Don't Read in the Closet volume one (47 page)

Jackson rubbed
his hands over Ash’s ass. “I like that plan.”

He met Ash in a
long, slow kiss. Once again, Ash had amazed him, and in the best way yet.

CHAPTER 10

Ash stepped out
of Jackson’s home to the porch. The two-story mansion was on a slight rise,
giving a full view of Jackson’s property. Two barns and an indoor riding arena
were to one side. An outdoor riding arena, set up with pens and shoots for
roping, were situated nearby. The pastures rolled out into the distance, lined
in black wood fencing, a stream coursing through them. In one pasture, a few
cattle napped in the shade. In the others, horses meandered as they grazed.

When they
arrived in the early afternoon the day before, he and Jackson had gone pretty
much from the car to bed, which was fine by him. He was tired and horny, and
had wanted both taken care of quick. Ash folded his arms across his chest a
leaned one shoulder against a post. A small smile came to his lips. Now, though,
even he had to admit, standing here looking over Jackson’s property, it felt
right
.

He wasn’t so
much of a diehard city boy that he didn’t enjoy the outdoors. Hiking was one of
his favorite hobbies. Sequoia and King’s Canyon National Park was truly his
favorite place in the world. He could disappear in there for days, wandering
the forest and trails. During the band’s downtime, he always took trips to
other national parks and natural places around the world.

As much as he
enjoyed it, he never had a desire to live a country life. He loved the city,
having shopping, clubs, plenty of men, at his fingertips. But there was so much
peace here. No noise other than the birds and occasional whinny from a horse.
He understood better why Jackson enjoyed it, especially with the hectic life of
being a famed musician. Here, Jackson could be himself.

Ash heard the
door open behind him, and a moment later, strong arms slipped around his waist.

Jackson kissed
the side of Ash’s neck. “Enjoying the view?”

Ash laid his
hands over Jackson’s. “Yeah, I am. It’s really nice here.”

“I’m glad
you’re liking
it. We’ll have to go down to the pastures so
you can meet the horses. A couple of mares foaled this past spring.” Jackson
lifted his hand, pointing to the pastures. “The mares are in that one, the
geldings are over there. Then there’s just a few of the cattle that me, my
family, and some friends chase around and rope. When I’m in town, we usually
get together most weekends, play and have a barbeque.”

Ash turned his
head toward Jackson, smiling at him. “I really want to see you rope a cow.”

“I was thinking
of having everyone over this weekend, if you felt up to meeting all the crazies
in my family.”

“That’d be
cool.” Ash faced Jackson, resting his arms on Jackson’s shoulders in a loose
embrace. “Do your family and friends know you’re gay?”

“My family
does, and my close friends do. They’re the ones who come over. But outside of
them, except for Elizabeth no one in music knows, not even the guys who play
for me.”

“I got that
impression from the way they looked at me.” Ash glanced back at the property.
“It has to be a relief to get away from it all. I know when I’m coming off the
road, it always feels so good knowing I can be in my own home, sleep in my own
bed,
go
to the places that are familiar to me. But for
you, it’s more than a comfort thing. It’s getting to relax into being who you
really are.”

Jackson pulled
Ash tight against him, closing his eyes as he rested his head on Ash’s
shoulder. “You really understand.”

Ash gently ran
one hand up and down Jackson’s back. “Of course I do. The differences we have
are only on the surface. We have all the important things in common.”

Jackson nodded
and lifted his head. “So, you want a tour of this place?”

“If it doesn’t
involve me having to ride one of those,” Ash flicked his hand toward one of the
pastures with the horses, “I’m all for it.”

“How about we
ride in that instead?” Jackson nodded toward a Polaris two-seater UTV parked
nearby.

“That works.”

Jackson leaned
toward him, kissing him lightly on the lips. “Let’s pack up a few things. We
can go for a swim afterwards.”

“Why do we need
to pack anything? I saw your pool out back.”

Jackson turned
for the house. “Because we’re not going to swim in the pool.”

Ash followed
him. “Just so you
know,
that statement scared me a
little.”

“I’m just going
to show you how to have a good time in the country.”

“And that just
scared me even more.”

Ash smiled
listening to Jackson laugh. It had such a deep tone, rich and warm. He glanced
around Jackson’s home as they walked through it. The entire place was decorated
to have a Western flavor, masculine and tastefully done. It was another thing
opposite from him. His home in L.A. was done in cool, light colors to have a
trendy edge, but he couldn’t deny he liked the earthy feel of Jackson’s place.
Something about it made him feel instantly comfortable.

He helped
Jackson make sandwiches and
pack
a cooler with drinks.
They collected towels, a blanket, and in his opinion, the most important
things, lube and condoms. With the UTV loaded, Ash climbed in the passenger
side. Jackson got behind the wheel and drove down the dirt lane to the
pastures, going to the geldings first. At the sight of them approaching, some
of the horses lifted their heads and wandered toward the fence.

Jackson pointed
to a buckskin tobiano
Paint,
his coat splashed in
light tan spots, his mane and tail a blend of black and white. “That’s Rustler.
He’s my favorite and knows it. He takes advantage of me for treats.” He turned
in the seat and opened the cooler, pulling out a bag of carrots.

“So that’s what
those are for,” Ash said. “I thought you were either having a serious beta
carotene craving or we were going to get into some food kink.”

