Fourth story in the Colliding Feelings series.
Chris snapped out of unconsciousness soon and started to wriggle in Vin's arms. "I can ride," he groused, trying to pry Vin's arm loose."Ya jist passed out completely, ain't no way I'll let ya ride. Another fall might be too much even fer that hard head of yours. Now stop squirming!"
"Squirming?"
"Yeah, squirming," Vin grated, tightening his hold on his friend. Gently he pulled Chris back against his chest. "Jist rest, Chris, I'll take care of everythin'."
Chris resisted a moment longer before he gave up and fell back against the tracker, head backwards as well. In the last light of the day Vin saw Chris had closed his eyes. The gunslinger looked strained, strained and exhausted and Vin had to fight the urge to rub the muscled chest under his hand with soothing circles. But all he did was hold Chris, firmly, gently.
"Where we going?" Chris asked after a while, eyes still closed.
"Place I know. You'll like it, it's peaceful there, not a soul around. Has a cave we can use, water, plenty of game. We can stay there as long as ya want or need. Give ya time t' figure out what ya wanna do."
"Already know what I want. I'm gonna leave."
"Chris...."
Chris's silence said more than words that he'd made up his mind. Vin sighed. He liked living in Four Corners, liked having a group of friends he could trust and he belonged to and he adored his contacts with Miss Nettie. Aw hell, maybe he could at least get Chris to come and visit her from time to time.
"Alone," Chris rasped, "I'm going alone."
Vin simply smiled. Like hell, he thought affectionately, tightening his grip on the man.
At the small forest of trees that led to the hidden valley, Chris was lucid enough to hold on to the saddle, leaving Vin free to walk the last part, guiding the horses carefully through the pitch dark. It was a frightening walk, since he was hardly able to see anything. The horses snorted in unease, pulling at the reins from time to time when they didn't want to move on. Vin would have never started on this route if he hadn't known it was only a short trail through the trees before they came out on the other side, where they needed to be.
It took a good fifteen minutes in the dark, but when they stepped out of the trees in the peaceful little valley, Chris perked up and looked around him with interest.
The place was beautiful even at night. Stars shone above them, the dark velvet of the night sky spanning from the trees behind them to the high rocky hills around. The half moon gave enough light to let them see the creek as a sparkle of silver, winding through the little valley. Behind the creek was the cave, invisible in the dark rock wall before them. It didn't matter, Vin knew exactly where it was and he quickly led them there.
"Can ya sit a spell while I take care of them horses and camp?" he asked Chris.
"I c--c--can h--help," the gunslinger managed through chattering teeth.
"Damn it Chris, why didn't ya say yer cold? I could've given ya a blanket!"
"W--w-what?" Chris' voice sounded slurred as well and Vin had the distinct impression Chris wasn't really with him.
"You stubborn idiot! Get down here!"
Chris felt cold all over and with a curse Vin settled the only half conscious man down against the entrance of the cave. The horses simply had to wait, a fire was the priority. Soon he had kindled the wood he'd left in the cave the last time he'd been there – was it over two years already? – and had settled Chris, still wrapped in his buckskin jacket, beside it. Hastily he took the tack and his stuff off the horses, hobbled them and left them to fend for themselves.
They were cooled down enough after the careful walk in the darkness and they had everything they needed, grass, water. They would be fine. Chris was another matter, he didn't like that head wound at all, or the way the man was shivering.
Hastily he put down his bed roll beside the fire and went to the blond.
"Gotta git ya out of these clothes, Cowboy."
"I--I k--k--now." At least Chris seemed to be more coherent again, resting beside the fire.
Between them they peeled off the soaked shirt and undershirt Chris was wearing, but when it came to his pants, Chris suddenly froze and looked uncertainly at Vin.
"Here." Vin carefully, lovingly drew one of his blankets, his warmest, over the naked shoulders. "That helps?"
"T--t-- thanks."
Chris was still shy about it, but Vin wasn't going to let that stop him. The man needed to get dry and warm and his head attended to. Soon he had Chris the way he preferred him, completely naked and before he closed the blanket securely around that lean body, he couldn't help taking a good look.
Damn, he knew better ways to warm Chris than wrapping him in a blanket. For now it had to do though. So he tucked the warm wool tight around the gunslinger and started rubbing his arms through the course fabric.
"Gettin' warmer?"
A curse nod.
"So, what happened? How ya hit yer head?"
"B--B-Buck."
