He lay still, feigning sleep. Gazing through slanted eyelashes, he could see the object of his thoughts and desires, the sad-eyed man whose name he knew only because of the mean-mouthed Derek: Hansel, his golden honey bear! He wished he could wipe the sadness of his eyes away so that he would cease to hurt so much. How could that low life Derek hurt some one so sweet? he wondered.
Jack had never had such sweet loving in his entire life, and not once but twice in such a short time! He could see himself all too easily falling in love with Hansel, but he couldn't let himself be the cause of more pain for his Knight. He wanted to call his name but instead lay watching him, cherishing each moment of being with Hansel for all too soon, it would come crashing down around his ears. He would come, and he'd have to run again. He didn't want to draw his wrath down upon his beloved honey bear.
He desperately wanted to taste his delicious nectar one more time! He would take care of Derek so he'd never hurt Hansel again! Then he would get gone before the ever infringing arrow sliced through his heart, making the last of his family an open target as well.
He shouldn't have come here, he chided himself, but he wanted to check on his brother and know that he was alright one last time. He had not thought he would have sent assassins to take him out; thanks to Hansel, they had failed. He knew he would come again soon.
Jack wanted to cry out at the unfairness of his life but knew it wouldn't change anything. He desperately wanted to have another chance to sup at his banquet -- one last drink from his honey, and he could die a happier man for he had been loved!
He felt his loins tighten and his stallion rear but still lay spellbound, watching the most beautiful man he had ever been lucky enough to be loved by gazing into the mirror. What did he see there? Jack wondered.
Hansel frowned as he gazed into the reflection of his face and touched his cheek gingerly. He had once thought himself handsome, but if he were handsome, why did Derek no longer love him? Why did he hit him? he thought, running his fingers down his nose and hearing Derek's furious words in his mind again.
Hansel tried not to flinch at the remembered rains of blows upon his body. Derek had screamed at him the last time they'd made love that he hated him yet had pounded into his body nonetheless. Hansel had cried as Derek had taken him roughly, his tears soaking his pillow. He loved Derek, and he had thought Derek had loved him.
Now he knew Derek did not know the meaning of love, and he was finally beginning to understand. It was possible for a man to be gentle, but Derek had never shown him gentility. Their unions had been fast and wild at first, growing more and more fierce. There had been some sweet and tender kisses, but always the ride had been fast and furious. Their meetings had only gotten worse.
Hansel had always accepted his sexuality, but Derek had never known he was attracted to men until he had rode into his life. He had confessed his doubts to Hansel, but Hansel had thought he'd kissed every one of them away. Derek hadn't mentioned them for a long time, but then, when they'd started to rake the money in and become popular in Los Almas, he had began to fret again.
What if they found out? What if the townsfolk knew they were gay? It didn't matter to Hansel. They could either accept him or throw him away. It wouldn't have been the first time people had tossed him away like yesterday's garbage, and he had learned that those who threw him to the wolves were not good people and were instead people he was better off not knowing. It bothered Derek, though, and his fears grew to anger.
That anger, Hansel reflected sadly, had grown to hatred at his own expense. Derek hated him not because of anything Hansel had done willingly, but because he was drawn to him in ways he felt he should not be drawn. He wanted Hansel, but yet he wanted to be straight. He wanted to be what the town would consider a good man.
Hansel ran a hand over his face. What had changed? he wondered, staring into his own baby blues. What had changed about him that had made Derek start caring what the outside world thought again? What had changed that made him no longer irresistible to his lover? What he had done, or perhaps not done, that kept Derek from being able to not put his own desires and happiness above caring what people thought of him?
He loved Derek, Hansel thought, but Derek hated him because he was the one man who had managed to stay . . . perhaps not in his heart but definitely in his desires. Yet the mysterious Gypsy he had picked up out of the streets last night did not hesitate to love him in the least. He cocked his head first to one side and then to the other as he examined his face. There had to be something that was still handsome about him, something that had drawn the Gypsy's interest, but what?
