“Yeah.”
“So do I. Hell, yeah. No. Not really,” Carter whimpered. “You dumb ass motherfucker,” he growled.
“Take me,” Stash moaned. “Fuck me!”
“Hell, yes. Your ass is mine!”
“Oh, lover—fuck me good and hard!”
“Is that how you like it?”
“Oh, shut up and fuck! Your cock in me. Mine in yours. What difference does it make?” Stash asked.
“None at all, buddy. None at all! Let’s try it both ways, though. That way we’ll both end up satisfied.”
Chapter Twenty: Homeward Bound
Carter was retracing the steps of his original journey, but in reverse order. The bus from Portree to Armadale. The ferry from Armadale to Maillaig. The train from Maillaig to Edinburgh. This time, though, Carter wasn’t traveling alone. He was accompanied by Bill and Alonzo—and by Stash.
“I’d say this trip has been a success,” Stash remarked, as he and Carter sat side by side in the train compartment, looking out the windows and observing the passing scenery. “On many levels. Private, as well as professional.”
“Oh? Tell me more about the private part,” Carter urged.
“If you’re fishing for compliments—”
“I wouldn’t throw a good one back, if I happened to find it in my net.”
“I see. Well, let’s just say there are some hot men here in Scotland. Luckily for me, I’m taking one of them home with me, as a souvenir.”
“A souvenir!” Carter protested.
“Sure. Why not? I plan to keep you on a shelf, along with my other trophies.”
“Good luck with that.”
“Ah, now you’re sulking, Carter. So you were looking for a declaration of love, after all.”
“I wouldn’t go so far as that. I’d settle for a declaration of not being taken for granted.”
“Give me some credit. I would never do that.” Stash put his hand on top of Carter’s, on the seat between them.
“Careful,” Carter advised, even as he returned the pressure of the other man’s hand. “Some of the other passengers might see us holding hands, and be shocked.”
“Oh, please. From what I’ve seen of the Scots, they’re a sturdy race, not easily shocked. Anyway, we’re here, we’re queer, and so they’d better get used to it.”
Carter smiled. “It’s funny, how we can be flippant one moment, and serious the next.”
“I suppose the flippancy is a defense mechanism. Without it, the seriousness can get a little too heavy. One thing balances the other.”
“I’ve changed,” Carter said.
“Have you? How?”
“I don’t know quite how to explain it, in words. But this whole experience—sailing around the islands, on board the Rock Dove, with the other guys—getting to know you better, Stash. And, shit! Tricking with you. No, making love with you. It’s changed me, somehow.”
“How do you feel about it? Has it been a good experience, on the whole, or a bad one?”
“Oh, a good one, of course. A very good one. You must know that. I wouldn’t trade it, for anything,” Carter insisted.
“So—are you telling me—I’ve played some small part, in this positive experience of yours?”
“A big part, and you damn well know it.”
“An indelible part?” Stash asked.
“Meaning what?”
“When we get back to New York—am I going to be filed among your other incidental tricks?’
“Of course not,” Carter protested. “You know better than that.”
“Do I? Tell me what I supposedly know. Do you love me?”
“I like you. An awful lot.”
“I suppose I should be satisfied with that much.”
“It’s a good start, though, isn’t it?”
“True. So what you’re saying is, as opposed to being Mr. Right, I may have a crack at being Mr. Right Now? Is that it?”
“More or less.”
“What’s it going to take to upgrade my status to just plain Mr. Right?”
“We’ll see. We can talk about it when we’re in Poland.”
“I’m warning you. I’ll have the advantage, there, of being on my ancestral home territory. You’ll be the foreigner, the interloper. At my mercy.”
“Looking forward to it. Promise me you’ll show me no mercy.”
“Carter, you’re a goddamn tease!”
“And proud of it. Would you have me any other way?”
“No. I like you just the way you are.”
“Only one way to find out.” Stash replied. “And what the fuck? The worst they can do is throw us off at the next stop. Which, somehow, I doubt is going to happen. Come on, let’s put it to the test. Come here, you fucker. Kiss me.”
They kissed. Long and hard, and passionately. They weren’t thrown off the train.
That was a good sign, indicative of their future intimacy. Carter was content. He’d learned an important lesson—to be grateful for what he had, near at hand. His time in the isles had been most enjoyable, and also revelatory. And, like Stash, he was taking something good home with him.
The End
Also by Roland Graeme
Published by Dream spinner Press:
Two Marked Men
A Dance of Love and Jealousy
Baja Honeymoon
Published by Siren Publishing:
Algerian Nights
Good Cop, Bad Cop
Brazilian Cattle Baron
The Fortunes of Fausto
The Spinner of Romances
Jewels for Vishnu
Published by Ecstasy Books:
A Fine Romance
A Thing for Cops
Bondage Ranch
Leather Novice
Our Dads’ Big Gay Wedding
Tales from the Gym
The Blue Cat
You’re so Unromantic [in three parts]
Available on Amazon Kindle:
A Mighty Lewd Book
A Taste of Sin
If You Like Short Shorts
Jazz Baby
Made in Japan
Midnight Farmhand
Rubber Master
Sin in Algiers
Ski Lodge Studs Book 1: Winter Games
Ski Lodge Studs Book 2: Snowbound
Sphere of Fire
Strictly Gay for Pay
Sword and Sandal
Tales Told at Night: Bedtime Stories for Men
The Prologue to His Sleep
The Robot Master
To Be Read in Bed: Sexy Stories for Men
The Temple of Skandia