Trial Of Strength (Book 13)

"RESOLVING A FIERCE ALPHA-MALE FRAUD"

The men of the tribe all have conflicting views on the feud raging between the tough black construction bosses, Zack and his boy Darius, who has grown up to become Zack’s equal.  They grudgingly agree to a therapy session with Doc Steve.  But ultimately they have to heal the rift themselves, facing off in a man-to-man no-holds-barred climax of savagery and sex, lust and finally love.

In the previous chapter

Over the years, the muscular black construction boss Zack had watched his boy Darius grow into a hot young jock who now had his own boy, sensitive Thai boy Ryan. But a storm of anger and rivalry suddenly engulfed the trio, sparked by Zack’s lust for young Ryan.

Watching him working in the construction site warehouse the horny Zack was turned on by the youngster and seduced him. Ryan was equally turned on by Zack, but hesitated, wondering if his man Darius would approve.

Zack convinced Ryan that Darius wouldn’t object.  “It’s all in the family, kiddo – Darius is my boy and you’re his – what’s mine is his, and what’s his is mine.”  Including, in his mind, Ryan.

But Darius violently disagreed when he discovered them in the throes of orgasm.  He went apeshit, yelled at Ryan that he was no longer his boy, then attacked Zack in a ferocious fight. Devastated, the sensitive young boy ran away in tears.

When the other men of the tribe found out what happened their main concern was the urgent need to find Ryan.  They fanned out in all directions and it was Darius who discovered him – in the nick of time. 

Ryan had fled to an isolated place where he was being threatened by two thugs.  Incensed, Darius demolished the two men in a short savage fight and they crawled away in humiliating defeat.  Ryan was scared that Darius’s fury would turn on him next, but a remorseful Darius folded him in his arms and made love to him.

After that they talked it all over, and peace, and their love, were restored. But Ryan frowned, “Sir, what about Zack and ... and all that?”

“Ah, that can wait till later.  I’ll be busy managing my construction site, Zack will be working hard at his, and he won’t be bothering you any more in the warehouse.  This is just between him and me and he knows it.  We prob’ly won’t all meet up until dinner and he won’t want to publicly disrupt that.  We’ll face off later.  We got a lot of complicated stuff to work out between us.”

“Sir, that facing off thing.  Please don’t let there be any more fighting.  I feel so happy now ...”

“I hear you Ryan and I promise, no more fights – not physical, anyway.  Come on, we should get back to work.”

Ryan perked up.  “You’re right, sir. I gotta get back to the warehouse, Tyler will be missing me.”  Ryan, a computer expert, was training his young pal Tyler on a new computerized system he had installed, for storing and finding spare parts.  “He learns fast, but we haven’t finished, there’s still stuff he don’t know.  I gotta go help him.”

Darius ruffled his hair.  “That’s another thing I love about you kid.  You’re not only great in the sack, you got what they call a great work ethic.  And I should get back on the job too.  I left my foreman in charge, and he’s a good man but still depends on me a lot.  I’ll follow you, make sure you get back to the warehouse OK, then I’ll drive on up to my site.” He gave Ryan a last tender kiss.  “I love you kid.”

“I’m your boy, sir.”

=========    Book 13: Chapter 13    =========

<><>    Ryan & Tyler Lose The Plot    <><>

When Ryan walked into the construction company parts warehouse, his pal Tyler was there waiting for him.  Tyler had a hundred questions but most of them were answered just by looking at him.  Ryan was relaxed and smiling, the complete opposite of the terrified, sobbing boy Tyler had helplessly watched running away from here not so long ago.

“I guess I don’t have to ask how it went with Darius,” Tyler grinned.

“He loves me, dude, said he always did, never stopped.  He didn’t mean all the things he blurted out in anger.  But when he saw Zack fucking me he went ballistic, yelled at me and had that big fight with Zack, so I ran away.”

“I guessed you were down in our favorite spot in the Arroyo,” Tyler said.  “That’s why Darius went there looking for you.”

“And he found me just in time.  Two thugs had come out of nowhere and were threatening me, but Darius totally destroyed them – you know what a great fighter he is.  I thought he was still angry at me, though, but he kissed me and we made love and ... and ...”

“And you’re still his boy and you’re crazy about him, eh?”

“That’s pretty much it, buddy.  He’s gone back to work and I’ll see him later.”

Tyler glanced uneasily around the cavernous warehouse.  “But, er, what about Zack, and his fight with Darius?”

“That’s just what I asked Darius, but he said that that’ll have to wait till later – from now on it’s just between them.  He said Zack won’t be bothering me any more here in the warehouse, and him and Darius prob’ly won’t see each other until dinner, and Zack won’t make a scene in front of the whole tribe.”

“But what about afterwards, Ryan?”

“Dunno, really.  Darius said him and Zack have got a lot of complicated stuff to work out between them.”

“Yeah, it all sounds real complicated to me.”  Tyler frowned in thought, trying to sort it out in his mind.  “I mean, I can’t work out who’s to blame. Way I see it, you did nothing wrong ‘cos Zack told you Darius would be OK with him fucking you.  But, like, maybe Zack was not really to blame either.  I mean, ain’t there that rule that anyone can fuck anyone, provided it stays in the tribe and everyone wants it?”

“Yeah, but it isn’t that simple when it comes to a man and his boy, Tyler.”

“Hmm – well I’m Pablo’s boy and his dad Randy has fucked me.  ‘Course, Randy fucks everyone.”

“But the whole point is, did Randy check with Pablo first?”

