It was just a small lake, hardly deep enough for decent fishing, set in a shallow bowl formed by the low rolling hills that were the roots of the tall mountains in the distance, and surrounded by a parcel of meadowland. Vin had fallen in love with the property the first time he set eyes on it, and the fact that it was a scant five miles from Chris’s ranch had only doubled its appeal to him. He had been looking for a place for a while; had been socking away his salary, living in Purgatorio when he could have moved to a nicer apartment in a better neighborhood, driving his rusty jeep, wearing his jeans ‘til they were just about worn through, and had finally, finally, saved enough to make a down payment on some land.
He never thought he’d get so lucky. He’d been driving around looking at acreage, not seeing anything that spoke to his tired heart. He’d never been a man to settle for second best, and was ready to call it quits for a while when he came across this piece of land. He’d stood on the bank of that lake, looked up at the mountains, and felt like he’d come home. He’d have to scrimp and scrounge for a few more years, but it would be worth it.
He’d never mentioned it to Chris, kept it to himself, and was now sitting at the loan officer’s desk of the Denver Central Bank, waiting for her to bring in his final papers. His knee jiggled nervously.
"Mr. Tanner, I’m sorry –" The loan officer closed the door behind her.
His head snapped up. "Something wrong? My credit check out okay? Sellers change their mind?"
She smiled at him. "Everything is fine. I was just apologizing for the delay. Our computers ..." She shrugged and sat at her desk. "Now, I’ll just take you through this step by step. I know it seems like you’re signing away your life. You should have seen me when I signed for my condo. You’d think I’d be cool as a cucumber, but my hands were like ice and I was shaking like a leaf."
Vin blushed, appreciating her efforts to set him at ease. "Oh, I ain’t nervous. I’ve been waitin’ fer a long time t’call a place my own. So let’s git started." He pulled his chair up closer to the desk and leaned forward, eager to finalize the deal that could change his life.
7*7*7*7*7*7*7
Chris Larabee sat at his desk, drumming the eraser end of his pencil on the blotter. It was after 4pm on the day before the 4th of July weekend, and he wanted out: out of his suit coat, out of his tie, out of his office. He looked through the glass panels that partitioned his office from the rest of the team’s space. It seemed he wasn’t the only one counting down to quitting time. Buck was staring at the clock as if he could make the second hand move faster by sheer willpower. JD looked to be hard at work at his computer; but if the images on the screen were any indication, the young agent’s attention was focused on a new motorcycle – not the NCIC or ATF databases. Chris couldn’t very well discourage him when his own thoughts were drifting beyond the office walls. Josiah and Nathan were lounging at their desks. Chris could hear their deep, warm laughter at some shared joke, but not their words. Nathan kept looking at his watch, and it didn’t take a mind reader to know that his thoughts had to be on escaping from the city with Rain for a leisurely weekend.
And Vin? Where the hell was he? He’d taken a late lunch, dashing out of the office at 3pm, promising he’d be back before quitting time. Chris’s eyes narrowed. Tanner had been mighty secretive of late, but unlike other times when he had attempted to hide something from Chris, there were no bad vibes coming from him. No hint that he was hurting in body or soul, no tense silences; just the faint curve of a smile on his lips and the glint of excitement in his blue eyes – the look of a kid who knew where the Christmas presents were hidden. This was not a facet of Vin Tanner that Chris was familiar with.
His lover had him baffled.
But then, Tanner had baffled him from their first meeting; a stranger who had never been unfamiliar, whose thoughts and actions were a match to his, an enigma that still had Chris marveling at times. The bond between them was something Chris had learned not to question, but to accept with an open mind and heart. The surprise had been that the bond had turned physical.
Chris’s mobile mouth quirked in a smile. His lover. How the hell had that happened?
Easier and faster than he would have ever anticipated. Once he had overcome his fears and doubts, once he had admitted that his emotions were not unnatural or twisted, it had been as natural as breathing. It wasn’t just sex between them; if it had been, they would have slaked their curiosity and walked away. Neither he nor Tanner were emotionally suited to that sort of relationship. Vin was too deeply scarred by a past that had been filled with betrayal and callous disregard, and Chris? Well, he’d had Sarah, and if he’d never loved again, her memory alone would have sustained his heart.
It was different with Vin. A tumbled mix of friendship, love, heat, and risk, that was an emotional charge as volatile and exciting as the play of fireworks against a night sky full of stars.
He heard the door to the outer office open; heard JD greet Vin and saw Buck raise a big hand in a salute. Vin gave him a high five, made a comment that set JD into a peal of laughter, and sauntered over to the office door. Chris watched him approach and leaned back in his chair, his hands linked behind his head.
Vin crossed the threshold, then checked in his paces at the sight of his lover. Chris’s white shirt stretched across the expanse of his chest; his tie was loosened, his collar open at his strong, tanned throat. Vivid green eyes were narrowed with laughter at Vin’s stutter-stop. "S-see ... told ya I’d be back," he choked a little, heat rising to his cheeks. "Damn, cowboy." There was just enough rasp in his voice to betray his longing to touch and claim that body.
"Good thing I put you in for a long lunch," Chris said. He relaxed, let his arms drop to his sides. "So, give it up, partner. You’ve been walking around the last few days looking like the cat who swallowed the canary."
