by Lynn Lorenz
Jackson returned and laid the breeches out to dry at the hearth. He fiddled with the black pot that sat in the embers and using a cloth, pulled it out and poured some of the hot liquid into a cup.
“I made soup from the bones of the rabbits.” He carried the cup to the bed and sat. “Sit up and have some warm broth.”
Will did as he was told. The soup spread its warmth throughout his body.
Jackson watched until he’d finished. “More, my lord?”
“No. It was enough.” Will handed the bowl back.
Jackson stood and emptied the rest of the liquid into the cup and drank. Then, he took the pot and went outside, thankful for a diversion. The crooked smile on Will’s face and the smoothness of his chest were tempting sights, despite his strong smell.
After dumping out the remains of the soup, he rinsed the pot and filled it with fresh water, then returned to the room.
Placing the pot back among the coals, he checked the clothes. “Not dry yet. By morn they should be warm enough to wear.” It meant Will would spend the night naked under the blanket. Jackson didn’t want to think about that, but the images were hard to push from his mind’s eye.
The men fell silent. Jackson watched the fire. Will watched him. As the flames danced, he relived taking Will into his arms. He’d wanted so much more than that too brief touch. Damn. He was a large, strong man, but Will brought him to his knees. He felt his rod’s thickening and struggled to control it. It would only be a matter of time before he could no longer resist the desire he felt when he looked at Will.
That time passed far too fast. Giving in to his wanting, Jackson stood. “I think a warm bath would be good for you. Both clean and warm your body.”
“A warm bath?” Will raised his eyebrow.
“Aye. I’ve put some water to heat.”
“Oh. That was clever.” Will lay back on the bed.
Jackson pulled the pot from the embers and brought it to the bed. Sitting on the cot, he used the sliver of soap he’d shaved Will with and rubbed it over a rag, then dipped the rag in the warm water. He reached for Will’s arm and began to wash it with the cloth.
The water was warm—the soap’s lye smell was faint. Jackson scrubbed the dirt and sweat away, rinsed, then reached for the other arm and repeated the process.
“I’m sure I could wash myself, Jackson.” Will laughed.
“I don’t mind.” Jackson looked down and held Will’s blue eyes in his gaze.
Will smiled. “I have to admit, I’m enjoying this attention.” That lopsided grin tugged at Jackson’s heart.
He continued to wash Will, moving to his neck, careful of the healing scrapes, then ran the cloth through the blond hair that dusted his chest, over his nipples then his belly, and pretended not to notice the rise of the blanket over Will’s groin.
“That would be better done with your fingers, I think,” Will whispered.
Jackson dropped the rag into the pot and slid his hand over Will’s chest, spreading the soap. He found those tempting nipples and brushed over first one then the other with a light touch, then began to circle each with the tip of his finger.
Will inhaled and held his breath as Jackson’s finger worked his nipples into hard, aching points. He looked up into brown eyes, dark with desire, and full, parted lips. Wrapping his hand around Jackson’s neck, he locked eyes with Jackson and pulled him down.
Jackson slid off the bed and onto his knees. Will’s eyes closed as their lips met. Lightning flashed behind Will’s eyelids as a rush of longing filled him.
Jackson pulled away. “Damn me to hell,” he growled, then claimed Will’s mouth with his. They kissed, tongues dancing, teeth raking lips, mouths open to each other. Will gave in, let Jackson’s tongue conquer his own, let it fill his mouth as he tasted the larger man. His hands slid to Jackson’s thick, wild dark red hair and were lost in it.
Jackson’s soapy hand slipped lower, traveled over Will’s belly, sending pleasure straight to Will’s stones. As Jackson’s fingers tangled in the soft blond hair that led from Will’s navel to the nest hidden beneath the blanket, Will writhed beneath the touch, and his cock throbbed with need as it tented the cloth that held it down.
Jackson pulled back the blanket, uncovering the evidence of Will’s desire. It was glorious, thick, and proud—the head reddened, the shaft a soft brown, nesting in dark blond curls. Truly a thing of beauty.
He lowered his head to Will’s mouth again. Would he ever get enough of the taste of him?
