Stonegate Stables - 15. Chapter 15

I felt the blood drain from my face and I got light headed for a second. "Raped you? Jesus Christ!" No wonder Vincent had never talked to me about him.

"I was pretty wild back then, still in high school but just barely. Good thing my old man didn't require a college degree to bus tables." He sighed heavily. "I was cruising one night and he tried to pick me up. He was older than I liked and looked pretty tough. I was a skinny kid then, and he made me uncomfortable so I blew him off. He grabbed me into his car later that night when I was walking home. He had a place on the east side of town and when we got there, he dragged me inside and yanked my pants down. I was fighting him by then, but I think that just made it worse." He stopped for a bit and when he started talking again, his voice was flat, as though he was speaking about someone else.

"I don't think he even used spit, just rammed into me and came. I fought him but he was a lot bigger than me and . . . " His voice trailed off and he turned sideways to bury his face against my chest. I hugged him tightly to me, sick about what that man had done to him, once to the boy he'd been, and again to the man I loved.

"He dropped me off where he'd found me and I made it home. I bled for a week, but I was too Goddamn scared to go to the doctor. A few months later, he tried to pick me up again and this time I let him. I guess I thought if I went voluntarily, I'd have more control over what happened . . . and that was true to some degree; he was a little gentler with me. As time went on, I just fell into it. He gave me money sometimes or took me to Dallas for the weekend. He wasn't around all the time and he didn't bother me about what I did when I wasn't with him, so it worked okay until I met you." He turned to me then with an imploring look on his face.

"Baby, I need to tell you this. I’ve wanted to for years, but I just couldn't find the right time. Whenever we were together, I just wanted to be with you. I’m sorry, Sean." He looked away and his hands clenched mine tightly. "And I was afraid you'd think that maybe I was like him somehow. Please tell me you're not sitting there wondering what the fuck you're doing with me."

I shook him a little. "You know better. I love you. Nothing you could tell me is gonna change that." I kissed the top of his head as he lay back down.

"You're the second man who's ever fucked me and you'll probably be the last."

"Yeah, I sort of figured. That meant a lot to me, even when I didn't know the reason."

We sat for a while longer, then he turned and crawled up me until his nose was three inches from mine. "I could really use a blow job, and I bet you could, too, huh?" He was rubbing my crotch as he spoke and my dick confirmed his guess, hardening quickly in his hand. He smiled and began to kiss me, putting some heat into it, and in seconds, my pants were off and he was running his tongue up the underside of my cock and sucking gently on the head. His lip was too sore for much more than that, but he used his hand too, circling his thumb and middle finger snugly, and it was more than enough to get me off quickly. He sat there smiling at me as I tried to get my breath back and stop my legs from trembling.

"Jesus, it's only been four days," I said, shivering as he licked a drop of cum from my belly. He was still dressed, something I remedied quickly, flinging his shirt across the room in my haste to get down to skin. I pushed him back on the couch and knelt on the floor next to him so I could use both hands. His shorts made it to mid-thigh, just enough for me to get my hands on him, cupping his balls in one, and guiding his cock into my mouth with the other. He gasped when I sucked him in and grabbed my head for a moment. I thought he was going to stop me but he was just slowing me down.

I took the hint and reined in my enthusiasm, moving up and down on him in long, deep strokes. Since I'd been the “equipment”, I hadn't gotten to enter the deep throat contest, but I would have come in second so I soon had Vincent moaning with every plunge. When he got close, I held his cock firmly at the base with one hand and quickly bobbed my head on just the top of his dick, letting my lips catch on the rim. His moans rose in pitch until he was almost wailing, there was a moment of silence, then he grunted deeply and filled my throat with hot semen, pulsing into my mouth until he was drained.

I gave him a couple minutes, then pulled him to his feet and up to our shower. We stayed under the warm spray, soaping each other and kissing. I got carried away and unthinkingly ran my hand down his back into the crack of his ass like I'd done a thousand times. He stiffened, clenching his butt and flinching away from me. I stopped immediately but he grabbed my arm and kept me close to him as he relaxed.

