by Riley Knight
The whole family was here, split off now into groups, and Sam and Gunner were, for the moment, mercifully alone. There was more than enough room on the property that, even though they were still a part of the picnic, it was also just them, and Sam lay on his back with Gunner by his side, holding hands as they looked up at the stars.
Who would have thought that there would be so much contentment in so simple an act?
“See that one that looks sort of like a floppy, lopsided triangle?” Sam explained, pointing up at the section of the sky, at the arrangement of stars, right over their head. He glanced over at Gunner, who was squinting up at the sky, and couldn’t help but grin when he saw the look of pleasure dawning on Gunner’s face.
“Yeah. Which one is that?” Gunner asked, while Sam leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to the other man’s cheek.
“Capricorn. It’s supposed to be a goat,” Sam told him, grinning as he anticipated Gunner’s response to that. And Gunner didn’t disappoint him, turning to look at Sam with an expression of complete disbelief on his handsome face.
“A goat? That floppy triangle is a goat?” Gunner scoffed, and Sam let his grin widen as he nodded.
“A goat with the tail of a fish,” Sam continued, and Gunner blinked, then shook his head as he turned his gaze up to the gemstone-studded sky.
“Whoever saw these things must have been pretty damn high,” Gunner commented and then slipped his arm around Sam’s shoulders, pulling him close to him. Sam turned onto his side, pressing against Gunner’s hip, his arm slipping over the smooth, flat expanse of Gunner’s stomach.
“I think it was mostly the Ancient Greeks but don’t quote me on that,” Sam admitted, and only after he said it did he realize how strange it was for him to not only admit to not knowing something but also to feel comfortable saying it. It all came down to trust. He trusted Gunner, who simply nodded and turned his head so that his lips brushed against Sam’s.
It was just supposed to be a light kiss, nothing serious, but that seldom worked between them. Just the brush of lips, or even hands, together would usually be enough for them both to get much more serious about it, and this time was no different. The heat between them, the passion, it didn’t seem to diminish at all. If anything, it grew stronger with every day that passed.
Sam was just thinking that it might be a good idea to roll on top of Gunner, to press their bodies more closely together than ever, maybe to suggest a stroll off onto the grounds away from anyone else’s gaze, when Gunner pulled back away from the kiss, those delectable lips still swollen and slightly damp from it.
When Gunner looked at him like that, it was far too easy to imagine his cock disappearing between those lips, those big, round hazel eyes shimmering and shining up at him in the darkness as Gunner pleasured him like no one else had ever been able to.
Gunner smirked at him, and Sam was pretty sure that his own thoughts were written all over his face, that Gunner knew exactly what he was doing to Sam. Well, it had been a long time since Sam had actually really felt ashamed of his desire for Gunner, though it had once been everything to Sam to try to hide all signs of what he had seen as an abnormality.
Normal or not didn’t seem to matter that much anymore. Not when Gunner had busted through those walls so easily. He wanted Gunner, and he would have him, and really, that was what mattered more than anything else.
“Hey, babe,” Gunner murmured, his voice low and intimate as he turned onto his side to face Sam, the hard angles of his body pressing against Sam, obvious even through the thin layers of their clothing.
“Mmm?” Sam hummed, shifting in to brush his lips against the line of Gunner’s strong jaw, the faint rasp of stubble thrilling him in a way that he once never would have believed.
“I’m pretty sure that you have work tonight,” Gunner murmured, his eyes glistening at him with amusement in them, far too clear. Gunner was a tease sometimes, there was really no two ways about it, and Sam groaned as he forced himself to put a few inches between himself and Gunner and the intriguing places that this making out had been going.
“… Fuck,” Sam commented, and then he heard the rumbly sound of a throat being loudly, deliberately cleared nearby. Far too close, actually. Sam did tend to get pretty lost in Gunner given half a chance. Ben had managed to walk all the way up to them without Sam even noticing.
“None of that,” Ben said, prodding lightly at Sam’s shoulder with his foot. “You do have work tonight, so get to it before I turn the damn hose on you two.”
