Red Dirt Heart

by N. R. Walker

  About ten minutes later, while Greg and I discussed details and GPS locations, Travis came into my office. He pulled the door closed behind him and his lips were twisted in an attempt not to smile, but his eyes were full of spark.

  I put my hand over the receiver and whispered, “What are you doing?”

  He just grinned and walked around to my side of my desk, and while Greg talked in my ear, Travis slowly bent over my desk. He gripped the far side of the desk and slowly rocked his ass back and forth.

  Jesus fucking Christ.

  My balls ached at the sight alone, and my dick started to fill. I guess that answered my question about whether he topped or bottomed.

  I wrapped up my call to Greg, not really hearing anything he’d said after that, but I told him I’d call in the morning to see if anything had changed. My voice was pitchy, and Travis smiled.

  I put the phone down. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “You never answered me the other night,” he said, rocking his hips again. “About the desk sex.”

  I had to palm my dick. “Never on a desk, no.”

  “That’s a shame,” he said simply. He leaned up slowly, sticking his ass out. “What about the normal, boring, bed sex?”

  I stood up behind him and pressed myself against his ass, suppressing a groan. I leaned over him. “Plenty,” I whispered in his ear. “But it was never boring.”

  He moaned out a laugh, but then I remembered something. I let my forehead rest on the back of his neck and sighed. “I don’t have any condoms,” I whispered. “Sorry. I wasn’t expecting to need any, and it’s been a long time…”

  Travis didn’t even turn around and look at me. He just grabbed my hand and led me out of the office. I managed to hit the light switch on my way past and then close the front door as we went through the foyer to the hall. He stopped at my bedroom and let go of my hand. “Wait here.”

  He kept walking to his room while I stood there, not sure what the hell was going on. I opened my bedroom door and took a slow step inside. I was still hard, and I was nervous. Travis walked in behind me and threw a box of condoms and small bottle of lubricant on my bed. “I have some,” he said, shutting the door behind him.

  The room was dark, I couldn’t see him, but my body seemed to know exactly where he was. He put his hand on my arm; finding me in the dark, he trailed his hands up to my neck and he kissed me. Still kissing, with roaming hands pulling at each other’s clothes, we undressed and when finally naked, Travis turned around in my arms.

  With my cock pressed against the crack of his ass, he leaned back into me and moaned. I kissed his shoulder and ran my hands all over his chest, his stomach, and finally wrapped my fingers around his rigid cock.

  He stepped forward, holding my hands to keep me close behind him, then knelt on my bed. He leant forward so he was on his hands and knees, and then slowly, he laid down, lifting his ass and sliding a hand underneath him, stroking, waiting. I was transfixed, staring at his body before me, silver in the lightless room.

  “Charlie,” he hissed.

  I crawled over him, kissing up his back before nipping the back of his neck. “You’re a pushy bottom, huh?”

  He turned his face. “I’ll be a pushy top if you don’t hurry up.”

  I laughed quietly and sat back, straddling his thighs. I rolled a condom down my cock, biting back a groan at the touch, then grabbed the bottle of lube. I slicked my fingers, then let a few drops run down his crack to his hole. I slid one finger into him, then two, and by the time he was ready for me, he was pushing back onto my hand and I was so turned on I could barely stand it. “I won’t last long,” I told him.

  He answered with a groan and his right arm moved faster as he worked his own cock. “God, just do it.”

  I gave my balls a tug, trying to dampen the sensation in hopes I didn’t come before I was inside him. I pressed my cock at his hole and, leaning forward over him, rolled my hips, pushing inside.

  Ho. Ly. Fuck.

  He groaned long and low as I slid into him, and my pleasure was forgotten in fear that I’d hurt him. I stilled. “You okay?”

  Travis pressed his forehead into the mattress and moaned. His thighs were still spread, his hips were still off the bed, and he never stopped jerking himself off. “Keep going,” he ground out.

