Page 19

Stone

Stone was stuffed. He’d eaten way too much. Myra had probably intended for them to eat one main dish tonight, then save the rest for the next couple of days. But instead they’d sampled most of each dish and both desserts.

They’d talked for several hours about their lives, their families, losing loved ones. And the more they did, the more Stone came to respect and desire Royal. They were alike in more ways than he’d realized.

While Stone worked the land and Royal worked in an office, they both used work as their way of escaping the loneliness—in Stone’s case, the grief—in their world.

After dinner, Stone gave Royal the full tour of his cabin. He suggested they go back to bed, but his date had pulled him into the den and insisted he show him how to turn on his state-of-the-art entertainment system.

Now, they were laid out on the oversized sectional, watching some ridiculous show Royal was obsessed with.

Stone hated television—despite the fact he had an eighty-six-inch big screen—but he was complying because Royal was curled up in his arms, looking content and warm with the quilt pulled over his lap.

“Is the series almost done?” Stone rumbled, nuzzling his mouth behind Royal’s ear.

He shuddered in his arms before he turned and gazed up at him through his long lashes.

“We’ve watched one episode.” He grinned. “No, the series is not over.”

“Tell me again why we’re watching Vikings ?”

“Because apparently this is one of the top-rated series this year.” Royal shrugged. “I watched the pilot and now I’m hooked. It’s good, just keep watching.”

I want you back in bed. Now!

Stone rumbled and nipped Royal’s cheek.

“Ow, stop.” Royal popped him on his arm, “Pay attention.”

Again, he didn’t smile, but he felt like he was on the inside. To him that was a damn good start.

He draped one arm around Royal’s shoulder, the weight of his body pressed into his as he settled into the rare comfort of being so close to someone. Royal’s warmth against his chest was a balm as the snow fell thick and relentless until it was a white haze outside the window.

Royal’s hand rested on his chest, his fingers tracing small circles in his hair. It was the most relaxing touch he’d felt in so long and he wanted to stay in this moment forever.

But his phone buzzed on the end table, a sharp, insistent vibration that shattered the serenity between them. He picked it up, trying not to jostle Royal as he stared at the screen.

What he saw made his stomach drop.

His phone screen lit up with the town’s emergency alert. He didn’t even need to read it in full, knowing what it meant. He’d seen this enough in his years on this mountain. The storm was going to hit them hard. Big question was how hard.

Gusts of wind rattled the windows, like a warning that the storm had already begun, and it wasn’t until he heard the low hum of the wind and saw the snow falling thicker outside, that he realized how bad the weather had gotten.

He quickly slid Royal off him and leapt from the couch. Royal’s gentle voice murmured something that he didn’t register.

Stone went to his front door and pulled on his boots, already thinking about emergency protocols, his storm equipment, where he stored the extra batteries, and if he had enough gas for the generator.

“Bo,” Royal said around a yawn. “Your chest is my pillow. Come back.”

He turned and saw he was sitting up, looking over the back of the couch. If he wasn’t concerned about the warning, he’d find Royal’s ruffled hair and pouty lips endearing.

“I’m just checking on something,” he murmured, still staring out of the window at the heavy snow.

Royal padded barefoot across the floor, pressed into his back and wrapped both arms around his stomach. “What is it, what’s wrong?”

The question hung out there, unanswered for a long moment. Stone wasn’t sure what to say yet. His thoughts were tangled. Part of his mind was on preparation and if his town would be okay, and the other half was trying to convince him to bury himself under the covers in the warmth of the man behind him and stay there until it was all over.

A storm was nothing new this high up in the mountains…but this was different, this weekend was different.

The town’s festival that brought in tourists from miles away, was tomorrow. The highways had to be clear for people to drive through. This yearly event was what kept the town afloat for the next four months until the spring jubilee.

Stone rubbed his hand down his beard, the weight of a repeat of nineteen years ago settling anxiously into his chest.

“Looks like the storm coming is worse than we thought, Royal.” Stone stared at his phone as it buzzed again in his palm. “It’s going to get pretty bad overnight.”

Royal’s hand was gentle and comforting on his back. “It might not, Bo. The news always exaggerates the forecast.”

“Not always in our case. It’s because of the mountains, they’ll shelter some areas and enhance the wind in others. If the storm hits like they’re now predicting it will.” Stone shook his head. “It could destroy the decorations and stalls, everything that’s been constructed could be blown over if the winds are too strong. Then…”

The wind howled louder, shaking the trees. The snow piled up in thick drifts, already beginning to cover the driveway.

“Come to bed with me.” Royal’s voice was soothing this time, his breath warm against his neck.

