IN EVERY WAY
by C.V. Puerro |
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In idle wishes fools supinely stay; |
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IN EVERY WAY
by C.V. Puerro |
|
In idle wishes fools supinely stay; |
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After the cold harsh winter, spring had come early to the New Mexico Territory. A warm sun, high in the cloudless sky baked the hard soil of the town's main street. JD sat outside the Sheriff's office, whittling on a stick he'd found that morning. Buck sat beside him, sipping at a cup of coffee."Don't that bother you?" Buck asked. It was the first thing either of them had said in a while.
"What?" JD looked over at Buck.
"Them two." Buck gestured with a simple tilt of his chin. Across the street, Chris and Vin were casually strolling along the boardwalk, looking very comfortable in each other's presence.
"I don't know," JD said with a shrug, and then turned his eyes back to his whittling.
"Just seems to me things would be a whole hell of a lot simpler around here if Vin wasn't.... If he could just.... I don't know."
"Don't reckon it's Vin's fault. Just the way he is," JD said plainly. He'd come to accept it but knew Buck and Vin still hadn't settled things between them.
"So, you're saying it's okay with you? That he goes off, whenever it pleases him ... just leaving you behind so he can sow his oats in some other pasture?"
"It's not like that, Buck." More wood shavings drifted down onto the growing pile between JD's feet.
"You sure? You so sure about that, kid?"
JD felt Buck's eyes on him, hard. But he wasn't sure why this was troubling Buck so deeply.
"How do you think he'd feel, JD, if you just went off with someone else?"
JD shrugged. "Reckon it wouldn't be fair if he minded."
"But you won't, will you?"
JD shrugged again. "There's no one else I want to be with." JD heard Buck make a huffing noise into his coffee cup. It seemed that wasn't the answer his friend had been fishing for. "What do you care anyway?" JD asked finally.
This question seemed to take Buck by surprise. He coughed a bit, as if the coffee had gone down the wrong way, and then took several quick breaths before he said, "I care, okay? I — I don't want to see you get hurt. You're my friend and you — well, dammit, I don't think you oughta be treated like you don't matter, by someone who claims to ... well...."
"Love me?"
"He said that to you?" Buck asked, his voice suddenly very hushed. "And you believed him?" Buck shook his head. "Kid, you have got a lot to learn about love."
"Maybe so, but that don't mean he lied to me."
Buck gestured across the street again. "Don't it?" Vin was now leaning against a post outside the saloon. Chris had an arm around his shoulder as they talked. Vin's face was obscured by the brim of his hat and JD had to admit to himself that he was wondering what they were saying to each other.
"Gosh darn it, Buck," JD said. "Just 'cuz you and Vin haven't settled your differences don't mean the rest of us oughta suffer." JD snapped his pocketknife closed, and then stalked off down the boardwalk. He told himself he just wanted some peace and quiet, but the truth was Buck's words had bothered him. If Vin did love him, why was he spending so much time with Chris?
Chris was leaning in very close. It wasn't unusual, but just the same Vin tried to look about surreptitiously. No one seemed to be paying them any mind and that allowed him to relax a bit.
"I don't know, Chris. We've been spending an awful lot of time out at the shack. Don't you think the other fellas are gonna start to mind? I mean, that we're not here, in town, doing what we're being paid to do?" Chris's hand came to rest on Vin's shoulder. "Vin, we're doing our part. You're up early every morning, same as me. Hours earlier than ol' Ezra, that's for certain. Earlier than Buck, too."
The mention of Buck's name made Vin tense. It had been months since their altercation — and Buck hadn't done anything even remotely questionable since — but Vin hadn't been able to get past his unease around the man. Vin had never completely understood the situation, but he knew it had something to do with Chris, and the fact that he was with Chris now and Buck most pointedly was not had Vin wondering if Buck wasn't still harboring some unresolved feelings.
After all, Buck had shoved him against a wall and tried to rape him. Not something one expects from a friend, from a man you'd trusted to watch your back when bullets started to fly.
