Page 23 of Refurbished

“Is the money a problem?”

“No. I. That’s cool.”

I laughed. “You are so freaking cute. Go ahead and ask.”

“I am not sure what to ask.”

Taking a chance, I got on my knees and crawled over Eion’s legs, ending with my knees next to his hips. I kissed him gently, then worked my way down his jaw and sucked on the delicate skin of his neck. “I’m rich, rich,” I whispered in his ear, then used my teeth along the shell.

“Oh. So the treats for the animals are okay. Not a financial burden.”

“Have you heard of the defibrillator?”

“Of course.”

“My great-great-great-grandfather invented it. There might be another great, I forget.” He moaned as I sucked just below his ear. I took that as encouragement. Between delicious noises, he managed to pull back a little.

“That’s pretty rich.”

I nodded. Then I proceeded to kiss him more, wanting to leave him breathless. The fact that he hadn’t pushed me off made me feel like he was okay with the money. It was easy for me to understand how that might be intimidating, but I had no plans to shove it in his face or buy him things. The only things I’d done so far were for the animals, and I couldn’t imagine him turning that down. “Is it okay if I do things for the animals?”

“Yeah. It’s sweet.” He growled a little from deep in his chest. “Actually, it’s really hot.” He took my mouth hard and solid, his tongue seeking mine, and when they met, it was a battle of control. The way he plundered my mouth was sexy and made me ache for him. I didn’t want our first sexual experience to be in front of all the babies, so after making out for a while, I pulled back.

“We should put the kids away. They are too young to see this kind of thing.” He chuckled, giving me one more quick kiss as I stood up. I knew he could see the outline of my cock when I stood. The fact that he turned me on wasn’t really a secret, but I hoped he liked what he saw because I was hard as steel. I turned around and tried to adjust myself enough to move around. Barnaby was on the sofa on his back and slept soundly.

“I brought some breakfast. Do we have time to eat before chores?”

He smiled. “We do. And you can feed the bear cubs. Before that, though, I know a great place we can eat.”

We got the food and coffee, then headed up one of the aisles I hadn’t been on before. As we walked, I realized how big the Sanctuary actually was. I knew it was thousands of acres, which would have millions, reminding me that Eion had his own stories to tell. As we got farther away, I could see a whole lot of grass and several types of sheep.

“Oh my god, Eion. You have sheep.”

He grinned at me. “I do have sheep.” He opened the gate and gestured for me to go through. “There were some barrels and other toys in the enclosure.” The sheep started walking up, curious about what was happening, while Eion flipped over the bins and dusted off the dirt. “Come sit. We can eat and have coffee.” The burritos were still warm when I pulled them out. Several of the sheep looked at us. Barnaby lay next to Eion, uninterested in the animals around him.

“They aren’t as inquisitive as goats, but they will sniff you. Something about them is soothing.”

I had to agree with him. These guys were fun to sit and watch. We were close enough to see his trailer, but I couldn’t see the front buildings. “This is really peaceful.”

I took his hand and laced our fingers, and he gave me a soft, warm look. It made those butterflies take full flight in my chest, and my cock took interest. I was a man after all. It had been way too long since I was with someone, and even longer since I desired a man for something more than a means to an end. Now my body felt something long forgotten—desire—and wanted more. We sat there quietly, and I couldn’t stop myself. I carded my fingers through his hair and brought his lips to mine. It was a soft kiss, one full of emotion, and through that kiss I tried to convey what Eion had started to mean to me. He was a good man, and I wanted to know everything about him, and I wanted this kiss to say those things.

He pulled me closer. I noticed that his lips were gentle, but his tongue explored, and I wanted him to find whatever it was he needed. It felt wonderful to have these feelings, but before too long, I had to lick and kiss his neck. My lips moved over his shoulder and left small marks as I sucked on the muscle. His skin was warm, slightly salty, and he smelled clean, but it was intoxicating to me. I wanted to bury my face there and get drunk on his scent. “I really like you, Eion. It feels like you might have similar feelings.”

He kissed me gently again. “Yes. I like you too. I was wondering. Do you want to label this thing between us?”

The question surprised me. Dating someone, being a boyfriend, was completely unknown to me. There had been a few men I saw for a while, but it was never exclusive, never someone I could see a future with. With Eion, I could see us here with the animals years down the road, and that scared me because we didn’t know each other well, but everything in me screamed to hold on to him. “I’d like that.” My mouth said it before I thought any more about it.

“Okay. We’ll talk about it, but before we do that, I have something I need to share with you. Let’s go see Orlando. Then we can head to my trailer.”

“Should I be worried?” He looked at me, and his face went pale. My stomach dropped, and I was worried about what he would say. What was so serious that his entire body language changed? That he had to tell me before we decided to be exclusive.

“Eion? You’re worrying me.”

“I. We. This is something I have to do, not in a field, but don’t worry. It’ll be. I promise. I think. Should be.” He stopped. “It’ll be fine.” He mumbled almost to himself.

Now I was even more concerned. He wouldn’t look at me, and my stomach started to knot. Gently, I put my fingers under his chin, making him look me in the eye. When they met mine, I saw fear. What was he so afraid of? “Let’s go to your trailer now. I think if we put this off, it will ruin our visit with Orlando.” He nodded, kissed me quickly, then started to walk toward the front of the Sanctuary. I grabbed our trash and jogged after him.

I needed to get my head together, so I let him ‘run’ ahead of me. It was his coping mechanism, and what he had to tell me was serious. He was completely freaked out, and we both could use a breather to process it. What was he going to tell me? Was he married? Debt? On the run? A murderer? Lived with someone already? My stomach tumbled, and I refused to guess what he was about to say because it would make things worse. When I got to his trailer, I knocked tentatively on the door. Was this great thing that was barely starting about to fall apart completely?