Rush in the Dark

Brian stepped from the shower, grabbed a towel, and rubbed himself dry. With it slung over his shoulders, he brushed his teeth and gazed into his reflection.

"You're a big coward, Russell."

His reflection nodded back, agreeing. Cowardice was new to him. This reticence about calling Rush was so unlike him. Usually, he leaped into relationships without looking, opened his heart to love that had led ultimately to the breaking of said heart.

There was something monumental about the way he felt about Rush. Something that said if he screwed this one up, he was just a loser, destined to being alone. His premonition about that night changing his life had him spooked like never before.

Even as a kid, when he'd had those flashes of insight, they hadn't scared him. He just knew they would come true. No reason to question it, it just was -- like breathing.

As Brian grew up that nonchalance about his power had turned to uncertainty. Why him? What was he supposed to do about it, be some sort of superhero? Go around saving people?

He'd always wanted to be a cop and use this heightened perception to help people, but the sultry summer he turned fifteen, he'd kissed a boy his age and confirmed the whispering fear that he was gay.

At the time, gay cops weren't de rigueur, so even though he'd taken law enforcement courses, he'd majored in civil engineering at the University of Texas and forgot about a career as a cop.

As for love, each of Brian's two lovers had broken his heart and then moved on. From the first time he'd fallen in unrequited love, to the loss of his virginity to an older lover who'd wooed him, fucked him, and then dumped him, the pain he'd felt seemed magnified each time his heart had been broken. Undaunted, he'd kept his hopes up and his heart open and believed one day he'd find the perfect man.

And he did. He would never forget the first time he saw Steve. Brian fell in love in a single moment. Steve was tall, blond, well built, and so sexy.

And he belonged to Brian's best friend, Mitchell.

Mitchell loved Steve and Steve loved Mitchell. Brian loved Steve and Brian loved Mitchell more than a brother. No way on earth would he ever betray Mitchell. So Brian never said a word for the two and a half years Steve had lived with Mitchell.

Then, one rainy night on the interstate, Steve had a flat tire. As he was getting the tire out of the trunk, a drunk driver slammed into the car, tearing Steve's body in two as if he were a rag doll.

Mitchell had been devastated.

Brian had been there for him, while suffering his own numbing loss of a love he'd never known for a man who'd never touched him other than a handshake or a slap on the back.

During the years between then and now, Brian had developed a modest interest in a few men, but nothing lasting had ever come of it. At the advanced age of thirty-three, Brian had had exactly four lovers, and none of them had been the One.

Rush was the One.

Brian was as sure of it as he was the color of his own eyes, that he hated snakes, and that he'd never have to register his guns in Texas. If he blew this, it was over. There would be no more chances for a life lived and spent loving one man. It was a terrifying thought, to spend his life alone and unloved.

There was no choice but to open his heart and take a chance.

Dropping his towel into the hamper, he went to his dresser, opened his wallet, and took out the card.

Rush Weston, The Double T Ranch.

Sitting on the edge of his bed, Brian glanced at the clock. Nine thirty. Was it too late to call the ranch? Didn't cowboys go to bed with the chickens and get up with the rooster? No, these days they had cable and satellite TV.

He picked up his cell phone, flipped the card over, and punched the number in.

After the fourth ring, a deep voice answered, "Hello?"

Brian's stomach did that flip thing. "Is this Rush Weston?"

"It is."

"This is Brian Russell." Brian took a breath. "The guy in the alley Friday night." He winced. At least he hadn't described himself as the man covered in garbage.

"The PI?" Rush's voice rose just a hair.

Brian's stomach flipped again. Shit, he needed to bring that under control. He was like a kid with a crush. "That's me." Great comeback, Russell.

"Did you catch the outlaws?"

"I did. Well, the cops caught them. I just got the evidence."

There was a long stretch of silence. Brian could hear Rush breathing on the other end of the line. His rebellious stomach dropped. That was it. They'd run out of conversation in the first two minutes.

"I didn't think you were going to call," Rush said in a husky breath.

"I should have called sooner. Sorry." Did he need to tell Rush what a coward he'd been and that he'd needed to work up the nerve to call him?

"Been thinkin' 'bout you." Rush's voice lowered, as if it could go any deeper.

"Me, too." Shit. That was lame. "Every night."

He heard the cowboy's long exhale. Was he smoking? Just the memory of Rush smoking that cigarette sent shivers down his spine.

"Same here." Rush was not a man of many words, it seemed.

Brian would have to be the one to get things started. He settled back against the headboard of his bed, his semierect cock lying against his thigh and let out a long sigh, right into the phone.

"Are you in bed? Did I wake you?" He softened his voice.

"I'm in bed, couldn't sleep."

"Thinking about me?" Brian let his voice drop lower.

"Yep." There was a hint of a smile behind that one word.

Brian took a breath, closed his eyes, and jumped. "Shit. Do you know how many times I've jerked off thinking about you, Rush?"

Another long exhale. "'Bout as many times as I've whacked off thinking of you."

Brain laughed softly. "And tonight?"

"Not yet. You?"

"Just about to. Care to join me?"

