A Trial of Strength

A TRIAL OF STRENGTH – PART 459 By Rob Williams

Chapter 459 – "A STRESSED OUT-COP LASHES OUT"

IN THIS CHAPTER

The macho cop Mark and his boy, the blond surfer Jamie, are the perfect golden couple until Mark suffers a bout of job-stress burnout and turns his back on his boy. They go out to the desert to try to heal the deepening rift. Walking on eggshells they slowly edge closer and closer until the night they share a bed and Jamie decides to go for broke in a sexual act that risks everything. ___________________________________________________________________

*********** IN THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER ***********

"Beautiful, eh, Mark?" Steve said softly.

"Fucking gorgeous," Mark murmured to himself, unthinkingly rubbing the bulge in his jeans

At the end of a therapy session Doctor Steve and the handsome cop Mark were in Steve's home office looking out at the spectacular sight by the pool of Mark's boy, the young, golden surfer Jamie, fucking the stunning young gymnast Tommy, Steve's house manager.

Mark had come to see Doc Steve `cos he was in trouble. As happens periodically with many cops he was going through an especially bad burnout period where patrolling the streets in a rough section of Los Angeles on his motorcycle had finally got to him. He had plunged into a depression and bouts of irrational anger.

The person in the line of fire was his boy Jamie who often bore the brunt of the cop's anger, and Mark had turned cold and unfeeling to his boy. The doc had said, "What troubles me, Mark, is the effect of all this on Jamie. You and I both know that when cops experience a burnout like this it's often the family that suffers most. Of course you are familiar with the battered spouse syndrome – you must have responded to domestic abuse calls often yourself."

Mark got animated. "I have never laid a finger on Jamie, doc. Are you suggesting I abuse him?"

"No, no, not at all. Not physical abuse anyway. But you know, emotional abuse can be just as painful in its way. And I think that, unwittingly, that's what you're doing with Jamie ... like when you ordered him to face-fuck his friend Pablo, against his wishes."

Mark slumped back with a sigh. "Yeah, you're probably right, Steve. But ... I dunno, I'm so wrapped up in myself, with my libido at zero, that I don't have time for Jamie right now. In bed I just turn my back on him. I know that sounds cold but ... I dunno ... I don't know how to love him anymore, or to show that I love him. He's a good guy and all, but ... it's like I don't even see him the way I used to."

"In these cases, Mark, an inability to feel or express affection is common. But..." Steve got up and pulled a chair next to his. "Come and sit here, Mark. There's something I want you to see."

And that was what Steve showed him – the two athletic jocks making love naked by the pool. Mark had a clear view of the gorgeous ass getting pounded by the handsome young jock, his tousled blond hair falling over his face, his ripped wet body gleaming golden in the sun.

Mark unzipped his pants, pulled out his cock and stroked it. He was mesmerized by the magnificent young man and imagined what it felt like to fuck him. Then he frowned with the puzzled realization that was not just a handsome boy, it was his own boy, his own Jamie and he had fucked him but now treated him with cold indifference.

Tears came to his eyes and rolled down his cheeks and he murmured, "Damn I miss him ... I love him, Steve ... I love the fuck out of him."

The boys' laughter filled the air as their cocks erupted simultaneously. Tommy's semen spurted all over his flawless chest and Jamie pumped his fist in the air and his cum in his buddy's ass.

And there was another orgasm in the house as Mark pumped warm juice that spurted up high, while tears ran down his face. "I love him, Steve, I need him, and I've treated him so bad. But I don't know how to tell him. What am I gonna do?"

"Well," Steve chuckled, "I think you just proved how much you love him. I'm guessing that what Jamie wants right now is your arms round him."

In a daze Mark got up, zipped up his pants and went out to the pool. The naked young men stood up and Mark and Jamie stared at each other. Jamie waited ... and Mark put his arms round him in a tight silent hug.

Tommy left unobtrusively and went into Steve in his office. "Mission accomplished, wouldn't you say, sir?" Tommy smiled.

"You did great, Tommy, absolutely perfect. Thank you."

"The pleasure was all mine sir, as I think you know. I love making love with Jamie."

Steve sighed. "But it's not mission accomplished just yet, Tommy. Those guys still have a long way to go, lot to sort out. Mark's depression won't vanish overnight."

"So what's your prescription, doc?"

"They have to get away, away from here, away from all the triggers. And I know just the place for them. Did you know that way back, hard as it is to believe now, Jamie was one of a pair of skinheads running wild? His buddy was Larry – yeah Mike's boy in Palm Springs. Well, Jamie found Mark, and Larry later found Mike. They cleaned up their act and became the great young guys they are now, and they're best buddies again.

