Coming Together (A Crack in the Ice: Post-Apocalyptic Tales of Man-Love Book 4)

by Leigh Harde

  “Yeah,” Gabriel agreed.

  “You didn’t do anything wrong,” Nathan told him. Gabriel turned around so that he could look at Nathan. “You didn’t do anything wrong either,” he said. They held each other’s eyes for a moment before leaning in to kiss. What started slow turned frantic as they pressed and rubbed their naked bodies against each other. Eventually, Nathan pulled Gabriel on top of him. Unsure, Gabriel bit his lip again.

  “It’s okay, Gabe,” Nathan said. “I want it. I want you.” This time Gabriel could feel the proof of Nathan’s words against his stomach. Nathan fumbled his hand through the blanket until he located the bottle of lube that Gabriel had set down. He handed it back to him. Gabriel helped Nathan raise his legs and expose himself. He put some of the lubricant on two of his fingers and carefully pressed inside him. Nathan’s penis jerked when Gabriel touched his prostate. “Uh,” he moaned. Then begged him, “Put it in me, Gabe.”

  Gabriel positioned Nathan’s legs on his shoulders and slowly sank inside his friend. When he started moving, Nathan held onto his upper arm with one hand and grabbed himself with the other. “That’s it,” Nathan exclaimed and closed his eyes. “Yes!”

  It felt good being joined together with Gabriel, Nathan thought. Then memories of that first time flooded his mind, and he momentarily panicked. Gabriel stopped when he felt him tighten around his penis.

  “Look at me, Nate,” Gabriel said. Nathan opened his eyes to Gabriel’s concerned expression. “It’s okay,” he said soothingly. “You’re okay.” Nathan kept eye contact until his anxiety passed, and his body could relax. Gabriel gently rocked inside him while he caressed the side of his face and hair. When it started to feel good again, Nathan’s eyes fluttered back shut. His mouth opened slightly, and he reached for his cock to masturbate. Gabriel had always been able to make him feel safe even in the beginning when they were first trapped inside the bomb shelter.

  Nathan was beautiful beneath him, Gabriel thought watching him as they made love. But he knew that it wouldn’t be enough for him to have an orgasm. “Normal” sex didn’t excite him sufficiently for that anymore. He started thinking about Master and how angry he would be when he confessed to fucking Nathan without permission. Master would have to punish him for being such a dirty little slut, he thought. He imagined Master’s riding crop repeatedly striking his ass while he begged for mercy.

  “Oh, yeah,” Nathan moaned breathlessly underneath him as Gabriel’s thrusts became harder and faster. Not thinking, he sank his fingers into Gabriel’s bruised backside to pull him closer. Gabriel’s body immediately stiffened at the painful contact, and he grimaced as he came. At the same moment, Nathan called out and shot strings of hot white cum between them.

  James woke to the sound of knocking. He jumped up and quickly dressed while Nick and Ethan groggily put on their clothes. He knew that something had to be wrong if someone was waking him this early in the morning. He opened the door to Lyam MacDonogh’s worried face. He was in charge of maintenance at the Compound.

  “Something’s wrong,” Lyam said in his thick Irish accent confirming James’s suspicions. Ever since Master’s capture, he and Levi had been taking turns monitoring the security cameras for Scavengers. “Reid’s at the entrance to the Compound with Master and his men.” Before James could ask, Lyam said, “He seems okay. He has a gun on them.”

  “Why the hell did he bring them here?” James wondered out loud. Lyam shook his head. “Some of them look sick. Should I tell Hank to fetch them?”

  “Tell him to wait for me. I’ll meet him by the Jeep. Thanks for letting me know,” James said. Lyam nodded, and left to inform Hank that James was on his way.

  “Did I hear someone’s sick?” Ethan said already in doctor mode as he exited the bedroom.

  “Mitch brought Master and all his people with him,” James said walking past him. He strapped on a shoulder holster and took a gun from his closet. “Lyam says that some of them might be ill. I’m going to need you to come with me,” he said to Ethan who nodded.

  “I’m coming too,” Nick said. These people were dangerous. They had murdered his father, and he didn’t like the thought of James and Ethan meeting with them.

