Bond of the Maleri’ 4, Ride Em Cowboy

by Kate Steele

  He licked the moisture laden hollow at the base of Zeb’s throat and the sensual curve of his neck and shoulder. He let his teeth tease the skin, pulling up a blood red spot on the side of his neck. Fremont’s brand, Jace thought through the haze of lust and need filling his head. You’re mine.

  Jace made love with his entire body and no part of Zeb was left untouched. By the time his hands and lips moved lower, Zeb was pushing up against him, his cock rigid and ripe. Jace sifted his fingers through the dark blond curls at the base of Zeb’s cock. He wound his fingers around it, stroking a time or two before lowering his mouth to its beckoning heat. He blew a warm mist of breath over the flushed plump, head and watched a bead of clear fluid form at the slit, the bead growing fatter and rounder.

  With infinite care, Jace delicately swiped his tongue over the head of Zeb’s cock, capturing the tempting drop. The taste was sweet and compelling. It seized his attention not with a bang, but with soft tendrils of flavor that seduced his taste buds. It wafted over his palate, mesmerizing him and holding him as surely as any cell with bars and locked doors. Totally enraptured, Jace closed his eyes and took every inch of Zeb’s hard cock into his mouth until the tip pushed into his throat.

  Lips clamped tightly around the velvet-skinned rod, he moved. Up and down, again and again. His mouth sucked and his tongue swirled and teased, painting intricate patterns of lust up and down Zeb’s rigid cock. From the time he’d taken that first, sweet drop, Jace’s entire focus had been on Zeb’s cock. That focus began to expand.

  Slowly he awoke to the sounds of Zeb’s cries, the movement of his body as he strained upward, thrusting himself into Jace’s mouth. There was the sight of Zeb’s hips moving forward then back and the tickle of pubic curls against his nose. A wet sound accompanied the sucking of his mouth and the hot tang of male testosterone filled his nostrils. He reached and found the delicate sack that held Zeb’s balls and rolled them in his fingers, a treasure newly found and worshiped.

  Zeb went rigid for a moment then pushed sharply with his hips. Jace expertly took the slide of his cock deep into his throat and swallowed, compressing the spongy head. There was a hard pulse. Zeb’s wail pulled an answered growl from deep in Jace’s chest and he pulled back, swallowing again and again. Every drop of cream Zeb released was savored, his waning erection gently licked clean and released.

  Rising up, Jace crawled to the top of the bed and studied Zeb’s face. His swollen lips were parted, his breath heaving in a hard, steady rhythm that leveled off and slowed. Eyes closed and cheeks flushed, he looked like a debauched angel. Jace smiled and reached into the drawer of his nightstand bringing out a tube of clear lube. He leaned over Zeb and kissed him, purring with pleasure when Zeb’s arms encircled him, his hands stroking Jace’s back.

  “Never felt anything like that before,” Zeb confessed against his lips.

  Jace eased back. “Gonna take you now, Zeb. Gonna make you mine. Relax. You’re gonna like this. It just gets better.”

  Sliding back to kneel between Zeb’s spread thighs, Jace urged his legs up and back. A thrill shot down his spine and a hot surge of blood to his cock had him groaning at the sight. Zeb’s tight little ass was exposed, those sweet cheeks parted and his tight, flushed entrance was right there and waiting.

  “Oh, now that’s gotta be the finest sight I’ve ever seen,” Jace growled.

  He coated his fingers with lube. Capturing Zeb’s wide-eyed gaze, Jace let his lubed fingers trace the crease between Zeb’s cheeks.

  Zeb wiggled and moaned, his little hole twitching. Smiling, Jace rubbed his finger over and over the soft, wrinkled skin. With infinite patience and care, he inserted a fingertip and began the first careful movements to prepare Zeb.

  His finger slid in and out, deeper with each inward move, easing through the tight tissue, lubricating the tender skin. His actions were accompanied by the tentative undulation of his Zeb’s hips. Zeb’s mind was thinking, it’s going to hurt, but his body was telling him a different story. Jace could see and hear the moment Zeb’s body took the upper hand. His mouth opened and small breathy moans came flowing out. The rhythm of his hips picked up speed as he attempted to help fuck himself on Jace’s probing finger.

