by Ariel Tachna
Not for the first time, he felt like he had entered an entirely different world than the one he’d left behind in Philadelphia. “Sleeping in your arms is good,” he said, realizing Macklin was still waiting for an answer. “Waking up in your arms will be even better.”
“Then get rid of those clothes and come to bed,” Macklin said. “I’m freezing.”
Caine smiled and stripped back down, climbing beneath the covers and snuggling against Macklin. “Turn over,” he said. “I want to hold you for a while.”
Macklin tensed, but Caine nudged his shoulder. “I’m not going to do anything you aren’t ready for. I just want to have you in my arms too.”
Macklin nodded and rolled slowly onto his side with his back facing Caine. Caine scooted up behind him, adjusting the pillow and their arms and legs so he could spoon behind Macklin. It was a bit awkward with the slight difference in their heights, but Caine eventually got comfortable. “There,” he said, pressing a kiss to Macklin’s spine. “This isn’t so bad, is it?”
“I could get used to it,” Macklin replied.
“So could I.”
THE SKY outside the hotel window was still pitch black when Caine awoke the next morning, startled from sleep by the rumble of a passing truck. Macklin had rolled onto his back during the night, still in Caine’s arms, but no longer spooned together. Caine smiled. The perfect position for a little morning fellatio.
Moving carefully so Macklin wouldn’t wake up soon enough to protest, Caine slid beneath the covers, seeking Macklin’s groin by touch alone. His cock, when Caine found it, was already at half-mast, making Caine wonder what Macklin was dreaming about. Caine hoped it was him.
Shifting around to find a comfortable position, he lifted up over Macklin’s belly and closed his mouth over the tip of the other man’s erection, sucking lightly as it swelled against his tongue. At that angle, he couldn’t take the entire length in his mouth, so he gripped the base with his hand, working the entire shaft. He wanted Macklin to come awake to such pleasure that he wouldn’t protest Caine touching him.
The groan above him suggested he’d been successful.
“Caine.”
Caine didn’t stop what he was doing, reaching for Macklin’s hand instead to reassure him. Now that Macklin was awake, Caine moved a little more so he could take more of the shaft into his mouth and throat, nearly touching the curls at the base of Macklin’s cock with his lips.
“Bloody hell!”
Caine took that as a sign of approval and did it again before pulling back to run his tongue beneath the foreskin and along the slit that was covered in salty fluid. Macklin cursed again, pushing the covers down. Caine shivered in the cool air, but he didn’t protest. If Macklin wanted to see him in the slowly lightening room, Caine was fine with that. Anything to reassure his lover.
“Too much,” Macklin gasped when Caine’s tongue swiped through the slit again.
Caine backed off, bobbing his head so his lips ran up and down the fully hard shaft again.
“Turn around,” Macklin said. “I want to touch you too.”
It wasn’t exactly what Caine wanted, but it was better than Macklin telling him to stop. Careful not to break contact with Macklin’s cock—he was afraid if he did, Macklin wouldn’t let him start again—he shifted his hips until his knees bumped the headboard and his groin rested near Macklin’s head.
Macklin pushed Caine’s hips to the bed, rolling until he straddled Caine’s head. Caine moaned as the new position allowed Macklin’s cock to slide easily into his throat. He rested his hands on Macklin’s hips, urging him to move if he wanted. He didn’t immediately, keeping his hips at a height that put the tip of his cock directly against Caine’s palate. A moment later, Caine felt wet heat surround his own neglected erection. He moaned around his mouthful, stroking Macklin’s side in encouragement.
When Macklin shivered, Caine stroked again, sliding his hand between their bodies so he could find Macklin’s nipples. He tugged at one lightly, winning a groan from his lover that sent the most delightful vibrations through his cock. Macklin lifted his head enough to speak. “If you keep that up, I’m going to end up fucking your mouth, pup.”
Caine tweaked his nipple again in silent invitation, lifting his head as he did so more of Macklin’s cock disappeared into his mouth.