"So, what's more natural than Mark suggesting he take Jamie out of town to Uncle Mike's place in the desert? Actually, Mike heard on the grapevine all about Mark's problem and called me to ask if there's any way he could help. I know he would welcome them with open arms and wise old Mike would be a great influence on Mark, while Jamie and Larry could have fun together.

"So you think you can swing it, sir? You know – convince Mark to take a break?"

"Hmm, I can give it a try."

"And you think it will do the trick, sir?"

"Ah, as to that, only time will tell, Tommy. At least it'll be another chapter in the saga of this crazy tribe."

********************* CHAPTER 459 *********************

GET OUT OF TOWN

It was a long, wordless hug.

Mark knew that he had treated his boy Jamie coldly in the last couple of weeks. His deep depression from work stress had cut him off from any affectionate feelings toward anyone, even from Jamie.

He had loved the young blond surfer for so long and their relationship was so close that Mark thought of him as his buddy rather than his boy. But all that was gone, leaving behind a remoteness that Mark couldn't bridge. Sex, which used to be a major part of their day, was now nonexistent.

This was the first time Mark had touched Jamie for over a week and as their bodies pressed together they both wanted to feel that spark of passion that always surged through them at the start of love making. Jamie felt something approaching that but it was blocked by the cool lack of response from Mark who could not break through the crust of self-doubt, denial and guilt.

So when they separated at last they gazed at each other with sad affection and Mark said, "Jamie, I gotta get away, out of town."

With a surge of panic Jamie flinched and Mark quickly added, "With you, of course, Jamie – if you want to come. I might not be the best company."

Jamie replied with a touch of cheekiness which surprised even him. "Right now, sir, I'll take you any way I can get you."

That unexpected reply thawed the ice just a little and Mark smiled. "Jamie, are you sure you want to call me sir?"

Another stab of panic. "Oh yes, sir. That way I can convince myself I'm still your boy."

Mark stopped and faced him. "Jamie, let's get one thing clear. Whatever we're going through, now and in the future, you will be my boy as long as you want to be."

"Which will be forever, sir."

"OK, I'm gonna go talk to the doc. You go say goodbye to Tommy. He's a real good guy."

Jamie went to find Tommy in the kitchen and Mark went into the office where Steve was now alone waiting for him. Mark said, "Steve you're a devious son of a bitch."

"I do my best," Steve grinned playfully.

"I'm not quite sure what you did here, dude – I think possibly even you don't know. But whatever it was it made me realize that I gotta get out of town – and take Jamie with me. There's too much baggage here for me right now."

"Excellent, Mark, you read my thoughts."

"And I wanna go right away."

"Another excellent choice, officer. Anything I can do to help speed you on your way?"

"I don't think so, doc. Don't get me wrong when I say `you've done quite enough'. Steve chuckled again. "I can take it from here. I've got a couple of days off and then tons of comp time owing so that's no problem. And I'll talk to Bob about giving Jamie time off from work. I think he'll agree."

"Mark, you could ask Bob for anything in the world you wanted and he'd agree. Er, there is one thing you haven't mentioned yet – destination, and I do think I can help you there. You see, Mike called me from out in the desert. He'd heard of your troubles and – good old Mike being Mike – he wanted to know if he could be any help. I know that he would welcome you with open arms, no questions asked, and of course Jamie and Mike's boy Larry are buddies from way back."

A light dawned in Mark's eye. "I hadn't thought of that, but now you mention it ... I'll give him a call right away. Steve, I can't begin to thank you ..."

"Ah, don't try, all in a day's work. You can pay my bill by sorting yourself out and being good to that gorgeous boy of yours."

They hugged, and at the same time Jamie and Tommy were hugging in the kitchen. Tommy smiled, "Of course, Jamie, you know this was all kind of a setup – Steve and his wild methods – but I gotta tell you that I enjoyed the hell out of it. Next time we meet, all this crap will be only a memory and we can meet on real terms – and it'll be payback time"

"Deal," Jamie grinned.

Steve and Tommy saw them to the door and waved them off. Tommy said, "You think they're gonna be OK, sir?"

"I have a hunch they will be, Tommy. It'll be tough at first but they're both really good guys and, best of all, they love each other. That's good enough for me.

INVITATION TO THE DESERT

The drive back to the compound was silent, but it was not the same tense, frigid silence of the drive up. There was an unstated sense of a bridge having been crossed to a sunnier land. All they were certain about now was their trip to the desert. Beyond that they had no idea how to proceed or what was to come – but hope was in the air. They had at least confirmed that they loved each other, actually put it in words. It was a start.

