Building Bridges (Sater's Creek Book 4) Read online

  Bax waved his hand at Elias’s crotch. “Suck his dick or something.”

  “You think that’s all us gay men do?”

  “I know it isn’t, but get a few drinks in him, then suck his dick. Sex works wonders, and make-up sex is amazing.”

  “It won’t be make-up sex, though, will it.” Elias closed the front door behind him and leaned back against it. “We have nothing to make up over. We haven’t had an argument.”

  “You have.”

  “We aren’t in a relationship, Bax, so why would we have make-up sex?”

  Bax tilted his head and stared intently at Elias, sucking his bottom lip into his mouth. “Do you want one?” he asked softly.

  “With Lachlan?” Bax nodded, and Elias rubbed the back of his neck. “I did back then.” He glanced at Bax, who waved him to carry on. “Now? I don’t know. I’ve changed over the years, so I can only assume he has too, and you saw how he reacted tonight.”

  “He was angry and justifiably so, considering how you treated him.”

  “Yes, he has every right to be furious with me, but that doesn’t mean anything will happen between us.”

  “You need to talk without the beer and anger clouding the conversation. He needs to hear what you have to say, and then you leave it up to him. Sater’s Creek is a small place, and you’re gonna run into each other. For everyone, it would be better if you could at least be civilized with each other.” Bax stretched and yawned. Turning to go upstairs, he said, “I’ll talk to Tuck. He’s living with Lach’s brother. See if I can help smooth the way.”

  “Thanks, Bax.”

  Bax chuckled. “Don’t thank me yet. Might not do anything to help.”

  Elias pushed away from the door and walked down the hallway and into the kitchen. Opening the fridge, he grabbed a bottle of water and chugged half of it down. Sighing, he glanced out of the window but didn’t see anything. It was too dark outside, but he knew what lay beyond.

  Lachlan Doyle had turned into a damn fine man. Working on the farm had helped him bulk up, and Elias could appreciate the muscles on the man. He liked to feel he was with a man. Hard body against his own. Twinks never did it for him, and he tried a few times but knew it wasn’t what turned him on.

  Curly blond hair, deep blue eyes, and a body crafted from hard work, not a gym, was what had his dick hard and pulsing in his jeans. Lachlan. Elias had fancied him in high school, and he was still attracted now.

  Shame he’d fucked it all up, but that was then, and this was now. He had to show Lachlan he’d changed. Lach had every right to be angry with Elias, and he understood.

  Sighing, he put the bottle of water back in the fridge and slowly made his way upstairs to his bedroom. Tomorrow was a new day, and Elias had some planning to do.

  “Bastard,” he hissed under his breath and drove home. “I’m gay, and I’m sorry I made your life hell.”

  Lachlan growled and slammed the brakes hard when he arrived home. Anger made him drive too fast, and for a split second, his eyes had widened in fear as the house had loomed up in front of him.

  “Shit,” he breathed out slowly as he loosened his grip on the steering wheel.

  Letting go of it, he slumped in the driver’s seat and wiped a hand over his face. Damn, he was tired. It had been a long week on the farm, and to top it off, Elias had shown up. His tormentor. The boy who’d made his life hell. Now, he was a man, and Lachlan despised the fact that he’d turned out to be so damn attractive.

  Tall and broad, with arms made to hold a man tight and from what he could tell, a nice package just waiting for someone to unwrap and then get their lips around it. Lachlan wanted to strip him naked, see what his clothes hid, while at the same time, he wanted to deck him again.

  Sighing, he got out and walked over to the farmhouse. His ma had kept the light on for him, and as he opened the front door, he heard Kian’s truck pull up behind him. He leaned against the wall and waited for his brother to join him and winced at the look of anger on his face.

  “Lach. How could you punch him? Rory’s gonna be all over this. You know how seriously he takes his job.”

  “Depends if he presses charges.” Lachlan shrugged nonchalantly. “Not like I care about the fucker.”

  “What about Ro? Care about your brother and the mess you’ve left him with?”

  Lachlan winced at that. Yeah, he didn’t want Ro sorting his mess out, and he’d helped him plenty over the past few months. He owed Rory a lot. “I am sorry for that,” he admitted. “I didn’t think someone would call the cops on us.”