He felt again of his nose that had been broken so many times over the years that it was now permanently crooked. Derek had once told him it made him ugly and he should see about having it fixed with make up or something. There was no way to fix his nose, Hansel remembered telling him, and Derek had hit him again while telling him that it wasn't just his nose. It was his whole person.
But if he was ugly, why did Derek keep coming back? Hansel sighed, tears welling in his blue eyes. It just didn't make any sense! Why did Derek hate him? It couldn't be him! If it was, he wouldn't keep returning, and the Gypsy would not have just made sweet love to him!
Oh, and how sweet it had been! Hansel sighed again, but this time, the sigh was much happier. He had never been loved so well in all his life! He had never known such gentility before! His eyes trailed to his beautiful lover, who lay, still sleeping, in his bed. He'd had no qualms, no hesitations. He had loved him as though they were meant to be together and he was a most precious jewel that he ached to shine just right.
But why? He was a stranger to him. Was it to say "thank you" for saving his life? Was it because he just desperately needed a man, and his style of loving was breathtakingly sweet? Or could it be, by luck or fate or maybe even a miracle, that he was drawn to him, that he liked what he saw, that he really did think he was handsome, that he really did . . . care for him?
As he watched, Hansel saw his Gypsy's stallion rear to life again. His face lifted into a smile, and he moved on silent feet to leave his dressing table and go to the foot of the bed. There he leaned over and encircled the Gypsy's sword with his tongue. He tasted so sweet, sweeter than Derek, his brownies, or anything else he'd ever had before!
It was then that he heard Bobby's voice calling for Faith, and Hansel stiffened in an altogether different way. What was wrong now? he wondered, frowning. Something about a child falling off of a mountain? An Indian child! Only Little Wild Cat would dare to sneak away from his tribe in a storm of this magnitude!
Drawing his mouth slowly back off of his Gypsy's steed, Hansel kissed his head and gazed down at him. The man was truly, breath-takingly beautiful, and he realized that he still didn't know his name. "Sleep well, Sleeping Beauty," he whispered softly and headed quickly for his dresser.
Faith was curled on her side, watching Dawson sleep. He had tried very hard to keep pace with her and had come surprisingly close to succeeding, but what surprised her far more was that she found herself longing to taste of him again. She ran a hand down his hairless chest, her fingernails gently trailing over his skin. His hair was golden, and his skin pure white. He was as innocent as the day was long and so wet behind the ears that he had to have just gotten off the stagecoach that morning. There was no reason at all, other than her need for a lay after the shoot-out, that she should be drawn to him, and yet here she was, wanting a second ride.
What the heck? she thought with a shrug of her shoulders. She was Faith. She took what she wanted when she wanted and did with it exactly what she wanted. She slung one leg over his side and pressed her body down close against his. She rubbed herself across him, then started with his mouth. She was stroking her own fire quite well with the line of searing kisses she rained from his mouth, down his throat, over his chest and stomach, and to the dark growth of hair between his legs when a mouth opened out in the hall.
She tried to ignore Bobby at first as she swirled her tongue over first Dawson's right testicle and then his left. She caught his sword between her taut breasts and drew herself up along his length. She had almost completely blocked the bartender out when she heard the one word that demanded her attention: Indian. It was an Indian child who had fallen off the mountain, and there was only one boy who would be foolish enough to be out in a storm like the one that was currently raging outside. Her mouth was a mere inch from Dawson's staff when she groaned, "Damn!"
"What's going on?" Jack asked Hansel. "Why are they calling for your sister?" He had heard something about an Indian child, but he had been so caught up in the rapture that Hansel was creating in him, that he wasn't exactly sure what was happening.
He had heard the storm raging without, but his own personal storm had been raging so violently within himself that he was having trouble pulling back to the reality of the gray, ugly world. Hansel had made it rosier and more beautiful than Jack could remember it ever being, at least not since he'd lost his family.
"If we're going out, I could use some pants?" he asked Hansel hopefully, praying that he wouldn't give him another pair of those silk things. They felt good, but he could never see himself riding in them or trying to rescue anybody with them on.
