Snow winked at Jude and then grabbed a frowning Lucas, swallowing back a laugh at Lucas’s disgruntled expression. His friend was not accustomed to someone telling him what to do. Turning him back toward the camp, Lucas fell into step beside him.
“Did you know there were cabins down here?” Lucas demanded in a low voice.
He hadn’t known until they’d started passing signs along Mountain Parkway promising comfortable cabins tucked in the picturesque mountainside with all the usual amenities. He felt like he’d been scammed by either Rowe or Andrei, but he wasn’t going to admit that.
Bumping Lucas, he lifted an eyebrow. “Who cares? You’ve got your luxury tent mansion to sleep in. But what were you thinking sharing a tent with Ian? That’s going to limit your fun with the Romanian tonight.”
Lucas bumped Snow back. “He’s in another part of the tent, not sleeping on the air mattress between us. Besides, even if he was in a separate tent, there’d be no sex tonight. The walls are just thin fabric. He’d hear us even if he wasn’t in the same tent.”
Snow stopped in the center of their camp. He could feel the wicked grin spreading across his entire face. “So what?”
Lucas jerked around to face him and groaned loudly. “Give the fucking Olympics a rest while we’re here, Ash. I learned enough about your sex life with Jude while we were skiing.”
With a small shake of his head, Snow knelt down and started to open the nylon bag holding the tent. Jude might not want to screw around in the tent considering their companions would be able to hear everything. Of course, with Jude in his bossy mood, Snow couldn’t imagine being able to keep his hands to himself when they were alone in the tent later that night. It would be interesting to see if they could actually be quiet.
But keeping his hands to himself when the sexy man was anywhere near him?
Never going to happen.
Chapter 2
“I cook over fire all the time,” Ian grumbled, kicking a rock into the fire pit. “I still can’t figure out what happened. Maybe it’s this damn heat.”
Jude bit back a laugh and stretched out his legs, making sure to keep them well away from the fire. He’d hoped a cool front would come in during the evening, but the temperature still made his clothes uncomfortably sticky and the massive fire in the center of their camp wasn’t helping. Ian had brought a camping stove—a stove! Yet, he’d insisted on building the fire and cooking over it.
A hot hand landed on his neck and he turned his head to give Snow a smile right as sweat dripped into his eye. That was it. He’d been the one to suggest this trip and granted, it had been years since he’d camped, but he’d always gone in the spring or fall—never the summer. He unscrewed his water bottle and poured some over his head. The cool liquid felt so good on his sweaty scalp, he groaned.
“Porno action this early? I’m impressed.” Snow leaned in close, his voice a rough whisper. “Groan like that again and I’ll be dragging you into the woods.”
Although his groin perked with the words and that bedroom voice he loved, Jude just shook his head and swiped the water out of his eyes. When he blinked them into focus, he found both Lucas and Andrei grinning at him. Andrei had stretched out some distance from the fire. Dirt streaked his T-shirt and arms. Lucas, on the other hand, managed to look pristine even though he was on the ground close to Andrei. Every so often, he caught the two giving each other looks that said a lot about whether they would end up caring about the thin tent walls.
Ian growled again, pulling Jude’s attention back to him. While he’d been cooking over the fire, he’d grown increasingly agitated, sweat pouring down his face until he’d finally stomped off into that massive tent he was sharing with Lucas and Andrei to change. He now wore cargo shorts and a thin T-shirt that looked too ratty to be his. Patches of sweat darkened the gray to near black in some places. He’d never seen Ian looking anything other than perfectly put together. It was cute.
“Hamburgers, hot dogs, beans.” Rowe ticked off the items as he held up fingers. “We’re supposed to eat camping food. Bags of chips and cookies. Marshmallows. Easy stuff. You made a sauce. A sauce, Ian!”
“It should have worked.” Ian pointed his beer at Rowe. “It’s an easy wine and rosemary sauce for the steaks. I make it all the time.” Ian held the side of his beer bottle against his cheek and closed his eyes.
“The steaks were excellent, though,” Jude added, hoping to make the young man feel better. He couldn’t believe Ian was so dejected over the failure of a sauce. “The rest of the meal was great. I’ve never had potato salad like that before.”
