Trial Of Strength (Book 5)

"Excuse me, sir, but if you have a minute, I would like to ask you about something."

In approaching Randy, the big boss, Brandon knew he was breaking the rule that boys should not get involved in the masters affairs but, after what his friend Jamie had told him, he had plucked up the courage to confide in Randy who had always promised to help him.

"For you, kid, I've got as many minutes as you want," Randy smiled. "OK, boy, what's your problem?" He looked affectionately at Brandon's eager face, his eyes blinking earnestly behind his black-rimmed glasses, and his heart melted. "I can see you want to help your friend, kiddo, so go for it."

"OK, sir," said Brandon, reassured. "Well it's like this, sir. It's about Jamie and ... and Mark." He described Jamie's problem - that Mark wasn't as loving as he used to be. Last night Jamie had waited for Mark but had ended up sleeping alone. "I love Jamie, sir, and I hate to see him unhappy. See, the thing is ... gee, this is real difficult ... Mark is spending a lot of time with you and Bob, sir. The twins are having the same problem with Bob."

"Bob? What's wrong with Bob?" Randy said sharply, impulsive springing to his lover's defense.

Brandon winced. "Sorry, sir, I shouldn't have said that about Bob. I shouldn't have said anything at all, I see that now. It's not my place ... I'm way out of my depth."

"Nah, nah, kiddo, I shouldn't have barked at you like that. You were dead right to tell me about this and I thank you for it. No other boy would have had the guts. And I happen to know exactly what you're talking about. You can leave it with me. I'll take care of it."

Brandon beamed. "I knew you would, sir. You can make anything come right."

Randy ruffled his hair. "You know, you're one heck of a kid, sticking up for your buddies like that. But not a word about this conversation eh?" He tapped the side of his nose. "Private - just between you and me, right?"

Randy went upstairs and, without naming Brandon, he raised the thorny issue with Mark and Bob, who both felt instant guilt that they had become so wrapped up in their three-way relationship with Randy that they had neglected their boys.

Mark had gone immediately to Jamie, who was as usual waiting for him naked on the bed, and made spectacular amends. The shirtless macho cop had lain shackled by his own handcuffs to the bed, at the mercy of the young jock, the tanned California surfer pile-driving his ass.

But even when it was over and Jamie lay in his master's arms, Mark's guilt was not totally assuaged and he knew he needed to do more for the boy he had selfishly neglected. He had promised to take Jamie up to the Guadalupe dunes and as Jamie lay with his head on Mark's chest they made plans for the trip. Jamie was in heaven, all his doubts and fears banished.

***************************

As for Bob, when Randy had broached the topic Bob fell into his arms and said, "Thanks for straightening me out, man. Hell, a few years ago you'd have dragged me outside and beaten some sense into me, and I'd have deserved it. But this new cool you is so goddam sexy. Would it be OK with you if I invite the twins up here to spend the night with us?"

"Hell, you need to ask? Sex with those young bucks is always a major turn on, so go for it buddy." So Bob went and talked to the twins apologetically about his many absences from them and, as an initial gesture of remorse, he invited them to spend the night with him and Randy.

Kyle and Kevin had never felt any resentment toward Bob - it was not in their nature - so they felt there was nothing to forgive. But they welcomed a night with the two gorgeous lovers, the tribe's leaders, knowing from the past that they were in for a wild ride. They were also excited at Bob's suggestion of a couple of days in Zack's shack in the dunes - just the three of them.

Later Randy chuckled to Bob, "So, it looks like you and the twins will be in Zack's shack right around the time Mark and Jamie will be in theirs a couple miles down the beach. And I guess you'll both let your boys get even with you for neglecting them. The five of you should get together. That would be one helluva scene ... one for the archives as Darius would say."

"Who knows?" Bob shrugged airily. "You never know what's gonna happen."

"Asshole," Randy grinned. "I could make a damn good guess - and I'd be right."

Bob sat pensively and his face clouded over. "You know, buddy, I've acted like a real shit. Huh, you've called me a saint in the past but I'm far from that - I'm a mere mortal with feet of clay like anyone else. I got lost in my feelings for you and Mark. God, it's scary the way we can be led astray by a throbbing cock - blinded by our lust for another man. But no matter how much I screw up those twins always remain loyal and loving. I feel such a prick."

"Hey don't beat yourself up, man. You know those kids are joined at the hip - they always have each other for consolation. But I bet they never lost faith in you. I recall that time you were lying in a coma and the docs thought you wouldn't make it. I was a total basket case but those boys of yours kept me sane. They stayed calm - the only ones who were positive you would pull through. And you know why? They said you had promised never to leave them, and they took you at your word. They did this time, too.

"But it was probably a helluva lot worse for poor, insecure young Jamie alone in bed waiting for his cop, wondering if Mark would ever come back to him. Mark's probably feeling even more of a shit than you, betraying his boy, making all that talk of love sound phony. Enough to make Jamie think that all he ever was to Mark was just a great piece of ass.

"But the cop will find a way to make things come right, and you'll get your chance with the twins. Knowing those kids, they'll bounce right back." There was a knock at the door. "And I think I'm about to be proved right - as always," Randy grinned.

