"Y’ don’t have t’ go through with this, y’ know. Just say th’ word, ‘n I’ll take y’ back home," Vin Tanner said softly to the man on the other side of the broad front seat of the jeep.
"I wouldn’t have accepted your offer if I hadn’t been certain. I’m fine."
Vin smiled and nodded quickly, turning his full attention back to the road, but he found his mind wandering. He thought of the things that had happened to bring them to this point, and wondered again if he was doing the right thing.
He had promised Chris some time ago that he would do anything in his power to make his life – and more specifically his love life – as interesting as possible. He hadn’t really considered what he was planning then, but if it was what his partner seemed to want, then he was all for it.
Besides, it wasn’t as if he hadn’t dreamed of this sort of thing before.
"Y’ remember what we’re gonna – "
"VIN! I don’t believe that we need a ‘rehearsal’ for this. I mean, pursuits of this nature are usually better if they’re spontaneous."
He chuckled, his face flushing with embarrassment. "Sorry, I guess… I’m just… well…"
"Nervous? Are you sure you’re asking the right person if he wants to turn back?"
"Maybe… hell, I don’t know."
His companion smiled. "You said that it was something you both had thought about. If that was only to flatter me in order get me out here, then say so now, all right?"
Tanner shook his head. "I was bein’ totally truthful ‘bout it. Y’ know how I feel… we’ve been down that road b’fore."
"Indeed we have."
"An’, well, since Chris found out, he’s been havin’ these dreams." He grew quiet then, turning to the other man. The brilliant green eyes seemed to bore right through him. "Just… well, reckon I don’t want y’ feelin’…"
"Used? I have felt that way often, my friend, but this isn’t the case here. Do you think Chris is the only one who’s had dreams? You’ve known for some time that I find you both attractive men."
He nodded, then shook his head. "Just… well, y’ know that me ‘n Chris, we’ve got – "
"A relationship, Vin, I’m well aware of it. I applaud it my friend. I thought you were also well aware of the fact that I have no desire for one. I enjoy being a… well, a free agent I suppose you could say. I want this, as much as either of you. Hell, maybe even more." He grew quiet, chin resting on manicured hand as he stared out the window to the passing landscape beyond.
"Doubt that, but… well, thanks, Ezra."
+ + + + + + +
Chris Larabee yawned and stretched, blinking into the late evening gloom that had crept into the den. Vin had called earlier, telling him that he would be coming home with a surprise, and he had better be well rested. Intrigued, he had tried to find out what his young partner was up to but, as always, the cagey Texan hadn’t fallen for his heavy-handed attempts.
He had quickly taken care of the horses and then taken a long, hot shower to rid himself of the stress and hard work of the long week. It was Friday evening, and he was looking forward to a long, lazy weekend with Vin. Slipping into a pair of boxers, he had settled in to wait for his lover in the den. Flipping the TV on and turning from TVLand to CNN, he wrapped up in the afghan from the back of the couch and was soon dozing.
Vin would be home soon. At the very thought he found his body responding. He slipped a hand beneath the covers, pushed past the waistband of his underwear, and gently stroked his hardening cock. He smiled, enjoying the feeling of heaviness between his legs and in no hurry to lose it. He’d wait for Vin to do that.
The back door opened, and he heard a pair of familiar footsteps coming toward him. Tanner appeared in the doorway, silhouetted in the opening, looking for him. "You ‘wake?"
"Yep. Just waiting for you."
The lanky body swaggered across the room and knelt beside him on the floor. The long haired man leaned forward, capturing his partner’s mouth with his own. "Been waitin’ long?"
"All my life," Larabee breathed.
Grinning, Tanner said, "well, reckon it’s worth it?"
"Oh, yeah."
Vin sat back, resisting the hand that tried to draw him back. "Chris, y’ ‘member th’ other mornin’, when I woke y’ up from yer dream?"
His features clouding over with concern, the blond said, "yeah. I told you Vin, it was only a dream."
"I know," the younger man said quickly. "Told y’ then it didn’t upset me ‘r nothin’. I was just wonderin’… would y’ be interested in makin’ that dream come true?"
