Texas_Heat- (7 page)

Eli just stood there for a few seconds. That was a first. Eli Martin didn't get turned down by guys he approached to model for him. Jeez, any pretty guy whom Eli offered work to was on him like white on rice. And if that session included kissing and maybe a bit of casual sex then who was he to turn it down? The guys were normally very grateful and he wasn't too shabby at showing them a good time.

Robbie was different from them; he wasn't some muscle-bound gym rat who posed and pouted, and knew the score. That
had
to be what intrigued Eli. He crossed to the house and waited for a few minutes before entering. He could hear voices inside but he wasn't ready for Riley's teasing. That was the oddest thing. He had people tell him he was so many things. A flirt with his models. An idiot in business and shallow with his relationships. He agreed with every one of them.

But something about Robbie intrigued him. When Robbie talked to Hayley he didn't treat her like a kid, he was polite, kind, interested in what Hayley was saying. He was comfortable in his own skin, a cowboy from the core of him to the battered hat he wore. Every line of muscle was natural, born of hard work and delineated by the sun. His skin stretched over a body that just begged to be caught on camera.

Eli was good at what he did; he captured parts of his models that others didn't. From their insecurities to their smoldering sexual intentions, his photos sold products. Thing was, he had never begged a model, ever. Begging tall, blond, and gorgeous was a new one on him. It unsettled him.

Eli hadn't even noticed the door open. "He won't model for me," Eli said as he turned to face Riley.
Riley shrugged. "He's not a model. He's a cowboy."
Like that explained everything. Riley could sometimes be the master of understatement.
"I'll keep trying."
"Be careful with him, E. He's not like your other boys. There's a reason he ended up here and won't go back to Australia."
"What reason?"
"It's his story to tell." Riley's tone was patient and careful. Unspoken was the fact that other men could keep secrets as well as Eli with his illness.
Unease climbed inside Eli. Robbie didn't seem like a guy with too much he was hiding. And secrets? Well, Eli knew all about secrets.
Riley left then, moving back into the house, and after a few moments Eli followed.
Tomorrow was another day.

Robbie slumped down on his bed. No one since Paul had gotten under his skin like that freaking photographer friend of Riley's. Those green eyes of his, all sparkle and enthusiasm, with a gaze fixed firmly on Robbie, were unsettling. And what was all that shit about photographing him. Him? No way was he stripping and oiling and whatever the hell other cosmetic shit that models had to go through.

Fucking though… he could get with that program. He crossed to the mirror on the wall and looked at his face this way and that. There was nothing handsome about his face. In fact it all looked pretty ordinary to him. His blue eyes were clear, his lashes thick, but he wouldn't begin to describe his eyes as unusual or stunning or any of the other adjectives Eli had thrown at him.

"Like a sky just before a storm, all dark and brooding," Robbie parroted and then huffed his displeasure. His hair was thick and clean, if a little awry now the gel had literally fallen dead on the ground.

Pulling off his T-shirt he folded it on the small dresser. Unbuckling his belt he caught sight of himself as he pushed his jeans down a little. His stomach was flat, he had what they called a six-pack, and his butt was more than okay. Although it took Paul some time to convince him about the butt part. And he had muscles.

"Can push you to the ground, Eli Martin," he said. It comforted him just to say the words out loud. There was no way to deny that a working cowboy had muscles. He wasn't particularly hairy—just a small furring of hair on his chest and around his nipples, and a little farther down. His dick was okay as well. A decent size as dicks went. But still. None of it added up to anything more than cowboy. Eli was playing with him, teasing him, and he didn't like it. He'd seen this kind of bullying before and it had ended up with his friend dead.

The knock on the door underscored Robbie's irritation. Pulling his jeans back up he moved to the door and flung it open with a snap.

He stopped as soon as he realized who it was at the door. Not Eli at all, but Jack. Jack who had his hands up in a gesture of understanding—palms facing front and fingers spread.

