by Jan Irving
Aching, Jude brushed his lips against Gabriels. He couldnt speak since his words would hurt and he didnt want that.
“Damn you, Ill take what I can get,” Gabriel said. His arm around Jude pulled him closer so that Judes shirt was saturated by cool water. He shivered, his stiff nipples stimulated by the wet fabric and Gabriels hard chest rubbing against his own.
His lover was another man. His lovers body wrapped around his own as soft lips and beard touched against his lips, his chin and cheeks. He felt a thrill like standing in an electrical storm, wild, wanton, free.
He moaned when Gabriels warm tongue invaded his mouth, exploring the ridges of his teeth, giving him silken caresses that made him shiver and cling closer.
“Take off your clothes, Doc,” Gabriel ordered hoarsely.
Panting, Jude stared when they parted.
“You need to get cleaned up. Youre…dirty.” Gabriels hand was cupping Judes heavy, aching erection, so his words had another dimension.
Jude moaned. He wanted to come in that hand as he had earlier in the loft. Never mind his responsibility to his strange new patient or Mouses proximity. He wanted to come. He wanted to lie on the warm, damp, tall grass and let Gabriel do whatever he wanted to him.
“Mouse…”
“Cant see us,” Gabriel said, ruthlessly practical. “Hes busy watching your cub.” His open mouth worked over Judes neck so that Judes head fell back while his lower body thrust into Gabriels grip. He was fast getting to the point where he would come and nothing could stop the building, forbidden heat.
“Gabriel…” he whispered, reaching with his palm to ruffle Gabriels slick hair as he turned in the other mans arms, leaning back against him. His pants were open, his body almost obscenely displayed, his cock in Gabriels hand as he pumped up and down, and Jude could feel the imprint of Gabriels need against his ass.
“Come on; lets go into the woods.” Gabriel pulled away and climbed to his feet, his palm held out. “Your bear is sleeping, and Mouse is preoccupied. I want to touch you, Doc.”
Jude stared at the offered hand, heart pounding.
Gabriels face was hard and flushed with passion. “Do you have anything in that bag of yours thats…slick. Like cream?”
Jude swallowed thickly. “Yes.”
“Bring it,” Gabriel said flatly.
Once in the trees, Gabriel wasted no time in stripping Judes pants completely off, kicking them aside, and then unbuttoning his shirt. Judes face warmed, and he couldnt meet Gabriels eyes. His erection was between them, unsubtle, unmistakable.
Once Jude was naked, Gabriel reached down and gripped it gently. “I wish you could always be this way. Youre beautiful.”
“Beautiful…” Jude had a hard time thinking of himself that way.
“Will you take my cock, Jude?” Gabriel asked. He reached out and grasped Judes chin, forcing him to look into Gabriels dark, warm eyes. Gabriels hands then smoothed over Judes slender shoulders, as if he knew he had to soothe him as much as seduce him. “I cant wait. I need to fuck.”
“Will it be…uncomfortable?”
“Ill try not to hurt you.” Gabriels forehead rested against Judes. “I want you to let me in whenever I want.”
Jude flushed at the idea. He would be Gabriels wanton.
“I want you to be my…lover,” Jude admitted softly. “If that is how it can be between men.”
“Jude, for a doctor, you are lacking a classical education. Have you not ever looked at illustrations on marble urns? Centaurs having their way with fallen Greeks?” Gabriel scolded. He walked behind Jude, taking the pot of hand cream Jude had provided and opening it. Jude looked over his shoulder at him. Gabriel laughed. “You should see your eyes. Relax, darling.”
Jude couldnt help jumping a little when warm, calloused fingers stroked through the divide between his ass, moving back and forth over his opening as he let out a long breath. Details hit him. Like how his nipples were larger and rounder than Gabriels. Like the way the pine branches lifted and fell gracefully in the wind off the foothills. Like Gabriels grunt of primal satisfaction as one thick digit penetrated Jude.
“Ohhh.” Judes head fell forward. Gabriel moved closer and kissed his neck, licking under his ear as his finger rubbed gently, back and forth. It felt good, shamefully good, so that Jude wanted it in him.
