Sex in the Sky

The day had finally come. I’d soon be moving into my newly refurbished house, according to the contractor, Mr. Gorton. Well, hopefully it really would be done this time. Mr. Gorton or Marty the malefactor as I sometime referred to him, had promised that everything was finished and done exactly according to my specifications. According to him, all that was left was my final inspection and approval.

I’d found a great piece of beach front property with a decent house on it. The house itself was something of a wreck, but it had a great view, lots of space and definite potential.

After six months of planning and a whole year of work I was finally happy with the results. Marty’s reputation for excellent workmanship only slightly surpassed his reputation for being a reprobate. I had fired his ass several times over the past eighteen months, but somehow we’d always managed to work things out.

I pulled into the driveway and saw a workman’s truck. I just assumed that it was one of Marty’s.

As I stepped inside, I looked around. Everything seemed to be in order.

“Hey! Marty?” I yelled.

No answer. I walked in looking around to make sure that everything was as clean as I had specified.

We’d gone around and around about the fact that the finished product be immaculate. After all I was paying him top dollar so I expected a certain level of excellence. That included cleaning up after his workmen were done.

After a few seconds I saw a head pop up from behind the newly installed wet bar.

“Where’s Gorton?” I demanded angrily.

“Well, I don’t actually know where he is at the moment, but”

“What?” I interrupted, very irritated.

This wasn’t the first time that Marty had stood me up, but it would surely be the last.

“But”, The guy insisted, “He called me not long ago and said that he would be here any minute.”

“Well, why the hell didn’t he call me to say that he’d be late?”

“Hmmm, I really couldn’t say.” He said, politely. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

I didn’t respond. I just walked around the house inspecting every little detail. Trying to find some fault that I could complain about. The workman simply went back to his task, which was cleaning out the cabinets that he’d just recently finished installing.

After I’d cooled down a bit, I went back into living room where the guy was finishing up. In all honesty, after walking around my newly reconditioned house, I was really quite pleased.

It finally struck me that I had been unduly rude to this workman. He was a really shabby looking guy with almost shoulder length dark curly hair and a three day old beard. His baggy assed work clothes only added to his unkempt look. But that was certainly no excuse for my behavior.

His eyeglasses were the old fashioned Buddy Holly kind which had probably made him even more invisible to me. He didn’t look any different than the rest of the guys who’d worked here before.

There was certainly nothing remarkable about this guy, except the fact that I had been unnecessarily rude to him and that just wasn’t me. For most of my life I’d made it a point to try to treat everyone with the same degree of respect I would expect. This was especially important now that I had quite a bit of money.

I slowly ambled back over to where he was working.

“Listen I’m sorry about all that. I’m Craig.” I said, offering him my hand.

“Yes, I know who you are Mr. Brooks.” He said accepting my hand with a smile and shaking it firmly. “And don’t worry about it.”

“Yeah, well, I really feel I should apologize to you for being so nasty earlier.” I told him.

“Oh no, its no problem.” He waved it off as unimportant. “Mr. Gorton has a way of pissing off all of his clients sooner or later.”

As we gazed at each other, he removed his glasses. I finally noticed the color of his eyes and I was quite amazed. At first they seemed to be an almost liquid color of pale brown. Like the color of raw honey reflecting the early morning sun. They were the brilliantly luminescent.

In fact, upon closer inspection I discovered that his eyes weren’t exactly brown. Well, not entirely brown I should say. There were flecks of green radiating out from the pupil, which blended and balanced the color.

I just stood staring at him like an idiot. I was immobilized by his eyes.

The stark contrast of his beautifully luminescent eyes and thick, black hair simply astounded me. In my entire life, I don’t believe that I had ever seen eyes quite that color. Especially on a dark haired man.

Suddenly I realized that I was still holding his hand firmly in my grip. I relaxed my hand intending to break the handshake, but it was he who held onto my hand now.

I tried to stop staring. I backed my focus off his eyes and sort of looked past him, gazing around at the room. When I returned my eyes to him, I quickly took his full measure, looking him up and down. He just stood silently, kind of grinning at me.

Once again I tried to relinquish the handshake. But he only smiled and used his other hand to grasp mine more firmly and give it a few more pumps.

“I’m Jake Bauer by the way.” He said in a low deep tone.

Not knowing what else to say I indicated to the job he’d just finished. “Well, you’ve certainly done a fine job on the bar Jake.”

He continued to stared into my eyes, still holding my hand in his and smiling.

Finally I pulled my hand out his, trying not to use too much force. He looked me up and down, exactly as I’d done to him a moment ago, only he was far more obvious about it.

“The next move is up to you.” His expression seem to say.

What the hell was going on here? I’d been able to resisted the flirtatious attempts of most other men before. And women too for that matter. What made him so special?

I really had no idea what to do next. I knew what I wanted to do, which was thank him for his work and walk away, but I was glued to the spot. I hate when I feel awkward and tense like this.

Who the fuck is this guy? More importantly why am I so attracted to him?

Suddenly, as if I were watching the actions of someone else, I saw my own hands reach out and start to unbutton his shirt. His eyes followed the movements of my hands, then he looked back up at me. He sort of cocked his head to the side and raised one eyebrow quizzically, as if silently asking, “What the hell are you doing?” I froze.

He saw the panic register on my face as I stopped all motion. And then a mischievous little grin played across his sensuously full lips. This fucker was toying with me.

I couldn’t help thinking what a bad idea this was as he quickly reached out and unbuckled my belt. Still fixing me with his gaze, Jake leaned in and kissed me.

Within second we were both naked from the waist up and quickly had our pants down around our ankles. Just as quickly I had him bent over my new bar counter.

His furry little round ass was quite a sight. I knew it wasn’t going to be very easy for me to fit my oversized cock into his tight fuck hole.

Before I knew what was happening, I was half way up his tight hole. It took a mouthful of saliva and quite a bit of effort to force the first half of my long thick dick up inside this man. I was rushing this fuck at an insane pace, but I didn’t care. I was relentless and brutal.

Somehow he’d managed to get one of his work boot clad feet out of the tangled trousers around his ankles. This gave me more room to spread his well muscled and hairy legs even further apart.

All I heard was a lot of “Motherfuck!” and “Damn That Hurts!” for the first few minutes. Finally I settled into a good fucking rhythm with him. He was taking my big thick dick like a champ now. I could see his tight ass ring cling to my rod on the out strokes.

It hadn’t been easy getting my cock inside this man. Even after plowing the first half of my dick into him, his asshole was still like a vise. Thankfully, he was quiet now, just little grunts and groans. I paid no attention to it as I drove my manhood up inside his little round butt.

I pushed his head down further onto the faux marble counter top and roughly grabbed his waist as I tried to get my cock even deeper into his sexy body.

I figured that this was just a quick fuck with a guy that I’d never see again after today, so why not fuck the hell out of him. His asshole resisted every stroke and that just fueled my fire. I couldn’t stop this action even if I wanted to. My lust had taken me over and it was very clear at that moment that this is what I was born to do.

I noticed the small patch of black hair at the base of his spine that crept right down into the crack of ass. I was falling more in love with this guy with every thrust.

Before I had so roughly and carelessly spun him around, I’d noticed how well defined his body was. Especially his torso which was dusted with a smooth layer of dark hair that seemed to lay down against his skin.

I couldn’t have known how good he would look beneath those ratty construction clothes he wore. The combination of his muscular body and tight round butt just made me more horny, so I worked his ass extra hard.

This man was as tight as I’ve ever felt. There were moments when I thought the skin would rip right off my dick or that it would break in half trying to get back inside him.

His strong and calloused hand on my thigh told me that he couldn’t take much more. His hand kept alternately squeezing and then trying to push me backward. But I wasn’t about to abandon this prize. I was in way too deep to think about anything other than a full fledged fuck.

I could only imagine the pain he must have been in. However, at that moment, I couldn’t have cared less. Actually I did care, I just couldn’t stop.

He wasn’t making much noise at all, but I could see the contortions of his face as he turned his head from side to side. Again, this only fueled my fire.

I drove my lust engorged cock in and out of him with little regard for his feelings or needs. I could feel him jerk and tense under me but I was only concerned with my impending orgasm which was fast approaching. My balls were already pulled up tightly against my body and ready to explode.

At moments like these I get very philosophical. How could any man ever deprive himself of such a sweet piece of nirvana like his buddy’s asshole? It’s one of the sweetest pleasure imaginable.

At the same time, we both heard the footfalls outside the door. They were coming up the stone stairs. We both froze in mid stroke. His hand on his cock and my dick halfway in, halfway out of his tight asshole.

From that moment forward, everything seemed to move in slow motion. Sort of like time-lapsed photography, where you don’t catch every second, just momentary glimpses of things just before time moves forward again and then stops.

The door knob began to turn slowly and before I could even blink Jake had pulled his ass off my dick and was trying desperately to get his pants back on while simultaneously running to the far corner of the bar. It would have been quite comical under almost any other circumstance.

The door flung open and there stood Marty. I could only watch as his eyes came up to meet mine. We looked at each other for just a second, then his eyes dropped right down my body to my still pulsing hardon. I was mortified.

I stood there naked before this man whom I’d insisted for so long, take me seriously over these past months. I was thoroughly humiliated. I was a deer caught in the headlights. I couldn’t move. He just stood there, staring at my throbbing cock for a long moment.

Finally his eyes ran back up my taut body to meet my wide open and staring eyes. But by then I was staring back at Jake who had finally gotten his trousers up and was still buttoning them. I could see him pleading silently with me not to look in his direction, but by then it was too late. Marty had followed my gaze and seen him in the far corner.

Then suddenly everything snapped back into perspective. “After all this is my fucking house!” I thought to myself.

“Can I have a moment of privacy please, Mr. Gorton!” I said with a great deal of authority in my voice.