  “No, angel,” James said. He wasn’t going to involve Nick without knowing what was going on first. “Wait for me here. I shouldn’t be long,” he said and kissed him. Nick huffed and looked disappointed, but stayed in their quarters.

  Master tested the handcuffs that attached him to the bed in the Compound’s medical center. They made a loud rattle. He could see Kevin asleep a few beds down from his also handcuffed. He looked so helpless, he thought, and there wasn’t a damn thing that he could do to protect him now. He thought about Gabriel and blew out a breath. He hoped that he was alright. Kevin and Gabriel mattered, he thought. If this was it for him, he wanted his guys to be able to be together after he was gone.

  The door opened, and Gabriel rushed to Kevin’s bedside. A man with reddish brown hair stood just inside the medical center entrance. He looked familiar, Master thought studying him. But then suddenly Gabriel was hugging him, and he forgot all about the other guy.

  Nathan was showing Gabriel the library when they overheard Hank and Lyam talking about what had happened to the people at the Camp. No one could have stopped Gabriel as he took off for the medical center. Now that they had arrived, it was all that Nathan could do to keep his breakfast down while he watched Gabriel interact with Master. He felt more that saw Ethan walk up behind him and leaned into the comforting warmth of his body. “Come with me,” Ethan whispered in his ear and led him out into the hallway.

  Nathan whirled toward Ethan the moment the door shut. “Why couldn’t he have died with the others?” he asked. His voice was filled with so much hatred that Ethan dropped his eyes.

  “He almost did,” Ethan answered quietly. “They were lucky.”

  Nathan turned away from him and propped his shoulder against the wall. “Gabriel told me that he loves him,” he said sounding sullen. Ethan stood beside him and squeezed his arm. It was devastating to know that Nathan wanted another man. But he loved him so much that he had to support him, Ethan thought, even with this.

  “I’m sorry, darling,” he said. “I know that you wanted to be with him.” It took a few seconds before Ethan’s words penetrated the haze of anger clouding Nathan’s mind. Surprised, he turned to face him.

  “What?” he asked taking a moment to really look at Ethan. His face seemed older, more lined. He didn’t look like he had slept much the night before. “You didn’t think…” Nathan said and was crushed by what he saw in his eyes.

  “No. No,” Nathan reassured him quickly—shocked that he even had to. How could he not know how much he meant to him? Nathan thought. Ethan was his life. “It’s not like that,” he said and cupped his tired looking face between his hands. “Gabriel’s my friend,” Nathan told him. “Nothing compares to the way that I feel about you,” he said willing him to believe it. When he dropped his hands, he wrapped his arms around Ethan’s waist and laid his head against his chest. With a sense of relief, Ethan hugged him tightly to his body.

  “I love you too,” Ethan said and his words were thick with pent-up emotions from the night before. When he felt Nathan’s shoulders start to shake, he pulled back and was slightly miffed to find him laughing.

  “What?” he asked stiffly. He definitely didn’t think any of this was funny.

  “You,” Nathan said smiling up at him. “Being jealous.” He was usually the insecure one in their relationship. It felt good to have the shoe on the other foot for a change. “I think I like Jealous Ethan,” he teased and pulled their hips flush together.

  “Huh,” Ethan grumped then looked at him sideways. “After we finish here, I’m taking you back to our quarters.” Nathan jumped a little when he felt Ethan’s hand unexpectedly pop him on the butt. His eyes grew large with surprised arousal.

  “I’ll show you jealous,” he warned him using a very un-Ethan like t
one. It brought a huge grin to Nathan’s face that lingered as he opened the door to the medical center, and they both walked back inside.

  Chapter Twelve

  Mitch was absently looking at the keys in his hand. He had just locked Brick and Juan in their new quarters, and he was standing outside the door. Ethan hadn’t liked the fact that he had defied his wishes and left the medical center. He wanted to keep an eye on him, but Mitch felt well enough that he decided to recuperate in his own quarters. Plus, he had Brick and Juan weighing heavily on his mind.

