(With a lot of help from my pard Bishonen-Chan - 'cause when my muse died an ugly painful death.....BC sort of gave this story the first aide it badly needed so I could post it)
Disclaimer: They're still not mine, damn it!
Warnings: C/V - I know you're all surprised!
Comments: Special thank you to Tracy....my beta pard!!
ONE
Vin Tanner finished loosening the cinch on his saddle and reached for the pitchfork to toss some hay from the livery stable haystack, onto the ground in front of Peso. He straightened up with a soft grunt of pain. His body was stiff and sore from the night before, but it still brought a smile to his face at the physical encounter that had caused it.Damn, Larabee could be ornery when he set his hard head to it. His head wasn't the only hard thing he'd set to it last night, either, he thought, and his smile grew.
From where he stood at the livery stable, he could see Chris up the street by Mrs Potter's store, and watched as the lanky gunfighter dismounted. He swung down slowly, those familiar long legs not as spry as yesterday before their bout of "private time" out at Chris's shack in the hills.
Before Chris stepped up onto the porch, he glanced down the street as if looking for someone, squinting against the early morning sunlight just coming over the false fronts of the stores and buildings on the still-quiet Main street. For a moment their eyes met and Vin could see a nod of acknowledgement his way that he could almost feel like a touch on his skin through his clothes.
He knew Chris was planning on buying supplies, so he started up the street to suggest a couple of additions to the shopping list -- like more of that soothing salve they'd smeared on each other this morning after they had awakened to the results of last night. Then added to it this morning with another go-round.
This thing he had goin' with Larabee was harder on him than huntin' buff had been. Yet, Vin's smile widened in spite of his aches and pains. Last night had finally happened after a long, busy week of all those little things that made Chris crazy. Things like people fighting over animals getting into their garden patch, or horses straying, or wagons breaking down on main street.
"We might as well be Saint Louie policemen," Buck had said last night in the saloon.
JD nodded morosely. "I came West to be a gunfighter, not some kinda town constable makin' sure the streets are clean and somebody ties Ol' Nellie up to the hitchin' post right."
At the time, JD's humor had brought another scowl from Chris, who had been the one to try to haul a strayed mule out of Mrs. Conklin's vegetable garden and almost got himself kicked for it -- and not necessarily by the four-legged mule, either. Just one more thing in a string of boringly ordinary things happening all week that had kept Chris in a foul mood.
It brought a chuckle from Vin since he knew what the hell was eating Chris anyway, and it had nothing to do with the goings on in town.
Vin had been deliberately baiting Chris in small ways for a couple of days, since they could not spend time any time together. They were little things to remind Chris what he wasn't getting, like a brief touch on his arm, leaning closer when they talked -- just grazing that tight-packed ass of his with a hand as he passed. Teases that Vin knew made Chris crazy at a time when they just could not seem to steal the time together to do anything about it.
Of course Vin knew what the result would be, and that's what pushed him to do it to his partner and lover.
For Vin it was like stalking big game. Took a while, had to be sneaky about it, setting out lures and traps, but he knew he would bag the meat at the end. Of course, there for a minute last night, he had thought he had pushed him too far, and Chris was gonna skin him out and eat him alive.
Just the thought of what had happened the night before at Chris's cabin sent a shiver of pleasure through him.
Midway through the evening, a half-dozen drifters had come close to busting up the saloon and JD and Buck in the process. It had taken all Seven of them to break up trouble between them and a couple of farmers passing through town. Two of the drifters had ended up in jail, with the others sleeping it off in the livery stable.
Nobody had gotten more than roughed up, luckily, but it had been the last straw for Chris. After it was over, and he was sure that they would be no more trouble, Chris had said in a tone that dared anybody to argue, "I'm riding out to my place."
The rest of the peacekeepers had all shrugged and actually sighed with relief, since Chris had been so edgy all week. Only Vin had said with a grin, "Adios, pard. You get yourself some rest, y'hear?" When it was obvious that he wasn't riding along, Chris had merely snorted and saddled up and rode out. Vin gave him about ten minutes head start, and then took the cross-country trail to beat him to his place and was waiting for him.
It had been worth it.
+ + + + + + +
Loud voices woke Vin from his day dream of last night and this morning. Two of the cowboys they had not arrested were giving JD a hard time outside the jail. Vin changed directions and headed over to help. A big one in chaps and tan duster was looming over JD, while his friend, dressed more like a renegade than a cowboy, backed him up.