It was all I could think to say as I fix my eyes back on Marty. He briefly cast a disdainful look in Jake’s general direction and then back at me.

“Of course Mr. Brooks.”

As Marty backed out of the house, all I could do was take a deep breath and sigh. Jake laughed right out loud.

“Hmm, this could be trouble.” He said in a tone that mocked the seriousness of the situation. He finished dressing and gathering up his tools.

“Will he fire you?” I asked, pulling up my pants and finding my shirt.

“Who Marty?” Jake asked, laughing. “He can’t fire me. I’ve already finished the job. Besides, I’m a subcontractor, not one of his permanent employees.”

“Oh! Alright. But here look, you haven’t exactly finished the job here have you?” I said, pointing to my still bulging crotch.

Jake just smiled at me as I fondled my crotch. We found ourselves again just staring at each other.

“Well, we’ll just have to schedule a time for me to come back so the job can be finished properly.” He said, winking at me.

“Here’s my number. Give me a call and we’ll see what we can set up.” I told him.

I couldn’t help thinking what a grubby looking unshaven mess he was with his clothes back on. He ran his hand through his long locks. But regardless of how he was dressed, he was definitely a good fuck.

I also couldn’t help thinking how uncharacteristically I was behaving. Like a horny fucking dog. I smiled at that thought.

“Alright,” Jake said, taking the piece of paper with my number on it.

“And don’t worry about Marty. I’ve caught him in one or two compromising situations before. He wouldn’t dare say anything.”

“Okay.”

“Well, I’d better get going.” Jake said, flashing his stunning smile.

Marty came back inside a short while later. This time he knocked. We went over every single detail in the house. Since the living quarters actually start on the second level, we went down to the ground floor which is separated into two parts. The front half of the ground floor is actually the garage and back half is sort of like a basement.

We continued on up to the living quarters on the second floor and then the loft which overlooks the living room. Finally, out onto the deck which had to be completely rebuilt. I was very satisfied, so I paid him.

Early Friday morning I got things rolling. It took me no time at all to get moved in. The movers I hired had everything in place by noon. I had been buying new furnishings since the day I found the place. All of it had gone into storage until moving day. I hadn’t brought anything with me from back east except my most personal possessions.

By mid Sunday morning I was all but done. The last thing I had do was set up all of my computers and audio-video equipment. Certainly the most grueling task, but also the most satisfying. I love my computers only slightly more than I love my stereo system and my CD collection.

Early Sunday evening, I got an unexpected phone call.

“Hello?” I answered.

“How’s the new place?”

“Just great.” I said, not recognizing the voice. “Who is this?”

“Its Jake.”

“Oh hey, what’s up man?” I was genuinely surprised to hear his voice.

“Look, I thought I’d drop by if you weren’t too busy. You know, just to hang out for a while, or whatever.”

“No, I’m not busy. Come on by.”

“Have you eaten yet?”

“No, not yet.” I answered.

“I thought as much. Are you hungry?”

“Yeah, a little bit.”

“Not to worry, I’ll be there in a flash.” He hung up.

Honestly, I’d been so busy that I’d forgotten about Jake. Well, not entirely. I certainly did remembered our little unfinished fuck session.

Less than ten minutes later he was ringing the buzzer. Obviously, he’d called from his cell phone on the road.

“Come on up.” I said into the intercom and buzzed the gate open for him.

When he stepped inside, I was immediately shocked and dismayed. For a second I thought that I had let the wrong person inside.

“Dinner.” He held out the pizza and beer.

“And a house warming present.” He handed me a bottle of wine.

“Thanks.” I mumbled, absentmindedly staring at him.

God, he was stunning. The only recognizable thing about him was the color of his eyes. That very unique color was again staring back at me and I was utterly dumbfounded. Otherwise, he looked completely different.

“Something wrong?” He asked innocently, looking puzzled.

Somehow his eyebrows seemed thicker and his eyes were deeper set in his face, but that was the least of what seemed different about him. I wasn’t at all convinced that this was indeed the same guy. This guy standing in my kitchen was fucking gorgeous and extremely well groomed.

“No, nothing’s wrong. Come on in.” I stuttered.

Jake was absolutely clean shaven. He had on a nice sweater over a plain white tee shirt and jeans. But the biggest change in him was that he’d gotten his hair cut really short. It was more like a buzz cut and it suited him extremely well. “Man, this guy cleaned up real nice.” I thought to myself.

My heart started to pound furiously in my chest. I could feel my cock stretching down my pant leg.

“Oh, the haircut.” He said, realizing why I was staring. He rubbed his head. “You like?”

“Yeah, absolutely. You look, uh…” I wanted to say that he looked beautiful but that wasn’t quite right. He looked, well delicious. I had a brief fantasy of having my way with him right here, right now.

“Different?” He suggested.

“You look good.” I said, as my mouth watered and my dick twitch in my pants. “Really good!”

“Well, thanks! That’s the nicest thing anyone’s said to me all day.” Jake said, clapping me on the shoulder.

He was no longer the workman mutt that I’d seen him as before. He had transformed himself into a fine looking specimen of a man. My God, was I sweating?

“Yeah, I thought it was time for a change.” He said, nodding and looking around absently. Then he looked directly at me. “Did you just call me a mutt?”

“Fuck, did I say that out loud?” I wondered. I was quite sure that I hadn’t.

“What? No!” I answered, still looking at him.

“Oh, I could have sworn you said…” He shook his head. “Never mind.”

“Come on, let’s go in here.” I said, as I started to walk past him into the other room.

As soon as I was close enough to him, he grabbed my arm and spun me back towards him. He stared into my face for a brief moment, then we kissed.

He grabbed me by the back of my neck and stuck his tongue inside my mouth very insistently. My arms instinctively went around his muscular torso, caressing his strong back. I felt a flash of heat sweep over me. It was pure lust.

I was out of my mind with desire for this new look on Jake. He reminded me of this male porn star that I’d once met. Only Jake was better looking and had fresher breath.

Jake had brought hot pizza, beer and wine. And not just any wine but a really nice Cabernet. I was very impressed. This guy was a little more complex than I’d given him credit for.

As we walked into the living room he said, “Wow, I see someone has been quite busy.”

“Yeah, I figure its best to get it all done right away, otherwise it could take forever. I’m a habitual procrastinator.”

“Looks great.” He said looking around. “You must’ve been working around the clock the get all this done so quickly.”

“Something like that.”

“What? No hot tub?”

“I’m not a hot tub kinda guy.”

“I don’t see any of that retro crap either, good for you.”

We took a couple of beers and made ourselves comfortable in front of the television. Him on the sofa, me in my obscenely expensive, new recliner.

All evidence to the contrary, I’m never comfortable around people that I don’t know well. Oh, I can put up a good front, but the plain truth is, unless I’m extremely close to a person, I’m constantly on edge. And I am not close with very many people.

Dusty grinned, “You “have” done this before, haven’t you?”

“Yeah, sure, of course. It’s just been a while, and never with…”

Dusty strolled over to him, and leaning into the shorter man’s back asked, “With what?”

“With, someone, ssso, h…hot.” His insides were quivering again, and he couldn’t seem to control his voice around this guy.

With his mouth right by Chris’ ear, he whispered, “Mmmm, thanks, but I find that hard to believe. You’re a hot little number yourself, all wiry muscles, and untapped energy. I’m dying to see which one of us wears out first.”

That deep voice right in his ear, the warm breath puffing against his hair and neck had Chris in such a state of arousal, that if Dusty had touched him at that moment, he would have blown his load right then. He already had a wet spot on his underpants, and slacks from precum. He hadn’t realized he was holding his breath until he started seeing spots. Luckily, Dusty moved away to pour some drinks and he was able to take a breath and try to regain his equilibrium.

“Smirnoff, or Captain Morgan?”

“Which ever, I don’t care.”

“OK. Captain Morgan it is.”

Chris sat on one of the beds as Dusty played bartender. He took the glass that was offered to him, and drained it.

“Whoa, I don’t want you incapacitated, just relaxed.”

“Don’t worry about it, I have a really fast metabolism. Alcohol doesn’t affect me as much as most people. As a matter of fact, I think I need another.” He said with conviction and stood to get it.

Dusty stood, and caught him around the waist. “Actually, I think what you need is me. Let me give you a massage, I guarantee it’ll relax you way better than booze. It’ll also let you get used to me touching you. We just need to start off slow is all, not just jump right in. We’ve got all night, after all.”

He reached around, and dug into the second bag, pulling out another bottle, this one containing a yellow-white liquid. When he popped the top, Chris could smell coconut and pineapple.

“Pina Colada flavored massage lotion.” He said, smiling lecherously. “Take your clothes off, and lie on your stomach on the bed.”

Chris spent a couple minutes fumbling with the buttons on his waistcoat, until Dusty took over. The rum didn’t seem to be kicking in yet, and his coordination was shot from his nerves, not to mention being painfully aroused for a couple hours.

He had gotten all of the buttons on Chris’s vest, and shirt undone, when Chris stopped him.

“I think I’d like to take a quick shower first. If you don’t mind?”

“Not in the least. I’ll join you.” Dusty replied, smiling.

“Well, actually, I’d like to do it alone. I mean, I’d be more comfortable, ya know, if I could just have a few minutes to myself.”

“Not a problem. Take your time, and once you feel ready, we can enjoy each other.” Dusty stepped back to let Chris move past him.

Chris found he could control his fingers with Dusty in the other room, and managed to get undressed without trouble. His nerves were on edge; he couldn’t believe that this incredibly looking guy actually wanted to be with him. Chris knew his reactions so far had to have made it clear that he didn’t have a hell of a lot of experience in the bedroom.