"It's okay, just caught me by surprise."

"God, I'm sorry. It's just so good to be with you again. I'll leave you alone 'til . . . "

"It's okay, babe," he assured me. "Just go easy." He moved into my arms so that my hands were on his back and leaned into me. I soaped him again and slowly rubbed my way down to his butt, cupping his firm brown cheeks in both hands. I squeezed his ass, sliding one finger gently down the center, pausing to circle his hole very gently, barely touching him. He was relaxed against me, kissing my neck, then I moved on to his arms and shoulders, and soon we were in bed, curled up together.

I worked Saturday morning, catching up on a week's worth of neglect. All the horses were fresh and I rode my ass off trying to stay on them as they gallivanted around the arena. At one point, Vincent called and suggested some sort of get together on Sunday. He had spoken with Dylan and Cody since the attack, but hadn't seen anyone yet. We settled on a wine and cheese thing and I left him pondering the relative merits of Californian vs. Australian wines, and making a shopping list. Vincent had lasagna ready for lunch when I got home and life began to feel more normal, something I was thrilled about. I like things comfortable. Not in a rut, but I like being able to count on certain things, and Vincent in our kitchen when I got home was one of them.

Saturday afternoon we ran around, buying all sorts of silly stuff for our party. We found cock-and-ball ice cube trays at a novelty shop, and penis pasta at the adult store where we stopped for condoms and lube. I made penis pasta salad when we got home, giggling the entire time, popping little penis pastas into my mouth, then sticking them out at Vincent who shook his head at me but came over and sucked one seductively from my lips. That led to sex in the kitchen, a noisy blow job apiece, then we spent an hour moving furniture around so we could have a table each for white wine, red wine, food, and desserts.

Vincent had been somewhat quiet all day and I wondered if he was uncomfortable about facing our friends after what had happened to him. Before dinner, we took a long walk around the estates, holding hands, not talking much. As we wandered through the community gardens in the center of the development, Vincent pulled me down onto a bench and took my hand in both of his, running his fingers over the veins on the back of my hand. He was silent for so long that I finally put a finger under his chin, raising his eyes to mine. “You okay?”

He had an odd expression on his face and my heart lurched a little when he said, “I need to ask you something. I’m not sure what you’ll think.”

I stared at him for a moment, wondering what could have him acting so strangely. “Go ahead.”

He swallowed and licked his lips, then turned on the bench so he was facing me. “I want us to make it legal.”

I blinked at him. “Texas doesn’t allow same-sex marriage,” I said stupidly, totaling missing the point.

“I know that, Sean,” he said patiently. “I mean I want a commitment ceremony of some kind. I want something between us, something that tells the rest of the world how important you are to me, how much I love you.” He looked away for a minute, his eyes wandering unseeingly over the gardens. When he looked back at me, his voice was soft. “I thought he was gonna kill me this time. I couldn’t stand the thought that I might die and you’d be alone, without even a piece of paper that validated what I felt for you. I want my ring on your finger, Sean, and I want to wear yours. I’ve thought a lot about this the last few days and it’s important to me.”

My voice quavered unsteadily but I was smiling as I said, “Are you asking me to marry you?”

He smiled and gently ran a knuckle up a tear track on my cheek. “Yes, sweetheart, I am. If you’ll have me.” He gave me back the words I had said to him the night I told him that I loved him and wanted us to be together.

“Oh, God,” I sputtered and burst into tears.

He held me until I calmed down a little, sniffling and wiping my nose on the sleeve of my shirt like a kid. “Is that a ‘yes’?” he asked.

That set me off again but I bit my tongue hard and managed to get out, “Yes! Yes! God, I’m so happy!” I grabbed him and buried my soggy face in his neck, so incredibly glad that I had followed my heart like Wade had advised me to. Because I’d had the faith to do that, I had this wonderful man who wanted me to be his, forever and ever, amen.

