Love And Human Remains

Sweet Dreams, Part B

Part 16                                                                                   

"Oh, now *this* is interesting! I knew you were an actor at one time, McMillan. I had no idea you were gay!" 

"I fail to see the humor in my sexual orientation!" David glowered at the other man. 

"No, you couldn't. I've been trying for weeks to devise a way to edge you out of Benita's life. I thought you were more than just a friend, you see. But if you're gay, than there will be no need for me to have one of my security people take you for a long ride!" 

Kane shrugged off David's arm and stormed up to de Villiere, thrusting his face close to the Frenchman’s. "If you do anything to hurt David, I will spend the rest of my life seeing that you regret it! I may look like a little boy to you, but I have money at my disposal also, and I will stop at nothing, at *nothing* do you hear?" 

De Villiere smiled wryly. "I hear you, Kane. And so, I imagine, does the rest of the building! I have no intention of harming any of you. That would be most foolish, when I'm trying to make such a good impression on Benita!' He grew thoughtful. "Kane....? Hmmm, there is a bit of a resemblance. And you say you have money? Then could you possibly be related to that miserable old skinflint who just disowned his only son for being..." 

He rubbed his hand over his eyes. "I beg your pardon, Kane. That was an unforgivable thing to have said." 

"Why?" Kane demanded bitterly. "It's the truth. I am queer!" 

The older man put a gentle hand on Kane's shoulder. "I don't know how much this will mean to you, but the whole Community is outraged by his actions. Already steps have been taken to ostracize him from all the organizations to which he belongs." 

“Kane!” his lover snapped, pushing aside Benita’s client. “If I ever hear you refer to yourself in that manner again, I’ll whip your sweet ass! And as for ‘the community'?" David laughed shortly. "This town couldn't care less what happens to one lonely little boy!" 

De Villiere eyed him thoughtfully. "Not this town, perhaps, but The Community does. I refer to the old wealth families. We have been watching the old man for some time now, and we are impressed with neither his lifestyle nor his methods. I think perhaps it is time for us to sit down with your father..." 

"I have no father!" Kane interrupted him, his throat clogged with tears. He had been so alone for so many years. That The Community would make an effort on his behalf now, after the damage had been done, was too ironic to contemplate. 

David and Benita took up positions on either side of Kane. "Whatever The Community decides to do will make no difference to Kane. We're his family now. We're the only family he needs!" 

The three were presenting a united front, and de Villiere was decidedly the odd man out. His need to have Benita in his life would not allow him to surrender the field without a fierce battle. 

"I need to see to some matters that concern this, but I'll be back for my regular appointment tomorrow night, Benita." 

"I don't think that would be a good idea, Guy." 

Impatient to get his plans underway, he barely paid attention. "Very well, I'll see you on Friday, then." 

"No, Guy, you don't understand. You won't see me again. I'm terminating our arrangement, such as it was. I can give you a referral for another woman if you would like,” the words nearly choked her. “But when you walk out that door, you will not be welcomed back here, *ever*!" 

De Villiere's eyes glittered as he crowded her away from her friends. "Oh, I'll be back, Benita, never doubt it!" He took her wrist in strong fingers, careful even in his anger not to hurt her. "And you will welcome me." He leaned close, his voice a breath in her ear, causing her to shiver. "And that welcome will be in your bed and in your body!" 

The door slammed shut behind him and Benita collapsed onto a leather couch, her wild-eyed gaze seeking David and Kane. Trembling so hard her teeth began to chatter, she wrapped her arms around herself in a vain attempt to fortify her emotions. Her rapid breathing was bringing her to the point of hyperventilating. 

David and Kane knelt on either side of her, offering her what comfort they could. “We’re here for you Nita,” David said. “We’ll help you take care of this!” 

“You don’t understand, David!” she wailed. “I don’t want it taken care of! I want him to come back! 

“And, oh God! I’m just so scared!”

####

Part 17

Kane left David holding Benita, rocking her gently. Going into the kitchen, he prepared to return the care the psychic had expended on him. He made her a mug of tea and added plenty of honey. 

David took it from him, a light touch on the back of Kane's hand his thanks. "C'mon, sweetie, drink this down," he urged her. As involved as he was with Benita at that point, it didn't escape his notice that Kane was nearly out on his feet. 

"Baby, why don't you go to bed? I'm going to be a while with Nita." 

"Are you sure you don't need me for anything else?" The younger man swayed slightly. 

David pressed the mug into Benita's hands and rose to embrace his lover. Nudging his lips apart, David almost lost control of the kiss that was merely meant to be a gentle good night. 

"I'll wait up for you David." 

The older man couldn't resist a lascivious caress to Kane's derriere, running his fingers deep in the cleft that parted his buttocks. With a final pat, he sent Kane on his way and turned back to care for his friend. 

"Really, David," she protested, "I'll be okay now. I just need to get myself together." Then she spoiled her sacrifice by burrowing her face against his chest and moaning, " What am I going to do? How do I deal with someone like Guy?" 

David put his arm around her shoulder and led her into her surprisingly Spartan bedroom. Although it was obvious that the owner was a woman, there were no fills, no outrageous fittings in red or black as would befit her calling. The walls were a warm rose-beige and the furnishings blended in well. 

He sat her on the bed and eased her slippers off. Undressing her only took a moment, since he just removed the voluminous skirt and gypsy blouse she wore. It was more of a task to get her under the covers, for he had to roll her first one way and then the other: the hot tea and honey had worked their magic and she was sound asleep. 

David was relieved. As much as he loved and cared for Benita, there was someone waiting in his own bed for a change. He felt himself harden and shook his head in amazement. He was no longer Kane's age when erections occurred frequently, and often at the most inopportune of times. But since he had made the younger man his, he had been in a state of semi-arousal. A look, a touch, a thought even, and he was ready to slide his persistent flesh into his young lover's body! 

Placing a gentle kiss on Benita's brow, David softly closed her door behind him. A fast tour of the apartment, more to tantalize himself than because it was really necessary, had him straining against his trousers.  David made sure the front door was locked, the lights were out and all the kitchen appliances turned off. 

Then, unable to delay any longer, he pushed open the door to the bedroom he shared with Kane. True to his word, the younger man was still awake, although just barely. He sat cross-legged on the bed, the sheet discreetly covering his own arousal. David heard Kane's audible intake of breath. 

Kane dropped his gaze from the intensity lighting David's eyes, a light flush mounting his cheeks. He realized he was still holding the note in his hand, and he placed it carefully on the night table next to his wallet, to be replaced in it in the morning. 

A shy tongue peeked out as Kane moistened lips dry from the overwhelming surge of desire that swept through him, making his erection almost painful. Wide-awake now, he rose onto his knees, careless of the displaced sheet. He held his arms out toward his lover and David literally tore off his shirt, buttons pattering like rain as they scattered over the floor. Skinning out of his trousers and briefs in one smooth motion, David had Kane up against him in a twinkling. 

Bending his head to accommodate the difference in their heights, David's mouth ravaged Kane's, nipping demandingly until the younger man opened to him. His tongue plunged in to rub his lover's urgently, foreshadowing the delights to come. 

Kane trembled with the force of his feelings, reaching down to cup David's tensed buttocks, then copying David's action in the living room by stroking his fingers in the sensitive cleft, reveling in the shudder that wracked his lover's body. 

Backing off slightly, Kane took a condom packet from the night table. "May I?" he asked. 

David turned pale, still not quite prepared to have his lover mount him. Seeing his distress he said, "No, honey man, I want to put it on you!" Kane rubbed soft lips over his mouth and tore open the packet, then gently fondled David's erection before placing the condom over the tip of his hard flesh and smoothing it along his length. He applied a liberal coating of the lubricant and kissed David quickly before turning around and presenting his back. 

David touched him with hands that cherished. With a string of kisses he made his way up Kane's back until he could lick his ear and nip at the soft flesh where his neck and shoulder met. He parted Kane's buttocks and prepared to enter his lover. As he eased his way in he found the spot on his neck where he had marked Kane as his. 

He fastened his lips to that spot and began sucking on it as his complete length was buried in Kane. Plumbing his lover's depths, he reached around him and took Kane's engorged manhood in his hands, stroking him toward a climax that would find both of them pouring out their love. 

"Kiss me, baby!" David gasped, on the brink of freefall. The undulation caused when Kane twisted slightly to meet his lover's lips toppled David over the edge. With a hoarse cry, he seized the younger man's mouth, his tongue imitating the movement of his lower body. 

The knowledge of David's climax sent Kane spinning out into the void after his lover. In a tangle of arms and legs they collapsed on the bed. As was fast becoming his habit, David sought to stay deep in Kane for as long as possible, enjoying the minute spasms that caressed him. 

Kane uttered a groan of repletion. "Oh, David, it just gets better and better!" 

David smiled against his hair.

####

Part 18

An early morning sun was just peaking through the curtains in Benita's spare bedroom. The pale light splashed across David's face, causing an unconscious frown to mar the line between his brows. The unaccustomed weight on his right arm roused him with the knowledge that he hadn't spent the night alone.

Disjointed grumbling came from the body next to him.  David's heart swelled. Kane! His lover was in his bed, safely in his arms. He tightened the hold he had on the younger man and contentedly rubbed his chin over the wildly disordered locks that fell into Kane's face. 

His early morning arousal was clamoring to bury itself in the hot, snug channel of his brown-eyed boy. But another need was also making itself known. 

He really *needed* to relieve himself! With a sigh, he freed his arm and slid out of bed. Naked, he padded to the bathroom and closed the door so he wouldn't disturb Kane. Raising the seat, he took care of business, whistling softly. While he was washing his hands, he abruptly recognized the song that had been going around in his mind when he awoke. 

"'He had kisses sweeter than wine!'" 

Grinning at his reflection, he brushed his teeth, counting all the ways he could pleasure his young lover. 

"'Mmmm mmmm, kisses sweeter than wine!'" 

Returning to the bedroom, his hopes of an immediate romp were dashed. Kane's head was buried under his pillow, and it didn't appear as if he would waken any time soon. 

Resolving to let the younger man sleep himself out, David got back under the covers and settled comfortably to wait for Kane to abandon the arms of Morpheus. 

His idle gaze was captured by the slip of white paper that sat atop Kane's wallet. Well, originally it had been white. Now it had taken on the dingy yellow hue that old paper acquires. The edges were ragged and the folds had cracked in some spots. It had been folded into a neat rectangle and it was obvious that Kane carried it with him always, tucked securely in his wallet. 

Curious, David carefully spread the sheet out. It was a brief note, and he wondered if he had cause to be jealous. Then he scanned the handful of sentences. "Hi, Baby. Good luck on that test! I’ll be thinking of you! -Love, Mom." 

David was deeply touched by the note Kane thought enough of to keep with him. A drop of moisture formed in the corner of his eye, and he resolved not to think quite so harshly of the woman who gave birth to the extraordinary creature who loved him. 

If she had thought enough of her son to send him that little missive, then obviously she couldn't have been all bad. 

A tiny sound alerted him, and he turned to Kane, smiling tenderly at him. 

But Kane looked decidedly unhappy that David had discovered his secret, which puzzled the older man. Gesturing with the note, he said, "I hope you don't mind me reading this. I hadn't realized that your Mom cared for you so much." 