"Dang it, Brian. You sure know what to say to get a man hard."

"I'm glad." Brian gathered his cock in his hand and gave it a stroke. "Are you touching your cock?"

"Ever since I knew it was you."

Shit. Brian tugged harder, his cock thickening. "I wanted you that night. Thought about fucking you in that alley, but..."

"Not the right time, was it?"

"No. Next time we meet, I'll make sure I smell better."

"You'd get all cleaned up just for me?"

"Just for you. Did you want...?" Brian hated to sound needy, but he wanted to know if Rush had wanted him that night, too.

"If Mike hadn't come out and got me, I might not have let a little thing like the way you smelled stop me."

"Mike? Is he your lover?" Brian felt sick. Of course, a guy like Rush probably had a lover, maybe several.

"No, just a friend. He tried to hook me up with this friend of his that night."

"John? The guy in a snit?"

"You remembered?"

"I spent a long night wondering what you were doing to John that you could have been doing to me." Brian's vivid imagination had tortured him that night.

"I was going to go home with him, but after seeing you, well, I have to admit, he paled in comparison."

"Are you saying I've spoiled you for other men?" Brian felt a quiet thrill.

"Something like that." Rush chuckled.

"You cowboys say the sweetest things."

"Better than telling you that you smelled like a skunk," he said. "Sorry about that, but you had me twisted up in my ropes."

"I did smell like a skunk. Not now. Just got out the shower."

"Naked as a jaybird and twice as sassy?"

"Definitely naked. Sassy? I'm not so sure."

"Got a hard-on for you, Brian. Need some fucking relief, darlin'."

"That night, I thought about doing you in my car."

"Tell me."

"We'd go to my car and get in the front seat. At first, we'd just stare at each other, letting the fire burn between us like it did in the alley."

"You felt that, too?"

"I felt it, and I'm damn glad to know you did, too. So, you reach over, put your hand around my neck, and pull me in for a kiss."

"Are you a good kisser?"

"Want to find out?"

"Can't wait to find out how you taste on my tongue. Do you like to use your tongue?" Rush growled. Brian's balls tightened, and he squeezed his shaft tighter.

"Oh, yeah. I'd like to use my tongue on your dick."

A deep inhale, followed by a long exhale. "So after we kiss, then what?"

"Then, I'd unbutton your jeans. I figure you for a button-fly man."

"Real cowboys only wear button-flys."

"And you're a real cowboy?"

"Damn straight. Got the horse and the six-shooter to prove it." Brian loved the way the cowboy drawled his words. It sent a shiver of desire straight through him.

"So, I'd flick open those buttons, one by one, slow and easy. The whole time your cock is begging to be let out. Tell me about your cock."

"Right now, it's long, thick, and aching for you."

"Just like I imagined it, Rush. I free it and your balls from your pants, but leave the pants tight up around them, so your package is showcased just for me."

"What do I do?"

"You moan like a bitch when I take you in my mouth."

"Fuck, Brian, you just made me harder."

"I suck you, then go back and forth between licking that juicy head and licking your balls."

Harsh breathing filled Brian's ears as he imagined Rush pumping hard on his prick, bringing himself off as he listened.

"Then, you bury your hands in my hair and hold me down. Your hips start moving and you're fucking my mouth, and I'm groaning and you keep driving into me, deep in my throat, but I'm taking every fucking inch of you," Brian rasped, his hips moving as he jerked off in a near frenzy. On the edge of coming, with just a little more, he'd lose it.

"Damn it, darlin', you got me like a pistol. Hot, loaded, and ready to shoot," Rush groaned.

"Then you're exploding into my mouth, hitting the back of my throat, hot and salty and so fucking delicious, I know I'm going to want more of you. I'm swallowing you down, sucking on your dick, getting every last drop of your cum, and you're moaning and calling out my name."

Rush groaned. "Fuck, darlin'. It feels so sweet. Here it comes..." His words were lost in a strangled cry as he came.

Brian cried out as he lost his load, shooting all over his belly. His fingers slid up and down on his cock, spreading his own creamy cum over his dick as he milked himself.

"Rush, oh shit, that was so hot," Brian whispered as he bathed his balls with his jism.

Their harsh panting as they recovered from their orgasms echoed in the phone line.

Brian shuddered and then lowered his voice to a sexy-as-hell whisper. "Did you get my cell phone number, cowboy?"

"Yeah, it's on my phone," Rush breathed.

"Good. Call me." Brian hung up.

He flopped back on the bed and tried to steady himself. He'd just hung up on the man of his dreams, but he'd wanted to leave Rush begging for more. Brian had taken a chance on the move to do just that, to make Rush crave even more of him. He wanted Rush to want him and no one else.

The only problem was now he'd have to wait until Rush called him. Shit. Maybe Rush would make him wait five nights until he called back. Brian groaned. It would serve him right for being such a coward. If he'd gone with his heart, instead of his head, he would have called Rush the next day.

What if he'd made a mistake? What if Rush didn't call back and tonight had been all he'd wanted from Brian? Brian wanted so much more from Rush than a jack-off session over the phone.

He wanted Rush's body. His heart. Everything the man had to give.