Connecting

by Roa1

"I'm sorry," Craig said, "I never meant for this to happen. I never meant to feel this way about you..." a missing scene from the short story 'Realisation III– At the Guest House'. Co-written with fh20s. Warning, M rated. C/R slash."

Connecting

By

Roa1 and fh20s

This is a missing scene from the short story 'Realisation III– At the Guest House' by fh20s and was co-written by Roa1 and fh20s. It describes what happened immediately after Craig's stumbling confession of his love for Richard. For people who may not have read the original story we have included part of it as a prologue to this one.

This is M rated slash (C/R), if you don't like the idea please don't read it and get offended. No offence is meant.

No copyright infringement intended.

Prologue (from 'Realisation III – At the Guest House')

"Please Craig; if there's something wrong let me help." Richard said, looking into his friend's eyes, hoping to find a clue to what was troubling the American.

Their eyes met. Craig was shocked to see confusion, concern and sadness in Richard's beautiful blue eyes. It broke something in him. He backed away as far as he could and stood across the room from his friend.

"I'm sorry," Craig said, "I never meant for this to happen. I never meant to feel this way about you, but you don't need to worry, I'd never do anything to hurt you. We can just try to go on as we always have. In time we'll get used to it. I understand that you can't feel the same way as I do but it's OK, we'll get through this. Our friendship…" his voice faltered slightly, "…friendship is just too important to lose. Please say it'll be OK. I can't bear to lose you."

To Richard there was only one sentence in the whole speech that mattered.

"Who says I can't feel the same way?" he asked.

Jumping out of bed he crossed the room in two strides and, taking Craig into his arms, he kissed him while holding him as if he'd never let go.

And now, the continuation

It was difficult for Richard not to get carried away. The feel of Craig's lips against his was intoxicating. Under his hands he could feel his colleague's muscular back as he ran his hands downwards to the American's waist. Richard hugged his friend to him hardly believing what he'd just heard. He couldn't remember how long he'd been waiting to hear those words. Overwhelmingly there was one thought running through his head, over and over; 'I'm kissing Craig Stirling'. After a few mind-blowing moments he pulled away. Craig was looking completely dazed.

I just kissed a man, Craig thought. He was amazed that he hadn't found it disgustingor even unpleasant.In fact he'd enjoyed it – a lot. He wondered how that could be.He wasn't…Craig struggled to find a word he was comfortable with, even in the privacy of his thoughts, and came up empty so changed tack a little. He'd never felt the slightest attraction to another man, ever. How could he possibly have liked kissing Richard? And why in hell did he want to do it again?

"Are you okay?" Richard asked.

Craig opened his mouth then closed it, blinking rapidly. Richard grinned and kissed him lightly on his lips, his jaw, his cheek, his neck.

Christ it felt good, being so close. Craig could hardly believe that this was happening to him. He was letting a man do this and, more than that, he wanted it. He just didn't know what to think, it was all so overwhelming.

When Richard looked up again his friend's expression hadn't changed. Suddenly he was worried; surely to God he couldn't have misinterpreted what his friend had said. He thought back and realised he hadn't been listening to half of it. All he could recall was, 'I never meant to feel this way about you', 'we can just try to go on as we always have' and 'I understand that you can't feel the same way'. Could Craig have meant something else?

"I, er, I didn't just get this horribly wrong, did I?" Richard asked nervously.

Craig shook his head slowly, seemingly still unable to speak.

You didn't get it wrong but maybe I did, Craig thought. Deep down he knew he hadn't but he was having a hard time admitting it, even to himself. He could cope with being in love with his friend, well almost, but he wasn't sure about the rest of it. His body was telling him in no uncertain terms that he wanted sex but his mind was fighting against it, struggling to come to grips with the implications. The truth was he was still in shock, it had been such a short time since he'd acknowledged how he felt, he hadn't anticipated being given the chance to act on it. He'd fully expected Richard to be angry, maybe even upset, the last thing he'd thought would happen was for his friend to virtually jump him. He was finding it tough to accept that any of this was actually happening, it all seemed so unreal.

"Oh thank God, 'cause I'm not quite sure how I could've explained this one away," Richard went on, breaking into a smile.