“Oh, sure.  I was there when he asked him.”  Tyler giggled.  “It was kinda hot ‘cos they talked about me like bargaining over a slave at an auction.  Pablo told me later that he did that deliberately to turn me on ... and it did, bigtime.  Matter of fact, in the end when Randy made love to me he asked Pablo to join in and ‘grab a piece of the action’.  I tell ya, getting spit roasted by a hot chief mechanic and his dad, the big boss, was a real trip.  I loved it.”

Then Tyler frowned again.  “But wait a minute, Ryan, are you saying this whole mess wouldn’t have happened if Zack had just taken the simple little step of asking you first?”

It was Ryan’s turn to frown.  “I ... I guess I am, dude, though it does sound kinda weird.  But you know something?  I have a feeling that maybe it goes a lot deeper than that between Zack and Darius. 

“I mean, look, when they first met each other, Darius was a boy and Zack was definitely the master.  That was easy ... Zack made the rules and Darius followed them.  Zack taught his boy and Darius tried hard to be like the man he idolized.  But a lot’s happened since then.  Darius has grown up and become the big tough muscle-stud who has own boy, me, who idolizes him.”

Tyler winced and shook his head.  “Dude, I think I just lost the plot.”

“I think they have too, Tyler.  Or, more likely, the plot hasn’t been written yet.”

Suddenly Pablo appeared.  “Hello, what’s this?” he grinned.  “Two guys slacking off – gabbing instead of working?”  As chief mechanic Pablo was technically the boss of both boys working in the parts warehouse, and they snapped to attention.  Their cocks snapped to attention too at the sight of the handsome, shirtless Mestizo mechanic.

As Pablo’s devoted boy, Tyler hastened to explain.  “Sir, Ryan just got back from being with Darius and he was telling me about it.”

“I know,” Pablo said.  Pablo and Darius were fuck buddies from the early days of the tribe and often shared their troubles.  “I just called Darius, seems everything’s better than ever between you and him, Ryan.  Can’t say the same about him and Zack, though.  Long way to go there.  How about you kids, happy again?  This must have been a shock for you too Tyler.

Pablo hugged his boy, making his dick even harder in his pants.  “We’re just fine, sir,” Tyler said.  “Like Bob always says, best way to get over stuff like this is to get right back to work.”

“Dead right.  And talking of work, I didn’t just come here to check on you two.  One of our drivers managed to knock a wingmirror off one of the trucks.  Randy says it’s drivable like that, but it’s dangerous without a mirror, and you know how strict he is on safety.  He wants me to fix it right away but I’m not sure if we have the part.”

Ryan grinned at Tyler and gave him the tablet they used.  “You’re turn, dude – search for ‘trucks’.”

Anxious to impress his man, Tyler gulped and tapped the tablet.  “Er, would that be the Ford-150, the Volvo or the Chevy, sir?”

“The Volvo.”

“Left or right mirror, sir?

“Right side.”

Tyler tapped a couple of times and frowned.  Ryan prompted him, Tyler tapped again and beamed.  “Yes, sir, we have it in stock.  Over on that wall, column F, second shelf up from the bottom.”

Pablo went over to it and found the mirror right away.  “Damn, that’s brilliant, kiddo.  You’re a genius, I’m real proud of you.”

Tyler pointed at Ryan, about to give him credit, but Ryan discreetly waved him away.

“That deserves a reward, young man.  When work’s over come see me in my trailer office and claim it, OK?”

“Yes, sir, thank you, sir.”   Ryan nudged him again and Tyler said, “Oh just a second, sir, I need to check that part out.”   He scanned the barcode on the wingmirror.  “There, that takes it out of inventory and automatically adds the part to the order list.”

“Kid,” Pablo laughed, “you’ll be running the whole damn company soon.  Come here.”  He pulled Tyler into a voracious kiss.  “There, that’s a down payment on your reward.  You get the rest in my office.”

He strode away and Tyler beamed at Ryan. “Thanks, dude, you made Pablo proud of me.”

“No, you made Pablo proud of you, buddy.”  Ryan slapped Tyler’s butt.   “Just enjoy your prize.”

<><>    Darius Shares His Troubles With Pablo    <><>

Pablo himself was, like others in the tribe, trying to untangle the complex web of the three-way relationship between Zack, Darius and Ryan that was at the root of this latest fight.  As along-time close buddy of Darius, Pablo’s loyalties lay with him.  He had called him briefly but now, as the workday wound down, he visited Darius on the construction site Darius managed.  They sat in Darius’s trailer office drinking beer.

“So how you doin’ old buddy.”

“Fine,” Darius shrugged nonchalantly.”

Pablo responded with his famously crooked grin.  “No ... really.  This is me you’re talking to, dude.”

Darius smiled ruefully.  “Yeah, OK.  Not fine, although I made peace with my boy.  God, I love that kid, Pablo.  Other than that ... confused is what I am.  The only thing I’m certain of is that I behaved badly telling the poor kid he wasn’t my boy anymore.  But as for Zack ... wow.  I’ve gone over and over it in my mind – what he said to me, what he told Ryan – that I wouldn’t care if they fucked.

“But the more I think about it, the more confused I get.  I mean, was Zack right about that family thing?  Do I owe it to him?  I sure owe him a lot, he helped me grow from boy to man.  And I tell ya, it was a lot simpler being his boy, just following his orders.  But hell, I’m grown up now, I’m the boss of this worksite.  Don’t I get to make my own decisions about my own boy?”

“Man,” Pablo laughed, “I ain’t gonna dip my toe in those piranha waters.  What you two need is therapy.  You know what Bob’s gonna say – get your ass up to Doc Steve’s pronto.”

