daddybear54

46 minutes ago, DCWildBtm said:

You’re a world-class story teller! Great job!

@DCWildBtm thank you so much!

Part 5:  The Man

 

The voyage was miserable. The North Sea was in one of its boisterous moods, and the small ship rolled and pitched relentlessly on the waves. Hamish was always prone to seasickness anyway, but this was the worst experience he’d ever had. He spent the whole 80 hours of the voyage vomiting his guts out while the ship struggled to make some semblance of a direct course towards its destination. When the Bass Rock loomed up to port, and the waves calmed down, proof positive that they had entered the sheltered waters of the Firth of Forth, Hamish was too sick and exhausted to care.

 

Upon walking down the gangplank and setting foot in his homeland once again, Hamish decided to walk off his seasickness, up from the wharf at Leith to Edinburgh. There he directed his steps towards the tavern where Alan had said he would normally choose to spend an evening. Arriving at last, he put down his bag against the rough stone wall, bought a pint of ale and a slab of bread, and sat on a bench, leaning back against the side wall of the tavern to watch as the customers came and went.

 

As he was watching the door, a deep voice spoke in his ear from the side where he wasn’t looking.

 

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

 

Hamish turned to find Alan, as handsome as he remembered from two years earlier, studying him with those dark, penetrating eyes.

 

“You knew I was coming?”

 

“I knew that you had gone to Flanders with the earl, and I guessed that you would be leaving him and coming here soon. A wise move in more ways than one. I’m certain that he’ll be in the ground before the next year is out. Come with me.”

 

Hamish finished his ale, tucked the remainder of the bread into his bag, and followed Alan back through the haze, past the open fireplace where the peats smouldered under the cooking pots, and out through the rough curtain covering the back doorway. Alan turned, seized Hamish by the shoulders, and kissed him – firmly, forcefully, without tongue, but with no shortage of intention.

 

“My room is up here.”

 

He led Hamish up a sloping stone ramp towards the next street above them, on the base of the castle hill, then turned part-way up the ramp into a low stone building with a slate roof. They walked through the common area, empty at this time of the day, and into one of four small rooms at the back. There was a low bed, a straw mat on the floor, a table with a lamp, and a simple wooden stand with a basin and a pitcher of water.

 

Hamish sat on the bed, looking at Alan, while Alan closed the rough-hewn wooden door and then looked solemnly at him in turn. At last, Hamish asked the question foremost in his mind.

 

“Alan, two years ago, why did you ask me to come here? You hardly knew me.”

 

“Hamish, you’re wrong in saying I hardly knew you. As soon as I met you, I knew right away who you were -- and what you were. You have the look about you. And I knew then that you needed me.”

 

“What do you mean, I had the look about me? What look?”

 

Alan sighed. “It’s hard to describe. Recognizing it comes with experience, I suppose. But let me show you one thing at least.” Alan sat on the bed next to Hamish, but then turned his back. “Now, reach up and run your fingers gently through my hair, right at the base of my skull, in the middle of the back of my head. What do you feel?”

 

“Odd… kind of rough, like little bumps on the skin.”

 

“That’s what you want. Gently separate the hairs and look through them at the skin underneath.”

 

At first, Hamish saw nothing. But then, as he looked, marks slowly began to appear on the skin.

 

“I can see strange black markings appearing, but they don’t look like letters. I can’t make them out.”

 

Alan smiled. “I was right about you. A normal person would see nothing, although they might feel the bumps.”

 

“Right about me?”

 

Alan gave a rare laugh. “Hamish, you can stop pretending. I know that as soon as I run my fingers through the back of your hair, I’m going to find some bumps and when I look, I’ll see the marks.”

 

Hamish was feeling more and more disconcerted, but he reached his hand up and felt the back of his own head. His fingers quickly traced out some small bumps beneath the hair. He stared at Alan, wide-eyed. He had to try a couple of times before he could get his voice to function. At last, in a whisper, he asked, “Alan, what is it?”

 

Alan looked at him solemnly. “It’s the mark of the immortal. I knew you were an immortal as soon as I met you, and I was right. Wasn’t I?” Hamish nodded dumbly. “I’d also guess that I’m the first immortal besides yourself that you’ve ever met.” Hamish nodded again. “How did you get your marks?”

 

Hamish told him the story of how he was killed but promptly resurrected at the Battle of Hastings. Of course, he knew nothing of the back story of the Norman knight and the black mass, but Alan immediately leaped to the obvious conclusion.

 

“It was probably the sword that did it. Somehow or other, it had acquired the power to confer immortality. That can happen in various ways.” Alan sighed. “I got mine by direct action. I’d been meddling around with spells from an old book I’d gotten from my grandmother, who was a gifted witch. Somehow or other, I managed to get some of the words in the wrong order and I became deathly ill. My family were convinced that I was gone, but none of them were close by when I actually died -- briefly. They thought their prayers had healed me by divine intervention.” He gave a hollow little laugh. “I had to leave them, then. Once they realized that I had stopped ageing, they’d have guessed right away that it was anything but divine influence and they’d have ended up harming themselves by trying to destroy me.”

 

Hamish pondered all of that, and he recognized Alan’s feeling right away. It was that weird sensation of being somehow out of step with the world around you, of being different from all the people who looked so similar, of fearing to let yourself have any feelings for anyone, of having to guard yourself always to avoid frightening or endangering the people around you.

 

“I’ve got a question, Alan. I never thought of this before, but after hearing your story… can we harm mortals by having sex with them?”

 

Alan laughed. “If we could, you and I would both have left a trail of dead bodies behind us – wouldn’t we? Your immortality isn’t the only thing about you that sticks out a mile. I remember the way you used to look at that young blond fellow two years back – what was his name again?”

 

“Craig.”

 

“Right. It wasn’t hard to guess that you’d been doing him for some time, or that both of you had also been doing the earl.” Hamish had thought he was old enough, at two and a half centuries, to have gotten beyond blushing. “It also isn’t hard to guess why you’re starting to ask questions about sex. Come here.”

 

Alan folded Hamish into his arms and stroked his body gently as they began to kiss again. Before long, they were naked together on the bed, their erect cocks straining towards each other.

 

Hamish had thought himself an experienced man when it came to pleasuring other men, but he soon found out that, compared to Alan, he was a rank beginner. Alan’s mouth worked so delicately, so gently, on Hamish’s cock, and yet he teased out incredible sensations such as Hamish had never experienced before. Hamish did his best to return the favour but was acutely aware that he wasn’t nearly as good.

 

That is, until they moved into a 69 position. After a minute or so of mutual cock sucking, Hamish realized that, without even trying, he was absorbing lessons from Alan at top speed. The level of mutual pleasure soared even higher as Hamish didn’t just imitate but actually began to master Alan’s incredible technique.

 

Then Alan moved his face lower, plunging right down onto Hamish’s hole with tongue and lips and fingers all at once. Hamish nearly blew apart in sheer ecstasy as this incredible expert worked on his ass, tickling, teasing, torturing him with the sheer variety of sensations he conjured up. Without any conscious thought at all on his part, Hamish knew that his hole was relaxing, opening, blooming, begging Alan to take him. After so many years – well, centuries – of being predominantly a top, Hamish could hardly believe that he was feeling such a desperate need and desire to be entered by another man, but that was the truth of it.

 

Alan rolled Hamish onto his face, and then moved around between his legs. Once again, he buried his face and his gifted tongue inside Hamish’s crack, prying him even wider open by forcing the tongue inside. Then Alan rose, moved forward, and placed the tip of his cock against Hamish’s hole, pushing slowly but determinedly until he slid in, all the way, right to the bottom, burying his entire eight inches inside Hamish’s quivering body.

 

Hamish was astounded by his reaction – or lack of it. He’d been fucked by a number of people, from time to time (the most recent being Edward, a few years earlier), and it could get very exciting – but it always caused him a fair bit of discomfort, could get painful with an abusive top, and was never his favourite kind of sex. With Alan, astonishing as it seemed to him, there was no discomfort at all – just a powerful sense of fullness and fulfillment. Alan was the first man who had ever made bottoming seem pleasurable to Hamish, and it was certainly all of that and then some.

 

Somehow, it just felt “right” to him to have Alan’s cock sliding in and out of his body while Alan’s arms encircled and stroked him, and Alan’s muscular body lay full-length on top of him. When Alan began moving faster inside him, Hamish felt his own level of excitement rising. And when Alan gave the last powerful thrusts and released his seed inside Hamish’s ass, Hamish’s own cock automatically and instinctively shot a big load onto the bed under his body. Then they lay together for a while. Alan’s cock slowly softened and slid out of Hamish’s hole. Alan rolled onto his side by Hamish, and Hamish turned up to meet him. They embraced, kissed, cuddled, but didn’t say anything. Suddenly, words weren’t important.

 

In time, Alan rose up and got dressed, inviting Hamish to come with him. They walked back down the hill to the tavern and ordered food and drink. They didn’t talk much to each other during the meal, just exchanged looks from time to time. For the first time Hamish could ever remember, he didn’t feel like a dislocated, disconnected wanderer, doomed to roam up and down the world forever. Quite the opposite, in fact: he had a sense that he had found his place, that he was now exactly where he belonged.

 

After they’d eaten, they listened for a while to a travelling minstrel who reminded Hamish forcibly of his minstrel days, and of his unique relationship with Richard the Lionheart. Looking at Alan, he could see facial expressions which showed that Alan was also living in his memories.

 

In time, they paid the innkeeper and walked back up to Alan’s room. There they lit the lamp, which gave both light and some heat, and proceeded to undress and get into bed together once more.

 

Again, they were holding each other close, running their hands gently over each other’s bodies, and delighting in the sensations of touching one another. After a little while, the stroking and fondling caused both of their cocks to refill for another round. This time, Alan rolled onto his back, and lifted his legs in a clear invitation. Hamish took him up on the offer, and soon was eliciting a rewarding assortment of moans, sighs, and little cries of delight as he worked on Alan’s hole with his tongue and fingers. As the hole opened up to him, Hamish started tongue-fucking Alan with little stabs of his tongue into the inviting ass.

 

It was time. Hamish’s cock was leaking precum faster than he could ever remember. He got up on his knees, as Alan lifted his legs higher and back, over his head. Hamish rubbed his cockhead over Alan’s hole, and then shifted the angle and slid all the way inside – slowly, deeply, completely, just as his mentor had done to him earlier.

 

There came from Alan what could only be called a purr of contentment as Hamish buried his dick inside Alan’s ass. Hamish laid his body right down on top of Alan, relishing the total contact of body to body more than he ever had with any other man. With Alan, it felt essential. His cock started sliding in and out, slowly but fully, coming almost all the way out and then pushing all the way back in. These full strokes stimulated the entire length of Hamish’s shaft, triggering little earthquakes of emotional electricity at every moment of each thrust.

 

Hamish did his best to hold off, but he knew that he was going to cum soon, and that it was going to be a cum like no other he had ever experienced. He could also sense, although he had no idea how he knew, that Alan was cumming right along with him and would explode at the same time. Hamish pushed down even tighter, kissing Alan with real passion as they thrust tongue to tongue and cock to ass.

 

Suddenly, the moment was there. Hamish let out a groan as his cock tightened up and then convulsed, shooting an immense stream of cum in a whole extended series of pulses. He could feel the seed building up and then squishing out of Alan’s ass as he continued thrusting in. Each pulse in his cock fired a blast of ecstatic energy straight up through his heart and brain, into the very depths of his soul. At the same time, he felt Alan’s cock quivering and contracting over and over against his abs, and then the dampness between their bodies which told him that his partner was having an orgasm every bit as monumental as his own.

 

Hamish couldn’t explain satisfactorily, then or for many years afterwards, why this was such a uniquely powerful experience. He and Alan did nothing that he hadn’t done, or had done to him, hundreds of times before. The cock sucking, the savouring of the smell and taste of armpits, crotches, and ass cracks, the changes of position, the sliding of rigid dicks into tight assholes, the breathtaking eruptions of seed deep inside the partner’s body – it was all old, familiar ground. Yet, somehow, with Alan, the entire experience had moved onto an entirely different plane of sensation. It became deeper, more truthful, more real, more profound… the words Hamish needed simply didn’t exist. The enjoyment and stimulation certainly existed, though.

 

As they lay still together after their final, exalted climaxes, satiated, contented, Hamish began at last to get a very slight glimpse of the truth. What was happening here was something internal, something mysterious, and the sex was only an outward sign of what was really passing between them. In time, he would begin to understand that the relationship between them was a kind of super-human connecting and uniting that could only develop between two immortals, and not always even then. It was as if Alan and he were uniquely fitted and designed for each other, from before the beginning of time, to remain bonded in all ways, even to the ending of all the worlds.

 

When he and Alan finally spoke of it, many years later, he realized just how incredibly fortunate he had been. Immortals were rare beings in and of themselves. For two immortals who were both exclusively attracted to men to find each other was beyond coincidence – it was almost unimaginable. Hamish and Alan had linked themselves together in ways that transcended sex, but which could still delight in sex as a powerful means of expressing, showing forth, and renewing the ties that bound them.

 

Was it love? For long centuries afterwards, Hamish struggled with that question. Love just wasn’t the word for it. Love was such a limiting, human emotion. This connection that he and Alan had forged between them was neither human nor emotional. Perhaps it was better than love, in the sense that it was a more complete and all-encompassing interaction and interrelation – but for exactly that reason, it was bound, in the end, to become far more painful than any ephemeral human emotional tie could ever be.

 

That end was still centuries in the future as they slept peacefully on this, their first night together.

 

Plenty of good laughs from all the raunchy dialogue among the boys, but I think my favourite part of this chapter was the scene of the queen dancing with Max. For the first time, I'm starting to get a real picture of her as a person, and liking what I'm learning about her. Of course, it didn't do any harm when she stuck her oar in by threatening to send the boys to bed! Since all that took place after the cameras were gone, I wonder how long it will take for the TV journalists to realize that Josh is not the one they should be watching?

Part 4:  The Court

 

As Hamish and Craig journeyed with the Earl of Cornwall’s party towards the meeting point at Gloucester, they kept their mouths shut during daylight hours. Both of them sensed, without even being told, that the less they said, the less there was to let out that could harm the earl and consequently the less evidence there was to be used against them. Or, as Hamish whispered to Craig on the first night out, “We’re gonna get screwed either way, but let’s not get screwed down in a coffin if we can avoid it.”

 

Once inside the Earl of Gloucester’s castle, still more fortress than palace, they found – not to their surprise – that rooms were in short supply and they would have to fend for themselves out in the castle’s courtyards. With a dozen or more nobles coming to the king’s assembly, each with a train of soldiers and servants, it was only to be expected. Hamish and Craig were lucky to get a small wagon to themselves, too small for anyone else to try to pile in with them, and they managed to save the canvas cover from being looted. Good thing, too, as the delightful English summer weather had instantly turned to mean, cold rain at the news that they would be roughing it in the great outdoors.

 

They also figured, quite sensibly, that they’d better not do any fooling around on their own time, to be fully loaded and prepared for whatever else might await them.

 

On the second full day in Gloucester, the Earl of Cornwall himself came around, looking for his two chamber servants. He was being attended in the castle by Gloucester’s own servants, partly so his activities could be closely monitored by his brother-in-law to be. In fact, the Earl of Gloucester was nicely poised between outrage, curiosity, and sheer sexual jealousy at what the rumours had to say about Piers Gaveston, the jumped-up Earl of Cornwall, and his after-hours activities.

 

None of which had stopped Gaveston from going to see the King on the first two nights. Edward II had been delighted at the return of his favourite, whether best described as old friend, royal favourite, fuck buddy, or “D: All of the Above.” The two men had had a grand old romp in the royal bed, switching tops and bottoms on both nights, so both of them came away from the experience with nicely satiated cocks and nicely filled assholes.

 

But Edward was a man who craved variety, and he said so to Gaveston on the second night after he’d pumped yet another royal-sized load of divinely ordained seed inside his bedmate’s firm, rounded ass.

 

To which Gaveston replied, “Well, Y.M. (he never used the king’s full title in private), I have just the thing in my train of servants.” And he proceeded to tell Edward all about his discovery of, and spectacular sex with, the dynamic duo of Craig and Hamish.

 

“Scots, are they? That explains a lot.”

 

“How so, sire?”

 

“Some of my most exciting times have been with Scots.”

 

Gaveston laughed. “Then I’m sure you’ll enjoy these two,” he replied.

 

The next day, the Earl of Cornwall wandered through the encampment in the courtyard, casually and rudely ignoring the bows and greetings of “Your lordship” from all the men he passed. He finally found the wagon where Craig and Hamish were camping out, and snapped at them, “Come with me!” He led them to a remote corner of the courtyard where nobody was close by, and then told them that he would come to collect them after it was full dark that night. “And be ready – you understand?”

 

“Yes, my lord,” they both replied, meekly. But after he left, and once he was safely back inside the castle, they looked at each other with raised eyebrows and laughed heartily.

 

Passing lightly over the details of what exactly happened at full dark, it’s enough to say that Gaveston had used his brain in figuring out how to get them into the royal chamber, undetected. Once they arrived, and their heads and faces were uncovered, they bowed together. “Your majesty.”

 

Edward was enjoying the first sight of these two sturdy sons of Scotland, their well-built bodies clearly outlined even under their rough-and-ready servant clothing. He nodded his approval to Gaveston, who quickly barked at them, “Get naked – fast.”

 

As their clothes came off, and their erect cocks came into view, Edward was completely transfixed by the glorious sights in front of him. Indeed, the royal mouth was hanging slightly open and the tip of his tongue was just visible between the lips. He gestured to Craig to come closer, and once Craig had complied, he leaned down and swallowed the tip of Craig’s tool. In the space of a minute or so, he had worked his way down to the base and had the whole of the young Scot’s sturdy tool inside his mouth and throat.

 

Edward was plainly a cocksucker both practised and skilled and took great delight in what he was doing. As he worked on Craig’s tool, he also gestured for Hamish to come closer, and signified what he wanted Hamish to do with a sharp little slap on his own ass. Hamish knelt down behind the king, rubbing and squeezing his ass cheeks, which were surprisingly firm and attractive (Hamish was rapidly learning that a knight in armour had to be in pretty decent shape to carry all that excess weight). In another minute, he plunged his mouth into Edward’s ass crack and began to lick, suck and slobber all over the royal hole. To judge by the excited moans, Edward was definitely enjoying the way Gaveston’s special chamber servants were lavishing their special services on him.

 

Somewhere along the line, Craig and the king exchanged tasks, and Craig went right to town on the royal cock, enjoying every inch the king had to give. But then the king pulled out of his mouth, turned around and pulled Hamish to his feet, and said, “I want that cock of yours inside me. Now.” And then, to Craig, “And I want you to turn around so I can push mine into you.”

 

Both nodded and murmured, “Yes, your majesty.” In no time, Edward had his tool buried inside Craig’s delightful hole while Hamish was locked all the way up inside the royal fuck tunnel. The king knew exactly how to make this kind of three-way work. He told them both to hold still, and then proceeded to slide back and forth between them, taking Hamish deep inside himself as he pulled out of Craig, and then pumping all the way into Craig as he slid away from Hamish. Meanwhile, Gaveston was watching open-mouthed as the king let his sacred royal rod be defiled by a commoner’s asshole. It was beyond his comprehension that his royal master could so stoop for mere pleasure. But Gaveston quickly realized that Edward simply didn’t share his prejudice against letting servants have his cock -- and he decided that he might as well go all in too.

 

In almost less time than it takes to tell about it, Piers Gaveston, Earl of Cornwall, was reaming out the common but still wonderfully tight and talented ass of his servant, Hamish McAlpine, and loving every minute of it. Hamish was quite gifted enough to remember to use his muscles at stroking the earl, at the same time that he was flexing his cock every which way at plowing the king.

 

Despite his late start in this four-way fuck train (to use a much later term for it), Gaveston was actually the first to cum, erupting violently inside of Hamish as he slammed forcefully into his servant’s visually perfect ass. From then on, the train of eruptions continued in order like a falling rank of cards stood on edge, with Hamish blowing one of his signature explosions into the king, who immediately shot into Craig’s ass with a good deal of force and passion. Craig had no one to drop his seed in, but just moaned aloud and spilled his load all over the floor beneath his quivering legs.

