As much Trent hadn’t wanted to let Ashby out of his sight, after two days near constant fucking and lazing about in his cabin, they had both agreed a few hours apart would be a good thing. Ashby had gone back to his own room to freshen up and Trent had taken the time to do a much-needed work out.

Barry had threatened to check in with him later. He probably had news for him about the next Fixer contract. Trent wasn’t ready to go back to the real world just yet. But he would be willing to pop his head back in for half an hour knowing that Ashby was waiting for him to have dinner together later at the resort.

Although they had shared dinner together before, this would be their first time out in public as a real couple. They hadn’t used the word ‘boyfriends’ yet, but Trent felt they were going that way. At least he hoped so. A small, mostly empty restaurant would be the perfect place to test how it felt to be seen together.

Mostly, though, Trent just felt excited. He’d asked Ashby to wear whatever he felt comfortable in and he hoped he might experiment a little and wear something just a bit flamboyant. Trent wanted to prove he could be at ease around him, however he wanted to present himself.

It felt like by working things out with Ashby he had accomplished something huge. Could this be the start of a relationship that would actually stick? Trent’s heart ached with hope that it might. He rubbed his chest. It wasn’t so bulletproof anymore.

He knew it was a bit early for dinner, but Ashby had messaged a while ago to say he was having tea at the bar. Seeing as Barry hadn’t called when he was supposed to, nor responded to Trent’s text chasing him, Trent decided he would just go meet Ashby and could step out if he got a call.

His mind was preoccupied with the thought that if they had dinner early, that left them the rest of the evening to play. Trent wished he had his motorcycle here. He wanted to take Ashby on a long, fast ride, then make love on a blanket under the stars somewhere. A beach preferably. Trent had always been partial to a bit of public fucking. Not like Raiden and Levi who were always dashing into closets and spare rooms, the horny bastards. But to be out in the open with someone, to feel the elements and them on your skin, it was something else.

Trent couldn’t believe it when Ashby had dragged him out to fuck in the pool, wearing even less than the first time Trent had seen him there. It ticked all Trent’s boxes. He was starting to appreciate that Ashby did that a lot. He was perfect in so many ways.

Trent was already getting carried away with ideas of how they could stay in touch when they both had to go back to their homes. All he knew was, the more time he spent with Ashby, the harder it was going to be to say goodbye.

He was so caught up in his thoughts, he almost didn’t notice when he bumped shoulders with someone in the hall on the way to the restaurant. The white Stetson really should have given it away.

“Well, look who it is,” Kiefer drawled. “Lover boy, in the flesh. Guess you decided to come crashing out of that there closet after all,” he said with a snicker.

Trent took a step back and shook his head. “What do you want, Burton?” he asked. “Why are you even still here?”

Kiefer smiled, although it was more like a sneer. “Oh, I had business. It’s almost taken care of now. I really should thank you.”

Trent frowned. “For what?”

Kiefer grinned, showing off his perfect pearly whites. “Well, I thought I had a decision to make. But…” He shrugged and leaned in closer to Trent. “You took something of mine, I took something of yours.”

“Take?” Trent repeated, not understanding. “You mean Ashby?” His rage flared. “He was never yours and I didn’t take him, asshole.”

“Oh,” Kiefer scoffed. “It looks to me like you’ve been taking him quite spectacularly. In all kinds of places.” Kiefer shivered, that shark-like grin still loitering on his smug face. “You see, I don’t deal with public humiliation very well, TJ. Now you’ve flaunted that piece of ass for the whole world to see, I don’t want him anymore. But,” he added, “I still felt like getting even.”

Trent was angry and confused. He and Ashby hadn’t even had dinner together yet. Where had they been flaunting things? At the wedding? Had Kiefer stalked the photographs of that weekend just like they feared he would?

“I don’t give a fuck what you do,” Trent growled, stepping to move past Kiefer. “Neither does Ashby. Nothing you do matters.”

“Oh?” said Kiefer from behind Trent’s back. “Like selling this pitiful excuse for a resort? You mean things like that don’t matter?”

Trent stopped walking. Slowly, he turned back around. “Sold it to who?” he asked.