“I know, I know, but I don’t see what good that’ll do. I’m big enough to sort out my own problems.”

“But they’re not only your own problems are they, dude?  There’s all three of you in all this, and from where I’m sitting it looks like a fucking mess.  You should give Doc Steve a try.  I go to see him regularly and he has an uncanny knack of helping a guy see straight.”

“Yeah,” usually by letting you fuck Tommy’s perfect ass.”

“That too, yeah,” Pablo grinned, “The shrink has some weird methods, but that’s only part of it.  The straight talk can be good.  You know what I’d do?  If Zack agrees to see Steve, you should go along with it.”

“Ah, Zack’s never gonna go for that.  You know what he’s like – the big dominant boss – he ain’t gonna sit still listening to ‘a load of mumbo-jumbo’ as he calls it.”

At least that was one thing Darius got right.  At that very moment Zack was using those exact words.

<><>    Zack Confides In His Buddy Randy    <><>

After his big fight with Darius and an angry sermon from Uncle Mike, Zack had joined in the tribe’s manhunt for runaway Ryan.  And when word came in that Darius had found Ryan and he was safe, Zack didn’t want to face any of them so he stormed off to his own construction site and buried himself in physical labor, pushing himself harder than ever to shake off his anger, resentment and confusion.

Near the end of the workday Randy stopped by to check on him.  Their friendship went back a long way and Zack had been a major force in helping Randy build the company in its early days.  Both powerful, muscular alpha males, natural leaders, they were looked on as equal senior men in the construction company, each of them in charge of one of the two government contracts sites, the company’s big money makers. 

They had a strong, unique bond of friendship, based on shared physical strength rather than the intellectual introspection of Randy’s lover Bob, and his brother Doc Steve. Hence Zack’s scathing reference to therapy as ‘mumbo-jumbo’.  Another similarity was that both shared the distinction of having a senior boy who in turn had a boy of his own.

“Hey, Randy, you wanna beer?”

“When did I ever turn down an offer like that, bro?” Randy grinned.  They went into Zack’s trailer office and sprawled in chairs. 

“So, dude, I heard about your spot of bother today.  How’s that shaking out?”

“Not good, Randy.  I can’t wrap my mind around what happened.  It all seemed to escalate out of nothing.  It’s kinda complicated.”

“Hm.  From what I heard it’s simple enough.  You went to the warehouse feeling horny and saw that cute kid Ryan with the sexy bubble butt in those tight pants he wears.  I’ve been tempted in that direction myself.  Hard physical labor like ours will do that to a man.  Hell, you know how many times in the middle of the day I’ve hauled Pablo into my trailer, shoved him face-first over the drafting table and ploughed his ass?”

“Yeah but he’s your boy.  Difference here is that young Ryan is Darius’s boy.”

“So what?  He’s your boy too, once removed.  Did the kid object?”

“Nah, he wanted it, his dick was as stiff as a pole.  But he thought we should ask Darius first.”

“Why?” Randy frowned.  “When I see an ass I want I usually just take it, provided the kid wants it, which they always do.”

“Yeah, but somehow you always get away with stuff like that.”

“Don’t you believe it, bro.  I usually get a tongue-lashing from Bob – his caveman speech – and he threatens to stop sleeping with me.  Then I fuck him, or let him fuck me and he sleeps with his arms round me.  It’s a win-win all round.  ‘Course, he says I gotta go see my brother Steve to ‘sort thigs out’ so I do, just to humor him.  Funny thing, though.  The doc often makes sense and ‘shows me the error of my ways’ as he calls it.”  He grinned ... “till the next time”.

They roared with laughter and clinked beer bottles.

Seriously though Zack, you and Darius should think about talking to Steve.  Couldn’t hurt.”

“Nah, you know what I think about doing the shrink thing, all that mumbo-jumbo.  Anyway, I know Darius and he’d never go along with that.”

“Well, whatever happens, you know I’ve got your back, bro.”

“Thanks Randy, that means a lot.”  He sighed.  “First, though, I gotta survive dinner.”

<><>    Another Tangled Web    <><>

As it turned out, Zack didn’t have much to worry about, at least as far as dinner went – thanks largely to the grapevine.  With uncanny efficiency the tribe’s grapevine was always buzzing with updates almost as soon as events happened, so there was no need for the dinner crowd to rehash the whole issue, to the possible embarrassment of those involved.

Impetuous as they were, the group had enough good sense to avoid the issue, though there were many subtle, silent glances flying across the table.

What’s more, the four conversations earlier, taken together, had served only to sow even more confusion, owing to the often-conflicting views of the speakers.

First, the reconciliation of Darius and Ryan in the Arroyo had been a return to love, and their passionate love-making had made their relationship more solid than ever – a happy conclusion.

But the second conversation, between Ryan and his young buddy Tyler, was less conclusive.  Together they had hashed out the problem, but when Tyler accurately referred to the growing imbalance between Zack and Darius, they agreed it was a core issue but Tyler finally said he was ‘losing the plot.’  To which Ryan responded that the whole plot had yet to be written.

The third talk, between Darius and his long-time best friend Pablo had also been amiable, with Pablo supportive of his buddy.  He too had brought up the growing differences between Darius and Zack – once master and boy, but now two tough opinionated topmen.  But that didn’t resolve anything, beyond Pablo urging Darius to go with Zack to consult Doc Steve.

