Colorado Flames WIth A Texas Twist (6 page)

"No, we were out for a jog. He got ahead of me."

The nurse nodded. "Oh, yeah, that's what he said happened. I forgot."

"Can I see him now? I want to make sure he's okay."

The nurse looked distracted as he nodded and moved to turn.

"Excuse me," James said.

"Yes?"

"Can I get your name, I don't think you gave me it earlier."

"Benjamin Stuart. You can call me Nurse Ben."

"Thanks, Nurse Ben. I really appreciate you looking after Brody while I was gone."

"Sure."

They stepped through the doors and down a hall leading them to an area that looked more like the traditional emergency room. As he moved, he checked for exits, potential hiding spots, and places that were vulnerable to attack. It was disgusting. Other sane people didn't walk through buildings looking for ways to kill or be killed.

Ben stopped and pushed open a door. James stepped through and saw Brody lying in the center of the hospital bed, his body covered by a thin sheet. James spied a white and blue hospital gown peeking out from under the sheet near Brody's head. He looked helpless.

"You have company," Ben said.

Brody opened his eyes and blinked, his gaze settled on James before narrowing then shooting to Ben. James couldn’t have Ben second-guessing their story. Already the nurse suspected that they were lying.

"Brody, glad to see you awake. Are you almost ready to go?" James asked.

The worry was gone from Brody’s face, but James didn't trust that it wouldn't come back and expose the truth. He wanted to distract Brody and he only saw one option. It was crazy, and maybe he should have thought it all the way through. Instead, he moved, and with two big steps he was beside the bed. James bent low to plant a kiss on Brody's lips, not giving him time to move or turn away. Brody stiffened at first and James wondered if he'd made a huge mistake. He placed his hand on Brody’s chest. The muscles under his fingers relaxed as Brody’s hesitancy melted. The kiss turned steamy, much hotter than he’d intended. Brody groaned, sending a warning through James. They were putting on too much of a display.

He ended the kiss and after their lips parted, he stayed bent over, staring down into Brody's eyes as he wondered how big of a can of worms he'd opened. Brody looked confused at first, his brows pinched together and his lips turned down in a frown. He almost missed the click of the door closing behind them. James stood and glanced around, seeing that Ben had left the room.

"Why'd you do that?" Brody asked, his voice a harsh whisper.

"Distraction."

"For who, you or me?"

"Ben."

"Ben? Who the hell is Ben?"

"The nurse who was just in here."

"Oh.” Brody looked away and his lips thinned out more. “Did he ask you questions?"

James nodded and grabbed the shirt Brody had worn when he came into the hospital. He held it up, noticing a few spots with blood smears. "You need to get dressed. The less time we stay here, the less likely any of them will find out the truth."

"Why didn't we just tell them what happened?"

He was so used to living in the shadows, hiding the truth from outsiders, that he hadn’t even contemplated calling the cops. "We don't know who hit you."

"That's why you tell the cops stuff, you know, so they can figure this shit out and catch the bad guy."

James clenched the shirt in his hands and sighed. This was why he had to make sure he and Brody went no further in their relationship. It wasn't fair to ask him to lie like this, but if the accident and the ranch were connected, it could be bad for Brody. They couldn't let the cops know if there was a connection between the attack on Brody and Wild Bluff. On the off chance it was someone only after Brody, he could figure out a way to scare the guy off or just plain stop him. Either way, the cops would frown on James’s tactics.

"I know you don't know me well at all, but I want you to trust me. Just for a little bit. Maybe not with everything, but in this one area, could you trust me?"

Brody sat up and grabbed his shirt from James. He untied the hospital gown and let it slip down his chest. James stared at the expanse of firm flesh covered in a light dusting of chest hair. His dick stiffened and his throat dried out. Brody cleared his throat and James's gaze snapped to Brody's.

"My eyes are up here." Brody smirked but didn’t even try to cover up.

Heat flooded James's face. He'd been caught lusting, and there was no way around it, he was screwed if he stayed around Brody. The guy made him want things he couldn’t have if he stayed at Wild Bluff.

"Sorry."

