McLeod, Anitra Lynn - Dirty Cowboy (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove) (2 page)

From his vantage point high up in the wagon, Everett looked up and down and all around the spring, but he didn’t see any clothing, gear, a horse—nothing. It was as if the man had crawled out of the dirt and fell half into the water.

Curious, and sick of sitting on his behind all damn day, Everett hopped down from the wagon, brushed the dust off his ass, and laughed. “Right. Get myself gussied up for a man who looks like he’s been dipped in dirt.” Even if he jumped in the water right now, it would take a week to get all the grime out of his nooks and crannies.

When he knelt beside the stranger, his knee sank into the ground a good three inches, like the earth had recently been plowed. Cupping his hand, he sifted the dirt though his fingers. It was soft, without any large clumps or rocks. Almost powdery.

“Huh.” He brushed his hand off. “Let’s see what we got here.”

Everett reached out to touch the man, to verify he was alive, but he stopped just short of contact. He wasn’t sure why he was cautious about touching him, just that he was. That funny inner voice that sometimes told him not to even look at a certain fellow was urging him to leave this one be. Everett argued that it wouldn’t be neighborly to just leave the poor man here, all exposed and possibly hurt. Still, that voice urged caution. Instead of touching him, Everett watched closely, noting that the man’s chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm.

“Well, you’re alive. That’s a start.”

Pulling the trail-dusty kerchief off his neck, Everett shuffled over on his knees to the water’s edge, rinsed the fabric out as best he could, then returned to the man’s side. Again, he hesitated to touch him. There was something almost… foreign about the man. But then, in a most curious way, Everett felt like
he
was the one who didn’t belong here, not the other way around.

Determined to get a hold of himself, convinced these odd feelings were just the product of being alone for too long, Everett lifted the wet kerchief to the man’s face and gently wiped away the powdery dirt.

The man didn’t stir.

As more and more of the dirt came away, the man’s features became more pronounced. His hair was brown with some blonder streaks and far too long. Everett could just about pull the length of it back in a ponytail. The man’s lashes were the same color as his hair, and longer than any painted woman’s, but it was his mouth that compelled Everett to slow his strokes.

Everett pressed his lips together to not say anything aloud. Never, not ever in his life, had he ever seen a man as handsome as this one. Had he seen him in a saloon, Everett would have done a hell of a lot more than simply stare at him. Everett would have gladly spent his last penny buying this man drinks and hoping against hope that they would end up sharing a bed.

Despite his best efforts, Everett couldn’t stop himself from letting his gaze wander down the length of the man’s body. Sadly, his cock was so covered in dust he couldn’t get a good look, but what he was able to make out made him grin. The mystery man was packing one hell of a pistol.

Each pass with the wet cloth tugged the man’s lips askew. When Everett lifted the rag away, they moved back into perfection. Dusty rose, not too thick or thin, the man’s lips were just about the most perfect lips he’d ever seen on anyone. And so plush. He felt them give below his cleaning fingers with more ease than the powdered dirt had given around his knees.

After thinking too hard about what he wanted to do to that mouth, Everett allowed his naked finger to slip over the edge of the moist kerchief and directly touch the stranger’s lips. A jolt of pleasure washed up his hand then charged straight to his cock. Everett shot to his feet so fast he damn near knocked himself over. Worse, he puffed up fresh dust on the man who clearly didn’t need any more mess on him.

“Damnation!”

He’d felt a lot of things in his time, including a model of the newfangled electrified fence, but that shock was nothing compared to this. Everett felt as if he’d been struck by lightning. Curious thing was, the powerful surge hadn’t hurt him at all. What the zinging bolt of energy had done was arouse him to the point his cock was a stroke away from climax.

As much as he wanted to turn away and attend himself, he couldn’t imagine what the man on the ground would think if the first thing he saw when he woke up was another man stroking his dick. Ignoring the urge, as he had so many times in the past, Everett decided he’d best stop touching the man. That inner voice was there to promptly say
told ya so
before shutting back up.

Without touching him directly, Everett cleaned him as best he could, and only above the waist. After pulling on his gloves, Everett pulled the man by his armpits so that he was completely out of the water. When he didn’t stir, Everett decided his next chore would be to set up camp.

He settled the animals first then took care of his private business. With a glance to the sky, he realized night would be full in under an hour. If he didn’t want to be stumbling around in the dark, or using up the precious oil in the two lamps, he’d better get a fire going.

About the only good thing he’d discovered during this ill-fated trip was that he had a knack for building great fires. Their cook had been most demanding about how he liked the fire pit set, and since Everett liked good grub, he’d gladly taken on the task. An added benefit was the prairie was littered with dry mesquite, which burned slowly, and very hot. Since he wasn’t sure he’d be able to find good wood all along the trail, especially since it was so well traveled, he’d taken to filling part of the covered wagon with wood so that when he did stop, he was ready. Before he left tomorrow, he would replenish his supply.

Everett didn’t set a big cooking fire every night, but he figured the stranger would be hungry when he woke, and he would need heat to cook the fresh meat he’d taken off one of the wounded steers earlier in the day. Poor thing. With both legs broken, screaming like a terrified woman, the cow never had a chance. Everett put the creature down then took what he thought he could eat in a few days. He left the rest for the coyotes.

