by Kit Fortier
Jake was soundless, wordless. This climax wasn't wrung from him, not like many times before. The quick, desperately quiet jerkoff in the barracks with another guy at basic training. The series of men and women he bedded before Ben came along. Even the small handful of times he had liaisons with men in his college days. Then, it was all frantic, tugging, pulling-the act of release was usually explosive. But here, release wasn't an act of haste or ridiculous thrashing.
When Jake came, it was because Fox made it his goal to put him first. His release didn't fire out like an animal explosion. Fox coaxed it out of him, gently, insistently, overwhelmingly. It was the closest Jake had ever been to perfection in his life. Nothing he could say would add to the rightness of the moment.
He lay there, awestruck by the man inside him. Fox, in turn, slowed down. It seemed he wanted to give his pleasure a chance to blossom and breathe like a fine wine. Jake watched Fox, cataloging his features. His short, thick, wily auburn hair. The way his straight nose ended in a slight bump. the defined cleft of his chest. his unsculpted yet defined, firm midsection. His clear, bright, green eyes. Jake shuddered with an aftershock of the climax Fox gave him.
Fox slid his fingers across the substantial, heavy pool of Jake's essence nestled above his navel. He brought those fingers to his mouth, cleaning each digit so not a drop remained. Jake watched him collect and taste the precious fluid. He delicately swept it up over and over. He didn't stop until every last bit had dripped off his fingers and past his lips. It was beyond surreal, but it only continued to add to the mind-altering warmth of the moment. Jake was still adrift in pleasure quaking gently, infrequently.
Fox dipped down and kissed Jake, deeply, tenderly. He shared Jake's taste with the man who made it, until Jake knew that the taste belonged to both of them. He hadn't stopped kissing when he began pushing into Jake again.
Even though he had climaxed, Jake was still engaged in the dance. He relished the way Fox's hardness slid in and out of him. It scraped past the sensitive flesh that triggered his full-body orgasm. Jake tasted sweat seeping into their kiss as Fox's thrusts became desperate. He wrapped his arms around Fox, holding him close yet giving him space he needed to move. The sounds building in Fox sent little shocks through Jake's tongue and to his brain. The momentum barreled on through until Fox practically screamed in Jake's mouth.
The sensation that Fox was filling him from the inside washed over Jake as the man above him climaxed. Jake kissed at Fox's straining neck, whispered words of comfort in Fox's ear as Fox poured himself into him.
It could have been forever. A part of Jake wished that it would last as such. Jake would wait until Fox would fill every crook and crevice inside and out. Fox's kisses turned languid, and after moments of taste, touch, and the sound of the stars, Fox withdrew. Fox's release dribbled out of him as he collapsed at Jake's side, his eyes focused on Jake's eyes alone.
*** Fox
Fox looked into Jake's impossibly silvery eyes, lit now only by the ambient light of the stars. The campfire had burned out moments ago, with a wispy, diaphanous ribbon of smoke rising into the night sky.
"I hope…" Fox began. But he couldn't think of the words to say. "I hope that was alright." His words were feeble, insecure, as if anything he said wouldn't be enough. Fox waited, wondering what was going through Jake's mind.
Fox didn't have to wait long. Jake laughed, teary eyed. It confused Fox.
"Are you okay?"
Jake propped himself up, turning to Fox, a smile on his face.
"Baby. Fox," Jake said. A wave of dread seemed to crest over Fox for what would come from Jake's mouth.
"You made my first time beautiful."
Fox's eyes widened. The dread was replaced with surprise.
"Your first?"
"I've never let anyone... fuck me. I always topped. I was always in control. But… I wanted you to--" Jake paused. The words he wanted to say were woefully inadequate. "I wanted you. God knows, I wanted you. I wanted to give that to you, give a part of myself to you. Something that only you could take, only you could keep. You gave me something I will remember forever."
Heat burned Fox's face as he buried it in his pillow. Jake shifted closer to him. He slipped an arm under his pillow, and another arm draping over his shoulders. Jake's breath drifted over his ear.
