by Ariel Tachna
The way Chris kissed him back, licking and biting at his lips, tempted him to ignore that resolution, but they had barely left the valley that sheltered the station. In the ute or in a hut, they needed to get a little farther away before they got naked. Jesse would never survive the mortification if one of the other jackaroos, or worse, Caine or Macklin, caught them. This close to the station, that was not outside the realm of possibility.
“Hold that thought.” Jesse’s voice sounded rough to his own ears, testament to how deeply Chris’s kisses, Chris’s eagerness had affected him. “Let’s get a little farther from home first, okay?”
Chris didn’t look convinced, but he scooted back to his side of the ute and fastened his seatbelt again. Jesse put the ute back in gear and headed on to the first hut.
The light mist had turned into a definite drizzle by the time they reached the drover’s hut, unpleasant, but not enough to keep them from doing their jobs. Jesse glanced at Chris to make sure his drizabone was buttoned up to keep him dry.
They did a quick inventory of the drover’s hut, finding this one mostly stocked.
“I wonder why this one needs so much less than the others,” Chris said as they changed the blankets and put fresh batteries in the flashlights. “Some of the others have been all but bare, and this one looks like we stocked it last week.”
Jesse shrugged. “Could be it gets more use and so people bring supplies more often, or it could be it gets less use because it’s relatively close to the station. If they’re this close, they can just go home for the night.”
“Yeah, that makes sense, I guess.”
As they finished up, they heard the sound of the rain on the tin roof.
“How far to the next hut?” Jesse asked.
“It doesn’t look all that far,” Chris said, “but it’s hard to tell sometimes. The map isn’t exactly drawn to scale.”
“Let’s make a run for it,” Jesse said. “We’ll get wet a little, but I’d rather get more than one hut done before we have to call it quits because of the weather.”
They dashed through the cold rain, not a downpour yet, but definitely stronger than just a drizzle. The gravel on the road kept it from turning into a quagmire even with the heavier rain, but Jesse wondered how long that would last. Long enough to get to the next hut, he hoped. The ute had four-wheel drive, but even that had limits.
Fortunately the second hut wasn’t far. Jesse parked the ute as close to the door as he could manage and still have any hope of getting back on the road.
They dashed inside and began the inventory, but Jesse’s mind focused far more on the ever-increasing pounding of the rain than on the task at hand. They had finished half the cabinets when a crack of thunder directly overhead startled them. Jesse opened the door and looked at the horizon appraisingly.
“I think we’ll wait out the storm,” he said. “I don’t like the way those clouds look, and I’m not familiar enough with the area to gauge what kind of effects the weather will have on the roads. I don’t think the boss would appreciate having to rescue another jackaroo from a storm.”
“Fine with me,” Chris said. “I have no desire to need rescuing, not when we’re safe and dry here. Do you need anything from the ute?”
“No, do you?”
“Just our lunches if we’re stuck here that long.”
“I hope we aren’t, but I’ll grab them now before the weather gets worse.” He turned up his collar and pulled his hat as low as he could on his head to protect his neck and dashed to the ute. The rain soaked his lower legs, but his back and neck stayed dry as he rummaged through the sacks for their lunches. Finding them, he ran back inside, shaking water from his drizabone as he stood just inside the doorway.
“Maybe we should get a fire going?” Chris asked. “I put some logs in the fireplace, but I don’t really know much beyond that.”
As wet as his feet were, Jesse thought a fire sounded heavenly. “I’ll do it. Why don’t you finish the inventory so we can get everything from the truck when the rain slows down?”
Chris nodded and went back to checking cabinets while Jesse started the fire. Once it was going, he pulled off his boots and propped his sock-covered feet in front of the flames to dry out and warm up.
“Your jeans are soaked too,” Chris said. “I promise not to jump you if you take them off to dry. You can wrap up in a blanket if you’re cold.”
Jesse stripped off his pants, sitting back down in only his underwear. “Let it warm up in here and you can jump me all you want.”
Chris grinned. “I like the sound of that.”
