A Trial of Strength

A TRIAL OF STRENGTH - PART 346 By Rob Williams

IN THIS CHAPTER:

New boy Larry is attracted to the older man Uncle Mike and shocks him with an impulsive sex act on his knees. Seduced at first, Mike recoils. "We shouldn't be doing this. Hell, I feel like an old man getting sucked off by a young hustler." Dr. Steve intercedes with an unorthodox, erotic therapy session for Larry. "It was one of the sexiest things Larry had ever seen – the handsome doctor slowly removing his shirt."

CHAPTER 346 – "NEW BOY LARRY LEARNS THE ROPES"

************ In the previous chapter *************

Bad boy Larry had brought all his anger, resentment and bitterness with him when he came to the tribe's house to look up his former pal Jamie. He had first unloaded his hostility on young Brandon, throwing him out of his wheelchair and injuring his arm. And nothing could arouse the anger of the tribe more than an attack on Brandon, the plucky, independent kid that everyone loved and protected.

So Larry was a pariah, humiliated by the boys and then subjected to a tongue-lashing and mind fuck by Randy, the gypsy boss of the tribe.

Larry had boasted of being a stud with women and sneered at the tribe as a "bunch of faggots." But Randy, with his fine-tuned sexual instincts, sensed that the boy used that slur as a way to deny his own real sexual urges that for some reason he had always suppressed. So Randy had forced Larry to watch him and Bob make love with such passion that it made Larry cream his shorts, as Randy had expected.

The tribe's attitudes began to change when the reason for Larry's sudden visit slowly came out. He told Jamie he escaped from a brutal father and came here "'cos I had nowhere else to go. Mom died ... she couldn't take any more from my dad, that asshole. Then he started in on me ... called me a faggot and took his belt to me, so I hightailed it out of there. I was scared he'd come after me so I hopped a bus headed west. I got no other friends so ... so I came here."

One man was especially moved by Larry's story – Mike, the middle-aged bar owner who was visiting from Palm Springs. Mike was a good and wise friend of the guys, known to many of the boys as Uncle Mike. He said to Bob and Randy, "That kid reminds me of me when I was his age ... abandoned, friendless, kicked out of my home. Like him I headed west and washed up in the desert with eight bucks in my pocket."

Mike slowly won over the trust of the sullen boy and offered to let him sleep in the spare bed in the guest room he would be in. Things went so well at first that Larry, lonely and afraid, ended up sharing Mike's king-size bed. But in his sleep, instinctively longing for warm companionship, Larry ended up with his arm over Mike and his head on his chest.

In the morning he woke with a start and, still half asleep, he panicked to find himself entwined with Mike. His thoughts flew back to the sexual abuse by his father, and he now made the same accusation against Mike as Randy and Bob rushed in.

"He came onto me ... fucking old queen couldn't keep his hands off me. When I woke up he was on top of me. They're all the same," Larry shouted between sobs, "all fucking perverts. He told me he wasn't like my dad but he is. My dad used to get in my bed ... he was all over me ... sticking his dick in my face ... groping me ... trying to fuck my ass. But I never let him ... fought him off ... and when he couldn't fuck my ass he took his belt to it. That's what was gonna happen here too. I ran away from my dad and I'm getting out of here too."

Randy knew the accusations against Mike were false but he paced the room in anger – not at the boy but at the father. Randy's fiercest instinct all his life was to protect the boys, as he had always defended his younger brothers, and he clenched his fists now, yearning to demolish the prick who had made this kid's existence hell and ruined his young life. So when tempers cooled he said to Bob and Mike, "Guys, will you leave the boy with me for a while? Punishment's over. Now I've gotta take care of him ... heal the wounds."

The wild angry gypsy of the day before was now replaced by a nurturing man talking gently to the scared, shivering boy. "OK Larry, before we do anything else we gotta sort out one real basic thing. See, you're confused about yourself and that makes you defensive, suspicious and envious of the boys here."

Randy told Larry to drop his shorts and his cock sprang out ... stiff as a rod. "Hm, thought so," Randy grinned. "And when you watched me and Bob make love I know you creamed your shorts. Randy stood up, naked except for his boxers, and stared him in the eye. "So the question is, what do you want from me, kid?"

By now the answer to that was obvious. Larry was totally in thrall to this handsome, swarthy muscle-god with the hypnotic blue eyes. "OK, kid, let's stop all this bullshit and face facts. I knew you wanted me, you wanted Bob, and you've probably wanted Jamie for years but would never admit it. Hell, you probably dreamed of Mike last night which is why you ended up with your arms round him. So let's cut the crap, you get on the bed and leave everything to me."

And so Randy opened up a new world for the lost boy. He made love to him and became the first man ever to fuck him. In a trance Larry said, "You're inside me, sir. It feels ... it feels so ... so good. Is this what love is? I think I love you, sir." And in that moment of supreme joy, he knew beyond any doubt that this was the beginning of a brand new life.

Afterwards Randy lay beside him propped on his elbow. "So that's it, Larry, now you know ... you know the kind of man you are, the world you belong in ... and you're gonna love it, believe me, I know. When I first met Bob I was scared shitless, had no idea what was happening to me, but it turned out to be the start of a sensational new life.

"As for Mike, I know Mike likes you and he'll be good for you. So when he comes back in here you apologize to him, and then you let him guide you on how to live this new life of yours. Let him show you his own life in the desert. You'll have the best teacher in the world."

Just then there was a tap at the door and Mike poked his head in. "Right on cue Mike," Randy said, jumping up and pulling on his shorts. "So there he his – a brand new boy. Your turn now, Mike. Be good to him, old buddy. Under all the bullshit he's got the makings of a real good kid."

Mike smiled, "I already knew that, Randy. Thanks, man. OK, Larry, you want some breakfast?"

********************* Chapter 346 *********************

Suddenly alone with Mike Larry pulled the sheet up to his chest and blushed, though whether to hide his just-fucked nakedness or his shame at what he had said about Mike, Mike wasn't sure. Probably a bit of both, Mike thought, and lots of other things besides but it didn't matter. He knew how an inaugural fuck by Randy left a boy – exhausted, confused, proud ... and no doubt in love. Why not? Everyone else was in love with Randy, including Mike in his way.

"Sir," Larry stammered, "Randy told me to apologize ... no, it's not just `cos Randy told me to ... I mean I want to ... really want to. After what I said when I woke up ... like, accusing you of ..."