And the final conversation, Zack and Randy, had been little more that two dominant alpha males commiserating, with Randy showing his caveman side by saying, if Zack had been horny and fucked a willing Ryan, so what?  As a boss, he was allowed.  That muddied the waters even more. 

However, one glimmer of hope was that, like Pablo, Randy had supported the idea of Zack and Darius ‘doing the shrink thing’ and consulting Doc Steve.

The main obstacle to that was that Zack had said Darius would never agree to ‘doing the shrink thing’, and Darius said the same of Zack.  The challenge now was to get the two adversaries on the same page.

Inevitably, that delicate task fell to Bob, with the background support of Uncle Mike. They deliberately sat together at dinner and chatted quietly at some length.  They agreed that this episode had initially seemed like a basic quarrel between hot-blooded men, but had grown and taken on a life of its own. And it had the potential to grow worse and split the tribe if men started to take sides.

“Has to be nipped in the bud, Mike.”

“If it still is at the budding stage, Bob.  It’s already growing like Audrey-Two in the Little Shop of Horrors.”

“And we know how that turned out,” Bob chuckled.  “Ended in a major explosion that destroyed the neighborhood.”

“Yeah, gotta avoid that,” Mike smiled. “I kinda like this neighborhood.’

A short while later Darius was passing by to get another drink and Bob gently pulled him down beside him.”

“Oh lord,” Darius said, “What’s this?  Am I gonna get the third degree?”

“Nothing as drastic, Darius,” Bob chuckled.  “This whole thing between you and Zack has already been talked to death, it’s gone on longer than ‘War & Peace’.  No, I just wanted to make a strong suggestion, something you’ve probably been told already.”

“Like, a zillion times,” Darius grinned, “if you’re talking about Doc Steve.  The guy you have to convince about that is Zack, and he’s never gonna go for it.”

“That’s just what he says about you, Darius.  I think if we could tell him you had agreed, that would nudge him into agreeing too.  How about it, kiddo?  This thing can’t fester on and on.”

“What is it they say about you, Bob?  You could charm the birds out of the trees?  Well I ain’t a bird in a tree, far from it, but, OK, you charmed me.  What the hell ... if Zack agrees, I’m in.  Now I really need that drink.”

He got up, headed for the bar, and Mike grinned. “He really is a great kid, Bob.  Zack raised him well.”

“Maybe too well Mike.  They’re so much alike that conflict was bound to happen sooner or later.  Will you tackle Zack or shall I?”

“I’ll do it.  I already chewed him out bigtime.  Maybe, now he’s calmed down a bit he’ll listen to reason.  I’ll play the Darius card.”

Mike wheeled his wheelchair over to where Zack was sitting with Randy and rolled in beside him. “What’s this, Mike?  You already read me the riot act, is this more of the same?”

“Nah, I ran out of steam on that one, boy.  I just came to tell you that Darius has said he’ll have a shrink session with Doc Steve if you go too.”

“Hm, I saw you and Bob plotting like a couple of fishwives.  So you twisted the boy’s arm, did you?  You’re as bad as my buddy Randy here.”

“What is it with you big tough guys anyway?” Mark said.  “Anyone talks to you about therapy you’d think they were threatening you with the guillotine.”

Zack gave a resigned sigh.  “OK, OK, Mike you win, I guess I’ll have no peace until I say yes, not that it’ll do a lick of good.”

“Thanks, Zack. Only thing is, according to the rules of therapy, the doc can’t get involved until the subject requests it.”

Randy grinned. “You better do it, bro.  Wouldn’t kill ya.”

“Shit damn,” Zack sighed again. “He got up grudgingly and went down the table to Steve, who knew exactly what was going on, having been primed by Bob.  They had a very brief chat, then Zack went back to Randy who poured him a Scotch from his special bottle.

A short while later Steve went to Darius.  “Darius, Zack has asked for an appointment to consult me professionally, and he would like you to be there.  As it’s Saturday tomorrow we settled on noon.  Would that be convenient for you too?”

“Sure, doc, might as well get it over with.  I’ll be there.”

Steve smiled, squeezed his shoulder, and went to join Bob and Mike.  He sat down with an elaborate eye-roll and a shrug.  “A lot of my patients are reluctant, but these two, wow – like pulling teeth.  Well done, guys, how’d you do it?”

“We wove a tangled web,” Bob smiled.  “I’m getting rather good at that.  God knows I have enough practice with Randy.  Have a drink, doc.”

<><>    Skating On Thin Ice    <><>

Next morning just before noon Darius’s truck pulled up at the gate of Steve’s large house in the Hollywood Hills.  He didn’t even lean out and press the bell before Tommy’s cheerful voice came through the intercom.  “Welcome, Darius.  Come straight down the drive.”

The gate swung silently open and Darius drove down the long drive to where Tommy was waiting for him at the front door with a big smile on his handsome blond face.  Darius got out of the truck, wearing black jeans and a white T-shirt that hugged his muscular black torso.

Tommy shook hands formally but Darius pulled him into a friendly hug.  “Good to see you, Tommy, gorgeous as ever.  Still wearing those tight pants, I’m happy to see.”

“Always, Darius.  Doctor Steve says it helps put people at ease.”

“Hm,” Darius chuckled. “Not sure I can agree there.  Has the opposite effect on me.”

Tommy glanced down at the long tubular shape bulging against Darius’s thigh under his jeans.  Observing professional decorum he made no comment, except to say, “Zack has not arrived yet so perhaps you’d like to wait by the pool.”

He led the way through the house to the pool with a distinctly non-professional strut that made his ass cheeks flex under the tight pants.  “Can I get you something to drink?”