"Problem here, Sheriff?" Vin asked.
The renegade, a man with a long greasy mustache, turned towards Vin, "What's it to you, buckskin?"
JD nodded to Vin, "They want me to let their friends out. They won't pay the damages."
"Shut up, city boy," The bigger one yelled. "You want pay for damages, we'll give you damages!" Turning away from Vin, he took a step towards JD and with a nasty laugh said, "Gonna have to teach you a lesson, boy." A knife flashed.
Vin grabbed the man's arm and swung him away from JD, back towards himself. The knife the big man had pulled slashed toward his abdomen. Vin lunged back, but not fast enough. The knife blade glanced off his gunbelt and sliced him across the front of his pants right under his beltbuckle. With the knife hung up in his clothes, Vin twisted the arm he held, he heard the snap of bones as it broke. The man dropped to the ground with a shriek of pain to curl up on his side, moaning. Vin pressed his left hand against the spreading blood stain on the front of his pants and managed to pull his gun. He felt the burn of a cut, but could not tell how deep, but now was no time to check it out.
Seeing his friend fall, the one with the mustache moved towards JD. A black-clad arm holding a gun stopped him dead in his tracks. "I wouldn't," Chris Larabee said, stepping out from the side of the porch.
Vin could not help grinning at the sight of Chris coming out of nowhere, with that "We're all goin' to hell and you're comin' along" look on his face.
Chris motioned for the renegade to drop his weapons. His eyes flicked from JD to Vin and Vin could see his eyes flare at the sight of the blood on him.
Another movement behind Chris caught Vin's attention.
"Look out Chris," Vin yelled as two more of them appeared from behind the jail. One man pulled a long nasty-looking Bowie knife, and lunged at Chris. JD drew his gun, but one of the cowboys managed to slash at Chris before JD could safely get a shot off, hitting the man in the upper arm. Chris made a sharp grunt of pain and shoved the wounded man away.
Chris held his gun steady on the other pair with his right hand, as Vin covered them from the other side. Vin's blue eyes were fixed on Chris, whose left shirtsleeve was torn and where blood soaked it darkly, streaking down over his hand.
"Hold it right there," JD shouted, giving his best Larabee glare to the all of them as he held his two pistols on them. With a groan the man he had shot slid down the wall and passed out. They ignored him.
The sound of shouting and gunfire brought the rest of the regulators running -- Buck and Ezra from the saloon, and Nathan from the stairs by the livery stable. Josiah ran down the street from the church, past gaping, nosy townspeople. Still in his shirtsleeves and without his hat or gunbelt, he carried his shotgun. The two men left standing had lost their nerve and stood silently staring down the barrels of the Seven peacekeeper's weapons.
"Damn it, kid, you ok?" Buck asked he ran over to JD.
"I'm fine, Buck. Vin is cut though....Chris too," JD indicated the other two men with a nod of his head, his wide brown eyes not leaving the renegade drifters.
Ezra stepped past Chris to take over custody of the wounded man on the ground. From his pocket Ezra produced a white handkerchief, which he shook out and handed to Chris. With a curt nod of thanks, Chris holstered his Colt and wrapped the kerchief around the gash on his forearm.
Josiah arrived and hauled the man with the broken arm up to his feet, ignoring his howl of pain. "Let's get these Philistines locked up before they give us any more trouble." JD, Buck and Ezra helped drag the men inside.
Across from one another, Vin and Chris exchanged looks. Nathan hovered at Vin's side, trying to pry his hand away from the torn area on the front of his pants where blood stained the tan cotton, while Vin tried to push his hands away.
"It's not bad, Nate." Vin argued as he pressed his bloody fingers against the wound, more trying to hide it than stop the bleeding, which he knew was not serious. "Chris's arm looks worse."
"You're both comin' upstairs," Nathan ordered. "Think you can walk that far?"
"I'm fine, Nate, it's just a nick," Vin protested. "Chris, you okay?"
"Yeah, ain't nothing." His eyes were on Vin's wound, though, his expression dark with unspoken worry at the sight of the blood.
"Looks bad enough to me --might need some stitches," Nathan said as he walked beside Vin, one hand on Vin's elbow like he was another prisoner. "You too, Chris. Think that arm's gonna need a few too."