His hand stroking down the square jaw, Chris said, "you know I love you. I don’t need anyone else."
"Ain’t a matter a ‘need’, pard," Vin captured the other man’s hand. "It’s a matter a want. I wanna give y’ that dream, Chris… if yer of a mind."
Hazel eyes staring up at him in confusion, Larabee said, "I don’t understand. What are you proposing?"
"I’m proposin’ that me ‘n you… well, we invite someone t’ share our bed. Just for th’ night, no strings attached. I c’n give that to y’… we c’n give it to y’… if yer of a mind."
"Ezra?" Larabee asked.
Nodding, Vin continued. "Y’ know me ‘n him had a couple a… what’s he call ‘m… rendezvous? Ain’t happened since me ‘n you, and wasn’t nothin’ but two men gettin’ t’gether fer a good time."
"I know that," the blond brows knitted together in a frown.
"Well, it just seems that… since I told y’ ‘bout it, y’ been havin’ these dreams. Dreams ‘bout you ‘n Ezra."
"It doesn’t mean anything, Vin, they were just dreams."
"I know Chris." He was becoming frustrated. "Y’ don’t understand, pard. I ain’t upset ‘bout it… I wanna make yer dream come true."
"How?"
"By inviting me out for the evening." The voice, rich and filled with honey-coated tones, came from the doorway.
Larabee looked up and saw a second silhouette in the doorway. "Ezra?"
"In the flesh." He made no move to leave the doorway, as if waiting for an invitation.
"Then, you’re here…" he struggled to make sense of it all. His eyes sought out the blue of his lover’s as if he would find the answers in the depths there.
Reaching out and stroking the thick blond hair back, Tanner said, "I hope y’ don’t mind, but I told Ezra ‘bout them dreams. It’s okay," he held up a hand to still any protests, "Ol’ Ezra’s… what’cha call it?" He turned toward the man in the doorway.
"Intrigued," Standish supplied softly.
Chris turned from one man to the other, his face an unreadable mask. The others began to wonder if they hadn’t made a grave error. Larabee had always been one to tests the limits, but perhaps this would be too far beyond those confines. Finally, after a full minute, a small smile played across the older man’s face. He settled on the Southerner. "Intrigued, huh?"
"Most definitely."
"You gonna stand there all night, or would you like to come in?"
In answer, Standish smiled and strode across the room to join the other two. He perched on the arm of the couch near Larabee’s feet. "I apologize if I’ve overstepped, Chris. Vin knows that I have found you… attractive… for some time. That being the case, when he discovered that his admission as to our trysts led to your dreams, he sought me out –"
Larabee put up a hand to quiet the long-winded man. "I got the picture Ezra, thanks. Look, he’s right, I have had some pretty ‘interesting’ dreams this past week or so. But as far as making them come true… I just don’t know."
The man’s face fell, but he recovered quickly. Standing, he said, "understood."
"Wait," Chris said, "it’s not that I’m against it. I just… I’d feel like I was being unfaithful to Vin."
The other two grinned devilishly. Vin stared down at his lover, his eyes glittering. "Who says yer gonna git th’ chance?"
"What?"
"I ain’t so big a fool that I’m gonna let’cha be with Ezra alone."
His eyes widening, the blond stuttered for a few seconds before recovering enough to whisper, "you mean… all three of us?"
In answer, Tanner reached down to capture the opened mouth, his tongue flicking playfully at the one he met there. He reached out, beckoning the third man to join them.
Standish smiled, watching the body on the couch begin to squirm as reality set in, wakening him to the thought of a ménage á trios. He knelt on the floor beside Vin. Pulling the afghan from the lean body, he found the blond dressed only in a pair of black boxers. They were pushed down slightly, the top of the thick thatch of golden hair peering over the top. Delicately he tugged at the elastic, pulling the underwear off and dropping them to the carpet. The Southerner licked his lips at the sight of the heavy shaft pressing itself upward against the taut belly. He stroked a manicured finger along the thick muscle, eliciting a muffled moan from Larabee. When the man didn’t resist, he ran his tongue along the same path, ending at the dark head.