When they got to the house, before they got out of the car Mark pulled out his phone and called Uncle Mike. "Hey, Mike, it's Mark, I'm here with Jamie and ..."

"You coming out to see us, officer?"

"How did you know we were ...?"

"Be great to see your ugly mug again, stud, and your beautiful surfer boy." (Uncle Mike was never one to beat about the bush.) "We'll get the guest room ready. What time will you be here?"

"Well, er, I guess we could leave more or less right away."

"Good. Throw your kit in your truck and hit the road. We'll be waiting for you. Drive safe." And he clicked off.

Mark was a bit stunned. His first thought was that Steve must have called Mike and he wondered how much he had told him. Then he knew that Steve would never have divulged any details of their unusual therapy session – professional discretion – except to alert him that Mark might call. And Mike just took it from there.

Mark's second thought was how incredible the guys were. He realized that they all had his back and the network of support was woven into the fabric of the tribe.

"Looks like we're all set, Jamie. I gotta have a word with Bob. You go check with Brandon."

Jamie went to the office where Brandon was, as usual, working at his computer. "How did it go, dude?" he asked.

"Pretty good, I think," Jamie replied noncommittally. "Er, Brandon I got a favor to ask you."

"Fire away."

"Could you hold the fort here for a few days? Mark and me are going out of town."

"Good, I hoped you would. Best thing. And no worries about the office, Jamie. Bob will always help me and at a pinch I can always ask Eddie – if I can ever get him to stop talking."

"You're a pal, kiddo." Jamie bent down to Brandon's wheelchair and hugged him.

Meanwhile Bob was saying, "I'm so glad, Mark. Uncle Mike's is a great place to go to clear your head and relax. And don't worry about Jamie's work. Of course he can have time off. Brandon has everything in control and I'll pitch in to help him. Don't worry about a thing. Just get yourself and your boy on the road."

They hugged, Mark joined Jamie and they stowed their gear in the truck, including Mark's cop uniform on a hanger. He always took his uniform with him on a trip. He never knew when he might need it for official business – or for any other reason.

BRICK BY TINY BRICK

They had done the drive to Palm Springs before, of course, but they didn't speak much, except for small talk, and there were none of the usual rituals.

Sitting beside Mark Jamie didn't rest his hand inside Mark's thigh as he always had, and Mark was not wearing the black ribbed tank top he always used to – the one that gave Jamie an instant hard-on. And they didn't get off the freeway halfway and drive through the scrub to the spot where they would get out, Mark would lift Jamie onto the truck's tailgate and fuck him. Mark's troubled mind was still far from that kind of activity. Maybe the desert could change that.

A couple of hours later they were arriving at the gate of Mike's large ranch-style house on the edge of Palm Springs with its extensive well-manicured grounds.

As the longtime owner of the town's most popular leather bar Mike had made his pile and invested it wisely (in recent years with Bob's expertise) and his boy Larry was bringing in money too with his successful motorcycle repair shop. The two were crazy in love – a May/September romance with Mike in his late fifties and Larry in his mid-twenties. In other words, a perfect setup to nurture the damaged relationship of their friends Mark and Jamie.

Mike and Larry came out to meet them. Of course they had heard the whole Mark saga on the grapevine and got all the details from their buddies on the phone, especially from Eddie who specialized in providing streaming details in his machine-gun delivery.

But Mike had primed Larry that they should not pump their guests for information – simply create a safe environment for the pair to work things out on their own. It was one more piece of advice the older man had given to his boy.

"Kiddo, in all my travels round the block one thing I've learned is never to get involved in other guys' relationships. First, you can never ever really get inside the relationship and know the real dynamic. And second, if the mud starts flying it's the guy in the middle who gets hit in the mug."

"Hey, guys," Mike said, his arms wide open, "You made it fast. No stops on the way uh?"

"Not this trip," Mark smiled. (Despite his non-interference pledge, Mike was not beyond giving a sly nudge here and there.) The two men embraced while Larry hugged Jamie saying, "Hey, dude, how's it hangin'?"

"Still trying to work that out, buddy," Jamie replied, then turned to Mike. "Hello, Uncle Mike. Looks like you're keeping this rascal on a tight leash."

"Hey, how did you know we get into the dog-on-a-leash routine?" Mike chuckled.

"Lucky guess, sir," Jamie grinned.

"Well don't let's stand out here trading secrets," Mike said. "Get your asses in the house and stow your gear in the guest room. It's all ready for you."