"It's just a scratch, Nathan." Chris countered, but Nathan wasn't listening, while his dark eyes raked Chris with a glare that even Chris Larabee dared not defy. Reluctantly, Chris followed.
+ + + + + + +
Once upstairs in Nathan's room, the healer ordered Chris and Vin to sit while he got his supplies out. The others arrived just as he was helping Vin remove his fringed hunting jacket.
"I don't need to take off my shirt, dammit, Nate," Vin was muttering. He unbuckled his belt and took off his mare's leg holster. He unbuttoned his pants.
"Well, open it up at least so I can work without it gettin' in the way," Nathan snapped. When Vin pulled it up, Nathan stared at the pale, bare skin for a moment, then looked up at Vin's face. "What's that?"
A bright red area that looked like a surface bruise, discolored the skin around his belly button.
"Nothing," Vin said, his tanned face growing ruddier as a blush stole across his features. "Ran into somethin'."
Across the room, Chris pulled Ezra's handkerchief tighter around the bloody section of his forearm, and rose. "I best check on the jail. I'll be back later --"
Nathan whirled, pointing an angry finger him and then at the chair. Chris froze. "You sit right there. You both are enough trouble with fresh wounds -- you wait and let 'em get putrid on you, I'll be stuck with y'all in bed with a fever, and I don't fancy it any more than you do. So you just sit your ass down there while I get you both taken care of."
Before Vin could protest further, Nathan pulled open his shirt -- only to see a series of rosy marks around his nipples, distinctive bite marks along his neck and collar bone, and purpling bruises on his sides at his waist.
Nathan's eyes narrowed and he turned to stare at Chris with a raised eyebrow. Chris was staring at a crack in the floor.
Trying to contain a smirk, Nathan said to Vin, "Drop your pants so I can work on that belly of yours."
At that moment, Vin made the mistake of looking across at Chris, whose eyes met his. An all-too-familiar smile cracked Chris's face, that bad-boy grin that always told Vin he was thinking of bare-assed, wild-coyote sex.
The door opened, and both Vin and Chris flinched as Buck, JD, Ezra, and Josiah walked in.
"Who's watchin' the jail?" Chris demanded, coming to his feet as if he was going himself.
Buck pushed him back in the chair. "Stay put. Them boys are locked up tight, pard," he said. "We wanted to make sure you and Vin were okay."
As Vin's attention was on the others entering, Nathan pulled his shirt down further over his torso, catching him off guard. Vin yelped and grabbed at it, but it was too late, as Nathan peeled it off his shoulders and arms.
Buck whistled as the colorful bites and suction marks on Vin's arms, throat and chest appeared. But all heads turned towards Chris as the dark purple bruises on Vin's wrists were revealed.
"Good lord, Chris, what've you been doin' to this boy?" Nathan demanded.
Chris's face colored with a mix of temper and embarrassment. as the others stared at Vin's battered-looking body in shock.
JD blurted out, "I thought you two liked each other....I mean ...You had to tie him up to...to....?"
Buck smacked him on the back of the head, a warning to shut up.
Chris glared back at them daring anyone to say a word.
Vin shook his head, knowing there would be no living with Buck over this. "Don't go there, Bucklin, he bites you, you ain't gonna like it, I promise."
"And you do?" Ezra asked softly, his green eyes narrowed speculatively. They flickered with something that might have been akin to envy for a moment, touched on Buck, and then the look was shuttered away.
A smile tugged at Vin's mouth. "Ain't nobody's business, boys." Then he winked at them all and said innocently, "Chris, you'd best take your shirt off so Nathan can get at that cut ..."
"That -- that's right, now you all just behave yourselves. This is between Vin and Chris --" Nathan stammered and made an obvious effort to concentrate on the shallow slice about an inch long across the flat of Vin's hard belly, right below his navel. Over his shoulder, he said, "Ezra, Josiah, one of you mind getting Chris out of his shirt and wash him off so I can look at that arm?"
Vin gasped as Nathan touched his skin with the carbolic solution to clean the cut and for a moment that was the only sound in the room. In the silence that had fallen on the room, Ezra merely nodded and moved toward Chris. Josiah stood with his arms crossed, as if he was backing Ezra up in a duel.
"I ain't helpless," Chris growled, and slowly unbuttoned his shirt cuffs and then the front. He stood up, and slowly shucked his shirt as if his muscles were sore, and he was in pain beyond the bloody gash on his forearm.