  With tender care, Jace brought a second finger into play and then a third. By the time that third finger and its two companions were sliding in and out of Zeb’s hole, he was pushing into them enthusiastically forcing them deeper and begging for more.

  “Jace, please. Need you. Please, please, please! I hurt.”

  “Shh, I’m right here, baby. Gonna take away the hurt. Make you feel fine. Gonna make you fly, lover.”

  Jace slid his fingers free and replaced them with the lube-slicked head of his cock. A steady, easy pressure took him in, Zeb’s sphincter tightening for only a moment before letting go. One sleek glide found him buried to the hilt. Jace closed his eyes and held on against the exquisite, tight heat that held him.

  Zeb was whimpering, “So good, so good, so good,” over and over again, his hands fisted in the sheets.

  Pulling Zeb’s legs down, Jace encouraged him to wrap them around his waist. This position brought their bodies tightly together and he started their dance. He pulled his hips back, drawing his cock nearly free before moving forward in a long languid glide. Again and again he repeated the movement. Zeb caught the rhythm and moved with him.

  Their lips joined, tongues teasing and tasting as they traded breaths, filling each other’s lungs. Together they increased the pace. Slow and easy became a little faster, a little harder, a little deeper. Jace levered himself up a bit, changed the angle and hit gold. Zeb’s shocked groan rang out. Jace’d found his prostate. His cock slid across the little gland with each thrust, driving Zeb mad with the pleasure.

  They were racing to the finish line and Jace settled in, heading for the final stretch. Hips pumping, breath heaving, he reached for Zeb’s cock and pumped. Three strokes was all it took. Zeb’s eyes rolled back in his head, a lusty yell piercing through every other sound in the room. His body was bouncing and shuddering, his cock straining to empty every last drop of seed his body had.

  The tight vise of Zeb’s inner sheath clamped around Jace’s cock. Rhythmic pulses squeezed, begged and insisted on his release. Jace wasn’t about to try to fight it any longer, even if he could. The wild rush of orgasm pierced his gut and he imploded. His hips jerked with every fierce pulse of his cock, his seed, warm and wet, inundating the sleek passage that held him. He collapsed on top of Zeb, rolling and pulling Zeb with him so they lay face to face.

  Zeb was still emitting a soft whimper every now and then and Jace kissed his forehead, softly petting his back, chest and belly. “You all right, baby?” Jace asked softly.

  Zeb opened his eyes. They were huge, dark and dazed, but he managed to nod. Jace felt a rush of emotion so deep it took his breath away. “Look at you. Pure sugar, sweet and fine,” he managed gruffly around the lump in his throat.

  The slow smile Zeb gave him made his heart thump. “You know what I need now?” Jace asked.

  Zeb shook his head.

  “A shower and some sleep. This bull is plumb tuckered.”

  A chuckle met his words. “This horn work takes some effort, doesn’t it?”

  “You bet. Come scrub my back?”

  “Anything you want, Jace.”

  “Anything? I might take you up on that. In the mornin’.”

  They rolled out of bed and headed for the bathroom. The shower was hot and quick. After drying off they settled back in Jace’s bed, cuddled close and went to sleep.

  * * *

  Late morning sunshine and birdsong brought Jace out of a sound sleep. He lay on his side quietly for a moment, remembering last night and the reason he was still in bed so late. A slow, lazy smile curved his lips as he remembered Zeb’s promise to do anything. He reached out for him. His hand found cool sheets and nothing else. Jace rolled. The other side of the bed was empty.

  He felt his chest constri
ct and admonished himself to calm down. Zeb was probably just in the bathroom. Throwing back the covers, Jace went to the bathroom. No Zeb. He turned to face the room across the hall, dread filling his heart. The door to Zeb’s room stood open. He crossed the hall and looked in. It was empty. Zeb’s things were gone.