Macklin’s hips jerked downward, filling Caine’s mouth completely. He managed to swallow so he didn’t choke on the sudden invasion, but he dropped his head back quickly, letting Macklin set the pace rather than trying to dictate it himself. He’d end up gagging for sure if he did. He was tempted to slide his hands over the tempting swell of Macklin’s ass bobbing in his face, maybe even fondle the sac that kept smacking his nose, but after Macklin’s reaction the night before, he decided not to take the risk of Macklin pulling away. He’d play with Macklin’s nipples instead and save the rest for later. One of these days, though, he was going to get his mouth on that pink pucker that kept flashing into view as Macklin’s buttocks flexed and released.
Macklin’s mouth returned to Caine’s cock after he’d established a rhythm with his hips, but the contact was tentative, as if he didn’t really know what he was doing. The thought made Caine want to smile. Macklin might not be willing to come out yet, but he was making changes for Caine, letting Caine into his life in ways he’d never done for anyone else. That made the challenges ahead easier to contemplate. It might take time, but Macklin wasn’t refusing to consider other options. He just needed to reach each step at his own pace.
Macklin’s thrusts sped up, the rhythm faltering. “Close,” Macklin gasped, pulling out to the very tip so Caine had a chance to pull away if he wanted to. He grabbed Macklin’s hips with one hand, pushing them back down toward his face as he tugged on Macklin’s nipple again with the other, giving silent permission for Macklin to find his release in Caine’s mouth.
It only took a few more thrusts before the salty flavor of Macklin’s release exploded on Caine’s tongue, filling his mouth and running down his chin even as he tried to swallow. Macklin groaned through his climax, his head resting against the inside of Caine’s thigh as he shook with the force of his orgasm. “Don’t move,” he ordered when Caine started to shift from beneath him. “I’m not done with you yet.”
Caine certainly hoped not. He hadn’t intended to pull away so much as move to the side so Macklin could lie down if he wanted to, but the foreman had other ideas, his mouth returning to Caine’s cock as his fingers probed between Caine’s cheeks. Caine spread his legs wider, inviting the caress. He had no idea when Macklin had found the lube, but the fingers that slid inside of him, two to judge by the stretch, were slick, moving easily inside him as Macklin found his gland again and teased it as he had the night before. Caine tossed his head on the mattress, caught between Macklin’s tentative mouth and masterful fingers. The contrast nearly brought him undone right then.
It was probably the most awkward, bumbling blow job Caine had ever received, but Macklin’s fingers in his ass kept him fully engaged and on the verge of release, and the determination in Macklin’s stance as he kept trying to take Caine deeper into his mouth endeared him to Caine even more. It would be so easy to fall in love with the man as he was right now. The problem was the way he acted the rest of the time.
“C-c-close,” Caine gasped out when a particularly well-aimed thrust of Macklin’s fingers left him struggling for control. Macklin lifted his head, his hand pumping Caine’s cock hard and fast, tipping the balance in the favor of release. If a part of Caine was disappointed that Macklin had pulled back, he reminded himself how long it had taken before he had been comfortable letting someone come in his mouth.
The fact that Macklin had given him a blow job at all was a huge step. Caine just needed to hold on to that fact when he started doubting how serious Macklin was about their relationship.
When Macklin suddenly got up and disappeared into the bathroom, Caine told himself not to panic. Macklin hadn’t left. He�
��d gone to get a washcloth to clean them up. When he heard the water running, he relaxed, waiting for the return of the tender lover who had cleaned him so carefully the night in the drover’s hut. When the door didn’t open immediately, he remembered Macklin’s hesitations and made himself wait patiently while his lover attended to his own ablutions before returning. His patience had nearly reached an end before the door finally opened and Macklin came back out, washcloth in hand, to tenderly wipe Caine’s stomach clean.
“Sorry it took me so long,” Macklin said. “I needed….”
“Did I freak you out again?” Caine asked. “I was hoping it felt too good for that.”
Macklin shrugged sheepishly. “It did feel good. It was only after the fact that I lost it a little. I’ll get better.”
Caine took the washcloth from Macklin’s hand and tossed it aside, patting the space on the bed beside him. “If you get any better, you’ll kill me.”
“I pulled back before you came.”