 

One by one, the four men detached from each other, and the king fell first, gracefully folding up his legs and lying smoothly down on his bed. He then patted the mattress on either side of him, and the other three each executed his own version of the flop, none as polished as Edward’s. There they lay, catching their breath, and stroking each other’s bodies. Craig and Hamish were amazed, and delighted too, at how much their master had changed in the king’s presence, adopting a much more civilized tone and manner towards them as if they were nearly his equals. But Hamish reminded himself in his thoughts to be careful.

 

Well, in bed we certainly are his equals, and more than that, but I know – and I’m sure Craig knows – not to presume on his continued kindness because of this moment of civility.

 

In time, four cocks began to stand at attention once more, and it was time for the frolics to resume. This time, Edward had Hamish lie down on his back and lift his legs, allowing him to insert his rampant cock into the hunky servant’s firm, round ass. Meanwhile, Gaveston got Craig down on his back, facing the opposite way to Hamish but with their heads close to each other, while he plundered the cute blond’s sweet hole. As king and earl rammed common ass in unison, Craig and Hamish rolled their heads towards each other and began kissing and swapping tongue, which seemed to excite their social superiors even more.

 

It was a surprise to all involved that Gaveston (usually something of a slowpoke) was actually the first to cum, getting totally wound up at the sight of his two sexy servants kissing while they were being fucked. Gaveston, always a very vocal cummer, outdid himself on this occasion, and his loud moans quickly brought the king to the moment of truth. Edward’s second eruption even exceeded the size of his first, and his hot sperm was squirting out of Hamish’s ass, mingled with Gaveston’s earlier sizable load, as he continued fucking his seed in.

 

Both king and earl pulled out and collapsed across the bed, done for the night. But Gaveston had one more surprise for his two faithful chamber servants. He roused himself enough to say, in an uncommonly pleasant tone of voice, “You don’t have to just lie there and give up. Go ahead and have some fun together if you want -- to help you get another load out of your systems.”

 

And King Edward II and Piers Gaveston, Earl of Cornwall, proceeded to lie back and enjoy the show as Hamish mounted on top of Craig, who was loving every minute of the attention his ass was getting. As Hamish pounded into Craig’s well-used but still active hole, he leaned down and the two began kissing each other passionately again, keeping it up for at least three more minutes before Hamish reared up, let out a roar, and fired one of the biggest loads of his life into his friend. The sperm kept pumping out, and Craig’s ass simply couldn’t contain the flood. Then Hamish pulled out, applied his tongue to Craig’s ass, and proceeded to lick and suck on Craig’s hole, slurping all the mingled cum of a king, an earl, and a commoner out of his tunnel. A minute of that treatment was all it took for Craig to blast a fountain of cum into the air, and – wonder of wonders – both the king and the earl, without even realizing they were stroking themselves, shot their third sizable loads right along with him.

 

Eventually, Edward roused himself enough to dismiss the two servants, but he handed each of them a small cloth pouch before they went. Gaveston was already asleep, and snoring, in the rather messy and damp royal bed. The king very kindly bade them goodnight, and they both bowed to him before backing out of the room.

 

Out in the hall, Craig looked in his pouch and let out a yelp of surprise, quickly suppressed. “Look, Hamish – silver!”

 

Hamish immediately hissed, “Put that away you idiot, and don’t flash it around. It’ll be gone before dawn if you let everyone know what you’ve got there.” Setting the example himself, Hamish tucked his pouch away inside his vest, in a concealed pocket. Craig quickly followed suit.

 

Hamish had certainly been right in thinking that this was a risky job. Over the next few years, they went along with Gaveston as he got exiled from the kingdom multiple times – twice to Ireland, once to Scotland, and once to Flanders. The mounting fury of the barons and earls was making it harder and harder for the king to keep his favourite close to the heart of the realm.

 

It was on the final exile, in the Flemish town of Bruges/Brugge (which was then just beginning its rise to commercial and artistic eminence) that Hamish and Craig begged leave to part company with the earl. He had indeed become an entirely different man since that memorable night in the royal bedchamber. Where formerly he would have roared and threatened or even exacted punishment for their temerity, he now agreed (although reluctantly) to release them from his service and kindly gave them money to help them in seeking new employment.

 

It's quite possible that Gaveston realized that his own time on earth wouldn’t last much longer, due to the unremitting hostility of the nobles in England. And indeed, he had only a little more than a year to live before he was hunted down and murdered by the Earl of Warwick after returning to England.

 

Before long, Craig and Hamish parted company too. It was an emotional parting on both sides, with a great deal of love from Craig and a goodly measure of almost parental affection on Hamish’s part. But he had to follow his invariable rule to never become attached. Aside from his own feelings, Hamish always feared to stay too long in any one place, lest his never-changing appearance should give the game away and attract unwelcome attention and hostility, especially from the Church. In any case, Craig had met a young merchant in Bruges who was fascinated by his youthful blond appearance and was openly courting him.

 

As for Hamish, his next move was already decided for him by a brief encounter he’d had in Scotland, during the earl’s short period of exile there. In a few days he took ship for Edenesburg (Edinburgh), to find the man he had met on his previous curtailed sojourn in his homeland.

 

@Assmunch the power and beauty of the writing is incredible in this chapter. The whole thing is so, so incredibly real and true. Wow. Just... wow. 

24 minutes ago, NLbear said:

Great story. Curious to see who Hamish nails when he fucks his way through the centuries to come.

So am I -- got one or two clear ideas but I'm sure there are some more good ones I could dig up. Gotta get the research hat on!

45 minutes ago, Powerasianbtms said:

love this 

Thank you!

Part 3:  The Revolving Door

 

In 1307, Hamish found a position as chamberlain in the entourage of a young nobleman named Piers Gaveston, Earl of Cornwall. Gaveston had been elevated to this, the highest rank of the peerage, just a few months earlier, and was still in the process of vastly expanding his household to meet the increased demands of pomp and prestige which his new honour entailed.

 

Before taking the position, Hamish had heard the gossip – all of England and Scotland knew about it. Gaveston was the established favourite of the Prince of Wales, now the newly-crowned King Edward II, and had unequalled access to the King for consultations, for requests, for all legitimate purposes. Bribery was hinted at, sometimes, quite strongly, as the title of Earl of Cornwall conferred on Gaveston would normally have been given to a senior member of the royal family, or at least a person already highly placed in the nobility – and Gaveston was neither. Gossip also suggested, not without many leers and winks, that he had access to the king for other, and much more personal purposes.

 

Putting all that together, along with the knowledge that royal rule in England was still very much a partnership between king and nobles, Hamish deduced that this was one job that was likely to be actually dangerous to life and limb. Not that this worried him at all.

 

As an attendant servant outside his lordship’s private chambers, Hamish soon noticed that there were more than a few very attractive and well-endowed young men who arrived on different occasions, but always late at night and acting in a very furtive manner. He thought this a little forward of the earl, especially considering that his marriage to Margaret de Clare, sister of the powerful Earl of Gloucester, was due to be celebrated in a little over a month. But Hamish knew that the upper orders were full of arranged marriages which were marriages in name only. More intriguing was the fact that the same face rarely appeared twice. It seemed that the earl’s staff had their hands full, trying to provide an adequate supply of new blood to keep him entertained.

 

Centuries later, Hamish was to encounter that useful twentieth century invention, the revolving door, and realize that this was a perfect metaphor for Piers Gaveston’s bedroom – or, perhaps more accurately, the one thing that Gaveston’s bedroom lacked to be truly complete.

 

Back to 1307, though. Since Hamish himself definitely had an itch that needed to be scratched, he decided to see what might happen on the next night that his lordship appeared to be not otherwise occupied.

 

Two nights later, he spotted his opportunity. Hamish had made a point that evening of catching the earl’s eye as he walked towards his chambers, letting his gaze run slowly downwards and then slightly rubbing the front of his breeches. The earl let a small smile play across his face and then gave a slight sideways jerk of his head, a signal to “follow me.” And Hamish followed.

 

He closed the door of the earl’s private room behind him, and then turned around to face his master. The earl was already being disrobed by one of his private servants, behind a screen. But his head reached above the screen, and his face was turned towards Hamish. He raised an eyebrow and let his tongue pop out of his mouth a bit. Then he disappeared in the voluminous folds of a bedgown, and the servant bowed, and exited through the back door.

 

As soon as the servant was gone, the earl stepped out from behind the screen, faced towards Hamish and, with a commanding air, said, “Get this thing off me and then get yourself undressed.” Hamish speedily complied. As soon as he pulled down his breeches, it could be seen that his cock was fully erect. Upon seeing that spectacle, the earl’s own tool began to harden up very quickly too, climbing visibly from a downwards angle to horizontal, and from horizontal to a sharp upwards slant. “You don’t waste any time, do you?”

 

“No, my lord.”

 

“Get over here.”

 

Hamish walked over, reaching for the earl’s sizable tool. But the earl quickly slapped his hand away. “That’s only for people in my own rank in society. You get this.” With that, he turned around, presenting his firm and nicely rounded ass for Hamish to adore.

 

Hamish had no objections at all. He always loved eating a hot ass. Hamish quickly plunged his face deep in between the two plump cushions and began to lick and tongue the earl’s hole. It was by no means tight, and he rightly deduced that all the young men he’d seen coming this way late at night had been here before him.

 

Before long, he had his tongue inside the hole, twitching it around, stabbing it in and out, and wrenching a whole series of quiet moans and sighs from his master, who plainly enjoyed this treatment. Soon, he added a finger, and then two, twisting those around inside the earl’s ass, flexing and loosening until the hole bloomed, and was plainly ready for the next course on the menu.

 

Gaveston stepped away to the bed, lay down on his face, and reached back to spread his ass open. “Fuck me, now.”

 

Hamish climbed between his legs, pushed them farther apart, and leaned down, planting the tip of his eight-inch rod against the man’s hole. Then he pushed, the hole gaped open, and his cock slid in a few inches.

 

“Farther. Give me the whole thing.”

 

Hamish obliged, sliding his entire tool deep inside the quivering ass beneath him.

 

“Fuck, that thing’s huge. I can feel it splitting me open. Now fuck me hard!”

 

It was plain that Piers Gaveston had a huge sense of his own importance in the scheme of things, not that this was surprising. But it was equally plain that he wanted to be dominated, hammered, reamed out, loaded up, and generally turned into a real cock slut.

 

Hamish proceeded to give him a whale of a fuck, slamming deep and fast into the man’s newly-ennobled ass, and twisting around on each stroke to rub every part of his guts. As he got closer, he started yanking it clear out of the earl’s hole and then jamming it all the way back in, over and over.

 

He had Gaveston moaning and crying on the bed, his body twisting from side to side, trying to escape one second from the exquisite torture and then trying to get more of it the next.

 

“Oh, fuck, man, you know how to drive it! Keep pounding me! Fuck me harder, stud, harder, damn you!!!”

 

Hamish knew he was cumming soon, and began grunting out, “Gonna cum… gonna cum….”

 

The earl all but screamed, “Yeah! Shoot into me! Fill my guts with your seed. FuckfuckfuckFUUUUCK!!!”

 

He reared up onto all fours, pushing Hamish up on top of him, as his cock erupted, spraying sperm all over the bed covers. As soon as Gaveston exploded, Hamish jammed his tool deeper inside than ever before and busted one of the biggest loads of his long, long life into his master’s hole. They collapsed onto the bed, with the Earl of Cornwall lying spent in a pool of his own steaming juice. Hamish slowly pulled out, having tired himself out more than usual from the unexpected high energy level of the fucking.

 

Gaveston didn’t even look at him. Just a snarl, “Now get out.”

 

The next night, Hamish “happened” to be close by as the earl headed to his room. The man ignored him, and a minute later Hamish saw the reason why. The blond servant following not far behind the earl had a bed place just a few spots down the row from Hamish in the servants’ dormitory.

 

Back at his bed place, Hamish stayed awake, waiting. All around him were the snores and irregular breathing of the multitude of servants. He had to struggle, but he managed to keep himself awake. He was waiting for the young blond to come back from his appointment. As the blond guy walked into the dormitory, he saw Hamish sitting up and looking at him, and he veered over and sat down. Their conversation was carried on in very quiet undertones, but Hamish found it very interesting, nonetheless.

 

“Hi, I’m Craig.”

 

“Hamish.”

 

“You were waiting up for me.”

 

“Just curious about what you were up to.”

 

“Hamish, you’re not that dumb. I saw you going to his room last night.”

 

Hamish laughed quietly. “Guilty as charged.”

 

“What the hell did you do to him, anyway?

 

“Probably the same thing you did.”

 

“Hardly. I’d gone once before, and he enjoyed it. This time, he just complained endlessly about how I wasn’t any good, I wasn’t hitting the right spots, it just didn’t feel like it did when ‘the big guy’ was in there last night, on and on like that.”

 

“I’m sorry he gave you a rough time, but at the same time I’m glad I made an impression.”

 

“Made an impression? Too bloody right you did. I think he’s going to call for you again tomorrow. I won’t go again. I’m leaving here and going back to my family.”

 

Hamish frowned. “Why? Just because his lordship was having an off night?”

 

Craig sighed, wistfully. “No, there’s more to it than that.” Hamish smiled at him encouragingly. He hemmed and hawed for a minute, but finally it came out. “I wanted him to do it to me.”

 

“We’re both the wrong social class.”

 

Craig heaved another sigh. “Yeah. I know.”

 

“Anyway, why would you want him? He’s arrogant, snotty, stuck up, rude as hell….”

 

“Okay, point taken,” Craig replied. “Let’s change that and say I want someone to do me.”

 

Hamish said no more. He reached out, took Craig by the wrist, and led his hand to rest on his own dick under his nightshirt. Craig began massaging his tool, squeezing, and stroking. In moments, he was holding Hamish’s erect and ready eight inches, sliding the foreskin back from the head, and then bending down to take the head into his mouth. He could taste Hamish’s precum forming at the slit, and it tasted incredible. Poor Craig hadn’t been fucked for over a year. It seemed that everyone he ran into wanted him to be the top because his dick was also a generous size. But Hamish was willing to give him what he wanted. His hand slid down the younger man’s back, finding his ass, and squeezing it. His fingers drifted towards the tight little knot -- and it was tight, after not having been untied for so many months. But Hamish was an expert of long, long standing; he knew just how to get that knot loosened up.

 

Craig pulled up, gasping, and then flopped down on his back on Hamish’s straw pallet. Hamish moved up between his legs, lifting them up, and digging his tongue into the blond guy’s ass. Soon, Craig was making enough noise that Hamish pulled up a nearby cloth which did duty as a towel for him and stuffed it into the noisy mouth. He dived back into that pretty, smooth, firm round ass and kept on licking, tonguing, digging, kissing, and more, until at last it began to loosen, to relax, to flex, and finally to open. He slid a finger inside Craig, working it around slowly, and then another.  In no time, Hamish had three fingers pumping in and out of the blond guy’s hole, and he had Craig twisting frantically on the straw, desperate for something more.

 

It was time for that “something more.” Hamish moved the tip of his cock into the crack, found the target, and slowly began sinking his tool down into the tunnel. Craig moaned again, with the cloth muffling the worst of the sound. He squirmed around a bit, but made no protest, as Hamish slowly worked the entire eight thick inches of his cock inside the younger guy’s hole. Once he was all the way there, Hamish relaxed a bit and lay down on top of Craig. No way around it, this young blond stud muffin was cute as hell, and actually had a good and clean set of teeth (not common in his social class), so Hamish was perfectly happy to lie on top of him, letting his cock nestle comfortably inside that hole, and do some serious making out.

 

One thing Hamish had learned all too well in the 241 years since he’d achieved his unexpected immortality was that few, if any, men in any of those years really enjoyed kissing other men. The Lionheart had finally learned to enjoy it, but even he took a while to really get into swapping tongue.

 

Craig was the total exception to the rule. It was obvious at once that he enjoyed kissing, and was really good at it, too. Having a big, thick cock embedded in his ass at the same time might have had something to do with that, of course. But still, the guy was a natural-born kisser. And since Hamish always enjoyed high-level kissing, he was happier than the proverbial pig in shit as he lay there on top of Craig, making out with him.

 

But Craig’s ass got a vote, too, and it soon began squeezing and chewing on Hamish’s tool in a very demanding way, a way that said, “okay, that’s enough fooling around, now get down to business.” Hamish was very good at reading this kind of signal, too, and was only too glad to oblige.

 

It intrigued Hamish to realize how much more enjoyable this coupling was, despite being on a lower key than his frantic, high-energy plowing of the earl the previous night. Later on, he would figure out that he wasn’t missing the aggressive, demanding, downright rude manners of Piers Gaveston one bit, but he had been missing the feeling of fucking a guy who was genuinely happy to be under him, and not shy to say so.

 

That enjoyment made it easy to take his sweet time, fucking Craig in multiple speeds, angles, and positions and eventually cumming inside the younger man’s smooth, almost boyish ass not just once, but twice. But during that extended fuck session, his devious mind gradually devised a little strategy to get Craig back into the earl’s good graces and make sure that Craig, too, enjoyed his next visit with the earl.

 

When he had finally finished dropping his second burst of seed inside Craig’s delightful, smooth tunnel, he explained what he had in mind, and Craig reluctantly agreed to stick around for a few more days before pulling the plug and see what turned up.

 

As it happened, the very next night saw Hamish waiting “inconspicuously” along the hallway leading to Gaveston’s private chambers. He’d picking a spot right across the hall from a deep, shadowed alcove next to an archway, and Craig was tucked into the alcove. When the earl signalled Hamish to follow, with a peremptory wave, Hamish fell into place ten paces behind – and Craig followed, another twenty or so paces behind Hamish.

 

At the chamber door, Hamish waited a few moments to let the undressing by the servant get going, and then walked in. This time, everything happened faster, and the earl was climbing onto his bed, back to the door, in a mere two minutes or so. The loud creak of the bedframe gave Craig his cue, and he slipped into the chamber quietly, shoes off, and padded across the room towards Hamish, quickly stripping as he went.

 

All three men were fully erect. Craig got behind the earl, placed his cock against his master’s hole, and then gave a mighty shove which got it all into the man’s ass in one thrust. The earl groaned, and under cover of that noise, Hamish dug his cock deep into Craig’s ass. Having Hamish inside him gave Craig just that extra kick of energy and incentive to start giving the earl a first-rate pounding. In the process, his ass was also doing a splendid job of stroking Hamish’s cock, getting him increasingly aroused.

 

As the earl’s groans and cries got louder, Craig’s fucking got more and more forceful – largely because he was now staying still, and letting Hamish do all the work. Every time Hamish slammed into Craig’s ass, he drove Craig’s rigid cock deep into the earl’s now-loosened ass, and Hamish made sure to pull Craig back so far that he popped right out of the noble hole, before slamming him back in again.

 

It was Hamish who finally grunted, “Cumming now – filling you up deep and wet…” but it was actually Craig’s cock which erupted like a demented volcano inside Gaveston, spilling what felt like gallons of sperm which then poured out of the gaping hole as soon as Hamish pulled him clear. In the same moment, Hamish pulled out of Craig, spun him out of the way, and jammed himself inside Gaveston, just in time to blow another epic load into the earl’s quivering butt. And it was Hamish’s cum blast which set the earl off, causing him to spill his seed all over the bed in a repeat of their previous encounter.

 

“Holy fuck! How in hell did you manage to cum in me two times that quickly?”

 

As Gaveston asked the question, he did something completely out of character – he flopped down onto the bed, and then rolled over onto his back, looking up at Hamish – and Craig. As he began to realize what had happened, his face darkened in rage.

 

Hamish replied, very, very respectfully, of course: “Actually, that was holy two fucks, my lord.”

 

“I shall have you two torn apart by the dogs for this!”

 

Hamish quickly tried to soothe him. “Why, your lordship? Didn’t you just enjoy the epic fuck of a lifetime? Why ruin a good thing?” Gaveston, taken aback by the forwardness of his studly servant, fumed and spluttered, fumbling for words which eluded him. “The two of us make a super team, and you certainly enjoyed it. Craig here did a great job on the main action, largely because I was fucking him while he fucked you, and he pulled out as soon as he came, just so I could get in there and drop another load into your hole. And now you’ve got those two combined loads spilling out of your ass all over the bed.”

