Montana Winter

Lore chuckled. I could get used to that sound.

We snuggled under the blankets and watched a movie that was one of my favorites, but he had never seen, 'The Long Kiss Goodnight'.

"This is a classic," I said.

"I've never heard of it," he said.

"Oh, see," I said, pinching his perfect waistline. "In some ways I'm more educated than you."

"I think I could teach you some things."

I looked into his big, brown eyes, and had to bite my bottom lip to deal with the smoldering lust I saw there. He tackled me and pinned me down. Lore nibbled my neck and laughed. We didn't see as much of the movie as I thought we would.

*

Everyone was at breakfast. Sherry had made pancakes, bacon, and eggs, and I was eating more than my normal fill. I was ravenous from my workouts with Lore the afternoon, evening, and night before. There was the normal slow, groggy breakfast conversation.

Then Josh looked at Johnny and said, "Are you gay? Because my Uncle Noah needs a boyfriend."

I spit out a mouthful of scrambled eggs so far they landed across half the table. Sherry slapped Josh upside the head.

"What?" Josh said, looking at his mom. "Oh, excuse me," he said looking at Johnny. "Uncle Noah needs a husband?"

Oh, fuck.

"JOSH!" Clay said sharply.

"Wrong brother, little guy," Johnny mumbled under his breath.

At the same time Clay said. "Joshua! We do not ask questions like that."

"Why not?"

Clay looked at me. I looked back at him like, 'brother, you are going to have to field this one'.

"We are supposed to ask for what we want, right?" Josh said.

"You're supposed to ask for what you want, Josh," Clay said. "Not for what someone else wants."

"But Uncle Noah is so sad and lonely."

I put my hands over my face. "Josh, I'm not sad. Or lonely."

"But you're the only one in all of Wounded Deer who's not married."

Sherry slapped him upside the head.

"I'm not the only one in all of Wounded Deer who's not married." I put my hands down and glanced at Lore. He seemed to be enjoying this. Dickwad.

"Besides," Clay said. "Even if he were, it's not your job to help him."

"Name one person in Wounded Deer who's not married," Josh said to me. He turned to his dad, holding two conversations at once. "And family are supposed to help each other."

"Jenny Mae's not married," I said.

"She doesn't count. She's old and fat. She's like four hundred years old and the same amount of pounds." He ducked before his mom could swat him.

"So, do you like my uncle or what?" Josh said to Johnny. "He's awesome. He can jump off a horse and jump back on while he's still moving, just like at the circus, and he knows all the superhero movies, and he can do amazing things with his tongue."

I glanced over at Lore at that.

"Like tie a cherry stem in a knot, and touch his nose, and make a really cool farting sound."

I sat back and crossed my arms over my chest. I looked at Johnny and tilted my head. "And I come with a high praise recommendation."

Sherry grabbed Josh by the scruff of the neck and yanked him up. "What? What?" Josh said.

Sherry started frog marching him away. "What?" We heard Josh say as she walked him away. "He's big, like Dad. He could take care of Uncle Noah like Dad takes care of us."

Clay closed his eyes and grimaced like he was in pain.

"Noah doesn't need anyone to take care of him," Sherry hissed from down the hall.

"But Mommmmmmm...." Slam.

Clay opened his eyes. "I'm so sorry. I've got to apologize for my son. He doesn't know what an ass whoopin' he's got coming to him."

"No sweat," Johnny said to Clay. Johnny looked at me. "No offense, Noah, but you're not my type. I like my dates with breasts and a conch shell."

"None taken," I said. I like my dates who look like that actor. Whatszizname. On that show I never saw. But I kept my mouth shut.

I cleaned up the table. "Lore, you want to shadow me today?"

He nodded.

I clamped a hand on Clay's shoulder. "Well, now that Joshie's ten he's got the facts of life almost down. A little catiewampus on the social skills, but with a little polish he'll be just like you."

Clay shook his head. "If he doesn't kill me first."

"Just wait until he starts to date."

*

I had a morning jam packed with special needs kids. But between sessions I managed to cancel or reschedule a lot of my regular afternoon riding lessons, so that I only had two. It meant Lore and I could take a long horse ride at lunchtime and quit work early.

The sun was shining, and the news said the temperature was going up to thirty-eight degrees Fahrenheit, and there was just the barest hint of a warm breeze, all of which combined to make it feel almost balmy.

I saddled up Sea-Jack and showed Lore how to adjust the stirrups. I got a small step for Lore to stand on from the back of the barn and showed Lore how to put his left foot into the stirrup and swing his right leg over and sink into the saddle.

