a plain ordinary cowboy irving

[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.Crooked stairs made out of prairie wood led up to the door.“Looks a bit like hobbit house.Why is shit growing out of the roof?”“It keeps it naturally cool in summer, warm in winter.”“Oh.My barn had that.And my cabin still does in a few places.I have to fix my roof.”Another smile, a little brighter.“I noticed but in my case it’s deliberate.”“And that fenced off area?” Micah nodded to the little sign and fence Sasha had woven around a dead tree near his house.“There’s a little owl living there.I’ve identified him from his heart shaped face and call as a Northern Saw-whet Owl,” Sasha told him.“The fence is to keep people away from his tree.Sometimes I even forget when I’m busy with my projects so it keeps me from walking too close.”“Huh,” Micah grunted.“Are those antlers?” They poked just under the peak of the roof, above the door, silvered from exposure.Sasha nodded, face sober.“I found them abandoned from a previous mating season.To me they represent the stag king.”“The stag king…” It was like Sasha spoke another language.And why was Micah lingering to hear it? He had to load up his truck.The barn raising was tomorrow morning early.They needed all the supplies at hand.“The stag king is a symbol of fertility.A man would run naked wearing antlers and then he’d, ah, celebrate the season.Sometimes he’d be sacrificed.”Staring into Sasha’s vivid eyes, Micah came to a full stop.He tenderly pushed back a coil of hair from Sasha’s cheek.“Have you ever done that, run naked wearing antlers?” Micah could picture Sasha doing something so crazy.Micah could almost hear the ragged hoofbeats of a young galloping stag, flashing ahead of him over a fallen log as his wolf tore after it…Sasha bit his lip.“Nope, but when I was younger I had an intense dream I was a deer taken down by a wolf.I could feel him at my throat.”Micah circled Sasha’s throat.“And what did you do?” he asked.“I surrendered.”A truck pulled up next to the meadow and Micah dropped his hand.He knew he had to let Sasha go.Cody and Adrian were here to help with transferring the recycled wood but Micah asked, “Would you surrender again if the wolf came for you?”“Yes,” Sasha said, his voice cracking.* * * *Dawn was just touching the tops of the massive trees that circled his studio as Sasha walked outside.He kept a small bed in his folly, barely enough room for him to stretch out.With a smile, Sasha realised that Micah would hate it.He was a big man.Or, he’d love it because the only way he’d fit was if he slept on top of Sasha, or Sasha slept on top of him.Oh, man, what would it be like to be sprawled over that solid muscled body? Sasha’s body would be aching, sore from taking Micah, over and over again, but Sasha couldn’t say no, could only open his legs for his feral lover and let Micah have what he wanted…“What are you doing? Stop it.He isn’t yours,” Sasha growled.He took a deep breath, trying to soak in the acceptance and serenity his meadow offered him.When he’d first moved here, he’d been drawn to this place and slept in a tent.It had soothed him, seeming to chip away at years of pain that Sasha had struggled with.All his life, men and women had been drawn to his delicate good looks but though he’d yearned for a deeper relationship, no one would take him seriously enough.He’d tried to ease that unrequited need with his friendships.He wasn’t interested in women sexually, but he had a lot of really close woman friends and one of them, Sandra, a former roommate in Los Angeles, had introduced him to the concepts of Wicca.He’d found a lot of it spoke to things he was concerned about, like the environment and personal responsibility—and his desire to control his temper.Little firecracker.Thinking of his temper, he really wanted to smack Micah with a handy rock when he used that phrase, as if Sasha was the little woman.His female friends would hate being called that too.Didn’t Micah get how he came across? Remembering the look of confusion on his face about essential oils and felting, Sasha didn’t think so.There was an innocence about the big retro lug.Well, that was Micah’s problem.Sasha’s was his short fuse.Nothing set him off like injustice or unkindness.And yeah, apparently Micah.One thing he’d tried to embrace in Wicca was the threefold idea.If he gave out love, it came back to him, threefold.If he got pissed off…He scrubbed his lower jaw, hearing the rasp of his whiskers.He’d fucked up royally with Deke.He took responsibility for what was happening between them.All that hateful energy was actually on him.So he was reluctant to press charges when Deke harassed him.He’d been so horribly lonely when he’d come out here and Deke had delivered some Shetland sheep one day and…Even knowing Deke was one of those straight guys who couldn’t admit to himself there was more under the sun, Sasha had wound up leaning against a shed while he let Deke fuck him.Deke was young and lusty and at first it had been great, but then his manner had changed, darkened, and Sasha realised that Deke couldn’t handle being attracted to another guy.Sasha had broken it off, and Deke had got even uglier, bringing his friends into it, not that they had a clue about what their leader liked to do with Sasha…or maybe they did.Who knew?Now all Sasha wanted was to be left alone, but Deke kept showing up at the same places as Sasha.So of course, because he’d made a mess with one straight guy, he had to fall for another.Sasha squeezed his eyes shut.What was he doing? Micah would never come to him.He had been upfront about that.By noon the sun was hot enough to scorch grass, so Sasha encouraged the sweaty group working on the barn to stop for lunch.They’d managed to hoist one wall with ropes, cheering when the first part of the skeleton was erected.It was the middle and the highest point.The two side walls wouldn’t be as tall.Staring at what they’d constructed so far, Sasha cocked his head, thinking the structure resembled an ancient Roman law building, or the cathedrals modelled after them.He’d never made that connection between a humble barn and a law court.He wondered what Micah would think about that.Probably get that dazed look, as if he wasn’t quite sure what world Sasha lived in.Sasha grinned, feeling a little lighter despite the tightness that had been working him all morning.He’d tried to fine-tune the feeling, but all he knew was it was coming from his heart chakra like a warning bell.Sasha looked around to distract himself from his uneasiness, taking in Charlie, Cody, Adrian, Jerry, Marjorie, Nelson and Cass.They’d all come to make Sasha’s inspiration reality and as the wood lifted upright, Sasha felt as if they were helping him raise more than a barn [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Pokrewne