"Hey, kid, let's leave apologies til later eh? Right now you get your ass in the shower and when you're cleaned up we'll go and rustle up some food cos I know you must be starving. And then we'll talk, OK?"

"OK, sir." Larry managed a shy smile as he got out of bed and ran self-consciously naked to the bathroom. Mike grinned after the boy, amused and charmed by his fumbling attempts at contrition. Randy sure had a hell of an effect on a man. As he had done with all the boys when they first came here Randy had given Larry his seal of approval which was essential if he was to be accepted by the tribe.

But more importantly, Mike knew, Randy had proven to the boy without any doubt where his sexual appetites lay. He was now firmly planted on the same side of the fence as all the guys here. And that meant a whole new reordering of priorities and attitudes in his life, a new way of thinking. Mike felt sure this realization would have come to Larry much earlier in his life if he had not angrily suppressed his true desires after being sexually assaulted by his hated father. After that any concept of man-on-man physical attraction disgusted him. Until Randy, that is.

Mike knew that seeing Bob and Randy make love was a revelation for Larry. As he had told Mike last night, "I've never seen anyone in love before, not even my mom and dad – especially not them." The boy had no experience of love – not from his parents, not the pitiful succession of one-night stands with girls, not from his so-called friends. Looking for acceptance, Larry told him, he had got mixed up with an outlaw gang of bikers that landed him in jail for three months.

Wow, Mike thought, the kid has a long way to go – and he wanted to be with him on the journey.

His musings were interrupted by a knock on the door and the twins came in pushing a trolley loaded with breakfast choices – cereal, scrambled eggs, croissants, juice, coffee. "We thought we'd bring you a choice, sir," Kevin smiled, "not being familiar with your preferences or Larry's." Kyle added cheekily, "But from what we hear some preferences are becoming clearer to Larry."

"You guys are something else," Mike chuckled. "You came just at the right time. What, do you listen at the door for your cue or something?"

"We don't have to, Uncle Mike," Kyle smiled. "We pretty much know what's going on all over the house at any given time. That way we can time our service." Kevin said, "We'll be serving Saturday brunch in the garden at eleven and Bob said he hopes you and Larry can join us all."

At that moment Larry came naked from the bathroom toweling his hair. When he saw the twins he blushed and hastily wrapped the towel round his waist. "Don't worry, dude," Kevin grinned. "Doing room-service like this to all the guys we've seen pretty much everything there is to see. Hope you're hungry ... see you at brunch."

They hurried out and Larry said, "Those guys are so gorgeous and real friendly. Usually guys who are that hot are big-headed too and look down on a guy like me."

"Not in this house they don't," Mike said. "The men would never allow it. Oh don't get me wrong, they work hard at looking great and some of them jerk off looking at themselves in the mirror. But they keep vanity in its place, which is pretty low down on the values here."

"You mean the twins beat their meat looking at their reflections in the mirror?"

"Well, that and ..." Mike hesitated, careful not to be indiscreet. "Oh what the hell, it's no secret in this house ... shit, there are no secrets in this house. Have some breakfast and I'll tell you."

"Is this all for us?" Mike nodded with a grin, somehow pleased at the us' Larry used. The boy pulled on shorts and a T-shirt, sat down and helped himself to cereal. Mike said, "You know, those kids were a bit like you and Jamie in the early days. They had run away from the restaurant they worked at cos the owner wanted sexual favors from them. They lived rough for a while and then, in desperation, tried to steal Bob's car to live in. So the shit hit the fan but Bob, god bless him, took a liking to them and, well, long story short, here they are – his boys.

"The one thing they were terrified of was being split up, and Bob swore that would never happen. See," Mike hesitated again, "the brothers love each other ... I mean really love each other. They, er, sleep together and make love to each other." Larry looked startled. "No really," Mike said, "you should see it ... they let me watch once ... so fucking gorgeous."

"I dunno," Larry stammered. "I mean ... they're brothers. I think that's ... well ..."

"...kinda sexy?" Mike chuckled, "judging by that tent pole in your shorts." Larry blushed and covered the bulge with his hand. But he smiled too. "Nothing much gets past you, does it sir? I guess I've got a lot to learn."

"Stick with me, kiddo, and you'll learn fast."

There was a knock on the door and Eddie came in, his eyes wide with curiosity, with towels folded over his arm. "Excuse me, Uncle Mike, but I brought you fresh towels." He put them in the bathroom, picked up the wet towel then came out and shifted from foot to foot as he looked them up and down, stared round the room and at the bed. "Er, maybe you'd like me to change the bed too, sir. I see it's ..."

"Eddie," Mike grinned indulgently, "I know you well enough that you didn't come here just to bring new towels, which we don't need, or to change the bed, which we also don't need. That curiosity will do you in one day, kid." Eddie opened his mouth to protest but Mike continued.

"OK, here's what you really came for. Yes, I shared a bed with Larry `cos he needed company and that's all. When he woke up he had a moment of panic and Randy came in and talked to him alone. And yes, Randy butt-fucked him, as he does with all new guys. There, is that enough info to make you the center of attention out there when you spill the beans?"

"Yes thank you, sir." Eddie's eyes gleamed. "But that's not why I came here. It's my job to..."

"Eddie?" came a call from behind the door. "Oops, there's the boss. Gotta go, sir. Thank you, sir ... enjoy your breakfast ... gotta go ..."

He ran out and they heard a voice scolding him. The young Aussie, Nate, was the house manager and Eddie his assistant. "What are you doing here, mate? You ever heard of discretion? You know the rule. You don't barge in when guys are having some private time, like Mike and Larry. You should be helping the other boys set up for brunch."

"Sorry, dude," Eddie said, his mischievous eyes sparkling with fake contrition. "I'll be discreet, trust me, dude. Whatever I've seen in there ..." He made his habitual gesture of running his fingertips across his lips and turning them like a key at the end.

"Yeah, right," Nate said dubiously, stifling his amusement. "Back to work, kid." Eddie ran downstairs to the waiting cluster of eager boys and raised his palms dramatically. "Well ..."

Back upstairs Mike smiled at Larry. "That's another thing you gotta get used to around here – everyone knows everything. Most efficient grapevine I ever saw. What happened in this room – common knowledge by now. Randy will have told Bob who told the twins who mentioned it to Darius, and right now Eddie is down there putting the icing on the cake."

