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Sick that Kip had seen him butchering a bear, Rogue went back outside after he’d placed Kip in the tub and prayed the man he loved wouldn’t leave before Rogue could finish. He hated having to leave Kip, but the client wanted the meat to go home with him and for Rouge to send the head to be mounted properly to a taxidermist he trusted.
If he left the carcass outside, it wouldn’t even take an hour before most of it was devoured by other animals. Putting his apron back on, he went to work. Thankfully, he’d been nearly done when Kip had arrived. He took a cooler and stacked the neatly labeled packages inside. Then he put that into the walk-in cooler that was bear-proof, next to the head that, thank goodness, had already been stored before Kip had seen it.
Using the hose, he washed down everything else, making sure to bleach the area, as well as push any small remaining bits or blood into a drain that he’d installed and came out about three miles away. He didn’t believe in waste and whatever critters could feast upon it was welcome to it, but that didn’t mean he wanted them around the house.
He’d already considered hiring one of the butchers in a nearby town to do this part for him. He’d known Kip wouldn’t be able to tolerate it and if the man still agreed to a future with Rogue, it would be impossible to keep hiding this part of his job. Plus, he was exhausted.
He needed to worry more about the scouting and hunting aspects of the business, not butchering. It took a lot of time to do it properly and if anyone else on that trip had managed to kill a bear, he would have been working until late into the night.
As it was, they’d left by ten Friday morning, and hadn’t returned until four Sunday afternoon. It was now approaching seven after he’d dropped the others back at the hotel, unloaded the bear to the butchering area, and gotten to work.
Summers would be even worse since the sun pretty much never went down, making hunting trips last that much longer. Based on the verbal reviews he’d gotten from those he’d taken out, Rogue was fairly confident his business would do well. But if he wanted a relationship with Kip, it might be time to hire another guide or two.
There were several he trusted to do things his way. Rogue never allowed his guests to mistreat an animal. His living was made from animals and there was no way he’d ever do anything that might harm that living. This included killing a species that was off limits, cubs, or mommas. Nor did he permit an animal to suffer if the hunter’s aim wasn’t true.
It was why he mostly ate wild game. He was just as appalled with how meat processing plants treated their animals as Kip was. It couldn’t have been as easy job, but once a person loses the ability to feel for the animal they helped kill, it was time to quit. There were many hunters that Rogue had refused to hunt with because of that.
Taking another freezing shower in the outside shower, he scrubbed himself down, making sure there wasn’t a drop of blood on him anywhere. Then he headed back inside, naked as the day he was born, since he didn’t want Kip to have to see his bloody clothes.
As he turned the knob to the back door, Rogue prayed with everything he had that Kip was still inside. Heading through the kitchen, the living room and into the master bedroom, his heart raced when he looked through the pass through fireplace and saw Kip’s dark hair against the tub.
Profound relief swamped him, and he dropped to his knees in gratitude. It didn’t necessarily mean Kip would stay, but at least Rogue had a chance. That was more than he thought he’d have when he heard Kip throwing up at the sight of him butchering that bear.
It wasn’t until Kip’s arms went around him, his wet body pressing against his that Rogue had realized he’d been sobbing. “Hey, it’s okay,” Kip murmured. “I’ve got you.”
The instant those words were out of Kip’s mouth, Rogue’s arms went around and pulled him tight to his body. There was no way he was letting this man go. Ever.
“Please,” Rogue cried. “Please tell me you can forgive me. I don’t want to lose you.”
He wasn’t sure how long they held each other as they both cried, but Rogue could only be grateful that Kip wasn’t running from the house screaming bloody murder. It would have been his right after all he’d seen. Yet, Kip stayed right where he was holding Rogue as tightly as Rogue was holding him.
“I don’t know if I can go through that again,” Kip finally admitted, though his hold on Rogue was just as tight as ever.