"S’nuthin’, jist a little project I’ve been workin’ on." Vin’s diffident shrug didn’t fool Chris one little bit.
Larabee raised a golden brow. "The sort of project that requires a suit and tie?"
"Hell, yer always tellin’ me t’dress more professional, so now yer gonna git on my case about it?"
"I’m not on your case!"
"Tetchy, aintcha?" Vin winked. "Figure we got about half an hour b’fore we c’n blow this pop stand. Got some files that need cleanin’ up. See ya then." And he was gone, leaving Chris gaping at him. He knew it. Could feel it, and he was happier than he could remember.
He sat at his desk and shuffled around a few file folders, trying to look busy. He picked up his phone and called Ezra, hoping he hadn’t left for his annual Vegas poker tournament yet. When Standish answered, he grinned into the phone. "Hey, Ez. Jist thought you’d like to know the deal’s done."
Ezra’s smile warmed his voice. "Welcome to the world of the landed gentry, Mr. Tanner."
"Went smooth as silk. Thanks. I couldn’t a’ done it without ya."
"Nonsense. I was there solely in an advisory capacity. It wasn’t my credit and bank accounts they were scrutinizing, or my character they were evaluating. You did that all on your own. All I did was explain a few legal technicalities."
"You were there with me when it counted, Ez. I ain’t gonna fergit that."
"And you have *always* been there when it counted for me, Vin. And for the others. You just enjoy that place, now. I wish you joy."
"I’m takin’ Chris out there tonight. Got a surprise fer him."
Ezra chuckled. "I think Mr. Larabee will be surprised enough without any extra added attractions."
"Thanks again, Ez. Hope that poker tournament of yours pays off."
"I have every expectation of success. Be safe, my friend." He signed off, and Vin set the phone back on the cradle. Ten more excruciating minutes.
7*7*7*7*7*7*7
Chris looked at the clock on his desk. 4:52. As they said, "Close enough for government work." He yanked off his tie, stuffed it in his suit coat pocket, took off the jacket, grabbed his laptop carrying case, and shut and locked the door to his office.
He looked around at his agents and friends. "Let’s call it a day."
"Allright!" JD hit the power button on his computer, spun his chair around and launched himself towards the door. "Got a date with Casey t’go out to Red Rocks for a concert and fireworks. See ya later, Buck. ‘Bye, Chrisvinnathanjosiah ..." All slurred together and lost as he dashed out the door, a black-haired whirlwind of enthusiastic energy and youth.
Nathan wasn’t far behind him. Josiah meandered out with a rumbled farewell. He had been dating an attractive criminal psychologist for the last month, and it seemed things were progressing favorably. That left Buck, Vin and Chris to close everything else. They worked quickly, then waited outside the office door as Chris set the security alarm. The corridor was unusually quiet: it seemed Team Seven wasn’t alone in looking for an early escape from the grind. In fact, they had been more conscientious than most.
The garage was filled with lingering exhaust fumes, but most of the vehicles had cleared the level. Vin said a quick goodbye and climbed into his jeep. He’d meet up with Chris as the apartment, and they’d ride out to the ranch together. He waved at Chris and Buck, then took off.
"Thought Junior was going out to the ranch with you," Buck commented.
"He wanted to meet out there later."
"Has he been actin’ kinda funny lately?"
"Funny?" Chris asked carefully.
"Yeah. Hell, maybe the boy’s in love ‘r somethin’."
"’R somethin’," Chris echoed.
"Wonder who the lucky lady is."
"Haven’t a clue."
"It’s about time. I was beginnin’ t’worry that maybe one a’ those wounds of his had – well, you know ..."
Vague annoyance began eating away at Chris’s temper. "Just because a man don’t jump every woman who walks across his path doesn’t mean he’s got a problem."
"And you’re the expert on that, old son. Right?" Buck’s blue eyes were throwing blue sparks at him in a challenge to explain what to Buck seemed inexplicable.
It was an argument that was wearing thin with Chris, and he wanted to end it before it got started. He glared at Wilmington. "Maybe I am. Or maybe Vin figures his sex life ain’t any of your business. Maybe I figure he’s right. Back off, Buck and let us be."
Buck returned the glare for a minute, then started laughing. "Fine. You drag your sorry-assed selves off and enjoy the weekend. I’ve got a lovely lady waiting for me an’ we’re gonna wine and dine and love the night away. And tomorrow, we’re gonna head out to Aspen and watch fireworks from the balcony of her condo. Maybe even make a few of our own."
Chris grinned. "Sounds like a plan. See you Monday."
They parted, friendship tested but still intact. But Chris knew he’d come close to telling Buck the truth, and the last thing he wanted was to do it in anger and without Vin’s consent. Hell, Buck didn’t even know Vin was gay.
But Vin had been acting oddly for the last few weeks ...
Chris shook off his questions and climbed into the cab of the Ram. He wasn’t going to worry at that now. He was going to pick Vin up and drive out to the ranch for a long, leisurely, private weekend. And he was going to enjoy every damn minute of it.
7*7*7*7*7*7*7
Vin waited on the sidewalk outside his apartment, his packed duffle at his feet. He rocked back and forth on his heels, impatient for Chris to get there and pick him up. His heart was beating a mile a minute and his stomach was doing flip-flops of excitement. What would Chris think of him buying land? Would he think maybe Vin wasn’t comfortable at the ranch? God, he loved the ranch, loved it best when it was just him and Chris alone in the big, cool house and making love in the semi-dark master bedroom. Loved the very scent of the air; sex and sweat and Chris’s soap and aftershave.
