Two Spirits (9 page)

The thought of anyone else fucking Trey was
enough to make him crazed, and that told him more clearly than the
constant erection and ever-present threat of a terminal case of
blue balls that this attraction to Trey was serious.

He'd never been the jealous type. He didn't
like to look closely at it now—but there'd been stretches in his
life where a quick, anonymous fuck or blowjob suited him fine.

No names. No commitments. Nothing except a
physical release that didn't involve his own hand.

He fisted his cock. Slid his hand up and
down, worked his dick in the same rhythm he worked Trey's and
seriously thought about letting go and coating Trey's abs with
come.

He reduced Trey to writhing, begging. And
fuck, nearly brought himself close to doing the same.

How torqued was that? Trey was the one in
cuffs while he was the one who was supposed to be in control.

Trey spread his legs. Lifted his hips. "Fuck
me."

White noise filled Tenino's head. His dick
echoed Trey's demand.

He leaned down, kissed Trey until they were
breathless. "That didn't sound like begging to me."

Trey's laugh was a sound of want. "Fuck me,
please
."

He released Trey's cock, then his own.
Squeezed lubricant onto his fingers and pressed them to the tight
ring of Trey's ass.

Trey jerked. "You could have warmed the
stuff up first."

"It'll warm up soon enough," Tenino said,
eyes so fierce they reminded Trey of a bird of prey. "Bear down.
Push out."

Trey's cheeks flamed but he complied and
Tenino opened him, stretched him, prepared him. And if he'd thought
everything they'd done before this felt good…

He tugged at the restraints. "Hurry the fuck
up."

Tenino laughed. "Not exactly teacher
language." But he put on a condom, then lay on top of Trey, lining
his cock up and pushing into him.

Trey's buttocks clenched protectively while
his dick throbbed in eagerness.

"Don't fight it," Tenino said, his voice
husky and Trey forced himself to relax, to push out as Tenino
pushed in.

It was exquisite, nearly unbearable.
Earth-shattering. He jerked against the restraints. Wanted his
hands free so he could spear his fingers through Tenino's hair.

"Kiss me," Trey begged, wanting the ultimate
intimacy, needing it, and was lost when Tenino's lips touched his,
when their tongues tangled as Tenino forged deeper and deeper.

Tenino thrust and Trey couldn't have fought
the pleasure if he'd wanted to. Nothing had ever felt as good, as
right as having Tenino on top of him, inside him.

This is who I am. This is what I want. But
not with another man.

He memorized Tenino's face, eyes like dark,
heated pools that poured liquid warmth straight into his heart.
Lips that lifted and thinned as Tenino held his own need in check.
Lips that returned to his again and again.

He clenched on Tenino. Moaned as Tenino
rocked, shallow thrusts becoming deeper. Slow thrusts becoming
faster, all of them pushing pleasure through his ass and into his
shaft.

His cock strained, licked across his abs and
Tenino's abs. It pulsed with Tenino's name, need and hot pleasure
swelling, building, exploding in a searing rush of satisfaction
that intensified with Tenino's shouted, shuddering release.

The sound of rapid, labored breathing filled
the air. Beneath it a phantom drumbeat echoed and raced in time to
Trey's pulse, as if signaling to the world that his heart and body
had been claimed.

He forced his eyes open and found Tenino's
face inches above his. For long moments their gazes held.

"You okay?" Tenino finally asked, his voice
whisper-soft, rough-edged.

"Yeah. Better than okay though I definitely
need a shower."

Tenino planted a quick kiss on Trey's lips
then rolled to his feet and disposed of the condom.

Trey tugged at the restraints. "A little
attention here."

With a downward sweep of his eyes, Tenino
sent a pulse of heat into Trey's cock. "Better be careful what you
ask for." But he freed Trey from the cuffs.

Trey got off the bed grinning. "So does the
sheriff know that's how you use police-issue equipment?"

"I got a little carried away," Tenino
admitted, his face reddening and kicking Trey's heart over at how
totally endearing slightly embarrassed looked on Tenino.

"Well, I won't say anything. But I'm
thinking my silence should come at a price."

"Oh yeah?"

