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T rent had left Amelia with Jude, and he and Rope grabbed two horses and rope and headed out in the steady rain to find critters.

He wasn’t sure if he knew what he was supposed to do about Fox losing his shit, but he wasn’t sure if it was okay to ask Rope what to do.

It felt a little shitty, but he needed help.

The barns were down at his place, and they’d found some fence down, but it wasn’t terrible.

Expensive as fuck, but not terrible.

A giant pain in his butt, but not terrible.

“So, where’s Fox? The house looks okay. You didn’t lose anything up there, did you? I know he hasn’t done this before, but this would go faster with another set of hands.”

“Both barns are gone. He’s… he freaked out. Puked and went to bed. I’ll go fetch him for supper later if he can…” He didn’t know what to say. No one got hurt. They probably lost a couple chickens.

“Went to bed with all of this going on?” Rope clucked. “He’s worse than Jude. Even Jude got moving once he knew the kids would be okay.”

“I—Maybe he’s got a bug.” He didn’t know. “Maybe I broke him? Do you think I broke him? Is that even a thing?”

Rope and his horse came to a halt to stare at him. “Broke him? What are you talking about?”

“He shorted out. I don’t know if I did it right, taking care of him.” And honestly, he had shit to worry about now—what if they’d lost one of the yaks? They’d just invested eight thousand a piece for the herd. Then there were the cattle, the horses. The barn. The barns were going to wipe out his savings. He was going to have to come out of retirement maybe.

He’d tried to do this whole ‘be gentle with Fox’ thing right, but he was worried.

“I don’t think you broke him, man. Sounds like the storm did.” Rope hopped down, and they got to work on a section of busted fence. “Jude is better at this stuff than I am, but it sounds to me like you took care of him the best you know how, and that has to be good enough, right?”

“Yep. I mean, storms happen. They got to happen in New York, don’t they?” He pulled his gloves on and tightened the wire.

“I don’t know about twisters, but they have hurricanes and the like. They know when a hurricane is coming, though.”

“I guess so… I hope he’s going to be okay. Do you think I should put him in a hotel tonight?”

Rope snorted. “You are new at this, huh? No. You don’t send your lover to a hotel. Ever. You pull him into your bed, into your arms, and you ask him what you can do to make it better.” Rope cut the wire off where they’d secured it. “And then you listen.”

“Okay.” With his luck, what Fox would want was to go to a hotel. Jude wasn’t super enthused about sleeping without air-conditioning and fans and all.

At least it was early November, so it wasn’t too damn hot.

“Amelia seemed okay. How did she do?”

“Good. She was a little scared, but she was focused on the bitty horses.” It felt reasonable for a little one.

“That’s good. And now she knows what to do. I’m sure Silas is telling how he told us all what to do. Jude was so proud of him.” Rope rolled his eyes. “They’re adorable.”

“They learn fast, don’t they?” Trent shook his head and sighed. “I don’t want him to go back…”

“Hm.” Rope frowned. “You think it’s that bad? I can’t imagine. He loves you more than that city.”

“I hope so. I’ll go home once we’re done, check on him.”

“Don’t stress it. Just talk to him. Be real. No bullshit.” Rope took a step back and looked at their work. “We’re unstoppable.”

“Uh-huh. We got yaks to find, man. And about thirty head of cattle.”

“Right.” Rope turned around and looked out over his land, then hauled himself back onto his horse. He pointed into the distance. “Let’s start with those two.”

“Yeehaw, motherfucker.” He winked and spurred the horse on. “Let’s bring ’em home.”

“I’m going to run home, see if the lights are on there.” Trent caught Rope’s eyes, needing a few minutes alone with Fox before he came back for Ames or brought Fox here or whatever.

The lights were on here, so he imagined they were okay at the house, but he wanted to go over, check on Fox.

Chill out.

Breathe.

Talk to his lover.

“How about we keep Amelia? They can have a sleepover, and I’ll make popcorn in the fireplace so they can pretend the lights are still out.” Rope nodded to him. “We’ll bring her back around tomorrow.”

“Ames? Is that cool with you?”

“Totally! Popcorn party!” She wiggled her butt. “Will you feed my kitties?”

“Always.” He winked at Rope. “Thanks, buddy.”

“You know it. Say hello to Fox for us. I hope he’s feeling better.”

“Tell Daddy I love him, and he has to do whatever you say so he will feel better tomorrow!” Amelia called after him as he headed out.