Carefully, Kane removed the tattered piece of paper from David's fingers. Meticulously, he folded the yellowed sheet. Painstakingly, he placed it in a special compartment in his wallet. Then he smiled at David, but the smile did not reach his eyes. "Want to shower with me, honey man?" 

"Always, baby." David gave Kane a few moments of privacy in the bathroom before he followed him in. He continued as if there hadn't been a break in the conversation.  "That doesn't mean I'm not going to ask you about that note. If you don't want to talk about it, just tell me." 

"Fine!" Kane turned on the shower and adjusted the temperature of the water. "I don't want to talk about it." 

"Fine," David repeated. "But *I* do! So guess who's going to win?" 

Kane's mouth dropped open in indignation, and then he glared at the older man, who just shrugged. 

"It seems to mean a lot to you. And I'm sorry I thought your mother was a cold-hearted bitch." 

"David, I said I don't want to talk about this!" 

David grinned and crowded his lover into a corner of the shower, letting the force of the water pound his own back.  Licking at Kane's tempting lips, he murmured, "I could become addicted to your mouth, baby!" He sighed, his toothpaste-scented breath washing over Kane's cheek. 

Kane turned his face, blindly seeking the lips that lured him past his pain. But David stayed just out of reach, letting Kane have everything but his mouth. 

Finally, moaning in frustration, Kane, beat weakly at David's chest. "Why are you doing this to me?" he demanded. 

"Talk to me baby. Just...talk to me!" 

To David's surprise, a wild blush covered Kane's upper torso and spread up to his hairline. His face twisting with grief, Kane drooped in his lover's embrace. "You want to see how pathetic I am? What a total loser?" 

David held him tightly. "You're not pathetic and you're not a loser! I love you, baby, and nothing you can say or do will ever change that!" 

"Oh yes it will!" Kane's chocolate brown eyes were agonized. "You'll see...!" 

Turning away as if he couldn't bear to have David look at him, he spoke in a choked voice. "My mother never wrote that note. She never..." A stifled sob broke loose. "Some kid sitting next to me in the lunch room at school. Third grade? Fourth grade? I don't even remember. His mother always packed little notes in his lunch box. Every day! Every fucking day! 

"You know who packed my lunch? My father's housekeeper! You can bet she never put a note in my lunch box! 

"I used to make fun of that kid. I'd pretend I was going to snatch the note. Not that he cared. He was so used to it, it was no big deal to him!" Kane wiped his arm over his eyes. "Finally, one day I couldn't stand it any more! 

"I offered him five dollars for that piece of paper you were reading. I used to pretend to myself that my mother really had written it. And I've had that with me ever since." 

Finally he dared to raise his eyes to David's face, expecting to read disgust, disdain, or the worst of all, pity. 

Instead, he found David looking at him with such tenderness that his breath caught in his throat. "David?" he whispered. 

"Suppose I give you a note to replace that one? Or to keep along side it if you'd rather?" David pulled Kane close to him, wrapping him tightly in his arms, and the younger man sagged against him in relief. 

If Kane could have seen the anger written on David's face, he might have been frightened. He had seen something like it once before, when he had gone to David's apartment and Candy had interrupted a private moment between them. 

But that anger was not directed at the younger man. 

David hoped de Villiere had something really evil planned for Kane's remaining parent. 

His baby truly had been a 'poor little rich boy'.

####

Part 19 

Kane took a step backward. David released him from his embrace and turned him around. He poured a dollop of shampoo into the palm of his hand and rubbed it into Kane's scalp, then worked it through the long strands to the gently curling ends. Kane let its weight tilt his head and he reveled in the luxurious feel of his lover's fingers gliding through the lather. 

Eyes closed, he let himself drift on waves of desire that were slowly building to a crescendo. David's hands moved to encircle Kane's throat, tipping his chin up so that the water cascaded through his long brown hair, rinsing it free of the suds. His fingers followed the trail the bubbles blazed, skimming his young lover's firm muscles, carefully avoiding the arousal that was clamoring for his attention. 

Kane rested his head against David's shoulder, his body inviting further exploration. "David!" he whispered, and felt the older man's erection pressing urgently against his buttocks. Just the way Kane said his name was enough to excite him almost to the point of spilling himself over his lover's taut flanks. 

"Baby," David murmured in turn, his teeth exerting a gentle pressure along the curve of his neck. "Can you take me again?" 

Kane's breath caught and then expelled itself on a soft moan. "Oh, yessss!" 

Unable to wait until they could dry off and return to the bedroom, David gently pushed Kane forward until he was bracing himself against the wall of the shower. Covering his shuddering arousal in a thick layer of soap, he parted the younger man's buttocks and nudged at the entrance to his body with as much restraint as he could muster. 

Sliding past the tight ring of muscle, he paused, the tip of his cock held snugly, rhythmic tremors teasing him to plunge in deeper, harder, faster. Maintaining a fine grip on his control, as well as his sanity, he inserted himself another inch, and then another. And then he was entirely encased in his lover's hot, trembling body. 

Kane tried to push back onto the intrusion, but the iron band that was David's arm held him still. Soft moans issued from his parted lips and he tossed his head restlessly. The wet strands caught his lover, caressing his face, his throat, his shoulders; David found the sensation unbearably erotic and picked up the tempo of his loving assault on the younger man. 

"Tell me that you like this, Kane!" he ordered. "Tell me!" 

"No!" his lover whimpered. "I *don't* like this!" 

Before David could recover from his shock, Kane grabbed a hand and placed it firmly around his own arousal. "I *love* what you do to me! I love when you fuck my mouth; I love when you fuck my ass!" 

Guiding David's grip over his erection, Kane urged him to harder and tighter movements. "Yes, David, yes! Jerk me off! Make me come when you come in my ass! I want that! I want that more than anything!" 

The words drove David past all rational thought, and he gave his lover what he begged for. His cock plowed him deep and hard, while his hand squeezed and fondled and stroked the younger man's quivering length. But he was not so lost to all responsibility that when he knew he was about to come he remained deep inside his lover. Instead, he withdrew sharply, causing a flicker of pain. 

Kane felt his lover pouring himself over his buttocks, hotter than the water that flowed over them. He moaned his loss, then froze as two fingers entered him, continuing to pleasure him until, mindless, he began to spurt between the fingers of the hand that still imprisoned him. 

David's lips nuzzled the line of Kane's throat until he reached his ear, then captured the lobe with his teeth and worried it, suckled it, leaving a lover's mark on it. 

Struggling to regain his breath, Kane slumped bonelessly in David's secure embrace. He turned his head to meet his lover's mouth, and his tongue licked at the seam. The smile that parted David's lips allowed Kane to enter and toy with the older man's tongue. 

Before the kiss could escalate into something hotter and wilder, David rinsed them both off and twisted the faucet. "Benita is not going to be thrilled with us if we use up all her hot water, " he said pedantically as he stepped out of the shower and drew Kane after him. 

Pulling a bath sheet off the heated bar, he wrapped his young lover in it and rubbed him dry. Then, taking the same one, he used it on himself. Kane's eyes grew hot, but before he could make a move, David threw him another towel. 

"Dry your hair, baby. I need to get some food into you, and then we've got to go apartment hunting." He stilled. A curious expression had crossed Kane's face. "You *do* still plan on living with me, don't you?" he asked hesitantly. 

"Yes! Oh yes!" Kane told him breathlessly. But he was very serious.  "There's a house I'd like you to see?" It started as a statement, but ended a question. He was uncertain if his lover would approve the place he had in mind. 

Guy de Villiere was not the only one who could access information about what he wanted. 

Kane had fallen in love with the house on the outskirts of town years before, and he knew it belonged to an elderly woman, who lived alone in it. 

He knew that recently she had fallen on hard times, and was often pressed to meet the taxes on the lovely old home. 

He knew that she had been trying to rent out the second floor, but because such extensive work needed to be done she was having little luck so far. 

What he didn't know was how David would feel about living in a house as opposed to an apartment. 

And how he would feel about Kane buying that house for him.

####

Part 20

The kitchen was dark when Kane entered it. The turmoil of the last couple of days had taken its toll on his hostess and she was still deeply asleep. 

He cracked the mini blinds and let the sun shine in. Then, too hungry to wait for her to awaken, he opened the refrigerator door,  propped a hip against it and examined the contents. 

To his dismay, the cupboard seemed to be bare. 

His stomach rumbled, making known the fact that it had been some time since dinner. 

A long arm encircled his shoulder and warm lips nuzzled the spot just below his ear, the spot guaranteed to drive him wild. "You still want to make me breakfast baby?" 

Kane rubbed his cheek against David's hair, a whisper of desire pooling low in his abdomen. "David," he murmured, "how can you make me so hot so soon?" 

"It's my job!" 

"Mmmm!" Kane leaned back and offered David better access to his throat. And his stomach complained more loudly than before. 

With a last swipe of his tongue in Kane's ear, David stepped away from him. "I've got to have some coffee!" 

Kane watched, bemused, as David set about competently preparing the coffee machine. Then a sly smile curled his lips. He retreated to the bedroom and placed a phone call to the one person he knew he could depend on to never let him down. 

He was back in the kitchen before David had a chance to miss him. 

"Do you want coffee, baby?" 

Kane came up behind David and put his arms around his waist. He leaned against his back, wondering how long his lover would allow him to hold him. But the older man was distracted by making the coffee and it was long minutes before he realized that Kane was behind him. 

Panic didn't ride him, this time. The hands that stroked down his chest, past his abdomen and reached to cup his flaccid manhood were Kane's. The body resting lovingly against his was Kane's. The one who wanted him was... Kane. 

He reached down to cover Kane's hands with his own, deepening the younger man's caresses. "Your hands feel so good, baby!" David drew in a deep breath and rolled his hips, thrusting against Kane's fingers. 

Then, before Kane realized what was happening, David whirled around, scooped him up and settled him on the edge of the counter, spreading Kane's legs and making a space for himself there. Teasing his young lover's arousal with his own, David rocked his lower body in a gentle rhythm. 

"Kiss me, baby," he ordered softly. 

Kane obeyed with languid grace, threading his fingers through David's soft, thick hair, bringing his mouth close to his lover's. With a groan, Kane touched his tongue to David's lips, seeking entry. David sighed, welcoming him in. 

Cupping the younger man's hips in a hard grip, David pulled Kane tightly against him. "Baby, I love you so much! I just can't get enough of you!" 

"David!" Kane wrapped his arms and legs tightly around his lover, burrowing against him. He suckled his throat, seeking to place his mark on the older man as he himself had been marked. 

David was so awash in the feelings Kane roused in him that he was oblivious to his lover's intentions. His fingers were busily loosening the fastening of Kane's trousers, measuring his length and girth, bringing him to full, eager erection. 

It was only when he attempted to take Kane into his mouth that he realized what the younger man was doing. "Baby!" he groaned and a shudder rippled through him as he pressed closer to Kane's lips.                                       

David was on the verge of climaxing. Kane's hands were deep in his lover's pants, stroking the ardent flesh that was beginning to bead with David's essence. "Come for me David!" he whispered. "Fill my hands with your sweetness, honey man!"             

With a gasp and a moan, David began spilling himself onto his lover. His hips jerked as Kane milked his cock. And David found the spot on Kane's throat that bore his mark. Gently he bit down and sucked, knowing that action was guaranteed to trigger the younger man's orgasm. 