The rough, dark edge to Tenino's voice had
Trey's cock ready to harden again. "Yeah. Like next time you're in
the mood to play a little bondage game, you're the one who gets
cuffed."

"Any time you think you can take me down, go
for it."

Images of wrestling naked, fighting for the
dominant position had Trey taking himself in hand. "I thought you
were hot to get to the nearest bookstore," Tenino said, the rough
timber of his voice like a phantom hand reaching inside Trey and
stroking.

It took Trey a second to remember asking
where the closest bookstore was when they'd finished shooting. He
circled his cock head with his thumb, rubbed over the slit,
challenged. "Guess it can wait until this gets old."

Tenino snorted and gripped Trey's testicles
with his free hand and pleasure spiked through Trey. "You think
this could ever get old?"

Trey fought the urge to flop backward onto
the mattress, to cant his hips and spread his legs. One fuck and he
was an addict where Tenino was concerned.

The phone rang. Tenino released him. "To be
continued," Tenino said, pressing a quick kiss to Trey's lips.
"That'll be Tekoa checking to make sure everything's okay. One of
us should bring in some of the wood stacked on the porch so we can
keep this place warm."

Trey laughed. "One of us being the poor city
slicker who you think doesn't know how to deal with a fire in the
fireplace."

"Do you?"

"How hard can it be?"

Tenino's cocky smile made heat flare in
Trey's chest. "Good question. We'll have to see just how
hard
things can get."

Tenino walked to the desk, totally at ease
with his nakedness and Trey remained motionless, unable to look
away from firm muscles and autumn-brown skin. Tenino picked up the
phone, turned toward him and took himself in hand as he spoke into
the receiver and said, "Oh yeah, the schoolteacher and I are
getting along just fine. Any word from the Feds?"

A different type of heat exploded in Trey's
face. Tekoa probably had a pretty good idea what they'd been
doing.

Trey escaped to the bathroom, showered
quickly then got dressed and went outside.

Gathering an armful of wood, he inhaled
deeply, pulled clean air along with the scent of evergreens and
damp earth and the approaching storm into his lungs. He'd spent
most of his life in the city though he'd hiked in areas set aside
as preserves. But compared to here, those places seemed…tame,
refined, less…

He struggled to pinpoint the difference
until the low clap of distant thunder was followed by the phantom
drumbeat and then he got it. This land seemed ancient and
primordial enough to have a heartbeat, as if it were a place of
magic like those captured in legends and folktales.

Trey stepped back inside. Tenino was off the
phone.

"Any news?" he asked, going to the fireplace
and setting the wood on the hearth.

"Nothing good, at least when it comes to
your being Patricia Veron's target."

"What does that mean?"

Tenino joined him at the fireplace, smoothed
his hand along the mantle edge. "A fight broke out in the prison
cafeteria a little while ago. One of her uncles was shanked while
the guards were distracted. I think it's safe to say he was the
target all along. Child molesters aren't popular. Doesn't look like
he's going to survive."

He'd met both of them, liked them both, and
maybe they'd once been innocent victims. But they'd grown up and
ruined lives, perpetuated the cycle of sexual abuse.

Bad childhoods didn't give them a pass for
the life-scarring choices they'd made. And he didn't ask which man
might die.

Trey touched the thunderbird carved into the
mantle. "I can see how this land gave birth to the thunderbird.
There's something about it, something almost mystical. I keep
imagining I'm hearing a drum, and sometimes there's chanting."

Tenino's chest expanded with the return of
hope. "We call it singing," he said, keeping his voice level,
matter-of-fact, when what he really wanted to do was question,
cross-examine, secure every bit of evidence proving Trey was meant
to be his permanent partner.

"Oh," Trey said. "Sorry."

"No offense taken." He tapped his fingers on
the mantle. "Ukiah made this."

Trey looked away, blushed. "Tekoa mentioned
him when we were in the sheriff's office."

Tenino grinned.
Wondering if Tekoa's
gaydar was pinging as hard as mine? The answer is yes. Wondering if
Tekoa knows we've been going at it hot and heavy? I didn't kiss,
touch, fuck or otherwise tell, but the answer is still yes.