But as much as he loved it and felt at home there, it really wasn’t his. This place he’d brought fit his bones. He could sit there in solitude, could lie back and dream, could just be Vin Tanner. Times were he felt like he was fittin’ himself into somebody else’s clothes – his size, but not his shape. Funny, Ezra would know what he meant by that, the store he set in having suits tailored and shirts made to fit his frame.
Kids were setting off firecrackers already, and the air smelled of cordite and burned paper. Vin had breathed in enough gunpowder to last a lifetime. He’d be glad to get out of this place. It was going to be like a war zone tomorrow and not all of the ruckus would be innocent fun. Last year a bullet had shattered a window in his apartment, and Vin had spent the night on the floor in the bathroom because it was an interior room with no windows.
The throb of a powerful engine made him look up as Chris’s black Ram glided to a stop at the curb. Vin opened the back door of the quad cab and threw the duffel in the back, before climbing into the front seat and latching the seat belt. He grinned at Chris, their hands linking quicky, all the affection they could afford in this place. "Let’s git the hell outta here," he said, and Chris put the pedal to the metal.
It took a good half hour to clear Denver, the traffic was so heavy. But the truck was air-conditioned and quiet, the tinted windows filtered out some of the brutal sunlight, and Chris was next to him, resigned to the traffic periodically coming to a standstill, and not wound up and angry like he would be without a long weekend ahead of him. His hand slipped from the steering wheel and sought Vin’s, long fingers twining through his, his thumb stroking lightly over his skin. Vin turned his head and sighed, his eyes half-closed with pleasure.
Chris lightly disengaged his fingers and stroked a knuckle down Vin’s hard thigh, setting nerves tingling. He continued the motion, each pass edging closer to Vin’s crotch until he felt the rise of Vin’s cock through the denim.
"You payin’ attention to the traffic?" Vin whispered.
"Mmm. It ain’t goin’ nowhere." Chris deftly thumbed the rivet on Vin’s jeans open and slowly pulled the zipper down. Vin’s breath caught, then released with a soft groan as his flesh was freed from the confining denim. "Not like this." His thumb slid into the fly of Vin’s boxers and slicked over the moist tip of his cock. Vin was warm and soft as velvet beneath the sensitive pad of his thumb and Chris found it hard to breathe despite having initiated the intimacy.
Vin shifted, angled his hips up and hoped that the folks in the car next to them weren’t looking through their windows. His head dropped back as Chris made slow circles around the sensitive tip of his cock and folded his fingers around the firm, warm, length of flesh. Larabee tightened and released his clasp, not working hard enough to bring Vin off, but easy and slow and arousing. Vin sighed and let him, poised on the edge. "Yer killin’ me, Chris," he murmured.
"Least you’ll die happy."
"Might have to kill ya first." Vin bit back a moan as Chris’s talented fingers brought him closer to losing control. His breathing grew shallow and a slow tide of heat rose from his groin to his chest and suffused his face with color. Torn between wanting to fall and playing it safe, the sudden break in traffic decided for him. He gripped Chris’s wrist. "C-Chris ... no ... git us both arrested ..." Chris slowed his strokes, and Vin slid back from the edge, sweat scrawling down his cheek. "Jesus, Larabee."
He turned his head. Chris was looking a bit flushed himself, his eyes glittering with heat. "You want to tell me what you’ve got up your sleeve, partner?"
Vin gave him a lazy grin and stripped his sleeve. "See anythin’?"
"Ya know even Buck is askin’ what going on with you. He thinks you’re in love."
Vin’s eyes widened. "Hell, it took him that long t’figure it out? Been in love fer a while, now."
"He thinks we’re both seriously screwed-up."
Vin snorted. "Bucklin thinks anybody who isn’t gettin’ screwed, is screwed. ‘Sides, we’re gettin’ screwed." He gave Chris a crooked grin. "Least we will if the damn traffic ever moves more’n five miles an hour."
Finally it did, and they hit the highway out to Chris’s ranch. Vin relaxed, closed his eyes, and let the pleasant lingering ache of arousal lull him into a doze. When Chris slowed and exited the highway, he stretched and yawned, sat up and looked out. "You ever drive down these side roads?" he asked.
"Sure. Not much to see."
"You tired?"
"Why?"
Again that diffident shrug that should have told Chris something was up. "Jist curious, I reckon. You mind turning left at Mile Line road?"
Chris was tired, he wanted to get home, kick back, have a drink, finish what he’d started with Vin. But Vin had that look again, and Chris wanted to find out what had put it in his eyes. He slowed, made the turn. "Pretty country," was all he said.
"Heard there was a lake down here."
"Small one." He turned down a gravel road off Mile Line, and drove for a mile or so. A rail fence marked the boundary of the property. "Used to be able to get there this way."
The Ram halted in front of a wooden gate with a rusty hasp. Vin opened the door. "C’mon, I want t’take a look." Before Chris could stop him, his boots hit the ground.
"Private property," Chris called out.
"Yeah, well ..." He jiggled the hasp. "Ain’t locked." He swung the gate open, returned to the Ram. "Don’t look like anybody’s home. You wanna drive down there?"