  When they first arrived, James had wanted to handcuff them along with the others. But Mitch convinced him that he would take responsibility and requested that they be given quarters. James reluctantly agreed so long as Mitch promised to keep them locked inside away from his men.

  Mitch knew that he wouldn’t have survived the trip to the Compound without their help. He owed them something for that, he thought. If either one of them had gone for his gun, they probably could have taken it. In the mine shaft, he had been weak from his small amount of exposure to the gas and his forced trek through the frigid temperature.

  At one point, he had fallen asleep waiting for daybreak so that they could leave. When he woke with a start, he immediately sought out Master. But both Master and Kevin were passed out against the opposite wall of the mine. Brick and Juan, however, were beside each other and watching him. They turned away when he looked in their direction. He was surprised that they hadn’t attack him. Then they surprised him again on the way back to the Compound when they followed his instructions without making any trouble.

  At first, Mitch thought that it was because they had no other place to go now that the Camp was gone. But then he remembered that neither one had tried to help Master when they had fought for the gun in the mine. He would have surely lost if either had stepped in and that was before they knew about the gas and the Camp. He already had an idea of how he was going to handle this, but he had a question that needed an answer first.

  He walked down the hallway to his own quarters and opened the door. It was still early in the morning as he headed to the bathroom for a shower. He walked through his bedroom on the way and stopped when he saw his four husbands asleep on the bed. They usually stayed in separate quarters, alone or together, until he requested their presence. But he knew that his absence these last few days had been hard on them. He took a quick shower and didn’t bother to dress. He walked to the bed, and Grant opened his eyes.

  “Mayor!” he said happily and three other sets of eyes popped open. He missed his boys, Mitch thought, looking at their still half-asleep faces. After Master took him prisoner, he didn’t think that he would ever see them again. Mitch didn’t realize until that moment how scared he had been. For a brief second, it showed on his face, but he regained control quickly. They all moved to make room so that he could lay in the middle of the bed.

  Grant who had been with him the longest and knew him best, noticed his slip. “I didn’t think that you were coming back today,” he said suspiciously. Mitch could hear the concern in his voice. Instead of answering, the Mayor captured his lips in a kiss. He didn’t want to talk about what had happened. He wanted his boys touching him. He could already feel Elijah’s mouth circling the head of his thickening cock. They were all naked, and the Mayor watched as Cole got on all fours between Grant’s opened legs. He took his penis in his mouth while sweet little Jessie went to his knees behind him.

  That made the Mayor smile for the first time since his ordeal. He knew that they were putting on a show for his benefit. Cole generally like to top Jessie when they were alone together, but they knew that the Mayor enjoyed watching Cole’s face as he took Jessie’s pretty pink prick up his ass. Elijah groaned and drew the Mayor’s attention back to him as he slowly sank down onto his oversized cock.

  Jessie was the first of their group to come. When he pulled out, Grant put Cole on his back underneath him. The Mayor was masturbating Elijah with his hand while he watched them kiss.

  “Cole,” the Mayor said. “Beg Grant to fuck you.” When he was present, he was always in charge of their lovemaking. Cole and Grant stopped kissing and looked at each other’s aroused faces.

  “Please,” Cole begged him. “Fuck my ass.”

  “Put your ankles on Grant’s shoulders,” the Mayor instructed. “You like getting fucked on your back with your legs in the air. Tell Grant how much you like it.”

  “Yes, Mayor,” Cole said as he complied, and Grant slipped inside him. “I like it. Mmm,” he moaned and closed his eyes from sheer pleasure. “I like it Grant,” he said and grabbed his hips. Cole’s words and hands spurred Grant to go faster until he was pounding into him. Not long ago, Cole wouldn’t have been able to have an orgasm in his current position. But thanks to the Mayor’s training, now he gloried in it. “Yes, yes, yes,” he chanted and came without ever touching his cock. Cole knew that the Mayor preferred it that way, and he wanted to do whatever he could to please him. Grant and Elijah came soon after.

  While Grant, Cole, and Jessie left to take a shower, the Mayor flipped Elijah around. He laid him on his stomach and put a pillow underneath his hips. Elijah lifted his butt to make it easier for the Mayor to enter him. He was huge, but Elijah did his best to stay relaxed and open as he took his pleasure deep inside his body. Once he finished and withdrew, Elijah felt empty. It was always that way for him. If it was possible, he thought, he would keep them joined together forever.

