Breath of the Feathered Serpent (12 page)

Adam drizzled a little of the oil between Elijah’s ass cheeks and slid his finger down against the small opening. His finger slipped inside a little. Elijah sighed and lifted his hips allowing the finger slide into the first knuckle.

Elijah was tight and hot, and Adam moved his finger carefully until the narrow channel gradually relaxed and the tightness eased. “That’s it, Lij, just relax.” He crooned softly as he worked his finger back and forth and then added a second.

Elijah grunted softly but pushed back on the questing digits. Adam moved a little more cautiously until the tight passage relaxed again. Elijah sighed as his body relaxed, and his pelvis rocked onto Adam’s fingers. His lover was nearly ready. If he just twisted his fingers...

“Adam!”

There
. Adam rubbed over the spot he knew made a man see stars. Elijah’s body shook, and soft whimpers of need reached Adam’s ears. He worked to stretch Elijah, knowing his cock was a whole lot thicker than a couple of fingers.

Elijah groaned and rocked his hips restlessly. “Please, Adam. I want you so much. Now. Please do it now.”

Adam’s groan echoed Elijah’s, and his cock spurted several drops of pre-ejaculate over Elijah’s ass cheeks. His blood was on fire, and he wanted to be buried balls deep in the beautiful man beneath him. He had to do it now. If he waited any longer, his body would betray him and he’d spill. He tugged at his ball sac. He didn’t want to lose control as he entered Elijah.

“All right. You’re sure?” Adam had to ask, and he kept his fingers moving, stretching just a little bit more.

“Yes I’m sure. But...Adam?”

“What is it, beautiful?”

“Can I see you as we do this? I really want to see you.”

Adam blinked. This was the easiest way he knew, but the thought of seeing Elijah’s face as he sank into his beautiful body had his cock spray another spurt of pre-ejaculate. “We can, Lij. Might be more uncomfortable though.”

“I don’t care. I just want to see you while we make love.” Elijah’s voice was firm, and Adam knew it was a serious request.

“Right then. Roll onto your back. Truth be told, I want to see you too.” He kissed Elijah deeply and positioned himself between his lover’s widespread legs. “I’m going to put your legs onto my shoulders to start, so that I can get at you a bit easier.” Adam reached for the oil to coat himself.

As he slicked his hard cock, Elijah reached down and helped him. The sensation of his calloused fingers touching him made Adam pant harshly as he clung to the last tendrils of self-control. “I won’t last long if you keep doing that, Lij. You feel too damn good.”

Elijah grinned and removed his hands. Adam then lifted each lithe leg and kissed Elijah’s ankles before resting them on his shoulders. He stared at the glistening portal to Elijah’s body and licked his lips. Surely this was just a dream, a fantasy. Nothing this perfect could be real.

“Adam? You all right?” Elijah’s voice drew Adam back to the present.

He nodded. “Just perfect, beautiful.”

Adam eased forward and took his hard flesh in his hand, guiding it to rest against Elijah’s right ass cheek. He circled his cock around the prepared opening. “Now I need you to take a deep breath and then let it out slowly. This will be the hardest part. But I promise once I’m inside you, it’ll feel even better than my fingers.”

“I trust you, Adam, and I want this. Do it. Be inside me, make love with me.” Elijah reached to caress Adam’s face and took a couple of deep breaths before nodding.

Adam took a deep breath of his own and lined up his dick, pushing forward insistently but firmly. Resistance was expected given his shaft was bigger than his fingers, but he kept constant pressure as Elijah’s defenses ceded to him.

The head of Adam’s cock slid inside, engulfed by searing heat and crushing pressure. He glanced down at Elijah. His lover’s eyes were tightly closed, and he was biting down on his lower lip. He panted, whining gasps of air coming through his teeth.

“Relax, beautiful,” Adam murmured. “You have to relax. Take a deep breath, Lij, and then let it out slowly.”

Elijah obeyed, and as he exhaled, some of the tightness surrounding Adam’s prick eased. “Good, Lij. That’s real good. Now take another.”

Adam waited for Elijah to inhale and then pushed in further. It took a moment of moving inch by inch, but as Elijah controlled his breathing and relaxed, his body opened, welcoming Adam’s flesh inside. When fully sheathed, Adam closed his eyes and focused for a minute on the sensation of being inside the man he loved.

Elijah’s body was still tight, but Adam could feel the channel’s walls ripple and pulsate as they shifted to accommodate the length and girth of his shaft. None of his previous encounters compared to this. Some he’d hated, some he’d enjoyed, but this—this felt perfect, like he belonged here with this man.