Larry frowned uneasily. "If everyone knows, that makes me nervous about this big brunch, sir."

"Ah, don't be. Those guys have a way of taking care of that too. You'll see later."

They had a leisurely breakfast together while Mike explained the workings of the house to ease Larry's nervousness, which Mike guessed correctly was mostly fear of the unknown. While he listened Larry wolfed the food down ravenously and once again Mike's heart went out to this undernourished boy who often hadn't known where his next meal was coming from.

Even when Larry asked questions he did it with his mouth full and Mike said tactfully, "Larry, I don't want you to take offense but from time to time I'm gonna give you advice when I think you need it." Larry nodded and said as he swallowed a mouthful, "Yes sir, I want that, sir."

"For example, did anyone teach you table manners?" Then he thought of the sadistic father and browbeaten mother. "No," Mike grinned, "of course they didn't. Well, when we're all together at the tribe's brunch it can be pretty boisterous and Bob is always telling the boys not to bolt their food. It's all part of their training to behave well in public."

Larry swallowed hard. "Thank you sir. Sorry, it's just that I've never had great food like this."

"I know that, kiddo. But I wanna make clear that when I give you guidance I don't want you to think I'm taking the place of your father."

"But I do, sir," Larry blurted out, then blushed deeply."

There was an uneasy silence, then Mike said, "OK, Larry, we have to clear the air on that. Listen, I like you a lot, boy ... like I said before, you remind me of me at your age. But if I take you under my wing it'll be simply as a friend. I know in the past how your dad came on to you sexually so, just to be clear, there will be nothing like that between us. Just good buddies, eh?"

"Larry frowned, "Oh ... OK sir. You're the boss." He looked crestfallen. "Er, does that mean I can't sleep in your bed tonight?

Mike looked at him in surprise. "Why? Do you want to? After all the stuff that happened when you woke up this morning ..."

"That was all my bullshit, sir. When Randy was ... well, fucking me, sir, I realized stuff about myself. I mean, my dad was a real brute and I hated him but ... but I didn't want to hate him. I guess like most kids I wanted to love my dad. Some of my uncles were ... well, real good looking and ... and I didn't know it at the time but after Randy fucked me I realized I had felt ..."

"Are you saying you think you were kinda turned on by men your dad's age? Are you sure?"

"Not really sure, sir, this is all so new for me. But after Randy talked to me this morning he was sort of like the big brother I never had. I mean, when you mentioned the twins just now, making love and all, it turned me on, sure, but not the same way Randy did. See, I never had anyone older that I could look up to. And now ..." He trailed off in embarrassment.

Mike stared at him, feeling he was suddenly treading on thin ice. "Look, Larry. I'm familiar with some young guys liking older men – I've seen a lot of that in the bar – and god knows most of the men here have their boys, like Hassan and Eddie. But I'm older than those guys – hell, I'm literally old enough to be your father. What's more you shouldn't trust your feelings right now `cos all this has happened at once, it's all new. Right now you're feeling grateful to me and ..."

"No, that's not it," Larry said with sudden passion. "It's not gratitude! Well, of course I'm grateful, but it's more than that, sir. When I woke up this morning with my arms over you and I panicked, what freaked me out the most was that I had a big hard-on."

"Oh that's just a piss hard-on that most guys have in the morning."

"No it wasn't! I liked being with you, close to you, touching you. You're a lot older than me, sir, but you're still real handsome, in great shape and ... and ..." Tears filled his eyes. "But who am I fooling? Hell, why would you want a scrawny guy like me? Look at all the boys here, real buff, handsome, with gorgeous masters. I'm a loser, I don't have nothin' to offer a guy, I know that."

"Larry," Mike said gently, "you're selling yourself short. You're a good-looking kid that a few weeks in the gym would do wonders for. But it's not about looks anyway. It's a question of different energy levels, potency ... hell, some of the time I can't even get it up anymore. You don't want an old guy like that."

"Sir, I don't care about all of that ... I don't believe it anyway. See, Randy taught me how to kiss ... I'd sure as hell never kissed a guy before but now I ... I ... damn, I can't find the words ..."

He suddenly stood up, came round the table, bent down and planted his mouth firmly on Mike's. It was an eager, clumsy first kiss whose lack of finesse was more than made up for by its youthful energy and fervor. Larry clamped his hands on the sides of Mike's face and held it tight while he ground their lips together.

Mike's impulse was to pull back but Larry was holding him with surprising strength. And anyway ... As he felt the boy's tongue urgently searching in his mouth an unexpected warmth suffused his body and ... his cock stirred. He inhaled and smelt a sweet clean scent of soap and cologne. Larry must have splashed on the cologne in the bathroom after he showered.

Even as Mike gasped for breath, the thought that Larry had tried to please him in that way moved him. He reached up, put his hand behind Larry's neck, ran his fingers through the hair at the nape and yielded to the boy's fervent kiss. He felt a hand running over his shorts, over the now bulging shape of his cock ... and as suddenly as he had started the kiss, Larry released Mike's face and pulled back

Breathless, Mike found himself looking into a face transformed from shy to radiant. The formerly nervous eyes were now dancing with light ... joyful, confident. "See I knew I could make you hard. I can do more, too." He dropped to his knees before Mike's chair, reached forward, put his hand in the fly of Mike's boxers and pulled out his cock. Before Mike could protest Larry was leaning forward and had taken it all the way down his throat.

Mike gasped and again his reflex was to push Larry away but something held him back. Maybe it was the heat in his cock that quickly grew rock hard in the boy's mouth – an unfamiliar occurrence for him in this last few years where erections like this came less and less often. Or maybe it was the sight of the eager young face moving up and down on him, a face that had been worn and defeated but now gleamed with excitement.

In any case this was not a time to think but to feel ... and he felt rejuvenated, like a new man. It wasn't just the sexual arousal, it was the sense that this young man, who was excitedly jerking his own cock at the same time, actually wanted him, wanted to do this to please him. It all fueled a swift climax as Mike felt heat racing up his cock, he threw his head back and "aaah", his cock erupted in the boy's mouth while Larry blasted a load over Mike's feet.

Larry was so inexperienced that he hadn't thought this through and was stunned by the creamy warmth of semen flooding his mouth. He choked awkwardly, closing his throat to prevent swallowing, and as he pulled off the shuddering cock, cum ran down his cheek.