Craig continued to stand there, his mouth hanging slightly open.

"Er, are you sure you're all right?"

"Yes," Craig finally found his voice. "It's just..." he trailed off.

Richard feels the same way, he thought, he'd said it and Craig knew he couldn't have misheard because his friend had followed it up with that kiss, that unbelievably wonderful kiss, so it had to be true – didn't it?

Then, after a moment he said aloud,

"Really...seriously?" The American sounded incredulous.

Richard smiled slightly, slipping his hands round Craig's waist, following the cord of his dressing gown.

"Really," he said as he slowly undid the knot. "Seriously," he added as he slid his hands under the fabric at Craig's waist, only one layer of cotton now between them and his friend's skin.

Craig stood there mesmerised. He had to keep telling himself that he wasn't dreaming. He couldn't quite identify the emotions that were running through him. He didn't seem to be able to think at all. The feel of Richard's hands was incredibly erotic and made Craig want his friend to touch his bare skin; he also wanted to reciprocate and feel Richard's body under his own fingers. But, at the same time, he was scared. What if he changed his mind and decided this wasn't what he wanted? What if Richard expected more from him than he wanted to give right now? How was he going to extricate himself if he allowed things to continue and then wanted to back out? Why did he feel this way anyway? He was completely out of his depth, he'd never felt this strongly before about anyone and, to make things even more unreal, Richard was a man for God's sake, a man!

Richard wasn't sure if the emotions he could feel coming from Craig were of excitement or terror. He'd only once before had a straight man come on to him. He'd been at university, a friend had been curious; Richard had thought 'Why not?' But he had been only twenty and lacking the necessary patience. His friend had freaked out and that had been the end of that. He was not going to make that mistake again.

Although Richard was confused about Craig's emotional state, he knew exactly how he was feeling, giddy. As he kissed Craig slowly along his jaw his stomach did back-flips. His hands were shaking so much he could barely undo the button at his friend's neck. As he bent his head and gently sucked the American's throat Craig gasped and part of Richard's mind melted. This was too good to be true; surely he couldn't get this lucky?

Still, Craig wasn't moving. He was standing stock still, his muscles tense. Richard had a horrible feeling he might bolt. He looked up.

"Craig," he said, waiting a moment for his friend to look at him. "Are you worried that people will find out?"

'People?' What did he care about other people right now? Up until a few minutes ago the paramount thought in his head had been how to keep Richard from guessing his feelings.

"I hadn't got past worrying that you'd find out," Craig replied.

"Oh. Well nobody else has to, you know," Richard continued as he undid another button, bent his head and...

Suddenly Craig was backing across the room, finally ending up against the wardrobe.

"I'm sorry," Richard said hastily. "Sorry," he added, mentally kicking himself. 'Too fast Richard. Too bloody fast, you idiot!'

"It's all right," Craig replied, though that was quite evidently not true.

"It's really all right," he repeated. He took a step forward, flung his arms around his friend and captured his mouth in a desperate kiss. He tried to ignore the clamour of doubts invading his mind and concentrate solely on what his body was crying out for as he started to grind his hip against his friend's erection.

Richard responded for a second then picked up on the strain Craig was feeling. He realised that his friend was trying to bury his doubts and lose himself in the moment and that wasn't what Richard wanted, he needed the American to be as sure as he could be that he really wanted this. He was also mindful that Craig was on a knife-edge and at any moment he might take it into his head to get out while he still could.

"Stop… no," Richard said, putting his hands on his friend's chest to push him away while backing off a pace, giving his friend room but subconsciously blocking his route to the door.

"What's the matter?" asked Craig, in a strained voice.

"Look, we don't have to do this, why don't we sit down and just talk for a while?" Richard suggested. After a moment's hesitation Craig walked towards the bed and sat on the end. Richard followed suit, not too close.

"I suppose this is a bit of a shock," Richard breaking the silence.

The thought flashed into Craig's mind that 'bit of a shock' was the biggest understatement he'd heard in a long time, maybe ever.

"Which part?" asked the American.

"All of it I suppose. Was last night the first time you thought about any of this?"

"Consciously? Yes."

"Wow," exclaimed Richard.