He opened the door and in walked the twins, Kyle carrying a tray with a brandy bottle and four glasses, Kevin a tray of assorted appetizers they had cooked up. Their expressions were dignified and Bob realized they were doing their five-star-waiter act that they knew turned him on. They were all in white - white T-shirts and boxer briefs under white bib aprons - and they solemnly placed the trays on a table.

"Sirs," Kevin said formally, "we thought you might like after-dinner brandy and hors d'oeuvres." They stood back respectfully with their hands behind their backs - like dutiful waiters.

"Thanks, the food looks great," Bob grinned, "but it's you guys who look good enough to eat." Anyway, it's me who's supposed to be doing penance to you for the way I behaved. You're the ones who can take whatever revenge you want."

"Oh, we know what we want, sir," Kyle said cheerfully. "We knew that the minute you came to apologize."

"Yeah," Randy said, making a move to the door. "Well one thing you don't want is me getting in your way. You and Bob have got stuff to straighten out and you know how the saying goes .... three's company, four's a crowd."

"Oh, no sir," they both said hastily, "please stay." They glanced at each other and Kyle said, "See, we love it when Bob comes to spend the night with us in our apartment, but it's extra cool when we get to sleep with both bosses of the house. I mean, sir, you guys are so spectacular together that we sometimes jerk each other off just thinking about it."

Bob smiled, imagining the scene. Some time ago he had asked Randy to create for the twins a room of their own. Always anxious to please Bob Randy had pulled out all the stops and turned a large storage area above the kitchen into a small apartment for them - two rooms, plus a small kitchen and bathroom, where the two formerly homeless brothers lived together happily, always ready for the tap on the door when Bob visited.

But they also loved Bob and Randy together. Unlike some of the other boys they had no fear of Randy, knowing that his devotion to Bob extended through Bob to them. They knew from experience they would have a great time, and had already planned their 'punishment' of Bob."

"OK, kids," Bob said, flopping into a chair by the table. "You're in charge, so what comes next?"

"Brandy and our special hors d'oeuvres, sir," said Kevin. "Specialties of the house."

Randy cleared his throat. "Er, I know I'm only a bit player in this family scene but if I could make one request .... lose the fucking aprons, kids. I wanna get a look at those bodies."

Everything the twins did was precisely synchronized and now was no exception. They reached behind their waists and untied their aprons, then untied the straps behind they necks, pulled off the aprons, folded them and placed them discreetly on a chair. They stood shoulder to shoulder in just T-shirts and boxer briefs. Their youthful, muscular physiques were clearly outlined under the thin cotton and their cocks bulged inside their briefs.

"Holy shit," Randy growled. "Guess it would kinda break the party mood if I just threw you both on the ground and fucked your asses in turn, eh?"

Kevin smiled. "Hot as that sounds, sir, it's not exactly what we had in mind."

"OK," Randy said. "I stand corrected. You're the bosses."

********************************

The sexual turn that the conversation had taken toned down somewhat as Randy and Bob sat at the table, Kyle poured the brandy and Kevin set out the food. Randy grinned, "OK, kids, cut the waiter crap and sit down with us ... Bob has something to say."

Bob made a short speech, once more apologizing for neglecting his boys when he became so involved in his threesome with Mark and Randy. But his mea culpa seemed to go over the boys' heads as they were already way past that and looking forward to proving to Bob that there were no hard feelings - only hard dicks - and taking their own kind of revenge.

So they changed the topic to the latest house gossip. They spent most of their days happily in their beloved kitchen where the window onto the garden gave them a perfect vantage point for watching all the goings on. So, second only to the ever-vigilant Darius, they were archives of knowledge, though far more discreet than motor-mouth Darius. But they always told Bob everything so they did not consider it a breach of discretion to tell him the latest happenings.

It was times like this that Randy was at his most relaxed and contented. The rugged, volatile gypsy could hardly be thought of as a domestic guy, least of all domesticated as Bob so often pointed out, but here in this setting was as close as he got. Sipping his brandy he looked lovingly at Bob who was listening with sparkling eyes to his boys speaking in turn, alternating sentences, sometimes overlapping as one twin completed the thought of the other.

To Randy this was family, a time to put aside the toughness and anger that often propelled his actions. He was at peace ... well, almost. Not far below the surface - in his groin to be precise - his lust was stirring watching his gorgeous lover and the two handsome brothers. He had that fleeting thought again that he should perhaps leave the reconciliation to the three of them but the twins had specifically asked him to stay. And anyway, he grinned to himself, he sure wasn't gonna turn his back on this chance of a night with these two young bucks.

In the end it was the twins who took the lead. Still seated Kyle said to Bob, "Sir, you told us we could take whatever revenge we wanted. Well, what we have in mind is our own kind of revenge, some might even call it torture. But you did say that we're the bosses, so we'll take you at your word that we're in charge." Kevin took over. "Sirs, we would like you to stand up."

Randy grinned at Bob. Usually it was the two men who gave the orders so this was a complete role reversal and Randy found it sexy as hell. The two men stood up shoulder to shoulder facing the twins, their hands lightly clasped behind their backs in a gesture of compliance.

The twins took their time, sprawled in their chairs, sipping brandy, running their eyes over the men as if evaluating them. They glanced frequently at each other with that fraternal telepathy that needed no words. They were sharing the same fantasy ... two rugged alpha males on display like slaves at an auction.