Sam turned to look at Gunner, who had the nerve to be smirking at him. He looked his boyfriend over, from head to toe, even as he rose to his feet.
“Later,” Sam murmured, and the word was a promise, pure and simple. He was going to get some revenge for this, but it would have to be after work.
Gunner
It wasn’t like Gunner had wanted Sam to go. He would have, by far, preferred to take Sam somewhere private so that he could explore what they had started without being interrupted at all. But that would have been screwing Ben and Isaac over, and besides, Sam would have hated himself for his irresponsibility.
So it had been the right thing to do, but that shouldn’t imply that Gunner didn’t take some serious amusement out of teasing his boyfriend like that. When Sam got worked up, well, all Gunner could really do was hold on for the ride, and he had learned that that was a lot of fun for him.
Of course, he so rarely had the willpower himself to deny Sam. So when the chance had come up, he figured he could be forgiven for being all over it. Maybe he shouldn’t have gotten quite as into it as he was, though, because, in the end, he had to wait just as long as Sam did.
Only maybe it was worse for him, because Sam, at least, was busy pouring drinks and watching over his big brother’s bar. He had something to occupy his time, and Gunner, well, he really didn’t.
He messed with his bike a little bit, but it was already in perfect shape, so there wasn’t much he could actually do with it. He had a brief conversation with Isaac and Ben, but they both looked at him so knowingly that eventually that got awkward and he excused himself back to the converted barn that he and Sam shared these days.
Tired from his long day, and yet strangely energized, Gunner paced over the floor. His thoughts were all of almond-shaped green eyes and dramatic cheekbones, a tight, slender, ripped body, the jut of a thick cock as it pressed up toward Gunner’s lips …
It was hell. He only hoped that Sam was going through even a fraction of what Gunner was. When was this intense desire going to calm down a little? Then again, looking at Ben and Isaac, Gunner couldn’t help but think that sometimes it just didn’t.
Eventually, with his body more or less under control though ready to be so easily aroused again, Gunner fell into bed. He might as well try to nap until Sam got there, and he could only hope that Sam would fulfill the promise that he had made right before he left for work.
He hadn’t actually been sure that he could sleep, but he did manage to, lightly, thinly. He found himself lost in vaguely erotic, and very sensual, dreams, all of them revolving around his beautiful, maddening boyfriend. In that dream, there was a hint of a new secret that Gunner had, the gleam of a golden ring, but that was something which wouldn’t be a secret for long.
Someday, he was going to marry that man. It was too soon for him to feel that way, and far too soon to ask, so he’d wait until it wouldn’t give Sam a heart attack, but the resolve was there.
The next thing he knew, there was a firm, solid weight settling on the bed, and the mattress gave under it so that Gunner rolled toward that weight. Lips touched his, rousing him instantly. His body was just so ready to feel desire for this man, and even half asleep, Gunner knew Sam. Knew him by his scent, by his movements, by a thousand other tiny signs that would make him know him anywhere.
“Sammy,” Gunner murmured, and wrapped his arms around the other man, pulling him close. The connection of their lips deepened, and before Gunner was ev
en fully awake, Sam had rolled on top of him and was straddling his body.
As he woke, Gunner realized that the situation was a little bit novel. Sam was naked, he had stripped down completely bare, whereas Gunner had fallen asleep in his clothing. It was strange to reach up, to touch smooth, soft, bare skin, but to feel his own clothes as they pressed against each other.
“Lie still,” Sam murmured, as he shifted down from Gunner’s lips, down to crouch between his legs. His movements were urgent, and if Gunner had been a little bit worried that the intensity of the desire that Sam felt for him would fade what with working, he found quickly that that was nowhere near the case.
Gunner gasped as Sam, with urgent, almost rough, hands, tugged down Gunner’s pants and pushed them down his legs and onto the floor in a crumpled heap. Normally, Sam would have been more careful, set them down without wrinkling them, and Gunner smirked when he realized just how badly Sam still wanted him.