"Doesn't seem like it's quite as much of a shock to you," Craig stated.

"Er, no."

"But how long have you felt like this?"

"A while."

"How long's a while?" asked Craig.

"Er...I suppose I haven't always felt like this exactly, it's changed over the years."

"Years?" Craig echoed, astounded.

How had his friend managed to keep it to himself all that time without even giving the slightest clue of the way he felt?

Richard sighed slightly. He'd have to tell him the truth, he wouldn't get away with anything less.

"Well, I remember when I first met you, in the canteen not long after you started working for Nemesis. I thought 'He's a good looking bloke, I wouldn't kick him out of bed'." Richard laughed a little nervously. "But it was just a passing thought, like when you see a pretty girl, you don't always ask them out, and if you do and they turn you down, it's not the end of the world." He hoped he was on more familiar ground here.

"Back then," Richard continued, "I didn't really know you, not till a while later when we started working together, but I never thought about coming on to you, even then. You were quite obviously not interested anyway. It was only after Tibet that things got more serious. You were always in my head; we spent more and more time together. I suppose the last couple of years I was falling in love with you. But don't get me wrong, I've not been pining away, crying myself to sleep or anything, it was just a bit frustrating now and again." He wasn't about to tell his friend quite how frustrating it had been at times.

Craig was looking at him, a stunned expression on his face, perhaps tinged with something else. Was he happy to hear this? Was that it? Richard's own emotions were so overwhelming he was having trouble picking up his friend's feelings.

Craig had been shocked to hear that Richard had thought about them having sex the very first time they'd met, that fact made it all the more remarkable that there'd never been a hint until now. He'd felt a twinge of sympathy for his friend that translated itself into a pain in his stomach, when he'd heard the words 'falling in love with you'. He knew how difficult he'd found being around Richard since he'd recognised his own feelings and that had been only a matter of hours, how had his friend managed to cope day after day without saying anything? Craig also thought about how sexually frustrated he'd felt sharing a bedroom with his colleague and believing he wouldn't be able to touch him. He could only imagine how difficult it must it have been for Richard, being forced to share a hotel room on so many missions.

"I thought, after Tibet, that you might find out how I felt. Catch me thinking about you," Richard admitted.

"I didn't."

"Actually you did once, but you just thought I was thinking about some girl and I didn't rush to put you straight. I just didn't know how you'd react and, if you took it badly, it wasn't like I could totally cut myself off from you. But I suppose you know exactly what I'm talking about."

"Yes."

Richard looked at his watch.

"Yup," he replied, "you lasted all of 24 hours before blurting it out. Good thing you're not impulsive."

Craig smiled at that, which was a hell of a relief, then he looked puzzled.

"But I thought you liked girls?" he said.

"I do like girls," Richard replied, smiling. "Very much. I just sometimes make exceptions."

"Oh," his friend replied. "I don't."

He was shocked at the stab of jealousy he'd felt. He didn't want to think of any other man even kissing Richard, never mind doing anything else.

"It doesn't mean anything...you...er...oh you know what I mean," Richard stammered.

From Craig's expression it was clear he didn't.

"It doesn't mean...er..." Richard didn't know how to put it in to words. "Look, it's OK if you need more time to get your head round this. We could just talk...or something." He tried not to sound too desperate.

Craig stared down at his feet, his hands gripping the blanket, thinking for the longest time. Richard leaned a little closer, his hand almost close enough to touch his friend's. He could only hope that their proximity was having the same effect on his friend as it was on him. He was so damned turned on the wait was agonising.

"I don't think I just want to talk," Craig said eventually, his voice barely above a whisper.

He didn't really know what he wanted, his world had turned upside down and he longed for his mind to be clear enough for him to try and make some sense of the jumble of conflicting emotions running round and round in his head.

Richard let go of the breath he'd been holding. He wanted to touch his friend, God how he wanted to touch him. Tentatively he closed his hand over the American's. When Craig didn't pull away he began to circle his thumb slowly over the knuckle of his little finger, watching Craig's chest rise and fall, feeling him relax just a little as he turned his head to look at him. Richard drew his fingertips up the back of his friend's hand and saw Craig's breath catch. He leaned imperceptibly towards him and saw his action mirrored. They were inches apart now, staring into each other's eyes. Glancing downwards, Craig's lips looked so enticing. Richard wanted to draw them into his mouth, feel them against his. He felt like a teenager again, home for the summer holidays, trying to steal a kiss from Jennifer Hayes, nervous as hell. Except this time he had so much more to lose. If Craig turned round and slapped him he wouldn't be able to laugh it off.