"Damn, don't say yer getting warmer when yer not!"
Vin worked himself around Chris and settled behind him, pulling the blond against his chest and wrapping his arms around the still shivering body. Chris stiffened, but when nothing else happened, he leaned back. He shivered again.
"Still cold?"
"M... memories."
"Hell Chris, I thought ya had a real good time with it!"
Silence and Vin sighed, tightening his hold. The fire in front of Chris and him at his back should warm the gunslinger soon. The sooner the better, he wanted to take a look at that head wound. He couldn't take a very good look in the dark, but he thought it was still bleeding.
Finally and gradually the shaking stopped and Vin breathed a sigh of relief.
"Better?"
"Y... yeah." Murmured softly.
"Oh no Chris, ya can't fall asleep now! Ya got a head wound, pard, maybe concussion. I don't know that much 'bout head wounds, but I do know they're tricky and a man can fall asleep with one and never wake up again."
"You're... a real comfort," the soft voice mumbled.
"Yep, 's me, comfort 's my middle name. Now, I'm gonna put ya down and gonna clean that wound. Shoot, I better clean yer whole hair, it's all muddy. Whatever did you and Buck do?"
Chris merely shrugged and Vin shook his head behind him. Tight lipped bastard. He put Chris down on the bedroll with a small pang of regret for having to let him go out of his arms and soon he had water ready to boil and coffee brewing. He took Chris back in his arms and tried to get most of the muddy mess out of Chris' hair with creek water and his spare bandana.
"Gotta have ta douse yer head full into the creek to get all the mud off, Cowboy, but I got most. Water's boiling, reckon it's time ta work on yer head wound. Chris?"
A soft shaking brought Chris back around.
"Tired."
"Yeah, I bet. Been a busy day fer ya. Here goes."
"God dammit, Tanner! That hurt!"
"It's damn filthy!"
"Shit, what's that? It burns!"
"Red rye."
"Ya got whiskey? Give me that!"
"No way, Larabee! Not with a head wound that's made ya lose consciousness once already. Now stop squirming and let me do this. Here goes the rest of my shirt. Damn, stitches would be better. Ah well, it's beneath yer hair, probably gonna be a scar but not where it'll spoil yer good looks."
"Up y... yours!"
"That can be arranged, Cowboy," Vin teased. Immediately Chris stopped fidgeting. Vin sighed and took the strips he'd torn of his spare shirt before using the rest to clean Chris' wound. One of them he used to make a pad and the other to secure it to the wound.
"There, all done. You rest now."
"You... you meant that, when I said...." Chris swallowed.
"Chris, if ya were up to it, I'd be out of my pants already, begging y'on. Ain't gonna happen right now though, first we'll see 'bout that wound."
"But... it hurts."
Chris had turned and looked at him in earnest, his eyes slightly unfocussed. Softly Vin smoothed away some of the blond locks hanging over the blond's forehead.
"Guess it does," he smiled. "It's a nasty gash you got there."
That made Chris frown and then he shook his head. Only once, the movement obviously hurting him. "Not the wound, what you... said. Said if I were up to it, you'd even begged me on? Why would you? It hurts like hell."
"No it don't, not when done in the right way."
"Right way!" That made Chris laugh, a harsh sound, no merriment in it.
"So that what happened in the army, Chris? You were raped, weren't you?" Vin asked softly. He didn't really want to ask, didn't want to pry in something like this, but if Chris had been raped he'd better know it beforehand. Because he still was dead set on making this man his lover.
"I ain't that easily to force into anything, Vin. Were those who tried and I got one close call, real close, where Buck saved me. That's how I met him, actually. Afterwards, we watched each other's back."
"Chris, don't lie. How else would ya know it hurts? I got the impression ya haven't exactly been open to experimentin' with sex between guys."
Chris turned his head away and stared into the fire for a long time. Vin sighed. This wasn't something you could force a person to talk about. Time to get Chris some hot coffee, the man was still too damn cold. He should get some food going as well. Soon his little pan was back in the fire, now with pemmican and beans in it and some roots and greens he'd found at the side of the creek, all together shimmering to a good smelling stew. Chris was sitting on the bedroll leaning against his saddle, both of Vin's blankets around him and with a second mug of coffee in his hands.
With everything he could think of done, Vin went to sit beside the blond with his own mug of coffee.
"I won't lie, it's been a few close calls," Chris suddenly said. "But you know me and I've always been able to fight them off. I fight mean when I have to, Vin. The one time when there were too many and they'd already managed to take my clothes off...." Chris shuddered and fell silent. Vin waited patiently.