Chris gave him a narrow, speculative look. "Sure." The Ram jounced around, but Chris had taken it on rougher roads than this. The dirt track was hard packed. It curved around a small rise crowned with a stand of aspens and small fir trees. Just beyond, the lake glittered in the setting sun, deep blue and calm, a sapphire cupped in the palm of the earth. Chris braked and put the truck into park.
Vin was leaning forward, his lips slightly parted, his eyes drinking in the view. "Sure is pretty." He opened the door and got out, stretching the kinks from his back. He strolled to the bank of the lake and sank down on the long grass.
Chris shook his head and followed him. "I always thought this would be a nice place for a small cabin."
"Ya been here b’fore?" Vin asked.
"Yeah. When Sarah and I were looking for land. She liked this place, but it wasn’t big enough to ranch. She used to threaten to buy it just for herself. Leave me’n Adam to fend for ourselves."
For the first time, Vin felt a stir of unease. He hadn’t thought this place might hold memories for Chris, but his name was on the deed now and there was no turning back. "Ya know who owns it?" he asked, his voice soft.
"It’s been vacant for as long as I can remember it. An old man named Rivers was the last one I know of. And I heard he died a while ago. I don’t know who owns it now."
Vin drew a breath. "I do."
Chris looked at him curiously. "You know who owns it?"
"Yeah. I do."
A shake of Chris’s head. "Who?"
Vin started laughing when he realized he and Chris were talking at cross purposes. He dropped his head on his folded arms. "Yeah, I know who owns it. I do. I own it." He was afraid to look at Chris. He gazed out over the lake. "That’s why I’s actin’ funny. I was running around, talking t’real estate agents, gettin’ financing. Signed the final papers this afternoon." And he waited for Chris’s reaction, his breath held and his heart beating hard in his chest.
Chris looked out over the lake to the mountains beyond. "You get a good deal?"
Vin turned his head. "I can afford it, if that’s what’s worryin’ ya. Would a’ thought ya might be happy fer me and less worried about my bank account."
Vin’s retort set Chris aback; he hadn’t meant it to be a criticism, but it had come out that way. Why? Maybe that was the question he should have asked, ‘cause he was sure wondering what had made Vin take on a piece of land that was expensive, impractical, and looked like a lot of hard work to boot.
"The ranch is big enough for us both," Chris said quietly, feeling slightly betrayed. Feeling like the ranch wasn’t good enough. Like he wasn’t good enough, or just unable to give Vin the security he wouldn’t admit to needing.
"Sure it is, but it ain’t mine, Chris."
"It could be."
It was an astonishing offer, and Vin felt it like a punch to his gut, the realization of what Chris meant. No one had ever extended an open hand to him the way Chris did, no one had revealed their souls, no one had ever loved him enough to bestow a trust like that. Vin swallowed, pulled a few random stalks of grass out of the ground, waited until he found his voice and ordered his thoughts.
He faced Chris, reached out a hand. He didn’t often initiate physical contact outside of sex, but this was different. He laced his fingers through Chris’s and met those level green eyes that could see into his soul. "You mean that?"
"We could draw up the papers tomorrow."
Vin shook his head, smiled a half-smile. "I ain’t lookin’ fer half of what ya got, Chris, long as I got yer heart." He sighed, "Don’t need or want more than that." His lips brushed across Chris’s knuckles.
Chris felt that touch like a line of fire had been laid on his skin. "What do you want?"
He drew in a breath. "This. I want this land. I want someplace that’s my own, where I c’n go and be Vin Tanner. Not the messed up kid I was, or the ex-Ranger, or even the ATF sniper I am now. Jist me. All my life I ain’t never had anyplace to call my own. Ain’t never felt like I fit in, like I could sit back and let the world jist flow around me like water."
"Even with me?"
The wind came up and tangled through Vin’s hair, the strands a hundred shades of red and gold and iridescent rainbows of light in the rays of the setting sun. His eyes caught the blue of the lake and the deepening sky and they gazed into Chris’s fearlessly.
"Yer my other half, Chris, and I love ya more than I ever loved anybody in my life. But love cain’t give me what I’m lookin’ for. Look at us. We ain’t gonna live forever, Larabee. And whichever one a’ us goes first, the other’s gonna have t’keep on livin’ as best they can. This place is gonna help me do that if I hafta go on. And if not, you c’n scatter my ashes here and I’ll still be able t’call it my own."
"Vin ..."
He gave a short breath of laughter, almost self-conscious at revealing so much of his soul, even to Chris. "Hell, Larabee. Give a feller a chance t’speak his piece. You ‘n the others – y’all have a place where ya fit in outside the job. Shit, Chris. I look at ya, and there ain’t a place where ya don’t fit in, from out in the field, t’squiring Mary around t’them black tie affairs, to jist workin’ the ranch. Jesus, Chris. I want that. I git so tired a’ bein’ what ever’one expects me t’be ... and maybe here, I can be what I want. Jist Vin Tanner."
Chris reached over to pull Vin close to his side. He turned the Texan to face him, and leaned in for a kiss. Vin’s lips were warm, firm, and as always, Chris couldn’t resist the temptation to deepen the kiss, to feel and taste the depths of his mouth. And as always, Vin yielded to that insistent need, his hunger matching Chris’s.
When they parted, breathless, Chris drew his thumb along the line of Vin’s mouth. "Just Vin Tanner is a damn good man the way he is."
