Three Men and a Bounty

by Three Men

  “I can’t wait to feel you inside me.” Troy reached back and grasped James’ shaft, drawing it closer to his hole.

  James about shot off at the feel of Troy’s fingers gripping him, at the promised warmth of Troy’s anus surrounding his cock.

  Rather than ram himself forward the way he wanted, James took a deep breath and slid one hand down to Troy’s ass. He eased a finger inside, pushing past the first ring of muscles and feeling Troy clamp down on the digit right firm. Lord, he was tight!

  “You need to relax.”

  “I’m trying, but…I’ve never…I’ve…”

  James bent his head to nibble Troy’s earlobe, heart clenching in his chest at what he thought Troy tried to say. He proved tight enough to be a virgin, but…“You’ve never had a man inside you before?”

  Troy silently shook his head, then leaned it back to cradle against James’ shoulder and worked his jaw muscles.

  James reached up his free hand to cup Troy’s cheek. His palm rasped against the other man’s light stubble. He felt Troy’s shudder all the way through his own body. He ached to have this powerful, unusual man under him, to bury himself deep inside Troy and ride him until they both exploded like nitro.

  His gaze shifted to find Chris standing in front of Troy with an indulgent expression on his face. He’d almost forgotten the boy was there with them and smiled at Chris’ look. He seemed so old, much older than his years. There proved so much pain and wisdom in that gaze, too.

  As much as either he or Troy had seen, James decided.

  “We’ll help you through it,” he murmured to Troy and watched Chris nod his agreement.

  Yep, right old and wise beyond his years.

  “I know it’ll be painful, but I want this. I’m ready to—”

  “Don’t have to be no such thing, at least not awfully so.” James bent his head and placed his lips on Troy’s throat. He caught a small piece of flesh between his teeth and nipped before licking and sucking the sore spot to take Troy’s mind off of the coming invasion. He’d have to soften him up right and proper to make sure this experience proved as painless and pleasurable as possible. He wanted Troy to enjoy himself, not fear what James would do to him.

  Troy squirmed in his grasp, and James let his imagination run wild without letting his hand do the same. Slowly, he added another finger, pushing past the second ring of muscles inside Troy’s anus until his fingers disappeared to the third knuckle.

  Troy opened himself up then, pushing back against James’ hand and riding it.

  “Take it slow, Troy. We’ve got time,” James whispered in Troy’s ear. Not as much time as he would have liked. He wanted to savor being with Troy the same way he had been with Chris. He wanted to experience having both of them in a place they all called home.

  Lord, he was jumping ahead of himself!

  Focusing, James held Troy close with one arm as Chris went down on his knees in front of Troy—a full frontal and rear assault.

  James smiled at the thought.

  He wiggled his fingers inside Troy, stimulating the delicate nerve endings and making Troy’s muscles spasmodically clench right before he slid his fingers out. James grasped himself and used his pre-ejaculate as a lubricant, coating his shaft and mixing it with the water that still covered him. Extra moisture would have helped, and he wished he had come more prepared. However, he hadn’t had much forewarning before this jaunt. Certainly not enough that he could have brought along what he considered the essentials for this situation.

  Oh, the things he had learned from the Chinese and the Greeks, the knowledge he had acquired to make sex more gratifying! Thanks to his own powerful curiosity and that rancher teaching him to read, he had picked up all sorts of information that could help him please another man. And he was eager to use it.

  James synchronized his first thrust with Chris’ first stroke, watching as the young’un swallowed Troy almost to the hilt. Troy stiffened, then bucked his pelvis, and James put his hands on his shoulders to hold him still. He breached Troy’s anus with a decisive plunge, effectively pinning him between a rock and hard place as Chris’ lips reached the base of Troy’s cock.

  Troy quaked as Chris sucked him, and James pushed farther until he rested balls-deep and his pelvis smacked flush against Troy’s ass cheeks. He felt Troy barely holding off coming. He barely held off himself, focusing before he began to circle his hips in a gentle but firm rhythm. The head of his cock just teased the spongy organ inside that James knew would make Troy go off like a rocket once James really stroked it.

  Troy’s head fell forward. He buried his hands in Chris’ hair and made fists as if trying to get control of himself.

  James would have none of it. He wanted Troy to lose control and angled his hips, changing the direction and intensity of his thrusts. He pushed forward as deep as he could while Chris heaped on his own efforts, drawing Troy into his mouth hard.

  Troy released a hoarse cry that James was sure would have stirred the bears from their hibernation had it been winter.

  “Oh…God!” Troy went stiff as a corpse and his every muscle tensed before he finally released into Chris’ mouth for the second time since they had come out to this little hideaway. James ran his hands up and down Troy’s smooth back, then drew his arms around him. He stroked Troy’s stomach, also smooth but for a smattering of hair and the scars.

  James kissed Troy’s neck like he couldn’t get enough of the feel and taste of him, comforting himself more than he knew he comforted Troy.

  Troy’s scent proved raw and natural, like the trees and the grass around them, the underlying animal aura of the wolf hovering just beneath. It all moved James as surely as a punch to the gut. It made him hunger even after he had indulged in such a succulent meal.