"That's when I met Buck," Chris finally resumed. "He was suddenly there, tearing into them, yelling at the top of his lungs. Man, he was so pissed! They had to let go of me and we were soon fighting them back to back." A self deprecating laugh and then Chris added, "I must 've looked real stupid, standing there at his back in my bare ass, letting my fists fly."
Some thoughts came to mind to Vin about how Chris must have looked, but stupid wasn't one of them.
"But Buck was too late?" he asked.
"Nah, I was fighting and squirming so hard, they hadn't managed to get something in me yet. They were just getting ready to punch me out and do it that way. No."
Silence again, then Chris said softly, "It was the Colonel of our regiment. Bastard really wanted me and he.... Shit!"
Vin put his coffee down and looked at Chris. He wanted to take the blond in his arms so bad it hurt, but he knew it would stop Chris from talking and would probably stop him from talking about it for good. He didn't want to hear what Chris had to say, he didn't want to hear how he had succumbed to someone higher up, but he felt that Chris needed to get it out before there would be a chance of them ever being really together, in all the ways Vin had dreamed about.
Chris was looking at him now, uncertainty in his eyes and Vin could only let his love pour out, hoping it would reach the man. It seemed it did, because something relaxed in Chris and staring into the fire once more, he started talking again.
"After that first encounter Buck and me, we watched each other's back. It was more thought, we became friends, real friends like you don't find easily. When I was made Captain, he became my first lieutenant, my right hand man. It was hard getting him in that spot, no matter how good a fighter he was and in leading the men when he had to, 'cause he wasn't much for discipline. He... he had this thing for the ladies even then and kept leaving camp to find him some woman for the night, permission or not. I usually managed to cover for him, but one night he was caught with a Southern lady, on an almost completely abandoned plantation. I don't know how he'd managed it, but he could charm any lady into his arms even then. It was war though and she was Southern. So the Colonel gave me a choice, I would finally give in, or Buck would end before a fire squad on account of treason. He wanted me to be with him t... three nights, the whole damn weekend and... and I did. Worst pain I've ever experienced when he... he...."
Now Vin did skim over until he was beside Chris and put his arm around his friend. Chris stiffened, but Vin knew he needed it. Damn, he needed it himself!
"God, that was a brave thing to do," he whispered. "One of the bravest things I've ever heard of. I don't know if I could've done that."
Chris laughed, a short, harsh laugh and shook his head. "Brave? That's the last thing I'd call it!"
"Does Buck know what you did?"
"N... no, don't think so. He couldn't believe it when they let him go, he knew I had something to do with it, but I never told him. I don't know for sure though, the Colonel died rather suspiciously soon after and Buck could only smirk when we were told. He's... he can be very dangerous when he wants to be."
Vin nodded. He'd always felt it in Buck, a hardness right under all the warmth and caring of the big man. If it came to protecting those he loved, he could believe Buck would go to any length, any.
He looked at Chris and saw Chris looking at him, the green eyes tired and with a shadow of pain in them.
"Thanks for telling me," he said softly and he meant it. Chris telling him this gave him hope. It wasn't something Chris would willingly share with just anyone.
"Only other person I ever told was Sarah."
The hope suddenly grew so much it hurt. He tried not to show it, but somehow he thought Chris knew anyway. He swallowed and told his friend softly, "You better lay down now, Chris. Rest until that stew is ready."
"How 'bout you, Vin? You seem... experienced. And not frightened at all of this."
Vin had to grin at that. He shook his head and then said, thinking about it, "I guess I am experienced at that. Don't wanna say I've had me plenty of men, but I always did swing this way and there's been a few. Don't mean I've never appreciated ladies as well and sometimes one could get under my skin as you know, but never like men could."
"Didn't it hurt?"
"Yeah, the first time, sure. But after the hurt it was damn good! Best sex is with a man, least it's fer me. Chris, I know it can hurt, been on the receiving end myself. But when it's 'bout love and not 'bout power, then it can be amazin'. It really can, I swear."
He gazed in Chris's eyes and let his friend see the truth there. Chris nodded, believing he believed it to be so, but still filled with doubts. It made Vin wish the bastard who'd hurt him was still alive, so he could be the one to kill him.
"Come, I'll help ya down, Chris. Get some rest, alright?"
"First I need you to kiss me, Vin."