"Remove the shirts, please." Bob was wearing his usual V-neck white T-shirt, Randy a well-worn, faded blue one, which they dutifully pulled up over their heads and tossed aside. They resumed their original stance, hands behind their backs - two shirtless muscle-gods, barefoot in beltless blue jeans, the one with the refined, sculpted features of a business executive, the other a wild gypsy with a square, stubbled jaw, piercing blue eyes and tousled black hair.

The twins moaned softly and stood up. The came near to the men and gazed calmly and confidently into their eyes. They reached up and ran their fingers over the men's chests, tracing the defined contours of their solid pecs and ripped abs, then down to the slim waists over the waistband of their jeans and stroked the bulge in their pants - but only for an instant.

Their touch was all the more erotic for being light and fleeting, barely touching but enough to arouse the men, making their muscles flex and their cocks pulse. Bob and Randy knew what the boys were doing, what fantasy guided them, and that was clear by what they said next.

"Excellent, bro, don't you think?" "Yeah, they'll do fine ... try this." Kyle squeezed Randy's nipples hard and he winced. Kevin did the same to Bob with the same result. "Oh, yeah, that looks hot. Here, come round here."

They stared at the broad backs, running their hands over the rock-hard lats, then leaned forward and licked the cleft between the lats, up their spines to the nape of their necks. They pressed their chests against the men's backs, the bulge in their boxers against the men's asses, reached round and tweaked their nipples again.

"Oh, shit," Randy groaned to Bob. "I can't take this, man - they're gonna make me bust a load."

Instantly the twins pulled away, sat back down at the table and poured more brandy. "Get naked," Kyle ordered. Obediently the men unzipped their jeans and let them drop, along with their shorts, then stepped out of them and stood naked before the boys like Greek statues.

"Awesome," they said in unison," and Kevin added forcefully, "Right - on the bed." The twins' assertiveness, their command of the situation, was a huge turn-on to Bob and Randy - so different from the frightened homeless urchins who had once tried to steal Bob's car to live in.

The men compliantly lay down on their back side by side on the bed. The brothers paced round them gazing down at the ruggedly handsome men - two former masters now at the mercy of their boys. Their arms stretched above their heads, their muscles rippled under the spotlights in the ceiling ... and their cocks stood up like poles.

The twins glanced at each other with a trace of a smile and knelt at the foot of the bed, Kyle at Randy's feet and Kevin at Bob's. They each grabbed a foot, pressed it to their face and licked it ... the arched tendons, the ankle, the Achilles heel and, finally, the toes. They licked between the toes, then sucked them hungrily into their mouths.

The two men moaned as they looked down at the handsome young studs, their finely-honed muscles flexing, their light brown hair falling over their foreheads as they sucked their feet. It was such a turn-on that both men were soon impulsively stroking their cocks.

"No!" The twins raised their heads in unison. "No touching," said Kyle, who turned and nodded to Kevin. They knew what was needed. They stood up and said, "We didn't think this would be necessary but obviously it is. Raise your arms." The men resumed their original position, arms stretched upward, and the twins made quick use of the ropes that always hung round the rails of the headboard, ready for Bob and Randy's frequent bondage sex scenes.

They looked with satisfaction as the men reflexively pulled at the ropes binding their wrists to the bed. But the twins had learned their lessons well on ropes and knots from Randy himself and Kyle smiled down at them. "Now you are really at the mercy of your boys."

The twins knelt and resumed where they had broken off - licking up the muscled thighs until they came to the balls, opened wide and sucked them into their mouths. "Aaagh .... Randy groaned. "Oh shit ... fuck ... you're gonna make me shoot. Suck my dick boy. Suck it ..."

But Kyle blithely ignored him. The only concession the twins made was to flick their tongues at the bulging head of the cocks, enough to drive the men wild but not enough to push them over the edge to orgasm. In a welter of frustrated desire the two naked muscle-gods pulled frantically at their restraints, desperate to touch their cocks and release the pent-up load inside.

The twins pulled away, knowing that the men were so close, then calmly licked their razor-sharp abs and the cleft between their pecs. They gave them another jolt of ecstasy by gently biting the men's nipples, rolling them between their teeth. They could easily have shown mercy by letting them cum, but instead they moved up to lick the stubbled chins, then clamped their mouths over the men's in a passionate, tongue-searching kiss.

The two magnificent bodies were bucking, trying frantically to jerk their cocks into an eruption of cum but, although they reached the brink of orgasm several times, the twins were skilled enough to prevent it, prolonging their torture of delayed release. The brothers pulled off the mouths and smiled softly at each other. They knew that they could not forestall the inevitable climax much longer without causing spontaneous orgasms.

Bob glanced painfully at Randy who pleaded their case. "Come on, boys, we can't take this. We're dying here ... we gotta cum. My cock's fucking aching, man, ready to explode. Bob took over. "I know I treated you kids badly but this is killing us. Whipping us would be better. Please, stop toying with us - make us cum."

"So," Kyle grinned mischievously. "Are you submitting to your own boys?"

"Yeah, yeah .... I give up," Bob moaned. The twins looked at Randy who winced. "Yeah, OK, you win. Please .... make us cum."

With satisfied smiles the twins prepared for the big finish. They each thrust two fingers into the men's mouths that were already wet with saliva after the kiss. Then they reached behind to their own asses and shoved the wet fingers inside them, lubing them well.

