Rory Brown grew up in care but found a home, friendship, and a much-needed sense of security working on the Double J ranch. As far as Rory is concerned, fellow cowboy, Zane Fox, is perfect. Zane is strong but gentle, kind, big, ruggedly handsome ... and straight. Rory works alongside Zane, eats alongside Zane, and when an ice storm causes a power outage, he sleeps alongside Zane ... for warmth. Inhibitions lowered after getting drunk on his twenty-first birthday, Rory Kisses Zane and confesses his feelings for the man. The next day, when Rory learns his father is dying, although estranged from the man, Rory feels obligated to see him one last time. Zane follows Rory to Kansas and confesses he has feelings for Rory, too. After learning his father has died, Rory and Zane set off for home in Zane's old truck. However, bad weather and a mechanical breakdown mean they have to hole up in a guesthouse. Rory doesn't mind, it gives him a chance to explore things with his hunky new boyfriend. And there's a lot of Zane to explore. Life on the ranch is little short of idyllic, Zane is everything and more Rory could want in a lover, protector, and friend. A tiny part of Rory knows he should brace himself for if/when the other shoe -- or cowboy boot -- drops. Rory is thrown when evidence of Zane's heterosexual past reveals itself, leaving him totally devastated. Are Zane's feet made of clay, or can he redeem himself and once again become Rory's rock?

Rory's Rock

There was one other benefit to having electricity once again which they all had taken full advantage of earlier in the evening—the ability to take hot showers. Rory had stood under the spray for at least fifteen minutes, basking in the luxury of hot water. He’d begun to jerk off to visions of Zane. The previous night Zane had taken off his Captain America T-shirt, giving Rory a perfect view of his hair-covered torso. When Zane had gotten into bed he’d pulled a shivering Rory close and had pressed said hair-covered torso to Rory’s back and had promptly fallen asleep, leaving Rory with an erection hard enough to hammer nails. Fearing he’d wake the big man, and knowing he didn’t have anything to clean up with, Rory had resisted the urge to jerk off.


Chapter 14