The effect on Mike was equally shocking. As his orgasm waned common sense streamed back and he was instantly appalled but what he had done. Hadn't he behaved just like the boy's abusive father? Hadn't he forced this act on the young novice who only an hour earlier had discovered his long-suppressed attraction to men?"

"No!" he shouted and leapt to his feet. "This is not right – we shouldn't be doing this. Hell, look at you on your knees, boy. I feel like an old man who's just been sucked off by a young hustler."

The instant the words left his mouth Mike regretted them, horrified at the way it sounded. He looked down at the boy's distraught eyes brimming with tears, and fell on his knees before him.

"No, no, I didn't mean that, Larry. Please, I didn't mean that." He put his hands on the boy's shoulders, pulled him forward and kissed him – his lips, his eyes, forehead and tear-stained cheeks. They tipped over and lay on their sides on the floor gazing at each other. "Larry forgive me, please, it was the ramblings of a crazy old fool." He wrapped his arms round the boy and hugged him tight, and they stayed like that a long time, their hearts beating together.

Finally Larry mumbled, "It was my fault sir. I shouldn't have done that ... I don't know why I did."

"Larry, neither us knows what we're doing right now. It's all so new, happening much too fast. Hell, you only just found out you like men, when Randy proved it to you. Have you ever sucked a man's dick before?"

"Only once sir when Jamie and me first broke in here, beat up Pablo and called him a faggot. Randy was so mad he made Jamie and me suck each other's cocks and that time it made me wanna puke.

"You see, kid, that's what I'm saying. You have no experience of any of this stuff."

"No but you do, sir. And you can show me ... if you still want me around, that is, after I ..."

"Of course I want you around, Larry, and want to teach you, and of course you can share my bed tonight. But this is all going way too fast and it's the sudden sex that's fucking it up. So sure we'll sleep together and cuddle if you want, but no more sex – not yet anyway."

"OK, sir," Larry said, snuggling closer.

"Listen, from now on we take it one step at a time. Here's what we'll do. First I want you to get familiar with the guys here, hang out with the boys for a week. You'll learn a whole lot from them, the senior boys and juniors too. It's what Randy calls `throwing a boy in at the deep end'.

"And then ... well, next weekend Mark and Jamie have plans to come out to the desert and spend a couple days with me. Mark likes to get away from the stress of the cop's life for a while and spend time with his boy. So, what if I ask them to bring you with them? Give you a chance to see my home out there, visit the bar that's been almost like a second home to me all these years. You could talk to some of the guys at the bar about their bikes, `cos you told me you used to be into that. Would you like that?"

Larry's eyes sparkled. "Would I! Yes please, sir, that would be awesome."

At that moment Mike's cell phone rang and he reached up for it on the bedside table. It was Bob. "Hey, Mike, don't want to interrupt anything but brunch is on the table down here and most of the guys are already here, so we'd love for you and Larry to join us. But take your time. It's real casual, guys coming and going."

"Bob," Mike chuckled, "how come your timing is always so perfect? You psychic or something?"

"I wish I were, buddy, so I'd know in advance what goes on in Randy's tangled mind. Forewarned is forearmed as they say. OK, see you both soon."

Mike shut off the phone and smiled at Larry. "Right, that's our call, and your entrance into a new world. Don't be surprised if everyone knows every detail of what's been happening to you. Only we won't tell them about our little ... you know. That's just between us. So get dressed and let me check you out. And remember what I said about table manners.

"Aye-aye sir," Larry laughed, a changed man from the sullen boy of the night before.

Mike was right, of course, about the efficiency of the tribal drums spreading the news of Larry – in detail. So when the two of them emerged Larry's reception was the opposite of the frosty treatment the `bad boy' had received the day before. The main reason for this was their awareness that Randy had fucked him, an implicit acceptance by the boss. And if Randy had welcomed him, in his time-honored way, the rest of the tribe accepted him too, unreservedly.

The boys, who had turned their backs on him the day before and circled the wagons round the injured Brandon, now reversed direction and embraced Larry. Not with the same loving warmth as they gave Brandon of course, but with a renewed curiosity and an instinct to help him fit in.

Everyone was struck by the extent to which the sullen, beaten-down outcast of yesterday had been transformed into a poised young man with a glow of confidence about him. A butt-fuck by Randy could do that to a man, they all knew that, but there must be something else too ... and they assumed it had something to do with the way Mike walked protectively by his side. Jamie took the lead and shouted, "Hey Larry, come sit with us. Shove up, guys."

As always the men were grouped at one end of the table and the boys at the other. The boys slid along the bench at the table making space for the newcomers where the two groups met, so while they sat together Mike could turn his attention to the men while Larry talked to the boys.

Like any new boy he was nervous at first but that soon disappeared as he felt the warmth of their welcome. The junior boys were bursting with questions but gave deference first to the senior boys. Pablo, the self-proclaimed boss's boy, said, "Hey, dude, Jamie tells us you're into motorbikes – used to ride with a group of bikers." "The Hell's Angels," Eddie interjected dramatically before being silenced by one of those looks Pablo had learned from Randy.

Eddie had a talent for injecting humor into any gathering and Larry smiled, "Not exactly the Hells Angels, Eddie, but they were a tough gang and I'd rather forget about them. But yeah, Pablo, one good thing I got from them was a love of bikes. They had so many kinds and makes that I got familiar with them all and ended up doing most of the maintenance on them."

"No kidding," Pablo said. "Well you are looking at the head of maintenance at the construction company and Ben here is my assistant. We work on everything from jackhammers to trucks and earth movers. If you're sticking around for a while maybe you'd like to come with us on Monday and lend a hand. We've got a shit-load of work on right now."

"Wow, that would be great – thanks Pablo."

Darius added with a grin, "Pablo and me, as well as being hot lovers as you may recall, work on the guys' bikes here too. Matter of fact, Randy's Harley is fucking up right now – the ignition timing needs adjustment. We were gonna take a look at it this afternoon so come join us."

Nate, the house manager, was next. "If you wanna get to know the house here – it's a bit of a sprawl – best way to do that is help me or Eddie on our cleaning rounds." Eddie leapt in, "Yeah, dude, I can show you everything – trust me, I know where all the bodies are buried."

In the general laughter they heard an "oh, shit" behind them from Brandon. He had come up in his electric wheelchair with a big tray of food and drink on his tray table but he had hit a bump and upset a glass of wine. He was trying to clean up the mess with his one good arm, the other still in a sling.

