Chapter Thirteen

 

 

TANK DID love sleeping with someone.

He thought maybe that was why he and Buick had made it almost six months. Nothing so serious about it, but they’d sure liked to be close.

Dalton was a snuggler too, holding on to him, cheek on his shoulder. They were warm, the blankets wrapped up around them, and he didn’t want to move. The smell of them together was heady, and he inhaled deep.

Lord. He sent up a little prayer of thanks to God for letting him have this, at least for now.

Dalton snuggled in, mouth open on his chest, tongue sliding on his skin.

“Mmm. Morning.” He stroked that long back, fascinated by the soft skin.

“Mornin’.” Dalton arched, rolling against him in a slow, easy wave, just like riding.

Those hips gave him the best dreams the last few days.

“Good dreams?” he asked.

“Slept like a rock.”

“Me too. It was real nice in here.” He cupped one asscheek with his hand.

Dalton moaned for him and rocked into his thigh, needy as anything.

“Someone likes to use his morning wood,” Tank murmured. “Good thing I do too.” He shifted a few inches, and they were pressed together, dicks rubbing.

“Mm-hmm. That’s sweet.”

“Hell yes. So hot. Your skin, I mean.”

“Burning some for you.” Dalton licked his collarbone, the swipe blistering.

“It’s good to hear that, honey. You make me crazy.” He drove against Dalton, knowing this would go fast.

“Mm-hmm.” Dalton was right with him, right there.

He bent down and bit just under Dalton’s ear, the spot there calling to him.

“Fuck.” Dalton’s cry was shocked and wild, the heat that sprayed over his prick perfect.

Tank grunted, closing his eyes to thrust against Dalton a few more times. He came hard, panting, his whole body shaking.

“M-morning.” Dalton blinked at him, trying to focus.

“Good morning, honey. I like this waking up thing today.”

“Uh-huh. Me too, like whoa.”

“I bet.” He squeezed that hot ass. “Hiking today.”

“Yeah. It’s supposed to be a beautiful day.”

“Not too hot, but still sunny.” Tank stretched.

“Mm-hmm.” Dalton’s belly snarled and growled, and they both laughed. Someone was hungry.

“You want to save water and take a shower with me?” Tank asked it super casual, because he wanted Dalton to be able to be his own man and say no if he hated showering with someone or something.

“Sounds like a plan.” Dalton pinched his butt. “We’re a little spunky.”

“Good way to start the day. I’ll be right in.” He would let Dalton do his business first. That they were still a bit new for….

“You got it.” Dalton whistled, heading into the bathroom. That sweet little body moved like a dream, all loose-limbed and easy.

“Damn.” He slapped his thigh. Life was good.

When he walked into the bathroom, Dalton stepped out without a word. Tank did his thing, then started the water. He stuck his head out. “Come on, honey.”

Dalton was bent at the waist, stretching himself out. Oh, that was nice. He stared some, but just smiled when Dalton straightened up and came on over.

They got in the shower and started cleaning each other, touching in a curious way, learning each other’s scars. Dalton had a terrible mark on his leg from being gored. Tank had heard about that. His were loved on too, Dalton touching shoulder and knees and hip.

Neither of them bothered to explain anything. If you were in their line of work, each scar told its own story. Bulls, horses, other men—they all left their own kind of mark, and God knew you started early when you made your living rodeoing.

The hot water felt almost as good as the pool, so they stayed in there as long as they could, soaping each other up, loving on each other.

“We’re turning pruney,” Tank finally said, rinsing soap off Dalton’s chest.

“It’s a luxury, huh? To just be?”

“You know it, and I love it, but….”

“But I’m hungry, and we’ve got things to see.”

They headed down to the pool grill for their breakfast, since it was included, and gorged themselves on omelets and hash browns and toast and this amazing rich oatmeal.

God, he was full as a tick.

They sipped their coffee for a while before they went back to the room. “You got hiking boots?” Tank asked.

“I do, yeah.” Dalton headed into the unused bedroom and started lacing up.

Tank grabbed his boots, an old straw hat crushed in his bag, and waters for the cooler.

Dalton stood up, gimme cap on, UT T-shirt clinging to every inch of him.

It was gonna be a ways hotter today than the weather forecaster said it was. “Ready? Do we need trail mix or something?”

“I got some bar deals. You want them?”

“Sure. That way we don’t have to rush.”

“I’ll get ’em.” Dalton grabbed a little drawstring backpack and packed it up.

“I figure I’ll drive since you got your trailer hooked up.” He’d been coming into the event on the fly, and he’d bunked with Tony.

“Thanks. I appreciate it.” Dalton snatched up his wallet and a pair of sunglasses. “Let’s hasta.”

“Yep.” He hustled out to unlock the truck. No one wanted to start Hanging Lake after about 10:00 a.m.

They headed into the canyon toward Carbondale, the river burbling happily beside them. Tank almost missed the damn exit because it was one of those crazy things that went zooming off the highway and curved and dipped. They made it, both of them whooping.

“Lord have mercy, that’s a hell of a get-off.”

“It is. Not as bad as the get-on in West, though.”

“No shit on that. It’s worth it, though, for the pecan rolls.”