They got to their feet and stood astride the men - Kyle towering over Randy and Kevin over Bob. Slowly, in perfect unison they bent their knees, then threw their arms back and braced their hands behind them on the bed so their bodies were arched upward over the men. They paused, letting the men take in the homoerotic image of the two lithe, tanned young bodies stretched over them, the perfect white globes of their asses inches from the tip of their cocks.

Slowly each boy lowered his hips over his man until the head of his cock slid between the ass cheeks, touched the warm hole .... and they stopped."

"No," Randy yelled, burning with lust. "I wanna be inside you, boy. I wanna fuck you. Please, kid. Fuck my cock ... fuck it."

Another pause, then suddenly, swiftly the boys lowered their asses all the way down on the cocks, sat on the pubic hair, then instantly pulled all the way off. "Aaagh!" the men howled, pushing their hips up high in a desperate need for their cocks to touch the asses, always just out of reach.

"Don't do this, please, Kevin," Bob pleaded. "I have to cum. I gotta cum in your ass."

But again the twins, in a lightning move, sat all the way down on the cocks, then bounced back up. The men were howling in frustration and Kevin asked gravely. "Sir, we just need to ask one thing. When you were keeping your distance from us, sir .... it wasn't because you don't love us as much anymore, was it?"

"No, boys, no. I swear to you, I love you more than ever. I love you ....!"

"That's all we needed to know," said Kyle." One last time they sat down heavily on the ramrod cocks, felt them drive in deeper and deeper until they were impaled on the long poles. They clenched their ass muscles round them, heard the men screaming, saw their rugged faces thrash from side to side .... and felt hot sperm blasting deep inside the cauldron of their asses.

The twins pointed their own cocks at the men and shot jets of sweet juice at their faces, their necks and heaving chests. Then they turned and kissed each other while the men kept pumping into them the pent-up semen that had been straining for so long to erupt. Finally the boys raised up, felt the spent cocks slide out of their asses, and they leaned forward to release the bound wrists. They stood up over the sweat-soaked, naked bodybuilders.

Bob wiped the semen from his eyes, gazed up at them and said softly. "I'm so sorry, guys. I promise I'll never neglect you again. I love you .... do you forgive me?"

The brothers smiled broadly and Kevin said, "There's nothing to forgive, sir. To tell the truth, there never was. We tortured you like that not as punishment but just because we knew you would look so damned hot - better than any fantasy we could dream up.

Randy grinned, "Damn, you guys sure know how to torture a man's dick - worse than anything Zack can dish out with his fists and his whip. OK, so now you three have kissed and made up, tell you what. Our shower holds four - bit of a squeeze but all the better - then we'll finish off the brandy and that food you made. Then bed - and maybe in the morning we can get our own back on you boys. But let me make one thing clear. From now on we're the masters - and you young punks are the boys, OK?"

"Absolutely, sir," they said on unison. "You're the bosses."

Bob and Randy grinned at each other. The bosses? They were not so sure about that.

***************************

The weekend was approaching, when Mark would not be working. He was eager to hit the road with Jamie so they decided to leave on Friday evening as soon as Mark got home from work.

After Mark's intense act of contrition, letting Jamie handcuff him to the bed and fuck him, Jamie had relaxed, seemingly accepting that Mark still loved him as much as ever. But Mark had been startled by the boy's intense reaction to his neglect of him. Jamie had reverted back to the insecure boy he had once been, always scared that Mark would leave him. Mark had thought they had long ago put to rest Jamie's fears and lack of self-esteem. Their dramatic role-reversal sex had gone some way to reassure the boy, but Mark wasn't sure how to proceed now.

So he sought help from Dr. Steve.

Mark and Steve went back a long way when, as a rookie cop, Mark had been referred to him to resolve anger-management issues. More recently Mark had introduced Steve first to Randy then other members of the tribe, so by now the cop and the doctor were old friends.

Steve listened intently to Mark's story and when it was over he sat back in his chair and said, "Of course, when you, Bob and Randy acknowledged your three-way attraction, anxiety was inevitable in your respective boys, who felt left out. You behaved badly toward Jamie, but you're right, his reaction was out of proportion and indicates a residual deep-seated insecurity. I don't doubt the depth of your love for the boy. But Jamie's love for you is more complicated.

"The problem is that you are so damned gorgeous it's enough to make anyone feel insecure. You could have anyone and Jamie can't believe you chose him. So deep down he's scared to love you absolutely, to give himself to you totally, in case he gets hurt if you ever leave him. He remembers that time you nearly rejected him over his drug use, and he thought it was happening again this time.

"So here's my prescription. Jamie fell in love with you once ... and he has to do it again. He has to feel that first flush of passion that is always so intense and - here's the hard part - to accept it and know that it will last. He needs to know you love each other so much that you will never hurt each other.

"As I recall, you both began to fall in love when you took Jamie on that trip to the dunes just after he came to the house. And you're about to take him there again. So do it again. Let him fall in love with you all over again." Mark smiled, recalling that first trip that seemed so long ago.

"And when you get back," Steve continued, "I want you to bring Jamie to the house for dinner with Lloyd and me. But I don't want it to be three men and a boy. That could make him feel insecure. He's well on his way to manhood, after all, so I want it to be four men getting off on each other. For that reason, tell him not to call anyone 'sir' the whole evening. He can use our names, or 'buddy', 'man' - anything but 'sir'." Steve grinned. "You got all that, officer?"

