Warning: Graphic description of male-male sex.
The sun climbed to its zenith and then slipped toward the western horizon while Chris and Vin rode across the open range, shadowing a small band of mustangs. They had already driven two other bands of the wild horses into a box canyon, cutting out two of the best looking mares from the group each time. But it was the stallion that held their attention this time. The animal was big and powerfully built, a dapple grey with flowing, cream-colored mane and tail.Chris heard his companion curse softly. "What?"
"That damn horse is smart," Tanner replied. "He's herdin' them mares down int' the washes. We won't be able t' catch him, not t'day anyhow."
Larabee cursed as well. He wanted that stallion. The black would be the perfect stud for the mares he and Tanner had been cutting from the herds of wild horses that roamed the open range of the Territory.
"We'll come back fer 'im in a day or so," Vin said. "He likes this area. Won't be too hard t' find."
Chris nodded. Besides, he was tired and hot, and ready to call it a day. They pulled their geldings up, watching as the small herd worked steadily away from them. The stallion stopped, standing on a small hill and watching them as the mares continued on to safety. Then the big black stud tossed his head, swished his tail and turned to follow after them.
"Another day," Larabee said softly, knowing he would have the animal eventually.
"Feel like a swim?" Tanner asked when Larabee finally looked away from the retreating mustang.
Chris glanced over at the tracker, rivulets of sweat making tracks in the dust on Tanner's face. Vin looked as hot and dirty as Larabee felt, so he nodded. It did sound good, but how Tanner thought he was going to find water out here, the gunman wasn't at all sure.
The tracker swung Peso to the southwest and headed off, Larabee following him.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
An hour or so later, Tanner led the way off the grassland and into a deep, fissured canyon. A short while later, he pulled up where a small creek emptied into a shallow pool before continuing on to eventually join the Santa Cruz.
They let their horses drink below the pool, then walked them over and tied them in the shade, pulling off their saddles to let the animals cool off and dry.
The two men walked back to the pool, which was half-hidden in the shade where the walls of the canyon almost came together in a graceful arch above it. The curve of the stone cast the rear of the pool in deep shade for almost the entire day.
They undressed there, laying their clothes out on small bushes growing in the sun at the base of the canyon wall so the sweat would dry.
Larabee knew Tanner was a private man, generally preferring the privacy of a bath in the wilderness to one in the bathhouse, but Vin didn't seem the least bit shy now. In fact, it almost seemed as if he didn't really know he was walking around naked in front of the blond. Not that Tanner had anything to be ashamed of. The tracker might be slight, but he was all well-honed muscle, which moved under his slightly tanned skin like some sleek predator's. And he would probably give Buck a bad case of envy if the ladies' man ever saw how well-endowed Tanner was.
Vin slipped into the cool water, which – as he watched the man wade across it to the shade – Chris realized was only three or so feet deep. There, Tanner sank down so only his head was out of the water. The startling blue eyes regarded him steadily as Larabee continued to undress.
Chris wasn't sure what it was that bothered him most, the fact that Tanner was watching him, or the fact that he seemed to like what he saw.
"Starin' like that can get a man shot," he growled when he was finally naked himself, the blue eyes having never left him while he removed his clothing.
Tanner chuckled softly, but he still didn't look away.
Chris shook his head and walked over to the pool, slipping into the water as well. He sucked in a sharp breath as the cold liquid engulfed him, but made his way over to the tracker and sank down to cool off his chest and back. Damn, but it felt good.
"Y' gonna shoot me?" Vin asked him lightly, blue eyes dancing with humor and just the hint of a challenge.
"Might," Chris growled back, but there was no sting to the word. "Folks could get the wrong impression."
"White folks," Vin returned, then leaned back and let the water come up to soak his hair. When he straightened, he cupped more of the cool liquid and used it to wash his face clean.
Larabee watched him, wondering what the taciturn tracker meant by that. "Just white folks?" he asked him.
Tanner shrugged. "Some 'a the tribes don't cotton t' a man lookin' at another man… others don't care."
"And the ones you've lived with?" Chris asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.
"Saw men who acted like women; dressed like 'em, too, was even taken as brides. An' I saw warriors who liked t' spend their nights with other warriors, instead 'a their wives…" Vin shrugged. "Weren't much of a fuss made over it one way or th' other."
Larabee took it all in, then nodded. "Seen cowboys like that, too… though they never missed an opportunity to buy themselves a whore when they hit town."
"Buffalo hunters were 'bout the same. No women 'round, less'n they got themselves an Indian wife, so they made do. Some of 'em seemed happy 'nough with what they had… or what they could take."
