Inherit the Sky (Lang Downs 1 ) (18 page)

T
HEY got the bunks arranged and the fire built up, but even then, even under the blankets, Caine couldn’t seem to stop shivering. He tried to stay as still as possible in the firelight so he wouldn’t disturb Macklin, but apparently he didn’t do as good a job as he thought he was because Macklin rolled over and sat up. “Still cold, pup?”

“Let’s try this.” Macklin pushed his bunk right up against Caine’s and spread his blanket over both bunks.“Come here.”
Caine hesitated only a second before scooting back against Macklin, the foreman’s larger body spooning against his and surrounding him with warmth. Caine sighed and relaxed, feeling the heat begin to seep through his clothes. “How are you so warm?” Caine asked.
“Thick blood,” Macklin replied. “The cold just doesn’t seem to bother me the way it does a lot of people.”
“Lucky,” Caine said, snuggling closer and pulling the blankets tight to keep the heat in.
“Don’t move around too much, pup.You’ll give me ideas.”
Caine pushed back deliberately this time, feeling the growing bulge of Macklin’s half-hard erection. “Maybe I want to give you ideas,” he said huskily.
“Caine.”
“You brought it up,” Caine pointed out, not at all perturbed by the discouraging tone of Macklin’s voice. “If you didn’t want me thinking about sex, you should have just let me fall asleep, which I would have done in about two minutes if you hadn’t mentioned it.” He turned in Macklin’s arms so they were facing one another. “Now that you’ve mentioned it, you have to follow through.”
“I
have
to?”
Caine licked the cleft in Macklin’s chin again. “Or I can seduce you into it if you’d prefer.”
“Fuck,” Macklin groaned.
“Not without condoms and lube,” Caine said, “but I’m sure we can think of something.” He slid a hand between them and cupped Macklin’s cock through his jeans.
“I’m sure we can,” Macklin said, his voice gratifyingly hoarse. Caine kissed along his jaw, aiming for his ear again, as he squeezed lightly.
Macklin caught his hand and pinned it to the bed as he rolled toward Caine, adjusting them until he lay fully on top of Caine. He captured Caine’s mouth, invading it with his tongue. Caine relaxed into the thin mattress, relishing the feeling of Macklin’s weight pressing down on him. Macklin’s broader shoulders and heavier frame dwarfed Caine, surrounding him with much welcome heat and adding to the desire that had spiked again when Macklin mentioned ideas. Even knowing they couldn’t have sex without condoms, the position screamed intimacy in a way lying side by side did not, and Caine yearned for that. Ever since Macklin had told him about Uncle Michael, Caine had been unable to dismiss the hope that history would repeat itself, and lying beneath Macklin this way seemed a perfect way to start. Keeping the blankets wrapped around them, he slid his arms around Macklin’s shoulders and then down his back so he could cup the other man’s ass and urge him to move. They might not be able to fuck, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t make each other feel good.
Macklin rutted against him, so Caine figured he could move his hands for other things. He worked open the buttons on Macklin’s shirt, burrowing beneath the heavy fabric to find a long undershirt underneath. He worked his way beneath that as well until he found skin. He explored Macklin’s treasure trail first, following it up rather than down, curious to see whether Macklin’s chest was smooth or hairy. He found a light mat of hair widening out from his ribs to his nipples on either side.
“What are you doing?” Macklin asked, breaking the kiss.
“Making you feel good, I hope,” Caine said, rubbing his thumb over one nipple. “Don’t tell me no one has ever touched you like this.” Macklin didn’t answer, but that was an answer in itself. “It’s too cold here, but when we get back to the main station, I’m going to spread you out on a bed and show you what you’ve been missing.”
“I’ll hold you to that promise, pup,” Macklin rumbled, opening Caine’s shirt as well to find skin beneath. “No wonder you’re frozen! Where’s your long underwear?”
“What long underwear?” Caine asked seriously. “If I didn’t buy it when we were in Boorowa, I don’t own it.”
Macklin scowled. “We obviously need to make another trip. Until we do, I’ll lend you some of mine. They’ll be too big, but it’s better than freezing your bollocks off.” He slid a hand between them and cupped Caine’s groin.“I don’t want anything happening to them.”
“N-n-neither d-d-do I,” Caine groaned, the surge of arousal tying his tongue. “D-d-do th-th-th—” He couldn’t concentrate enough to get the words out, but Macklin understood him anyway, massaging his balls through his clothes. Caine thrashed on the bed, wishing it was warm enough to get rid of the clothing and the covers so there was nothing but bare skin and the freedom to enjoy it. “F-f-fuck,” he managed to get out as his body clenched in preparation for release.
Macklin’s lips closed over his, forestalling any further attempts at speech. Caine didn’t resist the kiss, diving into the connection with desperate need. His body thrummed with passion, but his heart ached for more than that. He could find release alone in his house; with Macklin, he wanted more. He wanted a lover.
He teetered on the verge of release, his sac drawing up, his cock tenting his pants as he rocked against Macklin, but it wasn’t enough. He broke the kiss to breathe and try to beg for more, but before he could force the words out, Macklin stroked his cheek, the tenderness of the gesture giving him the final push he needed. With a wordless cry, he toppled into his climax. Macklin grunted against him, his hips stuttering and then stilling. He panted against Caine’s neck, his breath hot in the still cool room.
When Caine could move again, he wrapped his arms around Macklin’s shoulders, keeping the other man close. Macklin hadn’t said so outright, but Caine suspected his previous sexual encounters had ended after he’d found release. Caine had no intention of letting that happen tonight. He’d use the excuse of staying warm if he had to, but he hoped it wouldn’t come to that. He hoped Macklin would stay because he realized he could have more with Caine if he would just take Caine up on his offer.
Macklin rolled to the side, but he pulled Caine with him, keeping their bodies close. “There’s no hot water in the drover’s huts, but if you let me up for a few minutes, I can warm up a cloth by the fire,” Macklin offered. “You might get a bit uncomfortable otherwise.”
“In a m-minute,” Caine said, burying his nose against Macklin’s shoulder and simply holding on. “D-don’t want you to move yet.”
“I’m not going anywhere, pup,” Macklin promised. “Even if I get up for a minute, I’ll come back and keep you warm tonight.”
“It’s not t-tonight that worries me,” Caine said. “W-will you still b-be here t-tomorrow night?”
“Tomorrow night you’ll be snug and warm in your own bed.”
And where will you be?
Caine was tempted to ask, but he didn’t want to send Macklin running for the hills because Caine had gotten too clingy or demanding. “You’re welcome to join me there,” he said instead.
“You did offer to show me what I’ve been missing,” Macklin said. “We’ll see what tomorrow brings. Let’s clean up a little so we can get some sleep.”
Caine let him go, watching in the flickering light as he wet a rag from the sink with water from a bottle in the pantry. Caine shuddered a little at the thought of how cold that water would be, but Macklin brought the cloth back to the fire, holding it close to flames for several minutes.“It’s not warm exactly,” he said, coming back to bed, “but it’s not freezing anymore. Let me clean you up.”
Caine nodded, his breath catching in his throat as Macklin undid his pants and pushed them down along with his boxers. The cloth was only lukewarm, sending a shiver through Caine when Macklin wiped it across sensitive skin, but the care in the touch outweighed the discomfort from the temperature as Macklin cleaned Caine as best he could. “I can’t do anything about your boxers, but that should be a little more comfortable.”
Caine squirmed until he could kick off his pants and boxers, pulling his pants back on with no underwear. “Commando is better than sticky,” he agreed. “My turn.”
“I’m fine,” Macklin said, backing away. “Turn over and go to sleep.”
“I th-thought you s-s-said you were g-g-going to keep me warm.”
“Don’t look at me that way, pup,” Macklin protested. “I’m just going to put more wood on the fire. I won’t be a minute.”
That didn’t make the feeling of rejection any less, but Caine refused to let Macklin see him hurting any more than he already had. He rolled to his side so he faced away from the foreman and waited in silence as Macklin added wood to the fire. The telltale rustling of clothing was salt in Caine’s wounds. Macklin wasn’t “fine”; he just didn’t want Caine touching him.
He almost resisted when Macklin crawled back beneath the covers and spooned behind him, but Macklin’s arms pulled him closer, and his lips nuzzled the nape of Caine’s neck. Relaxing a little, Caine rested his hands on Macklin’s arm.
Macklin’s bare arm.
Caine sucked in his breath, surprised at the feeling of bare skin. Tentatively he ran his fingers up Macklin’s arm, expecting to encounter cloth at his elbow or his bicep, but he reached as far as he could still touching skin. He started to turn in Macklin’s arms to keep exploring, but Macklin tightened his embrace. “Go to sleep, Caine. We have work to do in the morning.”
Caine settled against Macklin, but he did reach behind him to rest his hand on the foreman’s thigh. He found cloth there, but the smooth silk of his long underwear rather than the heavy moleskin of his jeans. Smiling, he closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