Kane gave a choked cry and began to come. David abandoned Kane's neck and bent to seize his cock in his mouth, licking and sucking until it grew limp and meek. 

David straightened finally, savoring the moment. He opened his eyes to find his lover licking the hand that had jerked him off. "NO!" he fairly shouted, then lowered his voice. "No! I will *not* let you make me hard again! So soon!" 

Kane's chocolate brown eyes were bright with laughter. "Are you putty in my hands, honey man?"

David growled and gave him a shake. "Am I going to have to discipline you, little boy?" he demanded in an attempt to regain control of the situation. 

The younger man collapsed against David's torso and smiled up at him from under his lashes, winding his arms around his lover's neck. "Yes, please, sir!"  he murmured as he cuddled close. "I've been very naughty! I need to be disciplined! You're going to have to pull my pants down and spank me! Very hard!" 

David gave a spurt of laughter and Kane sighed happily for having brought a measure of joy to his lover's life. Unseen by David, a glint of mischief sparked his eyes. "Darling!" 

"Darling?" This was something new. Kane had never called him that before. 

"Love me?" 

“Of course I love you!" David felt as if he had wandered into Wonderland. Kane was behaving most strangely. 

Kane hopped lightly off the counter. "Well, I'm beat. Let's turn in!" 

The light went on. "Wicked little monkey!" He brought his hand into firm contact with his young lover's taut buttocks. "Dad-dy is going to spank your sweet ass *very* hard indeed!" 

Kane wriggled in delight, but before he could go into David's arms the intercom buzzed. 

“It’s Mike. Lemme in, will ya?” 

The older man looked nonplused, but Kane merely straightened his clothing. 

"That'll be for me!"  And Kane pushed the button that would give ‘Mike’ access to the apartment complex. 

David felt his gut clench. Was this how it started, the beginning of the end? Was Kane already making assignations with other men? And not even bothering to hide them from his lover? 

Well, if Kane thought to discard him like an old shoe, he had another think coming! David kept what was his! He drew on his years of acting and donned the mantle of a tough, uncompromising male staking his territory. Making sure Kane’s collar was spread wide enough to expose the love bite at the base of his throat, David nodded to himself. That, and perhaps his arm around Kane should be enough to declare his intentions: this one is mine! touch him at your own risk! 

The doorbell had barely chimed when David pulled it open, ready to fight for his lover. His jaw dropped.

There before him stood a young god. Tall, blond and buff, he wore a white pocket tee shirt despite the bite of autumn in the air. It lovingly outlined the fine definition of his chest. A pack of cigarettes was tucked into the shirt’s pocket, and a spent match dangled from his lips. His jeans were so faded from washing there was almost no color left in them. Black Harley boots covered his feet. 

And in his arms, carrying it as if it were a mere bagatelle, was a large basket filled with all manner of breakfast goodies: bagels, flavored cream cheeses, bacon, melon slices; little cartons of juice, orange and grapefruit and tomato; microwaveable pancakes and waffles; tiny pitchers of syrup, maple, blueberry, strawberry; marmalade and other assorted preserves. And milk. And cream. And half and half. 

“Hiya, kiddo. How they hangin’?” Then he got a good look at the discoloration that decorated Kane’s eyes and whistled. “That’s some set of shiners you got there, kiddo!” And he had the audacity to wink at Kane.           

And Kane winked back!  “Finest kind, aren’t they? My nose got broken!” he said as if this was an accomplishment to be proud of. “Bring the basket into the kitchen, okay Mike?” 

“Sure thing, Butch. That must have been some Donnybrook!” He brushed past David and placed the basket on the counter, which had so recently been the scene of such torrid lovemaking. David’s hands fisted and he took a step forward to pound on this ‘Mike’, whoever he might be. Where did he get off, calling his Kane ‘Butch’ and ‘kiddo’? 

Mike raked his body with a disparaging glance. “And who are you, when you’re at home?” he sneered. 

Before mayhem could break loose, Kane placed himself between them and leaned back against David. Pulling his arms around him, he placed David’s hands over the front of his trousers and held them there with his own. “This is David,” he said sunnily. 

“He belongs to me!”

####

Part 21     

Benita chose that moment to come out of her bedroom. Wearing a black silken kimono emblazoned with red and white Japanese dragons, she brushed the hair out of her eyes and blearily regarded the males who had possession of her kitchen. Then an intoxicating scent teased her nostrils. 

"Ohhhh," she moaned with delight. "Coffee! One of you wonderful people made fresh coffee!" 

Ignoring the men, she pulled a plain earthenware mug from the cabinet and poured herself a cup of the fragrant brew. She held the mug under her nose, and inhaled the heady aroma, then took a greedy swallow. 

"Pardon me, please. This is a deeply personal moment!" she announced to the room at large, and lost herself in the magic that was the first cup of coffee of the day. 

David raised his arms to circle Kane's waist and gave him a brief squeeze. Putting him aside, he eyed the deliveryman carefully. "It seems we *may* have gotten off to a poor start. Shall we try again? Or do I need to beat the shit out of you?" 

Kane was outraged. "David, Mike is my friend! You can't hit him!" 

David cocked a sardonic eye at his young lover. "Of course I can! The question is, am I going to need to?" 

Reluctantly, Mike grinned at him. "No, I guess you won't. Not that I couldn't take you on, mind! But Kane's right, we *are* friends. And he wouldn't like it if I hurt you." 

"Mike, if you don't stop this right now, I'm gong to...I'm going to..." 

"You're going to...what, kiddo?" 

Kane scowled at him, disgruntled. "I'm going to give you a really dirty look!" 

"Okay, Butch, pax! I can't have one of my oldest buds pissed at me!" 

Kane stared hard at him for a moment, then gave a brief, satisfied nod, and watched as his friend and his lover tentatively shook hands. 

"I run the Lite and Bite, the specialty deli over in the Quad." 

Kane and David spoke at the same time. 

"David's an actor!" 

"I'm a waiter at Salante's." 

David frowned at the younger man. "Kane!" 

"Uh oh," he said in a small voice. "I'm in trouble!" 

Mike burst out laughing and pulled the matchstick out of his mouth. "When my dad took your order, Kane, I had to come over to see what you'd got yourself into." 

"Oh yeah?" That was the best Kane could come up with on an empty stomach. The smell of the warm bagels was making his mouth water, and he found his attention drawn to the breakfast basket. "Well, what *have* I gotten myself into?" he asked distractedly. 

"Whatever it is, it looks serendipitous to me! Make sure you take care of the kid, David. Kane, go and eat! I don't think I've ever known you when you weren't hungry!" Still grinning, he tossed them a salute and let himself out. 

"You want to explain what that was all about?" David demanded irritably. 

"Nnnnno. I don't think so." Kane had torn the wrapping off the basket and found a sun-dried tomato bagel. 

Benita, ever the thoughtful hostess, had set plates and silverware on the table while the older men were posturing. Kane picked up a knife and began slathering veggie cream cheese on his bagel. 

David started picking through the offerings, nibbling on the warm, crisp bacon, and came upon a chocolate chocolate chip muffin hidden away beneath a handful of napkins. 

Kane scooped up some of the cream cheese, and David found himself staring at Kane's mouth, staring at the pointed tongue that industriously licked the stuff off his fingers. Much as he had licked his fingers clean earlier. 

With a silent groan, he turned back to the muffin and split it open. The soft, creamy butter he spread on it melted into the nooks and crannies of the deep chocolate confection, running over the sides and onto his hand. 

"Are there any more, David?" Benita asked wistfully, finally able to contemplate the start of a new day. 

"I'm sorry, Benita," Kane said, stricken. "I didn't realize you liked them. I should have told Mike's dad to pack more." 

"That's okay, sweetie." She rubbed his arm gently, seeking the impression she was certain she would find. "You wanted that specifically for David, didn't you?" 

Warily, he nodded. "At the restaurant, during our breaks, he'd always want a chocolate chocolate chip muffin if the chef made any." 

Benita sighed. "David," she asked, "have you any idea of how lucky you are?" 

David had one of the tiny cartons of orange juice to his lips and was unable to answer. But he had been following the conversation, and was touched that the younger man had gone out of his way to order something that he knew his lover enjoyed. 

A distrustful voice in the back of his mind wanted to know why Kane had done it. 

"Come here, baby," David said softly. 

Without any hesitation, Kane went into his arms. 

"You got that chocolate muffin just for me?" 

Kane nodded. 

"Would you do anything for me?" David wondered. 

Kane's eyes opened wide and grew hot. "Anything, David!" 

David rested his chin on the younger man's hair, trading silent glances with Benita. She gave a warning shake of her head, but he chose to ignore it. 

"Then tell me about this guy Mike, Kane. Who is he? 

"And what is he to you?"

####

Part 22

Kane looked at his lover, stunned shock turning his brown eyes to bittersweet chocolate. "What are you asking me David?" 

In spite of himself, David recalled the conversation he had had the day before with Candy. "Kane's never slept with a man before!" he had vowed. 

"That's what *he* told you!" she had snipped back, planting a seed of doubt. 

"I want to know what that delivery man was to you. Is to you," David demanded, following Kane as he retreated into the living room. 

Kane turned paper white and sank heavily into a chair that fortunately was behind him. “You know there was never anyone before you!" His lips, devoid of color, trembled for just a moment, and then he firmed them. "Mike is my friend. He's been my friend for much longer than you have!" 

David recoiled. Retaliation from Kane was not something he had anticipated. The younger man was his adoring acolyte, who met his moods, his whims or his lovemaking with eager acceptance. For him to refuse to submit to David's interrogation shocked the older man as much as if he had suddenly been attacked by a butterfly. 

So David struck back, seeking the most vulnerable spot he could find. "You were so easy to fuck!" he sneered, the dark beast inside him straining to get loose. "How many others were in you before me? Was Mike the first or merely one in a long line? Did you charm him with your long hair and your sweet ass? With your shy hesitations and your hot glances?" 

"David!" 

"Shut up, Benita! This doesn't concern you!" 

Before she could argue that everything about the couple concerned her, her intercom buzzed. "What?" she snarled. 

"Nita? It's Guy." 

“Oh great! That's just what I need now!" She let him into the building and waited by the door for him to reach her floor. "And David, back down! Whatever Kane did before he met you takes nothing away from what the two of you share now!" 

"Bullshit!" the older man exploded. "I beat myself up because that goddamned condom broke, and all the while he's been tomcatting around, screwing anything that catches his fancy!" 

Kane choked on his outrage. "What do you mean ‘what I did before doesn’t count’?  I *never* did anything before! I *never* screwed around! 

“Ohhh! I see what it is now! I was too easy for you David. It was me who went after you from the very beginning! You never had to work to get me; all you had to do was whistle! And I'm so in love with you, I fell into your lap like a ripe plum!" Slow tears began to slide down his cheeks. 

“You went after me because you thought I was Toby!” 

“I might have been attracted by Toby to begin with, but I never would have made love with him! *He* never twisted my gut with feelings I couldn’t understand! It was you. David. It was always you; only you!” Shaking his head, his heart breaking, he finished, "You never even courted me!" 

"Court you? Why would I court a slut?" The deliberate emphasis of the word he had once used to describe himself left the younger man frozen and bleeding on the inside. 

