go if
you turn me away.”Tex stopped abruptly and took a deep, unsteady breath, his gaze never leaving
Ren’s. “Please, Ren. Please.”

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Tex’s second “please,” so open and defenseless, tore right through Ren. It reminded him why, since
fourteen years of age, he’d been so vulnerable with this man.

“Shh, shh.” He pulledTex against his chest and started rocking him in a tight embrace. KissingTex ’s ear,
he whispered roughly, “You don’t ever beg, okay? Not for me. Not for anyone. You’re too good for
that.”

“Only you and Shelley make me feel like I am,”Tex said, his voice muffled in the crook of Ren’s neck,
his rough fingertips digging into Ren’s back. “Just once I want to give you back something of what you
give to me.”Tex ’s fingers moved to the buttons on Ren’s shirt, using an incredibly deft touch to open
them and slide the fabric down his shoulders.

And then --Oh God -- his mouth grazed the faint scars that ran over Ren’s shoulder to his chest, almost
kissing him. Every teenage fantasy Ren had ever imagined came to life through that light touch, and it
quickly became almost more than he could handle.

Ren had spent so many years staring atTex ’s lips and mouth that they had become as familiar to him as
his own. It was a mouth that always had a smile for Ren, and lips that always had a kind and supportive
word. Ren had been weak to it, almost from the first.

Texpulled on Ren’s belt buckle with his fingers, and Ren sucked in his breath. He expelled it unsteadily
and touched his hand toTex ’s blond head, for the first time feeling the silky tresses in an open caress.

“You don’t have to do this,” Ren said softly, even as his cock started to push against his zipper, a
persistent reminder that he’d wantedTex for as long as he could remember. “You can stop right now if
you want, and we’ll be okay. I promise.”

Tex’s beaten, bruised face looked up, making Ren want to cry. “No, I can’t stop,”Tex whispered, so
close that his breath grazed Ren’s stomach, making it pulse. “Not today. I need my friend.” The rough
words sounded like they’d been put through a cement mixer. “Please, don’t turn me away.”

Ren slipped under the spell ofTex ’s eyes, and his gut twisted at the stripped-naked need inTex ’s voice.
He took the pain right into his own aching, flayed heart and made it his own.

“No.” The word scraped Ren’s throat raw. “I won’t turn you away.”

Ren drewTex up, their faces eventually so close he could see every pale gold striation lighting upTex ’s
green eyes. Ren’s breathing deepened to heavy with arousal, and his gaze dropped to the deceptively
hard beauty ofTex ’s mouth.

“It feels like I’ve wanted to kiss you forever,” he admitted openly, fearfully. His gaze drifted back up
toTex ’s. “I can’t quite believe it might actually happen.”

“It will,”Tex answered. “But do it quick” -- he pushed Ren’s shirt the rest of the way off his body --
“before we both get too scared and change our minds.”

Ren pulled back. “If you’re that unsure --”

Texleaned in and took care of Ren’s last bubble of sane thought with a searching, innocent kiss.

Ren’s lips softened automatically beneath the touch, andTex ’s did the same. It became a kiss about

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gentle, light teasing, an exploration of lips rather than mouths. For all its simplicity, it thickened the blood
in Ren’s veins and hardened his cock.

Texfumbled with Ren’s belt and zipper again, tugging the belt open. His wrist grazed the head of Ren’s
cock through his jeans, and Ren gasped, breaking the kiss. Ren looked down, bizarrely unable to
process the sight ofTex ’s darkly tanned hands working the zipper down his pants.

“I need to fuck you,”Tex said. He tugged at Ren’s jeans and underwear, releasing them down to his
hips, springing Ren’s long, poking prick free.Tex looked down, his gaze direct and focused, so much so
that Ren’s cock bounced and twitched toward his stomach. “I really need to fuck you. So to be fair I
think I should take care of your hard-on first.”

“You don’t… Ohhh, yesss,” Ren hissed, his cheeks puffing up with trapped air asTex grabbed his prick
and squeezed.Tex dragged his hand up from the root of Ren’s cock, hard. Ren cried out, quickly
reaching down and coveringTex ’s hand, stilling his fingers. “You need to wet me first. You need to s --”
Ren bit his lip to stop the thought, but his tip leaked a pearly bead of pre-ejaculate anyway, evidence that
his body had already run with the image, even if he’d stopped it from slipping past his tongue.

“You need me to suck you,”Tex finished. His attention roamed up from Ren’s erection. “Right?”

The horror of complete exposure trickled fear down Ren’s spine, popping to life the little hairs on his
arms. Ren shook the fear off, reminding himself thatTex had known of Ren’s crush from the beginning,
and he had not run from it. They remained good friends.

“Yes,” Ren breathed, his nostrils flaring and his chest pounding as he letTex see his lust for the first time.
“I’ve dreamt of you giving me a blowjob ever since I first understood what one was.”

“I’ve never had one.”Tex ’s cheeks flamed with bright spots of red. “I don’t know exactly what to do.”

Familiar words of uncertainty flashed across Ren’s brain, pricking his heart. He determinedly pushed the
small moment of painful awareness away, and said, “Do whatever you want.”

Texsqueezed Ren’s cock again.

“I promise.” Ren winced asTex tugged his dick roughly. “It’ll be enough.”

Texstretched out on his stomach until his boots trailed off the end of the mattress, his face only inches
away from Ren’s rearing penis.Tex looked up again, almost as if double-checking on what he was about
to do. Sucking on his lower lip, Ren nodded. He held his breath, waited, andTex took him in his mouth.

He hardly covered more than the head of Ren’s penis, but God, Ren’s fantasies rocketed to reality.Tex
didn’t take much, but he swirled his tongue around the tip, clearly giving what he could. Ren rolled his ass
against the thin blanket covering the cot, working desperately not to jam his hips up and shove his
erection downTex ’s throat the way the electric nerve endings charging in his cock begged him to do.
Suddenly,Tex took his mouth away, leaving Ren bereft. Still needful, he grabbedTex ’s hair and held him
in place.

Reaching up,Tex dragged Ren’s fingers out of his hair. He plastered Ren’s hand to the cot, holding it
down when Ren struggled to pull away. “Don’t fight me, Ren.”Tex ’s voice boomed as cutting strong as
his hand. “I’m not stopping; I just want to try something different I think will work better.” Then, instead
of sucking a little bit of Ren’s dick into his mouth, he stuck out his tongue and licked up the length of

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Ren’s cock, making Ren moan and grit his teeth, driving him nuts in a whole different way.

“Better?”Tex murmured between wet laps of his tongue, his words vibrating into Ren’s dick.

“Uh-huh, yeah…” Ren squeezed his eyes shut and wheezed, shuddering asTex took a swipe at the
ultrasensitive underside of his cock. Ren grabbed the sheet in his hand and twisted, grateful forTex ’s
hand holding him there, anchoring him to earth. “It’s good.”

“You’re fucking on fire down here,”Tex said around Ren’s needy dick. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt skin
so damn hot in my life.”

“Probably your own cock when you have a hard-on.” Ren panted, amazed he could carry on a
conversation at all.Tex drizzled a big line of spit onto the head of Ren’s prick and worked it all around his
length with the tip of his agile tongue.

“I’m hard as hell right now.”Tex ground his crotch into the cot, trying to give himself relief. “And I don’t
think I can get you any wetter than you are right now.” He shot upright and looked into Ren’s eyes,
holding his gaze as he slid his hand between them and dragged his fist up Ren’s dick. The pain washed
over him so sweetly Ren choked on it. He struggled to breathe and swallow the pleasure, but it hurt so
good he had no chance of hiding it.

“You need to come,”Tex said. “Don’t you?”

“Yes,” Ren confessed, his face pulled taut, his eyes wild.Tex stroked him again, and Ren’s balls swelled
painfully heavy. “Please.”

“So come.” The safe familiarity ofTex ’s smile pierced right through Ren’s middle.Tex pulled and
dragged on Ren’s prick, clumsy, but sincere in his efforts. “You don’t ever have to beg me for anything
either, Ren.”Tex leaned in and pecked a light kiss on Ren’s open mouth. “Not ever.” He grazed Ren’s
lips softly.

The second sweet kiss put Ren right over the edge. He coveredTex ’s hand and made him stroke
harder, needing that extra pressure of a stronger touch. One full drag later, Ren shouted with pleasure as
he shot his load, spraying a thick rope of warm cum onto his thigh. Familiar tremors took over his body
as he experienced the full depth of his orgasm whileTex looked on.

Ren hadn’t nearly recovered his senses whenTex rolled him over onto his side, facing him into the shack
wall. He roughly yanked Ren’s jeans down until they bunched up around his calves and muttered roughly,
“I can’t wait. I need to fuck you now.”

Ren’s ass clenched just thinking about it. “Condoms. Lube.” He reached his arm back awkwardly and
pointed in the general direction of the little set of drawers. “You know where it is.”

The weight of the bed shifted asTex scrambled to his feet. Seconds laterTex laid himself out behind Ren,
the cool weight of his belt buckle pressing into the small of Ren’s back.

“Help me,”Tex said. He reached his arm over Ren’s waist and dropped the lube on the mattress. “Can
you get yourself ready while I do the condom?”

“Yeah.” Ren squeezed a dollop of cool lube on his index and middle finger. He reached between his
thighs to his anus, tickling his tight pucker, relaxing it quickly, struggling only a little bit to push inside. His

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channel loved the sensation and pushed down on his fingers immediately, making him buck forward. He
rubbed his fingertips over his prostate, sending a quick wave of paradise throughout his body.

Ren had his fingers knuckle deep in his ass asTex slid his hand down the outside of Ren’s thigh. He
positioned Ren’s upper leg forward, creating a space for his hips to tuck in from behind. Then, reaching
down,Tex pulled on Ren’s wrist, dislodging his fingers and replacing them with the nudging tip of his
cock. Ren automatically stiffened, but for the first time ever,Tex ’s hand came around and steadied Ren
on his stomach. With a determined thrust, he forced his way inside.

They groaned in unison asTex pushed his cock all the way into Ren’s ass. Ren braced his hand against
the wall to take it, prepared for a hard, fast ride.Tex clutched Ren’s waist and drove his dick in and out
with full strokes, pulling out almost all the way before shoving back in, burrowing until his pubes kissed
Ren’s ass, and then jerking back out to do it all over again.Tex dug his knee in between Ren’s thighs and
grasped for leverage. Ren reached up and braced his arm against the wall above his head,
counterbalancing the force ofTex ’s upward pounding so that his head didn’t get forced into the wood.

Tex’s fucking quickly turned aggressive, but comforting and familiar, too. Ren’s eyes slid closed,
succumbing to the rhythmic nature of the motion, something he’d done withTex a number of times. He
drifted away into the sensations, grunting in time to the deep, forceful nature of the act. Ren separated his
head from the physical pleasure he got out of the fucking, letting himself feel the walls of his rectum
voraciously milking an enthusiastic cock.

It lulled Ren, the hard, continuous motion of another body moving within his. It put Ren in such a
peaceful place that he didn’t think twice about covering the hand that crept up his chest and held him in
place. Ren entwined his fingers over the back of the hand, holding it against him. It felt right, like it had
been there before. Ren grew hard again as the fucking seemed to change, to become more intimate, as
another hand surrounded his cock and started to jerk him off.

It was pure heaven, a cock in his ass and a big hand working his dick. Humid, masculine panting
disturbed the hairs around Ren’s ear. Ren’s anus pulsed and squeezed, and he bumped his rear back
against the prick roving in his ass, needing something more than he had just a moment ago.

“Fuck me,” Ren pleaded, crying out hoarsely when his rectum was immediately jammed up deep,
forcing his sensitive cockhead into the blanket. Ren reached down and covered the hand there, making it
fist him harder and faster. “Ohhh, yes.” Shoving his face into the small pillow, Ren bit at it, grasping at
anything to help the clawing that drove every nerve ending in his body batty. “Fuck me good.”

The cock in Ren’s ass sawed in and out, out of control. It swelled incredibly, stretching the walls of
Ren’s chute past the point of comfort. Quickly, an exalted, low-pitched shout reverberated around the
small shack. Warmth gushed in Ren’s channel, filling him with ecstasy, even through the condom.

“Oooh, God…” The sensation tumbled Ren under, happening too fast to stop it. His entire being shook,
and he came too, wailing, “Cade, Cade,” as he dumped his essence into the blanket, spilling his seed, all
the while crying out for the man his most secret heart wanted, even as he’d just let himself be fucked by
another.

The man outside didn’t hear his name called out in the shack. He focused everything on trying to keep
his legs under his body as he stumbled to his car. He climbed in like an automaton and drove to the main,
paved road before he had to pull over, his heart shattering, cutting him up into a million devastated

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pieces.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Sitting in his car on the shoulder of the road, his body wracked by tremors, Cade banged his forehead
against the steering wheel and shoved his hands over his ears, desperately trying to block out the dark,
sexual moaning that ripped through his brain, the sound of the two men screwing back at the shack. The
flood just kept coming though, because Cade knew who received the enthusiastic fucking back there,
and the truth of it wouldn’t be denied.

Ren. Cade would know the man’s cries anywhere. The knowledge tortured Cade, and his heart started
to crack as he relived the betrayal in his mind over and over again.

Cade’s body broke down, rendering him incoherent with terrible, ugly sobbing as he processed the truth
of what had happened. Ren had cheated on him. Cade keened desperately in silence, the hurt tearing him
to shreds. Making it a thousand times worse -- the familiar truck withPete’s Garage emblazoned on the
doors alerting him -- Cade knew the man in the shack with Ren.

Tex.

The pain of it slammed through Cade anew, and in his head, he heard Ren’s voice near the end as he’d
moaned, “Fuck me; fuck me good.” It stole Cade’s breath, choking him as bile rose in the back of his
throat, making him sick to his stomach and sick in his heart at the same time. So much pain filled him
whole, pain on top of pain, that he’d run to Ren to help him cope with, only to find a brutal betrayal that
he never would have imagined possible.

Cade didn’t know how to deal with this new layer of hurt so quickly and unexpectedly after what he’d
just come home from, and so his body began numbing itself and shutting down. It started in Cade’s toes
and worked its way up, this blanketing of his emotions. By the time the coldness reached Cade’s chest, it
became a soothing balm that banished from his soul any pity he might have begun to feel for himself.
Cade shut his pain off and pressed it down deep inside. He wiped his eyes dry and used his fingers to
comb his hair back down to its severe style, affecting the very picture of the coldly sober man he’d been
a little over two years ago when he’d come to this little town to start a new life.

It was time to reclaim order once again.

Cade shifted his hip and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. Taking a deep breath, he dialed the
number of his boss, the only person it really mattered be made aware he had returned to town.

On the third ring, a familiar baritone answered his call. “Sheriff Boone. Make it quick.”

“It’s Cade, boss.” Cade’s tone came across even and professional, all traces of tears gone. “I’m back in
Quinten, and ready to work.”

“Everything all right?” Duke asked, his voice gentling in the manner of a friend, something that Cade
couldn’t deal with right now.

“Fine.” Cade pokered up. “Rarin’ to go.”

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“Then meet me out at Caleb Hawkins’s place. I just got off the phone with him. There’s been another
act of vandalism. I’m on my way there now.”

The comfort of routine and order, even in something criminal, settled Cade and put him right back to the
structure and calm he so needed in his life.

“I’ll be there in twenty.” Cade hung up the phone before Duke could speak another word.

He gunned the engine and pulled his vehicle onto the road, feeling a new sense of purpose driving him
confidently forward with precision and clarity, something he’d never experienced in any other part of his
life. Cade did this one thing well, working as an officer of the law. In no other area of his life did he feel
as completely comfortable in his skin as he did on the job.

Cade had always known that. He only wished he’d shown more strength in resisting the temptation of
Ren Boone and his laughing blue eyes. Cade knew better now, and he wouldn’t make the same foolish
mistake twice.

It didn’t matter that, deep down, he had fallen desperately in love for the first time in his life. That part of
his life no longer existed. He needed to move on.

* * * * *

“It’s the guy from the rodeo, isn’t it?”Tex said, breaking the silence that had fallen over the shack.

They both put their clothes to rights, and Ren couldn’t look atTex after what he’d said during the throes
of his climax. Humiliation swamped him, and he didn’t think he’d ever felt such shame for his actions in all
of his life.Oh God, he’d cheated on Cade . Poison burned in Ren’s gut and left a dirty taste in his mouth,
and he didn’t know how he’d ever be able to look another living soul in the eye again.

“Ren,”Tex pressed, joining Ren on the bed. “You wanted Deputy McKenna at the end there, didn’t
you? His first name is Cade, right?”

Ren’s eyes whipped up toTex ’s, barely able to hold them for a second before turning away. “You can’t
say a word,” he uttered roughly, the ball lodged in his throat making speech difficult. “He hasn’t told
anybody about his sexuality, and it isn’t our right to out him.”

“You know better than that.”Tex bumped Ren’s shoulder, so familiar and full of forgiveness that it stung
tears in Ren’s eyes. “So you really like him, huh?”Tex laughed outright and nudged Ren again. “Scratch
that. You already showed me that you do. I thought I saw something that night at the rodeo. After what
just happened, it’s pretty damned obvious that you have feelings for him.”

God, Ren didn’t want to think about the truth of that. He didn’t want to look at what kind of a monster
that made him for knowing it, and still doing what he had.

“It doesn’t matter anymore anyway.” Ren shot off the cot, feeling like disease-infested bugs crawled
around under his skin. He needed to move. “You can’t forgive what I just did. Not that it matters since
he hasn’t attempted to contact me since the night of the rodeo. He obviously wasn’t as interested as I
was.”

“I don’t know about that.”Tex cut off Ren’s frantic pacing and sat him down in a chair. “I saw his face at
the rodeo when we walked back from our talk. He showed definite interest in you. I could tell.”

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Ren’s head shot up toTex , his heart suddenly beating again. “What do you mean?” He grabbedTex ’s
sleeve. “What did you see?”

Texsat down on the bed and dangled his clasped hands between his spread knees. “I saw what I see in
Shelley’s eyes when some girl hits on me in front of her. It’s possessive and territorial, and it says ‘Get
your hands off my man.’ Shelley looks that way a lot, so I’ve read it before. Cade McKenna looked
right at me like that at the rodeo, as if he wanted to put me six feet under for taking you away from him
for ten minutes. I don’t have any idea what’s going on with him and you, but he’s interested. Don’t doubt
it for a second.”

“Ohhh God.” Ren slumped down in the chair, covering his face as disgust swamped him completely. “I
don’t know if I even want to hear that. It only makes how stupid I behaved a thousand times worse.”

“I played a big part in what happened,”Tex admitted. He reached out and pulled one of Ren’s hands
away from his face. “I came in here desperate to feel close to someone. You just reacted to my pain.”

“Which I jumped at because I’d just finished working myself up into a fucking lather over how Cade has
blown me off for the past week and a half.” Ren got up and punched his fist into the wall, his knuckles
scraping against the splintery wood. A numbing, tingling pain radiated up his arm and through his
shoulder. He hit the wall with the same fist again, needing to hurt himself so that he could feel his idiocy.
“I wouldn’t listen to Risa when she tried to reason with me. I leapt to the worst conceivable conclusion
about Cade and acted out in the most destructive way possible.” Ren’s legs turned to jelly, and he
hunched a shoulder against the wall, turning bleak eyes ontoTex. “He was so scared to take a chance on
me. Why did I let myself forget that? And then, even more cruel, what do I go and do with my insecurity?
This.” He waved his hand around. “I’m such an asshole dickweed jerk.”

Texclosed in, wrapped a strong arm around Ren’s shoulders, and led him away from the wall. “You’re
not an asshole; you’re just human.”Tex found a little towel and wiped at the scrapes on Ren’s hand. “I
promise you I didn’t come here with an agenda for us to have sex, but at the same time, I know how you
feel about me. I shouldn’t have let you see what I needed, because I knew you would immediately try
and make it better. We’re not thirteen years old anymore, though, so I need to stop seeking you out
every time I get hurt or feel scared --”

“But I want you to,” Ren interrupted. He reached up and gently fingered the bruise marringTex ’s cheek
and eye. “We’re friends, and what you told me today about your father is a big deal. You should be able
to come to me. We’re friends. I don’t want that to change.”

“I know.”Tex ’s unblemished cheek tinged red. He dropped his gaze to the floor for a few seconds
before taking a deep breath and bringing it back up. “I won’t apologize for what happened here today. I
needed to let go with someone so badly.” His voice roughened. “I instinctively knew that you would say
the right thing and be able to give me the closeness I needed.”

“I’m not sorry for that either,” Ren said, brutally facing that selfish part of himself that wanted to justify
what he’d done withTex. “I’ve dreamt of being with you like that for as long as I can remember.” He felt
heat creep up his face, too. “Imagine my shock when I lost myself for a little bit in the middle, and when I
came back I tricked my body into believing I was with someone totally different.”

“I guess you care about Deputy McKenna more than you thought,”Tex said. The edge of his lip quirked
up with such a knowing twinkle in his eyes that Ren’s blush went from rosy to full-on beet red as he
relived how completely he’d lost it by crying out for Cade.

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“Apparently I care a lot.” Ren heard the terrible scratchiness in his own voice and his head started to
spin. He felt for the chair behind him and folded himself into it. “God,Tex , what in the hell am I going to
do?”

“For once” --Tex kneeled down in front of him -- “you’re going to listen to my advice, and you’re not
going to do anything.”

“But --”

“No,”Tex interrupted, “you listen to me. You want to ease your guilt through confession, but all you’re
really going to do is end up hurting Cade, all so that you can feel better and say to yourself ‘Well, at least
I didn’t lie.’ Bullshit, man. You will crush him if you tell him, and for what? This isn’t going to happen
again, with me or anyone else, so why tell him? No, you live with it. Find a way to live with your guilty
conscience, but you don’t tell Cade McKenna anything.”

Ren’s muscles clenched tightly. “Just like you don’t tell Shelley anything?”

“That’s right,”Tex said. He stood up and stepped a pace back. “But starting today, other than the sex
between you and me, I am going to find a way to man up and tell Shelley everything.”

“You mean about your dad?”

“Yeah, that.”Tex ’s voice grew soft. “And some other stuff I’ve been too afraid to admit to her.”Tex
kicked the toe of his boot into the floor, a subconscious gesture of his discomfort that Ren recognized
right away. “You had it right earlier, you know. I need to lower my ‘strong fiancé’ mask with Shelley and
trust that she’s not going to think I’m a pussy for what I took from my dad. I need to make her my
number one confidant, even when I’m afraid she’ll see me as less than a man for being scared sometimes.
I want so badly to be the perfect husband for her. I just hope she’ll accept me, warts and all.”

“I wish you luck.” Ren wore a tremulous, but sincere smile. “I think she’ll surprise you, and you’ll end up
wondering why you waited so long to talk to her in the first place.”

“Thanks, man.”Tex reached back and wrapped his hand around the door handle. “Good luck with your
deputy. You deserve only the best, and if you think he’s it, then I support you one hundred percent.”

The icy clamp of reality fisted Ren’s stomach. “Thanks,” he murmured. “You, too. With Shelley, I
mean.”

Ren waved good-bye, but in his mind, Cade’s beautiful, imperfect face haunted him, his eyes as dark
and soulful as the night.

Sitting there alone, Ren shivered.

* * * * *

Cade circled Caleb Hawkins’s truck. An innate instinct that often tickled at the back of his brain started
scratching at him with a nagging persistence that he could not ignore.

“It’s not him,” Cade murmured under his breath, working it out for himself as much as for the sheriff and
Caleb. “This isn’t our guy.”

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“What in the hell do you mean?” Caleb said heatedly. “It’s another act of vandalism against me and my
property. Of course it’s the same guy.”

“No.” Cade pressed his position, although his tone remained calm, his focus solely on the big, angry
slashes in the new, expensive tires. “This isn’t bleach in a creek or kerosene in a makeshift pond. This is
different. This is personal.”

“You don’t think I took the attempts to derail my fish project personally?” Caleb growled, his fuse lit in a
flash. “I’ve got news for you, Deputy McKenna. I took those acts very personally. Probably even more
personally than I take this.”

Cade looked up from the tires and met Caleb’s gaze. “I understand that. What I mean is that this is your
personal property, a vehicle that only you drive, a truck that isn’t for Hawkins Ranch use. This is
destruction aimed very specifically at you, whereas the other acts could just as easily be a grudge against
one of your brothers. They could even be against Ren” -- Cade’s chest seized, but he forcibly ignored
the useless feeling -- “or Risa, who are essentially the project managers. But this” -- Cade pointed at the
rear tire nearest to where they stood -- “this is all for you.”

“What?” Caleb gasped. “Who?”

Duke caught Cade’s attention. “You thinking who I’m thinking?”

“Yep.” Cade nodded, feeling sick inside. “I think so.”

“What?” Caleb parroted himself. “Who?”

“I think Jasper Simmons did this to you.” Tightness filled Cade’s chest, flooding him with empathy. “I
think he’s a scared, insecure kid whose world got crushed when you fired him, and I think this is him
trying to punish you for it.”

“For what it’s worth,” Duke cut in, “that’s my take on this, too.”

“Jesus Christ.” Caleb wiped his palm across his suddenly pale face. “You really think he hates me that
much for firing him?”

“I think he’s thathurt that you let him go,” Cade corrected gently. He didn’t want to offend this guy who
had become something of a casual friend, but in matters like this, Cade had a hard time remaining neutral.
“He has no family worth speaking of and very little formal education, but he got hired on by one of the
biggest, most respected ranches in the state. From what I understand, he did a good job for you, too, but
you fired him for smoking a cigarette.For smoking a fucking cigarette .” The professional wall slipped,
but Cade couldn’t build it back up quickly enough to squash his opinion. Every sentence slipped him
further into a naked display, but he didn’t have the power to push his feelings back down. “One mistake
in a tough life where this kid could easily be doing hard time based on how he grew up, and in the blink
of an eye, he lost the only thing that mattered to him. Now I’m not saying he should be let off, or that you
shouldn’t expect your employees to follow the rules you put in place. What I am saying is that a kid who
doesn’t feel like he’s worth anything and doesn’t have anything to live for will do stupid things to make
that prophecy come tr --”

“Deputy McKenna,” Duke interrupted, a clear warning delivered in the low, forbidding tone of his voice.
“From this point on, think very clearly about every word you say.”

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“I --” Sobriety suddenly clenched Cade in the stomach, and he thought he might throw up.

“Don’t worry about it.” Caleb held up his hands. “I can take a hit with the best of them.” He winced,
looking as sick as Cade felt. “Even when it cuts a little too close to the bone for comfort.”

“It wasn’t my place.”

“No, you’re right,” Caleb said, his handsome face pulling taut. “It’s my place. Damn it.” Caleb swung
away from the truck and started to pace. “My instincts told me to make an exception with Jasper and
give him another chance. I stomped that thought down because my rule is law around here, and I really
don’t like it when my employees don’t respect that. I should have trusted my gut and realized that this is
my land to run as I see fit, and if I want to help a kid out, then that’s my right.”

“Don’t beat yourself up,” Duke replied. “We’re just speculating right now anyway.”

Caleb stood up straight, looking as if a light bulb had flicked on over his head.

“Son of a bitch. Of course he did it.” Caleb’s clear blue eyes flickered with awareness, and then
dimmed. “I had these tires put on a few days ago, and Jasper’s working part-time at the place where I
took the truck. I got him the interview for the job; it was the best I could do. I didn’t see him there, but
he likely heard about it or recognized my truck. It probably seemed too good an opportunity to stick it to
me for him to resist.”

Duke took over. “Cade and I will track him down and have a little conversation with him. We’ll see
what we shake out.”

“I want to go with you,” Caleb said. “I intend to correct my mistake, and I need him to know that. If he
did this, I won’t press charges. As a group, we can decide how to proceed with what he has done and
how to get him back on the right track.”

“Whoa,” an amazed voice proclaimed from the other side of the truck, followed by a low whistle.

Recognition flooded Cade, and for two ticks, his heart literally stopped beating.

Ren quickly appeared from around the front side of the big double-cab truck.

“What in the heck happened here?” Ren’s pale blue gaze immediately found Cade’s. “Hey,” he
murmured, “how’s it going?”

Before his eyes, Cade could only see Ren’s beautiful, sexy mouth…kissing another man. Kissing,
blowing, and getting fucked byTex.

Cade didn’t even attempt to speak. A huge wave of overwhelming pain hit him, and no room existed
within him for words to get out.

“Hey, kid,” Duke greeted Ren, saving Cade from creating a scene. “It’s nothing to worry about. We’re
pretty sure we have it taken care of.”

“Can we do that right now?” Caleb asked. “This can’t fester any more than it already has. I want to get
Jasper off this path of destruction before somebody else gets ahold of him and leads him down a worse

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road.”

“We’ll go right now. But just for a talk.” Duke’s voice held caution. “If he doesn’t confess anything on
his own you may have to exhibit some patience while we work this out.”

“Of course,” Caleb agreed quickly. “We’ll take your vehicle. Let’s go.”

Duke shifted his attention to Cade as he and Caleb moved in the direction of the sheriff’s SUV. “I have
the fingerprint films with me. You get on the employee interviews and see if anyone saw something worth
noting. We’ll meet back at the station later and compare notes. Sound good?”

“Sounds like a plan, boss.” With years of extreme discipline, Cade forced his voice to professional. But
inside, his stomach skittered with panic as he watched Duke and Caleb back away to the sheriff’s SUV.
“I’ll get right on it.”

“Good deal.”

Within thirty seconds, Duke and Caleb had driven out of sight.

Ren immediately moved into Cade’s line of sight.

“You think Jasper did this?” he asked. Ren looked so normal, and if Cade didn’t know any better, he
never would have guessed he had just come from sex withTex. He appeared as calm as a nun going to
church, without a tic or a tell to give away what he’d done.

Cade’s heart squeezed with debilitating pressure, the deliberate deception almost more than he could
bear. He pushed past Ren to get away, lest he give in to his desire to punch the man in the gut.

“Excuse me.” Cade’s voice was as cool as the other side of the pillow. “I have to get to work.”

“Wait a minute!” Ren grabbed Cade’s elbow and whipped him around. He took a quick, furtive sweep
of the area behind the house where they stood before leaning in and hissing, “You avoid me for ten days,
you don’t return my call, and you not only have no explanation for me, but you also can’t even pause for
two seconds to say hello? What in the hell is going on with you, Cade?”

Icy anger seized hold of Cade, only to quickly be replaced with burning white heat that flamed the back
of his neck and quickly licked its way down his spine. A flash fire spread through his belly, the only
warning given before his control slipped beyond the point where he could catch it and pull it back.

“I know, Ren.” Anger pushed Cade forward, vibrating through every pore in his body. “I was there, you
son of a bitch bastard, and I know what you did.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Cade watched the truth hit Ren, but he received no satisfaction in seeing the man’s face change from
beautiful and healthy to ashen gray.

“You need to excuse me,” Cade said, in control once again. “I have work to do.”

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“Wait!” Ren lunged and grabbed on tight, this time not giving up the hold he had on Cade’s arm.
“Please,” he begged, his gaze wide with shell shock. “I can explain. Please.”

That snapped Cade right up straight, and with superior strength, he wrenched his arm out of the prison
of Ren’s hand. He couldn’t bear to feel it, not when it reminded him of the best moments of his life, all of
them now tainted with betrayal and lies.

“You think I want to hear your explanation?” Cade bit off coldly, each word delivered more chilling than
the last. “You think there could possibly be an excuse I could forgive for what you did?” He snarled like
an animal, and he knew he must look vicious and ugly, but right now, he didn’t care what Ren thought of
his face. “You slept with Tex Bruester. You let him fuck you” -- Cade’s lips trembled, but he forced out
the rest -- “when you promised me that it was over between the two of you.”