We wandered home in a daze, at least I did, talking about what we wanted to do, who to invite, what kind of rings to buy, who we could get to officiate. We finally decided to have something in the back yard in late spring, when the garden would be coming to life. We each wanted to buy a ring for the other so that it would be a surprise. By the time we got home, we had the guest list up to about 80 people and that was just off the tops of our heads. We had no idea what to do about an official, but I said I’d ask Jesse because I thought Wade had mentioned they'd done something a couple years ago, and he and Ben both wore rings.

The detective called right after dinner and told us that they had no leads on Ray and that it appeared he had left the area. That wasn't surprising but I had no intention of dismissing Jesse's guys from their surveillance of the property until that sick bastard was dead or under lock and key, so we forgot about the call and went to bed early with popcorn and a movie but Vincent got bored and I missed a major plot development when my eyes were shut tight as I climaxed into his hand. I gave up on the movie, clicking it off and turning my attention to Vincent, sucking a hot load out of him before rolling to my back and pulling him on top of me. He propped himself on his elbows and we looked at each other for a moment.

I smiled at him. “Do you have any idea what you mean to me?” I ran my fingers lightly down his cheek, stopping to caress the corner of his mouth with the pad of my thumb.

He looked deep into my eyes and his face clouded over a little. “Yeah, I think I do, but don’t ever stop telling me, or showing me. I love you, Sean. Some days, I still can’t believe that we ended up together, like I dreamed about for so long.” He fell silent for a moment, then spoke hesitantly. “Are you angry with me now that you know about Ray? Because I didn’t tell you sooner?”

I pulled his head down to my chest. “No, baby. The only thing I’m angry about is that he got his hands on you a second time.” He nuzzled into my neck and I fell asleep like that, with the warm, comforting weight on Vincent's body pinning me to the bed, our soft cocks nestled together. When I woke up several hours later, we had rolled onto our sides but we were still close, my arm over his rib cage and his head bowed down to my chest.

Sunday dawned clear and sunny so we moved the party to the jungle pool. Jesse and Ben came early so Jesse could check on his guys. Adam and Dylan arrived and were hugging Vincent when TJ got there. Cody and Wade finally showed up, fashionably late. Wade had just gotten back from a week long trip and it was obvious they’d spent some time in bed before coming over; Cody had that just fucked look about him. Still, Wade could barely keep his hands off him and I intercepted several lingering smiles between them as I moved around the party.

I stopped being the host for a moment and found Vincent talking to TJ and Tommy near the hot tub. I wrapped my arms around him from behind, kissed the back of his neck and whispered, “It’s been two whole hours since I told you that I love you. I don’t want you to forget.”

He smiled and leaned back into me, reaching around to grip my thighs with his strong hands, flexing his fingers into me as he turned his head to kiss my mouth. “I'll never forget.”

When it cooled off, we ended up sprawled around the living room. Cody was on the floor, leaning back between Wade’s legs, his arms wrapped up around Wade’s knees. Dylan lay on his back on the floor with his head in TJ’s lap. Adam sat in a chair at Dylan’s feet and played footsie with him. Vincent and I took the couch, my legs across his lap as I leaned back against the arm. We talked a little about the lack of progress in Vincent’s case, then moved on to Cody’s chances in the cutting horse nationals next February. We decided to make a long weekend of it, all of us driving to Amarillo on Friday morning and staying at Cody’s dad’s place.

Several days later, we went out to dinner. Vincent was quiet on the way home, but reached for my hand and held it as I drove through the dark neighborhood. As we got near the community garden, he squeezed my fingers.

"Stop for a minute."

When I pulled over and killed the engine, he opened his door and hitched his chin at me. "Come on." I followed him into the garden and dropped down onto 'our' bench next to him. "I've got something for you."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small jewelry box. He turned it toward me and flipped up the lid. Even in the dim glow of the garden lights, I could see the dull gleam of gold. I looked at him in surprise.

"I thought we were gonna wait 'til the ceremony."

"We are. I guess engagement rings are more a 'straight' thing, but I needed to do something now. This is part of the set I'm having made." He took it from the box and slipped it on the third finger of my left hand. It was narrow and engraved with a design that I couldn't make out in the low light of the garden.