  “You punched someone in the face in the middle of the pub!” Kian threw his arms in the air. “What did you expect to happen?”

  “You punched someone, son?”

  “Da.” Lachlan rubbed his forehead, closing his eyes. Could this night get any worse? “It was Elias. The kid from school.”

  “Only he’s not a kid, and he apologized,” Kian hissed. “And you punched him for it!”

  “He admitted the only reason he bullied me was that he was too afraid to admit he was gay. And it wasn’t just him, was it? Oh no, all his little sycophant friends joined in.”

  “So he’s gay, and he apologized. Seems he had issues, Lach.”

  Lachlan spun around and stared at Seamus. “Of course he had issues, Da. He couldn’t be honest with himself and admit he was gay, so he made up for his failures by bullying me. Slashing my tires, beating me up, screaming abuse at me. You have no idea how happy I was when he left Sater’s Creek.”

  “What he did was wrong, Lach, but he was man enough to admit it and apologize for it.”

  “Oh wow, Elias grew some balls,” Lach muttered sarcastically. “Shame, I had to do that years ago because of him.” When Seamus went to speak, Lach held his hand up. “Don’t. I’m tired, and we’re up early tomorrow. Can we discuss it then?”

  Seamus nodded. “We will discuss this tomorrow, Lach. Punching someone at your age.” He shook his head and disappeared inside, Kian following.

  Lach stood with his hands on his head and wearily shook his head. He wasn’t looking forward to breakfast tomorrow.

  CHAPTER SIX

  LACHLAN GRUNTED AS he mucked out the stalls. His mind was firmly fixed on the previous night, and no matter how hard he tried to look at it, he didn’t regret punching Elias. The man deserved it, and the only thing Lachlan would change was the fact that he’d only punched him once. A follow-up would have worked wonders.

  Breakfast had been awkward. Both Imogen and Seamus had railed him for punching someone. Rory had even turned up, looking tired and frustrated, and blasted him too. It felt like pick‑on‑Lachlan day for sure.

  Seamus had even suggested that at some point, Lachlan should try talking to Elias and clear the air. Like, what? Lachlan was sure Seamus knew exactly where he stood on that from the expression on his face alone.

  No fucking chance.

  He leaned against the stall and sighed. Seamus didn’t need this on his plate as well as whatever was going on with his health. Both Imogen and Seamus had remained tight-lipped about it, and that messed with Lachlan’s head.

  Both parents had made honesty and talking about their opinions the norm when growing up. No one hid anything in their house because it led to tension and arguments. He knew why. Six kids under one roof could cause a shitload of issues if they didn’t talk about problems, but for them to keep quiet rubbed Lachlan the wrong way.

  He had to bide his time and wait until after they’d seen the specialist, and then they could all sort it out. Whatever was wrong with Seamus, they would face it together, as a family.

  Elias was the issue with Lachlan, and what the fuck would he do about it? Avoiding him sounded good, but then he remembered Wes and Reece and grimaced. Maybe Seamus was right, and he should just speak to him. Then in the future, they could say a polite hello and leave it at that.

  Didn’t help that when Lachlan had been in the shower that morning, his mind had drifted to Elias and how good he
looked. Those tats were made for licking, and Lachlan had groaned in aroused frustration as his mind seemed to show him Elias’s body in high definition.

  And what a body from what Lachlan had seen. He didn’t need to go over how Elias looked. His mind had that on repeat, and he’d sported a semi all day. At least he was going out to Ro’s tonight. He needed to apologize to his brother, then grill Tuck for all the info he had on Elias.

  He needed to get the man out of his mind. He needed to get laid. That was his problem. It had been months since Lachlan had had sex, and he needed some release that wasn’t his hand.

  He’d make plans to go next weekend. Maybe drag one of his friends along with him. Speaking of friends, he needed to call Abe and arrange a night out. Four of them had grown up together and still kept in touch.

  If it hadn’t been for them, Lachlan wasn’t sure how he would have gotten through high school. They kept him going, no matter how bad things got. He owed them a lot for helping him through that horrendous time.