Arching back away from Vin, Chris moaned, gasping, "oh… shit."
Tanner grinned. He moved downward to the broad chest and its hardening nipples. His exploring mouth found first one and then the other, nipping and sucking until they were fully erect. Then, his long fingers keeping them that way, his mouth burned a path back along the other man’s neck.
Standish encircled the thick head with his mouth, his tongue rubbing at the throbbing flesh while he sucked slowly. His fingers found the heavy sacs below, kneading at them, rolling them sensually.
Larabee arched and shuddered as the two men attacked his sensibilities with swift sureness. One hand found it’s way around his beloved Texan, fingers braiding themselves through his loose brown curls. His other hand found the man between his legs, fingers wrapping around the thick auburn hair. Chris pressed Ezra’s head down farther, canting his hips toward the warm mouth. He moaned and cried out, the sound muted by Vin’s mouth over his.
They continued for long minutes, the two younger men bringing the third nearer and nearer to orgasm. They held him down with their bodies as they continued to stroke and torture him with lips, tongues, fingers. His body shook and trembled, he felt as if he were going to explode from the sheer force of the building desire. He gasped, finding it more and more difficult to breathe.
"Oh… oh… God… oh…" he cried out, his body arching, nearly bucking the two men from him. "SHIT!"
Vin continued to kiss his lover while Ezra sucked at the exploding cock, milking the heaving balls. Neither man stopped until Chris lay trembling on the cushions, unable even to focus his eyes when they slid open. A smile slid lazily across his face, telling the other two that their work had not been in vain.
As the lithe, well muscled body continued to tremble, Tanner looked at Standish. "Think we better take care a Mr. Larabee here."
"I concur," the Southerner grinned.
Together, the men rose, their own erections pressing against their pants. Vin slid his arms beneath Chris’ shivering body and lifted him from the couch. Ezra moved to his other side, and they cradled the blond between them.
"What the hell?"
"Shh," Vin whispered in his ear. "Y’ just lay still ‘n let me ‘n Ez’ take care a y’."
They carried him through the house, ending in the bedroom. There they dropped the man gently to the mattress, placing him in the middle of the big bed. Vin crawled in on one side, pulling the blond to him, settling his head against his chest. He looked up and motioned to Standish. The smaller man moved to lay on other side, spooning himself behind Larabee. They wrapped themselves around the slowly calming body.
"Y’ okay?" Tanner asked softly.
"Mm hm," Larabee murmured.
Placing a soft kiss on the top of his partner’s head, he pressed close, his arms wrapping around both the man against him, and the other man sharing their bed. He looked into the Southerner’s gleaming eyes and grinned. Ezra returned the smile.
+ + + + + + +
Waking from his satisfied doze a short time later, Chris became aware of something. He looked up into his lover’s eyes. "Seems to me that the two of you could use a little attention now." He could feel the crotches pressed hard against him, both front and back, begging for release.
"Reckon," Tanner agreed. "We just wanted t’ make sure you were okay ‘fore we did anything new."
"Oh, I’m fine… couldn’t be better," Larabee chuckled.
"I do believe Mr. Larabee has developed a taste for… the unusual," Ezra’s head appeared over the broad shoulder.
"Hell, known that fer some time," Vin teased.
Both men rose from the bed, shedding their own clothing before climbing back onto the mattress. Chris had rolled to his back, head pillowed on crossed arms, watching first one man and then the other as they disrobed. By the time they flanked him once more, his own arousal was becoming obvious.
"Y’ know, fer an’ old man, y’ sure got stamina," Tanner teased.
"Been taking Viagra," Larabee joked, "had to, to keep up with you."
"I hope that you took a double dose," Standish chimed in.
This time Vin slid to crouch between his lover’s legs. His head dipped downward, his lips encircling the hardening shaft there. He engulfed it, sucked and pulled at it, then released it only to flick his tongue along the heated flesh.