 

Gaveston made another brave try at speech. “You… you….”

 

Hamish went on. “Really, trying to make us disappear is not what you need to be doing. Everyone in the whole damn castle knows what goes on here in your chambers every night, and if a couple of your little fuck boys vanish, it’s going to take no time at all for the news to get back to Gloucester -- and then you can kiss your marriage to Margaret goodbye. Not to mention that His Majesty may not be amused either, after he worked so hard to secure a good marriage for you that would help to cover up your antics.”

 

Gaveston finally found some words. “You blackmailing snake of a….”

 

Hamish cut him off. “Not at all, my lord. Look at it as us doing you a favour. Now that you’ve found out what an awesome job the two of us can do together on you, it won’t be necessary for you to keep finding more and more boys to come in here and do the deed – will it? We can fill your needs full time, keep it much quieter and under wraps, stop the gossip, save your marriage – you name it.”

 

By now, the earl had calmed down enough to realize that there was more than a small measure of common sense in what Hamish was telling him.

 

Finally, coherent speech returned to Gaveston. “You’ve got guts, no question. Don’t expect to hear so much common sense – or statecraft – from the servant class. All right, you’re on duty full time. You’ll get orders to report tomorrow as my new chamber servants. And you’ll be coming along next month when I travel up to Gloucester to meet the King. I can picture him getting a good deal of enjoyment out of your talents, too, after I’m through with him. Now, get my bedgown back on.”

 

Hamish, with nothing in his face but the obsequious deference of the chamber servant, helped Gaveston back into his bedgown, and held the lamp while his lordship climbed into bed, and pulled up the covers.

 

“Good night, my lord.” And Hamish and Craig left the room, quietly closing the door.

 

The other servants wondered why the two of them couldn’t stop snorting and giggling when they came back into the servants’ dormitory.

 

 

Part 2:  The Lionheart

 

A key turning point in Hamish’s life came in 1188, when he was having a good time out of bed (as the body-servant), and a grand old time in bed, with the son of a renowned English duke. So cozy did their relationship become that they even had a schedule worked out: Hamish fucked the duke’s son on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; the young duke-in-training fucked Hamish on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

 

To be honest, the duke’s son, name of Gilbert, was not terribly well equipped, so his fucking skills were far surpassed by Hamish’s ability with his much larger tool. Even the heir admitted that to be true, but he maintained that he was by far the higher in social status, so he should have top spot on the majority of nights.

 

But when Hamish did get to exert his privilege on those three weeknights, the results were a sight to behold. He could quite easily keep going now for an hour before cumming, and then could blast three huge loads into his partner’s fuckhole in the space of much less than thirty minutes. “Blast” was the appropriate word; the young nobleman could feel each individual shot smacking against his prostate when Hamish fired. By the time he’d shot the third load in, his seed was seeping out all around his cock, and his fucking motions were making squishy, slurpy, smacking sounds. Once he pulled out, there would be a slow-motion torrent of cum out of the gaping ass, and Hamish would alternate on various nights between licking it all up or scooping it onto his dick, pushing it back into the gaping hole, and going for a fourth round. 

 

Sooner or later, though, it was inevitable that the duke would catch on, and when he did, Hamish quickly found himself banned from the duke’s lands, and lucky not to have been killed and resurrected yet again. That put him at a loose end for a few months, which he bridged with various odd jobs. It occurred to him that his best chance of getting a stable position somewhere was to work on his music.

 

A few decades back, he’d had a thing for a while with a travelling singer and harper, and the artist had taught him the basic notes. Irony, again – the old Hamish, before the Battle of Hastings, had been rather clumsy with his fingers, but now he grasped the technique quickly, and the principles of the chords and modes, and was soon doing a more than passable job. Not only that, but since being brushed by the sorcerer’s black magic, he had gained a captivating singing voice. He now bought a second-hand harp and began practising again, soon reaching even higher levels of proficiency. There was always demand for minstrels to sing in noble and royal houses. With any luck, he might land a permanency. While travelling with the harper, he had also managed to learn a decent command of Breton and Norman French, and of several German dialects.

 

The one obstacle was the aggrieved duke, who had done a lot of talking around in noble circles about his son’s ex-servant. Hamish thought a bit more and started shaving off his rather prominent beard. He also shortened and curled his hair. With these changes, and an entirely new wardrobe, he looked positively baby-faced – without question the most youthful-looking 154-year old in any of the world’s kingdoms.

 

Thus, armed with a boyish new look and musical skills to burn, he made his way to London and the royal court of Richard I, a.k.a. “the Lionheart,” who had just inherited the throne after the death of his father, Henry II. It was July of 1189, and Richard was busily occupied with plans for his impending departure to the Third Crusade. But he was not too preoccupied to notice the truly magical singing and playing of a travelling minstrel, and quickly sent a chamberlain to offer the singer a permanent court position. When the chamberlain asked his name, Hamish replied (with a French accent), “Blondel.” He meant it as a joke, a caricature of the well-known French troubadour of that name, but the chamberlain (knowing little of France) took it at face value.

 

The king was truly delighted with “Blondel” as his permanent minstrel, quickly discovering that his musician had many other talents besides music and languages. The truth was that Richard was driven not only by the urge of military conquest, but by the urge of more personal conquests as well. Since he was drawn sexually to both men and women, the gender of his new minstrel was irrelevant to the chase. Hamish well understood that the way to a man’s purse is through his bed, and in no time was alternating tops and bottoms with the king while storing away a tidy sum in nightly tips received from the courtiers for his singing in the great hall.

 

Whether taking or giving, Richard was equally voracious. When the mood took him, he thoroughly enjoyed plowing his minstrel deep and hard, over and over, and pumping multiple loads into him. Although initially Richard insisted on doing it doggie style, after a while he became sufficiently comfortable with “Blondel” as a person that he decided to fuck him face to face. Hamish actually enjoyed lying on his back, pulling his legs up, and letting Richard work him over.

 

Their relationship deepened to the point where Richard would lie right on top of his court musician as he slammed deep into the singer’s tight ass, enjoying the phenomenal grip of the muscles (like everything else about Hamish, his ass control had been miraculously improved after 1066). Their hands would stroke and caress over each other’s bodies as the king drove his cock into his singer, repeatedly. Hamish enjoyed it so much that it became common for him to cum hands-free as Richard shot a huge load inside him. It also became common, although neither one talked about it, for them to exchange multiple kisses as Richard wound down after the act.

 

As a bottom, Richard was even more demanding. He would pepper Hamish with frequent injunctions to “ram that big rod into me… fuck me silly, stud… pound me with that dick… fuck me harder… harder, dammit!... shit, man, you’re gonna make me cum… fill me up… cum inside me, you devil, you!” And much more along the same lines, all actually gasped out in a mixture of Norman French and medieval English.

 

 Note: this writer’s translation of all dialogue is approximate.

 

Richard’s identification of him as a “diable” certainly made Hamish laugh to himself the first time Richard used the phrase. But when the king demanded that his minstrel cum inside him, Hamish gladly delivered the goods. In fact, if he was honest, between Richard’s hardened military body, the hot sex talk, and the affection which the king showed after the nightly battle on the bed had ended, Hamish was closer to falling in love than he’d ever been before.

 

But he didn’t let himself go completely over the edge. He knew damn well that the Lionheart’s first, and really only, love was the military campaign, the strategy, the triumph, the conquest. He also knew that the courtiers were jealous of how completely he had managed to occupy Richard’s off-hours. “Blondel” was making it very difficult for the Norman barons to deliver bribes to the king without being publicly seen doing so.

 

So, in the spring of 1190, as Richard went full-throttle into raising funds and an army for the Crusades, his minstrel begged leave. Richard was not at first willing to let him go, but when “Blondel” explained about his propensity for sea-sickness, the king reluctantly allowed him to depart seven days from the morrow. That gave them one last week of memorable nights in bed together.

 

At last, it came to the final night before “Blondel” was set to depart. Their time together began in the usual way, with Richard getting on top and reaming out his singer. The Lionheart was truly becoming addicted to Hamish’s incredible ass, the way it stroked Richard’s cock from root to tip with the silky-smooth walls, the warmth of the friction as the tight hole alternately caressed and squeezed his dick. Richard definitely wanted to make it last tonight, since it was the last time (at least for a while) that they would be together, so he kept stopping and lying still on top of “Blondel,” gently feeling the man’s magnificent body while he recovered his normal poise. Then he would begin fucking again, varying pace and angle, while Hamish’s wonderfully responsive body transmitted immense vibrations of enjoyment throughout his entire being.

 

At last, Richard knew that the time was at hand, and he proceeded to rouse himself up and pound “Blondel” like he’d never pounded him before. In no time, he had the minstrel gasping for breath, and barely able to frame the word “Yes… yes… yes…” over and over. Another minute of this rapid-fire tattoo of fucking brought Richard’s seed surging up through his cock and pumping forcefully out into his singer’s ass, shot after shot after shot, and four or five more distinct pulses after that. Hamish came at the exact same time, the sharp contractions of his hole squeezing more cum out of the royal cock and more roars of ecstasy out of the royal throat.

 

Richard lost the strength in his arms and fell down on top of “Blondel,” gently moving his cock in the musician’s hole while he began kissing him with tongue. They made out like that for a good five minutes, enjoying every minute of the exchange between them. At last, Richard extracted his still-hard cock and rolled off to the side, lying there and catching his breath while they continued kissing and caressing each other.

 

By this time, Hamish’s awesomely quick manhood was well on its way to becoming totally rock-hard again. But Richard had other things on his mind. He released himself from his minstrel’s embrace, got up out of bed, and went to the worktable near the window, returning with a scroll of parchment tied with a ribbon.

 

“Here, Blondel. This is for you.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“Open it.”

 

Hamish untied the ribbon and unrolled the scroll. In it he found the words of a song, with a line of music to convey the tune. It was plainly a love song, but not an especially personal one – rather, an ode expressing the king’s love for the sheer beauty and poignancy of his minstrel’s music-making.

 

Hamish looked up at the king, who said, simply, “I wrote this for you.”

 

Hamish nodded. He was well aware that Richard was, among many other talents, a gifted musician and composer in his own right. Praise from him for music went far beyond the normal courtly compliments a minstrel might expect. Hamish struggled to find words. “This is so beautiful… I can’t…,” and then, embarrassingly, he dissolved into tears.

 

Richard planted a companionable hand on his shoulder. “You deserve it. You’ve brought so much joy to so many people in my court through your singing, and to me.”

 

“Thank you, your majesty.”

 

“Oh, come now, Blondel, here in my chambers you should call me by my name. You’ve earned that right, too.”

 

“Then… thank you, Richard.”

 

“Okay, enough getting emotional. Come on back to bed and thank me properly.”

 

Richard promptly laid down on the bed, looking at Hamish with a dirty, suggestive smile and wink as he lifted his legs into the air. Hamish’s spear immediately sprang to “battle ready,” as he moved between the king’s legs, facing the splendid muscular royal ass one last time.

 

This night, Hamish truly outdid himself, plowing the king nonstop for an hour and a half, and releasing no less than four loads of his immortal seed into Richard’s quivering body. All the time, they were gazing into each other’s eyes, exchanging the closest thing to lovers’ vows that they would ever achieve. As Hamish reached his fourth climax, they came together again, a treasurable moment of pure union and ecstasy.

 

That final night together was also the first and only time that Richard stopped Hamish from getting out of bed once the action ended. “No, Blondel. Stay here and sleep with me.”

 

“But the servants….”

 

“Never mind them. Everyone knows about us anyway, so why worry? And tonight, I would welcome the company. Come here.” They snuggled up together, embracing each other, and fell asleep like that.

 

In the morning, “Blondel” departed, with a generous gift of gold (the expected kingly gift in such a situation) and riding on a truly fine chestnut stallion from the royal stables (a gift which wildly exceeded the norm for a talented minstrel). With it, he carried Richard’s official scroll of royal thanks, and (tucked away in his bag) the even more treasured scroll with Richard’s song for him. Within a month, Richard was on his way to the south of Europe and his own appointments with destiny in Sicily, in Cyprus, in Palestine, and afterwards on his hazardous trip home through central Europe. Although Richard had openly asked “Blondel” to return to his court some day, they were never to see each other again.

 

After that, the story gets a little murky. Hamish himself could never recall, in later centuries, exactly how or why he ended up near Durnstein, in Upper Austria, in early 1193. What was certain was that he sang Richard’s song during a banquet hosted by the lord lieutenant of Durnstein Castle. It was also clear that Richard faintly heard the song from the dungeon where he had been imprisoned after Duke Leopold of Austria had captured him for ransom during his journey home from the Crusades. Richard had no trouble recognizing his own song of praise, deduced that the singer could only be one man, and joined in at the top of his lungs.

 

The rest of the lovely old legend of Blondel discovering the place of the king’s imprisonment is just that – a legend. “Blondel,” who was no longer calling himself by that name anyway, didn’t hear the imprisoned king through the stone walls, and Richard was promptly rebuked to silence by the jailor, who didn’t appreciate the captive’s singing as he was tone deaf. So much for the romance of popular mythology. In fact, it wasn’t until after Richard’s death in 1199 that Hamish learned that his old friend had been immured in the stronghold at the time. That realization gave him a real pang of regret for a missed opportunity.

 

“Friend” was actually the right word. As unlikely as it might seem, a genuine friendship had grown up between the two men, and it had survived the changing tides and fortunes of life through the next decade. Hamish even surprised himself by his emotional reaction to the death of the Lionheart. In a century and a half of life, he had never before had any cause to grieve the passing of anyone he’d known. Although the word “love” was perhaps too strong a word to use, there was no doubt that Hamish held considerable affection for Richard, and that his affection was fully returned.

 

But, being the man he was, Hamish had to set his face to the future and move on. He’d already endured enough of eternity to know that his fate was always to grow into other people’s lives, and then have to leave them behind as time swept them away, leaving him to carry on alone. The answer, as he saw it, was to promise himself that he would never allow himself to care too deeply for any person who came into his life. That resolution was going to be tested many times in the centuries to come.

 

@losolent No question about it, the dowager queen is the best part of this entire chapter, speaking her mind so wittily and leaping in immediately to vouch for Max and act as a mentor for him.  "Everyone wants that blasted tiara" gave me my best laugh of the whole week. But the king came in a close second with "You try getting the queen to sit still." 😄

27 minutes ago, Assmunch said:

I’m loving this!   Please keep going!

@Assmunch thanks! Definitely at least 4 more on the way! It keeps growing as I work on it!

1 minute ago, drew4fun said:

Very distinct subject, well written, love it buddy!

 

@drew4fun thanks!

Part 1:  The Legend

 

An old Scottish legend, echoed in the mythologies of several other proud and ancient lands, tells of a woman who is enticed away from home,husband, family, and everything of value to her by a demon who appears to her, taking the form of her dead sailor lover.

 

Hamish McAlpine read the description in a respected online reference source and snorted indignantly. It was so completely wrong, on so many levels, that he couldn’t believe they’d actually had the nerve to publish such trash.

 

For starters, he wasn’t a demon. Not even close. He was immortal, true, but that wasn’t how he’d been born, nor was it by his own choice. Some people might think he’d enticed Alan, although he could have sworn it was totally 50-50 -- so who enticed whom? He had certainly not appeared as a dead sailor – what a ridiculous notion! Hamish could and did get seasick crossing a river. In fact, he had absolutely no power to shift his shape. All he could do was change his clothes and his hairstyle. He’d appeared as he always did – as himself, forever aged 32 “and a bit.” Most outrageous of all, the supposed “victim” wasn’t even a woman. Alan was a man – all man, the most sexy and magnetic man Hamish had ever met in his 988 years of life.

 

And it wasn’t as if Hamish had ever lacked for interested men. He’d planted multiple loads of his immortal seed deep in the tight assholes of more than a few kings, ranging from Richard the Lionheart to Frederick the Great, with a little fling with James VI of Scotland thrown in along the way. He’d fucked, or been fucked by, dozens of men named in the history books, from the great through the not-so-great and all the way to the downright-dirty ones, down through the centuries.

 

There’d also been a few missteps, a few intimate exchanges which ended badly with the party of the second part swearing vengeance, and demanding satisfaction. The results in these duels were predictable: Hamish would let himself be killed, then he would promptly resurrect, and the other man would either run screaming in terror or just blink and berate himself that his aim was so far off.

 

Hamish had been immortal for so long that he scarcely recalled what his life had been like before it got extended indefinitely. He had vague memories of living in the servants’ quarters of a Scottish baronial castle, of acting as a footman, opening doors, bowing, delivering food from the kitchens to the Great Hall. His memory was a bit better when it came to his spare-time activities.

 

Start with Neil, an apprentice armourer. Hamish had walked into the armoury one rainy afternoon, expecting to pick up a spear that was being rebalanced for the Baron. Instead, he found Neil bent over with the blacksmith’s spear embedded in his rear gate. Hamish had gotten down on his knees to suck on Neil’s cock, and soon pulled the sperm up and out as the blacksmith filled the young guy’s ass with his load. The blacksmith pulled out and went back to his forge but Hamish stayed when Neil invited him to fuck him some more. Hamish had driven his cock right into Neil’s butt, still full of the blacksmith’s seed, and the sensation soon drew his own cum up and out, filling Neil up to the point where the combined loads of sperm gushed and squirted out as Hamish kept pounding into his hole.

 

But Neil was by this time getting hard again, and he pulled away, turned around, bent Hamish over, stripped away his clothes, and swiped a handful of the cum from his ass as lube. This was Hamish’s first time getting fucked, and it hurt like hell. He could hear the blacksmith laughing in the distance as the cries of pain were ripped out of Hamish’s throat. But the cries slowly evolved into moans of satisfaction as it became apparent that, in this area at least, the apprentice had definitely mastered some skills. Neil proved to be a first-rate top as well as a pliant bottom, and that combination of gifts kept both of them happy for the next year or so. But then Neil left, to take up a position as blacksmith and master armourer at another castle.

 

More memorable still was Ian, fellow footman with a slim, firm body, blazing red hair, and an equally roving eye. It didn’t take any time at all, after Ian was recruited onto the castle staff, for Hamish to recruit Ian for after-hours extra work. Ian was the kind of man who would bend over any time for any man who asked and Hamish asked – early and often.

 

They started with quickies snatched on the fly in the storage cellars, on the back stairway, or after hours in the kitchen. Hamish would walk up behind Ian, rub his hand across the seat of Ian’s breeches, and the younger man would turn to putty. Hamish would yank Ian’s breeches down, bend him over, release his own hard cock from his clothes, and proceed to plow that lovely Scottish ass with its light coat of flaming red hair. Even after Hamish had fucked him dozens of times, Ian’s hole remained delightfully tight, and it took very little time – sometimes as little as two minutes – before the tightness, and Ian’s quiet moans, pulled Hamish right up to the brink. Then he would pound ass, as fast as he could go, until his cum exploded in a frantic burst of energy inside Ian’s hole.

 

Later on, Hamish reached a senior footman position and got a room of his own. It was cold, drafty, and dark, and the straw pallet was all he had in the way of a bed but still… it was private. Ian and Hamish enjoyed many hours of their off time, romping on that pallet. It gave them much more latitude to explore a whole variety of positions for sex. Since Ian’s cock was both shapely and not too thick, Hamish always enjoyed sucking him off. Ian particularly like the nights when Hamish would take him through their entire repertoire of positions, fucking him up, down, and sideways for several hours and planting several loads of seed deep in the redhead’s ass. In time, Hamish got hold of a bigger pallet and they were actually able to sleep together. Ian just loved cuddling up to Hamish after a good, hard fucking, and falling asleep with Hamish’s arms wrapped around him.

 

There was no real love on Hamish’s side of the relationship. To him, Ian was a damn good fuck with a firm body who was always ready, able, and willing – but that was it. Ian understood that, and didn’t resent it, being grateful to always have hot sex there whenever he wanted it (and that was often).