  I rubbed his back, his hips and thighs as I pushed all the way inside him. When I could go no farther, he let go of his cock to reach up above his head and grip the sheets instead. I reached around and took his cock in my hand, stroking him, and it was only then that I started to move.

  I thrust into his ass in time with my hand, long, hard, deep, wanting to make it good for him. I focused on his needs first. I lifted his hips so he was on his knees, which gave me more room. I ran my other hand over his back, then around his front, and reaching down, I cupped his balls, using my forearms to pull him back onto me.

  All I could do was roll my hips, making each turn short and sharp. I was so far inside him. He was hot and tight around me, and the coil of pleasure in my belly was wound tight.

  Then I couldn’t stop it. I stroked him faster and fucked him harder, and he bucked back onto me once, twice, three times, and he came. His back arched and his head fell forward as his orgasm rocketed through him. All I could do was hang on. And as he twitched and groaned, I drove into him over and over. The room spun, and god knows what sounds I made; my blood caught fire and I came.

  I collapsed on top of him, slowly pulling out of him but not getting off him, and he chuckled. “Jesus Christ, Charlie.”

  “Hm mm.”

  He laughed again. It was warm and throaty and rumbled under me. “We need to get cleaned up. Me and these sheets are a mess,” he said.

  “Shame,” I mumbled. “I liked how they smelled of you.”

  He chuckled again and hummed.

  Realising I probably shouldn’t have said that out loud, I pried myself off him and rolled onto the bed. “Want me to get a washcloth and wipe you down? Or do you want a shower?”

  “You can do both,” he said. My eyes had adjusted to the dark and he was smiling, but he looked sleepy.

  He looked fucking sexy as hell.

  He held out his hand, which I took without thinking. After a few seconds, he chuckled. “Well, I thought you might help me up, but you can hold my hand if you want.”

  I dropped his hand, grateful he couldn’t see me blush. So then I tickled him. He shot up laughing, and only then did I grab his hand and pull him off the bed. “Oh, shit!” I said a little too late. “Are you sore? I shouldn’t have made you jump like that.”

  “I’m fine,” he replied. “Really, I am. But I have dried cum all over me.” He waved his hand over his stomach and chest. “So, unless you’re gonna wash it or lick it off me…”

  I laughed and led the way down the darkened hall to the bathroom.

  * * * *

  I was up at my normal time before Travis, and I worried that he might be sore. When we had a moment of privacy, I asked him again if he felt okay.

  “I feel great actually,” he said with that damn spark in his eye. “Though, just to be sure, maybe you should do it again. You know, just to be completely sure.”

  I rolled my eyes but couldn’t stop from smiling. I’m pretty sure Ma thought something was up—she’d eyed me funny a few times over the last few days, as though I had a neon flashing light above my head that read, “Yes, I finally got laid.”

  If George knew, he certainly didn’t let on. At breakfast, he bought up the telephone conversation from last night. “Headin’ over to Burrunyarrip?”

  Everyone at the table looked at me, waiting for me to answer. “Yeah. I spoke to Greg first thing this morning,” I said. “He doesn’t need a team or anything. Just that his chopper is down and needs mine for today, that’s all. Said I’d do it for him.”

  George nodded. “She’s fuelled and ready.”

  “Thanks.”

  George looked at everyone and gav
e orders for the day. It’d be a day around the homestead; there was always plenty to do.

  As everyone stood up to leave, I sipped my tea and put my cup on the table. “Travis. You’re with me.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  The weight of words and demons. They weren’t heavy until we went and pointed ‘em out.

  “See that fence down there?” I asked, pointing down to the ground as we flew over. Travis could hear me through the headset.

  He nodded. “Yeah?”

  “That’s the famous rabbit-proof fence. It means you just crossed state lines. We’re now in Queensland.”

  I took us to the GPS coordinates Greg had given me, and it wasn’t long before a group of men on horses and dirt bikes came into view. I took the chopper down and was met by Greg and a few of his staff. They looked at the stranger I’d brought with me.