He knew people thought he must be comfortable with sexual matters, because he sang songs about love, sex, and intimacy with such conviction, but it was just an act. Once you got him off of the stage, he was at a complete loss. He had never managed to screw up his courage enough to approach someone that he found attractive. He had only been with two guys, and that was because they had approached him.

He finished his shower quickly, but stalled for a while. He was afraid to leave the bathroom. Figuring that he might leave soon, if he hadn’t already, Chris girded his loins with his terrycloth robe and opened the door.

He stepped out, dreading that the room would be empty. When he saw Dusty slouched on the bed farthest from the door a wave of relief washed over him. Then he didn’t know what to do.

“You’re shy.” It wasn’t a question. “Jeez, Chris, how can someone who goes out on a stage all the time, and sings, and struts around like he owns the place, be shy?”

“I don’t know. I guess, when I’m performing, it’s like, I” know” I can give them…I can…I” know” what’s expected of me, and know I can fulfill their expectations, but this…”he took a deep breath, “I don’t…I’m scared that I’ll, screw up, and you’ll be like, ‘Shit, this guy ain’t worth the trouble, I’m outa here.’ I mean, I…” his eyes were shining like he was about to break down and cry.

Dusty felt his heart swell with emotion and it was a startling sensation, to say the least. It was one of those things he had read in books, but had always thought was just literary license, not something that actually happened to people. Like “wringing your hands in distress”. It was almost funny when he realized that Chris was doing just that, only it was the belt of the robe he was wearing that was taking the abuse, rather than his hands.

Dusty got up from the bed, and said, “Come in here.” He moved past Chris to enter the bathroom. When Chris didn’t follow, he repeated firmly, “Come here, Chris.”

The singer took a hesitant step toward him. Dusty reached out, and caught his wrist, pulling Chris to stand between him and the mirror. He stood behind him, with his hands lightly on his shoulders. His hands slid down Chris’ arms to his waist. They slowly, caressingly glided them around his waist to lie on his trembling stomach. Leisurely, Dusty unwrapped the belt and let the robe fall open. Skimming his hands up through the light thatch of blond hair, Dusty smoothed the robe back off of the creamy shoulders, allowing it to drop to the floor.

“Look at yourself.” He breathed into the shell of Chris’ ear, palms resting on his bare hips. “What do you see?”

“I…”

“What you see,” Dusty whispered, “is someone that I think is extraordinarily sexy. You look at yourself, and you wonder, ‘how can someone I think is beyond gorgeous want to be with me?’ What you’re not considering is that not everyone would find me as attractive as you do.”

Chris made a sound of incredulity.

“Take my word for it. I’ve been turned down plenty of times. My advice…don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” Dusty smiled at him in the mirror as he pulled Chris back into his straining cock. Chris shivered, and groaned, lifting his arms to pull Dusty’s head into the crook of his neck, while arching his back so that his ass pushed into the denim clad groin behind him. Chris’ erection was flaming red, and twitching.

“Now, about that massage…” Dusty took his hand, and pulled him into the other room

Dusty had Chris lie on his stomach, while he stripped, and then straddled his hips. Chris could hear him open the lotion bottle, squirt some into his palm, and smooth it around to warm it up. Firm hands touched down at his shoulder blades, and smoothed up to Chris’ shoulders, causing his breath to catch in his throat. After a few minutes of slow, sensual rubbing, he began to relax into the experience. As Dusty slowly moved down his back, Chris could feel his hard cock trailing down the crack of his ass, bumping back and forth.

When Dusty began following his hands with his lips and tongue, he couldn’t help but groan, and spread his legs slightly. Dusty’s entire hands were working his butt cheeks, while his mouth was sending shivers from the base of his spine to the rest of his body. He clutched the pillow, and ground his hips into the mattress, whimpering incoherently when Dusty’s tongue slipped into the top of his crack.

When he felt his cheeks being pried apart, he held his breath in anticipation. The actual sensation of having this beautiful man swirl his tongue around the edge of his hole, then clamp his lips around it, creating a suction, was intense, but when he flickered and probed it with his agile tongue, it was too much.

“AAAAAHH, Ohhh, GOD, HUUUUUHG!” his entire body spasmed with the intensity of his orgasm; he was literally blind for a few seconds. Afterward, all he could do was lie there, twitching, and gasping for air.

Dusty continued to stroke his back, buttocks, and thighs. It was sensual, yes, but mostly soothing. Like he knew that Chris needed to come down, before he could stand more stimulation. When his breathing had returned to normal, he felt himself being turned over. He opened his eyes to find Dusty smiling down at him.

“And think, that was just a little foreplay.” He looked down between their bodies. “You’re still hard. God, I knew I was gonna love being with you.”

At this he slid down, and began licking up the sperm that covered Chris’ stomach, making little appreciative sounds as he did it. He got as much as he could without touching Chris’ still aching cock, and then moved back up for a kiss. He kissed Chris’ lips for a bit, and then slipped his tongue into his mouth. The combined taste of Dusty’s mouth, the massage lotion, and his own essence was glorious. He never wanted the kiss to end, and clutched at the red head when he tried to move back down his body.

Dusty indulged him for a bit, but soon pulled away to continue moving down, his lips and tongue exploring every inch between Chris’ mouth and his goal. He took the time to bring both of the singer’s nipples to an almost painfully erect state. Chris was already losing himself in the new sensations that Dusty was causing to course through his body.

Dusty loved the sexy little whimpers, groans, and disjointed words that Chris clearly couldn’t control. He didn’t know how much longer he could hold out. He’d been hard off and on for a good two and a half hours now, and his entire groin was throbbing and aching. He’d nearly lost control when he realized that Chris was blowing his load earlier.

“Chris?”

“Chris.”

“Huh?”

“I need you to do something for me, Chris.”

“Anything, what do you need?”

“I’m really starting to hurt, man.” He slid up, and lay next to him on the cool sheets. “I want to make everything perfect for you, but I really need a little relief to be able to do that. Will you just touch me; just use your hands to help me out here, please?”

Chris took a closer look at Dusty and saw the strain in his face, and his labored breathing. Looking down, he saw that his cock was so engorged that he could actually see his pulse. It was an angry purple color for half of the length. Rolling to his side, he pushed on Dusty’s hip to get him onto his back. Chris continued rolling until he was on his knees, straddling his right leg. He took a few seconds to examine the cock with its silky looking thatch of auburn hair.

This was only the third cock he had ever seen in person, not counting his own. It was long enough that it was drooling precum directly into his navel, and looked thick enough that Chris’ hand would only just encase the circumference. He placed his palms on Dusty’s firm pecs, and smoothed his hands down his torso to either side of his cock, never taking his eyes off of it. Dusty clutched the sheets on either side of his hips. He couldn’t keep from grinding his pelvis into the air while groaning in anticipation.

“You’re uncut, aren’t you?” Chris asked, looking up. Dusty was biting his lip, looking pained. The best he could do was nod in answer. “I’ve never seen one that wasn’t circumcised. It’s beautiful.” He breathed.

“Chris, please!”

His reply was to gently lift Dusty’s cock up, and out of the way so that he could lick the pool of precum out of his navel. It was salty-sweet, slick, like room temperature jell-o, and smelled musky. He smoothed it around his mouth as he moved his face down to the base of Dusty’s pole. With his tongue spread out flat and broad, he licked in one long motion up to the tip, then swirled it around the tip without pausing. He heard Dusty’s breath catch and rush out in a loud groan when he tongued the piss slit.

He swirled around the head in a downward spiral until the tip of his tongue slipped under the edge of the glans. Dusty’s right hand settled onto the back of his head. It felt like a butterfly in his hair, like he was scared Chris would pull away if he applied the least pressure, but Chris could feel it trembling just the same. Wrapping his lips around the entire head, he sucked softly as he slid the shaft into his mouth. He rocked his whole body back until his ass was touching his heels so that he could get his throat into the right position to take him completely in.

“Hah hah hah hah, Aahhhh.”

It almost sounded like he was laughing and Chris could see Dusty’s balls pulling up hard. He knew Dusty was about to come, and didn’t want him to yet, so he pulled off almost completely. With his right hand, he gripped the base of his cock, applying uniform pressure all the way around. With his left, he made a circle of his fingers and thumb, and carefully pulled Dusty’s testicles down. This was a technique he had read about in a book, and wasn’t entirely sure that it would work the way it said. He waited until Dusty’s legs stopped quivering, then retuned to the stimulation.

Taking him in all the way again, the blond bobbed his head up and down slowly, swirling his tongue back and forth on the underside. He had forgotten how much he loved the feel of a hot, hard cock in his mouth, and he had every intention of enjoying it as long as possible. When Chris went down all the way, he could feel the head twitching in his throat. He was so turned on by the power he held over this god-like man at this moment that he couldn’t keep from moaning in pleasure, twisting his head around like he was sucking on a stationary lollypop, and bobbing his head up and down rapidly. This was way too much for Dusty to take. When Chris felt him swell, throbbing hard in his mouth he knew he had misjudged the timing. All he could do was pull back so the blast wouldn’t choke him, and accept the offering.

“Uuuh, Huhhg, Uuh, Gooooddd, Huuuhh, Chriiiiiisssss, Huuuuu.”

It felt like about a quart of cum hit the roof of his mouth, though he knew it couldn’t be more than a couple tablespoons. Chris had never seen anyone get so lost in an orgasm before. Every single muscle on Dusty’s body was either twitching, or standing out in bas-relief. His hips thrust in symphonic rhythms, an almost perfect 4/4 measure. It was the most beautiful sight in the world. He imagined that this must be what Mozart had felt when he conducted one of his great operas, physically guiding the orchestra to play his music exactly the way he heard it in his mind. It was heady, and exhilarating.