Brody tugged on his shirt and winked, his lips spread in a huge grin. "Tell me, if I let the sheet drop all the way to the ground are you going to check me out?"

Usually nothing surprised James, but Brody just had. No question, he wanted to see what Brody had to offer. Hell, he wanted to touch and taste Brody, finding out just how far the man would go. But Brody wasn't ever going to be his. James had Wild Bluff to think of.

He turned away from Brody and crossed his arms over his chest. "Get dressed and I'll drive you home."

The bed squeaked and heat flashed through James’s body. His dick was aching for release and then the sheets rustled. If he looked now, would Brody be covered, or would James be able to see his dick? Thoughts of naked flesh raced through James like hot silver, causing sweat to break out on his brow.

"Aren't you worried they'll come after me?" Brody whispered.

James spun back around, finding Brody half naked—his lower half—sitting on the edge of the bed. The fight to keep his eyes on Brody's face was painful. Brody didn't help by reaching down and cupping his dick and balls. James almost lowered his gaze but fought the urge to look. The corner of Brody's lips curved up slightly.

"You want to look, don't you?"

"Fuck, boy, you are trying my patience. Do they have you on drugs?"

"Maybe." Brody let go of his dick and James looked down.

It wasn't that he saw the man’s cock that made him light headed, it was the fact that Brody was semi-hard and going to fully stiff that had him hot under the collar and dizzy as hell. He glanced up, catching Brody's gaze. Lust shone in Brody's eyes and he looked ready to pounce. If his leg wasn't injured, James figured that Brody would have jumped up and pinned him against the wall. James grabbed Brody's shorts from the chair and squatted, putting his gaze right in line with Brody's dick. Breathing in would be suicide, but he did it anyway, taking in the musky male scent that made his tongue curl. He wanted that dick in his mouth, those balls hitting his chin. Fuck, he was screwed.

James held Brody's shorts and tapped his foot with one hand. "Lift and put these on."

"What if I don't want to?"

He stared up at the guy's beautiful face, wishing he had control of his body and mind, but he was fighting a losing battle. "Please, for me."

Brody grabbed James's shoulder and stepped into his shorts, standing while supporting his weight by holding onto James's shoulder. The cock James had been trying to avoid brushed against his cheek. He sucked in a breath, wishing they were really alone. The groan slipped from between his lips, revealing the desire he felt. Brody stilled and tightened his hand on James's shoulder. He glanced up and they stared at each other for a long minute before James tugged up Brody's shorts, covering his erection but doing little to hide the fat dick.

They were standing face to face and James didn't know if he could really look Brody straight in the eyes, at least not so soon after feeling the guy's dick against his cheek. But Brody used his hand to tilt James’s head so their gazes met.

"I'm sorry if I'm teasing you too much. I can get home from here. Don't worry about me."

"Oh no, you don't get out of this that easy. I'm sticking around until I know you're safe at home. I want you in bed and relaxed before I leave." The words were out of his mouth before he realized he’d said anything that could be twisted to be dirty.

Brody leaned in close, his lips right next to James's ear. "You want to help me relax in my bed? Intriguing."

"That's not what I meant," James wasn't able to think properly with Brody near.

The door opened and Brody grabbed for the sweats he’d borrowed, but he started to fall. James grabbed his shoulder and eased him back to the bed.

"Let me help." James bent again and helped Brody position his feet in the leg holes of the sweats before tugging them up. Again, Brody held onto James for support.

"Good news, Brody, looks like you've been discharged. You'll need to follow up with your own doctor in a few days. These pain pills should help you sleep. No jogging, and nothing..." Ben stared at both of them for a long moment. "Just keep it easy for a couple of days. You have a slight concussion, but it’s not too bad."

"Okay, you ready to go?" James moved to walk out the door but Ben held up his hand.

"Not just yet. Brody has to be wheeled out and he needs to sign all of this stuff."

Brody groaned and plopped back onto the bed. He grabbed a pen and James pushed the table closer to him. He began signing the release forms, his head down as he looked for the spot to sign on each sheet. Ben walked out, leaving them alone, but it was different now, the atmosphere changed.