"This is amazing," Jake whispered. With Jake's arm beneath his head, Fox rolled onto his back. He scooted closer to the other man until they were comfortably pressed together. When they settled, they lay side by side, looking at the stars.
"You haven't slept under the stars in the whole time you were hiking?"
"I usually make a shelter." Fox heard a niggle of uncertainty in Jake's voice, but he let it go. But a joking thought crossed his mind.
"You know, I've never done it with a virgin before."
A wave of laughter burst out of Jake, and Fox was swept along for the ride.
Eventually, the laughter subsided. It echoed to a quiet infinity as they came down from the moment.
The two lay there, listening to each other breathe as a rare shower of stars flared up above them.
"I'm glad you were my first." Jake stroked Fox's hair, gently massaging his scalp.
Fox said nothing. He drew closer to Jake, curling into him with his head on Jake's chest. Jake's fingers glided slowly through his hair. They pressed against his scalp with slow, steady, firm touches. He breathed Jake in. Fox relished in the smell of pine, earth, cooling sweat, and the essence of man he loved mingled with his own.
The scent curled around his brain, his heart, warming Fox from the inside out. With Jake's touch through his hair and the night around them, Fox fell asleep, with his world as right as it could ever be.
10. Spinthíres
*** Fox
Without opening his eyes, Fox knew the sun was rising. He knew that Jake was up and about, as the mattress next to him was cold without a body on it. The blanket tucked in around him-an act of tenderness that made Fox's heart warm.
He sat up, drawing the blanket over his shoulders. It was chilly. Jake was at the campfire in his jeans, holding his hands over the open flame, which he reignited. Fox scooted out of the truck bed, smiling at the feel of cool, dewy grass beneath his feet.
He padded down to the firepit, the sound of his blanket trailing behind him giving him away. Jake turned to him, smiling.
"Aren't you cold?" Fox eyed Jake's shirtless skin. Jake pointed to the truck.
"I, uh, I wiped you off two days ago with my shirt."
Fox's face heat.
"I was messy over there, wasn't I."
"You were." Jake gave Fox quick, wet peck. "It was hot."
Fox laughed. He tugged the blanket off and put it over Jake's shoulders.
"Hey, what about you?" Jake ran his eyes over Fox. He stifled a laugh at the lascivious way Jake looked at him.
"I like it cold. And this isn't cold, it's brisk. Heck, it's take-off-your-shirt weather."
Jake laughed. "Or take-off-your-shirt-pants-and-underwear weather, in your case."
Fox grinned a bright grin in return.
"It'll get warmer later. Besides, I couldn't maintain this full-body tan any other way, right?"
Jake shook his head, a chuckle bubbling out of him. "I guess you just really like being naked."
"Are you complaining?"
Jake only smiled in reply.
Fox stood there, the morning light warming him as he put his rear to the fire. Jake moved next to him, rubbing a warm hand over his skin.
"Unless you packed bacon, eggs, a frying pan, a flipper and some butter in that magic footlocker of yours, we're gonna have to go back."
Fox whined, a perfect imitation of a petulant child. "Aw, do we have to, daddy?"
The hand that was caressing Fox's ass with soothing strokes slapped it hard.
"Ow! Bitch!" Fox leapt away from the fire and laughed.
"I may be older than you, Fox Foster," the use of Fox's full name made him laugh e
ven more. "…But never call me that," Jake smirked. "If I hear that again, 'Daddy' will bend you over his knee and tan your fanny until his hand gets tired. Then he'll use the other hand instead."
Fox snorted, opening his mouth to speak when Jake cut him off.
"Yes, Foxy baby. It's a promise," Jake said, crossing his heart.
Fox rounded on Jake, pressing himself against him face to face. He snaked his arms around Jake and hugged him close. Fox relished in the furnace-like warmth radiating from his body. He leaned his head on Jake's shoulder.
"I like it when you call me that."
Jake's hand caressed Fox's his back, sliding from his shoulders to the divots in the small of his back.
"Only you," Jake whispered.