Tongues touched, tasted, felt the edges of teeth, then touched again. Jackson’s other hand cupped Will’s face as he plundered his prize. Will moaned his pleasure into Jackson’s mouth and the pleasure was returned.
Searching fingers at last touched straining cock.
“Damn me!” Will tore his mouth from Jackson as he cried out.
Jackson’s fingers explored his captive. The warmth of the thick flesh he held in his hand seared him, and his own cock responded as it surged to its full length and width, trapped behind his straining breeches. It was just as he’d feared. Once he’d touched Will, kissed his mouth, held his cock in his hand, the thread between them became a rope and his heart had been bound to the man in his arms.
Will’s shaft was velvet over hard rod, and Jackson wanted to possess it.
Gasping, Will’s hips arched. Jackson’s fingers wrapped around the thick shaft and slid upward to the tip, squeezed the head, then slid back down.
Mouths fused, tongues touched, and blended moans filled the hut. Jackson’s hand cupped Will’s heavy sac, felt the soft fur that covered them, then moved back to the shaft to stroke it again and again.
Jackson’s pumping hand was relentless. Will’s body arched with pleasure as his mouth was filled with the bigger man’s tongue. He suckled it, learning its taste and texture. Jackson’s hand held Will’s jaw, his thumb pressed into Will’s throat, fingers dug into his scalp. Dominating and controlling the kiss with one hand, Jackson’s other hand stroked Will’s cock. Pure pleasure poured from Will’s shaft into his stones and surged deep into his belly, leaving him wanting, craving, needing more.
This was all Will had imagined. His desire for the man who’d saved his life was no fleeting thing. No single night of fucking, no nameless partner, no hurried coupling in a dark alley. Nothing he’d ever experienced and everything for which he’d searched.
But for Jackson? His heart stammered at the thought that this might be just a fleeting moment for Jackson, that he didn’t feel the intensity, the desire, and the rightness of what they shared. He offered a quick prayer that Jackson felt the same as he, then he let how Jackson made him feel override any rational thought.
How could such a large, strong hand, calloused from wielding a broadsword, be so gentle and tender? Will’s stones tightened as he hung onto the edge of his release, too weak to hold off for long. He’d had no idea how badly he’d needed to let go and spill.
“Let it come, my lord,” Jackson whispered, then burying his face in the crook of Will’s neck, took Will’s shoulder between his teeth. Biting and sucking, Jackson sent Will over the edge. Fingers grasping the ropes of the bed, Will’s body stiffened and he exploded.
“Damn you, Jackson,” he cried out, as that blessed hand forced his cream from him in hard, hot spurts, until he collapsed, wrung out. Will swore he couldn’t feel the bones in his body, or speak for his loss of breath.
Jackson’s hand released him. Eyes closed, Will felt the rag, dipped in warm water, as Jackson wiped him clean, running it over his heaving chest, bruised belly, and then, with all tenderness, over his limp member and his sac.
“Sleep now, my lord,” Jackson said, and pulled the blanket over him.
Will closed his eyes, sated and content.
Jackson sat back and watched as Will slept. He’d done what he’d sworn he wouldn’t do and given in to his desires. When Will woke, they’d share the bread and cheese. A solid meal would do them both good. Jackson stretched out on th
e floor next to the cot and rolled onto his side, facing the fire. His cock still strained, still throbbed, but he would let it subside. Will was in no shape to pleasure him, and Jackson knew he wouldn’t be happy with a quick release by his own hand. He’d wait until what he wanted was available and offered to him.
Staring into the fire, Jackson wondered when the words “my lord” had come to mean “my love.”
Chapter Four
Will woke, rolled over, and looked down at Jackson asleep on the floor next to his cot. The big man’s dark red hair was wild, tousled around his head, and the shirt he wore was open from his neck to mid-chest, giving Will a glimpse of a scattering of dark hair. Slightly parted full lips beckoned Will, and he relived the moment when Jackson had brushed them against his still tender lips.
He’d thought he’d explode at that moment. He’d been so weak, yet he’d managed to keep himself from spilling. Somehow, Jackson knew how to be tender, yet strong and demanding—his touch was coaxing, yet comforting, as he’d given Will a much needed release.