The gentleness in Chris’s voice, the touch of his fingers made Vin shiver in wonder. "Could be better," he rasped.
"Better could kill me," Chris groaned, smiled, combed his fingers tenderly through Vin’s hair. "It’s a great place, Vin. Congratulations."
Vin breathed in deeply. "You don’t mind? I mean – if it’s too hard thinkin’ of Sarah and ya cain’t be here with me, I’ll sell it in a minute."
"No. This is your land, Vin. And Sarah? Maybe she’s the one who held this place until you came along." The breeze struck through the thin fabric of his shirt. Chris stood up, stretched and reached down to Vin. "C’mon, partner. I want to get home and get out of these clothes."
Vin’s smile lit his face. "Yer readin’ my mind again, Larabee. Sometimes yer downright scary." He let Chris haul him to his feet and gave his land a last, wistful gaze. He leaned into Chris’s warm body. "Hard t’believe it’s really mine."
Chris hugged him closer. "It’s yours. All of it." And he wasn’t speaking only of the land.
Vin woke early the next morning and stretched out, his body aligning with Chris’s; shoulder, hip, knee. Chris slept soundly, relaxed, a slender, hard hand resting lightly on his breast, the skin tanned dark in contrast to the ivory hue of his torso. He’d pushed the sheets down to his hips, sharp iliac crests rising from the shallow bowl of his belly. Fine gold hair sprinkled his pecs, merging to a darker gold line down his abdomen and drawing Vin’s gaze to where the light sheet caressed the heavy swell of his cock.
Hell, the man was too beautiful to be believed. Hard to believe that gorgeous body had been inside his, that he had tasted the salty-sweetness of that fine-textured skin, that Chris’s chiseled mouth had suckled his cock to climax and swallowed the cum like it was nectar.
God. What had he done in his life to deserve this?
Cautiously, he raised the sheet and slowly pulled it back. Chris’s scent eddied from the warm hollow; rich and musky, intoxicating. His cock was resting on his thigh, dusky rose, soft. Vin blew over it, breath brushing the swirls of dark gold hair. He stroked his forefinger down the length of Chris’s shaft and smiled when his hips moved and the soft flesh stirred. A firmer stroke and he heard Chris sigh. Long muscles stretched and a deeper breath told him that his lover was waking – probably not fully aware, but getting there – and aroused easily as always in the morning, his body eager for it. Vin lapped at the tip of Larabee’s cock, full and flushed now with blood. He took Chris into his mouth. The juices from the slit tasted bitter-sweet and salty on Vin’s tongue as he swallowed.
Chris’s hands pushed the sheet back farther. He combed his fingers through Vin’s hair, his touch firm but gentle as he held his head between his palms in a physical expression of wordless desire. Vin heard the pant of Chris’s breath, felt the pulse in the big arteries in his groin throb and quicken beneath his hands. He slid his palms beneath the firm globes of Chris’s ass. Chris lifted his hips, opened his legs, inviting entrance. Vin rubbed at the puckered hole and pulled his mouth away from Chris’s cock long enough to spit on and moisten his fingers.
Larabee’s wordless cry of protest was silenced when Vin’s fingers penetrated him. He pushed down, seeking a deeper, harder sensation. Vin found the hard swell of his prostate and stroked against it, sending shocks of pleasure vibrating through the muscles of Chris’s thighs. He took Larabee’s cock into his mouth once more to suck and lick his shaft. He nibbled at the heavy balls, then took Larabee deep in his throat and swallowed, the pressure of his mouth and tongue, and the deliberate play of his fingers in his body sending Chris over the edge of sensation. His hips bucked, once, twice, then his spine arched as his climax shot through him and jetted into Vin’s eager mouth. "Jesus! Oh, Jesus, Vin! Fuck me," he cried out hoarsely.
Vin braced on his arms as Chris opened himself, spread and waiting, a hard flush staining his high cheekbones. Vin’s own cock was throbbing and leaking; he couldn’t ignore its demands. He couldn’t ignore Chris’s plea if it killed him, and fleetingly, he thought it might. But Chris was loose and ready for him. His eyes were glittering with heat and desire and he reached to pull Vin into him.
Perfection. Chris’s body fit around his perfectly; tight muscles easing as Vin’s cock slid in, then clenching around him like a soft glove. Vin moaned in ecstacy at the sensation. Chris was rocking him; taking his cock deep inside his channel, then letting him slide back. The sweet friction seemed to draw every sensation and nerve to Vin’s groin, blood filling his cock with heat and pressure. Chris tightened his sphincter, and Vin cried out as an overwhelming orgasm washed through him like a relentless tide.
When the tide receded, they drifted on the waves of spent passion.Vin was collapsed across Chris, his skin cool and moist, his heart beating gently and steadily against Chris’s chest. Chris traced light circles on Vin’s back, raising gooseflesh beneath the pads of his fingers. Vin shivered and Chris stopped the motion to gather him close and fold him in his arms.
"Cold?"
"Ya took all the heat right outta me."
"I’ve got a cure for that."
Vin lifted his head, cocked it to one side. "Yeah?"
Chris gathered Vin’s hair back from his face. "Don’t get any bright ideas, Tanner. I meant a hot shower and a mug of coffee. In that order." He leaned in to kiss Vin, tasting his own musk on the Texan’s mouth, and that nearly kept him in bed just to see if he had the stamina for another round of lovemaking. But Vin was already sitting up and pushing the covers aside.