He refrained from teasing Trey. "Ukiah is
Tekoa's brother, my cousin. He's an artist. Also operates a lodge,
complete with private cabins, for people who come here to hike and
rock climb but don't necessarily want to rough it in tents. These
days he's got a waiting list and there are always people begging to
stay during the winter when he closes."

"I can understand it. This place feels
ancient. It feels magical."

Trey's blush deepened and amusement was
replaced by tenderness and a more pervasive swell of hope. "The
land has a way of holding you, making it almost impossible to
leave. I managed it once. Worked as a cop in Los Angeles then in
San Francisco. But I couldn't stay away. When I came home, I felt
whole."
And I don't want to lose that feeling.

Trey nodded, ducked his head so his hair
completely hid his expression. Tenino wanted to reach over and pull
the strands of gold back, or better, pull Trey against him and
prevent him from hiding.

Shit, it'd all happened so fast. It was way
too soon to talk about something that transcended the pleasure of
fucking and was more about the spirit than the body.

He grimaced. In a minute he'd be reciting
poetry. Then how fast would Trey run?

"So the name of your tribe translates into
People of the Thunderbird," Trey said, his voice holding a hint of
a question, as if he didn't want to risk saying or straying into
something sensitive.

Tenino sighed. Sometimes political
correctness was a fucking pain in the ass. He curled his arm around
Trey's waist and gave him a quick kiss. "Just ask. I'm a gay cop.
You think I can't handle anything you can dish out? What is it you
want to know?"

"What does the thunderbird mean to you?"

"Short answer, the Thunderbird serves the
Creator by guarding the land, just as The People serve by
protecting and caring for it." It was the best he could do, the
truth as much as he could tell it. Once his people had been so much
more, but…

Tenino turned his thoughts away from anger
and bitterness. The past couldn't be forgotten. Neither could it be
changed, and there wasn't a hell of a lot of point in blaming
anyone alive today for wrongs their ancestors had committed.

He was one of The People. He was
Thunderbird. But he was also American. A cop. A man who enjoyed
technology but still revered the natural world.

"I want to show you something," he said,
releasing Trey, sudden impulse riding him.

He took a quick shower, got dressed then
went to the table. Picking up several guns, he carried them to the
weapons safe. Trey collected the rest of them, handed them to him
so he could put them in their proper places.

"Does the sheriff's department have budget
problems?" Trey joked. "Looks like an arsenal in there."

"Hazard of the trade. I don't know a single
cop who'd settle for just an on-duty piece."

"Won't do you much good if you have to get
to them fast."

"If I need this much fire power, I'm in deep
shit. I've got my service piece and the shotgun that stays in the
Jeep. The chance of someone breaking into the cabin is remote but I
don't like to take unnecessary risks. Last thing I want is for one
of my guns to turn up at a crime scene."

Tenino put on a shoulder holster, then
slipped his Smith and Wesson service piece into it. He didn't
expect trouble, but that didn't mean he wouldn't be prepared for
it. Closing the safe, he stepped away, stopped because of a sudden
tightness in his chest.

His touched the keypad on the safe, hit a
series of codes, then asked, "When's your birthday?"

He keyed in the date. Felt ridiculous at
putting so much meaning into trusting Trey with access to the guns,
but… Hell, label it the strange twists and turns of falling in
love.

"Just in case I'm not here and you need
protection, it's keyed for your birthday. Just hit TM first so
it'll match the user with the code."

Trey visibly shivered. "Hopefully that's not
information I'll ever need."

"Yeah, well, that's the plan. Better grab
your jacket. A storm's moving in. I think we can make it to the
place I want to show you and back before it hits."

* * * * *

Chapter
6

Trey followed Tenino outside. He expected
them to take the Jeep but instead Tenino stopped only long enough
to retrieve the shotgun before going to the stand-alone garage with
doors that opened sideways.

"ATV's on this side," Tenino said, grabbing
the handle on the left and pulling to create an opening just wide
enough for a four-wheeler.

"Just one?" Trey asked, his cock reacting to
the idea of riding with his arm around Tenino's waist and his front
pressed to Tenino's back, even if the little kid in him wanted his
own ATV.