"Not bad," I said, and then swung up behind him.

Sharing a horse, sitting with my body pressed up behind him, was so much better as lovers. He let his body rest, and the complete trust in the way he let his body mold into mine floored me to the bone. I rested my chin on his shoulder.

I took us on a different trail this time, one where the trees were all hearty evergreens: Douglas-firs, Fraser-firs, spruces, junipers, and evergreen pines. The trees and bushes were all snow-capped.

"It looks like a winter wonder land," Lore said. "Or one big Christmas tree farm."

I took his face, twisted him around a little and planted a brief kiss near his lips. "Happy, merry, almost Christmas."

He smiled at me and then turned back around to face front.

I took him to the very edge of our property, to one of my favorite places. We dismounted off Sea-Jack, and I threw his reins loosely over the branches of a tall birch. I took Lore's hand, and we walked a few steps further out, pushed through two closely nestled junipers, and we were in what I called my holy circle.

"Wow," Lore said.

I let go of his hand. The circle was six spruce trees in a semi-circle and six great red cedar trees facing them. The twelve trees together made an almost complete circle, there was a little gap on the north side, where sun reflected off an outcropping of mica beyond the overlook and bounced rays into the circle, onto the tops of the trees. It made the trees shine at all times of the year, and when there was snow, it made them twinkle like they had Christmas lights on them.

Lore held his arms out wide and turned a slow circle. "Look at this!" He said. "I love this!"

I smiled a small smile. I don't know what I would have done if he didn't.

"Noah, this is magical."

I stared at him. I couldn't agree more.

He came over and hugged me. Then he nuzzled his nose in my neck. "I didn't expect to find such beauty here." We kissed. God, I could get lost in a kiss like that. "Or here," he said, and he placed one gloved finger on my chest and drew a circle over my heart.

Oh God, don't be nice to me. Don't be gorgeous, and smart, and the greatest fuck of my life, hands down by a million times above any other, and then be nice too. Nice will break down my defenses. I need my shields, the corrals, the wire fences, the stone barriers that border the property around my heart. Nice could just catapult right over that, barrage right through that.

"Noah?"

"Hhm?"

"Where'd you go?"

"Nowhere. I was just thinking about how great you are."

He gave me a smile. A killer smile, all big dimples and blinding white teeth.

I pushed him until his back was against one of the cedars. A large clump of snow fell off one of the longer branches, landing behind my back.

"Lore?" I asked.

"Yeah?"

I pinched his bottom lip and held on to it as I gently pulled his lip out, stretching it more and more before I let go.

"You know you're too good to be true, right?"

"Speak for yourself."

"Liar."

I put my hand up to his cheek, cupping his whole face in my hand. I was focusing on gratitude, how this moment was perfect, crisp, romantic. Then Lore turned his face into my palm, his lips dragging a bonfire there, and the vibe instantly shifted, sexual tension springing up taught and hot between us.

I placed my hand straight on his cock, instantly becoming the aggressor, something unusual for me. Or at least unusual with anyone except Lore, where all bets were off, because he brought out such want. The consistent, low-level, pent-up need I lived with every day became a trembling, threshing, barely held back roar, a tremendous need that rocketed through me.

I lifted up his jacket, unsnapped and unzipped his jeans, and burrowed my hand under his underwear, grabbing his cock, and just squeezing my hand around it. I leaned my body against his side, pressing into him hard, crowding him, but giving me room for my arm, so I could have free reign, and I began to stroke him.

"Oh, Noah," he groaned softly.

Most beautiful sound in the universe.

I stroked harder, feeling him grow and lengthen under my fingers.

"The great thing about Montana," I said into his ear, "Is that there's nobody for miles around. Let me warm you."

He made a strangled sound.

"Lore," I said quietly, and I slowed the rhythm of my strokes way down. My thoughts shot through me. Let me suck you off. Let me taste you. Let me put that big, beautiful dick of yours in my mouth, right here, in the middle of my most sacred place. I didn't say anything.

I pushed his coat up a little more, and moved in front of him. I looked down at the snow. God. I couldn't get down on my knees. If I came back with wet patches at the knees on the front of my jeans there was no way in hell I could explain that away. I crouched down carefully on the balls of my feet.

Lore was wearing one of those kind of jackets that had big buttons in front, like a pea coat or something, I don't know what they call it, but I opened the bottom button, and one more up from that, and pushed the flaps aside. I pushed the flaps of his fly aside, grabbed his hips, and very carefully leaned forward.