“There were extreme circumstances involved.”

“Wow.” Cade’s breath whooshed right through him. “You are incredible.” Nausea rolled through his
gut, and he thought he might be sick. “No, huh-uh. No more.” He threw his hands up and backed away.
“I have work to do. I’m not listening to you. This is over.”

Ren’s face suddenly rearranged itself and became very, very hard. “So how will I know that today is any
different than the last ten days you’ve blown me off and not returned my calls?”

“Call,” Cade said through tight lips. “One call.”

“So then you did get it,” Ren cut right back, “and this was all just a self-righteous act from someone who
had already checked out on the good thing we had going.”

“I got it today.”

“Oh right,” Ren snorted. “Because you only check your machine once a week. Do you really expect to
sell me a lame excuse like that?”

“No.” Cade’s entire being grew taut, and he knew he had to get away. “I’m not trying tosell you
anything. I was out of town.”

“And nobody knew, huh?” Ren followed with one step forward for every one Cade took backward.

Cade felt stalked. He abruptly pulled up short as a fiercely wicked anger unlike anything he’d ever
experienced rushed through him like an August heat wave.

He looked Ren up and down, letting every ounce of disgust he felt show in his eyes. “Everything
happened at the last minute. Doesn’t matter, though. Everyone important who needed to know about the
trip got told about it.”

Cade’s insult rocked Ren back on his heels, but the younger man recovered quickly. “Well, I hope
keeping your little trip secret was worth it. I hope you had as much fun as I did thinking all bets were off
between us when you didn’t tell me you wouldn’t be in town. Good call, letting me dangle in the wind
while you gallivanted off without a word to anyone. It worked out really well. What were you doing?”
Ren leaned right into Cade’s space. “Work that you didn’t think I needed to know two sentences about,
or play that you never planned to tell me about?”

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“Neither, you son of a bitch.” Cade’s jaw ticked hard enough to creak, but he got right up in Ren’s face,
too, his eyes flashing heated sparks. “I was inTexas burying my uncle. I didn’t tell anybody because I
thought I would break if I did, and I knew I needed to keep it together.”

Ren’s face went white as a ghost. He stumbled, but Cade didn’t let up. “He died six days ago, and I had
to take care of everything myself.” Cade flicked a dismissing gaze over Ren’s stunned face. “Still think
you have a good enough reason to make me forgive what you did? Because I’ve got to tell you, I have
nothing and no one anymore, so your little fit of impatience that I wasn’t at your beck and call doesn’t
mean shit to me right now.”

“I’m so sorry.” Ren reached out, but Cade immediately slapped his hand away.

“Yeah, you are sorry.” Cade lashed out and cut deep. “I’ve got work to do.” He walked away before
the weak-ass sucker living inside him jumped out and assured Ren that none of what he’d done mattered,
and that everything would be okay.

Weakness had gotten Cade into this mess of a life. As of today, that Cade was dead.

* * * * *

Ren took a deep, steadying breath and prepared himself to breach one of Cade’s walls of privacy. His
apartment.

Ren needed to apologize. He’d done a stupid, horrible thing, and had only compounded it by becoming
defensive and accusatory outside Caleb’s home earlier today, rather than taking Cade’s anger like a man.
Ren had botched up everything with Cade, in such unforgivable ways, that he’d battled whether or not to
just respect Cade’s wishes and stay away. But the longer he sat at home alone, the more the image of
Cade’s vulnerable face as he’d said “I was inTexas burying my uncle” haunted his thoughts, and he knew
he had to try at least one more time.

So now, nearing midnight, he stood on Cade’s absurdly sweet green and white checkered “welcome”
mat, silently praying for a second chance. Without giving himself an opportunity to chicken out, Ren
knocked on Cade’s door, and waited.

“Go away,” Cade’s muffled voice ordered through the door. “I don’t want to see you.”

Even with an inch of wood and a mountain of trouble between them, Cade’s rough voice still managed
to lick heat over Ren’s flesh.

“Please, Cade,” Ren said. He leaned his forehead against the door and pressed his hands flat against it,
and felt with a certainty Cade did the same on the other side. “Please let me in. We need to talk.”

“Go away,” Cade growled again. “Otherwise, I will have you arrested for harassment.”

“Fine.” Ren didn’t move. “And while you drive me to the station, I can tell you how sorry I am for
everything that happened today.”

“It’s over,” Cade said coldly. “There’s nothing else to say.”

“I’m not going away.” Ren dug in his heels. His entire being screamed that if he didn’t begin to heal their
rift tonight then he would never get another chance. “You can either open the door and let me in, or you

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can come out here and arrest me. Either way, you’re going to have to deal with seeing my face for at
least a little while tonight.”

Metal ground against metal, and after what sounded like a surprising number of locks, Cade ripped the
door wide open. Standing on the other side of the threshold in blue sweats and a tight white T-shirt,
Cade looked as handsome as Ren had ever seen him.

“Hi,” Ren started, when Cade just stood there as stiff as a statue without saying a word.

Cade’s eyes flashed, and his scars pulled wickedly at the damaged half of his face. When he spoke, his
tone iced over even more frigid than it had earlier in the day. “You might think I’ll view you coming to see
me like this as a romantic gesture, but all it really is, is you ignoring my wishes, and I don’t respect that at
all. So why don’t you just go away.” The door started to swing closed. “Leave me in peace.”

Ren moved with lightning speed, fast enough to get inside, but not quite enough to beat the door jamming
him in the shoulder hard enough to throw him off balance. He automatically grabbed at Cade’s forearm
to keep from stumbling.

Cade yanked his arm away and stepped back, rubbing his exposed flesh as he eyed Ren through
mistrustful eyes. It stabbed at Ren to see the caution there and he turned away, unable to bear the hurt.

“I’m sorry.” Shame flooded Ren’s entire being, leaving him weak in the knees. “So, so damn sorry, for
so, so many things, but most of all for hurting you. I never meant to do that.”

Ren heard the door click closed behind him, and out of the corner of his eye, he watched Cade’s
sock-covered feet track past him down a short entry hall. Ren followed, his boots shuffling on the tan
carpet, his spirit lagging even farther behind. They ended up in a sparsely furnished living room, one that,
on quick inspection, didn’t appear to have any touches that made it uniquely Cade’s. He had a
mocha-colored couch, a chest that served as a coffee table, a TV, and a black leather recliner. Ren saw
nothing else, except for a plush blue doggie bed and a wicker basket full of toys. If not for those two
items, Ren would not have known Cade actually lived here. The emptiness of it wrenched his heart.

“Where’s Crash?” Ren broke the thick, tense silence, the two words reverberating like bullets in the
semidark room. Cade flinched when they hit him.

“At Doc Crowley’s.” Cade’s eyes narrowed, his scars jumping out in prominence on his face, almost as
if he could use them at will to intimidate and frighten away the people with whom he didn’t want to deal.
“When I got home and heard your message, I ran right to you. Guess I shouldn’t have wasted my time.
Or maybe it was good that I did.” Cade’s voice sliced through Ren with unbearable coldness and
detachment. “Otherwise, who knows how much longer I would have gone on with you in ignorant bliss?
I’m good at being adoringly blind with the people I let myself care for. I guess you saw that and figured
you could have your cake and eat it too, just like your friendTex has with his fiancée. Sorry I ruined it for
you by catching you in the act.”

“It wasn’t like that,” Ren jumped in quickly, moving closer. “I know how much I’ve angered and hurt
you, and that right now you don’t want to hear it, but I swear it was a one-time thing. It will never happen
again.”

Cade’s sharp bark of laughter punctured the air with tearing desolation and anger. “You think I can
believe you!” he screeched, almost hysterical after his complete indifference of a moment ago. “How can
I ever look at you without wondering if you just came from another one of your ‘this one last time’

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fucking sessions withTex ?”

“It was the last time!” Ren said, his voice rising as loud as Cade’s had. “I swear. He came to see me,
desperate and lost. He found me all worked up over not having heard from you in six days, after having
completely ignored me when I came to the station.”

“Oh, so this is my fault,” Cade cut in sarcastically. He threw up his hands in disgust. “I should have
known. If I’d only grabbed you at the station and kissed you breathless like I wanted to do -- which is
the reason I had to run and hide by the way -- then none of this would have happened. It’s all my fault,
really. Thank you for clearing that up for me. Of course I forgive you. Everything is forgotten. Let’s throw
down on the couch here and have a rousing fuck, and I’ll just forget everything else that happened today.
Should I drop trou and bend over for you?” Cade’s hands went to the waistband of his sweats. “After
all, your ass is probably still sore after the fucking you beggedTex to give you today.”

Ren’s emotions spilled over at the stark hurt in Cade. Without thinking, he rushed over to the grieving
man and pulled his face down. “I didn’t want him in the end,” he said, his voice raw and stretched to its
limits. “I wanted you. Only you.” Ren lifted up and scraped his lips against Cade’s, aching with pain as
their mouths connected once again. “I shouted for you in the end.” He spoke against Cade’s lips between
desperate bites. “I thought it was my fantasy to be with him, but when I closed my eyes and let go he
became you. I wanted you inside me, Cade. Not him. Not anyone else. Just you.”

Cade sobbed against Ren’s mouth, and took the kiss over with a deep, probing desperation. He fused
their bodies together and hauled Ren in close, surrounding him in the band of his strong arms. Ren’s heart
leapt and he clung to Cade, tunneling his fingers through Cade’s hair and holding his head close, never
wanting the kiss to end, even if it meant that he couldn’t breathe.

Ren didn’t realize they had moved until Cade shoved him against a wall. His head cracked back against
the white plaster, radiating stars and shivers throughout his skull and neck. He didn’t care, not so long as
Cade kept taking his mouth. Cade forced Ren’s mouth wide open with the strength of his jaw, and their
tongues tangled frantically, no finesse in their attempt to mate at all. Ren swept Cade’s teeth and grabbed
the tip of his tongue, sucking it deep. Cade growled and jammed his hips into Ren’s, rubbed their cocks
together, making Ren light-headed.

Ren spread his legs to create a space for Cade, smiling against Cade’s lips as the man circled his crotch
against Ren, driving them both crazy. But then, just as quickly as it began, Cade cried out a terrible,
broken sound that ripped right through Ren’s heart. He tore his mouth away, backing up until he had
plenty of breathing room between them once again, his eyes dark as pitch as he tried to regain his breath.

Cade wiped the back of his hand across his mouth, a gesture that sucker punched Ren right in his gut.
Grim determination etched his hard face, his control restored once again. “I won’t let you do this to me. I
won’t let you kiss me and touch me until I’m begging you to take me to bed. You can seduce me with
very little effort, and I know it. I’ve taken a lot of shit in my life, but I found out today I do have a
breaking point. You betrayed me, Ren.” Cade bare-boned the words through thin lips. “You fucked me
over, and I will not let you seduce me into thinking it wasn’t a big deal. It was. It was the biggest fucking
deal of my life.”

Sickness ate at Ren, but he forced himself to face Cade and not cower.

“I know I hurt you.” Ren faced the truth thathis selfish choices had put these new lines of brittle hardness
on Cade’s face. “But that doesn’t mean we were ever a lie. I cared about you, Cade. God, I still do.”

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“You have a funny way of showing it.”

“I know. I know.” Ren closed his eyes, buffeting himself to hold up under the wave of pain Cade pushed
at him. “I swear I didn’t mean to.” Ren buried his fingers in his hair and began pacing as he tried to figure
out another way to get through to Cade. “I don’t know how to make you understand this, but I swear in
my head it makes a twisted kind of sense. On the one hand, what happened withTex had everything to
do with you, but on the other hand, you didn’t play any part in it at all. If I could somehow let you get
into my head and see what I’m trying to say, I think you would see my position and understand.”

“Jesus Christ, Ren. You don’t get it all.” Cade shook his head, disgust clear in his eyes. “I don’t know
how you did it, but you somehow managed to make this pathetic attempt at an apology all about you.
And you know what?” He shook his head wearily. “Two years ago, I probably would have overheard
you fucking another man and somehow taken the blame on myself. I would have convinced myself that I
hadn’t given you everything you needed in order to be satisfied, or some shit like that. I would have let
you walk all over me, and by the end, I would have been the one on my knees praying that you still liked
and wanted me. I would have taken any scrap you threw at me and been grateful that at least you
seemed to like me --”

“No, you wouldn’t,” Ren cut in, hating every word of Cade’s confession. “You’re one of the strongest,
least compromising men I know. Don’t cut yourself down like that and expect me to believe it and feel
pity for you.”

“Pity!” Cade roared. Snaking his hand out, he grabbed Ren under his chin. He hauled Ren in until their
very breaths mingled, their faces only inches apart. “Look at me.” He shook Ren and dragged him up
even closer. “Look at me real good, damn it. Get a good fucking look at the mess on my face.”

“I see it.” Ren reached up and fingered the puckered ridges. He almost cried when Cade flinched. “I see
your face, Cade. I always have. It’s beautiful, scars or not.”

Cade shoved Ren away. “You want to know what it really is?” he shot off with haunting softness.
“Because you’ve never asked. So I have to wonder, did you ever think about it and want to know?”

Ren went very still. “Yes. Tell me.”

Cade’s lips pulled down awkwardly, and his gaze flashed as dark as midnight. “It’s a constant reminder
that one small, impulsive decision can completely wreck a life. That’s what it is.” Cade gave Ren his
damaged profile as he swiped at his eyes with the heels of his hands. “This mangled, fucked-up face has
been a two-and-a-half-year, permanent reminder to keep what I feel for men to myself. I did a damn
good job of that, until I met you.”

Cade turned back to Ren, and the bleak pain in his black gaze took the wind right out of Ren, making
him stumble.

“What?” Ren pleaded, just as caught up in this heartache as Cade. “Tell me.”

“My old partner inHouston beat the shit out of me and cut up my face with a beer bottle for daring to
kiss his twenty-year-old brother.”

Ren’s hands flew to his mouth. “Oh my God.”

“Yeah.” Cade fingered his scarred cheek. “That’s right. Just for a kiss. First thing I’d ever done with a

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man, too. My partner’s brother seemed to notice me when he’d visit his brother at the station, and I
started to feel things I never had before. So after a lot of nightmares and worst-case scenarios, an
opportunity presented itself and I took a chance. I kissed him, and immediately started feeling desire I
never had with a woman. It happened in a bedroom at my partner’s house late at night after a day of
barbecuing. My partner’s brother had his tongue halfway down my throat, and I’m reaching for his
crotch, when in the blink of an eye, my partner opens the bedroom door, sees everything, and coldly,
quietly, brutally, goes crazy all over me.”

Cade’s jaw clenched, memories clearly assaulting him, putting him back in that moment of horror. “I
didn’t know what to do. I was too shocked that this person I’d known for six years could do this to me
to even think to help myself. My own blood filled my eyes as he sliced open my face, stunning my senses
even further, so I just let it happen, feeling humiliated the entire time.”

Pictures of Cade’s nude body flooded Ren. “That’s why you have that scar on your back, isn’t it?” he
asked. He already felt the truth aching in his bones. “He beat you so severely the doctor had to remove
your kidney. Is that right?”

Cade’s Adam’s apple bobbed mechanically, the only giveaway that he fought any emotion at all. “Yes,”
he finally answered. “Before he let me leave, he told me that if I ever showed my face in any squad room
inHouston ever again, he would tell everyone what he’d caught me doing. He also said that if I went
away without trouble, he would never speak a word about what had happened, and that I would leave a
good memory of myself as a hardworking, capable coworker.”

“So that’s why you came to Quinten.”

“I didn’t have a choice,” Cade said defensively. “There’s no way I could have done my job effectively
inHouston with the kind of harassment I would have received being a gay man. Beside which” -- Cade’s
voice became unbearably thick and soft -- “when I was in the hospital and told my uncle the truth about
what had happened, he said I was deviant and immoral, that I would go straight to hell for sinning against
God, and that I no longer had a place in his home or life.” Cade laughed a grating, hollow sound. “I had
no family other than my uncle. Without him claiming me, I didn’t want to live inHouston anymore anyway.
Hell.” He rubbed his haggard-looking face. “I didn’t want to be inTexas anymore. I took the job offer
that got me the farthest away, and I swore I wouldn’t make the same mistakes I’d made inHouston .” His
glittery gaze met Ren’s. “Then I went and made the very worst possible one with you.”

“No, don’t say that.” Hurt rocked through Ren and left his legs weak. “What we did together at the
stream, and in my room, and in the truck… None of it was a mistake.”

Cade threw back his head and laughed, a horrible, awful sound that made Ren want to cover his ears.
When Cade stopped, his gaze met Ren’s, and the brightness there became almost too painful to witness.

“What?” Ren whispered. Cold rippled down his spine. “What?”

“You think I’m barely hanging on by a goddamned thread because of sex?” Cade’s gaze glazed over
with hurt. “You think if we were just having a good ol’ time fucking each other it would tear my gut out
like it did to hear another man screwing you? Are you that selfishly blind? Or is my face really just that
messed up that you can’t see it?”

The floor beneath Ren’s feet tilted as he listed to Cade’s stripped voice. Ren struggled for purchase as
his heart started pumping erratically, turning his skin unnaturally hot.

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“I don’t understand what you mean.”

Cade grasped the back of Ren’s neck and tilted his head back painfully, forcing Ren to look right into
the depths of his open, vulnerable eyes. “I mean I fell in love with you, you unthinking, unfeeling son of a
bitch. I have been since the night of the rodeo.That’s what I mean.”

And there it glowed, shining like a damaged beacon in the night, right through Cade’s eyes.

The truth of it hit Ren like a battering ram, and he almost passed out.

Chapter Twenty-Four

“Oh my God, you just said you love me.” Cade’s words knocked Ren back with the force of a
sledgehammer. “I was so wrong about everything. What have I done?”

Ren stumbled to the chest and sat down. He put his head in his hands, unable to hold himself upright as
Cade’s words battered at him relentlessly like a torrential rain. Nobody had ever been in love with him,
the real Ren , ever. Ren’s head reeled and his heart raced. His stomach twisted up tightly enough to
purge every last thing in it.

“I had no idea you felt like that,” Ren murmured, his entire world swerving in a whole new direction.
“You hid it well.”

“Don’t let it worry you.” Cade’s voice snapped like a whip, drawing Ren’s focus back up to him. “I’m
sure it’s not a permanent affliction.” Reaching down, Cade hauled Ren up by the elbow and escorted him
to the door. “I’ve heard enough. I want you to leave now.”

“Wait. Wait!” Ren dug in his heels and forced Cade to stop. Cade’s gaze flashed back at him with
irritation, and it kick-started Ren back to life. “You can’t just tell me you love me and then throw me out.
We need to talk about this. Why didn’t you say something before?”

“Why should I have?” Hardness flattened Cade’s dark gaze. “Because you wouldn’t have cheated on
me if only you’d known the truth? Are we back to that being my fault?”

“No. God, I didn’t mean it like that.” Exhaustion swept in and rendered Ren weak. “I just meant that we
had such a perfect night at the rodeo. And everything we did in the truck on the way home…I have never
done anything more intimate in my life.”

“Apparently not enough to tellTex ‘no’.”

“No.” Frustration welled in Ren until he practically vibrated with it. “But I thought it damned near perfect
enough that you would acknowledge me at least once in ten days’ time afterward. When you didn’t, in
combination with the fact thatI had to call you and invite you to the rodeo so that we could be together,
let’s just say I didn’t respond well to feeling like a fool being used for an occasional game of hide the
sausage.”

“Then it’s for the best that this is over between us.” Cade’s chin jutted out in a firm angle. “Because you
obviously don’t know me at all if you think anything I do sexually could ever be construed as casual. I’m
not casual about anything, and I thought for sure you could see that in me right from the start.”

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“I did,” Ren admitted. Remorse filled him as every second he and Cade had ever spent together flashed
through his mind at warp speed. “I don’t know why I pushed it out of my mind, and I don’t know how to
tell you how sorry I am that I did. But just in case you think thatTex blinded me, and conveniently erased
my memory, I had already convinced myself that you had used me and dumped me beforeTex ever got
to the shack. I don’t know. Maybe I felt like I needed some comfort over how much that hurt me. I can’t
really say for sure. All I know is that I panicked and did something terrible that hurt you, and for that I
will spend the rest of my life apologizing and making it up to you, if that’s what it takes for you to give me
another chance.”

“Christ, Ren. That’s just more excuses.”

Ren could feel Cade’s “good-bye” hovering over his shoulder like the Grim Reaper. In a panic, he
wrapped his fists in Cade’s T-shirt, holding on tight.

“It won’t ever happen again. I’ll never doubt you again, and I’ll never act without fully thinking through
the consequences either. I promise. Please.” He clutched at Cade desperately. “Just give us another
chance.”

“I can’t.” Cade’s voice cracked, as broken as Ren’s. “I won’t.”

“But why?” Ren begged, almost sobbing. “Please, tell me.”

“Because I can’t trust you withTex. ” Cade untangled Ren’s hands from his shirt and shoved him away.
“You can’t let go of him, Ren, and I won’t compete with him. I won’t.” Cade wiped his eyes, drawing
attention to the dark circles there. “Just get away and leave me the hell alone.” Cade’s lip trembled, and
Ren suddenly knew the man fought against letting tears fall that he didn’t want Ren to see.

“I’m so sorry.” Ren swallowed past the baseball-sized lump in his throat. “I shouldn’t have done it, and
God, I swear I never meant to hurt you.”

Cade turned away. His shoulders started to shake, and Ren understood the man needed to be alone.

Ren reached out and curled his hand around Cade’s big shoulder, an appendage that suddenly felt fragile
under his palm. Cade’s vulnerability tore at Ren’s heart. “I’m sorry you lost your uncle.”

“Don’t be.” Cade’s voice peeled back way past raw. “I lost him a long time ago.”

Ren knew firsthand that didn’t mean shit. “I’m sorry anyway.” He leaned in and kissed the back of
Cade’s neck, and Cade shivered in front of him. “I’ll talk to you soon,” he added, and then left before he
did any more damage to this man with his he-man façade, a man more vulnerable than he clearly wanted
anyone to know.

Cade held his muscles tight until he heard his front door click closed. Once Ren let himself out, every last
ounce of energy leaked out of Cade, and he fell back against his hallway wall, sliding slowly to the floor.
His entire body started to shake, and he buried his face in his hands as the most painful, wracking sobs
he’d ever cried tore out of him, inhuman, animal sounds of grief that no matter how much he wanted them
to, wouldn’t be stopped.

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Cade hated the weakness in crying, and he hated himself for not being able to control it. He abhorred
this neediness that lived inside him like a cancer, because he knew the tearing sadness slicing through him
had as much to do with losing Ren as it did his uncle.

Cade had come alive again when kissing Ren, and for a moment, before remembering the truth, he felt as
if he’d found shelter after being lost and aimlessly wandering with no way home. His body and soul had
cried out at the very rightness of intimacy with Ren, but ultimately, when he remembered what Ren had
done, his weakness had made him sick.

It terrified Cade that he could still want Ren after everything that had happened. His skin went clammy
all over, and bile rose in his throat. He didn’t make it to the bathroom before he retched violently,
emptying the bitter contents of his empty stomach onto his living room floor.

* * * * *

“You can’t keep up this pace.” Risa moved her long legs in big strides to keep up with Ren. “It’s
ridiculous, damn it, and if you don’t hurt yourself, you’re going to end up hurting someone else, or one of
the animals. Tell Cain and Luke you can’t help them this week. Tell them you’ve got too much on your
plate already.”

“I’m fine.” Ren threw an irritated glance at Risa over his shoulder, but he didn’t slow his walk. He
handed off one horse and took the reins of another one. “I’m not performing brain surgery. I’m exercising
a handful of horses and lending a hand. That’s all.”

“Which you’re doing in addition to taking extra shifts at Caleb’s place,” Risa pointed out. “And that
doesn’t even take into account how downright territorial you’ve become about the bull trout project. You
won’t let anyone help with the feeding schedule the way you used to. And normally I wouldn’t mention it,
but you look like hell, too. You clearly haven’t slept in weeks. You’re lost over the fact that Cade won’t
respond to any of your calls, and you won’t talk about how hurt you are by his indifference toward you
when he investigated the latest sabotage at the hatchery last week --”

Ren whipped around and got right in Risa’s space. “He wasn’t indifferent,” he snarled, his temper
slipping. “He acted in a professional manner. There is a difference.”

“Call it whatever you want,” Risa growled right back. She rose on her tiptoes and went nose to nose
with Ren. “It doesn’t change the fact that a month has gone by without Cade responding to any of your
attempts to re-establish a connection with him. It’s killing you, and you don’t want to face it so you’re
burning yourself down to a nub.”

“I’m just helping out and keeping busy.”

“Too busy.” Risa took Ren’s hands in hers and tugged. “I don’t know what you think you’re trying to
prove, but whether it’s for you or for him, it’s not working. Take a step back and reassess the situation,
sweetie. You may have to face that it’s over --”

Ren shook his head, and his entire body started to tingle. “Nuh-uh. Leave me alone. I don’t want to talk
about this.” He tried to pull away, but for some reason Risa’s smaller hand held him with incredible
strength, and he couldn’t break the hold. “Please, Ris.” Ren heard his voice crack. “Let me go so I can
do my job.”

“But it’s not your job. That’s what I’m trying to tell you --”

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“Hey, guys. How’s it going?” Risa’s brother joined them from up the trail to the main paddock. “Hey,
sis.” Handsome, dark-haired Luke Forrester bent down and pecked a kiss on Risa’s cheek. “Ren.”
Luke smiled. “Cain and I appreciate the help you’ve given us this week. Any time you’re ready for Cain
to steal you away from Caleb, you just let him know. He’s itching to even the score since Caleb stole
Risa right out from under our noses… Hey!” Luke grabbed Ren’s shoulder. “Are you all right? Your
eyes got a little glassy there for a minute.”

“See?” Risa said. “It’s not just me. Everyone can see it.”

“Back off, Ris. Luke is paying me to work.” Ren slid his boot into a stirrup and lifted, shaking off the
dizziness. “Let me do it.”

Ren tilted to the side, and saw a tunnel-like eclipsed version of Risa’s frantic expression, her mouth wide
open as she reached up for him. A split second later, Ren lost all sense of balance and his world went
completely black.

* * * * *

Sarah sidled up to Cade’s desk and planted her slender hip on the edge. “Tell me there’s something I
can say or do to get that hard, miserable look off your face.” Sympathy tinged her voice, and it drew
Cade’s eyes up to hers. “I have looked at your sad face for far too long now, and it’s breaking my
heart.”

Cade did his best to plaster a smile on his face. “It’s a permanent affliction, I’m afraid.” He pulled at his
scarred cheek comically.

Sarah arched a dark brow. “That’s not what I’m talking about, and you know it. You have closed
yourself off with everyone over the last few weeks, Cade. It’s no way to live, and the effects are starting
to show on your face.”

“I --” Panic trapped Cade in that one word.

In that moment, Duke poked his head out of his office and saved Cade from the dull pain that lived in his
chest all the time now.

“Can I see you, Cade? In my office,” the sheriff said, “right now.”

Cade rose from his seat, swallowing nervously as Sarah shrugged her shoulders and quickly scampered
back to her desk. Cade made his way across the bullpen to the sheriff’s office, trying desperately to read
his boss’s mysterious amber gaze.

As he moved closer, Cade prayed for a routine chat about the latest hatchery vandalism -- this time a
breaking of the padlock and ransacking the shack interior -- when Risa burst into the station and made a
beeline straight for the sheriff.

“We need to talk.” Risa gave Duke a long, telling look before pushing past him into his office. She turned
back and added, “You too, Cade. Get in here so I only have to say this once.”

“What is it this time?” Duke barely glanced in Risa’s direction. “I don’t have time to listen to you boss
me around today. Cade and I have work to do.”

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Risa flicked her green gaze briefly to Cade, but almost immediately, it went right back to Duke. “Ren
collapsed today,” she said. Off to the side, Cade’s knees buckled as the information lanced right through
his heart. “He’s working too damned hard, he’s not getting enough sleep, and he’s not taking care of
himself. He got dehydrated and passed out.”

“Why in the hell didn’t you call me?” Duke grabbed his Stetson and keys from his desk. “Is he all right?
I have to get to the hospital.”

“No you don’t.” Risa grabbed Duke’s arm and swung him back around. “He’s okay…for the moment.
A doctor in the ER administered a couple bags of IV fluid and sent him home to rest. He lucked out this
time, but if he keeps running himself into the ground, I cringe to think the mistake he could make while
working with the bulls rather than sliding off a horse with two people right there to catch him. Next time,
he could be killed.”

Duke’s amber eyes flattened to pale, expensive gold. One second he had his gaze locked on Risa; the
next he raced across the room and grabbed Cade by the neck, shoving him back against the filing
cabinets.

“This is your fault,” he said coldly under his breath while he squeezed Cade’s throat, robbing him of
breath. “I know what’s going on between you and my son. I came home that night and heard damn near
everything, you bastard.”

Cade blanched.Oh shit, he knew . “It’s not what you think.”

“I think you hurt him, you son of a bitch.”

Risa threw herself between Cade and Duke, wresting Duke’s hands from around Cade’s neck. She
shoved Duke to the center of the room. “You don’t know half as much as you think you do, you
overbearing, know-it-all jackass.”

“I know enough,” Duke snarled. His focus landed back on Cade.

“You clearly know what I had already suspected you did.” Risa didn’t back down from the giant of a
man one bit. “But you don’t know it all.” She looked at Cade, and then back to Duke. “It’s time you
did.”

“Risa,” Cade cut in, forced into motion. “Don’t. It’s all right. I’m fine.”

“No,” she stated adamantly. “None of this is fine. It hasn’t been fine for a long time. Please leave.” She
moved to the door and held it open. “Duke and I need to have a chat. Alone.”

Integrity tore at Cade, tugging him to stay and monitor the bomb Risa intended to deliver. Unfortunately,
something much more base and desperate pushed Cade harder and won out. It drove Cade to put one
boot in front of the other, his pace slowly building until he tore into a fast run to his truck the second he
stepped out of the station.

Cade didn’t fight through even a moment’s hesitation. He absolutely had to see Ren.

* * * * *

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Taking the porch steps to Ren’s front door three at a time, Cade didn’t even bother to knock when he
got to the top. As usual for a house this far away from town, they didn’t lock the door. Cade let himself
inside and made a fast beeline for Ren’s room. Adrenaline pumped through his veins like liquid fire, and
in his head, he saw Ren crumpled on the ground, unconscious and hurt. Fear clawed at Cade’s chest,
and no matter what Risa had said, Cade wouldn’t feel like he could breathe again until he saw Ren
healthy with his own two eyes.

Cade stalked down the shadowed hallway to Ren’s room and moved inside. He found Ren asleep in
bed and immediately rushed to him, his own chest seizing at the washed-out pallor on Ren’s normally
sun-kissed cheeks. He kneeled down beside Ren, took up his lax hand, and pressed a kiss against the tip
of each icy cold fingertip.

“Please be okay,” Cade whispered, emotion making his words thick and heavy.

Ren stirred and lolled his head in Cade’s direction on the pillow, knocking his hair out of place. Cade
reached up and brushed a few stands of silky dark stuff off Ren’s forehead, setting it back to rights. The
gesture hit Cade with achingly familiarity, one that no matter how hard he tried to forget, he could not
block out of his dreams. Memories of Ren came to him at night, haunting with vivid clarity, reminding him
that no matter how it ended, there had been times in the beginning and middle that had been as close to
perfection as Cade had ever gotten in his life.

Remembering that now, Cade leaned in and pressed his lips to Ren’s, his eyelids falling closed as he
lingered there. Ren’s breathing brushed against his face, each stroke of air that fingered Cade’s lips an
affirmation of Ren’s health. Cade scraped his mouth against Ren’s one more time, needing the touch, the
connection, before forcing himself away.