"Riley sent me over," he began.
"He didn't need to." Robbie was trying to be respectful to his boss but his emotions and feelings were all over the place.
"He wanted me to say that you shouldn't pay Eli any attention."
"I wasn't," Robbie lied.
Jack forged on. "He said that Eli is going through this whole grabbing-life-where-he-can thing and that you are just in the way."
"Okay."
"He'll be gone by the middle of September."
"Gone?" Robbie said suspiciously. "What do you mean gone?" Gone in September implied not being gone now which implied he was staying at the ranch.
"He's staying in Momma's old room for the next few weeks."
Jack hesitated and Robbie watched the play of emotions across his boss's face. From resignation to pleasure, his frown turned to a grin right in front of Robbie's eyes.
"As long as he keeps his camera out of my face…" Robbie warned.
"I'll make sure to tell him," Jack said simply.
Robbie nodded and took the man at his word.
"Night, Robbie." He turned to leave and was two steps down when Robbie remembered what he wanted to say. He hesitated only for a moment; where his horses were concerned he could be very forceful.
"Jack, wait."
Jack stopped and turned.
"I'm thinking we need to call Neil in to look at the horses tomorrow. Just to get a veterinary check done."
Jack nodded. "I noticed Daisy isn't settling well. I'll organize it." Then he left. For a second Robbie concentrated on the horses, on the ranch, but all too soon his other concerns filtered through. Not least of which was that for some unknown godforsaken reason that hot sexy moron Eli was staying on the damn Double D.
Great.
Sleep was a long time coming and according to his watch he was awake every half-hour. In the end, with the dark of the night still black and impenetrable, Robbie pulled on jeans and made hot chocolate in his small kitchen. When not even that slowed him down he gave in to his gut feelings and left his loft. Taking the stairs two at a time, he landed with a thump at the bottom and then made his way right toward the entrance where the new horses were stabled.
The only noise in the stable beyond the normal snuffling and movement was the irritability from Daisy, and narrowing his eyes in the dark, he crossed to her stall. She was nipping at her stomach and leaning against the wooden side. Shuffling from hoof to hoof, she was skittish and the sound she was making could only mean one thing. Climbing the gate, he landed lightly on his feet next to her and could see her heaving flanks for himself.
Hell, he'd never seen colic come on this fast. No wonder she was restless. And she was trying to roll to ease the pain. Fuck, that was always fatal if not addressed quickly. With not one second thought Robbie eased a halter over her head and clipped on a lead rope. After lifting the lock and pushing open the door with his hip, he led her out of her stall and walked her out into the cool night air.
"Okay girl, okay my Daisy," he crooned. He needed to call the vet or the house, but his freaking cell phone was in his room. Fuck. Next best thing… Jack.
He had no way to climb stairs to the front door, so Robbie led Daisy to the back where he knew Riley and Jack slept. Smacking the flat of his hand against the glass of the window he continued until finally the drapes pulled and Jack appeared at the window. Jack looked out at Robbie with Daisy, the drapes closed, and in seconds Jack was out by his side. In his hand he held a cell and was evidently making a call. Robbie listened as he walked Daisy in a large circle in front of the house. Her breathing was labored and for a second Robbie laid his cheek against her belly and whispered nothings to her. Even from here he could hear the noise curling inside her. Poor thing was probably in so much pain.
"Tell me," Jack ordered as he arrived.
"Went down to check. Couldn't sleep—"
"Me neither. Was just going to come check on her." Jack took the lead and urged Daisy to walk and between them they kept her walking until the lights of a vehicle broke the darkness.
"Colic I think," Robbie commented. Keeping her moving was important. If she went to the floor and rolled then her intestines would twist and it would be game over.
Two hours later Daisy was on a drip suspended from the rafters on a rope pulley. The needle was secured with duct tape so that she could move around.
"It shouldn't be more than a few hours until she starts to feel better," Neil said confidently. Jack yawned and Robbie glanced outside where daylight had forced the darkness out of the way. God knows what time it was. The three men slumped tiredly in front of the barn, their backs to the wood, and faces out to the new day.
"Thank you, Neil," Jack said.
"My pleasure," Neil answered.
"If it hadn't been for Robbie…" Jack started.
"You were up too… I just got there first," Robbie defended.
All three looked up when the front door to the house opened and Riley walked out followed by Eli. Eli with a freaking camera. Eli in designer jeans and a western shirt that was more style than substance. Before anyone could stop him the bastard had snapped a picture of the three of them sitting in a row exhausted and covered in God knows what.
Robbie was too tired to argue and he simply dropped his head between his hands, which were balanced on his bent knees.
"What's up with the photos?" Neil asked.
"That's Riley's friend Eli."
"Eli Martin." Eli introduced himself and held out a hand to Neil. Neil offered his left hand, which was covered in way fewer dubious deposits than his right. Eli crouched down in front of the three of them. "Tough night, eh?"
Robbie couldn't help the snort of laughter that he let loose. Suddenly sitting here exhausted and high from Daisy being okay, Eli in his faux-western clothes was the funniest thing on earth. The belly laugh was the first time he really remembered laughing properly since leaving Australia. Jack joined in and so did Neil until the three men were setting each other off as one stopped and another started.
All the time Eli was taking photos.
"I'm calling this a study in Cowboy," he announced.
Robbie sobered for a second. "You'd best run, Mr Photographer, or I'll steal the camera."
For some reason Neil and Jack found this amusing and the laughter continued.
"Coffee, Eli," Riley encouraged.
Robbie watched the two men leave. So different to look at. Where Riley was tall and lean and confident, Eli kept looking back at him, and really, he could stand to put on a little weight. Guy was far too skinny. Hot. Sexy. Gorgeous. But a strong wind and he'd fall over.
Hell. Maybe that was what happened the other night. Maybe the wind blew him over.
He just wished he could stop laughing at the image.