“Hm, maybe not, thanks.  Better keep a clear head for a session with the doc.”

“Probably wise,” Tommy grinned.  “Lemonade maybe – it’s homemade.”

Darius sat under the blue awning and Tommy brought him a jug of lemonade.  “I’ll let you know when Zack has arrived, Darius.  Meanwhile don’t hesitate to call me if there’s anything else you need ... anything at all.”

Darius grinned as Tommy went back indoors, flaunting his ass.  He suspected that Tommy made that offer of ‘anything at all’ to every man as a tease, though Darius was a patient as well as a friend so Tommy would not get involved unless Steve asked him to.

So where was Zack?  Darius knew him well and guessed that he was deliberately waiting till he was sure Darius got there first.  Darius had once read somewhere that, by tradition, royalty was always the last to arrive at any function.  Zack, in a way, was the equivalent of royalty in the tribe, and his ego would not allow him to wait for anyone. 

‘Damn him’ Darius thought, flashing on the image of him ploughing Ryan’s ass ... his boy’s ass..  This meeting was a mistake, it would solve nothing.  But before he could decide to leave, Tommy came out and smiled, “Zack is here, Darius, I took him straight through to the doctor’s office.  So if you’re ready ...?”

Darius followed Tommy to the office where Zack was sitting at one end of a couch, with Steve facing him in his usual chair.  Steve stood up with a broad smile and shook his hand.  “Welcome, Darius.   Please take a seat on the couch with Zack.”

Steve was trained to be aware of every small detail and he noticed that Darius sat at the far end of the couch from Zack, and they avoided each other’s eyes.  He also noted that they were similarly dressed – both in black jeans and T-shirt, except that Zack’s shirt was gray, though it was as tight over his muscular torso as Darius’s white shirt was.  They certainly were a handsome, sexy couple, thought Steve, stifling the stirring in his own pants to maintain a professional distance from his patients.

“OK, guys, first let me say I know you are both reluctant to be here.  You were probably bullied by your friends and you came mostly just to get them off your back.”

“You got that right, doc,” Zack growled softly.

“Like the rest of the tribe, I have heard what happened yesterday.”  Steve grinned.  “I too have access to the grapevine.  But my observations are irrelevant at this point.  I imagine that you both have different perspectives on the incident so I’d like to start by hearing from each of you.  Zack?”

Zack shrugged grudgingly.  “Ah, it was nothing, really, certainly not big enough to land us up here.  OK, I was horny when I went to the warehouse and saw young Ryan, cute as a button with that sexy ass of his.  I could see the bulge in his own pants so I suggested we get it on.  I wouldn’t have touched him if he didn’t want it, but he was all for it.  So I fucked him.  That was it, Case closed.”

“Well,” Steve smiled, “not entirely closed or we wouldn’t be here. So, enter Darius, and ...?”

“And as usual, doc, he’s not telling the whole story,” Darius said.  “First off, my boy Ryan was not ‘all for it’, that’s a lie.  He was hesitant ‘cos he thought I might object, said he should check with me, and he was damn right.  But Zack told him it was just fine – sold him some bullshit line about ‘all in the family’ ‘what’s mine is his.”

“That is not bullshit!” Zack shouted.  “I was horny, the kid was horny, so we fucked.  Sure the kid is his boy but Darius is my boy.  So no problem. And for what it’s worth, Randy agrees with me.”

“Er, let’s not bring Randy into this, guys.  I don’t feel he is the best arbiter of a case like this.”

“But that just it, doc,” Darius said.  “Two macho guys, think they’re the big bosses so they have a right to fuck whatever piece of ass they want.  It’s what Bob calls the, er, ‘droit de seigneur’, something like that, where a medieval lord has the right to fuck whatever peasant he wants.  Well, here’s a news flash, this ain’t medieval times, he’s no damn lord, and we ain’t peasants.”

“No, but he’s my boy, doc.”

“I ain’t his boy, doc, not anymore.  It’s him who wanted me to grow up and I have.  I’m a man just like he is and he can’t push me around anymore.  I’m as tough as he is and I would’ve won that fight.”

Steve let them argue a bit longer so they could vent their anger and let off steam.  So far they had done that only physically, in the fight Darius insists he won, and Steve needed this to be less confrontational so they could talk it through.  That was the point of therapy, after all.

One thing that impressed Steve was that they were addressing their angry remarks to him, not each other.  Steve had the impression of watching a split-screen TV interview where the participants are not actually in the same room but addressing their remarks to the camera. 

In this case Steve was the camera, and he was pleased to be the intermediary.  If Zack and Darius had been yelling at each other it would have quickly degenerated into a fist fight that, apart from anything else, could have wrecked his office. That was to be avoided at all costs.

Eventually, as Steve had hoped, they ran out of steam, their anger abated and they stared at Steve, their breath heaving.  Steve decided it was time to distract them with a story.

“Guys, I want to tell you about a couple of guys I once knew, in England.   We’ll call them Phil and Andy, not their real names, and both are long deceased now.  Phil was older than Andy, who today we would call Phil’s boy.  Phil was a very successful actor, a star in England, and Andy was an aspiring actor – bit parts on TV – who looked up to Phil and tried to learn from him and be like him.

“Then, out of the blue, Andy landed the lead role in a movie that became a smash hit, and it made Andy a new hot young star.  One good role followed another.  At about the same time, Phil’s star began to dim.  He was a classical actor, while Andy was big in working-class dramas that had become very popular, while the classics declined. 

