Exiled to an abandoned presidio in southwestern Texas, Father Alonzo Vargas is accustomed to being utterly alone except for his white donkey, Angelica. He is also fully acquainted with the corrupt and rotten sheriff, John Cullen, the man responsible for his semi-permanent exile. When he finds a victim of the sheriff hanging upside down from a tree, he immediately cuts the man down and vows to nurse him back to health.<br><br>Ben McKinnon has never done anything to cross Sheriff Cullen -- except defend the land he inherited from his father. The land Cullen covets. He's surprised when the exiled priest makes it clear that he will not only be a nurse, but will also become Ben's ally in the fight against Cullen. He's even more shocked when he realizes he doesn't just want Father Alonzo as a friend. Ben cherishes the other man's mind, his body, and his heart.<br><br>But Alonzo is not a free man. And if Sheriff Cullen has his way, they will both be dead men.

Those Who Cherish

“I don’t know…what should I do?”


“That depends. Do you want to touch me?”


Alonzo had spent a great deal of time touching Ben. He had inspected Ben’s skin, found marks and scars, tested the firmness of his flesh. But this wasn’t the same. Touching him in the darkness would be different.


His quiet affirmative drew a soft sigh from Ben. He sat up, looming at Alonzo’s side, and worked at his pants until they were on a heap on the floor and his long, glorious body was completely naked to Alonzo’s touch. Grasping Alonzo’s wrist, he guided it to his groin, to the hard length of his prick.


The strangest feeling washed through him—sharp and golden and hungry. He wanted to make Ben happy. He wanted to give pleasure more than he had ever wanted anything else. But he would be lying to himself if he claimed he wasn’t afraid. He was afraid of that desire, and he was afraid of doing it wrong, and he was afraid of where it would lead.


Chapter 26