Earth and Sky

made him smile into the kiss.

    “What’s so funny?” Hunter murmured.

    “You are,” Grant answered as he put his hand on the back of Hunter’s neck to pull him back in for a kiss. This time Grant took the lead, pushing his tongue into Hunter’s mouth. Grant let go of Hunter’s hip to attempt to find his way into Hunter’s jeans. As they kissed, they fought for dominance until Grant found his prize and unzipped Hunter, inserting his hand into Hunter’s boxers and enveloping his swollen cock.

    Hunter pulled back slightly, but didn’t move away. He stopped fighting Grant, his movements seeming automatic, slipping from Hunter’s control. The way Hunter was moaning against his mouth turned Grant on so much, he was rock-hard inside his boxers as well. He resisted touching himself, not wanting to scare Hunter off. Instead, he rubbed the hard shaft in his hands as Hunter was thrusting against the friction until, without warning, Hunter came with a loud moan. To Grant’s surprise, Hunter did pull away this time, hurriedly zipping up his wet jeans and not looking at Grant before grabbing his coat and hat and running out before he’d had time to put them on.

    Grant was left sitting on the windowsill, rock-hard and unsatisfied. He eventually got up to close his door and wash his sticky hand at the small sink in his room. His groin was aching and he took his cock in hand to finish himself off, simply to kill the dull ache, but it did little more than that. He let himself drop to his bed and rubbed his fingers through his short, curly hair, trying to get over his frustration. Why had Hunter done that? Why hadn’t Hunter reciprocated? Grant couldn’t find an explanation that satisfied him. He hadn’t made a direct move toward Hunter before because he knew that Hunter was one of the few men who knew about his sexual preference. He imagined he wouldn’t need to advertise. If Hunter wanted him, he’d come to him; but now that he had, Grant was even more confused.

    The other reason had been that he needed the job. He’d been sent packing for far less than coming on to the boss. For some foremen, the knowledge that Grant was gay was enough. And news traveled. So all his life, Grant had played it like the others, by either staying vague about his sexual encounters or, in groups where it was commonplace to brag, he’d boast about his Saturday night conquests. It was surprisingly easy to lie about taking home some big-bosomed barfly. After all, Grant had had his fair share of women, just not lately. These past few years, he’d only slept with men, most of them nameless and faceless one-night stands, with one exception: Gable.

    Grant had arrived on Gable’s ranch looking for a job. Although the pay was low—much lower than what Hunter was paying him now—Grant had taken the job. It hadn’t taken long for Grant to figure out Gable’s preferences for a companion and to realize just how lonely Gable was. Their transition to sexual partners had been virtually seamless, yet Grant had always thought Gable was holding back, not showing himself completely. Somehow, they never became more than convenient fuck buddies. Grant didn’t even feel like they were friends, so he’d wandered, often going into town to drown his sorrows.

    Grant turned to his side and tried to get comfortable in his bed. He was going to have to get rid of his demons if he wanted to catch any sleep tonight. Tomorrow was another working day, and with Hugh gone, he was going to have to work with Hunter again. Part of him hoped that Hunter would simply ignore what had happened tonight, but on the other hand, Grant wanted some answers too. In any case, Grant wanted to secure his job, so he was going to have to give Hunter a reason to keep him on staff.

    Grant licked his lips, hoping to still be able to taste the other man, but he couldn’t.

Chapter 7

    When Hunter woke up, it was still raining cats and dogs. There was no use fretting over it, though. They’d tied the broken gate up the night before, but if they actually wanted to use it again, it would need extensive work, and there was no use postponing it.

    As soon as Hunter made it to the workers’ office, he knew he’d have to do the mending himself; the storm had dislodged several trees, and the men were already out clearing them and making sure the breaches in the fences were fixed as well.

    “You sent them out?” Hunter asked Grant, who had clearly gotten up before him.

    “Izzie