Scavengers: August (9 page)

“Is this
normal? Is this what you usually do?” whispered James and, in a
lazy move, he hugged him by the neck.

“Nothin’s
normal with you, boy,” Ira whispered, pulling him close and gently
running his fingers down his partner’s back and over his
hypersensitive buttocks. He clearly felt James’ body shiver at the
touch.

“It isn’t?”
asked the younger man in a worried tone.

“No, you’re
somethin’ else.” The other man took hold of James’ leg and put it
around his hip. He liked the feeling of closeness shared with
another warm body, it almost seemed that for once, every barrier
was gone.

“I think I
won’t be able to let you go,” said James, kissing his jaw with
affection. Ira’s body softened at the tender caress as his hand
kept roaming along the other man’s thighs and buttocks. It felt so
natural to lie with him like this.

“So? What do we
do ‘bout it?” he whispered. He really wouldn’t mind spending some
time with him. There was something about James that made him want
more and he kept wondering just how serious he was.

“I’ll stay
tonight and we’ll see,” James said quietly caressing his back with
his fingers.

“You should
employ me,” Ira joked with a broad smile, nuzzling his partner’s
neck.

James looked at
him with a puzzled frown. “As who?”

“As... a
teacher of survival skills...?” laughed the other man, patting
James’ bottom.

The aristocrat
had a very serious look on his face. “It does make some sense,
right? It could work...”

Ira swallowed,
very slowly pulling back just enough to look into James’ eyes. He
had been joking, but the idea did appeal to him. Even with all the
treasures he gathered during his trips, he would still not be
welcome in a nice neighbourhood. Why wouldn’t he give it a try? The
idea of... keeping such a close contact after an short acquaintance
this was crazy. There was only a small chance that two men like
them could get along in the long run, but right now, he felt so
good and comfortable in James’ presence. Hell, he actually thought
about him many times after they parted ways on Paddington Station!
And if James eventually got bored with him, he still had something
to return to. He had cash put away in four banks, as well as
several secret stashes both inside and outside of city walls.

“Everybody
should have skills like that nowadays, right?” asked James again,
ripping Ira out of his thoughts.

“Zombies are no
predictable lot,” answered the other man, giving him an Eskimo
kiss.

James laughed,
clinging to him tightly. “But there are things one could learn.
Train maybe... Get muscles like you...”

The other man
let out a sharp breath. “You really want that?” He preferred his
boys smaller than him.

“No, I’m fine.
But maybe my sonny boy could use that...”

Ira laughed out
loud, hugging him in delight and shaking his head. “Want me to
teach that kiddo?”

“It’s never too
early I suppose...” James smiled. “With all the craziness out
there.”

“I prefer
teaching you, my beautiful boy.” Ira kissed the other man and ran
his thick fingers through the soft hair.

“I’m pretty
capable.” James raised his eyebrows. “...Do you really think it
could work?” he whispered.

Ira’s breath
sped up a bit as he studied James’ face with a weird cramp in his
abdomen. He never thought someone like him would seriously take a
move like this into consideration. He wasn't stupid, but when he
looked into those large, honest eyes, he couldn't make any other
decision than to go with it. “D’ya want it to?”

“I think it
would make me very happy,” James said in an official tone.

Ira swallowed,
playing with his long hair, unsure of what he should say. “I make
you happy?” he finally asked in a gentle voice.

“It’s like...
you understand me...” James slowly looked into Ira’s eyes. “These
dark needs... and you don’t seem to judge.”

“How can I
judge?” the man sighed, shaking his head and slowly grasping James’
wrist still covered by reddish welts left by the rope. He massaged
it with caution.

“Anyone else
would...” he sighed.

“We’re not
alone, ya know,” sighed Ira, placing a delicate kiss on his lover’s
bruised flesh.

“What do you
mean?” James smiled as his gaze followed the other man’s moves. The
host shook his head, slowly caressing the other hand as well. He
wanted to be honest with him.

“There are men
like us.”

“I’ve never met
them,” confessed James, kissing him on the cheek.

“Would ya like
to?” asked the other man kissing James’ temple. He wanted to make
him feel cared for after the rough buggering.

“Oh no, no!”
James shook his head rapidly. “The less people know, the
better!”

