House of Mirrors by Bonnie Dee and Summer Devon Read Free Book Online Page B

holding each other’s dicks? Rafe glanced down at the white fluid decorating his green waistcoat and let go of Jonah at last to wipe it clean with a bandanna from his pocket.
    Jonah did the same, cleaning up his hand with a white handkerchief spattered with dark stains of dried blood.
    Rafe nodded at the handkerchief. “They got you pretty good. Was it because of something like this?” With a wave of his hand he indicated what had just transpired between them. “Never mind. You don’t have to answer. As I said, you can leave the past behind here.”
    Rafe stepped away, tucking his cock in his trousers and buttoning them. He avoided looking at Jonah. With that sudden frenzy of lust over, there was nothing to do but carry on as if nothing had happened. Now that the edge was off his fervent need, regrets crept in. He shouldn’t get involved with an employee. What they’d done mustn’t happen again, let alone anything more involving mouths or bungholes. A one-off with a stranger along the road was one thing, but he couldn’t fuck a man who was working for him, someone he’d see every day, someone the rest of the group would soon figure out he was fucking.
    He picked up a blank sheet that had fallen from the sheaf he used for posters, jostled loose from its place as they went along the road—rather like his brain. He tucked the poster paper away and busied himself with securing the stacks of paper rather than look over at Jonah.
    “I’d better check how Dimitri is doing with the axle. We’ll be moving again soon. I suggest you gather your things and go find Crooked Pete. He’s the head of the roustabouts. I’m sure Sam pointed him out to you, but if he didn’t, the old man looks like his name. He’ll tell you where you should bunk and what your chores will be.”
    “All right.” Jonah still sounded breathless, but Rafe didn’t look back to see how he reacted to the brusque order. He didn’t want to see disappointment or hurt on the young man’s open face. It might make him change his mind.

Chapter Six
     
    Rafe hovered over Dimitri, but his attention was on his own wagon. He watched Talbot emerge, carrying his little bundle, and go look for Crooked Pete. Good. No more temptation lying on the floor beside him tonight. His thoughts turned to the few minutes they’d groped each other in his wagon, and he shivered at the memory. Jonah’s obvious experience had taken him by surprise. The way he touched and kissed demonstrated a fluency in a language Rafe barely knew. Such a contrast to the man’s innocent face and demeanor—a mirror shifted, and a different aspect was revealed. Hell, maybe country boys got up to all sorts of grappling with one another in haymows.
    But Rafe didn’t want to think of sex anymore. He shut down that part of his mind and focused on getting the crew moving, since Dimitri had announced the axle was “patched for now.” The caravan got back on the road not fifteen minutes later as Dimitri had promised, but almost a full forty-five.
    They didn’t reach Bartonville until after dusk. Rafe made sure their advanceman, Jack Treanor, had paid the men in charge the proper bribes before the carnival began setup.
    Men trailed after him as he raced through the site, finding the perfect location for the gumshoe—a sturdy, round block of wood that would be the main support for the big top. He strode on, waving at the spots for the smaller tents and pointing to where the wagons should be placed. Once the poles and lacing were laid out, everyone took his position by the canvas, ready to haul. The horses snorted and shook their manes as they waited. He couldn’t resist the dramatic pause—he was a showman, after all—before he blew the whistle and the steady, slow pull on the ropes, the shouts, and the chantey began.
    All right; this was the part he loved best. It was grueling work, and the carnival wasn’t fully erected until late at night, everyone working in the light of kerosene lanterns