Larry jumped up and said, "Hey, can I give you a hand there? That's too much for you to handle right now."

There was a sudden uneasy silence round the table. They all knew of Brandon's fierce independence, his boast that he could do anything the other boys could despite his handicap, and always brusquely rejected offers of help. But suddenly he smiled and said, "Thanks, that would be great, Larry. As a matter of fact my two amigos, Eddie and Ben here, are shirking their duties right now so maybe you could come to the kitchen and help me bring out the food.

Instantly everyone (except Larry) knew what Brandon was doing. By breaking his rule and accepting Larry's offer of help he was integrating him into the group in the most practical way. He sensed that letting Larry share in the household chores, serving at meals, was the quickest way for him to become one of them. Larry jumped up eagerly and walked off beside Brandon, the boy he had attacked only yesterday and who had so quickly forgiven him.

Bob looked up, smiled at Pete and said so everyone could hear, "You got a helluva a boy there, Pete. He's got a smart head on his shoulders and kindness shines out of him like a beacon. You must be real proud of him."

In the kitchen the twins were working feverishly and treated Larry's entrance as a matter of course. Breathlessly Kyle said, "Oh good, you're here, Larry. We're right at the point where the whole thing comes together and we're kind of in the weeds. See those dishes over there? Load them on Brandon's tray table, and then give the onions a stir in that pan so they don't stick."

His brother Kevin added, "And when you've done that could you chop the spinach on this block? Not too fine, the guys like big chunks."

So the greetings were over and Larry was put to work. Randy's notion of throwing him in at the deep end now meant plunging him in the middle of the frenzied activity in the kitchen. He had never felt so much a part of a group as he did now ... and he loved it. The twins treated him as if he had always been there, throwing out instructions not with any sense of superiority but just as they would to any one of the boys in their concerted effort of getting the meal on the table.

As Larry worked he glanced at the twins who were, as always, working in perfect harmony, every move synchronized like a dance, reminding him of his days on group bike runs where the fast-moving bikes weaved in and out among each other gracefully without ever touching. And the twins were a picture in themselves, wearing only their usual white shorts with white bib aprons covering their naked chests.

Their handsome faces were crowned with white chef's hats, and Kyle took a moment to say, "Hey, dude, we're supposed to cover our hair in the kitchen so you better take this. He plopped a chef's hat on Larry's head and that slightly comical gesture more than anything else confirmed his status as one of the boys – his crowning glory.

At the table Randy loved watching Bob glow with pride at the way the boys all worked together in their own ways to make Larry feel comfortable, especially after his aggressive entrance the day before. Both men considered it a major achievement to have taken the boys in from their varied and fragile backgrounds and molded them into young men endowed with compassion for similarly lost souls ... that is, after Randy had given his seal of approval.

And when Larry emerged with trays of food wearing his hat at a jaunty angle the picture was complete. Mike smiled broadly at the men and said quietly, "Thanks, guys," then turned to the boys and repeated his thanks. Randy's brother Steve added his congratulations.

It was customary for Steve and his lover Lloyd to come down from their house in the hills for Saturday brunch. Steve, as psychologist to the tribe, knew them all well, having provided therapy sessions to most of them and learned their secrets and fears – in confidence, of course. Naturally, after hearing the details of Larry's arrival among them Steve talked at length to Mike and complimented him on the way he had comforted the boy.

"Yeah, Steve, but right now I'm feeling way out of my depth here," Mike said. "The kid resented me at first and I could handle that fine, but later his attitude changed, dramatically, and he now thinks of me as ... well, it scares me a bit. He did stuff and I said stuff that threw me for a loop but I said we should keep it just between us, so I don't wanna break that confidence now."

"Of course not," Steve said, "but Larry could talk about it freely in the privacy of a therapist's office. Would you like me to talk to him and draw him out? Most of these guys end up telling me everything in the end. They feel safe knowing it's in confidence."

"Would you do that, Steve? Man, that would help take a load off my mind. The sooner the better too before things go too far and get out of hand. Hell, I'm sharing a bed with him tonight, and I haven't a clue ..."

"What if I speak to him here, right now after lunch? Everyone kinda kicks back here for the afternoon so there'd be plenty of time. But one thing I need to know before I talk to him. It's early days, of course – you've only known him for 24 hours after all – but what are your initial feelings toward the boy?"

Mike sighed. "Steve, a lot of lost boys like him have drifted through my bar over the years and I've helped them whenever I can ..."

"But ..?" Steve smiled.

"But this kid's different, Steve. I felt it right away ... he reminds me so much of me when I was down and out at his age. And last night and this morning when he ... See, sex never really crossed my mind ... dammit sex hasn't been much of a thing in my life for some years now, ever since my former lover died. Huh, at my age I can hardly get it up even when I watch porn. But suddenly this kid shows up and ... I dunno, he makes me feel ... kinda young again."

Steve smiled but Mike said, "But Steve it's crazy. Hell, it was only this morning that he found out for sure that he likes guys, when Randy fucked him and of course Larry fell in love with him as everyone does. But the kid knows nothing. Love meant nothing to him ... he'd never seen it until he watched Randy and Bob making love."

"Yeah," Steve grinned, "that was a good move on my brother's part. Randy does have his instincts – making the boy watch two hot guys fuck who are crazy in love with each other. OK, buddy, you've told me all I need. Tell Larry you've spoken to me and you'd like him to meet with me. My guess is right now he'll do whatever you ask him to. I'll ask Bob to lend us his office and I'll take it from there.

When they finished talking Randy looked up from a conversation with Zack and said, "Well, bro, you gonna talk to the new kid?"

"Randy, for a big brutal gypsy whose native language is fists you do have uncanny instincts."

"Never underestimate me, brother Steve," Randy grinned. "Other guys have done that and lived to regret it, cos that's when I start talking fist'."

As a matter of fact Larry had been studying Steve through a series of quick glances. Larry, the twins and the boys were all seated at table now that the serving of lunch was done. In between answering the boys' questions, especially from the three young amigos, Eddie, Ben and Brandon, Larry squinted unobtrusively at the new man who had arrived and to whom he had not yet been introduced.

He was obviously Randy's brother as the resemblance was striking, although he was handsome in a different way from the swarthy long-haired gypsy – less wild-looking, more refined, though he had the same chiseled features and pale blue eyes. Larry remembered how Randy had fucked him and wondered if this man fucked like that. Randy had been the first ever to fuck him, and once he had admitted his attraction to men Larry had been thinking about sex a lot.