Not for long, though, was he smirking. He sort of forgot to do that entirely when Sam slid his lips sweetly along the swollen shape of Gunner’s dick through his underwear, mouthing him through the fabric, his breath hot and wet. Sam sucked on the head, and Gunner groaned as he reached down, sliding his fingers into Sam’s shaggy hair and trying to tug him closer. It was futile, with the underwear in the way, but he tried.
Nor was Sam going to give him any mercy, it seemed. He kept mouthing at Gunner, giving him almost, but not quite, enough stimulation to edge him slowly toward the release that he needed.
“Sammy. Goddamn it, Sammy,” Gunner groaned, despite the satisfied look that he saw in Sam’s eyes. He was playing right into his boyfriend’s hands, but that didn’t stop him from writhing up toward him as Sam pleasured him, slowly, far too slowly, with his mouth.
Just when Gunner was thinking that he might just lose it completely, just when the pleasure was coiling inside of him, taking him to a place beyond pleasure that was almost pain, just when he thought there was nothing that could stop him from coming, Sam pulled away and licked his lips, that gleam of mischief in his eyes. Yes, he knew what he was doing, that look said, and he was doing it on purpose.
“Take the rest of your clothes off,” Sam demanded, and Gunner groaned, giving him a disbelieving look. He was being bossed around now? But there wasn’t actually a lot that Sam could tell him to do that he wouldn’t at least consider, especially when his cock was as hard as it was and lust and need were surging through his veins.
The sound of Sam’s chuckle was, let’s face it, hot as hell, as Gunner scrambled out of his clothes. The moment he was clear, Gunner launched himself at Sam, tackling him back onto the bed, their lips hot and eager as they embraced, Sam’s hard, strong leg pressing between Gunner’s legs.
It almost hurt, the relief that rolled through Gunner as he felt that strong thigh grind up against his aching cock. It was almost too much, and yet that couldn’t stop Gunner from rolling his hips, trying to seek out more of that highly intriguing sensation.
“I want your mouth,” Sam demanded, and Gunner, who had been fantasizing about that very thing, shuddered as the heat, the passion, rocked through his body. “Give me your mouth …”
Gunner didn’t hesitate. Maybe he could have played with Sam, worked him up more since he was apparently in quite a state. But then again, so was Gunner, and he didn’t have the patience for that. So he slid down, nuzzling briefly, rubbing his lips around the fullness of Sam’s cock before parting them and taking that blunt, leaking, slippery head in.
There was something so intriguing about this. Sam was in control, or at least, it would seem so. He had his strong hands on Gunner’s head, and thrust demandingly between his lips, using his mouth. But Gunner was the one making Sam make all of those noises, the one making his dick throb and leak, obviously bringing Sam closer to release.
Just when it seemed that there was no way that Sam wasn’t going to come, Gunner felt him withdraw from his mouth. It took only a second for Sam to roll Gunner onto his back, to prepare him quickly and efficiently, slippery lube pushed inside of him, getting him ready.
“Sammy,” Gunner gasped, a little overwhelmed. It felt like being caught up in a whirlwind, his body adjusted as Sam liked it, but it was utterly irresistible, too. Gunner let his legs fall open, and as Sam positioned himself, he locked them around Sam’s hips and even pulled him closer.
Overwhelming, but something that Gunner wanted, had wanted for every long minute that Sam had been gone. So when Sam thrust his hips, when his cock slid inside of Gunner all at once, all the way to the hilt, Gunner’s cry was all of pleasure, and he gave into the sensations rocketing through him without the slightest hesitation.
It was only then, when Sam was inside of him, when his cock was rubbing firmly over his prostate, that Gunner realized just how much he really had worked his boyfriend up. Sam was almost rough with him, his fingers clutching at Gunner’s shoulders until he wondered if he would bruise, and the satisfaction at that was almost as good as it was to be filled.