“If you’d stopped and left me hanging, I’d complain,” Caine said, “but it took me a long time before I could let someone come in my mouth. It’s not a competition, Macklin. If you make me feel good and I make you feel good, how we do it isn’t the issue. Although you didn’t have to get up to clean me up, you know. I’d have loved it if you licked me clean.”
“That’s a little too much too fast, pup,” Macklin said, “but for you, I might manage it next time.”
Caine didn’t stop to think about Macklin’s taste lingering in his mouth. He simply reached for his lover, pulling him into a deep kiss because that declaration of willingness was tantamount to a declaration of love as far as Caine was concerned. If Macklin didn’t feel something for him, something that had the chance at being real and abiding, he wouldn’t have said anything at all. He would have stopped with “too much too fast.”
The odd look on Macklin’s face when they parted, the way he rubbed his tongue across his lips like he had tasted something odd or unexpected, finally registered with Caine. He leaned forward and kissed Macklin again, close-mouthed this time. “That’s what you taste like,” Caine said. “I’m hoping you’ll give me another taste soon.”
“If you keep looking at me like that, it won’t take long,” Macklin said.
As tempted as Caine was to suggest a second round, the sun was above the horizon now, and they had work to do and a five-hour drive ahead of them. “Tonight,” he said instead.
“Tonight,” Macklin agreed.
Seventeen
BY THE time they loaded the truck with the supplies from Paul and Macklin slipped off to buy condoms, it was nearly lunchtime, so they ate in Boorowa before heading north to Lang Downs. They made decent time, but even so, with unloading the supplies and getting everything put away, it was dinnertime, and Caine hadn’t gotten so much as a kiss since they left the hotel room that morning. He bided his time, not wanting to provoke another confrontation with Macklin when a little patience would bring the end of the meal and a chance to have their usual evening beer.
As the men filed out after the meal, Caine followed Macklin toward his cabin, not speaking so he wouldn’t draw attention to them but not hiding either. The moment the door closed behind them, he threw himself into Macklin’s arms for a fast, hard kiss. “All day is way too long to go without being able to kiss you.”
“What are you going to do when we have to spend all day out in the paddocks with the mob?” Macklin asked, his voice rife with amusement.
“Pull you behind one of the piles of rock and kiss you there,” Caine replied, stealing a second kiss.
“You didn’t get enough of piles of rocks when you ran into that snake?” Macklin teased.
“I’ll be more careful next time,” Caine insisted. “Unless you have a better suggestion?”
“Right now my suggestion involves less clothing and more privacy,” Macklin replied, nudging Caine toward the bedroom. “I swear that box of condoms is haunting me.”
Caine grinned even as his stomach curled at the thought of making love with Macklin again. Would he be on his hands and knees, his ass in the air like in his fevered imaginings, or would Macklin prefer some other position? He couldn’t wait to find out. “What are we w-waiting for?”
Macklin’s grin matched Caine’s. “Turned on already, pup?”
Caine flushed at having given himself away with his stutter, but he could hardly deny it. “You have that effect on m-me.”
“Good,” Macklin replied, his voice so smug Caine smacked him in indignation. “What? Why is it bad to be glad I can turn my lover on with a few words?”
“I d-don’t like it when I s-s-stutter,” Caine said defensively.
Macklin kissed him so tenderly that Caine melted into the foreman’s embrace. “I’m sorry you stutter because I know it makes you uncomfortable, but I’m not sorry I can make you so aroused that you can’t control it the way you usually do. Come to bed?”
Caine nodded his agreement, not even Macklin’s reassurances enough to make him truly comfortable trying to talk when he knew he wouldn’t get a sentence out without stuttering.
Macklin led him down a short hallway to the bedroom where they had slept so peacefully two nights before. Caine didn’t expect tonight to be nearly as peaceful, not at first anyway.
Unlike the last time they had come to Macklin’s bedroom together, there was no shyness this time, no awkward hesitation as to how the next few minutes would go. Macklin pulled Caine close, hands moving swiftly over his clothes, stripping him to bare skin in seconds. To Caine’s surprise, Macklin stepped back after that and let Caine return the favor.