Mike, who had been watching Larry closely, nudged him and said, "I see you eyeing the guy over there. That's Doctor Steve, Randy's brother of course, and he's a psychologist. He has given therapy sessions to most of the guys here and I think it would be a good idea if you had a session with him. Steve suggested it himself and he'd be willing to see you after the meal's over in Bob's office. It's your choice, of course, but I would recommend it."

Larry frowned uncertainly. "So he's a shrink. Is he gonna get on my case like all those stuck-up social workers who used to tell me how bad I was?"

Mike chuckled. "Nah, nothing like that. Steve's a great guy and he's like no social worker you've ever met. Matter of fact his methods can be pretty wild but he always gets results. You'd like him. Plus of course he's totally gorgeous with the body of a Greek statue. How about it?"

That last part was what convinced Larry. He had had an erection in his shorts ever since looking at Steve and the thought of meeting him one on one was exciting. But he was honest with Mike and said, "OK, sir, but I gotta tell you, I er ... I've got a boner just looking at him. What if I get so stoked looking at him that I wanna ... you know ..."

Mike laughed. "Kiddo, I'm so glad you're being open with me like that. And I wouldn't worry, I'm sure Steve's used to that. A lot of his patients probably get the hots for him and he can handle that. Doctor Steve can handle most things, you'll see."

And so it was that as the meal finally wound down and the guys were drinking coffee, devouring the last of the mouthwatering dessert the twins had made, Steve and Bob left the table and went together into the house. A few minutes later Bob came out and nodded to Mike. "Looks like Steve's ready for you, kid," Mike smiled encouragingly. "Go with Bob, he'll show you the way."

As he got up Larry said to the twins, "Guys, I gotta go see Doctor Steve now but when I come back I wanna help you clean up the kitchen like I promised. We left it in quite a mess."

"We'll look forward to it," Kevin smiled with a glint of mischief.

A few minutes later Larry was standing with Bob at the door of his office. Bob smiled and said, "This'll be real good for you, Larry. It's great that you had that little session with Randy this morning but it's best for you meet with both brothers. See, Randy takes care of the physical side of things and Steve the mental side." He chuckled. "You could say Randy's the body man, Steve's the mind man." He kissed Larry on the cheek. "So I'll leave you alone with him. Go right in – he's expecting you."

As Bob went back downstairs Larry suddenly felt very alone and a bit scared as he timidly went in. "Hey, Larry," came the genial greeting as Steve got up from behind Bob's desk and strode forward with a gleaming smile. "Nobody introduced us downstairs – so much for their manners – but I'm Steve, otherwise known as the tribe's shrink. But don't let that put you off."

He shook Larry's hand and pulled him into a warm hug. Larry immediately held his breath as he felt Steve's muscular body press against him, similar to how Randy had felt but not as rough as his hug had been. But the result was the same – an instant stiffening of his cock that remained in his shorts even as they sat down, Larry on the couch, Steve in a chair facing him, a table beside him with a clipboard on which he occasionally made notes.

Steve was dressed a bit more formally than the other guys – beige slacks, loafers and a short sleeve white shirt open at the neck showing a flash of a white tank top underneath. The clothes may have looked a bit preppy but they did nothing to hide his muscular physique underneath.

Steve smiled, "Not nervous are you, Larry."

"A bit, sir ... I mean, I don't know what this is gonna be like."

"It's whatever you want it to be, Larry. No pressure. I want to stress right away that this is a confidential chat ... whatever is said in this room goes no farther. I'm sworn to secrecy, though you can tell anyone you want – Mike for example."

"Yeah, I want to be honest with Mike and tell him everything `cos I think Mike and me ..."

He trailed off and Steve said, "Yes, well we'll get to that in a minute. Now I've heard second-hand from the other guys about your background but I want to hear it from you. Tell me as much as you want to."

There was something about Steve's deep, warm voice and his smiling blue eyes that Larry found comforting and he relaxed as he began his story, including small details he had never told anyone else. He started with his life in St. Louis, his brutal, sexually-abusive father, downtrodden mother, and of feeling alone so he joined a biker gang that landed him in jail.

He told of joining up with Jamie as a couple of skin heads, their first visit to this house, a violent break-in for which they were punished. Then how Jamie had stayed here but he went back to St. Louis to protect his mother, but when she died he had run away from his dad and, with nowhere else to go, had ended up here again.

"I was scared but covered it up by acting tough and that's when I attacked Brandon and injured him. I'll always feel bad about that `cos he turned out to be such a great kid and I wanna make it up to him. Then I met Mike and suddenly felt ... I dunno, kinda comfortable and safe. But I was still acting like a big stud with women until Randy straightened me out about that. When he fucked me I suddenly realized that I had always been turned on by men but never admitted it."

Steve smiled and leaned forward slightly. "So here you are all of a sudden finding yourself in a tribe of men and boys where sex is always thick in the air. That's a big leap from your past. How do you feel about that now?"

Larry frowned, "It's kinda ... kinda scary and exciting at the same time." And he suddenly grinned. "And it sure gives me a boner in my pants all the time ... like right now. Oh, sorry doc, I guess I shouldn't have said that."

"Larry," Steve chuckled, "I've told you you can say whatever you like to me ... and anyway, that's something I've heard from other patients so don't worry about it. OK, so here's the deal as I see it. "You've had a real difficult boyhood where you were sexually abused by your father which left you damaged in two major ways.

First, you have never had an older male, a father figure if you like, whom you could trust and look up to. And second, you were so shocked and disgusted by your dad's sexual advances that you stifled your natural attraction to men. Well my brother sorted that out for you – Randy is an expert at that – and suddenly you discover sex with men. You are intrigued and excited, like a kid in a candy story who just realized he's got a very sweet tooth."

Steve chuckled. "And where do you end up? In the biggest candy store you ever saw, with eye-candy in every direction – a group of men and boys who are all buff and beautiful, oozing sex, and every one of them gives you a hard-on. So what's a boy to do? Get into a whole lot of trouble if he's not careful – get sexual indigestion from eating too much candy all at once.

"But there's a story I often tell. When new employees start working at a chocolate factory, they are likely to nibble chocolate all day off the conveyor belt as they pack them in boxes. So what does management do? They let them eat as much as they like! `Cos they know that at the end of a week they'll be so sick of chocolate they'll never eat another one."

