ATF

Rating: NC17 -- C/V Slash. Explicit m/m sex. If it ain't your thing, now's the time to back out.

Disclaimer: This just gets more and more difficult. I don't own 'em, can't claim 'em, and I sure ain't makin' any money off 'em. Just having a lot of fun.

Note: File this as sort of a PWP. Not much going on but a lot of loving. Lots of thanks to Sue N., for her comma-wrangling and beta-reading. And a big 'hi' to Jean and her two equine buds.

 Golden light, soft and sweet as honey, filtered through the boughs of the aspen grove. The trees were nearly bare, only a few leaves quivered in the light breeze whispering through the branches. The grasses beneath were long, still thick with the last of the summer growth; they muffled the sounds of two riders turning off the main trail and entering the stand of trees.

Chris Larabee and Vin Tanner reined in their mounts and paused in that quiet place. They exchanged a look. Vin cocked his head slightly and smiled at his lover. Larabee nodded and the two men dismounted and untacked Pony and Peso, leading them to an open area where they could graze at their leisure, before they returned to the grove. Chris spread out a blanket while Vin set out their meal. Thick sandwiches, apples, bottles of beer. Neither man spoke, not needing words, just the peace that came from utter trust and perfect understanding.

They had promised themselves this day after weeks of pursuing a difficult and dangerous case. Vin and Ezra had been undercover, largely out of communication with the rest of the team, and the stress had been overwhelming for all of them. That promise, a day spent alone, away from phones, pagers, and the demands of everyday life, had kept Vin alive and Chris moving forward through every moment away from the man who had become his breath, his heartbeat, and, soul.

Vin finished setting out the food and lay back, his head pillowed on his arms, watching the movement of the leaves overhead. The light spangled against his eyelids, and he drifted, peace coming to him slowly.

Chris paused in the midst of unwrapping his sandwich. Lord, why did he need food when he could live off the sight of Vin alone? Greedily, his eyes traveled up long, denim-clad legs, paused for a moment at Tanner's crotch and the slight swell of flesh beneath the worn fabric, drifted up the slim waist to the strong shoulders and slender throat. The temptation for his fingers to follow that same line was held at bay only because Vin's expression was so peaceful that he hesitated to disturb him. There were still signs of stress on that face; shadowed eyes, a hard draw to his lips, fine features that were too gaunt even after a week away from the unrelenting tension.

He and Vin had not been together for that week. Hadn't even touched but for the brief, impersonal contact their jobs afforded. As much as that distance had hurt, Chris knew that decompression was necessary. Vin needed time to come down from that adrenaline-fueled high that set his nerves on a dangerous edge, time to recover his sense of self and to ease back into a normal routine. Chris knew better than to push. Tanner had been pushed to the brink enough in his life, and sure as hell didn't need any pressure from a friend, or from a lover. Finally, last night, he had called Chris to ask if it would be all right if he came out to the ranch the next day.

Yeah, it had been all right.

And so here they were on this gorgeous autumn day. And of all the beauty surrounding him, nothing was more beautiful than his lover, with the sunlight catching in his hair, the soft illumination gilding his features, the way the worn denim jeans and faded shirt caressed the fine body beneath the fabric.

Chris opened two beers. He took a drink from one, and reclined close enough to Vin to kiss him with chilly, moist lips. Vin reached up, held Chris close. He slid his tongue over Larabee's mouth, and Chris yielded. Vin explored, tasted, teased, and Chris's hand moved on his throat, stroking the sun-warmed skin, soothing Vin into blissful relaxation. "God, I've missed you," Chris breathed. He set his lips against Vin's throat, felt the strong pulse in the big veins to his heart. He tasted like sunlight, fresh air, erotic musk; a combination of scents that never failed to arouse Chris. His fingers moved to the horn buttons on Vin's shirt. "Feelin' warm yet?" he whispered huskily.

"Feelin' hungry," Vin growled. "Ain't been eatin' much the last few weeks."