He gazed down at Elijah. His lover’s face was relaxed with a smile curving on his full lips. Elijah’s eyes opened and gazed back at him with a mix of love and wonder.

“You’re in me. I can feel your heartbeat,” Elijah whispered. “It’s like you’re all around me.”

Adam nodded. “You ready for me to move, Lij?”

“Yes. Do it, Adam, please.”

Adam knew exactly what Elijah meant. Before, he’d never loved the men he’d bedded. The emotional connection changed the physical in ways he couldn’t explain. It was as though he was alive for the first time. He didn’t have the words, and, even if he did, wasn’t sure he could tell Elijah how he felt. But he could show him.

He eased Elijah’s legs down and guided them so they encircled his waist. The new position allowed him to lean forward and claim Elijah’s lips. He pushed his tongue into his lover’s mouth, possessing him totally, and Elijah pulled him closer. He was surrounded by his lover as Elijah sucked on Adam’s tongue and his inner muscles squeezed Adam’s cock.

Adam wished he could stay like this forever, encased in love.
Enfolded in Elijah.
There was no way he could pretend this was just sex. His body gave him away. His heart ached to tell Elijah how he felt, but he couldn’t say the words. Instead, he eased back from the kiss and rocked his body forward. Elijah’s body gripped his cock as it moved. Adam pulled back and pushed forward with a little more power, and Elijah groaned. The third time, Elijah gasped and the channel surrounding Adam clenched tight.

“There. God, Adam, right there. Please. Again.” Elijah babbled as he clutched at Adam’s shoulders, and Adam obeyed his demand.

He repeated the movement, and Elijah gasped, closing his eyes. Adam continued to move, easing back farther each time before pushing back in, his cock rubbing over Elijah’s hidden pleasure spot. His lover clutched Adam’s upper arms and fell into a natural rhythm, counterpoint to Adam’s thrusts.

Adam balanced carefully with his left arm and reached between their bodies to grasp Elijah’s cock. Elijah cried Adam’s name, and the walls that sheathed Adam’s dick squeezed him tight. He groaned, relishing the pressure and heat. He wanted to prolong the pleasure, but his body demanded that he finish, that he claim Elijah as his own.

“More, Adam. Please.”

“I’ve got you, beautiful. I’ll take care of you.”

“Love you. I love you.”

Adam wished he could say the words back, but he couldn’t. He didn’t dare. He would be laying himself wide open, and he just couldn’t do it. Instead, he increased the pace and depth of his thrusts, squeezing the hard flesh in his hand, trying to convey his feelings through his actions.

Elijah pulled Adam’s head down for another kiss and thrust his tongue into Adam’s mouth. Adam sucked on it feverishly. His control fractured, but the pleasure coursing through his veins wouldn’t be denied.

His lips slid to Elijah’s cheek, their breaths coming quick and harsh. Sweat meandered down Adam’s temple, and as he lifted his head, it dripped onto Elijah’s cheek. The air around him was filled with the smell of sex, sweat and musk, and it mingled with Elijah’s cries of pleasure, harmonizing with his own.

He was close, so very close, but Adam wanted Elijah to peak first. He shifted his hips, and Elijah cried out. “Oh, my Lord...oh, my...Adam!”

Adam heard the ecstasy in Elijah’s voice, felt the hot wetness pour over his hand, and then he was lost. His vision grayed, and his ears filled with the sound of his blood pounding. The channel surrounding his cock clenched again and again, and Adam crested. His seed filled Elijah. Adam didn’t slow his pistoning hips until his dick had nothing left to give.

He rested his head on Elijah’s shoulder and Adam slowed his movements, trying to prolong the bliss. His heart hammered in his chest, and he felt Elijah’s beating just as fast. With a kiss to Elijah’s throat, Adam finally lay unmoving on top of Elijah, trying to keep some of his weight off his lover. He was incapable of doing anything more while his wits returned and his labored breathing slowed.

As he recovered, Adam became aware of Elijah stroking his back and smiled against his lover’s skin. Raising his head, Adam gazed down at him. Elijah’s face was still flushed, and his kiss swollen lips were curled into a satiated smile. The hair framing Elijah’s beautiful face was soaked with sweat. Adam eased a little farther back. Both of their chests glistened with sweat and Elijah’s seed.

Adam smiled. “That was incredible.”