“Will do, baby girl. I’ll have him call!” He walked over on the bike trail, avoiding the bigger of the mud puddles.

His head was throbbing, and he wasn’t sure if he was worried about talking to Fox or not.

Maybe a little…

The porch light greeted him as he wandered up, and he could tell already that Fox had been working. There was a pile of debris that Fox had obviously swept off the front porch at the bottom of the steps.

“Hey, stranger. How goes it? You feeling better?” He put a smile on his face and headed up the back steps. “Ames is hanging with Silas and making popcorn.”

“That’s good.” Fox nodded. “I’m better. I just needed to do something so I—” Fox gestured to the porch.

“Thank you. We managed to find all the yaks and all but three of the cattle before it got too dark.” He went to take a hug.

“Oh, that’s good. Great.” Fox returned his hug warmly, but he sensed there was still some tension there. “I’m sorry about—thank you for—” Fox sighed. “I know you didn’t understand it, but you were great. Thank you.”

“I didn’t have to understand. I just wanted to help.” He kissed Fox’s temple. “I love you. Are you okay?”

“I love you. And yes and no. I haven’t had a panic attack like that since before I left my job in New York. It takes a little while to shake it off.” Now that Fox was talking, he could see that Fox was feeling fragile. Fox was missing that strong set to his shoulders, and something in his eyes seemed far away.

“Well, I’m sorry it happened, but I’m glad you’re back on your feet. Wanna come snuggle?”

“Sure. Yeah.” Fox leaned the broom he’d been holding up against the wall of the house and took his hand. “Den? We could have a fire.”

“We could. It’s nice out here tonight, but the wind’s chilly.”

“I think I’d like to be cozy.” They headed inside, Fox following him, hand in hand. “I’m relieved you found all the livestock. I know you and Rope must be breathing easier.”

“Yeah. I—That would be hard.” He was a little queasy thinking about it, honestly.

He started a small fire, mostly for the mood factor than warmth while Fox went to their little bar in the den and poured them each a glass of wine.

Fox sank into the couch, took one sip, and set the wineglass down on the coffee table, then took his invitation to snuggle seriously and leaned into him. “I used to have episodes like that in New York after I lost Xan, and they got more frequent and worse until I had to quit my job. I felt so out of control. I felt like everything I wanted professionally, things I cared about personally, the people I loved were just slipping through my fingers. I felt like I was on the edge of losing everything all the time. Every day. And everything I tried to do to make it better just made it worse.” Fox took his hand. “It wasn’t real. Well, losing Xan was real and worrying about Amelia, but most of it was in my head. I just created this whirling confusion where everything was crashing in on me.”

Fox took a deep breath and let it out slowly with a soft chuckle. “See? Just talking about that gets my heart rate up, and I’m fine. We’re fine. It’s not real.”

“We are fine. I have to find three cows and rebuild the barns. You’re safe here.” As safe as anyone could be, anyway.

“I know. I feel safe. I know you love me. I just thought about Amelia being out somewhere alone instead of home and safe with us or losing you out there in the weather, and the next thing I knew I couldn’t breathe.” Fox took another breath, but this one was normal, easy. “The barns are important. Just make the calls you need to, right away, and we can get that moving.”

“Yeah.” He was going to have to do that careful. He’d cost out the lumber and all.

“I can give you my miles card if you need to put money down so things can get started right away, and then we can write a check for the balance.”

“Oh, darlin’. I’m going to have to—It’s not cheap, and I’m…” He wasn’t going to say, because he wasn’t broke dick. If he rode a few events and got in the money, he could make it up, easy.

“Hey. No worries. I just need to free up some cash. Actually, I might even have the cash handy. My condo in New York just sold, and I should have that any day.”

“I’m talking like thirty thousand, darlin’. That’s a fucking fortune.” And he’d feel bad, borrowing that much.

Fox turned and looked at him, holding his gaze seriously. “Trent. Let me put this a better way, okay? Listen to me. We have the money. We can pay for our barns.”

He searched Fox’s eyes. “Yeah? You’re sure?”

“I’m very sure. Trent, you can build any barn you want. As fancy as you want. We have money. Real money, I promise. I will show you.” Fox smiled at him. “You can even buy more yaks.”

He swallowed hard, his heart starting to race. “I just don’t want to go back on the road.”

“Baby, you can’t go back on the road. Not ever. And you’ll never have to. We can turn this farm into anything you want. Wait.” Fox pulled out his phone and tapped and scrolled until he found what he wanted. “Here. Look. This is what my condo sold for in New York.”

