Page 15 of Equalizer
Owen shrugged. “They were careful. Certainly didn’t parade around town. Knew who to trust and who to avoid. But it was a pretty open secret, from what I saw.”
“Was it like that in the Army too?” Calvin wasn’t sure he wanted to know, but he had to ask.
Owen hesitated before answering. “Not exactly. Being with a man wasn’t technically against military law. People who got caught could still end up discharged—but not thrown in jail. From what I saw, it varied.
“Some of it was whether the commanding officer chose to look the other way. Relatively small, close-knit groups on extended missions often formed pairs because the open range is a lonely place,” Owen replied. “Although the brass would never have admitted it, I think they preferred fucking to drinking and shooting up the local outpost.”
“Did you—” Calvin didn’t finish his question.
Owen was quiet again. “I knew my interests from the time I hit puberty, and I knew not to say anything or act on them in the polite, Christian, Southern society where I was raised.”
He looked off into the distance, pointedly not making eye contact with Calvin. “I picked up the basics of how it was for men with women from hearing people talk and growing up on a farm, but didn’t have much to go on when it came to two men together.
“I could guess it involved touching. I’d figured that part out early for myself and there were a few hurried fumbles in the back of the barn or a bathroom, but I didn’t have any idea there were other ways to satisfy each other until I went West. I was young,and there were older men happy to contribute to my education,” Owen said.
He turned to meet Calvin’s gaze. “There was never anyone serious, anyone who wasn’t just a good time for an evening. No one who mattered. Nothing like what we are to each other.”
Calvin believed him, although the idea that such things had been tacitly ignored, if not exactly accepted, surprised him. The jealousy that flared when he thought about Owen with anyone else caught him off guard with its heat, even though he trusted Owen completely and knew how much he valued their bond.
Calvin pushed those thoughts aside and managed his sexiest smile. “Want to give me a private demonstration of ridin’ and ropin’, cowboy?”
“I think that sounds like a fine way to end the evening,” Owen agreed with a grin that made his hunger clear. “Let’s head to bed.”
Once the door closed, Calvin pushed Owen against the wall, pressing their bodies together and grinding their cocks against each other through their trousers. Calvin could feel Owen’s stiff prick and loved his soft groan as their kisses turned hungry.
“Clothing. Off,” Owen said when he broke away for a gasp of air. They made short work of buttons and collars, leaving a trail of shirts, pants, socks, and silk drawers as they wrestled to the bed. They took their time exploring with fingertips and lips, gliding palms across skin, taking in the taste and scent.
Calvin ran his hands through Owen’s hair, cupped his cheek, and kissed him slow and deep. Owen shifted to wrap his body around Calvin, rubbing their cocks together.
Owen kissed Calvin again with passion.
“I love you,” he murmured. “Only, ever, you. Don’t worry about my past. No one holds a candle to you.”
Calvin returned the kiss, tender and lingering. “Love you too. Always.”
No matter how many times they made love, Calvin was always hungry for more. Before Owen, most of Calvin’s experience lay in anonymous fumbling in dark corners or city bathhouses. He rarely had the safety or the luxury of time to explore and savor, and those random partners hadn’t been worth the risk. His one serious boyfriend ended up murdered, which had driven Calvin back into the closet until he met Owen.
Maybe it was Owen’s time out West, where men who spent long stretches of time riding the range held to different behaviors than back East. Owen was comfortable with his desire while still being cautious.
“How do you want it?” Owen breathed next to Calvin’s ear. His hand went to Calvin’s already-hard cock, giving it a stroke or two that earned a moan from Calvin.
“Want to feel you in me,” Calvin murmured. “Take our time.”
Once their new case started, leisurely evenings were few and far between. Calvin hungered for release, but also for a memory to carry him through until time was once more on their side.
“Sounds good to me.” Owen kissed him, sliding his tongue between Calvin’s lips and plundering his mouth.
They fell together and lingered in a tangled pile to explore with hands and mouths and tongues. A quick fuck took the edge off, but Calvin had learned to appreciate how satisfying making love could be with time and safety, reaching their peak over and over again, increasing in intensity until the pleasure was nearly too much to bear.
They usually took turns being top and bottom, depending on mood. Tonight, Calvin wanted to feel Owen’s weight above him, hard cock driving into Calvin’s ass and leaving him pleasantly sore in the morning, a reminder of who he belonged to.
Dangerous work left few illusions. Calvin knew that a stray bullet could tear them apart forever, and that knowledge madehim even hungrier, desperate to show Owen how much he cared and to sate himself with Owen’s body.
“Ride me, cowboy,” Calvin murmured.
“Gotta get you ready first.” Owen slicked his fingers with a generous portion of Vaseline from the container in the bedside stand, teasing at Calvin’s taint and tight hole. “Then I’m going to give you a fucking you won’t forget.”
Calvin drew his ankles up to his hips and spread his legs wide, offering himself completely to Owen.