I licked, one slow swipe up the underside of his cock.

"It's just sex, Lore," I said. "It's just a candy cane treat, on your pre-Christmas vacation."

Lore put one hand in my hair.

I licked him again. Oh, God, it was so good. So, so good. I want more.

"No one out here in the Montana winter but us," I said.

"Don't torture me, Noah," Lore said. "You want me to beg you? Because I'll beg you. But don't draw it out anymore, with your cold breath teasing me like that. Come on, love. Put my cock in your mouth."

I did. Hearing him say it, with his gorgeous, warm, velvety voice, was a turn-on, getting my motor running even higher. Sucking his cock was fantastic, and I pulled out every trick I ever learned, had ever invented, could make myself remember. I used my hand, used only my mouth, deep throated him completely, worked only the head.

I loved giving blow jobs, I had since the very first time, but this was something else. He thrust both hands into my hair, not pushing, but somehow pouring energy into me. I just sucked harder as I heard his grunts and pants. I used the hand that wasn't touching the base of his cock to get further in his jeans and cupped his balls.

"Noah, I'm coming."

"Mmmn," I said around his dick, and then he was spurting into me. Like always, when I was drinking someone down, I felt like I was drinking the essence of them down, some spiritual importance, some deep connection. But this time, it was even more so, as if Lore himself were pouring down my throat, seeding himself into my very being.

"Yaaaaaarrrrghh!" Lore gave one long shout as he finally went limp, and I cleaned every last bit of him and tucked him back in his pants.

"Holy shit," he said.

I hugged him, and his head collapsed against my shoulder.

"Welcome to Montana," I said with a little lilt in my voice. "All inclusive vacation."

"Bitch."

I laughed.

He grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him. "Baby? How come a handsome, smart, funny, sensitive, hard-working, talented guy like you, who gives the world's most mind blowing orgasms and doesn't mind doing it in the outdoors, isn't tied down yet?"

I shrugged and tried to look away but he held firm to my chin.

"I don't know; it isn't like there's a ton of options in the middle of flat land country."

"I would move heaven and earth to come here if I knew you were here. Thousands of gay guys would."

My cheeks burned. "Don't be nice," I whispered.

"Why not?" he asked. "Don't you deserve nice?"

I tried to pull away from him, when tears started to threaten, but he grasped my face firmly in both of his big hands. He rubbed his thumbs on the top of my cheeks, under my eyes, even though there were no tears to brush away.

"I love fucking you, Noah. I want to do it over and over again. As much as we can. But I want to make love to you, too. Will you let me make love to you?"

"We should get back," I said.

"Scared-y cat," he said, and patted my ass.

We left the circle. I took out a small piece of carrot from my pocket and fed it to Sea-Jack. I helped Lore up and got up behind him. It felt just as good as it had before, my front snuggled to his back, his ass near my crotch, the insides of my thighs near the outsides of his. God, what would this be like if we could ride together in the summer? Without so many layers of clothes between us.

I handed Lore a piece of deer jerky to eat. He seemed shocked and confused for a second, but he got over it in a wink. We were a little ways down the trail when I laughed.

"What?"

"You're mighty relaxed, pardner."

He chuckled.

"Well, it was an okay ride, all and all. I'd be willing to do that again."

"Yeah?"

He twisted around a little to give me that sexy bedroom eye look thing he did.

"Yeah."

*

We missed lunch, but Sherry had left us ham sandwiches. I had two mid-afternoon students, both over-privileged young teenage girls who were both beginners. Teaching them was more fun with Lore watching, because I could tell he was interested in what he was learning about horse riding.

"That's it," I said to Lore. "I'm done for the day. Whadda'ya wanna do? You want to go into town?"

"No."

"Movie?"

"No."

"See the cherry orchard again?"

Sly half smile at that one.

"Nope."

"What do you want to do?"

Wicked, sexy, completely hot lascivious smile from Lore. Then he opened his mouth slightly and licked the edges of his upper teeth.

"I thought I'd go take a... nap." He raised his eyebrows. "In my lonesome cabin. Want to join me?"

"Well..." I drawled. "I guess I could. Should. Montanans are known for their hospitality, you know."

He looked at me with a teasing, mocking smile. "Oh. You betcha."

* As soon as we got the cabin door closed Lore picked me up and threw me, as if I weighed nothing, so that I went sailing across the room, landing on my ass in the middle of the bed with a huge bounce. He pounced on top of me, growling loudly, with funny, almost cartoonish growling sounds.