At this pace, they couldn’t last long. Both of them knew it, and Gunner, at least, wasn’t inclined to try. The lube made Sam move smoothly inside of him, and it was so easy, so effortless, to push his hips up and take Sam as deep inside himself as he could, letting the pleasure build as it so inevitably did.
“Sammy,” Gunner groaned again, his hips writhing under Sam’s assault, his body giving in completely to the demands of Sam’s. They kissed, a desperate clash of lips, clutching onto each other like their lives, their sanity, depended on it, rocking toward each other until even the sturdy bed was shaking and threatening to skitter across the floor.
“I love you,” Sam growled, and from the tightened muscles in his neck and jaw, the way his eyes darkened to a deeper, richer green, told Gunner everything he needed to know. Sam was close, and that was a damn good thing because so was Gunner.
“I love you, too, Sammy,” Gunner admitted, and he hissed when Sam snuck his hand down and wrapped his fingers around Gunner’s throbbing, desperate cock. That wasn’t fair, he was skirting the edge of pleasure as it was, but there was nothing that Gunner could do to stop it.
His body tensed, something letting go inside of him, his cum spilling all over Sam’s hand and his own stomach as they rocked furiously together. He felt the hot gush, that delicious sense of liquid fullness, and heard Sam’s desperate groans mingling with his own as they both surrendered to the inexorable pleasure.
For a moment, all they could do was pant and cling to each other, covered in sweat and fresh cum, grinning foolishly at each other. Slowly, though, that body rush faded, leaving only the lingering memory of itself, and Gunner lay back and pulled Sam into his arms, kissing his damp forehead.
“And that’s what you get for teasing me,” Sam spoke finally, his voice deeply contented with itself, and Gunner shook his head and laughed.
“If that was supposed to be a threat,” he murmured, stroking through Sam’s soft hair, “You sort of fail at threats.”
“Mmm,” Sam hummed, seemingly completely content as he nuzzled against Gunner’s chest, like he was trying to get closer to him, like he couldn’t get closer again. “Next time, I’m gonna be the one teasing you, and we’ll see how you like it.”
That threat, Gunner was sure, was real, but it didn’t exactly break his heart. He hugged Sam close, and whispered right into his ear, “I’m ready.”
And he was. Ready for everything that Sam offered, ready for family, stability, all of the things which he had never thought that he could have. But he had them, all in the person of this beautiful, bratty, impossibly smart man that he held in his arms.
He never intended to let go.
THE END
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PRAYER OF INNOCENCE
ONE
The air was too hot, and too dry, even though it was getting later in the year and Judah had b
een here for just over a month. It had been the height of summer when he’d arrived, and he had been sure, for at least the first couple of weeks, that there was no way he was going to survive it.
For the boy who had been born and raised in Utah, Texas, it was quite the surprise. He hadn’t been prepared at all for this, and until his body had adjusted somewhat, he had been sure that he was going to sweat himself right into his grave. But here was where he had been called, been placed, and here was where he would stay.
He was getting used to it, though. He had heard it said, and found it generally to be true, that people were quite adaptable. And they were, at least, in the middle of September. He had to think that the winter months would be somewhat more pleasant.
“Pastor Judah!”
He had been drifting off again. The heat did that to him, which made him possibly the worst possible person to be here in Texas. He took a deep breath and brought a smile to his face, which really wasn’t very difficult.
“Yes, Ruby?”
He kept his voice gentle because these teenagers in the youth group that he’d started hadn’t known what to do with him at first. Of course, Judah had been expecting that, given what had happened in this town. The only reason he was being given the chance he was, he knew, was because he was a Methodist minister. He’d been told that the Baptists that had been sent before him hadn’t done well at all.
As odd as it was for Texas, this town didn’t want a Baptist church. And that was why Judah was here, getting to make friends with the fine folks of this small, remote, hot corner of the world.
“When we first came, you said that you had something you wanted to talk to us about!” Ruby was an energetic young woman of about thirteen or so, and she seemed to exclaim everything that she said.