Oh, yeah. The Czech Stop in West, Texas was a magical animal, calling Texans from Dallas to Corpus. Not that it was actually in the western part of the state. West was in Northeast Texas. Goofy fucking state.

“Mmm. I like the Elgin sausage ones. Kolaches I mean.”

“Oh yeah. And the jalapeño ones. Bubba likes the iced raisin bread.”

“Mmm. Don’t make me hungry ’fore we even start.” Once they got to the trailhead, they had a mile and a quarter and an eight hundred foot elevation gain ahead of them.

“We’re a ways away from West, man. So we’ll go to somewhere grand for lunch.”

“We totally will. There’s that Bavarian place. There’s the diner too. The one on the way out to the Walmart.” Tank stared at the trailhead, remembering how he’d sprained his ankle fifty feet up the trail the last time he’d been there.

“Uh-huh. There’s a pizza place by the Natural Grocers. You ready?”

“I am.” He took a deep breath, glad he’d been at altitude for a few days. This was a fun as hell hike.

“Cool. Come on, then. I haven’t been up here since Hector was a pup.” Dalton shot him a shit-eating grin and headed up.

“No? You’re gonna love it.” The bottom of the trail was rocky, but oddly like steps. No problem. The upper middle section was more challenging, as it was slick with spruce needles.

Dalton stopped and took pictures as they went, oohing and aahing over everything. The trail turned into sheared-off rock near the top, and there were these enormous cut stone steps, which luckily had a handrail. The most amazing thing, though, was when you turned the last corner on the trail and the super clear water appeared, its green tint otherworldly.

“Oh damn. Tank. Look at that.” The expression on Dalton’s face was like a kid on Christmas morning.

“Right? It’s amazing. It’s like this super fragile ecosystem.” He loved it. Way up above, there was a falls they could also hike to. There were boardwalks to keep people honest, and benches where you could sit and stare at will. So damn peaceful, even with the crowd who always made it up.

“I won’t touch nothing.” No. No, the Jakobys were stewards of the land, that was for sure.

“Nah, but we can take pictures, right?” The place was magical.

“That’s it. Damn. I could draw this for hours.”

“You draw?” Tank blinked a little. “I didn’t know that.”

“Just a little. For fun, you know?” Dalton was a sweet pink.

“That’s cool. For real.” He didn’t want to ask to see any. That might be rude.

“Everybody needs a hobby, right?”

“Yep. I whittle.”

“Yeah? That rocks. You make critters?”

“I do. You’ll have to see them when we get back to Texas.” He loved the wild animals, like mountain lions and wolves.

“That’s cool. Seriously. Gramps has a bunch that his great-grampa made a million years ago. They’re fucking cool.”

“Neat!” He wondered where the old man kept those. Tank had been to his house, but had never seen wood carvings. “That’s amazing. I got one real old one. A santo that came down from Momma’s family. My gran gave it to me when I was just little.”

“Yeah?” Dalton shot him a grin. “I’d like to see that.”

“You’ll have to come see.” He wanted to show Dalton everything. “Want some water?” They’d both hydrated well all the way up the trail, but his lips were chapped as all get-out now, and he knew they both needed more. Where they came from, there was humidity.

“Yes, please. It’s dry as hell up here.”

“No kidding.” He grabbed water bottles out of the light pack he wore on his back. Good thing he’d found it in the truck; they’d have been in trouble with just one bottle each, which would have been all that fit in Dalton’s pack. “Wanna try for Spouting Rock?” He jerked his chin toward the waterfall.

“Lord yes. I want to see it.”

“You can feel the water on you too. It’s the one place you get to touch some.” He grinned, thinking about what he wanted to touch. Dalton made him insatiable.

“Yeah?”

Mmm. Look at that sweet little bounce.

He grinned. Dalton was enthusiastic, tactile, and damn fun to be around. Tank loved seeing this familiar setting through Dalton’s fresh eyes. Made him feel like it was all new again. And the view—Jesus, that ass. It drew his eye, no matter what. Talk about a natural wonder.

Tank chuckled, then took a long drink of water. Okay, he was ready to keep on trucking. That waterfall was worth the extra climb.

Dalton headed up, dogged, sure, correcting when the gravel slid under his boots. Good man. He had grace in and out of the saddle, which was odd for a horseman. Not that Tank was biased or anything.

Not one bit.

By the time they could feel the spray on their skin, Tank was needing it. The sun felt so much closer up here.

“Oh….” The wonder in Dalton’s voice was worth the hike. That was a happy man.

Tank didn’t say anything, just took in the glory of the place. The fragility of it all took his breath away, and the lake just seemed to really hang off the side of the mountain. The sky was so blue it hurt his eyes, and he was damn glad to be alive.

Dalton squatted down, elbows on his knees, eyes wide as saucers.

Tank nodded. All was right with the world in a place like this. He backed up into the shade of the rocks because his nose was starting to tingle. Sunburn bad.

Dalton took a shit-ton of pictures, humming softly, greeting the few people that came up, nodding and smiling. Lord, you could tell he was the face of the rodeo, the easy welcoming one.