Dawson was about to explode! The mere touch of his wildcat was driving him over the edge, and yet she had pulled back and there was a lot of hollering going on! "Damn!" he muttered one breath behind Faith's. Too many stories, and all he wanted to do was to lay in the bed, continue to make love to Faith, and let the stories be damned!
She was drawing away from him now, and wherever she was going, he was going to follow her. He rolled off the bed and began to fumble, getting his pants on as quickly as he could. He didn't remember taking them off, and his longjohns were so entangled in his pants that he almost left them behind and wore only his trousers. He had always heard that doing so would chafe him, though, and he certainly didn't want to be chaffed now that he had a beautiful woman to ride him!
"We." The simple word made Hansel pause in surprise. He stood with only one leg in his pants and the other in mid-step, gazing back at the beautiful Gypsy who looked at him inquisitively. His heart skipped a beat. "We!" He had very little clue what was going on and knew, from the sounds of the storm outside, that it would be dangerous, but yet he wanted to be beside him! Derek had always stayed behind on the adventures he'd gone on with Faith, but his Gypsy wanted to come!
Hansel reached into his drawer, pulled out another pair of silk pants, and tossed them to him, wishing he knew his name. Instead of asking, he explained instead, "A child we know has fallen from the mountain. He's hanging on by a tree that's already dead and is bound to fall any second. A woman's trying to rescue him, but she's too big to make it out on to the tree. Faith will find a way, if we can get there in time."
It was then that Hansel heard his sister's door bang open. He jumped fluidly into his pants and was still pulling his shirt on over his blonde head when he went out the door. He was surprised to find Faith dressed.
Faith looked at Bobby and Carlos, one eyebrow arching at the sight of the Mexican. She'd always had a strong distaste for the law; otherwise she would have had Carlos by now. "Where?" She knew Dawson would be hot on her heels, but it was too dangerous for the boy where she was going. Only Hansel saw her lock the door behind her back.
Faith listened to the directions Carlos gave, then left the hall at a run while he was still asking her to save Trina. Trina had put her own neck on the line, and Faith couldn't care less about the white woman. Let the white people save her. She was after the child.
Faith was out of the inn by the time Hansel had managed to walk over to the door and unlock it. He stepped back, whistling innocently, and Bobby gave him a quick nod. He would take the blame for letting the kid out if Faith asked.
Jack had managed to get his pants and shirt on. It was silk. He liked the feel of silk on Hansel but didn't like it on him. Having no choice as he wasn't about to let Hansel go into the tumultuous storm alone, he chose to tolerate the outfit.
He found one boot and pulled it on. Finally spying the other one, he grabbed it and made it to the hallway just as Hansel unlocked the door. "Did you lock her in?" He grinned impishly at Hansel, wondering if he was trying to stop his sister or just slow her down.
"I don't have a death wish," Hansel quickly told his handsome, albeit confused, Gypsy.
Bobby grinned at that and made a silent note to thank Hansel's mystery man later. He only hoped Derek wouldn't chase the Gypsy away as he suspected he had the rest of Hansel's lovers. Hansel deserved a good man; maybe this Gypsy would prove to be the one.
"I'm Bobby Drake," he told him, offering the stranger his hand, "and this is Carlos Sandoval. I take it you haven't met Faith yet, but nothing stops that woman and lives." He looked curiously over at the door for the reporter hadn't come out of it. "Is he asleep?" he asked Hansel in surprise.
Hansel peered into the room, walked a few steps inside it, and took another look around. It was empty!
Taking the offered hand, Jack shook Bobby's hand. "My name's Jack Sparrow. It's nice to meet you." He kept watching Hansel from the back; he liked the back view as much as the front view.
He walked into the room, looked around, and then noticed that the window was up. He lifted the curtain and peered out into the rainy night. He couldn't see anything. "Your sister moves like a whirlwind, my friend. We'd better hurry. She may get herself into so much trouble we can't get her out of it!"
