Love Means Courage - Andrew Grey

Cliff drove into him. “You are mine and only mine.” Those were the words Len had longed to hear for a long time.

    They went from his ears directly to his heart, and his body reacted, spilling his passion onto his stomach in long white ribbons as Len felt the earth move beneath him, with Cliff following along right behind him, pouring himself deep into his lover.

    Len fought through the haze of passion, looking into Cliff’s eyes as a low rumble vibrated along the ground. “Did you hear that?” Cliff nodded slowly. “I thought it was my heart pounding in my ears.” The vibration repeated, followed by a low rumble, and Cliff smiled as he slipped from Len’s body. “How’s that for a seal of approval?” Len returned Cliff’s smile and slowly lifted himself off the blanket and began getting dressed.
    “Stay with me tonight.”
Len stopped what he was doing, one leg in his pants. “Are you sure?”
    The look in Cliff’s eyes left no doubt. “Yes. I want to sleep with you, hold you, and love on you all night long.” Len nodded and grinned as he finished pulling on his pants, feeling his skin heat beneath Cliff’s passionate gaze. Once dressed, they rolled up the blanket and mounted the horses again, riding back as fast as they could safely go. By the time they reached the barn, the sky was dark and ominous. Randy had already gotten most of the horses inside, and they got the last remaining ones into the barn as the first drops of life-giving rain began to fall.
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    Love Means Courage

    “YOU have a real knack with them, you know that?” Len turned to look at Cliff as he scratched Misty’s nose. The two of them were alone in the barn. The afternoon storm had already passed. “They really seem to trust you,” Cliff added.
    “I think it’s because I give them treats.” Cliff moved much closer. “I think it’s because you have a good heart, and they can sense that.” Oh, he liked that. Liked having Cliff close to him, and he really liked the possessive, sexy leer on Cliff’s face.
    “Come on, Len—you have a kind, caring heart. Why do you think Geoffy loves you so much?” He stepped a little closer, and Len turned from the horse and looked him in the eye, waiting.
    “You’re going to make me say it, aren’t you?”
“Yes, Cliff. If you never say it again, I’ll understand, but you have to say it once. I need to hear it. But only if you mean it.” 146 Andrew Grey
    Cliff stepped even closer, his feet almost touching Len’s, heat from his body radiating across the space between them, close enough he could feel Cliff’s breath against his face. “Yes, I mean it.

    That’s why it’s so hard to say, because once it’s said I can’t take it back.” Cliff brought his lips so close to Len’s he could feel their warmth. “I love you, Len Parker.”

    A sound in the yard broke the spell, and they reluctantly separated, each huffing slightly at the interruption, but neither of them was ready for their relationship to become public knowledge.
    Len looked toward the door as Cliff whispered, “We need to talk about this, you know.” Len turned back to Cliff and nodded as a group of kids that Len recognized as some of Nicole’s students descended on the barn, laughing and giggling as they separated and started grooming their horses. Len wasn’t surprised to see Nicole following right behind them.
    She walked right up to Len, seeing the puzzled look on his face. “I didn’t have time to cancel the lesson. The storm came up too quickly, but I figured they could spend some time grooming their horses and getting their tack ready for the fair next month.”
    “Ah. I figured the ring was too wet for them, but it should be all right by tomorrow.” He led Nicole through the barn, taking a quick glance at Cliff as he did. “I fixed the drainage problem in the far section.” He pointed across the ring. “You can see it looks good now. If it doesn’t rain more tonight, you should be able to use it tomorrow with no problem.”
    “I’m not counting on it. They’re calling for more storms tonight, and I’ve already canceled my lessons for tomorrow morning.” Len nodded, and Nicole continued. “I got a call from Padgett saying he’s in the process of rebuilding his barn. He said we could move our horses back in about a month.” 147
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“Oh.” That was a huge blow to Len, who hadn’t realized that the deal with Nicole was only temporary.
    “I told him that we’d