  I don’t know why I was surprised. I just presumed he’d have stayed back, maybe even behind me, but of course he didn’t. He walked right along with me, and after I shook Greg’s hand and before I could introduce him, Travis held out his hand and introduced himself. “Travis Craig.”

  He wasn’t smug or in your face, he was just really genuine. He’d smile warmly and give them his undivided attention. And he was confident. He wasn’t shy—in any aspect—and he had a jump-in-with-both-feet kind of attitude.

  I liked it.

  I envied it.

  With Greg’s orders, Travis and I got back into the helicopter. I waited for the two on horseback to get a fair distance before taking her up. It wasn’t long before we’d reached the top of the paddock, and I swung it back around and took her low to the ground. Maybe two metres from the dirt below us, I edged a small herd of Hereford closer.

  At first, Travis’s eyes were wide and his grin even wider as we brought in cattle from the far ends of the property. I remember the first time I ever went mustering by helicopter, and it was hard not to smile at him. But it wasn’t long before he was navigating, pointing out any cattle he could see off in the distance. We made a pretty good team.

  We spent a good few hours mustering, rounding up cattle and helping out. We refuelled at Greg’s station, had lunch with him and his men and I called George to let him know we were done.

  It was common courtesy and good safe practice in the Outback to always let someone know where you were going and if you were going to be late.

  “Not coming straight home. We’re headed up the northeast corner,” I told George. “We’ll be home for dinner though.”

  “No worries,” George replied.

  I hung up the receiver and put my headset on. I started the chopper, waved a goodbye to Greg and the boys and lifted us off the ground.

  “Where we goin’?” Travis asked. “What’s at the northeast corner?”

  I grinned at him. “Thought we could go for a swim.”

  His whole face lit up, and then his eyes went wide. “Are there crocodiles?”

  I laughed. “Nah. Not where we’re going.”

  He seemed to relax a little but eyed me every so often as though he didn’t believe me. I showed him the scenery as we went, pointing out landmarks and the ridge that ran along the eastern line of my property. I explained it was about fifteen kilometres from the homestead and was about twenty kilometres long and was the only real provision of shade in the afternoon sun. Travis was fascinated in the layered limestone, and I told him I’d take him in for a closer look.

  I kind of forgot he was here to study.

  I pointed out our destination and pulled the helicopter down in a clearing. It was a bit of a climb up through the rocky ridge outcrop. It was a secluded watering hole, fed by a natural spring, with the wall of the ridge on one side casting an afternoon shadow over half the pool. The water was clear, cool and waist deep.

  Travis grinned. “How the hell did you ever find this place?” he asked. “It’s like your own oasis!”

  “Cattle. They found it, I followed them. But we closed off this paddock after bringing the cattle down about a month ago.”

  “Is this where you come swimming?” he asked. “When we got back from the Alice, you’d been swimming.”

  “Yep.”

  He pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it, then pulled his boots off and stopped to stare at me. “And no crocodiles.”

  “None. Could be snakes though,” I told him seriously. I pulled my shirt over my head and toed out of my boots. He hadn’t moved. “If one comes by, just stay real still.”

  “Just stay real still?” he repeated. “Jesus. How many deadly snakes are there out here?”

  I laughed. “You’re probably better off not knowing.” I took off my jeans and pulled off my socks, then walked out into the water wearing only my briefs. I could see the bottom easily, so I dived in feeling the cool water soothe my heated skin.

  When I came up, I turned around to see Travis walking in. He was wearing his briefs as well, and as soon as the water was to his thighs, he dived in and joined me. “God, this is good,” he said when he came up.

  “It’s perfect, isn’t it? Hard to imagine swimming holes being out here.”

  He floated on his back, fully relaxing on the surface of the water, and for a long while we just enjoyed the cool water and the absolute silence of the Outback. It was comfortable between us, no awkward silences and no awkward attempts at conversation.

  When our skin was starting to prune, we got out and sat on the large sheets of rock in the shade. Travis lay back and sighed. “How is this the northeast corner?” he asked. “If your land goes for hundreds of kilometres and we’re only, what? Thirty kilometres from the homestead?”