Jesse grabbed his jeans and pulled out the condom he had hidden there before he left his room that morning. “You’ll like this even better, then.”
“I thought you didn’t carry condoms when you were working,” Chris said, swallowing around the lump of desire clogging his throat. Jesse’s cock started to fill at the sound.
“I got tired of waiting.”
Chris launched himself at Jesse, straddling him and kissing him wildly. Jesse ignored the rasp of denim on his bare skin as Chris devoured his mouth. The sense of being desired so powerfully fired his blood. He ran his hands down Chris’s back and pulled the hem of his shirt free so he could reach skin. As easy as it would be to lift Chris up a little, push aside their remaining clothes, and let Chris ride him into oblivion, they had the time and privacy to linger, and Jesse intended to take advantage of it.
He broke the kiss, already breathing hard. “There’s a perfectly good cot over there. We could actually get undressed and lie down.”
Chris grunted, not moving as he worked a hand between them to stroke Jesse through his briefs.
Jesse caught his hand and pulled it away. “What’s the rush?”
“The chance to have you fuck me?” Chris retorted.
“I will if that’s what you want,” Jesse promised, “but listen to that storm. We aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, and I only have one condom, so there’s no rush. We can take our time getting there.”
Chris stood up and shrugged out of his drizabone, the sleeve catching awkwardly on his cast. Jesse followed him, freeing his arm and pulling him into an embrace, his back against Jesse’s chest. “Not rushing, remember?”
He ran his hands over Chris’s cloth-covered chest, enjoying the play of strong, sleek muscles. Chris might not have a jackaroo’s wiry build yet, but Jesse would put money on him filling out by the end of the summer.
Chris leaned back against Jesse so trustingly Jesse nearly called off their sex. Chris needed someone so much better than Jesse, someone with a stable life and the ability to make promises and keep them. Jesse didn’t know where he’d be after April when the seasonal work at Lang Downs ended.
Jesse rolled his eyes at himself. Chris would kick his arse for that kind of condescension. He’d proved his ability to take care of himself and his brother. He didn’t need Jesse hovering over him and taking his decisions out of his hands. Furthermore, Chris had made his hopes for the next few minutes very clear. Jesse had no reason not to give it to him.
Especially not when Chris rubbed his tight, sweet arse against Jesse’s erection. Oh, yeah, Jesse was going to enjoy this. It had been a while since he’d had the time to really linger over sex rather than feeling obliged to rush for release. He worked open the buttons on Chris’s shirt, finding the dusting of chest hair he’d seen but not had time to explore when he helped Chris shave the last time. Lifting one hand to Chris’s cheek, he nuzzled the nape of Chris’s neck. “I’ll have to help you shave again tonight. You’re getting scruffy.”
Chris tipped his head into Jesse’s hand, the gesture so vulnerable Jesse felt his heart melt. He urged Chris to turn his head until their lips met in a tender kiss. Jesse shifted so they stood facing one another as the kiss continued. He pushed the shirt off Chris’s shoulders, taking care to keep it from getting caught on Chris’s cast, and tossed it aside.
Chris returned the favor one-handed, leaving th
em skin to skin for the first time. Jesse shivered at the contact and slid his hands around Chris’s waist, simply holding him for the moment.
“I thought we were going to use that cot,” Chris said.
“In a minute,” Jesse replied.
Chris didn’t seem inclined to wait, though, moving his good hand down Jesse’s back and inside the waistband of his briefs. His fingers dug into the muscle of Jesse’s arse, pushing him toward Chris.
Jesse took a step back. “Get naked.”
“As long as you do the same,” Chris replied.
Jesse raised an eyebrow at him, stepped out of his briefs, and toed off his socks. “Your turn.”
Jesse resisted the urge to help as Chris fumbled with his boots and jeans, but while he would have enjoyed helping Chris undress, he’d already crossed far too many lines. They weren’t lovers, not really, and he couldn’t let himself think that way. Instead he stretched out on the cot, stroking himself leisurely as he watched the rest of Chris’s hot, tight body come into view.