As tempting as it was to rush, Caine ignored the bite of cold air on his skin and took his time pulling Macklin’s clothes off, licking, kissing, caressing the skin he revealed, paying special attention to Macklin’s nipples and then, as he sank to his knees, to Macklin’s cock.
“I thought we were going to use those condoms,” Macklin said hoarsely.
“W-we are,” Caine promised, “b-b-but I c-can d-d-do this f-first, c-can’t I?”
“Not for long,” Macklin warned, staring down at Caine with glittering eyes. “I couldn’t see you this morning. The sight of you on your knees, your lips stretched around my dick, is almost too much.”
Caine didn’t try to answer that comment, holding Macklin’s gaze as he guided Macklin’s cock to his mouth, sucking it as deep as he could.
“Fuck,” Macklin ground out, grabbing Caine’s arms and all but tossing him onto the bed.
Caine looked back at Macklin over his shoulder and pushed up onto his knees, wiggling his ass in teasing invitation.
“Greedy little bottom,” Macklin said again, kneeling on the bed behind Caine. “Do you know what happens to people who tease me?”
“Th-they g-g-get f-f-fucked?” Caine asked hopefully.
“Eventually,” Macklin replied, “but first they get teased in return.” His hand slid between Caine’s legs, fondling his sac and then moving forward to stroke his cock.
Caine dropped his head to his forearms, uncaring of the wanton picture he made, ass sticking up in the air in silent supplication. It was hardly a secret he wanted Macklin to fuck him, and the longer the foreplay went on the better, as far as Caine was concerned. The more aroused he was, the easier it was for him to relax into being topped. He had the random thought that this was maybe the reason he and John had stopped fucking. Caine wasn’t ever turned-on enough to enjoy it.
That wouldn’t be a problem with Macklin’s voice whispering in his ear and Macklin’s hand jacking him slowly. He was already leaking onto the quilt, and they’d hardly gotten started.
Then Macklin’s thumb pressed against Caine’s entrance, and Caine let out a wordless sob. The digit filled his entrance without going deep enough to find his prostate, making him focus completely on his guardian muscle and the stretch of penetration. He lifted his hips more, trying to find a comfortable position. Macklin’s thumb followed him, staying right th
ere. “Relax,” the raspy voice murmured in his ear. “Get used to the sensation.”
Caine tried to do as Macklin said, but his body didn’t want to cooperate.
“You’re still tense, pup. Turn over,” Macklin said, his finger slipping free for a moment.
Caine rolled onto his back. Macklin nudged his legs apart, settling between them and smearing more lube on his fingers. Then his thumb was back, that same awkward feeling of fullness without the additional stimulation, except that this time, Macklin bent his head and licked along Caine’s cock. The distraction worked. Caine’s muscles relaxed, and the discomfort faded to a tingling awareness instead.
When Macklin lifted his head again, he looked at Caine, his face serious. “How long has it been since someone last fucked you?”
Caine shrugged. “A y-year, m-maybe a l-little more.”
“Galah,” Macklin muttered. “He had you in his bed and didn’t make love to you every chance he got? His loss.”
My gain, Caine thought as Macklin leaned up and sucked on his nipples in turn. He tossed on the bed, trying to get Macklin’s thumb deeper, but the need to expel the intruder had passed, leaving him aching for more, for Macklin’s thick cock.
More came first in the form of a finger joining Macklin’s thumb, widening the stretch but hitting Caine’s sweet spot at the same time. He cried out at the dual sensation, coming halfway off the bed.
“Okay, pup?” Macklin asked, urging him back onto the mattress and kissing him thoroughly until he relaxed. Macklin’s lips moved lower, across his jaw and down over his collarbone. Caine arched into the caress, body thrumming. Macklin tongued one nipple, winning a moan from Caine. Then he took the taut nub between his teeth, the pinch sending another frisson of need down Caine’s back.
“Not too rough?” Macklin asked as he released Caine.
Caine shook his head, so Macklin repeated the caress on the other side, his finger and thumb moving in a constant, slow rhythm inside Caine’s body. Suddenly a second finger joined the others, pressing hard on his prostate. Caine cried out again, but Macklin soothed him with gentle hands. “Easy, pup. Am I hurting you?”