Once he felt Dusty’s penis begin to slowly deflate, he let it slide slowly out of his mouth, and gently laid it on Dusty’s stomach. He gradually worked his way back up Dusty’s body, planting open mouthed kisses along the way, so that they were lying next to each other, he on his side, and Dusty still on his back. Dusty’s right arm was flung out under the arch of Chris’ side, and it came up to pull him into Dusty’s side at the same time that he turned his head to look at him.

“You know, you act like some kind of a sweet, virgin angel, but you got a mouth like the very devil himself. God, damn. I thought I was gonna have a fucking coronary, or something. I’ve had a lot of great blowjobs in my life, Chris, but “that” was the trump. How can you have performance anxiety in the sack when you know how to play cock like Gabriel blowing on Judgment Day?”

“I didn’t know I knew how. I mean, I’ve only done it a couple times, and they didn’t seem all that thrilled with the way I did it, so I started reading any book I could get my hands on that looked like it might give a clue as to how to do it right.

“Bullshit. Books don’t give you the physical ability to deep throat a guy’s meat, man.”

Chris sat up, wrapping his arms around his legs. He looked extremely uncomfortable again. He mumbled something that Dusty couldn’t catch.

“What?”

“Iprobledwidacucmboble.” He said, with his face pressed into the hollow created by his arms, and legs.

“Sorry, didn’t catch that.” Dusty said, propping himself up onto his elbows.

Chris lifted his head, and covering his closed eyes with his hands, he repeated, “I practiced with a cucumber. OK? Go ahead, laugh.”

“Why?”

“Because, I didn’t have the real thing available to me, so I had to improvise!”

“No, why should I laugh?”

“Because, it’s pathetic?”

“It’s not pathetic, it’s inventive. I used to use one when I was living at home. Admittedly, I never thought to use it to practice sucking cock, but still.”

“What did you use it for?”

Dusty gave him a look that said he clearly thought he was being thick, and it hit him like a two by four what he meant.

“Oh, Jeez. I wonder why that didn’t occur to me?”

“Sounds like you were so worried that you hadn’t been good enough at pleasing your partners that you never even considered your own pleasure. Did you enjoy your other encounters?”

“Well, yeah, I mean, I came and all.”

“But you were so dissatisfied with your own performance that even though you came, it really wasn’t good for you, because you didn’t think “they” enjoyed it like you thought they should have, right?”

“Maybe, I don’t know.”

“Let me guess. Both of the other times it was kind of quick, and perfunctory? Every time you started to get into a certain thing the other guy would switch around, like pull you off his dick, and start fucking you. Then that would be over so quick that it felt it wasn’t good for him, but he still needed to get off, so he rushed it. Then this guy was out the door before you quit breathing hard, right?”

“Yeah!” Chris looked startled, that someone had finally been able to put into words what he had been trying to express to himself for years, and couldn’t figure out how.

“Thought so. It’s not unusual. A lot of guys are so concerned with busting a nut that they miss the real pleasure of sex. Guys like that might as well be jacking off. The people that they pick up aren’t really people to them, they’re personified Roger Palm and his five bros.”

Dusty held up his left hand, and wriggled his spread fingers in the air, looking disgusted. Chris couldn’t help it; he started laughing so hard that he couldn’t sit up right. He flopped over onto his side, alternately tittering, snickering, and guffawing.

Dusty ran his hand up from the back of Chris’ knee, across his ass, letting his fingertips dip into the crack and glide along it, and then up his spine, bringing his body back into alignment with Chris’ in the process. Chris’ laughter turned to a moan of renewed desire. His body involuntarily stretched itself out to its full length; as his flagging member thrust itself back out to full measure.

“Damn, but you are one luscious little devil, you know that? I just wanna drown myself in you, Angel. I’ve never known anyone who was so responsive to the simplest touch.” He pulled Chris full against his body, stroking the back of his head with his left hand while caressing his back and side with the other.

“You’re just a sweet little sex kitten, ain’t ya? You just want someone who’ll stroke you, pet you and love you.” He whispered, nuzzling into Chris’s neck.

Between his words he was devouring Chris’ ear, throat, and shoulder, licking, sucking, and nibbling everything he could reach.

“I can do that, Angel. More than anything else I wanna be the one that makes you purr like a kitty with a plate of cream. You just tell Daddy what you want, what you need, and you’ll get it, Angel Baby.”

“You mean it?” Chris panted.

Dusty pulled his head back so that he could look him in the eye, “I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it. Now give. What’s your heart’s desire? What’s the one thing you always wanted, but never got?

“Could you…would you mind…I’ve always wondered what it felt like to get a blowjob?” Chris asked tentatively, like he was afraid that if he just said that’s what he wanted Dusty would flip out.

“What?”

“I’m sorry. Never mind, really.” He pushed away from Dusty. Dusty’s grip had relaxed and Chris rolled over the edge of the bed, winding up on the carpet.

“Whoa, are you OK?”

“No, no, I’m fine, it’s OK, I’m sorry, really, it was just a thought, don’t worry, I…I…I…”

Dusty sat and swung his feet to the floor, as Chris scrambled to his feet, babbling in apparent terror. Dusty caught the singer by his hips to keep him from backing away, reeling him in to stand between his legs with Chris’ shins pressing against the bed.

“Angel, you need to quit thinking that you’re the only person out there that loves sucking cock. Believe me when I say that the only thing I love more than long-dicking a man is giving him the best blowjob of his life.”

“Long-dicking?”

Dusty laughed lasciviously, “Oh, Angel, you’ll find out, and what’s more, you’ll “love” it. Now, let’s see about this virgin cock of yours, shall we?”

Chris’ cock had fallen to half-mast in his fear, but it pulled it’s self up by its bootstraps as he watched.

“Look at him stand at attention like a proud Marine in parade formation. I love the sight of a soldier ready for action. Makes me wanna spit shine his helmet.” Dusty slathered the flat of his tongue in a zigzag up the underside of the straining shaft in front of him.

“Oh, Jesus.” Chris’ hands grabbed a hold of Dusty’s shoulders to keep from hitting the floor again, as his knees turned to water.

“Heh heh, that’s my sex kitten, alright. Here, sit down before you fall down, Angel.”

Dusty traded places with him, kneeling between his legs, and instructed him to lean back on his arms so that Dusty would have free access, but Chris could still see what he was doing. He pushed his legs apart, pulling his ass up to the edge of the bed, while he nibbled Chris’ nipples.

It seemed that Dusty’s hands were everywhere at once, moving slowly, sensuously. Dusty worked his nipples, sucking, licking, biting, them until Chris started rocking his pelvis upward, rubbing hungrily against his chest. He feathered kisses and nips down his chest and stomach until his breath was washing across the tenor’s throbbing rod, and then he slid on past.

Chris’ groan of frustration turned to surprised pleasure when he felt his balls fall into Dusty’s open mouth. While Dusty lathered his jewels with loving care, he teased the head of Chris’ cock with the fingertips of one hand. The other hand was stroking its way into his fissure, searching for his little, pink rosebud.

When Chris began kneading his scalp, just like the kitten he reminded him so much of, and making sexy mewling sounds, Dusty knew he could take it to the next level. Without stopping what he was doing with his right hand, and mouth, he reached for the bottle of lube on the nightstand with his left hand.

He popped it open one handed, and used his thighs to squeeze some onto his fingers. Chris gasped in surprise at the cold, wet sensation when Dusty began smoothing it onto his hole, but it warmed quickly. When Dusty flicked his tongue up the length of his shaft and engulfed the head of his cock in his hot, wet mouth, he forgot about the momentary discomfort.

Dusty alternated going all the way down on his shaft with long, slow, slurping licks, like a kid going at a twin-pop in August, while he worked first one, then two, then three fingers into his tight pucker. Every time he extracted his fingers to get more lube to work into him, Chris would whimper, and push his ass up, begging for the penetration to continue.

“Do you want me to fuck you now, or suck you off until you come?”

Chris was incapable of responding coherently. The response he tried rather sounded like a turkey on acid.

“Right then. Suck, and then fuck. Your wish is my command, Angel.”

He went back to work on the twitching member, bobbing his head like a carousel horse, and massaging Chris’ prostate. Chris took in a huge lungful of air, and froze. He didn’t make a sound for several seconds, he didn’t breath, and the only movement was a completely involuntary quivering in his entire body. Dusty looked up just as the first shot ricocheted off of his uvula and Chris’ sphincter clamped down on his fingers. The tenor’s mouth was open, but nothing was coming out. His eyes were half closed and glassy looking, with his head thrown back and to the side.

Simultaneous with the second blast of jism his hips thrust up, his hands started scrabbling around like a couple of spiders, and Chris let go with a sound that could have been ultimate pleasure, or pain. It reminded Dusty of that question, how you tell if someone is laughing or crying if you can’t hear them. He swallowed every drop of fluid that Chris expended into his mouth, and nursed at his cock until it started softening just to be sure he didn’t miss any.

By this point Dusty’s cock was literally drooling for some attention. He opened the box of condoms, pulled one out, and used his teeth to tear it open. After getting it adjusted so it was comfortable, and applying a liberal amount of lube, he repositioned Chris so that he was further from the edge of the bed. He got them into the Missionary position with his right knee bent along the side of Chris’ body, and his left foot braced on the floor for leverage. This was his favorite sexual position, because he could watch his lover’s face while he took him.

Dusty knew that after such a powerful orgasm, Chris would never be more relaxed. Dusty carefully worked the head of his cock past Chris’ tight little hole, pausing when he stirred at the invasion. Chris languidly ran his hands up and down Dusty’s back, and pressed his ass upward. That was all the encouragement that Dusty needed. He slowly sank his meat into his hot, welcoming hole, inch by inch.

“Ahhh, shit, Angel.” He exclaimed, when Chris wrapped his legs around his hips, and pulled him in faster with his heels.