Hansel had smiled to himself when he'd heard his sweet Gypsy answer Bobby out in the hallway. He wondered briefly if Bobby had any clue the help he was giving him but figured his friend surely thought that he knew his lover's name. Hansel's grin grew at that. Jack was the only lover whose name he'd not known when he'd made love to him the first time, but he was also the best lover he'd ever had!
"Faith can get out of anything," he assured Jack, "but we want to be there for the show." He hurried out the door, thinking he'd be the one leading the way to the stables only to find that Carlos, like his sister's latest horse, was already gone.
"No sign of the kid?" Bobby asked. When Hansel shook his head, Bobby frowned. Hansel did not make any further comment as he returned to his bedroom just long enough to gather five rain slickers. He didn't know where the kid had gone but was certain they'd meet him again.
Returning to the hallway, he passed them out. Each was of a different color. He gave Jack a black one lined with silver and Bobby a blue that seemed to radiate coldness. It reminded him of the ice that his friend never seemed to run out of. Then temporarily dropping the other two slickers to the floor, Hansel donned his own rainbow one with silent thanks to his designer friend, Jean Luc, for insisting on making him a new one every rainy season.
Jack held the slicker at arm's length and looked at it. He had never seen one so dainty. {At least it isn't silk,} he thought to himself and slipped it on over his head. As it fell down around him, his eyes took in Hansel, who was wearing one of rainbow color. He wondered where Hansel had come up with all the strange but exciting clothes. He followed behind Hansel as he led the way to the stables.
Faith blasted into the stables and kept running as she reached the stall that held her horse. The mighty stallion whickered in greeting to her even as Faith bolted over the door. She jumped his back with a cry that set him running. Her horse was too big to get out of his stall with the door closed, but one touch of his hooves sent the door flying into a million pieces.
The owner of the stables slept in the back. He popped one dark eye open, his eyebrow arched. He recognized the heavy hoofsteps and the commanding voice of the rider. His companion moved on his shoulder and looked sleepily at him. He shut his eye as he told him, "Go back to sleep, Cat. It's just Faith." He immediately fell back asleep.
Dawson had been very quick to be on Faith's heels. His shirt had not even been buttoned. He had grabbed for the handle that she had shut so quickly in his face. She had locked him in! He had panicked. How could he get out? He had looked out the window and saw her running for the stables.
He had jumped out the window. He was determined she would not get away from him. He tore his pants as he came down off the roof and scratched his legs, but that did not slow him down. Once on the ground he looked around for a horse but didn't see any. He, too, ran for the stable, hot on Faith's heels, but the door bounced open as he got there and she almost ran him down. He fell back in a mixture of awe and shock as her horse reared on his hind legs, Faith keeping her perch on his broad, painted back with but one hand holding his wildly flowing mane. Then, like a flash of lightning, they were both gone.
Dawson didn't know much about horses. He wondered where the stablehand was. He had to catch Faith, but she was gone! He looked inside the first stall that he came to, but it was empty, the door not even open. The second stall had a horse, but his ears were laid back and his teeth were bared like he was fixing to bite him.
That's what Dawson thought of horses: They always wanted to bite him! Maybe he smelled good? Maybe he smelled like an apple to them? He did eat a lot of them.
The third stall he came to held an animal who appeared to be a lot more gentle. He couldn't figure out what it was. It wasn't a horse, so maybe his chances were better with it. But how to get a saddle on it?
It was then he heard something coming. It was so big that it sounded like a bull. He jumped into the stall, pulled the door closed behind him, and tried to be as quiet as he could. The animal munching on the hay in the stall threw a baleful eye upon him, almost as though he was telling him to get out of his stall and leave him in peace. He began to inch around his stall, getting his hooves just right. How dare a human come into his stall! the animal was thinking. {I'll kick him into the middle of next week!}
Dawson was not aware of the situation that was about to unfold. He tried to make himself as small and quiet as possible. His wide eyes stared at the door as it was yanked open and a huge gun was pointed straight at him. He shook so badly his knees knocked together.