Cade pulled back and found pale blue eyes blinking up at him. His breath caught in his throat, choking
him. He fell against Ren’s mouth again, kissing him over and over, in between which he thanked God,
heaven, and the universe that Ren was still with him.

“It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s okay,” Ren chanted softly against Cade’s trembling lips. He cupped Cade’s
cheeks and held him close. “I’m okay, I promise.”

“I was so scared,” Cade confessed brokenly, unable to break away from Ren’s gaze. “I heard what
happened, and I was so scared you were hurt worse than what Risa said. I had to come.”

Ren pulled Cade back down and sipped off his lips, gentling the trembling in Cade’s body with his touch
as nothing else could. “I’m all right,” Ren said, the words spoken so close they went right into Cade’s
mouth, making him feel the truth of them. “I’ve missed you so much, baby. I’ve missed being with you
like this. I’m glad you’re here. Stay with me for a while. Please.”

Those words went into Cade too, and he felt the truth of them just as much. With a start, Cade tore his
mouth away, his breathing heavy and painful as he took in the scene around him with different eyes.

This setup had all the signs of a seduction. And Cade had walked right into the master trap.

He’d never been so angry in his life.

He’d also never shot to full arousal so fast, either.

Fuck.

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Chapter Twenty-Five

Cade stared down at Ren, feeling certain he knew the truth now. He’d been set up to fall.

“You scared the shit out of me, you son of a bitch.” He swore viciously as his emotions got the better of
him, yet again. Cade worked his utility belt off with angry, jerky movements as he let loose every thought
that flashed through his head. “You made your point loud and clear though, didn’t you? You proved I still
love you and will come running the second I hear something might be wrong.”

Cade unzipped his jeans and shoved everything down past his hips. He took his heavily erect cock in his
hand and fisted its thickly veined, angry length in Ren’s direction. “This is what you knew you’d see if you
got us in the same room again, isn’t it?”

“I didn’t plan anything,” Ren said softly, his pale gaze never leaving Cade’s. “I didn’t drag you here; you
came running to me.”

“You may not have planned it to the last detail, but you sure manipulated the hell out of me by running
yourself ragged.” Cade’s voice raged with deathly softness. Hurt, confusion, and anger battled within
him, so much so he could barely see through the haze clouding his gaze. “You knew the minute I heard
something happened to you I wouldn’t be able to stay away. You knew the second I saw you lying in
bed all pale and weak that I’d rush right to your side. You knew I’d touch you and kiss you and pray
that you would be okay. You got exactly what you wanted.” Cade shoved Ren over onto his stomach
and straddled his thighs. “You wanted me here at the control of my emotions? Well, you got it.”

Cade yanked Ren’s sweats down just to under his buttocks, putting Ren’s glorious pale ass on view. He
slicked up two fingers with saliva and shoved them between Ren’s cheeks, knowing just where his tight
little bud hid.

“Is this what you wanted when you twisted me up in knots and brought me panting to your side?” He
pushed past the puckered ring without gentleness and invaded the hot, tight channel of Ren’s anus. He
started a shallow, relentless thrust. “Tell me, Ren.” Cade watched his digits disappear in and out of Ren’s
gyrating ass. “Tell me the truth.”

“I like it,” Ren admitted, gasping when Cade snaked his fingers all the way in and swirled them around
his chute. “But it’s not what I miss the most.”

“Oh yeah?” Cade’s tone carried hard with cynicism. He knew what Ren really wanted, and his dick
reared and cried to accommodate the man. Cade held his fingers jammed inside Ren’s rectum all the way
to the base, hanging him on the precipice of what he truly craved. Reaching for the nightstand, Cade
grabbed the tube of lube. He put the lid between his teeth and popped the hinge open, and then squeezed
an obscene amount all over his stiff prick.

Cade dropped the lube onto the bed and wrapped his hand around his cock, working the cool stuff in,
groaning as his member jumped and reached, eager to get back to a place it remembered loving so
much.

“Tell me what you missed the most, Ren,” Cade ordered with brutal harshness. He rubbed the head of
his dick against Ren’s sensitive t’aint, making the man’s hips buck beneath him. “Tell me how my cock is

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the best you’ve ever had and you miss it blistering your scorching ass more than anything else.”

“I miss it so much.” Ren winced as Cade pulled his fingers out of his butt. Cade quickly replaced the
pressure with the tip of his thick mushroom head, making it kiss Ren’s sphincter. Ren turned his head on
the pillow and looked back at Cade, revealing the flushed hue on his cheek, the perspiration beading his
hairline, and the lust darkening his eyes to the color of Swiss blue topaz. Ren’s gaze found Cade’s in the
shadows. “I want you inside me again, but I miss your kisses and strong arms the most.”

Base, almost inhuman emotion surged through Cade and took away every ounce of reason he
possessed. He cried out and shoved his way inside Ren’s body with one deep thrust. Ren gasped and
clenched him tight, and Cade froze as sensations unlike anything he’d ever experienced assaulted his
cock buried inside Ren’s body.

“Oh Christ.” Cade wheezed and started to move, unable not to. “I’ve never fucked anyone without a
condom before. I had no idea…” Cade had grabbed the lube on instinct, knowing that as mad as Ren
made him, he would never hurt the man physically. However, in fighting so desperately through his anger,
pausing to put on a condom had never entered his thoughts at all. Knowing that he should pull out, Cade
couldn’t stop the hard pumping motion of his hips, couldn’t take his penis away from the sweetest fire it
had ever known. He slid his hands across the comforter and tangled them with Ren’s, the intimacy of the
touch hitting him low in his gut, even as he squeezed and held tight. “Jesus Christ.” It hurt too much to feel
this kind of conflict raging inside of him. “I need to stop.”

“No, please…” Ren clutched at Cade’s hands desperately and tugged them under his body, locking
them around his chest. He bucked back against Cade’s dick, making both of their actions frenzied with
frightened panic. “I miss you so much. Please don’t stop.”

Cade scratched at Ren’s chest through his T-shirt and dropped down to blanket Ren’s back, needing
the complete physical connection just as much as his brain fought against it. “This doesn’t change
anything,” Cade swore angrily into Ren’s ear as he fucked him furiously in the ass. “You pissed me off
and made me mad as hell at you. I still don’t trust you.”

“I know, I know.” Ren grunted and took the brunt of Cade’s flood of feelings, all the while holding on
tight to Cade’s arms. “But it doesn’t change what you feel, and it doesn’t make me ache for you any less.
Oh God.” Ren’s burning hot channel clamped tight around Cade’s helplessly lost dick. “I would give
anything to get you back.”

Destruction raged through Cade. He broke free of Ren’s hold, but only far enough to wrap his forearms
around Ren’s lower belly and haul his ass up to take a bruising pounding.

“You manipulated me today, you bastard.” Cade’s lips pulled back over his teeth as he watched himself
take Ren’s hole deep again and again. “I don’t like to be manipulated.”

“I didn’t mean to.” Ren braced his hands against his headboard, giving Cade a solid, unmovable body
on which to take out his frustration. “I just miss you so much. If I don’t work, I go crazy thinking about
you. I didn’t mean to scare you. I swear it.”

“But that’s just it, Ren. You don’t ever think.” Cade let everything out, body and soul, into this one raw
mating. “You just feel and act on impulse. You never think about what’s going to happen on the other
end.”

“And you love that about me because you think too much,” Ren charged back. He looked over his

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shoulder, right at Cade. “It’s just one of a thousand reasons why we’re supposed to be together.”
Reaching down, Ren took one of Cade’s hands and drew it to his lips. He kissed the sensitive palm and
whispered, “For always.”

“No, no, no.” Cade shook his head, trying to deny those words, needing to prove that only he controlled
this encounter. But something much deeper ripped through him, something from which he could not
retreat.

His love for this one man.

That powerful love reached in and took Cade over, and made him a liar.

No time to pull away, no warning, not even inside his own body, Cade shuddered under an onslaught of
ridiculously high sensations, and burst within the snug hold of Ren’s ass. His seed poured out of him,
heating and filling Ren’s pulsing channel, without protection between them for the first time.

“Oh God, I can feel you coming inside me.” Ren dropped his head to the pillow, keening and pushing his
ass back. “It feels so damn good.” Ren reached back and grabbed at Cade’s hip, digging his fingers in as
they both rode the wave of Cade’s fierce orgasm, loving it equally on both ends. “Ohhh.” Ren grunted
and clamped his teeth together. “You’re filling me up and making me so fucking hard.”

Cade pulled out and flipped Ren over onto his back. He swooped down and took Ren’s dick deep in
one long drag, moaning as the salty flavor and pungent, rich fragrance assaulted his taste buds and filled
his nostrils, dizzying him with lust. Cade sucked hard and used his tongue to lick and tease, flitting across
Ren’s excited slit. Ren squirmed beneath him, clearly eager to take whatever Cade wanted to give. Cade
moved in tempo with Ren’s hips, keeping up with every jerk and shiver from Ren’s body.

Looking up, he saw Ren panting heavily, and in punishment, Cade torturously took Ren’s cock deep to
the back of his throat. Ren had the most beautiful, sleekly muscular body, and every time Cade got near
the man he became a slave to the hold it had on him. He let Ren’s prick slip from between his lips and
started slowly moving up the length of Ren’s body. Gathering Ren’s T-shirt in his fingers, he pushed it up
as he went, a sliver at a time, planting a trail of kisses over every inch of Ren’s taut, heated skin he
revealed along the way. As Cade got closer and closer to Ren’s mouth, he toyed a little bit more, taking
bites out of Ren’s chest and flicking his tongue over Ren’s exquisitely erect nipples. Ren writhed and
moaned for each touch before Cade gave it to him, but Cade made Ren wait a little longer for what he
said he wanted the most.

When he could deny himself no longer, Cade finally slid Ren’s shirt off and threw it aside. He reached
between their stomachs, gathered both their cocks in his big hand, and only then did he allow his gaze to
settle on Ren’s. Slowly, he stroked and rubbed their dicks together, creating delicious friction that had
them both gritting their teeth against the coiling sensations. Ren slid one of his hands between them and
joined Cade, doubling the tight vise working them both over.

In a heartbeat, the fierce pleasure of joining their hands slipped into Cade’s heart. This time, though, the
pain of betrayal boiled to the surface as quickly as his desire, and it couldn’t be pushed completely away.
“It doesn’t matter what we’re doing here today.” Cade’s voice grated hard with hurt as he rolled their
heated pricks together. He met Ren’s bright gaze and held on. “It doesn’t mean anything. I don’t forgive
you. It’s still over.”

Ren’s eyes flashed blue fire. “You may not forgive me” -- he reached up and dragged Cade’s head
down until their noses touched -- “but you can’t say it doesn’t mean anything. I know you too well.” He

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wrapped his hand around Cade’s neck and held him close. “I know that would be a lie.”

Cade opened his mouth to deny it, but Ren pulled him down until their lips settled against one another.

“I know you care, Cade,” Ren whispered. “I know.”

Cade choked and latched on to Ren’s mouth, taking him with a hard kiss. He punished Ren for knowing
the truth, the truth that Cade himself had revealed. He loved Ren, and he’d told him, so now, no matter
what he said otherwise, Ren knew that Cade cared. Ren had all the power.

Anger at his situation rose to the surface and made Cade aggressive, made him desperate to put Ren in
as weak a position as him.

“You want my arms and my mouth the most,” he growled against Ren’s lips, biting to make his point.
“You want me to hold you and love you more than anything else?”

“Yes,” Ren breathed against Cade’s face, his eyes bright with lust. “God, yes.”

“Then that’s all you’re getting.” Cade took his hand away from Ren’s iron-hard dick and rolled them to
their sides in one smooth motion, tucking Ren against his chest in the tight band of his arms. “Take your
hand away from your cock and prove what you say.” Cade settled his lips back against Ren’s. “Come
for me without the aid of anything else.”

Ren looked cocky at first, and even smiled against Cade’s lips. Cade didn’t break the hold of their gaze
though, and before too long, Ren shuddered in Cade’s arms and tried to pull away, panic setting in deep
in the shadows of his eyes. Ren bit at his lip and tried to hide his face in the crook of Cade’s neck, but
Cade just grabbed Ren’s hair and pulled his head back, forcing Ren to face Cade’s eyes as he struggled.

“It’s hard, isn’t it?” Cade sympathized cruelly. He rubbed down the length of Ren’s bare, perspiring
back with the tips of his fingers. “And I don’t mean your cock.”

“You have a vicious streak, Cade McKenna,” Ren snarled. He yanked his head and tried to roll away.

Cade wouldn’t let him go. “What I have is an exposed heart. One that you ripped out of me and
stomped on without thinking once about what you were doing. The least I deserve is a hint of
vulnerability out of you for the hell you’ve put me through. Now give it to me, damn it. Let go and give it
to me.”

“Tell me you still love me.” Ren’s eyes filled with tears. “Please.”

Cade wiped the wetness away. “I love you.”

Ren’s mouth fell open, and his eyes widened with fright. Seconds later, the wet heat of his ejaculate
sprayed against Cade’s thigh as he came. Cade held Ren, rocking him as he convulsed, all the while
struggling through it as he gave Cade a small piece of his soul.

Sanity quickly returned in the aftermath, and Cade swore at himself under his breath as he untangled
himself from Ren’s hold. In one fast move, he scrambled out of the bed to his feet. “Don’t manipulate me
like that again, you son of a bitch jerk.” Cade pulled his jeans up and grabbed his utility belt off the floor.

“You pushed me onto my stomach, Cade,” Ren said. “I didn’t pull my sweats down myself.”

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Cade whipped his gaze up from buckling his belt and pinned Ren to the bed with his stare. “I don’t mean
that, and you damn well know it. You scared the crap out of me today. I know it, and you know it. The
problem is, you didn’t only frighten me. You terrified Risa too, and I’ve never seen your dad so upset in
my life.”

Cade leaned down and braced his hand on the bed next to Ren’s head. He lowered his face until they
were little more than six inches apart. “If you want me to respect you again,” Cade started. “If you want
me to even consider giving you another shot, then you knock this shit off right now. I don’t want anything
to do with a guy who’ll put his body at risk and end up in the emergency room just so he can count up
how many people love him enough to come running. Be a man, not a selfish child. Act responsibly. Don’t
put gray hairs on the people who care about you just to prove a point. Self-destruction is not an
attractive quality, and it’s not a sign of maturity. I want a grown-up man, Ren, and as of now you haven’t
proven to me that you fit the bill.”

Cade pulled up and tucked his shirt back into his jeans. “I can’t stop you from doing whatever the hell
you want.” He slid his gaze up the length of Ren’s sinewy body until he met his gaze again. “But I can
promise that if you do this again, next time, I won’t come running.”

“I won’t do anything stupid,” Ren said. He rolled over onto his side, his gaze following Cade to the
door. “But you would come running.”

A growl rumbled up from Cade’s chest and stuffed down the denial that would have made him a liar.
“Lock your damn door the next time you come home,” Cade answered, suddenly flustered. “I don’t care
that you live in the middle of nowhere with nobody close by. It’s still not safe.”

“You got it, Deputy.” Ren smiled from the bed.

Cade growled like a bear again, covering up the tickle that still skittered in his chest when Ren smiled
and called him Deputy, something that always made Cade want to try to smile back. “I’ll lock the door
on the way out.” He couldn’t meet Ren’s gaze this time. “And for God’s sake” -- he paused at the
door -- “pull your sweats back up before someone else comes in and sees you. Get some rest. You
proved you can still get me hard, but that doesn’t mean you don’t look like hell.”

Cade moved outside Ren’s door and clutched his hand to his chest, stumbling as he heard Ren’s soft,
infectious chuckle on the other side of the door. Cade’s steps actually faltered upon hearing it, and he
knew without a doubt he wanted to turn right around and get back in bed with the man. The memory of
overhearing Ren doing something else withTex a month ago tore at Cade’s chest just then, too. He
stiffened his spine like a steel rod, and deliberately walked away from the temptation of Ren.

Ren crawled out of bed on wobbly legs and went to his bathroom, taking five minutes to clean up before
his balance faltered. As he washed, he thought about what Cade had said to him. Remorse filled Ren as
he saw his behavior of this past month with fresh eyes --through the eyes of the man he wanted to love
and respect him more than anything else in this world. He had spent four weeks wallowing in the results
of his poor choices, rather than picking himself up and trying to do better. Working so hard that he made
himself sick hadn’t done a damn thing to help get Cade back. Had, in fact, only pushed Cade farther
away.

Black hopelessness settled in on Ren as he went back in bed. He was just about to crawl under his

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covers and hide when the doorbell rang. He jumped off the bed in a shot and fought through a wave of
dizziness, his heart pounding with renewed life. Duke had his own key, and Risa knew where they hid the
spare, so it could only be Cade coming back for more.

Ren tore open the front door, ready to leap into Cade’s welcoming arms. When he saw who stood
before him instead, his heart thudded in an entirely different way, with an altogether different searing stab
of emotion he could not control.

Ren grabbed the doorframe to hold himself up. “What are you doing here?”

The familiar face on the other side of the threshold smiled, and Ren almost couldn’t breathe. Then, the
achingly remembered, throaty voice said, “Don’t you at least have a hello for your dear old mom?”

Ren almost dropped to the floor.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Good God, his mother stood on his porch. His fucking deadbeat mother.

Ren’s heart fell right into his stomach, leaving him dizzy and nauseous.

“What are you doing here?” His voice sounded breathless. He squeezed the doorframe between his
fingers, unable to move.

“You’re my son,” Brenda Bennett -- hisgoddamned mother--answered matter-of-factly. “I wanted to
see you. Why wouldn’t I be here?”

Ren’s chest heaved as he struggled to breathe properly. “Because you haven’t once tried to get in touch
with me in over ten years, that’s why,Brenda .” Ren’s mouth would not let him use the word Mom.

“I know.” Brenda bit her lip in a way that hurt Ren’s heart to see. It forced him to admit that his habit of
doing that came from her, and not from Duke, whom he’d tried to model his entire stature and persona
after from the day they’d met. “I’m off the drugs now, Ren,” Brenda said. “I have been for almost a year.
I went to see my parents, and they started telling me about your life and what a hard worker you are.
They bragged and bragged about your great job and wonderful life, and just in general made me sad for
how much of it I missed. When I stopped moping, I realized I could change that and get to know my kid
again. I asked my mom for your address, and voila , here I am.”

Ren looked Brenda over from top to bottom, and found himself a little surprised that she didn’t appear
too much the worse for wear for all the stress she’d put on her body. She landed on the skinny side, but
her long, dark hair looked almost healthy. He thought her frayed denim miniskirt more suited to someone
Risa’s age, but she wore a demure pink shirt buttoned all the way to the top, so Ren didn’t know what to
make of that. Truthfully, Ren didn’t know what to make ofher . His gut said bar the door and run the
other way, but his feet stayed glued to the floor, and his arm wouldn’t swing the door in her face.

“You look good, Ren,” Brenda prompted, dragging his gaze back up to hers. “You’ve grown into a fine
young man.”

Bile scorched the back of Ren’s throat. “You can’t really think a few empty compliments will get me to

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open my arms and let you back into my life.” Dryness made Ren’s mouth scratchy. “You chose drugs
over me and Dad --”

“He’s not your father,” Brenda responded, her pale face firing with color. “He’s the man I let adopt
you.”

“He’s the only parent I’ve ever had.” The hairs on Ren’s neck rose, like an angry dog’s. “You were
there for a couple of years, barely hanging on through the alcohol, the food, and the drugs. I have a lot of
recollection of that, but very little of you ever being a good parent or a role model, so don’t you dare
think to denigrate Duke Boone to me.”

“Fine.” Brenda raised her hands and took a step back. “You obviously love him, and I’m happy he took
such good care of you. I’m just saying that biologically there is no connection between the two of you.”

“You’re getting further and further away from speaking anything I’d want to hear,” Ren warned. “I’m
about one sentence away from closing this door in your face, just so you know.”

“I’m sorry.” Brenda backed off. “I guess it’s going to take me some time to learn how to talk to you
again. But that’s okay.” She flashed a tight smile. “I’ve got lots of time. I took a room at a motel just off
the interstate about a mile outside of town. We’ll have time to get to know each other again, and I’ll get
to know your friends and learn all about your job.” She stopped talking as tires spun on dirt at the foot of
the steps.

The sheriff’s truck came screeching to a halt.

Duke tore out of the SUV and took the stairs two at a time. When he got to the top, he thrust his body
between Ren and Brenda. “What in the hell are you doing here? If you even think to come back into our
lives and cause this kid trouble…”

Duke stopped suddenly, spun around, and pinpointed his focus on Ren. “Are you okay?” He reached
out and pressed the back of his hand against Ren’s forehead, the way he checked for a temperature for
as long as Ren could remember. “I heard what happened, kid. You should be resting.”

“I’m fine, Dad,” Ren promised. He even tried to give Duke a smile, but didn’t quite make it. “I just
overextended myself and paid for it. That’s all.”

“And now you have to deal with this.” Duke jerked his attention back to Ren’s mother. “I won’t have it.
You get out of here, Brenda. I don’t want you hanging around here ripping my kid to shreds while you
work an angle trying to prove you’re a changed woman.”

“He’s my kid, too!” Brenda raised her voice to match Duke’s. “I have a right to be wherever he is, more
so than you.”

“You will not use him to get a gold star with your parole officer,” Duke threatened with venom.

“That’s not what I’m doing!” Brenda got right in Duke’s face.

“I’ve kept up with your record.” Duke clued the woman in. “I know that one slip up puts you right back
in jail on that last robbery and drug charge.”

“Okay.” Ren’s heart fluttered wildly, making him light-headed. “You two fight this out all you want, but I

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refuse to hang around and listen. I’m gonna go lie down.”

“I’ll be in touch!” Brenda shouted to Ren as he walked away.

Ren didn’t much care. Between Cade, and now this, he just wanted to crawl up the nearest mountain
and never come back.

* * * * *

Ten minutes later, Duke poked his head into Ren’s bedroom.

“I’m okay,” Ren answered the worry he saw in Duke’s eyes. “I think I’ll live.” He rolled over on his
pillow, inadvertently releasing a hint of Cade’s clean, woodsy fragrance. It tickled into his nostrils, and
with a pain in his gut, Ren realized what a great big liar he’d become. “I’ll live,” he mumbled under his
breath, “even if I don’t want to.”

Duke moved into the room and dragged the desk chair over to the side of Ren’s bed. “You really didn’t
need the drama of your mother showing up today, did you?”

Blinking rapidly, Ren shook his head and swallowed past the thick lump in his throat.

“And then I went and acted like an ass with her right in front of you and made your miserable day a
hundred times worse.”

Ren burrowed his cheek into the pillow, trying to find another hint of Cade’s Old Spice. “Just ten times
worse,” he tried to joke, but the words croaked in his throat and fell flat.

“Oh, kid.” Duke slid to the lip of the chair, until his knees bumped the edge of the bed. Reaching out, he
brushed his big, familiar hand over Ren’s head, tugging lovingly at Ren’s hair. Ren’s lip quivered as he
tried to hold back tears. “You’ve gotta talk to me, Ren. I can’t stand to see you like this.”

Ren shook his head and rolled his face away, unable to bear the scrutiny of his father. “I’m fine,” he lied.
“I’m just tired.”

“No, it’s more than that.” Duke clasped Ren’s cheek and gently forced his face back around until they
looked each other in the eyes again. “Now talk to me. Please.”

“I can’t.” Ren’s voice caught tight in the back of his throat. His chest filled to overflowing with love for
his father, so much so that it pressed against him to the point of not being able to breathe. He had already
lost Cade; he couldn’t imagine surviving the loss of this man, too. “Please, Dad, I can’t.”

Immediately, Ren realized that Duke wouldn’t let him hide. He pulled Ren up until their faces almost
touched, and held Ren’s head so that he couldn’t turn away.

“Look at me.” Duke’s voice stayed even and firm. “Really look at me.”

“Okay,” Ren whispered, suddenly frightened, although he didn’t know why. “I’m looking.”

“Now listen to me good. Look at me and hear me when I say this: you can tell me anything.Anything .
Nothing in your world or in your heart could ever make me stop loving you.”

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Tears pressed against the back of Ren’s eyes as Duke’s words sank into his flesh and pierced his soul.

“Now please.” Duke’s amber gaze seemed to beg just as much as his words. “Tell me what’s hurting
you and has you so damned sad.”

Ren crumbled. Right then and there, the dam broke free and released a torrent of ugly, hacking sounds.
He fell forward and buried his head into the safety of Duke’s big, comforting shoulder.

Oh God, Duke knew the truth. Risa must have told him everything. Yet he hadn’t turned away.

Duke held Ren and whispered soothing words of nothingness against his hair, always, always offering a
safe place to run. Ren’s heart seized with pain as he accepted Duke’s comfort.

“I’m so stupid,” Ren said against Duke’s shoulder, his voice hoarse and raw. Everything came out in a
flood of emotions. “I had everything with him. He loved me, and I couldn’t see it. I got insecure when he
went away because I didn’t know why he wouldn’t talk to me, and I did something wrong without
thinking. He found out about it, and it hurt him so terribly that he can’t forgive me, and I don’t know what
to do because…because…” Ren hiccupped. “Because…”

Duke pulled Ren’s head out of the crook of his neck. “Because now you realize that you love him, too.
Does that sound about right?”

Ren shook his head and pulled away. His chest skittered and his stomach flip-flopped. “I never said that.
I never said I loved him.”

Duke raised a knowing eyebrow. “Doesn’t mean you don’t feel it.”

“And you would know,” Ren shot back defensively. “You being in love with my best friend but won’t
face it.”

“We’re not talking about me right now. We’re talking about you and Cade.”

Ren crawled up his bed and pressed his body back against the headboard, needing more breathing
room.

“How did you find out?” Insecurity wrapped itself around Ren just hearing his father say Cade’s name
aloud in connection to him. Duke speaking it made it very, very real. “What are you going to do?”

“I’ll tell you what I almost did.” Duke leaned back and crossed his arms against his chest. “I almost beat
the shit out of one of my deputies because I thought he had hurt you. Risa set me straight on that right
quick, thank God. She’s the one who told me what you’ve been doing to yourself for the last month, and
she also told me why it happened. She’s scared you’re going to hurt yourself, and I don’t think she’s
wrong for fearing that.”

“I didn’t mean to scare her.” The weight of yet another mistake pressed down on Ren’s chest. “Or you
either.”

“I know,” Duke sympathized. “And I’m not telling you to bury what you’re trying to deal with here. You
can feel pain, and you can fear that you’ll be lost without Cade, but you can’t work yourself to death in
order to numb what you don’t want to experience. That’s not fair. Not to yourself, not to me, not to your
friends, and most definitely not to Cade. That’s emotional blackmail, Ren, and you don’t want to do that

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to another person. What you’re doing isn’t right, and you’ve got to stop.”

“I know that now.” Ren blinked bleakly at Duke. “Cade told me that, too. I scared him, and that made
him even madder. I didn’t mean to, I swear, but it only made him mistrust me more.”

“He obviously still cares about you,” Duke said. “That doesn’t surprise me. You’re a good man, despite
what you did, and Cade is a loyal guy who likely can’t stop caring just because he got hurt. You might
want to start focusing your energies on why you pushed him away in the first place; that way it doesn’t
happen again.”

That got Ren’s back up ramrod straight. “I didn’t push him away. I want him. But I got caught. He
caught me…” Ren’s throat clamped tight. “He caught me cheating on him.”

“Is that the first time you’ve made yourself say that out loud?” Duke asked. “That you cheated?”

Moisture filled Ren’s eyes again, and he could only nod.

“Saying it makes you feel it more deeply, doesn’t it?” Duke pressed gently. “It hurts now, in a different
way, now that you’ve admitted it, doesn’t it?”

Ren nodded again, his hands trembling as he wiped his face dry. His entire middle clogged with a heavy,
dull pain, suffocating in its intensity. He couldn’t even imagine the hurt Cade must be suffering.

“Jesus Christ.” Ren wiped his mouth wearily and met his father’s gaze. “What have I done to him? How
could I have done that to him?” he asked, his voice breaking. “I’m such a bad, selfish person for taking
what I thought I wanted.”

“Hey, stop talking like that.” Duke leaned forward and took one of Ren’s hands, holding it tight. “What
you did doesn’t make you a bad person. You just did a stupid thing, and that’s not like you, kid. You’re
spontaneous and impulsive, but you’re not inconsiderate or selfish. So now you have to ask yourself why
you did something so clearly destructive and counterintuitive to what you say you want.”

A dull heat crept up Ren’s cheeks. “In the spur of the moment, I acted recklessly. I had a crush, and I
got caught up in getting something I’d dreamed about forever. I jumped to terrible conclusions about
Cade’s behavior and let my hurt override my judgment, and then did something without thinking about
what might happen afterward. Cheating with… Doing what I did with…”

“Your friendTex. ” Duke filled in the uncomfortable blank again. “You don’t have to step lightly with
your names and words any more. Risa told me everything. She didn’t want me making another mistake
like the one I almost made with Cade today.”

“It doesn’t matter that you knowTex ’s name. It doesn’t change the fact that I selfishly took the chance
to fulfill a fantasy and never once considered that it was wrong to do it, or how it would affect Cade.”

“No, I don’t think so,” Duke said, shocking Ren’s gaze up to his piercing one. “I don’t buy that. I can’t
believe Cade never once crossed your mind before you did what you did. Not you, Ren, not with
someone you obviously care about so much. There’s something deeper going on here.”

Ren narrowed his gaze. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I think you got scared of the relationship developing between you and Cade. WithTex you

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found a way to run from it, so you took it.”

“No way,” Ren swore. “Cade’s the sweetest, most decent man I’ve ever met. Whenever I’m with him, I
feel like I’m exactly where I should be. He doesn’t scare me. He’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a
partner.”

“I think that’s exactly what frightened you so much. You’ve got a lot of problems with trust that you
don’t like looking at, because you don’t like to think about your life before we came here. Cade found a
way over those walls of yours, and that scared the shit out of you.”

Ren rubbed his hand around his neck, and then down over his chest, as if covering his heart could make
the furious pounding within slow down. “No, you don’t get it. You don’t know how deep my crush
onTex went. Before I got to know Cade, I never wanted anyone butTex. ”

“Yeah, he’s one of your best friends, and you love him; I get that. But isn’t it interesting that you always
knew, from the very beginning, that nothing real could ever come of your crush.”

“So?” Ren said defensively. “Lot’s of people have crushes on people they can never have. So what?”

“Son.” Duke squeezed Ren’s hand. “You’re almost twenty-three years old, and the only two people,
besides me, that you trust and love completely are a man and a woman that you can never be more than
friends with. Cade cared about you in a different way, something that you have never dealt with before.
I’d be willing to bet you felt a whole different level of vulnerability with him than you ever have with
anyone else. I think deep down you knew it was the real thing, and that scared you to death.”

“No. Huh-uh.” Ren shook his head vehemently. “I’m not afraid of Cade. I want him back.”

“You can be terrified of something and push it away, while at the same time still want it desperately.
You’ve never been in a relationship before, kid.” Duke squeezed Ren’s hand. “You started something
with Cade that got big fast, and went deeper than you thought it would. You don’t have a lot of
experience. You didn’t know what to do with how he made you feel. You got scared, and you
panicked.”

“No.” Ren shook his head. “That can’t be true. I can’t have been that stupid and weak. I can’t have
deliberately hurt him because of some ridiculous fear.” Ren curled up on his side in a ball, completely
numb from head to toe. “I can’t have thrown away the best thing that ever happened to me because it
scared me too badly to deal with it. That’s just too dumb and blind to even think about.”