The arrival of Guy de Villiere interrupted the tableau in Benita's living room. She seized Guy's arm and dragged him into her apartment. "Help me!" she hissed at him. "David's savaging Kane! They won't be able to survive this, neither one of them!" 

De Villiere eyed the two lovers. When he had left them the night before their relationship had seemed rock solid. Now they couldn't have been further apart, although scant feet separated them. 

Maybe they could use some breathing space. He pulled a set of keys out of his trouser pocket and tossed them to Kane. "I talked to your old man. He's seen the error of his ways and sends the Porsche back with apologies for embarrassing you, etc., etc." 

The younger man caught the keys and wiped his eyes with the palm of his hand. "Sure he did. I don't know how you got my car back; I don't really care. Y’know, David, everyone’s been warning me not to hurt you. They thought I held your heart in my hands. 

“I think they were wrong. And I think they were talking to the wrong person! Oh, what’s the use? I've got to get out of here!" 

The door slammed shut behind him. David stared stupidly at it. 

"He left me!" 

Benita was exasperated. "Can you blame him? He loves you, worships the ground you walk on. Do you care about him at all? He has a wonderful breakfast delivered to my door and all you can see is the deliveryman. What set you off, David? The fact that Mike is drop dead gorgeous, or the fact that he's younger than you, closer in age to Kane? I'm ashamed of you!" 

She glared at de Villiere as well, to let him know none of the male sex rated too highly with her just then. The Frenchman tried to look as innocent as was possible for a corporate wolf. "Oh, come on. I may as well feed you. What are you doing here anyway?" 

David heard the soft murmur of their voices; he was so numb he could not distinguish what they were saying. All he could concentrate on was that Kane was gone. He had finally succeeded in pushing the younger man away once too often. 

David had never been the jealous type. He had never cared about anyone enough to let darker emotions intrude into his life. If whomever he was sleeping with became dissatisfied with his cavalier attitude, he would just shrug them off and go on to the next lover. And there always was a next one. 

This time he wasn’t so sure. His stomach felt as if it was on fire, the lone cup of coffee he had swallowed warring with the chocolate muffin that had been Kane’s love offering, burning like acid. His skin felt as if it was stretched too tightly over his muscles. And the incipient pounding of a headache lurked on the fringes of awareness. 

He had fucked up his life more times than he liked to admit, and had always managed to get over the rough ground as lightly as possible. Somehow, he didn’t think it was going to be so easy this time. 

No matter what it took, he intended to get his lover back. He foresaw much groveling on his part. If he had to crawl on his hands and knees, then that was the plan. He would court the younger man, as he should have done from the start of their friendship. Whatever it took, this time he was *not* going to fuck it up! 

Snatching up his jacket, David headed out the door. He had no clue where to even start looking for Kane, but he knew he had to search. Impatiently he waited for the elevator, his fingers beating a restless tattoo against his thigh. 

The door slid open and he was about to enter, when he saw the car wasn't empty. Kane sat huddled in a corner, his arms clutching his legs tightly to his chest. Although his cheeks were still wet, he had no more tears to shed. 

"Oh baby!" David was dismayed by the devastation he had caused. He took a step forward and Kane shrank in on himself. David stopped. 

And Kane found there *were* more tears. He stared up at the man he had lost his heart to. 

"I had no where else to go!"   

####

Part 23  

David dropped to his knees before his distraught lover and pulled his resisting body to his own. Kane held himself stiffly. David tried desperately to melt the ice that encased the younger man, but he found that for once, his kisses and caresses left Kane seemingly unmoved. 

He drew back, the knowledge that he had only himself to blame for the tatters their relationship hung in, lodging in his heart like a sword. "Oh baby, I'm so sorry! I never meant those horrible things! I don't even know why I said them! I never thought them, I swear to you!" 

Kane slid out of the older man's loose hold and got to his feet. His brown eyes were dull as he regarded the man he had given such power to. "It doesn't matter. I love you more than anything in my life, but I can't go on like this. For over seventeen years I lived with someone who considered me a major disappointment. I won't live the rest of my life always having to be afraid that if I smile at someone you're going to think I'll take the first opportunity to let him fuck me!" 

David tried to take him in his arms again, but Kane shoved hard against his chest breaking his embrace. Liberating anger gripped him, and he poked his finger at David, forcing him back through the elevator doors. "How come I can't question your relationship with Candy, but my friendship with Mike is fair game? How come you can have as many secrets as you like, but you have to know the most insignificant detail of my life?" 

"I don't think that note you carry is insignificant," David remarked mildly, trying to defuse the situation. 

"That's not the point!" Kane was fairly frothing as he crowded David back into Benita's apartment. "That was something private, between me and... me! Anyone else would consider it pathetic!" 

"I don't think it's pathetic, baby. I think it's really sweet!" 

"And stop calling me baby! I don't let people who call me a slut call me baby!" Kane had worked himself up into a fine state of fury. He kept advancing and David kept retreating until he was backed up against a wall. 

David found Kane's display of temper arousing, but he had the feeling that if he tried to lure Kane into bed at that point, the younger man would walk out of his life forever. Besides, he acknowledged to himself, Kane was entitled to as much blood as he cared to draw from his lover. 

Benita and Guy wisely chose to stay out of it, but they watched from the kitchen island with interest, making inroads on the breakfast Kane had supplied. Guy carefully cut up a piece of cantaloupe and picked the slice up with his fingers. He rubbed it seductively against Benita's lips until she parted them, then popped it into her mouth. Unable to resist, he stole a sweet, sticky kiss, and licked the juice from her lips. Then he licked the juice from his own. 

"Kane," David whispered, "we have an audience!" 

"I don't give a flying fuck!" Kane shouted, almost beside himself. "I have had enough! I am going out to see about renting an apartment. *You* might want to see if Candy still has your old room free!" 

And with that, the younger man stormed out of the apartment. 

David smiled sappily. "He really does love me, you know." 

"David," Benita said sharply, "you hurt him very badly this time. I suggest you start thinking of ways to make it up to him!" 

"Working on it, Nita, working on it! And I've got an idea. When Kane comes back, don't let him leave." 

"When? Don't you mean *if*?" 

Once again the supremely confident male, David shook his head. "Oh no. He'll come back here, if only because he has nowhere else to go until he finds another place. And when he comes back, I'll be here. And when he leaves, I'll be leaving with him. I'm never letting him go!" 

"Where are you going now, David?" 

He grinned wryly. "I'm going shopping!" 

**** 

David scanned the counter intently, searching for the one piece of jewelry that would embody his feelings for his young lover. His eye was drawn to a small blue box. Nestled on the white velvet lining was a pair of fine gold hoops. He had seen the bare hole in Kane's left earlobe. The thought of them wearing mated earrings was extremely arousing. And while he himself had never had his ear pierced, he was willing to have that done in order to wear the other hoop. 

It took some talking, but he finally convinced the saleswoman who would handle the piercing to insert the hoop instead of a stud as was customary. The stinging pain surprised him, but he was so pleased with the results that he forced himself to ignore it. 

As he pulled out his credit card to pay for the earrings something else caught his eye. His breath caught in his throat. It was perfect. He purchased it as well. 

Next he went to a tiny but well-stocked boutique that specialized in erotic clothing and sex toys. He picked up a few items to replace what Kane's father had destroyed. David also selected a thong that on close inspection proved to be a wink and a promise of black velvet, which framed the wearer's sex and buttocks. A discreet cache sex shielded the relaxed cock from casual view. An aroused one, however.... 

David licked his lips. 

His last stop was at the florist. He ordered a dozen plump, long-stemmed red roses to be delivered to Benita's apartment and he included a dozen yellow ones as a thank you to his hostess. On impulse he purchased an additional six dozen of the garden variety. He had the stems removed and hurried home with his offerings. 

David breathed a silent prayer that Kane hadn't returned to the apartment yet and sighed with relief when Benita announced that the younger man had called to let her know he would be back within the hour. 

Guy, his arm slung over Benita’s shoulders, watched sardonically. This was better than one of those turn of the century French sex farces. 

Working quickly, David turned down the bed and pulled the roses out of the bag, one by one. His fingers trembling with excitement, he began tearing off the petals and strewing them over the sheet. Their heady fragrance filled the air, making him almost drunk with the scent. 

Benita was touched by his actions, and dragged her...whatever Guy was, away from the spare bedroom. She was too filled with conflicting emotions to consider just what he might be to her. 

David continued setting the scene for what he hoped would be the start of his reconciliation with Kane. He retrieved the small blue box, now containing just the single earring and placed it carefully on Kane's pillow. 

Next to it he put a small, wooden paddle. 

"And just who were you planning to use that on?" Kane asked as he leaned against the bedroom door. He was pale but otherwise composed. 

That made David *very* nervous. Could his lover have decided to give up on them? Pain such as he’d never felt tore through him. He took a deep breath. 

"The paddle is a gift for you. To use on me, if that's your desire.  I deserve it, I know. I deserve any punishment you want to throw at me baby. But please... 

"Just please don't leave me!"

####

Part 24

Kane unobtrusively locked the door, then stalked toward David with slow, deliberate steps. "This is for me?" He nodded toward the implement on the bed.       

David's mouth went dry and a flush of excitement mounted his cheeks. The mental image that had suddenly formed, of Kane leaning over him, plying the paddle on his upturned buttocks, aroused him to fever pitch.  "Yes!" he breathed. 

"To use on you." It was a statement. 

David was barely able to repress a shiver of desire. "Oh, yes!" He took a step toward the younger man, but Kane held up a hand, halting his lover's approach. 

"Granted you deserve to be beaten for hurting me as you did, but why would you think *I'd* have any interest in administering this punishment? What makes you think I'm here for any other reason than to pack my things and leave?" 

David was on him before Kane realized he was moving. Holding him tightly, he spoke softly in his ear. "You won't leave because you love me. And I won't let you leave because I love you. And you'll punish me because the idea of bending me over intrigues you, makes you hard!"  David's mouth covered Kane's, and he licked at the lush lips that drove him over the edge. 

"You want to fuck me, don't you? After you get done punishing me. When my ass is hot and red. You want to feel how hot my skin is as you slide into me and fuck my brains out!" 

"David!" Kane couldn't maintain his emotional distance any longer. He melted into the older man's embrace and wound his arms around his neck, pressing against the full length of his lover's body.

Kane's fingers threaded through David's thick, dark hair. They brushed against the hoop he now wore. "What's this? When did you get your ear pierced?" he asked as he stroked the skin below David's ear. 

"This afternoon," David murmured as he kissed his way to the younger man's left ear and took it none too gently between his teeth. "I knew your ear was pierced, though come to think of it, I've never seen you wear an earring, have I?" 

Kane looked uncomfortable. "I had it done a few years ago. Just another attempt to get my parents to notice me. When I realized they didn't care one way or the other, I put the stupid stud away and never wore it again." 

David reached over and picked the small blue box off the pillow. "I was hoping you'd wear this one." He snapped open the lid. "It's the mate of mine." 

Kane stared at it, mesmerized. And then a single, lone tear ran down his cheek. 

David was horrified. Had he presumed too much? 

"Baby, I'm sorry! If you don't like it, I'll get rid of it!" 