After the blast of bonhomie at the gate, when Mark and Jamie went into the guest room the slight nervous chill descended again. They were walking on eggshells, careful not to extinguish the flame of reconciliation that flickered uncertainly, in danger of being blown out by the slightest mistake.

The first challenge was that there were two beds in the room. Nothing was said verbally, of course, and Jamie nervously took his cue from Mark, who made no overt reference to the question hanging in the air. But when he threw his backpack on the bed he casually picked up Jamie's and threw it on the same bed.

It was with such tiny, seemingly insignificant gestures that a relationship is rebuilt brick by tiny brick. But if they were still at the `do we share a bed?' stage they clearly had a long way to go.

SHARING THEIR TROUBLES

Jamie helped Larry get dinner ready saying, "Damn we should have brought young Will with us – he loves cooking for others. I miss that kid with his green apron and his red hair poking out from under his chef's hat."

"But I wanna know how you're feeling, buddy," Larry said. "We go back such a long way to the skinhead days you know you can tell me anything." So Jamie unloaded on him, telling him the frustrations of a cold unfeeling Mark next to him. "It's like he's totally locked me out, dude, and I don't know how to break in."

"But it seems to me you gotta, buddy. Mike was talking about this and he's seen a lot of cop burnout in his day. You're right, they do lock up tight but you gotta do whatever you can to turn him around bit by bit. I have a feeling it'll be up to you, stud. You're the man to do it."

Outside, sipping cocktails by the pool Mark was having a similar discussion with Mike, using almost the same words as he had to Doc Steve. I'm so fucked up in my head that there's no room for sex or anything. Even with Jamie I have no sex drive, can't even get it up."

"You, the stallion cop can't get a hard-on?"

"I know, weird, but there it is. I'm sleeping with one of the most gorgeous guys on the planet and I just turn my back on him in bed. I know that deep down I love him and I've told him that but I don't know how to show him I love him. If there's no sex, what kind of a relationship is that?"

"Well, officer, it's never my way to give advice to lovers in trouble except to say take it slow, just don't rush things. You'll find a way out for the woods – or your kid Jamie will."

Mike didn't know how true that prediction would turn out to be.

A BREAK-THROUGH MOMENT

After dinner they turned in for an early night. Usually Jamie looked forward to the moment where he crawled into bed naked with the equally naked blond cop who wrapped his muscular arms round him. But now he almost dreaded the moment, knowing he would encounter not open arms but Mark's indifferent back.

And that's how it turned out now. At least they were sharing the same bed, Jamie thought, but all he got from Mark was a muffled, "'Night Jamie."

He tried to fall asleep but sleep wouldn't come. Usually after sex Jamie fell into a deep blissful sleep but now Mark's cold indifference affected even Jamie's sex drive and he could not get hard – Jamie could not get hard lying next to this muscle-god! Unheard of."

What he needed was to touch Mark, just to feel his flesh – just a fingertip. So he nervously reached slowly forward and touched Mark's warm back. He held his breath but Mark did not recoil. It even seemed that Mark eased back toward him a little – or was that his imagination?

After a few anxious minutes he rested his whole hand on Mark's back – and still no rejection. And it wasn't because Mark was asleep. He could tell by his breathing that he was still awake. Another long pause, then Jamie slid his hand gently upward to the cop's hard lats and, getting bolder, over the lats to his chest. Jamie's arm was actually wrapped over Mark, not tightly but warily, making sure not to press down on him and invite rejection.

But he didn't know what to do next. He couldn't hug him – too bold – nor even press against him. So he stayed where he was for what seemed like long minutes ...

And then Mark moved!

With a sigh, as if he were sleeping, he turned over on his back. Now they were closer together, with Jamie's arm resting over Mark's solid abs and his body was pressing lightly against Mark's. Jamie's cock got hard, so he pulled back a little so Mark wouldn't feel it – he didn't want to push his luck, he thought.

It was a warm desert night and they were covered with only a single sheet, s up and down in time with Mark's breath. After another long pause Jamie slid his hand carefully down the ridges of the cop's abs, over his stomach until he touched the mass of pubic hair. And in that mass was lying – Mark's cock. And it wasn't limp. It wasn't hard either but Jamie fancied he felt the stirrings of life.

He couldn't let that go to waste – he had to follow it up, but how? The first thing that had to go was the sheet. As the room was so warm and the air-conditioning hadn't kicked in Mark himself would eventually have pushed the sheet down, even in his sleep. So Jamie did it for him – ever so gently. Inch by inch he moved the sheet down off his chest, over his abs and over the blond pubes to finally reveal ... his cock, almost semi-hard.