“It’s not dumb when all you had were two parents that didn’t show you anything good or healthy about
love between adults. Even after we leftMinneapolis , I never got into a serious relationship and let you see
that things could be different than what went down between me and your mom.”

“You don’t need to make excuses for me, Dad. I know the difference between right and wrong, and I
chose wrong. I didn’t think through the consequences of my actions, and I have to live with that. I didn’t
mean to hurt Cade, but I have to accept that just because I didn’t intend to cause him pain doesn’t mean
he should automatically forgive me for doing it. That’s not how a real man behaves. Cade is right about
that. This is all on me, not on how you raised me, or how I grew up.”

“I didn’t say that in order to absolve you of your choice,” Duke said. “That’s not for me to do. I only
meant that being with Cade came with morestuff than you were prepared to handle. For example, being
with Cade, for real, would have meant coming out. You never would have wanted Cade to think you

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were ashamed of him. You would have had to come out of hiding. Forget about telling an entire town;
you would have had to tell me. I know how scared that made you, Ren. No matter how much I tried to
make you see that you could tell me anything, you never could just come to me and say ‘Hey, Dad, I’m
gay.’”

Ren met Duke’s gaze. “Hey, Dad.” He forced a pathetic smile. “I’m gay.”

“Wow.” Duke lifted his arms wide and looked all around the room. “You finally said it, and amazingly
enough, the world didn’t end. I’m still here, and so are you. I’m still your dad, and you’re still my favorite
kid.”

The safety and familiarity of Duke’s way of comforting flooded Ren with the first true warmth he’d felt in
a month.

“I’m the only kid you have.” Ren used the same words he’d used a million times before. “So that’s not
exactly the great compliment you always seem to think it is.”

“Well, then how about the fact that I picked you?” Duke got up, pecked a kiss on Ren’s forehead, and
then dragged the chair back to the desk. “At this point in my life, I refuse to trade you in for a different
model. I love the one I already have, thank you very much, and I don’t need him to be exactly like me in
order to be proud. I already am. I always have been.”

Ren suddenly realized Duke had never flinched once during their talk. Whatever Risa had told him
clearly hadn’t been a shock.

“How long have you known?” Ren asked. “About how I feel, you know, about men.”

“I’ve suspected for a number of years. A parent can tell, even if they don’t want to admit what they’re
sensing. When I came home from the home invasion a while back and heard things” -- light color stole
over the normally unflappable Duke’s cheeks -- “I didn’t need any more confirmation than that.” Duke
settled his amber gaze on Ren. “I’ve waited a long time for you to feel safe enough to tell me yourself.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t trust you,” Ren said. “The thought of losing you and having no one scared me so
much that I couldn’t make myself say the words.”

“Well, then at the very least, you don’t have to worry about that anymore. You won’t ever lose me.
Don’t lose sleep over that thought again.”

Releasing that valve of fear regarding his father only made room for others to move to the forefront.
Cade moved into Ren’s heart and took over completely.

“What am I going to do, Dad?” Ren asked hopelessly. “I care about Cade so much.” His voice wavered
as thickness squeezed his throat. “But I think I threw him away for good.”

“I’ll tell you what you’re going to do,” Duke said. “You’re going to get up tomorrow and go to work,
same as always. You’re going to continue to be the good man that you are to your coworkers and
neighbors, because that hasn’t changed. Then the next day, you get up and do it all over again. You keep
doing that every day, no matter how hard it gets. You continue to respect yourself and the people around
you, the same way you already do. Every day, you work hard to be the man Cade McKenna liked so
much in the first place, and you give him the time and space to see that on his own.”

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“What if he doesn’t?”

“Then you’ll still be able to hold your head up high and know you came out of this time you had with him
a better man. In the end, that’s all any of us can ever truly hope for.”

“Right.” Ren knew that Duke never spoke lies to make another person feel better. “If I can’t do anything
about Cade, then what am I going to do about the other problem that showed up on our doorstep
tonight?”

Duke’s stance lost all traces of ease. “That one’s a little more complicated.” His voice turned hard. “My
gut says be wary of Brenda’s presence. However, you are an adult, and she is your mother, so if you
want to get to know her again, I won’t tell you that you can’t.”

“But that’s what you want to do, isn’t it?”

“We can’t always get what we want,” Duke said soberly. “Right now, you know that better than
anyone. Get some rest.” Duke pulled the window shade and made his way to the door. “Tomorrow is
plenty soon enough to figure it out. Give me a shout if you need anything. I’ll be home for the rest of the
night.”

Ren rolled over onto his back, his mind racing at a million miles a minute, much too revved up to get the
sleep he so desperately needed. He closed his eyes and did the only thing he seemed capable of lately.
He prayed. He prayed that Cade’s love wouldn’t die, and that somehow he would find a way to let Ren
back into his life. He prayed that his mother hadn’t come back into his life to cause trouble, and that he
could be civil to her, at the very least.

Ren talked to God a lot these days. He just didn’t know if God wanted to hear from a hypocritical gay
man who had cheated on his boyfriend, but still couldn’t forgive his mother for her sins.

“Shit.” Ren slid under the covers. “I’m screwed.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

“I’ll be at the diner,” Cade called to Sarah as he backed out of the station’s front door. “If the boss gets
off the phone in the next half hour, tell him to meet me for lunch. I have some ideas about this vandalism
case I want to run by him.”

“Will do.” Sarah glanced up from her desk. “Oh!” She lifted her hand to her mouth. “Look out!”

Too late, Cade backed right into a solid force and cracked his skull against an equally hard head. He let
go of the door and spun around with his head in his hand, wincing as pinpricks of nerve endings tingled
under his scalp and all up and down his arms.

“Sorry,” he apologized automatically, before looking up.

“It’s okay,” Ren’s familiar, deep voice spoke softly, snapping Cade’s gaze up to pale blue eyes.

“Oh.”

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Ren.Oh Jesus , Ren. Seeing the man so unexpectedly jumbled all of Cade’s thoughts. For a few
seconds, his mind filled with images of the angry, raw sex they’d had a week ago out at Ren’s house.
Cade’s heart slammed at a hundred miles a minute against his sternum, making him light-headed, dizzy,
and stupid. He couldn’t gather himself enough to compose his thoughts and form a complete sentence, or
even just to say “hi.”

Ren didn’t look any better. His cheeks suffused with deep red, and he bit furiously on his lip, a nervous
gesture that embarrassed Cade to note he’d watched Ren closely enough to know very well. The little tell
tugged at Cade’s heart and made him want to reach out to Ren, but then he remembered the rest and his
back stiffened straight as a board instead.

“Well, okay then.” Ren spoke first, making Cade’s gaze dart to his. “I didn’t mean to bother you. I
came to talk to my dad.”

“He’s on an important phone call,” Cade blurted. “You can’t talk to him right now.”

“Oh.” Ren’s shoulders slumped. “I guess I’ll talk to him later.” His pale gaze held Cade’s for a
prolonged moment, and then he tore it away and backed off. “I’ll just go. Bye.”

Cade watched Ren walk away, his long legs and tight ass encased in dark jeans, his blue and white plaid
shirt molded to his back and tucked in neatly all the way around his waist. Cade couldn’t help responding
to Ren’s physical allure, as much as he wished he didn’t. He couldn’t hold back the wave of love he still
felt either, or the depth of how much he still cared, even through everything that had happened.

A frayed string still existed between them, one that tied their lives together emotionally. That fragile
connection wouldn’t let Cade turn his back and walk away from Ren. The strength of that tie put Cade’s
legs in motion, and he chased down the man who’d cheated on him and broken his heart.

“Wait, Ren, wait.” Cade caught up to Ren in the parking lot, desolate save for a handful of empty cars.
“Hold up. I want to talk to you.”

Ren stalled by the hood of his truck and slowly turned around, facing Cade.

“What is it?” Ren asked softly.

“Nothing really.” Cade panicked and scrambled to find something neutral to share. “I wanted to give you
an update about the vandalism case. I don’t know if you’ve crossed paths with your father in the past
twenty-four hours to get the news.”

“Oh.” Ren looked away, kicking the toe of his boot into the concrete before coming back and finding
Cade’s gaze. “He said the fingerprint labs came back, and they didn’t find any in the shack that didn’t
have an explanation for being there. Did you have something else new to report?”

“No.” Cade’s heart plummeted as his excuse to talk to Ren disappeared. “That about covers it.”

“I guess I’ll go then.” Ren made a sad attempt at a smile that didn’t come anywhere close to what Cade
had gotten so used to seeing on this lighthearted, teasing man. “Thanks for thinking to tell me. It was nice
of you to do it.”

“Wait a minute.” Cade swallowed past the baseball lodged in his throat, and forced himself to speak the
words he really wanted to share. “I didn’t really chase you down because of the vandalism case.”

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“Oh?” The hope that lit Ren’s face punched Cade right in the gut. “What did you want to tell me?”

Cade rubbed at his scars and wound his hand behind his neck. “I heard that your mom showed up in
town.” His gaze flickered to Ren’s and held. “I remember us talking about her that night in your
bedroom, and I wondered if you were all right.”

Ren pursed his lips and shook his head. Pausing for a long moment, he finally said, “I don’t deserve to
be with you, Cade, you know that? Maybe I didn’t want to accept that before, but I can see it very
clearly now.”

“What does that mean?” Cade’s hackles rose right up straight. “What in the hell are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the fact that I did what I did to you, and yet you somehow still care enough about me
to ask if I’m okay with my mom being here.” Ren reached up and caressed Cade’s scarred cheek. Cade
flushed and flinched -- and stirred uncomfortably in his jeans. “You’re the finest man I know. You will
never know how much I regret not taking care of that from the beginning.” Ren smiled sadly and stepped
back.

“Wait!” Cade lunged and grabbed Ren’s arm before he got into his truck. Touching Ren, even through
his shirt, flared up too much remembered passion, and Cade quickly let his hand drop away.

The small light that had briefly lit Ren’s eyes died. He climbed in behind the wheel, but rolled the window
down instead of driving away. “What is it, Deputy?” Ren’s voice reached across the air, all soft and sexy
in a way that felt like fingers tickling down Cade’s spine.

Cade jerked and snapped himself out of his prurient thoughts, for the first time taking note of the fine
shadows under Ren’s eyes. “Are you really all right?” Christ, Cade wanted to lean in through the window
and soothe away the worry lines at the edges of Ren’s mouth. He took a very deliberate step back
before adding, “I know when you were a kid your mom hurt you a lot. I hope she’s not dredging all of
that up for you again.”

“She’s being a bit of a pest,” Ren admitted, his jaw clenching. “At this point, if all she does is keep
showing up at my work, I’ll consider myself lucky. At least I have an understanding boss, and as long as
he doesn’t sack me for the unscheduled visits I think I can handle her being here.” Ren slid on a pair of
sunglasses and started the engine. “You might want to stay out of Duke’s way, though. He’s having a
tougher time with her presence than I am.”

“No shit.” Cade laughed for the first time in over a month. The sensation stirred a funny little feeling in his
belly. “I hope to have lunch with him today and talk shop. One of my goals is to get through it without
setting him off and ending up demoted.”

“Good luck.”

“Thanks. I’m gonna need it.”

Lifting his hands, Ren slipped his sunglasses off his face. “It’s good to hear you laugh again.” His gaze
lighted over Cade’s face. “I’ve missed it a lot. It was good to see you. Let me know if you get any new
information on the case. Bye.” Ren waved and drove off, leaving Cade there in the empty parking lot
struggling to handle the truth.

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He still wanted Ren. Desperately.

Shit.

* * * * *

“So, thanks for your time.” Cade reached out and shook Cain Hawkins’s hand. The big, chestnut-haired
horse rancher’s incredible patience and friendliness toward Cade this morning had gone above and
beyond his expectations. “I appreciate you indulging my need to examine every possibility in this
vandalism case.”

“Hey, you’re the one who got up early and drove all the way out here.” Chuckling, Cain leaned his
shoulder against the slatted wood of Forrest-Hawk Rehabilitation Horse Farm’s main paddock. “I just
wish I could have given you something to run with.”

“Don’t apologize.” Cade went to rest his hand against his holster, but only hit air. Remembering that he’d
taken his utility belt off for the long drive out to Cain and Luke’s place, he slid his fingers into the pocket
of his jeans instead. “Not having any enemies that would retaliate against Hawkins Ranch property as a
way to send a message to you is a good thing. I’m going back through and re-eliminating all of the
possibilities. I need to know that I’ve done everything I could, that I looked at all possible angles, and
double-checked everything, just to be sure.”

“My mind truly is a blank,” Cain responded. “Connor’s always been a pretty straight shooter, so I don’t
see him riling up a lot of angry passion in anyone.” Cain’s pure blue eyes twinkled. “Except in his wife.
As for Caleb, he has led a more colorful existence, but even with his years on the rodeo circuit, I don’t
see him inspiring this kind of attack. He’d be more likely to have to fend off a straight-on knife fight than
contend with someone scribbling his name on a bathroom wall. That’s what this vandalism feels like, you
know? For all the money and inconveniences this jerk has caused Caleb with the bull trout project, it isn’t
taking over his life. That’s what’s more confusing and frustrating than anything else, the fact that it doesn’t
make a lick of sense.”

“Yeah.” That bugged the hell out of Cade, too. “I intend to figure it out if it’s the very last thing I do.”

“Well,” Cain said again, “good luck. Feel free to pick my brain any time you need to.” Cain’s voice got
softer word by word as his attention shifted back to the activity in the paddock.

Cain’s partner, Luke, worked with a horse inside the big circle. Cade couldn’t help but notice, while
they’d talked, how Cain’s gaze continually strayed to Luke again and again. The two men clearly adored
one another, and the stab of envy that jammed Cade in the gut made him look down to the dirt ground in
shame. Cade didn’t want to wish he could have with Ren what Cain had with Luke; he just wanted to
stop feeling anything for Ren, period. But as Cade had learned over twenty years ago when he’d lost his
parents, wanting and getting didn’t often meet.

“Can I ask you something, Cain?” At Cain’s raised brow, Cade asked, “What would you do if Luke
cheated on you?” As soon as the words left his lips, Cade’s entire being flooded with heat and he
staggered backward. “I am so sorry.” Cade prayed the ground would open up a wormhole and suck him
right in. “Never mind. That was an incredibly inappropriate question. Don’t judge me on this. I swear I
really am a qualified professional. Okay.” Cade turned, suddenly scattered and confused. “Crash is
waiting for me in the truck. I need to go. Thank you.”

“Cade, wait.” Cain grabbed Cade’s arm. “Are you okay?” Kindness and concern filled the horse

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rancher’s gaze. “Do you want to stay and talk?”

“No. No. Thank you, though.” Cade grabbed Cain’s hand and shook it firmly again, unable to meet
Cain’s eyes. “Thank you for your time, and tell Luke I said good-bye.”

Cain watched Deputy McKenna straighten his back, get very calmly and deliberately into his truck, and
drive away at a moderate speed, not giving away any indication that he’d just had a mini freak-out only
moments before.

Luke rode over to the fence on his favorite horse, Fancy Face, and leaned down to peck a kiss on
Cain’s cheek. “Everything all right?” he asked, his gaze following Cain’s in the direction of the retreating
truck.

“I don’t know.” Cain hoisted himself up on the top rung of the paddock so he could be on level with
Luke. “Cade seemed a little bit off today. He looks tired, and then out of nowhere he asked me what I’d
do if you cheated on me.”

“Well, hell.” Luke looked affronted. “I hope you made it clear to him that I never would.”

“Relax, darlin’.” Cain soothed Luke’s heated cheek and kissed his dark brow. “I know you wouldn’t,
but Cade didn’t even give me a chance to answer him. He looked like he wanted to die on the spot.
Then he gathered himself with amazing control and got out of here.”

“Hmm.” Luke settled back in the saddle. “I wonder what…oh…oh.” Luke’s gray gaze widened
immeasurably. “Caleb says Ren hasn’t been himself lately either. I talked to Caleb after Ren passed out
on our property and asked what was going on with the kid. Risa’s worried about Ren too, I can tell.
Now Cade shows up here asking questions about cheating, to a gay man?” Luke slid Cain a knowing
look. “We already know they’re very friendly; we saw that at the rodeo a couple months back. And you
know, I thought I saw a few pretty hot glances go back and forth between them that night. I don’t claim
to be a genius, but even I can put two and two together and come up with the right conclusion.”

“No way.” Cain’s jaw dropped, and his gaze narrowed, but after just a few heartbeats, his head tilted to
the side. “You think?”

Luke laughed. He reached out and rubbed Cain’s thigh. “We aren’t the only gay men in the world,
Hawk.”

“I know.” Cain blushed. “But I thought for damned sure we were the only ones in Quinten.”

“More likely just the only open ones.”

Cain turned bleak eyes on Luke. “I almost hope you’re wrong. If not, that means Ren probably cheated
on Cade, and I wouldn’t wish that kind of heartache on anyone.”

Luke slipped his hand around Cain’s neck and pulled him in close. “That’s just one of the reasons I love
you so much. You have a giant, loving heart.” Closing the distance between them, Luke captured Cain’s
mouth in a lingering, sweet kiss. Cain eagerly slipped his tongue inside, but Luke moaned and pulled
away. “Don’t start that,” he murmured against Cain’s mouth. “We have a lot of horses to exercise today,
and not a lot of help to do it. Now get your pretty ass off this railing and go get one before I swing the

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hammer down on you for neglecting your duties.”

Cain slid off the fence and started walking backward in the direction of the barn. “You’ll pay for that
little threat later on, darlin’.” His gaze moved heatedly up Luke’s beautiful body until he found Luke’s
silver gaze. “Count on it.”

Luke just winked and relaxed back into the saddle. “I’m looking forward to it.” He swung the horse
around into a trot. “Bring it on, baby. Bring it on.”

Cain turned and picked up the pace to the barn, adding under his breath, “I intend to.” He adjusted his
cock in his jeans, something he often had to do when Luke kissed him.

Some things never changed.

* * * * *

Safely in his truck and back on the long stretch of lonely road that led back to town, Cade cursed up a
storm under his breath. He mentally kicked himself in the ass for being such a fucking idiot. Hecould not
believe he’d opened his mouth and asked Cain Hawkins what he had about Luke and cheating. Well
beyond the fact that he had behaved unprofessionally, Cade might as well have just put a big old flashing
sign on his forehead that stated, “My lover betrayed me.” And asking Cain, an openly gay man in a very
healthy relationship… Well, it was a pretty damn good bet that he’d just outed himself to at least one
person today.

“I’m such a freaking spaz, Crash.” Cade glanced in the rearview mirror and saw his dog’s head pull in
from the half-open window, and then tilt as if he could actually understand what Cade said. He probably
could. Cade certainly talked to the animal enough, treated him as a sympathetic friend since he didn’t
have anyone he could confide in, something he had started to dream he might have with Ren -- before
he’d discovered Ren withTex.

“It couldn’t have been more obvious I was fishing for someone I respected to tell me it’s okay to forgive
Ren for what he did, because deep down that’s clearly what I want to do. That makes me such a
pathetic pussy, Crash, and I know it. Ren hurt me in the worst possible way and here I am looking for a
way to let someone who betrayed me back into my life. What kind of loser does that make me, huh?”

Crash’s leash swished against the leather seats, and then the dog’s wet nose moved in over the headrest.
Settling his chin on Cade’s shoulder, the animal woofed low next to Cade’s ear.

Cade chuckled and reached up to scratch the dog behind his furry, floppy ears. “Hold my ground, huh?
You give good advice, Crash, and I promise to take it. No matter how much I want him, I won’t weaken
and let myself get walked on all over again.”

Cade’s pity party came to a halt when he saw the red Toyota truck fifty yards ahead on the side of the
road, half in the ditch, nose first. He pulled off the road onto the shoulder and got out of the truck.

“Wait here for me, boy.” Cade reached in through the open window and rubbed Crash’s head, calming
the nervous excitement he could see in the dog’s vibrating body. “Let me see if someone needs help first,
and I’ll be right back to let you out.”

Cade braced his legs as he criss-crossed the overgrown ditch in a forward diagonal, down one side and
up the other. He dipped his head down and tried to see in through the tinted windows.

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“Everyone all right?” He came up on level with the driver’s side window, the ditch between them.
“Anyone need help?”

The window rolled down and Cade immediately recognized Shelley.

“Hey.” He automatically smiled. “Are you okay? Can I call someone for you?”

“Thank God you’re finally here,” she answered. “I was beginning to think you weren’t coming back this
way.”

Before Cade could process the sudden, strange shiver that trickled down his spine, a little pistol came
out from the window, aimed right at him. With no hesitation, the first two shots hit him in rapid
succession, clipping Cade in the shoulder and slamming him backward. White heat lanced through his
arm. His weapon still secured in the glove box in his truck, with no way to help himself, Cade turned to
run as he realized the twisted truth of everything much too late.

The third shot quickly hit Cade in the back of the thigh. He tried to scramble through the heavy brush,
but stumbled. The fourth pierced his hip and took him down to the ground, cracking his forehead into a
rock hidden by the overgrown grass. A fifth plugged him in the back, taking what remained of his breath
right out of his body.

Cade didn’t know how many more came after that. For him, there on the side of the road, as he finally
realized the truth about the vandalism, he dizzily wondered if he’d ever get a chance to tell anyone.

His last thought was that he wanted Ren; then Cade’s world went completely black.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Ren rode fence alongside Caleb and Hank, happy to have the early morning shift with two men who
didn’t require a lot of chitchat. Ren hadn’t felt like himself in ages, and seeing Cade in town two days ago
had made him painfully aware that Cade could never forgive or forget Ren’s betrayal. Ren saw the reality
of it in Cade’s gaze, witnessed the painful memory of what Ren had done to him still brimming behind his
dark eyes. Ren saw it so clearly, and even dealing with that hurt, Cade still pushed past his pain and
asked how Ren was doing with his mother in town.

Just thinking about Cade’s small kindness slid a sharp pain right through Ren’s body, leaving him aching
with the loss. It affected Ren on such a bone-deep level he actually thought he heard Cade say his name.
Cade’s voice rang so loud and clear Ren turned around in the saddle to see if the man had somehow
come up behind him, but found only Hank and Caleb there. Just as Ren tried to shake off the strange
sensation, something like an electric jolt flickered a sharp charge right into his heart, and Ren knew he
hadn’t imagined anything. The feeling in his chest suddenly tightened painfully, suffocating him. It sent one
startlingly clear message right into his soul.

Something was wrong.

Something to do with Cade.

Ren shifted abruptly in the saddle and reached into his pocket, startling his mare into sidestepping into

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Caleb’s horse. He swung the horse away with one hand on the reins and switched to digging awkwardly
in his other pocket with his free hand, cursing when he came up empty-handed on both sides.

“Shit.” Ren scrambled, panicked, his heart hurting so badly he had a hard time focusing so that he could
think. “Shit.”

“Whoa. Whoa.” Caleb settled down his big roan and reached out to take control of Ren’s horse,
drawing him around until they grazed side by side. “Calm down. What’s going on? What the hell’s the
matter?”

“I don’t have my fucking cell phone,” Ren answered frantically. “Damn it, it’s new, and I don’t
remember it half the time. Damn it. Something’s wrong with him. I have to call my dad and make sure
he’s okay.”

“Calm down, Ren. We’ll call him, but I’m sure your dad is fine.”

“Not my dad!” Ren screeched. “Cade. Something is wrong with Cade. I can feel it. I need to call my
dad and find out where he is. I need to call him, damn it! My chest hurts. I know something’s wrong.”

“All right. Get yourself together.” Caleb touched Ren’s arm, startling him back into the moment. “Here.”
Unclipping his phone from his belt, Caleb handed it over to Ren. “Make your call and assure yourself that
Cade is fine.”

Ren snatched the phone out of Caleb’s hand. “Thank you.” He didn’t even bother trying the station’s
main line; he dialed straight through to his father’s personal cell number. Ren didn’t have Cade’s cell
phone number. God, why had he never asked for Cade’s cell number? Why hadn’t he demanded it right
from the start?

Duke picked up on the third ring. “How can I help you, Caleb? Has there been another incident?”

“No, Dad. It’s me.” Ren could barely talk through the cloying fear strangling his throat. “I think
something’s wrong with Cade.” His voice wheezed higher and higher with each sentence. “Tell me you’re
at the station, and you can see him right in front of you. Tell me you just talked to him and everything is all
right.”

“Son, what’s the matter? You’re not making sense.”

The pressure in Ren’s chest continued to build. “Tell me Cade is there with you, and I’ll be fine.”

“I don’t think he is, but let me take a quick look.” Ren heard a door open and close in the background
of Duke’s end of the call, and then, “No, he’s not here. Why? What’s the matter?”

“Something’s wrong with him, Dad. I know it.” The fist of fear squeezed harder on Ren’s chest. “Do
you know where he is? Send someone to his apartment to see what’s going on. He’s in trouble. I can feel
it.”

“Okay, okay. Calm down. I doubt he’s at home. He mentioned having a talk with Cain Hawkins this
morning --”

“Cain?” Ren broke in. “He’s with Cain?”

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“Maybe. I don’t know. Cade intended to head out there pretty early, so he might already be gone. I’ll
give Cade a call on his cell phone if it will make you feel better, but I’m sure everything is fine.”

“Okay, thank you.” The tightening in Ren’s chest didn’t let up with this new information. He squeezed his
eyes shut and prayed not to crack. “But he isn’t fine, Dad. I can’t tell you how I know. I just do. Call me
back. Please.”

Caleb grabbed the phone away from Ren’s ear.

“I’ll call Cain for you,” Caleb explained as he dialed the number. “He’ll definitely pick up for me.

“Hey, Cain, let me ask you a question,” Caleb transitioned into his conversation with his brother. “Is
Cade McKenna at your place?”

Ren chewed a hole through his lip while he waited, feeling sicker in his gut than he ever had in his life. He
suffered through a few “uh-huhs,” “okays,” and a “we think something might be wrong.” After a minute
that felt like a year, Caleb said, “All right. Thanks,” and ended the call.

Ren saw the bad news in Caleb’s eyes.

“Cade left about an hour ago. Cain said Cade didn’t seem like himself, and Cain was actually a little bit
worried. He and Luke are going to take the truck and check the road into town just to make sure he
didn’t get into an accident.”

Ren didn’t need any more confirmation than that.

“Okay. I have to go. I can’t stay here and do nothing. I’m gonna take the horse and start up in the other
direction and see if I can find him.”

“Hold on.” Caleb raised a finger. “It’s your father.” Caleb flipped open the phone buzzing in his hand.
Within fifteen seconds, Caleb’s face changed from concerned to grim, and he hung up with Duke. “The
sheriff says Cade isn’t answering his cell, and so now he’s starting to worry, too. He’s going to start a
search with the guys he has on duty right now. He says he’ll call me back when he has something new to
share.”

“Okay, I can’t wait anymore.” Ren swung his horse around in the direction of the road that led to town
from Cain and Luke’s place. “I won’t be back to work until I know Cade is all right.”

“Wait! Here.” Caleb handed Ren his phone. “Take this in case your father calls. You can give it back to
me later.”

Ren clipped the phone to his belt. Without another word, he sent his horse into a full-on gallop across a
wide green stretch of Hawkins Ranch land.

Caleb and Hank hung back in their saddles and watched Ren cut across the valley with the kind of
speed reserved for racehorses and their jockeys on Kentucky Derby day.

“That’s a lot of concern Ren has there for another fella,” Hank said. His snow white eyebrow drew up
high as he glanced over at Caleb.

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“Yup.” Caleb nodded back. “Sure is.”

“That’s what I thought too.” Hank pulled his horse around until it was alongside Caleb’s. “All right then.
So, you ready to get back to fixin’ fences, boss?”

“They aren’t going to fix themselves.” Caleb put his horse into a trot. “Let’s get to it.”

Not another word on the subject of Ren’s apparent affection for Cade was spoken.

* * * * *

Ren’s heart seized as he came upon Cain and Luke. With Crash sitting on the prone body, Ren knew it
was Cade.

“Oh my God. Cade.” Ren jumped off his horse and pushed past the other two men, his face drained of
all color except for his pale blue eyes, round and big. “What happened to him?” He dropped to his knees
and immediately reached for Cade.

“Careful!” Cain grabbed Ren before he got too close to Cade. “It looks like Cade has been shot, but
we can’t see the extent of his injuries. The dog won’t let anyone get close to him.” Crash sat on Cade’s
back, snarling and growling at everyone.

“He’ll move for me,” Ren said, his tone clipped and determined. When he moved back down to Cade
and Crash’s side, however, his voice shifted to soothing and soft. “It’s okay, baby, you know me. You
know I just want to take care of Cade, just like you.” Ren took Cade’s lax hand tentatively into his and
brought it to his lips. “See?” He brushed his lips against the back of Cade’s hand, the skin so cold it
squeezed panic against Ren’s middle. Sliding his fingers up to Cade’s wrist, he felt around, his heart
flooding with renewed life when he recognized a faint pulse. His focus immediately went back to the dog.
“I won’t hurt Cade. I want to help him. Okay?”

The dog looked up at Ren through the glassy lenses of his big brown eyes. His low-pitched growling
slowly became a frightened, sad whine. This time when Ren reached for Crash, the dog lifted his head,
then his body, and he climbed off Cade right into Ren’s waiting arms.

Cain and Luke moved in before Ren could put Crash aside. Together, the two men gently rolled Cade
over.

Luke looked over at Ren and took charge. “Here’s how we’re going to do this. The dog is only
responding to you, so I want you to use Cade’s truck to drive him somewhere safe, and then drive
yourself to the emergency room. Cain and I will get Cade into our truck, and Cain will drive Cade to the
hospital while I take your horse back to Caleb’s property.” Ren opened his mouth, but Luke held up a
strong hand. “Don’t bother arguing with me. It’s the quickest way to get Cade medical help, and I know
that’s all you care about.” Luke’s gray gaze held Ren’s. “Am I right about that?”

Ren nodded, too choked up to speak. In that moment, Luke shifted, and Ren got his first real glance at
Cade’s scraped-up, ashen face, looking so much like death had already taken him that the bubble of
panic and fear erupting in Ren could not be contained.

“Wait a minute.” Ren set Crash on the ground, commanded him to stay, and then crawled up to Cade
on his hands and knees, kneeling next to his head. Reaching out tentatively, he brushed a patch of dirt off

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Cade’s cheek with trembling fingers, and then leaned over his mouth and spoke against his lips. “I love
you, Cade. I love you so much. I’m sorry I was too afraid to tell you that before. Please be okay.” He
pressed a kiss against Cade’s cool lips, lingering there until a tear slid from his cheek and splashed
against Cade’s. That snapped him out of his daze. “Okay.” He pulled away and circled his arm around
Crash. “Take good care of him.” His eyes met Cain’s. “He has people who love him and wouldn’t do
very well if he left us.”

Cain’s knowing gaze settled briefly on Ren. “Get going now.” He jerked his head in the direction of
Cade’s truck. “His keys are still in the ignition. Take care of Crash, and we’ll see you at the hospital.”

Ren didn’t want to leave Cade for anything, but deep down knew Cain was right. After securing the dog
back to his collar and leash in the backseat of the truck, Ren climbed in behind the wheel. As he drove
away, he watched Cain and Luke load Cade into the backseat of their truck, still limp in
unconsciousness.

Ren dragged his gaze away before tears filled his eyes, and he started to pray.

* * * * *

“Oh, honey!” Ren’s mother rushed into the ER waiting room hours later, her hair blowing around her
face as the wind whipped in through the automatic doors. She rushed to Ren’s side and pushed her way
down to the seat next to Ren, not so subtly nudging Cain aside. She slid her bony arm around Ren’s
back and rubbed her cheek against his shoulder. “I went out to visit you at Mr. Hawkins’s place and
heard about what happened to your friend. Mr. Hawkins’s office person told me that everybody was
here at the hospital waiting to hear the news about him. What is his name?”

