Page 11 of The Aster Valley Collection, Vol. 1

GENT

I was so tired. Never before had I felt so tired deep in my bones.

The effort of craving something and not being able to have it was exhausting.

I thought about Winter all day and night.

His voice, his laughter, his passionate way of telling a story.

His warm skin and gentle touch. His fat dick and tight ass.

All of him. I craved it around the clock.

Was this what it was like to finally fall in love with someone?

I’d called my sister, Rae, and asked her what the fuck was wrong with me. She’d laughed and told me I’d finally been properly speared by Cupid’s arrow.

Being hit with an arrow hurt like hell.

“You,” I said in a voice rough from sleep.

“All I want is you.” My eyes stung just looking at Winter’s beautiful face.

In the three and a half weeks we’d spent together in Aster Valley, I’d learned so much about him.

He was kind and giving, funny and smart.

He cared about his patients and about making people’s lives better.

He was curious about the world around him and took pleasure in wandering aimlessly through the wintery forest behind the cabin or window-shopping in town.

It was so cliché, but he really was everything I’d never known I wanted or needed.

And I needed him like air. Like water. Like singing.

He looked nervous and flustered at my words. “I’m yours for the taking. You have to know that by now,” he said softly. “But…”

My stomach rolled. “But?”

I saw him reach out to scratch Dillie on the head. “But, I mean… you’re a famous musician. You live a big life. I don’t really know how…”

“I have ideas,” I said, trying to allay his fears. “I want to talk to you about them when we see each other again. You’re going to stay with me in LA. Okay?”

He smiled with excitement. “I get to see your fancy house and the view? Can I meet Uncle Doran, too?”

I nodded. Doran had patiently listened to me talk about Winter nonstop on this trip. Every time I brought Winter’s name up again, I expected Doran to roll his eyes, but instead, he smiled affectionately at me. “About time,” he said at one point.

“Doran is going to knock me over in his effort to get to you. He’s heard so much about you, he probably feels like you’re best friends at this point.”

Winter looked surprised. “Really? You told him about me?”

I closed my eyes and laughed. “You really don’t get what I’m saying, and I find that pretty adorable.”

“I don’t want to be adorable. I want to be hot and sexy,” he teased.

I pulled down the sheet to show him my morning wood. “You’re that, too.”

Winter’s eyes turned molten. “Fuck.” He scrambled off the sofa and into the bedroom where I got intermittent flashes of him shucking his clothes. He finally got on the bed and propped the phone where I could see him.

This wasn’t the first time we’d had video sex even though every time felt as hot as the first.

I opened my mouth to tell him what to do. I’d discovered early on that he loved it when I took that role. But this time he beat me to it and changed the game.

“I want to see your hole,” he breathed, reaching for his cock with lube-slicked hands.

I immediately moved my phone for a better angle for him.

“I want to jack off while you finger yourself. I want to imagine your fingers are my dick and I’m shoving it inside your hot nggghh .

” He groaned and rolled his eyes back as his dick jerked in his hands. “Fuck, just like that.”

I spit on my fingers and teased him by teasing myself for the camera.

He made incredibly dirty noises as his stroking sped up, and my dick got even harder.

Pink streaks painted his neck and chest, and his heavy breathing filled my ears.

The purple tip of his cock peeked in and out of his grip as he stroked.

This was going to be quick and dirty.

“Fucking your tight hole feels so good,” he slurred. “Want to do it all night. I think about the time I fucked you outside. Your hands on the porch railing and the snow coming down.”

Memories of that hot night filled my head.

The fear of being caught by someone driving by.

The rough bite of the wood against my hands as I braced myself and the bitter cold air on my hot skin as he worked me over.

The images were enough to bring my release to the edge.

I spit in my hand again and moved my hand to my dick.

“Come for me,” I said in a gruff voice. “Come inside me. Fill me up with your hot spunk until it runs down my legs all day.”