  However, the crack of a rifle in the distance moved all three of them a second later and shattered the balance and peace.

  Chapter 9

  Laughter exploded from a chest that up until that moment had been filled with a tight ball of indignation.

  Still fuming from what had been seen, by the idea of what those men did to each other.

  What in tarnation!

  Eyes blinded by the abominations they experienced today. A body hadn’t seen that coming. Maybe if it had, a body could have prepared better.

  There was no preparation for this kind of shock, a doozy to the system to be sure.

  Hadn’t wanted to play a hand too soon but had to do something to stop the madness. Also, patience had been stretched too thin. Things had gone on too long to be tolerated. By then, a body proved ready to burst with rage.

  How dare they?

  Oh, what fun watching them duck and scramble for cover from the three shots fired into the air. A body would have been plumb privileged to see bullets strike and rip through their wicked hides. They deserved nothing less.

  There would be no bloodshed today, though. No. A body wanted to be up close, see the eyes of the ones who’d been so disrespectful and make sure they knew what sins they had committed and why they were about to die.

  The marshal remained firmly at the top of the hit list. However, now that young pretty drifter and the freak-of-nature Barrow had gotten themselves involved right and proper. No turning back now.

  It proved a dilemma, for sure. Didn’t have no beef with the two of them. They did wrong, though, so very wrong, and they had to be taught a lesson—just like that colored marshal.

  Had to settle back against the trunk of a tree, needed to focus. Cradling the rifle in the crook of arms aching to do more, a body tried to relax—and plan its next move.

  First, let’s see if the three fornicators went back to town and reformed.

  It proved too late for all of them. However, it would be a sight to see them try.

  * * * *

  As soon as the shots went off, Troy instinctively grabbed Chris and shielded him with his larger body.

  James followed the same impulse, seeming to gauge the direction of the shots a
nd putting himself in front of Chris and Troy like a shield as if to fend off any approaching bullets.

  “Get your clothes and get back to the horses!”

  “What about you?” Chris struggled in Troy’s grasp.

  “I’ll be right behind you. Now git, young’uns!”

  Troy’s throat tightened at the thought of James sacrificing himself for them, protecting him as if he couldn’t protect himself. He hadn’t been anyone’s young’un since Pa. He’d never felt as cared about even if he knew he could defend himself and Chris if need be.

  Nonetheless, he scooped up their clothes with one hand and dragged Chris through the forest with the other.

  “We can’t leave him,” Chris said.

  “We’re not. Put your clothes on.” Troy began doing just that as he watched Chris stubbornly plant his feet and fold his arms across his chest. He wished he had more time to appreciate the spirit and beauty of the kid, but they needed to move.

  “I’m not a kid. I can help.”

  “The best thing you can do to help is get dressed so you’ll be ready to go once James catches up with us.”

  Chris paused as if thinking things over, then hesitantly took the clothes that Troy handed him and began dressing.

  Troy took it as a good sign that they hadn’t heard any more shots. It didn’t mean that they were out of the woods yet or that James was safe by himself.

  He couldn’t let anything happen to them, not after finally discovering Chris and James. He wouldn’t let anything happen to either of them.

  Crouching low, Troy took Chris by the hand. “I need you to get the horses geared up and bring them to the edge of the woods. Have them ready when we come out.”

  “You’re going to go get him?”

  “I’m sure he doesn’t need any rescuing, but yeah, I’m going to check on him.”

  Chris took a deep breath and smiled. He seemed to calm down at Troy’s words. “Promise?”

  “We’ll be back directly. Promise.” How many people had broken that promise in the kid’s life? How many times had people walked out on him and never come back?

  Troy didn’t want to think about it, didn’t want to remember the kid proved as alone in the world as he. He didn’t want to believe that anyone was that miserable and without anyone in their lives.

  Troy took his rifle from its sheath on the side of his horse and headed back to where he and Chris had left James. He found James fully dressed and peering into the dimly lit woods as if he knew someone was out there watching them.

  The idea that someone had been spying on them when James had…that someone had seen them in so intimate a position made Troy sick.

  The moments he’d spent with James and Chris belonged to him, moments he could go back and relive in his memory again and again for years to come if he had to.

  He didn’t want to rely on just his memories of what had happened this afternoon. He wanted to make new memories every day to supplement and relive what he and James and Chris had done together.

  “Chris all right?” James asked without turning.

  “Yep. Worried about you, though.”

  James turned, smiling as he took several steps toward Troy and paused. He reached out a hand to cup Troy’s face, his thumb rasping over the whiskers on Troy’s jaw, making him close his eyes to immerse himself in the sensations.

  “What about you? Worried, too?”

  Troy opened his eyes and smirked. “I’ve seen you in action.”

  “I’ve seen you, too. You’re mighty fast with that rifle.”

  “I do all right.”

  “You do better than all right. One day you’re going to have to sit down and tell me exactly how you got to be such a quick draw.”

