Chase the Stars (Lang Downs 2 ) (18 page)

C
HRIS
looked up from getting undressed to see Jesse spread out on the bed, hard and ready, hand moving up and down his cock. He waited only a moment, drinking in the compelling sight before pouncing, never doubting for a second that Jesse would catch him.

Jesse’s arms wrapped around him, pulling Chris down on top of him, and Chris burrowed close, wanting every inch of his body touching some part of Jesse’s. Jesse obliged, wrapping his arms and legs around Chris, holding him close and tight on the narrow cot. Chris sighed into the kiss even as the need to drive Jesse wild increased. The cast on his arm kept him from what he wanted to do, but he’d been around the block often enough to have plenty of other ideas… if Jesse was willing. Jesse kept insisting they could take the time to enjoy each other instead of rushing for completion. Chris decided to take him at his word. He pushed back up on his good elbow and both knees. “Turn over.”

Jesse’s surprise showed on his face, but Chris didn’t let that deter him. The moment Jesse was settled on his stomach, Chris slid down the cot, intent on his goal. Finding the right angle with his broken arm was awkward, but eventually he managed to bury his face in Jesse’s arse and find the entrance with his tongue. Jesse grunted into the pillow, bringing a smile to Chris’s face as he lavished attention on the square inch of flesh that would, he hoped, bring Jesse enough pleasure to want to fuck Chris thoroughly later.

The scent of Jesse’s desire filled Chris’s senses, spurring him to greater efforts. He worked his way lower, sucking Jesse’s balls into his mouth. Jesse moaned this time instead of just the grunts from earlier so Chris sucked harder, until Jesse pulled away.

“If you want me to fuck you, now’s the time to stop,” Jesse said, his eyes glittering with lust as he rolled onto his back.

“Or I could get you off and then fuck you,” Chris said, testing the waters.

 

“You could,” Jesse agreed, his voice never changing tone.

Chris decided right then he’d take Jesse up on that offer before long, but he’d been imagining what it would feel like to have Jesse inside him practically since they met, certainly since he discovered Jesse was gay. Fulfilling that fantasy took precedence. “Next time.”

He grabbed the condom from where it had fallen when they hit the bed and rolled it onto Jesse’s cock. It was pre-lubed, fortunately, because he was out of patience. He straddled Jesse’s hips, sinking slowly onto Jesse’s erection.

“You could’ve let me stretch you a bit,” Jesse said with a groan.

“I couldn’t wait,” Chris said as he rocked back and forth, feeling his muscles stretch slowly as he grew accustomed to Jesse’s girth inside him. It burned, but Chris knew it would pass soon, and when it did, it would feel incredible.

Jesse grunted again, the tendons in his neck standing out as he held himself still beneath Chris. Chris appreciated the effort, but he was past waiting now. He reached behind him with his good hand and massaged Jesse’s sac. “Fuck me already.”

Jesse chuckled as he thrust up into Chris. “If you want me to really fuck you, you’re in the wrong position.”

Chris leaned forward and kissed Jesse swiftly. “Deal with it.”
Jesse tweaked one of Chris’s nipples. “Dealing.”

Chris smiled, enjoying the repartee almost as much as the caress. Okay, maybe not, but the idea of laughing, teasing during sex instead of rushing for climax as fast as possible was completely foreign. He’d never experienced this kind of easy camaraderie in the midst of fucking. Now that he had, though, he wasn’t about to give it up.

His head fell back as he rode Jesse harder, all the pent-up lust from the day and the weeks since he arrived and the months since he’d been fucked and rimming Jesse and being here with a friend instead of a fuck rising up inside him and choking him until he felt like the only thing keeping his lungs working was Jesse’s cock forcing air out of him as he thrust in and pulling air back in as he withdrew. His thighs burned as he posted faster, harder, desperate for the release that hovered just out of reach.

Then Jesse’s hand closed around Chris’s cock and he cried out, the touch sending him into orbit until he swore he saw stars dancing behind his eyes and nothing existed but this moment and this man and the joining of their bodies. Time and space and responsibilities ceased to matter. Only making Jesse feel as good as Chris felt right now, because he could still feel Jesse hard inside him, still thrusting, still wild-eyed and straining beneath him. He squeezed as hard as he could on the cock inside him, bracing himself so Jesse could move as he needed to. Then Jesse grunted and shook beneath him, and Chris imagined he could feel the cock inside him twitch as Jesse climaxed too.