  On the table that had held his small computer was a piece of paper. Feeling oddly light-headed, Jace crossed the room and picked it up. As he read he backed up, his knees giving way as he sat heavily on the bed.

  Dear Jace,

  I have to go. Thanks to you I have enough data to give the Casithians. They should be able to take good care of the cattle they will eventually receive from you. But I don’t really want to talk about that.

  I want to talk about us, but what’s the use? You can’t leave your home and I can’t stay. We both have duties and obligations that prevent us from being together. If that was something you might have wanted. I did, I do. I love you. Thank you for holding me, for touching me, for maybe loving me a little.

  Zeb

  “Zeb. Oh, God. Please. No. Zeb.” Jace’s words rang in the empty room. He sat still and quiet as outside, the sun rose high overhead.

  * * *

  Zeb stared blankly at his computer screen. An error message blinked again and again, silently screaming at him. It was the third time today and his shift had barely started.

  He’d been home for almost three weeks. At first he’d buried himself in the project for the Casithians, collating the data and passing it on. New projects came and he tried to immerse himself in them, but each time it got harder and harder.

  He wasn’t sleeping, he wasn’t eating and the pain was growing harder and harder to ignore. A soft whimper passed his lips. He wanted surcease from the hopeless ache inside. An image came to mind. The home he’d shared with Kiel and Rick. Suddenly he knew what he had to do and where he had to go.

  Zeb shut down the computer and put in a call for an automated transport vehicle. He was going home.

  * * *

  Kiel and Rick walked arm in arm down the long pathway that led to their front door. They’d gone for an evening out and chose to walk home, enjoying the balmy, moonlit night. As they approached their front door, a figure huddled on a nearby stone bench rose up.

  Feeling a frisson of alarm, Kiel moved forward and put himself between Rick and the stranger. “Who are you? What are you doing here?” he asked, his voice steady and firm.

  “It’s me. Zebian.”

  Kiel let out a sigh of relief. Crimes were few and far between but one never knew.

  “Zeb!” Rick stepped forward. “Why didn’t you tell us you were coming? We’d have stayed home this evening.” Zeb stepped forward into the light and was rewarded with stares and a gasp from Rick. “Oh, my God, Zeb are you ill? You look terrible. Come inside.”

  Kiel opened their door and the two of them got Zeb inside and seated, taking a place on either side of him on the sofa. Kiel reached for Zeb’s hand. “Zebian, little one, what’s wrong?”

  “I… I just… can’t.” A broken sob escaped Zeb’s throat.

  Kiel didn’t hesitate. He pulled Zeb to him and eased him into his lap. Even though Zeb was full grown, Kiel was a big man, very strong and very determined. This was how he’d comforted Zeb as a child and Zeb needed him now just as he’d needed him then. Rick moved close and the three of them cuddled together, Kiel and Rick offering words of solace and comfort, rocking and petting him as Zeb cried out his hurt.

  When his tears abated, he sniffed and took the tissue Rick handed him. Sheepishly he blew his nose. “I’m sorry.”

  “For what? Coming to us when you felt bad? We love you, Zebian. Where else should you go?” Rick softly admonished.

  Kiel gave him a squeeze. “Want to talk about it now?”

  “Yes.”

  Zeb told them about his time on Earth, halting now and then to swallow down emotions that threatened make him cry again. “So you see, I found my mate, but we can’t be together. I don’t know how I can live like this. I keep wondering if Jace is all right. I’m so afraid I may have hurt him somehow by forming the bond then leaving. I don’t know what to do.”

  “Well, I do,” Kiel said confidently.

  “You do?” Zeb asked.

  “Of course. It’s simple, Zebian. You’re going back to Earth. Back to your mate.”

  “But how can I? My duty is here as one of the Maleri’. The Beltholan High Council will never let me just leave.”

  “Zebian, do you honestly think the Maleri’ Council will let them force you to stay? The union between a Maleri’ and his mate is as necessary as the air we breathe. No one will insist you put your duty before your life. Besides, with the kind of work you do, you could do it from Earth and just transmit back to Belthola.”