"I suppose you're right. Not like I'd be up as late as either of them anyways."
"Exactly. Besides, I've got a surprise for you."
Vin turned and looked Chris in the eye, but got no clue as to what kind of surprise Chris might be planning. Vin's life had not been one in which surprised usually turned out to be good things. Still, he trusted Chris, like he trusted few others and so he agreed to spend the night out at the shack.
"Fixin' to ride out."
Vin had been heading in the general direction of the stables when JD had fallen into step beside him.
"Oh," he said. "I, uh, I thought maybe we could...."
"What?"
"I don't know. Do something. Together," JD said, feeling nervous as a schoolgirl. His talk with Buck earlier that day had unsettled him more than he'd been willing to admit, even to himself.
"I'd like to, but I told Nettie I'd stop by the ranch."
"Oh," JD said again. He might have gone along, only being with Vin around Casey these days made him feel funny, like he'd somehow done her wrong, and maybe he had. After all, he had given up even thinking of courting her once he had finally come to realize his feelings for Vin. And that wasn't the sort of thing he could explain to her. She was okay with them just being friends, but still it felt awkward whenever Vin was nearby. It made JD feel like he was keeping secrets from someone he shouldn't have to, even though he knew he did.
"You could come with," Vin told him, but JD shook his head. "Afraid Nettie'll put you to work?"
"No. It's just..." but JD found it difficult to tell Vin about how he felt around Casey. Hell, they hadn't hardly talked about much these past months when it came right down to it, which just made it all the harder to talk about stuff now.
"Well, then ride with me out to the bend," Vin said as the stepped into the barn.
JD saw him looking around and then, suddenly, Vin was pushing him up against the door of an empty stall. Vin smiled at him, slow and wide, and then leaned forward and kissed him. It was long and sweet and made JD regret having doubted Vin's feelings for him.
When Vin just as suddenly pulled back and stepped away, JD just kept leaning against the stall, unsure for a few moments of his ability to stand on his own.
"Vin, I—" he started to say, breathless and dazed, but Vin's loud voice interrupted him.
"Howdy, Tiny!" he said. The large farrier was just stepping into the barn as Vin was grabbing up his tack. JD noticed and immediately stood up straight, quickly smoothing down his jacket just in case it had gotten rumpled.
"Vin," the man said pleasantly. "Oh, and JD. Afternoon."
"Hi," JD said, feeling nervous again. He stood for a moment, unsure what to do with himself, but then found himself making for the door. "Bye," he said, as he quickly passed by Tiny and slipped out the door.
Not thirty feet from the stables, he kicked the dirt and cursed himself for being so stupid. Vin had wanted him to go riding, even if it was only to be for part of the way out to Nettie's. Now there was no way in hell he could go back in there, not with Tiny having seen him leave in the manner he had.
JD sat down on the edge of the boardwalk and dropped his head into his hands. "Stupid, stupid, stupid," he told himself.
"Something wrong, son?"
JD didn't need to look up to know that it was Ezra standing in front of him, he could tell just by the voice.
"No." It wasn't like JD could admit what had just happened.
"You know, poker is not just a game played in saloons."
"Huh?" JD looked up to find Ezra staring at him quizzically.
"There is a subtle art to bluffing when you know you're holding a losing hand that has useful applications in many facets of life."
JD still had no idea what the man was talking about.
"You don't lie very well, JD," Ezra said plainly.
"I do all right," he protested. He knew he wasn't as good at anything as his six friends, except maybe drawing his gun quickly, but he still didn't like being reminded of it.
"No, son, you really don't," Ezra said, and though his words sounded kind, JD had a hard time taking them that way.
"Well, what do you know?"
JD got to his feet, stared Ezra in the eye for a split second, and then stalked off up the street. It wasn't often that JD had a bad day, but this one sure had all the markings. He stomped just a bit more heavily than usual, staring at his feet in order to avoid the piles of horse-apples, and promptly walked straight into someone. He rebounded, landing flat on his ass.
He looked up, blinking against the afternoon sun.