“But ya'll get
stuck with me...” breathed Ira. When he first tasted sex, all he
wanted was to bed as many handsome men as possible.

“I would like
to get stuck to you every night,” said James, with an even wider
smile. Ira’s heart skipped a beat, as he looked into that beautiful
face.

“That’s... nice
of ya,” he murmured, feeling strangely vulnerable.

James gave him
a worried look all of a sudden. “‘Nice?’ Oh my! Was I too
forward?”

“Oh... nooo,
come on!” Ira gave him a light slap on the ass. “Was just
surprised!”

“I’m not sure
how to act. You’re so experienced and I’ve only been with
Katherine.”

Ira let out a
long sigh while pushing him onto his back. He then leaned down to
place a kiss on his collarbone. “No worries, I’ll teach ya,” he
promised in a soft voice.

“So? You said
we won’t be sleeping tonight?” laughed James, wrapping his legs
around Ira’s hips.

*

Ira did not lie
to him regarding his plans. The night was amazing. James felt so
overwhelmed with sensation that he could hardly comprehend the
reason why he had been denying himself all of this. They kept
making love or just touching each other in the flickering light of
the lamp. Whispered obscenities felt like a caress as they trailed
along James’ trembling body, straight to his groin. Ira fucked him
on his back, and while they were spooning on their sides, then,
they mutually sucked each other off. By the time, Ira’s clock rang
9, James was sweaty, spent and utterly satisfied. Throughout the
night, they took short naps, but he felt like he had spent the
whole time wide-awake.

Somewhere in
the back of his mind, he still couldn’t believe that he was
actually planning to take Ira into his home! What would Katherine
say!? She must have been worried sick since yesterday, but for some
reason, he hoped she wouldn’t be too angry. All he could think of
was the possibility of having Ira around every day... And Ira was
the one who proposed it first!

“You hungry?”
he suddenly heard. Along with the words came a sensation of warm
air against his ear. Ira was embracing him from behind, his face
buried into James’ hair. He pushed his back closer to him with a
happy murmur.

“Would you like
to go to the opera?” he asked, with a smile, having no strength to
think about possible consequences of inviting him there. He heard
Ira drawing a sharp breath of surprise and felt a kiss on his
arm.

“The big
one?”

“The biggest
one!” replied James, his skin tingling with excitement of a
different kind than yesterday, when he was going mad with lust.

Ira sighed,
stroking his abdomen. “I like plays,” he confessed in a voice
almost shy.

“You will love
these even more!” exclaimed James, turning to the other man with a
wide smile. “The best musicians in London!”

Ira swallowed,
looking at him for the longest moment. “I’d love it!” he finally
said with enthusiasm, hugging him even more. “I’ll be let in if I
come with ya!”

James laughed.
“Most definitely.” His emotions were running wild since he decided
to go with this crazy plan. “I want to make you happy,” he said
honestly.

The other man
groaned, raising his body to look into his eyes. “Don’t say that
kinda’ stuff if you gonna change your mind.”

James gave him
a surprised look. All this time he wasn’t sure if Ira understood
what he wanted to offer or if he was just looking for some casual
fun for a few weeks. “Why would I?” he said but his insecurities
kicked in instantly.

The other man
swallowed as he looked back at him in the dark. The lamp cast a dim
light now, but the windowless room felt like a cocoon obscuring
their sensual time together from watchful eyes. “‘Cause you’re a...
you can just ‘ave me arrested... or something... you can do
everythin’,” Ira explained with caution. “And ya know only me... ya
might meet someone else someday.”

“Oh Ira...”
James kissed his lips softly. “I consider myself a man of honor,
you can trust me in these matters,” he said with confidence.

The other man
lowered his eyes a bit, exhaling sharply. “Ya see why that’s a
weird case, yeah?”

“You could
always blackmail me...” sighed James, “Every story has two sides,”
he said and it was followed by Ira’s sharp laugh.

“Ya really
think someone would believe me?! A Jewish ex-sailor from the
docks?” Ira explained, lowering his body onto the mattress. He
slowly pressed his cheek against James’ ribcage, exhaling.

