Page 41 of Wellspring

CADE SHIFTED in the saddle as he and Erick rode shotgun on either side of the wagon Javier drove toward Eldorado.

He scanned the horizon automatically, but they hadn’t seen any sign of JR riders since crossing off of Wellspring land, and his thoughts, like his gaze, kept slipping back to Erick.

After returning with the missing cattle, they had finally managed to finish the first of the books from Miss Dawson, at Erick’s insistence.

Despite the tension in the air, Cade couldn’t completely smother the grin that rose to his lips at the memory.

“No, Cade, we should at least look at the book,” Erick insisted.

“Why?” Cade asked, angling for a kiss. “I can think of much better ways to spend our time. Can’t you?”

“Because I do not care to lie to Miss Dawson about your progress, or exchange this for a more advanced book you cannot read.” He opened the book to the letter F — a frog, Cade could tell from the picture — and gave Cade a smoldering glance through his lashes.

“Perhaps there is another way to solve this impasse. For each page you are able to spell out, I will allow one kiss.”

Cade stumbled his way through the spelling more because he was too distracted by thinking about where he could kiss Erick than because he didn’t recognize the letters, but in the end, he managed it and claimed his kiss — on the lips to start.

By the time they got to L — a lamb, and really, silent letters should not be allowed — he’d gotten them both out of their shirts and kissed his way down Erick’s chest to his waistband.

“I can see I should have defined kisses more clearly.” Cade took pride in the hint of a tremor in Erick’s voice.

“You didn’t say anything about where I could kiss you,” Cade countered as he turned to the next page. “Moon. M-O-O-N, moon.” He nuzzled beneath the buckle of Erick’s belt, swirling his tongue around the indentation of his navel, making Erick shiver.

“We are fortunate to have a full moon tonight. We will need its light for you to finish at this rate.” Erick’s voice was stern, but his eyes crinkled in the secret smile Cade loved. “And I am not certain that can be considered a kiss.”

“Then I’ll just have to try again,” Cade said as he flipped the buckle loose and closed his lips over the puckered skin. He licked and nibbled as Erick squirmed, making sure to keep his lips in contact with Erick’s skin the whole time. “Was that better?” he asked when he finally lifted his head.

“I suppose that must be classified as a kiss,” Erick conceded, his voice a bit deeper. He tapped the next page. “Now, apply yourself as thoroughly to your study of the alphabet.”

Cade slid his hands beneath Erick, palming his ass through his thick pants. “I’d much rather study you. I have some promises to keep. You wouldn’t want me to break my word, would you?” He traced Erick’s crease with his finger. “Nest. N-E-S-T. I could make you feel so good, Erick.”

The book page fluttered as Erick turned it, another telltale reaction. Erick could pretend to be unmoved, but Cade knew it was a game, one he was determined to win. “I am certain you could, but we have an objective to complete first. Focus, please.”

“I didn’t get my kiss,” Cade insisted. “I spelled nest, so I get a kiss.” He looked up at Erick for confirmation and approval. Yes, it was a game, but he needed to know Erick was still playing.

Erick’s eyes twinkled as he inclined his head. The game was on, then. “We did agree.” He leaned forward and brushed his lips lightly over Cade’s. “There is your kiss. Now, proceed.”

Cade rolled his eyes at the boring kiss but turned his attention to the owl, the pear, the queen — that was a hard one — and the rock and worked his way back down Erick’s chest after each one.

At snake, he grinned wickedly. “S-N-A-K-E.” He plucked open the buttons on Erick’s trousers, slid his hand inside, and drew out Erick’s cock.

Without breaking eye contact, he bent and dropped a feather-light kiss on the very tip.

He was sure that would break Erick’s control, but though his grip tightened on the book, his voice remained even as he turned another page. “A clever analogy. Though I fear there is no comparing it with a tree.”

“I could compare you to a tree,” Cade said.

“I would climb you like one if you’d let me.

” He thought about climbing into Erick’s lap and riding him into oblivion again, but he wanted Erick to break and admit he wanted it first. So he looked back at the page and spelled out “T-R-E-E” before kissing Erick’s shaft.

With tongue this time.

Erick grasped Cade’s shoulder, but rather than pulling him forward, he eased him back. “Six letters, Cade. Perhaps you could complete them before the moon sets as well as the sun.”

“Or I could finish you instead,” Cade replied, but he flipped the page and stumbled through spelling out umbrella — another sucking kiss to Erick’s shaft — vase — a nibble at the base of his cock — and water — a nuzzle to his balls — but the next one stumped him.

“What the hell is that?” He pointed at the picture, frowning as if whoever had written the book were intentionally cock-blocking him.

Erick frowned too. “Xylophone. It is a kind of musical instrument. I am surprised it was chosen to illustrate a child’s alphabet, but there are not many words that begin with X, even in German.

” He met Cade’s frustrated gaze. “Can you read out the letters? Since it is such a long word, perhaps we may allow two kisses in compensation.”

With that kind of motivation, Cade dragged his thoughts away from his aching cock and back to the letters on the page. He read them out and, when Erick nodded confirmation, took his first kiss from Erick’s lips and his second by sucking Erick’s balls into his mouth.

What? It was a hard word. He deserved a reward.

Erick seemed to agree, if his cut-off moan was any indication.

“Two more words,” he rasped, trailing his fingers along Cade’s jaw. “You have done so well. Let us finish now.”

“Y-A-R-N,” Cade spelled, preening beneath the attention.

He pressed a kiss to Erick’s inner thigh for that one, not because he didn’t want to lean deeper and lick across his hole, but because if he did, he wouldn’t stop, and he still had one more word.

He flipped the page. “Z-O-O.” Another word he didn’t know, but he could sound it out. “Zoo?”