Craig felt paralysed; Richard's touch and his closeness made him want him so much it was almost a physical ache. He wondered what his friend was waiting for, why didn't he just kiss him? It was obvious that he wanted to.

Richard was breathing fast now. He wanted to close the gap so badly his head was spinning, but what he really wanted was for Craig to make the first move. He needed his friend to be certain he wanted this. 'Still,' he thought, 'there's no harm in upping the ante." Gently he ran his fingertips along the sensitive skin between Craig's fingers, as he approached the knuckles Richard bit his lip. He sensed his friend reacting to that, so licked his lower lip slowly, hoping for the best.

Craig was staring at his friend's mouth, moving forward, thinking how incredible he looked and how much he wanted to kiss him, touch him, caress him.

He moved closer still and Richard met him, his heart hammering in his chest. Gently he caressed his friend's lips with his own as they met. This time it was slow, tender, relishing every second. Eventually he remembered to breathe. Richard delicately stroked Craig's hand, trying to show his friend how he felt about him. He kept his movements slow and sensual, enjoying the feeling of Craig's skin under his fingertips. He sucked his friend's lower lip into his mouth, playing over it with his tongue, feeling him respond in kind and open his mouth, his tongue exploring Richard's lips.

Craig was amazed at how much he was enjoying this. He'd always liked kissing but it had never been this much of a turn-on before. He realised it was almost certainly because of the depth of feeling he had for his friend, far stronger than he'd ever experienced with anyone else. For the first time since he'd blurted out his feelings he began to relax a little. The feel of Richard's mouth against his own was sending incredible sensations to his brain, blocking out all the doubts he'd had. He was vaguely aware of his tension dissipating as he lost himself in the pleasure of kissing his friend.

Richard deepened the kiss, delighted when Craig didn't pull back. His mind reeled at the feel of his friend's tongue as it explored his mouth, tentatively at first, then with enthusiasm as his breathing quickened. Throwing caution to the wind Richard cupped Craig's face in his hand. Slowly he traced his friend's jaw, down his neck and then, when he felt no resistance, he undid a button. Then another.

Richard ran his fingers through the fine hair on his friend's chest then moved upwards to curl his hand around the back of Craig's neck. Deepening the kiss he leaned backwards, gently pulling the American with him until he was lying on the bed, hopefully giving his friend the illusion of being in control of the situation. He didn't much care if he was fooled or not when Craig crushed his mouth to his and he felt his friend's hand run up his side.

Now that he was lying on top Craig felt as if he were on more familiar ground, he was used to taking the lead and, although he wasn't fooled into thinking he was the one setting the pace, he did feel a lot better now his friend was in the less dominant position.

'Too many clothes,' Richard thought as his hand returned to the remaining buttons, quickly fumbling them undone. He was only half aware of the moan that escaped him as he slipped his hand underneath his friend's pyjamas, feeling the solid muscles of Craig's stomach, the fine hair, the soft skin of his side and back as he drew him further towards himself. As Richard kissed along the American's jaw he ran his hand up his friend's back, holding him close as he tried desperately not to take control. His pulse quickened as he moved his hand to Craig's chest, running his palm over one nipple before sliding the sleeve over his friend's shoulder and down his arm. Turning his head, he kissed down Craig's neck, along his collarbone, following the path of his hand. He could hear breaths in his ear, fast and shallow. He could feel his friend's hand as it caressed his side and stomach, tentatively at first but with increasing enthusiasm.

Craig wasn't completely comfortable with the situation yet but he was becoming more and more willing to throw caution to the wind, nothing he or Richard had done so far had bothered him, in fact he was getting increasingly aroused the more intimate they got. All the same, although he wanted to touch Richard skin to skin he still hadn't quite got his head round the situation and was in no hurry to remove the illusion of safety by taking off his friend's clothes.