"It's a Celtic vine. Endless, like us." His dark eyes looked at me solemnly and I lost it.

"Goddamn it, all I ever do in this garden is cry," I whimpered through clenched teeth as tears trickled down my face. "It's beautiful, Vincent. Thank you."

He held my hand, his fingers running over the ring and we sat there 'til we got chilly, then drove home to hot chocolate in the den. Vincent lay on his side in front of the fire, staring into the flames. I was sitting on the floor leaning against the couch, my feet in the small of his back. He spoke softly. "This has been a big year for us. Getting together, living together, getting engaged . . ." he turned and smiled at me as I admired my ring.

We went up to bed and when I came out of the bathroom, Vincent was face down on the bed. My heart stopped for an instant as my mind flashed back to that awful day, but then I recognized his signature invitation and began to breathe again. I stepped closer and looked down at him. His ass was round and perfect, rising up from the base of his back. Between his spread legs, his balls squashed out on either side of his semi-hard cock, which was pointing toward his toes. I could just see the darker promise of his hole in the shadowed cleft of his ass, and the sight of him offering himself to me sent every drop of blood in my body directly to my cock. I crawled up between his legs and lay my weight down on him, rubbing my face along his, running my hands down his arms until our fingers laced.

"You sure?" I whispered and he nodded, eyes closed. "I'll be real gentle, sweetheart, but tell me if you want me to stop." I worked my way slowly down, trailing my tongue along his shoulders, stopping to kiss the burn scars. He had decided not to have corrective surgery and the dark little indentations marred the otherwise smooth skin of his back. I kissed and nibbled on his butt for a while, wanting him to be as comfortable as possible before I got really intimate with him. When I parted his ass and slid my tongue down his crack, he moaned softly and arched up to me.

I played a long time with my mouth, licking from his hole up to his balls, sucking my way back down. Each time I pushed my tongue into him, he groaned and twisted his body, trying to get closer to me, until he was on his knees with his face in the sheets. The smell and taste of him had me so hard it hurt and I squeezed my cock in one hand as I rimmed him, knowing that soon I'd be sinking it deep inside him. Finally I couldn't take it any longer and pulled back, pushing him down onto the bed again.

I lubed us both really well and very slowly pushed one finger a little way into him. He held his breath for a moment, and I stopped until he exhaled and began breathing evenly again. As my finger slid the rest of the way in, he lifted his hips to take it deeper. After a few minutes and two fingers, he pulled away from me and rolled onto his back. I thought he had changed his mind and began to crawl up onto him, but he pushed me back down and raised his knees. I looked at him in surprise; he had never let me take him this way. He smiled at me a little. "I want to see you," he said softly. I leaned down and kissed him passionately, my rigid cock smacking wetly up against my belly with each thrust of his tongue.

I scooted up close to him and angled my hips to bring us together. As I pressed the head of my penis to him, I watched his face for signs of discomfort. He swallowed once, then tugged on my knees, coaxing me forward. I pushed gently into him, stopping once, until the head of my cock passed through. Vincent closed his eyes for a moment and took a couple deep breaths. I didn't move until he looked up at me again. As I slid into him, we watched each other. His eyes narrowed slightly as I sank deeper and my jaw tightened at the incredible feel of him, hot and smooth and tight.

"Oh, babe, you feel so good. I like being able to kiss you." I leaned forward and did just that. We fucked slowly for a long time, neither of us wanting to bring things to an end too soon. When we finally did get going, I braced my arms on either side of his chest and used the full swing of my hips to stroke him with my entire cock. He took it for about two minutes, then his face contorted and he shot all over his chest and stomach. I only made it through his first two blasts, then slipped out of him and added my load to the hot cum spattered all over him.

"Jesus Christ!" Vincent chuckled when he had enough breath. "Don't tell me - let me guess. Engagement sex, right?" I snorted and we staggered into the shower.

That was the end of August. He had the first nightmare three days later.