 

Life got a bit more tiring when the Baron’s second son, Robert, took to summoning Hamish in the evenings to help him relax for sleep. That started after Robert caught Hamish and Ian one night, enjoying a quickie for old times’ sake on the back stairs. Robert’s favourite form of relaxation was to slide his far-from-tiny cock deep inside Hamish’s firm ass when Hamish was on his hands and knees on the bed. Robert would then drive inside that hole deep and hard, sometimes keeping going for as long as an hour, and cumming inside Hamish as many as three times in a single extended fuck. He also demanded that Hamish prove his “loyalty” by cumming too.

 

Robert was far too fastidious and dignified to let the lowly Hamish fuck him or suck him, or even shoot on him, so Hamish had to make do with his hand, with his back turned to Robert (who was actually quite a pleasant sight when undressed), and with Robert’s cock slamming into him at top speed. It all made for exhausting sex as well as a fierce ache in the nether regions, and left Hamish sometimes too tired to do the honours for Ian.

 

Life underwent a dramatic change when the Baron decided to revive his struggling treasury by selling the services of his “private army,” as he called it, to the English King, Harold Godwinson, for a generous fee. The “army” actually consisted of a ragtag group of peasants and shepherds, “organized” (to use a slightly misleading term) under the direction of the castle’s senior servants. The Baron and his sons were nowhere to be seen – sensibly, as things turned out.

 

During the trip south to England, Ian died in a bizarre freak accident. He lost his balance while fording a river, cracked his head wide open on a rock, and that was that. Hamish didn’t mourn overmuch. It wasn’t as if he had fallen in love with Ian, so what he mainly was conscious of was that he’d lost his favourite outlet for his most significant talent.

 

In any event, this journey ended when they joined up with the English army at the beginning of October 1066. The King and his forces were marching to meet the invasion of Duke William of Normandy. The clash was due to happen near Hastings. William, of course, was destined to win immortality and a throne by winning the battle, which altered the entire course of English history.

 

Hamish, though, was destined to win immortality of another kind altogether. That was the one part of his story that was due to demonic interference. One of the Norman knights lined up to participate in the invasion of England had fallen prey to his fears the night before the Norman army sailed for England. He’d called on a local sorcerer who had conducted a black mass to lay a spell of invulnerability and invincibility upon his sword.

 

It had worked – in the sense that the dark power had undoubtedly invaded and possessed the blade. The unforeseen consequence was that the power of the sorcerer’s black arts leaped into the 32-year old Hamish when the knight stabbed him to the heart, as the Scottish mercenary defended the English right flank. Hamish died – but then promptly resurrected in immortal form. Meanwhile, the unfortunate knight got killed seconds later by one of the English knights.

 

The real pity of it all was that he was a definite looker, as Hamish saw when the dead man’s armour was removed. He’d have been happy to have enjoyed a week or three – or more -- of mutual fucking with a man as well-built and well-hung as that one. Oh, the ironies of fate.

 

Hamish got more out of the knight’s meddling with the black mass than just immortality. He also got sent back to earthly life in perfected form. His face, formerly pleasant enough, became devastatingly handsome. His shoulders broadened; his waist tightened. His originally short cock lengthened to a seriously challenging, eight-inch-long, uncommonly thick, weapon of choice for his favourite kind of duelling. Add on a newfound, intimidating level of bedroom stamina and Hamish McAlpine had become a major challenge for all of the man-loving men who would cross his path for the next millennium or so.

 

1 hour ago, losolent said:

At least another 10 chapters 

That's great news! I don't think any of us are ready to say goodbye to this story and these fascinating characters!

Sexy as hell and totally romantic at the same time -- what a combination! Kudos, @losolent!!!

Fucking hot story!

Things are getting really horny and rowdy now. Life in the palace is never going to be the same again!

I remember reading the first two parts of this super-hot story when it first appeared. Why did I never find the rest of it until now? Just keeps getting hotter and hotter!

Part 8:  Hot Butts and Wedding Bells

 

 

The events of the day Jake came home from his road trip had a permanent and lasting effect on their lives and their relationship. Now that they had, at last, spoken plainly to each other of their love, the fears and uncertainties that had sometimes troubled them evaporated.

 

That new certainty made life so much easier whenever they landed in the corner table at The Corner, and someone else began displaying an interest in one or both of them. As it happened, the very next Friday, the cute blond twink, Luke, swung by their table again. This time, flirtation quickly turned into an invitation to join the table, from Jake no less, and as soon as the next round of drinks ran out, it was Sean who proposed that they move the party up to their condo.

 

The fun began when Jake went to the kitchen for some wine, and Luke and Sean began madly making out. Jake came back with the wine glasses, and then sat back to watch the fun, rubbing the undoubted bulge in the front of his trousers as the younger men pulled their dicks out of their clothes. By the time Luke’s jeans were all the way off, Jake had moved to the sofa next to them and was running his hands up under Luke’s shirt, tweaking his nipples and rubbing his fingers over the washboard abs.

 

Sean soon had Luke’s cock in his mouth, but that didn’t stop Luke from lifting his leg on the other side up off the floor to give Jake access to his ass. In a few more minutes, Luke was moaning and twisting all over the couch as Sean sucked him and Jake finger-fucked him. Jake said, “Let’s go to the bedroom.”

 

Once there, Jake and Sean finished undressing each other, while Luke lay on the bed, playing with his dick and watching as their hard, muscular bodies and erect cocks came into view. Jake pulled him up and turned him over onto all fours, then began eating his cute ass while Sean slid in between Luke’s legs and resumed the blowjob. After another minute, Jake told Luke to turn around and do 69 with Sean while he moved to the other end and resumed eating Luke’s ass.

 

Before much longer, Luke was panting and squirming so much that he lost Sean’s cock, in his rush to say, “Come on guys, somebody fuck me! I need dick in my ass!”

 

Sean dropped his cock for a moment and said to Jake, “You’re right there; you do the honours.”

 

So Jake did the honours. Luke groaned and winced in pain as he began entering, but Jake knew to take his time and wait for Luke to relax into the invasion of his ass. In time, he felt Luke relaxing and loosening, and he sank his cock farther into the hot young hole. Sean was switching back and forth between licking Luke’s dick and licking whatever part of Jake’s dick wasn’t already hidden inside Luke.

 

Sean knew that Jake was ready to start pounding ass, and he wanted to get out of the way of Jake’s low hangers, which deserved the nickname he applied to them: “wrecking balls.” He slid out from underneath the blond twink and came up onto his knees in front, then fed his cock back into Luke’s mouth. Jake had started some high-speed action on the other end, so Sean went right to town, too, slamming his cock deep into Luke’s throat and forcefully face-fucking him.

 

This energetic spit roasting kept up for perhaps three or four minutes, until Luke pulled off Sean’s dick and wailed that he was about to cum. Jake put on his usual ferocious final burst of speed, and Luke didn’t even have time to reach under and grab his own dick before it pumped his cum out all over the bed covers. It was Sean who grabbed dick, pulling Luke up by the hair, and – after a minute of high-energy jerking – firing his load smack into Luke’s face, finishing off by shoving it back into Luke’s mouth to clean it off. Meanwhile, the spasms from Luke’s hole had pulled Jake rapidly up to the finish line and he shot his usual massive load deep inside Luke’s quivering guts. He then pulled out and commanded Luke to “push it out, boy. Push it out.” When his cum began appearing in Luke’s hole, he dived right back into the crack and slurped the cum out. Then he leaned over to Sean and they snowballed, right above Luke’s dazed face. Some of it dripped out and down, and Luke’s tongue flicked out to get those drops.

 

But that first three-way that Jake and Sean enjoyed together with Luke was nothing compared to the night they hooked up with Brian. Brian had dropped by the table one Friday night while Jake was in the bathroom, and Sean seized the opportunity to ask him.

 

“Listen, Brian, if you promise not to use the word “Daddy,” and if I can persuade Jake to go along with it (which might be tough), do you want to come and play with us?”

 

Brian responded immediately. “I’d love to, and I solemnly promise to turn “Daddy” off for the night.”

 

Predictably, Jake’s immediate reaction, when he returned to the table, was not positive. But Sean was so persuasive, and Brian was so serious in his promise not to say the “D” word, that Jake finally relented.

 

Good thing, too. Neither Jake nor Sean had any experience with dealing with Brian’s latest achievement, but by the time the evening was over they’d become old hands at it. Brian, it turned out, had a newfound passion for DP, and he wanted Jake and Sean to give him the works, since he’d never (so he said, at least) taken two cocks that were so nearly perfectly matched for length.

 

That would come later in the evening. First things first, after all, and Sean enjoyed his time reaming out Brian’s hole immensely. He’d had the hots for the hunky policeman ever since their first meeting and would have laid down and let Brian breed him anytime. Since it was obvious that Brian was a total bottom, getting to pound that muscle ass was a nice consolation prize, and proved to be a real thrill for him. He turned on all his experience and fucking technique and had Brian moaning and groaning for more in no time. Meanwhile, Jake – who remembered Brian’s skill at cocksucking from the old days – took up the front end position, and the two guys spitroasted the police force with some force of their own.

 

It didn’t take very long before Sean realized that he was going to dump his load inside Brian’s hot butt, it was going to be epic, and it was going to happen soon. He pulled out of Brian’s hole, then grabbed the cop’s tight waist and rolled him over onto his back. Brian obediently pulled his legs up, and Sean then plunged back into Brian, full speed ahead. He leaned down close to Brian’s ear, and asked, “You ready to take my load? You ready for me to pump your guts full of my seed, breed you with my babies?”

 

Brian’s instant reply was, “Yeah, stud, fuck your hot load into me and fill me up. I want your cum, I want you to breed me!”

 

Jake was getting hot as hell, watching Sean plowing his ex, but he hung on and kept his own climax at bay. He knew exactly what he wanted, and that was to enjoy sloppy seconds in Brian’s well-remembered hole after Sean had cum in him.

 

Sean was slamming Brian’s ass at his top speed while Brian kept moaning, “Yeah… yeah… oh, fuck…” Knowing that it was the big moment, Sean rammed his cock all the way inside Brian, and then froze there while his load pumped into the studly officer’s firm ass.

 

As soon as Sean was done, Jake said, “Move over -- my turn,” and plunged his cock quickly into Brian’s quivering hole. Brian groaned again. Jake immediately began pumping, and he knew right away that this was going to be a quick one. It surprised him that he was so turned on by feeling Sean’s cum lubricating his way. It wasn’t as if he’d never fucked a well-used hole before -- but knowing that it was Sean who had been here ahead of him really smashed his buttons and pulled his load up in a hurry. Barely a minute later, he jammed his big meat all the way inside Brian and let his load go, dropping another big dose of man juice into the cop’s quivering ass.

 

They took a rest break, then, and just lay on the bed, caressing and kissing, until their cocks all began to show signs of recovering and warming up. That’s when Brian let them know what he had in mind.

 

“Hey, guys, I’d really love if you two could fuck me DP.”

 

Jake’s eyes opened wide. “Seriously, Brian?”

 

“Yeah, I’ve been doing it several times, and it’s so wild. Fantastic feeling!”

 

Sean and Jake looked at each other, and shrugged as if to say, “Why not?”

 

After a short period of warming up, with tongues and fingers, and after having already taken one load each from Jake and Sean deep in his muscular ass, Brian decided he was ready to go for it. He mounted first on Jake’s cock, as Jake lay on his back on the bed. Then he had Sean come in behind him and work his cock into the hole alongside Jake’s tool.

 

It took a bit of time, but Brian at least had not lied about one important point – he was already experienced at taking cocks in pairs, and his hole stretched to accommodate them with no trouble. He was also not shy about letting them know how he felt.

 

“Oh, God… oh, man, that just feels so… fuck my ass, you studs… two fucking stud dicks….” And much more along the same lines.

 

After a few more minutes in that position, Sean slid out, and rolled over onto his back. Then, Brian had him move around until he was lying feet to feet with Jake and had them slide together until their legs were interlocked and their cocks and balls were rubbing against each other. He reached down and grabbed both cocks in one hand, and then squatted over them and slowly forced his hole down over the two cockheads. Having so much lube in the form of cum already in his ass was a huge help.

 

Brian moved up and down on the two big tools while still moaning up a storm about how incredible it felt. This time it was Jake who first muttered that he was going to shoot. Sean concentrated on the sensations from his cock, from rubbing against Jake’s big tool, and knew he was also close. “Let’s cum together.”

 

Brian immediately yelled, “Yeah, fuckers – unload those two big dicks in my fucking wide-open ass pussy!”

 

He slammed down on them harder, and in just a few more seconds Jake groaned and his cock spasmed in Brian’s hole. Jake felt the pulsations and immediately his cock let go too. They could feel each other’s cocks pulsating as their seed flew into Brian’s overworked ass.

 

“Fuck, Sean, I can feel you cumming right with me,” Jake gasped.

 

That was all Brian needed to hear. His dick started pumping out another load as he rose and fell on the two cocks inside him.

 

At last, Brian pulled off them and flopped down on his face on the bed beside Jake. Sean crawled around on Jake’s other side and collapsed against him. All three of them were gasping for air. As their breathing slowly returned to normal, Jake said, “That was fucking awesome.”

 

Sean added, “Amazing. What a sensation!”

 

Brian chuckled. “Your first time doing DP?” They both nodded. “It’s a wild ride, for sure. You should try it yourself some time, it’s unreal.”

 

Sean laughed. Jake carelessly said, “Not for this old man, thanks.” A split second too late he realized that he’d given Brian a perfect opening. And sure enough….

 

“Seriously, you should give it a go some time, Da… I mean Jake.”

 

Sean laughed again. “Close call there, Brian.”

 

Jake snorted. “He thought it. That’s bad enough,” and gave Brian a sharp slap on his ass.

 

Brian yelped, and then said, “Careful! I could write you up for assaulting an officer…”

 

Jake cut him off. “…in the performance of his duty, you were going to say?”

 

Brian laughed. “Good one, you got me. Okay, guys, I’m gonna shower and then get on my way.”

 

Sean put in, “We’re all coming to join you.”

 

Brian asked, “Going to be crowded in there? I seriously need to get clean.”

 

Sean reassured him, “You won’t be crowded. You’ll see.”

 

Brian was duly impressed by the enormous bathroom. “Wow, this is some palace you’ve got here.”

 

Jake leaped on that, “Don’t go getting any ideas about moving in. That’s what this one did last year, and I still can’t get rid of him!”

 

Sean giggled, and then teased him in return. “You don’t seem to be trying very hard.”

 

Jake said quietly, “No, I’m not,” and kissed him.

 

The three of them did make the shower stall a bit crowded, but they took turns under the spray and made it work. After Brian left, they went back into the bedroom, and contemplated the bed in some dismay. Jake said, “Look at that mess. That’s it. This time, I’m changing the sheets before we go to sleep!”

 

Over the course of the next year, Jake and Sean continued growing more and more into each other’s lives and rhythms. They continued established routines and set up some new ones. Sean, saying that he needed at least a few nights off, began teaching Jake his cooking tricks. In time, Jake began to produce, on his own, some startling and original meals that showed how well he’d absorbed his lessons from the master.

 

Weekly visits to The Corner continued, as did some pretty wild three-ways and four-ways with various guys they met there, or at Suds’n’Studs. They had a couple of fantastic holidays, one in Fort Lauderdale and one in Palm Springs, and there was a fair bit of group action there, too. But then came their next-to-last night in Palm Springs when Jake asked where Sean wanted to go out hunting for cock and ass that night. Sean’s response, in a slightly wistful tone, was, “Is it terrible to say that I’d rather just stay in tonight -- with you?”

 

From then on, they learned to be more attuned to each other on the subject of if, when, and how often, to go looking for extra company in the bedroom. Certainly, both of them became unafraid of saying, when they felt it, “I’d rather just be alone with you.” It was an adjustment they both needed to make.

 

Time kept rolling on, and eventually April came around and the time for Catherine and Ronan’s wedding drew near. Ronan’s best man, an old high school friend of his by the name of Dean, contacted them and invited them for the bachelor party two nights before the wedding. “No strippers, or anything like that – I know you guys would want to order your own! We’re going to drink, eat, play cards, and just razz the life out of Ronan.”

 

Two days before they were leaving for Garrisville, Jake brought home and unveiled the custom-tailored tuxedos they had bought to wear at the wedding. They were stunning – silver-grey with lapel and pocket highlights in midnight blue satin, and impeccably tailored and fitted. As they paraded in front of the mirror, Sean said, “We’re going to have to be careful with the food and drinks at Dean’s bachelor party, or we’ll never fit into these things on Saturday – should have had them put some spandex into them.”

 

Jake chuckled. “They did – just check your trouser waistband and then flex your arms and feel the sleeves move with you.”

 

“You really do think of everything, don’t you, Jake?”

 

“I want us both to look our absolute best for Catherine – and for each other.”

 

Dean’s bachelor party the following night was a rowdy evening, no question. With a couple of dozen friends of the groom, plus the men in the wedding party, it was a big crowd and a noisy one. Jake and Sean could roll with the best of them when making jokes over multiple rounds of beer. Of course, what they were really looking forward to doing was meeting the gay groomsman, Eric, and he definitely didn’t disappoint. His parents originally came from the Philippines, and his beautiful caramel-coloured skin highlighted a stunningly handsome face and long, lean body. By the third round of drinks and snacks, he was firmly planted next to them and hardly moved anywhere else. By the fourth round, he was on the floor and leaning against Jake’s leg, so obviously that several of the other guys in the party told them to “get a room!”

 

When the party finally wrapped up, around two in the morning, they did just that. Eric followed Jake and Sean back to their hotel suite, and once they were all inside, he began stripping. “Didn’t you fellows tell me you had a private hot tub just outside the patio door, here? Lead the way!” In another minute, they were all naked in the dark, enjoying the foaming hot water. Jake’s hand was under Eric’s ass, feeling for the hole and fingering it, while Sean sat directly across the tub as he and Eric played toe-to-cock footsies.

 

A growing look of awe appeared on Sean’s face. “Eric, is that a cock or do you pack a spray can into your pants? That thing is enormous!”

 

“Eleven inches hard,” Eric announced proudly. “It comes up a long way when I get turned on – thank God it’s smaller when it’s soft. I’d never be able to hide it in my pants if it wasn’t.”

 

Sean was staring. “Damn, Eric, I’ve never taken one that size but I’d sure love to try sitting down on it!”

 

Eric replied, “If you want to, sure. But really, I’d rather be sitting on either of your dicks.”

 

That comment gave Jake an idea, and when they got back inside and onto the bed, he was ready. They got Eric on his back, and the two of them took turns trying to suck him. Neither of them got more than two-thirds of it into their mouths, but they loved the struggle.

 

Then Jake pulled Eric up until he was upright, but on his knees, and said, “Okay, Sean, here you go – hop on, the train is leaving right away!” Sean quickly understood what he meant, but Eric looked puzzled. “Not heard that before, Eric? Don’t worry, you’ll find out what it means and get your wish all at once.”

 

Sean scrambled into position on all fours in front of Eric, and then scooted backwards until Eric’s cock was nudging into his crack. Jake squirted a generous dollop of lube onto his hand, spread it all over Eric’s enormous dick, and then worked the rest into Sean’s hole.

 

“Okay, Eric, start putting it into me. Just take it slow and easy.”

 

Eric nudged his cock up against Sean’s hole, and then began to lean. Without too much trouble it popped in, but all of them knew that the real challenge was to see how far he could go before Sean had to say, “Enough, no more.” In the end, Sean ended up taking most of Eric’s massive length, but couldn’t quite get it all. It didn’t matter. Once Eric was embedded that far into him, Sean said, “Okay, Jake, get on the train.”

 

Jake moved in behind Eric, rubbed some lube into his smooth, tight ass, and then started pressing his cock into Eric’s hole. Eric moaned, and would have pulled out of Sean, but Jake was there, blocking him. Eric kept twisting and moaning as Jake slowly pushed, bit by bit, all the way inside him. Once Jake hit bottom, silence fell for a minute. Then Jake simply said, “Okay, Eric, start moving. Just remember to go easy.”