Chris slid one button free. "Not as hungry as I am, pard." Nimble fingers moved down, working the buttons until, at last, he shoved the wings of Vin's shirt aside. Warm, smooth skin lay beneath his palm; the swell of muscle over the hardness of ribs and clavicle, breastbone and shoulder. Tanner never had much weight on him, but he was too thin, even for a man of his slight build. Reluctantly Chris drew back. "Hate to have you pass out on me."

Vin pushed him away, his blue eyes laughing. "I wouldn't mind stayin' around fer dessert." He sat up, his shirt hanging open, knowing Chris was watching every move. He reached for a beer, unwrapped a sandwich, and leaned back on his elbows. He took a long pull on his beer, tipping his head back to swallow. A single glittering drop of condensation slipped off the bottom of the bottle and landed on his chest, making a slow, enticing crawl across his skin.

Chris nearly choked on his sandwich. His eyes followed the path of the droplet. Fascinated, he watched it slide down across a smooth pec, then come to rest on the peak of a brown nipple. The flesh firmed at the chilly touch, and Chris's cock rushed to arousal. With a sound between a growl and a moan, he shoved his sandwich aside and tackled Vin. His mouth latched onto that hard nipple. His tongue swirled around the nub and Vin jolted like electricity had shot through him. "Time for dessert, cowboy," Chris rasped. He took the sandwich from Vin and captured his wrists. He stretched over him, ground his cock into Vin's groin, took his lips in a deep, demanding kiss. Vin opened to him, his tongue dancing over Chris's, thrusting deeply into his mouth. His body arched as Chris nipped at his lower lip.

With a sudden, lithe move he escaped Larabee's hold on his wrists, flipped him and straddled his body. "Ya know what happens when ya take food away from a wolf, don'tcha? He gits surly an' goes after ya." From that superior position with his hair framing a face both beautiful and wild, he took Chris's breath away. Tanner's blue eyes held him transfixed, his hard, slender body pressed him down, sharp bones of pelvis and hip prominent against his own lean body. "Reckon I won the right t'take whatever I want," he whispered. His tongue explored the shell of Chris's ear, his teeth nipped at the tender lobe, and Chris shuddered beneath him. He was helpless, wanting, needing, willing for this once to yield all to the man above him.

Vin sensed that release of control, and his eyes blazed with what he wanted. "Lay still," he ordered. Cautious, he relaxed his grip on Larabee's wrists.

Chris licked lips swollen from Tanner's kisses. His eyes were a deep emerald, lit with sensuous lights. "Do your best," he said, taunting and tender, in a voice that smoldered like a banked fire.

Vin didn't speak. In silence, he slowly opened Chris's shirt. One button at a time slid through the holes. Normally impatient to strip Chris down to his skin, this time he didn't allow his own needs to dictate his actions. When all the buttons were undone, he let the fabric fall aside. The warmth and scent of Larabee's body eddied from his skin. Vin closed his eyes and breathed it in deeply. He trailed kisses down Chris's breastbone, down to his navel. He slid his tongue into the depression, felt a quiver of muscles beneath his lips. He tugged the tails of Chris's shirt from his jeans, eased it down his shoulders. "Take it off," he whispered, and Chris did, laying back down, waiting.

Vin stroked his palms down his lover's torso. Lord God, Chris was the closest thing to perfect he'd ever seen. In a life deprived of beauty, Vin had learned to treasure it when he found it, and he'd never seen anybody as purely beautiful as Chris. It was a wonder to him; a gift he never believed he could possess -- or could possess him -- body and soul.

"You gonna stare all day?" Chris teased, and was rewarded with a blush on Vin's cheeks that made him go so hard that he groaned. "I ain't that patient." He reached out a long arm, pulled Vin close, and claimed his lips with a hard, deep kiss.

As Chris's tongue stroked his, Vin melted against him, his determination to retain control shaken by the force of Larabee's passion. He savored the play of Larabee's tongue over his for a moment, then pushed away. "Y'ain't gonna distract me, cowboy." He straddled his body and went to work on Chris's belt. The leather slid from the loops. Vin paused long enough to kiss his way down the thin trail of golden hair running from Chris's navel to below the rise of his jeans. Laying flat, the jeans gapped over that lean stomach and the scent of sex rose from the warm hollow between denim and flesh. He had to bite his lip to keep from ripping right through the fabric to get to what he wanted. He closed his eyes, breathed deeply and exhaled, the warmth of his breath brushing against Chris's skin.