The man who held the gun towered over the trembling boy at 7 feet. His finger rested on the trigger of his gun. The tabby cat perched on top of his rippling, muscular shoulder looked at the young human with glowing eyes. "Speak your business, boy," the man known only as Bishop growled, "now."
"Faith!" he whimpered as he looked up in terror at the biggest monster he'd ever seen. He had a Demon for a pet! The glowing, green eyes spooked him as much as the huge man who dwarfed him. "I was supposed to go with her, but she left me! Can you get me a horse please?!" His voice was so high that it almost touched the roof.
Bishop slid his gun back into his holster, and the flashing lightning illuminated his grin. "Supposed to go with her, eh, kid? Did she know that?" He fought to keep from laughing at the boy. Faith always did manage to get some interesting characters attached to her!
"There -- There's an Indian kid in trouble! He fe-fell off the m-m-mountain!" Dawson managed to stammer out. "She forgot all about me! I didn't forget about her! I wanna go in case I can help her! She's just so fast she's hard to catch!"
Bishop did laugh at that; the sound was a deep, throaty rumble that seemed to shake the walls of the stables, especially as thunder chimed with it. "You don't know the half of it, kid." He reached out and snatched Dawson out of the stall just before the donkey's hooves could connect with his rear end. "That ain't very nice, Donkey. The kid's already spooked."
Donkey gave him his back with his nose once more in the hay.
"Th-Thanks!" Dawson stammered out. "What do you mean I don't know the half of it? Ain't no one wilder and more beautiful and more wonderful than Faith! No one's like Faith!" Stars seemed to bounce out of his eyes as he described her. "I just can't lose her! I just found her! Please?" He gazed into Bishop's face with rapture. "Help me catch her?"
"Kid, you're trying to hold on to dynamite," Bishop said with a shake of his head, but he couldn't help liking the boy. "I'd help ya out, but we've got us a problem. All the horses are spoken for." He jerked his thumb at the donkey in the stall behind Dawson. "And something tells me you two won't fit well together."
"Him?" Dawson asked, looking back at the donkey. "I can't even ride a horse! How am I gonna ride him? I thought maybe I could ride on tight enough to a horse, especially if it was gentle enough, that I wouldn't fall off."
Bishop looked down at the boy with a smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth. His cat kneaded his shoulder, and Bishop knew he was amused as well. Then the doors of the stable opened again, and three men walked in. He'd known about Carlos coming for his horse while he had been stalking the greenhorn whose shoulder he still clamped, but Bishop was surprised to see Hansel, Bobby, and a Gypsy he didn't recognize coming in at this late hour. Then the big man grinned. He shouldn't have been surprised for where Faith went, Hansel usually did his best to follow. He was only glad to see that the blonde man's pain-in-the-ass partner wasn't along for the ride.
"Hey, Big B," Hansel called to Bishop, "don't hurt the kid. He's with us."
Dawson grinned gratefully at Hansel. "Faith almost ran over me! She's long gone! We'll never catch her!"
"What happened to your pants?" Jack asked him, eyeing the seat of Dawson's trousers that had been ripped out and was trailing cloth behind him. "Looks like you need the services of a doctor."
"I came out the window, and the roof kind of scraped me. I ain't got time for a doctor. I've gotta catch Faith!"
"Boy, kid, you sure have a one-track mind!" Jack shook his head.
Bobby laughed. "You should have waited," he told the boy.
"Yeah," Hansel agreed. "I unlocked the door, but you were already gone." He smiled at Jack, his blue eyes dancing with mirth despite the serious circumstances.
"He says there ain't any more horses, and I'm not riding that donkey! He tried to kill me! So how do we get to where Faith is?" Dawson asked.
Bishop shook his head and turned his eyes toward the ceiling. A kick was a far cry from a death blow! He chuckled to himself as he went to work saddling two horses. Faith's affair with this boy was really going to be a hot topic for the comedians in town!
"Why don't you ride with me?" Bobby offered.