In another bit of grace, the days had been cooling off, so he thought the meat might last a while. But what blessed one event cursed another. Cooler days meant chilly nights. He was glad the meat wouldn’t spoil quickly, but he was worried about getting somewhere before the nights got too cold. There was only one blanket in the wagon as the thieves had taken the rest. Despite the protection of the covered wagon, one thin blanket wouldn’t be enough to keep him from freezing if the temperature dipped any lower.

Thinking of the blanket made him think of the stranger. Hell, he couldn’t leave him laying there, buck naked, when night was settling in. He rummaged around in the back of the wagon, found the blanket, and returned to the still-sleeping man.

Refusing to examine him any more than he already had, Everett placed the blanket over him then moved back to the wagon. He couldn’t stop pondering the odd dizziness he felt each time he came near him. With a shake of his head, Everett chalked the feeling up to too much traveling and not enough eating.

After clearing a space and digging a shallow hole, he placed thin twigs in a teepee pattern, with the kindling in the center. When he caught himself grinning like a fool, he realized he was happy. Being alone was something he was used to, but not something he enjoyed. Whoever the strange man was, Everett was glad for the company.

Concentrating, he whapped the flint with the steel. Within three strikes, a spark caught the fluffy bundle of kindling on fire, which in turn lit up the thinner sticks that formed the cone. Carefully, he added ever thicker pieces of wood until he had a decent fire. Pleased as punch, he crouched down to watch the fire and wait for his new companion to wake up.

“You’re very good at that.”

“Damnation!” Everett lost his balance and tumbled backward.

“You all right?”

“Yeah.” Righting himself, furious that he’d become so enraptured by the flames he’d forgotten to keep an eye on the stranger, Everett climbed to his feet. He was glad night had fallen hard, and the fire wasn’t that bright, otherwise, the stranger would see the blush washing over his face.

“Didn’t mean to startle you.” Naked and oblivious, the stranger settled on his haunches across the fire from where Everett stood. Flames danced in his eyes and along the edges of his wet hair. Best Everett could tell, the man had taken a dip in the spring to clean off the rest of the dust. He looked even more amazing all wet and glistening.

“You gotta name?” Everett covered his embarrassment with a hefty dose of gruffness.

“I sure do.” The man lifted his hands out, warming them by the fire.

Everett gave him a moment, but when he didn’t say anything else, Everett asked, “Well?”

“What?”

“Your name.”

“Dalton. Dalton Hicks.”

“How’d you get here, Mr. Hicks?”

“Call me Dalton.”

“Dalton it is.” Again, Everett gave pause, waiting for the man to answer the question, but he just stayed there, balanced on the balls of his feet, warming himself by the fire. It took all Everett’s will not to stare at how the man’s flaccid cock dangled between his spread knees. Now that he was clean, Everett realized his pubic hair was the same deep brown as the hair on his head.

Moreover, he noticed his cock, even soft, was well formed and thick, and much bigger than Everett had assessed through all that dust. Why, if the man had been lying down with someone, they hadn’t tossed him for lacking in that area. Not from what Everett could see.

When he forcefully drew his gaze up to the man’s face, and saw a smirking grin, Everett realized that the man knew he’d been looking at his privates. Funny thing was, he didn’t seem upset by Everett’s interest. If anything, he seemed welcoming. But damned if that inner voice didn’t start up with the cautions again.
Remember that feller back in San Antonio who seemed all smiles and welcomes?
Everett did. He had a good-sized scar on the underside of his chin to remind him that sometimes men smiled to bare their teeth, not to indicate happiness.

“How did you get here?” Everett repeated the question, hoping this time Dalton would answer. Perversely, now that he had company, he was missing his solitude. Having to say everything twice would grow tiresome mighty fast. Moreover, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was imposing on the man. As crazy as it seemed, Everett wanted to gather up the animals and get going before he found out anything about this stranger. By the same measure, he felt another force holding him close. Push and pull battled his frayed nerves.

“How’d
you
get here?” Dalton returned the question with a smile that caused Everett’s breath to catch.

Pointedly, Everett looked over at the wagon then to the animals tethered by the water. The man didn’t seemed to be addled, but maybe looks were deceiving.

“Obviously I got here on that wagon.” Everett cast his attention around the sheltered area they shared. “Did your horse throw you?” It seemed as good an explanation as any for how the man had ended up knocked out cold on the ground. Course, that scenario didn’t explain his missing clothes. Everett had seen a lot of bucked men, but never one tossed right out of his duds.

“Nope.” Dalton grinned at him.

Sick of waiting for the man to speak further, Everett grumbled, “Not much of a talker, are you?”

“Nope.” Dalton’s grin deepened, flattening his curiously perfect lips against his even more perfect teeth.

Damn if he didn’t look like some kind of devil with his hair slicked back and flames dancing in his eyes. Didn’t help Everett’s concentration none that the man was naked. Distracted again by his cock, which had started to lengthen with arousal, Everett wondered where the hell the blanket had gone. When he glanced over, he saw the blanket folded neatly where Dalton had been laying in the dirt. Now he was wondering why he hadn’t used the damn thing to cover himself. Not that he minded looking, not at all, just that looking led to thinking, and thinking led to longing, and longing might lead him into a heap of trouble. Sometimes what seemed like welcome in a man’s eyes turned out to be anything but. Everett didn’t need another reminder of that out here where there wasn’t a barber to stitch up his face should his roving gaze get him hurt.