Buck let loose a low, breathy whistle, JD gaped, and Josiah attempted to stifle a snicker. It was Ezra who said, "Well, it would seem Mister Larabee was attacked by some wild animal as well."
All heads once again turned to Chris, whose neck and chest were also covered with an assortment of bite marks and a series of scarlet bruises that trailed their way down his belly to disappear below his waistband and gunbelt.
Josiah cleared his throat and fought to keep a straight face as he handed Ezra a soapy wash rag for Chris. "You know, I seen marks like that on a man once that had been attacked by a cougar..."
"No cougar I ever knowed of could tie knots," JD said, joining in despite his uncertain expression at Chris's scowl. He made an exaggerated move to examine Chris's nearest wrist, where what looked like rope burns and bruises ringed it.
Buck burst out laughing, "Hell, Chris. Vin tie you up too?"
When Chris moved suddenly, JD jumped back, startled, which set them all to laughing. Even Chris smiled finally.
"Not for long," he said softly, and his eyes met Vin's.
+ + + + + + +
Vin had been waiting by the corral, unsaddling his horse as if nothing in the world was out of the ordinary. Chris rode in, swung down, and started removing his own tack with the sharp, deliberate movements that told Vin he was still pissed off at the world. Chris turned his horse into the corral and closed it, even though Peso was still outside. Vin opened the corral gate and slapped the black on the rump to join Chris's gelding.
"What'd you think you're doin'," Chris asked softly, in that same tone he used when he was about to take down someone who had challenged him.
"Doing exactly what you want," Vin said, knowing his smile would irritate Chris even more. He slung his saddle over the top rail of the corral fence, and spread the saddle blanket over it to keep the dampness off. They were the easy moves of long habit and he was taking his time.
Chris laid out his saddle and tack, then turned to Vin, his body rigid. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"You been wound tighter than a two-dollar watch all week long. You need to get un-wound."
"And you think because once in a while we let off a little steam together, you got the say over me?"
"Nope," Vin ambled over to the porch to stand just out of arms' reach of Chris. "But I can tell when you need to cut loose."
"What makes you think I want to cut loose with you?"
Vin grinned. "Because I'm the only one who can take you."
Chris laughed, harsh and bitter. "Yeah, Tanner. Just because I like that hot ass of yours, you think you can take me?" In the half-light of the full moon, Chris's eyes seemed to glitter like a predator.
"You know you want me to."
Chris pushed past him, his foul mood showing in his every move. He kicked open the cabin door and threw his saddle bags inside. "So you thought you'd come out here and prove I can't live without you?"
"Maybe."
Chris snapped over his shoulder, "Fuck yourself, Tanner."
"Yeah, well, bite me," Vin said with a smirk, his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned in the doorway.
Chris's eyes narrowed, and with the blinding speed that made him a master gunfighter, his hands were around Vin's upper arms. Vin found himself catapulting across the small cabin to fall onto the bed. A half-second later, Larabee's long, lean body landed on him, pinning him down. Their legs entangled, as Vin kicked upward in an attempt to dislodge Chris. Their beltbuckles raked their bellies, their guns dug into their sides, and still they wrestled as Vin tried to squirm out from under Chris, who was determined to subdue the tracker. The fight was almost silent, punctuated only by grunts and gasps of effort and pain as one or the other's hand gripped then was broken free, or a leg thrashed and a knee connected with a muscle.
It wasn't anger that drove them but the desire to dominate and the desire in each man to bend the other to his passion. Vin had baited Chris; he knew full and well what it held. For Chris, he knew that Vin was sassing him, teasing him, knowing they would come together like this, confronting their needs and hunger for each other in raw, masculine force.
Shirt buttons gave way, fabric tore. Then Vin erupted, thrashing wildly, and Chris rode his hips like a bucking bronco, bringing his legs up to straddle him. Chris pinned Vin by dragging his hands above his head to brace both of his wrists above his head and close to the headboard. With his free hand, Chris yanked his neckerchief from his back pocket. Vin's eyes widened as he realized Chris's intent.