Relief flooded Dawson. At last, a ride, and he didn't have to guide the horse! "Thank you!" He grinned at Bobby.
"Does that mean we get to ride together, honey bear?" Jack couldn't wait to sit behind Hansel and slip his arms around him. He didn't care how wild the ride was; he'd have another chance to hold him!
Hansel stared at Jack in shock, his breath taken away suddenly, while Bobby gave the kid a warning glare. One word out of the way, and not only would he smack him, but when Faith got back, Hansel's big sister would eat her little horsy and spit him out the bad way. When the boy didn't say anything bad, however, Bobby relaxed and gave him a smile and an acknowledging nod.
Hansel's smile was huge and seemed to light up the dark night. He couldn't believe his sweet Gypsy had talked lovingly to him in public! He gazed at Jack through blue eyes dancing with happiness that had been missing from them for far too long. Bobby's heart warmed at the sight, and his own grin grew as Hansel finally managed to answer Jack. "Nothing would give me greater pleasure, sugar, than having you wrapped around me on horseback or otherwise."
A thrill shot up Jack's back all the way to his heart at the grin that was on Hansel's face and the light that shone forth from his eyes. This was a man who should have been loved gently a long time ago! He couldn't wait to get his hands on Derek for ever taking that light away from Hansel's eyes! He thought Hansel was the most handsome man he had ever seen, and he wanted to wrap his arms around him and kiss him but didn't dare to do it in front of the others. Hansel's words thrilled him and also made him horny as Hell. He recovered himself quickly, however, and moved forward to where the others could not see his steed's reaction.
Bishop again rolled his eyes at the words he heard the men exchanging. He didn't care that they were fawning over each other. It was the love talk he found annoying and would have even if one of them had been a skirt. He swiftly finished saddling the horses, then turned to look at the waiting men again. "They're ready. Turn yourselves out. I'm going back to bed." His yawn was almost as big as he was; he stomped back to his sleeping mat.
Jack waited for Hansel to mount, which he did smoothly after giving Dawson a rain slicker and shoving the last one into a saddlebag. Jack then placed his hands on the rump of his horse and jumped up to sit behind him. He wrapped his arms around him. "Ready, love. I can't wait to see what this wild sister of yours is like! I hope she likes me and doesn't come gunning for me."
Hansel thrilled at the feel of Jack's arms around him, and he found himself wishing that he would stay in his arms forever. He curled into his embrace; if he had been a cat, he would have purred his happiness. He recalled Jack's purr from when they had made love and felt instant heat wash through him. He waited for Bobby and Dawson to be ready.
"As long as you're good to him," Bobby called to Jack from astride his own dapple gray mare, "she won't eat you." He leaned down and offered his hand to Dawson, who had just finished fighting with his green slicker and gotten it into place, as he reflected on how terribly Derek had treated Hansel for so long and how tired he was of waiting for Faith to realize what was happening.
Derek was always so careful not to hurt Hansel around Faith, and although Faith knew that her brother and Derek had problems, Hansel had begged her to stay out of them and she hadn't looked close enough to see just how serious those problems were because of Hansel's pleas. Hansel had also sworn Bobby, Elvira, and Lorne to silence one night as they had worked together to patch him up, and not a single one of them had been able to deny his tears. They struggled with telling Faith every time she visited, but because they had each given their word to Hansel and were afraid of the toll Faith murdering Derek would take on their friend, they had remained silent for far too long. {It's gotta stop,} Bobby swore in that moment, and it would, one way or another.
Dawson was not sure what he had just seen, and he wasn't about to ask questions. It seemed that the two guys were together, and he wondered, for a minute, if Bobby was that way. He took the offered hand and let Bobby help him onto the horse. Then he grabbed a hold of Bobby and held on for dear life as the horse seemed to take flight. They raced through the night with only one thought on his mind: Would he get to Faith in time?
From across the street, three pairs of eyes watched as the riders left town. They did not pursue them. It would not be long before their master had arrived. Let the fishies swim for a while. When the master came, they'd all be caught in the net!
To Be Continued . . .