“The trick is to bake the potatoes in dressing first. Also, I made that ahead of time.” Ian opened his eyes and frowned at the massive coolers lined up near the tents. “Luckily, I made a bunch of sides ahead of time.”
“Then we’ll eat those,” Rowe said. “And I brought hot dogs we can just chuck into the pans to go with.” He made a tossing gesture with his hand.
“I hate hot dogs.” Ian glared at Rowe.
“I don’t.” Surprisingly, this came from Lucas. “Do we have chili and cheese?”
“Of course! Chili anyway,” Rowe said. “Canned chili.” He said the last with relish, smiling slightly as he blinked at Ian, obviously waiting for the backlash.
Ian didn’t take the bait. Instead a warm look passed over his pretty features as he stared back at Rowe, his expression softening. When Snow’s hand tightened on the back of his neck, Jude realized this was the first time that Rowe had actually participated in their usual teasing in a long while. He glanced around the fire to find Lucas obviously doing his best not to smile as he stared down at the spot on his arm that Andrei was softly stroking. The Romanian didn’t bother to hide his pleasure as he watched Ian and Rowe.
Rowe missed most of this as he still stared at Ian. He’d propped his back up on a huge duffel bag—one that probably held his canned chili. Firelight flickered over his face, highlighting the red scruff on his jaw and the black Maori tattoo showing on one arm. He was here, but as usual since his wife’s death, Rowe mostly just went through the motions. All his friends knew this and they understood, but their worry was so strong, Jude felt it in the air.
Especially when it came to Snow. Jude glanced over his shoulder to watch Snow stretching out, his head resting on his arms as he gazed at what sky he could see amidst the trees. He must have felt Jude’s gaze because blue eyes flicked to his and locked on. Snow gave him a lazy, sexy smile. Woods, hell. He had to look away because there was no way he was dragging Snow into the tent for sex this early with everyone sitting around the fire.
Songs from crickets and tree frogs rose around them, along with the catchy whirl of a whippoorwill as the light slowly faded. There were too many trees for them to see the sun setting, but he was glad they’d all sprung for backcountry camping permits. He preferred the privacy of their campsite over cabins, though Snow and Lucas wouldn’t agree. And hopefully, the night would bring slightly cooler temperatures.
Ian slapped his leg, grumbled under his breath, then went into the tent he was sharing with Lucas and Andrei. He came out with bug spray. The frown he wore now was so far opposite the excitement he’d shown earlier, Jude had to hold in a laugh. Disheveled and now grouchy—both new looks on Ian. Both equally cute.
Though he was sure Ian would not appreciate the description.
“Andrei, you ever see any black bears camping here?” Rowe asked, sending a quick wink toward Snow and Jude.
“Nah,” Andrei drawled as he sat up, slid his hand onto the back of Lucas’s head and slowly threaded his fingers through his hair. “You?”
“Once. It wasn’t anywhere near here, though.” The corner of his mouth came up as Ian sat down again. Much closer this time. “But I heard they’ve been steadily moving north from the Smokies.”
Ian handed Rowe another beer. “Stop trying to mess with me,” he muttered. “I sincerely doubt a bear would approach our camp. Not with this fire. Why do you think I
asked for it to be so big?”
“So it had nothing to do with needing the wide heat for cooking?” Rowe shook his head. “We’re all sweating our balls off for nothing.”
Ian reached over and poured his beer onto Rowe’s crotch. “That should cool them off.”
###
“Holy shit, it’s even hotter in here.” Rustling sounds filled the tent and Jude guessed Snow was stripping down. “Remind me again why you suggested camping?”
Jude sighed. “Because one of your best friends loves to camp and he needed this outing.”
The silence he got in response said a lot. It stretched out until Snow sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. Sorry about the bitching.”
“It’s okay, General.” He rolled onto his side and laid his hand on Snow’s sweaty chest. “We’ll survive.”
“Maybe next time—if there is a next time—we do this in October or something. It’s too fucking hot in this tent. I had plans for us tonight and just the thought of all that body heat you generate is making me sweat more.”