Mark hugged him. "Thanks, man, you are one hell of a shrink ..." he felt Steve's hard muscles rippling under his shirt .... "and a hell of a stud too. I'm gonna look forward to that dinner."

********************************

Late Friday evening Mark and Jamie were driving north up Pacific Coast Highway, having made a late start as Mark's shift had run into overtime.

They had received a raucous send-off by the whole house, especially the boys who gathered round Jamie in a show of support. Everyone, of course, knew the issues between the cop and his boy (nothing like that could ever stay private for long in that house) and the boys, as always, circled the wagons protectively round one of their 'band of brothers' as Darius dubbed them.

Mark was wearing the black, ribbed tank top he knew turned Jamie on so much as it showed off the tanned muscles of his torso to perfection. Jamie was in his usual surfer trunks and faded blue tank. But half an hour into the drive there was still a tentative silence in the truck, broken only by occasional platitudes like, "Jeez, you boys sure are real supportive of each other."

"Yes, sir," Jamie replied. "We have our ups and downs but when one of us is in trouble all the others rally round him."

"And you think you were in trouble, Jamie?" Mark asked gently.

"I thought so at the time, sir." Another long uneasy silence now that the topic had been raised. They both had a sense that this trip was a reaffirmation and a repairing of their relationship and knew there were still potential pitfalls in their path. In fact Jamie fell into one of them as soon as he broke the silence. "Sir, like ... well, that sex we had we had the other day ..... was that a mercy fuck, sir, just to make me feel better?"

Jamie saw Mark wince as a shadow of pain crossed his face, and he immediately regretted his question. But it had been said and hung oppressively in the air. Mark replied simply, "No, Jamie, it was not a mercy fuck. I don't do mercy fucks."

"I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean it. It's just that I ...." Words failed him and Mark jumped in.

"Jamie, I wish you could really accept that I love you and will never leave you. Look, I loved what we did in bed - me getting fucked by my beautiful boy - but it's not just the sex. I respect and admire you, Jamie. Look at how far you've come since that first day you and your homophobic skinhead buddy tried to beat up Pablo. Now you're a respected senior boy, in charge of the company's business office - and my boy. I just wish you could let yourself love me as totally as I love you, Jamie."

"I do, sir, I really do. I worship you, I try to be like you, and you don't know how many times in the day I jerk off thinking about you." Jamie frowned. "But all that scares me - giving myself completely to another man. All my life I've never really committed to anything. I felt like dying that time you found me doing drugs and got so angry you said I wasn't your boy anymore. It could happen again. I mean, I try to be good for you, but what if I make another mistake?"

Mark winced again. "Jamie, I was so wrong then. I should have helped you but I let my anger and disappointment take over. But I never stopped loving you and I came looking for you and asked you to forgive me." A smile came to his face. "I think I've loved you ever since that first trip we took up here on the motorcycle. Remember that?"

"Of course, sir. I remember every detail - and I remember falling in love with you, sir, even though I resisted it like hell. I remember the exact moment."

Jamie reached over and wedged his hand in the warmth between Mark's thighs. Mark sighed deeply and remembered Steve's advice word for word. 'As I recall, you both started to fall in love when you took him on that trip to the dunes ..... And you're about to take him there again. So do it again. Let him fall in love with you all over again.'

It gave Mark an idea. "Hey, kiddo, we're only about halfway there and I'm feeling real bushed - too tired to drive actually. It was a tough day on patrol - the overtime and all - and we got such a late start. So I was thinking - would it be OK with you if we pulled over at the next motel and slept there tonight? We can leave really early, at dawn if you like, get a good breakfast, and we'll reach the shack in the dunes ready for a swim and the rest of the day. What do you say?"

Jamie squeezed Mark's leg. "Let's do it, sir. I don't care where I sleep as long as it's with you. And I sure want you nice and rested tomorrow..." he grinned lustfully "... ready for anything."

**************************

A mile or two further on the highway went up a hill and veered a bit further away from the beach. They saw on the left, in the small space between the highway and the cliff, the flickering lights of an old, modest motel. It's a wonder it was still there at all, Mark thought. It would soon be demolished in favor of a big new hotel development in this prime spot with its spectacular ocean view. He pulled off the highway onto the bumpy lane leading to the motel.

At this late hour the only person around was the half-asleep desk clerk, a youngish woman with big tits who looked a little the worse for wear. Her eyes widened as they ran over the two spectacularly handsome men - the younger meeting her gaze with a mischievous grin.

They were given an ocean-view room and as soon as they went in Mark realized just how tired he was. It wasn't just his grueling workday, it was the emotion of the last few days, and now that he allowed himself to relax, his tension drained away to exhaustion.

"I really am beat, kiddo," he yawned. "I'm gonna hit the sack right away if that's OK."

"Of course, sir." Jamie watched in awe as Mark pulled off his black tank top, kicked off his boots and stretched with another yawn. Stripped down to beltless blue-jeans his magnificent torso gleamed in the dim light of the room. As he stretched upward, the top of his white boxers showed above the waistband of his jeans, setting off his tight waist and washboard abs.

He pulled off his jeans and fell on the bed, stretching out on his back, naked except for the white boxers that clung to his waist and thighs. Jamie's impulse was to jump in beside him but he wanted a little time alone to think so he said. "Sir, it's such a hot night that, if you say it's OK, I think I'll sit on the porch awhile and admire the full moon. I got some thinking to do."

