Jory Strong - Two Spirits

Ever since his cousins Ukiah and Tekoa had found their mates, he’d been feeling the need to settle. He didn’t hold out any hope he’d have a mate in the truest sense of the word, a forever lover who could join him in flight when the storm called and the Thunderbird spirit rose. For that to happen he’d have to find one among The People, which didn’t seem likely since not many of them were bisexual, much less one hundred percent gay like him.

His heart ached when he thought too hard about not having that ultimate spiritual connection, so mainly he didn’t think about it. He lived. He had sex when he could get it. He’d even spent some time as a cop in Los Angeles and San Francisco, but in the end the pull of the land had been too strong. Now he was back to stay and ready to begin and end each day in the arms of a longtime lover, though finding one was proving to be difficult.

Tenino studied the blond who seemed to be trying his best to ignore his presence. Shy? He’d never found it attractive in men though it could be kind of cute in women.

He could make an exception for the blond. Besides, the blond was going to find it hard to stay shy at the cabin. The place was small. They’d be bumping into each other every time they turned around.

Tenino grinned. Bumping and grinding wasn’t going to be a hardship.

He tried to remember exactly what Tekoa had told him about his soon-to-be guest. It hadn’t been much. Friend of a friend asking a favor, the possibility of some danger so Tekoa didn’t want the stranger at his cabin or at the lodge his brother Ukiah owned. Both places had women there now.

That’s all Tenino remembered. He shrugged off the need for more information. It’d come. The grin widened. Hopefully he’d come.

The blond looked up at the mention of his name. Trey.

The sound of it stroked over Tenino’s cock. He closed his eyes briefly as the image of him lying on top of Trey, whispering the name as he thrust, flashed through his thoughts. Tenino extended his hand when Tekoa made the introduction. Trey’s eyes met his and slid away quickly. His shoulders hunched just enough to make him shrink inside his coat.

Tenino turned to shake hands with the cop. The cop’s face was flushed and his expression said it wasn’t because of the heat in the office. He’d caught the way Tenino was devouring Trey with his eyes.

Tough shit, Tenino thought. Deal with it.

“You going to be okay here?” the cop asked Trey. “If you’re not good with this, you can ride back with me.”

“I’m good,” Trey said, emotion churning in the pit of his stomach while his heart raced like a rabbit’s.

The cop didn’t waste any time leaving. Trey looked everywhere except at Tenino, until Tenino said, “The cabin’s remote, might as well grab something to eat in town. You hungry?”

Trey’s eyes met Tenino’s. White heat flashed though him along with the skittering, nervous fear that came with standing at the edge of a high dive before jumping to the water below. “Cabin?”

Tenino’s smile was pure sin. “Can’t put you somewhere it’ll be easy for the bad guys to find you. So are you up for some dinner?”

“Yes.” It was all Trey could manage and thankfully Tenino turned his attention to the sheriff. “What about you? You eating in town or waiting ‘til you get to your place?”

“I don’t think food will be on the menu by the time I get back home.”

“Torture me why don’t you?”

The sheriff laughed. He placed his hand on Tenino’s shoulder. “Your turn’s coming.”

“I’m not like you.”

“I never thought I’d find what I needed either. But look what dropped in my lap. Look what happened with Ukiah. Your turn’s coming. Maybe it’s already here.”

Tekoa’s glance flicked to Trey and back to Tenino and made the ball of want and trepidation grow in Trey’s stomach. His cock grew harder at the words. His breath grew a little short. He’d always considered himself good at reading between the lines— or at least he had until the desire for a straight lifestyle had blinded him to the truth about Patricia Veron and her family. It almost sounded as if—

He shook his head, cleared it, reminded himself he was in a nowhere town with a couple of law-and-order types. Just because he was ready…make that close to ready…to accept his sexuality did not mean the first guy who got his heart racing and his cock head slick with arousal was gay.

It was going to be bad enough having to share a cabin with Tenino. The last thing he needed was to act like a sixteen-year-old with a crush. Yeah, Tenino’s smile had caused what little blood remained in Trey’s head to shoot south, but thinking about it with his big head instead of his little one, Trey realized Tenino was probably envisioning inviting some women over and having some fun.

Trey wasn’t vain about his looks. He’d never had trouble attracting the opposite sex. He’d just lacked the true desire to do it. And he could see how his blond-haired, blue-eyed appearance was a great contrast to Tenino’s darker one.

The color in Trey’s face deepened when he realized both Tenino and Tekoa were looking at him, maybe waiting for him to answer some question he hadn’t heard. He picked up the duffle, said, “I’m ready.”

Apparently it was the right response. They left the office, only stopping long enough to throw the duffle into a Jeep with the sheriff’s department logo on the side of it before walking to a nearby restaurant and claiming a table next to the window.

The rain hadn’t arrived yet, but it was coming. Flashes of lightning streaked across the sky and the peals of thunder arrived in shorter increments of time. The mist was heavy and gray, giving the town a mystical appearance and making Trey think of Native American myths and rural folktales.

“So what do you do when you’re not hiding from dangerous ex-girlfriends?” Tenino asked, drawing Trey’s attention away from the strangely mesmerizing scene outside the diner.

“I teach. Elementary school.”

Tekoa grunted. “You’re lucky the Feds approached you and asked for your help instead of hauling you in as a suspect.”

Trey shivered. He fought to keep the bile from rising in his throat and the nightmare scenarios that had him waking in a cold sweat from returning and destroying his hard-earned calm. All it took was suspicion to ruin a reputation and a career, to make life a living hell.

He gripped the menu to keep his hands from shaking. He wasn’t in the clear yet, wouldn’t know if he’d really survived until he was back home and applying for a teaching job.

The first thing he’d done after the Feds laid out their evidence and asked for his help was to call the principal at the school where he taught and arrange a meeting. They’d agreed on a plan of action, so the school wouldn’t be hurt and neither would Trey when the story broke about the Verons.

The Feds had done as promised. They’d made a point of telling the media Trey was never a suspect and had been instrumental in helping them build their case and shut down a child pornography operation.

But there was no going back to the way things were. Trey knew that.

Even though his principal had tried to talk him into staying, Trey couldn’t shake the need to move on. It was time to put some distance between himself and the city where he’d grown up denying his sexual orientation. It was time to leave the house he’d inherited from his mother, along with the guilt that came with being gay.

“Yeah, I was lucky,” Trey said, putting the menu on the table, his appetite gone.

Their waitress arrived and took Tenino and Tekoa’s orders. When she looked at Trey he said, “Nothing for me.”

“Get him what Tekoa and I are having,” Tenino said. “Otherwise he’s going to regret not eating once I get him to my place.”