  His baby yielded completely as he lay beneath him. That was what he needed, the Mayor thought. The love and trust of his husbands to make everything okay again. Tears sprang to his eyes at how fortunate he was not to have lost them. Embarrassed, he quickly blinked away the moisture. By the time that he had finished and withdrew, there was no evidence of his weakness.

  The Mayor and Elijah laid side by side kissing while they waited for their turn to take a shower. Mitch brushed his fingertips against one of the scars on Elijah’s temple. It was from where a Scavenger’s bullet had grazed him.

  “I’m sorry, baby,” he said. “But I need to ask you something.” Elijah propped up on his arm and nodded. Anything, he thought.

  “When the Scavengers attacked your bomb shelter,” he said. “Were any of them Hispanic?” Elijah blinked at the odd question.

  “No,” he said. “They were all white.” The Mayor smiled and gave him a peck on the lips. “Thank you, baby,” he said and pulled Elijah’s head down to rest on his shoulder. Now that he had an answer to his question, he was able to make his decision.

  They were meeting that afternoon in the small conference room next to James’s office to discuss the fate of Jayson and Kevin Master. He didn’t have to worry about Brick and Juan anymore since Mitch claimed responsibility for them. He told James before the meeting that he had decided to take them to the Colony when he and his men left. Mitch wanted to move back now that the threat from Master and his gang was over.

  James stood at the head of the table and addressed the six men who were seated around it. “Our options here are limited,” he said. “Option one—we can execute them.”

  “No!” Gabriel shouted and jumped up. Nathan stood and tried to restrain him.

  “Or,” James continued as if he hadn’t been interrupted. “Option two—we can banish them to the surface.”

  “I’ll go with them,” Gabriel said desperate to save his lovers. “You’re banishing me too.” He looked at Nathan for help. “Please,” he implored. “Don’t let them do this.” Nathan looked tortured as he pressed his forehead to Gabriel’s and held him close.

  “But that may or may not have the same end result,” James said looking at their faces. “The third option is that we keep them locked inside their quarters until it’s warm enough to kick them the hell out. Of course, these three choices could apply to both men or just one.”

  He sat down. “You’re up first,” he said to Ethan who was seated on his left. “What do you think we should do?” He had assembled e
veryone that he thought should have the most say in what happened to Master and his step brother. He and Mitch because they were the leaders of their respective groups. Ethan because he trusted his opinion, and they needed a potential tiebreaker. Nick because the Scavengers had killed his father. Elijah because the Scavengers had shot him and left him for dead. Nathan because Master had given him to his gang as a sex toy. And Gabriel for the same reasons as Nathan but also because he had been abused by Master personally for over a year.

  No one chose option one including James. He was glad. He wasn’t an executioner, but he would have carried through with his duty if the vote had gone in that direction. They all voted that Kevin should stay, although they didn’t feel that he could be trusted where his step brother was concerned. It turned out to be a close call between staying and banishment for Master. He, Mitch, and Elijah voted to banish him. Ethan, Nick, Nathan, and Gabriel all voted to let him stay. He asked Nick after the meeting why he had voted the way that he had, and Nick told him that it would have broken Nathan’s heart if Gabriel was banished even if it had been his own choice. According to Mitch’s calculations, the surface would be inhabitable in less than three months. James was eagerly counting down the days.

  Big T laughed, and Peter blushed. The day before, he had officially been voted into their new family. Tonight would be his first initiation. Clint and Earl had stopped by their quarters to see how he was doing. They were all in the small living room. Earl was sitting on a chair with Clint lounging on the arm rest beside him.

  “I don’t care,” Peter said embarrassed. “It’s a lot. Eleven’s almost a dozen.” His voice rose higher on the word dozen and even Earl and Clint chuckled.

  “You’re so dramatic,” Clint said smiling, and Peter reached across to room to smack him on his leg. Clint laughed as he tried to draw away.

  “And I don’t even know most of them,” Peter whined.