The first models arrived two days after the incident with Daisy and two days after Eli caught Robbie on film. He should be concentrating on the photo shoot but all he could do was stare at the pictures of Robbie that sat on his laptop. In them his cowboy was sitting against the wood, his head thrown back in laughter or shyly lowering his gaze thinking Eli couldn't see him. He looked rumpled and hot and completely and utterly exhausted in every photo. And damn sexy.

Eli pulled himself away from the photos, to actually begin organizing the shoot. Spread over three days, it wasn't a simple 'point your camera and shoot'. There was lighting, makeup, and costume changes just so Eli could capture what the underwear company wanted. Of course, being an underwear shoot there weren't an awful lot of costume changes and there were one hell of a lot of flashed dicks and balls.

Normally Eli loved his job and for a few hours as he pushed and pulled and cajoled his team he was Elijah Martin, photographer. Then with one glimpse of Robbie standing to one side with unabashed curiosity he was suddenly Eli, horny man with a dick of steel.

Fuck.
What was Robbie doing staring at the half-naked models? Deliberately crossing past his team and ignoring all the calls of 'which', 'what', and 'why' he finally stood at Robbie's side.
"See something you like, cowboy?" he said with his best sexy drawl.
Robbie very deliberately looked past Eli to the group of chatting guys beyond. He shook his head.
"I don't do pretend," he said simply. And with that, and a grin, he wandered off back to his barn. A little later, while attempting to inject sexy into a bunch of prima donna models, he saw Robbie lead the horses one by one to the pasture. He didn't recall what Daisy looked like but assumed she wasn't well enough to—
"Eli?"
"Huh?" Eli pulled himself back to the here and now.
"The wood is chafing the models," his business partner Lauren advised. "And it's a bit hot."
Eli looked over at the pretty boys, all slim, some to the point of looking malnourished, and suddenly it all snapped.
"No."
"No?" Lauren looked confused. "Eli?"
"None of them are right. Where are my cowboys who are hot from working and with bodies and muscles… send them and all their chafing bits home."
"But Eli—"
"No. I'll call you." With this he grabbed two waters from the cooler and strode off in the last direction he had seen Robbie go. He left behind the models and the shoot and the come-hither glances from every single model there who thought fucking the photographer was their ticket to more. He didn't care. He was paid good money for the right thing. What he was shooting today was way past wrong. The guys who hired him would have to accept he knew best.
The sun was high and not for the first time today he wished he had worn a cap or something. He felt shaky, in fact he had felt off all day, a little nauseous and his head hurt. When he got back he really needed to take something for his headache and concentrate on drinking fluids. Otherwise he'd end up in the hospital. Again.
He found Robbie working with one of the new horses out in a far paddock, and he was hot and sweaty from the walk so far. There were three oaks that covered one corner a bit outside the field and Eli sought cover from the punishing midday sun. He watched Robbie; the play of his muscles, the movements so fluid and certain, the cowboy with his horse. There were moments of great affection; a touch on a flank, a gentle press of hands on a mane played against moments of strength and dominating will.
Jeez, I've never been this hard and so damn needy.
Leaving the water where he'd been sitting, he strode up to Robbie and the horse. Robbie turned just before he reached him. He looked surprised and then wary as Eli didn't stop walking until they were toe-to-toe. Whichever horse it was shook their head but didn't move as Eli did what he had wanted to do since the very minute he had met this roughhewn man.
He kissed him. Damn, he near climbed the guy. All hands and lips and want, and fuck if Robbie wasn't kissing him back just as hard and just as needy.
"Want you—" Eli demanded. Grabbing the back of Robbie's neck, he punished with the kisses. This was not slow and steady; this was desperate. Robbie finally pushed him back and Eli didn't argue. Both men stood there panting wildly, Robbie still with his hand looped through the guide rope holding the horse.
"What the fuck?" he stammered. He didn't shout, or scream, or rail, or accuse Eli of forcing him. If anything he sounded overwhelmed and uncertain.
"I want you," Eli repeated.
"You don't want me; you just want to fuck a cowboy—"