"You all right, John?" Josiah asked.
"I'm fine," he mumbled. JD didn't take the hand offered him as he clambered back to his feet, feeling just a bit embarrassed at his clumsiness. And the fact that Josiah had just called him 'John' rather than 'J.D.' just emphasized the point. Only Josiah ever called him John, and he only did it when he was trying to be sympathetic. Not something JD really felt like admitting he was in need of at the moment.
"Something on your mind today?" Josiah pressed.
"No," JD said. Then he remembered Ezra having just called him a bad liar. He didn't like lying to priests, even defrocked ones; he knew neither God nor his mother would easily forgive such a thing. "I mean, yes. I mean ... Ezra just called me a liar — a bad liar."
"Well, if anyone would know, I would guess it would be our Ezra," Josiah said, a jovial tone to his voice. "He have a reason for doing so?"
JD shrugged. "Reckon it's because I lied to him."
Josiah tilted his head slightly, but didn't say a word. JD knew the man wanted him to continue.
"I just didn't know what to say."
"So you lied?"
"No. I just didn't tell him the truth," JD said. JD had learned his lesson after Buck had accidentally walked in on him and Vin; you never knew how people were going to react to something so unexpected, and he was of a mind that it was better not to find out. Hell, it had taken too long to get things sorted with Buck and even now their friendship wasn't quite the same as it used to be. He didn't want to be the one to put any more strain on relations within the group, nor risk any of their necks because of, what some people would call, 'unnatural behavior.'
"And was the truth any of Ezra's business?"
"No."
"Well, perhaps in the future, instead of lying, you could merely say: 'I'd rather not talk about it.' That usually satisfies everyone, including God," Josiah said sagely.
Everyone was always giving JD advice — he'd hated it at first — but sometimes some of it actually came in handy.
"So, other than Ezra ... is there something on your mind today?" Josiah asked.
JD looked up at him, thought for a moment, but decided just because Josiah was once a priest, and just because he professed to know everything there was to know about love, that didn't mean he needed to get tangled up in any of JD's problems.
"I'd rather not talk about it," he said, just as he'd been advised.
Josiah chuckled. "Ought to have seen that one coming. All right, JD. But if you change your mind ... I'm willing to listen."
"I won't, but thanks."
JD was about to head off down the street again, but hesitated when he realized he didn't have any place in particular to be. It was then that he heard the pounding of hooves and the clatter of wood and iron. He looked down the street just as the afternoon stage rolled in.
Josiah was looking, too. It was hard not to be curious; aside from it being their job to assess potential threats to the town, JD always found it interesting to speculate on the character of the people who, like himself, decided to make this town their stop.
He and Josiah moseyed down the street and as they neared the Butterfield Stage Office, they saw a few folks disembarking. One older man — who looked like a banker or merchant to JD — along with his wife and young daughter climbed down from the stagecoach.
Then, out stepped a man, a fine-looking man, in finely tailored clothes. JD decided they were clothes that Ezra was certainly envy. He wondered who the man was — was he a cardsharp like Ezra, a con artist even, or was he the real deal? He looked so much like he could be a member of the wealthy family JD and his ma had worked for back east that JD couldn't fathom why he might have given that all up to come west.
It was then that JD noticed Ezra standing at the far end of the boardwalk, staring at the passengers — no, at this one passenger — just as he was doing. Suddenly, Ezra stepped forward, heading straight for the stage.
"Wade?" he called as he neared the coach.
The fancily dressed man turned. And JD heard him exclaim, "Ezra! Is it really you?"
"Wade!" The men hugged, right there on the boardwalk, in full view of everyone. JD noticed a huge smile lighting Ezra's face. They pulled apart, but just far enough to look each other up and down; their hands were still clasped on each other's forearms.
As he and Josiah had stood there staring, Chris and Nathan had joined them.
Ezra slowly came to realize that people were staring at him. He released the man he'd been greeting and took a few steps toward the group.
"Friend of yours?" Chris asked casually. JD figured he was sizing the man up.