CHRIS LOOKED up from getting undressed to see Jesse spread out on the bed, hard and ready, hand moving up and down his cock. He waited only a moment, drinking in the compelling sight before pouncing, never doubting for a second that Jesse would catch him.
Jesse’s arms wrapped around him, pulling Chris down on top of him, and Chris burrowed close, wanting every inch of his body touching some part of Jesse’s. Jesse obliged, wrapping his arms and legs around Chris, holding him close and tight on the narrow cot. Chris sighed into the kiss even as the need to drive Jesse wild increased. The cast on his arm kept him from what he wanted to do, but he’d been around the block often enough to have plenty of other ideas… if Jesse was willing. Jesse kept insisting they could take the time to enjoy each other instead of rushing for completion. Chris decided to take him at his word. He pushed back up on his good elbow and both knees. “Turn over.”
Jesse’s surprise showed on his face, but Chris didn’t let that deter him. The moment Jesse was settled on his stomach, Chris slid down the cot, intent on his goal. Finding the right angle with his broken arm was awkward, but eventually he managed to bury his face in Jesse’s arse and find the entrance with his tongue. Jesse grunted into the pillow, bringing a smile to Chris’s face as he lavished attention on the square inch of flesh that would, he hoped, bring Jesse enough pleasure to want to fuck Chris thoroughly later.
The scent of Jesse’s desire filled Chris’s senses, spurring him to greater efforts. He worked his way lower, sucking Jesse’s balls into his mouth. Jesse moaned this time instead of just the grunts from earlier so Chris sucked harder, until Jesse pulled away.
“If you want me to fuck you, now’s the time to stop,” Jesse said, his eyes glittering with lust as he rolled onto his back.
“Or I could get you off and then fuck you,” Chris said, testing the waters.
“You could,” Jesse agreed, his voice never changing tone.
Chris decided right then he’d take Jesse up on that offer before long, but he’d been imagining what it would feel like to have Jesse inside him practically since they met, certainly since he discovered Jesse was gay. Fulfilling that fantasy took precedence. “Next time.”
He grabbed the condom from where it had fallen when they hit the bed and rolled it onto Jesse’s cock. It was pre-lubed, fortunately, because he was out of patience. He straddled Jesse’s hips, sinking slowly onto Jesse’s erection.
“You could’ve let me stretch you a bit,” Jesse said with a groan.
“I couldn’t wait,” Chris said as he rocked back and forth, feeling his muscles stretch slowly as he grew accustomed to Jesse’s girth inside him. It burned, but Chris knew it would pass soon, and when it did, it would feel incredible.
Jesse grunted again, the tendons in his neck standing out as he held himself still beneath Chris. Chris appreciated the effort, but he was past waiting now. He reached behind him with his good hand and massaged Jesse’s sac. “Fuck me already.”
Jesse chuckled as he thrust up into Chris. “If you want me to really fuck you, you’re in the wrong position.”
Chris leaned forward and kissed Jesse swiftly. “Deal with it.”
Jesse tweaked one of Chris’s nipples. “Dealing.”
Chris smiled, enjoying the repartee almost as much as the caress. Okay, maybe not, but the idea of laughing, teasing during sex instead of rushing for climax as fast as possible was completely foreign. He’d never experienced this kind of easy camaraderie in the midst of fucking. Now that he had, though, he wasn’t about to give it up.
His head fell back as he rode Jesse harder, all the pent-up lust from the day and the weeks since he arrived and the months since he’d been fucked and rimming Jesse and being here with a friend instead of a fuck rising up inside him and choking him until he felt like the only thing keeping his lungs working was Jesse’s cock forcing air out of him as he thrust in and pulling air back in as he withdrew. His thighs burned as he posted faster, harder, desperate for the release that hovered just out of reach.