"Don't tell me I don't. Because I do. I want you. Only you. I want you inside me." Cupping Robbie's face and pleased when the other man didn't shy away, he kissed him gently. "You do things to me—"
"That's your dick talking," Robbie said crudely.
"No. Don't do that—"
"Do what? Tell the truth?"
"I'll give you back all the photos for a kiss," Eli said. He was aware there was desperation in his voice. "Every single photo I took of you when you didn't know—"
"Eli—"
"The ones where you are smiling and the smile reaches your incredible blue eyes. The ones where the weight of the world is in your expression and you look so damn sad. The ones where you are letting Jack in, and Riley, and when you joke with Hayley." Eli paused to let Robbie speak.
"You think you see an awful lot," Robbie finally said.
"I see that and so much more. And I want that more."
Robbie huffed irritably. "Sex—"
"I want more than sex." Eli grabbed at Robbie's hand. "Let's talk."
"Wait. Where are your models? Your work?"
"I'll explain later. Come on." Eli led Robbie and, by virtue of the fact Robbie held the guide rope, the horse as well until all of them were in the shade of the oak.
"Which horse is this?" Eli asked. They needed conversation of some point just to cool the hell down.
"Catty. She's a strong one. Gonna be a great barrel racer."
"Cool," Eli said, despite not really knowing what that meant.
"You have no idea what I just said, do you." Robbie laughed and Eli shook his head. "Do you want to know?"
"Please," Eli said. He settled himself down by the tree, sitting on the ground with his back against the trunk. He passed a bottle of the water to Robbie, who thanked him and then pointed up at Catty.
"She's going to be a good barrel racer because she has strong flanks and legs, and the musculature is typical quarter horse. Barrel racing is a rodeo event."
"Like with cows?" Eli didn't mean to sound thick but he didn't know and he really did want to understand. He had been to a rodeo before and he remembered calf roping and a clown. Other than that it was a blank of alcoholinfused fucking with the guy who took him.
"There's this clover leaf pattern that a horse and rider attempt to complete around preset barrels in the fastest time." Robbie hunkered down next to Eli and drew the shape in the dirt with his finger. "It is mostly a rodeo event for women and it combines the horse's athletic ability and the skills of a rider. It's fast and dangerous. Horses and riders can both get hurt. But the better trained the horse and the more disciplined and experienced the rider then the safer it is."
"I love listening to you," Eli said softly. He was feeling tired. Didn't matter he was cancer free. Sometimes exhaustion stole upon him with no regard for what he was doing or what he wanted to do. The docs said it was neurological shit; Eli tended to pay little attention to any of the negative stuff. He did what he was told and lived life by the day. Except… recently… seeing Riley and Jack together? Hell, anyone seeing the two of them together would want more. Way more.
"I can talk about horses forever," Robbie said. His admission held more than a little wryness and just a dash of being shy. The whole package was like this endearing invitation to sin.
Eli wanted more kissing but he felt a little lightheaded and admitted to himself that he was stupid to stalk out in the sun like he had.
"Sorry I jumped you." Eli was sorry really.
"It's okay. I kind of enjoyed it," Robbie admitted. He placed a finger over his lip. "Though I think I tasted blood." He half smiled. "Are you a wildcat in bed?"
"No!" Eli was horrified. Jeez. Robbie couldn't expect that long-term, there was no way Eli had the energy for all that climbing and jumping and mauling. Then he remembered the taste of this man and he somehow imagined he would love to be crawling and jumping all over him. "Sometimes, I guess."
"What?" Robbie asked seductively. He dropped to his knees from the crouch and took off his hat. Pouring half of his water over his head, he ran his hands through his hair as rivulets of water ran down his shirt. "You mostly a quiet one? All whispers and moans and slippery slow?"
Eli couldn't find his voice over the sound of his dick demanding instant gratification. Robbie leaned in the final distance and dropped the softest of kisses on Eli's lips, only deepening it enough to tangle tongues and taste each other. When they parted Eli had gone past turned on and was now a second from coming in his pants like a teenager.
"Want a hand with that?" Robbie asked. He reached down and flicked buttons open to delve inside until Eli felt the rough skin of Robbie's hand around him. "You're growing on me, city boy." Three movements, nothing more, and Eli was coming harder than he ever remembered from a hand job alone.
Then everything went dark.