"Why, yes. Allow me to introduce you all to Wade Talbert. Wade, these are a few of my associates: Chris Larabee, Josiah Sanchez, JD Dunne, and Nathan Jackson."
Some pleasantries were tossed around, but no one was near enough to shake Wade's hand. Quickly a silence fell upon them, but Ezra's stammering broke it a moment later.
"Wade is my, well, that is to say..."
"We're brothers," Wade explained.
"I thought your family name was Standish," JD blurted out at Ezra.
"It is, indeed, JD. What Wade means is ... his father and my mother were married," Ezra said. JD thought he was a bit embarrassed by this fact; he knew Ezra wasn't always proud of the things his mother did, though he certainly had moments when he was clearly impressed by her talents and abilities.
"I think you were all of fifteen," Wade said, addressing Ezra, "when you came to live at the plantation—"
"Plantation?" Nathan said from the back.
"Oh, it's not what you think, Mr. Jackson, I assure you," Ezra said hastily.
"I suppose you had a mammy of your own," Nathan said to Ezra.
JD didn't hear anything untoward in Nathan's voice, but, as usual, he had the feeling that he didn't fully comprehend what was going on.
"No, she was my mammy," Wade replied. "But she cared for Ezra like she cared for me."
"She was a good, kind woman," Ezra added.
Nathan said nothing to this. He merely shook his head like he was disappointed once again by Ezra's character. Then he turned and walked quickly away down the boardwalk. JD wondered if Nathan was afraid he might have lost his temper had he stayed; he wasn't easily provoked, but Ezra did often bring out the worst in him.
"Yes, well, um, as Wade said," Ezra stuttered, "we were brothers until his father died. Mother didn't feel it proper to stay on after that."
"Where about's your plantation?" JD asked.
"Virginia. Tobacco's our main crop these days."
"Virginia? That was a free state before the war," Chris said.
"Yes, sir. I'm afraid your friend, uh — Mr. Jackson, was it? — I'm afraid he must have the wrong idea. My father never owned slaves, and neither have I."
"I'm sure we'll get that straightened out," Josiah said.
"I hope so," Wade said courteously. "Well, Ezra? Would you mind helping me get settled at the hotel?"
Ezra nodded. As he began to gather up Wade's cases, JD stepped forward to help, but stopped when Ezra waved him off.
"Thank you, son, but we have this. No need to trouble yourself."
"Just trying to be helpful," he said, but no one seemed to be listening. Ezra and Wade were heading off down the boardwalk; Josiah and Chris wandered off as well. JD again found himself with nowhere in particular to be. He wondered if Vin had ridden out already and then figured that he probably had.
"Plenty," Vin said, feeling pleasantly full. "Best meal I've had all week."
"It's the least I can do after you spent all the time working on my roof," she said as she cleared away his plate.
"It's no trouble, Nettie," Vin said. "No need for you to feel beholden. It's nice to do something beside set a horse and watch for trouble day in and day out."
"Peacekeeping not all it's cracked up to be?" Nettie asked pleasantly as they walked through her small house and out onto the porch.
"It's a strange thing, really," Vin said, once he'd thought about it for a moment. "When it's quiet, you wish it weren't. And when it's not, all you can think about is how to get it to be peaceful again."
Nettie shook her head. "I'll never understand you boys, putting your lives on the line like you do, though I sure do appreciate it. Still, if you ever decide you just want to be a ranch hand, well, you know where to find me."
Vin smiled. He surely did. Nettie was one of the few folks in the area that he considered a friend. Her sensibilities were so similar to those of his own mother — at least what he remembered of them — that he wished he'd met her years ago.
Not that it would make any difference now. It wasn't like he could talk to her about his problems, not the problems that were troubling him these days. He knew her well enough to think she wouldn't approve of what he did with Chris or how he felt about JD. Or be in the least bit sympathetic to the fix he'd gotten himself in because of those two men.