Fox smiled against Jake's skin, leaving a wet kiss when he pulled back. He saw a circular bruise on Jake's neck and was aghast.
"Did I do that?" Fox asked.
"We did it to each other," Jake said as he reached out to Fox's neck, his fingers circling a spot which made Fox shiver. His stomach squelched any intimate desires with a grumbling roar.
"I guess I'm not the only one who's hungry," Jake laughed, petting Fox's firm, defined belly. Fox leaned in to the touch. Were he a cat, he may as well have purred.
"I could eat, I guess." Fox winked.
"Different kind of protein, but I like your thinking."
Fox snuck under the blanket draped over Jake's shoulders. He turned so that Jake was now holding him close from behind. Fox relished in Jake's free touch as he grazed his sensitive areas with the very tips of his fingertips.
"We can stop in at the market on the way back. I'd be happy to make you breakfast," Fox said. Jake nodded behind him.
"That will work. But I have something to tell you."
That Jake hadn't stopped his gentle touch soothed Fox's panic that rose a moment after he finished his sentence. Jake whispered a shushing sound in Fox's ears like a parent would do for a colicky child.
"Have you ever read, 'Alice in Wonderland'?"
Fox's puzzled reaction was evident. "A long time ago."
Jake indicated the pine tree where he chased Fox's sorrows away with marathon rounds of intimacy. Fox raised an eyebrow at him.
"Let's sit," Jake said. He took Fox under his arm and led him to the tree, and they sat facing the risen sun. Jake spread his legs open, and Fox sat in the space between, allowing Jake to rest his head on Fox's shoulder.
"'Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.'"
Jake's words were cryptic.
"Is that from the book?" Fox asked.
"Yes. It's something that I remind myself of every day. After the things I've seen, the impossible and I are more than casual acquaintances."
Fox canted his head slightly, his interest piqued.
"Are you talking about stuff from your military days? From your travels?"
"They are a part of it, but not all of it."
"Name one impossible thing," Fox said, his challenge bordered on curiosity and ribbing.
"I've fallen in love with a man in just under a week."
Fox couldn't contain the laugh that burst through him. "It does seem impossible, doesn't it?"
Jake cinched his arms around Fox a little tighter, and the feel of Jake's lips pressed against the side of his head. He shuddered at a thought--He hadn't taken a dip since before lunch the day before, so now he must smell of sex and sun. It seemed Jake hadn't minded, as he had taken a number of deep inhales of Fox's hair, his skin, in the moments they'd been awake.
"I've seen people die."
Jake let that fly so casually that Fox almost missed the fact Jake stopped moving.
"Jake?" Fox raised his hand and met the side of Jake's face. Jake turned into Fox's touch and kissed his palm. Fox knew he was trying to keep him soothed, his own demons just below the surface.
"Was it related to a deployment?"
Jake nodded. "My second deployment. I was shipped out to Kuwait. It was before September eleventh, so I wasn't combat-bound or anything."
"I had a weekend pass one week, and I spent it in Kuwait City. Saw the sights, sampled the food. We couldn't drink-That whole area is a dry region, so naturally, we had to look for other ways to pass the time.
"I wasn't terribly interested in the night life. At this point, I'd pretty much determined that I preferred sex with men."
A swell of jealousy and anger towards every man who touched Jake overtook Fox. Jake must have sensed the envy rolling off of him.
"Baby, that was years ago. Breathe for me, okay?" Fox received another kiss, this one on his temple. Fox did as he was told, and let the negative feelings go.
"I didn't want to make myself a target. I kept to the public places in daylight-restaurants, tourist traps, the bazaars. At night, I stayed in my hotel room. Didn't want to risk anything in a nightclub. Some of those places are notorious for entrapping tourists for being gay.
"The day before I left, I went to a place I'd frequented throughout my stay. I'd go there for breakfast. The restaurant owner, Khaled, took a liking to me. He appreciated that I'd read up on various do's and don'ts, and that I was respectful at every visit. Khaled had his fill of the 'ugly Americans', and saw me as one of the good guys, so to speak. We talked for a while as his staff kept food and drink coming for the both of us. As I was about to leave, he shook my hand.