Still, Jackson had taken very little for himself. It seemed to Will that from the moment they’d met Jackson had been giving him much with little asked in return. Will didn’t lie to himself. He’d needed everything that Jackson had offered.
Other men he’d been with had given only their bodies for an exchange of pleasure. Not even his first lover, a man he’d lived with for one long, sultry summer, had been so generous. Only eighteen, Will had learned by fall that anything his lover gave Will would cost, whether it was with Will’s body, his pride, or his good name.
That experience had taught him two valuable lessons—first, not to give his heart so easily—and second, to look beyond the beautiful, seductive exterior, and search for the beauty of the soul and heart.
In over ten years of searching, he’d never found someone he could trust to love again, or who held a heart and soul filled with beauty and tenderness.
How odd that here on this stark mountain Will had found that trust and beauty in a mercenary. Jackson may not have been handsome to some, but his face and form excited Will beyond all others.
When Jackson woke, would he embrace Will or turn cold and distant as others had done? Would he be embarrassed, fail to meet Will’s eyes, act as if nothing had happened between them?
Unsure of Jackson’s response, he reached out a hand and brushed a lock of hair from the man’s forehead. Dark eyes opened and looked up into his own.
“Come here, my lord.” Jackson tossed off his cloak and laid it on the floor next to him, then reached up and pulled Will, naked, into his arms.
Draped over Jackson’s body, his legs between the big man’s legs, his arms on either side of Jackson’s head, Will flicked his gaze to Jackson’s parted lips. The tip of Jackson’s pink tongue emerged as Will was pulled down into a kiss. Will deepened the kiss as desire washed over him. Jackson’s rod hardened beneath him.
“When you are well, my lord, I’m going to take you,” Jackson whispered in a voice so deep Will felt it rumble in the man’s chest. Will quivered at the thought of Jackson’s cock inside him.
“Let me bring you.” Will kissed Jackson’s throat, licking his way to his ear, then taking the lobe between his teeth, he flicked it with his tongue.
“God, please,” Jackson moaned.
Will rolled to the side and Jackson pulled off his shirt, then undid his laces and shucked out of his breeches. Both men were naked, lying side by side. At last, that magnificent, large, powerful body was Will’s to explore. He leaned over and captured Jackson’s dark nipple in his mouth as his fingers found the other and pulled the hard nub. A moan rumbled again in that large chest, and Will lowered his head, resting his ear against Jackson to hear it. Lifting his head, Will took his time, and with slow passes of his tongue, glided between the hardened points of Jackson’s chest. He wanted this to last, to enjoy every sensation, every taste and touch, afraid that it would be taken from him before he tired of it.
His mouth explored this new territory, tasted Jackson’s skin, pulled at the dusting of dark hair on his chest. His tongue laved its way lower, following the trail of hair that grew across Jackson’s broad chest and traveled past his navel to end at a mass of dark red curls. The longest cock Will had ever seen stretched from the big man’s stones to well beyond his navel.
“Goddamn, Jackson, your rod is impressive,” Will gasped as he wrapped his hand around the thick shaft. Jackson moaned and his back arched. Sliding his hand up and down the long length, Will brought it to full standing.
No, this was something Will would never tire of, and he could happily spend the rest of his life exploring all there was to Jackson, learning everything the man could teach him about how he liked to be touched, licked, kissed, fucked.
“Will you take me in your mouth?” Jackson whispered.
“Try to stop me,” Will growled. The tip of his tongue darted out to lick the engorged deep red head, and he listened to the sighs Jackson made, each one a treasure, proof that Will pleased him. Will wanted to move him more than anyone Jackson had ever known. Will knew it was a foolish hope, but he wanted Jackson to declare his love, to claim that he couldn’t be without him, and ask Will to be his.
Running his tongue up the underside of that magnificent cock, Will felt the veins that ran the length, tasted Jackson’s musky, salty flavor, then traveled back down to lick his sac and discover the stones held within.
Jackson bolted upright. “Goddamn, Will!”