“Cade.” Ren sat hunched in the plastic chair, numb in all of his extremities from waiting in one position
for so long. Almost ten hours had passed, and as of yet not a single person had come out to share one bit
of news about Cade. “His name is Cade, Mom.”

“Oh, you called me Mom. See?” Brenda squeezed Ren’s shoulders. “It’s a good sign, I can feel it.
Everything will work out just fine. You’ll see.”

“Lay off the pressure, Brenda,” Duke ordered from the other side of Ren. “All of us in this room have a
friend in that operating room with six bullet holes in him. We don’t need you coming in here trying to
make a play to get close to your son while he’s feeling vulnerable.”

“And you don’t need to harp on the fact that the guy has such extensive injuries,” Brenda said right
back, her voice hissing. “Why not try and focus on the positive, like that he probably has really good
doctors.” Brenda’s gaze circled the waiting room until it alighted on Caleb. “You must know everyone in
town, Mr. Hawkins --”

“Caleb. Please.”

“Caleb.” Brenda tilted her head and brushed her long hair back behind her ear. “You must know the
doctors in this town. You can vouch for how skilled they are. Right?”

“Weall know them, Brenda.” Duke’s voice rang sharply in the ER, and everyone in the room could
practically feel the big man getting ready to lose his cool. “Weall live here.”

Risa shot up off her seat. “I think I’ll go see if I can get a nurse friend of mine to dig up some news,” she

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said loudly, and then moved two steps forward until she stood in front of Duke. “Why don’t you come
with me, Sheriff? Your badge can help us out, too.”

“I --” Duke opened his mouth. Risa shook her head, and Duke muttered, “Fine, I’m coming.” He
squeezed Ren’s hand. “Sit tight. We’ll be right back.”

After Risa dragged Duke through a set of swinging doors, Brenda stood up, too. “I don’t see any coffee
here. I think everybody needs something to drink, even if it’s just to keep your hands busy. Mr.
Hawkins -- I mean, Caleb -- would you mind walking with me to the vending machine and help bring
some back? My treat, but I don’t know where to go.”

“Ahhh, sure.” Caleb pushed away from the wall. “Follow me.”

“Be right back, son.” Brenda glided her hand lightly over Ren’s hair. “Don’t look so worried. Everything
will work out just fine.”

With only Luke and Cain remaining in the room with him, the deafening low-grade chatter that had kept
Ren from having to focus on any one thing deserted him. Without listening to his father murmur softly to
Caleb, or Caleb talk softly to Risa, or Risa moving from chair to chair chatting with everyone, Ren didn’t
have anything to distract him from worrying about the one goddamned thing he cared about right now,
the one thing he couldn’t afford to think about too deeply, the only thing that mattered.

Cade.

Ren had held himself together while driving into town. He’d held himself together while dropping Crash
off at the station with instructions that he would be back for the dog later. He’d held himself together
while calling his dad and telling him to stop the search, that they had found Cade. He’d held it together
while informing Risa of the news and asking her to radio Caleb and Hank and let them know what had
happened. And when he’d gotten to the ER, Ren’s lip hadn’t so much as quivered when Cain handed
over Cade’s keys, having fished them out of his pocket before driving him to the hospital. Ren had been
able to do it because up until now there had always been something else to split the focus of his brain so
that he didn’t have to think about how close to death Cade had looked sprawled on the side of the road.

He had none of that to distract him anymore.

A rush of emotion hit Ren with the force of a tidal wave. He doubled over in pain, burying his face in his
hands as his entire body shook with suppressed love for this one man, something it had scared him too
much to even consider before, but that now terrified him to think he’d never get to share. Wracking,
painful tremors took over Ren’s body, and it only got worse when Cain touched his back.

“I know, Ren,” Cain murmured, “I know.”

The kindness from someone who understood severed Ren’s final tie with control.

“Oh God.” The shakes from trying to push down every emotion roiling inside him won out, and Ren
keened like Crash had done over Cade’s prone body earlier, his feelings so great he couldn’t hide them
anymore.

Ren hated this gush of desperate love that pushed its way out of him, but once it started, he couldn’t
stamp it back down. “I didn’t want to love him,” he confessed against his hands. “I didn’t understand that
I was afraid, but I was, and I acted selfishly and shoved him away. Only it didn’t end up mattering

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because he’s so wonderful I fell in love with him anyway, and now I’ve hurt him more than I would have
if I’d just had a little bit of faith in him. I didn’t though, and that’s my failing that I’ll have to live with
forever. I don’t want to lose him, or have his last thoughts be about how terribly deeply I hurt him. I’d
give anything for him to know the truth, the real truth. I want him to know that he means everything to me,
and that he’s so beautiful and special. He needs to know he’s enough in every way.” Ren rolled his head
in his hands and turned bleak eyes to Cain. “He doesn’t think he is, and I did that to him.” Ren’s voice
broke. “Me.”

Cain clasped his hand around Ren’s shoulder. “Beating yourself up won’t help Cade get better. If you
did something for which you need to atone and apologize, do it later when Cade is well again. Right now,
you need to do more than pray for Cade. You need to believe that he will pull through this and get better.
Put your guilt aside, Ren.” Cain squeezed Ren’s shoulder, and then his arm. “Be the man I assume Cade
wanted in the first place, and if the rest is meant to be, then it will work itself out in the end. Luke and I
are proof of that.” Cain’s eyes found Luke’s over Ren’s shoulder, and the fearless love flaring openly
within their deep blue depths blew Ren away. Cain’s gaze came back and settled on Ren. “All right?”

Ren could only nod, too choked up to speak.

“Okay,” the doctor spoke up from the doorway. “Deputy McKenna is now in recovery. I can only take
one of you in to see him. Who will it be?”

Nobody questioned that Ren would see Cade first.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Hours later, Ren sat by Cade’s side in the dark recovery room, well past the end of normal visiting
hours. He’d taken shameless advantage of his father’s position in the community and Risa’s friendship
with one of the nurses to remain in Cade’s room. Ren didn’t care. He would do whatever it took to stay
with Cade for as long as he could. He would be in this room as much as possible until Cade woke up
and told him to go away.

If he woke up.

“Come on, Cade,” Ren spoke softly, even though they had the recovery room to themselves. “You need
to wake up, baby. Dr. Davis isn’t saying it yet, but I can see it in her eyes. She’s concerned that you
haven’t come out of the anesthesia. She patched up all your bullet holes, but if you don’t wake up, then
all her good work is for nothing. She spent a lot of time putting you back together, Deputy. I know you
don’t want to let her down.”

Cade’s face, wan in the wake of his injuries, didn’t so much as flinch or move. Beneath all the bandages
wrapped around his shoulder, waist, hip, and thigh, and underneath the IVs and machines he had hooked
up on arms, chest, and even his finger… Beneath it all, somehow, Cade truthfully just looked to be
napping peacefully. He had no fits or starts shuddering through his big frame, and he didn’t appear to
have any trouble breathing. If Ren could ignore all the medical equipment, he imagined Cade might look
like this on any given morning just before he woke up to go to work.

Ren leaned his cheek against Cade’s thigh -- the one a bullet hadn’t cut open -- and looked up past the
stark white bandages to the still, peaceful face above. “If you don’t wake up soon, Crash is going to
think you’ve abandoned him.” Ren absently played with Cade’s blunt, callused fingertips, reminding

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himself of the roughness in Cade that somehow always felt gentle and loving. “When I left you with my
dad for a little bit earlier tonight, I picked Crash up from the station and took him home. To my home, I
mean. We went by your apartment and got some of his stuff.” Ren chuckled, pausing to peck a kiss on
Cade’s hip. “You really do spoil him, baby. I swear to God you’re buying him the most expensive dog
food on the market. Don’t worry, though, I won’t change it and confuse him.

“Oh!” Ren suddenly sat up straight. “I got your mail, too. I know you probably won’t like anyone going
through your bills, but I didn’t want you to worry about them. I’ll check your mail every day and write a
check for anything that needs paying so that you don’t get behind. I know you can make a call later and
have any penalties removed, but I don’t want you to have to worry about it. If we can eliminate
unnecessary headaches during your recovery I think that will help you mend more quickly.”

Ren couldn’t help worrying about how long it would take Cade to regain consciousness and begin that
healing process. The softball-sized lump he had swallowed down over and over again from the first
moment the doctor had shown him into this big, impersonal recovery room welled up again, clogging his
throat. Without a doctor or nurse moving around in the room, Ren found it dangerously difficult to hold
back the waterfall of tears that constantly threatened to spill. He wanted to be strong for Cade, but for
each hour that went by where Cade didn’t open his eyes it grew harder and harder to keep his upper lip
stiff.

Ren leaned forward and brushed his fingers through Cade’s dark hair, straightening and taming the short
cut down into the neat, clean way Cade liked to wear it, to the way that made Cade look more like
Cade. Ren brushed his knuckles across Cade’s scarred cheek and his fingertips over Cade’s forehead,
his heart crying out with hope when for the first time he felt the warmth of life pulsing under Cade’s pale
skin, a sign that he might come out of this all right.

“You’re going to make it through this, Deputy,” Ren vowed, trying with everything in him towill Cade to
a full recovery. “You have to get better, if for no other reason than to tell me to give you your dog back
and get the hell away from you. And I have a little secret to tell you.” He put his mouth against Cade’s
ear. “If you’ll only wake up and get better for me, I promise I’ll do whatever the hell you ask.” Tears
pushed hard behind his eyes, but Ren forced himself to finish. “Even if it means getting out of your life
forever.”

He pressed a kiss against Cade’s bruised temple before pulling away. “The ball’s in your court.” Ren
kept talking, knowing in his gut that his Cade existed in that still body somewhere, maybe even fully able
to hear Ren’s every word. “You want me to leave you alone? Then you wake up and tell me to go.
Otherwise, I will be here every goddamned minute the doctors and nurses allow it, and I will talk up such
a blue streak you’ll wake up just to tell me to shut up so that you can get some peace. So go ahead,
baby, open your eyes and tell me to go away. I dare you.”

Cade didn’t stir, and hysterical laughter bubbled up out of Ren, the sound echoing in the cavernous
room. “See? I knew it. You want me here. You want me back, don’t you? This little attempt at a
mini-coma is just a ploy to keep me by your side. For every second you don’t wake up, you’re
practically screaming at me that we’re going to get back together. That’s the message you keep sending
me through this deep sleep, Cade. You do know that, don’t you?”

A soft, scratching sound sobered Ren and drew his gaze to the door. A moment later, his mother stuck
her head in the room.

Ren sat up straight. “What are you doing here?” Ren watched warily as Brenda slipped inside the room.
“Dad and I told everyone to go home hours ago.”

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“I came back.” Brenda moved to Ren’s side and put her hand on his shoulder. He stiffened a bit,
something he couldn’t quite stifle whenever his mother tried touching him in friendship or comfort. “I
knew the nurses wouldn’t let you stay indefinitely. I figured when they kicked you out you’d need a ride
home.”

“Caleb had somebody bring me my truck. When they kick me out, I’ll drive myself home.”

“They’re going to do that in a few minutes,” Brenda shared. “I overheard that cute little nurse saying that
her shift is almost over. When it is, you’ll have to go. Besides” -- she rubbed Ren’s arm -- “you’re
obviously exhausted. You need some sleep, sweetheart. Work comes early in the morning tomorrow.”

Ren pulled his arm away from his mother’s clutch and folded in on himself. “I’m not going to work
tomorrow. I’ll be right back here as soon as someone lets me in.”

“You have obligations to Mr. Hawkins, Ren --”

“Oh, that’s rich.” Ren snorted. “A lecture about responsibility from you.”

“All right, I suppose I deserve that,” Brenda said. “But it doesn’t change the truth. Mr. Hawkins is your
employer, and it pays well to keep the boss happy. I know you care about Mr. McKenna, but he’s just a
friend.”

God, Ren couldn’t stand to hear another person get his relationship with Cade so completely wrong.

“He’s more than a friend, Mom,” Ren corrected, his voice hard and thick. “I’m in love with him. He’s
the most important person in my life, and I have no intentions of leaving him until I know he’s all right.”

“Oh.” Brenda perched her slender frame on the edge of the empty bed next to Cade’s. “Well, I did not
know that.”

“Not many people do.” Ren slid a glance his mother’s way, assessing her up and down before settling
on her gaze that looked too much like his own for comfort. “And while I’m not ashamed of him, I’d ask
for Cade’s sake that you keep your mouth shut about it.” Not that it would likely matter after the
spectacle Ren had made of himself today. Even with that, he could say his attraction was all one-sided,
and that Cade was just an innocent friend caught up in Ren’s crush. “If you want to prove to me that
you’ve changed, you can start by respecting my wishes on this.”

“Of course.” Brenda pushed herself up and moved back to the door. Pausing with her fingers on the
handle, she turned back to Ren. “I still love you. This doesn’t change anything; I hope you know that. I’m
not leaving Quinten for a long, long time.”

Ren blinked, trying with every fiber of his being not to let that first tear fall. “We’ll see,” he finally said,
his voice rough. “We’ll see.”

His mother left, and Ren slid his hand into Cade’s. He tucked it against his cheek, and once again, he
started bargaining with God for the second half of a miracle. Cade had come through the surgery, but
Ren wanted more. He needed Cade to wake up and be all right, in every way.

* * * * *

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The voices talking above Cade sounded muffled by a pillow, and as much as Cade wanted to, he
couldn’t make his mouth move and tell everyone to speak up. His eyelids felt too heavy to blink, and as
soon as he opened his brain to anything other than the safe cocoon of sleep, his body shrieked at him in
excruciating, thrumming pain, pushing him back down into a deep, painless slumber.

Cade didn’t need to see the faces to recognize the people talking above him. He had worked for Duke
Boone long enough to know the man’s rich voice well. As for the other one, the one he knew from
moments of such intimacy he could never erase it from his mind, Cade heard Ren’s voice on the edge of
his consciousness every time he tried to wake up.

Cade wanted to open his mouth and speak, but he hurt too much all over to do anything about it.
Dizzying cloudiness filled his head, too, making it difficult to understand what had happened to him.
Awake and aware for only small snippets at a time, the relentless throbbing pain in his body always
dragged Cade back under into the safety of total oblivion once again.

A feminine voice that Cade didn’t recognize hit his ears.

“I don’t have a definitive medical reason for his continued unconsciousness. He did not suffer a severe
head injury. There is no swelling, and he should definitely have awakened by now.”

“You think?” Ren’s shrill tone ricocheted around the room above Cade. “He’s in a coma, damn it. He
hasn’t responded to us or opened his eyes in three days.”

“I am aware of that.” The female voice stayed even and cool. “But I’m not going to do anything drastic
to try and bring him out of it. Deputy McKenna’s vitals are good. He is resting comfortably. I have to
believe his body knows what it needs. After a trauma as extensive as the one he went through, sometimes
the body needs a little down time to recover and reboot. It’s not common for it to happen, but it is not
entirely unheard of either. If it goes on for longer than a week, we’ll start discussing drug options and
decide our best course of action. Right now, however, his body has slowly begun the recovery process
from the gunshot wounds…”

Gunshot wounds, gunshot wounds, gunshot wounds. The words reverberated like another bullet in
Cade’s head. Rapid-fire images assaulted his brain, spinning his head in a dizzying, painful spiral that
fought hard to drag him back under, away from the memory of being shot. It didn’t pull him down fast
enough though, and Cade suddenly remembered everything. How he’d pulled over and walked up to the
truck, his surprise at seeing Shelley’s face…and then the gun.

Oh, Jesus. Shelly could go after Ren at any minute, and he didn’t know. Cade clawed to get out of the
darkness, his body howling through the pain suffusing every square inch of his being. Cade fought it,
knowing he had to get to Ren and warn him he could be next. Cade thought only of saving Ren, but the
sucking abyss of unconsciousness pulled on his legs and ripped his fingers away from the ledge, taking
him back under again, his effort to save the man he loved not nearly enough.

* * * * *

“Hey, babe.”Tex knocked on the bathroom door. “Shake a leg or we’re gonna be late.”

“Watch some TV.” Shelley opened the door and peeked out, her hazel eyes bright. “I’ll be a few more
minutes, and then we can go.” The door closed beforeTex could get a good look at her. “I want to look
extra pretty for you tonight.”

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“You always look extra pretty, Shell.”

“And that takes time. So go find something to do, and I’ll be out in a just a few.”

“All right, all right.”Tex knew when to give up. He threw himself down on his fiancée’s bed and rolled
over onto his stomach. Squeezing her pillow to his chest and face, he inhaled her familiar peaches and
cream scent, and his cock immediately hardened in his dress pants.Tex ’s mind automatically went to
Shelley’s long legs, and his imagination stirred over eventually lying naked between them and finally
getting gloved by her wet heat.Tex groaned and rolled away from the pillow, lecturing himself under his
breath not to start thinking about something he couldn’t finish.

He jumped up to walk it off and started circling Shelley’s room, looking for something to distract him
from his horny thoughts. He got to Shelley’s closet and remembered her mentioning a shelf she wanted
him to fix.

Opening the door, he immediately saw the problem. “Geez, Shelley.” He grabbed the long shelf away
from the wall where it leaned. “It’s on a track, sweetie. You just have to play with it and get it back on.”

She easily could have fixed it herself, butTex liked that Shelley thought of it as a boyfriend/husband thing
and automatically requested that he take care of it. He leveled out the shelf with the metal tracks on either
end of the closet wall, tipping it forward until the wheels found the grooves and locked in, and the shelf
slid back in place. A pile of clothes sat on the floor, andTex started re-shelving it, sorting, and organizing
as best he could. He snatched up a pink hooded sweatshirt, and when he did, it unraveled and something
fell out, thudding as it bounced off his boot and hit the floor. Even in the shadows,Tex could clearly see
the dark shape of what now lay on a rumpled white T-shirt. A sickness churned in his belly and settled
heavily in his heart. He had no trouble identifying the black object.

“Oh my God, Shelley.”Tex rolled down the sleeve of his dress shirt, unbuttoning the cuff until it covered
his palm, and picked up the gun. He held in his hand a Glock 36, the style buzzing around town for the
last twenty-four hours, since forensics had come back on the bullets pulled from Cade McKenna’s body.
The truth hitTex like a punch straight through his chest. “Oh my fucking God, Shelley. What have you
done?”

“He had to pay,” Shelley’s voice answered softly from behind, whippingTex around. She looked so
beautiful, her long blonde hair in glorious waves around her face, wearing a pink dress that made her look
almost angelic. Hazel eyes flitted up to his, andTex could see complete awareness of his activities with
Ren -- things he’d thought to always keep secret from her -- shining in her eyes.

“He tried to steal you away from me.” The conversational tone in Shelley’s voice frightenedTex. “He
seduced you and made you do things to him, and now you’re soiled and dirty, and we can’t be together
in a holy union until I find a way to cleanse you of his filth. He doesn’t deserve happiness with anyone
after what he did. I tried to make him see the perversion in his soul, and that if he kept it up, the things he
loved would continue to get destroyed. But he didn’t listen, and he didn’t take me seriously, so I had to
make him pay. I saw them at the rodeo and knew what they were doing. I could see the lust in their eyes.
I thought that meant he had let you go, but he didn’t. Ren is selfish and wanted you both, and that’s not
right. Deputy McKenna sat in the diner and practically told me what I had to do. I heard him talking to
the sheriff, explaining his plans, and I knew I had to make my own. I had to take the deputy away from
Ren; I had to make Ren suffer. I had to hurt him. He didn’t give me any other choice.”

“Oh, Shelley.” Icy cold coatedTex ’s entire body. He wrapped the gun in a T-shirt and tucked it inside
his shirt. Gently taking Shelley’s hand, he led her out of her bedroom. “Come with me, sweetheart.

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There’s something we need to do.”

Chapter Thirty

Ren jerked upright, startled out of a quick nap when a hand settled on his shoulder. He groaned, his
muscles protesting the cramped position. Blinking the sleep from his eyes, he shaded his gaze and
glanced up against the sunlight filtering in through the hospital window.

Texstood over Ren, more sadness and weariness etched into his face than Ren had ever seen on the
man.

Tex’s gaze flickered over to Cade, and came back to Ren. “How is he?” he asked, his voice low and
soft.

The desire to throw his body over Cade and protect him from any and all that might do him more harm
swamped Ren, even though logically he knew Tex didn’t want to hurt Cade.

“He’s still hasn’t woken up,” Ren answered, forcing himself to remain seated. “Other than that, Dr.
Davis says he has begun to heal, so I try to keep positive about that.” Ren covered Cade’s hand and
rubbed. “He’s tough. He has been strong his whole life. He’s not going to let a bunch of bullets take him
out. I won’t let him.”

Tex’s gaze dropped to the speckled tile floor. “Obviously you’ve talked to your dad since last night.
You know what happened. You know how Cade got hurt.”

Ren felt like throwing up just thinking about it. “Yes. He told me everything.”

Torment filledTex ’s gaze. “Jesus God, man. I’m so sorry!” Anguish coatedTex ’s voice. “I’m so
damned sorry about what happened. I don’t know what I can say, and I know there’s nothing I can do
to make up for what Shelley did to you and Cade, but I need you to know how sorry I am. I didn’t mean
for anything like this to happen. I didn’t mean for Cade to get hurt, I swear it.”

Ren flew out of his seat and coveredTex ’s mouth with his hand. “Shh. Keep your voice down.” He
draggedTex past the empty bed next to Cade’s in the ICU. His gaze went to Cade and watched his
chest rise and fall, still nice and steady. Ren breathed a sigh of relief. “I don’t want him disturbed while
he’s trying to heal.”

“I’m sorry,”Tex said again, this time much more calmly. “I know I can never make this up to you, but I
need you to believe me when I say that when we started what we did I never meant for this to happen. I
swear to God I didn’t.”

The pain of personal responsibility, and continually pushing himself to be the kind of man Cade could
respect forced hard words to Ren’s lips. “Neither one of us meant to do any harm, but it doesn’t change
the fact that we did a lot of damage with our choices.” Ren’s heart squeezed as he admitted his
compliance aloud for the first time. “We have to start accepting that. It’s not pretty, and I don’t like
looking at it, but there it is.”

“Yeah.”Tex ’s gaze flickered away to the bright sunshine outside. He seemed to resolve something
within himself, and came back to Ren. “I’m to blame for what drove Shelley to this, and I know it. I

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couldn’t keep my dick in my pants. I found a way to convince myself that what I did with you wasn’t
really cheating; that way I could have what I wanted. I told myself that because it was with a man, it
wasn’t the same as really cheating on Shelley, and I didn’t ever stop to think what it would do to her if
she found out. I was so sure we were safe that I never thought about how much it would mess her up if
she discovered it.”

“Shelley has some pretty ugly thoughts about gay people,Tex. She thinks I’m unclean and deviant.”
Chills ran down Ren’s spine as he recalled some of the things his father told him Shelley had said. “Are
you defending her? Do you think she’s right?”

“No, of course not,”Tex said under his breath. “You know I don’t. If I did, I wouldn’t have done what I
did with you.”

“Not necessarily,” Ren shot back. “If it feels that good, you can turn your mind off to a lot of things that
might otherwise sicken your stomach.”

“And maybe you could have thought that the first half dozen times I fucked you,”Tex whispered
furiously. “But as for that last time, I’d obviously have to accept who and what you are in order to have
gone that far. You’ve been my friend for half my life, damn it, and the thought that you would ever think
I’d find something sick or wrong about you is like a slap in the face to me. I’ve never given you any
indication that I care about you being gay, and it hurts to hear you questioning it right now.”

“Well, I’m sorry your feelings are hurt, but I have hardly closed my eyes in four days. That’s on top of
the fact that I’ve barely slept in almost six weeks trying to figure out how to get Cade back because of
what I did with you that last time in the shack --”

“Wait a minute,”Tex cut in. “You told him?”

“No.” Ren’s gut twisted painfully. “He knew from the beginning. He was there. He heard us. He heard
everything.”

“Oh my God.”Tex slumped back against the wall, his bleak gaze meeting Ren’s. “What have we done?
What in the hell have we done to the two people we love more than anything else in this world? We hurt
them so much, Ren. We fucking couldn’t just let things stay as they should have between us, all because I
was horny and you were…you were…”

“In the throes of a crush I couldn’t let go of,” Ren supplied through tight lips. “It’s okay. You can say it.”

“It doesn’t really matter why we did it anymore. We pushed things farther than they’re supposed to go
between friends, and look at all the damage it ended up causing. Cade’s here in the hospital all messed
up, and Shelley’s sitting in a jail cell all messed up in a totally different way.”

“What are you going to do about that?” Ren’s heart went out toTex , even knowing the whole truth.
“She shot someone,Tex , and she’s going to have to pay for that. Cade’s a real by-the-book kind of guy,
and if she doesn’t plead guilty on her own, he will testify about what happened. He’ll feel sympathy for
her, but he’s ultimately going to believe she has to face repercussions for her crime. He has built his
whole life around integrity, and responsibility, and law and order. He’s not going to back off and change
it for her now.”

Texnodded soberly. “I didn’t expect he would. Shelley needs help, for a lot of things. I want to make
sure she gets it. Your dad told me she’ll eventually be sent toBillings for sentencing, and a judge there will

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decide what kind of time she does and where she does it. I plan to stay by her side every step of the way
while she gets the help she needs to make herself better.”

“That’s a big commitment.”

“I’ve loved Shelley all my life, you know that. Those feelings haven’t changed. If anything, this has only
affirmed them. All I want is to be there for her while she gets her head straight about all these prejudices
that her parents have spent years drumming into her brain.”Tex glanced over his shoulder at Cade, and
then came back to Ren. “Would you do any less for him?”

Ren looked intoTex ’s unwavering gaze and found a new maturity there. He saw something else, too. Or
rather, something absent. For the first time since Ren hit puberty and began to understand the power of
sexual pull, the love he felt forTex didn’t have an inkling of that doomed attraction it always had before.
He looked atTex now and felt only the kind of love he felt for Risa, a really good friend. He prayed he
hadn’t come to this knowledge too late.

“I’d do anything for Cade,” Ren finally confirmed, his gaze dragging back to the sleeping man in
question. “Anything. All he’d have to do is ask.”

Tex’s attention followed. “So now you know how I’ve felt about Shelley almost all of my life.”

“Yeah,” Ren mused. For some reason, he’d never thought of it that way before. “I guess I do.”

“I hope you get him back.”Tex pushed his weight off the wall and moved to the door. “I don’t know if I
could live with myself if I ruined this for you.”

“Don’t take all the responsibility on yourself, man. We both had a part in this.” Ren’s heart weighed a
little heavier each time he took ownership of his behavior. “From the beginning, every time we were
together, both of us made that choice to cross a line. This is on my conscience just as much as yours, for
everything that happened to Cade and Shelley because of it.”

“I just pray they both come out of it okay.”Tex ’s eyes darkened to a rich sage color. “If I can get that, I
don’t think I have the right to ask for anything more.”

In the bed that hadn’t seen movement in days, Cade’s head suddenly jerked to the side, and a muffled
moan escaped his lips.Tex forgotten, Ren flew over to Cade’s side, his heart jumping into his throat and
tears filling his eyes. He barely glanced up as the door whooshed softly closed, letting him know thatTex
had gone. Ren couldn’t stop the sob that wrenched in his chest and escaped noisily into the quiet room.
He watched the first signs of movement play out under Cade’s eyelids, until finally Cade revealed his
dark gaze for the first time in over four days.

“Hi, baby,” Ren whispered, his voice gruff. He leaned in and rubbed the pad of his thumb across Cade’s
sharp cheekbone on the smooth side of his face. “Welcome back.”

Cade remained completely still for a moment, and then his pupils quickly dilated. He tried to move his
arm, tried to grab Ren’s hand. Looking up through wide, fearful eyes, he opened his mouth to speak, but
only a rough cough came from his throat. Cade made a grab for Ren again, this time managing to snag the
front of Ren’s shirt. Ren felt Cade try to put some weight behind his hand and pull, but such weakness
filled the man that the grab came across as barely more than a tug. Another strangled sound escaped
Cade’s dry throat.

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Ren didn’t know if he did the right thing, but Cade seemed so desperate to talk that Ren grabbed a
bottle of water and trickled a few sips over Cade’s tongue, letting it coat and slide down his throat.
When Ren thought Cade had had enough, he capped the plastic bottle and tossed it to the end of the
mattress, out of the way. He leaned over Cade again, but this time pressed his ear over Cade’s mouth
and tried to make out what he said.

“T-t… T…” Cade coughed again, the sound so hacking and raw that it cut Ren up to hear it. He pulled
away, but Cade squeezed his hand with surprising strength. Cade’s gaze shone bright with determination
too, so Ren put his ear back down and listened again. “Te…gr…frin…” Cade’s fingers dug into Ren’s
hand hard enough to leave a mark. He made a clearly frustrated sound and forced out, “Te gur frien hur
me.”

The light immediately went on in Ren’s head. “Oh, baby.” He smoothed the worry lines from Cade’s
hard face. “It’s okay. We know Shelley shot you. She can’t hurt you any more.”

The wildness in Cade’s eyes didn’t go away. “More…” He grabbed his chest as a coughing spasm took
him over for a long, endless thirty seconds. Ren wiped the tears from Cade’s eyes, and Cade finished,
“Hurt you. Fish.”

A suffocating pain squeezed Ren’s chest and nearly dragged him under. “You’re always worrying about
everyone else. We know Shelley is responsible for the vandalism. She’s in jail, and she’s not going
anywhere any time soon. You just take care of yourself for once and let everyone else worry about --”

The door swung open, and Dr. Davis, along with a handful of nurses, entered Cade’s room.

“I see we’ve finally decided to rejoin the living, Deputy McKenna.” Dr. Davis addressed Cade first.
“Congratulations.”

She then turned on Ren. “You should have alerted the nursing staff the moment you noticed a change in
your friend, Mr. Boone. Now if you’ll excuse us.” She turned back to Cade. “My patient and I have
some catching up to do.”

“But --”

“Now, Mr. Boone. Go get something to eat or drink, whatever you like, but I need at least an hour to
check Deputy McKenna over and explain his injuries to him. All right?”

Ren’s gaze found Cade’s.

“S’okay,” Cade whispered, his voice still rough. “Go.”

Ren lowered his gaze to hide the stab of rejection that poisoned his middle. “I’ll take a walk and get
some air.” He paused as he pulled open the door, holding still as the hell he’d gone through for the last
four days soaked into his pores and pushed his shoulders up straight.

Ren looked at Cade, found dark eyes staring back, and regained his resolve. “I’ll be back later.” Ren let
himself think about every moment he had ever spent in Cade’s presence, let the heat flare between them
from across the room, and kissed Cade good-bye with his eyes. Cade started in the bed, and Ren knew
he got the message. “Count on it,” he added, and left Cade to begin the next stage of his healing.

* * * * *

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“I understand, Ms. Bennett,” Cade said to Ren’s mother, just as Ren opened the door to Cade’s
hospital room. “I’ll take care of it.”

“You understand what?” Ren stormed into the room. “What are you doing here, Mom? Why have you
come to see Cade behind my back?”

“I haven’t done anything behind your back, sweetheart,” Brenda answered. “You’re here, I’m here. No
one’s hiding.”

“But I don’t usually get here until much later,” Ren pressed. He moved into the single bed hospital room
and set a thick folder on the table beside Cade’s bed. “Caleb let me go early today so I could get a few
things done for Cade, but you didn’t know that. As far as you knew, I’d still be at work for at least
another hour. So why are you here? What are you up to?”