Feeling bolder now it was Jamie's turn to move. He inched his body down on the bed until his face was level with Mark's stomach and his cock lying on it. This was the tricky part. He propped himself on his left elbow then braced his other hand on the bed and eased his face and upper body off the bed.

He saw Mark's balls that he loved so much, lowered his face, flicked out his tongue – and licked one of his balls. Mark sighed deeply and Jamie quickly pulled away. He remembered a story Will had told him of how he and his buddy Ben had been taken to the beach by the fireman Jason. Jason had fallen asleep on the beach and the boys had worked on him and given him a wild wet dream as he slept.

Was this the same thing? No, Jamie thought. After years of watching Mark sleep with a slight smile on his face he knew his deep breathing pattern, and this was not that. He was in a state of deep relaxation, dozing off and on, but not asleep. He was aware of what Jamie was doing – and he didn't object.

That knowledge gave Jamie the courage to go for the gold. Now he licked both balls gently and then moved his mouth up to the pubic hair where he inhaled deeply and smelt the unmistakable odor of the cop's sweaty pubes.

Now for the cock. He licked the base, then moved higher, running his tongue slowly up the shaft and feeling it harden almost imperceptibly as blood swelled his veins for the first time in two weeks.

When he came to the head he had to be extra careful. His tongue flicked at the hard sensitive corona, Mark moaned softly and Jamie quickly pulled back. He waited a moment, then went again, this time licking the whole head. Mark's cock was getting there, almost hard now for the first time since his depression began.

There was now nothing left but to go for it, Jamie decided. Positioning himself carefully he opened his mouth wide and wrapped it over the head of his lover's cock. Again he froze, waiting for a rejection, which never came. He got bolder, moved lower, inch by inch until his face was buried in the wiry blond pubic hair and he felt the head of Mark's cock touch the back of his throat.

Anxious not to gag, which would have spoiled it all, Jamie moved his mouth back up the long shaft at the start of a tentative blow job, the tenderest he had ever given Mark. At this point he would normally have felt Mark's fingers running through his hair. Mark loved to do this, to wrap his hand round the back of Jamie's head and push his mouth down on his cock.

But not this time. His breathing got deeper but his body remained inert – except for his cock which by now was rock hard and ... and Jamie tasted pre-cum! This had to be a break-through moment and Jamie had to restrain himself from attacking the cock aggressively, which they both enjoyed most.

But he didn't have to. Mark had not got hard and had not had an orgasm for several weeks so his balls were bursting and ready to explode. Jamie clenched his throat round the shuddering shaft and felt it swell in his mouth. "Mmmm ..." Mark moaned as his cock poured his pent-up load down his boy's throat.

Overjoyed, Jamie drank his master's musky juice that he had been craving for two weeks, swallowing it in gulp after gulp. His own cock had been rubbing against Mark's thigh and now it too erupted and poured semen over the police officer's leg.

When their cocks had both drained Jamie had a moment of panic, not knowing what to do next, fearing the cop's reaction after his orgasm. It was Mark who made the first move and pushed Jamie away from him and over on his side. Another jolt of panic for Jamie who saw this move as a gesture of anger from Mark.

But he was wrong. Jamie now had his back to Mark who edged forward and pressed his chest lightly against it. Wordlessly he wrapped an arm over Jamie's chest, and that's how they fell asleep at last – master and boy lying like spoons.

MARK MELLOWS OUT

In the morning when Jamie awoke the events of last night came flooding back, and caused mixed emotions. Joy, certainly, that they had jumped a hurdle, or so it seemed. Or was it? Maybe Mark had had such a buildup of jizz he just needed to get his rocks off and an anonymous blowjob was as good a way as any, like a stranger in a dark alley.

What made Jamie's contemplation even gloomier was the fact that Mark was no longer spooning him. He was lying on his back, something that was not necessarily significant. People always shift in their sleep, don't they?

And what of Mark? If anything he was even more confused than Jamie because he was the one with the problem and he wasn't sure how last night's blowjob affected it. Part of him wasn't even sure it had actually happened. Maybe it was his imagination, a wet dream where he had ejaculated simply because he had built up such a head of steam over the weeks.

So with all such complicated thoughts how would they address the events of last night? Well that part at least was easy – they didn't. Nothing was said. When Mark rolled over and looked at his watch on the night table he said, "Jesus it's late. We mustn't upset the house routine and abuse our friends' hospitality."