Above him, fingers of one hand wrapped themselves around the bars of the tall headboard, as Chris arched toward his lover. His other hand reached out and snared their visitor, drawing him downward. He pressed his lips tightly against the supple mouth, then pushed his tongue gently into the man’s mouth. Larabee felt the undercover man respond, mouth opening to accept him, then sucking with urgency at the intruding tongue.
As Vin continued to tease and stroke his cock, the blond released his hold on the third man, needing both hands to grasp at the bars above him. He strained and arched against Tanner, crying out as passion and raw sex overwhelmed him.
Standish smiled wolfishly as he paused to watch the lovers for a minute. Then he felt the growing ache of his own penis and took it in hand. Reaching with the other to retrieve a condum from where he had left it on the bedside table, he covered his throbbing member. He balanced precariously, crawling down the bed on his knees until he made it behind Vin. Once more pausing to watch the lovers, he gently stroked a finger along the crevice of the tight ass he faced. Tanner’s head came up, and he turned to look at the man behind him. Ezra worried for a minute that he had overstepped his boundaries, but that concern was quickly squelched when the Texan smiled wantonly at him.
Vin returned to his work, having to steady himself when he felt the deft fingers once more breach his ass. He slowly engulfed the heavy cock, sliding his lips along the heated flesh with a ravenous hunger. He wanted to taste every millimeter of the thick organ, to caress it with his lips and tongue. Then he found his attention divided more and more between what he was doing, and what was being done to him. The other man had pressed the tip of his finger inside his ass, carefully probing the muscles as he moved it in and out, massaging the passage as he did.
Standish pressed a second finger into the tight hole, hearing a satisfied moan in return. He moved them both in and out, scissoring them to loosen the muscles he played among. As Tanner began to push back against him, he knew that the younger man was ready. Positioning himself between the spread legs, he rubbed the tip of his hard-on along the pulsing hole, teasing until Vin pushed backwards, trying to take him in. With one hand he stilled the lithe man’s motions, holding his hip with a firm grip. With the other he guided the head of his covered cock, pressing it slowly against and then past the tight ring of muscles.
Tanner’s head came up once more and he cried out softly as the heavy shaft moved farther inside him. "Oh… damn, Ez… ra."
Standish wrapped both hands around the slender hips now, as he pushed past the greedy muscles. As he rubbed against the man’s gland, he smiled as Vin arched and cried out once again. He began to rock slowly, the thrust and retreat actions causing the man between him and Chris to arch and cry out, Larabee forgotten for a minute. Then, as he grew more accustomed to the feel of Ezra’s movements, he dropped his head once more, taking the hard cock into his mouth.
As his throbbing cock was left unattended, Chris slanted a look upward, taking in both men. He gasped as the sight of his lover being taken by another filled him not with anger, but with hot desire. One hand relaxed its grip on the headboard, reaching out to stroke long fingers along the square jaw of the man who held his heart. Then, as Vin resumed his attention to his heavy cock, his body went rigid once again.
Behind Tanner, Standish reached forward, finding the Texan’s own shaft, closing his hand around it. He began to stroke the thick muscle in rhythm with his own movements; those movements becoming more and more rapid as desire took over all three men. Vin began rocking between the other two, feeling first Chris and then Ezra’s cock fill him as their needs became his. He felt the Southerner’s hand stroking his own hard on in a sensual tempo that matched the other movements.
Soon the walls of the big bedroom reverberated with the heady sounds of the three way, each man crying out as he drew nearer and nearer to climax. Then a chain reaction began, as first one man than the next came with a shuddering swiftness. First Vin, his body sandwiched between the others, jerked and cried out as his seed shot forth. Then, already spent from their earlier ministrations, Chris cried out and arched off the bed as his seed filled his lover’s mouth. Finally, his fingers digging into the Texan’s slender hips, Standish moaned, feeling his seed explode, only to be caught and held by the condum. All three rocked and trembled as their bodies were completely consumed by their sexual needs.
Ezra moved first, slowly extracting himself from the lithe body. Gently stroking the tight ass for a minute, as Vin responded to the loss of contact, he left to dispose of the filled latex device. He left for another reason as well, to give the partners a few minutes alone.