“Yes, it’s — ” Cade didn’t care. He was tempted to toss the book aside, but Erick would fuss if he did that.

Instead he plucked it from Erick’s hand and set it aside carefully as he kissed Erick deeply and thoroughly while bearing him down to the ground.

When Erick relaxed beneath him, Cade released Erick’s mouth and dove for his groin again, taking Erick’s cock as far down his throat as he could.

“It seems — unfair — ” Erick gasped “ — for you to have worked so hard and I alone reap the reward.” He raised himself up on his elbows. “Turn about so I may please you as well.”

Cade didn’t need to be told twice. He scrambled around, unfastening his pants as he went, and when Erick took him into his mouth, he thought he’d died and gone to heaven.

Determined to take Erick with him, he slid a finger in his mouth alongside Erick’s cock to wet it and reached between Erick’s cheeks to scrape across his hole.

Erick jerked and moaned eagerly, adding to Cade’s determination to lavish all the pleasure he possibly could on him.

Erick hadn’t said anything, but Cade was starting to suspect he hadn’t had enough of it in his past. Cade couldn’t change that, but he could damn well make sure Erick had a lifetime of it to look forward to!

“Pleasant thoughts?” Erick’s voice broke Cade from his reverie, the glint in his eyes suggesting that he knew exactly what Cade was thinking about.

He drew Zephyr closer, even though Javier’s attention seemed focused on the road ahead of them.

“I regret we will not be able to spend the night in town.”

Cade regretted it too, but he shrugged. “If we didn’t need supplies, Payne wouldn’t even let us go into town. There’s no reason for Javier to stay the night, and we can’t let him drive the wagon back to Wellspring on his own.”

“We will have other chances,” Erick said. “Or other reading lessons.”

Another lesson like the last one would kill Cade for sure, but he wasn’t going to tell Erick that. Instead he licked his lips. “I’ll have to think of other ways to kiss you, then. I wouldn’t want to get predictable.”

He didn’t say it aloud with Javier within earshot, but he was going to get his mouth on Erick’s ass at the next possible opportunity.

That made Erick laugh out loud. “You are anything but predictable, Cade. But perhaps for our next lesson it will be my turn to reward you.”

As far as Cade was concerned, getting to rim Erick would be more than enough reward, but he kept that thought to himself. “I’m sure we can come to a satisfactory arrangement.”

A cloud of dust on the horizon drew his attention. “How about we pick up the pace a bit, Trujillo?” he called to Javier. “The sooner we get off JR land, the happier I’ll be.”

Javier raised a hand in acknowledgment and snapped the reins over the team’s backs. Riders could cover ground faster than a wagon and team, but the wagon was empty and the riders far enough off that they should be able to reach the border of JR’s rangeland before having to face a confrontation.

He hoped.

Erick pulled his rifle from its saddle holster as the JR hands gained on them, his gaze moving between the riders and Cade. “Not unless they fire first,” he confirmed, “but we will defend ourselves.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” Cade said as Javier slapped the reins against the team’s rumps again.

He hadn’t seen Javier load the seven-barreled Nock gun, a family heirloom stolen off a Royal Navy ship that attacked his grandfather’s vessel as he emigrated to Mexico, into the wagon before they left, but it would go a long way toward evening the odds if it came to a fight.

Except they were on JR land and it would be their word against Reichardt’s and Lutz would take Reichardt’s side and then they’d all be fucked—and not in the lovely, cock up the ass kind of way.

He looped Nahnia’s reins around the saddle horn and set an arrow to his bowstring.

They’d have to stop and reload rifles. He could keep shooting until he ran out of arrows.

“I’d rather not find myself in the middle of a shootout,” Javier called over his shoulder as he urged the team to its limits. “How much farther until we’re off JR land?”

“Just past that dry creek bed up ahead.” Cade gauged the wagon’s speed against the distance the riders had gained on them. They just might make it. “Course, that assumes they won’t shoot even if we’re off their property.”

“Aren’t you just full of joy and optimism?

” Javier retorted. He drove the team toward the creek bed.

Cade winced as the wheels bounced along the rutted trail and hoped the axle would hold.

Shouts echoed from behind them as the draft horses crossed the creek bed, but no shots.

Cade spared a second’s thought to be grateful Burke had made the axle.

For all his faults, he was a damn good blacksmith.

Cade should probably remember to tell him that at some point.

As soon as they were clear, Cade risked a glance back to see Carter and a couple of others Cade didn’t recognize, guns in hand but none of them aimed.

Carter shouted something after them, but distance and the noise from the wagon kept Cade from hearing the details of the threat.

Cade didn’t need the words to know they were threats. What else would Carter be spouting?

“Keep going, but I think we’re safe,” he told Javier and Erick.

“Is there another route to the ranch that does not cross JR land?” Erick returned his rifle to its holster as Carter and the others wheeled their horses and rode away. “It will be harder to outrun them once the wagon is weighed down with supplies.”

“A few,” Cade answered, frowning. “But going around to the north would take a few days, and from what we heard in Austin, Ulrich could give us the same hard time about crossing the Bar U. You seen how rough the terrain to the south is. The wagon couldn’t clear it, especially loaded.

” He hooked his bow back onto Nahnia’s saddle.

“Telling Lutz about this will be as productive as milking a bull, but we should do it anyway, just so it’s on record. ”

“Like his records aren’t as crooked as the rest of him,” Javier said, “but you’re right. If we don’t at least try to report it, then we don’t have any proof of what happened.”

“Now who’s full of joy and optimism?” Cade joked, but his comment did nothing to lighten the mood.

It was just as well he and Erick wouldn’t get to spend the night in town.

The confrontation with the JR hands had sucked all pleasure out of the day.

He wouldn’t be able to relax until they were all safely back at Wellspring.