“As one went up and the other slipped further down, the whole dynamic of their relationship changed.  Andy was now a star in his own right, no longer dependent on Phil’s teaching.  Phil had lost his luster as a man to look up to.

“Now I’m not suggesting that this is an exact parallel with you two.   Zack, you have in no way declined, you have gone from strength to strength as a respected boss, a man to look up to.  But it does resemble your case, where a classic master-boy relationship shifts as the ‘boy’ becomes a man, very much in the image of the man he has copied for years. So if they are no longer master and boy, what are they, and how will they adapt to new issues that crop up?  That is the challenge facing us here.”

The story had the effect Steve had hoped for.  He had distracted the men from their own enmity and overheated emotions and made them see the issues through the lens of another couple. 

Zack asked, “So how did they resolve the problem, Steve?”

“Unfortunately they didn’t.  The gap was too wide.  They had been a successful master-boy couple but a failure as equals.  They grew apart, split up and Andy married a woman and had twin boys.  I’m not suggesting for a minute that anything that drastic will happen to you, I’m sure it won’t.  We are here to make sure it doesn’t.”

Darius chuckled.  “Well I’m sure not gonna have twins.  Bob already cornered the market on twins.  I’m happy with my boy Ryan ... if only other people don’t muscle in and claim him too,” he growled.

“I didn’t fucking claim his boy, doc,” Zack snapped.  “All I did was what the kid wanted ... I fucked him.”

Steve saw they were skating close to thin ice again and decided he needed to stop them in their tracks with what he called a break-through moment.

“Guys, guys, I need to ask you a question that is fundamental to the issue we’re facing.  It’s a necessary basis for a resolution.  The simple question is ... do you still love each other?”

They answered simultaneously:  “No,” said Darius.  “Yes,” said Zack.”

They turned and looked at each other for the first time ... and reversed their answers.  “No,” said Zack.  “Yes” said Darius.

Steve smiled.  At last here was an attempt to agree on something – the most crucial point of all.  And at last, for the first time, they were looking into each other’s eyes.

<><>    Snookered    <><>

“I sense some confusion here,” Steve smiled ironically, “but I’d like to think that two negatives make a plus and two positives do too.  But now we are in the realm of emotion, with a quandary that cannot be solved by talk and logic. 

“However, we can’t really proceed further until we know the answer to the question.  Everything we have talked about so far comes down to love.  Without that as a basis there’s no point in exploring further, as nothing will work.”

“So does that mean we’re done here, doc, end of session?”

Steve detected a note of disappointment in Darius’s voice which he found encouraging and it persuaded him to push on.  “Well, Darius, as far as sitting here talking goes, yes, we’re done.  But it’s at times like this that I go off book and become the unorthodox shrink you all laugh about – and I know you do.  It’s time for action.  And by that I don’t mean another fistfight.  I value my furniture too much.”

“So what are you talking about, doc?” Zack asked in a tone of genuine interest rather than scorn, which again prompted Steve to continue. 

“Here’s what I suggest, and you certainly don’t have to agree with it.  You can just go home, if you prefer, and I would chalk this session up as a failure – one of my rare failures, I might add.”

“So what’s the deal, doc?  Spill.”

Steve took a deep breath.  “One of our guestrooms in a quiet part of the house has a great view over the hills that seem to go on forever.  When Lloyd and I are tense and need to unwind we sit at the French windows there with a drink, and commune with nature.  The serene atmosphere tends to wash the tension away and we ... well, I’ll leave that to your imagination ... or to your own experience if you’d like to give it a go.”

Darius frowned.  “You mean, you want us to just go in there and sit?”

“With a drink,” Steve added hopefully.   “Of course, it’s just a suggestion and, as I said, you don’t have to ...”

Zack cut him off.  “Well, I for one could sure use a drink after all that shrink mumb ...  Oops, sorry doc. 

Steve smiled, “Mumbo-jumbo, you can say it Zack.  A lot of my patients call it that, you’d be surprised.”

“Ah, I’m not big on talk, doc, better at shouting and slugging,” Zack grinned.  “OK, what the hell?  I’m in.”

“Darius?” Steve smiled.

“Ah, I guess one drink wouldn’t hurt ... zone out looking at those hills ... why not?”

Steve pressed a button on his desk and Tommy came in.  “Tommy, are there drinks in the back guestroom?”

“Snacks and a full bar, sir.  Including a bottle of Randy’s special Johnny Walker Blue Label that he left here when he last came.  Follow me, gentlemen.”

As they stood up and followed Tommy, Zack had a feeling they had somehow just been snookered by the doc – this was a setup he’d planned with Tommy.  But what the hell, that was his job wasn’t it?   Anyway, like Darius said, one drink couldn’t hurt.

When Tommy got back to Steve’s office he smiled at the doc with a thumbs up.

<><>    The Ice Breaks    <><>

When they went into the guestroom they saw what Steve meant.  The room was quiet and peaceful, like it was apart from the real world, certainly from the world of hurt and confusion they had been in. The French windows were open, white muslin curtains blowing in the soft breeze.  Two armchairs sat side by side facing the window.

But the atmosphere between the men was still tense.  They had a feeling, now they were alone together for the first time, that this was a make-or-break moment.  Zack headed for the drinks table and found the Scotch Tommy had mentioned.  He wasn’t ready for the friendly gesture of asking Darius what he wanted to drink, or even for making eye contact.  He simply brought the bottle and two glasses to the small table between the armchairs and sat down. 

Darius stood at the French doors from where the view was truly spectacular – sagebrush-covered hills of the Santa Monica Mountains rolling into the far distance.  “Wow,” he breathed and sat down in the other chair. 