Chris noticed the shadow that passed through the tracker's eyes and wondered what Tanner was remembering. Whatever it was, it wasn't pleasant. "Ain't many women in town," he commented, casually.
"Nope, sure ain't," Vin replied, then grinned and added, "But I'd wager Buck knows most of 'em."
Larabee snorted. "So he says. Ain't sure I believe that, though. 'Course, if you were lookin' for some, uh, female companionship, you could always ride up to Eagle Bend."
Tanner shrugged one shoulder. "Ain't seen y' headed up that way in a spell."
Chris' head dropped and he stared at the surface of the pool. "Got used to doin' without," he said softly.
"Which is why y' rode out t' Wickes' Town?"
Chris grinned and blushed at that. "Hell, Tanner, said I got used to it, not that I liked it," he grumbled. "What about you? Didn't see you out at Wickes' Town. You hidin' a woman out on the Reservation?"
Another shrug, then Tanner shook his head and said, "Nope. Jist as soon take care 'a things m'self."
Chris nodded. "Yeah, that works, too." Then he shifted, realizing he was becoming a little aroused taking like he was with Vin. He glanced at Tanner and saw that the tracker had seen his reaction as well. He grinned slightly and said, "Guess it has been a while since Wickes' Town. Looks like I'm gonna have to take care of some business myself before too long."
"I could lend y' a hand," Vin offered softly.
Chris' eyes rounded slightly at the offer and he looked back at the tracker again. Tanner's eyes met his, the lids slightly heavy with the desire he could see in the blue depths. He was surprised by the tracker's yearning, and by his own body's reaction to it – his cock swelled, pressing tight to his belly in the cool water.
"Vin…"
"Y' don't like it, y' c'n finish yerself," the tracker said, drifting closer to Chris. Their shoulders touched and Vin felt the blond tremble. "Y' know I'd never hurt y', don'tcha?"
Chris nodded, his suddenly dry throat making it impossible for him to speak. He did trust Vin, with his life, but did he dare trust the man with his heart? He was so sure it was dead, even his ability to love buried with Sarah in her grave. But that didn't mean he didn't have manly needs, and Vin was offering to take care of them for him.
And, by God, he wanted Tanner to do just that.
He nodded and watched as a slow smile lifted the corners of Vin's mouth. Then the tracker was moving, climbing out of the pool and walking over to where the saddles were. He removed their bedrolls and carried them back over to the shade near the pool, unrolling them and spreading them out. Then he went back to his own saddle and dug into his saddlebags, removing a small tin before coming back to the bedrolls.
Looking over at Chris he said, "Y' gonna come on out 'a there, or y' want me t' come in an' get y'?"
Chris swallowed hard, suddenly having second thoughts, but the aching throb in his groin made his mind up for him.
He climbed out of the cool water and stood for a moment, watching Vin staring at him. The tracker's gaze swept over the gunman's body, hungry and admiring, and Larabee couldn't help the small swell of pride that filled his chest when he knew Vin liked what he saw – very much.
The hot air dried their skin quickly and by the time Chris walked over and laid down, he was just slightly damp. He pillowed his head on his folded arms, looking up at Tanner. The tracker was as aroused as Chris was, but while Larabee's erection snaked up the gunslinger's belly, Tanner's jutted straight out from his lithe body.
Chris watched as Vin moved closer, wondering what he was going to do. Luckily, he didn't have long to wait to get his answer.
The tracker reached out, his fingertips trailing lightly down Larabee's chest from shoulder to hip, raising goose flesh on the blond's body.
Green eyes closed and Chris sighed softly, amazed by how good that touch had felt. Then it was back, a little harder this time as Tanner's hands roamed over his chest, ribs, arms, and legs. He trembled under the tracker's touch, his cock filling until he was rock hard.
Then Vin's hands moved up the inside of Larabee's thighs and the gunman automatically opened his legs, lost in the pleasurable sensations that touch was delivering.
One calloused palm cupped Larabee's balls, holding them, rolling and squeezing lightly. Chris moaned softly, feeling a drop of precome fall onto his belly. Then he gasped sharply as Tanner's mouth covered his right nipple, his tongue laving over it, his lips suckling.
Larabee moaned again, his head rolling to the side, his breath coming quicker. And then his other nub was being ravaged. God it felt good, especially the light scratch of Tanner's stubble against the smooth skin of his chest. And while the tracker worked over his chest with his mouth, his hands continued to move, one tracing paths across his skin, the other continuing to fondle his balls. Eventually, Chris pressed his hips up, his aching member desperately needing some attention of its own.