“You like that?” Will grinned at him.
“Aye. Do it again, my lord.”
Will lowered his head and sucked one side of the heavy sac—its hard stone encased within—as Jackson groaned, then released it to attack the other, repeating the actions several times, and then sat back. “Shall I suck this now?” His hand stroked the shaft, keeping it stiff and straight.
“Oh, please,” Jackson implored as his eyes shuttered. He watched, eyes half lidded and dark, as Will lowered his head, opened his mouth wide, and swallowed the head of his cock.
Wet warmth like Jackson had never known surrounded his rod, as Will pumped the thick shaft with his hand and sucked the head. Crying out, Jackson had to remember to breathe. He’d never felt such intense pleasure. Every inch of skin that covered his cock seemed to be on fire, his stones ached and tightened, and if he weren’t careful, he’d lose control and shoot too soon. That would never do. He wanted this to last, but had to remember that Will was weakened and shouldn’t be worked too hard.
By God, he wanted more of Will’s sweet mouth and tongue. It had laved his body, teased his nipples, and tasted his sac. That alone had sent shivers up his spine, and a burst of sensations up the length of his cock meant to spur him to spill. Now, as Will worked, Jackson felt the softness of those lips, the suction of his mouth, and his tongue as it danced around the edge of his engorged and blissfully sensitive head.
Will’s mouth captured Jackson’s cock and drove him close to release, but he held back, greedy for more. Will’s firm grip on his shaft as Jackson’s skin slipped past the smooth skin of Will’s hand made his rod jerk with waves of pleasure. The man had hands that could work magic and a tongue that could make him shoot.
Will’s head rose and plunged down the shaft, his long hair falling over his shoulder draping Jackson’s thighs and hips. Through this thick curtain, Jackson watched. Wanting a better look, he pulled Will’s hair to the side and held it back with his hand. He’d never seen anything more beautiful than Will sucking his cock.
With a shudder, he watched as his cock disappeared into Will’s mouth, and then reappeared glistening, only to disappear again in a series of deep swallows that threatened his very sanity. He felt the building pressure in his stones as his sac tightened, pulling into his body as he prepared to spill.
“Would you have fucked that young man at the village?” Jackson rasped as his fingers delved into that mass of blond silk, feeling a rush of excitement as he pictured those two bodies, one sm
aller, pressed face first into the wall, the other larger, hips thrusting cock deep inside the willing partner.
Will looked up, his tongue teasing the swollen tip. “Oh, aye, I meant to fuck his tight young ass against that wall.” His blue eyes watched Jackson from under thick blond lashes.
“He wanted you?”
“He was eager enough.” Will gave his cock another lick, pressing the tip of his tongue into the eye.
“He was young, barely twenty, and fair in looks. Is that what you prefer? Young and pretty?” Jackson’s eyes searched Will’s. To Jackson’s count, he was at least eight years Will’s senior, and he couldn’t be counted as fair.
“No, I prefer a man like you.” Will circled the edge of the head with his tongue, and Jackson hissed.
“Have you had many men like me? On your knees, between their legs?”
“I’ve been on my knees many times, Jackson, but there has never been a man like you.” Will dipped his head to swallow Jackson’s cock, then pulled back and left it with a tender kiss. “For me, there will never be another.” He closed his eyes and took the cock deep in his throat, only to pull slow and steady upward with a powerful sucking that threatened to drive Jackson mad.
Jackson lay back, closed his eyes, and bit back a moan. No one had ever spoken to him as Will did. When he’d cut Will down in that field he’d had no idea it would lead to this, but he knew he wouldn’t take it back even if he could. This was the most his heart had felt in long years. Men such as he took their rare happiness where and when they found it, and they didn’t question why.
He stopped thinking and let Will’s touch take him to that place where all his body’s senses reveled in long needed and long denied pleasure. Will took maddeningly slow licks down his shaft, swirled his tongue around Jackson’s sac, and then returned to swallow the tip.
Jackson’s stones tightened. The pressure in them built and began to pulse upward in his shaft. He was ready.
“I’m going to shoot, my lord. You’re bringing me to ready too damn fast,” he gasped.