Vin stretched, cat-like, to lay beside his blond lover. He watched Chris as he fought to catch his breath. "Y’ okay?"
"Don’t know quite yet," came the response. Then the older man turned to smile at his young soul mate. "But damned if I care if I ain’t. Reckon that was worth taking a few years off my life."
Smiling in return, Tanner said, "hell, yer gonna outlive me, anyway, yer too damn ornery t’ do otherwise." He snuggled against the broad chest. The two men spent a few minutes simply relaxing in one another’s arms. Finally Larabee realized that someone was missing.
"Where’s Ezra?"
"Right here," came the familiar smooth voice. Standish eased himself from the rocker that sat near the bedroom window. He had curled up in the wooden embrace to become as inconspicuous as possible.
"Well, get over here," Chris ordered softly, reaching out a hand to the other man.
Ezra complied, curling loosely against the blond’s other side. Vin reached up and pulled the comforter up to cover them all as their bodies cooled and began to chill. Intertwined in a jumble of lean bodies, their hungers sated for the moment, all three drifted off to sleep.
+ + + + + + +
Midnight found the three men sleeping, their bodies needing to recover from the evening’s excitement. Other hungers awoke the youngest of the trio, though, sending him to forage in the kitchen. By the time he returned, carrying a food-laden tray, the other two men were awake. He paused at the doorway as he watched them talking softly, Ezra’s head pillowed by Chris’ arm. Smiling at the ease of their interaction, he entered the room.
"Told you he’d be finding something to eat," Larabee said with a soft smile.
"Yes, I should have realized our young friend couldn’t have gone much longer without sustenance," Standish laughed.
"Cain’t help ‘t. Reckon I just worked harder’n you two."
"That so?" Chris asked, "care to work some more?"
With a wicked grin, the young Texan carried the food to the bed, handing the tray to his lover. Crawling in next to him, he picked up a strawberry, popping it into his mouth. Leaning forward, he caught the blond’s lip, sucking at it and leaving behind the taste of the sweet fruit.
Ezra picked through the jumble of fruit, chocolate and finger foods, selecting a small container of fruit whip. Opening it, he ran his finger through the fluffy concoction inside. With a smile, he traced a pattern along Chris’ chest, then proceeded to lick it off the warm flesh. He looked up to see matching smiles on the other men’s faces. Shrugging, he said, "I’ve always wanted to do that."
Moving the blankets aside and setting the tray at the foot of the big bed, the two younger men continued their erotic snacking. Coaxing Larabee down onto the mattress, they took turns covering his body with a variety of foodstuffs. By the time Ezra dotted his cock with more of the whipped fruit, the blond was once more on the verge of coming.
"Oh damn," his voice was rough with passion, "can’t take… can’t take much more."
"Just let go, then," Vin whispered as he licked honey from the hollow of Chris’ throat.
As the skillful mouths slowly consumed his throbbing flesh, the blond moaned and bucked upward. "Oh… Jesus!"
Standish sucked at the heavy flesh that filled his mouth, coaxing the hot fluid from the spurting head. At the same time, he squeezed and kneaded the emptying sacs beneath. Chris dropped limply to the mattress beneath him, and he finally allowed the limp organ to slip from his mouth. Sitting back on his heels, he watched as Vin tended to his lover, kissing him gently as he slowly relaxed. Then hazel eyes blinked open, turning to look up at him.
Larabee smiled wolfishly as his eyes took in the well-honed body. Broad shoulders and chest, sliding to narrow hips. All of it was tanned bronze, without a hint of tan line. Then his eyes settled on the thick patch of curls just below the younger man’s belly. From its center emerged one of the longest, thickest cocks he had ever seen. The term ‘hung like a horse’ took on new meaning for the blond. "Damn."
Blushing slightly at the other man’s scrutiny, Standish met his gaze nonetheless. Larabee looked up at him with unabashed want. His dark brows knitted as he watched the other man appraise him openly. "I take it you like what you see?"
"Never realized you… well, never realized you were so well endowed," Chris managed, tongue running along suddenly dry lips.