And Tanner read the signs as easily as he did a fresh trail. His hand closed on the thick, vein-textured shaft and he squeezed.
"Oh yes," Larabee sighed, his hips moving as he tried to pump himself in Tanner's grip. But the tracker had other ideas.
Chris arched when Tanner's lips pressed against his, the tracker's tongue licking across them. Without thinking, the gunman's mouth opened and was immediately possessed.
Vin's tongue plunged in, tasting him, teasing him, stealing his breath away. And, as he did, his hand moved, sliding to the head of Larabee's cock and pushing back the blond's foreskin to expose the weeping, berry-red head.
Larabee groaned into the tracker's mouth and Tanner broke contact.
Chris was about to open his eyes to see where the tracker had gone, but then his cock was enveloped in a moist heat that sent him spiraling into the grip of a pleasure like none he'd felt since he'd lain in his marriage bed with Sarah. His fingers curled into Vin's long, thick hair and he jerked, his hips pushing against Tanner's hands, which were holding him down. He gasped as he felt the tracker's tongue laving the sensitive underside of his cock, then his teeth were nibbling gently on his head, his tongue poking against the small slit.
He struggled, trying to thrust his cock deeper into the man's mouth, his hands trying to pull Vin's head down at the same time, but a slightly sharper nip stilled his actions and he rolled his head back and forth, moaning, "Vin, please…"
Then the tracker's hands were gone, but he continued to suck and lick along Chris' shaft. The gunslinger ground his ass against the bedroll. He heard a metallic twang and realized Vin must have opened the small tin he'd retrieved from his saddlebags, but he didn't care. He just wanted the release that was building in his balls, drawing them up tight against his shaft.
His hips began to move again, short, tight thrusts that mashed his cock head against the roof of Tanner's mouth. "Vin," he gasped.
Then his hips bucked wildly when he felt the brush of Tanner's fingertip over the puckered bud of his asshole. A moment later a slick finger sank inside of him, freeing a strangled cry from the blond. His cock jumped in Tanner's mouth, a flash of raw, fiery desire shooting through his groin like a runaway train.
The finger continued pressing into him, twisting slightly. Larabee grunted, unsure if he liked the intrusion, but his body had already answered for him, his hips reversing direction, grinding his ass down on the invading digit until it was buried.
And there inside his body, Vin's finger found a spot that caused colored lights to explode against Larabee's closed eyelids. He cried out, feeling his orgasm explode from his cock, shooting gobs of his seed down the tracker's throat while he jerked and thrashed, lost in a maelstrom of bliss that threatened to overwhelm him.
Then he was lying there, panting for breath, his softening member being lovingly laved inside of Tanner's mouth, his asshole still suckling the finger buried inside of him, a finger that was slowly, carefully withdrawn, making his soft cock pulse, and a last dollop of come oozed from the tip only to be swallowed like the rest.
He forced his eyes open, still breathing hard, and watched as Vin licked him clean. He was completely drained and relaxed. And, when Tanner finally allowed him to slip from his mouth and rocked back onto his heels, Chris got a good look at the tracker's swollen, dripping erection. The sight of the man's arousal sent a spark of desire through Larabee's flaccid cock, but it only pulsed slightly where it lay wilted on his thigh.
The blond watched, his whole attention fixed on the tracker's hand as Vin reached down, dipped his finger into the tin, and then reached down and back to rub the sweet-smelling ointment over and into his own asshole. That action made Larabee's soft member jerk with interest.
Tanner smiled, his eyes almost closing as he poked his finger in and out of his hole while he began to jerk his cock with his other hand.
Chris licked suddenly dry lips, unable to look away as Tanner continued to pleasure himself. And, as he did, he slowly began to go hard again.
Vin continued, dipping his fingers into the tin again, then poking two fingers into his ass while he squeezed his cock and moaned softly.
Larabee reached down, stroking his own growing erection until he was fully hard again, wishing that it was his own fingers that were poking in and out of the tracker's ass.
When Tanner saw Chris was ready, he moved forward, dipping more of he ointment out and rubbing it over Larabee's hard cock. The blond gasped softly, the slick ointment cool against his overheated flesh.
Vin took Chris' hand, wrapping the gunslinger's fingers around the base of Larabee's shaft so he was holding it so it jutted straight up at the sky. Chris held himself ready, realizing what it was Tanner planned, the thought exciting him much more than he ever expected it could.
Vin straddled Chris' hips, then reached back and pulled his ass cheeks apart. He lowered himself until the tip of Larabee's cock head was pressed tightly against his quivering hole.