Jude sat up. “Tell you what. I’ll make the heat in one place of my body worthwhile.” He leaned over Snow, taking in the smell of sweat and Snow that he loved so much. “But you have to promise me one thing.”
Snow’s breathing had already picked up. “What?” he whispered.
“You’ll be very, very quiet.”
“Oh shit.”
Grinning, Jude didn’t lead into anything. He didn’t stroke his hands over Snow the way he normally liked, didn’t run his tongue over that sexy iliac furrow and taut stomach. He didn’t do anything other than find Snow’s already half-hard cock with one hand before sucking it into his mouth.
“Shit, Jude. Fuck!” Snow’s back bowed as he half came up off the sleeping bag.
He pulled off and put his hand over Snow’s mouth. “Quiet. Remember?”
“You’re gonna pay for this.” Snow growled from behind his hand. “Put your mouth back on it.”
Jude sucked Snow’s now fully hard cock back into his mouth, relaxed his throat and let Snow punch deep. Snow moaned, his breath hot on Jude’s hand while his hands tightened in Jude’s hair. He’d let it grow out a bit because Snow liked clenching his fingers in it so much. He winced, though, as Snow clutched too hard and shoved his cock deeper.
In retaliation, he hollowed his cheeks and sucked even harder. The muffled sounds Snow tried so hard to swallow back had his own dick aching like crazy but he ignored it. He was enjoying unraveling his general like usual. Nobody had ever just given himself over to pleasure with Jude the way Snow did. He let it all out, turned his gorgeous body over to Jude and just reveled in everything Jude did to him. It was heady and mind-blowing and so goddamned beautiful, Jude sometimes expected his heart to just explode. Fuck, he loved this man. Loved him more than he’d ever thought possible.
He loved that beautiful cock with his tongue, lips, and throat and had to stop himself from groaning when Snow’s legs fell farther apart. Then he remembered the lube he’d left next to them. He blindly groped with one hand until he found it and keeping up the suction while coating his hand took a bit of finesse and a lot of fumbling, but he did it.
And when he sank two fingers into Snow, he nearly came without even touching himself at the utter silence that took over Snow as his back bowed again and he erupted down Jude’s throat. He licked him clean and sat back on his heels, panting, his own dick so hard, it ached.
Snow sprawled there, his harsh breaths the only sound other than those from nature outside. He abruptly sat up, grabbed Jude’s arms and turned him onto his back. A warm, wet mouth enveloped his cock and he ground his teeth to keep from shouting. Snow’s wickedly talented tongue came out to play and Jude failed to stop the whimper. He flung his hand out and knocked over something in the tent that made a loud noise.
“Oh my God, is it a bear?”
Ian’s yell from across the camp made Snow stop. Then he choked as laughter spilled from his throat.
“It’s not a bear, Ian,” Rowe yelled. “It’s just Snow. Gettin’ some.”
Snow choked again, then fell onto Jude, muffling his laughter in Jude’s stomach. Jude couldn’t stop his own glee and before he knew it, more laughter spilled from around the campsite.
“Give it a rest already!” Lucas yelled, though his words were broken with mirth.
Jude expected to lose his hard-on, but it still stood tall and proud and poking Snow in the chest. “They’ve already heard us anyway,” he muttered as he pushed Snow’s mouth back to his dick. “Might as well finish.”
Snow’s laughter vibrating on his cock felt pretty damn good.
Chapter 3
The oppressive heat didn’t let up much during the night. Snow spent it sprawled on his back making sure no part of him touched the furnace that was his boyfriend. And when he finally staggered out of the tent, he’d decided Rowe had the better idea with the hammock outside. To hell with the bugs—he needed a breeze!
Once he’d stretched the kinks out of his back, he had to admit the woods were gorgeous in the soft morning light. Birds chirped from the heavy blanket of tree limbs above them and every now and then, something rustled the few beds of dried leaves on the ground from the small groups of dying trees. He’d read that a fungus of some sort had invaded the park, but it looked like only a few trees had been affected.
He was kind of looking forward to their hike to higher ridges.
Still missed his damn coffeepot, though.
Rowe had the fire going already and he’d laid out breakfast makings. Snow’s stomach growled, so he strolled over to help.
