Page 51 of Captivated (Salvation #3)

Chapter Forty-Four

Zeeb had been stabbed one time in a bar brawl. He’d nearly been gored by a bull in Wyoming. He’d even gotten kicked by an ornery foal once. Probably still had the horseshoe print on his ass. Not forgetting he’d had the shit kicked out of him by a bunch of rednecks less than a week before.

None of those moments held a candle to sitting at Robert’s dining table in the big house, a fork poised mid-air, while every single ranch hand smirked at him as though they knew his internet search history.

Lord, he hoped not.

Nate sat beside him, all bright-eyed and innocent, politely asking Butch to pass the rolls like he hadn’t just brushed Zeeb’s hand under the table and then yanked it back like the contact had burned him.

Even if the touch had burned, Zeeb wouldn’t have minded. It had been the best damn thing to happen all week.

Diana sat next to Robert, and she was doing her fair share of staring too. Every time he glanced up, she flushed and averted her gaze, but Zeeb knew when he was being scrutinized.

What he wondered was why.

“You want some more chicken, Zeeb?”

It was an innocent question, but something in Walt’s voice made it sound dirty as fuck.

Zeeb gave him the stink-eye. “Still chewing the last piece here.”

“Oh.” Walt’s lips twitched. “I thought maybe Nate was feeding you under the table.”

Nate glanced up, his eyes as wide as his side plate. “What? I’m not—what are you talking about?”

Butch snorted so hard, Zeeb swore coleslaw was about to come out his nose. Matt put his fork down and folded his arms, his eyes bright, as if he was watching a bar fight about to break out in a monastery.

“Leave ’em be, Walt,” Teague drawled. “You’re just jealous.”

Jealous? What the fuck is goin’ on around here? Is there something in the water tonight? And since when did Teague become the voice of reason? Normally he egged them on.

“I think they’re sweet,” Paul said, not glancing up from his plate. “Like a pair of skittish colts. Only difference is colts usually do something about it.”

Christ, not another one.

Nate flushed from throat to hairline. Zeeb tried not to stare, but it was like watching the setting sun hit the mountain peaks around the south camp—so damn beautiful, so hard to look away from.

Diana took a drink from her wine glass. “I think it’s lovely that young love can still make grown men this uncomfortable.”

What the fuck?

What made it worse? Robert didn’t say a damn thing. Except that wasn’t surprising. Zeeb got the feeling that while he was there in body, his mind was at the hospital.

Zeeb stabbed a piece of potato salad. He didn’t dare sneak a peek at Nate again. Didn’t dare look away either. “We’re not—” Then he thought better of it and clammed up.

Don’t give ’em any ammunition. This bunch don’t need it.

Matt leaned back in his chair, arms behind his head. “In that case, if Nate doesn’t want Zeeb, I’ll take him.”

Nate blinked. “What?”

Zeeb’s fork clanged against his plate.

“Oh, now that got a reaction.” Walt nudged Matt. “Good to know the limit.”

Butch leaned over to Paul and said in a loud stage whisper, “All those nights they spent together in Nate’s cabin and they still haven’t gotten it on? I call that unnatural.”

“I can hear you,” Zeeb said through gritted teeth.

“We want you to,” Butch said in a voice of pure sweetness.

“And how do you know what goes on at the cabin? You install cameras when we weren’t looking?”

“Sweet cheeks, all a man has to do is look at you two to know there ain’t nothing goin’ on.”

Sol laid a hand on Butch’s arm, and Butch stilled.

Zeeb snuck a glance at Nate to see how he was dealing with all this happy horse shit. He seemed like a deer caught between headlights and a truth bomb, gripping the edge of the table.

“Tell me, Nate.” Walt sprawled in his chair. “You ever see our Zeeb here lasso a steer?”

Nate shook his head.

“Pity. What he can’t do with a rope isn’t worth knowing.” He cocked his head. “You good with rope?”

“Oh my God,” Paul muttered under his breath. He took a quick drink of his beer, hiding a smirk.

Nate blinked. “I wouldn’t know. I’ve never tried.”

Walt winked. “But I bet you could have Zeeb in knots in a heartbeat. I bet he looks pretty as a picture all tied up.”

Zeeb clenched his fist under the table.

Someone was close to death. Several someones.

Nate had the feeling he was the main attraction in a play. Only thing was, he hadn’t read the script.

Teague raised his beer and glanced at Butch. “I give it five seconds.”

“Until what?” Nate demanded.

“Until Zeeb implodes,” Butch said with a snicker.

“What the hell are you all—?” Nate turned his head.

Zeeb’s face was flushed, his shoulders tense, his brows scrunched up.

Oh God.

Zeeb looked Walt in the eye. “Walt.”

“Zeeb.” Walt flashed him a smile. “You want something?” His gaze flickered in Nate’s direction. “Apart from the obvious. And who wouldn’t? I mean, look at him.”

Zeeb set his jaw. “You done?”

Walt’s expression was sheer wide-eyed innocence. “Just appreciating our guest.”

Zeeb’s gaze didn’t leave his. “You appreciate anyone with a pulse and a decent ass.”

“And yet you’ve never minded before.”

Zeeb’s face darkened. “I mind now.”

Walt held up both hands. “Okay, okay. I’m backing off.” He glanced at Nate and blew him a kiss. “Sorry, sugar. Guess I’ll just have to pine for you from a distance.”

“We’re done.” Zeeb lurched to his feet and grabbed Nate’s arm. “Let’s step outside.”