"So, Larry frowned, "are you saying that ..."

"I'm saying that the best thing for you to do is to give into your sexual urges while you're here rather than suppressing them. I'm told you already jerked off watching Darius fuck Pablo, you creamed your shorts watching Bob and Randy make love (and who wouldn't!) and, of course, Randy made love to you and fucked you. But so far that's all, am I right?"

Larry hesitated. "Well ... not exactly, doc. See I ... I sucked Mike's cock." He suddenly leapt to his own defense. "And it wasn't gratitude, sir, like Mike thought at first. I mean I really like Mike ... I'm gonna sleep with him tonight and ... but it's not what you think. I mean, you were right about not having an older man I can love and respect. And when I think back, some of my uncles were real hot and I got a hard on looking at them. So you're wrong if you think it's not sexual, sir, `cos ..."

"Hey, hey, hey, go easy kiddo. I'm not blaming you for that – what you're describing is quite common. But you are so new to all this my advice is to take it slowly – one step at a time."

"That's just what Mike said, sir."

"Yeah, well Mike is a smart guy. So if something does bloom between you and him that would be great. But I'm saying you gotta get your feet wet first ... test the water before you dive in. But there's one important thing to clear up. See, sex is pretty much rampant in this tribe – but only within the tribe. You come from outside and before that, you say, you had a lot of sex with girls. So, my question is, were you careful – did you get tested for sexual infections?"

"Oh, no problem there, doc." Larry blushed. "See I kinda exaggerated the number of girls I had sex with, there weren't really that many. And anyway before she died my mom insisted that I get tested, so I did several times and I'm in the clear."

"Great. Now I'm not suggesting a week-long orgy here. All I'm saying is if you find yourself in a sexual situation where you're turned on and got a hard-on, go for it – watch, join in, whatever feels right. And at the end of a week see how you feel then."

"Well next weekend Mike said he'll ask Mark and Jamie to bring me out to his house in the desert. I can't wait for that."

"Good, that's a goal then. Mike won't push anything either way, but you, after sampling the candy in this house, if you still want to go to Mike's ... do it."

But Larry still hesitated. "Sir, you said if I'm turned on and got a hard-on I should go for it." He blushed. "Well, doc, I'm turned on now ... and I got a huge boner in my shorts, so ..."

"Ah," Steve smiled. "I wondered when we would get to that. Well, Larry, I'm your therapist so it wouldn't be right for me to fuck you like Randy did. That's more his territory anyway. But there is one thing I can do for you. As you see, I'm a bit overdressed for a casual afternoon with the guys. So I had intended, after you left, to change out of these formal clothes into the shorts and T-shirt Bob left for me here. But now I'm thinking – how about if I change while you're still here? Would that work for you?"

Larry's eyes gleamed. "You bet, doc."

"OK, and just to add a little spice, I'm all in favor of letting our imaginations run a bit? Let's assume I don't know you're here – you're like a patient spying on his doctor changing his clothes. A little fantasy always helps. You get the picture?"

"Absolutely, sir."

"Right, sit back, relax, and do whatever you want to do. Except don't cum too soon."

From then on Steve ignored Larry is if he were not in the room. In fact he did what he usually did at the end of any therapy session. He picked up his clipboard, sat at Bob's desk and updated his notes on the session. As he pondered what to write he raised his arm and casually ran his hand through his hair which made his bicep flex a bit under his short sleeve. Larry caught his breath and his hand wandered down to the bulge in his shorts.

Steve finished his notes, stood up, stretched and yawned as he always did to relieve the tension of an hour's concentration. As he stretched his arms up his shirt pulled up from his waistband a bit and a shirt button opened at his neck, exposing more of the white tank under the looser shirt. Seeing this more casual look Larry began to visualize how the doc would look without a shirt.

Doctor Steve came out from behind the desk, walked over to a full length mirror, unbuttoned his shirt almost to the waist and stretched again. With a perfect all-around view of Steve, including his mirror reflection, Larry gazed at him hungrily and stroked his cock through his shorts.

From behind, his eyes traveled down from the doctor's wide shoulders and over his broad back that tapered down to his slim waist where the shirt was now loosely tucked into the waistband with its smart brown belt. And his tight-fitted slacks accentuated the bulging mounds of his butt.

In front, in the mirror, with his shirt now open Larry saw the shape of his pecs under the tight tank top. Steve, admiring his own reflection, ran his hand under his shirt and over the tank stretched tight over his pecs flexing underneath. Larry realized something new – that a man like Steve could look almost as sexy fully dressed as he surly must naked. Mesmerized Larry pulled his cock out of his shorts and stroked it, silently willing the doctor to take off the shirt.

He got half his wish. With a sigh of satisfaction Steve pulled his shirt tails out of his pants and it flapped open as he turned and walked over to the small fridge Bob kept in his room. On the way he casually shrugged off his shirt and let it fall to the floor, then bent down and pulled a beer bottle from the fridge. With Larry watching his every move Steve twisted off the top, tilted his head and back and took a long drink.

It was one of the sexiest things Larry had ever seen – the handsome doctor, his pronounced Adam's apple moving as he drank, stripped down to his white tank that was tucked into his waist at the back but hung loose in front. As Steve's arm moved, Larry watched his muscles ripple, his shoulders and biceps now bare, his chest and abs clearly etched under the thin tank.

Steve was driving Larry wild (which Steve knew of course) and the boy forced himself to remember his words, `don't cum to soon'. So reluctantly he pulled his hand off his cock to prevent a premature orgasm. But now Steve turned up the pressure.

Sipping his beer he paced round the room a while, his muscular body and sculpted features catching the dappled light and shadows from the sun shining into the room. Then he stopped, frowned and glanced over at the desk. Suddenly he reached behind his neck and pulled the tank off over his head. Larry gasped and almost lost his load seeing the muscle-god doctor stripped to the waist, his magnificent torso in full view.

Steve went to the desk, leaned forward and braced his hands on it, gazing down at his clipboard. In that position the muscles in his shoulders and arms flexed and his ass pushed back tight in his slacks. Larry knew that if he touched his cock he would cum so he put his hands behind his back on the couch, feeling the exquisite frustration of a throbbing cock constantly on the verge of orgasm.

In a daze of lust he realized this was the same feeling he had had when Randy fucked him but forbade him to shoot. Randy had been fucking his body and now his brother Steve was fucking his mind, with the same pitch of pent up desire and orgasm denied.