'Undo my damned buttons' Richard thought to himself as he leaned into his friend, gently stroking his skin with his lips and tongue. When Craig turned his head and kissed his ear he almost lost it. He was relieved the noises he was making were being muffled by Craig's shoulder. His friend had barely made a sound since he'd started kissing him, it felt to Richard as if he was still holding himself back, still unsure of what to do and what he wanted to do. The stubborn pride in the Englishman wanted to make Craig lose it before he did but he was dealing with years of frustration and knew he was fighting a losing battle. His friend's breath in his ear was undoing him, the need to feel his skin next to his own was making him see stars. The smell of him, the feel of his skin against his lips. He tugged at the sleeve in frustration, smiling in relief as Craig helped him out by bending his arm and then leaning back to shrug off the rest of his top. Richard took the opportunity to get to his knees. As he tore his own shirt off Craig moved up the bed so he no longer had his legs dangling over the end. Richard looked at his friend lying there, half naked, staring up at him, his eyes drifting down his chest. Without a moment's hesitation he bent over him, capturing his lips as he crushed his body into his friend's. For a moment he felt Craig tense, reacting to the sudden reversal of roles, Richard pulled away.

"Don't think so much," he breathed, before moving back to nuzzle his friend's neck.

"That's usually my line," Craig replied, his voice ragged as Richard's sucked gently on his Adam's apple.

Craig was finding it hard to allow his friend to take the lead, that ought to be his role not his partner's. It wasn't easy for him to relinquish it even though he knew that, in this case, Richard was the more experienced. In the past he had occasionally let a girlfriend take control and had very much enjoyed being in the subordinate role. But that was different; he'd known he could reassert his dominance at any time. In most things Richard was his equal so, if he allowed him to get the upper hand, it would be hard to displace him.

Craig's breath caught in his throat as his friend trailed his fingertips down his chest, the nails scratching lightly over one nipple. As Richard's tongue trailed across his shoulder he ran his hand up the American's side to the sensitive skin under his arm. Richard had made up his mind that he was going to have to stop his friend thinking so much, and he had a good idea how to do that. All he had to do was drive him half as crazy as he was feeling right now and the battle was all but won.

As the pleasure washed over him Craig began to realise that taking control wasn't always a good thing and that being more passive had definite advantages. Besides, he didn't have to lie there and take whatever Richard was giving out; there was plenty he could do despite his friend pinning him down. He began to look forward to the tussles for dominance that he was likely to have with Richard in the future. He was sure they were going to be a whole lot of fun for them both.

Beneath him Richard could feel Craig's chest rise and fall as he ran his lips across his skin, barely touching him, teasing him with anticipation as he traced a line across the base of his neck. He tried desperately to take his time, which wasn't being made any easier by the fact that Craig's hands seemed to have finally woken up and were currently kneading his buttocks. Now if he could just get his friend to shove his hands down his pyjamas, then he'd be in heaven.

Craig could sense the effect he was having on his friend. It was a relief to know that his lack of experience with men didn't seem to be preventing Richard from enjoying his tentative explorations. As he allowed his hands to discover more of Richard's body, he was amazed by how turned-on he was at the thought of being able to get his friend so worked up.

Richard inhaled deeply as he moved with featherlike touches down Craig's chest, all his senses on high alert. He tried to separate his own feelings from those of his friend but couldn't be sure where he ended and Craig began. He felt overwhelmed, assaulted from all sides. The other man seemed to be as turned on as he was but it was difficult to be sure since he was so hard now that he thought he might explode. He was having trouble not grinding himself against his friend but he knew he'd lose any remaining self-control if he did that so, instead, he concentrated on giving the American the best time of his life. That way, hopefully, his friend wouldn't suddenly come to his senses and bolt out of the room. Still, the way he was running his hands up Richard's back seemed a good sign, and now he was stroking his neck.

"Fuck yes," Richard mumbled as he found Craig's nipple and stroked his tongue slowly across it. He'd dreamed of doing this, wondered how it would feel, but this was so much better because now his friend had begun to play with his ears and Richard couldn't stop the moans that escaped him with every breath.