"I’ll do the shower if ya git that coffee started. Time’s wastin’."
"I wasn’t aware that we had plans."
"I got plans." Vin stood up and stretched, naked and sleek, as finely made a man as Chris had ever seen; not an ounce of fat on that spare frame, broad-shouldered yet still built narrow and graceful. He moved with an economy of motion that pleased Chris’s eye, as natural in his skin as a wild creature. Chris leaned back against the pillows, watching and drinking in his lover’s beauty.
"You got plans?" he asked, his voice a lazy drawl of contentment.
"Yeah. And it’s a surprise, so don’t think ya can distract me with that purr like some damned tame cougar. I know yer tricks, Larabee, and they ain’t gonna work." He flipped him a rude gesture and stalked into the bathroom.
Chris lay there for a few more minutes until he heard the water running and the metallic rasp of the shower door closing. He got up, pulled on a pair of sweats and used the lavatory in the hall for his own needs, washing up quickly before he headed into the kitchen to start coffee and set out breakfast.
Vin had plans, he thought as he set out the fixings for eggs, bacon, and toast. And they didn’t include him. Hell. He didn’t know how many more surprises he could take from the normally taciturn Texan.
By the time Vin wandered into the kitchen, the eggs were scrambled, the bacon fried, orange juice poured, and coffee brewed. Vin filled two mugs as Chris put bread in the toaster, sweetened one with enough sugar to set most folks’ teeth on edge and put the plain black brew next to Chris’s plate.
They’d been together long enough that the familiar ritual didn’t require any words, and the brush of their bodies was a comforting dance of intimacy. Chris recognized it from his married days: it was something he’d thought never to recapture, but he had. And it was something Vin had never known, but now couldn’t imagine being without.
They sat at the table, Chris pretending to be absorbed in the newspaper but not really interested in the stories beyond a quick read of the headlines and first paragraphs. "So, do I get any clues?"
"Clues?" Vin asked around a mouthful of toast.
"Yeah, you know. Any hints as to this surprise of yours?"
Vin laughed. "Shit, Larabee. Yer like a kid at Christmas. And I ain’t gonna say one word."
Chris leaned forward. "I know what you like, Tanner. And maybe you won’t be gettin’ any of it."
"Yeah, right. Well if I ain’t gettin’ any, I figger neither are you," he snorted. He swallowed his toast, drained his coffee mug, and pushed away from the table. "Tell ya this much. I’ll be over at my place, and I’ll have the cell phone on, okay?"
Chris was about to make a smart retort when he saw the look of pride and sheer joy in Vin’s eyes. He wouldn’t spoil that for the world. He rose from the table and crossed over to him, resting his hands on either side of Tanner’s narrow waist. ""Feels good, doesn’t it?" he asked. "Being able to say ‘my place,’ and have it really mean that it’s yours."
"Yeah. Feels real good. And real right."
"I’m glad for you, partner." He kissed Vin’s forehead. "Still, I just want you to know that this is your place, too. You’ll always have a home here. Always."
Vin’s cheeks suffused with a blush and his eyes shone. "I reckon I know that, Chris." Then when his emotions were close enough to the skin to be painful, he looked away, cleared his throat, and stepped back from Chris’s light hold. "But I gotta git goin’ if I want to git things done. Be back in four, maybe five hours. Mind if I borrow the Ram?"
"It’s yours. I’m not going anywhere I can’t ride Pony."
"Thanks, Chris. See ya, cowboy." And he whirled away, snatching the ring from the hook by the back door, and bounding down the steps with the keys jangling like bells in his fingers.
7*7*7*7*7*7*7
It wasn’t as if Chris didn’t have enough work to keep him busy through the day and into the late afternoon. He worked steadily, taking a short lunch break before heading out to the back pasture where he worked at mending fences and replacing worn posts. Work was never ending on the ranch, and he felt he’d been neglectful due to the pressures of his job. When he had finished, he was hot, sweaty, worn out, yet pleased with what he had done.
He rode back to the barn, untacked and rubbed down Pony, watered and fed him. Peso looked over the box stall and Chris risked fingers scratching the big gelding’s nose. "Sorry, fella. There’s just one of me, and I wasn’t up to shenanigans. That’s Tanner’s department." He set the apple he’d carried with him on the ledge between the two stalls as a peace offering and closed things down for the evening.
The house was quiet, still no sign of Vin. What the hell was he up to, now? There were times Chris just didn’t want to think of that. And times when he couldn’t resist. Tanner didn’t say much, but his mind was never still. He was fiercely intelligent, focused, and devilishly inventive whether in the field, on the shooting range, or in the bedroom. Live wires and hot coals came to mind, and Chris found himself grinning as he went to clean up.
He stepped into the shower, luxuriating in the feel of the water and lather sluicing the sweat and dirt from his body. The heat penetrated the muscles of his lower back and thighs that had been aching in protest. He turned the showerhead to the massage spray and let the jets of water pulse over his body. God ...
The shower door opened and he knew Vin had returned. Tanner’s arms came around his waist, smooth, wet hands slid across his lower belly and groin, and he felt a sharp nip at the crest of his shoulder, then a devastating lick. A talented tongue lapped at the water streaming down his neck and traveled up to curl into the shell of his ear. Chris leaned against the tile wall, letting the cool ceramic draw the rising heat from his body.