 

With both Jake and Sean holding still, Eric quickly realized that his job was to slide back and forth between them, dipping into Sean as he pulled away from Jake, and then sinking back onto Jake as he withdrew from Sean. He also realized, very quickly (once he got the rhythm), that this was a sensation like no other he had ever experienced -- fucking and getting fucked at the same time. As the three guys got accustomed to each other, the train picked up speed. Sean had to squawk in protest once or twice, but Eric was a considerate fucker and immediately slowed down and made sure not to drive quite so far into Sean’s hole.

 

Unlike some of the world’s great tourist trains, this one wouldn’t run for long without exploding. When Eric moaned that he could feel his load on its way, Sean pulled off him, turned around, and said, “Cum all over my face, Eric!” Jake pulled Eric upright but kept pumping his ass from behind as Eric’s cock convulsed, spraying cum all over Sean’s face. As soon as Eric started cumming, Jake’s cock swelled up and then exploded inside his tight ass, filling his hole to overflowing with his seed.

 

That left Sean, who was determined to get his cock into Eric and feel Jake’s load on his shaft while he dumped his own seed inside the groomsman’s ass. As soon as Jake pulled out, Sean scrambled around until he was behind Eric, then pushed his cock deep into the ravaged hole and began pounding. Eric’s eyes were rolling up and his mouth was uttering incoherent sounds as Sean worked him over. The feel of Jake’s cum on his shaft soon brought Sean to the finish line, and he slammed all the way in, breeding him and letting his sperm mix with Jake’s sperm inside Eric’s ass.

 

The next night, after the wedding rehearsal, was even wilder. The rehearsal was at 3:00pm, and the light buffet supper afterwards was served at 4:30. That gave everyone “a free night to relax before tomorrow,” as Catherine put it. Once the rehearsal party wound down, around 6:30pm, Jake and Sean went back to their room and changed into speedos (because it wasn’t dark yet). They were all set when the knock came on the door. Sean opened it, and let out an involuntary “Whaaa…?”

 

Eric walked in, closely followed by Ronan. Jake stared in shock, and then managed to say, “Seriously, Ronan, what the fuck?”

 

“Hey, easy, Jake,” Ronan replied. “It’s all cool. I got kicked out. My dad has old-fashioned beliefs about the groom not seeing the bride before the ceremony, so Catherine’s spending the night with her maid of honour, Alicia. Known her since kindergarten.”

 

Sean intervened. “I think what Jake is trying to say, Ronan, is – do you know what’s going to happen here?”

 

“Oh, sure, I know all about it. Eric’s been talking for weeks about how he wanted to get you two to fuck him, and he told me all about what you got up to last night. And I thought it sounded pretty hot, too.” They both stared at him in disbelief. “Whoa, guys, don’t look like that. I’m bi.”

 

Jake tried again. “But, Ronan, my sister….”

 

“Don’t sweat it, Jake, she knows all about what I’m up to tonight. Catherine is bi too, and she and Alicia have been playing around together for years. We connected precisely because we’re both open-minded about these things. Those two are long-time partners in crime, and so are Eric and I. So, are we going to get this party started or what?”

 

Sean recovered first, and said, “Swimsuits, guys. There’s a couple of extras here if you need them. We’re not going out there naked because there’s still enough daylight for people to see us.”

 

Eric and Ronan stripped down and pulled on the offered suits. At least they were covered, but in Eric’s case it was “barely covered.” Any passers-by seeing four hot men in speedos crawling into a single hot tub would have no trouble coming to the correct conclusion.

 

Without going into too much detail, suffice it to say that the hot tub session rapidly developed into a terrific amount of groping, stroking, foot play, rubbing, and more under the water, while the wine was still going around above the water.

 

After the night got darker, the air got cooler, and the guys got hotter, the whole party moved inside. The curtains were closed, the speedos came off, and things really began to heat up. The final tally went something like this: Eric took loads from each of the other three, Ronan got loaded up by Jake and shot into Sean and Eric, Sean took a load from Ronan and gave loads to Jake and Eric, and Jake took one from Sean and gave two more to Ronan and Eric. Ronan also demonstrated his impressive skill at deep-throating Eric’s monster and was rewarded with a huge load down his throat, with the overflow spilling out over his face for Eric to lick up. At the end of the orgy, everyone took turns eating the mingled cum out of each other’s asses, all of which were well filled up. Add in the amount of alcohol consumed, and it was truly an epic rehearsal party, and one for the record books.

 

Eventually, Eric and Ronan staggered off to sleep together in Eric’s room, and Jake and Sean belatedly contemplated the tangled, rumpled state of their bed. Fresh sheets would have been welcome, but they couldn’t exactly call housekeeping at 3am, and anyway, as Jake so succinctly put it, “Fuck it, I’m too drunk to care.”

 

Both Jake and Sean were feeling somewhat the worse for wear when they arrived at 2:30pm for the ceremony at 3pm on Saturday afternoon. It made them feel a bit better to see that both Ronan and Eric were looking similarly washed out, and that Eric was walking with noticeable and decided caution.

 

The ceremony went perfectly. Jake and Sean, in their silver-grey and midnight blue tuxedos, walking on either side with Catherine on their arms, were the most eye-catching sight, hands down. The vows which Catherine and Ronan wrote for themselves were both personal and universal, and spoken for once in audible voices. After the ceremony, the wedding party and families moved to the gardens for photos with the tulips in bloom, and then into the hall for the reception.

 

The dinner was much better than many banquets, so good in fact that Jake slyly asked Sean if he’d been up cooking all night and that was what made him look tired. Sean wickedly replied that he had been up very late, and added that he guessed some people might call it cooking -- maybe.

 

When the lights dimmed for the First Dance, Jake and Sean joined all the other guests in a big circle around the dance floor, watching Catherine and Ronan moving slowly to the music. After one verse of the song, the wedding party moved onto the floor, and then the parents. Then the floor was open to all, and Jake and Sean stepped out in their turn. It was the first time they’d ever danced together, ballroom style, and Jake (who had some experience) didn’t know what to expect. But Sean moved right with him, dancing with grace and style, and the two of them, locked in each other’s arms, drew many eyes as they glided and turned, smooth as silk, under the blue lights.

 

After that, of course, followed a number of more upbeat songs. Catherine made a point of dancing with each of her brothers, and her mother made an even bigger point by dancing with Jake (not surprising), but then walking over to the table where Sean sat, watching them, and asking him, “May I have this dance, sir?” Sean rose and walked with her onto the floor, then showed again the grace and style which Jake had never expected. “You dance beautifully, Sean.”

 

“Thank you, Mrs. Bianchi.”

 

“I wanted to make sure I danced with all three of my sons tonight.”

 

Sean gulped, feeling tears rising behind his eyes. “Mrs. Bia….”

 

“Shhh.” She placed her finger on his lips. “Sean, you are my son now. Please call me Mother or Mom, as Ronan, Jake, and Catherine do.”

 

“Thank you, Mom. I don’t know what else to say.”

 

“That really says it all, Sean. Thank you for everything you’ve done to make my Jake so happy. And thank you for the dance. This next song is definitely over my speed, so I’ll let you go back to Jake and enjoy your evening.”

 

He bent down, raising her hand to kiss it, and she giggled. Then he returned to Jake, who immediately wanted to know what she had said to make him get so emotional. When Sean told him, Jake shook his head in wonderment, thinking that he never would have expected his mother to do anything like that. Sean took his hand. “I know what you’re thinking, Jake. She surprised both of us. I guess we’re not the only ones whose lives have been changed by everything that’s happened.”

 

Just then, Catherine moved onto the floor, and the bandleader called for quiet, and then handed her the microphone.

 

“This is a very special night for me, in more ways than just being married to the love of my life, Ronan. And I know he joins me in saying this. The last couple of years have been a true rollercoaster ride for my family, but it has brought us all together and made us more unified than ever before. These two years have also brought a new member into our family, a wonderful young man named Sean Callaghan, who has helped my brother Jake to become a completely different and far happier, more contented man than he has ever been. The strength of love between these two fellows, who I am proud to call my brothers, is a sight to behold. So, even though it’s not the First Dance now, I’m going to ask everyone to form a circle around the floor again, and watch Jake and Sean enjoy a special dance together -- to celebrate their love.”

 

As the guests moved into place, Sean led Jake onto the floor. This wasn’t found in any book of wedding protocol that Jake had ever heard of, but that was Catherine for you – she loved to do things her own way. The band struck up a slow, dreamy ballad, and Sean and Jake danced together again, looking as comfortable and easy in each other’s arms as if they’d been doing it all their lives. The song came to a cadence and a key change, and Sean took his cue, twirling effortlessly away under Jake’s upraised hand, and then, in the same smooth movement, completing the turn and dropping gracefully onto one knee, still holding Jake’s hand in his. There were a couple of gasps from the onlookers, and the music fell silent. And Sean spoke his heart.

 

“Jake, we’ve both had tough times in our lives, and those have made us defensive, cautious, self-sufficient. Right from the first day we met, though, we had an instant comfort zone with each other, and we both felt it. We not only wanted to spend time together, but we wanted to share ourselves, our lives, our feelings, in ways we had never imagined doing before.

 

“Where I lost my family, you’ve given me a new one. You’ve turned your home into our home. We promised to stick together and always have each other’s backs when we were fighting through the most brutal challenge of our lives. By the time we came out the other side, we knew that we had bonded, not just to survive a crisis, but for life. The love we share is awesome: so complete, so open, so honest, so real -- always.”

 

At this point, Sean drew in a shaky, nervous breath as he fished a small box out of his pocket. “So…, Jake Bianchi, will you marry me?”

 

In a split second, all the times they had shared together flashed through Jake’s mind – the drinks at The Corner, the first dinners in the condo, the wild sex which gradually deepened into something much more, the way they strengthened each other through their ordeal just by being together, the incredible night of love on the terrace, the night they first spoke their love to each other. It all rushed in on him so quickly that his eyes filled right up with tears, and he couldn’t speak, even as an enormous smile spread across his face.

 

Jake nodded several times, mouthing the word, “Yes,” over and over, as he smiled through his tears.

 

Sean slid the ring onto his finger, then stood up to draw Jake into his arms and kiss him. While they were kissing, the applause began. But then the band resumed the song, the audience fell silent again, and -- in the most natural way -- they resumed the dance, with their mouths still locked together in a kiss. The last notes faded slowly away as they stopped.

 

The roar of applause and cheers from the entire assembly nearly blew the roof off the hall. Even the band joined in, hollering, and shouting themselves hoarse.

 

At last, the band set off on another upbeat tune, and the crowd moved back out to the floor. But Jake and Sean walked slowly around the hall, hand in hand. They found Catherine and Ronan at last, and Jake said, “I can’t believe you let Sean do something like that to upstage you at your own wedding party.”

 

Ronan laughed, and said, “Actually, it was Catherine’s idea. She asked me, and I told her to go for it, so then she contacted Sean.”

 

Catherine put in her two cents’ worth. “Jake, I knew that if it were up to you, Sean probably wouldn’t see a ring for at least five more years because you’re always so wishy-washy on big decisions. He didn’t need any convincing!”

 

“Thank you. That was the most unforgettable moment of my life.” Jake hugged Sean close as he said it.

 

Catherine went on, “Really, I wanted to help things along because we could all see how much you loved each other -- but because of the kind of guy you are, Jake, and Sean says he is too, I wasn’t at all sure you’d manage to come right out and tell each other. I just wanted to make certain that happened.”

 

They moved in and kissed Catherine simultaneously, on her cheeks, then turned to shake hands with Ronan and hug him. No kissing there, although Sean dropped Ronan a wink which Catherine fortunately missed seeing.

 

Then Ronan asked, “Say, how about coming to have dinner with us next Saturday after we get back?”

 

“Sorry, Ronan. We’ll do it soon. But I happen to know that I’m going to be busy that day,” Jake said.

 

Sean had to ask, “Doing what?”

 

“Shopping for a ring for you, Sean.”

 

That raised a laugh from all of them.

 

Mom Bianchi came over to them. “Sean, that was the most amazing moment. You made me cry even more than Catherine did when she said, ‘I do’.” She kissed them both and wished them well.

 

Eric came up next, still wiping his eyes. “Dammit, Jake, why did you have to go all wonky and do the bashful bride thing, and then cry all over your tux? That’s what set me off! Seriously, guys, I’d love to, uhh, ‘hang out’ with you again but I’m guessing you’ll have other priorities tonight. Let’s swap digits, and we can get together later on, okay?” That was fine with Jake and Sean. Both of them had immensely enjoyed plowing and seeding Eric the previous two nights.

 

They spent at least the next 20 minutes, fielding congratulations and good wishes from various wedding guests whom they didn’t know at all. When they had a chance to look around again, they saw Mom Bianchi once again dancing with Patrick O’Hara, Ronan’s dad.

 

Sean remarked, “Mom seems to be really enjoying dancing with Patrick. Do you think there might be another wedding in the future and we’ll have to fight her for a date?”

 

Jake laughed. “I wouldn’t put it past her. That would be her fourth trip to the altar!”

 

In time, the remaining wedding rituals of cake, garter, and bouquet were all completed, the bride and groom took their ceremonial leave, and the rest of the party slowly wound down as people went their way. Jake and Sean went around for one last round of hugs, kisses, and good-byes, and then headed up to their room.

 

As they walked in, Jake leaned over and said, quietly, “No ripping the clothes off tonight, okay? These suits are too damn expensive to be misused and dumped in a heap on the floor.”

 

Sean laughed. “You never miss an opening, do you, Jake?”

 

In due time, the suits were carefully removed and ceremoniously hung up. The polished shoes were neatly tucked away into the bottom of the closet. As they began unbuttoning their shirts, Jake noticed something he hadn’t seen before. Instead of his usual plain boxer briefs, Sean was wearing something a lot brighter that gradually came into view as his shirt front opened – a pair of super-flashy silver micro-bikini briefs with two gold rings over the bulge. And when Sean pulled off his shirt and spun around, there were big gold letters across his ass, spelling out, “Just Married!”

 

Jake laughed. “Getting a little ahead of yourself? What if I’d said no?”

 

“I knew that wouldn’t happen. You know it, too, you’re just trying to get me going. But what if you’d said, ‘Okay, the celebrant’s still here, let’s do this right now’?”

 

Jake thought. “Hmm, I could have done it, too. Not a bad idea, that.”

 

“That’s why I wanted to be prepared. Actually, I only wore them to give them a test drive. Just like I had to give you a test drive on the dance floor.”

 

“And do we both meet your requirements, fussy sir?”

 

“A hundred and ten percent. Do I meet yours?”

 

“So much, I can’t even think of a number.”

 

In a few moments, the briefs were abandoned on the floor, and they were in bed, fondling each other’s cocks to see who could get a rise out of the other the fastest.

 

“You know, Sean, I’m pretty tired. Both physically and emotionally, it’s been a very full 3 days. Could we just settle for handjobs as a nightcap?”

 

Sean tried his best – a pretty poor best – to look and sound indignant. “After all we’ve been through, and after what I did tonight, all you’re offering me is a flippin handjob???”

 

“Sorry, the old man’s a bit worn out right now. Not to worry, I’ll be back on peak form by tomorrow.” And then Jake turned more serious. “Sean, I didn’t think I could love you any greater or deeper than I already do, but with that proposal, you proved me wrong. You are incredible. I love you so much.”

 

“And I love you, Jake. Always and forever.”

 

In another moment, the idea of mutual handjobs was forgotten. They’d have a whole lifetime of tomorrows for that. The kisses which followed were, as they both said later, the perfect end to a perfect night. Jake wrapped his arm around Sean’s shoulders, drawing him close, as Sean curled his head down to rest on Jake’s firm, furry chest.

 

As far as he was concerned, it made an ideal pillow.

 

 

Wow. It's actually happening. Now I'm all nerves for what will happen when Alex finishes processing what he's seeing.

Part 7:  Storm Clouds Clearing

 

It took a minute for the officers to get both Jake and Sean ungagged and untied. Once freed, they seized hold of each other and hugged each other as closely as possible. The fact that they were completely naked in front of three police officers, two of whom they’d never seen before, didn’t seem to matter to them at all.

 

Finally, they got control of themselves enough to pull on some clothes and answer a few questions. That didn’t happen until they saw the gurney being wheeled out to the ambulance, with Jim strapped firmly down on it, and one of the officers walking right behind to make sure he didn’t somehow get free.

 

Jake was inclined to be a bit abrupt with Brian, until Brian explained that Jim must have somehow sneaked into the building through either the garage or a service door. The police had posted Brian as a replacement for the usual doorman, at his own suggestion – since he was the one officer truly capable of distinguishing between the brother he knew well and the brother he hadn’t ever seen. But Jim hadn’t come by the front entrance at all until he had made the beer run to the store next to the lobby. The sting operation had been put into action right away at that point, but it had been far too close for comfort.

 

It was at this point that Sean spoke up. “I may have something that will help you.” He walked over to the table by the entrance to the bedroom, reached in between the two potted plants, and pulled out his phone. He opened it, found a video file, clicked it on – and the room filled with the sound of Jim’s gloating voice while the screen plainly displayed him, face visible and all, standing over the tied-down, gagged, and hooded Jake. “I switched it on and put it there before I tried to talk to Jake. Then when Jim came back from the bathroom, that’s when he came quietly up behind me and knocked me out.” Brian instantly seized the phone as material evidence.

 

The next morning, both Jake and Sean had trouble believing that the nightmare was finally over. It helped that they had only to check any of the local online news channels to see the footage of Jim being hauled, limping, into the downtown police headquarters, in handcuffs in the early hours of Saturday morning. On Monday, he appeared in front of a judge who quickly ordered him detained without bail, pending a trial date.

 

The real problem was that looking at the news footage kept some frightening memories fresh in their minds. They both took several days off work for some serious R & R, and this time there no snarky comments about them both being off at the same time. Most people in the office seemed to feel that they had a perfectly good reason to need some recovery time, and if spending that time together helped them to heal from their ordeal a bit faster, then more power to them. As it was, they spent a fair portion of those days curled up in bed together, not having sex at all for the most part, just holding, hugging, stroking, kissing, calming, reassuring.

 

Jake and Sean both had to give lengthy statements to the police. Jake, still being cautious, made a point of having his lawyer with him while he was giving his statement and being questioned. After all, it stood to reason that his DNA would almost certainly be a perfect match with his identical twin. As it happened, there was no question of any suspicion alighting on Jake. Sean’s testimony about Greenwoods Park, and the video footage from his phone, settled a good part of the matter, the other young guy who’d been assaulted and taken to hospital had no trouble over identifying Jim, the witnesses who’d seen Jake and Sean at Riverbend covered that angle, and fibres from Jim’s clothing matched fibres found in the dead man’s hair.

 

In the event, Jim never stood trial. Less than a week after he was detained, he was murdered by a fellow inmate with a long-standing grudge who, fittingly, killed him in exactly the way he’d planned to kill Jake and Sean.

 

Getting life back into the groove during the next couple of months was a weird time for both of them. No matter how hard they tried to go back to the way things had been, everything still managed to be different in some way or other. “Normal,” they found, could seem pretty elusive when you’d felt yourself mere inches away from being gruesomely murdered, and completely unable to do anything about it.

 

The next time that they turned up at The Corner on a Friday afternoon, they could tell that everyone in the place was looking at them and talking about the sensational double kidnapping and attempted murder. Being at the centre of the gay community’s most notorious murder and abuse case in years was definitely not the most comfortable place in the world for them.

 

Bill made a point of coming over and apologizing to Jake for how he had been mistreated. The owner/manager of the Suds’n’Studs bathhouse also stopped by, explaining to Jake that, from now on, both he and Sean would have free admission any time they wanted. Just call ahead, and they would be passed by the lineup. Jake, shaking his head, was on the verge of saying “thanks but no thanks,” but Sean kicked his ankle under the table and thanked the manager for his courtesy. Jake was inclined to protest, but after the manager was gone, Sean pointed out to him the advantages of no-cost cruising after hot young partners for three-ways, four-ways, or more-ways. Jake had to agree that this sounded like an intriguing plan.

 

The two of them had a long session with the HR people at the office, and all parties agreed that it would be best for the optics of the situation if Sean were transferred to a different department of the company to work under the supervision of a manager “not otherwise involved in his personal situation,” as the HR director said, in an acidic tone of voice, and with an expression of distaste on her thin, hatchet face as of one who detects an emission of intestinal gases.