“God, Dusty, it feels incredible. Why doesn’t it hurt, like it did before?”

“Because you’re ready for it this time. The others must not have taken the time to get you really ready for it. Now, do you remember asking what long-dicking was?”

“Yeah.”

Dusty began rocking his hips. Forward, back, side to side, then in an orbital rotation, mixing it up, and keeping it as random as he could, trying hard not to fall into any kind of a pattern so as to keep Chris’ body guessing.

“Ah, ah, ahhhhh, Goooooooooooddddd, Heeeeeuuuuuuueeeee.”

The final sound seemed to go on without pause. Dusty figured it must be the lung capacity of a singer. Up until now, he’d never had a man dig his nails into his back. He was not the least bit surprised when he felt Chris’ cock spring back to life, and become fully rigid in a matter of seconds. He decided that his little angel was a natural bottom. He didn’t know what it was about this guy, but Chris surprised him at every turn, and everything felt better, more intense some how, with him.

“Oh, Angel. Yeah, you feel so good. On one’s ever felt so good, Kitten. God, uuuhn, God, Angel.”

He was totally thrown of guard when Chris suddenly pushed with his legs and arms, rolling them over so that he could take the ascendant position. The way Chris started moving once he got himself settled was almost mind blowing. He put his palms flat on Dusty’s chest, using his legs as his primary support, and mimicked the motions that Dusty had been using on him just a few seconds ago. His eyes were just barely slit open, and he was still making that high pitched, leaking balloon sound.

Dusty could feel his orgasm building fast. He reached over, grabbed the lube, and squirted a copious amount into his palm. He quickly warmed it between his palms, and then began jacking Chris off with his best two-fisted technique; one hand stroking the shaft, while the other worked the head in a rotational pattern.

This must have been too much stimulation for Chris, because he started huffing in time with his gyrating hips. A few seconds later a dribble of thin looking semen oozed out of his piss slit. Feeling Chris’ body spasm, and clench around his cock sent Dusty over the edge too. He pushed out on Chris’ arms so that his chest smacked down onto his own, then rolled them back to their starting position. Just a couple more thrusts, and he lost himself in his own ecstasy.

“Huuuh, Angel. Uuuhh, Baby. Uuuuu, my angel. Nuughh, Oohh, Love. Ahh, Love. Huh huh huh, my baby, my kitten.”

Neither of them could manage more than panting and quivering with the after shocks for several minutes. Chris revelled in the feeling of Dusty’s weight pressing him into the mattress.

Once he had regained his senses, Dusty pulled out of Chris, and rolled off pulling Chris into his side. Nestling the blond head in the hollow of his shoulder, he wrapped his left arm around his slender back. The fingers of his right hand began stroking random patterns on Chris’ arm and side. Chris’ sigh caught his attention. Somehow, it just didn’t sound content.

“Something bothering you, Angel?”

“Not really. It’s just that I’ve just discovered that I’m a total girl.”

“What does that mean?”

“Never mind. It doesn’t matter.”

“It matters if it’s making you unhappy, Angel. Tell Daddy what’s wrong, Kitten.” He said, nuzzling into Chris’ hair. Dusty loved the smell of his shampoo.

“It’s just that I was laying here, perfectly content, when all of a sudden, I remembered something you said a few minutes ago, and I wondered if you really meant it, and that’s something a “girl” would do.”

“I’ve recently come to the conclusion that there is nothing in the way of behavior that is exclusive to either sex. What did I say?”

“See, you don’t even know what the hell I’m talking about. I’m just loosing my mind. Feel free to ignore me.”

“Your talking about when I was saying, ‘my angel, my baby’, like that, right?”

“Yes, and when you were saying no one had ever felt so good. Did you mean all of that, or were you just babbling?”

“Oh, I was most assuredly babbling…”

“Oh. Well…”

“”But” that doesn’t mean that I didn’t mean every word.”

“Oh. Then you meant to claim me? I mean, all that, ‘my this, and my that’, does that mean that you’re interested in more than just…” he waved his hand about to encompass the situation, “this? More than just a one time fling?”

“Angel, any man who didn’t want to spend the rest of his life trying to find out everything there is to know about you would have to be a complete fool, and my momma didn’t raise no fools.”

“This isn’t real. I’m not this lucky!” Chris sat up suddenly.

Dusty sat up along side him, and caught his face between his hands. “It’s not luck, Chris, it’s “Fate”!”

“Fate?”

“Fate.” Dusty confirmed, stopping any further protests with a kiss so full of love that Chris couldn’t think how to argue with fate.

Then the shithead behind me started grabbing my ass. He leaned into me, letting me smell the alcohol on his breath as he tried to talk me into going home with him. “I’m a hot top, I can make your ass beg.” I had scoffed at him, telling him no. Then he started grabbing my chest. I hadn’t minded when that guy lifted my shirt; I was too warm on the dance floor and the breeze felt good against my sweaty body. Of course, if I were to be honest, the hot glances I got helped; a lot.

When the asshole behind me started grinding his hard on into my hip, I got uncomfortable. I didn’t want to fuck. All I wanted to do was dance. After I repeatedly told him what he could go do with himself, I got fed up and kneed him in the crotch. It wasn’t the most gentlemanly thing I could have done, but still… he had no right to grope me after I’d told him no.

Then the tall man grabbed my arm and propelled me out of the club. His hand was warm and sent tingles running through me, something the drunken moron sure as hell hadn’t done. When we got outside and he started yelling at me, I lost it. How dare he. I hadn’t meant to start a brawl, but still. It wasn’t my fault. Then he dragged me out under the streetlight.

“Liam? Liam McCoy?”

Oh Jesus! I should have recognized that lazy southern drawl, but I hadn’t. “Chief?”

“What the hell are you doing here?” We’d said it at the same time, causing both of us to pause. He started laughing; I couldn’t join him.

“Oh shut up!” What an asshole. I knew that sympathy he’d tried to give me the Wednesday after the funeral was false. I’d actually thought it was sweet, how he bumbled his way through it. But any nice thoughts I had about our Chief of Police were now gone. I started to stomp away towards my truck.

“Liam! Wait.” He couldn’t stop laughing. I was absolutely humiliated. I sped off, with him trying to only open my door once. Bastard.

Once I got home, I stripped off the clothes Claire had purchased for me, throwing them in a pile. Damn it! I threw myself into bed, staring at the ceiling for a long time. Who had I been kidding? This wasn’t easy. The small kernel of hope I’d nursed for years flickered so badly, it almost went out.

*** Villain ***

As bedlam broke out in the club, I hightailed it out of there, moving fast and swift, ducking around the corner as the cops showed up. Had they caught on? Were they coming for me? After I made it home, my pulse still skittered, but not with fear. Who was that man on the dance floor? Tall, dark, handsome, incredibly sexy. I had to have him. No matter what, I must have him.

I moved through my condo, stripping off my clothes, imagining what it would be like to possess that man. Frantic, beyond desperate, I moved about, pushing things off shelves, throwing pillows off my bed, but nothing would calm this rampaging need inside. Finally, to calm the voices, the lust, the desire, I stepped out onto the balcony and let the cool air caress me, trying to calm the heated hunger. It didn’t work. Grasping my flesh, I stroked furiously until I erupted, appeasing for a moment the ravenous need inside me.

I sank back against my pillows, chuckling. Soon. Very soon.

*** Liam ***

The next morning, my attitude had improved greatly. So big deal, the first night went south. I could handle all that. What embarrassed me the most was that Jackson LeDeux was there and had to save me. The man was nice looking to be sure. When he’d moved to town, I’d noticed him, just like I noticed every guy. There were rumors of course, but nothing that proved to be true. The man was a bachelor and didn’t date. In a town this small, there was no such thing as privacy. You just learned to give it up when you lived in a small town. Hell, the whole town knew when Claire lost her virginity to Bobby Caldwell in the backseat of his car at the drive-in. Since the whole thing happened out of town, I could live with the embarrassment of him seeing me at the club.

Sunday afternoon, I usually had dinner over at Claire’s house. I had just pulled up when a police car pulled in behind me. It couldn’t be. Fate played a cruel trick on me. Jackson LeDeux. Again.

“Chief.” Okay, so my voice was cold, but I was still mortified by what had happened.

“Liam. How’re you doin’?” The man’s voice did odd things to me. It never had before.

Sighing, I hoped this would be a quick conversation. “What can I do for you, Chief?”

His chuckle was smug, just like his lecherous grin. “Now after last night, the least you could do is call me Jackson.”

Please God! Give me patience. “What can I do for you, Jackson?”

He sauntered over to me, showing off his tall, lean frame. He wore jeans and a white tee. It looked awful darn good on him. “I need to talk to you. There’s some stuff goin’ on that you don’t know about.”

Okay, so perhaps he wasn’t such an ass. “What?”

His face got really serious as he looked at me. “There’s someone pushing some bad drugs at the clubs. I want you to be careful.”

“I don’t do drugs.”

His smile only arched up one side of his mouth. “I didn’t think you did, but it doesn’t matter. Whoever is doing it is slipping it into people’s drinks.”

I swallowed hard. Damn it. Perhaps celibacy wasn’t so bad. “I didn’t drink anything last night.”

“I know that, Liam.” His eyes were a rich, smoky brown that seemed to look deep inside, somewhere I didn’t know if I wanted him looking. “But just in case, I think it’d be better if you let me know the next time you’re gonna go clubbing. I’ll watch your back.”

That was the wrong thing to say. It pissed me off, really bad. “Why do you want to watch over me? Who the hell do you think you are?”

I must have surprised him, because he took a step back and raised his hands, palm out. “Look. I don’t want you to get hurt. Okay?”

That mollified me. But damn it, I was still embarrassed. “Thanks, Jackson.”

His smile returned, almost lethal with how it made my stomach flutter. “No problem.”