No, to Nettie life was simple: you worked hard, you married someone you got along with who also worked hard, you had children, God willing, and you read your Bible every evening. She wouldn't cotton to the emotional turmoil Vin had created for himself; she'd call him foolish and she'd tell him had too much idle time on his hands. And he wouldn't be able to disagree with her.
All the same, he saddled up and rode out to meet up with Chris for the night.
JD was the first to toss a coin into the center of the table. Ezra tossed in his coin, followed by both Buck and Ezra's brother Wade. JD was still having trouble wrapping his head around the idea that Ezra had a brother — one that he wasn't even related to. Then again, him and Buck were kind of like brothers, maybe not as close as they used to be, but JD still had hopes that would change.
"JD?" Ezra prompted him.
"Oh!" he replied as he snatched up his cards. He quickly looked at them before tossing another coin into the center of the table.
"So, tell me more about this land of yours, Ezra," Wade said as he tossed a coin into the pot.
"Land? You own land, Ezra?" JD asked. "When did this happen?"
"Last year. I won a deed in a poker game. Figured it had to be worthless, but was feeling sorry for my opponent at the time — and I knew it wouldn't cost me much to be generous." Ezra gave a wry smile and Wade laughed.
"Never knew you to feel sorry for a mark, Ezra," Buck said.
"He wasn't a mark, Mr. Wilmington, and I will thank you not to disparage my good name in front of Wade."
"Don't worry, Buck, I've seen Ezra at his best and at his worst. Don't think anything he might do could surprise me."
"Wade, you are not helping," Ezra admonished his brother, who just laughed again.
"Oh, the stories I could tell you boys," Wade continued.
"Yeah, like what?" JD asked. He loved a good story, especially when he knew some of the people in it.
"Now, now, perhaps another time. Besides, I thought you wanted to hear about my property," Ezra said.
"Very well, Ez." Wade gave him a wink. "Tell us all about your acquisition."
"It's not much, really, not yet anyway, but it has a lot of potential!" he began.
JD noticed a light in Ezra's eyes as he spoke, an excitement he hadn't seen since Ezra had sunk all his savings into buying the saloon. He'd been crushed when his own mother had run him out of business and, to this day, he refused to talk about it.
"There's a small structure there now, as required by the homesteading deed, but I checked with the bank and the property is free of any debt," Ezra was saying. "Eventually, I'll tear down the pile of twigs the previous owner had called home and in its place I'll erect a hotel."
"We already got a hotel," JD said, interrupting.
"Ah, but nothing like I have planned. My hotel will be a grand resort. People from back east — from Europe even — will flock to it. It will have the very best amenities available."
"And what makes you think people will travel all the way out here? Trust me when I say, I know what a bumpy, inconvenient ordeal it is," Wade said.
"Ah, but that's the best part. Now, I haven't told anyone this, and I will need you gentlemen to give me your word — your solemn oath — that you will not utter one syllable to anyone of what I am about to tell you. Do I have your pledges?"
JD nodded his head. He didn't care what he had to promise, he just wanted to know the secret. Buck and Wade also gave Ezra their word.
Ezra leaned forward, and so did JD. "There's hot spring," he whispered.
"A hot—" JD started to blurt out, but suddenly found Ezra's hand clamped tightly over his mouth. He looked at Ezra, annoyed, only to find the man looking back at him, even more annoyed. JD had forgotten about his promise. "Sorry," he said when Ezra released him.
JD looked over at Buck, to see what his friend thought of the notion of a hot springs near town, but he found Buck looking white as a sheet.
"Buck, you okay?" he asked. "You sick or something?"
Buck shook his head. "How do you know about this ... hot spring?" Buck asked Ezra.
"I, uh, well ... I did take the time to inspect the property," he said finally. JD noticed the odd look that passed between the two men. He didn't know what to make of it, so he glanced over at Wade. Wade seemed equally confused by what was going on.
"I fold," Buck said, tossing his card into the center of the table suddenly.
"You can't fold," JD said. "It's not your turn." But Buck was already getting up from the table and heading toward the door.
"It's all right, JD," Ezra told him.
"Well, then I fold, too," JD said. He got up and head right out after Buck.
