Chris luxuriated under the kiss, tasting Mike seriously for the first time. He barely felt Mike's hands moving over his face and back. His cock woke, as if from a long sleep, and demanded satisfaction, at once if not sooner. It wanted its own share of the kiss.
"Can we take this more private?" Mike asked. "The parking lot of Mama Fiorella's doesn't strike me as the place for a romantic tryst."
Chris nodded. "Anywhere with you."
Mike drove them to a cheap apartment in the student section. He led Chris up a rickety stair to an attic apartment that had been sparsely furnished sixty years ago. The iron-framed bed was a double, but the whole place smelled unused, almost forgotten. Small and empty, it didn't seem to suit Mike at all. Chris wondered if it was his place, or just a place he brought tricks.
"You live here? You never moved after school?" Chris looked around the tiny room, standing in the fall of sunlight from the lace-curtained window.
Mike stood in the center of the room, staring at him, clenching and unclenching his fists and breathing very hard. "No. But I use it when I need it." He pulled Chris in, his hands hard and hot on Chris's arms. "Chris, how much do you need? Before we go any further at all, I have to know. Because once we start, we aren't negotiating or stopping for anything."
"I want you to fuck me. Hard." Chris laid a hand on the crotch of Mike's purple cotton pants. Warm and hardening, Mike's cock rose to meet him.
"So unprofessional. Such a bad friend to take advantage," Mike said, before lowering his mouth to devour Chris's, feasting on his lips and throat. He tore at Chris's shirt, shoved at his own pants and Chris's jeans in turn.
"Don't care. I won't tell," Chris managed, his own hands trying to get Mike out of the ridiculous scrub top with little gray Hulks all over it. They fought their way out of the clothing to tumble on the big iron bed. The mattress and elderly springs groaned under them.
Chris ended up on top, straddling Mike and kissing him, his hands all over the big nurse's body, playing in the thatch of black chest hair that thickened to almost a pelt at Mike's crotch. He rubbed his own very hard cock against Mike's, drawing a low growl from Mike.
Mike rolled them over so he was on top and stroked Chris's slender, smoother body. "So pale. Just the stitches," he mumbled, licking at Chris's nipples. "My boy's bottom was never anything but pink."
Chris said nothing, but raised his arms above his head and grasped a bar at the head of the bed. Mike just stayed on top of him, kissing him all over and exploring his body. After a moment, Mike looked up and saw his hands. He clamped one big hand down, circling both of Chris's wrists, holding him immobile.
"Is it a top you need or just a lover?" The dominant tone in his voice almost sent Chris into subspace then and there. He fought it. Today he was just Chris, nobody's boy or sub.
"Just a lover," Chris whispered, feeling bold just for voicing it. "William is...my top."
Mike let go of his wrists and the demanding kisses turned very sweet. "I had hoped you would say that. I've wanted you from the moment I saw you."
Chris smiled at him. "Same."
Mike grasped his cock in one hand and stilled his hips. "How long has it been?"
"Years..."
Mike looked started for a moment. "Years since you had anyone else. Surely William has made love to you more recently than that."
"But he hasn't fucked me," Chris insisted.
Mike thrust against his belly. "Just hard and rough and ready?"
Chris nodded. Mike knew exactly what he wanted. Everything would be fine. The next kiss was harder, less sweet and more demanding. Chris met it with the same wild urgency, almost whimpering when Mike got up.
"Safety first, babe." Mike kissed him and then went to rummage in his bag. He dropped a strip of condoms and a bottle of lube on the nightstand. "Roll over, brat," he teased. "A fucking you want, a fucking you'll get."
Chris rolled over fast, lifting his hips and wiggling a bit. Mike swatted him for the impudence and then ran two rough fingers down the crack of his ass, slathering lubricant over his hole. Both fingers went straight into him, startling him into a gasp, as Mike ripped open a condom with his teeth and rolled it on one-handed.
Chris watched over his shoulder, his eyes wide. "Yeah, give it to me."