Then Jesse’s hand closed around Chris’s cock and he cried out, the touch sending him into orbit until he swore he saw stars dancing behind his eyes and nothing existed but this moment and this man and the joining of their bodies. Time and space and responsibilities ceased to matter. Only making Jesse feel as good as Chris felt right now, because he could still feel Jesse hard inside him, still thrusting, still wild-eyed and straining beneath him. He squeezed as hard as he could on the cock inside him, bracing himself so Jesse could move as he needed to. Then Jesse grunted and shook beneath him, and Chris imagined he could feel the cock inside him twitch as Jesse climaxed too.
Completely wrung out, he collapsed forward onto Jesse’s chest. Jesse held him tight as they shifted around to get comfortable. Chris had the passing thought that he should clean up the mess he’d made, but exhaustion claimed him first and he fell asleep.
Fourteen
CHRIS RESISTED the urge to pace the exam room of the hospital in Yass as he waited for the doctor to arrive with the X-rays and pronounce his arm fit to come out of its cast. He told himself it was simply impatience to get back to Lang Downs, but he knew it was more than that. He’d practically had a panic attack when they reached the outskirts of Yass. Jesse had held him through that bout of nerves, but now Chris was alone, and the panic was clawing at his throat again.
He’d gone round and round in his head since he realized he’d have to return to Yass to get his cast removed. He’d tried pretending it didn’t bother him. He’d bluffed his way through the expressions of concern, but when he’d seen the sign for the town limits, all the fear and pain of the bashing had come rushing back. His vision had grayed out, leaving him gasping for breath as blows rained down on him.
Jesse had grabbed him and held him tightly, murmuring reassurances that had finally penetrated Chris’s mind, allowing him to calm down and deal with the rest of the drive into town. Caine and Macklin had left them at the hospital, although Chris wondered what Macklin had said to get Caine to agree to that. Chris had been sure Caine wouldn’t leave him there for anything after his overreaction in the car. Caine had gone, though, with orders to call as soon as Chris was done. Chris hated to admit he’d been reassured by that as well. The hotel wasn’t that far from the hospital, but the thought of walking through town, past the restaurant where he’d used to work and the alley where he was beaten nearly to death, filled him with dread.
“Mr. Simms?”
“Yes, that’s me,” Chris said as the doctor came in.
“Your arm seems to have healed nicely. We’ll get that cast off and then go over the PT you need to do for it.”
“PT?” Chris asked.
“Your muscles and ligaments have atrophied after eight weeks of non-use,” the doctor explained. “You have to work on stretching and strengthening them again or you could seriously injure your elbow. Do you have a job?”
“I work on a sheep station,” Chris said. “I’ve b
een helping in the kitchen because of my arm, but I’m supposed to work with the sheep once the cast is off.”
“Let’s get rid of it then and see what shape you’re in,” the doctor replied. “You’ll recover full use of your arm with proper exercise and care. You’ll just have to give it a little time.”
Chris didn’t like the sound of that. He’d been waiting eight weeks already to really start learning to be a jackaroo. He didn’t want to wait any longer.
Looking down at his arm once the cast was gone, though, he realized the doctor was right. His right arm looked about half the size of his left arm and it hurt to bend his elbow. “Let me show you the exercises you need to do.”
“Would it be all right if my friend came back to listen as well?” Chris interrupted before the doctor could begin. “He’ll be the one helping me follow through on everything, and I’d feel better if he heard from you what we’re supposed to do.”
“I suppose that would be all right,” the doctor said.
Chris nearly sagged in relief when the man returned a few minutes later with Jesse in tow. He resisted the urge to reach out and grab Jesse’s hand for comfort. Jesse seemed to sense his need, though, crossing the room and hopping up on the exam bed next to him. “How’s the arm, mate?”
Chris held up his arm so Jesse could see. “Aw, nothing to it. We’ll get you sorted in no time, right, doc?”
“I wouldn’t say ‘no time’,” the doctor replied, “but with care and proper exercise, you should be back to regular use in about a month.”
Chris wasn’t willing to wait another month, but he kept his mouth shut and listened as the doctor explained the exercises he needed to do now and those he needed to add as he regained strength and flexibility in his elbow and arm. He hoped Jesse was listening carefully because it quickly became more than he could remember, and he didn’t relish another drive to Yass for a refresher course.