"Grrrrr," Lore said. He gently bit my cheek. "They have, big, bad, animals out here in flat land country?"

"I see one," I said. "And it's getting bigger, and badder by the minute."

He leaped off me, all graceful, powerful male. I used the back of my fist to wipe across my mouth. I was checking for drool.

Lore turned on some music— a thumping, raucous, driving, urban-ish, funky sounding tune, with heavy bass drums— that I didn't recognize, and then he stalked back to me, all predator, no prey.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said. "You don't scare me." I put my hand up and moved my fingers repeatedly toward me in the classic 'Yoda invites his challengers to the challenge' gesture.

Lore took a flying leap and tackled me.

I scrambled to get out from under him. I almost made it off the bed, but he grabbed one leg and yanked me back.

"Yeah!" I yelled over the music. "Bring it."

He wrestled me out of my jacket, and I kept fighting him, making him work for it. The more I struggled, the hotter it got.

We were pretty evenly matched. He was slightly bigger, broader, a little heaver, maybe naturally a little stronger. I grew up on a ranch.

Lore managed to get me on my back, get both of my wrists trapped in one of his hands, and yanked them above my head. He slammed his body into mine.

"Stay!" he commanded.

He kissed me, brutal and hot.

I bit him.

He laughed, and during that second he lost his focus a little. I managed to get up on all fours and start to crawl away. I got about two feet before he was plastered behind me, working my jeans off.

I playfully pushed his hands away.

The song changed, the bass an even cooler beat; thrumming, louder.

"Don't make me get my lasso," I said over my shoulder. "I'll hog tie you."

"I'd like to see that," he said. He nipped my shoulder. "Promises, promises."

Lore got my jeans and boots all the way off, and this time I let him.

He must have gotten lube out of a drawer because I felt his finger, and it was cool and slick, teasing me.

Oh, God. Lore. Lore, Lore, Lore, Lore.

He leaned over so his mouth was near my ear. "Maybe you should beg now, eh?"

Oh yeah. But it was my tongue that was tied.

"No? No begging?"

I'll beg for it all right. Hell, I'm already on all fours.

"No...ah," he said in a sing-song voice over the music. He circled his finger around my entrance, dipping in enough to be crazily erotic, maddeningly teasing, and stunningly intimate. "Want me inside you?"

My eyelids fluttered. "Fuck yeah. Please, Lore. Please. I can't wait. Take me. Just, take... all of it."

He gently pushed one finger inside and started fucking me in time with the music.

My hands collapsed under me, landing me on my forearms.

In and out, in and out, out, two fingers.

"Oh, fuck."

"That's it, Noah, love, come on baby, let me inside you. All of you."

The song changed again. This tune was edgier, even faster, louder, harder. Lore kept working me in time to the music. He curled his fingers, and I arched and moaned for him, the whole world the exquisite pleasure barreling me toward a huge orgasm that I was straining to hold off, wanting him inside me before I blew.

There was a loud fast banging. Vaguely some part of me registered it was weird. Was it part of the music? The bed moving? Violent banging. Louder.

Knocking.

"Noah! Are you in there?"

Clay.

Lore and I both froze. I twisted over my shoulder to look at him. Some vision we'd make, me naked, him fully dressed with fingers in my ass.

"NOAH! You in there? Noah! For God's sake stop trying to woo and get out here."

Lore took his fingers out. I jumped up and yanked on my jeans, commando, shoved my feet into my boots, grabbed my shirt, and stepped out into the cold while shoving one arm and then the other into the shirt as I closed the door behind me.

Clay took in my state of undress and his facial expression went from gnarly, to bug out, to Jesus Christ man.

I calmly buttoned my shirt.

The music stopped abruptly behind us.

"Well now I know why you didn't answer your fucking phone. I called you three times. I looked for you down at the corral."

"What's up?"

"Edith's gone into labor."

"That's early."

"Yeah, and the calf is breech."

"Shit."

"I need you down at the barn," Clay said.

At the same time I said, "You call Doc Em?"

"She's not available."

Clay stormed off the porch.

"I'll grab my coat, and I'll meet you there," I said.

I ran back in the cabin. "I gotta go," I said. I kissed Lore on the cheek, grabbed my coat, gloves, and hat, and went for the door. Then I went back and kissed Lore on the mouth. "We'll get back to coitus interruptus when this is over, I promise."