Mike parted his legs and spread his ass. He removed his fingers and Chris almost cried as the big, blunt head of his cock pressed slowly inward. Mike couldn't be compelled to move faster. He took the entry at his leisure, savoring every inch of the penetration. Chris clutched the bars above his head and breathed against the slow burn in his ass.
"Easy does it. Want to feel you, all of you." Mike rubbed his shoulders and arms.
Chris lifted up, trying to get more. He felt Mike slide all the way in. The big man's hairy thighs against the back of his own made him gasp and count backward from a hundred to keep from coming there on the spot. He wanted the fucking badly enough that he held off.
"You feel great." Mike made a small motion that left Chris whimpering with frustration. "So good. I won't last if I pound." He put his weight on Chris and kissed his neck and shoulders.
"Should have my ring," Chris said. "Keep going...long as you can. Hard."
After another moment, Mike moved. "Hard, you said?" He grasped Chris's hips and shoved, slamming his groin into Chris's ass. "Hard enough?" He pounded at Chris's ass.
Chris could no longer form words as the colors and light burst inside his eyelids. He could only lie still and moan under the exquisite torment. He muffled what sounds he could in the pillow and never let go of the bars.
"Fuck. Tight and hot and so good!" Mike plunged in, grinding as deeply as he could, and then held still for a long moment, shuddering.
"Yeahhhh." Chris sighed. He wanted Mike to move some more, to stay hard in him for a long time. But that didn't feel likely. Mike was already wilting.
Mike waited another minute, then pulled out and chucked the condom. He rolled Chris over and stroked one finger up his cock. "You didn't come yet?"
Chris shook his head, aching from the touch of that finger. Mike rummaged again and came up with a mint-flavored condom. He slid it on and followed it with his mouth.
Chris relaxed under that touch. "So nice." He sighed, coming very soon as Mike's tongue swirled around his shaft and worked over the head.
Mike peeled that one off, too, and then came up for more kisses. They lay together in the old iron bed and Mike let Chris cuddle close. He burrowed in, smelling and trying to memorize the feel of Mike.
"Chris, are you all right with this?"
Chris nodded and gave him more kisses, content just to lie there in golden sunlight, enjoying a few moments of selfish pleasure.
After a while, Mike stretched. "Time to get back."
Chris nodded agreement and rolled out of bed. He collected the clothing they had strewn over the whole bed-sitting room. They dressed in silence. Mike ran his thumb over Chris's collar.
"I was a bad friend and very unprofessional today."
"I won't tell," Chris reassured him.
He kissed Chris. "Anything you need, you just ask, all right, sweetheart?"
They went back to the house, Chris feeling better than he had for weeks.
But once home, seeing William's angular face made almost gaunt by the disease, relaxed in a drugged sleep, the weight of his world crashed in on Chris again. William was dying. There was no escaping that fact as he stood in the darkened bedroom, looking at his master's wasted form, smelling the sickroom smell that William seemed to exude.
He didn't feel guilty about Mike. William had told him to take what he needed. He needed a man. He needed a friend. And he had needed that orgasm today like none other. It had been weeks and he hadn't asked William if he could relieve his own desires. Mike was young, vital and made him feel alive. While he would never leave William, he needed them both right now.
Chris knelt beside the bed and stroked William's hair, his touch light so as not to wake the sleeping m
an. "I love you, sir. I'll stay until you don't need me anymore." He pressed his lips to William's cheek and got up. One sharp blue eye opened and fixed him. He froze.
"My boy," William said. His voice had grown as thin as his body in the recent days. Chris hated the weak sound of it.
Chris went back to his knees beside the bed. "Yes, sir?"
"We're going out on Saturday night. To the club." William stroked his face.
Chris looked at him, surprised at this announcement. "Are you going to be up for that, sir?"
William smiled. "Leave that to me. Our nurse has arranged it all, including enough stimulants to get me there."
"Will he be there?" Chris asked, hoping to watch Mike in action, maybe even enjoy a scene with him.
"Unlikely. I am taking you to meet Master Bear."
"Yes, sir." Chris hid his horror at the statement. The other tops had made Master Bear sound like a threat, someone who chewed bottoms up and spat them out if they didn't meet his standards. But William knew best, always.