He worked on the jeans, cursing Larabee's predilection for button-fly plackets. "Having trouble there, pard?" Chris smirked, and Vin scowled at him.

"Lift yer hips, else I'll leave ya here."

Chris just smiled and complied so Vin could strip off the tight jeans that were becoming tighter with every move of the Texan's fingers. Judging from the sweat beading on Tanner's temples, this seduction was a pleasurable torture for him as well. He could wait the Texan out easy. Yeah, easy. Then Vin touched the tip of his cock, and Larabee just about came on the spot.

Vin rubbed his forefinger over the velvety skin of Chris's glans. Eyes dreamy, he licked the precum from his fingertip. "Sweet," he rasped. "Want some?" He bent over Chris and kissed him, the taste of sex on his lips.

It was more than Chris could bear. Promises forgotten, need overcoming every intention, he seized Vin's shoulders. "You lose," he said, and unleashed his coiled strength to flip and pin Vin.

Vin tensed instinctively, flight or fight reflexes kicking in despite the logical knowledge that Chris would never use his strength to hurt him. Blue eyes widened in panic, then he saw his lover's expression, felt the touch of his fingers as he stroked his throat. "Easy, partner," Chris soothed. "Sorry about that. Y' know I won't hurt you." He gentled every fear with a kiss so tender that Vin nearly wept to feel that love.

Then Chris was stripping his clothing away, gathering him close; sex to sex, heart to heart. His hands moved down Vin's lean torso; his fingers toyed with the rough curls surrounding his cock. He moistened his fingers with Vin's semen and his own fluid, then slid them into the crevice of Vin's ass cheeks. His fingertips rimmed the sensitive hole, rubbing gently until the Texan was quivering with need.

Vin opened his eyes. He took Chris's face between his hands. Brought his lips close, and whispered, "Not yet, cowboy."

"Jesus!" Chris croaked from a throat gone suddenly dry. "Whaddya mean, 'not yet?'" His cock was throbbing, every beat of his pulse was sending heated blood through his veins.

The wolfish glint was back in Vin's eyes. "I ain't ready t'finish this jist yet."

Chris rolled from his elbow to rest on his back. His chest was gleaming with sweat, his heart beating so hard that his body shook. Vin straddled him, reached for the bottle of beer, took a drink, then rubbed the chilly bottle against Larabee's left nipple. The brown flesh pebbled, and Vin took the nub between his teeth and nipped lightly. Chris bucked up, and Vin turned his attention to the right nipple. When he had teased and tasted to his satisfaction and to Chris's frustration, he took another swallow of beer and kissed Chris lightly with his cold lips. "Be right back."

Chris bunched folds of the blanket in his fists to keep from seizing the sharpshooter and finishing what he had begun. Every nerve of his body was tuned to the highest edge of arousal. He reached for his cock, stroking the rigid staff, torn between bringing ease to himself, or waiting for whatever sweet torment Vin was devising for his pleasure.

Then Vin was back; his warm, callused palms slick with oil. He beat Larabee's hands aside. "Unh-uh, cowboy. Ain't lettin' you take what's mine." Before Chris could rally enough sensibility to answer that, Vin's mouth took the place of his own hands, and his objections melted away in a tide of incredible pleasure.

The scent of Chris, the salty taste of his juices, the full heat of him in him mouth ... Vin didn't need much else to nourish him. He made a low, deep hum of contentment, heard Chris gasp at the vibration. He teased and fondled Larabee's balls, took his mouth away with excruciating slowness, even though his own need was dangerously close to agony. Chris sobbed, and Vin laid his hand over that beating heart. "Soon," he breathed. Larabee shook beneath that touch, unable to quell the instinct to seek climax. His breath was harsh, fast.