“ Fuck. Oh god .” His body clenched and then spasmed, white jets shooting from his dick and landing on his chest and belly. I could almost smell the warm scent of his release on his sweaty skin.

My own climax hit just as hard. I cried out his name and tried to prolong the incredible feeling with extra pulls and squeezes.

When I finally relaxed into the bed and opened my eyes again, the look on Winter’s face was indescribable.

The emotion between us felt alive with an electric combination of desire and promise.

“Come home to me,” he said softly.

“As soon as I can,” I murmured. “And then I don’t want to ever leave you again.”

Ten more days. Ten more days until I would see him in LA. It seemed like forever, but thankfully the days were packed with scheduled events and time finally passed. I was so tired on the flight home, I slept almost the entire way. When we landed, I was wired.

Winter was coming.

The concert was packed. A hometown crowd was always exciting and special, but knowing Winter was in the crowd somewhere, and I would get to see him after the concert… well, it was amazing.

We started off the concert with a few audience favorites. By the time we got ready to begin the next song, I still couldn’t find him. It was distracting and off-putting. What if he wasn’t there? What if something had happened?

“Before we start this next one, I need to ask a quick question,” I said to the screaming fans. The cheers and shouts were deafening, so I laughed and made a shushing gesture with my hand. “There’s someone special here tonight, and I can’t put my eyes on him. Winter? Where are you, sweetheart?”

I heard the light chuckles from my bandmates behind me. I was sure they weren’t surprised since they’d heard me talk about Winter nonstop for three months.

Suddenly, I saw movement way over to the right about five rows back. I’d sent him a front-row-center ticket, but somehow he’d been put in the wrong spot.

He moved up to the front and stood just below the stage.

His eyes were bright, and he looked so pretty I wanted to cry.

I heard the rumbles of the crowd as they began to put two and two together to realize I was talking about a man.

I didn’t care, which was stupid of me. I should have worried more about protecting him, but I didn’t. Not then.

“Come up here, please?” I asked. “I have a song to sing for you.”

He put a shaking hand in front of his mouth while one of our security guys escorted him onstage. He looked nervous, but hot. He wore jeans that were made for his fit body and a dark, heather-blue T-shirt that clung to his pecs and biceps like a caress.

I left the microphone and walked over to take him in my arms. I squeezed the life out of him. “God, I missed you so much,” I whispered into his ear. His entire body was trembling. “This okay?” I asked, pulling back to see his answer.

Winter nodded. His cheeks were flushed deep pink, and he looked like he was in a bit of a daze, but he also didn’t seem bothered by the attention like I feared.

I grinned at him. Finally he was here. With me.

I leaned in and kissed him full on the lips, clasping the side of his face with one hand. The crowd went crazy while I took my fill of him.

It was Winter who pulled away this time. Now his face was beet red, and he let out a nervous laugh. “Well, that was a statement. Not sure if you meant it that way or not.”

I met his eyes. “I definitely did. Have a seat. I want to sing to you.”

He followed me back to the microphone and sat on the stool I gestured to.

I took the one next to it and faced the crowd.

“First of all, I need to apologize to this man for making a spectacle of him. I didn’t really think that through, did I?

” The crowd screamed its support. “But he’s the reason this next song came about.

In fact, he’s the reason several of my newest songs came about. ”

I picked up my guitar and shot him a quick wink before looking back at the crowd. “This song is called ‘The Road Home,’ and it’s about finding your home where you least expect it.”

I began playing the opening chords, my fingers moving across the strings from muscle memory after all the hours I’d spent writing, perfecting, and practicing the song.

On my way to you, I took the winding path,

Always thinking I preferred the constant motion.

Afraid to stop, for fear of losing my momentum,

I kept going, kept traveling, avoiding any emotion.

But then I saw you there, standing in the roaring crowd,

And my whole life took a turn.

I saw Winter’s eyes fill as his hands came up to cover his mouth.

It turned to you.

My fingers danced over the riff, and I smiled at him. Singing these words was like letting go of a deep breath and finally letting my shoulders fall.