"Yes, well, I do admit that I feel rather blessed," Standish replied.
Turning to look at his lover, draped loosely along the side of his body, Chris said, "you never told me… and… he’s been… the two of you – "
With a Cheshire Cat smile, the young Texan said lazily, "he’s been inside me? Yeah, a time ‘r two. Why?"
His eyes returning to the huge cock, Larabee breathed, "I want to know… want to feel you."
"Y’ want Ezra t’ fuck y’? That what yer stammerin’ about?" Vin teased his lover, leaning over to kiss the blond again.
"Yeah, I… yeah," Chris admitted, eyes still burning with lust as he surveyed the man he had always considered smaller than most.
"I… are you certain?" Standish asked.
"Oh yeah," Larabee whispered huskily.
"I think I’ll sit this round out… just watch," Vin chuckled. Nudging his partner up, he slid beneath Chris, settling the blond head in his lap. He looked up at the Southerner with a smile that told the other man he would make certain that the curious Larabee didn’t get in over his head.
Coaxing the long legs up, Ezra spent several long minutes, slowly massaging and loosening the muscles of Chris’ ass. Vin handed him a bottle of lube and another condum, then returned to stroking and teasing at the man in his lap. He watched as Chris grew more and more excited; felt the muscles clinching around his fingers as the lean body tensed.
"Sh, calm down," he said softly, his other hand gently stroking along one well-muscled leg. "You need to relax."
Following suit, Tanner slowly stroked his hand along the blond head, down the long neck and across his broad shoulders. "Relax, pard, relax. Sh, it’s okay, Chris."
Finally deciding that the older man was ready, Ezra slipped a pillow beneath his ass. He sheathed and lubed his cock, then pressed the tip against the tight ring of muscle. Above him, Larabee gasped, his body growing taut once again.
"Sh, it’s all right, pard," Vin crooned, rubbing his hands along the trembling body. "S’okay, just relax."
His own hands gently massaging the blond’s hips, Ezra remained still until Chris seemed ready. Slowly he pressed himself inside, along the pulsing muscles.
"Oh… oh damn," Larabee moaned, his body arching upward, caught by the man beneath and behind him.
Vin caught his lover, cocooned him in his arms and against his body. He leaned down, capturing the parted lips that cried out at the exquisite hurt. Holding Chris close, he whispered loving words to the other man, finally rewarded as Larabee slowly relaxed into the pain.
Ezra slid slowly along the pulsing muscles, watching the older man arch upward again when he rubbed along his gland. With a smile, he eased himself completely inside the bigger man, loving the feel of the oh-so-tight muscles squeezing around his hard cock. He looked up to see Vin watching him, a look of pure excitement on his handsome face. The undercover agent had had reservations about this entire thing, not completely certain as to what would happen when it came right down to it. After all, it was one thing to fantasize bringing a third person into your bed, but actually doing it was something else all together. Standish had to admit that he was more than a little surprised to see the two men – so obviously in love with one another – enjoying the excursion so much.
"Ezra… move for God’s sake!"
He realized that he was sitting quite still, his cock buried to the root within the other man. Blushing slightly, he began to rock slowly, watching as his actions sent a flood of pain and pleasure skirting across the blond’s face. He pressed the long legs up and back, rocking with more and more intensity, until the room echoed with the sounds of their lovemaking.
Vin held Chris loosely now, sensing that the other man was lost in the heady experience. He rubbed and fondled the hard brown nipples, teasing at the tiny golden ring that glittered on one. As Larabee writhed and arched, moaning as his body was taken to new places, he ran his hands lightly along the broad chest. Then he pressed a finger into the other man’s open mouth, smiling when the blond began sucking at it with relish.
Then time stood still as Chris arched up, cried out, and then slowly collapsed against his lover. Vin looked up in time to see Ezra go rigid, his head thrown back as his hips ground almost convulsively against the other man’s ass. Then, slowly, he too relaxed. He dropped down, laying against the blond’s heaving chest. Both men trembled slightly as their bodies expelled a final burst of sexual energy. Tanner’s smile broadened. He stroked one hand through thick blond hair, the other through chestnut, while both men drifted off in a haze of exhaustion.