“Most of the trails are going to be too much for Ian. He’s still…healing.” Rowe swallowed hard as placed bacon strips on the skillet over the fire. “There are a few easier ones we could try—Chimney Top or maybe Sky Bridge. Or we could split up for part of the day. Once everyone is up and fed, we can decide.” He nodded at the bacon. “Lucas will be up as soon as this scent fills the air.”
“He will,” Snow agreed as he cracked eggs into a bowl and added pepper. He frowned, hating the sad note in Rowe’s voice, wishing he could do more to help him. Then something Rowe said struck him. The only thing that kept Lucas lounging in bed was sex and it was way too quiet for that to be happening. He stared at the tent. “Surprised he isn’t up already. The man lives for bacon.”
“Yeah, well, I’m pretty sure he lives for Andrei as well.” Rowe smirked. “You weren’t the only one having sex last night. Lucas and Andrei managed to do it much more quietly, though. Jesus, Snow, what the hell was Jude doing to you?”
“You want details?” Snow stopped stirring the eggs and grinned at his friend. “Because I’m happy to share.”
“Yeah, no.” Rowe frowned and picked up a can of biscuits. “Ian is going to flip when he sees the canned biscuits so we’d better hurry and get them on.”
Ian sleeping in made sense. He normally worked long hours into the night and made up his sleep in the morning. Still…Snow frowned at the tent again. A rustling in the leaves pulled his gaze away and he watched the woods a moment, hoping for a glimpse of something like a deer. He’d seen several on the drive in. When nothing moved, he shook his head. Even exhausted and sweaty from his long night, he was having a better time than he expected. He wiped sweat from his forehead with his shoulder and glanced at Jude. He’d spread the map out on a large boulder and had squatted in front of it. He looked sexy in his black shorts and brown tank, his hair in wild tufts around his head and sweat already shining on his shoulders.
He briefly played with the idea of tackling him…
“We could do partial trails,” Jude said, not pulling his gaze from the map. “Maybe hike out to Jump Rock and swim awhile. I’ve always wanted to try that ledge.”
“Sounds good,” Rowe agreed. “I need butter.” He frowned and stalked over to Ian’s coolers and started digging through the first one. “Holy shit! Ian brought a lot of food.” He pulled out a container and pried off the lid.
“This pasta salad smells fantastic.” He closed it, put it back, then pulled out another container. “Beans, tomatoes, peppers, corn…I don’t know what this is, but I wanna fucking eat it.”
“It’s cowboy caviar,” Ian yelled from inside the tent. “It’s for tonight! Put it back!”
Snow snorted.
Rowe grumbled, quickly grabbed a spoon and shoveled a massive bite into his mouth before he hurriedly fastened the lid back on the container and placed it back inside the cooler. His eyes rolled back into his head and Snow half expected him to choke. That bite was huge.
“So good,” Rowe mumbled after he swallowed. He looked down at the cooler with regret. “Hey Ian, we’re only here a few days. Are all the coolers full like this one?”
Ian came out of the tent, stared at Rowe a moment, then reached out to flick something off the corner of Rowe’s mouth. He scowled, looking so damned endearing, Snow bit his lip. The younger man’s shorts and T-shirt were wrinkled, his hair was flattened on one side, and he had the imprint of a stick on his cheek. How he got that with an air mattress wasn’t a mystery. Ian sleep crawled. He sleep rolled. Hell, he probably sleepwalked. Snow had seen him fall asleep on Lucas’s couch and wake up on the floor in the kitchen. Muffled laughter sounded behind him and he glanced back to find Jude quickly turning away.
“What other salads are in there?” Rowe asked, eyeing the cooler again. “Are there others in those?
“No, they all aren’t like that.” Ian pointed. “That one is full of drinks and ingredients for the things I’d planned to cook. And no, there aren’t any hot dogs.” He brushed something off his arm. “There are some brats and metts, though.” His frown eased as he watched Rowe dig back into the cooler. “I know how much you love brats. I’d planned to cook them in onions, beer and butter—just like you love.” He frowned. “With that cowboy caviar. So don’t sneak any more food.”
Unbreakable Stories Page 8