Lucas shouted behind him, surging in and holding Aidan’s hips as he came. He pumped into Aidan’s ass again and again as he gave up his cum.
Aidan dragged in air as he fell forward, his head finding the soft grace of Lexi’s breasts. Lucas pulled out of his ass.
“Are you all right, Aidan?” Somehow now that the sex was over and the world seemed softer than before, Aidan was happy Lucas had dropped the Master.
“My back may never be the same.” Aidan’s back was in a vicious spasm, but he wouldn’t change it for the world.
Strong hands suddenly rubbed his muscles, easing the soreness.
“It’ll be all right,” Lexi promised. Her eyes had drifted closed. She didn’t seem to mind his weight pressing on her.
And that was how he fell asleep, caught between his loves, utterly safe.
Chapter Thirteen
Soft afternoon light filtered in through the thin, worn kitchen curtains as Lucas walked in from the yard. Sweat poured off his body, but the work was done. He’d left Aidan and Lexi sleeping, wrapped in each other’s arms. Lucas had never been a napper, but he did believe in getting the job done. They had left the day’s work undone, and that didn’t sit well with him.
“Damn, I need a shower,” Bo said as he trailed behind Lucas.
“Yeah, that’s ranch work for you.” Lucas had found Bo on the range, fixing part of the fence. It had surprised him since Dwight, the foreman, had gone on and on about how useless the young man was. Dwight and the rest of the hands were busy moving the herd from the south field north. Lucas had stopped the truck and given Bo a hand. After that, Bo had been like a puppy following him everywhere.
Somewhere along the way, Bo had dropped his tough guy act and started to act like a real human being. He’d asked about Lexi and been open to talking about his childhood on the ranch. It was exactly as Lucas had suspected. Bo missed his brother and was sick of being thought of as a fuckup.
“Damn, Lucas, I’m sorry,” a wry voice cut through the quiet. Dwight walked in from the office, a thick stack of papers in his hand. “If I had known he was going to bug you all day, I would have sent him into town or something.”
Lucas felt his eyes narrow. Something about Dwight just didn’t sit right. Maybe Bo deserved Dwight’s scorn. Lucas had watched the younger O’Malley act like an ass, but it just didn’t fit. “He was very helpful. He taught this city slicker a thing or two.”
Bo snorted. “Hell, you know a lot about ranching.”
“His brother is our new boss,” Dwight pointed out. “You know, the one you curse on a regular basis?”
Bo flushed, but Lucas had to laugh. “Hell, I curse Jack regularly, too. I worked for the bastard for a year, and every summer while I was in law school. I cursed him just a couple of hours ago. You should know that he’s in town.”
Bo’s eyes were on his boots. “I just didn’t want to change. My dad did things a different way.”
“I understand,” Lucas replied. “Change isn’t easy. Your brother is proof of that. He wasted years of all our time because he wasn’t ready to change.”
A loud shout slammed through the room with the power of a fist hitting flesh. It was a masculine scream for help, and then Lexi’s voice cut through the wail.
“Lucas!”
Lucas took off running. He burst through the bedroom door. Lexi had Aidan in her arms, trying to shake him awake. He was caught, seemingly in a fever, his body shaking, pulsing as though it was being hit over and over.
“Oh, god, he’s dreaming about it again.” Bo turned on his heels and left.
Lucas didn’t have time to worry about Bo, though it pissed him off that he would leave when his brother was in distress.
“He needs to take his damn pills.” Dwight stared down at Aidan with a frown on his face.
Lexi had tossed on Aidan’s shirt, but Aidan was tangled in the sheets. Aidan was talking, but Lucas couldn’t make out what he was saying. He was pleading with someone to stop.
“Stand down!” Aidan said it over and over.
Lucas tried to shake him awake, hating both the way his Master was vulnerable and the desperate look in Lexi’s eyes. “Aidan, wake up. Wake up!”
“If only he took his pills. You’re his—whatever the two of you are,” Dwight started, sounding disgusted with the whole thing. “Make him take his pills.”
“Maybe what he needs is to remember what happened to him,” Lucas said resolutely. He couldn’t go on like this. Aidan was fighting invisible monsters. He needed to push past his mental block and figure this out.
There was a loud bark and then that enormous dog, Ike, was bounding into the room, Bo following after him. He jumped onto the bed. Lucas started to pull him off.
“Don’t,” Bo said. “Ike is the only one who can calm him down.”
The dog whined a little and licked his master’s face. Aidan’s eyes almost immediately came open. He blinked, his hand coming up to pet the dog. He looked around as though trying to remember where he was.
“I was dreaming again.” Aidan’s voice sounded gravely, as though the shouting had done damage.
“Yes,” Lucas said, his heart calming down.
Despite Lexi’s stubborn claims that everything between her and Aidan was sex, she was clutching him to her breast, talking to him in soothing tones. Aidan wasn’t trying to be macho. He let Lexi hold him.
“You’re a good boy,” Lexi said, patting the dog.
“The dog was with you in Iraq?” Lucas asked. He’d heard stories of soldiers bringing back the dogs they found.
“Yes,” Aidan said. He held on to Lexi like a lifeline. “He was the squad’s little mascot.”
Dwight stood at the back of the room, looking a little out of place.
“Have you told him absolutely everything you can remember about that day?” Lucas asked, his eyes narrowing on Dwight.
Dwight’s brows came together in consternation. “Of course. What would I hold back? Our whole squad got cut down by insurgents. We only survived because I dragged him to cover. I thought he was dead, to tell you the truth. I was surprised when the medic said he’d survived.”
“I had something to live for,” Aidan murmured.
“Will you let me call Leo?” Lucas asked, his mind whirling with possibilities. Aidan obviously had some form of post-traumatic stress. “He would know something about this. Julian says Leo is an excellent therapist, and he served in Afghanistan. He might be able to help.”
“I’ve been seeing Leo for a while,” Aidan admitted. “Julian wouldn’t let me in The Club without Leo’s okay. Leo wants to get me under hypnosis. I didn’t think it was a great idea, but I seem to be getting worse. And I hate those pills. They make me groggy all day, Dwight, so don’t mention them again.”
“I was just trying to help. I can see you don’t need me now. I’ll get back to work.” Dwight slid out of the room, his boots quiet on the floor.
“Come on, Ike,” Bo said, slapping his hands together. The dog was reluctant, but Bo pulled out a stick of beef jerky. “You know you want it.”
Ike gave up his precious master in favor of flavored, dehydrated beef. A wisp of a smile traced over Bo’s face.
“I’m glad you’re feeling better, brother.” Bo’s smile turned distinctly wolfish. “And it was really nice to see you again, Lexi. All of you. I mean, you are really looking fine, darling. My brother is not good enough for you.”
Lucas glanced down and snorted a little when he realized what Bo was talking about. “Baby, you should pull that shirt down. You don’t have any underwear on.”