"Not sure," Vin confessed. "Haven't had a lot of what most people would call good surprises in my life."
Chris stepped closer, backing Vin up against a post. He slid his arms around Vin's waist. "Well, I hope you like this one," he said quietly. Then he leaned forward and pressed his lips to Vin's.
It was so similar to what he'd done to JD earlier that day that Vin almost laughed. Then again, that little incident hadn't ended well. He wondered if this one would.
His hands slipped around Chris, drawing him closer as Chris deepened their kiss. Vin wouldn't complain if this was Chris's surprise, but it certainly wasn't anything out of the ordinary. They often kissed these days and that kissing always lead to something else, because they never kissed unless they had both the time and the opportunity for sex.
The same couldn't be said for him and JD. He loved kissing JD, even if nothing else happened between them. He found that fact comforting and comfortable. Though, the sex, when it did happen, was something he enjoyed just as much. It just didn't happen very often these days.
"Chris," Vin said as he gasped for air. "Whoa, there." He was getting a bit light headed from Chris's enthusiasm. He smiled, though, to let Chris know he wasn't upset or looking to end things prematurely.
Chris gave him a narrow-eyed glare before pulling back just a bit. Vin felt Chris's arms come away from his waist and travel up to his shoulders before slowly sliding down his arms. Chris's touch sent tingle racing down his spine and he leaned forward to kiss him again.
Chris's hands wrapped around his wrists and slowly lifted them over his head. It was something Chris might do to Vin in bed, when he wanted to keep Vin from touching himself or to keep Vin from hurrying things along inadvertently. But they weren't in bed now and Vin had no idea what Chris was doing.
He felt something around his wrists — rope — and then he felt it tighten. Instinct had him struggling immediately.
He twisted his face to the side, breaking their kiss. "Let me go," he insisted.
Chris stepped back, smiling. Vin saw that he had the other end of the rope in his hands; he was pulling it just enough to remove any slack from the rope, preventing Vin from wiggling free.
"Damn it, Chris, what is this?"
"Just that surprise I told you about."
Vin started to panic. He trusted Chris. He did. Trusted him to watch his back. Trusted him not to hurt him. Trusted him not to turn him over to some bounty hunter for a piece of the reward. Suddenly, Vin was wondering how many kinds of foolish he'd actually been.
Chris pulled the rope just a little more and Vin found himself standing up by his toes. He looked up, followed the rope from around his wrists to the beam running the length of the small barn, then down into Chris's hands. He couldn't think of a way out of the trap.
"Chris, please. Why are you doing this?"
"Just having a little fun, Vin," he said. He moved off to the side and tied off the end of the rope. There was a little more slack, enough for Vin to put his heels on the ground — just barely — but not enough so that he could work his wrists free.
Chris came back to stand in front of him. He pulled a bandana from his pocket and held it out for Vin to see.
"Blindfold or gag?" he asked.
"I won't scream," Vin said firmly.
"Oh, I'm betting you will. Besides, I'd rather you watched than talked." Chris twirled the bandana into a rope, and then placed it against Vin's lips. Vin refused to open his mouth, but Vin had forgotten that Chris had once been a father. The man reached up and pinched closed his nose, holding it until Vin was forced to gasp for breath. In that instant, the gag was forced between his teeth and then quickly tied behind his head.
Chris grabbed the sides of his head and stared into his eyes.
"Trust me," he said.
Vin hoped to hell that he could.
"Leave me alone, kid," he said once he pulled the bottle from his lips.
"What's got into you?"
Buck shook his head, and then took another swig of the amber liquid.
"Buck, you said we were friends again." JD came around the desk so that he could look Buck in the face. "Friends tell each other stuff."
"I ain't drunk enough to tell you this," Buck said. He still looked pale, but more than that, he looked scared. This unnerved JD something fierce.
"Buck..." he reached out to touch Buck's arm, but Buck pulled away, as if touched by fire. "Come on, Buck, don't start acting like that again." JD couldn't help remembering the revulsion he'd seen in Buck's action after he'd walked in on him and Vin last fall. Buck had turned his back on him and JD had feared their friendship over for good. All those same fears came back to him now.