The thing was, Rogue couldn’t even blame him. The moment he’d gotten home with the bear, Rogue had known it would never work for him to butcher the kills as well as guide the hunters. “I know, sweet cheeks. I have already decided it would be better if I sent the kills to a butcher. I’m so damn sorry you had to see that.”
Kip shuddered in his arms. “Thank you, but when I was relaxing in the tub, I realized it was partly my fault. We agreed I wouldn’t come over after one of your hunts until you said it was okay.” There was another shiver from Kip.
“I guess I hadn’t thought about the reasons why. Or, and this was my fault, I hadn’t wanted to think about what it was you might be doing.” There was another shiver, but it helped ease Rogue’s heart that Kip held him even tighter.
“Please tell me you can find it in your heart to still love me.” Rogue prayed with everything he had inside of him to make those words true. He couldn’t really blame Kip if he couldn’t, but he desperately wanted to have this man, who had managed to carve out a huge portion of Rogue’s heart for himself, to still want, and believe they had a future together.
When Kip leaned in and kissed Rogue, he swore his heart was about to beat its way out of his chest in relief and happiness. Dipping his head, he captured those perfect lips in a kiss that he prayed conveyed every bit of emotion Rogue felt in that moment.
He would do anything to have this man in his life. If that meant giving up hunting... Rogue seriously prayed it wouldn’t, for he honestly had no idea what he would do if that was Kip’s demand, but he would seriously consider it.
“I love you,” Kip whispered when they finally came up for air. “I may not always deal with certain aspects of your life as easily as others, but I will always try to find a way to accept you as you are.”
That was all Rogue could honestly ask.
Laying Kip on the floor, Rogue ravished his mouth before moving down the love of his life’s neck. The need to mark this man as his rode him hard. He wasn’t sure how Kip felt about hickeys, but he assumed if his sweet cheeks had a problem with it, he’d let Rogue know.
Sucking up a spot high on his neck, ensuring even a turtleneck wouldn’t be able to completely hide it, Rogue sucked that succulent skin. He grinned when Kip arched his neck to give Rogue more room. Yeah, when the night was over, Rogue planned on making sure Kip was marked from head to toe.
Working his way down, he had three hickeys by the time he reached Kip’s collarbone. But Rogue wasn’t even close to done. If it were possible, he wanted the whole world to know that this amazing man belonged to him. Rogue just wished he knew that was true.
It wasn’t until the fifth hickey along Kip’s neck that Rogue forced himself to pull back. The fact that Kip’s equally naked body was straddling his, only made it that much harder to stop himself from just picking up Kip’s slim body and impaling himself in that tight hole.
“Please tell me you still want to be with me,” Rogue groaned out as he slipped a finger into Kip’s snug channel. He wasn’t sure he would be able to stand it if Kip rejected him. Logically, Rogue understood that was a strong possibility, but logic and emotion weren’t something he knew how to reconcile.
“Please,” Kip groaned. “I need to feel you inside of me.”
Not about to deny the man he loved anything, Rogue stood up and carried Kip to the bed he hoped he would forever share with the man. Laying him down, Rogue yanked out the drawer with the lube and condoms.
Last time he’d started out slowly, but this time he slicked up his hand, and thrust three fingers in all at once.
Kip hissed at the burn that must have occurred but still started to ride Rogue’s digits. If Rogue died that day, he would have been a happy man to see Kip take his pleasure as he rode Rogue’s digits.
“Please, Rogue,” Kip whined. “I need you.”
Loving the sound of his sweet cheeks begging, Rogue tugged his fingers free. Wanting to show this man just how much he loved every inch of his body, Rogue lifted him up onto the bed. Quickly rolling the condom on, he pressed the broad head to Kip’s entrance.
Then he gazed into those dark blue eyes and said, “I will always love you.”
With a hard, deep thrust, Rogue seated his dick as deep as possible into that hot, wet channel that pulsed around his length.
“I love you, too,” Kip cried as his hips pushed upward.
For a brief moment, Rogue prayed to God, or whoever might be listening, that Kip would always find a way to love him, faults and all.