James wanted Brody. He tried to come up with a way to keep his hands off the guy and still be near him, but Brody was too tempting. Delicious like sweet candy, and tempting as fresh lemonade on a hot summer day, James was drawn to Brody. His desire increased tenfold because James knew he couldn’t have him. For Brody’s safety, he had to let him go. Holding on might put Brody in the crosshairs of a psycho, and that wasn't fair.

Ben was back, the wheelchair just outside the door. "Ready for your ride?"

"Sure." Brody sat in the wheelchair without glancing at James.

He couldn’t expect Brody to want to play by his rules, and there'd have to be rules. Talking himself into being with Brody was the wrong path to take, but no matter how many ways he tried to fight the urge it came back to raw lust. He really just wanted the guy.

They were in the waiting room, heading out the front door when two big guys stumbled in. They waved to Brody, their eyes bright. James hung back, not getting too close.

"Brody, hey, I heard you were in here. We came by to see what was up." One of the guys called out.

Ben stopped walking and Brody stood, turning slowly to face Ben.

"Thanks for the ride."

"Anytime." Ben turned to James and shook his hand. He lifted an eyebrow as his lips twisted in a quirk. "They don't know, do they?" he whispered.

"There's nothing to know," James watched as Brody and the other two men walked out of the hospital and headed to a truck illegally parked outside the doors.

"Don't let them win. That guy wants you." Ben turned and walked away.

James wasn't going to fight for Brody, because fighting for Brody meant leaving Wild Bluff, and he wasn't ready to give up his career just yet. Maybe in a few years he'd be free enough to end his gig at the ranch, but he didn't think Brody would wait around for him. It was best this way. Brody could make a good life on his own without James's crap encroaching.

The drive back to Wild Bluff was the hardest he'd ever made. He called ahead, informing Duff he was on his way home. When he arrived, Duff was on the porch, his lips turned down in a frown and two beers on the table beside him. James sighed and stepped out of the truck. He was ready to get his ass handed to him. At least Duff had two beers beside him. It might make the sting easier. Then Grant walked out of the house and sat down in the chair next to the table, taking one of the beers. James’s steps faltered. This was worse than he thought.

Chapter Seven

Grant took a swig from the bottle, swallowing the warm beer. Duff had arranged this situation, hoping it would set James straight. He didn't agree with the path Duff was taking. The last thing they needed was more drama, and he feared this would cause James to freak out. They'd had enough excitement recently. Craig coming back to the ranch, Marshal getting hurt, the fire, the new mission, and now James following Brody around. It was all too much. He wanted everything to calm down, and pushing James like this didn’t seem like the right thing to do.

In the last two weeks since the fire, Grant had spent a few hours checking out Brody. The man was stable, no debt, had money in the bank, and a girlfriend. He was clean, almost too clean. There were a lot of people just like Brody, living honest lives, never breaking the law. But then there were those who used a bland exterior to hide something darker. Being suspicious of everyone wasn’t healthy. Grant had thought about talking to James about the man, but he and Roger had been busy and James hadn’t been around.

Now, they were forced to confront James after he'd called Tucker to bail him out of trouble. That Tucker had to take off during the middle of their work session wasn’t cool. Grant wasn't sure exactly what had happened, but they needed to get a handle on this before Brody and James got out of control. Hell, they were already out of control since James was disappearing for hours on end and not telling anyone where he was going. Had Brody not been in their house and seen their command center, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but Brody was a wild card.

"Come and sit down," Duff said.

James hesitated before he squared his shoulders and mounted the steps. His gait was measured, his gaze on the porch boards. Grant wanted to know why James had snuck around and put himself, Brody, and the ranch at risk. It was stupid to have followed Brody the way James had. Grant's anger rose as the seconds ticked by. He wanted to yell and scream at James for fucking this up so much.

"Why?" Duff's question was quiet, his voice calm.

The anger bled out of Grant. He realized that Duff's way was right. The drama that Duff set up allowed them to sit calmly and chat without yelling. Grant watched James and saw that any argument he had deflated as the quiet question floated over the three of them.