The little noises Richard was making and their combined arousal finally penetrated the last vestiges of the mental block Craig had been struggling with ever since he'd admitted his feelings for his friend to himself. He lost himself in the moment, enjoying the sensations coursing through him. As he relaxed he felt a huge wave of emotion through the link they shared. At first it was disconcerting to be flooded with feelings from someone else but the confusion it caused soon didn't matter to him as the combination of his friend's and his own excitement intensified the whole experience.

Richard glanced upwards as he teased around the other nipple. Craig's head was thrown back, his eyes closed, a blissful look on his face. Richard bit down gently but enough to cause his friend's eyes to fly open as he gasped. As Craig watched him Richard locked eyes with him and flicked his tongue across the raised bud. The American looked on mesmerised, his mouth slightly open, chest heaving. Richard continued to torment him as he ran his hand through the soft hair down to his abdomen, his little finger brushing the waistband of his pyjamas, then back to the area below his navel that made his friend's breath catch every time he stroked across it. As he sucked Craig's nipple into his mouth he scraped his nails across his friend's stomach, delighting in the sounds that elicited. Finally, it seemed, his friend was willing to surrender himself to this, lose himself in the feelings that ran through him and no longer see this as something to fear.

"Oh God, I need more," Craig thought, then wondered if he'd spoken aloud as he felt his friend shift his position.

Richard gave the hard bud one last, lingering caress with his tongue before trailing downwards. Alternately nipping and soothing his friend's chest, he moved on to Craig's stomach, hard muscles rippling beneath his lips, soft skin under his tongue. Craig's hips were undulating in a steady rhythm matched by his laboured breathing. As Richard's tongue circled his navel his friend's nails dug into his shoulder, his other hand gripping the Englishman's hair. A deep, guttural moan escaped Richard as he trailed his tongue down the fine hairs towards the sensitive skin at his friend's hip. Craig was so turned on by now that he no longer cared that his friend was a man, only that he was Richard, the person he loved. More than anything else right now he longed to feel his friend's mouth wrapped around his cock. He put his hands onto Richard's head, applying just the very slightest of downward pressure, suddenly afraid to take control but unable to prevent himself throwing out a hint as to what he was becoming increasingly desperate for.

Richard traced a path just above the waistband of his friend's pyjamas, teasing, sucking, feeling the light pressure on his head as he was urged lower. Smiling quietly to himself he shuffled downwards, placing one leg between Craig's, his knee forcing them to part slightly. Ignoring the almost irresistible need to tear his friend's clothes off, he bent his head slowly and, with exquisite tenderness, wrapped his mouth around the outline of the Craig's cock. He heard a sharp intake of breath, a strangled cry. Oh so slowly he caressed his friend through the cloth, feeling the grip on his hair tighten. As he reached the head of his friend's penis he bit down gently, massaging it with his tongue and teeth. It drove Richard crazy when somebody did this to him and, by his friend's incoherent speech, he was confident it was having the same effect on the American. When Craig's hands suddenly made a move to his own waistband Richard stilled them, with some difficulty, and stroked the backs of them soothingly. Craig, evidently a fast learner, went back to his assault on his friend's ears. As he caressed behind them, Richard moaned loudly, the vibration transmitting straight to Craig's cock, which twitched as it strained upwards. While Richard ran his teeth along the shaft he ran his hands up Craig's sides, across his stomach, up to his nipples to pinch them between his fingers, all the while feeling Craig's heartbeat in his ears, his fingers as they traced the outer shell of one ear while the other pulled his head towards him urging him on.

"Richard, oh God, please," Craig gasped semi-coherently.

Richard looked up once more, gazing at his friend as he dragged his fingernails down his chest, his abdomen, and in one smooth move hooked them under his waistband pulling the cotton away. Without looking away, he flicked the tip of his tongue across Craig's balls, lightly at first then with increasing pressure, watching his friend's face as his eyes glazed over. God how he'd dreamed of doing this to his lover. 'My lover' Richard thought in amazement, momentarily distracted.

He wanted to watch Craig; he wanted to see the reactions he was causing as well as sense them because those feelings were so strange he didn't know whether to trust them or not. He'd never been so turned on in his life, presumably as a result of their combined arousal, and it was making him dizzy. Two heartbeats were making him feel like he was going into cardiac failure. Maybe he was? Not that he cared. The building tension was threatening to make him black out. Mentally he shook himself and concentrated on the matter in hand; giving Craig the best blowjob he'd ever had in his life.