  “But Councilor Ruran insisted it was time for me to get more involved with field work.”

  “Councilor Ruran was acting on a recommendation I made to him when you left us to go to work for Division Seven. We felt it was time you got out to meet people. Take an interest in the world around you.” Kiel pinched his chin lightly. “Zeb, you built a wall around your heart. We were afraid for you. Afraid that when the time came you’d keep yourself even from your mate. You certainly proved us wrong but I still feel we were right in our decision to send you to Earth.”

  Zeb sighed and leaned forward. He pulled Rick and Kiel close so their foreheads were all touching. “I love you both. So, so much. Thank you for being my family.”

  “Ah, Zebian, you’re so very welcome,” Kiel answered.

  “We love you, Zeb. We’ll always be here for you,” Rick added.

  “Now,” Kiel said with a grin. “Let’s get you home.”

  * * *

  The sun was setting in a blaze of glory, but Jace watched it with little pleasure. There wasn’t much in the past few weeks that had brought him any kind of happiness. Zeb had been gone almost a month, and the hurt was still enough to bring him to his knees if he let it sneak up on him. Even now, sitting here, concentrating on the chores he wanted to see done tomorrow, the pain and sorrow was trying to sneak in.

  Jace’s breath caught a little and he rapidly blinked his eyes while forcing himself to taking deep, calming breaths. He was no small amount of grateful when a distraction in the form of a strange, red pickup truck came up the lane and stopped in front of the house.

  At first he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. Some trick of the light on the windshield made the man inside the truck resemble Zeb. Then the door opened and Zeb stepped out. He was just the same. Dark blond hair, blue eyes and that tight little body that sent Jace’s libido over the moon. Jace stood slowly as Zeb climbed the stairs.

  Zeb stopped a few feet away. “I’m back. They let me come back.”

  “To stay?”

  Zeb nodded, his eyes bright with unshed tears.

  Jace swallowed hard and opened his arms. “Welcome home, Zeb.”

  Epilogue

  “Hey, you! Get your sweet ass in here.”

  “I’m comin’.”

  “You better not be,” Jace growled.

  Zeb, with a smile on his face, walked through the open bedroom door, stark naked. “Hey, I just took a shower.”

  Jace walked over and nuzzled his neck. “I can see that.”

  “Mmm,” Zeb groaned. “Did you get the tractor parts you went into town for?”

  “I sure did. I got somethin’ for you too.” Jace indicated the box lying on the bed. “Open it.”

  Zeb gave him a grin and bounced over to the bed, pulling back the lid on the big box. Inside was a cowboy hat and a pair of boots.

  Jace crowded close, lips nuzzling the sensitive spot behind Zeb’s ear while he ran his hand over the naked flanks of his lover. “Try ’em on,” he insisted, his voice low and rough.

  Zeb shivered. “Now? Shouldn’t I save them for tomorrow when I go riding on Molly?”

  Jace started peeling off his clothes. “I got somethin’ you can ri
de.”

  Naked in no time, he settled on the bed. Hard cock in hand, he slowly stroked himself and watched as interesting parts of Zeb’s anatomy jiggled while he stomped into his boots. Zeb settled his hat on his head and crawled up the bed toward Jace’s waiting arms.

  A huge grin wreathed Jace’s lips. “Time to saddle up and ride ’em, cowboy.”

  Zeb did just that.

  Kate Steele

  What is it they say? Watch out for the quiet ones? Kate Steele has found that writing is the ideal way to release all those wild inner urges and she’s just getting started. “I’m aging in reverse. With the help of lots of plastic surgery and vitamins, I fully expect to have my own male harem by the time I hit 90.”

  For now she’s settling for the quiet life in rural Indiana with family and pets. Guilty pleasure: Singing in the car. “With the volume loud enough, I sound just like Celine Dion!”

  You can contact Kate and sing-a-long at katesteele27@yahoo.com or visit her website at www.katesteele.com.