When he squirmed, Gabriel gripped his hip with his free hand, keeping him in place as another finger pushed inside. “You cant get enough, can you?” Gabriel whispered. “You really could be a brothel boy.”
Jude whimpered as the fingers thrust deeper, past the defenses of his body to a place he could see in his mind, like a map of the anatomy, but—
“Oh!”
“Thats something only another man can give you,” Gabriel said. “Well, unless you are a man who likes a woman to—” Judes eyes were wide as he absorbed this, and Gabriel smiled. “Never mind.”
Gabriel maneuvered them so that Jude was leaning against a willow tree. “Hold on to it,” Gabriel ordered. “Dig your fingers into the bark because this might be a little rough.”
Gabriel slathered cream freely on his cock as Jude watched, heart pounding. He was…oh, he was long and thick and there was no way that—
Gabriel gripped Judes hip again, and Jude took a gulp of air as he felt something hard and broad broaching him.
“Push out. Push out with your body, Jude,” Gabriel coached. “Thats it…take it. Take it all…”
Chapter Ten
It hurt.
Somehow Jude hadnt been expecting that, even with the warning his body had given him. But he was slender, almost boylike in form, while despite how thin he was, Gabriel was big. Everywhere.
He whimpered again, and Gabriels thumb moved against his lips, pressing in. Instinctively Jude opened, sucking him.
Gabriel made a rough sound. His forehead pressed against Judes sweaty neck. “Jude…please…”
Gabriel was shaking finely. Jude could feel that, could feel how his hand stroking Judes hip was gentle even though he sensed Gabriel had something feral inside him that needed to be loose.
Gabriels hand weighed Judes balls, still hard, though his cock had softened from the pain. “I love to hold these,” Gabriel whispered. “I love to suck them.”
Jude gasped at the thought of it, lying on the bed in the loft and Gabriels mouth…
Oh my.
“You like them in my hand, dont you, Jude? A mans hand.”
With Gabriel, there was no safe ground, no hiding. Jude wondered if Gabriel had visited him the way his vaquero had, if hed have contented himself with merely sharing poetry.
No. He almost laughed at the thought as Gabriel pushed in another half inch. His hand covered Gabriels on his hip, his fingers digging in. He forced himself to keep silent. He was a doctor, for Gods sake, and what was a little discomfort? Gabriel had promised hed like this…if he lived through it.
“Jude, itll…” Gabriel huffed. “Itll get easier. Youre just tighter than I… Christ.”
“When?” Jude demanded. He was embarrassed by his own disgruntled tone. He sounded like a brat, but Gabriel was so thick. It only made it worse somehow that Gabriels fingers had felt so good, sent sparks through his body. He needed Gabriel inside him.
“Doc Jude?”
“Shit,” Gabriel swore. “Shit.”
Jude stiffened at Mouses voice calling for him. He tried to pull away, but Gabriel growled and…bit his neck! As if he were a smaller animal he had to subdue. Panting, Gabriel whispered, “Please, Jude. Youre killing me.”
Jude wasnt enjoying the sex. So far it had been disappointing and uncomfortable and he was…he was angry. And now they couldnt even finish it because…
Gabriels hand returned to his balls, which had tightened up higher to his body. He squeezed them gently, and Jude began to experience something, something that made him want to push himself deeper into Gabriels touch.
“Doc Jude?”
Gabriel cursed and pulled out.
Jude gasped, wilting against the tree. His ass pulsed.
Gabriel grabbed his hips and rutted back and forth in his cleft, spilling warm against his skin. He leaned close to Jude, his breath hot against the back of his neck. He was shaking. Then his teeth closed again on the mark hed made. “You wont refuse me. When I want in again, even though… You won’t, Jude.”
And then Jude felt a ripple of movement behind him, and he knew Gabriel was returning to Mouse, unselfconscious of his nudity.
Judes fingers tightened on the willow tree. This will get rough. His ass hurt, and yet when he reached back and touched himself, he needed. His finger pushed just past the soreness and his legs locked and then he cried out, coming, his seed splashing the tree.