Kane's hand snatched the box from David. "No! You can't have it back! You gave it to me!" He leaned his head against David's chest and wept. "Do you know I can't remember the last time someone gave me a gift!" 

"Then you like it?" 

"I love it!" 

"And you'll wear it?" 

"For the rest of my life!" 

David took the fine gold hoop from the box and carefully inserted it into Kane's ear. He expected some resistance, but it slid in easily, much as he did with his young lover.    

"Kane, I need you to make love to me so badly!" 

Kane caught his breath and began tearing at his clothes. Then David stopped him, frowning. 

“Where did this come from?" he demanded, fingering the turtleneck pullover he would have sworn Kane had not been wearing earlier. 

"Oh. This." Kane blushed. "I was so angry with you before. And when I saw the mark you put on my neck, I got ever angrier. So I bought the turtleneck to cover it up." 

David sighed. "I have given you a hard time today, haven't I baby? I am sorry. Mike might be the nicest guy in the world, but he's so good looking! And he's younger than I am! And you like him!" 

Kane ran a tentative hand along his lover's jaw, his eyes fastened on David's lips. "But David," he said softly as he closed the distance between them once more and pressed heated kisses to his mouth, "there's one thing about Mike. Well, two actually. I like *him*, but I *love* you!" 

David lifted his chin so Kane could kiss the column of his throat. "Ohhh, Kane! Ummm, what's the second thing, baby?" 

Kane took the flesh of David's throat between his teeth and suckled it gently. "Mike may be handsome, though I don’t see it; he's not as young as you seem to think. 

“And David....he's straight!" 

####

Part 25         

David jerked backward. "What?" 

Kane muffled his laughter with the heel of his hand. "I'm sorry, David, I really thought you knew Mike wasn't gay! That's why it took me such a long time to figure out why you were so angry." 

"The thought of you giving your sweet mouth to someone else made me want to commit a violence!" David confessed. "And the mere idea that you had let someone before me have you...it felt as if you had torn out my heart and stomped on it! I wasn't just angry; I was pea-green jealous!" 

The younger man snuggled up to his lover, sliding his arms securely around David's waist. "I know! I finally realized that about halfway through lunch. I suddenly remembered Mike complaining about all the gay men who come on to him. No matter how he dresses, no matter how he acts, they think he sails that side of the lake! 

"And something else happened. There was this couple sitting opposite me. I couldn't help watching. One of them kept looking at all the good-looking guys who passed their table and commenting on them. His friend just got quieter and quieter. I wanted to throw something at that macho asshole! Then I thought how I'd feel if you looked at other men that way when you were out with me. And if it made me feel murderous, I knew you'd like it even less if I did that to you!" 

David's hands worked through his young lover's long, dark hair, loosing it from the thong that held it away from his face. He brought a lock of it to his nose and inhaled deeply, loving the scent of it, a mixture of the sandalwood shampoo in Benita's shower and the indefinable signature that was Kane's own. Rubbing it against he lips, he groaned and searched for Kane's mouth. 

Kane could feel his lover's arousal pressing against his groin and his own flesh leaped to attention. "David!" he said softly. "I need to be inside you, just this once! Please?" 

David smiled as he pressed butterfly kisses to the younger man's cheek and jaw. "And you really want to use that paddle, don't you, baby?" 

"Would you let me?" The idea of bringing the paddle down onto David's buttocks made Kane breathless with excitement. 

In answer, David began slowly peeling off his clothes, tantalizing them both with anticipation. He shed his shoes and socks first, then let his shirt drop at his feet. Moving to the music he heard in his head, David turned away from Kane and unzipped his trousers. He smiled rakishly over his shoulder at his young lover, then hooked his thumbs in the waistband and eased slacks and briefs over his lean hips, bending from the waist and wriggling slightly to slide them down and off his legs. 

Kane's eyes followed the line of his lover's body, lingering on the curve of hip and thigh. With a jolt he realized he was still fully dressed and he scrambled to rectify that. Impatient fingers worked in a frenzy to discard clothing that had become too constrictive. 

Then he picked up the paddle and tapped it suggestively against his palm. 

"Shall I assume the position?" David asked politely. 

"Oh, please do!" 

David leaned over the bed and braced his hands on the rose-covered sheets. His legs were propped apart, his sex vulnerably exposed. 

Kane slipped his hand between David's legs and stroked his arousal. Then he cupped the twin sacks and squeezed gently. Unable to resist, he licked and nipped the flesh of David's buttocks, leaving a love bite before he straightened. 

His hip against David's, his arm across his lower back, Kane rubbed the wooden paddle over him. Fine tremors rippled through David as his young lover drew out the exquisite agony. His cock jerked as he felt the edge of the paddle exploring the cleft separating his ass. 

"You've been really horrible to me, you know that, don't you David?" Kane swung the paddle and in spite of himself, David jumped. 

"You treated me like a strumpet!" Smack. "You called me a slut!" Smack. "Now you think a pretty gold earring will win you back into my bed?" Smack, smack, smack. "You think flowers will make it all better?" 

The paddle rose and fell desultorily. 

For Kane found that administering a spanking was not half as exciting as being on the receiving end, and he set the paddle aside. David's ass bore the imprints of it, and his skin was very hot. Kane caressed it lovingly, then tore open the packet David had left for him on the nightstand. He put the condom on and lubricated it. His fingers slick from the gel, he rubbed them between David's cheeks, seeking the spot that had become his Shangri-La. 

He inserted one long finger, and David moaned and thrust his hips back on the intruder. Kane withdrew the one and replaced it with two, and then with three. Leaning along his lover's back, Kane reached around to take David's cock in his other hand, matching the rhythm of his hand to his finger-fucking. 

"Do you like this, David?" he asked hoarsely, on the ragged edge of control, praying his lover was not being beset by his old demons. For if David was feeling in the least bit coerced, Kane would stop their play immediately, although it would tear him apart. 

"Yes! Kane! Do it!" he commanded. "Fuck me! With your cock! I want to feel you come in my ass!" 

Kane eased his fingers out of David and began the gentle insertion of his rigid erection. Now he stroked David with both hands, shuddering with delight to be deep inside his lover. The older man's breath hitched and shuddered as his lover measured his length in him again and again. 

"David!" Kane gasped, his hips jerking wildly out of control. "I can't wait!" 

"Don't wait for me, baby! Come!" he ordered. "Come now!" 

And as Kane pounded into him, swelling and pulsing in his narrow channel, the feel of his lover's climax was enough to trigger David's own. His essence poured over Kane's hands, coating them, and spurted over the rose petals scattered over their sheets. 

"Don't stop, baby! Oh God! please *don't* stop!" David groaned, his back bowed to give the younger man greater access to him. 

Kane obeyed, driven by blind desire, until finally, exhausted, he slumped over his lover's back. "Oh David! that was..." He couldn't find the words to describe it. 

But David had no problem with it. "That was incredible!" he breathed. "No one's ever fucked me like that before!" 

"You know why, don't you?" Kane asked, a trifle cockily. 

David shook his head and winced a bit as Kane slowly withdrew. 

"Because," Kane said smugly as he threw himself on the bed, arms and legs akimbo, struggling to catch his breath, "no one has... ever... loved you like I do!"

####

Part 26    

It had gotten very quiet in Benita's spare bedroom. For a time there had been hushed voices, then the sharp cadence of the paddle encountering flesh. Muted sounds of passion. Soft gasps and moans. 

And now silence. Guy was seriously concerned about the outcome of the quarrel he had witnessed. Having been raised with constraint as the watchword, he was nonplused by the volatile quarrel between the two lovers. 

"Benita...?" He didn't understand how she could be so placid about it. 

The psychic was in her kitchen, having put some discreet distance between herself and the couple who shared her guest room. She gave him a sweet smile and returned to preparing them some tea. Guy grimaced. He would have preferred a whiskey. 

"I just knew it would work out all right! Kane loves him so much; he won't let David go. And David isn't such a fool that he'd throw away a love like that!" She sighed contentedly. 

"Yes, but Nita, it's too quiet in there!" 

"Your point is...?" 

"They may have killed each other!" 

"No, love, they won't have done that," she said indulgently.  "Here, have a drop of whiskey in your tea." 

Guy accepted the mug she handed him, then froze. She had called him 'love'. Did she call everyone ‘love’? Or was it a slip? Could she be developing feelings for him? It behooved him to tread carefully until he could be sure he had snared her. 

He took a cautious sip, and then deeper, relishing one. She had added just the amount of whiskey he preferred. A smile tugged at his lips, and he took pains to keep it hidden behind his mug while he continued to observe her. This was becoming more and more promising! 

The intercom interrupted his musings. 

Benita scowled at it. "Have I suddenly moved into Grand Central Station and someone neglected to tell me?" she demanded. "What?" she snarled into it. 

"Ummm, delivery, ma'am?" a disembodied voice queried. 

"Bring it on up!" She turned toward Guy. "This must be the flowers that David ordered for Kane." 

"You mean, you're not sure? You just gave a stranger access to your building, and you have no clue who it might be?"

Benita regarded him curiously. "Well...yes. I'm not in any danger." 

"Benita!" He was exasperated. "There's a serial killer running loose in the city! You can't be too careful!" 

Touched, she cupped his jaw in her hand and let her fingers stroke down to his chin. "You're worried about me! That's so sweet!" 

Guys' eyes narrowed, but before he could retort, Benita's doorbell chimed. She brushed past her erstwhile lover and glanced through the peephole. Sure enough, a veritable Birnham Wood of flowers appeared before her. 

Benita pulled open the door and reached for her purse to get the delivery person a tip. He shoved past her and tossed the bouquets of roses aside. 

"Bernie!" She recoiled in remembered fear. "What are you doing here?" 

"I'm looking for David!" Bernie's eyes had taken on the glint of madness. "It's time we came to an agreement. None of the trash he's been seeing will make him happy! I have to make him understand that!" 

He seized Benita's upper arms and shook her. "You know where he is: he always comes back to you! Where is he now, and who is he with?" 

Guy casually approached them and broke Bernie's hold on the psychic. "Suppose you address all your questions to me?" 

Bernie jerked back, visibly shaken to find Benita was not alone. He gasped and struggled to return to sanity. "David! I have to find David!" 

David chose that moment to make an entrance. Running a hand through already disheveled hair he regarded the scene before him with sleepy, sated eyes. 

Bernie took in his shirtless state, his bare feet, his unfastened trousers. A livid bruise at the base of David's throat and kiss-swollen lips revealed how he had passed the afternoon. 

The other man gave a tortured cry. "Top of my spine, base of my brain!" he wailed and bolted out the door. 

David stared after him for a long moment. Then his gaze was captured by the flowers on the floor. Carefully he gathered up the yellow ones and presented them to Benita. Kissing her cheek, he murmured, "Thanks for being such a good friend, Nita." 

Then he stooped to pick up the red roses for Kane. "Do you have something I can put these in?" 

Benita walked to the curio in the living room and took two lead crystal vases out of it. She went to the kitchen and filled them with water, then gently arranged her roses in one. Sniffing their heady fragrance, she handed the vase to Guy and went to embrace David. "They're wonderful, David. Thank you so much." 

"My pleasure, sweetie. What was that all about?" and he gestured toward the door that had swung closed behind his friend. 

Benita shrugged. "He was rambling about you dating trash." 