I didn’t know what to say or do, so I found myself shuffle my feet a bit. Then it dawned on me. “You’re working the case, aren’t you?”

His curse was quiet, but creative. “Yeah, I am.” He looked up at me, from beneath a long set of dark lashes. “Promise you won’t blow my cover?”

I never had the chance to answer. Claire stuck her head out the door, calling to me. “Liam! Get your ass in here. Hello Chief!”

He turned to my cousin. “Ma’am.”

If I could have leapt over the rhododendron onto the porch to shut her mouth, I doubt I could have stopped her. “Want to join us for dinner?”

He looked over at me, smothering laughter when he saw how uncomfortable I was. “I’d be delighted to.”

He leapt onto the porch, taking the four steps in one stride. While I admired what the move did to the jeans covering him and how they molded to him, I wished with all my might for the earth to swallow me whole. Little did I know that our conversation in front of Claire’s house was to be the least unpleasant part of the evening.

Dinner went great, delicious like always. I guess that’s why Claire’s little diner downtown was so popular. Jack and Claire talked for a long time, about me mostly. She told him all about our trip into town the previous day. He asked about my hair, my clothes, everything. I was beginning to feel like a documentary subject.

When we went outside, after dinner, I was thrilled. This evening would be over soon. Or so I thought. Claire brought out some homemade brownies. I could never resist them. After I watched Jackson eat four, I knew he couldn’t either. When the phone rang, Claire excused herself and went back inside.

“You know, what you did to your hair looks good.”

As compliments go, it wasn’t the best, but I’d take anything at this moment. “Dinner is over. You can go home now.”

His chuckle was warm and it made my palms sweat. “But I’m having so much fun, Liam. You don’t want me to have fun?”

I rolled my eyes. “Of course I do, Chief. But still… do you need to talk about me as if I’m not even in the room?”

His eyes grew compassionate, for a split second, and then they sparked with humor again. “Oh come on. Claire loved it when I told her about the guy you made into a soprano last night.”

I rolled my eyes, so damn embarrassed; I’m surprised I didn’t burst into flames. “I feel really bad about that.”

He put his hand on my arm and all thoughts left me. “He had it coming.”

“Thanks.”

He leaned back in his chair and bit into another brownie. “So when are you going clubbing again?”

“I don’t need a chaperone.”

He laughed outright at that. “You don’t. But the guys do.”

My eyes shut while I counted to ten, while I tried to hold in my temper. It didn’t work. “Go to hell, Jackson LeDeux.”

When all he did was laugh, I grabbed up a few glasses and went back inside, fuming. His warm, throaty chuckle followed me all the way inside. Damn but the man made me angry. Nice guy, my ass. He was a certifiable pain in the butt.

*** Jackson ***

As I left Claire DuPre’s house, I couldn’t help but laugh outright. I couldn’t remember when I’d last had so much fun. Liam McCoy became a truly fun person. He was so easy to rile up, and I couldn’t help myself. Of course I’d spent the previous night, once I’d gotten home from the club thinking about him. That chest of his… damn but I could still see it, glistening in the lamplight outside the club. I’d had several very nice thoughts and a few prurient dreams about that man. He’d been cute, with those eyes of his, before he cut his hair and got some new clothes. But now… he was almost lethally handsome.

Driving away from one of the nicest evenings I’d had since I moved here, I couldn’t help but think about the sexy man I’d left behind. I doubted seriously if he’d ever had sex before. Rather than turn me off, it made me hotter for him. He was starting out, and he was going around it in the usual way. But my own experiences told me he was in for some hurt. The possessive, protective instincts that welled up inside me almost shocked me. He wasn’t mine, but I knew I’d watch out for him. Now that I knew the man a bit more, I wanted him with a desire that was almost painful.

Liam McCoy might not know it yet, but I would get him into my bed. How long he’d stay there, I had no clue. Before too much longer, he’d be lying back and taking all of me. Somehow I knew that underneath all that shy bluster, was a powder keg ready to be lit. I had the fire for it, and like it or not, I would fan that flame.

When I got home, I called Sam and gave him an update on what I’d seen. Like me, he wasn’t too concerned about the petty grass deals. Since it had only been two days, it was frustrating but not unexpected that I hadn’t found out anything. Knowing how dedicated Liam was to his job, I knew he wouldn’t be clubbing on a weeknight. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about him if I headed back on a couple of nights during the week. But come Friday, I’m sure that tall, muscular, hunky man would distract me.

Wednesday afternoon, I made my way over to Claire’s diner for lunch. What I really wanted was another of her brownies. When my sweet tooth acts up, there really is no other way to calm it than to appease it. Like a good boy, I ate lunch first. I had the grilled shrimp Caesar salad. I don’t know where Claire got her seafood, because the shrimp was excellent: fresh, not overdone, perfect. It gave me an idea. When it calmed down in the diner, I went over to talk to her.

“Claire, darlin’. Where do you get your seafood?”

She looked at me with a half grin and her head cocked to the side. “I have a wholesaler from the Oregon Coast. Why?”

I felt kind of sheepish saying it, but I’d never backed away from anything. “Because most of the seafood here is frozen. It isn’t like back home in Louisiana.”

She chuckled. “Nothing like sticking your hand into the water and pulling up dinner huh?”

She got it. Someone from around here finally understood. “Yeah, exactly. I’m trying to lure a new deputy from out of town. If I were home, I’d have a big crawfish boil, but you can’t get them here.”

She drew her eyebrows into a frown. “So you want some shrimp for it?”

My grin was immediate. “That’s exactly what I was gonna ask.”

“Does it have to be shrimp?”

“No. But it’d be good if it were. Why?”

She grinned and handed me a sack with a couple of brownies in it. “Well, my guy can get me some fresh Dungeness crab. Wouldn’t that be better?”

My mouth started to water, thinking about the spicy boil, filled with the sweet, succulent crab. “Darlin’, that’s the best idea I’ve ever heard of.”

She grinned wide. “He’s sending me a bunch of live ones for Saturday. How many do you need?”

Her generosity knew no bounds. “Well… how about we make it an even two dozen, provided you and Liam come over? It’s Sunday afternoon, and I know you two have dinner together those days.”

She grinned big. “I’d be delighted to, Jackson.” She looked over my shoulder. “Here’s Liam now, why don’t we ask him?”

I turned to see him walk into the diner, looking hot and sweaty, dirt streaking his white tee. Man, that man was gorgeous, all tousled and mussed. It made me think that that’s what he’d look like after some hard lovin’. Damn it all to hell in a little red wagon if he didn’t cause me to get half hard. “So Liam… how’d you and Claire like to come over and help me woo a new deputy to town Sunday? We’re gonna have an old fashioned crab boil.”

Liam looked so disconcerted; I couldn’t help laughing. “Um… sure. What can we bring?”

The blush that rose high on his cheeks made me grin even harder. “Just yourselves.”

Claire piped in. “Liam, I think you know what you can bring.”

Liam’s grin was infectious. “Yeah, I know exactly what you’re talking about. What time, Chief?”

That he called me Chief only slightly took the glow of the moment off. “Four. And it’s Jackson.”

He rolled his eyes, making me stare at his whole face, liking his thick eyebrows. “Okay, fine. Jackson.”

“Great, it’s a date.”

His one word answer, “No,” had me laughing all the way back to the station.

*** Liam ***

By the time Friday night came around, I was beat. I had mowed so many lawns, just so I could have my weekends free, that I was wiped. I had planned on staying in, perhaps taking a long soak in the hot tub, when there was a knock on my door. I had taken a shower, and figuring it was only Claire, answered the door wearing only my towel.

If I hadn’t been so tired, and frankly irked that the man kept following me, showing up in odd places during my day, I’d have been flattered by the long perusal he gave me. But like I said, I was tired. Well not that tired. It only caused my stomach to flutter and my knees to feel weak when he looked in my eyes, fire lighting them. My voice came out as a croak.

“What can I do for you Chief?”

His irritation caused some of the fire to dim from his eyes, but not all of it. “Damn it, I told you to call me Jackson.”

“Sorry… Jackson.”

His grin was immediate and did cruel things to me. “Were you going clubbing tonight?”

I was so tired; the idea of dancing made my feet ache, not that I’d have told him that. “Yeah, soon. As soon as I get dressed.”

He walked beside me, through my door. “Great, I’ll wait here. We can drive in together.”

Oh hell. Now what? Not knowing what to do, I went down the hall to get dressed. When I got back to the living room, I got a whistle. Between Claire and the Chief, I began to hate wearing these new clothes. “You look good, Liam. Just don’t knee anyone else’s balls, and all will be fine.”

My blush got ten times worse. “Aren’t you ever going to forget that?”

He stood there, fighting a laugh and rubbing his stubbly chin. “Nope.”

Figures. Bastard. If he didn’t look so gorgeous, I probably wouldn’t have had this reaction. But damn, the man was fine. He stood at most an inch shorter than me. His black hair was wavy and almost always had a lock that drooped over his forehead. His shoulders were broad and he had a strong, but not huge musculature. His jeans hugged his ass and he wore a button down shirt that had the top three buttons undone, showing off a wealth of tan skin and dark body hair that made me drool. After staring for who knows how long, I shook myself and grabbed my jacket. “Are we going or what?”

The forty-minute drive was companionable. In his off hours, the Chief drove a jeep. It was several years old, well used, but lovingly maintained. We chatted a bit about what he looked for in the clubs, who he thought might be the dealer. I listened avidly, not that I thought I could help him, but as a note as to what to avoid. After we got to the club, Jackson grabbed a beer and headed up to the balcony. I headed out to the dance floor.