As his legs gave out and he collapsed on the ground, he could feel the small wound in his neck throbbing where Gabriel had marked him like a mating animal.
* * *
Judes legs were still shaky when he returned to the meadow. Gabriel was dressing, and Mouse was sitting on a rock. His head lifted as if he had caught Judes footfalls.
“Where were you, Doc?”
“Im sorry; I was…” Judes mind went blank. His gaze was caught by Gabriel, who only lifted his brows, singularly unhelpful. Damn him. Judes rear end was still dripping from Gabriels spill.
Jude stepped into the stream and briskly began to wash himself. He thought he caught a gleam in Gabriels eyes as he looked Jude over. Surely he couldnt know that Jude had found relief on his own.
Jude still didnt understand it. Hed been angry and hed been hurting, but hed needed something and when Gabriel had left…
He blew out a breath, muttering to himself.
“What was that, Doc?” Gabriel looked amused now. Fully dressed, arms crossed. The smug bastard.
“I said Ill take the next watch for the bear…late into the night.” Jude felt some satisfaction when Gabriels eyes narrowed. He didnt look happy.
Well, that was unfortunate. But Jude hadnt liked their congress, and he hoped Gabriel got the message. He wouldnt be letting him do that again. He wouldnt stand still like an accepting mare and let Gabriel mount him.
What had he been thinking all these years, feeling an ache in his body as if he needed a man to fill it? Hed clearly been misguided.
Gabriels jaw bunched. “Ill stay up with you, Doc,” he said softly. “Wouldnt want you to fall asleep.”
Jude growled something, and Gabriel smirked.
But Jude also saw Mouse cock his head. “Are you all right, Doc? You sound funny.”
Judes gaze was caught by Gabriels. His lips parted. “Yes, I, uh, was merely lost in the woods.”
Gabriel turned away.
* * *
It was cooler in the lean-to than hed expected so Gabriel made a fire in the ring of stones just beyond, and he poured hot coffee into a tin cup and brought it to Jude.
Jude gave him a wary look that made Gabriel want to laugh…and bite him. He rubbed his unshaven jaw. He was feeling a little primal, and for some reason Judes skittishness only made him want the smaller man more.
“Take the coffee, Jude.” Jude wrapped his hands around the mug, his gaze going over to Mouse, who was a lumpy form in his bedroll, deep asleep. He sipped and then leaned back against one wooden pillar.
The cub was also sleeping. She only woke for brief periods to eat and drink. “Its just as well shes weaker than we thought, Jude; easier to care for her right now,” Gabriel said.
“Did you see the initials carved into her side where the fur was missing?” Jude asked softly. He had been watching Gabriel all evening out of the corner of his eye.
“DS for David Smith,” Gabriel said. He paused in drinking his own coffee.
“That he could torment this innocent creature…”
“He burned down your clinic.”
Jude swallowed, rubbing his eyes.
Gabriel couldnt help but shift closer, even when Jude stiffened. He reached out and stroked Judes arm. “No, Jude, you cant take it back.” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “You let me in.”
Jude took a deep breath. “I know.”
“Im sorry you lost your home. If I hadnt come to town, tipped the balance…” He couldnt help but sift his fingers through Judes hair, and Jude looked at him, eyes reddened and tired, still full of grief. “Oh, Doc…”
He put aside his own coffee and reached for Judes, leaving the cups to stay warm in the ring of stones before he knelt next to Jude and pulled him into his arms.
Jude thumped his arm. “Im angry with you.”
“Im sorry it hurt.” Gabriels voice was a thread of sound.
“It was…not what I expected. I felt fully possessed by you.”
“I know, little one.” Gabriel kissed Judes ear and then licked it, feeling him shudder as his tongue swirled delicately inside. “Jude, I couldnt help myself. I needed you so much, and then we couldnt finish it. I know it was hasty and…disappointing.” Gabriel gave a wry smile. “At least you were able to finish.”
Judes eyes saucered. “You knew I…?”
“I am glad I excited you enough to seek relief. I just wish Id been there to see you.”
Judes pupils were blown, his eyelids heavy lidded as Gabriel ran fingers down the side of his face. He rubbed a thumb over Judes lips, flushed with color. “I liked it that you were still covered in me when you washed in the stream.”