  Troy stared at him, wondering what went on behind those brandy eyes. He wondered if James knew anything about his outlaw past. If he did, it didn’t seem to make a difference to him, not as far as being with Troy.

  “We’d best be getting back. I don’t want Chris to start worrying. He doesn’t do well following directions or being alone for too long.”

  Troy grinned. He understood James’ allusion to what had happened at Nellie’s the other day. “He cares about you.”

  “I care about him, too, and I don’t want to see anything happen to him, especially not because of me.”

  Troy frowned, trying to frame his next words just right. “You think those shots were meant for you?”

  “I think they were meant as a warning. Now as to which of us they were being delivered to…” James shrugged. “Could have been for all three of us. I know I’ve made an enemy or two. And I’m thinking you’ve made more than a couple of your own.”

  “What makes you think that?” Troy wanted to know, wanted everything out in the open. If James had a problem with his past, Troy needed to know about it now before they took their relationship any further.

  “Ain’t too many men in this country reach our age without having a bit of a past with a gun—whether on the side of the law or against it. And it ain’t uncommon for today’s outlaw to be tomorrow’s lawman.”

  That was true enough.

  When Troy didn’t respond, James said, “Seems this Cain Baird has a powerful score to settle with you.”

  “Could be.”

  James just stood and looked at him for a long time.

  Troy didn’t flinch. His past wasn’t something he was ashamed of. He was, however, wary of what it meant to his future, especially with someone like James. Bad enough they were two men who wanted to show their affection with a kid like Chris and each other. He didn’t want to compound their issues with dishonesty or putting either man’s life in jeopardy, at least not without their knowledge. They deserved to know what sort of danger they might be in because of Troy’s past.

  “What’s taking you two so long?”

  Both Troy and James turned toward the forest entrance where Chris had led their three horses and now stood before them looking as fresh and innocent as an angel with the afternoon sun reflecting off of that honey-blond hair.

  “What did I tell you?” James asked Troy, and Chris glared and marched across the moist forest floor to confront James.

  Now he looked more like an avenging angel, all indignant and impatient with his fist on his hip, nothing like the fresh, innocent kid Troy had become accustomed to.

  He supposed he shouldn’t think of Chris as such a kid. He’d been on his own for more than a decade, after all. And who knew what he had seen and done in all that time. Truth be told, there was no such thing as innocent once a man reached a certain age out here. And Troy had never really gotten the whole story from Chris on what had happened to him that night he had dragged himself into Barrow’s.

  It made a body wonder.

  Had he confided in James? Troy wondered.

  “Well? What have you two been up to since I’ve been minding the horses?” Chris asked, and Troy detected more concern in the kid’s voice than anger.

  Troy put an arm around Chris’ shoulder and pulled him close. “We’ll talk about it once we get back to the bar. How about that?” He kissed the top of Chris’ head just because he could, glad when the kid sank into his one-armed hug rather than pulling away.

  “O–okay.”

  Troy hated hearing hesitation in the kid’s voice. He wanted to wipe away any doubt Chris had about him or James, or just the human race in general—a tall order to be sure, especially since Troy still had doubts himself.

  “Okay, then, let’s mount up, boys.”

  Troy chuckled at James’ words and pulled away from Chris so that the kid could mount his horse. Once Chris sat on his mount, Troy and James mounted their horses, and James fell in front. He turned back to ask, “Mind following me for a spell?”

  Troy looked at Chris then back at James before nodding.

  The three of them remained silent for the duration, not because they didn’t have anything to say, Troy suspected, but because they probably had too much to say.

&
nbsp; It wasn’t every day that he experienced what he had at the cove with James and Chris. Those moments had been special. And they had been ruined by some faceless, nameless voyeur.

  Could it have been Cain?

  Cain didn’t strike Troy as the warning type. Aside from his bad-mouthing Troy all over the countryside, besmirching his reputation, Troy suspected he wouldn’t see the man’s final attack coming. Spreading the word and letting Troy know he was out there just proved half the fun to someone like Cain. If he proved anything like his older brother, Jack, the real fun for Cain would be when he had Troy at his feet, bleeding and begging for mercy.

  They had been riding for close to an hour before Troy began to pay attention to the countryside they were passing by. He didn’t notice where they actually were until he felt the suspicious glances of the town’s people in the all-black community they were riding through.

  Troy realized then that he trusted James a lot to blindly follow him into what could be hostile territory, especially after what had happened to them less than a couple of hours ago.

  He recognized Nellie’s coming up on his right, watched as James tipped his hat to the handsome brown woman sitting out on the porch. She returned his silent greeting with a warm smile and a nod.

  Troy and Chris followed suit but didn’t meet nearly the reception that James had, receiving a piercing glare from the woman instead.

  Might that look be a warning? Hurt our marshal and we’ll hurt you?

  Troy could understand the woman’s protectiveness and mistrust. He and Chris were strangers, after all. White strangers.

  When they didn’t stop at Nellie’s, Troy wondered where they were heading but refused to ask. He didn’t want to seem on edge.

  They rode several or so miles past the outskirts of town before James turned off the main road and slowed down.