“Of all the
things I’d like to do with you, I really don’t think I’d go there.”

Ash snickered
and took a carrot Jackson handed to him. A black Quarter Horse with white socks
on all four legs and a white blaze, hung his head over the fence. Ash went to
him, petting him as he fed him the carrot. “This one’s cool.”

“That’s
Twister. He’s damn quick around the barrels, but also a good riding horse in
general.”

“Barrels?”

“You know,
barrel racing? You run a cloverleaf pattern around three barrels trying to get
as fast a time as you can.”

Ash gave him a
blank stare.

Jackson shook
his head. “I’ve got a lot to teach you.”

“Seriously.
This is a whole new world for me. I like being outside, hiking, exploring, but
this kind of lifestyle, horses, cattle, rodeo stuff, I’ve never come close to.
But you know, life is all about new experiences, so I’m willing to give this
stuff a shot.” He bumped his shoulder playfully against Jackson’s. “Besides,
The
City Mouse and the Country Mouse
was one of my favorite bedtime stories
when I was a kid.”

Laughter broke
from Jackson again. “At least you got a good foundation laid early on for this
kind of relationship.”

Ash chuckled
with him. “I think so.”

After visiting
with the horses, they climbed back into the UTV. Jackson drove beyond the
pastures, going off the road, following along the stream as he headed toward a
sparse patch of trees. Ash saw the stream came off a large
pond,
that
was further fed by a stream on the other side.

Jackson stopped
the UTV near the bank and winked at Ash. “Sometimes it’s fun to get away from
the pool and skinny dip a little closer to nature.”

“I could
definitely get used to country living if this is something you do a lot.”

Jackson lifted
the cooler from the back of the UTV. “I do, actually. Only, I’m always alone.”

Ash snapped out
the blanket and spread it over the grass. “Now that’s just sad.”

“Well, to be
honest, I spend a lot of time alone. I mean, I have family and friends over a
lot, and when I’m in the studio or on tour, I’m
never
alone, but it’s
not the same.”

Ash glanced at
him. He could hear the loneliness in Jackson’s voice, and it hurt him how
Jackson had isolated himself because he feared not being accepted in his music
genre because of his sexuality. Ash went to him and embraced him from behind.
“But you’re not alone now.”

Jackson leaned
back against him. “And I’m glad for that.”

He turned in
Ash’s arms, meeting him in a kiss as he slipped his hands under Ash’s shirt,
needing to feel his bare skin. Between kisses, they stripped more clothes from
the other until they both stood bare, bodies pressed together.

Jackson grinned
through the kiss, speaking with his lips on Ash’s. “Race ya.” He slapped Ash’s
ass, and turned, sprinting for the pond.

Ash laughed and
ran after him.

Jackson hit the
water first, diving forward and swimming toward the pond’s center. Ash caught
up to him and tackled him under, Jackson pulling him beneath as well. Both
broke the surface, laughing. Jackson wrapped his arms around him. Ash held onto
him as they found each other’s lips again.

Jackson moved
them through the water toward a shallower spot near the pond’s edge. Ash slowly
drew back from the kiss and pulled himself up on a flat rock, his legs dangling
in the water. He waved his hand, inviting Jackson to sit between his legs.
Jackson sat on a rock beneath the water, raised up so the water only came to
his waist. He leaned back, resting an arm over one of Ash’s legs.

Ash started
massaging Jackson’s shoulders, earning a groan of appreciation from him. “This
was a good idea.”

“I’m glad
you’re enjoying it.”

“Yeah. But you
know
,
I seem to enjoy everything I do with you.” Ash
leaned down, placing a kiss on Jackson’s cheek. “Even fighting.”

A few deep
chuckles rumbled from Jackson’s throat. “I’ll go with that, too.”

“I feel really
good about what’s happening between us, but I want you to know, no matter what
happens, you’re never going to be alone. Whenever you need support about coming
out, or even about not coming out, I’ll always be here for you.”

Jackson turned
his head and tipped it
back,
gazing up at him, wanting
to express his gratitude for Ash’s words, but Ash stopped him with a smirk and
an exaggerated sigh.

“The only
problem is, now that the paparazzi know we’re not fighting anymore, it means we
can hang out more often, and that’s really going to knock down my image of a
rock star with a dick of an attitude. People are going to start thinking your
nice boy ways will rub off on me.”

“I don’t think
you have anything to worry about with that. You couldn’t look like a nice boy
if Gandhi was your best friend.”

“I’m not sure
if I should take that as a compliment, but I’m going to.” Ash saw Jackson still
gazing up at him with a grin. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I’m just
admiring you. You’re so sexy with your black eyeliner on, but seeing you right
now without it, you look incredible.”

Ash bent down
to him again, dipping one hand into the water in front of Jackson. “See, I must
be turning into a nice boy already. A little sappiness like
that,
and you’ve got me melting for you.”

“Then maybe you
can be a nice boy just with me.”

“I’d like
that.”

Ash touched
his lips to Jackson’s
, feeling Jackson’s care for him in the
kiss and knowing there were so many more moments like this ahead of them.

THE END

Author
bio: S.J. Frost resides in Ohio with her family and pets. Her short stories
have been featured in several romance and erotica anthologies, and her M/M
erotic romance novels are published at MLR Press. To learn more about her
writing, please feel welcomed to visit
www.sjfrost.com
and
http://sj-frost.blogspot.com/.