* * * *
Saturday night came around. Chris dressed slowly. It was the last time he would accompany William to the club. He knew that. The last night he would kneel at his beloved master's feet in front of others. A selfish part of him wished William felt much better and would flog him in front of the other men. That seemed unlikely. Chris leaned in to the mirror and added eyeliner. William always liked him just a little androgynous.
Chris finished dressing and went to the front room for inspection. His leather pants hung loose where they normally clung. William slept so much that he missed meals. Chris just didn't feel much like eating alone. The mesh shirt still looked good. He settled the headband with the leather bear cub ears on his head. William had found them and thought they were the perfect touch for his teddy bear boy. He always felt a little silly wearing them.
William smiled from his armchair. He looked pale and fragile in the leather tuxedo, almost wasted, his muscle tone mostly vanished from too many hours in bed. "Ready, my dear?"
"Yes, sir." Chris came and knelt by the chair. William stroked his face and bent for a kiss. Chris hoped William would let him get off tonight. He hadn't had an orgasm since Mike. His body, almost hibernating, had been reawakened first by Steven and then by Mike, until the need for sex burdened him throughout the day. William was too sick to do more than cuddle and Chris hadn't asked permission to take care of things himself.
"You look adorable." William stole another kiss. "I need you to drive, boy."
Chris nodded. "Yes sir." He took the keys and helped William to his feet. After getting William into the car, he drove very carefully to their club. They hadn't been in over a year, not since William's second remission.
He stole a glance at William at the stoplight. His lover leaned against the door, his knuckles white on the handle and his face almost gray.
"Are you okay, sir?" Chris asked. "I can take us home."
"No, my dear. I'm not okay. But I need to do this."
"Yes, sir." Chris went quiet as he parked. He helped William out and took them into the club.
"I have a room reserved for tonight," William told the host. They found themselves in a small, private room near the back of the club. Only a large chair sat in the middle of the room. William took the seat and Chris shed the mesh shirt and went to his knees beside it.
"Beautiful, darling boy." William kissed him. A knock interrupted them.
Master Jonathan came in, scowling at William. He bent in to kiss William and laid a hand along William's face. "You should be in bed," he said. Chris caught a glimpse of him feeling William's face and throat as though hunting for a pulse.
"I'm sleeping the end of my life away, hopelessly addicted to morphine. I will have one last night as myself." The edge in William's voice told Chris that Master Jonathan had prodded just a little too much.
"As you like it, old friend." Jonathan laid a hand on Chris's head. "Have you chosen yet?"
William nodded. "I have. Chris will be well cared for."
"Be a good boy," Jonathan said, tugging Chris's hair. "And you, take care of yourself."
William drew Jonathan down for a long kiss. "I love you, Jonathan."
Jonathan stood and looked for a long minute. "Always, William. Yit'gadal v'yit'kadash sh'mei raba b'al'ma di v'ra khir'utei v'yam'likh mal'khutei b'chayeikhon uv'yomeikhon uv'chayei d'khol beit yis'ra'eil ba'agala uviz'man kariv v'im'ru."
William responded, "Amen. May his great name be blessed forever and ever."
Jonathan kissed him again and left quickly.
"Sir?" Chris asked. "What was that?"
"The Kadish, the Jewish Mourning Prayer. If I remember, the first part is about exalting and sanctifying the name of God in the days of my lifetime and the life of Israel. Later, it talks about there being abundant peace from Heaven. Jonathan's wish for both of us, my boy."
Another knock came. Ian Boyd came over and kissed William. They chatted.
"Have you found someone for him?" He stroked Chris's hair. "I'm really sorry."
William nodded. "I'm sorry it's not you, Ian. But I think he'll be just fine." Chris breathed a sigh of relief. Ian was all right for a scene, but he needed heat and passion. He wondered who William had chosen. Only Steven was really left.
"I'm glad." Ian bent in for another kiss. "I love you, William. I'll light a candle for you."
William smiled. "I love you, Ian. You who have loved me in life will not abandon me to torments in death, I'm sure."