“Gabriel…” Judes fingers went to the mark just under his collar.
“I like that I did that to you. I want to put another one on you, on your inner thigh.”
The bear stirred, and Jude closed his eyes. He was trembling in Gabriels arms.
“In the morning, Mouse can watch our unusual patient. And youll sleep in my arms, Jude.”
“Sleep?”
“Well, Im exhausted, and youre sore, I imagine. I want to take some time.” He paused to let it sink in, and finally saw in Judes eyes a sense of inevitability. He knew then it would be all right; Jude would give him another chance because even though hed disappointed him, Jude wanted to experience pleasure.
“I feel a bit like the Lady of Shalott.”
“„The sun came dazzling thro the leaves, and flamed upon the brazen greaves of bold Sir Lancelot,” Gabriel murmured.
Judes fingers timidly wedded to Gabriels. “„She left the web, she left the loom, she made three paces through the room…” Jude quoted Tennyson. He studied Gabriel, gaze roaming over his hair and eyes and face. “When I saw you ride into town, I felt just like that. I couldnt look away from this tall stranger, dusty…sick. A lonely figure.”
“You were quoting poetry that day also.”
“You heard me?”
“I heard you, Doc. You could say you fixed my attention upon you.”
Jude cleared his throat. “David Smith will wonder what happened to his pet bear. I removed the remains of a tether from one of her nostrils.”
Gabriels face hardened. “She has likely lived around people all her life. It will not be easy. As for Smith…”
“I would like to try to heal her and then set her free,” Jude said. “If she can gain enough weight for the winter, we could perhaps find her a den.” He reached out and brushed Gabriels hair, and Gabriel closed his eyes as he enjoyed Judes touch. “I believe some creatures are better off free. They cannot stay in one place, even if you ache to keep them.”
Chapter Eleven
Gabriel gathered willow branches and berries and acorns and a half-rotted log crawling with insects, growling under his breath as beetles scrambled over his fingers. His gentle doctor was very dictatorial about caring for his patient, so here Gabriel was first thing in the morning, gathering food for their bear.
But in the week that had passed since theyd first found her with Mouse, Gabriel had to admit shed improved.
And there was another reason he liked to be the one to forage for food away from Judes cabin.
He hadnt wanted to mention it to Jude and Mouse, but he was conce
rned about David Smith. The man was no fool. He probably knew about Judes cabin and figured hed be living here. He might also send someone to check. What if they spotted his pet bear? Smith was not a man to be crossed, and Jude had already lost so much.
Gabriel put down his collection as his throat tightened. He knew Jude was only with him because hed lost everything. Probably he would never have given in to Gabriels silent offer if theyd stayed in town. Jude would have stood to lose too much if word ever got out about the two of them, and why risk that for a man who couldnt stay?
Not that theyd done much since the abbreviated debacle of Judes first time. Jude had been apprehensive, and hed spent most of his nights in a bedroll in the lean-to.
Aching for him, Gabriel nevertheless let it pass.
He had a plan.
Judes curiosity and desire meant that sooner or later, hed come to Gabriel again, and when he did…
Gabriel frowned, pulling out a small telescope hed used as a soldier on scouting missions during the war. He looked through it and caught the flutter of something bright and red on the next ridge.
It was best that he took a look.
* * *
Gabriel let Lancelot find his footing as his stallion forded the first part of the river that bisected Judes land. He kept his hands easy on the reins and eyes sharp as they passed an islet of driftwood and rock. Above them, the canyon was sand and scrub, the loose ground making it bad land to run cattle or plant anything, which is probably why Jude had gotten it for such a good price.
Lancelot stepped carefully, sloshing water running icy despite the baking heat, hooves tapping against river rock. Gabriel was able to look his fill at the scenery. He spotted another flash of red in a crack in the wall above him.
He dismounted once they were safely across and opened his saddlebag, pulling out the little telescope and taking a closer look.
“Huh.” Out of habit, Gabriel ran a finger over one dark brow as he considered. “What do you think, Lance? Stay here, boy…”