"JD, I can't."
"Can't what?"
"I can't tell you. I ... I just can't."
"You can tell me anything, Buck. Really. Please, you got me worried."
Buck stalked across the room. JD had learned that Buck was a more complicated man than he let others believe. He had deep feelings that he didn't often talk about. Sometimes those feelings would get tossed to the surface, but you'd only ever get a glimpse of them. That time Chris had gone missing and they weren't getting any answers trying to track him down was what stuck in his mind, though Nathan had told him how upset Buck had been when crazy Maddie had shot him for no good reason.
JD saw Buck sitting on the floor, his back against the brick wall.
"Fine," he said, walking over. "Don't tell me." JD grabbed the bottle of whiskey from Buck and took a slug of the harsh liquid. He coughed, then sat down near Buck and passed him back the bottle. "But a friend don't let another friend drink alone."
Buck didn't say anything to this, but after a moment he gave a curt nod and then took another sip from the bottle.
Vin felt the thin fabric slid down his thighs, stopped only by the presence of the trousers around his knees.
Chris stepped back, looking him up and down. The smile on Chris's lips looked predatory and Vin couldn't help but struggle again. Chris had gotten a taste of control back in December and he seemed to like it. He'd pushed Vin's limits these past few months, but he'd never gone this far before and he'd never done something when Vin had asked him not to. But Vin could see in the man's eyes how thrilling this was for him, how powerful it made him feel, how excited.
He could only speculate on why Chris had come to need this ... this feeling of domination, but he knew when it had started, though he'd failed to recognize it at the time. This was because of JD. He hadn't meant to sleep with JD. And, after he had, he figured it would only be that one time. But, of course, it had turned into so much more.
JD loved him. And he loved JD. He and Chris didn't share those feelings. It was just sex between them, and always had been; all the same, Vin had had a hard time giving it up and, in the end, hadn't really been able to. And now Chris was holding on to him like he never had before. And Vin let him, because it seemed the only way to hang on to the people he'd grown to care about.
"You're not hard," Vin heard Chris whisper in his ear. The hot breath on his skin startled him.
"I'm tied up," he tried to say, but the gag did a good job of garbling his words. In an effort to make his point, he jerked his wrists against the binding of the rope. He wasn't sure Chris had understood him, or even if the man cared what he'd tried to say.
Chris crouched down and began yanking at one of Vin's boots.
Bare-assed and now barefoot? Vin thought to himself. This was not what he'd hope for when he'd agreed to spend the night.
Chris tossed his boot away, and then began tugging at the other one. Vin was fighting for balance, trying to keep the pressure off his wrists, trying to keep the rope from digging into his skin. It was harder when Chris tugged, harder when he had just the one foot to balance on, and harder still without the benefit of the heel of his boot and the protection of the hard sole.
His second boot was tossed aside and Vin was able to put both feet on the ground again. Dry stalks of hay slipped between the knitted threads of his socks and poked the bottom of his feet. There'd been times of more discomfort than this during his life, he reminded himself, and then waited to see what else Chris had planned.
He didn't have to wait long. Chris grabbed the material wadded up around his knees and pulled it down his legs. This, too, was tossed aside and Vin stood, tied and naked from the waist down, in the middle of Chris's tiny barn.
Chris stood up again and took a step back. Vin watched him. He watched Chris stare at his crotch for a long moment before Chris stepped close again. One of Chris's hands slipped between his legs and fondled his balls. He looked up to meet Chris's eyes.
"You need to be hard for this," Chris said quietly.
Vin swallowed as he bit down on the gag.
A slow finger traced the faint line down the center of his sac, and then moved along the underside of his prick. Vin had no control over his reaction; he began to harden under Chris's touch. It suddenly occurred to Vin that Chris would be a deeply frightening man if he knew even a few of the methods of torture Vin himself had learned during his times with the Indians.