The number was big. It had two commas in it.

“And I’m not paying New York taxes anymore either.”

“Whoa. I—” He glanced back up at Fox. “I don’t bring near that much to our funds, you know that.”

It wasn’t a question.

Fox took his hand and squeezed his fingers. “You gave me a home. An amazing life. This is just money.”

“I love you.” He rested their foreheads together. “More than I can say. I’d love you if you had nothing.”

“I love you too. We’re a team now. What we bring to this family is everything we have; nobody can ask more than that.”

He took a soft, gentle kiss, his heart hurting with how full it was. “I’m sorry you were scared today.”

Fox smiled at him. “I was. You know, I thought for a minute that I needed to call Claire, but I didn’t want to talk to a therapist. I wanted to talk this through with you, and I’m glad I did. I can’t promise I won’t be scared next time, but I’ll know what to expect, and that makes it easier.”

“You should have seen Jude the first time. He was an unhappy camper. Ames, though? She rocked it.” His brave kiddo.

“She did. I was proud of her. She really did ask me if you were going to die though. It broke my heart a little. But she believed me when I told her no.” Fox picked up his wine again and took a sip.

“I had to get those little horses in to safety. They were just out in the pen.” And he was a cowboy. Critters first.

“She appreciated that. You are her hero, you know.” Fox nodded. “I’m her Daddy, but you’re her hero. Uncle Trent to the rescue. So many times.”

“I’m just the man who loves her and her daddy more than anything on earth.” Simple as that.

“Like I said. Our hero.” Fox kissed him, lingering over it a little and staying close.

“Yours.” He cupped Fox’s ass and squeezed.

Fox set his wine down again. “Where’s Amelia again?”

“Staying over at Rope’s and having a popcorn party.”

“Brilliant.” Fox reached up and yanked his own shirt off and tossed it before kissing him again.

Oh, this was a lovely idea. He dragged his fingers down along Fox’s spine, letting it burn a little.

“I’ll help you find those cows tomorrow. Tonight, everything can just go away.” Fox tugged on his shirt, working the buttons open.

“Sounds great. You can take the side-by-side out.” Tomorrow. Not tonight. Tonight was about flying and loving.

“Mhm. I have a little side by side for you.” Fox pushed his shirt off and went after his fly.

“I want more than side by side. I want everything.”

Fox paused and caught his gaze, looking right into him. “Then I think we should move to the bedroom.”

“I’d love that. Let me get the fire banked. Bring the wine?”

Fox stood, picked up their glasses and waited for him in the doorway. “Love watching you move.”

“Love you, full stop.” And it felt so fucking good to say.

“We’re just getting started. Come on. I have your wine.” Fox turned and headed for the bedroom, glancing over his shoulder at him. “Come on, baby.”

“Coming!” Or he sure as shit hoped so.

Fox handed him his glass of wine in the bedroom and must have heard his thoughts. “Naughty.”

“Yes, sir. I want to be a grown-up with my man. I want to see if you can scream.”

“Yeah? I want to see if you can beg.” Fox winked at him and swallowed the rest of his wine in one sip.

“Ooh… I do like a challenge.” He sipped his and stopped to toe off his boots. That would save them time.

“I think I can make it happen.” Fox went for his belt again, undoing it with practiced ease. Fox lowered his fly and pushed his jeans low on his hips, then touched him with warm fingers through his briefs.

“Mmm… you make me need wicked things, darlin’. You make me want to holler.”

“I understand. Deeply.” Fox kissed him again, fingers pushing under his briefs, hot palms resting against his ass.

He opened up, just offering Fox everything he had. Fuck, he loved this gorgeous son of a bitch.

Fox explored with a hot tongue, claiming every bit of his mouth. Fox was hard behind his fly and pressed roughly against Trent’s unprotected cock as Fox held their hips close enough to make them both ache.

He groaned, his hips rolling, humping up against his lover, giving himself a little bit of zing.

Fox tugged and turned him, then leaned hard until he fell onto the bed. Fox’s chest was flushed, eyes focused on Trent as he pulled Trent’s jeans off and went back for his briefs.

He flexed his abs, showing off a little, letting Fox admire.

“Gorgeous. God, you make me feel… dizzy.”

“Good. Everyone deserves that.” To have someone that made them feel dizzy.