+ + + + + + +
Vin yawned and stretched, feeling his muscles respond with a comforting ache that said they had been adequately exercised. Smiling, he rolled over to find Chris sprawled out beside him on the bed. The blond lay on his back, arms and legs flung out on the bed as well as over Tanner’s legs. His mouth was slightly opened and his face looked calm and at peace. The Texan loved seeing the open and peaceful face of his lover in sleep. Running a hand through his tousled chestnut curls, he frowned when he realized that their guest was no where to be found. "Ezra?"
Easing out of the warm, rumpled bed, Vin padded from the big master bedroom, looking for the other man. He found no sign of Standish in the bathroom, so he left to explore the rest of the big house. In the hallway, he stopped, nose twitching as he detected an aroma. A very delectable aroma. Following his nose, the team sharpshooter ambled into the kitchen. There he found the Southerner standing at the stove, preparing breakfast.
"Smells good."
Turning, the smaller man smiled. "I thought that we could all use a good breakfast after last nights… activities."
Tanner chuckled and leaned against the doorjamb, not seeming to care that he was completely naked. "Reckon so. How y’ feelin’ this mornin’, anyway?"
With a broad grin, the other man said, "frankly, more satisfied and content than I imagined I could. I must say, Vin, that seeing the two of you… being with the two of you… it gave me a true understanding as to just how deep your relationship goes. I believe I almost envy you."
Returning the grin, Vin said, "all I can say is that ain’t nothin’ like it. Didn’t ever think I could feel like I do with Chris. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the times me ‘n you were t’gether, but – "
Standish held out a hand, stopping the other man. "What we had was completely different, my friend. You and I enjoyed a physical relationship, and nothing more was expected. I take no offense in your outpouring of emotion. What you and Chris have… that is a unique relationship in any man’s life. I am happy for you, Vin. As I said earlier, I have never sought such a relationship. However, if I ever do, I pray that it is even half as wonderful."
Tanner’s smile broadened, the happiness he felt shining in his blue eyes. "Me too, Ezra, me too."
"This a private party, or can anybody join?" The blond slipped up behind his partner, his arms sliding around the lean waist to pull the younger man to him.
"Mornin’," Vin leaned back against the bigger man, sighing contentedly as he nuzzled the square jaw.
Across the room, Standish watched the display of affection between his two friends. He saw the pure, unconditional and all-encompassing love fairly fill the air as they simply enjoyed being in one another’s presence. Not wishing to disturb them, he quietly finished preparing the meal, filling three plates. Turning back, he found them still wrapped in an embrace.
Clearing his throat, the Southerner said, "gentlemen. I hate to interrupt, but breakfast is served."
The two men looked up, suddenly remembering their guest. Blushing, they stepped apart, but only a step. Excusing themselves, they left to get dressed, returning only a few minutes later. The three men sat down to plates filled with omelets, fresh fruit, ham and coffee. The conversation was sparse as they devoured the meal, the appetites of the night before giving them ravenous ones now.
After breakfast, Ezra coaxed Vin into loaning him his jeep, declaring that he was not about to separate the two men even long enough to take him home. Tanner protested, feeling an obligation to see him home after the gift he had given them the night before. But, finally, Chris settled the argument by retrieving the jeep keys from the hanger at the back door and tossing them to the smaller man.
The two of them stood on the porch, waving good-bye as Standish pulled out of the drive. Once again, Larabee stood behind the smaller Tanner, arms wrapped around the trim waist and chin resting on the broad shoulder. They watched until Vin’s jeep disappeared down the lane, bearing the Southerner away from the ranch.
Turning to his partner, the Texan said, "still got a whole day left. What’cha wanna do?"
Love-filled eyes glittering, Chris tilted the elfin face up and kissed the broad lips. In a husky voice, he replied, "I want to go back to bed. Now. With you."
With a low-throated growl, the smaller man pulled away from the older man. Taking a hand in his, he led his partner back inside the house. And back to bed.
The End