Vin slid a rolled blanket under Chris's hips, raising him. He poured oil into his palm and let it drizzle over Larabee's cock. Chris cried out, bit his lip. He felt the slide of oil over his shaft, down his balls, between his buttocks. Vin's finger was massaging his hole, slipping in, finding his gland. Chris panted, thrusting to feel that touch again. Vin stroked, slow and deliberate, and saw Chris's eyes go dark as night.

The ring of muscle relaxed, softened and ready. Vin withdrew his fingers and pressed his weeping cock against the entrance to Chris's body. He increased the pressure, and the tip of his shaft penetrated Larabee. The hot, tight channel accepted him. He slid in further, fighting the urge to begin the rhythm that would bring them both to orgasm. He would never tire of this, never lose the wonder of seeing his flesh slowly enter his lover's body, making them one. Then his cock hit Chris's prostate, and he felt the muscles clench around him. He took Larabee's hard flesh in his hand and pumped it as his hips began their rhythm.

Chris felt as if all the blood in his body were rushing to his groin. Pleasure as sharp as pain tore into him and he screamed as the molten flood burst from his cock. Vin hit his gland again and again, each stroke sending waves of unbearably sweet sensation coursing though him until he had nothing left, nothing to pour out. Chris clenched his muscles around Tanner's cock, and then the Texan's own cry rose to the heavens as he cast back his head in ecstasy. His heat flooded Chris, washed over him, carried him away into a soft and heady darkness.

Coming back to reality was like surfacing from a deep dive. First the headlong, stomach-lurching fall, the exhilarating plunge into water, then the slow rise through darkness to dazzling light and warmth. He breathed deeply. Vin was shuddering in his arms, and Chris tightened his embrace, unwilling to lose that bridge of flesh that made them one. But Vin's softened cock slipped from his body, and a light breeze blowing over his skin made him shiver harder. Chris turned on his side, pulled the rolled blanket from under his hips, and shook out the folds, pulling it over Vin's shoulders. As soon as Vin was warmer, they'd clean up and get dressed, but for the moment Chris was content to gather that slender, shaking body closer.

Vin stretched out against Chris, bringing more of his skin into contact with Larabee's body heat. "Feels good," he sighed.

"Felt pretty good a few minutes ago," Chris said. He peered down at the tousled head resting on his chest. "That was pretty intense, even for you, partner."

Vin took a breath, exhaled. "Too long of a time away from ya, Chris. All the time I's out there, I thought of this -- bein' with you. I figgered if I could stay alive, I'd git back t'you. Promised if I did, I's gonna make it so I'd never forget what lovin' ya felt like."

Chris carded his fingers through Vin's hair. He kissed his temple. "Reckon you succeeded?" he laughed softly.

"I won't forget," Vin said.

"I won't let you," Chris answered. He drew Vin close, felt the shivering leave his body as he warmed. Felt tension drain away. Vin's head grew heavy on his chest and his breathing became slow and deep.

Chris was relaxed, not sleepy. The sweet autumn light was warm and the air held the last lingering hint of summer. The aspen leaves quivered, some fell. One drifted to rest on Vin's hair. Chris brushed it off with gentle fingers. He sighed in contentment -- him, a man who had forgotten the meaning of that word, forgotten the feel of it in his bones. He would not forget what had brought it back.

When Vin woke from his doze, they dressed and ate their delayed lunch. They were in no hurry to return to real life. They packed up and retrieved Peso and Pony, mounted up, and took the long trail back to the ranch. When they reached the rise of the hill above the ranch, they reined in. Vin rested his crossed arms on the pommel. The day was fading, but the last rays of the sun shimmered through the gathering evening haze, gilding the landscape with fragile light.

He looked over at Chris. The setting sun edged his profile and lit his hair like spun gold. He turned to Vin, held out his hand. "You ready to go home?"

Vin breathed deeply and let Chris take his hand. "Thought I's already there."

Chris just smiled. "You are, partner. You are." His grip tightened briefly before he released Vin's hand and gathered up Pony's reins. They kneed their mounts forward as the stars began to glimmer through the gathering twilight.

The End