TWO
Their eyes met and Vin froze in his struggle as a surge of confusion and arousal washed through him. He licked his lips hungrily as he felt Chris wrap one wrist with the cloth and, pull it toward the headboard. Then Chris removed Vin's neckerchief and did the same with his other hand. Vin was resisting less now, torn between losing this one and giving in, not really knowing what Chris would do -- but knowing no matter what it would be damned good!"You said bite me," Chris murmured into his ear. "Tanner, I'm gonna eat you alive."
Vin was fully aroused by the time Chris finished tying his hands. He loved being under Chris's control like this as much as he loved controlling Chris when he got the chance. His eyes were dark with desire and need, as he strained to feel contact with Chris's hard and hot body.
Chris knew what Vin was doing, and deliberately kept his body from touching Vin's. Once he was satisfied that Vin's hands were secure, Chris relaxed and let his groin rub against Vin's. He kissed his way from Vin's ear to his throat. Biting and sucking as he savored the moment. He nibbled on the flesh above Vin's collar bone and ground his hips making Vin moan in pleasure.
"Come on Chris...do me..." Then, breathlessly, " ...please."
"Yeah, I bet you want it," Chris murmured, his mouth against Vin's, his lips barely touching. When Vin raised up to try to catch his for a kiss, Chris pulled back just out of reach before he lowered his mouth again to claim him in a hard, possesive kiss. "But you're gonna wait for it...Until I want to give it to you... "
Chris wanted nothing more than to take Vin right then, but he was going to milk Vin's helplessness for all it was worth. Vin had been teasing him all week with those little smiles, touches and brushes, and even an occasional hot breath on his neck when no one was watching. Now it was payback time.
He slowly worked his way to Vin's nipples, pushing aside the torn-open shirt like a wolf burrowing in to feast on a kill. Biting and pulling on them, moving from left to right, he used his tongue and teeth to drive Vin wild.
Vin was squirming beneath him, his breaths ragged, his head tossing from side to side. "Chris...dammit, I need you ... want you..." He thrust upward with his hips, fighting for some kind of touch where he craved it the most, the aching bulge of his iron-hard cock.
Again Chris ignored the impassioned pleas from his lover. He continued down the slender yet muscular body, nipping at the soft flesh beneath Vin's navel. He tongued the little knotty indentation, then settled his mouth beside it to suck hard at the skin. Vin's body arched while Chris toyed with him and Chris had to grip his sides hard, right above his lean hips, to keep from being bucked off.
Chris raised up, shucking his own shirt in one quick over-the-head move, heedless of ripping open the rest of the buttons. At the sight of Chris above, Vin looked hungrily up at him.
"Lay there," Chris ordered. He dismounted, yanked off his own boots, then opened his pants to release his tight, hard shaft from the confines of the tight black pants. He wore no underwear, and as he exposed himself, he took a moment to give himself a couple of quick strokes with his hand.
"You gonna do me or just play with yourself?" Vin slumped back, wondering for a moment if Chris had tied him up just to toy with him.
"Shut up or I'll leave you sufferin'," Chris said and stood beside the bed, stroking himself again.
"No, you won't, you want me as bad as I want you --"
"Cocky, ain't ya?"
Vin arched his hips, thrusting his obvious erection in Chris's general direction. "Take my pants down and you'll see!"
Chris moved to pull Vin's boots off, then his socks, then attacked his pants, unbuttoning them roughly and stripping them off. Vin wore no underwear either. Now all Vin had on was the remains of his shirt, trapped by his arms tied to the headboard. All the rest of him was exposed to Chris's appreciative gaze.
Slowly Chris climbed up on the bed again. Vin tried too hook him with his legs, but Chris wrestled him down, sprawling between his thighs, with his mouth right where both of them wanted it. Skipping the hardness in front of him, Chris moved to kiss and bite savagely at Vin's inner thighs.
Vin pulled at the bandanas with all he had, every muscle in his body was taut, he needed to feel Chris so badly. "Don't ....please..." was all he managed to get out before he shivered and moaned at the combination of pain and pleasure.
At the sound of Vin's ragged voice, Chris lightly teased his ballsack with his hands and trailed a fingertip back to the puckered entrance to his body. Chris teased it a little. At his touch, Vin flexed it, as if it was begging like the rest of his body. That almost undid both of them.
Chris took a moment to get his control back and moved back up to kiss Vin. Ignoring Vin's pleas for release, Chris slowly made his way back down the hard body.