C
AINE woke slowly the next morning, vaguely aware of Macklin having gotten up during the night to put more wood on the fire and very aware of the arm still around his waist and the hard body—and hard cock—pressed along his back. He shivered in anticipation, hoping Macklin would be more willing to allow Caine’s attentions than he had been the night before.

He turned slowly, trying not to disturb Macklin, but the green eyes opened immediately, dashing Caine’s hopes of waking Macklin up by making love to him. He watched confusion, awareness, and then unease flash across Macklin’s face. “We should get back to the station,” the foreman said immediately.

Macklin didn’t quite dodge the kiss, but he didn’t return it either, not like he had the night before. Instead he held himself rigidly still in

Caine’s embrace, so obviously uncomfortable that Caine relented and let him go. He felt the sting of the rejection, but he reminded himself that Macklin had probably never had a morning after before and had no idea how to handle it. Caine could afford to back off a bit rather than send Macklin running for the hills. “Is there anything in the pantries we could have for breakfast?”

Macklin stood and turned his back as he pulled on his trousers. Now Caine smiled for real, amusement taking the place of hurt. As if turning his back could keep Caine from knowing he’d woken up hard. “There might be some Vegemite and some bread or biscuits, but I don’t know how fresh they’d be.”

Caine made a moue of distaste. He had learned to appreciate any number of things since coming to Australia, but Vegemite was not a taste he had acquired. “Maybe I’ll wait until we get back to the station.”

Macklin chuckled, turning around as he buttoned his shirt, hiding the long underwear and glimpse of skin beneath. “And here I thought we were making an Aussie out of you.”