  Lachlan, Jeremiah, Abe, and Dev had done everything together. The four had been inseparable until college came around. Lachlan had stayed, but the other three had left and only returned once they had their degrees.

  Maybe now that Kian and Flynn were back full time, Lachlan could think of doing something for himself. Farming or agriculture. Weren’t they the same thing? Sighing, he picked up the brush and continued cleaning out the stalls.

  No, this was where he was meant to be. The farm was in his blood; he didn’t want to leave, but he did need a night out.

  His cell phone beeped, and he leaned the brush up against the barn wall as he pulled it free from his pocket.

  Abe. Grinning, Lachlan read the message. Man, they thought alike.

  Free this Friday?

  Lachlan quickly replied, Just thinking about arranging a night out.

  That’s a yes, then? I’ll get the guys, and we can go to Pine Creek. Need some action!

  Lachlan chuckled. Now that he knew Curtis, Tucker’s friend, he saw the similarities between him and Abe. Both men loved women.

  I’m up for that. It’s been months since I got laid.

  Months! How the fuck do you manage? A week is too long for me.

  I know. I’ve seen you in action. Friday, then?

  Yeah. I’ll see what Jer and Dev are up to.

  Nice. See you then.

  Pocketing his cell, Lachlan picked up the brush and got back to work with a spring in his step. If he was lucky, and he usually was, he would be getting laid Friday.

  “Dude. I really don’t need to know this level of detail,” Abe grumbled as Jeremiah told them about his date the previous week.

  “We hear about the women you sleep with all the time,” Lachlan reminded him. “We don’t whine about that.”

  “That’s because I fuck hot women, with big tits.” Abe held his hands out, mimicking large breasts. “And miles of legs to wrap around me as I plow that—”

  “You kiss your ma with that mouth?” Dev asked, cringing at Abe’s words. “Tone it down, Abe.”

  Abe scoffed and nodded to Jeremiah. “Go on. Tell us all about this man.”

  “Hang on. I’ll get us some more drinks. Then we can hear all about it.” Lachlan stood from the table and walked toward the bar, catching Alex’s attention. She nodded at him as she served another customer, then came over to take his order.

  “The usual?”

  Lachlan grinned. She knew them so well. “Yeah.”

  “Plenty of men in here for you tonight.”

  Lachlan glanced around the bar and dance floor, nodding in agreement. “There is, and my gaydar is telling me I’ll have some fun too.”

  She waggled her eyebrows at him. “Damn. I need you to plug a camera in your bedroom so I can watch.”

  “You need to get laid, Alex.”

  She sighed, placing a hand on her chest. “I know. It’s been like five days.”

  Lachlan snorted. “How is Marden?”

  “He’s good but working away. He’ll be back next week, and boy, will he need to be well rested.”

  “Maybe I need a camera. I’d just have to ignore you.”

  “He’s mine, and yes, his body is that good.”

  “I think I’m jealous.”

  She laughed and held out her hand. Lachlan gave her a twenty, saying, “Keep the change.”

  “Not much from that.”

  “Don’t charge so much.”

  He picked up the tray Alex had placed the drinks on, and carefully made his way back to their table. As he approached, he could hear Jeremiah say, “How do you know?”

  “What? If I have my eyes shut, I won’t know it’s a man sucking my dick?” Abe scoffed. “Fuck, no.”

  “Tell us about the date?” Lachlan asked, handing everyone their fresh beers.

  Jeremiah looked at Abe and grinned viciously. “I’m a strange guy as in I don’t swallow.”

  “Shit, Jer,” Abe muttered.

  “I’m giving my date head, yeah, going to town on his dick—”

  Abe held up a hand. “I’m going to have the graphic details of this?”

  “Why, yes, Abe. You are.”

  “Get me when you’re done.”

  “You leaving ‘cause I’m gay?”

  Abe sat down and glared at Jeremiah. “So, I was with this bird, and I spread her legs, and she’s so wet, and I’m licking my—”

  Jeremiah shouted, “Okay! You made your point.”

  “You being gay means fuck all to me, but I don’t want the details, just like you don’t want to hear about mine.”