They needn't have worried. Palm Springs was a resort city so life out here was always casual. Mark and Jamie didn't shower but just pulled on their shorts – cargo shorts for Mark and board shorts for Jamie. Outside they blinked in the sudden burst of bright sunlight and saw Mike and Larry sitting at a table by the pool beside an array of breakfast foods.

"Jesus, guys how the hell do you do that?" Mike grinned. "You roll out of bed looking like a million bucks. When I get up and stare in the mirror it looks like a truck ran over my face during the night. Come here, guys, sit yourself down and take a pick of the food here – coffee, juice, whatever you want."

They thanked him and did as suggested and Mike glanced at Larry with raised eyebrows. The silence between the Mark and his boy seemed to suggest that last night had been the same deep freeze, and yet Mike, with the astuteness of age, sensed a faint inner glow on their faces, that hinted at the beginnings of a thaw.

Conversation warmed up slowly but avoided anything controversial. Mike regaled them with his usual stock of stories from his bar – the aggressive drunks he had ejected, the guys he had caught fucking in the back room and left them to it. "Who am I to judge?" he grinned roguishly.

When they had eaten their fill Larry wanted to take Jamie to his garage workshop to show off the bikes he was working on, so they soon left. Mike too had to leave to set up the bar for the lunch crowd and hand over to the assistant barman.

So Mark was left alone, which was probably a good thing for a while, Mike thought. Give him space to sort out his convoluted thoughts and emotions. As Mark wandered the extensive grounds the still silence of the desert, the warm breeze and bright white sunlight helped Mark to relax and bask in the serenity the desert was famous for.

Of course he contemplated the fact that had at last got hard and had a powerful orgasm, but he put that down to the fact that he just needed to unload the jizz that had built up over the weeks. Maybe it was a one-off, a fluke, and had nothing really to do with Jamie. But then he remembered wrapping his arm round his boy and feeling his warm flesh against his chest.

He had a vague sense of a thaw in his gloomy resentment of the world, but what that could lead to was anybody's guess and he gave up trying. What he needed was physical activity so he decided to go for a walk.

He loved the peace and quiet of this residential neighborhood with its mature shade trees and well-trimmed lawns and he walked steadily, breaking into a jog some of the way, then slowing down and even pausing to smell the roses that grew in profusion in the gardens of these upscale homes. The result was that he was feeling more mellow than he had in weeks when he realized that he was close to Mike's bar.

He loved Mike's company so he decided to drop in. The parking lot already had a good number of motorcycles in it so obviously the early lunch trade was brisk. When he went through the leather flaps over the door he was temporarily blinded after the strong sun outside and he blinked until he got used to the red spotlights of the bar.

He didn't realize that he was causing a minor sensation among the leather/Levi crowd – a spectacularly handsome blond with chiseled features and `the body of death', as one said. What's more, bucking the leather/Levi trend, he was shirtless in cargo shorts and sneakers.

When he got accustomed to the lights he became aware of the low excited buzz around him and all the eyes focused on him. Feeling uncomfortable he was relieved to see Mike behind the bar and walked up to him through the crowd that parted in his wake like Moses crossing the Red Sea.

Mike's face lit up. "Hey stud, couldn't stay away, uh? Have a beer, on the house."

Mark stood at the bar and said quietly, "Jeez, Mike, have you got a T-shirt I could put on?"

"No I don't and don't you dare," Mike chuckled. "You're great for business. This will fly around the leather crowd and they'll be flocking here to see the blond muscle-god everyone was talking about."

Mike engaged Mark in easy conversation and Mark relaxed somewhat. But he was still embarrassed by all the attention he drew and realized that this was not his scene, hanging out in bars like these other guys searching for sex. More power to them, but he already had the most beautiful guy there was, the beautiful blond surfer, his own boy who loved him and who had given him a great blow job just last night.

Wait a minute, that was the same boy he refused to even touch night after night, who hadn't made his dick hard for several weeks and who he treated coldly. What the fuck was he doing – what the fuck had he done, or more especially not done?

Suddenly his confusion crashed in on him again and he was saved by Mike saying, "OK, officer, my work here is done. Frankie's gonna take over from now – say hi, Frankie to my good friend Mark. The bartender shook Mark's hand and held onto it longer than usual, staring at Mark like he wanted to commit this face to memory and jerk off to it later. "Wanna walk back with me to the house, Mark?"

"Yeah sure, I'd love to, Mike." As they walked to the door Mark was aware of all the hungry eyes following them until once again he was hit by the glare of the sun.

