Page 5 of Unbar the Barred
Really, this is pointless. Go ask him.
Honestly, why don’t you cluck off!
Fine, I will, but I will not be there when you need to offload.
Blessed silence followed, and Cassidy got left with his own thoughts once again.
Trey had fucked him hard, just like he had demanded. As usual, there was dirty talk. The stuff that gave Cassidy material to get off on between trips to the bar. With how addictive Trey was, he limited himself with how often he could visit.
Trey had an apartment above the bar. Had Cassidy seen inside it? Nope. Not once had they gotten beyond the restroom in the bar. Cassidy wondered if the reason why was how needy he got.
Although he wasn’t the only one. Trey could be as bad as Cassidy, and he didn’t have heats. And as much as Trey talkedabout letting others watch them—wolves, he had heard, had no inhibitions when it came to sex or sex in public—he always made sure they weren’t visible when they fucked.
Last night, with how Cassidy was, he would have let Trey fuck him over the hood of his truck. And Cassidy wasn’t sure how he felt about that in the cold light of day, now his hormones were better under control.
The knotting… although Trey did like to knot with him, it wasn’t a frequent thing. When they had done it before, Trey hadneverkissed him softly. Hadneverwrapped his arms around him and held Cassidy like he was precious. Wasn’t that more than causal fucking? This question was fucking with his head.
If it was just sex, then what was different about last night? Was it his hormones? Or something else? The unanswered questions roaming around Cassidy’s mind were why he had been up early, using the time to finish knitting Lynda’s jumper.
He blew out a shuddery breath and stomped out of his cabin, clutching what he’d made, needing a distraction and knowing exactly where to get it. His girls. He knew the other ranch hands laughed at him because they didn’t hide their amusement. They thought he was a little bizarre with how he treated his chicks.
Did he care?
Heck no.
He bred chickens; he was a rare breed himself, not that he could shift, but he didn’t care—mostly. The breed of his family was Plymouth Rocks, and they could lay pink and purple eggs. Cassidy had long since resigned himself to how his family viewed his lack of ability to change, so he had substituted them for a family that was much more appreciative of him.
He tipped his cowboy hat as he walked across the back paddock when he noted Ethan astride a stallion. Cassidy had half convinced himself to be in love with Ethan when he firstarrived on the ranch, through a program that the owner had started for youths in foster care.
Ethan, tall, dark and athletic from working with the horses, was a sight that could stop any hot-blooded person in their tracks, especially when he was astride a horse. He was a specimen of pure hotness. Mostly, he was shirtless when working with the horses, which was nearly all the time. The man was a horse whisperer. They’d had many troubled horses come to the ranch, and Ethan—to Cassidy’s knowledge—had never failed to help a single one.
Bare chested and sweaty with hay stuck to him, Ethan rode to the edge of the paddock, stopping a distance from Cassidy, who held up his hand for the horse to smell him. Horses were sensitive creatures. “Mornin’.”
Ethan tipped back his hat as he examined Cassidy with a serious look. “Mornin’ Cass.” His nose wrinkled, then smoothed out, and a smile appeared. “You’re over your heat.”
Not so much a question, more an observation, but Cassidy nodded. “Yep, I’m just off to see how Sunny is getting on with my girls.”
Ethan’s laughter rumbled out, startling a bird resting on a tree branch. It squawked its displeasure and flew off into the cloudless sky. At this time of day, it wasn’t too hot to make it unbearable, so it was pleasant to stand and chew the fat.
“You and your chicks.” Ethan eyed what was in Cassidy’s hand. “That another knitted thing for one of them?” His voice held a wealth of humor that also made his dark brown eyes glow in his deeply tanned face.
Giving a shrug, Cassidy matched Ethan’s grin. He never took offense because he loved his ladies. “They’re my girls, what can I say?” Cassidy held up the purple knitted garment. “Lynda will look great wearing it with her little tutu of feathers.”
This time Ethan rocked on the bare back of the horse, his laughter making the horse take some side steps. “You’d brighten the darkest day, Cass.” He wiped at his eyes as he continued. “It’ll be interesting to see what our new guests will make of your chicks.”
“New guests?” Cassidy couldn’t recall any mention of their being guests coming. They offered different ranch experiences for the city folks. It was usually too hot at this time of year for anyone to want to come and learn about being a ranch hand.
“Silas, his brothers, and their assistants are coming for a week, maybe less. They haven’t quite decided yet, from what Silas mentioned when we spoke.”
“They are?” Cassidy asked, wide eyed. As far as he knew, none of the owner, Silas Starling’s brothers, had been to the ranch, except for Booker. There were eight of them, and Silas’s parents, Lane and Derick, had adopted five of them, if the gossip on the ranch was to be believed.
Silas, who Cassidy knew loved working on the ranch despite working for Starling Enterprises, one of the largest fashion businesses out there, of late had all but disappeared.
“When was this organized?”
“A few days ago. They arrive Monday.” The stallion whinnied and flicked its head. Ethan stroked over the mane, “It’s alright boy,” he murmured softly, and the horse settled.
“I’ll leave you to it. If you need me to do anything extra, just shout.”