  “I get it. You don’t have to go on.”

  Abe grabbed Jeremiah’s head and gave him a smacking kiss on the cheek, grinned, and walked away. Jeremiah watched him, and Lachlan glanced away, catching Dev’s eyes. They both knew how Jeremiah felt about Abe, but Abe would never be into men. He was as straight as a man could be. He’d supported both Lachlan and Jeremiah when they came out, but he had never been interested.

  Dev. Lachlan wasn’t so sure about him. He’d had plenty of women, but occasionally, he’d seen Dev looking at men and them looking back.

  Jeremiah sighed, and Lachlan said, “So, this date?”

  Jeremiah smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Yeah. It was okay.”

  “Head, Jer. We were talking about head,” Lachlan reminded him.

  Jeremiah truly smiled, and it reminded Lachlan how attractive his friend was. Shorter than him, with reddish-blond hair and green eyes, darker than Lachlan’s own. His pale skin shone, and the whole package drew the eye. Jeremiah was never short of company.

  “I’m sitting on a chair, and he’s standing in front of him, and I’m giving him head. He’s moaning and trying to fuck my face, so I’m thinking he’s enjoying it. Then he starts jerking, and suddenly, he comes! Without warning me.”

  “Shit,” Dev muttered.

  Lachlan agreed. He always said something before he shot. “And?”

  “He’s coming in my mouth, and my gag reflex kicks in. I’m thinking, do I hurl all over his dick?” Jeremiah cringed and pulled a face. “I kinda let it dribble out of the side of my mouth, hoping he wouldn’t notice. He didn’t because I am just that good at sucking dick, and I was able to clean up.” Jeremiah mimicked throwing up. “No second date for him.”

  “As long as he reciprocated.”

  “No, the selfish fucker didn’t.” Jeremiah glared. “He actually thanked me, then left.” He sat back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest.

  “What a bastard. You always give back to your partner.” Dev shook his head. He turned and waved to Abe, who nodded in return. “I don’t blame you fucking him off.”

  “All done?”

  “Yeah, the guy took but didn’t give.”

  Abe stared at Jeremiah. “You’re joking?”

  “No, he had his fun, then left me hanging.”

  “What’s his name?”

  Jeremiah frowned at Abe. “Like I’m giv
ing you his name.”

  “He used you, Jer. I’m not having that.”

  “It’s done. Now tell us about your latest conquest.”

  Abe smiled and leaned back in his chair. “She was good. Nice pair of tits.”

  “You seeing her again.”

  “Nah. One night was enough.”

  Lachlan growled and stood. “Hitting the floor.”

  “Go get some!” Jeremiah shouted, making Lachlan grin.

  Watching the people on the dance floor, Lachlan caught the eye of one particular man and weaved his way through the crowd to reach him. The man smiled, and Lachlan stepped closer. Yeah, he was going to get some.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  ELIAS LAUGHED AT Wes as he punched Tucker on the arm.

  “Of course I’m not letting Reece make all the plans for our wedding. Who do you think I am?”

  “Sucker in love, that’s who,” Tucker retorted. “You’ve been in love with him since you were a kid.”

  “I’m not that stupid to let him take over.” Wes crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Tucker. “What type of fool do you think I am? We both know exactly the kind of man Reece is. I want a nice, quiet, but stylish wedding. Can you imagine what would happen if I let Reece’s parents get involved? We’d have dildos and vibrators hanging from the ceiling celebrating gay love!”

  Elias laughed again and then lifted his hand when Wes turned and fixed him with a hard stare. He swallowed and said, “Bax knows you a lot better than I do, but even I’ve heard about Reese’s parents. They’re not exactly…” He trailed off, searching for the right word to describe them.

  Wes arched a brow at Elias. “Shy?” He pursed his lips and shook his head once. “You want to know what gift they gave us when Reece moved in?”

  Elias glanced at Tucker, who shook his head behind Wes. Wes pointed his finger over his shoulder, muttering, “Stop shaking your head now, Tuck.”

  “Yes?” Elias asked. He had the feeling he didn’t want to know the answer, but with the look Wes had pinned him with, he knew he didn’t have a choice.