“Surely... if
they examined my buttocks after tonight, you’d go straight to
flogging for assault,” James laughed carelessly, hugging him tight.
The room was so cosy that at this moment, he didn’t feel like
leaving. Ever.

His companion’s
laughter echoed his own. He slanted his eyes a bit and traced his
nipple with a finger. “Bugger, what if they spread ya arse and
examine the not-so virgin ‘ole?” he teased.

“Bastard. I’d
say it’s all your fault,” James smiled a bit.

“I’d blame all
my neighbours!” Ira sat and pulled the other man up with him. They
exchanged a sensuous kiss, hands gliding slowly over hypersensitive
skin. “Bastard to the core...” repeated James.

Suddenly, they
heard a loud knock on the main door and Ira let out a sigh of
disappointment. “Come on...”, he said, but immediately slipped out
of James’ arms and out of the bed, searching for scattered
clothes.

“Oh God! Who is
it!?” James' heart skipped a beat as he sprung up from the bed,
dressing frantically.

Ira looked back
at him, quickly buttoning his trousers. He left the room as soon as
he was decent. “Who wants me?” he shouted and James felt a sudden
surge of relief as he heard a familiar voice.

“It’s me!”
called Joshua from behind the door.

James sighed,
but carried on, not wanting to look rustled. The fact that he still
felt Ira’s smell on himself was enough for now. Last night was so
incredible, he would even go as far as calling it: ‘life
altering’.

He heard the
door open and close, which was then followed by whispers he could
not understand. After a few moments, however, the conversation
became louder and he heard the clatter of metal plates. A distinct
smell of food filled the air.

“She wants to
meet you, you know,” said Joshua.

“She’ll have to
wait, ‘cause I’m movin’” answered the host, mumbling as if he had
something in his mouth.

James finally
took a deep breath, made sure his clothing was in order and walked
out into the main room as if there were nothing out of the ordinary
in his presence here. “Good morning,” he said with a polite smile.
He tried to ignore the fact that it must have been obvious to the
boy, what had happened the night before.

Joshua’s large
eyes studied him for a moment and he smiled back. “Will you eat
with us, sir?”

“You gotta!”
spoke Ira with a full, but definitely smiling mouth as he uncovered
a beaten-up metal box. It contained pies, the apparent source of
the aroma he sensed before even entering the main room. They looked
delicious and judging from the strong smell, they were still
hot.

“I will. Who
wants to meet you, Ira?” James asked, sitting at the table after a
short moment of hesitation.

“A friend,” the
man smiled, taking out a pie and holding it against James’ lips,
“Pork, my favorite.”

James blinked a
few times, shooting a quick look at Joshua. The boy was pale, with
reddened eyes, as if he hadn't slept much, but he still looked
attractive in his emerald green morning coat and slightly
dishevelled shirt, revealing silky skin on his torso. James felt a
little embarrassed as he ate the pie.

“Very tasty,”
he said flatly.

“Told ya!” Ira
smiled triumphantly, as if he'd baked them himself and bit into his
pie with a loud grunt of pleasure.

“The ones on
the left are chicken and mushroom,” said Joshua, avoiding the
aristocrat’s eyes. He looked up attentively, studying Ira's moves
as the man left the table to heat some water for them on top of the
fireplace. First, he scooted down, opening a grated screen and
shoved in a few pieces of wood to fuel the dying fire.

“Thank you. You
probably didn’t plan for my presence at breakfast, I won’t be a
burden,” said James, slowly eating the massive pork pie. The food
was plain, but well made. He wasn’t yet sure if Joshua hated him or
not.

“Not at all!”
the boy was quick to say, while gazing at Ira rather than James. “I
expected you to be here.”

“You both want
tea?” The host interrupted with a slight pout. He looked dashing in
just his trousers. Firm, muscled chest and arms revealed.

“Yes please,”
James smiled, feeling as awkward as ever. Joshua made him feel ill
at ease. They were both Ira’s lovers and here they were, sitting in
the same room and pretending the topic didn’t exist.

As if the
atmosphere wasn’t heavy enough, Ira came back to the table, placing
both of his palms on top of it, as if in an attempt to look more
serious. “So, I’m movin’. We’re not gonna see each other that much
anymore,” he blurted, looking into Joshua’s eyes.