Nate’s heart slammed into his ribs as if it were trying to get free. “Yes,” he said, his voice catching.

“But there’s still dessert to come,” Matt remonstrated as Zeeb led him toward the door.

“I think they’ve already got some,” Butch murmured. “It’s waiting for them at the cabin.”

Laughter followed them into the living room and out through the French doors onto the patio. Once they were outside, Zeeb expelled a long breath.

“’M sorry ’bout that.”

Nate was starting to see the funny side. “I think they meant well.”

“Oh, I know exactly what they meant. What I don’t know is why they chose tonight to?—”

“Give us a shove in the right direction?” Nate put his hands on Zeeb’s chest. “Hey. Calm down. This isn’t good for you.”

“Not sure I can right now.”

He smiled. “Then maybe I can help with that.” He closed the gap between them, leaned in, and brushed his lips against Zeeb’s, aware of the tremors coursing through him.

Behind them, someone wolf-whistled.

Zeeb froze.

From somewhere inside the house, Walt’s voice floated out. “You’re welcome!”

Zeeb swore under his breath. “I’m gonna kill ’em.”

“Later.” Nate took Zeeb’s hand in his. “Right now we’re going to take a slow walk down this hill, then I’ll drive us to the cabin.”

“We’re not goin’ back inside?”

Nate’s heart pounded. “No, we’re not.”

Zeeb swallowed. “Look, all the things they said in there. I?—”

Nate stopped his words with another kiss. “Not here. At the cabin. We’ll talk there.”

And maybe we’ll do more than talk.

If he waited until he wasn’t scared, he’d be dead and buried before he ever touched someone the way he wanted to.

And right then he wanted to touch Zeeb.

Without an audience.

They didn’t speak until they got back to the cabin. Zeeb was grateful for that. His instinct told him something was coming right at him.

Something huge.

Nate closed the door behind them, and it was only then Zeeb became aware of how much every part of him ached. “I think I need some painkillers.”

“What you need is to lie down. Go on up. I’ll bring you a couple of those pills the hospital gave you, and a glass of water.”

Zeeb climbed the stairs as though he was wading through molasses.

What made those fuckers do it? When he replayed the supper in his head, he realized Nate had nailed it.

That was an intervention.

His next thought was the shocker.

And maybe I needed that.

He’d been home two days. Two nights in Nate’s bed. Two nights without either of them making a move. Two mornings of waking up with a hard-on, aching to touch Nate the way Zeeb yearned to touch him, to trace the contours of his body with his fingertips, his lips…

Two mornings of watching to see if Nate had similar ideas—and seeing nothing.

He sat on the bed, winced as he bent over to remove his boots, then sank back against the pillows with a low moan of relief.

“I don’t think I’m gonna move for the next few days,” he murmured as Nate appeared at the foot of the bed. He certainly had no intention of going anywhere near the bunkhouse, not after the performance he’d just witnessed.

Nate handed him the pills and the water, and he swallowed them.

“Are you mad?” Nate asked in a quiet voice.

Zeeb blinked. “You think I’m mad because those fools played matchmaker with all the subtlety of a mule kick?”

Nate hesitated. “A little?”

Zeeb forced himself to take a breath before speaking. “Can I be honest?”

That earned him a blink. “I hope you’re always honest with me.”

He sighed. “I’m a little mad because I don’t know what we’re doing here.

” He met Nate’s gaze. “I sleep in your bed, you hold my hand when no one’s looking, you look at me like I’m the last thing you wanna lose…

” He paused. “And I have no idea what you want. Where you want this to go. I mean, we kiss, I hold you in bed, an’ you say that’s enough. ”

Nate swallowed. “Are you saying that isn’t enough for you? That you want more?”

“Do you?”

Christ, this felt like a dance, with neither of them touching.

Nate’s face was flushed. “Yes, but I didn’t think you did.”

Zeeb chuckled. “Then you’ve been missing some big signs, cowboy.”

Nate’s face crumpled—from guilt, relief, or something deeper than either, Zeeb couldn’t tell. “I thought maybe… you were just being kind. That maybe you felt sorry for me. After everything I’ve been through.”

Zeeb arched his eyebrows. “You think I kiss men I pity?”

“I don’t know what you do,” Nate said. He let out a sigh.

“I don’t know what I do, if it comes to that.

” He shifted closer. “You know how it is. I was taught that none of this was okay. That wanting this meant I was broken. And I don’t think I ever got the part of myself back that knew how to want someone. ”

“I get that. They programed you. But you’re re-educating your brain.

” He sighed. “As much as I hate to admit it, those assholes were trying to help in their own way. Trying to show you they’d never judge you.

That there’s nothing wrong with lov—caring for another person.

And I gotta admit, they’re helping me figure out the same lesson.

” He grimaced. “Doesn’t mean I don’t wanna beat ’em.

” He took Nate’s hand in his. “And you don’t have to know everything right now. Just tell me if you want to try.”

Nate glanced at their joined hands, then raised his gaze to stare into Zeeb’s eyes. “I want to try.”

Zeeb’s heart did a little happy dance. “Then try with me.” He bit his lip. “So long as you remember this is all new to me too. I mean, bein’ with a guy.” He smiled. “We’re on the same page, like I said.”

“Then maybe it’s time for the next chapter.” Nate leaned in and Zeeb met him halfway.

This time, the kiss wasn’t cautious. It wasn’t a question.

It was a promise.