David suddenly looked dangerous, Guy noted with interest. So, there was more to the former actor than just a pretty facade. 

"If he was referring to Kane..." 

"No," she touched his arm tenderly. "I'm sure he's not even aware of Kane at this point." 

"He did meet him once," David confessed. "I had taken Kane to a video arcade and Bernie ran into us there. I'm sure he thought Kane was a momentary diversion, if anything." 

"Just be careful, all right, David? I don't know if he's completely hinged anymore." 

"Could you read him?" 

She shuddered and shook her head. "I couldn't make myself touch him, although I got some flashes when he grabbed my arms. Not enough to get more than a sense of chaos." 

"He touched you?" This disturbed David. Bernie had never been a touchy feely kind of guy. In fact, he didn't like being touched, although, now that David thought of it, Bernie had no problem with touching him. 

"Not to worry, McMillan." Guy set the flowers on a table and came up behind Benita, encircling her shoulders with his arm. "I saw to it he was unable to hurt her." 

David nodded his thanks. "Just don't let him in unless there's someone else in here with you, Nita. Bernie's starting to worry me!" 

"I can take care of myself!" 

"Sure you can, ma p'tite," Guy whispered in her ear, his warm breath sending shivers through her. "Humor us, okay?" 

Reluctantly she agreed and leaned back into his embrace. Guy couldn't resist sliding his lips along the column of her throat. 

David fiddled with Kane's roses until he had them just so in the vase Benita had put out for him. A sudden thought occurred to him and he swore. 

"Look at the time! We're going to be late for work! Jacques will have my ass!" 

"No," Benita smiled. "I called him this morning and told him that you weren't feeling well. Then I had Guy call and pretend he was Kane's doctor. We bought you twenty-four hours!" 

"You're an angel!" David kissed her cheek again. Then he turned toward Guy. The Frenchman backed away hastily, causing David to smile. "I wasn't going to kiss you, de Villiere." 

"Yes, well..." 

"You’re not my type.” David’s smile broadened to a grin.  “You're too tall and your hair is too short. And your eyes are not chocolate brown!"

####

Part 27

Kane was sprawled across the bed, his arms folded behind his head, staring up at the ceiling when David let himself back into their bedroom. He studiously avoided looking at the older man. 

David approached hesitantly, the roses proffered as an offering of atonement. "Kane? Are you still angry with me?" His backside tingled from the paddling Kane had administered with his thorough approval. 

Kane rolled onto his elbow, his mouth somber, but a warm smile lighting his eyes. "Honey man, I could never stay mad at you!" Then his mouth dropped open at the sight of the perfect red roses and he sucked in his breath. "For me?" 

David placed the vase carefully on the night table and sat on the bed, pulling Kane into his arms. "Yes, these are for you!" he said, his lips against his lover's. "I'm going to court you as I should have from the beginning! Now get some clothes on. I'm taking you out to dinner, and you're going to tell me how you spent your afternoon." 

The younger man stiffened. "We can't go out!" he bewailed the circumstances. "Jacques is expecting us at Salante's! We've got work!" 

David rubbed his chin against Kane's long dark hair. "No, baby. Benita and Guy called us in. We've got one more free night. And I want to wine you." He nuzzled the soft flesh beneath Kane's ear. "Dine you." He ran his teeth along the column of his lover's throat. "And sixty-nine you!" He brushed warm, moist, openmouthed kisses along Kane's cheek, searching for the lips that drove him wild with desire. "Kiss me!" he ordered. 

With a sigh, Kane melted against his lover's body and offered all the kisses he wanted. David's hand wandered down the younger man's torso, tugging lightly at the curls that clustered at his groin, then fondled his erection. Toppling him backward onto the rose petals that still covered the sheets, David followed him down and settled his length onto him. 

"I have something else I want to give you, but not until we find a place of our own!" 

"Mmmm! You feel so good on me!" Kane reached down and stroked David's buttocks. His fingers slid deep in the crevice that divided them. He rubbed his thigh against David's arousal. "You're going to make me wait that long to give me this again?" 

David eased onto his back and took Kane with him, swatting gently at his seat. "Naughty monkey! You know that isn't what I meant! Now why don't you grab a shower and I'll make reservations. I want you fed before I fuck you!" 

Kane sighed happily. "I love when you talk dirty to me!" He got to his feet and strolled leisurely into the bathroom, feeling his lover’s eyes on him all the way. 

David heard the shower and smiled as he reached for the phone. "Amore's? I'd like a table for two, eight o'clock, your most romantic alcove. The name is McMillan." 

He licked his lips and felt desire pool in his abdomen. David walked into the bathroom and leaned against the doorframe, watching his young lover's silhouette through the stall door briskly rubbing the soap over his skin, lingering over his obvious erection. The older man reached into his unfastened trousers and fondled his own cock for a delicious moment, then adjusted himself and returned to the bedroom to finish dressing. 

Kane emerged from the bathroom, drying his hair. "Where are you taking me for dinner, honey man?" he asked as he began laying out his clothing. 

Kane wriggled into black jeans and David caressed him visually. The younger man sat on the edge of the bed, the gaping fly revealing his flat midriff, then bent over to put on his socks.  He straightened to find David sitting next to him, unable to resist petting the hard flesh hidden in the younger man's pants. 

"Do you want to know what I'm planning on feeding you?" he asked as he tumbled him back on the bed and pushed his legs wide, settling against him. David nibbled his way up Kane's ribs and ran his tongue over a flat male nipple. He took it between his teeth and bit down gently, causing Kane to shudder and moan. 

"Fuck the food!" he gasped. 

"No, I'd rather fuck you!" David whispered in his ear. 

"Oh, yes! David please!" 

David bit at his mouth, leaving it swollen. "Do you know, I have never wanted anyone as much and as often as I want you!" he breathed. "I should have more control at my age!" 

"David, you're only twenty-eight! And I love that I can make you lose control!" 

"Actually, baby... I’m older than that. You assumed I was twenty-eight, and I just never corrected you.” 

"David, why? Your age never mattered to me!" 

"I was afraid it would scare you off it you knew how old I really am!" Distressed with the topic of conversation that he himself had brought up, David got to his feet and tossed Kane the collarless shirt he had laid out. 

Kane let it fall to the bed and stood to embrace his lover. "David, I don’t care! You could be forty and it would mean dick to me!" 

"Watch your mouth!" David couldn't help scolding him with a smile. "I'm not that old! But I *am* a good deal older!" 

Panic rode the younger man. "Does this mean I'm too young for you? Are you going to leave me?" 

David's arms tightened around his lover. "I'm never going to leave you! You're just perfect for me. You're perfection personified! Now finish getting dressed; I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I’m starving!"

Kane picked up the shirt and slid his arms into it. His fingers were busy with the buttons, but he never took his eyes off his lover's face. "So what are we going to eat?” 

"Mmmm, I thought maybe a cold antipasto, a tossed green salad, gnocchi with meat sauce, tiramisu and espresso." 

"We're eating light tonight?" 

The corner of David's mouth kicked up in a grin. "Oh, yes! I have serious plans for your body for later this evening!” 

“Tell me!” 

“I'm going to fuck your sweet ass until you don't know which end is up! And then I'm going to flip you over and take you in my mouth and make love to you that way until you come!" 

"And then...?" 

"And then..." David nuzzled the earlobe that bore the token of his possession, "and then...Baby, we're going to do it all over again!"

####

Part 28

David rocked on his heels impatiently, oblivious to his audience. Waiting in the living room for his young lover to finish preening, "Kane, are you ready yet?" he called. "I'm starving!"                                        

And then his breath caught in his throat. Kane paused in their bedroom doorway, fussing with his black leather jacket. His long brown hair hung loose around his shoulders, the subdued lighting from the lamps bringing out the chestnut highlights. He was trying to thread the zipper, but the teeth would not match up. 

David could see the younger man was becoming increasingly frustrated. He crossed the room to stand before Kane, brushing his hands aside to replace them with his own. He stroked the front of the butter soft jacket, up to the collar, then pulled the edges closed as he dragged Kane flush against his body. One hand left off caressing the jacket to slide under his silky hair and caress the nape of his neck, urging him closer. 

Kane's long lashes drifted shut as he felt his lover's breath wash over his lips, which parted in helpless excitement. How could this man break his heart one minute, then tenderly piece it back together the next? He sighed soundlessly and leaned toward the mouth that held him enraptured. 

David lured those lips closer and then struck, slanting his mouth across Kane's and plunging his tongue into his welcome warmth. 

When they broke apart, they were both trembling and panting, their eyes hot with unslaked desire. David groaned and swept Kane into a hard embrace. "If we don't leave, like in the next two minutes, we're not going to leave at all!" 

Kane's smile was shaky at best, and it was obvious he was in the grip of another hunger. Then his stomach growled and the intensity of the moment was lightened. 

"Have you got the keys, baby?" David asked. Kane withdrew the car keys from his pocket and tossed them in the air. The older man snatched them before they could land back in Kane's hand. "I'll drive!" he announced, and with his hand possessively on the small of his lover's back, he urged him out the door. 

**** 

Guy watched them, a fierce ache deep in his chest. "I do believe I'm jealous!" he declared to the room at large. 

Benita kept her voice light. "Of two fags?" she asked, deliberately coarsening her language. 

Guy spun around to stare at her in shock. 

"Oh, come on!" she mocked. "You're one of the richest men in this city! What can David and Kane have that you could possibly want?" She thought that over for a moment, then added, "That you couldn't get?" 

Guy's face darkened and he stalked toward the psychic. Benita stood her ground, outwardly fearless. 

Inwardly, a six year old ran screaming in terror from the threatening, frightening figure that was her father. Perhaps if she ran far enough and fast enough she would be able to escape him. 

But the adult Benita knew that running only prolonged the fear, drew out the terror. So she waited, outwardly calm, for Guy's assault. 

At six feet, Guy topped her by at least half a foot. His body was hard and fit, belying his position as head of the family consortium. If he was so inclined, he could snap her slender body without creasing his thousand-dollar business suit. 

But Guy was not so inclined. His warm, large hands clasped her upper arms gently. "How can you call them that?" he demanded. "I thought David was your friend!" 

"Rich man, David is my friend, and by extension, so is Kane! You, you're nothing more than a client, and a former client at that! I told you I wanted nothing more to do with you! Now I suggest you leave!" 

She tried to turn away but Guy refused to let her go. "And the fact that I have so much money means I have no feelings? I can't envy the love that David and Kane share, even if it is for someone of the same sex? I can't want a love like that for myself?" He released her arms, but before she could escape, he enveloped her in an embrace that imprinted every inch of his body on hers. 

He nuzzled the curls that rioted around her elfin face, his breath warm in her ear. She stood impassively in his arms, struggling to remain so, hoping a non-response would get through to him. Then she felt his tongue lap at the pulse that was beating heavily in her throat. And she knew she was lost. 

With a moan she turned toward the mouth that was tormenting her, unable to fight her feelings for this one man any longer. 

Guy uttered a silent prayer of thanks that he was able to ignite the passion he had known lay buried deep.

He had never been into this particular scene. He still wasn't sure how he would react to Benita taking a crop to him. 

But he wanted her love. And right now he was willing to let her do anything she wanted to him. 

One way or another, she was going to be his. 