Stone closed his eyes and dropped his chin to his chest.

Royal massaged his shoulders. Stone was sure he could feel the knots forming already.

“There’s nothing you can do right now, Bo. You can’t go outside, you shouldn’t drive.”

“I know,” he growled.

Royal stood in front of him and wrapped his arms around the back of his neck until he pulled him down to his lips.

“Let me help. Come to bed. We’ll think up a plan together.” Royal gazed into his eyes, “But you have to calm your mind, first.”

Stone stood frozen, his thoughts running wild. Should he rush to the town hall, coordinate his guys, get some volunteers working, connect his snow plow to his truck and head down the mountain now before it got too bad, and what about the stalls that’d taken him weeks to build?

Royal’s soothing voice broke through the chaos in his head, as he ran his hands through his hair, grounding him. There was a peaceful command within his touch. He wasn’t getting riled up or frantic like Stone’s insides were doing. He just let the situation hang there.

Stone took a deep breath, the cool air filling his lungs as Royal’s heat wrapped around him. He didn’t even realize his fists were balled tight until Royal grazed his fingertips over his wrist, gently uncurling them.

“Come on,” Royal whispered, his voice so gentle it felt like a whisper of a touch. “You’re not alone tonight…let me help you.”

Stone always wore his resolve and stubbornness like a suit of armor, but he fought that resistance and nodded.

“Whatever happens tonight, there will be work to do in the morning.” Royal guided him back to the bedroom. “You’ll need rest.”

The thought of letting go of the stress and worry and allowing someone else to take control felt foreign and strange.

Stone exhaled a heavy breath. “I’ll try to rest, I just don’t know if I can.”

The wind fluctuated from an unrelenting cry to shrill whistles. It was the kind of mighty rush of air that bent trees and sent debris flying.

“I’m not used to…”

Royal winked, his smile so serene and convincing. “You don’t have to be. I’m learning it’s all right not to have everything figured out or do it alone. I’m not going anywhere, Bo. I promise.”

Those words seeped into him, quiet and insistent, and Stone did just that, he allowed Royal’s assurance to sink inside.

“Come on, trust me.”

Stone scanned Royal’s face, searching for any sign of insincerity, but finding none. He nodded.

Royal’s eyes gleamed, quiet victory in his light brown eyes. He pulled Stone towards the bed, away from the madness looming outside and stripped him out of his lounge clothes.

“Lie down.” Royal’s voice was barely audible. “I’ll get the fire restarted.”

“That’s okay, I can do—”

Royal put his hand on his chest, the touch hot and searing as he pushed him until his ass hit the mattress.

“ I said lay down,” Royal ordered, his insistence laced with compassion.

Royal got the fire roaring while Stone pulled back the heavy blanket and got under the covers. When Royal was done and the room was already warming up he stripped out of his clothes and Stone lifted the covers in invitation.

The moment Royal climbed in and settled his delicate body on top of his, the worry fled from him like the sun chasing dark clouds away.

Stone closed his eyes as Royal ran his soft hands over his tight shoulders. His touch alternated from light and soothing to a firm tension-melting massage.

Stone gripped Royal’s hips while he gyrated over his pelvis, grounding his ass on his cock. There was a hypnotic magic to Royal’s way of comfort.

Stone arched his neck as Royal bent over him and licked a long path over his throat before he nuzzled his beard.

Their moans blended like a sensual song.

Every caress felt as if Royal was infusing his peaceful energy into him.

It was only minutes before Royal had lured his mind and body into deep tranquility.

Stone was so lost to the sensations that when Royal gripped their erections in both hands and began to stroke them with slow pulls, any thoughts of impending danger faded from his mind.

“Fuck, Royal,” he groaned.

“I only want to make you feel good, Bo,” Royal whispered, tightening his grip. “Let me give you that.”

Stone nodded, his teeth clenched as the pleasure became so much, so fast. Royal’s voice, his touch, his declarations were everything he’d needed.

He stared at their cocks pressed together, thrusting harder, chasing that goodness Royal was promising him.

“Yes,” Royal hissed, throwing his head back as the first gush of warmth hit Stone’s chest.

Stone toppled over the edge after him, their seed mingling across his abdomen and over Royal’s hands as his strokes slowed to an erratic crawl.

Stone began slip towards a peaceful slumber after his second orgasm. The last thing he remembered wasn’t the roaring of the storm, or the blistering cold through the unseen cracks in his cabin walls, or the thoughts of his town, but the warm wash gliding over his abdomen and the comfort of Royal’s arms wrapped tightly around him as he slept through the night.