GLITTER GULCH

Chapter 30: Hard Day's Night

As soon as the bedroom door shut, Rowan attacked Anubis, one hand fumbling for the lock on the door while the other groped something far more intimate. Breaking the wet, sloppy kiss, he breathed, "I thought they'd never leave."

A smooth chuckle and nimble fingers deftly unbuttoned his pants and snuck inside, causing him to hiss, purr and harden all at once. "No wonder you know exactly what to do."

Anubis stiffened.

"Ugh. I'm sorry. That didn't come out quite the way I meant it. I honestly appreciate the fact that you are… were a whore. There's nothing quite like experience."

Grey eyes peeked through red lashes. "Are you serious?"

"Hell, yeah," Rowan said as he gave the ass a squeeze. "Makes it a lot funner. No need to worry about inhibitions getting in the way."

A slight pause as if Anubis were weighing his words. "You are serious, aren't you?"

Exasperated, Rowan almost threw his hands up in the air, but they liked exactly where they were. "YES. I wouldn't lie about something like that. I just wish you'd trusted me enough to tell me sooner, ya know?"

A frown marring a tanned forehead. "Well, the… others haven't been as understanding as you apparently are about my… situation."

Rowan's tongue darted out and swiped a small path across Anubis' lips. "Then they don't know what they're missing. And I'm glad they weren't… that means I get you all to myself." A hand suggestively rubbed the special spot between Anubis' legs. "I'm not going to let you take that money from Sage though. I'll do it. You can… pay me back, personally."

"You have that kind of currency?"

"Oh, yeah, you're not the only one with secrets."

"So where did you guys get all this money?" A nibble on an ear kissed by blue strands.

"Ugnh, keep doing that and I might tell ya."

But Rowan never got around to telling Anubis where the money came from. He didn't get to do much talking other than guttural vowel sounds for the next few minutes.

"And just what are the terms of payment?"

Peppermint breath against a naked collarbone. "Just that you… compensate me - with interest - for my donation to your worthwhile cause." Shivers followed the finger trail down his back.

"Interest? How much interest are we talking about here?"

"One hundred percent. Exclusive interest and rights of possession." A gasp as nimble fingers closed over hardened, blood-engorged flesh.

"For how long?" A purr beside his ear.

"For the rest of your life." A wet tongue followed by breathy kisses down his neck.

"That's a long time. How can you be sure I'll uphold my end of the bargain?"

"Easy," Rowan moaned. "I'll just have to make sure I keep your interest."

The hand tightened and stroked him as a peppermint-flavored tongue invaded his mouth.

*Well, you definitely have it now.*

Rowan caught the unvoiced thought and marveled at it briefly before his thought processes shut down and his body's desire shot skyward. "Oh, god, I love you," he managed to breathe right before a moistened finger pushed inside his body. How in the hell did Anubis do that? How did he get Rowan's clothing undone without his being aware of it? Not that Rowan was complaining. On the contrary, he wriggled his ass and groaned.

Then he was being lifted off the floor and thrown onto the bed. And before he could take off his boots to get his pants off the rest of the way, Anubis was on top of him and IN him.

"Oh, shit!" Rowan screamed, not caring in the least if anyone else in the house heard him or not. This was the most primal, base sex he'd ever had and it was wonderful! Anubis hadn't even bothered pulling his own pants down farther than was necessary. They were merely unfastened enough to free his dick.

Rowan couldn't breathe and Anubis didn't wait for his body to adjust before pulling out and slamming back in. The old wooden bed creaked and groaned with every forceful thrust, and Rowan's body literally sank into the down mattress. His fingernails raked trails across the tan, broad back and tendrils of burgundy hair tickled his chest and face. His feet rocked in the air, his legs as wide as they could go, giving Anubis as much access to his body - to go in as deep as he could unhindered. The redhead was silent, but Rowan could smell peppermint and ginger. Two tastes that were quickly becoming his favorites.

Kento tossed and turned. Well as much as he could on the sofa in the living room. It wasn't quite big enough for his musculature, but it was going to have to do. He didn't get to sleep in his room tonight. A certain whiny-voiced Englishman had confiscated his bed and his sleeping partner.

It just wasn't fair.

It had been a relief when the others had returned. Although none of them were quite talkative or informative about what exactly had happened, Kento knew. Somehow he knew. He knew that Rowan had been chased by some sort of half-human creature and fallen down the pit. He knew that somehow the blue orb the Yankee carried saved his friend's life. He knew the heated argument between Rowan and Sage had stemmed from jealousy. Something he'd felt about Rowan on occasion. Something he was feeling about Cye right now.

Oh he wasn't exactly sure what was going on behind that closed door, but he had a rough idea. Philip hadn't exactly been shy about his sexual attraction to Cye. Kento had even heard a snippet of a conversation between the two where his redheaded Englishman was telling the whiny prick that it wasn't proper to do that in Rosemary's house, and Philip's retort that he hadn't come all this way just to be shoved aside by the man he loved.

That had caused a loud snort from Kento.

When two sets of eyes settled on him, he decided he should leave the vicinity and let the two… lovebirds… have their privacy.

