Long Tall Drink by L. C. Chase Page B

from his groin. Ray closed the distance, grabbed Landon by the hips, spun him around, and shoved him face-first onto the bed.
    Landon grunted something Ray didn’t catch as he climbed up on the bed and knelt between Landon’s spread legs. He tugged his zipper down, freeing his semierect cock, then fell forward and covered Landon’s body. The man under him was warm and firm, but not solid. A white-collar physique created and maintained in a gym, not one carved by hard living and working the land. Still strong, but not powerful. Not Travis.
    Unblemished pale skin smelled of rainwater and mint that for some reason made Ray think of summer picnics. Pleasant, but not enough to overpower the lingering trace of cedar leaf, ginger, and wood smoke that still clung to his clothing, his skin. Not enough to overpower Travis.
    Fucking Travis.
    And God help him, that’s exactly what he wanted to be doing right now.
    With a curse, Ray pushed himself off Landon and stalked across the room. He zipped up his jeans—no point in leaving them open—and reached for the half-full bottle of Glenlivet sitting on the faux-oak dresser. He grabbed the empty glass beside the bottle, poured himself a three-finger shot, and downed it in one swallow. Liquid fire blazed a path to his stomach, dulling the sharp edges. He winced.
    “It’s him, isn’t it.” Not a question. “That cowboy. Travis.”
    “Hell no!” Ray snapped. He frowned at the defensive tone of his voice, promptly dismissed it, and poured another hearty shot.
    “I saw the way you looked at each other yesterday,” Landon said, a touch of sadness underlying his soft voice.
    Landon was a good man. He deserved someone who would treat him right, be proud to walk down the street at his side, give him what he so clearly wanted. But as much as Ray cared about him, and he did, he just wasn’t that man.
    He checked his tone but didn’t turn around. “Don’t go there, Landon. We both know this was only ever going to be about sex.”
    “I don’t know the story between you two, of course, but it’s plain to see it’s about more than just sex.”
    “Not true.”
    “Really? Then why are we sitting here talking about it instead of having it?”
    Ray opened his mouth to refute, but his vocal chords flatlined. He peered into the glass in his hand, searching for the words he’d lost. Tiny diamonds winked and danced in the amber liquid, promising temporary oblivion instead of wisdom—and a raging hangover come morning.
    “You won’t drown him in alcohol or forget him in another man’s bed,” Landon said close behind Ray. “Not even in mine.”
    Defeat pressed down on Ray’s body like a cement blanket. His limbs felt heavy and cumbersome. He couldn’t deny the truth. Couldn’t deny that he was falling for a man he couldn’t have.
    Warm hands rested lightly on his shoulders, and then Landon’s voice was quiet in his ear. “Don’t drive tonight.” The hands squeezed once, then fell away. “Good-bye, Ray.”
    Distantly Ray was aware Landon had just ended their relationship. Or perhaps it was he. The door clicked shut, and Ray turned around to face an empty room.
    There went Tornado Morgan’s first victim.
    “Shit.”
    Ray sat down hard on the edge of the bed and polished off his whiskey. Even when not present, Travis Morgan was an annoyingly persistent man. There’d be no forgetting him in drink or casual sex tonight. Probably never be anything to make him forget the one man he wanted more than he’d ever thought possible.
     
    Travis couldn’t focus. He glanced over his shoulder, again, at the empty round pen. Ray had yet to return from wherever he’d torn off to yesterday afternoon, after things had got a little hot and heavy in the tack room.
    After they’d almost had sex.
    Travis knew he was pushing Ray when he’d followed him. Knew what Ray risked, what they both risked. But damn, the man was an irresistible force when he got all riled up. He radiated a power and