  “Northeast corner of the first eastern paddock,” I explained. “George knows what I’m talking about.”

  Travis snorted. “This place is really fucking big, isn’t it?”

  I laughed and lay back on the rock, the warmth of it seeping into my back. “Yeah, it’s pretty big. Australia’s about the same size of America, yeah?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Just that you got fifty states, and we’ve got seven.”

  “It’s amazing though,” he said. He pointed up to the wall of the ridgeline. “Look at that. The lines in the limestone and sediment faults. This place has been wearing down in the wind and rain for millions of years.”

  “You really love it, don’t you?” I asked, looking over at him and smiling. “The geology and soil sciences of it all.”

  “I wouldn’t say I love it,” he countered. “I understand it, and I appreciate it. And… okay, so maybe I do love it a little bit.”

  I snorted and we were quiet again for another short while.

  Then out of nowhere, he said, “Next time we come here, we’re bringing condoms. We could have sex in the sun.”

  “In the shade,” I corrected. “Don’t think you’d fancy getting your dick sunburned.”

  He laughed and for a long moment, he lay in warm shade with his eyes closed.

  “Did you buy those condoms in Sydney? It’s not really my business, I’m just curious, that’s all.”

  He opened one eye, looked at me with it, then smiled. “Yes.”

  I shrugged. “It doesn’t matter to me,” I lied. “I just wondered, that’s all.”

  “It was a twelve pack,” he said, still with his eyes closed. “I used two in Sydney.”

  “Oh.”

  He rolled onto his side, resting his head on his hand and smirked. “Sounds like a jealous oh.”

  I barked out a laugh. “A twelve pack was ambitious, yes?”

  He laughed. “You are jealous!”

  “No I’m not,” I shot back, quickly sitting up.

  He jumped up and grabbing my hands, he pulled me to my feet, then kissed me with smiling lips. “Green looks good on you.”

  I pushed him and he laughed, running back into the water.

  We swam again for a while, then floated on our backs, which led to splashing, which led to wrestling in the water, which led to making out in t
he water, which led to more making out on the rocks in the shade.

  I was on my back and he was on top of me. His kisses got slower, he pulled my lips between his and, still with his eyes closed, did that nose-nudge thing that made my brain stutter. Then he pulled away completely and lay down beside me. He sighed loudly, closed his eyes and licked his lips.

  I closed my eyes too and just enjoyed being there in my sacred place with him. I never thought I’d ever, ever bring someone here. Let alone a man.

  “Tell me about you,” he said casually. “What’s the Charlie Sutton story?”

  I turned my head to look at him. He’d been watching me. “Well,” I started. “I um,” I let out a nervous breath.

  “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want.”

  And I didn’t really want to. I hadn’t thought of that shit in years, but there was something about him, something about the way he looked at me, something that made me tell him.

  “My mum left when I was four,” I said, looking back up at the sky. He didn’t say anything to that, just listened. “I remember she had brown hair and a green dress. But that’s it, that’s all I remember of her. I guess she got sick of the desert. Got sick of the red dirt.” I’d never told anyone that. I looked out over the offending scenery. “It was just me and Dad after then. And George and Ma. I probably spent more time with them than I ever did with my dad. He was busy running the station, I guess.” I shrugged again.

  “You went to school?”

  “School of the Air out here,” I explained. “Too remote for classrooms. I’d sit and have lessons over the two-way radio, and Ma’d help me with reading and writing when I was little.”

  “But you went to college?”

  I smiled. “I did. I somehow graduated high school and went to Sydney.” I shook my head. “Man, I was like a kid in a candy shop,” I said with a laugh. Then I sighed. “My dad made me go. We didn’t exactly get on. We weren’t exactly close. Drove him mad enough, despite being a pair of hands he didn’t have to pay wages to, that he insisted I go. In the end I think he was glad to get me out of his hair.”