On my way to you, I learned a thousand lessons,

Who I am, who I’ve been, and where I’m going.

But I never saw beyond the curve ahead.

I walked this winding path of life alone, unknowing,

That the crazy path, the lonely road, led home to you.

And my whole life took a turn.

It turned to you.

He was full-on crying now, the tears on his cheeks catching in the stage lights. The crowd had gone stone silent as my low words and soft chords filled the air.

I sang to him about finding my way home to him as the words settled deep into my heart and all of my fears blew away like dandelion fluff. He was my home, and no matter what happened with my job or his, we would hopefully travel the road together.

When I finished the song, the silence lasted for a few more beats before the entire concert venue shot to their feet and roared with cheers and applause.

Before I had a chance to even put my guitar down, Winter crashed into me, grabbing the back of my head and kissing me hard on the mouth. I scrambled to turn off the microphone to protect our privacy in the moment.

“I love you,” he said. “I love you so much, and I was so scared you?—”

I cut him off with another kiss before pulling back and meeting his eyes. “I love you, too. I want to come home to Aster Valley and build a life with you.” I searched his eyes for his true feelings on my crazy plan. “I know we haven’t known each other very long but?—”

Tears spilled again as he nodded and gave me a wobbly smile. “You sure?”

“More than anything,” I said. “I’m yours, if you’ll have me. And I hope you do because… you belong to me.”

The rest of the night passed in a crazy whirlwind of adrenaline and emotion. The crowd’s energy was insane. Winter sat on a stool offstage where he could watch without being mobbed, but as soon as we eventually left the arena, it was a mob scene.

Two burly security guys wrestled us through the throngs and into a dark SUV limo where Uncle Doran already sat with an open bottle of champagne and several glasses.

“Fucking finally,” he said, filling glasses and passing one to Winter then me before clinking them in a toast. “To new beginnings. Now, let’s get you two back to the house and tucked into bed.

I’ve already scheduled a full weekend of looking at properties when we arrive in Aster Valley tomorrow, so you’ll need your rest. Naturally, I focused on the ones with large guesthouses.

I have a feeling you two will want some privacy.

” He winked at Winter, who blushed deep red.

“Winter, meet Doran,” I said before taking a sip of champagne and letting the bubbles fizz along my tongue. “Why are we leaving LA so soon? I thought I’d show Winter around a little first?”

Doran sighed and patted my leg. “Oh, hon. You have no idea what you’ve just set into motion, have you? The media is soiling itself with the news that Gentry Kane is not only gay, but in love with an unknown hunk of man candy. You’ve just unleashed the Kraken, darling.”

The reality of it came crashing down on me. I turned to Winter and took his hand in mine. “He’s right. I’m so sorry. I should have thought things through better. I should have talked to you about it first.”

He didn’t look as freaked-out as I suddenly felt. “Gent, do you think it would have been possible for us to date without the media finding out?”

Doran scoffed.

I sighed and shook my head. “Not really. Not in the age of cell phones.”

“Then, what’s the difference? You just need to teach me how you want me to handle it. I know your reputation and your brand is important to you, and I don’t want to mess anything up for you guys.”

“I love him,” Doran said decisively before sitting back and crossing his legs. “We’re keeping him.”

“That’s not even up for debate,” I said.

“But we’ll need to beef up security until the news dies down.

” Doran met my eyes and nodded. I trusted him to take care of it because he knew how important it was to me to keep Winter happy.

And I was going to probably suck at relationships, so I needed all the help I could get to keep additional stressors like the paparazzi out of our way.

I leaned back against the cool leather seats and pulled Winter with me. He leaned against my shoulder and began telling me his favorite parts of the concert.

It turned out, he’d swapped seats with a young teenager who’d had a cast on her broken leg. “There was no way she’d be able to see once everyone started jumping up,” he explained. “So I gave her my spot.”

Doran met my eye again and smiled. Lucky bastard , he mouthed.

He was right. And maybe one day I’d write another song about it.