"Of course, Jamie," Mark smiled. "And when you're ready I'll be right here. I'm not going anywhere."

Jamie left the room and closed the door quietly behind him. He went to the truck and pulled out one of the beers they had brought. There was a verandah running along the front of the hotel and he sat down in one of the Adirondack chairs and took a long drink. He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth and settled back in his chair looking out over the ocean, a rippling mix of brown and silver with the bright moon gleaming across it.

It was one of those Southern California nights when the intense heat of the day barely diminishes at night, which always made Jamie feel sexy, especially now as he imagined the handsome police officer lying near-naked in the room behind him. His cock got hard as it always did when he thought of Mark, and he asked himself for the umpteenth time why he couldn't shed his fears and embrace the fact that Mark loved him and would not leave him.

Deep down he knew it was because he couldn't allow himself to love Mark enough. There was always that impediment, that niggling fear that held him back. Maybe it was the insecure life he had led before that made him suspicious of unleashed emotion, afraid to commit to anything. He wanted to clear his mind of all that as easily as clearing his throat, but ... but ...."

"Hey handsome. I'm off work now. Want some company?" It was the blousy desk clerk giving him a lecherous grin.

"Thanks, doll," Jamie chuckled, "but I'm so damn bushed I don't think I could get it up. No reflection on you, though."

"OK, sugar," she said cheerfully. "But if you change your mind I'm in the room at the end. I'd make it worth your while."

I doubt that, Jamie smiled to himself as she walked away. The only one he wanted, that he ever wanted now, was fast asleep in his room. He chuckled again, remembering how on that first trip he was still the young stud, the ladies' man, or so he thought until he tried to bed the waitress and realized to his horror he couldn't get an erection.

He had slunk back to the room he shared with Mark and gloomily confessed, guy to guy, what had happened. Mark had laughed it off - "happens to everyone, man" - but Jamie never dreamed at that moment that his failure with the waitress had anything to do with Mark.

Sure, he was an incredibly hot guy, a guy Jamie had looked on as a babe magnet, with women clamoring for him. But he felt only admiration for the macho cop, certainly nothing sexual. He had never thought of a man in that way, not for an instant. The mere thought disgusted him, which is why he and his skinhead buddy had once called Pablo faggot and tried to beat him up.

Anyway, after Jamie's gloomy confession Mark had gone to sleep and Jamie had gone to wash up in the bathroom. Through a crack in the bathroom door he had glimpsed Mark sprawled naked on the bed - and that was the moment he had fallen in love for the first time in his life.

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That memory so clearly etched in his mind had made him uneasy. He drained his beer and went back into the room quietly so as not to wake Mark. He went into the bathroom to take a leak before bed, closing the door gently behind him. He took off his clothes, brushed his teeth and stared at himself naked in the mirror. Yeah, actually, he was pretty hot looking as Mark always said, with his muscular body, golden tan and handsome features. A bit too much of a boy, maybe - one reason he was scared Mark would get tired of him.

He opened the bathroom door a crack ... and stopped in awe. There he was again, just as Jamie had seen him that night long ago. In the warm room Mark was lying asleep on top of the sheets in just his white boxers. A bright moon shone through the louvered blinds casting a striped shadow over the muscular bodybuilder, his tanned skin shiny with a film of sweat.

Jamie remembered it all, how he stood frozen to the spot as he did now, mesmerized by the sight of this muscular cop lying asleep, naked except for his shorts, his cock bulging underneath. Now, as before, he seemed to be dreaming as his handsome face tossed occasionally, tousled blond hair falling over his forehead. His hand was resting on his chest and, as he dreamed, it slid slowly downward over his ripped eight-pack abs over the waistband of his shorts, and came to rest on the bulge in his shorts.

Once again Jamie's thoughts, his very reason, yielded to purely sensual impulses. He began to stroke his cock as he had that first time, gazing at the vision of a Greek God dreaming the dreams of a mortal. He remembered how his own lust had built then, but how he had fought against it, repelled by his own feelings and denying any hint of a sexual attraction.

But it was different now. Jamie had long since acknowledged his love for the man on the bed and knew he was loved in return. This man who was lusted after by many, who could have anyone he chose, man or woman, had chosen him, Jamie. It still felt too good to be true ... and that thought hit him between the eyes.

Was he, after all, so different from the proud young stud who had resisted his feelings for Mark, that first night, stroking his cock but scared of admitting his sexual feelings for the man? He knew now that that was the moment he had fallen in love, but back then he had fought against it. And he realized he was still fighting! There was that mental block, the inability to commit all the way and to trust that Mark would never leave him.

He watched as Mark reached out to his side in his sleep and stroked the sheets with his free hand while the other tightened round his cock. Jamie knew he was reaching for him, his boy. This beautiful man was dreaming of him ... he wanted him, needed him.

And in that moment Jamie fell in love with him all over again - completely, mind and body. He had been such a fool before, a quivering boy who hadn't dared to love - at least not the kind of real love that melts two souls together in a bond of absolute trust. But that was the love he felt now. It was a revelation - like a flashlight suddenly shining on the truth in the corner of a dark room. Of course Mark loved him, of course he would never abandon him, and of course Jamie would commit to him with every fiber of his being.