“Why don’t you go ahead and head out, Ms. Bennett?” Cade cut Ren off before he could make a
scene. “Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I promise you that it’ll be taken care of.”

Cade watched Ren stand stock-still as his mother brushed past him, pausing only for a moment to
squeeze his arm before she vacated the room, leaving Ren and Cade alone. Cade drank in Ren’s tall,
lanky frame with his eyes, unable to hold back that fast rush of attraction, even while recovering from an
attempt on his life.

A month had passed since the shooting, and now that Cade had nearly recovered from his injuries, he
often had to navigate stilted, uncomfortable silences when Ren came by to visit. Ren acted as if he and
Cade still had a wonderful relationship and that nothing explosively intimate had ever gone down between
them, let alone that Ren had killed it by being unfaithful.

Cade acknowledged, at least to himself, that he had taken advantage of Ren’s presence in the beginning
of his recovery. During those first stages, fear that he wouldn’t get better filled Cade, and the panic
wouldn’t leave him until he found Ren in the room, close by his side. Only then did he feel safe enough to
relax. Cade hadn’t thought about what Ren had done withTex once during his initial healing process,
instead only reaching out for that comfort he experienced only with Ren nearby.

Only now, with Cade nearly recovered, the discomfort of Ren’s betrayal, along with the reason Shelley
had shot him, and the fact that the story hitting the town gossip mill had unceremoniously outed him,
grated on Cade’s nerves. He fiercely guarded his privacy, and felt on display every time a nurse or a
coworker came to see him, enough so that he really had not appreciated Ren’s mother giving him a
lecture today. Cade really hadn’t needed it, or the guilt that had come along with it as a plentiful side dish.

Cade didn’t want to face it, but Brenda Bennett had subtly reminded him that the time had passed to get
his and Ren’s lives back in order. Their separate lives. Cade determinedly ignored the pain in his chest
that threatened to well right up out of him and expose his heart. Beneath the hurt, he knew he made the
best choice, for them both.

“I understand you’ve cut back your hours out at Caleb’s place,” Cade began, drawing Ren’s gaze away
from the window. “Is that right?”

Ren immediately started to pace. “Is that what my mother came to see you about?” His voice cracked
through the air, clipped and hard. “Did she fucking come in here while you’re trying to get better and
manipulate you into getting me back to work full time?”

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Cade sighed wearily, and rolled his head on the pillow to keep up with Ren’s moving. “I’m already
better, and I’ve told you that more than once over the last couple of days. Your mother is concerned
you’ll unnecessarily lose a good job while sitting around a hospital room with me.”

Ren stalked the bed and leaned over it, planting his hand beside Cade’s head. “My job is perfectly safe,
Cade, and you know it, so don’t hide behind my mother fretting to you as an excuse to get rid of me.
Caleb understands my reasons for being here, and I’ve worked out a more flexible schedule with him
until you get back on your feet. I’m not working that much less; I’m just working my hours in different
clusters so that I can be here with you during visiting hours.”

Ren hovered so close, Cade could feel the man’s breath brushing over his face. The little hairs on the
back of Cade’s neck stood up with awareness, as they always did when Ren invaded his space. Ren’s
pale and piercing gaze focused with incredible intensity on Cade, and his insanely sooty eyelashes made
those mesmerizing eyes stand out even more. Cade got trapped there. He swallowed the skittering of
nerves that lumped up in his throat.

“You don’t need to spend five hours a day with me, Ren, that’s what I’m trying to explain,” Cade said,
his voice ridiculously weak. “They’re sending me home the day after tomorrow, and while I understand
your need --”

“You understand?” Ren bit off harshly. The brackets around his mouth shifted viciously downward.
“You understand? You tell me what in the hell you understand, Deputy. Go ahead.” Ren’s eyes
darkened, and then lit up with blue fire. “You tell me right now.”

“I…I…” Ren’s very closeness vibrated through Cade with so much contained energy that he couldn’t
think properly and form a coherent thought. “I… You…”

“Having a little trouble, are you?” Ren mocked sarcastically. “Well, let me help you. Let me tell you what
I understand. I understand I almost lost you back on the side of that road, that’s what I understand. I
understand that I sat in stark terror for four days while you didn’t so much as blink your eyes to let me
know that you were still with me, you son of a bitch. That’s what I understand.” Ren’s voice became
unbearably rough, so much so that the textured pain reached out and scraped Cade’s heart, weakening
his resolve. “I understand that I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone else in this world. I
understand that one goddamned thing now better than I do anything else in my life.”

Cade’s heart fell right into his stomach. “What?”

“That’s right,” Ren said thickly, without skipping a beat. “I love you, Cade McKenna. What’s more, I
know you love me, too. I refuse to hide from what I feel anymore, and I won’t let you hide either. You
think I can’t see what’s going on beneath this sheet?” Ren slid his hand down the bed and cupped Cade
through the thin blanket and sheet. Cade moaned as the one man who knew his body inside and out
stroked his cock, bringing it to full hardness. “You think I don’t fight those same responses every day
when we’re together, too?” Ren drew Cade’s hand to his jeans and pressed his palm against the bulge
there. Cade squeezed automatically, his mouth watering, and Ren slid his eyes closed as he moved into
the touch. “God, yes.” Ren circled his hips against Cade’s hand. “I’ve missed your touch so much. You
feel so damn good.”

Ren opened his eyes and touched over every inch of Cade’s face with his gaze, leaving Cade trembling.
“I understand one thing without fear or hesitation these days, Deputy.” Ren dipped down and scraped his
lips across Cade’s. “That is without question how very much I love you. I adore you, Cade, and I think

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you’re beautiful.” He pressed his lips against Cade’s damaged cheek, and then slid them up, caressing
over Cade’s eyes, forehead, and nose, before hovering back over Cade’s lips again.

Ren trapped Cade’s gaze. The untamed fire in his eyes pulled an equal response out of Cade, beginning
and ending in his cock. Cade pushed his prick against Ren’s hand. Ren’s pupils flared, he muttered,
“Fuck,” and had his mouth fused to Cade’s, pulling a kiss out of Cade with a desperation Cade had
never felt in his life.

The force of Ren’s mouth on Cade’s muffled his token moan of protest, and the second Cade’s lips
parted, Ren slid his tongue inside and started to mate. Awareness and need flamed to life within Cade.
He clutched at Ren, digging his fingers into Ren’s waist and holding on tight as he took on Ren’s
voracious kiss, licking and sucking his tongue against Ren’s wet heat in a crazy need to keep pace. Ren
grunted and bit at Cade with stinging nips. Levering his body up onto the bed, Ren maneuvered one of
his long legs between Cade’s thighs and pressed his weight down on Cade, just the way Cade used to
love it.

Cade slid his palms around to the small of Ren’s back and tugged frantically at Ren’s shirt, yanking it out
of his jeans with excited hands. He lifted his head off the pillow and slanted his open mouth across Ren’s,
angling to push Ren’s jaw open wider so that he could get in as deep as possible. Ren kissed him back
desperately and turned the touch into everything Cade had craved since the last time he and Ren had
combusted together.

He glided his fingers across the searing heat of Ren’s bare back, and every single thing Cade had missed
about Ren became druggingly powerful. He scratched his fingers up the length of Ren’s spine under his
shirt, and in response, Ren cried out into Cade’s mouth and shoved his groin against Cade’s cock. He
then pushed his hands in between their bodies and started pushing up on Cade’s shirt, too.

Ren’s hard stomach pressed down against Cade, making Cade’s sensitized skin sing with pleasure.
Pushing down the elastic waistband of Cade’s pants, Ren exposed Cade’s hipbones to the cool hospital
air, throwing him coldly back into the reality of their location.

“Stop. Stop.” Cade tore his mouth away. He turned his head to the side and shoved at Ren’s waist,
pushing him off. “Get up, Ren. You have to stop.”

Repressed sexual need snaked through Cade’s core, making it hard to breathe. Also, his entire body
screamed in protest as Ren lifted his weight and walked away.

Ren cursed a blue streak under his breath from across the room. His chest heaved as he took in great
gulps of air, and his hand shook as he lifted it to his face and wiped it over his swollen mouth. Cade knew
he probably looked as shaken. He could only imagine what would have happened if they’d gone on a
minute longer and reached a point where they couldn’t stop. Cade had a raging erection that ached to
find relief inside Ren, and worse, he knew that his heart wanted the connection, too.

Ren spun on the heels of his boots and moved to the door, his hands buried in his dark hair. Cade
expected Ren to keep going and leave, but in seconds, he turned around and stalked back over to the
bed. Suddenly, Ren planted his hands on either side of Cade’s head, and leaned down until their noses
nearly touched. Then Cade saw the anger burning in Ren’s eyes.

“You don’t want me all over you? You want me to stop?” Ren said, hurt flashing over his pale gaze
before fiery frustration took it over again. “Fine, I’ll stop. I can control myself.” Ren laughed bitterly as
red stained his cheeks. “Although I guess you don’t have any reason to believe that of me yet, do you?

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But I’ll prove it to you, Cade. I’ll prove it if it’s the last thing I do. While we’re at it, I’m gonna prove
some other stuff to you, too. I’m gonna prove to you that I will be here for you during your time of need.
You watch me, and you’ll see that I won’t skulk away with my tail between my legs when things get a
little tough or uncomfortable, or when I don’t get exactly what I want.

“You want me out of your life again, Deputy? Well, there’s one way to do that. You get yourself better
and you get strong enough to kick me out of it, because that’s the only way to make me go. Now, I
brought your mail.” Ren pointed at the folder on the bedside table. “You let me know if there’s anything
that needs taking care of, and I’ll do it when I come and see you tomorrow.” He leaned down and
bruised Cade’s mouth with a quick, hard kiss, and then added a light one to the tip of Cade’s nose
before standing back up.

Ren’s bright gaze settled on Cade’s once again. “You seem to need some space, so I’ll leave you alone.
I’ll be back in the morning, though, and we’ll do this again. I love you, Cade.” That final confession put a
catch in Ren’s voice. He backed off to the door, his eyes glittering, but he didn’t hide or look away. “It’s
still hard for me to say that out loud, and I don’t exactly know why. It makes my chest hurt, and I feel a
little panicky, but even feeling that won’t make me run this time. I’m done with foolish, shortsighted
mistakes. I’m going to be a man you can have complete faith in again, I swear I am.” Ren finally looked
away. “But I know it’s up to you to decide if you can believe it. ’Night.” He pulled the door open. “I’ll
see you in the morning.”

Cade let Ren go, important words trapped in his throat unspoken. He lay there in his hospital bed too
aroused, too dumbfounded, too shocked by this more vulnerable side of Ren to open his mouth and call
Ren back, to tell him that he’d completely misread Cade’s reasoning for pushing him away.

Cade didn’t want Ren gone. Not even close.

He just didn’t know if he could let himself take him back.

Chapter Thirty-One

Cade drove to the grocery store with a little smile trying to pull at his lips and a handful of badly off-key
notes coming out of his mouth as he sang along with the radio. He had been given the okay to begin work
again in two weeks, and although nervous about starting back now that everyone knew his secret,
excitement hummed through him, too. He knew Sheriff Boone had issued a sharp-edged statement that
he would not tolerate hate crimes or harassment of any kind in his town, but while he could say it to
people all he wanted, expecting them to comply didn’t come as easily. Cade knew people pretty much
left Cain Hawkins and Luke Forrester alone, but Cade also wasn’t naive. Cain Hawkins and his family
had a whole lot of power over the economy of Quinten, so even if people didn’t approve of the couple’s
homosexuality, they would think twice before bothering either of those men.

Cade harbored no illusions that he had such a strong hold over this small town.

He’d suffered some prolonged stares and disapproving head shakes, but nothing worse than that so far.
He knew that could change in the blink of an eye, especially in a situation where the sheriff expected him
to go into a tense altercation or dispute and be the voice of calm, respect, and reason. He would not be
able to accomplish that with people snickering behind their hands, or behaving with outright hostility in not
wanting to deal with the “homo” deputy on the local force. Cade wanted to feel hopeful about the
outcome, but he did it with a healthy knowledge of human nature, too.

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Something as simple as going to the grocery store took on a whole new level of nerves now, but Cade
knew he didn’t have any choice so he’d bucked up and drove himself into town. He needed something to
cook for dinner.

His palms grew moist around the steering wheel as he acknowledged that Ren would probably stop by
the apartment to check on his progress tonight. Cade’s heart fluttered, reminding him that he liked the
fact that Ren continued to show up every night to look in on him, even after having left the hospital a
week ago. Cade thought about how fucking happy his dog got every time Ren appeared at the door and
had to admit that Ren had taken care of every necessity since the day Shelley had shot him. Ren had
stepped up in a big way, taking on responsibility for Cade along with maintaining his own life and the
many new complications in it. Ren had proven himself just as he’d promised Cade he would, and
recognizing all of that, Cade began to wonder how much longer he’d be able to hold out before he
succumbed again.

They’d not kissed or touched since that day at the hospital, but Cade could see the desire in Ren’s eyes
every time they got within five feet of each other. He also witnessed Ren’s physical reaction every time
they got close, a wickedly arousing erection that he often could not control. Cade felt the frustration of
celibacy too, and knew it wouldn’t be long before he gave up his inner battle and let Ren back in.

The man had proven himself, he seemed incredibly remorseful about what he’d done, and every day he
quietly jumped through hoops trying to get Cade to see it. Just as strong as that, though, powerful feelings
still existed within him for Ren. They hadn’t dimmed one iota since they’d broken up two and a half
months ago, and Cade had reached a point where he no longer believed they ever would. He loved Ren.
He wasin love with Ren, no matter how much he tried to convince himself otherwise.

Maybe he could give Ren another chance. Maybe it wouldn’t make him a sucker to do it. Maybe it
would just make him very, very happy. Cade got excited just thinking about it, and he felt a tremendous
weight lift off his shoulders simply considering the possibility. If that didn’t mean he’d made the right
choice, Cade didn’t know what kind of sign would do it.

He suddenly felt free and alive again…for about one minute. Then he rounded the corner to the main
drag into town and saw his greatest fear come to life. A good twenty feet ahead, Ren walked down the
sidewalk away from Nate’s Bait and Saddle Shop, his long-legged stride unmistakable. He didn’t walk
alone. He hadTex right there at his side. As they walked toTex ’s truck and climbed inside, Cade’s heart
plummeted, and he just stopped himself from vomiting.

The cynical cop in him quickly took over, and he followed.

* * * * *

“I’m so sorry,”Tex said as he pulled onto the interstate. “I almost wish I hadn’t seen and heard it, but
when I did, I knew I had to tell you. I just wish I could have found you last night when I saw it.”

Ren had spent the evening at Cade’s last night, feeling naively positive about his life and future.

Apparently, he had grown too confident, too fast.

Ren letTex drive him out to the low rent motel a mile north on the interstate, his mind in a numb fog. “Are
you sure?” He stared out the passenger window. “Why were you even there?”

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“I live there now.”

“What?” Ren pulled his stare away from the line on the side of the road and put it onTex. “When did this
happen? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Your life is busy with taking care of Cade now, and I didn’t want to burden you any more.”Tex took
his eyes off the road for a few seconds and turned his pain-filled gaze on to Ren. “My dad kicked me out
of the house when he found out what we’d done together. It didn’t matter that I told him I’m not gay. He
disowned me. I’ve been living in this motel ever since.”

Ren needed a chart to keep track of all the fallout from his andTex ’s selfish choices. “I’m sorry it went
down like that, but the truth is you’re better off without him.”

“I know. It’s all right.”Tex pushed a small smile to his face. “I won’t be here that much longer. They’ve
already transferred Shelley toBillings , so I’ll be leaving Quinten soon. I need to leave here, for a lot of
reasons.”

Ren’s heart squeezed. “I’ll miss you,” he said softly. Every moment of their friendship pressed painfully
against his chest and tied up his throat. “I’d say keep in touch…” His mouth couldn’t say the rest.

Texdid it for him. “But we both know we have to make the choice that’s best for the people we love.
Shelley and Cade need us to make a clear decision, and I know who we’re each going to choose.”

“Yeah.” Ren’s voice scratched with roughness. “Doesn’t make this easy, though. Doesn’t mean I won’t
miss you like hell. You’ve been in virtually every moment of my life since Duke and I moved here. It’ll
feel like I’ve lost an arm the first time I pick up the phone to call you and you’re not there.”

“You’ll be all right, and so will I. We’re both better men than the choices we’ve made this year. A
certain really good guy I know used to remind me of that every time my father put me down.”Tex pulled
into the parking lot of the single level motel and drew the car to a stop. Turning off the truck, he pocketed
the keys and shifted on the battered leather seat until he faced Ren. Reaching across the space between
them,Tex took Ren’s hand. “I’m not gonna make a fuss when I leave town, so just in case I don’t see
you again” -- Tex’s familiar, safe gaze brimmed with moisture -- “I couldn’t have asked for a better
friend to grow up with all these years, and I thank you for sticking with the dirty, poor kid on the
playground. I know people told you that you could do better.”

“Nuh-uh.” Ren shook his head as pressure built behind his eyes. “Never.”

“I love ya, man.”Tex squeezed Ren’s hand. “Be happy. Okay?”

Ren nodded, his emotions streaming out of control as everything from the last two months accumulated
in his heart. “You too, man. You too.”

“Your mom’s room is right there.”Tex pointed across the narrow parking lot as he got out of the truck.
“And this is me here.”Tex jerked his head in the direction of the room right in front of the truck. “That’s
how I could see and hear everything so clearly. I know how strongly you reacted any time a joint got
passed around when we were at a party, so I figured you’d want to know.”

“I would. I do.” Ren closed the truck door and shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his denim
jacket. “Thank you for coming to me right away.”

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“Good luck.”Tex unlocked the door to his own room and then turned back to Ren, giving him a small
smile. “With everything.”

Ren nodded, andalmost managed to smile back. He crossed the narrow lot to his mother’s motel room,
lifted his fist and banged on the door, and waited for his traitorous mother to show.

It didn’t take long.

Brenda Bennett swung open the motel room door, her eyes widening as she saw who stood on the other
side. “Honey,” she exclaimed, her voice overly loud. “What a surprise. I was just coming to see you.”

Ren took in his mother’s tight jeans tucked into red boots and her snug black turtleneck sweater, and
she looked so damned normal that Ren wanted to scream at her to stop lying.

“You shouldn’t be darting off from work just to see me. You’ll get fired. Come on.” She took his arm.
“Let’s go.”

Ren disentangled his arm from his mother’s cold fingers. “No, let’s not.” He looked her up and down
again, and fiercely ignored the knife wound that slowly sliced up his gut, flaying him wide open. He met
his mother’s gaze, cursing the pale blue orbs that so reminded him of his own. “Where is it?” he
questioned. “Where’s the stuff?”

Brenda took a step back and crossed her arms. “What do you mean? What stuff?”

Ren just barely stifled the urge to kick the door off its hinges. “Don’t lie to me, Mother,” he charged.
“Someone saw you buy drugs.”

“I never.” Brenda’s hand rubbed at her throat. “I’m clean now, Ren. I promise you.”

Ren clamped his jaw down and hissed through his teeth, “I swear to God if you lie to me again I will call
Dad right now and have you arrested.” Wrapping his hands around his mother’s bony shoulders, Ren
moved her a step out of the way, and forced his way into the small room. “Now tell me right now, damn
it. Where. Are. The. Drugs?”

Brenda scrambled to Ren’s side and grabbed his forearm. “What’s happening here? I thought we were
getting along so well. Duke did this to you,” she declared out of nowhere. “He has poisoned your mind
against me since you were five years old. I never should have let him adopt you.”

Ren spun around at that, his eyes a cold, icy blue. “It’s the one goddamned decent thing you did in your
life.” He pushed past his mother and grabbed her duffel bags from the floor. “I have to admit, you tricked
me good.” Unzipping the first duffel, he dumped the contents onto the bed. “You’re quite the actress. It
didn’t take you long to convince me you were only here in Quinten to rebuild a relationship with me.”
Ren rifled around the clothing, and when he didn’t find anything, he pushed it to the top of the bed and
grabbed the next one. “I should have known better.” He upended the second duffel bag onto the floral
print comforter. “You were just using me, probably for parole points just like Dad thought.”

“No, I wasn’t.” Brenda forced her body between Ren and the bed. She grabbed at his face and tried to
bring his attention down to her. “I swear I wasn’t. I really did want to see you. I just needed a little bit of
help to get me through. A little something to take the edge off.” She pushed at Ren’s middle and forced
him away from the bed. “I can give it up if you want me to, I swear. Let’s just go.” She took his hand
and pulled him to the door. “I feel so bad about it I don’t even want to be in the same room with it

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anymore. Let’s get you back to work before you get fired. I’ll throw it away later. I promise.”

Ren yanked his arm out of his mother’s hold, her touch freezing him through his shirt and jacket. “It’s too
little, too late, Mom.” Bumping back into the bed, he turned around, determined to see the drugs for
himself. He pushed the knife in deeper as he looked, but he needed to feel it so he could go on. He
already fought the powerful desire to run and hide, but he knew he couldn’t do that anymore either.

The corner of a plastic bag poked out of a small notebook, and Ren’s hand shook as he reached down
to grab it.

“Ren, no.” His mother’s fingernails dug into his hand.

“Yes.” Ren wrenched his fist away and slid his fingers between the pages of the little spiral pad, flipping
it open to where the rolled-up plastic bag served as a bookmark. And then, he saw them. Not one bag,
but two. Joints in one and at least a dozen little white pills in the other. “Let me guess…” He almost said,
“It’s aspirin, right?” but something else caught his eye first. What he saw sucked the breath right out of his
body and left him weak in the knees.

“Oh my God.” Ren picked up the notebook and started flipping through the ink-filled pages, going all the
way back to page one. The truth of his mother’s visit hit him square in the gut, and his knees buckled,
forcing him to sit down before he fell down.

Ren glanced through the messy journal entries, each one more usefully informative and detailed than the
last. Only none of them pertained to him. The steady trickle of blood flowing from the wound in Ren’s
middle quickly became a flood.

“Oh my God,” he repeated, his entire body seizing so hard he doubled over. He wrapped his arm across
his waist in an effort to hold everything in as the debilitating truth of his mother’s presence in Quinten
slammed against his heart like a Cat 5 hurricane. “This is why you’re really here, isn’t it?” Ren held up the
notebook with the damning evidence. When his mother didn’t say anything, he roared, “Isn’t it!” and
hurled the book across the room where it hit the mirror and fell, pages spread, to the old dresser.

“Not the only reason, Ren,” Brenda whispered. “I swear.”

Ren squeezed his eyes closed against the pain. “I should have known. I should have known you couldn’t
possibly be here for me. I should have figured it out more quickly. It was clear as day, but I was too
stupid to see it. All those visits out to my job. You not wanting me to spend too much time with Cade
after he got hurt, warning Cade I could lose my job if I stayed away from the ranch for too long.” Ren
lifted his head and saw himself in the mirror, the pain so clear and so bright it hurt to look at it. “You
didn’t care about me at all. You needed an excuse to go see Caleb Hawkins on his property without
looking suspicious. Grandma and Grandpa told you about my work, and when you recognized the
Hawkins name, you saw dollar signs and a meal ticket to a rich life --”

“No.”

“Yes.” Ren’s gaze grew cold and hard. “Admit it. Let us have at least one moment of truth between us.
Right now.”

“All right! But I did it for both of us!” Brenda cried. She went down on her knees in front of Ren and
grabbed his hands. “I want it for you, too. You could have such a great life helping to run that ranch.
Caleb Hawkins doesn’t have any children.”

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“I don’t want my boss’s money!”

“Who doesn’t want more money? Who doesn’t want to be rich if they can be?”

“Me!” Ren grabbed his mother’s shoulders and made her look at him. “Look at me, Mom. Really look
at me. I know you won’t understand this, but I’m already rich. I have Dad, and I have my friends, and I
have Cade.”

“Cade.” His mother snorted. “Do you know how much a cop makes for the hours he’s asked to put in?
You could do so much better than just eking out a modest living. If you want a man, I won’t argue with
that, but what about this brother of Caleb’s that I’ve heard so much about? What about Cain?”

“Cain? You want me to hook up with someone who’s in a committed relationship just because he’s
wealthy? You are fucking crazy, lady,” Ren said softly. “You listen to this, and you listen good. I will not
throw myself at Cain Hawkins. You don’t get to even have the thought that I could be with anyone other
than Cade.”

“He might not ever take you back.”

Ren reeled against the blow. “God, you’re supposed to be my mother. How can you say that? You’re
supposed to tell me I’m good enough, and he’ll want me back.”

Not an ounce of softness reached Brenda’s eyes. “It’s a tough world, Ren. I’m just being realistic.”

Ren curled his hands into fists so that he didn’t lash out and shake his mother until her teeth rattled.
Tucking his hands under his legs, he got deathly quiet instead. “Get out. Get out right now. I want you out
of this town today.”

Brenda stood up and crossed her arms against her chest. “You can’t run me out of town. I won’t be
bullied by you the way Duke did --”

Ren shot to his feet and got right in his mother’s face. “Duke never bullied you, Mom! You never
showed up in court to say you wanted me, damn it. The judge had no choice but to give me to Duke.”
Ren’s shoulders fell forward as he started to crumble. “You didn’t want me, Mom. Not then, and not
now. I’m exhausted and barely getting through each day without breaking, and for just one minute in this
last month, you made me believe you would be here for me and help me get through this hard time. Only
it was all a big lie. You were only ever here to serve yourself.”

“I can do both,” Brenda insisted. “We can do both.”

“No, we can’t. I don’t want your help anymore. I just want you gone. Go away, Brenda, before I
expose your secrets and tell this entire town why you really came here.”

“You can’t threaten me --”

“No,” Cade said from the door, pushing it the rest of the way open, “but I can give you the facts in a
very persuasive way.” As he spoke, Cade’s black gaze never left Brenda Bennett’s face. “You get the
hell out of this town right now and never come back, or I’ll arrest you on drug possession charges and

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have you sent back to prison.” Right or wrong, Cade would let this woman leave without arresting her. In
this moment, he only cared about Ren’s welfare and broken heart, and would do whatever necessary to
take care of him. Cade glanced at his watch. “You’ve got two minutes, Ms. Bennett. Start packing.”

Brenda shoved clothing into the duffel bags haphazardly, all the while mumbling and cursing under her
breath about bullies and harassment and just wanting to make a better life for herself and her family.
Cade watched Brenda out of one eye and checked on Ren with the other. His heart broke at the stiff
spine Ren presented to the room, even as he turned his head down and away from Brenda and Cade.

Brenda’s hand slid across the bed, but Cade moved in swiftly, knowing he had to get rid of her first, for
Ren’s sake.

“Nuh-uh.” Cade snatched the baggies out of her hand. “I’ll take those. You just take your clothes and
leave.”

Brenda glared at Cade. Didn’t matter to him. He had dealt with plenty of belligerent people in his years
on the force, so he just stared right back, his face devoid of all emotion. After a small, silent battle
between them, Brenda pushed her arms through the straps of one of the duffels and used it like a
backpack, and slid her purse and the other duffel over her shoulders.

She moved to the door and paused with her fingers on the frame. Standing there for a long ten seconds,
she finally turned around, her eyes going to Ren’s back. “I’m sorry you wouldn’t let me make your life
better, Ren. We could have had anything we wanted if you’d just let me do what I’m good at. It’s your
loss.”

Ren didn’t say a word, but his entire body jolted in a hard, visible flinch. Cade didn’t think he’d ever
wanted to shield another human being from hurt more in his entire life. He actually moved into Brenda’s
line of sight and blocked Ren from her view.

“If you’re not gone in two seconds I’ll arrest you on violation of your parole right where you stand.
You’ll be hauled back to prison on those robbery charges before you can blink.” Any further threats
faded away from Cade’s thoughts as Brenda Bennett disappeared from sight.

Cade ached to take Ren into his arms right then and there, but he dealt with other necessary business
first. He strode to the bathroom and dumped the drugs down the toilet, flushing them away, for the first
time in his professional career perfectly okay ignoring the letter of the law by disposing of evidence rather
than taking it to the station, as he should have done the second he’d seen those drugs on the bed.

Walking back into the small room, Cade saw Ren still standing like a statue, not having moved a muscle,
and his heart cracked some more. Going to the dresser, he grabbed up the little notebook, quickly
flipping through the pages so he could make a choice about what to do with it. The notebook read like a
glossary on anything and everything about Caleb Hawkins, starting with the projected Hawkins Ranch
net worth, to a breakdown of each individual property within the holdings, all the way to Caleb’s
responses to clothing Brenda wore or things she said or did.

No wonder it had stunned and hurt Ren so to see the notebook. Clearly a map to why his mother had
shown up in Quinten in the first place, it must have crushed him to realize she hadn’t come for him. Cade
took it to the trashcan and ripped each little page to shreds, not wanting Ren to have any reminders about
the devastation his mother had caused him today.

With that taken care of, Cade closed in on Ren and did the only thing he’d wanted to do from the

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second he’d realized the hurt being done to Ren in this room. He lifted Ren’s chin and forced his face up
from the floor. He looked at the pain etched into Ren’s face, putting new lines there that Cade felt certain
he’d never seen before, and it tore him up anew.

Ren opened his mouth, but nothing came out, at least nothing that could be heard by human ears. Cade
heard it though, felt it cut right through him like the sharpest tip of a blade. Ren’s eyes filled with wetness,
and his forehead fell against Cade’s chest. He broke a little bit and started to shake, so Cade wrapped
Ren up in his arms and guided him to the door.

“Come on.” Sliding his arm around Ren’s waist, he pressed a kiss against the side of his head, lingering
there as he tried not to cry himself. “Let me take you home.”

Chapter Thirty-Two

Cade tucked Ren’s hand in his and led him up the porch steps, pausing when they got to the front door.
“Give me your key, sweetheart. Let me get you inside and settled down.”

Ren handed over his key without a word, moving like a robot as Cade tugged him down the hallway to
his bedroom, his pale eyes haunted and bleak. Cade pushed open the door and led Ren inside, stopping
only when Ren stood next to the bed. As Cade looked Ren over again, he noted his pale face and his
arms hanging limply at his sides, completely wrecked and defeated. Ren’s mother had completely fooled
him; there could be no mistaking that. Ren had put up a throwaway, cynical front, but deep down, he’d
obviously let himself start loving her again.

“All right, let’s get you out of this coat and into bed.” Ren didn’t move to help himself, so Cade did the
job for him. He pushed silver buttons out of their holes and drew Ren’s denim jacket off his shoulders
and down his lax arms, throwing it across a chair. Taking a few seconds to remove his own, only then did
Cade go back to Ren, put a hand under his elbow, and guide him to sit down on the bed.

Ren went without a fight, and Cade kneeled down in front of him to take off his boots, too.

“Socks or no socks?” Cade asked as he set Ren’s scuffed cowboy boots at the foot of the bed.

“No socks,” Ren answered, his gaze far away.

Cade went through the rest of Ren’s clothing piece by piece, making Ren share his preferences until only
his underwear remained. Finally, he lowered Ren down to the bed, folded half the comforter over him,
and finished what he’d come here to do.

Ren’s gaze suddenly focused and flickered up to Cade’s, so desolate and lost it stole Cade’s breath
away.

“I’m so stupid,” Ren said, his voice cracking. “Why did I let myself believe her? What’s wrong with me?
I’m her son. Why doesn’t she want me?”

“No, sweetheart, no.” Still kneeling next to Ren, Cade cupped his cheek. “There’s nothing wrong with
you. She did this all by herself.” Cade combed Ren’s hair off his forehead with his fingers, needing to
touch and take away his pain. “She’s your mother, and she gave a very convincing performance. You
didn’t do anything stupidly or blindly, Ren. You just let yourself believe, that’s all.”