People reacted to him with such warmth, as if they knew he thought they were all special. Tank, now, he was more in tune with the bulls. Head down, get out of my way.

Save his cowboys. It was what he was made for.

He grinned, taking off his hat to wipe his brow. “Glad the rest of the way is down.”

“We did the hard part, huh? You want half a bar?”

“I do.” Man, he was gonna murder lunch wherever they went. He was betting on German, but Dalton was always a surprise.

“Cool.” Dalton pulled one out and broke it in half. “There are two more.”

“Awesome. I’m hungrier than I thought I would be, so I bet we need another one down at the truck.”

“Altitude, right? And good hard work.”

“Totally. Just think of how hard our lungs are working. It’s great for oxygen supply.” Sports medicine. Doc would be so pleased.

“In. Out. In. Out.” Dalton started laughing, the sound filling the air.

Tank hooted, drawing a couple of stares, but that didn’t bother him none. He knew he sounded like a big owl.

“I do love that sound, man. Seriously.”

“Thanks.” He reached out to brush a crumb off Dalton’s shirt.

There was something bone-deep satisfying about the way Dalton’s nipple drew up, just like that. He glanced up to see Dalton smile.

“You do it for me,” Dalton murmured.

“I’m glad. I want to.” He wanted to turn Dalton inside out.

“Well, we’ll get along fine.”

They both laughed some more, and then Dalton rose up out of his crouch. “One more leisurely round of the lake?”

“Perfect.” Then they would go lunch.

They tackled the climb down, which wasn’t as challenging as the climb up, but it had some slippery moments. They made it down, and about ten cars were waiting for their parking space.

“Damn! Look at all this. We planned this right.” Dalton was about sunburned, his cheeks bright red.

“Lord, yes. It’s getting crowded.” He turned the truck back toward town, and Dalton broke out water and another energy bar. They would nap this afternoon, no doubt.

“I don’t know about you, but after lunch, I want a cold shower and a long nap in the AC.” Oh, yeah. They were on the same page.

“I was just thinking that, honey.” He had to touch. Had to.

Dalton’s thighs spread as soon as he reached over, so Tank ran his fingers up the seam of Dalton’s jeans.

It was fantastic, the way Dalton—this relaxed, smiling cowboy—was a pure slut right under the skin. For him.

Jesus, he was a lucky bastard.

“You want to just have that leftover pizza, Tank? We could nuke it.”

“Sounds good, honey. I’ll take you out for steak dinner.”

“Cool. I’m ready to cool off.”

“Me too.” They were on the same page. That was a good thing.

They pulled into the parking lot, then headed down to the hotel. God, he was ready for that shower.

All of the sudden, Dalton stopped short. “What the fuck?”

Tank stopped too, looking around. “What’s wrong?”

“There’s someone I know. Bronc rider. Just surprised me.” There was something in Dalton’s eyes, something a little cold, a little hard.

He took Dalton’s arm. “We can go in over here. I have a key.”

“Sounds good. I’m not interested in being at work.”

“No?” Tank tried to tease a little. “No riding?”

“Hmm?” Dalton met his eyes, curious, and then a grin broke out. “Oh, I would ride you, if given the opportunity.”

“We can do that for dessert.” He winked broadly, then used his key to get them in the nearby entrance.

“Yeah?” Dalton looked behind him with a frown. “That sounds… perfect.”

“Do I need to go tell someone to fuck off, honey?” If Dalton was worried, well then Tank needed to take care of it.

“No. No, if it needs to happen, I know how. I’m just… confused.”

They stepped into the hallway, and Tank made sure the door lock clicked shut behind him. “Wanna tell me?”

Dalton shook his head. “Ex. That’s really enough, huh?”

“Oh Lord. That can suck. Ended badly, huh?”

“Yeah, but you can’t tell them they can’t pay their entry fees.”

Tank nodded slowly. “Is he…? Is this somewhere he would go?” He automatically thought stalker, because Dalton was clearly upset.

“I wouldn’t have thought so, but… what do I know? I mean, no one knew I was coming, right? Not even me.”

“Right.” Neither of them had known until the day they were on the way…. “Okay. Well, you point him out if you see him again.”

“Fair enough. Come on, let’s cool off, eat. I want that nap.”

“Me too.” He took Dalton’s hand in his.

A soft whisper floated to him. “And that ride.”

He laughed out loud, letting go of the worry about the ex. “I want that bad.”

“Yeah. Yeah, me too.” Oh, that was a great grin, and as soon as they made it to the room, Tank took a kiss, and Dalton melted into him, giving it up.

He hugged Dalton tight when they came up for air. “You get drinks and I’ll nuke.”

“Fair enough. Water, Coke, or beer?”

“Coke, please.” He’d drunk his weight in water on the trip back to the hotel.

“You got it.”

They assembled lunch with Coke, pizza, and a bag of M&M’s. It was lazy and easy, and by the time they were done, he was damn near asleep.

He hooked an arm around Dalton. “Bed. I’m too old to nap on couches.”

“Shut up.” They stumbled to the bed and crashed like burning crashing things.

He closed his eyes and that was that. Boom. He sure hoped Dalton still wanted that ride later.