Chris groaned, as he came into contact with that pucker of quaking muscle, then cried out when Tanner took a deep breath and pressed down, keeping up the pressure until he embedded Larabee's cock head inside himself.
The tight heat of Tanner's rectum as it swallowed his head was almost too much for Chris. He groaned, his hips thrusting up, forcing himself deeper into the velvet-soft passage. And the tracker met that thrust, sliding slowly down Chris' shaft until he was sitting on the blond's groin, the man's cock buried fully in his ass.
Chris thrust up against Tanner's weight, trying to ram himself in even deeper. The heat, the tightness, the soft walls that squeezed every inch of his cock felt better than anything he'd ever experienced. He was being burned alive, squeezed in a soft vise that threatened to crush him. But he didn't care. He only knew he wanted to drive deeper into the incredible sensation, but he couldn't.
Thank God Tanner did it for him. The tracker rose until he was gripping the flared head of Larabee's cock inside the tight ring of muscle, then let go and slid back down the length of the man's rigid shaft.
Both men moaned loudly.
"Lift yer knees," Vin hissed.
Chris did, and Vin leaned back.
What happened next both surprised and confused Chris, but he didn't care. Somehow, though, Tanner ended up on his back on the bedroll, his legs up, Chris above him, his cock-head still trapped inside that velvet fist. He stared down into blue eyes that were nearly black – hungry, needy, blue eyes. And Chris knew exactly what the man wanted. He gave it to him, shoving into the tracker with a single hard thrust.
Tanner's legs wrapped around Chris' hips, his loose, long hair fanned out around his head, which was rolling back and forth as Larabee pumped into him again and again – fast and hard, just like want he wanted.
"Chris," he moaned, the word a plea for release.
Larabee stabbed into the man faster, harder, deeper.
Tanner made a keening noise that excited the gunman, igniting a firestorm in his groin. He possessed the tracker, ravaged him, and Vin took it, reveled in it, meeting each thrust with one of his own. Then the tracker's hand came up and he began to jerk frantically on his own cock.
Then Tanner cried out Chris' name, coming in long, strong bursts that sprayed semen all over Larabee's chest and face.
Seeing the tracker's seeding exploding like that tipped Chris off the edge, and he slammed into Vin as deeply as he could, shaking violently as his balls emptied for a second time. He grunted as he filled Tanner's ass, his hips rocking forcefully against the man's ass. He'd never felt an orgasm come from somewhere that deep inside his body, in his soul. He wanted nothing more than to keep shooting into Tanner until he saw his own semen bubbling over Vin's lips, but that was not to be.
Chris collapsed onto the tracker, gasping for breath, his body quivering and shaking uncontrollably. And beneath him, Vin was also twitching, jerking, riding out the last throes of his own climax.
They lay like that until Chris finally softened and slipped out of Vin's the still-quivering channel. The gunman felt the dribble of semen that followed.
With a groan Larabee rolled off of Vin and lay down next to him, his eyes closed, his body drenched in sweat.
"C'mon," Vin finally rasped, rolling over onto his hands and knees and then standing.
Chris saw streaks of semen and blood on the backs of the tracker's thighs and he cursed softly. "Damn, I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to hurt you."
Tanner grinned at him over his shoulder. "Jist been a while, is all," he said, walking over to relieve himself, then climbed back into the pool. He sighed, sinking into the cool, clear water.
Larabee also stood and peed, then joined him, the two men silently cleaning themselves. Then they climbed out and stood, letting the sun dry them before they laid down together on the bedrolls. Chris pulled the tracker into his arms, holding him close as drifted off to sleep.
Tanner listened to the soft breath of the man he loved and silently prayed this was just the first of many times they would share each other's bodies. Reaching up, he smoothed back the blond hair and tenderly kissed Chris' skin, completely content for the first time since he'd been a child.
Author's Note: This story first appeared in the Mag 7 zine, Seven Card Stud #7, published by Neon RainBow Press, Cinda Gillilan and Jody Norman, editors. When we all decided to post the stories that have appeared in the issues of Seven Card Stud that are more than two years old, we opted to use a generic pen name because, while Dana Ely is the primary author of this story, she had so much help from the other folks writing for the press that it just made sense to consider the story to be written by the Neon RainBow Press Collective! Resistance was futile. So, thanks to the whole Neon Gang – Sierra Chaves, Dana Ely, Michelle Fortado, Patricia Grace, Erica Michaels, Nina Talbot, Kasey Tucker, and Lorin and Mary Fallon Zane. Story lasted edited 6-22-2006. Art by Shiloh