Kiefer laughed, hooking his thumbs over his leather belt and angling the gold buckle so it glimmered in the hall lights. “See, I was looking for a new owner, someone who didn’t care about sinking cash into this money pit. Hard work, as you can imagine.” His eyes flashed their first true look of hatred. “It’s a real shit hole, if you hadn’t noticed.”

Trent clenched his fists. He knew the Grand Resort wasn’t as nice as it was in its glory days. But hearing him talk like that was like hearing him insult Trent’s parents directly.

“So I sold the land instead,” Kiefer said. He bit his lower lip and looked very pleased with himself. “Much easier. In three months this place will be flattened and in three years it’ll be a shiny nuclear power plant.”

The air rushed out of Trent’s lungs. “W-what?” he couldn’t help but stammer. “You can’t do that.”

“I can and I have,” Kiefer snapped. “You should have remembered what real power looks like before you fucked with me, boy,” he snarled. “When your pops and all his buddies start crying about their jobs and their homes, you can tell them it’s all your fault. You and that pretty piece of English ass. Oh, look! Speak of the devil.”

Trent turned toward the direction of the restaurant. Ashby was furiously rubbing tears from his eyes as he stormed toward Trent and Kiefer. He barely seemed to notice Kiefer as he marched up to Trent. “Can we talk?” he asked, his voice clipped. He came to a halt, his arms folded and his phone gripped so hard in his right hand his knuckles were going white.

Trent blinked. He was reeling from the news that what was essentially his family home was going to be demolished out of pure spite and now Ashby looked livid with him.

“Of course,” he said, bewildered. “Can I meet you back at my cabin? I’ve just got to – something’s come up.”

“Damn fucking right something’s come up!” Ashby shrieked. He whipped his arms apart and unlocked his phone with shaking hands. Before Trent could work out what was happening, the screen was thrust into his face, showing a blog article.

British socialite tempts TJ Charles away from pregnant fiancée, the headline read. Heartbroken boyfriend Gordon Pritchard tells all from London. Distraught Elsie Hadden contemplates life as a single mom. There were photos of Trent and Ashby at the wedding and one of Ashby drinking a green cocktail in the resort’s own bar, laughing.

Then there was a photo of them fucking in the swimming pool last night.

Trent had to take a step back. He was dizzy from so much bullshit.

“Pregnant fiancée!” Ashby yelled. Tears were streaming down his face. “No wonder you were so conflicted!”

“No, Ashby,” Trent shouted over him. “It’s all lies, it’s-”

The camera flash startled him so much the words died in his throat. They’d attracted a few people in a crowd.

One of whom was Dez Starr.

“TJ!” he called out. “Was one home not enough? You had to wreck two?”

The light went again and again. Ashby staggered backward. “You?” he said. Trent’s head snapped between them. How did Ashby know this paparazzi scumbag? What the hell was he doing here, in Wyoming? “What happened to your accent, Dez?”

Dez ignored him. “He must be a magnificent fuck, TJ, to turn you gay and wreck so many lives.”

“Oh, Ashby here’s a real cannonball,” Kiefer drawled, clearly delighted with what was going on. Trent had forgotten he was there. Flash! Flash! Flash! Guests had their cameras out, filming everything.

“You piece of shit,” Trent raged at Dez. “You made all that up, all of it!”

“Not the photos,” Dez said, grinning and snapping some more. “Isn’t this where your mom died? You decide to piss on her memory some more?”

Trent raised his fist before he knew what he was doing.

But then hands were grabbing him and hauling him back. His dad was shouting in his ear. Darnell, the bartender, was using his surprising strength to help. Bob, the resort manager, was shouting at everyone. Dez was still rattling off his disgusting questions as people pressed in from all sides, his camera snap, snap, snapping away.

Trent shrugged everyone off him and turned from Dez to look for Ashby. He was pushing his way out from the crowd, his phone still in his hand as he sobbed and rushed for the door.

Trent didn’t give a shit about anything else right then. Barry could fix the lies like he did before. There still had to be time for them to do something before the sale of the resort was finalized. Right then, Trent had to get to Ashby and explain. Everything else could wait.

Dez kept hollering after him, but Trent figured someone must have held him back because he didn’t follow as Trent sprinted after Ashby.

He wasn’t going to throw a relationship away. Not again.

Not with Ashby.