They strolled back, chatting about the challenges of running a bar, and Mark mentioned the many times he had been called to an unruly bar in town to break up a disturbance. It was the first time since his burnout hit that he had talked about his job to anyone and he felt a kind of release as that particular damn burst. He even told some amusing stories about some of his encounters, making Mike throw his head back in the full-throated laugh he was famous for.

When they reached the gate Mike said, "Ah that's Larry's truck, the boys are home. Let's see what the scoundrels are up to."

THE MAGIC RETURNS

They went into the house but no one was there. "Outside by the pool, I bet, glorious day like this." They went outside and soon found the boys lying side by side, face down on a blanket by the pool soaking up the sun. They were both wearing Speedos to get a perfect tan line, the flawless mounds of their butts on full display. Mark felt a jolt in his cock but dismissed it."

"Well, well, well," Mike grinned, "what do we have here, two hot young studs for hire?"

The boys flipped over and leaned back on their elbows grinning up at the men. "In your dreams old-timer," Larry teased. "You'd have to mortgage your bar to afford us. We're the cream of the crop and we don't come cheap."

"I can believe it," Mike said. "But if I'm gonna spend that kind of money I gotta sample the merchandise first." He chuckled, "Ain't you learned anything boy? You know you can't flaunt yourself like that and get away with it. I may be old but I ain't dead and neither is my plumbing. Get a load of this."

Quickly Mike kicked off his boots and pulled down his jeans. "See what a mean?" as his cock sprang out. He pulled off his T-shirt and stood naked, flexing his muscles. "Not half bad for an `old-timer' wouldn't you say?" he boasted. And he was right. As a man in his late fifties he was remarkably well preserved, with only the gray hairs on his muscular chest and a slight thickening of the waist suggesting his age.

Larry certainly was impressed as always and pulled down his speedos and stroked his already rigid cock. "OK, I give up, sir. What you gonna do with me?"

"As if you didn't know after all this time. I'm gonna take what's mine and plough that gorgeous ass, sonny-boy."

Larry hooked his hand behind his knees and pulled his legs back, offering his ass. Mike reached down to a jar of lube on a nearby table, dipped his fingers in then lubed his cock. He smiled at Mark. "Excuse us, officer, we got a job to do. It's perfectly legal on private grounds you know, but you can arrest us if you want."

Mike fell to his knees behind Larry, pushed his boy's legs back further and grinned. "OK, let's see if you're worth the price of admission." He pressed his greased cock into the black hair round Larry's ass and eased it in. Larry's face glowed as he felt his man's cock slid in his ass. He loved the sense of being overpowered by this dominant older man and sighed deeply.

"Thank, you, sir. Fuck me sir. I love you. Take my ass."

"Just what I intend to do, kid. Best feeling in the world, fucking my boy's ass." They stared at each other as the fuck began and slowly increased in tempo. They had eyes only for each other, with that special love shared by an older man and a virile young stud.

Jamie lay beside Larry, still propped up on his elbows gazing up at Mark. The cop was backlit by the sun that caused a sort of halo round him, shimmering in the heat. Jamie thought he had never seen Mark looking as beautiful as he did now. He wanted him so bad, wanted to give himself to his master so much and yet ... did Mark want him? Did he want him in the way he always used to, or was that over?

The thought of losing this glorious man, or at least his affection, made Jamie crushingly sad and a tear rolled down his cheek, then another down the other cheek.

Mark looked down at him, at his boy, his beautiful boy, weeping tears of sorrow. And Mark knew he had caused that. How could he? How could he mistreat this golden boy and make him cry?

Mark looked over at Larry whose shining eyes were focused on his lover Mike, joyful and safe. Mike was making love to his boy, an older man, not as glamorous at Mark but handsome and kind. Ah, that was it. It was Mike's kindness that Larry loved, the most important quality in a man. Mark's friend Bob had kindness in spades, he oozed kindness to men and boys alike, especially to his own boys the twins who worshipped him.

He saw Jamie quickly brush away his tears, a small gesture that Mark found infinitely moving, and a wave of affection swept over him.

He dropped his shorts and saw something astonishing. His cock sprang out hard as steel. It was a result of Jamie's beauty, sure, but the main cause was his own affection and compassion for the boy. He realized for the first time that compassion and love were close cousins – and he had been denying both to Jamie.

Jamie had seen Mark's erection of course – a ray of hope in their darkness. And then Mark smiled. "I'm so sorry, Jamie. Please forgive me." He leaned down and gently pulled Jamie's speedos down and off over his feet. Scarcely able to believe what was happening Jamie did what Larry had done – curled his hands behind the knees and pulling his legs back, daring to offer his ass to the man he loved.

