Coming Together (A Crack in the Ice: Post-Apocalyptic Tales of Man-Love Book 4)

by Leigh Harde

  “That’s the point, boo,” Big T said with more sympathy this time. He and Peter were sitting on the couch, and he bumped against his side. “For us to be close, like a family, instead of at the Camp where everybody was out for themselves. Besides it’s only eleven if you count me,” he said and waggled his eyebrows.

  Yeah, Peter thought, and Clint and Earl too. He looked over at them sitting together and blushed again. They were his friends, but he had never thought of them sexually before. Now he was supposed to bend over for them?

  “I can’t believe that you’re okay with me having sex with ten other men,” Peter said searching his eyes. He supposed that he had liked Big T’s jealously. It had reaffirmed how much he cared about him.

  “I don’t know,” T said trying to explain. He looked down at his hands. “It’s just different here. They care about me. I feel it, boo.” He looked back at Peter. “And I care about them too. I’ve never had a family that gave a crap.” They were both sitting on the edge of the couch, and he put his arm around Peter’s waist.

  “I love you with everything I got,” Terrence told him. “Sharing you with them feels right because I love you.” He shook his head frustrated that he wasn’t explaining himself correctly. “You know what I’m talking ‘bout, don’t you?” he said and squeezed him a little with his arm.

  “I guess,” Peter said grudgingly. The way that the Compound worked was that he had to be with everyone sexually at least once. Then he would be free to do what he wanted with whoever he wanted until the next drawing which was every two weeks. At that time, he would have to spend one night with whoever he drew or vice versa which wasn’t so bad. It was just getting through the initial ten nights that had him worried. Big T and Gabriel were the only two men that he had ever been with sexually. And during his initiation nights, he had to be on the receiving end of anal sex.

  “I hope my butt can take it,” Peter muttered. He wasn’t joking, and he was a little perturbed when everyone busted out laughing.

  “Young man,” Earl said with a twinkle in his eye. “If I could survive it, I’m certain that you will be just fine.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Twenty-Two Months Later

  “Yes!” James called out as he came and went limp. He was on his back with his legs drawn up, and Nick was still grinding away on top of him. He looked at the concentration on his lover’s face right before he shot his load deep inside him. His angel was getting pretty good at this, he thought. Nick’s self-control had improved tremendously over the past few months. Most of the time when they made love now, it was with James on the bottom. He was loving every minute of it too, he thought with a smile. Nick collapsed, and James wrapped his arms around him as he put his legs back down.

  Nick rose up slightly. “Like that?” he asked sounding smug. James tightened his arms around his body and flipped him over onto his back. Nick yelped at the sudden movement then laughed until James kissed him quiet again.

  “I hate to say it,” James said reluctantly after a moment. “But we should get ready.” He forced himself to move off Nick. Today was the quarterly “Coming Together” where all three groups met to exchange supplies and fellowship. It was sort of an all day party, and Lyam had been busy making Lyam’s Lightening for anyone brave enough to partake.

  Nick watched the muscles ripple along James’s naked back as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat on the edge. Once again, Nick was struck with how lucky he was to have found him. Overcome with emotion, he thought about his life at the Compound these last couple of years and what James and the others meant to him. He crawled across the bed and wrapped his body around James from behind.

  James startled when Nick squeezed him. Concerned he asked, “What’s wrong, angel?”

  “I just want you to know how happy you make me,” he said in James’s ear.

  James turned, and their faces touched. “You make me happy too,” he said. “You don’t know how much.”

  “I love you,” Nick said and kissed him.

  “I love you, too,” James breathe against his lips. He pushed Nick onto his back. James decided that he didn’t care if they were a little late. After all, he thought looking down at his angel, some things were more important.

  Only half awake, Elijah snuggled closer to the Mayor’s warm body. His movement prompted Grant who was spooning him to make a little sound of protest and tighten his arm around his waist. The Mayor liked to keep it cool in his bedroom, and it felt good waking up under the warmth of the blankets surrounded by his husbands. He raised his head to look over the Mayor’s naked chest at the clock on the nightstand. Good, he thought burrowing back down, they still had some time before they needed to get up. Today was the quarterly “Coming Together”, and it was being held at the Farm. The surface had almost completely recovered from the Impact now, and Elijah was glad that they would be spending the day outside. He was also excited to be able to see his friends again especially Nathan and Gabriel.

  He heard movement in the hallway just outside the Mayor’s bedroom. It sounded like Brick and Juan were already awake and taking a shower together. The four of them had spent the night before attending to the Mayor’s needs. Afterward, he had allowed the other two men to sleep in one of the smaller bedrooms of his lavish quarters instead of having to go back to their own. Elijah had been surprised at how well Brick had fit into their lifestyle almost from the beginning. Juan on the other hand had taken a little work. But the Mayor was patient, and he loved a challenge. Eventually, even Juan couldn’t resist him. Their two new husbands were a welcome addition to their happy household.

  Elijah could feel Grant behind him trying to push his erect penis between his butt cheeks. He lifted one of his legs over the Mayor’s to provide access, and Grant easily found his way inside him. The gentle rocking movements against the Mayor’s side woke him.

  “Good morning, baby,” he said sounding drowsy. “Morning,” Elijah mumbled resting his head on his chest. The Mayor leaned over him, and he and Grant kissed. Elijah allowed himself to be softly buffeted between his two husbands while his eyes fluttered shut. A contented smile curved his lips as he fell back to sleep.