Zack poured his own drink, hesitated, and poured one for Darius.  Such were the tiny steps toward intimacy and reconciliation, a slow breaking of the ice – or cracking it at least.  In the past they would naturally have clinked glasses, but now they didn’t and it felt strange, though neither would admit it even to themselves.  They looked straight ahead at the rolling vistas, not at each other.

Steve had been right about the calming influence of the room and the view, and when their glasses were drained Zack refilled both, this time with no hesitation.  Still the silence went on endlessly, stretching from mellow all the way to uneasy.  A silence this long, no matter the calming view, was unnatural between long-time lovers, ruptured though their love might be.

Whether it was the effect of this unnatural silence, or the musky warmth of the Blue Label Scotch, Zack finally found his voice.

“So, what did you make of Doc Steve’s story of the actor couple?”

Relieved that the silence was broken at last Darius replied briefly. “I didn’t care for the ending.”

“Me neither.”

“You’d think after all those years together as man and boy they could hit on some solution to stay together rather than chucking it all away.

“You’d think so.”

Talked stalled and they took another drink.  The silence grew heavy again until Darius turned at last to look at Zack.  “Do you think we’re headed for the same ending?”

Zack turned and their eyes met for the first time since they entered the room.  “I hope not.” 

Those three words broke the cracked ice as Darius said, “Me too.”

“I don’t think it will,” Zack said softly.

“Why not?”

“Because in there with Steve I said I loved you.”

“And then you said you didn’t.”

“So did you ... first you said you didn’t, then you did.”

The absurdity of that struck them and they stifled smiles.  They took a long hit of Scotch and Zack asked, “Do you remember the day I asked you to be my boy?”

“Like it was yesterday.  We were doing construction work and a massive I-beam fell and pinned you on the ground.  Would have crushed you except the end got lodged on a tree branch.”

“Yeah but the branch was slowly giving way.  Only hope was for someone to lift the end of the I-beam enough for me to slide out from under.   My life was in your hands, and I’ll never forget the sight of your muscles straining, jaw clenched, determination in your eyes.  It seemed like an impossible task, the beam was massive, but against all odds it slowly, agonizingly moved up ... an inch, two ... until I was able to scrape out and roll over an instant before the beam crashed to the ground.”

“And I’ll never forget what you said next.  ‘Do you want to be my boy, Darius?’”    

“Yeah, you had saved me by brute strength and sheer willpower, and I knew at that moment that you were the perfect guy for me.”

“I think that was the happiest day of my life – me, the boy of the powerful, gorgeous sexy construction boss I already idolized.  I loved being your boy all those years, Zack.  Pity it had to end when I grew up.”

Zack looked at him long and hard.  “But does it have to, Darius?  Like you said about those guys in Steve’s story – surely there’s some way to avoid chucking it all away.”

Darius said, “Funny thing is, even though I’m this bigshot site manager now, I still feel like your boy a lot of the time.  Even now I feel like calling you sir ... I always loved doing that.”

“So why stop?  Jamie is in a similar position to you.  Under Mark’s guidance he’s grown from a young surfer boy into an independent young man with a great job.  And he still calls Mark sir because it feels right to him.  I guess what I’m saying Darius, is that one doesn’t exclude the other.  You can be both my boy and my man.”

“I would like that ... sir.  But what about Ryan?.  I love him as my boy and he naturally calls me sir.  That’s the stuff that started all this.”

“I don’t know, dude, that’s still something we have to work out ... with Ryan’s participation ‘cos what he wants is crucial.  Like we keep saying, we’re a family.  We should make family decisions together.”

“So what now, sir?”

“Darius, I know I called what Steve does mumbo-jumbo, but he makes a lot of sense.  He said that talk can only take us so far.  Emotions are best resolved through action, which is why he halted the talk part and shut us up in here to find out if we love each other or if that’s gone.  Like I told him, I’m not good with talk – you know that old phrase ‘words fail me’.  I’m a man of action, and I wanna see if you really can be both my buddy and my boy.”

<><>    Definitely Not Mumbo-Jumbo    <><>

Zack stood up and faced Darius, who stayed seated while Zack reached behind his own neck and pulled his gray T-shirt off over his head.  Darius stared up at the macho black construction worker, shirtless in black jeans, his muscled ebony body gleaming in the sunlight streaming through the window.  This was the man he had idolized for so many years, proud to be his boy.

“Fuck,” Darius murmured softly.  “Fuck ... fuck ... fuck.”   Darius stood up and pulled off his own T-shirt.  “Fuck me ... please fuck me, sir.   Fuck your boy.”  He bent down to unlace his boots and his cheek brushed against the huge bulge in Zack’s jeans.  Darius kicked off his boots, ripped open his jeans and dropped them.  He stood naked before his man and Zack ran his hands over Darius’s chest and gazed into his green eyes.  “Such a beautiful boy.  Damn, I’ve missed this.”

Darius was the playful boy again as he ran to the bed and threw himself down on it, face-down, his beautiful black ass raised, flexing seductively.  “Please, sir.  Fuck my ass.  I need it so bad.”

He turned his head sideways on the pillow and watched as the black construction boss got naked and stroked his meat, gazing down at his boy.  He spat on his cock, then knelt on the bed between Darius’s splayed legs.  “Here it comes, boy.  You want your man’s dick inside you?”

“Aaahh ...” Darius sighed as the shaft drove deep into his ass.  “Thank you, sir ... thank you ... I love you, sir.”