Steve sat at the desk and concentrated on his notes as he adjusted them. And Larry had another revelation. How often had he seen good looking men going about their work, some of them sitting behind a desk like Steve, unaware of being watched, and how often had he subconsciously fantasized about them shirtless? These daydreams, firmly denied by his conscious mind, had built up and lain dormant deep in his subconscious, but now burst free as he stared at the doctor sitting shirtless behind his desk, a fantasy come true.

He knew he couldn't hold back much longer – and the always-astute Steve knew it too. He finished his notes, got up and walked over to the chest of drawers where Bob had laid out the shorts and T-shirt for him.

Larry watched spellbound as Steve kicked off his loafers, unbuckled his belt, let his slacks drop and stepped out of them, naked except for his boxer shorts. He picked up the clothes and smiled to himself as he saw the underwear Bob had chosen. Not boxers, not briefs – but a white jock-strap.

He carried it over to the middle of the room and faced Larry on his couch, still without making eye contact. He dropped his boxers and Larry gasped as he saw the huge, stiff dick spring out, just like Randy's. Steve pulled on the jock-strap and positioned it just right, with its massive bulge in front and the globes of his naked ass framed by the white straps, as Larry could see in the mirror behind him

As the near-naked muscle-god stood before him Larry was so close to busting his load that he whimpered, "Sir ..."

"I know, Larry," Steve smiled, looking at him for the first time. I know just what you're feeling. And I know you want this."

Steve leaned forward and braced his hands on the back of the couch, his bulging jock inches from the boy's face. Slowly he eased his hips forward until the rough cotton of the jock grazed the boy's lips. Larry opened his mouth and suddenly it was full of the thin fabric stretched over the rock hard cock. Wisps of wiry pubic hair poked over the waistband and chafed his face and, breathing frantically through his nose he inhaled the faint, musky smell of sweat.

He thought he would suffocate but Steve pulled back and said, "I know, I know, your balls are bursting. My brother boasts he can make a man cum without touching himself. Well so can I, so keep your hands behind your back – imagine they're tied and you can't get free." Still stretched over Larry with one hand braced on the couch, Steve's other hand reached inside the jock, pulled out his rigid shaft and stroked it in front of his face.

Overwhelmed, Larry closed his eyes for a second, then opened them and looked up to see the rugged face staring down at him, the naked muscular body flexing over him ... and the cock inches from his face being pounded in the doctor's fist. The deep voice said, "Here it comes, Larry ... now you can do it ... Now!"

Larry's head jerked back and he reflexively closed his eyes as he felt the first jet of cum hit his face. Then he opened them and stared at the huge cock pumping semen that splashed over his face. He had watched the handsome doctor slowly strip naked, had tasted his cock bulging in his jockstrap, and now that cock was blasting jizz in his face, making him cum at last ... at last ... "Doc, I'm ... I gotta ... aagh ... aaagh!"

Howling jubilantly he opened his mouth and drank Steve's juice pouring into it while his own cock exploded with streams of pent-up cum that shot up to his own chest, his neck and his face, where it joined the sperm of the doctor running down his cheeks at the climax of a therapy session like nothing he could have imagined in his wildest dreams.

A few minutes later Steve was dressed in Bob's shorts and T-shirt, helping Larry to wipe the cum from his face and the front of his shirt. Steve was once again the calm, soothing therapist. "See, Larry, that was a good start to what I was talking about, slowly getting familiar with man-on-man sex. Nothing hard-core, just a glimpse of some of the things in store for you. Not as hot a Randy fuck, I know, but ..."

"But sir, it was. It was different, sure, but it was awesome, sir. I've never ... never seen anything like that before and ... and I loved it, sir."

"Good, that's good. But like I said, you've gotta take it easy. Try something gentle at first. Leave the leathermen, Zack and Darius, for later with their rough stuff. And this was only the first of our sessions. At the end of the week I'd like to see you again to see how your week has gone and how you feel then about going out to Mike's place.

"Oh I'll still want to go, sir. That's different from all this... what I feel for Mike is a whole different thing and it won't change, sir."

Steve went back downstairs with Larry and they were greeted with smiles and lots of enquiring looks. But Larry had something else on his mind – his promise to the twins. He sat with Mike for a few minutes and said, "Sir, is it OK that I had sex with Doctor Steve? I mean it wasn't like sex with Randy but ..."

"Larry," Mike chuckled, "I've told you, while you're here you can do whatever you like with any of the guys. I want you to explore as much as possible."

"Sir, if it's OK I'd like Steve to tell you everything we did."

"It's OK if you say it is, kiddo. Hear that Steve? You have a full release from the patient to tell me everything."

"Actually," Steve grinned, "it was the patient who got full release. The doc too if it comes to that."

"Sir," Larry said, "I gotta go to the kitchen and help the twins clean it up. I promised."

He ran off and found the twins in the middle of the clean-up. They put him to work right away and half an hour later they were nearly done. "I can finish mopping the floor, guys, if you want to take a rest. You've been working all day."

Kyle and Kevin smiled at each other. "Thanks Larry," said Kevin. "We do usually relax for a while after lunch. We live right here above the kitchen." Kyle grinned, "Dude, that shirt of yours is real stained and wet and I'm guessing it's not from kitchen water. When you've finished the floor come up the stairs here and we'll give you a clean one."

As they left – two gorgeous identical brothers – Larry incredibly found his cock getting stiff in his shorts, so soon after Doctor Steve. The doc was right, he thought, this place is one big candy store. He had forgotten that his shirt was splashed with Steve's cum and his own, so when he had finished mopping and drying he went up the stairs and into the twins' apartment.

But he stopped short at the door and blushed, shocked by the sight of the brothers in a tight embrace kissing each other. "Oh, sorry dudes," he said averting his eyes. "I'll come back later."

"No, no," Kevin smiled. "Come right in, Larry. You're just in time."

TO BE CONTINUED in "A Trial Of Strength" – Chapter 347

Hey guys, this is Rob Williams. I hope that chapter got you off, and I welcome your comments and suggestions, which can be very helpful in planning future chapters. E-mail me in confidence at rw6789@aol.com.

ALSO, I invite you to visit my Web-site www.atrialofstrength.com. You can read the whole story, all the many chapters, with extras, including pictures and biographies of all the characters. Click on the `Our Story' tab to read the current chapter, or click on the green button to browse all the chapter synopses. Enjoy