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Ren looked away, but Cade could still see the film of moisture layering his eyes.

“I won’t let her do it again,” Ren vowed. “If she comes back you can arrest her, or Duke can arrest her.
I don’t care.”

Cade doubted that, but didn’t press. “Let me get you something to drink.” He rose to his feet. “I’ll be
right back.”

“No!” Ren grabbed Cade’s hand, stalling him beside the bed. “Please don’t leave me. I don’t want you
to go.”

The absolute fear in Ren’s voice tugged at Cade, drawing him down to the edge of the bed.

“I won’t leave.” Cade lifted Ren’s hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss to his palm. “I’m going to the
kitchen to get you a glass of water, and then I’ll be right back. I promise.”

“I don’t need water.” Lifting up, Ren burrowed his face against the curve of Cade’s neck. He tangled his
arms around Cade’s waist and held on tight, muffling his words against Cade’s neck as he said, “I just
need you. Stay with me. Please.”

“Oh, honey, I know you’re hurting.” Fast memories of what had made Cade follow Ren andTex earlier
today flickered through his mind. It nagged at his conscience, reminding him of how quickly he’d leapt to
anger and betrayal in that moment, just at seeing Ren with another man. “I don’t know if doing this is
such a good idea.”

“No expectations.” Raw emotions stripped Ren’s voice bare. He dug his fingers into Cade’s back and
planted frantic little kisses along Cade’s jaw, ending with a desperate kiss against his mouth. “Please,” he
asked softly, his eyes wide and vulnerable, “make love to me. Take me somewhere safe for just a little
while. Please.”

Ren’s voice stroked over Cade like an intimate touch, and wise or not, he couldn’t say no. Cade
lowered his gaze to Ren’s mouth, watched Ren’s tongue dart out and lick the edge of his lip. It warmed
Cade’s blood in no time flat, and he knew for the moment that nothing mattered except them taking care
of each other.

Cade leaned in and captured Ren’s mouth to his, stifling a cry from Ren. With the gentle force of their
fused mouths, he lowered Ren’s head down to the pillow. Reaching in between their bodies, Cade tore
at the buttons of his snap-front shirt, their hands tangling as Ren helped him push it off his arms. Cade
opened his mouth to protest that his sleeve had gotten caught up in his watch, but as soon as he did, Ren
sank his tongue inside to deepen the kiss. Moaning in response, Cade’s cock started pushing against his
jeans in earnest.

The blood rushed quickly from Cade’s brain to take care of his base desires, reminding him of just how
fast he became lost to his body’s physical needs any time he and Ren got close to mating. Cade wrapped
his hand around Ren’s jaw and forced it open wide, holding it there so he could take Ren’s mouth
completely with his tongue. Cade licked at the humid cavern with great sweeps as he toed off his running
shoes and socks, kicking them off the bed as the need to have Ren clawed at him once again.

Ren reached between them to get to Cade’s jeans, and his knuckles brushed over the flat of Cade’s
stomach. Cade shivered at the light, accidental caress, and he pushed against Ren’s crotch with his hard

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length, making them both gasp with delight. Christ, Cade had forgotten how much his dick could ache in
the moments before getting inside Ren’s tight ass. Right at that moment, his cock pulsed and pushed
against the inside of his jeans, reminding him of it acutely.

“Get the lube,” Cade said, his voice harsh through his desire. “Get it and help me get you ready.” He
wrapped his hands around the waistband of Ren’s underwear and tugged them down, freeing Ren’s long,
fully erect penis to his hungry eyes.

Slowing down for a moment, Ren touched Cade’s cheek with the tips of his fingers, drawing Cade’s
attention up to his face. “Just the lube?” he asked, his gaze still terribly open and vulnerable.

Without the actual words, Cade knew what Ren asked. “Yeah, honey, just the lube.” Cade didn’t want
anything but the two of them in Ren’s bed today either.

While Ren got the tube, Cade quickly unbuckled his belt and unbuttoned his jeans, shoving them off his
long legs. He snagged Ren’s underwear along the way from around his thighs and pushed them off into a
pile beside the bed.

Ren ran his hands across the width of Cade’s chest, tangling his fingers in the light dusting of hair, making
Cade’s body hum and vibrate at the touch. Ren’s fingers drifted up and traced over the bandages that
still rounded Cade’s shoulder, protecting his wounds. A tragic sound escaped from Ren’s throat as he
touched.

“You are so beautiful, Cade. Everything about you takes my breath away.” Ren’s blue gaze slid up to
Cade’s. “To think you could have died as a result of something selfish that I did.”

Cade covered his hand over Ren’s mouth. “No, honey. None of that comes in here with us right now.
This is just for you and me. Okay?”

Ren nodded, and Cade leaned down, taking Ren’s bruised mouth in a fast kiss. “Now,” he murmured
against Ren’s lips, “get yourself ready for me. I want to watch you do it.”

Cade slid back on his knees and planted his hands on either side of Ren’s hips. His arms shook in
anticipation as he watched Ren hook his elbow under his left leg and draw it up against his chest. It
opened his crack up some, but denied Cade what he wanted the most: an open view of Ren’s pretty little
asshole. Ren smeared lube on his fingers and slid his digits down from under his balls, looking like he
intended to deny Cade a clear picture of his fingers invading his hot, sexy ass.

Cade wouldn’t stand for that.

He took Ren’s right thigh in his hand and guided it up and to the side, splitting Ren completely open for
his view. Cade adjusted Ren just in time to see Ren tickle his puckered ring with the tip of his index
finger, and then slowly force the digit inside. Ren grunted as it disappeared into his rectum, and Cade
leaked a fat bead of precum in response. The tube of lube rolled off Ren’s stomach and hit Cade’s hand.
He immediately grabbed it up, coating his cock with the cool, clear liquid as he watched, rapt, Ren
pushing his finger in as far as it would go.

“Christ.” Cade swallowed as Ren added another finger in up to the second knuckle, and then start a
slow thrust in the shallow part of his ass. Cade covered Ren’s hand with his own, getting a vicarious
charge just by feeling Ren’s hand doing the small amount of work required to give himself pleasure.

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Cade’s gaze traveled up to Ren’s and locked in place. “Feels good, doesn’t it?” he asked, his memory
of Ren doing this very thing to him serving him well.

“Yeah.” Ren grunted and rolled his hips up to meet his fingers, his eyes never leaving Cade’s.

“Bet my cock would feel better though, wouldn’t it?” Cade added one of his own fingers into Ren’s
burning channel, getting Ren closer to the girth of the penis that would invade him very soon. Cade
worked with Ren’s fingers, controlling the depth of penetration over both of them himself.

“Your cock feels better than anything, Cade.” Ren gritted his teeth as Cade guided their buried fingers
over Ren’s sweet spot, tormenting him with the supercharged pleasure. “It feels right when it’s inside me,
when you’re inside me. It has from the very beginning. Make love to me.” Every pore in Ren’s body
visibly bled his need just as much as his words did. “Please.”

“Oh, sweetheart.” Cade slid their fingers out of Ren’s anus and moved up his body up until only mere
inches separated their faces. “I want that more than anything, too.” Their gazes locked and held, and
Cade watched every nuance of emotion flicker over Ren’s face as he guided his cock to his lover’s
opening. He nudged the head of his penis against Ren’s hole softly, repeatedly, and pushed his way into
Ren’s ass.

Cade clamped his teeth together, steeling himself not to get lost too fast in the overwhelming joy
slamming through him just by being inside Ren’s body once again. He planted his elbows over Ren’s
shoulders, bracketed Ren’s head with his arms, and started to move.

Cade set up a slow, steady rhythm between them, their bodies undulating as one in this intimate act of
fucking that no longer felt likefucking at all. Cade never looked away, and neither did Ren. Their
breathing merged into one entity, and their chests came together in full contact with each breath of air
they simultaneously took in. Ren wrapped his legs around Cade’s waist, squeezing with incredible
strength. The motion teased Cade mercilessly, and he lost a little grasp on his cool each time Ren’s
crossed ankles slid down and rubbed against the crease of his thrusting, bare ass.

Cade reached down with one hand and held Ren’s hip steady, and then pushed up and in more
forcefully, roving his cock deeper into Ren’s scorching, tight ass. Ren’s pupils dilated, holding on with
bruising strength as he clutched at Cade’s biceps. Cade picked up the pace, taking Ren’s snug channel
faster and harder, his cock screaming for the burning friction just as much as Ren seemed to need the
fiercer taking.

Ren slid his arms around Cade’s neck and locked on tight, fusing his body to Cade’s. Cade planted his
hands into the mattress, keeping them from tumbling as Ren hung suspended against Cade with only his
arms, legs, and a pumping, throbbing cock snaked deep inside his ass holding them together.

Cade reveled in the feel of Ren tangled up all around him; he loved how their sweat-slicked stomachs
rubbed against each other, and he exalted in the way Ren cleaved to him with every bit of strength in his
being. As much as it stroked Cade’s ego as a male to see his partner’s pleasure, it tore harder at his
heart as a man who loved.

Lowering them to the bed, Cade rolled them onto their sides. He slid his hands down Ren’s sleek back
to his buttocks, holding him there to keep them connected. Cade stopped moving but left his cock
lodged deep in the constricting hold of Ren’s burning anus, making sure Ren couldn’t slip away and hide.

In the shadows, Cade found the pale pool of Ren’s gaze, and he felt the heaving in Ren’s chest, as if he

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fought some private inner battle. Cade noticed Ren’s lips part, struggling to speak.

Empathy made Cade’s chest spasm with a sharp pain. He slid closer until his head shared the same
pillow with Ren and their breathing space became one. Closing the rest of the distance between them,
Cade pressed a gentle, sipping kiss against Ren’s lips, trying desperately to steal some of the hurt Ren
battled against, wishing to make it his own.

“Tell me,” Cade whispered against Ren’s mouth. “Tell me what’s scaring you.” Ren’s body coiled with
tension and pushed against every inch of flesh where they touched. “Don’t let it beat you, Ren.” Cade
struggled to keep Ren close. “Get it out.”

“I… I…” Ren’s eyes grew wild and agitated. Instead of answering, he pushed his ass against Cade’s
buried cock and got them moving again. He dug his fingers into Cade’s back, leaving scratches. He
lunged, biting at Cade’s mouth, drawing blood as he tried to deepen the kiss.

Cade didn’t care about a stinging bite and a little bit of blood; he cared about Ren and the hurt he tried
to bury inside of sexual release. He grabbed a fistful of Ren’s hair and dragged their mouths apart.
Dominating him with his bigger, stronger body, Cade shoved Ren onto his back. He held Ren’s head
prisoner and forced Ren’s overly bright gaze to focus on him.

“Talk to me, damn it.” Cade shoved his cock in and burrowed deep, making Ren feel every goddamned
inch of him. “Don’t let her beat what you were trying to do with your life.”

“No, huh-uh.” Ren shook his head, dragging the hold of Cade’s hand with him. “Not her.” His gaze
alighted on Cade. “Not that.”

“Then what, sweetheart?” Cade leaned down and bussed Ren’s parted lips, leaving a little smear of his
blood behind. Drawing his eyes back up, he asked again, “What?”

“You.” Ren slid his ankles down over Cade’s back and butt to his legs, encircling them around the
backs of Cade’s thick thighs. Ren started working himself off on Cade’s dick, his pale eyes shining bright
up at Cade. “I…I love you.” Ren’s voice caught thickly. “It’s so strong, it scares me. You have my heart,
and I’ll love you until the day I die.”

Cade’s entire body jolted, completely caught off guard. He swooped down and took Ren with a savage
kiss, his breathing harsh and hot as he held Ren’s head in place for a complete carnal violation. Cade
invaded the recesses of Ren’s mouth ruthlessly, his tongue fucking Ren deep and explicitly, just as his
hips surged with incredible power and took Ren’s ass in fast strokes once again.

Sliding his hands down the sleek muscles roping the sides of Ren’s body, Cade dug his fingers into
Ren’s buttocks, holding him in place for a faster, tougher coupling. This time,Cade buried his face into
Ren’s neck as he thrust and pushed up, gritting his teeth against the fierce pleasure he always found when
he worked his cock in Ren’s ass. Cade didn’t think he’d ever been this hard before. If he had, something
must have blocked most of the nerves on his cock so that he couldn’t feel it, because this time it felt so
damn good Cade felt tears pushing against the back of his eyes as he fought to slow down the high-speed
chase to release.

He never stood a chance. Ren unmanned Cade in a flash. One comb of Ren’s fingers through his hair,
one more whispered “I love you,” and Cade dove in deep for one last plunge. His aching testicles drew
up heavy and tight, signaling the end. Cade bit down on the tendons cording Ren’s neck as he lost it and
spewed, his entire body shaking with pleasure as he came in Ren’s ass. He pumped hard, almost angrily,

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spurting hot semen into Ren’s narrow channel, holding Ren in place to take it all as he let go of an orgasm
unlike any he’d ever experienced before.

Cade had barely made it through the first stages of recovery when Ren pulled at him and said gutturally
against his ear, “Ride me, Cade, please. Let me take you until I come.”

Cade jerked within the confines of Ren’s body just thinking about it. He pulled out and scrambled up
fast, squatting over Ren’s prick, waiting for just a moment while Ren lubed up his cock to ease the way.
Ren held his pole up straight, and Cade pried his ass cheeks apart to accept Ren’s dick. Their eyes
locked on each other as Cade slowly lowered himself onto Ren’s throbbing cock.

There was a lot of length to bury, and Cade moaned low in his throat as his rectum stretched to
accommodate Ren’s invasion. The first licking fires of pleasure stole over him in little more than a
heartbeat, reigniting his passion in a new way. Cade planted his palms on either side of Ren’s shoulders
and started to move.

On the second deep stroke down, Ren gasped and choked. “It feels so good, Cade.” He speared his
hips up to meet Cade’s descent, increasing the pace as his gaze darkened to pure blue. “I didn’t know it
could be so good.” His fingers dug into Cade’s thighs with unbearable strength, and Cade knew he’d
have bruises in the morning. “Not like this.”

Cade remembered the fierce sensation of being eight inches deep inside Ren without a condom for the
first time, how just the perception of closeness and greater sensation had pushed him to the edge that
much faster. Cade’s ass clenched around Ren’s cock again and again just thinking about the exquisite
pleasure working Ren over right now, and each glide along the inner walls of his rectum pushed him right
back into a semihard state, a prisoner to his own body’s needs.

Cade snaked his arms around Ren’s neck and back, drawing him upright until Cade sat on Ren’s lap,
their foreheads touching. He wrapped his legs around Ren’s waist, and his arms around Ren’s neck,
kicking the heat and intimacy in the room up into an entirely new dimension.

Cade’s gaze flickered from Ren’s lush, kiss-swollen mouth to his eyes. “Don’t fight it. I love you, too.”

Ren cried out like a wounded animal and wrapped his arms around Cade’s back tight enough to
constrict Cade’s breathing. Cade couldn’t even yelp though, because one second Ren held him in the
prison of his arms and kissed him as if he might never get another chance; in the next, the cock in Cade’s
ass swelled and surged deep. Cade keened as his channel quickly filled with scorching wet heat as Ren
came. The sensation took him over and he shuddered violently as Ren spilled inside his ass.

Ren whispered, “I love you, I love you, I love you,” against Cade’s lips. That was all it took for Cade to
jerk and orgasm again, choking against the fast, sharp stab of pleasure as he released his seed against the
hard plane of Ren’s stomach.

Against Ren. The only man Cade had ever loved…and the one man he still couldn’t make himself trust.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Ren felt the little shiver roll through Cade, and he felt Cade’s entire body stiffen, too.

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“It’s okay, you know.” Ren tucked his chin against Cade’s shoulder and rubbed his fingers up and down
Cade’s spine. “I said no expectations, and I meant it. You don’t owe me anything because of what
happened, and I don’t expect that it means we’re back together.” Ren’s chest constricted painfully saying
the words that would give Cade an out. His stomach flip-flopped too, but he just squeezed Cade even
harder and forced himself to get it all said. “You can leave with a clear conscience. You were there for
me today with my mother, but I don’t expect that means you’ll stick around forever just because you
witnessed what she did.”

Cade didn’t say anything. He only untangled his legs and pulled slowly away from Ren. Ren gasped with
a belated shiver of delight as his cock slipped out of Cade’s ass, still half-hard in the afterglow.

Cade stuffed his thick prick into his underwear, and then his jeans, and he didn’t glance up again until
fully dressed. When he did look, the open, raw pain in his dark gaze had Ren halfway off the bed to offer
comfort. He sat back down quickly, remembering that Cade’s suffering and hurt existed due to what Ren
had done to him.

Ren resigned himself to Cade leaving without a single word when Cade suddenly blurted out, “I followed
you to that motel today.” Cade crossed his arms against his wide chest and braced his legs
shoulder-length apart, almost in a military stance. “I thought I had moved past everything that happened
between us. I thought I could let go and forgive you. Then I saw you get intoTex ’s truck and
immediately thought you were about to cheat on me again. I didn’t even think twice. I just followed you
to confirm my suspicions.”

“But I wasn’t.” Ren grabbed his jeans and underwear from the floor. He slipped them on, leaving the top
button on his jeans open. “Texis the one who saw my mom buying the drugs. He thought I should know.
That’s all.”

Cade’s face turned granite hard. “I know that. Now. You left the door open when you went inside, and
I heard almost every word exchanged between you and your mother.” Cade walked the width of the
room, his steps evenly paced and measured. It didn’t make Ren feel very secure, though. If fact, a shiver
ran down his back as he remembered how very deliberately Cade moved and behaved in everything
important he did.

Acid ate at Ren’s stomach, and he suddenly knew this evening would not end the way he wanted. Ren
tucked his hands under his legs to prevent himself from grabbing at Cade, and he waited patiently for the
man to speak what he needed to say, in his own time.

Cade eventually slowed to a stop and stooped down in front of Ren. His jaw clenched visibly, and Ren
could tell that whatever he had decided hurt him terribly.

“I can’t be with you,” Cade finally said. “Definitely not today, and I don’t know if ever.”

The breath wheezed right out of Ren, and he reeled against the blow. He thought he’d prepared himself
to hear it, but the tight fist clamping down on his heart painfully showed him his foolishness in that belief.
Ren grabbed great handfuls of the bedding beneath his legs, twisting it in his fingers, needing something to
anchor him in his unraveling world.

“I understand,” he whispered, barely able to speak through the vise squeezing on his windpipe.

Cade cursed under his breath as he stood back up. “No, I don’t think you do.”

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Ren’s gaze snapped up, a new kernel of hope popping to life inside him. “So explain it to me. Please.”

Cade’s lips thinned, and his gaze turned dark and hard. “I’m not very proud of the fact that, in two
minutes, I went from being ready to completely forgive you, to being absolutely certain you were going to
betray me again. I don’t like how sick and insecure I got the second I saw you walking down the street
withTex. And the minute you got in the truck with him…” Cade shuddered. “Forget it. As far as I was
concerned, we were finished, for good. It was just a matter of catching you in the act.”

“But I didn’t do anything. I had no intentions of doing anything withTex. Or anyone else.” Ren chewed
on his lip. “Doesn’t that count for something?”

“Yeah, honey. It does.” Cade stroked Ren’s upturned cheek, eliciting a sharp stab of love in his heart.
“But more than that, it tells me I still have a long way to go before I can see you withTex without it
sending me into a tailspin.”

“Texis leaving.” Ren grabbed a fistful of Cade’s shirt and tugged him down to his knees. “Even if he
stayed in Quinten” -- Ren fluttered his fingertips over Cade’s scarred face automatically, without even
realizing that he did it -- “we’d already decided for your and Shelley’s sakes that we shouldn’t see each
other any more. Not even as friends.”

“But don’t you see?” Cade pleaded, his dark gaze tormented and bright. “That’s not the man I want to
be. I don’t want to second-guess you and have doubts every time I see you with a man I deem worthy of
your attraction. I don’t want my insecurity to dictate your friendships. That’s no way to live, for you or
for me.”

Ren clutched at Cade’s hands and tucked them against his chest. “I could live with it.”

“No, you couldn’t. You would start resenting me after a while, sweetheart. And worse” -- Cade rubbed
the pad of his thumb across Ren’s lower lip, making Ren tremble -- “I would start hating myself for not
having any faith in you when each time I got suspicious you proved me wrong. Before I can be with you
again, I need to know I can get past this insecurity I feel in regards to our relationship. I feel such an out
of control, passionate love for you, but I have to find a way to have faith that it goes both ways, equally
deeply. I need to get to a place where I feel confident you can love me, and where I don’t worry all the
time that I’m not enough.”

Ren looked up at the ceiling, blinking rapidly as he fought to keep the tears from falling. “Do you have
any hope that day will come?” he asked, needing to know, even though the answer might kill him.

“I don’t know,” Cade answered truthfully, ripping right through Ren’s heart. Sliding in between Ren’s
legs, Cade drew Ren’s face down to his. He wiped the wetness from Ren’s cheeks, but his sad attempt
at a smile came across even less successful than normal. “All I know right now is that I need some time to
myself. I need some space, and I ask that you give it to me. We have to get out of each other’s lives so
that we can both get a true reading on what we’re feeling. We’ve had so much drama surrounding us,
and between us, since the day we first started this thing that half the time I didn’t know whether I was
coming or going. I need to find my sense of normalcy again, and I can’t do that when I see you every
day, and talk to you every day, which eventually leads to kissing you every day because we can’t keep
our hands off each other. That is too dramatic for me, and I’m not very good at that kind of
unpredictable lifestyle. I told you that from the very beg --”

Ren covered Cade’s mouth. “Stop putting a warning label on yourself. I won’t stand for it anymore. I
don’t find you, or the way you want to live, boring. I find it comforting, and peaceful, and it makes me

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feel safe when I’m with you. It scared me to trust in that before, and I promise to look at myself and
figure out why. I’m trying to do better. I just want a chance to keep proving it to you.”

“Ren.” Cade pulled away and got to his feet. “Don’t. Don’t make me feel guilty for needing to do this.”
Cade rubbed his arms as if a sudden chill had washed over him, even though he already had his jacket
on. He turned and gave Ren his back and, although beautiful, it punched through Ren’s entire being like a
fatal blow. Nothing had ever felt so much like good-bye.

Cade moved to the door, but paused with his hand on the knob. He rubbed his other hand over the
grain of white painted wood, pressed his forehead against the door for a moment, and then straightened
his back, turning to Ren again. His dark gaze brimmed openly with sadness, but at the same time, it did
not waver.

“Christ, Ren, I don’t like feeling this way, you know? I don’t get some perverse pleasure in keeping you
at a distance as payback for what happened withTex. I’m all twisted up inside, thinking I might never be
with you again, all because I can’t get past this stupid knot in my stomach that tells me I can’t ever be
enough to make you happy. I want to come back to you, but I won’t do it until I can be myself and know
that it’s enough. So please, don’t come to me and tell me that you love me, don’t ‘accidentally’ run into
me at the station or the diner, and don’t call and check up on me. Give me the space I’m asking for. I
need this time away from you. It’s the only thing I know for sure right now.”

Cade’s words cut Ren up inside, hurting him so badly he thought he would bleed to death from the pain.
Knowing that he couldn’t let Cade see it and think it more manipulation, Ren swallowed it all down and
simply nodded. “Of course. Whatever you want.”

Cade nodded back, but instead of leaving, he hesitated, stalled at the door. Ren watched the scarred
side of Cade’s face pull his mouth down in a forbidding frown. Ren’s breath caught as it hit him anew
how well he knew this man’s face and moods now. Probably more than Cade realized.

“What is it, Deputy?” Ren asked. He wanted to rush over to Cade and wrap his arms around him, but
respect for Cade’s wishes kept him seated on his bed. Their gazes met instead. “I can tell there’s
something more you want to say.”

Cade’s dark eyes widened with awareness. The small tell stroked Ren deep inside, refueling his hope.
Cade opened his mouth to speak, but quickly snapped it shut again. His hand twisted on the door handle
he still held, his knuckles going white from the death grip he put on it.

Cade finally snapped his gaze up and got it said. “I don’t expect you to wait for me.”

Ren’s hackles rose. “I’ll wait for you.”

“It might never happen.”

“I’ll wait for you.”

“I have no right to ask --”

“I’ll wait for you.”

Cade’s jaw started to tick. “Don’t be stubborn.”

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Ren’s gaze never so much as flinched. “I’ll wait for you.”

Cade cursed under his breath and glared at Ren. “You’re not taking this seriously.”

That got Ren to his feet. He flew across the room, reaching Cade in seconds. He backed the bigger man
up against the door and trapped him there with hands planted on either side of his head. “Don’t you dare
say I’m not serious about anything that has to do with you.” Ren’s words pierced like bullets as he
struggled to contain his fury. “You have become my very soul, damn it. I don’t know how to get through
this time without you, but I will figure it out and give you the space you need, because that’s what you
asked for. I’ll do whatever the fuck you want. Hell, I’ll have my eyes removed if that’s what it takes to
make you feel secure enough to commit yourself to me. I’ll do whatever goddamned thing you want, and
I’ll do it for the rest of our lives if I have to, but don’t you ever fucking hint again that I don’t take this
seriously. There’s nothing more important in my life.”

Ren’s gaze hit on Cade’s and clashed, and then he was on Cade in a flash, searing him with a hard,
aggressive kiss, reminding Cade of every last feeling that had ever existed between them. Cade
whimpered and opened his mouth, and Ren took the strangled little sound inside himself, deepening the
kiss with his tongue. Cade grabbed at Ren’s hips and tugged him in closer, making Ren’s cock sing and
surge to life. Ren wanted everything to happen all over again. His prick pushed against the inside of his
jeans as he thought about taking Cade and coming inside him again.

Just as quickly, Ren pictured the betrayal he’d see in Cade’s eyes afterward.

Ren smashed his mouth against Cade’s one last time, crushing his lips hard enough to imprint a memory,
and then tore himself away. His chest heaved heavy and hard from that one kiss, and when he looked up,
he noticed Cade looked just as wrecked.

Anger at Cade’s doubt simmered under Ren’s quick arousal. It carried through in his voice as he said,
“You’d better go. You want your time apart, and I want to respect that. But at the same time, I’m about
thirty seconds away from either hitting you or fucking you, and right now neither one of those things is
gonna get us closer to where we want to be.”

Cade brushed his fingers over his swollen mouth. “This is why we need time apart.” He opened the
door. “I hope you can see that now.”

Ren’s hands shook as he retreated to his bed. “Don’t doubt me again.” He lifted his gaze to Cade’s for
what might be the last time and drank in every hard inch of Cade’s stoic, serious face and thickly roped,
arresting body. More than anything, it crushed Ren’s heart to think he might never again see Cade’s dark
eyes light up when they looked upon him.

Ren swallowed down the fist-sized lump in his throat. “I’ll be here when you’re ready.” His voice caught
and his eyes brimmed with moisture. He blinked rapidly, and with sheer determination kept his tears from
falling.

When Ren gathered himself, he looked again. He memorized every line. He loved with his eyes. He
made a vow. “I promise.”

Cade didn’t say anything. He just left.

Chapter Thirty-Four

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“Son of a bitch.” Cade slid across the booth seat, just narrowly missing scalding hot coffee running off
the table into his lap. He did not miss the fact that he cursed himself for his own clumsiness.
Unfortunately, he’d dealt with a lot of mishaps just like this one lately.

Cade mumbled something about being a train wreck looking for a place to happen as he wiped up the
mess, when a pair of cream-colored boots sashaying up to the head of his table caught his attention.

“Wow,” Risa said. She slid in on the other side of the booth, uninvited. “Looks like those rumors going
around about you are true.”

Cade’s gaze shot up to Risa’s twinkling green one. “What rumors?” he asked carefully. He felt his face
and neck heat at being caught behaving like such a mess. “I don’t do anything that causes rumors.”
Cade’s face flamed with fire as he remembered. “At least, not any more.”

“There is a wicked rumor going around -- meaning Sarah told me and I believe her since she sees you
every day -- that you’ve become quite the growling bear in the last few months.” Risa glanced around the
diner, her gaze obvious and exaggerated. “She’s not the only one who has noticed. I mean, look
around.” She waved her arm. “None of the waitresses rushed over to help you clean up.”

Cade piled the soggy, coffee-browned napkins into a pile at the edge of the table. “Don’t need any help
cleaning up my own messes. I am an adult.”

“Yeah, right.” Risa nodded, sending her long, strawberry-colored hair floating around her face. “And I
will bet that you’ve made that incredibly clear to most all of these sweet, easily intimidated young servers
who work here. Am I right?”

Right on cue, a young girl who couldn’t have been more than sixteen if she was a day, rushed by their
table, scooping up the dirty napkins with barely a pause.

Cade’s guilty gaze met Risa’s. “All right. So maybe I haven’t been the most sociable person in the world
recently.”

“I’m glad you admitted that so easily.” Risa’s entire face suddenly beamed with light, and Cade knew
he’d walked right into a trap. “You can do something about it tomorrow. Come to the picnic celebrating
the success of the bull trout project. Don’t even try to say you don’t know anything about it. I sent out
the invitations, so I know you got one.”

Cade had gotten one. His heart started racing right there at the table, just as it had when he’d opened
the invitation three weeks ago. In his mind, the bull trout project and Ren were forever intertwined, and
just the thought of being near him again after so long made Cade’s palms sweat. His cock nudged against
his jeans in excitement, too.

“Come to the picnic,” Risa pushed. “Caleb has stakes and a red ribbon set up across the widest part of
Willow Stream, and he’s damned excited about cutting it. They’ll have a ton of fantastic food, and you’ll
know almost everyone there. Nobody will stare or ogle; it’s just a nice gathering of friends.”

Cade swirled a napkin around the Formica tabletop with the tip of his index finger, his head and heart full
of thoughts and pictures of Ren. “I don’t know.”

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Risa’s gaze softened with sympathy. “It has been more than six months. Do you ever intend to talk to
him again? Are you ever going to let him back in?”

Cade opened his mouth to defend himself, but the words got stuck in the back of his throat.

Risa didn’t have that problem. Her eyes pierced his armor, cutting straight through to his soul. “Can I say
something?” she asked.

Cade shrugged his shoulders and took a sip of water, trying desperately to dissolve the knot in his
throat. “Go ahead.”

“He still believes in you, you know. He’s still absolutely certain you’re going to take him back. He’s not
having an easy time of it. I can see how much he misses you when I look in his eyes. When he’s not
doing his job or working with the fish, he is thinking about you. His instinct is to work harder and occupy
more of that time, but he’s resisting because he knows that’s not the answer. He knows he just has to get
through it without pushing, so that’s what he’s doing. For you.” Risa unfolded her hands on the table and
spread them out flat. Her gaze fell to her fingers for a moment, and then flickered back up to Cade. “I
guess my question to you is this: is he right to have faith that you’ll come back to him, or do I need to
wake my friend up and start preparing him for a fall?”

Cade looked down and found the napkin in his hands shredded into a hundred little pieces. He curled his
fingers into fists and squeezed, counting silently to ten. Once he’d gathered his desire to lash out and
protect himself, he met Risa’s gaze. “It’s not that simple.”

“Nothing worth having ever is.”

“Nice platitude,” Cade shot back. Every protective instinct he’d ever had erected a force field around
him all at once. “I’m sure it would look real pretty on a plaque.”

“Point taken.” Risa lifted her hands and leaned back into the red leather cushion of the booth. Cade
realized too late she was just getting comfortable for round two. “So let me ask you this instead: do you
miss Ren? At all?”

The long days and nights that had gone by without hearing Ren’s teasing voice or seeing his animated,
handsome face washed over Cade in a torrent, leaving him cold.

“Yes.” Cade rubbed at the back of his neck and smoothed down the fine hairs there. “Of course I miss
him.”