He reached up and dug his fingers in the mattress, muscles rippling in his back, body flexed to withstand his master’s assault on his ass.  For a long time he had not felt the exquisite joy of submitting to his man, surrendering his ass to get ploughed.   “Fuck me, sir,” he pleaded.  “My ass is yours, sir.  Aaaghh!.

Zack pounded his boy’s ass ... then suddenly pulled out and flipped him over on his back.  Darius’s ten-inch cock reared up like a pole and Zack slapped it from side to side.  Then he pushed his legs back, leaned forward and pinned his arms to the bed.  “Damn you look hot, boy.  Your ass is mine.”

Again Darius yelled as the long black shaft penetrated him and pistoned in and out of his ass. “Look at me, boy.  I know you can take it, ‘cos you’re my boy.  You want it hard?”

“Yes, sir.  I can take it.   I’m your boy.”  Darius stared into the steady gray eyes and gave in to the sensation of being overpowered by his master.  He was unaware of the pain, only that he was the tough boy who could take anything his man dished out.

His body writhed, his handsome black face thrashed from side to side as the ferocious fuck continued.  His tortured mind flashed on the time he had summoned all his strength to raise the beam and save his master.  He did so now as the relentless rod fucked harder and deeper ... and then, without warning, pulled out.

Zack knew he was pushing Darius to the limit of his pain threshold, and he himself was close to orgasm.  But he knew there was more to come.  They both knew it.

A sudden light gleamed in Darius’s eyes.  He shoved Zack off him, over on his back.  He sprang off the bed and paced round it, buck naked, staring down at the dominant topman, his man ... and his buddy!  

Zack knew what was coming and he welcomed it.  He made no move to defend himself, and reached up to the corners of the bed.  In a quick succession of moves Darius picked up both the discarded T-shirts, wound them into ropes and used them to tie the big man’s wrists to the bedposts.   He stood at the foot of the bed, smiled down at his captive and taunted him.

So, you loved that boy and then loved the man you trained him to be.  You’re proud of him, proud of your man, who can go toe to toe with you ... your equal.   See this?” Darius stroked his massive ten-inch cock.  “Let’s see how proud you are of this. ...”

Darius knelt on the bed, pushed Zack legs back and drove his cock deep in his ass.  “Fuck me, man, let me feel that massive hunk of meat reaming my ass.

“Oh I’ll fuck you man.  It’s about time you were broken down to size.  You fucked my boy, dammit.  You had this coming.  You saw how much your boy could take, but this ain’t your boy now.  Your turn to suffer, big guy.”

And he did suffer.  Darius didn’t hold back.  His massive shlong pounded Zack’s ass and the naked black muscle-stud pulled desperately at the ropes binding him as Darius yelled, “Look at me, man.  This is the man you made in your image.  This is the man you insulted by fucking his boy.  And your gonna pay, man, you’re gonna beg.

Zack stared up at the magnificent body heaving above him.  This was the boy who had saved his life, grown into a man he loved and admired.  He was so fucking hot, that body, those eyes.  He loved him ... he loved him ...”   He pulled desperately at the ropes, his body flexed and “aaagh ...”  His cock reared up and blasted streams of semen that rose up high and splashed down on his writhing body.”

“Yeah,” Darius said triumphantly, “I knew I could make you do that.  Now for the real punishment.”

The fuck didn’t stop ... it increased in speed and force, the massive shaft pounding the boss’s ass.  “No, man,” he groaned desperately.  I just shot my wad.  I can’t take anymore.  I’m done, man.”

“You’re done when I say you’re done, stud.  This boy of yours, the boy you built into a man as tough and fierce as you, wants to hear you submit.  I wanna hear the macho black boss beg. I want your apology for fucking my boy, or this fucking ten-inch rod is gonna ream your ass.”

“Aaagh ... OK, I was wrong, I’m sorry.  I can’t take anymore. You’re fucking killing me.  I submit, I surrender.  Please, sir ... have mercy.  I’m begging you ... I give up, sir ... please ... aaagh.”

Darius gazed down in awe at his man, this proud naked topman, sweat pouring down his chiseled, agonized face and shaved head, powerful body writhing in bondage.  The man he had idolized for so long was humbled, broken, begging for mercy in abject submission. 

Darius’s face broke into a gleaming smile.  “You have never looked more beautiful, sir.  I love you, sir.  Yeaahh ...”  His body shuddered and his cock erupted, pouring hot juice deep inside his man’s ass.”

<><>    Better Than Ever    <><>

A short time later, their heartbeats back to normal, they were lying naked in bed with Zack’s arms round Darius, who said, “Are you OK, sir?”

“You know me, dude, tough as nails.  That was one great fuck, man.”

“But are we OK, sir?”

“I’d say we are, better than ever.  And you are calling me sir, again, and it sounds just right.”

“What you said, earlier, Zack, that I can be both your boy and your man – one doesn’t exclude the other.  Do you think we just proved it’s possible?”

“Sure, as far a sex goes.  It’s a good first step, we have a solid base to work on.  And your kid Ryan will be thrilled that we’ve started to patch things up.  He’s our next priority, Darius.  Lot to work out there, but I guarantee, he’ll be your boy, and everything that implies.  But I hope you will let me help you raise him and keep him safe.

Darius grinned.  “It’s a deal, sir.  Now we better go and tell the good doctor that his session wasn’t a failure after all.”

“Yeah, I gotta admit, he’s pretty good.  Guess I’ll have to sweep that ‘mumbo-jumbo’ thing into the trashcan for good.”

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 

 TO BE CONTINUED in “A Trial Of Strength” – Book 13: Chapter 14