Earth and Sky

covering that?” Grant asked in a subdued voice once all the other guys had left.

    “Yeah, we’ll need to pull our weight tomorrow. It will look less suspicious, but I think we can leave by two,” Hunter replied with a soft smile.

    Grant felt his heartbeat pick up. “I know a place we can go. Can we take your truck? My bike’s a bit—”

    Hunter chuckled. “I’m not climbing on the back of your bike and clinging to you like a girl, thank you.”

    Grant cocked his head and smiled. “They’re talking about rainstorms again anyway, so we’d be more comfortable with some sort of roof over our heads.”

    Hunter nodded in agreement, and Grant thought he saw anticipation in Hunter’s face as well. Or maybe it was the memory of the last time they’d been in a truck together during a lightning storm. Hell, the memory made him grow hard as well. He took a step toward Hunter, but Hunter moved away.

    “Tomorrow,” Hunter said quietly.

    “Yeah,” Grant acknowledged. He was a little disappointed that, after several days apart, he didn’t even get as much as a kiss, but then, being inside the big house intimidated him as well, so he didn’t push for it. They’d have tomorrow night in a motel room somewhere, and then there would be no chance of anyone looking over their shoulders or of someone overhearing the sounds they made. They’d be able to spend their passion on each other and have time afterward to talk.

    On his way out, Grant encountered a very agitated Tim. “Need to talk to Hunter.”

    “He’s in the office,” Grant said, pointing at the still-open door. Worried about what caused Tim’s agitation, he followed the wrangler inside.

    “It’s two horses this time, Hunter. One of last spring’s foals and one a year older.”

    “Any signs of that cougar?” Hunter asked, getting up from behind his desk.

    Tim frantically shook his head. “Dave thinks he saw her yesterday, but he wasn’t sure.”

    “Any signs of a struggle near the fields where the horses are?” Hunter asked.

    Grant saw the concern in Hunter’s eyes but also saw how calm he stayed, despite Tim’s agitation. It was obvious Hunter was thinking through all the possibilities in his head before deciding on his best option.

    “I’m riding out there now,” Tim replied. “I thought you needed to know first, boss.”

    Hunter patted the younger cowboy’s back with his big hand. “I’ll come with you.”

    “Me too,” Grant said. He saw both men turn their gaze in his direction. “If there’s a hungry cougar on the loose, there’s safety in numbers.”

    Tim ran out to the stables, and Hunter and Grant followed more slowly.

    “You really think it’s a cougar?” Grant asked.

    Hunter shook his head. “If it was just one or two foals, then yes, I’d bet on a hungry mama cougar with a litter of cubs, but two horses at once? And a one-year-old? Cougars are big cats, but I don’t see one tackling an almost full-sized horse and dragging it off into the woods. Now, if we find a half-eaten carcass, then my bet’s on the cat again.”

    Grant nodded in agreement as they turned the corner to the stable block that housed Raven and Belle. In record time they saddled their horses and rode out to the south range, a rifle in Hunter’s saddlebag.

    Grant knew their weekend away was in jeopardy unless they found clear evidence of either a cougar or horse thieves.

Chapter 18

    After another fruitless search, Hunter sank down onto his bed. It was past midnight, and he was dead tired. Of course he hadn’t slept much since his virtually sleepless night in the barn, and that was the reason for his extreme fatigue, but he still smiled when he thought about the reason for staying up all night. It didn’t take a lot of imagination to remember Grant’s rough, calloused hands all over him, the rasp of Grant’s beard against his neck, the hot, wet mouth latching on to his nipples, his stomach, his cock and balls. As he crawled under the covers, he couldn’t resist stroking himself, touching his erection, and imagining it was Grant touching him.

    Fuck! Who would have ever imagined that the things that turned him on in his imagination and that he’d always found impossible to understand were even better when he experienced them in real life? Now he’d had time to mull over the happenings of the last few days, some things had become clear. Hunter’s occasional girlfriends had always been small and delicate; even Miranda,