Completely wrung out, he collapsed forward onto Jesse’s chest. Jesse held him tight as they shifted around to get comfortable. Chris had the passing thought that he should clean up the mess he’d made, but exhaustion claimed him first and he fell asleep.

Fourteen

 

C
HRIS
resisted the urge to pace the exam room of the hospital in Yass as he waited for the doctor to arrive with the X-rays and pronounce his arm fit to come out of its cast. He told himself it was simply impatience to get back to Lang Downs, but he knew it was more than that. He’d practically had a panic attack when they reached the outskirts of Yass. Jesse had held him through that bout of nerves, but now Chris was alone, and the panic was clawing at his throat again.

He’d gone round and round in his head since he realized he’d have to return to Yass to get his cast removed. He’d tried pretending it didn’t bother him. He’d bluffed his way through the expressions of concern, but when he’d seen the sign for the town limits, all the fear and pain of the bashing had come rushing back. His vision had grayed out, leaving him gasping for breath as blows rained down on him.

Jesse had grabbed him and held him tightly, murmuring reassurances that had finally penetrated Chris’s mind, allowing him to calm down and deal with the rest of the drive into town. Caine and Macklin had left them at the hospital, although Chris wondered what Macklin had said to get Caine to agree to that. Chris had been sure Caine wouldn’t leave him there for anything after his overreaction in the car. Caine had gone, though, with orders to call as soon as Chris was done. Chris hated to admit he’d been reassured by that as well. The hotel wasn’t that far from the hospital, but the thought of walking through town, past the restaurant where he’d used to work and the alley where he was beaten nearly to death, filled him with dread.

“Mr. Simms?”
“Yes, that’s me,” Chris said as the doctor came in. “Your arm seems to have healed nicely. We’ll get

that cast off and then go over the PT you need to do for it.” “PT?” Chris asked.

“Your muscles and ligaments have atrophied after eight weeks of non-use,” the doctor explained. “You have to work on stretching and strengthening them again or you could seriously injure your elbow. Do you have a job?”

“I work on a sheep station,” Chris said. “I’ve been helping in the kitchen because of my arm, but I’m supposed to work with the sheep once the cast is off.”

“Let’s get rid of it then and see what shape you’re in,” the doctor replied. “You’ll recover full use of your arm with proper exercise and care. You’ll just have to give it a little time.”

Chris didn’t like the sound of that. He’d been waiting eight weeks already to really start learning to be a jackaroo. He didn’t want to wait any longer.

Looking down at his arm once the cast was gone, though, he realized the doctor was right. His right arm looked about half the size of his left arm and it hurt to bend his elbow. “Let me show you the exercises you need to do.”

“Would it be all right if my friend came back to listen as well?” Chris interrupted before the doctor could begin. “He’ll be the one helping me follow through on everything, and I’d feel better if he heard from you what we’re supposed to do.”

“I suppose that would be all right,” the doctor said.

Chris nearly sagged in relief when the man returned a few minutes later with Jesse in tow. He resisted the urge to reach out and grab Jesse’s hand for comfort. Jesse seemed to sense his need, though, crossing the room and hopping up on the exam bed next to him. “How’s the arm, mate?”

