Fox tilted his hips forward, his hard-on pressing against the base of Bull’s spine. “Make no fucking mistake, Dom. I will have you inside me, soon… but right now, you need to sleep.” Fox placed tender kisses across the back of his neck and held him so damn good until Bull could no longer resist the pull of slumber.
Mom. Is he the one? Bull wished for some kind of sign from her, some certainty that this was real and it was okay to give his heart to another man after so long. He fought sleep to enjoy Fox’s embrace as long as he could, which was somehow just as satisfying as if they’d had sex.
The last thing Bull heard before he drifted into a dream wonderland was more of Fox’s promises.
“I ain’t going nowhere, Bull… we got time.”
It was a little after five in the morning before he slipped out of Bull’s arms—their position had reversed in the middle of the night—and decided to go say good morning to Diablo. He didn’t know how long he’d been sitting there on top of his stall door talking to the horse about any and everything when one of Bull’s trainers opened the barn doors.
“Oh, hey. Good morning, Fox,” Shannon said when she rounded the corner. “Wow. Will you look at that? Diablo’s head is in your lap.” She smiled with her hands on her hips. She wore the same uniform as Bull’s other staff: tan utility pants and a green polo shirt with the ranch’s logo on the right. She was quite the looker, and Fox had seen more than a few of the customers flirt with her. She had long, blonde hair braided into a ponytail that hung beneath her ivory cowgirl hat. “I don’t get too close to his stall. He hasn’t quite taken a liking to me yet. Hell, he hasn’t taken to anyone but Bull… and now you, I suppose.”
“Hmmm,” Fox hummed, scratching lightly at Diablo’s withers. He made sure to stop before his touch became annoying. He didn’t know how he knew when that was, but he did.
“Think you can walk through and open his other door so he can get out and exercise? Otherwise, I’ll have to walk all the way around the barn and open it from the outside, because there’s no damn way he’d ever let me in,” she asked.
Fox stared into Diablo’s eyes just before he swung his legs over the wall and slowly climbed down. Diablo pressed his muzzle to the side of Fox’s head as if he’d been waiting for him to do that. The comfort Diablo sought from him caused a ripple of joy to spread through Fox that almost made his knees buckle. Wow. Is that the connection?
“How about a little exercise, huh?” Fox stepped over the mound of dung and walked through the rear of the stall until he got to the back door. Diablo had turned around, his chin poised high over Fox’s shoulder, appearing ready to get out for some fresh morning air. Fox slid the thick wood bar to the side and pushed the heavy door all the way open.
“There you go, boy.” Fox whispered and watched as Diablo took off into the dark purple morning like a black ninja, exciting Fox to no end.
Shannon came up behind him and stared after Diablo as he ran circles in the large exercise ring, shaking his long, wild mane. “He looks happy.”
“I think he is.” I am too.
“I don’t usually get to see you, since I work the early shift. Bull said you don’t start your work until around three.”
“Something like that.”
“But I did see what you did for Rid. That was really something.” She beamed. “I was very impressed.”
“I’m just glad he was all right,” Fox answered shortly, hoping she wouldn’t keep pressing about it.
“So, how’s the job going? Dale says you’re here on a special assignment. Um, as—”
“Land surveyor,” Fox filled in. “It’s going fine… just been surveying stuff. That’s all.”
“Will you look at him. He really is something amazing to see,” she whispered, and Fox’s gaze never wavered from Diablo. “You must be really something too.”
The hint of sensuality in her tone got his attention. Fox cut his eyes to her as she batted those long lashes as if that was her failsafe move to bring all the cowboys to the yard.
Fox grinned. “I’m no one to write home about, trust me.”
“Well, why don’t you let me be the judge of that,” she asked, cocking one arched, blonde brow at him. Shannon leaned her hip against the door and gave Fox a good eye-fucking. He was almost caught off guard at her boldness, but he didn’t let it show. If Shannon had been a man, she still wouldn’t have been his type. He liked for his guy to make him work for it. “Think you might wanna hang out with me? Beers and darts at the Rusty Spur tonight, hmm?”