The room was quiet now, except for heated whisperings every now and then. Probably fighting over the sex issue again.

Kento sighed and tried to roll over to get more comfortable. It was no use. He wasn't going to be able to sleep on this settee. Yanking a cushion and a couple of the small pillows off of it, the mountain man decided to try the floor on for size. Sure, it might be harder, but was a hell of a lot bigger and he wouldn't have to worry about falling off it.

Just as he set the pillows on the floor, the door to his room opened. A sniffling, teary-eyed Cye closed the wooden door softly and started when he saw Kento.

"Oh, Kento… You're still up? I haven't kept you awake, have I?"

How could Kento tell his English beauty that yes, he had kept him awake?

Of course, the screaming and moaning coming from Rowan's room wasn't helping matters any.

"No, not at all. It's this damned couch. I was just about to try the floor. Care to join me?"

Cye sniffed and nodded. "May I?"

Kento's heart beat a little faster, and he shifted so he was sitting on the cushion with his back resting against the couch. "I wouldn't have asked if I didn't mean it." He patted the spot next to him.

Cye nodded again and settled next to the mountain man.

"So what gives? How come you've been crying?" Kento eased closer and wrapped one muscular arm around the schoolteacher, nestling Cye's head against his shoulder.

The Brit's lower lip trembled, but he didn't say a word.

"Cye?" Kento hugged him closer. "Cye, what's wrong? Are you okay? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

The schoolteacher shook his head. "No. No."

Caramel brown eyes narrowed. It was clear that Cye was holding something back. With his ire rankled against a certain whiny prick, Kento struggled to stay seated and not go beat the shit out of said prick.

"What did he do, Cye?" The tone left no room for negotiations or argument.

"Nothing…" A sniffle and the schoolteacher's hands clung to Kento's shirt. "He told me that I'm going home. Back to England. I leave tomorrow!" Cye was now sobbing, tears leaking from his beautiful green eyes.

Leave tomorrow? What the…? Did Cye really want to go back to England?

"So what do you think about all this?"

"What?"

"Do you want to go back?"

Cye squeaked out a hesitant 'no.'

"But?"

Kento took a deep breath when those sea green eyes looked at him.

"But… Philip said that when they offered him the fellowship that the Dean of the College of English Literature said I would have the assistant's job that went along with Philip's fellowship."

"Ah." Kento frowned. That was just what Cye had wanted. Basically a way to get his foot in the door at the university so he could eventually land his own fellowship. "So, what's the catch? Why are you crying?"

A sniffle. "That means… that means that I'd have to leave all of you gents."

"So?" Saying that simple word cut Kento's heart out. "This is what you've always wanted, isn't it, Cye? You'd be on the road to making your dreams a reality. Isn't that important?"

"Yes, but…"

"But what? If that's what you want, then go for it. It's your dream. It's what you've always wanted, right?"

A nod. Barely perceptible.

"What's so important here that it's keeping you from fulfilling your dreams?" Kento held his breath. He so wanted to hear that he was the reason Cye wanted to stay. That the redhead's new dream was starting a new life here in Glitter Gulch with a certain burly mountain man. He wanted Cye to say, "Take me. Take me now and make me yours, you big hunk of a man."

But he was sorely disappointed.

"Nothing." Beautiful seafoam eyes were hidden by auburn bangs. "I don't guess there's anything, really…"

A cold chill seized Kento's heart. That was so NOT what he wanted to hear.

"Excuse me," Cye mumbled and Kento detected a slight hiccup in the Englishman's voice. "I'd really ought to retire so I can get my things packed and ready to depart. Goodnight, Kento."

The schoolteacher all but fled the room; the sound of the bedroom door catching and the click of the lock a heavy and hollow blow to Kento's already aching heart.

A tiny flame flared to life, illuminating a scarred face briefly before being snuffed out and replaced with a fainter red glow. Cale admired the match before tossing it aside. Funny thing this invention, matches. It was almost like holding a small amount of gunpowder to light a simple cigar. Not that he was complaining. He enjoyed an element of danger in his life. Hence the reason he became the sheriff of Glitter Gulch.

The town itself had been in dire need of some sort of law enforcement. Any kind of law enforcement. Even the crooked kind. And when he'd met the judge, well, it was safe to say that had cinched it.

Now though… Dais was scaring him. Hell, he was scaring himself. Ever since that night that Damon had shown up… Ever since he got this scar… Not only did he turn into some kind of horrible monster, but he also had these… cravings for that stupid cowboy that now owned the Wilkerson place.

Halo. Halo Ranch.

Sage Halo.

The savage beast in him twitched in recognition of the name. It wanted out. It wanted to possess the light. Claim it. Take it away from the fire that fed it.

The darkness surged in his soul, and Cale growled in response. The air growing cold and frigid around his body. A nice frost spreading from his fingertips and out over the porch, freezing the small flowers the Judge had planted.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow night the light would be here. There was no need for him to go hunting. His prey would be coming to him.

A tongue licked elongated canines and feral yellow eyes gleamed in the dark.