Ian nodded, his face tight, and left.
Chris understood then. William had needed to come tonight to say good-bye. He was seeing each man, letting each know how he felt, and receiving their wishes for a good journey out of this life. Chris bit his lip as his eyes pooled. He swallowed hard when a tall bearded man, wearing a bear mask came in.
He stole a few curious looks at the much-threatened Master Bear. The mask left his mouth free and he kissed William carefully.
"Is it time, old friend?" His voice rumbled very low, lower than Steven's, but comforting.
William nodded. "It is."
"You are not alone. We are here and the beloved dead await you. Go from love into love." He kissed William again.
William laid a hand on Chris's head. "This is my boy, Chris. We have spoken of him."
Chris curled in on himself a little, wishing he could be inconspicuous. Master Bear looked him over.
"Yes. He's beautiful, William. You should have brought him around before now. Boy, would you spread out please, so I can see more of you? Present, please."
Chris did the position perfectly, feeling the stretch in the insides of his thighs. Master Bear's eyes were hidden behind black cloth near the snout of the mask, but he felt the weight of them on him.
"Thank you, boy. Oh William. I see why you worry so." Master Bear gasped and Chris looked up despite himself to see the big top stripping off his leather gauntlets to feel for William's pulse. "Your color is terrible. Are you--"
"You take him. Love him." William gasped the words, clutching Bear's wrist, his face gray as he gasped for air.
Master Bear eased him to the floor. "Boy, go get Dr. Goldberg. Master Jonathan. He's not far from the door."
Chris staggered to his feet, staring as Master Bear began CPR on William. He fled out the door. Master Jonathan was indeed near the door, drinking water and tapping a flogger on his thigh as if looking for a sub to use it on.
"Please, sir," Chris gasped.
"Boy, where's your master? Are you all right?"
"He needs help. In the room."
Master Jonathan turned and almost ran. Chris felt the world go gray and swimmy around him and he clutched a barstool to stop himself from falling. Master Bear was there somehow, folding him into big arms.
"Come back in," he said softly, leading Chris back in. Two subs were doing CPR under Master Jonathan's orders as two more wheeled in the club's defibrillator. "The medicine stopped his heart, Chris. Jonathan may be abl
e to get him back. The paramedics are on their way."
Chris just clung to Master Bear and watched. The machine powered up and Master Jonathan rubbed the paddles together.
"Clear," he barked and the subs backed away from William.
The electric shock wracked William's body, but nothing happened. Jonathan hit him again with the charge. On the third, a distinct smell of urine filled the air and Master Bear pulled Chris out of the room.
"I'm sorry, boy. It's going to be a long evening talking to paramedics and doing paperwork. I'll take you home afterward. You're his next of kin, yes?"
Chris nodded. "Power of Attorney and all." He couldn't cry. He could only cling. Master Bear didn't seem to mind. Chris let the man's big, powerful frame support him.
"He gave you to me tonight, you understand that much, yes?" Chris nodded again. "I'll take care of you until the memorial service and we'll go from there."
"All right." Chris found the tears and cried into the front of Master Bear's very soft black shirt. Low growls of comfort soothed him until ambulance sirens broke the night.
Hours later, closer to dawn than midnight, Chris stood awkwardly in the middle of Master Bear's living room. He remembered very little of the rest of the night, other than an endless stream of official people asking nosy questions and making him sign form after form. Right now, he wobbled on his feet, too wrung out to even take in his surroundings.
The big top came back with a pile of things. "I realize this is short notice. You can go move out of William's house later today. Get any knickknacks you need. Do you have a friend you can call to help you move?"
Chris thought of Mike and nodded.
"You can have the spare bedroom. Here are pajamas, a towel, and washcloth. Spare toothbrush, but you'll have to use my toothpaste. I only have one bathroom."
"Thank you, sir."
"I know it's late and you've had a very, very awful evening. But, we need to talk before we sleep. You are my responsibility, but you are not my sub. I require you to clean up after yourself, and I'd like you to make dinner if you don't mind."
Master Bear Page 5