Chris held up his arm so Jesse could see. “Aw, nothing to it. We’ll get you sorted in no time, right, doc?”
“I wouldn’t say ‘no time’,” the doctor replied, “but with care and proper exercise, you should be back to regular use in about a month.”
Chris wasn’t willing to wait another month, but he kept his mouth shut and listened as the doctor explained the exercises he needed to do now and those he needed to add as he regained strength and flexibility in his elbow and arm. He hoped Jesse was listening carefully because it quickly became more than he could remember, and he didn’t relish another drive to Yass for a refresher course.
When the doctor finally finished his speech and left them alone with a pamphlet that detailed everything he’d just said, Chris slumped back on the exam table. “I knew I’d have some recovery time once the cast came off, but this is crazy.”
“He’s giving you the same exercises he’d give someone who worked in town sitting at a desk job,” Jesse reminded him. “Your normal routine at Lang Downs, or what will become your normal routine, will take care of the recovering your strength part. The trick will be not overdoing it until you’ve got enough flexibility back to support the rest. You don’t have to spend time lifting weights. You’re going to be lifting hay bales and shoveling manure, remember? That’ll take care of the strength issues.”
“Yeah, I noticed Macklin didn’t release the pregnant ewes to the higher pastures.”
“Let’s go,” Jesse said. “We can discuss your physical therapy over dinner. I don’t know about you, but I’m starved.”
Chris’s nerves had his stomach still so tied in knots that he wasn’t sure he could eat, but he’d be sick to his stomach the next day if he didn’t, so he’d have to force something down. “As long as we don’t go to the Eatery.”
“Is that where you worked before?” Jesse asked.
Chris nodded.
“We’ll find somewhere else to eat,” Jesse said immediately. “No reason to bring back bad memories.”
The memories had come back even without returning to the restaurant, but Chris didn’t mention that. Jesse was being supportive, and Chris appreciated it. “I guess we should call Caine.”
They left the exam room and headed for the hospital exit. Jesse called Caine as soon as they were outside. Chris let the conversation float past him, concentrating on breathing. Yass wasn’t a large town, only about five thousand people, but after being on Lang Downs for eight weeks, it was a veritable metropolis. The noise of cars driving by, of children playing in a park across the street, of a garbage truck rattling down the street grated on his nerves. He’d always lived in a city, but having experienced the peace and solitude of the outback, he didn’t think he could go back.
“Do we have to stay here tonight? Can we drive back to Boorowa at least?”
“I don’t know,” Jesse said. “That’s up to Caine and Macklin. It’s only an hour, so I suppose we could, but they may have already taken rooms in the hotel or made other plans. I have to pick up condoms too, and it might be more discreet to do that here than in Boorowa.”
Chris’s hands tingled, the unpleasant sensation moving up his arms as a group of teenage boys walked by, laughing and jostling each other. “I don’t think I can stay here,” Chris said, his pulsing pounding and his throat constricting until he felt like every breath was a struggle. Those boys hadn’t had anything to do with the attack on Chris, but that did nothing to lessen his reaction to them.
“I really don’t think I can stay here,” Chris repeated, his voice sounding frantic to his own ears.
“Chris,” Jesse said sharply. “Look at me.”
Chris tried to focus on Jesse’s face, but his vision went in and out of focus as the panic welled up inside him.
“Look at me,” Jesse repeated, moving so he blocked Chris’s view of the street. “There’s no one here but me. You’re safe. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you, and if they try, all we have to do is step back into the hospital. You’re safe with me.”
Chris wanted to nod, to acknowledge Jesse’s words, to give some indication that they were helping, but even that little movement required more effort than he could spare. It took everything he had simply to breathe and to keep his eyes on Jesse’s face.
The honk of a horn behind them sent Chris cowering against the hospital wall.
“It’s just Caine and Macklin,” Jesse said, taking Chris’s arm and leading him toward the car. “Come on. You’ll feel better once you’re in the car and less exposed.”
Chris followed Jesse to the car, climbing in.
“What did the doctor say?” Caine asked as soon as the door closed.

“In a minute,” Jesse replied, wrapping his arms around Chris. “He’s having another panic attack.”
“Another one?” Caine said. “Do we need to talk to the doctor about those before we get back out to the station?”

No! Chris wanted to shout, but he couldn’t force the words past the constriction in his throat.
“No,” Jesse said for him. “He hasn’t had a single one at the station, at least not that I’m aware of. It’s being back in Yass that’s causing it. Is there any way we can go back to Boorowa tonight instead of staying here? It won’t be the station, but it won’t be Yass either.”
“I guess we could,” Macklin said. “We haven’t checked into the hotel here yet. It would mean having a late dinner, but we’re well enough known around town that I don’t think it would be a problem.”
“If we could stop at Woolworths before we leave town, I have a couple of things I need to grab,” Jesse added. “It’ll only take a few minutes.”
The normality of the conversation, not to mention the possibility of leaving Yass, helped ease some of Chris’s panic. He still wanted to pull a blanket over his head so no one could see him, but at least he could breathe again.
“We’d already planned a stop there anyway,” Macklin said. “Caine can stay in the car with Chris while you and I go inside to get what we need, unless you want me to pick something up for you.”