The sudden realization ran though Jamie like a bolt of lightning. His heart leapt, he pounded his cock in exhilaration .... and shot a massive load all over the bathroom door, stream after stream of juice pouring down the door onto the floor.

He had had the biggest orgasm of his life that first time, the time he had fallen in love. And now it was happening again as he had fallen in love for a second time. Only this time it was the passion not of a fearful boy but of a jubilant young man who was ready to take his rightful place at the side of the man he loved.

This catharsis left him drained and sobbing with joy. He stumbled from the room and fell on the bed beside his lover, still sobbing uncontrollably. Stirring in his sleep Mark reached out and pulled the naked boy against him, folding his arms round him and pulling his face onto his chest. He was dimly aware of tears dripping down onto his chest and murmured, "That's OK, boy. Everything's OK now. I've got you."

And Jamie knew it was true. His tears stopped flowing and he smiled. That first time he had grabbed a towel, frantically cleaned the cum off the door and bathroom floor and guiltily flung the towel out of the window. No need this time. No need of doubt or fear ever again. He was safe in Mark's arms where he belonged.

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It was only starting to get light the next morning when Mark felt a tugging at the sheets. Drowsily he groaned, "What's up?" Jamie was up and dressed. Throughout the night Mark had slept like a log and normally Jamie would have waited for him to wake and would have rolled over to get fucked. But he realized that many of the times he waited to get fucked he had been waiting for proof that Mark still loved him.

This was a new Jamie. Oh, he wanted to get fucked by Mark alright, but as one man giving his ass to another, not a boy waiting in silent subservience. Mark went to the bathroom to splash water in his face and said, "Hey, kiddo, what's all this dried cum everywhere?"

"Yup, that's me, sir. I told you I knew the moment I fell in love with you on that first trip, when I jerked off looking at you naked on the bed. Well, sir, I did it again - jerked off looking at you and .... and I fell in love with you all over again, but for real this time. Oh, I'm still your boy, sir, but I'm your man too. The new Jamie is dying to get fucked by you, but let's wait 'til we get to the dunes. Let's get out of this place, sir. I'm hungry."

Mark was amazed and exhilarated by the change in Jamie. It was what he had always wanted, an assertive young man growing into full manhood, to share his life with him as well as his bed. Jamie wanting to wait to get fucked? That was new. Mark had fallen into the ritual of fucking him with clockwork regularity, fearing that anything less would increase the boy's insecurities. But now - could it be - these insecurities were gone?

Over breakfast at a coffee shop Jamie explained with sparkling eyes his experience of the night before and Mark laughed with delight, seeing his boy through new eyes. Jamie had suddenly grown in stature overnight and, rather than master and boy, this felt like two regular buddies sharing their sexual exploits. Their relationship was maturing just as Mark had hoped it would.

At Jamie's urging they hit the road and were soon bouncing over the sandy track in the dunes to their shack - Jamie's shack actually, which Mark had given him as a first step to boosting his self-confidence, a move that finally seemed to be paying off. They quickly hauled their gear out of the truck and dumped it in a heap inside.

"Swim," said Mark. "Surf," ginned Jamie. They stripped off their clothes, faced each other naked, and came together in a hungry embrace, grinding their mouths together in a passionate guy-to-guy kiss. Then Mark held Jamie at arm's length and smiled, "I love you, man."

"Thank you, sir," Jamie smiled back. "I gotta wax up the boards." Jamie had loaded three surfboards in the back of the truck and he now pulled two of them off and began waxing them. Mark watched the naked young buck, his muscles rippling as he worked. He was overcome with lust but they were working to Jamie's timetable now so he had to be patient. He whirled round, raced down the beach and hurled himself into an oncoming wave.

He swam out strongly, then turned and trod water, gazing at the tall, tanned figure in the distance - his boy - his man. It was an iconic image of the bronzed young Southern California surfer waxing his board, and Mark's cock was stiff under the water. God, he wanted him ... he couldn't wait much longer ... so he struck out for the shore with long powerful strokes.

Jamie looked up from his task and saw Mark swimming toward the beach. He gained his footing and strode through the waves, his magnificent naked body gleaming in the sun, muscles glistening as water poured off him. Jamie was longing for him, but thought he would tease him just a bit longer. He tucked a board under each arm, ran down to the water's edge and tossed the boards into the surf.

"Hey," Jamie yelled as Mark approached. "You look terrific." Jamie reached forward, clamped his hand behind Mark's head, pulled it forward and gave him a savage kiss. It was a gesture he would never have dared before and it excited Mark so much he almost busted a load. He was about to throw him to the ground when Jamie shouted, "Race you out!" He threw himself flat on his board and paddled strongly through the waves.

Mark followed and soon they were both sitting astride their boards waiting for the next good set of waves. When it came Jamie leapt skillfully to his feet on his board, and Mark did the same, though rather less adroitly. Jamie was the master here, the master surfer, and as Mark balanced on his board and the wave carried them in he gazed at his boy a little ahead of him.

Jamie was in his element, riding the wave with the strength and grace of a dancer. Tall, naked, the white mounds of his ass were accentuated by his sharp tan lines. His outstretched arms moved rhythmically for balance, his thigh muscles rippled as he elegantly twisted the board beneath him, his blond hair streamed behind him, his beautiful face gleaming with spray and a smile of supreme confidence. He was perfect - the lord of the ocean.