Mark dropped to his knees, spat in his palm and ran his wet hand over his rigid cock. He leaned forward, pressing his shoulders against Jamie's legs, and touched the head of his cock against the boy's beautiful ass. There were tears in the eyes of both men as Mark said softly, "Forgive me Jamie. I love you, I never stopped loving you, but I hurt you. I was sworn to protect you but I hurt you instead. Let me try and make amends."

He eased his cock into Jamie, the first time in weeks that Jamie had felt it, though he dreamed of it every night. This time it was real, Mark was making love to him and once again tears ran down his cheeks, tears not of sadness this time but of love and joy.

"I love you, sir and I never stopped for a moment. And I waited for you. Thank you for coming back to me."

The wall of doubt and depression crumbled at last, leaving two men, master and boy, making love as they used to. Well, not quite as they used to – there was more passion now than ever, made up not only of lust but of all the other loving attributes Mark had discovered. The fruit had been forbidden to Jamie for so many weeks and he tasted it now in all its richness

Beside them Mike and Larry were laughing as Mike pounded his boy's ass. But the other two were simply smiling as Mark eased in and out of Jamie's welcoming ass. Mark leaned forward and licked the tears from Jamie's cheeks, then kissed his eyes, his brow and finally his lips, in a long passionate embrace.

In the joy of reconciliation they lost all sense of time and place. It was just them, naked in the hot sun, gazing at each other and making love as never before, with Mark's cock massaging his boy's ass and driving him to the edge of climax again and again. They didn't want to stop. They wanted time to stop and trap them in the act of loving each other forever.

But the boisterous couple next to them jerked them out of their euphoria with a shout. "This is it, Larry ... I can't hold back anymore. Damn that stud ass is hot. I love you, kid. Let me see you bust that load. Do it for me, your old man, the guy who loves his boy. You ready, stud?"

"Ready when you are, sir," Larry shouted. "Come inside me, dude. Fuck me ... yeah fuck that ass ... aaagh!" With peals of laughter they climaxed together, Mike in his boy's hot ass watching the boy's own jizz spurting up and splashing down on his chest and face.

Mark smiled at Jamie. "We're not gonna let them get away with that are we, Jamie? Let's do it. Don't worry there'll be plenty of time to do it again and again."

"Forever, sir."

"Of course forever. Man, your ass is hot and you look so damn beautiful. You wanna feel the cop's jizz in your ass? Here it comes, Jamie. I love you, boy." He leaned down and kissed Jamie and softly, gently, their juice flowed out of them, the balm of love, reconciliation ... and kindness. The magic was back.

A MARINE TO THE RESCUE

Realizing that something special had occurred beside them Mike and Larry slipped away and left the two reunited lovers alone. They lay in each other's arms for a long time, kissing, licking nibbling. Now they were sure it was real, not just a one-off.

Jamie was in heaven, but as they joy of being together washed over them Mark felt something else – guilt. How could he have turned his back on this? How could he ever have been cold to this glorious boy and caused him so much pain? He had to absolve his guilt and there was one time-honored way to do it.

He said softly in Jamie's ear, "Jamie, I love you and yet I treated you so badly. You're my boy and I let you down. I have to make amends."

"Sir there's no need. I'm happy just to be here with you again."

"But there's something I have to do, Jamie, while we're here in the desert. You know Hassan's little hideaway house way out in the desert a few miles from here?"

"The one with the dungeon, sir?" Like everyone else in the tribe Jamie had heard of the times when Mark and Hassan had gone out to that house and reenacted the scene from long ago when Hassan had first met Mark, soldiers on opposite sides in a desert war, and had interrogated him in a remote cell.

"That's the one. Well in the next day or so I'm going to take you out there and ... and try to absolve my guilt and make amends to you."

What Mark didn't know was that task was to be made more dramatic by a phone call Mike was to receive later that day.

"Hey, Mike, it's Hassan. Yeah, great thanks. Listen buddy I'm on my way out to the Marine Base at Twentynine Palms for one of those training sessions we have every couple of months. As it's only just over an hour from you I thought I'd drop in when our maneuvers are over, if that's convenient.

Mike chuckled, "A visit from the most gorgeous captain in the Marine Corps? Hell yes. Man I can cream my jeans just looking at you." A thought occurred to him. "As a matter of fact your presence here might be exactly what's needed right about now." He laughed. "I'll explain when you get here, captain. But I promise you'll go for it – guaranteed."

TO BE CONTINUED in "A Trial Of Strength" – Chapter 460

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.

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