"This the surprise?" he asked.
Vin laughed, breath brushing his cheek. "Nope. Thought this was my surprise. Findin’ ya here, all slicked up fer me. Lord, ya taste good, Chris." He licked and sucked his way down Chris’s neck, then turned him around. Chris set his hands on Vin’s hips and pulled him close. His body was hot, like he’d soaked up the sun, and the steam from the hot water curled his hair into tendrils and released the scent of heat, dust, and summer air. Chris slid his hands up Vin’s arms and twined his fingers into the sharpshooter’s hair, pulling him closer to kiss and fondle.
His tongue swept the recesses of Vin’s mouth, tasting, probing, stroking. One hand cradled his head, the other drifted to find a nipple, twisting and pulling it to a small erect bud. Vin shivered, and Chris bent his head down to tongue that bud while he closed his fist around Vin’s hard cock.
Tanner moaned softly and began a subtle rock and rub into that hand, pressing against Chris’s body. Chris was hard; his arousal so fast and so good that he marveled at his need and passion for the man in his arms. He wanted more, he wanted to be inside Vin, a part of him. But there was something he wanted to do, first.
Fumbling one-handed up to the shelf, he found the shampoo there and poured some in his hand, then backed off, leaving Vin gasping. "Easy, easy," he soothed, seeing frustration and bewilderment in the Texan’s eyes. "I want to do something for you, okay?"
The water was beading on Vin’s face, spiking his lashes into dark stars over his eyes, glittering on his cheekbones, and sliding like liquid diamonds down the plane of his jaw. Gently, Chris smoothed his wet hair back from his forehead. God, he could drown in eyes that blue, wide, and deep. "Okay?" he repeated, and Vin nodded.
Chris raised his hand and let the shampoo drizzle from his palm, then began to work it into a lather. Vin’s eyes widened, and a deep blush rose from his throat. They’d showered together to save time and hot water at Vin’s, and at Chris’s, at a more leisurely and seductive pace leading to lovemaking, but this ... this small and intimate act, Chris had never done for Vin. It was sweet and sensual, and Vin sighed and burrowed into Chris’s palm.
"Feels good," he said dreamily.
"Yeah, it does." Chris paused and leaned into a kiss. He worked the shampoo through Vin’s hair, gently massaging his scalp. "Tip your head back." Vin did, and the spray from the showerhead rinsed the shampoo away, leaving Vin’s hair as dark and sleek as a wet seal’s.
He reached out a long arm to turn off the water and snagged a bath sheet from the rack just outside the door. Still enclosed in steam and heat, he wrapped it around Vin’s lean body. Vin just opened it with widespread arms and folded Chris inside and close, their naked skin damp and warm, sensitive to every touch.
Kissing, touching, they stumbled their way out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, tumbling onto the wide bed. The cooler air dried their skin quickly. Chris pulled a bottle of lotion from the nightstand and squeezed some into his hand. The light cedarwood and sage fragrance filled the air, and he smoothed the rich lotion over Vin’s shoulders and back, working it deep into the Texan’s skin and muscles, paying particular attention to Vin’s lower back where the slight curvature of his spine made the muscles prone to spasm after hard work. Vin sighed deeply, and Chris pressed his thumbs into the small of his back.
"You been splittin’ rails, pard?" he whispered. "You’re all knotted up." He trailed kisses down Vin’s back.
"Don’t matter now," Vin sighed. "Ya made it all better." He turned so that Chris was straddling his hips, inadvertently bringing their cocks together in a pleasurable rub that made Chris swallow hard. Vin smiled, his fist enclosing them both. "Ya always do, Larabee."
He took the bottle of lotion from Chris’s hand, flipped the cap and squeezed a generous amount on his stomach, letting his skin warm it before he scooped it up. Chris sat back, watching as Vin slicked up both of his hands with the lotion. He spread the warm cream over his palms and slowly, sensuously, smoothed it over their cocks.
Their hips moved together, the heat of their bodies softening the lotion to liquid, their shafts sliding easily between them, the scent of their welling pre-cum adding a musky depth to the lighter fragrance of the lotion.
They fucked each other slowly, their eyes linked until that last moment when Chris moved, raised Vin’s legs, and set his cock to Vin’s hole. They were both well lubricated with lotion and cum. He carefully pushed past the resisting ring of muscle, not penetrating deeper until Vin gasped and relaxed, then he buried himself to the balls in Vin’s ass.
Tanner cried out, a sharp sound that faded to a low moan of intense pleasure as Chris rocked; drawing back then seating himself deeper until he was stroking Vin’s gland with every pass of his cock. He tugged rhythmically on Vin’s shaft, felt his hips flex up and his back arch. Another wild cry of joyous union came from Tanner’s straining throat. The rush of Vin’s semen over his hand was all Chris needed to come. He climaxed so hard that he lost himself, felt himself floating into some realm of ecstasy beyond the mortal plane, and drifting back to his body like a feather on the wind.
His arms gave way and he lay his length along his lover’s body, not moving until his softened penis slipped from Vin, unwillingly breaking that bridge of flesh and mind they shared. He rolled carefully to his side, waiting for his heart and breath to calm. A light breeze from the open window drew the heat from his body; not enough to chill either of them, but feeling like a glissade of cool silk over their skin.