Mark could take no more of this. He hadn't fucked Jamie since they left home yesterday and now he was looking at the gloriously self-assured young man who had suddenly emerged from the chrysalis of boyhood, spread his wings and become a man. Mark tried to catch up with him but he was always a little out of reach, spurring Mark's desire and frustration.

After a perfect ride Jamie glided to a stop in shallow water and stood on his board, swaying slightly to keep his balance. A little behind him Mark had sunk into the waves and now ran toward his boy in a frenzy of frustration and thwarted lust. At the water's edge he flung himself forward onto Jamie's back and pushed him face down on his board. Winded, Jamie lay on his stomach and felt his splayed arms pinned in the wet sand.

"Now, you're mine, stud," Mark growled. "You may be a man, but you're my man. I'm still the master and I can do what I want with you ..." His voice rose to a shout. "... and what I want right now is to - fuck - your - ass!" He looked down at the white globes rising up out of the shallow water. He freed one hand and ran his wet fingers round the hole to free it of any sand, then splashed water on his cock for the same reason.

"You're the perfect man for me," Mark said as the waves hissed around them. "And this is the perfect ass."

"Aaaagh!" It was part sigh, part scream as Jamie felt his master's stiff rod sliding inside him. Pressing his chest down on his board he raised his hips up so his ass rose higher out of the water to meet the cock as it penetrated him. But Mark pressed his hands on the small of Jamie's back, pinning him to the board as he increased the tempo and drove his cock into the surfer's ass like a piston.

"You feel that?" Mark panted. "That's you master's rod in your ass where it belongs. Man or boy you're still gonna get your ass fucked every day ... and all day if we feel like it. There's nothing like fucking the ass of a real hot man. And yours, Jamie, is the best."

With his face pressed against the board Jamie was groaning in ecstasy as the cop ramrodded his ass. He imagined what they must look like - two naked men in the surf, the muscle-god cop pounding the ass of the athletic young surfer. He moaned, "Please sir, I want to look at you."

In one skillful move Mark flipped Jamie off the board, over onto his back in the shallow, foaming water, still fucking him all the time. He pulled Jamie's legs over his shoulders, leaned forward and again pinned his wrists into the wet sand. "So, you've become a man at last, eh? OK, well you can take this like a man."

"Yes, sir. Fuck me, man. Ream my ass."

The fuck was hard and deep, and different from anything they had felt before. No longer an act of master on boy, this was two men, two beautiful alpha males testing each other's manhood. As Mark looked down at the handsome face it was transformed from a callow youth to the face of a strong, determined young athlete, a challenge for Mark that empowered him.

"Shit damn, you are fucking gorgeous man, and you're mine, that ass is mine and I'm - gonna - fucking - pound - it." His cock became a jackhammer, pile-driving into the young jock's ass, and the onslaught only toughened Jamie, made him want more.

"Come on, man, that all you got? Let me feel that rod inside me. You are so fucking gorgeous - that face, that body. Shit your cock feels great. I love you, man, and I know you love me more than ever. So show me .... show me how you treat your man."

Mark had never felt this hot for Jamie. He lost all restraint as he pulled back, then drove his long pole deep into his man's ass, again and again, each time passing over the inner sphincter and slamming into the furnace of the deepest chamber. "I fucking love you, man. This is us, stud, from now on .... this is how I work my man."

The tide was coming in and the water was rising, with stronger waves breaking against them. The water would hiss back out, then gather strength and crash over them as they fucked like demons. Their bodies became a blur of rippling muscles in the spray, water pouring over them, but they had eyes only for each other. It was truly a spiritual union of two virile males making love in the waves as if for the first time.

At last Mark shouted, "OK, stud, you wanna know how I treat my man ... like this!" He became a machine, a ferocious jackhammer pounding faster and faster and Jamie was screaming, "I love you .... I love you ... aaagh....!"

Jamie's cock erupted in a massive blast of semen. His ass spasmed and clenched round the steel-hard cock of his master who howled above the noise of the waves, "I'm cumming, man .... I'm cumming inside you .... I love you, Jamie ....."

As his cock exploded in the deepest chamber of Jamie's ass a strong wave broke over them and knocked them sideways. Locked together they rolled over in the water, gasping, yelling ... and still pouring out the juice of their passion that rose to the surface in ribbons of creamy white that were carried away on the tide.

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A full ten minutes later they still lay locked in each other's arms. They had been washed up on the beach like so much flotsam, their hearts pounding, breath heaving. They looked into each other's eyes, kissed, licked, sighed and steadily grew calm.

It was Jamie, again, who took the lead. "The boards," he said suddenly and jumped to his feet. He ran into the surf and managed to grab the surfboards that had luckily been washed only a short distance away. Lying on his back Mark propped himself on his elbows and watched the handsome young jock drag the boards ashore.

Suddenly, "Look!" Jamie was shading his eyes with one hand and pointing down the beach with the other. "Three guys coming along the beach ... looks like Bob and the twins. They must have just arrived at Zack's shack."

Mark squinted in the direction Jamie was pointing and said, "You're right, Jamie. This should make life interesting."

Jamie laughed. "It sure will. You could say the plot thickens, eh sir?"

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TO BE CONTINUED in "A Trial Of Strength" - Chapter 249