"Chris, we got all the time in the world, ya don't need ta do anything that...." Chris leaned into him, the mesmerizing green eyes effectually silencing him.
"I need you to kiss me."
And he did. God, but how could he ever resist this gorgeous man, this lonely but brave soul, the bravest soul he'd ever met? He took the tantalizing lips in a soft kiss, let his tongue flick out and enjoyed the fact that after a moment of hesitation Chris was kissing him back. The kiss became deeper and deeper until it was an experience all on its own. When they finally broke apart, Vin's blood was singing and his cock was trying to burst out of his pants. Damn that, not something he could do anything about right now, with Chris hurting.
Chris sighed and sat back to stare in the flames. Now what was going on in that head?
"Chris?"
"Needed to know if - if it was really there." His eyes were bright now, with the brightness of tears. "If it really felt like with Sarah. And it does, it does Vin. It didn't when Buck kissed me, but it does with you."
The gaze was back on the flames. "God, but it scares me."
Vin latched onto something else though. "Buck?" he asked, surprised. What did Buck have to do with this?
"Buck said, well, he said he loved me once I'd dragged him into that alley. He asked me why I was with you when I'd never wanted to be with another man before. He said he loved me, had always loved me and I believe him. It was in his eyes Vin, like it's in yours. But his kiss didn't reach me the way yours do. When he touched me, I didn't feel anything, didn't even get it up. With you it was like with Sarah. Came to a point when she'd just had to look at me and I'd grow hard."
Wearily he laid down on the bedroll, one arm over his bandaged head, his eyes closed. "Now what?" he whispered.
Vin didn't care about that at the moment. "What happened between you and Buck?" he asked, harsher than he'd intended. He suddenly felt sick to the stomach. Is that why Chris had bolted, to go from him straight to Buck? To see who was best?
God, he couldn't see straight, he was so mad.
"Vin? What's wrong? Told you it didn't do anything. And I fought him off when I could move again. Why are you mad all of a sudden?"
And he was, boiling over mad when he heard those words. He jumped up and stood coiled, wanting to strike something.
"Vin? You're scaring me. What? What'd I do?"
"Not you," he gritted. "Damn, off course not you! But Buck, I'm gonna kill Buck!"
"Shit!" Suddenly Chris was standing, grabbing Vin by the arm. "You're not! He didn't mean to, he thought if I could be with another man it should be him and when he tackled me he didn't see I'd hit my head, he didn't know that's why I didn't protest at first, 'cause I was half passed out. He stopped as soon as I could move again and started pushing him off. So you leave him alone!"
"He asked you if you wanted to be tackled and... and handled?"
"You didn't ask anything either," Chris said mildly. "You just started it. Oh!" He was waving on his feet all of a sudden and Vin could only barely catch him before he fell down. The blankets slipped free and Vin let them go, his first priority was getting Chris safely on the bedroll. He picked up the blankets, but he couldn't bring himself to cover Chris. He was so beautiful, laying there all naked, with the firelight playing over his perfectly sculpted body. Hungrily his eyes traveled from the perfect face to the vulnerable neck, over the strong chest muscles to the two tiny nipples and down that flat and rock hard abdomen, ending on the soft cock laying in a bed of dark blond curls. He licked his lips seeing that price, wanting to taste it so bad it hurt.
Damn, his pants had just become two sizes too small again.
Hastily he kneeled down to put the blankets over Chris, who had started to shiver. "I'm gonna go and see 'bout that stew."
But first he had to lean down and again kiss those lips. This time he didn't let go before he had nibbled at the lush lower lip, with that sensual dip in it. He'd dreamed about those lips so often and finally it seemed like they might be his.
"After Buck kissed me, I kept thinking about what it meant, the reaction you get out of me," Chris whispered. "Not just your kiss, but also your hands, what your hands did to me this afternoon."
"Chris, I don't think...." His hand was already traveling over the body before him and suddenly he couldn't keep himself from touching, touching everywhere. First the tiny brown nipples until they peeked, then like in the afternoon he let his hands travel lower and lower until they reached Chris' cock.
It had grown while he had been touching Chris. It wasn't really stiff yet, but blood had been pooling into it and it was now slightly curved upwards, thicker than it had been.
Vin kissed it.