She just hadn't realized it yet!  

####

Part 29

No matter how much Kane teased, David would not reveal where he planned on taking him. He drove casually through the city, mentioning first one trendy eatery, then another. 

David was not above a little teasing himself. 

Then he pulled into a cobblestoned circular drive and let the car idle in neutral while the valet parking attendant approached. Kane gasped. David was going to show him off to the world! They were having dinner at Amore's! 

Amore's! The trendiest restaurant of the decade! So trendy that even on a Tuesday evening the line to get in curled around the block. So trendy that anyone with the least claim to fame sought to get past the royal blue velvet ropes that separated those who mattered from everyone else. 

David sauntered around the black Porsche and opened the passenger door for his lover. The lights illuminating the cascading fall of water that sparkled and tinkled, the renowned trademark of Amore's, revealed the warm flush that colored Kane's cheeks. David slung his arm around the younger man's shoulders and led him inside. Kane couldn't resist twisting his head first one way and then the other, trying to absorb all the sights the restaurant had to offer. 

The maitre d' smiled broadly when he saw David approaching. "Ah, Signore McMillan! It is so good to see you!" He leaned closer and whispered conspiratorially, "And you bring a young lady with you this time! How excellent!" 

Kane heard this and whipped his head around. His long hair flowed over David's cheek and shoulder. A deep, painful blush colored the younger man's cheeks. The maitre d' turned vermilion, mortified that he had misread the situation and had embarrassed the ‘close friend’ of a patron as valued as David McMillan. 

"Signore McMillan! Signore," he almost cried, addressing them both, wringing his hands in distress. "Please, forgive me! I make the stupid blunder! I so sorry!" 

David was actually laughing. "It's okay, Nino! Kane would make a very pretty girl! Now how about showing us to our table?" 

The maitre d' hit himself in the head with the heel of his hand. "Scusi, Signore! I such a fool! Please to come this way! It just so happens I have your private parlor available, just for you. And your young friend!" He minced his way across the main dining area, past the smaller dining rooms where people actually ate, past the shadowed alcoves where reputations were destroyed, to the staircase that led to the intimate rooms where deals were made, where a lock on the door ensured that no one would interrupt whatever went on within. 

Where one could fuck. Or get fucked.  

David grinned at Kane and made a production of licking his lips as they entered the private room. The younger man was unable to look away from that mouth, with its sheen of moisture beckoning him to come taste. 

Nino, the maitre d', bustled about, laying the menus neatly beside the place settings, straightening the napkins, adjusting the silverware. "I hope you will find everything to your liking, Signore McMillan! Angelina will serve you tonight. I give you some time to make your selections, and then send her to you, no? Would you care for something to drink?" 

"A carafe of your house red, Nino," David said, and Nino bowed himself out, easing the door closed behind him. David cocked an eyebrow at Kane. "First you get wined!" 

Inexplicably shy, Kane made a production of removing his jacket and looking around. The dark paneled walls were hung with homoerotic art and he approached one to study it intently. A male figure, clothed only in a black leather bondage mask, his body angled slightly toward the viewer, glanced coyly over his shoulder. The butt of a cat-o'-nine-tails had been inserted in his ass, and its thongs were draped enticingly over his engorged cock. 

Kane stumbled back into David, his shocked gaze locking with his. "Don't you find this exciting?" David asked with a mocking smile, running his palm down Kane's groin to fondle the erection he had in spite of himself. 

The younger man jerked away from his lover, suddenly aware of the chaise discreetly tucked against the far wall. The overt sensuality of the room struck him like a fist. Kane's eyes blazed with outrage. 

"This is where you take your conquests, isn't it?" he demanded bitterly, jealousy, like bile, rising up in him. "They know you here! They know you on sight! How many times have you had a fuck in this place? If I had been a girl, would they have congratulated you on getting straight? Did you ever bring Candy here? 

"You didn't bring me here to court me, to show me off! This is just another place for you to fuck me! Well, guess what, you...you actor! This is one time you're not getting *any* at all!" And Kane scooped up his jacket, ready to storm out of the tiny dining room. 

As was fast becoming a precedent for David, the angrier Kane got, the harder *he* got. Moving quickly, he stepped in front of his young lover, barring his way to the door. 

"You get the fuck out of my way David McMillan!" Kane shouted through a fog of rage. Then something in David's demeanor pierced the anger that surrounded him. 

David was looking at him as if he was a particularly tasty morsel he intended to devour, taking his time, savoring every bite.  Kane swallowed and nervously gave way before the older man. "What are you...David, what are you doing?" 

And David grinned, a shark's grin, revealing sharp, white teeth. "What do you think I'm doing, little boy?"

Kane gasped and felt himself get hot and so hard it bordered on exquisite pain. He carelessly flung his jacket aside and surged into his lover's arms. Biting at his mouth, he forced his tongue past David's lips, dueling with him, mimicking the act he was desperate to initiate. 

"I don't care how many lovers you've had in this place! I need you to fuck me! I need to feel you deep inside me! Please, David! On the chaise! Over the table! Anywhere, but, now! Right now!" Kane begged, frantically rubbing his lower body against the older man's arousal, his lips blindly seeking David’s as he began to spiral out of control. 

David's arms became comforting. He held his lover tenderly as he shuddered in his embrace, unable to restrain the climax that had unexpectedly overtaken him. 

When he finally calmed, Kane sighed blissfully. Then he stiffened as he realized what he had done and he wanted to sink into the floor. This had never happened to him before! 

"Oh, my God! David! I'm a mess! My pants! How can I leave like this?" Kane was on the verge of weeping. 

"Shhh, baby. It's all right!" David’s hands rubbed up and down Kane's back, pressing reassuringly against him, while his chin rubbed the silkiness that was the younger man's hair. "I can't tell you how hot it makes me to know you want me so much I can make you come just by kissing you!" 

Kane looked back at him, disgruntled. "I'm too easy! Why should you court me, when I let you have your wicked way with me whenever you get the notion!" 

"You're not easy, baby," David insisted, stroking his hand over the damp front of Kane's trousers. "And I am going to court you. If you want to eat downstairs where everyone can see you with me, then we'll go eat downstairs." 

"Oh, sure, you can say that now! How can I go down there with this great huge wet spot on my pants?" 

David tried. He really tried. But he could not prevent the bubble of laughter from bursting forth. "I love you, baby! God, I love you so much!" 

A knock on the door broke them apart. "Come in," David called as Kane turned his back so whoever was at the door would not see the condition his trousers were in. 

David went to take the carafe of wine from their waitress, Angelina. A conventionally pretty young woman, she was dressed in the costume of Tuscany, the swirly, multi-colored skirt revealing, then concealing yards of lemon yellow crinoline. Long, dangly earrings swung jauntily from her earlobes. 

"Oh Signore!" She giggled and blushed. 

David was clueless.       

Kane, watching from over his shoulder, followed her line of vision and struggled valiantly to muffle his own laughter. 

David glanced from Angelina to Kane and back again. "We'll be ready to order in a little while. Oh, would Nino have a spare pair of pants we could borrow for tonight?" 

"Si, Signore." 

Kane moved to stand next to his lover, and for the first time Angelina got a good look at him. She brought her hand to her mouth, trying to stifle her giggles. "I think, maybe two pair, no?" And she danced out of the room. 

"What was that all about?" 

David followed Kane's pointed look down to the front of his own trousers. His eyes jerked back up, startled confusion in them. 

“Now how in hell did that get there?”

####

Part 30    

A perfunctory tap on the door prevented Kane from stating the obvious, that when David had held him so tightly the moisture on his pants had transferred to David's slacks as well. 

Nino came bustling in, self-importantly carrying two pairs of trousers over his arm. 

"Ah, signores, that clumsy Angelina! She tell me she spill the wine! If she not my niece, I swear I fire the girl!" 

David and Kane exchanged relieved glances. Neither felt it was relevant to explain how their slacks came to be in their present condition. 

"Not at all, Nino. It was our fault. Angelina was her usual professional self. Do not blame her!" 

Satisfied, Nino nodded. "Just give Angelina your trousers. I will see to the cleaning and get them back to you before you finish your dinner." Stranger requests than clothing had come from those who used these rooms, and nothing fazed him any longer. 

The little man left and David watched appraisingly as Kane began skinning out of his slacks and emptying the pockets. He did the same, then took Kane's pants from him and cracked open the door. As Nino had promised, Angelina waited outside and took the damp trousers, flashing David a droll grin and a wink and handing him a basket of warm, seasoned bread. He murmured something to her that Kane would not quite hear and pressed some bills into her hand. 

David closed the door and snapped the lock. Kane looked up in surprise at the sound, to find his lover eyeing him intently, enjoying the fact that the younger man, who never wore briefs, was now nude from the waist down. Kane felt his mouth grow dry and his cock grow hard. 

"Angelina's going to have one of the chefs put together a lavish antipasto. We've got about twenty minutes!" David said, and he held up the packet he had retrieved before giving the waitress their pants. He began unbuttoning his shirt. 

Kane licked his lips, quivering with renewed passion. "Where...?" 

And David replied hoarsely, "Your own suggestion: over the table! Turn around and spread you legs!" 

Kane was trembling with desire as he rushed to obey his lover's order. Plates and silverware were scattered as he bent over the table and set his feet well apart, bending far forward to give David better access to his body. "Hurry, David!" he whispered hotly. "Fuck me now!" 

But the older man was taking his time. He slid his hands under Kane’s shirt and moved the material up over his lover’s back, leaving his skin exposed to his avid gaze. David’s lips skimmed the line of Kane’s spine, letting him feel his teeth, his tongue. 

“David!” he breathed. “What are you doing?” 

“It’s called foreplay, baby, and if you don’t recognize it, I must not be doing it right!” 

Kane shuddered and sighed. “Oh, you’re doing it very right, honey man!” And he gave himself up to his lover’s ministrations. 

For a time they were both content to draw out their anticipation. But for a very short time only. The restless, unconsciously erotic movements of his young lover began driving David to the brink of his control. 

Unable to resist any longer, he reached past Kane for the iced bowl that held individual pats of butter shaped astonishingly like phalluses. Kane’s eyes widened in surprise at the sight, and then cool fingers stroked the curve of his buttocks, and the tiny butter cocks were rubbed around and into his snug opening. The sensuous movements lulled him into a daze, until something blunt and hot and hard began pushing into him. The contrasting temperatures had him on the verge of coming. He groaned and pressed back, trying to accept all of his lover at once. 

"Easy, baby. Easy. I'll give you every inch of me you can take!" David leaned over Kane's back, his hands caressing his smooth chest, and took his earlobe gently between his teeth. He tugged on it carefully, twining his tongue through the gold hoop. "You're so tight, baby! I can feel you squeezing me! Again, baby! Let me feel how much you want this!" 

David's teeth scored the column of his young lover's throat, and the sensation of Kane's all but silent moans vibrated down to the base of David’s cock, causing his hips to plunge faster. He reached down to take Kane's erection in both hands, the drops of moisture that signaled his eminent climax beading on the tip. 

Kane bowed his back more and covered David's hands with his own, setting the frantic rhythm he needed to come. His breath whistled out as the older man’s cock measured his passageway again and again, and he almost sobbed with his need. 