Fox kept staring as he undressed, adding his clothing piece by piece to the pile until he was wearing nothing but his fading summer tan.

Trent held his arms open for his lover, offering him a smile. “C’mere, darlin’. I got a need.”

“Do you?” Fox climbed over him, seeming larger and stronger somehow when he was naked. Fox’s voice was rough with need. “Tell me all about it.”

He heard what Fox was asking. He got it. “I need you to fuck me, darlin’. Show me how much I make you ache.”

“Such a mouth on you, cowboy.” Fox reached for their lube and nodded to him. “I’ll make it good for you, baby.”

“I know.” He didn’t doubt it in the least. He trusted Fox with his whole soul. His body was easy.

Fox kissed him again and gently nudged his knees wider so he could settle between them. Fingers wrapped around his cock and stroked slowly, giving him a little more buzz. His man wasn’t in any hurry.

All Trent could do was lick his lips, staring at Fox as his man touched him, petted him. Fuck him, that was hot.

The pop of the lube bottle was enough to make him tingle in anticipation, and a second later, cool fingers slid across his hole, teasing and tempting. “Just going to get you ready, nice and slick; you just relax.”

“You won’t hurt me.” He knew it. Fox was his man. “And I need you, more than anything.”

Fox let out a little moan. “You’re making it so damn hard to be patient.” He felt that sweet pressure as Fox pushed a finger inside him, testing, watching him.

“Mmhmm… I hear you, but you can do it. Be patient.”

Fox’s eyes flashed. “Oh, I can. I will be very patient. You’re just so smoking hot right now you’re not making it easy on me. That’s not a bad thing, baby.”

Trent loved to hear that—Fox made him feel ten-thousand feet tall and bulletproof. “I trust you.”

Fox eased a second finger in, stretching him gently, twisting them and making him feel it. “I love you. You’re going to feel so good.”

He drew one foot up, exposing himself. His cock ached, so heavy and full.

Fox’s third finger was tight and that stretch burned a little, setting his nerves on fire. “I trust you, too. With everything. All of me. Things I never let anyone else see.”

“You honor me. To the bone.” He cupped Fox’s jaw, groaned deep in his chest.

Fox kissed him, hard and hungry, and replaced those fingers with a hot cock, nudging against him. Fox was gentle at first, teasing them both before pushing inside him slowly. “Oh, fuck.”

“Love.” His eyes felt huge, pulling at the corners. “I feel you everywhere.”

Fox nodded, swallowing before he spoke. “Just you and me in the whole universe.”

All Trent could do was breathe with Fox, feel. Fuck, he was high as a kite, aching for sensation.

Fox settled over him, rocking them steadily, looking into his eyes. “You feel so good.”

“Hope so.” His eyes crossed. “Don’t fucking stop. Please.”

“Not—not stopping.” Fox grunted and rocked a little harder until their bodies were tight together.

Trent couldn’t hold in his shivers, the moans that poured out through his body in waves.

Fox had gotten stronger working on the ranch, and the muscles in his shoulders and arms popped as he worked to keep his balance. They’d built a driving rhythm now, their sounds filling the darkening room.

“Harder. More, darlin’. Please.” His entire body was on fire.

Fox heard him and shifted, thrusting harder, pushing that one knee up higher so he felt it deeper. “I… soon, baby. You with me?”

“Fuck yes. Right. Here.” Words. Go him.

Fox nodded and let loose, hips pumping. His brow furrowed in a beautifully needy way, an expression Trent knew was one of those things his lover only shared with him.

He met every thrust, hips rolling to add his strength to Fox’s. Fuck, he was so close.

“Trent—” Fox groaned and went still for a second, eyes closing to just slits. He felt that heavy cock swell inside him as Fox’s orgasm seemed to take over the man’s entire body—mouth gaping, arms trembling, and a beautiful blush spread across Fox’s skin.

“Fuck…” It took two quick tugs to his prick, added to that hungry expression in Fox’s eyes, to push Trent over the edge.

Fox moaned and rocked into him a little more, then kissed him hard, stealing what little breath he had in him.

It was like Fox had opened him up and put his happy ass back together.

Fox rolled and landed beside him with a soft groan, then those long arms reached out and pulled him close. “You’re amazing. Beautiful.”

The best—the absolute best—he could do was moan.

“Mhm.” Fox held him, kissed his temple, and ran fingers through his hair. “I know, baby. I love you.”

“Love you.” He was floating, just swinging nice and easy. “Keeping you. Forever.”