 

A month after Jim was arrested, Sean got a letter that he was not only transferred but also promoted and given a substantial pay increase. As Jake said, “It will make it easier to pay for that second apartment that you’re not getting much use out of anymore.” Sean smiled, a little wistfully, Jake thought, and made no reply.

 

Jake drove to Garrisville for a long clear-the-air talk with his mother. They needed it – she, in particular, needed to talk. No matter how brutal and evil Jim had become, he was her child and she suffered understandable grief feelings, not so much about his death, but more about how she had gotten his life off to such an awful start. Jake, too, shared those feelings – perfectly natural for an identical twin, no matter how strange it might appear to others.

 

At the same time, Jake forced another issue by bringing Sean along to introduce him to his mom. Although (as always) inclined to be a bit standoffish with “perverts,” she thawed considerably under Sean’s easy courtesy and deference towards her. And she had to admit that he was definitely a good influence on Jake. “You’re settling him down nicely,” was how she put it, and Sean grinned as he saw a sight he had never seen before: Jake, blushing.

 

They went on from his mother’s place to have dinner with Jake’s sister, Catherine, and her fiancé Ronan. Jake feared that this might be an awkward meeting, but it turned out to be no such thing. Ronan was just as easy-going a guy as anyone he’d met, and Catherine was more light-hearted and funny than Jake had ever seen her. They had a great time that evening, with jokes and laughter rocking all around the table. As they said goodnight, Catherine hugged them both and smiled at them, saying, “I hope we see you again soon. You two make the cutest couple!”  

 

It was on the evening they got home from those visits that Jake asked Sean a flippant question about when Sean was going to take him to meet his family. Jake was surprised to see a cloud pass over Sean’s face, and to hear a sad, quiet voice say, “Never. They disowned me. They threw me out, all of them. I’m on my own.”

 

Jake immediately seized him and hugged him, hard and long. “No, Sean, you’re not on your own – not any more.” Sean clung to him fiercely. There was no further talk that night – not in words, at any rate.

 

With the aid of some warm summer weather, and long, leisurely evenings on the spacious rooftop terrace outside the living room (with a decanter of wine), life gradually settled back to – if not “normal”, at least relative peace and quiet. One moonlit night, as they sat looking out over the treetops of the residential area between the condo building and downtown, Jake asked Sean, “You want to see the biggest advantage of being in the penthouse on this side of the building?”

 

“What is it?”

 

“I’ll show you.” Jake got out of his extra-wide chair, reached down, and pulled a lever under the front edge. The seat slid smoothly forward until the chair transformed into a completely flat bed. Jake then grabbed a couple of spare pillows from the table behind him and tossed those on the chair.

 

Sean asked, “What, are you going to sleep out here?”

 

“Not exactly.” Jake walked over, drew Sean up out of his chair, and began kissing him passionately. As Sean responded, Jake began sliding his hands down Sean’s lean, hard back and inside his shorts.

 

Sean pulled away. “Wait… what…??? You’re not going to do this right out in the open?”

 

Jake chuckled. “No. We are. I told you I like doing it outside and it’s a perfect evening. Take a look around, nobody can see us here. As long as a helicopter from a news station doesn’t come flying by.”

 

Sean looked, and sure enough, the houses were too far below to be able to see anything other than the area right along the railing. They were right out in the open air, but not exposed. Jake took hold of him, and resumed kissing, as they slowly began undressing each other. Jake lay down on the chair, pulled a pillow under his head, and then drew Sean down on top of him.

 

As their naked bodies came into contact with each other, their kisses grew deeper, more intense. Their cocks got very hard, very quickly, but their movements remained slow, leisurely, almost hypnotic. There was an unspoken common consent that they wanted it so, that this encounter was one that needed to take all the time in the world. Sean locked one arm around Jake’s neck where the hand could stroke his face and freed his other hand to work at Jake’s nipples, stroke his abs, fondle his cock and balls. Jake’s arms had gone right around Sean and stayed there, fingers gliding gently up and down Sean’s back, savouring the sensations from the broad shoulders all the way down past the slim waist to the firm round ass. Sean’s body slid slowly up and down along Jake as they kept caressing and kissing each other.

 

At last, his cock slipped down to jut between Jake’s thighs. Jake lifted his legs up, pulling them right back over his head, and pulled Sean even closer to whisper in his ear, “Yes. Now. Now, Sean.” Sean’s cock found the hole and pushed gently. Jake had lubed himself ahead of time, but so much in tune with each other were they that no other preparation was needed. Jake was totally relaxed, totally open, totally ready for Sean to take him. And Sean was ready to do it. His cock slipped in, pulling from Jake a sound that was half a moan, half a sigh of contentment – and then Sean slowly pushed and sank his hard cock all the way inside Jake’s ass in one smooth movement.

 

After waiting a few moments, Sean resumed his slow slides up and down along Jake’s torso. Each slide downwards pulled his cock out and each upward slide pushed it deep again. Jake’s hands continued their gentle, purposeful stroking over Sean’s body, all to the music of their quiet moans, their sighs, their nonstop kissing. It was a total contrast to the high-speed, frenetic action of so many of their earlier wild encounters. This was a true mating dance, a slow dance, a dance of love and union, in which cock and ass played only one of the many roles in their total immersion in each other.

 

They were so hypnotized by the act that Sean didn’t even speed up his movements when he felt his climax approaching. He simply continued his slow, easy motion until the moment when his cock opened up and his seed flowed deeply inside Jake’s body. The gentle movements continued for several minutes more before finally slowing to a halt. Silence fell.

 

At last, Sean was the first to speak. “Wow.”

 

Jake stroked him, gently. “That’s it? Wow?”

 

“I… I don’t know what else to say. I’ve never, ever….” His voice trailed off.

 

“Never. Not like this,” Jake agreed.

 

“And you didn’t cum. I’m sorry.”

 

“I didn’t need to.”

 

“Why do we have so much impact on each other?” Sean’s voice was steeped in awe and wonderment.

 

“I don’t know why, Sean. It’s enough for me that we do.” Sean’s cock slowly slipped out, and Jake lowered his legs, still almost dazed by the incredible power of the experience. At last, though, real life reluctantly intruded. Jake spoke again, “It’s getting cold. Let’s take this inside.”

 

They showered together, barely speaking, as if afraid to shatter the moment. After they dried off and went into the bedroom, Sean knelt down and began sucking on Jake’s cock.  It responded rapidly.

 

In a half-kind, half-mocking tone, Jake asked, “What’s this, haven’t had enough yet?”

 

Sean stood up and drew him towards the bed. “Jake, I want to fall asleep tonight with you inside me.”

 

Jake said no more. They lay down together. Jake took the lube and greased up his cock, and then moved Sean into the little spoon position. He slipped a lubed finger into Sean’s ass, then replaced it with his cock, pressed against his lover’s hole. He pushed, and with a small cry from Sean got it inside. After another minute, he was placed, all the way inside Sean’s muscular ass. He wrapped his arm around his beautiful man, caressing his chest. Sean turned his head to meet Jake, and they kissed again. Jake murmured, “Good night, Sean.” And they drifted off to sleep like that.

 

During the night, Jake awoke, still holding Sean in his embrace. He remembered the whole evening the instant he came awake: the peaceful night air, the moonlight, the awe-filled lovemaking on the terrace, right down to falling asleep, linked together – and his cock was still there, still partially filled, still inside Sean, and only a few movements were needed to bring it back to full mast. In a more lustful mood, in his younger days, with one of his earlier casual flings, Jake would have carried right on until he flooded that ass with his seed -- but not now, not on this night. He closed his eyes with a contented sigh and fell asleep again, still lodged inside Sean’s body.

 

On the next weekend, Jake had to go away for two nights. No playing around was involved; he was going to visit an old college friend who’d been hospitalized after a massive car accident. He and Sean had to skip the usual Friday night visit to The Corner as Jake needed to get on the road as soon as possible after work hours ended. Jake handed Sean his keys for the weekend, and Sean saw him on his way with a heartfelt good-bye kiss, and a promise to have a really spectacular dinner time surprise for Sunday night.

 

Jake enjoyed the road trip, in the sunshine with the top down and the air ruffling his hair. It was especially good to know that he no longer had to fret about a madman lurking somewhere behind him in Devonston. He also enjoyed the time visiting in the hospital, reminiscing with his old college buddy who was going stir-crazy from being trapped in bed. His buddy’s wife, who’d also been in college with them, was sitting with him too, and instantly remembered Jake as the guy who’d gotten a fearsome reputation after organizing an epic gangbang with the other gay member of the school’s volleyball team, a classic twink, as the sole bottom. Jake didn’t bother explaining that he and the twink had had a thing going on well before that, nor that it was the twink who had asked him to set up the gangbang.

 

When he drove home on Sunday, though, he realized that he wasn’t enjoying the freedom of the open road as much as he used to. More than that, he realized that he was definitely anxious to get home. The hours of driving ticked by with agonizing slowness.

 

Don’t kid yourself, old man! You know you just can’t wait to get back to Sean again. So you are in love with him, so what? Who cares if he’s ten or twelve or however many years it is younger than you? If he loves you too, it’s all good.

 

Jake had to laugh at the number of times he now caught that inner voice thinking of himself and referring to himself as “old man,” ever since their first night together when Sean had called him that.

 

Jake walked in the door just after 5 o’clock, and the first thing he saw was that there was no light in the kitchen area, no sound of anyone chopping or slicing, no pans sizzling, no delectable odors of cooking food. Then he saw the stuffed-to-the-top backpack sitting on the floor – and his heart sank. Fast. All the way to the basement. Of course -- with the Mystery Man now dead and buried, the original reason for Sean to stick around his place didn’t exist anymore. It looked as if Sean had decided to pack up all his things and was going to decamp back to his own apartment. And Jake’s thoughts tumbled all over each other, in a wordless torrent of emotion.

 

Well, isn’t that just un-fucking-believable. What we had going on, it was so special, so incredible. We’d been to hell and back together, and never wavered. And now, it looks like he’s going to pull the plug.  What the fuck did I do wrong? Should I have come right out and said the words: “Sean, I love you”??? All right, yes. I should have, I know it, I was just scared to do it too soon. All because I never loved anyone before, and I didn’t know how or when it was okay to say it! Damn it! It’s so fucking unfair, if I’ve gotten through all of this horror show, with him, together as a team – as a couple -- just to get dumped at the end of it.

 

Jake didn’t cry, although he certainly felt like he wanted to. Feeling lower and sadder by the second, he called out, but uncertainly. “Sean?”

 

Sean’s voice, a bit uncertain too, answered from the guest room. “I’m in here.”

 

Jake went along the hall, each moment scared of what was going to happen the next. Sean stepped out of the door of the guest room to meet him and kiss him, but the younger guy had a look of such trepidation on his face that Jake all but froze on the spot, dreading what he was about to hear.

 

“I’m… I’m sorry, Jake. I’m afraid I’ve made a really bad mistake – and I’m scared of what you’re going to say.”

 

“Why? What’s happened?”

 

Sean took a deep breath, then stepped aside and gestured for Jake to enter the guest room. It was a mess -- a complete turmoil of boxes, bags, piles of clothes, books, odds and ends of stuff. Sean’s voice behind him sounded more tentative, more apologetic, more fearful than Jake had ever heard it.

 

“I know I shouldn’t have done this without you inviting me first. I just… I couldn’t resist the urge to do it while you were away. I sublet my place and moved all the stuff from my apartment in here. I was trying to get it all unpacked and put away before you came back, but… but it took me a lot longer than I expected and… and….”

 

His words ran out. He gulped. Jake had turned around and was staring at him, also speechless. Sean looked as if one harsh word from Jake would cause him to burst into tears. He appeared, indeed, more like a little boy than Jake had ever seen him. It was heartbreaking, in a way, to see that supremely confident and self-assured young man looking so frightened, so utterly unsure of himself.

 

Jake just looked at him, not speaking. Finally, Sean regained a measure of self-control, just enough to say, “So, if you want me to pack all of this up and get out of here with it….”

 

Jake nerved himself to sound as curt as possible. He held out his hand, palm up. “You’d better give me back my keys. Now.” Sean dug into his pocket, took out the keys, and handed them over – looking like he was expecting to get walked to the electric chair. Jake took them, and then pulled out the spare keys which he’d carried for the weekend. “You’ll need to keep these ones on you from now on.”

 

It took a moment – and then the realization hit. Sean’s face cracked into the biggest smile, spreading all the way from ear to ear in a huge grin that he just couldn’t contain. He flung himself into Jake’s arms and kissed him, on and on, until both of them were nearly breathless. Then he tried to seize Jake and drag him around the corner and into the bedroom – their bedroom – but Jake stopped him sternly.

 

“No way. I’ve had nothing to eat since breakfast, and I’m fucking starving. Where’s that special treat you promised me for tonight for dinner?”

 

Sean answered him with a characteristic sassy grin. “I guess you already got your surprise treat. How does takeout fried chicken or pizza sound?”

 

Two hours later, Jake had to admit that it was the best takeout fried chicken he’d ever eaten. Sean made a face and then laughed, and Jake joined him in the laughter. Then Sean told him that Catherine, his sister, had called earlier in the day. “She said it was important, so I told her you’d call back tonight.”

 

Jake gave a little sigh. “All right, I’ll call her now.”

 

She picked up the phone on the second ring. “Jake! How are you?”

 

“No complaints at all.”

 

“Is Sean there? Put me on speaker.”

 

Jake hit the speaker phone button, and then laid the phone down, motioning to Sean to come closer. Catherine’s voice sounded from the speaker. “Sean? Are you there?”

 

“Yes, I am. How are you doing?”

 

“Right on top of the world! Listen, guys, I have some important news and it concerns both of you.”

 

Sean made a scary face. “Oh, no. After all we’ve been through, we have to get more important news?”

 

Catherine giggled. “No, silly, this is good news. Ronan and I have been looking around at wedding venues, and we’ve found one we liked and tentatively set a date. We just want to be sure that you boys will be available.”

 

Jake replied, “Whenever it is, we’ll be available.”

 

Sean chimed in. “Definitely. We absolutely will be there.”

 

Catherine came back, “That’s great, and the date is Saturday, April 22, next year. And here’s why it’s so important. It’s logistics, in a way, but it matters so much to me. Ronan didn’t mention it when he met you, but his mother died a few years back so we each have a widowed parent. We think it would be perfect to have them walk each other down the aisle. And I’d love for you to walk me down the aisle.”

 

Jake instantly said, “Well, of course – I’ll be glad to do that.”

 

“Both of you.”

 

Sean stared at Jake for an instant, and then replied, a bit shaky in the voice, “Catherine, that’s wonderful, I’d be so honoured to walk you with Jake.”

 

Catherine said, “It wouldn’t be any sort of a wedding without both of you there – you’re my brothers. And by the way, one of Ronan’s groomsmen is gay. Maybe you fellows will get up to some shenanigans together after the rehearsal party – as long as you aren’t late for the wedding. Remember, April 22. Love you, boys.”

 

And with goodbyes all around, the call ended.

 

“She called me her brother,” Sean said, in a voice tinged with amazement.

 

“Looks like you’ve got yourself a family again, Sean.” After another passionate interlude of kissing, Jake went on. “This is such great news; it definitely calls for a celebration. Let’s break out the bottle of Veuve Clicquot from the wine chiller. And I’d say it’s high time that you” – and he poked Sean in the chest – “got to christen the hot tub. Get the wine, and I’ll start the water running.”

 

Ten minutes later they were curled up, side by side in the two-man tub, with the jets running and glasses of champagne in hand.

 

Sean said, “Well, here’s to Ronan and Catherine, and to a wonderful wedding next spring!”

 

They clinked glasses and drank to that. Jake had one last brief moment of hesitation, and then he went on: “And here’s to my love for you, and to the family you’re joining.”

 

Sean picked up the theme: “And here’s to my love for you, the best thing that’s ever happened in my life.”

 

They drank the toast, then kissed each other deeply. “So, I finally said the scary words,” Jake said, in disbelief that he had actually spoken what was in his heart at last.

 

“I think each of us was afraid, waiting for the other one to go first,” Sean replied.

 

“It’s not as if I haven’t known for a long time, now.”

 

“If I hadn’t known before that amazing night on the terrace… making love by moonlight and then falling asleep with you inside me, that would have shown me the truth.”

 

“I love you, Sean.”

 

“I love you, Jake.”

 

They drank to each other, then kissed again, and Jake’s free hand wandered down to start playing with Sean’s cock and balls. Sean took the glasses and put them down on the pop-out shelf, and then turned to the business at hand. Before long, both of them were hard. Jake turned off the jets, and said to Sean, “Here, sit up on the end.” Sean lifted up out of the water onto the raised seat behind them, and Jake moved between his legs, taking Sean’s cock deep in his mouth.  

 

He skinned back the uncut skin, and teased all around the sensitive head, making Sean quiver in excitement. Then he swallowed the whole thick shaft all the way to the bottom. He worked up and down, pulling back with suction and tasting the precum that began leaking into his mouth. Up and down, twisting his head back and forth around the shaft, while Sean groaned and grasped the back of his head, following Jake up and down with his hands.

 

“Oh, my God, that’s good. Fuck, Jake, you are the best at sucking my cock. Yeah, like that. Ohhh, Jaaaake….”

 

Jake pulled it out of his mouth for a minute, and began licking up and down the shaft, teasing the tube on the underside, wriggling his tongue around on the head. Then he plunged back down, pulling the whole thing deep into his throat and holding it there while he tried to swallow, making his muscles stroke the head. Sean groaned again, unable to bear much more of the sensations his lover was giving him.

 

Jake had taken his own cock in hand and was stroking it, keeping time with his sucking motions as he drove Sean wild. But Sean couldn’t hold off much longer.

 

“Jake, that’s fucking wonderful – but you’d better stop, I’m going to cum soon.”

 

Jake pulled off for a moment and looked up at him. “Well, that’s usually the idea.” He then sucked Sean’s cock back into his mouth, speeding up the tempo of his sucking motions and speeding up the hand jerking his own cock at the same time.

 

“Ohhh, God. I can feel it, I’m cumming… Jake…Jaaaake…!”

 

Jake was hard at work, going for his reward, when Sean’s cock convulsed and shot a jet of sperm into his mouth, followed immediately by half a dozen more. Jake pulled back to hold just the head between his lips, gulping and swallowing as fast as he could, and still his mouth filled up with all of Sean’s juices. As the flood eased off, Jake instinctively tried to clean up the last of it with his tongue, but Sean’s head was now so sensitive that he jerked his cock out of Jake’s mouth.

 

“Sorry, Sean. It just tasted so good, and I couldn’t help it.”

 

“I’ll forgive you this time, but don’t do it again.”

 

Jake meekly replied, “Okay. I promise.”

 

That’s when Sean realized that Jake hadn’t cum yet. “Jake, get that thing up here.” Jake stood up and moved forward between Sean’s wide-open thighs, placing his cock against Jake’s lips. Sean said, “I’m not as experienced at this as you, but I’ll give it my best shot.”

 

Sean’s best shot was pretty damn good, as far as Jake was concerned. As he took Jake’s tool all the way to the bottom, Jake moaned, “Ohhh, yeaaaaahhh….” Sean imitated all the things Jake had done to him in that fantastic blowjob, and very soon had Jake on the ropes. “Sean, that’s great – so fucking hot – fuck, Sean, I’m gonna cum!”

 

Sean kept working, and a few moments later Jake’s dick pumped out another huge load of cum. Sean manfully did his best to try to swallow it all, but he choked a bit and had to pull away to cough his throat clear, then turn back to clean up the rest.

 

After he’d finally taken care of the mess, Sean asked, “Do you always cum a gallon like that?”

 

“I don’t know. Usually I cum in your ass, it vanishes deep inside, and I never see it again.”

 

“Well, it doesn’t have to be that way, you know.” Sean winked suggestively at him.

 

“You’re thinking of sitting on my face and pushing my load back out for me?” Sean nodded, grinning lasciviously. “Well, aren’t you the dirty little slut now!”