“I...yes. Yes, it was.”

Adam was certain Elijah had meant to repeat his earlier declaration. His heart ached at the realization, but he smiled nonetheless. He leaned down and kissed Elijah. He eased back, his smile firmly in place. “We’ll rest here a minute and then go bathe in the waterfall. A nice hot bath would be better, but we’ll make the best with what we have.”

“I like it just as we are,” Elijah said, his voice soft.

“I do too,” Adam whispered and kissed Elijah’s cheek. “But I need to pull out soon, and we need to clean up.”

“Can we sleep together tonight? Like we did in the barn?”

The pleading tone of Elijah’s voice cut into Adam’s already hurting heart. He eased them onto their side, his flesh sliding from the haven of Elijah’s body, and pulled his lover into a tight embrace. “There’s nothing I’d like more than to have you sleep close to me and wake with you in my arms. I dreamed of that.”

“You did?” Elijah said, his voice tinged with wonder.

“I did,” Adam said with a nod. “I’m going to start a fire before we go into the water. That way when we come out, we can wrap ourselves in the dry blanket and sit together while dinner cooks.”

Elijah nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

Adam stood and helped Elijah to his feet. His lover winced, but Adam expected nothing less. He wrapped an arm around Elijah’s waist. “Come on, beautiful. Let’s get the fire started.”

Adam paused for a moment while placing stones for the fire, and he watched Elijah hunt for sticks. It was going to break his heart to leave him.

Chapter Twenty

Adam and Elijah returned to the ranch with a total of six horses in tow. Adam had managed to catch a couple more on the trip back.

While Adam corralled the horses, Elijah rode home. Adam wished he could have stayed, but, as he’d already devoted two days to Abe’s ranch, Elijah needed to get back and see to his own.

“Nice mares. You did well, Adam. Seems you have talents outside your profession.” Mecatl grinned as he looked at the horses.

“Thanks,” Adam said. “Haven’t busted mustangs in a while though. You?”

Mecatl laughed and shook his head. “Not me. All the horses I’ve ever ridden were already tamed. I believe Mitch has broken a few broncos though.” His voice turned serious and dropped in timbre. “We’re being watched. I intend to ride out later and stay at the Lazy E. From there it’ll only take a day or so to get the cattle and herd them back. If you’ve no objections, I’ll bring a few reinforcements back with us.”

“That’d be most welcome, Mecatl.” Adam stared at the Aztec. There was something about his demeanor and words that struck a chord with Adam. “I get the distinct feeling you’re no drifter either.”

Mecatl nodded. “I expected this. Look, there’s no time to explain now. Ellen’s due to arrive any time. I’ll talk to you and Madison when I get back with the cattle. Keep a careful watch. We’ve strung up rows of lanterns to light the place at night and built several holders for torches as well. As soon as the sun goes down make sure they’re lit.”

“You take care,” Adam said.

“Ellen and I will be a lot safer out there than on this ranch. Although it’s my belief that the arrival of the cattle will be the catalyst, causing them to move to action.” He held out his hand. “We’ll be back as quickly as we can.”

Adam shook his hand firmly. “Good luck. The Lazy E’s main house is a lot bigger than Abe’s. At least you’ll manage to get a decent rest there. You’ll probably get a bedroom to yourself, rather than a mattress on the floor.”

“I’ll be keeping out of the Lazy E house. When the uncle sleeps, he’s apparently a very light sleeper. The smallest things disturb him. Elijah and Ellen are always out of the house when he takes his naps during the afternoon.” He tipped his hat. “See you in a few days.”

Adam stared at his friend’s retreating back, and he frowned as he thought over the information. If the uncle was such a light sleeper, how could the cowboy have snuck in and out of his bedroom without him knowing? And who left through the front door as if he owned the place? He’d casually asked Elijah about the cowboys, but he hadn’t recognized their descriptions. A similar inquiry with Ellen had the same result.

Adam rubbed his chin. He’d have a chat with Madison. It seemed that they needed to pay a call on Uncle Mortimer. It was looking very much like the uncle had a hidden agenda as well as ranch hands of his own.

Chapter Twenty-One

By the time Mecatl returned with the herd of cattle, guilt weighed heavily on Adam’s shoulders. Time was running out, and the statue was still missing. He was sure an attack on the ranch was imminent. In addition to that, once this mission was over, he’d return home. Elijah remained blissfully unaware of all of this. He still thought that Adam and Madison were just Abe’s ranch hands, staying on long-term.