And then David's movements became jerky. Uncoordinated. And he poured himself into his lover's willing channel. He groaned and bit down on Kane's shoulder, unwittingly bruising the skin. That was all the younger man needed to fling himself into the void after his lover. His essence filled David's hands and spilled over. 

The two lovers trembled in the aftermath of the passionate storm that had engulfed them, Kane braced to accept David's boneless weight. 

David was still lodged deeply in his young lover's body, enjoying the caress of the subtle spasms that continued to ripple through Kane. He gently brushed aside the hair that shielded the soft skin of Kane's neck and ran his tongue over it. The salty residue of his excitement was like manna to David. 

"I love how you taste, baby! Your skin, your come! I could eat your forever and never get enough!" Carefully he withdrew and kissed the younger man once more before they set themselves to rights, thankful they had handkerchiefs. David was not sure how the little maitre d' would react to a request for fresh napkins to replace ones used to mop up body fluids so soon after having trousers cleaned of those self-same fluids! 

When Angelina knocked on the door, signaling the arrival of their first course, the table had been straightened and only a faint, lingering scent of hot sex remained to hint of how they had indulged themselves. The waitress set the platter on the table and whipped out her order pad. 

"Have you gentlemen decided on your choices?" She wrote diligently as David rattled off their selections and requested more butter. For a moment her pen froze in the air over her pad as she noted the untouched basket of bread, but, ever the professional, she repeated their order back to them and hurried off to the kitchen. 

"Do you think she knows?" Kane asked, as uncomfortable with the idea that someone knew he and his lover had just had hot, sweaty sex on the table they were going to dine off of, as with the knowledge that at some point his parents must have done the same thing. Or something similar. 

David smiled tenderly at the younger man. "Of course she knows, baby. That's what goes on in these rooms, though it's not always as consensual as what we just shared! Don't let it bother you. Now tell me what you did this afternoon, aside from cursing me for the insensitive fool that I was." 

"Does that mean you're not going to be insensitive anymore, or just not a fool about it?" Kane asked dryly. 

David sent him a rueful glance from under his lashes. "Touché, baby." 

"Well..." 

David could see that Kane was unsure of his reaction to what he was about to tell him. He reached across the table and took the younger man's left hand in his. His long fingers stroked Kane's skin from wrist to fingertips. Turning it over, he explored the palm of Kane's hand and felt his lover shudder. He raised it to his lips and nibbled on a finger, drawing it deep into his mouth and sucking on it. 

"David, I can't want you again, so soon!" 

Satisfied with Kane's physical response, David pressed a kiss into his palm and sat back in his chair. He selected a small square of sharp provolone cheese and gave him a crooked grin. "So. What have you been up to?" 

Kane gathered his scattered wits and considered how best to go about telling his lover that he had put a down payment on a house for them. 

"Ummm, do you remember the house we passed by the other night after work? In that old neighborhood off the county road?" He sighed. "I love that house. You should see it on winter nights, with snow all around and warm yellow light spilling out onto the lawn. It's the kind of house I always wanted, first when I was growing up, and now more than ever. 

"I want that house, David, and I want you to live there with me. The old woman who owns it is in deep financial trouble. We can get it dirt cheap!" 

"I gather you want this house," David remarked dryly. "Okay, I'll go with you to take a look at it, and if it's everything you say it is, I'll can see if we can scrape up a down payment. How does that sound?" 

"Ummm, that sounds great. Except for one thing." Unable to meet David's eyes, Kane looked everywhere but at his lover. "Ummm, I already put a down payment on it!" 

"What??" 

Kane couldn't tell it David was angry or shocked, but he wasn't taking any chances. He threw himself off his chair to kneel at David's feet. "Oh please, honey man! Please let me have it!" he begged, burying his face against David’s waist. 

David was shocked, but only at the casual way Kane could contemplate such a large purchase. He could see how distressed the younger man was at the thought of displeasing him. But he could also see how much having this house meant to him. 

And he did remember the house, although it had been very dark the night they had driven by. The neighborhood was old, and comfortably upper-middle class. If this was what his baby wanted, then he'd do his damnedest to see that his baby got it. 

"We'll go look at it first thing tomorrow, and if it's everything you say, we'll get it." 

His lover wrapped his arms around him and pressed hot kisses to his abdomen. "Thank you, David! You'll see, it's wonderful!" 

David brushed a fleeting kiss across the lush mouth of the younger man and urged him to sit back down and continue with dinner. 

Kane picked up a small, plump pepper and took it between his lips, sucking at it delicately, avidly watching for David's reaction. 

"Oh, you are a naughty monkey! Dad-dy definitely have to spank!" 

And they both licked their lips.

####

Part 31/End 

Kane took a sip of his cappuccino and toyed with his tiramisu, watching his lover from beneath his lashes.

David stared broodingly into his espresso, the bitter, black brew mirroring his sudden feeling of rue at the extent of the commitment he was contemplating. 

A house! Jesus, he had to be out of what little mind he had left! How had he let the younger man talk him into even considering such a major step? He was no good for the long haul; he never had been! Who was he to think he could even sustain a relationship beyond a few weeks? 

He'd only wind up disappointing the idealistic Kane! David began to feel nauseous as anxiety tied his gut in a knot. "Kane..." 

Kane could almost see the miasma of fear thickening the air in the private dining room. He was not about to let David drift away from him. Frantically he tried to devise a way to get David's attention back. 

And his eyes fell on the chaise, nestled in a corner. 

Kane took out a stick of cinnamon gum and methodically removed the wrapper. He folded it into his mouth, aware that David was watching him. "Want some gum, honey man?" he asked winsomely. 

"Uh, sure." 

Kane got up and walked around the table and nudged David's knee with his own. Obligingly David scooted his chair back and Kane settled himself onto the older man's lap. He slid his arms around his lover's neck and fitted their mouths together. David's lips parted automatically and he started as Kane's tongue thrust the gum into his mouth. 

"Chew, honey man. Chew," Kane said as he removed himself from David's proximity and crossed to the chaise, where he made himself comfortable. 

David chewed and a burst of flavor flooded his tongue. His mouth watered and more than his interest began stirring. 

"Know what I want to do, David?" 

David swallowed convulsively, almost swallowing the gum. "What?" He could barely get the word out. 

"I want to make out with you!" 

"What?!" David was sure he couldn't have heard right. 

"I love making out!" the younger man remarked, stretching his arms high over his head. "Most girls won't let you go all the way, but you can kiss them as much as you want!" 

David was suddenly jealous. "And you liked kissing those girls?" 

"Yes," he replied simply. "I loved how excited I would feel. What I couldn't understand was why I wasn't disappointed when they wouldn't let me go any further. And the one time a girl invited me in because her parents were away, I turned her down. Said I had work in the morning!" 

"Kane, when did you ever have a day job?" 

"Never." Kane smiled sweetly at him. "But I didn't want to hurt her feelings. You see, I already knew the person I wanted to make love with; it just wasn't her!" He patted the spot next to him on the chaise. "Come join me, honey man!" 

David deposited the gum on a saucer and sat next to his young lover. "I've never done this before!" he confessed. 

Kane was truly surprised. "You've never made out?" 

"No." David would have left it at that, but Kane wasn't about to let an opportunity to discover more about the man he loved slip by. 

"David, how could you never have done this?" 

David shook his head sadly. "Baby, I never went through that stage of dating. I went from being a toy boy to being anybody's boy. I wasn't well and truly kissed until...." He had to stop and think about it, and a smile kicked up the corner of his mouth. "Until a certain bus boy drove me wild with his wicked mouth!" 

Kane sighed and drew David into his arms. "Let me drive you wild some more!" Then he drew back, frowning. 

"What's wrong?" David demanded, afraid his moodiness had gotten in the way of what was supposed to be the start of their courtship. 

"This doesn't feel right." Kane's eyes were unfocused for a brief moment, then his brow cleared and he chuckled. "I know what the problem is! You're sitting on my right side!" 

"And this means...?" David asked, puzzled. 

"Well, I kiss left-handed. See, if I lean over this way, it just feels better, more natural. Would you mind switching sides?" 

David shook his head, smiling, and got up to sit on Kane's left side. And then he sighed as Kane's arms went around his neck and the younger man edged closer to him. Kane licked David's lips and hummed with pleasure as the older man groaned softly and seized his lush lower lip between his teeth, tugging it into his mouth to suckle it. 

When David would have reached down to fondle his lover's cock, Kane put out a hand to stop him. "No, honey man. The object of making out is to get as hot as you can without touching below the waist!" 

"Really?" 

"Well, no, but you get me so hot, so fast, I have to find some way to slow us down!" 

And Kane proceeded to show David the finer points to making out. Kisses, sweet, warm and dry. Kisses, passionate, hot and wet. Tongues mating, sliding and stroking; teeth first nibbling and then biting, and always, lips: sucking, feasting, frenzied, leaving them in a fog of desire and need. 

And never once did their hands stray below belt level. 

****                                                                                    

The staff of Amore's worked around the couple in the private dining room until the last possible minute. Then Angelina reluctantly interrupted them, bringing their freshened trousers along with the bill. David gave her a lavish tip and apologized for the extra work and the delay they had caused. 

She smiled saucily and locked the door behind them as they walked to the drive. Kane had snatched up the keys before David could get them and so he would be driving back to Benita's apartment. 

They waited for the lone parking attendant to bring up the black Porsche. "Just don't get us killed, baby! I have serious plans for that sweet body of yours that require active participation on your part!" He took his lover's already kiss-swollen mouth fiercely. 

Neither saw the figure that stepped from the shadows toward them. 

They got into the convertible. Kane switched on the ignition and eased out of the drive. Their laughter drifted back on the cool night air. 

The figure faded out of sight behind the building. It was about to get into a late model sedan parked there when the back door to the restaurant opened for one last straggler. 

Angelina stepped out, fumbling for her car keys. Despite the scattered lighting, it was dark in the parking lot and she liked to be prepared. Tonight had been her turn to close out the registers. It had been a long night, and she was exhausted. Keeping up the Italian peasant front was a wearying job, but it paid off in tips. 

The keys dropped to the pavement and she swore tiredly. 

She never heard the footsteps. A masculine hand reached over her shoulder and clamped her mouth shut, preventing any screams from being uttered. As she was dragged backward, clawing at the hand that was stifling her, fingers began toying with the earring that dangled from her left ear. 

"He knows you! He wants to taste you!" was whispered obscenely, and then searing pain ripped through her as the earring was torn from her lobe. Her legs collapsed under her. 

Something was pressing suffocatingly on her throat and her body was invaded. Flashing lights exploded behind her eyelids and a roaring filled her ears as she struggled for air. Then gradually, oh, so gradually, she grew still. 

The parody of lovemaking ended. Harsh panting shattered the night's silence. Angelina's sightless eyes stared up at the star-filled sky. The figure leaned forward and licked at the blood that stained the waitress' neck. 

He rose and walked to where his car was hidden in the shadows. Popping the glove compartment open, he tossed the earring into it and slammed it shut, then put the car in gear and drove out of the parking lot. 

The girl was nothing, nobody, a sop thrown to appease the demon who lurked beneath the surface. The demon would remain in its lair now, giving him time to find out more about the thief who had stolen David from him. 

He would find out who this thief was. He would find out where he lived. 

And then he would loose the demon one final time.    

~End~

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