Now, Vin was reduced to a quivering heap, uttering soft moans and whimpers, Chris finally used his talented mouth on his swollen erection. He licked its length then swirled his tongue around the tip. He used his fingers to fondle the full balls while his mouth drove Vin insane with pleasure.
His body arching into Chris's mouth, Vin pulled at the bonds that held him a prisoner at the mercy of Chris's raw lust. He managed to gasp out, "Chris...God, Chris, please...anything ...do it..."
Chris paused, smiling he moved and ran his hands down the length of Vin's arms. Then he followed his fingers with his mouth. He nipped at the tight muscles straining against the bonds. Looking up at his lover's face, Chris could see the naked need in Vin's eyes. Still grinning, he pulled back, watching the almost terrified expression as if Vin wondered if Chris was going to leave him, not finish him after all.
Chris reached into his saddle bags and pulled out a small brown glass bottle. Chris almost laughed as Vin sank back in relief as he saw the lubrication and knew what was coming soon. He pulled the cork with his teeth and poured some oil into his hands. Using his teeth to close the bottle he put it down and began to prepare Vin. He had wanted to take his time but the bound man's whimpers had Chris more than to just do him hard and fast.
Setting the bottle aside, he crawled back onto the mattress, between Vin's legs. Now, Chris knew the roughhouseing was over, and both men only wanted one thing.
"Ain't'cha gonna untie me??" Vin asked, licking his lips.
Chris flashed him a wicked grin. "Nope. You said I wanted you. You're right. I got you. And I'm gonna keep you."
Vin's eyes flared for a moment as if unsure if he should fight it or not. But one greasy stroke from Chris's hand on his cock, followed by the tickling of his slickened fingers around his entrance made Vin nod and moan his agreement.
"Easy,Vin. Bend your legs." Chris coaxed Vin into position and pressed his hardness against the opening. Slowly he sank into Vin's depths. When he heard Vin groan, he paused and waited for his partner to adjust to the fullness. Wanton shudders wracked Vin's body as he flexed and writhed for Chris to go deeper.
Chris felt Vin relax against the intrusion and began to thrust in earnest. Driving deeper, his own passion mounting, Chris reached for Vin's erection and began to stroke it in time with his powerful thrusts. In and out, it took only a few moments before Chris could feel his release building. With a final tensing of his whole body, he cried out Vin's name as he came, his hand tight around Vin's hardness.
As Chris came down from his orgasm, he began slowly stroking Vin, keeping his grip tight to the point that he knew it was nearly painful. Yet Vin only gasped and begged for more, grinding against Chris's groin. With his other hand, Chris reached up to pinch lightly at his nipples.
Vin pulled against the bandanas as he reached his own climax. Straining against the bonds, he arched his body into Chris's, savoring the intensity of the sensations of both pain and ecstasy. He was shaking and sweating as he choked out Chris's name over and over as Chris pumped his fluid between their bodies.
Vin's internal flexing created another surge of excitement in Chris, who gasped and shuddered with him as they shared the moment of passion to its fullest.
Once his own breathing returned to normal, Chris pulled out. He reached for a towel from the table near the bed and wiped himself off. He had to smirk at Vin, who was lying like a dead man beside him.
Picking up a whiskey bottle, he took a healthy swig. Gently, he raised Vin's head and held the bottle to his lips so Vin could join him in a drink. Vin's blues eyes were sleepy and his smile lazy as he watched Chris.
"Feel better?" Vin murmured, satisfied with Chris's smile as an answer. Then he looked down his body to the glistening smears of his own fluids on his belly then to the towel.
Chris wiped the sticky remains of their lovemaking from Vin's body, the smile on his face telling Vin that he was enjoying the now-gentle actions Tossing the towel on the floor he undid the bandanas and pulled Vin into his arms with a light kiss to his sex- swollen mouth.
"Yeah," Chris said.
"Damn, Chris. Just about thought you were tryin' to kill me," Vin said as he shifted against Chris's body until they fit together like they belonged there.
"Thought I wanted to there for a little while," he grinned back. "You were really proddin' me."
"You love it. Keeps you in line."
Chris pulled back and glared at him through narrowed eyes, except the glare wasn't as ferocious as usual, with them laying there naked, with their arms around each other, exhausted from sex.
Then Vin conceded, "You worried me a little when you tied me up, though." Then he shrugged against Chris's bare shoulder. "But I figured you weren't gonna call no bounty hunter once you got me naked and tied to the bed."