"You normally wouldn't think twice about a thing like that, but there was a strange connection there. I guess you would call it a pulse. It was a physical one, as if the insides of a lock clicked into place. I could see it on Khaled's face. He was surprised and was almost panicked. I pulled out my wallet, prepared to pay, when he grabbed my wrist, and pulled me into one of his back rooms.
"By back room, I mean he went around a corner. He made sure no one was looking, hit a hidden trigger, and dragged me into a barely lit hallway. The door closed behind us, and he pulled me to the end of the hall. He seemed panicked, yeah, but he didn't hurt me.
"There was a ladder that lead down a ways. At the bottom, another hallway led us to what looked like a cistern-an underground water chamber. It wasn't all water. There was a walkway leading out to a kind of island in the center of the room. There were bottles, bags, boxes everywhere on that island. Stuff even hung from the roof directly over the island. The walls had engravings on them. I didn't know then what they were, but I'm definitely in the know now."
Jake's breath slid down Fox's neck as a pause settled in the conversation.
"You'll tell me when you need a break, right?"
Fox turned his head and kissed Jake's cheek lightly. "I will. I don't want to interrupt you, though."
Jake nodded.
"Khaled gave me this," he said, lifting his arm with the Locus. "He shoved a folded-up leather parchment in my hand, along with a rather thick stack of old papers bound by string. Khaled had me tuck it all away in my backpack and made me swear to come back to see him again that night, before I left. He said he had much to tell me. I did.
"That night, the block the restaurant was on was quiet. Way quieter than it should have been. I didn't see a soul on the streets, no drivers. It was a little windy-blowing in my face. It was like that scene in the movies where a guy's about to get shot by a sniper or ambushed. But I kept pressing forward. As I neared the restaurant, I heard creaking and snapping. It sounded like the foundations of the building were warping, twisting, breaking apart. There was strangely enough light pouring into the insides of the building. That's when I realized the roof had been ripped off. Something was gutting the building from the inside out.
"I heard shouting in Arabic. Khaled. He was pleading. Let his children go. Let his workers go. He would stay. I got as close as I could without being seen. I hid around a nearby corner, where I made sure I had a clean getaway if things turned south. Looking back, I had a clear view of Khaled. I could see him in front of the people he was protecting. He put himself between his huddled friends and family and
whoever it was threatening him.
"It wasn't enough.
"Things came out of the dark. They were fast. Snarling. There were screams and flashes of teeth and claws and so much blood being flung everywhere. Soon all I could hear were several… people breathing heavy. I couldn't be sure they were even people. I saw body parts soaked in blood ripped from bodies and strewn on the floor. I thought I was going to be sick. I'm sure I did eventually.
"I didn't stick around. I bolted and made my way back to the hotel.
"The next day, I decided to go back to the restaurant. I had to steel myself for what I thought I'd see--the local police, investigators, crowds of people. I was surprised, then, when I saw everyone going about their business. The building looked whole, lived in. People walked right by the building. It was as if it hadn't just been gutted and its tenants shredded and strewn all over the floor.
"I walked up to the building, and I could smell something. It was almost chemical. I'm used to the smell of ozone, but this was something else. Rotten eggs. I thought it would be the smell of Khaled's friends and family rotting in the sun.
"I stepped through the front door. I thought I had passed through a gigantic soap bubble. I turned around and watched something close up behind me. It was shimmering, translucent, almost invisible. When I looked back at where I planned to go, I saw what no one else did.
"The building was basically four walls. There were no floors above, no ceiling, no roof. There were some broken windows. The tile that was the ground floor had been stripped away, leaving only flat, compressed dirt. Even the walls had been stripped down, as if someone peeled away any place where blood may have hit. It was surreal.
"The only thing out of place, even if the whole thing was out of place, was a single overturned table. It was one of Khaled's bigger tables, likely for family dining. I managed to lift one end up to look under it. I wished I hadn't."