Chris raised himself up. Vin’s eyes were closed, his face almost radiant with joy and contentment. Chris had never thought to see that expression on his lover’s face, and it humbled him to think he had given Vin that sweet gift. A gentle smile touched his mouth and he ran the curved knuckles of his hand down Vin’s cheek, feeling the rub of stubble like fine sandpaper. Vin drew a deep breath and opened his eyes.
"Reckon there’s fireworks, and then there’s fireworks." He kissed Chris and started to get up.
Chris stayed him with the flat of his hand. "Not yet." Tanner raised a brow, but didn’t object. The towel they had discarded lay across the foot of the bed, and Chris used the corner of it to gently clean Vin’s body, pausing to kiss and taste the seeds of cum before wiping them away. Vin lay still, spent. Chris set his lips to Vin’s soft cock; a caress of tenderness, not arousal. He sighed and sat up." You still have plans?" he asked.
"I still got plans," Vin smiled. "You hungry?"
7*7*7*7*7*7*7
They drove out to Vin’s place as the sun sank over the higher peaks, arriving in a deep blue twilight beneath a sky still flushed with the rose-gold light of sunset. The little lake was a ripple of midnight blue in its hollow. Chris braked the Ram to a stop just past the stand of aspen and firs. On the small rise overlooking the water, a tent had been pitched and a fire laid, but not lit.
Chris took it all in with a smile. So that was what Tanner had been doing all day – or at least the part of it he hadn’t spent making love with Chris. He opened the door of the Ram and strolled over to the campsite. A large log and two vinyl boat cushions formed a rustic version of a fireside sofa, and an upended stump was set nearby and covered with a checkered cloth. Nothing fancy, but the intent behind it was filled with love.
"Nice view," Chris said, his emotions bringing a betraying rasp to his voice.
His lover’s rough voice brought a smile to Vin’s lips. "I thought so." He inclined his head towards the camp. "C’mon. I got some beers in a cooler. Figure we earned ‘em t’day." He vanished into the tent and emerged with two sweating bottles. He handed one to Chris, then knelt and lit the fire before joining him on the cushions. Chris laid his arm around Vin’s shoulder and settled there comfortably, one long leg drawn up, the other stretched out.
Vin nestled into the curve of Chris’s shoulder and looked up at him. "Ya like this?"
"Mmm. I do. Especially this part ..." He angled his head down and kissed Vin with chilly lips. "Ya got any other surprises for me?"
"Reckon you’ll have to find out."
They sat for a while in silence, sipping beer and enjoying the close warmth of their bodies. Vin loved being near Chris, being able to look his fill on those fine features, feeling the rise and fall of his chest when he breathed and the glide of his muscles when he raised his arm to take a drink. He didn’t need much more than this to feel like he was in Paradise.
When the fire had burned down to hot embers, Vin got up. "Time t’cook," he said. He set a cast-iron grate over the coals and disappeared into the tent again. He had picked up two steaks, hashed brown potatoes, rolls, and salad from the supermarket in town that afternoon, along with cooking utensils and inexpensive flatware.
Feeling Chris watching his every move, he set the skillet on the grate, cut butter into it, and added the potatoes and chopped green onion. When they had browned on one side, he flipped them and put the steaks on to grill. Nothing gourmet, just good, hearty food cooked over an open fire, more beer, and the sheer pleasure of doing for Chris. Lord knows Larabee had done enough for him by just accepting him as a friend, even before things had gotten complicated between them.
Not that he regretted the complications in any way, or thought that Chris did. The afternoon was proof enough of that; and the memory of Chris’s lips in that last light caress sent a curl of warmth into his groin like he could still feel the ghost of Larabee’s breath on his sex.
The sizzle and pop of the steaks brought his attention back to the present, and when he turned to hand Chris his plate, the color on his cheeks could be blamed on the heat from fire even if the brightness in his eyes couldn’t.
They ate off of blue speckled tin ware, drank from long-necked bottles, and watched the last light of the sun fade as a chorus of crickets and the deep-throated croak of a bullfrog broke the late silence. The surface of the lake rippled as fish nibbled at insects, and Vin sighed in contentment.
"C’mere," Chris whispered and took Vin’s empty plate from his hand. He pulled Tanner to his knees and flipped the cushion so that it was between his thighs. Vin smiled and stepped over Chris’s extended leg. Chris pulled him close and folded his arms around Vin’s body. He rested his cheek against his hair. "Happy?" he whispered.
Vin tilted his head. "Yeah. So, ya figure this place is worth what I paid?"
"Every goddamned cent."
"Thought so."
The silence between them was easy, restful. Chris’s heart beat against Vin’s back and the rhythm of his breath lulled him to a place he had been only a few times in his life. They watched the stars fill the sky and a big, golden July moon rise over the low hills. The light shimmered on the water, gold and silver ripples breaking the surface.
"There ought to be fireworks," Chris said.
"Don’t need ‘em. They’re all noise and show, and when they burn out, y’ain’t got nuthin’ but smoke left t’remember ‘em by." He looked up, starlight reflecting in the midnight blue of his eyes. "I reckon I like the lasting kind."
Chris tightened his embrace and Vin leaned into it, cherishing the strength of the man he loved. They sat for a while watching the stars blossom in the heavens. They had fireworks. The lasting kind.
The End