"Hell, no. I ain't sharin'. I'll just fuck you to death and collect the bounty myself."
Vin snickered. "Keep tryin', pard. Just keep tryin'."
Then Chris leaned down to cover his mouth with his. When they parted, Chris said, "Bet your ass, Tanner."
And with that, they had fallen asleep.
In the morning, Vin had taken his sweet revenge. He had awakened when Chris had risen near dawn to relieve himself, and had waited patiently to hear his breathing return to normal as he fell sleep once again on the rumpled bed.
It was then that Vin had gently --like he was trapping a wild animal -- moved around the bed, getting ready to awaken Chris. First he put the coffee on and quietly stoked the stove. He was no fool about all this.
He tied two cinch straps to the bottom legs of the bed and looped them up to rest beside Chris's ankles. He wrapped strips of cloth around two loops of horsehair rope, tied to the headboard like the bandanas had been last night. Waiting, patiently, greasing his cock up with oil, getting himself ready.
Then as he saw Chris shift a little in the bed, Vin made his move, looping the straps around his ankles, while he was still face down. They were loose, and he was counting on Chris's own movements to trap him.
In one quick move, Vin slipped the ropes around Chris's arms and had him tied fast as he awakened. Chris tried to jerk upward and found himself trapped.
"Shit," he muttered, turning his head from where he was half-buried in the pillow. "Let me up," he demanded.
Vin mounted the bed behind him. "Nope. My turn." As soon as Chris tried to move his legs, the straps tightened. Chris froze, realizing he was now spread-eagled and helpless.
"Then do it," Chris said. "What you waiting for?"
Vin knew Chris is baiting him, like he had baited Chris the night before. "Nothing," Vin said, bending over Chris's back, using his knees to shove Chris's legs further apart. Within a moment, he was positioned against Chris and pushing slowly at him. Chris raised his hips with a soft moan of anticipation, and Vin reached under him, knowing he would be hard and ready. He stroked Chris a couple of times, and Chris arched his body, but spread the way he was, he could not get the leverage to control his own movements.
Vin grinned and chuckled into Chris's ear. "Gonna fuck me to death, huh?" And with that, plunged himself into Chris is one, long, hard stroke that made them both cry out with the sheer pleasure of it.
+ + + + + + +
"Hey, you listenin' to me?" Nathan demanded. Chris snapped himself back from last night and this morning, willing the rise in his pants to diminish. It was bad enough that their friends all knew how crazy they could get sometimes. They didn't need to know how randy the idea of it made him.
"Yeah, I'm listenin'," Chris said and winced as Nathan pulled the bandage tight.
Across the room, Vin crossed his legs in spite of the bandage pad he was holding to his belly. He pulled his shirt on with JD's help and tucked the shirttail in around his pants.
"You're both damned lucky I don't need to sew you up. You two just keep these wounds clean." Then the color of his face deepened as Nathan added, "All of 'em, big or small. Don't want no infection settin; in... from anythin'..." and his words trailed off and he snorted in annoyance, which brough another bout of chuckles and stifled laughs.
"Come on, boys, saloon time. I hear a beer howlin' my name," Buck said.
Josiah opened the door and winked at Chris. "Watch out for wild animals, Chris."
"Well, now I know where to come to learn rope tricks," JD grinned and ducked after Josiah. Ezra's smile was speculative as he waited for Buck, who turned to Nathan.
They could hear Buck say as the rest of them headed back down the stairs. "Hey, Nathan, maybe it's a good thing that bastard back there didn't cut Chris's leg... hate to know what we'd see if you had take off his pants."
Nathan wiped his hands on a rag and looked from one to the other like they were a pair of bad children. He tossed Chris's black shirt back to him. "I reckon I'll go help Buck with that beer in the saloon." He shrugged into his jacket, and paused at the door. "You two stay here...." then the healer cracked a broad grin. "...to lick your wounds..." Then the door closed and they heard his rich laughter echoing along the balcony outside.
Chris and Vin looked at each other. A smile creased Chris's face. "You know, Nathan's always gettin' after us about not obeyin' him."
Vin nodded solemnly. "Takes it real serious, don't he?"
Chris nodded, and rose to cross the few feet to the door. "Hate to have Nate think we don't take him serious after all he does for us."
Vin watched Chris lock the door and pull the curtain across the window. "--Best get to lickin', then..."
THE END
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