 

“Takes one to know one. Dirty little slut, I mean.”

 

They both laughed. Then Jake sat back down in the tub, and yelped, “Aack! The water’s gone cold!”

 

Sean slid down alongside him and wrapped his arm around him. “So? Warm up the water, start the jets again, and we’ll finish the champagne before bedtime.”

 

Once they’d finally cleaned up and made it into bed, Sean (as always) fell asleep right away, while Jake’s thoughts continued to run for a while longer.

 

I don’t think I’ve ever been on such an emotional roller coaster in my life. All in five hours – from thinking that Sean was leaving me to handing him the keys of the condo, hearing Catherine’s news, getting such a sweet pang in my heart when she called Sean her brother, and then, God knows how, finally finding the courage to tell him that I love him – and hearing him say those words to me in return. How did I ever get this lucky, to meet such an incredible man, to bring him into my family, to share our lives with each other and with all of them? The best of it is how he’s always so open, so honest, so direct with me. When he says he loves me, I know he means it.

 

At this point, Sean suddenly, convulsively, came staring wide awake. Jake knew that he’d had another nightmare about Jim – Jake had them too. He quickly spoke to Sean, calming him, hugging him, stroking him gently, and helping him realize that he was all right, that Jim was gone for good, that Jake was there with him, and was going to stay right with him. “For as long as you need,” Jake said, and then changed it to, “for the rest of our lives.” Then he kept his arms around Sean, stroking him slowly and easily as he recovered his breath and his heart rate dropped back to normal.

 

Calm again at last, Sean kissed him, murmured, “I love you,” and slowly drifted back off to sleep with a blissful smile on his face.

 

Jake’s last thought of the day was simple: I must be the luckiest man in the world.

 

23 minutes ago, Assmunch said:

I totally understand how this happens…that the story you tell takes you on its own ride, the details and scenes you want to share so that the characters come alive for the reader, because they are alive in your head.  And you want your characters to live through the story, not just find a solution two sentences after they have a problem.  You write so well, engaging us all.  @losolent  I love the background, the buildup, the honesty, every word.  I will trust you not to break my heart with Alex, Max, Liam, or the rest of the characters who are really amazing people.  And perhaps you don’t know this, perhaps you do, but your ability to write such kind, sympathetic characters says much about your own character, and who you are.  Thank you for writing this, and sharing it with us.

From my thoughts to your keyboard, Assmunch. It's so true, sometimes as a writer you just have to get out of the way and let the characters tell their own story in their own way. @losolent, you really are a master at spinning a tale where the stories and the characters all have a vivid life of their own. That's why it's so gripping, and why we're all so wound up about what will happen next!

Love how you're building the tension for Max, and for all of us too! Is this going to be a Christmas Mass that no one will ever forget?

Part 6:  Crisis

 

 

On the Monday morning after his visit with his mother, Jake turned up bright and early at the police station and explained to the reception officer who he was and why he was there. He’d expected to go alone, but Sean had also booked off work and came with him. He also explained his experience, and why the matter concerned him.

 

In short order, they were passed along to one of the detectives investigating the rape/murder, and Jake was surprised when it turned out to be Brian, a young, studly officer who’d had a thing with him for a few months, some years earlier. Nor did Sean have any objections, since he found Brian, impressive even in a business suit, to be well worth a second look in any company.

 

However, when Brian spoke, it was another matter. “Well, look who we have here. How’ve you been, Daddy?”

 

Jake just about choked on a greeting, and Sean laughed outright. A little wearily, Jake answered him, “Just fine, thanks, Brian, but I’m here with my friend, Sean, on a business matter.”

 

“So I understood. Sean, right? Nice catch, Daddy!” Jake was about to file a vocal protest, but Brian went right on with the work at hand. “Best way to do this is to start from the beginning.”

 

Speaking succinctly, Jake explained about his visit to the Suds’n’Studs, and how he’d been thrown out by Bill. He then handed the figurative speaking stick to Sean, who told about his brutal experience with Jim in Greenwoods Park, and his later misidentification of Jake as the man responsible.

 

At this point, Brian’s eyebrows went up and he began scribbling notes much faster, muttering under his breath. He asked for details, and Sean explained more precisely where it happened.

 

“Ah, the infamous rock. You said his name is Jim? He’s far from being the only guy who likes to head there, and you’re sure not the only bottom who’s ever been bent over that boulder.”

 

“Including you, I assume?” Jake’s voice had taken on a dangerous tone of sweetness. Brian said nothing, but the grin on his face spoke volumes. “I thought so,” Jake added triumphantly.

 

But Brian was back to focusing on the matter at hand. “Did he injure you at all?”

 

Sean stopped laughing and picked up the thread of his tale. “A couple of minor bruises from slapping, but he really wrecked my hole – ripped me pretty badly. I had to go to emergency the next day, and even with meds it took a couple of weeks to heal.”

 

Brian was scribbling more notes. “I’ll talk to the prosecutor to see if we can add another charge on. There may be some charges coming over the guy who had to be hospitalized, too. Okay, so next?”

 

Sean briefly covered how he had suggested to Jake that he move in and act as a kind of permanent witness. Brian laughed outright at this point.

 

“I don’t know which of you was smarter, Jake for realizing that you were right and he did need to cover his ass, or you for taking advantage of it to land him. Pretty smooth work, Sean!”

 

Sean at least had the grace to blush at that, but it didn’t matter since he’d already admitted as much to Jake on that memorable first night. He then went on and described how he had spotted Jim at The Corner, and he and Jake together told Brian about that first unpleasant encounter, and about the veiled threats Jim had made.

 

“That’s good stuff to have. Shows that he was malicious and acting with intent, not just on impulse, when he invaded your home.”

 

 Jake then took up the story with his visit to his mother, and everything he learned from her. Brian whistled at the revelation that Jake actually had a twin brother.

 

“Wow! And there’s no doubt that he’s your brother, is there?”

 

“Well, short of a DNA test, I’m pretty certain. You’d have to see him to realize just how alike we are. The only difference is that he’s bigger through the midsection – not a lot, but enough to look different. I’d say that he’s got longshoreman or construction worker muscles, and I have gym muscles.”

 

“Oh, yeah, have you ever got gym muscles! Not a bad image, that. Plus, there’s the way he fooled Sean. Okay, I guess we can regard that as pretty much of a certainty, although we might need to do DNA testing if it turns into an issue later on.”

 

Jake then wrapped up, by describing their hiking trip to Riverbend and how they found out about the dead victim just as they returned to their car in the parking lot there. 

 

Brian said, “Also good to know. If we can get some other people who were there as witnesses, that will place you miles away from the spot. The defence will almost certainly try on the mistaken-identity thing to pin the blame for that one on you, so we’ll cover those angles all we can.”

 

“Thanks. That’s good to know.”

 

“By the way, none of what I’m saying here is official. Strictly speaking off the record. That’s up to the prosecution to decide. But if you really think he’s going to try to get at you, I have an idea how we could use that to grab him. Especially because it seems that he always comes out of the woodwork on a weekend. It’s just a thought, but here’s my idea.”

 

When he outlined his plan, Jake and Sean both agreed that it sounded like a good idea.

 

“Okay, then,” Brian said, “leave it with me and I’ll work out the logistics. And thanks, both of you, for coming in. We’ve had absolutely no leads at all to go on with this case, and what you’ve just handed me isn’t only a solid lead – it’s gold. Nice to meet you, Sean. Great to see you again, Daddy.”

 

They said goodbye and walked sedately out of the police station and down the street. But as soon as they turned the corner, Sean crumpled right up in an uncontrollable fit of laughter.

 

“Oh, my God, that was hilarious! Easy to see you two know each other already, ‘Daddy’!”

 

“Sean, don’t call me that unless you want to sleep in the bathtub with no covers tonight.”

 

“Fuck, that was sooo funny! When did you two…?”

 

“I can’t remember exactly, call it four or five years. It didn’t last too long. Sure, he’s hot, but that whole ‘Daddy’ thing is not one of my favourite roles to play. And Brian wanted to play it 24/7 – not just in bed. Talk about way too much of a good thing.”

 

Sean laughed again. “I agree about the good thing. He’s a real hottie.”

 

Now it was Jake’s turn to laugh. “Maybe so, but you’re far, and I mean faaar too young for him. He only hooked up with me because I had a beard at the time, and it made me look older than I really was.”

 

Now laughing together, they got into the car and headed off to a belated start of the workday. But they were both thinking the same thing, that they were really lucky to have gotten Brian as the officer who interviewed them. Telling the whole story to a straight police officer would have been twice as hard, taken five times as long, and been ten times as awkward.

 

Walking into the office together at 11:00 in the morning is not exactly a recommended way to make a quiet sneak entrance. Doing it hand in hand is almost the equivalent of blowing a trumpet to announce the Grand Arrival – and the rest of the staff piled on quickly, with all kinds of ribald comments about being unable to get out of bed or wondering who took too long to reach the finish line this time. Jake and Sean did their best to smile through it all, but underneath they were too nervous to relax into the horseplay.

 

And sure enough, when they got to Jake’s office, there was the director of HR waiting for them. She favoured them with a lecture loaded with choice comments about punctuality, dedication to work, out-of-control social life, office favouritism, undue influence, and other such topics, and left them to chew on it at length. Which they promptly forgot about. After all, as Jake said later, he had no trouble at all with carrying the household bills for a few months, if need be, if either (or both) of them had to look for another position. In any case, they had far bigger problems on their minds.

 

The rest of the week passed off without anything noteworthy happening, but Friday was another matter. On their regular visit to The Corner, trouble reared its head in the form of a handsome young blond twink who took a real shine to Sean and started flirting with him. Sean was open to the idea of a little flirtation, maybe more, but he didn’t know how Jake would feel about that. So when the kid, whose name was Luke, went off to the bathroom for a minute, Sean sounded Jake out.

 

Jake’s response was, “If you want to go have some fun with him, feel free.”

 

But Sean could tell from the tone of his voice that he wasn’t too happy with the idea. So when Luke came back, Sean turned off the charm, and finally said bluntly, “Sorry, Luke, not tonight.”

 

After Luke left, Jake asked, “What just happened? I thought you were interested in him?”

 

Sean answered honestly, “I was – a little. But I didn’t know how you’d feel about that, so that’s why I asked you. I want us to be always open and above-board about these things with each other. And you sounded not-too-happy, so I just switched it off.”

 

“I’m sorry, Sean. The last thing I want to do is curb your fun if you want to go out on your own – really.”

 

Sean thought for a moment, and then said, “Maybe I want to be pulled back. To you.”

 

“Do you feel you’re moving away from me?”

 

“It’s the stress from worrying about Jim. It’s getting to me, so I know it must be getting to you even more.”

 

“It’s getting to me too. Look, I understand that you still want to be able to play around, and I feel that way at times too. But I just think that right now is not the time, not with Jim on the loose – and it being the weekend, just as we discussed with Brian.”

 

Sean had the grace to look a bit shame-faced. “Sorry, Jake, I’d forgotten all about the weekend thing. But you’re right, it’s not a good time.”

 

Jake wanted to smooth the waters over, so he said, “Hey, that Luke kid is definitely cute. Once we get through this mess and we’re in the clear from it, let’s come back, find him, and do a three-way with him.”

 

Sean smiled and said, “Thanks for keeping me on an even keel, and for keeping things real between us.”

 

Jake tossed back the end of his drink. “Want to go home and get more real?”

 

Sean grinned. “You have to ask?”

 

Twenty minutes later, they were undressed and in bed, with Jake busily eating away at Sean’s ass while Sean sucked his dick in a hot 69. Sean’s moans as Jake’s tongue probed his hole created a great vibration on the head of Jake’s cock and gave him the shivers every time he pushed deep into Sean’s throat.

 

“Fuck, I want that cock in me now,” Sean said as he pulled off Jake’s cock. He immediately spun around, planted the cockhead at his hole, and started to sit down on it.

 

“Fuck, yeah, sit on me,” Jake moaned as Sean pushed down onto his shaft, stretching his hole open and taking Jake’s big boner all the way into his body in one quick slide down the length. Almost at once he began moving, riding on that cock, bouncing up and down with the length penetrating all the way inside him each time he came down. He loved fucking himself like this on Jake’s cock. He loved the feel of control as the shaft slid in and out of his hole, while he used his ass muscles to stroke it. But it never lasted very long. The angle was too perfect – Jake’s cockhead was bumping against his prostate on every stroke, and Sean’s cock was bouncing and drooling like crazy as he fucked himself.

 

Jake could see for himself that Sean was getting close to exploding from riding him bareback, and he still wanted Sean to be able to go crazy inside his ass, so he gasped, “Don’t shoot. I want you to fuck me next!”

 

But Sean was beyond stopping. He was so turned on, and Jake’s dick was doing such a thorough number on him, that there was no chance of delaying the inevitable. As he speeded up his riding motions even more, his dick suddenly jolted upright and shot off a huge squirt of cum into the air. It landed with a splat right across Jake’s face. Six more shots followed in rapid succession, coming down all over Jake’s pecs, abs, and finally down to his navel as the last and smallest pulse dribbled out.

 

By that time, the repeated pressure on Jake’s cock from Sean’s ass muscles clamping down in his wild orgasm had done its dirty work, and Jake groaned aloud as his load sprayed up into Sean’s hole, his sperm pumping deep into that hot young ass. Sean slowly ground to a halt, as both of them gasped for breath.

 

At last, Jake got enough control to say, laughing, “Dammit, I told you not to shoot. I wanted you to fuck me and breed me next.”

 

Sean chuckled, and replied, “Sorry, but I couldn’t help it. You know how that big cock of yours turns me on. But I’m sure I’ve got another load in me, I just need a few minutes to recover.” Then he leaned down to lick his cum off of Jake’s face and abs, sharing it with him in a sloppy, wet, snowball kiss.

 

Jake laughed again. “Yeah, I need a bit of time too – not as young as I used to be. I always love cumming while you’re pounding me, and then feeling you loading me up.”

 

Sean’s face turned serious. “It’s odd.”

 

“What is?”

 

“I never used to enjoy bottoming that much before I met you. And I never, ever let anyone cum in me. Now, I’ll do it with you every chance I get – and when I do, inside me is the only place I want your cum to end up.”

 

“Sean, I’m just the same. For years before you came into my life, I was total-top-only with every guy I met. But having you fuck me and shoot inside me is such an enormous thrill, I can’t imagine why I never liked it before.”

 

By now, Sean had pulled off Jake’s cock, and they were lying down together, cuddling, and kissing, and resting, since they knew a second round was on the program.  And after about 20 minutes, the intermission ended. Sean’s cock began to refill and Jake’s wasn’t far behind it.

 

This time, Sean took charge because he knew how Jake liked that. “Okay, roll over, flat on your face and spread your legs.”

 

Jake did as instructed, and Sean dived right into his ass crack. Pulling Jake’s muscle mounds apart with both hands, he pushed his way in and began lapping at Jake’s hole, sucking on it, pushing his tongue right inside and stabbing inwards with little thrusts. He loved the way Jake’s lightly furred ass rubbed his face. Actually, Sean loved all of Jake’s body hair – the dusting of fur on his pecs, the treasure trail down over his abs, the scruffy hair on his arms and legs. Jake was all man, and with the hair – just enough, not a full fur coat -- he seemed all natural. Sean thought that Jake was the sexiest man he’d ever seen. His friends could keep their gym bunnies who spent a small fortune in time and money trying to get and hold onto the smooth look.

 

While Sean was thinking these thoughts and working away at Jake’s hole, Jake was getting louder and more vocal by the minute, twisting and writhing on the bed, and muttering, “Fuck… fuck…fuck….” The exquisite tongue torture didn’t let up for a second. But finally Jake lost patience. “Damn it, Sean, I need your cock in me now before I go crazy.”

 

As soon as Sean heard that, he lifted off and slid forward, moving his cockhead right into Jake’s crack and placing his torso directly above Jake’s beautifully shaped back. He reached down with one hand to place the tip directly on the target, and then leaned down, wiggling a bit until the head slipped in. Then, after another minute’s time spent waiting, he slowly added more pressure and sank right down into Jake’s ass, all the way into the fuck tunnel until he was lying right on his partner’s back, with full body contact.

 

Both of them loved this position. The closeness of their muscular bodies, being practically glued to each other, was a huge turn-on. Once Sean felt Jake’s ass relax a bit more, he began slowly humping, with only the slightest of rising and falling motions at the hips.

 

That slow speed didn’t last. Sean was gearing up quickly, going from first gear to second to third, getting faster and faster as he reached max speed and shifted into overdrive. His hips were a blur, the smacks as they slammed against Jake’s ass cheeks rattling out a rapid tattoo of fuck sounds. Jake was groaning almost nonstop from the speed and power of Sean’s fucking.

 

By this time, Sean was doing full push-ups on Jake’s ass. He knew that he couldn’t hold off much longer at this speed, and was thinking of slowing down, but Jake moaned, “Don’t stop, fuck me harder!” He did his best to oblige, and that was a challenge, but he rose to it magnificently. Both of them were so intensely turned on that even this second round was going to end quickly.

 

He could feel his cum mounting up his shaft and getting ready to spray into Jake. “Fuck. Fuck. I’m gonna cum in you!”

 

“Yeah, that’s it, use my hole, dump your cum in my ass. Cum inside me!”

 

Sean grunted a few times as his entire body tensed up, then with a yell he let it fly. His second load, even bigger than the first, jetted into Jake’s body in a series of intense spurts, his cock flexing like a mad thing, stretching Jake’s tight anus as he spewed his seed. Then he collapsed on top of Jake again, with his cock still buried all the way inside Jake as the final dribbles of cum oozed out.

 

But Jake hadn’t cum yet. He planted his right foot on the bed and shoved hard, forcing both of them to roll onto their left sides. Then he got his hand on his cock and began jerking it. The precum was oozing out of the head in large amounts and they both knew that he was going to reach his peak soon.

 

Sean pulled out of his ass, flopped onto his back, and called, “Over here! Cum on my face!” Jake scrambled up, turned around, and aimed his dick squarely at Sean’s face as Sean lay there, panting. That sight of his partner’s sweat-coated body did it for Jake, as usual, and his load quickly moved into firing position. He moved closer, jerking like a madman, Sean stuck his tongue out, and when the first spurt came it landed squarely in Sean’s mouth. Other shots followed, hitting him in various places around his face. At last, Jake finished shooting and flopped down alongside Sean. Then he roused himself, cleaned up Sean’s face and fed him the cum in another snowball.

 

After a long breathless pause, Sean spoke. “We should probably get up and shower – both our asses are leaking.”

 

Jake replied, “Oh, fuck it. I’ll change and wash the sheets in the morning.” And they fell asleep just like that, Sean lying spread-eagled on his back, and Jake on his face, with his arm flung out across Sean’s chest.

 

On Saturday morning, Sean awoke very early, just at sunrise. Slipping out of bed without waking Jake, he went into the bathroom for a quick cleanup from the night before, and then pulled on his shirt, running shorts, socks, and shoes. Rather than look for Jake’s keys, he just grabbed the spares from the hook and went quietly out, pulling the door carefully shut. Then he rode the elevator to the lobby, and headed out for his run, throwing a brief glance at the new doorman who looked, he thought, vaguely familiar.

 

Half an hour or so later, Jake awoke, thinking it was still too dark. He went to roll over and found that his arms had been pulled out to full length and attached to the bedposts – it felt like it was done with zip ties. Then he found that his legs were equally stretched and tied down. He opened his mouth to shout and realized that there was a gag stuffed in his mouth. And that was when he figured out that the unseasonal darkness was a black hood pulled down low over his head.

 

He squirmed and twisted on the bed, and found it was useless – he couldn’t move at all.

 

A familiar voice came to him, laced with equal parts sarcasm and rage. Jim. “Well, well, look at this beautiful turkey bird, all trussed and ready for the roasting pan.”

 

Jake emitted a grunt of rage. It was all he could do.

 

“Oh, you might as well save your breath and save your strength. I’ve taken very good care that you aren’t going to get loose.”

 

Jake squirmed again.

 

“I watched your pretty little boyfriend heading out for his run before I jumped the lock. Really, those door locks are a joke. They teach you how to get past that kind in the first week of Year One Criminal U at the slammer. I tell you, though, he was looking mighty good. Same outfit he had on the first time I fucked him. It really shows off his ass well.”