Staring deeply into unfocussed deep brown eyes he ran his tongue tortuously from the base of his lover's cock. He luxuriated in the softness of the skin, the hard flesh beneath, the abandoned look on Craig's face as the grip on his head came close to pain, which only turned Richard on more. His friend was babbling something, but either the American had lost the power of speech or Richard had lost the ability to understand it because all he knew was that he couldn't stop, mustn't stop. As he approached the tip of Craig's cock, agonisingly slowly, he tickled the base of it with his tongue, torturing the sensitive skin over and over, curling his tongue around either side as his hand slipped between his lover's legs and caressed his balls firmly.

My God this is unbelievable, Craig thought. The pleasure was so exquisite it was almost painful. He longed for this to continue but, at the same time, it wasn't enough. He needed more. His friend was taking his time, and Craig felt as if he'd explode if Richard continued to torment him with those slow, almost lazy, caresses for much longer.

Richard could feel the pull of hands as they desperately tried to force him to move more quickly, but he was determined to take his time. He had finally got his friend where he wanted him and he wasn't about to let him go. Tilting his head sideways he wrapped his lips around the head of Craig's cock and caressed it then snaked his tongue across the tip, tasting him for the first time, then back to gentle sucking, then teasing with his teeth. He could hardly hear Craig pleading with him above the rush of blood in his ears. He could barely concentrate as his own need for relief was threatening to overwhelm him. Regardless, he slid his tongue down the length of the shaft, moistening it, then pulled his head away. Looking up, he saw that Craig's head was thrown back, his body was covered in sweat, he could see the pulse in his neck. Gently he blew out cold air through pursed lips as he worked his way back up to the head. The drying skin sent tingling sensations through his lover that Richard could almost feel on his own cock. Craig looked up, his face taut with anticipation. As his lover watched, Richard closed his eyes and finally took him into his mouth. Breathing the aroma of him in deeply his lips slipped down the shaft, his tongue working against his lover's cock as he moved. He took a final breath as he relaxed his throat muscles and swallowed him as deeply as he could, feeling the exquisitely soft skin against his palate, his tongue, the tickle of fine hair against his nose. One hand held his lover's hips in place while the over rolled his balls gently. As he felt them tighten he sucked hard, moving his soft palate over the head of Craig's cock, rippling his tongue up the shaft, scraping his teeth against the skin as he moved his head up and down. His friend couldn't last long. When Richard slid his hand up to a nipple and squeezed, giving his lover free rein to move, he felt his sudden, violent movement. Craig held his head steady, taking control. All Richard could do was hang on as he heard his lover cry out and felt him come hard. For a moment he thought he was climaxing as well as the feelings tore through him, ripping a scream from him that was muffled by the hard cock in his mouth thrusting relentlessly. Just as the lack of oxygen was threatening to cause him to black out he felt the hands on his head fall away giving him a little room to draw in a ragged breath while he continued to suck Craig's cock as it softened. After a few moments he pulled upwards, giving the tip a final stroke of his tongue before letting it slip from his mouth. He moved up to fall across Craig's chest. He was breathing hard, seeing stars, but Craig looked half unconscious. Richard would have been worried except for the smile that played across his lover's lips. Unable to resist, he kissed them, then his face, his neck. He had to give him some time to recover, but Richard was painfully turned on and was struggling to stop himself from thrusting against his friend's hip.

After a moment, Richard felt his friend's arm fall across his back. As he kissed Craig's throat tenderly he could sense his lover stirring. Then he felt two hands, one either side of his face, drawing him upwards for a long, deep kiss. He sucked his friend's tongue into his mouth, then thrust his back in return, exploring him. As their breathing quickened he couldn't help himself. He rolled slightly to one side and slipped his hand down his pyjamas, desperate for relief.