A surprised gasp from the gunslinger and a definite twitch in the hardening shaft made him smile and he kissed it again, before letting his tongue run over it all the way, from tip to balls. He kissed those balls and another gasp was his reward. That and the legs suddenly moving apart. With a smile he kissed the balls again, taking one in his mouth and humming softly. Chris bucked under him, which was enough encouragement to do the same with the other ball in its furry sack. Then he stopped, looking at Chris.
Chris still had his one arm over his head. His eyes were closed and somehow he had managed to arch his head back, exposing his throat. A flush was covering him and then he moaned, opening his legs a bit more.
Vin's cock stirred when he took in the arousing sight of Chris so completely taken by his touch again. It gave him a heady feeling of power, knowing he could do this to the man, that just a few of his touches and kisses had Chris quivering for more, unable to resist what was happening to his body, unable to resist exposing himself by showing his throat and opening his legs.
Hastily he opened his pants to give his throbbing cock more room. Then he leaned back over Chris' body, over his cock and licked it once more before taking it in his mouth. He suddenly had an enormous urge to taste everything of Chris, everything there was and by God he was going to. He felt Chris come up and with one arm he pushed him back. Letting go of the now thick shaft he groused, "You do that again and I quit. I mean it, you got a head wound and y'ain't movin', clear?"
Before Chris could say anything he dove back down on the thick shaft, taking it in his mouth again and sucking.
If Chris had wanted to say something, it was lost in the moan this action brought. Vin sucked harder and the slender hips started rocking beneath him. Something salty escaped the now rock hard cock in his mouth. Vin drew his mouth back and eagerly started licking at the small slit, trying to get every drop of precum Chris was spilling.
Chris gasped and moaned louder. His hands were grasping the bedroll and his bandaged head was thrown back, his back was arched.
Vin sucked again and Chris arched even more, letting his knees fall to the side at the same time, opening himself up completely to Vin's eager view.
He had to touch what he saw there!
With Chris' cock still in his mouth, unwilling to give up that price, he sneaked out a hand and let it trail over the two balls straining in their furry sack. Chris was moaning in earnest now, his hips rocking even more. With a smile, never letting Chris's cock out of his mouth, Vin let his fingers travel between Chris's ass cheeks, through the warm and dark crack to the puckering hole he knew was there.
He touched it and suddenly Chris didn't move anymore, but was laying very still. After the blond's confession Vin knew exactly why and he wasn't going to let it put him off. He was glad now that he'd taken things as far as he had that afternoon. He'd had his doubts, but he'd also wanted Chris to feel how good it could be with a man before the gunslinger came to his senses enough to start thinking.
He had wanted to be sure he would have left a very powerful memory Chris would be unable to deny while thinking things through and he had, he knew he had because of the way Chris was reacting to his touch and his sucking right now.
Completely giving over.
He let his finger play with the puckered rim of Chris' opening for a moment, making Chris shudder in what Vin thought was probably a mix of anticipation and fear.
He could understand the fear now and the anger was back, anger at the bastard who had done such a thing to this man. The blond's story had taught him that Chris had had that rigid code of honor and that innate sense of jumping right in to safe others even when he was a lot younger. Buck might have saved Chris, but Chris sure as hell had saved Buck.
Still, even knowing the gunslinger as he did, even after the stories the inmates had told them about Chris's selfless actions in the Jericho prison, it overwhelmed him what he had sacrificed to safe a friend's life as a young man. He'd known Chris capable of great sacrifices even for those he didn't know, but this was immense.
He was going to make sure this man would have happiness in his life again, even if it was the last thing he'd do and he was going to take all the barriers down that prevented it.
So he pulled back his finger and let go of the now throbbing cock in his mouth, to make sure he wetted his fingers thoroughly first. When Chris whimpered and trust his hips up he couldn't help smiling. He was going to make this good for Chris again, very, very good. He would continue to do so until he had the gunslinger begging for his every touch and then he would teach Chris how things could be even better between them.
He took the thick cock back in his mouth when Chris trusted upwards, sucking and licking. His right hand with the wet fingers in the mean time dove into the dark cleft between Chris' ass cheeks, unerringly finding the deep and warm hole he had explored with such relish that afternoon. The same moment that he took Chris deep, deep inside his mouth, swallowing the blond's cock all in, he trust his finger inside that tight hole and unerringly went for the one spot no man could resist.
This time he had no trouble finding Chris's gland and he started caressing it immediately.
"God, Vin!"
He pulled his finger back and brimmed the opening again, now with two fingers, daring to go a bit further than this afternoon. Again he went straight for Chris's pleasure spot, hitting it and caressing it non stop. His free hand was on his own cock, pumping the rock hard shaft in time with the trusts of his fingers in Chris's ass.