  Gabriel and Kevin sat side by side on the porch swing watching the sunrise and recuperating from their early morning chores. They wanted to have everything completed before people started arriving for the quarterly “Coming Together”. It looked as if it was going to be beautiful day for it, Gabriel thought admiring the nearly cloudless sky. Out in the field, he could just make out the silhouette of Master as he tended to their crops.

  It was funny, he thought watching him, but he had never imagined Master as a farmer. He seemed to enjoy it though. He said once that he liked pushing himself physically. All three of them had put on muscle since the men at the Compound forced them to the surface almost two years ago. But James hadn’t thrown them out empty-handed. Once they had established a place to live, he had given them seeds and a few animals. Since then, the Farm had flourished.

  Gabriel leaned his head back on the swing. Normally he would have felt Master’s collar pressing against the tender flesh of his neck, but Master had removed it recently. He told him that he didn’t need to wear it anymore because everybody knew who he belonged to. Master also said with his evil grin that if Gabriel ever forgot, he would be happy to remind him. Gabriel smiled at the thought and looked over at Kevin. He reached for his hand. Kevin scooted closer until their sides were touching. Yeah, Gabriel thought basking in the warmth of the sun, it was gonna be a great day.

  James, Mitch, and Master sat together at a picnic table under a shady oak tree talking and watching their people as they interacted with each other. Mitch and Master were having an unusually friendly conversation regarding soil acidity. James’s eyebrows shot up in surprise at one point when Master clapped an arm around Mitch’s shoulders like they were old friends. Then his eyes came to rest on the almost empty bottle of Lyam’s Lightening in the center of their table. He looked at th
e cup in his own hand and carefully sat it down.

  Some of their people were standing near where an old paved road met the front of the Farm’s property. “Hey,” Hank yelled to James looking off in the distance. He seemed tense. “You need to see this.”

  “Mayor,” Grant called anxiously. He was standing next to Hank. The three men looked at each other with equally concerned expressions. They jumped to their feet and hurried toward the road. As they grew closer, they could just make out a large group of maybe thirty men and women steadily walking toward the Farm. They hadn’t encountered any new people in years, and everyone assumed that no one else had survived.

  Dammit, James thought and swallowed anxiously. At the clip that they were moving, it was too late to run. Weapons were forbidden at the “Coming Together”, and that made them easy targets if it turned out that they were looking for a fight.

  No sooner had the thought formed in his mind, James saw Master pull a small handgun from a waistband holster that he had concealed beneath his shirt. James and Mitch both turned in his direction.

  “What?” he said at their expressions. Master racked the slide of his gun and stepped closer to the road. His black eyes were focused on the incoming threat. “It came with the house.”

  James decided to be mad about it later. Right then, he was glad to have the deceitful son of a bitch on their side. “I don’t suppose you have any more of those hidden around here?” James asked him. Master shook his head. “Sorry, Saint James,” he said using his old nickname. “Nothing nearby.”

  “Get behind us!” James called out to their people near the road. At this point, everyone had crowded closer to see what was going on.

  Nathan and Gabriel gathered with the others. They watched the group as it made its way to the Farm. A man and a woman seemed to be leading them. There was something in the way that the woman moved, Nathan thought. Something familiar to him. He edged closer to James for a better look. When he recognized that it was his sister, his breath caught. He didn’t think about it first. He just started running. “Wha…” James said and tried to catch him, but he was too quick.

  Nathan raced ahead until they were face to face. His older sister still looked the same to him. He blinked in wonder as he took in her noticeably pregnant belly, and she smiled at his stunned expression. Nathan only hesitated a moment before carefully hugging her close. They were both laughing and wiping tears from their eyes when they finally released each other. The handsome man beside her put his arm around her waist. “You must be Nathan,” he said noticing the family resemblance. He extended his hand in greeting.

  When Gabriel saw who it was, he took off down the road toward his friends. “Gabriel!” Master shouted out wary of the situation.

  “Hope!” Gabriel exclaimed full of excitement as he stopped and turned back around to face them. “It’s Hope!”

  The End

  Thank you for reading my book! I hope you enjoyed it. Please consider leaving feedback to let me know what you think. You can also email me at leighharde@gmail.com. Coming Together is the fourth and final book in my A Crack in the Ice: Post-Apocalyptic Tales of Man-Love series. Go back to the beginning, and check out what the guys get up to at the Compound in my first book—Mounting Snow and at the Colony in my second book—Touching Frost. For a darker more disturbing tale, join the men at the Camp in my third book—Sharing Winter.

  Nick Snow is a straight virgin in a frozen post-apocalyptic world. Half dead and suffering from hypothermia, he is rescued by seven scorching hot men. Each will take his turn trying to thaw Nick’s icy inhibitions. But which man will be able to inflame his passions and ultimately melt his heart?

  https://www.amazon.com/author/leighharde

  Twice Elijah Frost has escaped death only to be left horribly scarred. He never thought that anyone would be able to break through the frozen barriers he surrounded himself with until a pair of mismatched eyes ignited a flame that burned a path through his cold heart. In a post-apocalyptic world, will Elijah finally be able to let go of the past and embrace a new future filled acceptance and love?

  https://www.amazon.com/author/leighharde

  Subjected to Master’s harsh instruction for months, Gabriel Winter has learned to accept his submissive side. In a cold post-apocalyptic world where pain is sometimes pleasure, can Gabriel find happiness bound in icy chains of love?

  https://www.amazon.com/author/leighharde