Even though I was bone tired, once the music started getting into me, I started to move. Song melded into song, rhythm merged into rhythm, and number flowed into number; whether with a specific partner or alone, I moved to the music. After a while, someone pulled my silk tee off my shoulders and I tucked it into my back pocket, never missing a beat. We’d been there for maybe two hours when the Chief came back down to the floor.

The music had gone slow when the Chief reached me. His eyes never left mine as he wrapped his arms around my hips, pulling me against him as we slowly rocked against each other. I had been sweaty and out of breath before, now my heart nearly burst out of my chest and I couldn’t have caught my breath if I’d tried. There was a fire in his eyes and there was no way I could have avoided knowing how aroused he was. It felt like a cannon pressed against me, rubbing back and forth against my fly as my own body responded, dueling with him.

When the music stopped, he seemed to shake himself as I stood there, breathing hard, aroused beyond belief, shaking slightly. He grabbed my arm and steered us over to a table. He left me sitting while he went to the bar and got a couple of sodas for us to drink.

While he was away, I tried to calm myself. My pants were painfully distended. I went to push my hand through my hair, but it shook so badly, I immediately clamped both hands in my lap. I shut my eyes, trying to block out everything, remembering how good it felt to dance with Jackson. God! The man was beautiful. I stared at him as he walked back from the bar, watching as he ignored some come on. Many men looked at him, but what made me swallow was how he never took his eyes off me.

When Jackson sat down, placing my drink in front of me, it was with a timid feeling smile that I lifted the glass to my lips, swallowing the whole thing in one gulp. His laugh was low and deep and I could only feel it, because the music was too loud to hear. Just as he leaned forward, I heard a shout and we both turned our heads to see a man lay sprawled out on the floor. Another man turned a guy around and punched him square in the face. Oh no! Another brawl.

Jackson turned to look at me, raising his eyebrow. This time, it was definitely not my fault. He grabbed my arm and we ran out of the club, into the parking lot, into his jeep and were on the road in moments.

After we were on the highway, he turned his attention to me. “You’re a curse, you know that?”

I couldn’t stop the laugh. “I had nothing to do with that one.”

He laughed too. “No, you didn’t. But I’m beginning to wonder.”

About halfway home, the breeze from the cracked open window made me cold. The sweat had dried on my chest and my nipples peaked out. I went to slip on my shirt, but Jackson’s deep, rich voice halted me. “Don’t on my account.”

Just like that, all the calm I’d found fled. I stared across the car at him, watching how his hand rested on the gearshift. His fingers were long, strong and the top knuckles and the back of his hand were dusted in dark hair. A deep shudder ran through my body. So this was lust. The rest of the trip home passed by in a flash; before I knew it, Jackson pulled up in front of my house. I turned to wish him a good night, when his lips pressed against mine.

At first, all there was was pressure. Then his lips opened, pressing deeper against mine. My body shuddered again and my mouth opened under his. His tongue barely flicked against mine when I heard him moan deep in his chest. The next few minutes were a blur as we left the jeep and walked into my house. When I shut the door, he was against me, pushing me into the door, putting his lips against mine. I moaned this time, long and deep. It had been so long since I’d felt like this.

My hands roamed his body, under his shirt, filled with the warm skin and taut muscles of his back. When he pressed his hips against me, I knew that what I’d felt digging into me before was no illusion. This man was hot and hard. I caused this. He wanted me, me, Liam McCoy. The mad rush of desire, the warmth of touching someone, the thrill of knowing that I had this power thrilled me, made me feel all powerful.

I got bold, pressing my hips against his, rubbing them once back and forth against his erection. His groan was torn from him as he pulled away and rested his forehead against mine, breathing deep. I heard him mumble, low and raspy. “I knew it. I knew it would be like this.” He looked into my eyes, and grinned at me devilishly. “Come here.”

Before he could do more than brush his thumb against my cheek, I heard a loud beeping. Jackson turned and muttered ‘fuck’ under his breath before turning to me, and smiled sheepishly. “I have to call. I’m sorry. Where’s your phone?”

After I showed him to the phone, I moved towards the kitchen. “Don’t go too far.”

I turned and tried to smile, confused and more than a little weirded out. “I’m getting some water.”

Once in the kitchen, I drank two full glasses of water, my hands shaking the whole time. What the hell had just happened? My God! I’d kissed the Chief. What the hell? Boy, it had been so good. My knees still trembled and there was no way my hard on would go away anytime soon. I turned when I heard Jackson clear his throat.

The look on his face led me to believe that whatever had just happened would go unfinished. “I’m sorry. There was another victim at the club we were at. They rounded up a bunch of people, I need to go back, see if I can find out who was near that person, perhaps see if I recognize anyone.”

I nodded my head, disappointment filling me. This wasn’t what I wanted, why was I so upset? “I understand.”

Something akin to regret flashed over his eyes and I looked down. He was still as hard as before and it gave me the courage to look at him again. “I’m sorry.”

My smile came out after a humorless laugh. “I know. Me too.”

I watched, helpless as he stalked up to me, kissing me hard on the lips. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow night at eight.” My confusion must have been obvious. “I gotta see you dance again. It’s hot.”

I know I flushed ten shades of red. With one final brief kiss, he was out the door. I stood there for a few moments after he left, aching, trembling from what had just occurred. Exhausted, I made my way towards my room, shedding my clothes as I did. The act of sleeping naked was still new to me. My mother, being so ill, often required my help in the middle of the night. For her sensibilities and my own modesty, I kept my shorts and a tee on while I slept. But now that she had died, I luxuriated in sleeping nude. At first, all I could do was lose the shirt, because my new silk underwear felt so good against me. Now, I take it all off, loving the freedom of motion, the lack of cling to my body as I moved naked amidst my sheets.

It was a long, long time before I fell asleep, my mind racing with the memories of the night. To calm my heated body, I finally took matters to hand and relieved some pressure. It was with a contented sigh that I drifted to sleep.

*** Villain ***

God Damn it! My latest plaything collapsed before I could even get him out of the club. He took the drink, swallowed it down, then went out and danced. Usually they felt tired or nauseous and tried to leave. But no! He decided to dance and keep going. Fucker!

When another brawl started because he’d collapsed and knocked into some people, I hightailed it out of there. Because I was so furious, I drove recklessly. A cop pulled me over and my anger couldn’t be contained. He pulled me out of the car and demanded to search my car. He found my bag and tasted it. Within seconds, the simple taste he’d taken took affect, not enough to make him pass out, but enough that when I suggested he have some more, he did. A willing slave was in my hands.

I ordered him into my car and I drove away, into the hills, towards the mountains. I found a secluded spot, the cop blathering incoherently the entire drive. He hadn’t had enough to pass out, just become horny as hell. He kept chanting about how much he wanted his wife. When I’d stopped, I told him to get out and go towards the trees. He did everything I said and it pleased me. I was already hard and leaking. In a secluded spot, I told the cop to strip. Once naked, I told him to lie flat on the ground, on his belly and to spread his legs. Fuck the condom. I undid my trousers and pressed against him.

Once I popped in, fear and pain woke him up, not enough to fight me, but to fight the drug. I took the bag from my pocket and told him to swallow it all. The drug took effect as I pounded into him. His cries of pain became silent. When I shuddered into his body, shaking from it, more replete than I’d been since the first time, I felt for a pulse on the cop, but there was none. Whether he’d died earlier or later didn’t matter. Now he wouldn’t be saying anything.

I laughed all the way home after I’d covered the body with tree branches. It wasn’t my car. I’d stolen it weeks ago. I’d miss the car, but I needed a new one. Oh well. Stupid cop.

*** Liam ***

I awoke early by Claire honking her horn in my driveway. I rolled out of bed and dragged my jeans on, not bothering to button them as I made my way to the front door. I wanted to yell at her as I yanked it open, but couldn’t when I saw her enthusiastic grin.

“Hello sleepyhead. Time to go car shopping!”

I rolled my eyes and pointed inside. She followed me in while I dumped coffee grounds into the machine and turned it on. I said not one word as I trudged down the hall to the shower. Once washed, clothed and filled with caffeine, I was able to turn a civil smile to Claire’s smiling face.

“What are we doing?”

She punched my arm. “Come on silly, you know we’re going to go get you a new truck.”

My sigh was heavy. I liked my truck. But she was right; it only had perhaps a year more to it before it’d give out. “Fine. But I pick… everything.” When she laughed, I quickly added. “I mean it.”

“Of course.” Her giggle followed me all the way out the door and to the car.

By the end of the day, I was glad I’d brought my cousin with me. She let me pick out the brand, model and color that I wanted. Where she helped out was when it came to purchasing. I had planned on paying in cash, but she talked me into financing a part of it, so I could establish some credit. Hell, I didn’t have a credit card. With the house coming to me once probate was over, I’d have more money than I could shake a stick at, but without any credit rating, even traveling would prove difficult.

On the drive home, Claire started talking to me. My giddy, new toy smile faded quickly. “So Liam, any prospects?”

My blush was obvious, but I didn’t mention the Chief’s name. When I didn’t say anything, she kept talking. “So… have we been playing safe?”

My eyebrows drew together in consternation. “All I did was dance, Claire.”

She put her hand on my arm. “I know sweetie, but you’re gonna meet someone soon.”

I shrugged my shoulders, feeling bad because I wasn’t mentioning whom I’d met. But then again, we weren’t really doing anything. “Perhaps Claire. Why are you asking me about this?”

“I want you to be safe. Do you have some condoms?”

I actually took my eyes off the road to stare at her. I know my face turned an interesting shade, somewhere between deep red and purple. “No.”

She chuckled, but there was iron behind it. “Then I suggest you go buy some. Don’t you agree?” To which I could only nod.