Chris was writing in earnest now, soft whimpers escaping him. Vin didn't stop the orgasm he felt building inside the lean body beneath him. Chris was hurt after all, so this was meant as a release, not a prolonged agony.
All the signs where there. Chris's whispered "Vin!", the way his back arched more than it had before, the sudden movement that opened his legs even wider, giving Vin a beautiful view of his balls and of his fingers delving inside that small, tight opening.
God, he couldn't wait to breach Chris with his cock!
Vin touched Chris's gland once more and Chris shuddered, a shudder traveling through the entire length of his body, accompanied by a hoarse cry. He touched the spot again and again Chris shuddered, crying out even more. Again and now Chris was trembling in earnest. The next time he touched the gland deep inside that hot, warm channel he hummed on the thick cock inside his mouth.
Chris screamed and seemed to go into convulsions. His cum spurted into Vin's throat with such force the sharpshooter had to work hard at sucking it all up. He wanted it all though, all of that saltiness that was Chris, while pumping hard at his own shaft. Seeing Chris convulse in surrender was the final edge for his own heightened state of arousal and he only had to jerk his cock a few times before he had his own shuddering release.
Then he collapsed onto Chris's belly, totally spent.
He didn't stay down long, he had to take care of Chris. So he took his fingers out of Chris' ass with some regret and looked up. Chris was laying quietly, his eyes closed. He opened them immediately though when Vin laid his own still dressed body against the gunslinger's naked one.
"Hi," he murmured, sounding immensely drowsy.
"Hi," Vin grinned and unable to resist he took Chris's lips in his own, wanting to share the blond's flavor with him. Chris's eyes widened when he tasted the sharpshooter's lips. "That's you," Vin whispered.
"I can't believe you did that, sw... swallow...."
"Why not? Wanted to taste ya for a long time now. Could hardly keep m'self from licking ya clean this afternoon."
Chris's face flushed red and Vin grinned at him, before going back to kissing the man senseless. He remembered how uncomfortable Chris had felt under his heated stare and suddenly he knew one thing for certain, he loved this. He loved how Chris seemed out of his depth. The man was always so strong, so self assured, but in this it was Vin who knew what he wanted and went for it.
It would be just awesome to teach Chris all he knew and he could already imagine springing all kind of surprises on him. Surprises that would make the man feel good for a change. God, Chris deserved to feel good, feel happy and he was going to make sure of it. Damn sure!
"Think the stew's about done, Chris," he whispered, disengaging his lips from Chris's and smoothly standing up. "I'll get ya some and then we're gonna go sleep. Ya need it."
Chris opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but closed it again and merely nodded. A hand went to his head, while he couldn't hide a grimace of pain.
"Chris?" God, he hadn't overtaxed Chris, had he? Maybe he shouldn't have done what he did and make Chris come. He'd just wanted to make the man relax and feel good after what he now knew of Chris.
Chris smiled up at him. "I'm alright, Vin, just a bit of a headache. Have had hangovers that were worse."
Looking doubtfully at his friend, Vin nevertheless went to get the stew. A moment later he had eaten most of it himself. Chris had tried some, but he hadn't been up to eating and now they were both resting on the bedroll, although truth be told most of Vin was laying on the cave floor, with his back to the wind, making sure Chris was covered completely. It had been a little struggle, but he had persisted Chris would have most of the bedroll and blankets and now he held Chris in his arms, right where the man should be. No "I'm fine, I don't need to be held like a kid" had dissuaded him and finally Chris had sighed, lacking the strength to fight on and had given in. After a while, when he had been half asleep, he had even snuggled up against Vin's chest, making Vin the most happy man on earth.
He could almost be grateful to Buck for the head wound that had lowered Chris's defenses. He was damn sure Chris would never have opened up without it and the haziness it had brought.
Didn't mean he wasn't going to beat the crap out of the man as soon as he saw him though. No matter what Chris said. But for now he was content with Chris in his arms and the prospect of a few days in this beautiful dale. He was going to make sure that Chris was every inch his lover before they left.
Kissing the soft hair in front of him, he settled himself for a slumber that would keep him aware of his surroundings and of Chris, set on waking the gunslinger from time to time to make sure he wouldn't slip away like men with head wounds sometimes did.
Nope, he wasn't going to let Chris slip away from him now that he had him, not ever!