“But surely you must find that you worry about him less, now that you don’t see him every day?”

Cade shifted uncomfortably. “No.”

“But you must care less. I mean, it wouldn’t hurt nearly so much today if you heard that Ren had been in
an accident as, say, it would have done seven or eight months ago when you were together. Right?”

The cold on the outside turning Cade’s skin clammy sank into his bones, making him shiver. “No.”

“How about the love you once felt for him? Must be getting weaker, huh? Slowly but surely going
away?”

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Cade rubbed at his chest in agitation as his heart started to hurt. “No.” His brain flashed an image of the
explicit, tender dream he’d had of Ren making love to him, still fresh in his mind from last night. Cade
struggled to appear unaffected, and his voice came out rough. “Nothing has gone away.”

Risa’s eyebrows went halfway up her forehead. “Yet you still won’t talk to him or even try to let him
back in to see what might happen. That’s interesting.”

Cade’s skin grew hot as his tension mounted. “Don’t act all smug and self-righteous like you don’t know
every little detail of what went down between me and Ren. You know what happened. You know how
much it hurt me, so don’t pretend that if the very same thing had happened to you, you’d be able to rise
above it and go forward without batting an eye.”

“Is that what this is about?” Risa asked. “The cheating? You don’t think Ren is truly sorry about what
happened between him andTex ? You don’t think he has fully grasped exactly how much he hurt you?
You don’t think the remorse he has expressed is sincere?” Risa pushed back her hair. “You know what?
Never mind that. The only important question is this: do you really think if you gave Ren another chance
you’d ever have to worry about him cheating on you again?”

“No.” The word left Cade’s mouth before he even thought about it. It startled him and pushed his spine
into the seat. He had the insane desire to find a mirror and check his reflection to see if he looked the
same.

Panic set in at the realization that a part of his thought process had changed without him noticing it, and
Cade scrambled to recover his sound reasoning. “But it’s more than that. It’s not feeling jealous and
insecure all the time when he’s around other men. It’s knowing that if I take him back, he’s just one more
person I didn’t stand my ground with when he hurt me. I have let things go and forgiven people all my life
because I’ve always wanted peace and calm, because I want people to like me. When I leftTexas , I
promised myself I wouldn’t be that person anymore. If I give in again, what does that say about me, as a
man? Not only to Ren, but to this whole damn town since they all know what happened?”

“So this is the ground on which you have chosen to take a stand?” Risa’s voice rose in disbelief. “You’re
going to give up the great thing you might have with Ren simply to make a belated point to all those
people you let walk all over you in your past? You won’t forgive the one guy in your life who has
expressed true regret for the hurt he caused you, just so you can give the finger to a bunch of jackasses
back inTexas who aren’t even in your life anymore and couldn’t care less about what you’re doing now?
Is that what you really want to do here?”

Cade squirmed under the pressure and scrutiny. In the time since he’d separated from Ren, only Risa
had approached him to talk about it, and he didn’t feel any more comfortable sharing now than he had all
those months ago. He did not like being put on the spot or explaining himself. It grated against every
sense of privacy in his psyche, pushing right up against that discomfort he always felt when talking about
himself. Only with Ren had Cade ever relaxed enough to open up -- at least until the incident at the shack
had stolen that comfort away.

Cade struggled not to shut down and retreat inside himself. He fought not to return to that painfully
solitary person he’d been when he’d first arrived inQuinten,Montana around three years ago. “You want
good answers because you want to look out for your friend. I understand that, but as I already told Ren,
I can’t come back to him until I know I won’t go off the deep end whenever I see him with another man.
I’m not there yet, and I don’t know if that feeling of ease will ever come. I’m sorry. I know you want a
concrete kind of answer, but I don’t have one.”

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“That’s all right.” Risa shifted and slid to the edge of the booth, but paused before getting up. She smiled
at Cade, and it lit up her girl-next-door face with shining beauty. Her gaze, however, remained sober and
sharp. “Maybe I don’t need your concrete answer. Maybe you need mine. So here it is. Forgiveness,
faith, and trust: they are not magic feelings that come over you with an ethereal light when you ask God
for divine intervention. Each of those things is a choice you consciously decide to make, and then
implement through deliberate action. So if you’re waiting for something to hit you smack in the head and
show you the light before you let yourself run to Ren and take him back, honey, it ain’t ever going to
happen. Life doesn’t work that way.

“If you want people to view you as a strong man, so that you never get walked on again and always
have the respect of everyone around you, then act from a place of strength, always, and that’s the result
you’ll get. Deep down, you already know that. Look around you. You’ve created that here in Quinten,
just by being yourself.”

Risa’s eyes softened with understanding, and it was as if she could see right into Cade’s soul. He had
trouble breathing, but couldn’t look away.

“You can’t ever be one hundred percent safe, Cade. The only relationship that will give you that is the
one you don’t really care about being in. I’d say wake up and make your choice, that Ren’s not going to
wait forever, but you and I both know that wouldn’t be the truth. He’ll wait forever. I guess you have to
ask yourself if that’s something you want to do not only to him, but to yourself.

“So.” Risa stood up. “That’s my two cents’ worth, even though you didn’t ask for it. I hope to see you
at the picnic tomorrow.” Risa covered Cade’s hand and squeezed it with affection. “You were invited
because your company is wanted and people like having you around. The Hawkins family made the guest
list; I just filled out the invitations.” Risa lifted a sleek pair of sunglasses out of the V-neck of her T-shirt
and slid them on her face. “I hope I haven’t offended you. I just felt like I had something important to
say.”

“I understand.” Cade cleared his throat. “You were very concise. You’ve obviously given it a lot of
thought.”

Risa slid the sunglasses into her hair, turning them into a headband. When she lifted her gaze and
revealed it to him, it socked Cade in the stomach. She wore the same pained face and vulnerable eyes
Cade had seen in his own mirror almost every day since he’d told Ren to stay away.

“I want the father,” Risa told him, her voicealmost steady. “You want the son. I guess there’s something
about those Boone men that gets under a person’s skin and doesn’t let go.” She attempted a chuckle, but
it fell flat. “I’ve had to accept that I’ll probably never have Duke, but it doesn’t have to end that way for
you. You and Ren can be together again with only a few short sentences.”

“And what are those?”

“I forgive you. I love you. I want you back.” The sunglasses came back down over Risa’s eyes. “You
just have to decide if you can say them. Bye.” She waved, slid her hands into the pockets of her jeans,
and left the diner without ever having ordered a meal.

Cade sat there for a long time afterward, his food forgotten, his stomach tied up in too many twisting,
coiling knots, leaving him ill. Risa couldn’t be right, could she? Cade couldn’t get over the emotional
upheaval and insecurity Ren wreaked in him just by making a choice to let it go. Things didn’t work that
way. They just didn’t.

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But Christ, just thinking about being with Ren got the blood racing heatedly in Cade’s body, sending him
a physical reminder of how much he still missed Ren and wanted him, in every way. In over six months
apart, that hadn’t ebbed or changed one bit.

Even so, it couldn’t be a matter of just letting go and making the choice to give Ren another chance. That
was too simplistic an answer.

Right?

Cade’s head immediately said yes. His heart, however, latched on to a new blossom of hope and pulled
him in an entirely different direction. Good Christ, thinking about reuniting with Ren awakened Cade’s
heart to a future full of possibilities. It created a powerful offshoot of renewed life that pushed inside him
to get out. It began nudging Cade’s body out of what felt like a deep, long hibernation.

The old fear sat right there too, though, pushing and clawing, making Cade’s heart race erratically.
Taking Ren back would be a tremendous risk to his heart, one even more potentially ravaging than the
debilitating pain he’d suffered already. Cade knew that a second betrayal at Ren’s hands would be a
blow unlike anything measured in his life thus far. It could very well kill him.

The thought terrified him, and right there in the diner, Cade broke out into a sweat. Giving Ren another
chance felt like too dangerous a risk to his heart, frightening him all the way down into his marrow.
Cade’s instincts told him to rush across the street and get to work, to bury his turmoil in the routine and
order of his job until the confusion and panic pinballing around inside his chest and stomach passed.

But for the first time in six months, a stronger part of Cade’s soul made him sit there and feel it. Cade’s
heart pushed through, and wouldn’t let him run.

Chapter Thirty-Five

“I’m looking forward to moving in by the end of next month.” Ren gave Caleb an update on the
renovation of a line cabin the man would allow him to reside in, rent-free, in exchange for photography
services for all Hawkins property sales and promo brochures for the length of time he chose to live in the
cabin. “Hank here is doing a bang-up job directing the handful of men you loaned me, and the work is
right on schedule. Who knew this guy used to be a construction foreman?” Ren playfully punched Hank
in the arm. “I sure as hell didn’t.”

Hank’s bushy white brow moved up just the slightest centimeter. “I’ve done all kinds of things you don’t
know shit about, boy.” Hank raised a can of beer to his lips and took a long drag. “Things that’d curl
your chest hairs if’n I told you.”

Ren exchanged an interested glance with Caleb, but before either one of them could ask, Hank added,
“And I ain’t tellin’ ya, so don’t even ask.”

Ren couldn’t begin to imagine what an ornery old goat like Hank Bailey might have in his past, and
figured he probably didn’t really want to know. Now that Ren understood what it felt like to live in a
town whose citizens knew way too much about his personal life, he had no interest in prying into the
privacy of others.

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As he remembered the reason for his occasional discomfort while walking the streets of Quinten, his
thoughts turned to Cade, and the familiar, dull ache in his chest pushed front and center again.

Ren suddenly didn’t have an appetite anymore, and he wondered how noticed it would be if he slipped
away before the celebration got under way. “Listen, guys…” Ren’s thought trailed off as he realized
Caleb and Hank didn’t seem to see him standing right in front of them anymore at all.

Both men exchange a small smile, and then Caleb’s arm reached out past Ren.

Caleb said, “Welcome. I’m glad you decided to come.”

“Thank you for including me.” Ren’s knees almost buckled as Cade’s familiar whiskey voice washed
over him, snaking into every pore of his body. Ren hadn’t heard it firsthand in what felt like forever, but
he would recognize it anywhere. Every nerve ending in his body went on high alert.

Ren quickly schooled himself not to overreact. He forced himself to breathe normally before he turned
around and faced Cade. The mental talking-to didn’t do him a damn bit of good. As his gaze found
Cade’s, Ren fell for this one man all over again, as if they’d never been apart.

“Hi,” he said breathlessly, and could have kicked himself for sounding like a lovesick puppy. His heart
skittered painfully, pounding against his sternum as he drank Cade in, hungry to see every square inch
and unable to hide it. Cade looked so handsome in jeans and a white button-up shirt. A series of fast
pictures of their date at the rodeo flashed through Ren’s mind, drawing heat up his neck as he
remembered everything that had happened afterward in the truck. Ren cleared his throat. “How are
you?”

“Getting by,” Cade answered.

Those few words, spoken only for him, sent Ren’s head spinning. It had been so damn long.

Cade rubbed his palms on the front of his jeans. “How are you?”

“Same.”

From the sidelines, Hank murmured to Caleb, none too softly, “I’ve seen less awkward conversations
between a priest and an atheist.”

Ren glared, and Cade blushed. A ball of red fur suddenly bounded up to them and barked at Ren’s feet,
saving both men from another of Hank’s comments.

“Oh my gosh, Crash! Hi, baby.” Ren fell to his knees and dug his hands into the dog’s fur, giving him a
good, satisfying scratch. The Irish setter sat down and settled with one command from Cade. Ren
glanced up. “He has gotten so big. He looks full grown now.”

“He is.” Cade reached down and scratched the dog behind his ears. “Cain told me to let him loose, and
that everyone would keep an eye on him. I hope he doesn’t bother anyone.”

“Don’t worry.” Ren chuckled. “I’m sure you’ve trained him down to the smallest command.”

Red dotted Cade’s smooth cheek, but he did manage to laugh. “I guess you do know me after all.”

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Ren gave the dog one good, final pat before standing up. “I think I do.” His gaze met Cade’s and held.
“There was a short time when you thought so, too.”

Cade blushed even harder. He turned away and settled his attention on Willow Stream, and Ren could
have kicked himself for saying something so personal. He had absolutely no right to believe Cade had
shown up today for anything other than a party.

“I apologize.” Ren scrambled to pull his boot out of his mouth. “I didn’t mean to make you
uncomfortable. Let’s talk about something else.” Quickly, Ren racked his brain and came up with the one
new thing he had in his life since Cade had left. “I’ll have my own place soon. Caleb is renovating all the
line cabins on the property for people in his employ to rent.” Ren’s words spilled out over his tongue
much too fast. He knew he rambled like an idiot, but Cade still had his face averted in silence, so Ren
found he couldn’t shut up. “Caleb was generous enough to start with mine, so I’ll be moving in sometime
in the next six weeks. It’s nothing fancy, but I like it. It’s about a fifth the size of the farmhouse.”

Cade tore his gaze off the sparkling, flowing water and latched on to Ren. The bright intensity stole
Ren’s breath away.

His words coming fast and raw, Cade said, “Is there room enough for a scuffed-up deputy and his
three-legged dog?”

“Wh-what?” Everything dropped right down into Ren’s feet, and he stumbled. Cade grabbed him before
he fell and held him up with a big hand wrapped around his forearm. Grateful for the support, but
mind-numbingly terrified to hope, Ren stared as Cade held his eyes, trapped.

“What are you saying?” Ren heard his own voice cracking. “Don’t tease me.”

Cade swore under his breath. He snaked his hand out and grabbed Ren around the neck. Tugging him in
close and holding him steady, Cade wouldn’t let Ren waver or look away. Didn’t matter; Ren didn’t
want to hide. Cade’s dark eyes shone so deeply with emotion Ren almost couldn’t breathe. It terrified
him to let even a hint of expectation creep in, but God, he knew what he felt through the small stroking of
Cade’s fingers on his neck.

Love and desire.

“Tell me,” Ren whispered. He clutched the front of Cade’s shirt in his fists and held on. “Please. You
have to tell me first. I promised you I wouldn’t push.”

Cade sounded as if he ripped his confession up from his very soul. “I forgive you, I still love you, and I
want you back.”

“I…I…” Ren blinked to keep the moisture from building and falling, and his throat squeezed, too
clogged to speak.

Instead of talking, he reached up and touched his fingers over Cade’s beautiful, scarred face, a face Ren
thought perfect in every way. The fisting in Ren’s chest and the pressure fighting to break through behind
his eyes intensified tenfold and became too much to contain. He buried his face in Cade’s chest and
wrapped his arms around Cade’s waist, holding on for dear life. He had never lost faith that Cade would
come back to him eventually, but Ren had not remotely prepared himself to deal with it when it finally
happened.

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Cade wanted him back.

Cade brushed his lips against the top of Ren’s head, and Ren squeezed Cade even tighter. He had no
intentions of ever letting this man go.

“Don’t cry, sweetheart,” Cade whispered against Ren’s ear. He rubbed Ren’s neck and ran his fingers
up into the edges of his hair. “I don’t like seeing tears in your eyes.”

“You won’t.”

Cade squeezed. “Liar.”

“No, I’m not.” Ren chuckled through the thickness in his throat and pulled his face away. Looking up at
Cade with a wobbly smile, he said, “No tears in my eyes, I promise.” He looked down at the small
splotches on Cade’s shirt. “I left them all on your shirt.”

“Of course.” Cade’s wide, sensual mouth pulled awkwardly on the scarred half, and Ren’s heart
skipped with new life. Cade had tried to smile. At him. During the last six and half months Ren had
questioned if he would ever get to see Cade attempt a smile again, so seeing it now tugged at his full
heart, bringing him back to life.

He ran the pad of his thumb over Cade’s lips, and they both shivered. “I prayed and prayed for you to
find a way back to me,” he said. It still pained his heart to know he’d ever hurt Cade in the first place,
but Ren had reached a point where he figured a piece of his heart would always live with the pain he’d
given to Cade. It was an unnecessary but constant reminder that he would never risk Cade’s love again.
“I had some moments, late at night, when I felt more alone than I ever have in my life. It terrified me,
wondering if you could ever forgive me enough to take me back.” Ren leaned his body into Cade’s and
wrapped his arms around his waist tight. “I missed you so damned much.”

“I missed you too.” Cade squeezed Ren around the middle hard enough to bruise a rib. A terrible catch
grabbed his voice as he whispered, “Please don’t hurt me again.”

“I love you so much.” Ren burrowed his face against Cade’s neck. “Never again.”

Cade suddenly stiffened. He lifted his chin from its resting place on the top of Ren’s head. “We’re
attracting attention.”

“I don’t care,” Ren mumbled. “Everybody knows anyway.”

Cade slid his hand down Ren’s back and rested it against Ren’s waist, holding him close. Protectively.
Cade’s focus zeroed in on a group of four people, three of whom handed money over to the fourth.
Pinching Ren around the middle, Cade turned him until they both faced in the same direction. Cade slid
his arm around Ren’s shoulders and pulled him back against his chest. He felt his face burning as all eyes
at the picnic, some discreetly and some not so much, focused on him and Ren. Fighting the discomfort of
the attention focused on him, he didn’t back away. It felt too good to hold Ren again, and nothing could
make him let go.

“Your friend Risa seems to be making a fortune off of Duke, Caleb, and Hank.” Cade’s protective
instincts bubbled to the surface once again. He growled, not liking that Ren’s friends made money off his

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personal life. “Care to wager our own bet about what just happened?”

“I think I can draw a pretty decent picture.” Ren crooked his finger in the direction of the foursome,
beckoning them over.

Three guilty faces and one smiling one lined themselves up in front of Ren and Cade.

Ren turned his attention to Risa. “You seem to have come out of this like a bandit, so why don’t you
explain what’s going on here?”

“No problem.” Risa flashed Ren and Cade her million-dollar smile. “These three lugs have been nothing
but a bunch of biddies the last few months trying to figure out a way to get you guys back together. These
two” -- Risa gestured to Caleb and Hank -- “were sick of Ren moping around all the time at work, and
wanted him happy again. And that one” -- she jerked her thumb at Duke -- “had to deal with the both of
you dragging your sad asses around day after day with no resolution in sight. I finally told them all to quit
bellyaching and go talk to Cade.” Risa’s laughing eyes lifted to the man in question. “None of them
wanted to cross you. They bitched and moaned, and said that talking to you wouldn’t do any good.
You’ve built quite the reputation over the last few months for coldly cutting people off before they can
begin a personal discussion with you.”

“Warranted,” Cade conceded, just as Hank muttered, “She’s making us sound like a bunch of sissies.”

“Anyway,” Risa cut them both off, “I told them if they were all too chicken to do it, then I would. I also
told them that not only would I talk to Cade, but I would be able to get him to respond to a levelheaded,
logical discussion. They told me Cade would never show at this gathering, and that even if he did he
would never make up with Ren in public. I told them to put up or shut up, because I knew that he would.
And you did.” Risa smiled again. “That makes me a hundred and fifty bucks richer. Thank you very
much.”

Ren turned around in Cade’s arms. “I’d be mad, but I’m just so grateful she got you here, I don’t even
care how she did it.”

Cade brushed a fluff of dandelion off Ren’s cheek. “Me, too, honey.” He leaned down and pecked a
kiss on the tip of Ren’s nose. Ren wrinkled his nose, and Cade flicked it with the tip of his finger. “Me,
too.”

“And there comes my other hundred and fifty,” Risa said, her voice triumphant. “Pay up, gentlemen.”
She stuck her hand out. “I need an entry fee for my next bull riding competition and it looks like today
you guys have become my biggest contributors.”

“No way” and “That’s not legit” and “You can’t call that a kiss, girlie” came up in rapid-fire succession
from Caleb, Duke, and Hank.

“What in the hell is this now?” Ren asked. “You bet on a kiss?” He slid his hand in Cade’s, linking their
fingers, and the gesture warmed Cade with a sense of place and pride. It was probably the first true,
public sign of affection he’d ever shared with a person before, man or woman. He liked it. It felt very,
very right. Cade squeezed, holding on tight.

“These are cowboys, Ren,” Risa reminded him, “and you know they’ll bet on anything. They were so
sure Cade would never come around; it was like taking candy from a baby. I knew he would. I couldn’t
walk away from the bet for anything, even a tasteless one. Sorry.”

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“What it isn’t” -- Caleb rounded on Risa -- “is a won bet. You are obviously still very innocent if you
call what just happened there a make-up kiss. That was an innocent peck that could have just as easily
taken place between you and me.”

Neither Risa nor Caleb saw the possessive fire flash in Duke’s eyes. From their vantage point, Ren and
Cade both did. Duke would have to deal with his attraction for this much younger woman soon, and Ren
couldn’t wait to watch from sidelines.

Ren slid his arms around Cade’s waist and turned his face up. “I’m not ashamed of you, Deputy.”
Satisfaction rolled through Ren as he watched the heat flare in Cade’s eyes at the endearment. “I don’t
care if everyone sees how I feel. Aside from that” -- he smiled -- “Risa is a good friend. If I can help her
out, I will. What do you say?”

Cade’s eyes smiled purely in the way his lips couldn’t. Without a word or hint of hesitation, his mouth
descended and brushed against Ren’s. The touch remained soft and sweet for only a moment, and then
Cade took charge. A sharp jolt of memory slid through Ren as he relearned Cade’s kiss after such a long
time apart. Patiently aggressive, Cade sank ever more slowly into complete intimacy. He tunneled his
hands into Ren’s hair, holding him steady for a more complete plundering. He kissed, sipped, and
nipped, and when his tongue slid inside to mate more deeply, there could be no denying the men shared a
real kiss, in both definition and intent. Ren opened up, sighing into Cade’s mouth as he settled in for a
long, endless welcome back.

On the edge of Ren’s consciousness, he heard Hank say, “Best hundred bucks I ever lost.”

It warmed Ren to know he had good friends pulling for his happiness. Caleb seconded the motion and
more money exchanged hands. Ren heard his father say something about it being money he’d prayed to
lose, and tears pricked Ren’s eyes once again. Cade slid his hand down Ren’s back and tugged him
close, so Ren put any further thinking on the subject temporarily on hold.

Someone eventually cleared his or her throat, and then Caleb said, “Okay, time to cut the ribbon on the
bull trout project’s success. Ren? Ren? Yeah, okay, never mind. You just keep doing what you’re doing.
Risa and I will take care of this last step.”

Everyone cleared away, and eventually it got very quiet. Cade moaned and pulled his mouth away from
Ren’s, sighing deeply as he kissed his way up Ren’s cheek to his ear. “You’re missing the culmination of
all your hard work, sweetheart. If we run we can probably still catch up.”

Ren latched on to Cade’s hips and tugged him close. “I don’t want to leave you for a minute.” He
dragged Cade’s mouth back down to his.

“You won’t have to,” Cade started, but then got caught up in the kiss again, and at least another minute
passed before he could clear his head and pull away. Ren’s eyes shone bright with lust, and Cade had to
steel himself to be noble. “I’ll come with you. We won’t be apart.”

“I can live without the ceremony.” Ren took Cade’s hand and slid it down his stomach until it covered
his rock-hard cock, and stroked it down his length. “I don’t know how much longer I can live without

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you.” He leaned in, stole a quick kiss, and then whispered against Cade’s mouth, “Let me take you to the
cabin. Let me show you where we’re going to live.” Ren’s blue eyes suddenly filled with uncertainty.
“That is, if you meant what you said. That you really want to live there. With me, I mean.”

Cade’s cock strained with purpose. “Oh, yeah.” He lifted Ren’s hand to his mouth and placed a kiss in
his palm. “Show me. Show me everything.”

Ren broke out in a giant smile, and it stole Cade’s breath away. “I love you, Cade McKenna. I promise
to spend the rest of my life making you happy.”

“I know you will.” And when Cade said it, he knew he spoke the absolute truth. “I love you too, Ren
Boone.” Putting his fingers to his lips, Cade whistled, and within seconds, Crash bounded across the
grass to the two men. “Now, why don’t you show us our new home?”

Ren slid his hand into Cade’s, and showed him the way.

Epilogue

Ren heard the truck door slam, and he raced to the door. He wiped his wet hands on his sweats and
pulled open the door, just as Cade stepped on to the little front porch. Cade’s heated gaze met Ren’s
across the small space, and Ren’s heart rate kicked up about ten notches. Crash bounded past Cade,
practically knocking him over as he raced into the cabin.

Cade righted himself and moved closer to Ren. “He couldn’t wait to get home.” Cade’s voice was as
rough as his eyes were dark. The dog pushed past them both once again and darted off into the
mountains. With his own special smile wrapping itself around his damaged mouth, Cade leaned down and
scraped a kiss against Ren’s lips. “I couldn’t either.”

The line cabin’s renovation had finished up yesterday. Ren had spent the day turning the house into a
home with their furniture and personal effects. Tonight they would spend their first night in their new
home, together.

“Come inside.” Ren’s hands shook as he grabbed Cade and tugged him over the threshold. God, so
much excitement, happiness, and nervousness ran through him that he didn’t know what to do with
himself. “I made dinner.”

“Honey.” Cade backed Ren into the wall and crowded him in. “You’re wearing the only meal I want
right now.” He swooped down and took Ren’s mouth in a hard, searching kiss.

Ren groaned and opened up for Cade’s tongue. He grabbed at Cade’s waist and undid Cade’s heavy
work belt, letting it slide to the floor with a thud. Ren unbuttoned, unzipped, and pushed down, freeing
Cade’s massive erection from his underwear. He wrapped his hand around its scorching heat and
squeezed.

Cade hissed against Ren’s mouth. “Not yet, sweetheart.” He pushed Ren’s hand away, his eyes flashing
black heat. “I need you first. I’ve thought about getting your cock in my mouth all day long.” His gaze slid
down Ren’s body, the heated scrutiny drawing a shiver from Ren. “Take your clothes off for me. I need
to feel your hard stomach and touch your gorgeous chest, too.”

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Ren’s prick jumped in his sweats. “I put some stuff in that drawer.” He pointed at a hutch by the door.
“Get it.” He tore off his T-shirt and shoved his sweats off his legs frantically, every nerve ending in his
body singing for this one man. “Get it.”

Ren watched Cade deliberately remove his clothes, one neat, pressed piece at a time, until he stood
glorious in his nudity. Cade stroked his prick, spreading lube all over his jutting penis, and Ren’s own
dick leaked a fat bead of precum in response.

“God, Deputy.” Ren slumped back against the wall, awed. “You are so beautiful.”

Cade blushed. “It’s good you’re the one person who thinks so.” He stalked back over to Ren, his
moves purposeful and predatory. When they stood so close their chests brushed against each other,
Cade grabbed Ren’s hips and crushed their cocks together. “Otherwise, it’d make it a damned sight
harder for me to do this.” He dropped to his knees and wrapped his mouth around Ren’s cock.

Ren moaned and bowed out from the wall. Cade took his dick deep, sliding the mushroom head past his
throat, and Ren almost came on the spot. He gritted his teeth against the mind-blowing sensations Cade
wreaked on his prick, steeling himself not to come as he watched Cade’s dark head eat up the length of
his cock. Ren moved his hips and fucked the hot, wet cavern of Cade’s mouth with his hard length, giving
Cade exactly what he said he wanted. Cade licked, sucked, and tasted like a man starved, teasing Ren’s
sensitive slit with flicks from his tongue, and then accepting Ren into his mouth all the way to the root.

That did it for Ren. No time to feel it coming on, Ren groaned and bucked as his orgasm broke free. He
spewed heavily into Cade’s mouth, dumping a thick stream of ejaculate onto Cade’s tongue and down
his throat, his dick pulsing and jumping as he came.

In seconds, Cade slammed Ren into the wall, spread Ren’s legs around his hips, and shoved his cock
deep inside Ren’s ass. Ren grunted and choked as his rectum stretched unbearably. He struggled to
accept the fast, hard invasion.

“Are you okay?” Cade’s hard voice snaked sweetly into Ren’s soul. He jammed Ren into the wall with
another demanding thrust, and squeezed Ren’s hips with his strong fingers. “Can you take it?”

“Yeah.”

Cade fucked Ren vigorously again, scraping his backside against the wall. Ren reached out with his left
hand, reaching for an anchor. His fingers touched over his cowboy hat and he knocked it to the floor,
grabbing onto the thick wood peg bolted into the wall. Cade shoved into him again, and Ren wrapped his
hand around the knob, holding on.

“Fuck me, Cade.” Ren pulled Cade’s face in close with his other hand. When the tips of their noses
touched, he glided his fingers over Cade’s scars. “Take me any way you want.”

Cade cried out and latched onto Ren’s lips with his. He sucked Ren’s tongue into his mouth and
suckled, and he tore up Ren’s ass with his cock. Cade exhibited no gentleness in his taking of Ren, but
Ren had never experienced any act more loving than this coming together.

“It’s okay; it’s okay,” Ren soothed Cade’s desperation. He bore down on Cade’s buried cock and
took it all the way to the hilt. Cade’s gaze darted up to Ren’s, full of fire and love. “I love you, Cade.”
Ren’s tender channel accepted the relentless pounding from Cade’s prick, and reveled in it. “I love you
forever.”

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Cade’s fingers dug into Ren’s flesh hard enough to leave bruises. “I…I love you, too.” His dark gaze
widened immeasurably, his entire body jerked against Ren’s, and quickly, wet heat filled Ren’s ass.

Burying his face deep into the crook of Ren’s neck, Cade came, letting go with hard spurts until Ren’s
chute had drained him completely of his seed. Afterward, he remained against Ren, his face against Ren’s
nape, and his dick tucked deep in Ren’s ass.

Ren wondered if Cade felt a little embarrassed about what had just happened. Hell, Ren could
understand that. He hadn’t had any control over his own orgasm only moments ago either. As he ran
through in his mind how to draw Cade back out, Ren felt the first shake roll through Cade’s body, and he
heard a rough little chuckle near his ear. Ren yanked Cade’s face out of his shoulder and found the most
beautiful picture he’d ever seen.

Cade, with a full-on case of the giggles.

As Cade lowered Ren until his feet touched the floor, his eyes shimmered with heat as his cock slid free,
but quickly filled with mirth again.

“What?” Ren punched Cade in the shoulder. “Tell me.”

“Nothing, it’s silly.” Cade warded off Ren’s hands as he laughed. “I swear.”

“Then tell me.” Ren poked Cade in the ribs and made him laugh even more. “Tell me now” -- he tickled
Cade’s waist -- “or I won’t stop.”

“Okay, okay, okay.” Cade wrestled with Ren until he had Ren wrapped up tight in his arms. Cade’s
eyes sparkled with such love it hurt Ren’s heart to see it. “I was just thinking that if this is how we’re
gonna christen a home, then we ought to move into a new one every day.”

“Oh, well.” Ren’s cock jutted up and knocked against Cade’s stomach. In a flash, he started
back-walking Cade across the open room. “Maybe we should take care of every room in this house
first.” He leaned up and captured Cade’s lips, murmuring against them, “I think the shower probably
needs a blessing right now. What do you think?”

Cade slid Ren’s hand down into his crease, and let Ren feel his sphincter pulsating excitedly with the
promise of some good, hard loving. “I think you talked me into it. Lead the way.”

The bedroom, the living room, and the kitchen, too, all got Ren and Cade’s own particular stamp of
approval before they finally sat down to eat.

In their minds, the overcooked, dry meal was perfect.

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Cameron Dane

I am an air force brat and spent most of my growing up years living overseas inItaly andEngland , as well
asFlorida ,Georgia ,Ohio , andVirginia while we were stateside. I now live inFlorida once again with my
big, wonderfully pushy family and my three-legged cat, Harry. I have been reading romance novels since
I was twelve years old, and twenty years later I still adore them. Currently, I have an unexplainable
obsession with hockey goaltenders, and an unabashed affection forThe Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

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