I put it off for three hours. I weeded a flowerbed that didn’t need it. Hell, I even stopped by Mrs. Samuels’s house to take care of her yard. But once it was all done, I couldn’t put it off any longer and headed over to the drugstore. Ten thousand different kinds of condoms filled the aisle. Jesus! What kind did I need? The lambskin I immediately dismissed. Those did no good. I remembered that one time and how snug they felt, so I passed that box up. Would ribs be good? I didn’t think so. Finally, I settled on a box of polyurethane, larger sized. Now… how many would I need. At the rate I was going, I’d only need a box of three. I left the box with a gross behind and chose something in the middle.

I only blushed a little bit at the checkout counter. This wasn’t so bad. I could handle this. The walk back to my new truck was a good one. I had my new truck, I had a box of condoms so when I did meet that right guy I could have some serious fun with him, and life was great in general; at least until I heard that slow, sexy, deep voice behind me. Damn!

“I’m glad we’re thinkin’ along the same lines.”

*** Jackson ***

When he whirled around on me, I actually took a step back. Boy, that man gets riled so easily. My humor was about ready to burst out into a chuckle, but I schooled it. Didn’t want him to blow up too soon.

“I didn’t buy them for you, Chief.”

Chief? What was it about him not using my name? Damn but it pissed me off. Of course, I didn’t want to analyze too closely how my stomach fluttered whenever he did say it, but he could at least call me by name.

“Ah, cher, you’re breakin’ my heart.”

He clenched his jaw and shut his eyes; I swear I could see him counting to ten. “They’re still not for you.”

I chuckled deep down. “Well, I still have ten or so at home, but that won’t get us through the evening.”

His eyes got real big, and then he smiled a purely evil smile. “Oh Chief, I’m sorry you’re so quick on the draw.”

My scoff came out more like a snort. “Once I get you into my bed, sleeping won’t happen, and ten times wouldn’t be enough.”

His blush became very endearing. Then he turned away and went over to a shiny, brand new truck where he laid his head on his arm against the roof. “All I wanted was to meet a nice man.”

“I’m nice.”

“Someone single and honest.”

“I’m single and very honest.”

“Someone to hold me, make love to me.”

“I’d like to apply for that job.”

“Someone to settle down with, perhaps eventually raise a family with me.”

He hadn’t heard me, but I’d heard every word. When he got to the settling down and family, I couldn’t help my response. “Whoa!”

He looked up at me. “Yeah, whoa.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “I think we want different things Chief. You’re sexy as sin, and I know we’d have a lot of fun together, but…”

The thrill that ran through me when he admitted that he felt this too almost completely overshadowed the shock and panic I’d felt at the other. “We would have a lot of fun together. A lot, Liam.”

His eyes were so sad when he looked at me. “And after the fun?” When I had no response, he smiled sadly at me. “That’s what I thought.” With that he got in his truck and drove away.

How come every perfect response to every argument always comes after the person has left? It happens every damn time. No one ever knows what you’ll end up with when you meet someone who attracts you. Hell, I’d gone to bed with more men who attracted me to only to find that in the morning, they were no longer as attractive. It’s a crapshoot when it comes to finding someone. Liam’s naïveté was endearing, because deep down, there was such blind hope. Perhaps I’d become jaded. I’d only had two relationships that lasted more than a few days. The first was in high school. I’d gone away to school; he’d become a petty criminal who died a few years ago from a drug overdose. He hadn’t been able to deal with being gay, so turned to drugs. The second had lasted for six years and ended a few months before I left New Orleans. The first time, I thought it would last forever. The second, I never thought it would last longer than a first date. You can never tell.

What I felt with Liam was brand new. I’d never felt this before. The raw lust and desire was familiar, but seemed to be magnified a hundred fold. Liam was bound and determined to find ‘Mr. Right’ immediately. I knew it wouldn’t happen. Perhaps I didn’t think in terms of forever, a house, and kids, but I wanted to let what was between us develop, no matter how it might conclude. Just because I knew that most things ended, didn’t mean that I would deny either of us the journey. What had arced between us was too strong, too powerful to deny.

The kiss we’d shared the previous night was proof that we were combustible. When my lips had pressed against his, it’d nearly blown the top of my head off. I had left his house hard and stayed that way all the way back into the city. Only the horror of the hospital room in which the latest victim had laid calmed me down. I had seen him in the club. He’d danced, he’d drunk, he’d flirted. In no way did he go near any one man. Of the forty-seven men who’d been arrested, four I had seen dance with, talk with, or drink with the victim for any longer than a few minutes. None of them were our perp, they’d left his company far too long before he’d passed out, fallen to the ground, and caused the second riot.

The idea of Liam falling victim to this asshole had me in the grips of such incredible fear, that it would take wild horses to keep me away. Why I felt so deeply protective of him, I couldn’t put my finger on. Somehow I knew that if we were to actually sleep together, that feeling would swell until it swamped me, took over everything. Normally, that would have made me run. But I wouldn’t this time. There was something so strong in this that I was powerless to resist. Thankfully, the club was shut down for the night; I wouldn’t have to watch over him. Instead, we could do what almost every other flirting, courting young couple would do. I couldn’t wait to see him get riled up over it. With a happy chuckle, I got in my car and drove home, to count the hours until I could see him again.

When I got home, a package waiting on my doorstep greeted me. The smile I hadn’t been able to dim all day grew bigger. My mama had sent me a care package from New Orleans. I ran inside and got a knife to open the box. I might have moaned when the box opened and I could see what was inside. Bless that woman. I asked for her to send me a box of spices for the crab boil and she went to town buying out Central Grocery in the quarter. Liam didn’t know it, but we were gonna eat good tonight. There were three boxes of boil spices, two jars of spicy Cajun mustard, five kinds of pepper sauce, ten pounds of Andouille sausage, six pounds of Boudin, and four whole Mufelatta sandwiches. That boy was gonna be mine soon if I kept feeding him so good. As I put the things away and took out the butter and flour to start slow-cooking a roux, I called my Mama.

“Hey Mama.”

“Jackson love, where y’at?”

My laugh was warm, tinged with sadness at how much I missed my family at times. “I had to stop saying that up here, they’d look at me funny and actually answer.”

Her laugh was warm and like always, made me think she’d wrapped her arms around me. “I take it you got my care package.”

“Yeah, Mama. You’re way too generous.”

“Bullshit. You’re my baby, and a long ways from home. I know you miss the good stuff.”

My grin was broad as I kept stirring my roux, getting it ready to go into the oven and bake for a while. “Well, the Mufalettas are gonna be good eating tonight.”

“So you gonna share them?”

“Perhaps.”

Her chuckle knew far too much. “You say that with that voice of yours, makes me think you have someone particular to share with.”

That made me pause. “I’m not sure how ‘particular’ this person is yet.”

Her scoff made me cringe. If I’d been ten years old, that wooden spoon of hers would have rapped against my backside. “He’s obviously special, or you wouldn’t have mentioned him.”

“Mama tonight is our first date. Don’t have us married before we’ve even seen each other.”

Her chuckle meant she was in a better mood. “Okay, I won’t push. But I want details if there is more than one date.” Her voice got kind of quiet. “He’s gotta be better than that bastard Nolan.”

It hurt to hear his name still. We hadn’t been in love for a long time when we broke up, but how we broke up will always stay with me. You should never have to walk in on your bed partner gagged while in a sling with your work partner fucking him silly. No one should ever have to see that, although it did make it easier to make a clean break with him. “He’s a heck of a lot better than Nolan.”

“That’s all that matters my boy.”

“Thanks Mama. I’ll call you soon.”

“I love you baby. Always.”

After the call was over, I slipped the browned roux into a low heat oven then got showered, dressed, and the picnic basket and blanket together for our evening. I had some carrots and celery chopped up, some olives and pickles which would compliment the Mufaletta nicely, and I filled a cooler with beer, soda, and ice.

When I pulled up in front of Liam’s house, I was over ninety minutes early. No one answered the door, but I heard music playing from the back. The side gate opened easy enough and I stepped through. What I saw nearly took my breath away. His backyard was almost identical to mine. Lots of trees and flowers, plants, ferns, planters covered the patio. Sitting in one corner of the patio was a hot tub with Liam sitting in it with his head back, listening to the classic rock playing out of a radio. His clothes were in a rumpled pile by the steps. By the fact that I saw jeans, socks, and underwear in that pile, I knew that Liam was naked. Damn but if my pulse didn’t race and my cock try to leap out of my pants at the idea of getting to see all of Liam.

I cleared my throat and watched as Liam practically jumped out of his skin in fright.

*** Liam ***

I had left Jackson with a mixed feeling of relief, dread, and strangely, sadness. He was looking for fun, and he didn’t disguise it either. The fact that I was looking for more, made it difficult to just give in and have fun with him. Each time I saw him though; it got more difficult to keep away. What he offered, what his kisses and long, hungry looks gave me, became harder to resist.

To work off my confusion and frustration, I went and took care of seven yards and got back to my place in plenty of time to meet the Chief by eight. Deciding that the warm day and my sore muscles could use it, I went out back and turned on the radio before shucking my clothes and lying back in the hot tub. Now before my mother died, I’d never have even considered sitting out there in my altogether. But now that she had died, I had a lot more freedom in my life. Not that I didn’t love my mother. I did. Now, I could do all the things in life I wasn’t able to do before.

I had shut my eyes, relishing how the bubbles pounded my sore muscles and gently caressed all the other parts of me, when I heard the cough behind me. My pulse went into immediate adrenaline overload. When I spun around and saw Jackson LeDeux behind me, I got pissed.

“Jesus Christ, Chief! You scared the hell out of me.”

His relaxed stance, leaning against the house with his arms crossed across his chest, made me even angrier; at least until he chuckled. It was rich and smoky and made me think of tangled sheets and more of those long, drugging kisses. “Sorry, cher. I only hoped to catch you at home.” His eyes tracked all across what was visible above the waterline. “I had no idea I’d get to catch all of you.”