Craig felt the movement and slid his own hand down on the outside of the cloth, wanting to touch Richard but unsure about what exactly he should do. He'd never handled another man's cock before and, although he was practiced at bringing himself off, he couldn't be sure that Richard would like the same things that he did. Also, unlike him, his friend wasn't circumcised and Craig wasn't sure what he was supposed to do about the foreskin. He was worried that he might inadvertently hurt his friend if he got it wrong. The thought crossed his mind that what his friend had just done to him had been so mind-blowingly good that it was only too clear that Richard must have had a fair bit of practise. Craig was sure that, at this stage, he wouldn't be able to measure up to his friend's previous lovers and that made him feel very insecure - he hated being at a disadvantage. To add to his insecurities he thought it distinctly possible that Richard was expecting a reciprocal blowjob. Although Craig had enjoyed everything they'd done so far, the thought of taking his friend's cock into his mouth was a little more than he felt comfortable with at the moment.

As Richard closed his fingers around his own cock and began to move he felt Craig's hand on top of his through the cotton and sensed his lover's indecision, his need to touch coupled with uncertainty about what he should do. He felt him hesitate as he kissed him. Richard made a decision. With more self control than he thought he possessed, he removed his hand from his cock and held his lover's face firmly as they kissed. He wasn't going to let go, he was going to give his friend time – even if it killed him – but he also didn't want Craig to think he had to do anything he didn't want to. He certainly wasn't expecting a blowjob but he suspected his friend thought he did, so he kissed him firmly and thoroughly, not letting go. Meanwhile he wondered if his lover could read his mind, because right now it was screaming at him to move his hand.

Craig sensed how aroused his friend was, how desperate he was for more and slowly he began to stroke him firmly up the shaft of his cock to the tip, experimentally rubbing his thumb over the end.

Richard's head was swimming as he groaned into Craig's mouth. The pressure increased, and the speed. He could feel his friend's hand slip downwards to cup his balls through the cotton and he thought he might explode if he didn't get his clothes off soon. A few moments more of this torture and then he felt fingers at the button of his waistband, then the longed-for tug of hands dragging the clothing out of the way.

Richard didn't care that he was whimpering by the time Craig finally touched him. So lightly at first he wondered if he was imagining it, then harder, firmer. Craig's thumb and forefinger circled around him, moving up and down, his other fingers trailing behind, occasionally stroking against his balls, or the underneath of his shaft. He moved slowly at first, then more quickly, then varying his speed keeping Richard off balance.

Craig continued to move his hand along his friend's shaft feeling the foreskin slide up and down smoothly. He speeded up a little then decided to try out something that he very much liked having done to him, but first he needed a little more lubrication. Craig drew his head away, licked the palm of his hand and returned to kissing his friend.

Then Richard felt the glorious slickness as his lover took the head of his cock in his hand and squeezed repeatedly, causing the tip to slide through his fingers again and again.

'You're a natural,' Richard thought as he crushed his lips into Craig's, thrusting his tongue into his lover's mouth, feeling himself spiralling out of control.

Oh yes, thought Craig, pleased that his friend obviously liked this just as much as he did.

Over and over, his lover teased the sensitive skin where the head of Richard's cock met the shaft until he realised there was no way he could stop himself from coming. But he didn't want to yet; he wanted to feel like this for the rest of his life. The whole experience, shared, was enough to blow his mind but he could feel the tension building and knew that Craig could too. In response, his lover pumped him hard and fast while Richard thrust into his grip. He would have yelled but he had clamped his mouth over Craig's shoulder when he felt his climax overtake him. Despite this, a muffled cry escaped him as he came. He was aware of his lover, the feel of him on his skin and in his head. He'd never felt closer to anybody in his life. It was almost frightening that for a moment he couldn't tell if he was giving or taking pleasure from this. Dual sensations warred within him; he felt as if he were inside Craig's mind or that his lover was inside his. Suddenly he realised why Craig has almost lost consciousness earlier and wondered if he would ever get used to this.

Almost without him realising, it was over. He was clinging to his lover, gasping for breath, shaking, his muscles rapidly losing their strength. Craig's hand stroked his cheek as Richard tried to focus. He felt him brush a stray lock of hair from where it was plastered to his forehead. Felt him cup his head and kiss him lightly. Neither seemed inclined, or able, to speak.

Richard held his lover tightly. He wasn't ever going to let him go.

The End