 

Jake grunted.

 

“I’ll bet you wanted to know why I’m doing this. I’ll be glad to tell you in detail. After all, you won’t be around to tell any tales once I’ve finished with you. And neither will your cute boytoy. So, here’s the story.”

 

The story, Jake thought, was just what you’d expect – a guy who’d been dealt a bad hand to start, and then blamed everyone but himself for the way life kept walking all over him. A history of rotten adoptive family, violent crime, prison time, and violent sex – it was all just what you’d expect. But then he came to arriving in Devonston.

 

“So I came here, and tracked down mom – and then you, and Catherine. I’d been surprised to find out I was one of a pair of twins. They’re never supposed to be separated, but we were. I started checking you out, and soon found out all about you. Swanning around town in a hot Porsche, flashing the designer duds, living in this palatial condo that came from your stepdaddy, and laying every hot dude that took your eye.

 

“Jealous? You bet I was. But the last straw, that was when you took on that young cutie, Sean. He’s the one guy I did since I came here who actually enjoyed it. Oh, yeah, he did – he wouldn’t tell you that, but that little fucker was moaning all over the place and actually came hands free while I was fucking him. But he went for you.

 

“That’s when I realized that I could get rid of you, both of you, easy as pie, and live the life of Reilly here in your palace. We’re identical twins. Who’d ever know the difference? So that’s the story, and here I am.”

 

At that moment, there came the sound of the front door clicking shut. Jake wished he could yell a warning, but of course he was gagged. Jim whispered, “Back in a minute.”

 

Jake could only guess. He heard a gasp of surprise. Then there came a couple of beeps, and a couple of small bumps and bangs which he couldn’t interpret. Then he heard Sean’s voice, “What the…. Jake, are you okay?”

 

He nodded violently, hoping Sean could see his head move.

 

“Let me get you untied.”

 

Jake shook his head violently. All he wanted was for Sean to clear out, get away, go call the police, do something. He jerked his head to the left over his shoulder several times, trying to signify to Sean to get the hell out of the room and go for help.

 

But it was too late. He heard a quiet thump, then a louder series of thumps. And then came Jim’s voice again. “There! Now I’ve got both of you right where I want you.”

 

There followed some more indeterminate sounds, rustling and scraping, and then the bed suddenly jerked and swayed as a weight was dropped next to him. He knew what that was.

 

Jim spoke again, still in that same mixture of glee and rage. “Just so you know what’s going on here, I’ve gotten your boyfriend undressed so he’ll be just as naked as you are. And I’m going to tie him down, right beside you, face down, same as you. It’ll make things easier if I want to fuck you both before I start carving you up.”

 

His footsteps receded down the hall – no need for him to be quiet now. There came an assortment of bangs and bumps, some louder, some softer. In about five minutes he came back, making a sound which Jake could tell was the sound of a kitchen knife being sharpened on a whetstone. He knew that sound very well from listening to Sean at work on one of his amazing dinners.

 

Then Jim came back into the room, another nasty sneer in his mouth. “At least you’ve got a good top-quality knife and sharpening stone. But after that -- what a fucking useless pair of pussy faggots. Not a single fucking beer in the entire place. No hard stuff either, just wine, champagne, even fucking rosé wine – just the thing for you pansies, it’s your colour. I’m going to the store down by the street entrance to get me some beers and snacks`. Not much use struggling, you’ll just wear yourselves out but you won’t get free. I’ll be back in a while. Enjoy your rest, girls.”

 

There was the sound of footsteps, then a click of the front door latch and all was silent again.

 

Jake wasn’t sure how much time had passed. Lying there, tied down, unable to move, blinded by the hood over his head, silenced by the gag in his mouth, he felt disconnected from time. What he wasn’t disconnected from was his fear. Jake began doing something he hadn’t done since he was a child. He began to pray.

 

He’d lost any belief in the Christian God at age 11, as soon as he realized that he was gay and would become a target of scorn and disgust in his Christian mother’s eyes and in the eyes of her church associates. Jake couldn’t have said to whom or what he was praying, but that’s what he was doing. One might expect him to be praying for himself, but he wasn’t. His thought, his prayer, was all for Sean.

 

I just want Sean to be all right. Please, please, don’t let him die. If Jim is going to get his way and kill us, I want us to go together. But please, let Sean be all right. He’s got so much life to live, so much to look forward to. Please don’t let him die.

 

And on and on his tortuous inner monologue went. At last, Jake got an answer of a sort. He heard a painful groan and felt movement stirring next to him. The mattress heaved and sagged a bit as Sean struggled to free himself. And Jake knew that in this, at least, he had his answer. Sean was all right. For how much longer, though, who could say?

 

He wished with all his heart that he could wrap his arms around Sean, comfort him, let him know that they were together. But no. He could do nothing. He couldn’t even speak. But Sean had to know that he was there, had to have heard his breathing and felt his movements, had to know that they were in this together, just as he’d said they had to be. It was only a slight comfort.

 

By this time, they’d both stopped struggling. As Jim had so rightly said, it was useless to try – he had them completely at his mercy. As they lay there, stripped naked, strapped down, gagged, and hooded, their thoughts were running along oddly parallel paths.

 

Jake was thinking: Let him slice me up, just so long as Sean’s all right – he’s suffered enough from life and from this psycho already.

 

And through Sean’s mind ran these words: Come on, you maniac, you can kill me first. Jake deserves a better life than this and a far better brother than you.

 

They heard the door click shut, the footsteps, the sound of a beer can popping open, the sound of someone gulping beer down, the clang as the can was flung aside. And then, Jim’s gleeful, hateful voice came to them again, “All right, it’s just about lunch time here. Which of you two cute birds wants to get carved first – the chicken or the turkey?” There was the sound of the knife running over the whetstone repeatedly.

 

Then, suddenly, a completely different sound – a deep, harsh male voice, shouting, “Police! Drop the knife!”

 

There was a momentary scuffle. A single gunshot rang out. Then a voice could be heard from below the level of the bed, moaning in pain.

 

The officer’s voice came again: “Nice shot. You got him in the leg, and he’s still alive. Better call for the ambulance.” The single beep of a cellphone followed.

 

Then again, a completely different voice, with a lighter, mocking tone. “Well, well, what have we got here? A little bondage play to get the weekend off to a roaring start?” A hand slapped Jake’s ass lightly, giving it a little squeeze, and the mocking voice said, “Still looking in great shape, there, Daddy.”

 

The gag was pulled out of Jake’s mouth, and Jake, plainly not amused, growled, “Well, you sure took your fucking time getting here, Brian!”

 

 

Part 5:  The Menace

 

 

For a moment, Jake was shocked into silence by the all-but-identical appearance of the Mystery Man. The shock wore off in a hurry, though, when Sean muttered, “Oh, crap, he’s spotted me and he’s coming over.”

 

The stranger arrived, grinning at Sean, and said, “Hey, there, sexy. Back for more?”

 

Sean decided not to piss him off right away. “Least you could do is tell me your name, if you’re going to act like an old friend.”

 

“Jim.”

 

“And I’m Sean.”

 

“I know.”

 

That rattled both Sean and Jake. The man grinned at Sean’s discomfort, and then turned to Jake.

 

“Well, if it isn’t my long-lost brother!”

 

Sean’s jaw dropped. Jake held his face immobile as he replied, “What makes you think I’m your brother?”

 

“Uh-uh. I don’t think you’re my brother – I know you are.”

 

“I don’t have a brother – just a sister, much younger.”

 

Jim kept grinning. Jake realized that there was a definite element of malicious mischief in that grin, a sense that the cat was playing the mice before killing them.

 

“Oh, yes, I know. I’ve met her. I’ve met our mother too. I see that there are some important things she’s never told you. You know, Jake, you really should be a little more careful about being too damn sure of yourself. There are probably a lot more things in the world that you don’t know.”

 

Jake’s nerves were winding him up. “So, what do you want?”

 

Jim replied, “Oh, I don’t want anything from you – yet. I just wanted to let my friend here, Sean, my little fuck buddy – you knew all about that, too, I bet – I just wanted to warn him that hanging around with you is maybe not the best thing for his health. You know that old expression, ‘playing with fire,’ don’t you, Sean? Getting too close to Jake might be very bad for you. Just thought I’d give you a friendly tip. And let me know if you want to hook up with me again. You enjoyed it the last time, as I recall.”

 

Sean blushed. But then he decided enough was enough. “No, I don’t want to. And no, I didn’t enjoy it. And just for the record, Jake might not be as violent as you but he’s easily ten times the man you are, in bed and out.”

 

A momentary look of savage anger flashed across Jim’s face, just for a split second, and then that smooth, sardonic grin was back, like a mask that had temporarily slipped.

 

“We’ll see. When the time comes, I think you’ll change your mind – and once Jake is out of the picture, you will enjoy it.”

 

With that, he turned away and sauntered over to the bar to get a drink. Jake and Sean stared at each other. Neither of them had missed the menace, the threat behind Jim’s words. But neither of them wanted to let him think he’d gotten to them. So Sean signalled the waiter, and they ordered another round. Then they talked about indifferent matters, while Sean kept half an eye on Jim’s movements. At last, Jim upended his bottle and then sauntered out the exit, throwing another clearly lustful grin at Sean as he went.

 

Sean heaved a huge sigh of relief. “Okay, he’s gone.”

 

“It’s too bad you lost it and took a dig at him. I saw the look he gave you when you did that.”

 

“So did I. But, Jake, let’s face it, whatever’s eating him, he’s already plenty mad at you anyway.”

 

“I have no idea why. I was telling the truth, you know. If he is my brother, and not just playing on a freaky chance resemblance, I never knew he existed. When we get home, I’m going to call my mother.”

 

An hour or so later, Jake put down his phone and turned to Sean, who was sitting beside him on the living room couch.

 

“Well?”

 

“All she would say was that she had a lot to tell me, and it would be better to tell me in person. I’ll have to go see her tomorrow. Sorry, I know we were planning on going hiking, but I think this takes precedence.”

 

“Long trip?”

 

“She’s in Garrisville. About 90 minutes each way.”

 

Sean got up and shifted to sit beside Jake, putting an arm around his shoulders. “Of course you have to go. It’s obvious now that she knows something at least, and that suggests Jim was telling the truth. The hike will still be there another time.”

 

“I feel bad, letting you down like that. This is getting decidedly scary.”

 

“I know – and for me, too. Look, Jake, no matter what happens with Jim, we’re in this together and we face it together. Okay? We’ve got to have each other’s backs all the way.”

 

Jake turned and hugged Sean fiercely. “You’re right, Sean. No question there – I need you. I need you.”

 

“And I need you, Jake. That’s why we do this as a team.”

 

The next morning, as Jim was getting ready to leave, he kissed Sean and gave him another clinging hug. “Listen, Sean, when you go out for your run, please stick to the main streets. No parks, no trails. Who knows where that psycho might be lurking?”

 

Sean was inclined to demur, insisting that he would be all right, but he saw the look in Jake’s eyes. Jake was genuinely fearful for him, for his safety, even before worrying about his own. As soon as he realized that fear, Sean forgot about arguing. “All right, I will. And you drive carefully. I’ll see you later.”

 

Jake was on edge for the whole of the 90-minute drive to Garrisville, not knowing what awaited him. When he reached his mother’s apartment building, he buzzed her, waited until she called down, then said, “It’s Jake,” and she buzzed him in.

 

Once he had greeted her and kissed her, she sat down in the living room behind a tray with coffee and cookies, and Jake sat down opposite her. She poured coffee, offered him the plate of cookies, and then silence fell. He looked at his mother expectantly.

 

“It’s so hard to know where to begin.”

 

“Let’s start with this Jim guy, then.”

 

She heaved a sigh. “All right. Yes, dear, Jim McManus really is your brother – your twin brother.”

 

“You’ve never told me this.”

 

“There didn’t seem much point. It all happened at a time when adoption records where I lived were sealed and then destroyed after 10 years. I honestly never expected to see him again.”

 

“Go on, mom.”

 

Jake listened intently as the story emerged in stages. He could picture it all: the strait-laced small town, the strict religious parents, the life shorn of any joy or excitement or colour or – or even any fun. Then, the handsome, unsuitable stranger. Italian, Catholic, fun-loving, amusing – oh, yes, he’d had an easy time sweeping her off her feet. Eloping at 19, then pregnant at 20, and then the discovery that the pregnancy was twins – and the fears because they were living on a shoestring.

 

“I confided my fears in Tony,” she went on. “When I got home from my cashier’s job the next day, he was gone. He’d cleaned out our bank account, sold the car, and just vanished. And I never saw him again.”

 

Then her parents stepped in to handle the mess, taking her back home, but keeping her on a shorter string than ever. The birth of the identical twin boys, the one put up for adoption, the other one going with her when they married her off to a worthy, upright member of the church.

 

“So your father didn’t actually die – as far as I know. By now, he could have. You were baptized Jacob Featherston, and that’s something else I never told you. Your stepfather, Jonah -- he was the one who died, when you were three years old. I was out on my own again, but at least, this time, with a decent estate to keep me afloat. I got out of that hateful town, and came north to Devonston to live, bringing you with me. There, I fell in love again. It was Enrico Bianchi – another Italian Catholic, looking very like Tony. We married, and I gave you his surname. Rico was really the only one of your three fathers that you ever knew.”

 

Jake felt like he wanted to get up, walk around the table, and give his mother a huge hug, pat her on the back, assure her that it didn’t matter to him and he wasn’t angry at her for holding back. But she was still going on.

 

“How Jim ever found me, after all that, I have no idea. He contacted me a few months back, told me who he was, and asked to see me. I took Catherine with me, and by now you’ll have realized that she is only your step-sister. We met for coffee, and he spoke very kindly and civilly to me – but I smelled a rat. I think it was the experience with Tony that left me with a sixth sense for trouble. And I sensed right away that Jim was a bad ‘un. I’d decided that I wasn’t going to tell him about you. It was Catherine who told him that he had a twin brother, that you were living in Devonston, and that you were a pervert.”

 

“You know how much I dislike that term, mother.”

 

“It’s just my upbringing coming out in me. Why you couldn’t have chosen to be a respectable married man with a wife and children….”

 

“Like my birth father?”

 

“That’s hardly fair.”

 

“The term, mother, is ‘gay’. Just please remember that -- and use it. And remember that it’s not a choice!”

 

An awkward silence ensued. Finally, his mother spoke again.

 

“I take it that you have some reason for coming to see me and asking about your brother.”

 

“Yes. He ran me down in Devonston, yesterday, when I was having a couple of drinks after work with my… with a friend. Speaking of it being not a choice to be gay, Jim is gay too. How do I know? Because my friend had already had an encounter with him – a rather violent one. There have been other incidents too, I won’t go into the details. The point is that I think you were right in tagging him as a “bad ‘un” – I’d go further and say “violent, possibly psychotic” – and I am afraid that he is targeting me, and my friend.”

 

“From the way you keep calling him your friend, I assume you mean your sex partner.”

 

“Among other things, yes. That’s not the point. The point is that I think my brother is violent, possibly dangerous, and certainly he’s dangerous to me if he keeps doing things – because we look almost alike. I know now that we share common DNA, and I could easily end up getting blamed and maybe with a conviction, jail time, and a record for anything bad that he chooses to do. I’m going to the police on Monday morning, because his language yesterday was threatening, in an insinuating kind of way, and I need to draw him to their attention. And if he contacts you again, I want you to make sure you contact the police here and get them to pass the word on to the police in Devonston.”

 

And with that, Jake got up to take his leave. The drive home was both tedious and unnerving. He was now more sure than ever that Jim’s intentions were both malicious and violent. He was also worried, both about whether he could trust his mother if Jim should contact her, and even more about whether Sean would be all right when he got home. It was becoming increasingly clear to him that he couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to Sean, and that he also couldn’t contemplate the possibility of life without Sean.

 

Jake knew perfectly well what that meant, but it was a surprising and not altogether pleasant discovery. He’d managed to live his life so far, having a grand old time, enjoying the gorgeous penthouse he’d inherited from his well-to-do stepfather, Rico (it had been an investment, not a family home), and hooking up with a whole string of hot, sexy, horny men in a series of one night stands, brief flings, and serially monogamous (or otherwise) relationships that lasted anywhere from a few months to a year or so. In all that time, he’d never looked much further ahead than the next hot guy. He’d never, but never, let himself get trapped and taken off the market.

 

Now, all of a sudden, he found himself thinking in more permanent terms (or at least long-range terms) and it disconcerted him mightily. It was almost frightening to realize that he not only was imagining being tied down to one man, but that he actually wanted to be. He had no idea why it should have been Sean in particular who affected him in this way, and he couldn’t imagine any possible reason that wouldn’t apply to any of his previous stands, flings, or relationships. Well, other than the fact that Sean was a killer chef, but that couldn’t be the whole story. Could it?

 

Nobody had ever acquainted Jake with the old saying that the heart has its reasons, which reason cannot comprehend.

 

He got home at three o’clock and was hugely relieved to find everything okay at the penthouse. Sean issued him strict marching orders to stay out of the kitchen after 5:30, and not to make any loud noises or do anything in the way of physical exertion which might create bumps or bangs. The reason became clear when he sat down to dinner and Sean presented a magnificently tall and fluffy cheese souffle, paired with ratatouille and a salad. After the meal was finished, Jake went down on one knee with a sweeping, dramatic gesture, seized Sean’s hand, kissed it, and said, “My compliments to the chef!”

 

After they both had a good laugh over Jake’s theatrics, and after the dishes were cleaned and put away, they sat down together and Jake recalled his lengthy talk with his mother. Sean nodded as the points were covered, one by one, and then said, “Well, that certainly explains why I thought you were the man who ripped my hole open in Greenwoods Park that day.”

 

“Sure does. I hope I’ve convinced you now that it wasn’t me.”

 

“You have, some time ago. He didn’t even try to kiss me. Whereas you….”

 

Sean’s words trailed off as Jake chose that exact moment to start kissing him.

 

Since the weather forecast was good for the next day, a Sunday, they decided to reschedule their hike for the morning. They drove out from town to Riverbend County Park, about half an hour south, and took a steep trail that climbed to the bluffs above the river for a panoramic view of the valley. It was a good, brisk walk up the side of the gorge, and the sun, fresh air, and exercise gave them an enormous appetite. Sean pulled some tubs of veggie sticks, hummus, sliced cheese, and kielbasa out of his backpack, and Jake produced a couple of bottles of a good craft brew from the cold pocket of his pack. After lunch, they laid back on a rock for perhaps half an hour, with their shirts off to enjoy the warm sun. As they were lying there, their hands met and clasped.

 

“This is so perfect and peaceful,” Sean said.

 

“Perfect day is right. I was just imagining us doing naughty things to each other here.”

 

“Oh, really? And what kind of naughty things did you have in mind, Mr. Bianchi?”

 

“Nothing kinky. Just picturing you on your back, with your legs up over my shoulders, and me thrusting my hard cock into your tight ass – then lying down right on top of you and kissing you, sliding my tongue in your mouth while I slide my cock inside your beautiful body and then pump your sweet ass full of my hot cum.”

 

Sean rolled on his side and gave Jake a wicked grin. “Well, why don’t we? Sounds like fun. I always enjoy fooling around outdoors.”

 

“Because there are too many hikers coming and going. I like doing it outdoors too, but not as a public show. You may or may not believe this, but I do have some limits.”

 

They both laughed at that. After lying there a while longer, they got up, gathered their things, and they hiked back down to the car.

 

As they got there, Jake pulled up his phone, scanned his notifications, and then gave a low whistle of surprise as a news alert popped up. Short and to the point, it said that another young man had been found an hour earlier in Greenwoods Park in Devonston, sexually assaulted, brutally beaten, and seriously injured. This time, the news had a bad ending; he had been pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

 

Jake and Sean stared at each other, wide-eyed. For a couple of beautiful hours, they’d managed to just enjoy the perfect weather and each other’s company, and they had forgotten all about Jake’s brother. The news brought them back down to earth with a bump.

 

There was no question now that Jim was totally out of control.