Sweet Southern Comfort

"It's no longer a matter of if, Liam, but when."

My swallow echoed through the car. Our heavy, labored breathing filled the silence of night as I stared into his eyes, unable to tear my gaze from his. My hand shook as I raised it to smooth my hair out of my eyes. Jackson stared at me so intently that it only made the aching worse.

"Say it, Liam."

I swallowed again. "Say it!"

"Yes."

The word barely left my lips when he crushed me to him, kissing me incoherent. When he sat back I fumbled the car door open and left on shaky feet. After I had unlocked the door and went inside, Jackson started up his vehicle. He stayed until after I'd shut my door.

My night was filled with hot, erotic dreams and tangled, sweaty sheets. The sweet torture of unfulfilled desire kept me half dreaming, half awake throughout the night, causing me to oversleep until late in the morning. Even after a cool shower, my body was still drawn tightly, the slightest thought of Jackson rekindling the need for him I felt.

I ran to the store to pick up the items I'd need for what I would take to Jackson's later. After I gathered all my equipment and ingredients, I stopped by to pick up Claire and we made our way to Jackson's house. We drove in silence for a few minutes, but I knew it wouldn't last too long. I was right.

"You're glowing, Liam."

My first impulse was to pull down the mirror, to see if what she said was true, but a smart man wouldn't give her that much leeway. "I'm not."

"Who is he?"

I groaned, knowing that once I saw Jackson face to face, I'd be sunk. Somewhere between the night he'd saved me from being arrested and the night under the stars, something grew between us, something special, something undeniable. "It's too new to talk about yet."

Her hand on my arm melted my resolve and I turned to her, my eyes pleading for the reassurances I couldn't verbalize. "Liam, whoever he is, has to be pretty special. I know you too well."

My sigh sounded lonely to even my ears. "I'm scared."

With the ease with which she always moved, she unbuckled her seatbelt and slid across the bench seat of my truck, wrapping an arm around me, kissing my cheek gently. "I can't wait to meet him."

When we got to Jackson's, Claire helped me with my things and grabbed her pan of brownies. The side gate was open and we heard a zippy, tinny music playing. As we rounded the corner of the house, I smiled in recognition. Several years before, I'd helped the city's retired librarian redesign her backyard. It had a towering weeping willow in the back corner, lots of flowering bushes and beds filled with annual bulbs. A huge fire pit had been added near the back porch, with a pergola covered in tent awning. Under the canopy was a large picnic table covered in newspaper. On either side of the paper were huge garbage cans. An old tin washbasin was filled with ice and bottles of beer. The fire blazed and a large pot sat on a grill above it, boiling steadily.

Jackson appeared in the back door with another man, between them was a huge basket whose bottom was filled with potatoes. When Jackson saw me, he paused and his grin bloomed full force at me. I dropped the bag I carried, spilling some rock salt onto the ground that I didn't pay any attention to. Claire looked quickly back and forth between us then walked over to Jackson for introductions.

When his gaze turned from me, I paid attention to the man with him. If there were Viking gods walking the earth, this man was one of them. He was a huge, hulking mountain of man, blond haired, blue eyed, taller than me, with a smile as big and open as the Montana sky. As deputies went, his size would intimidate just about anyone, but the sweet, slightly dopey look of his face would put them at ease. He was handsome and once we started talking, proved to be sharply intelligent and very dry witted.

I went inside to set up the ice cream maker with my special mixture and started it to spin. When I made it back outside, Erik, the Viking god, put ears of corn into the boiling concoction while Jackson placed sausages on his grill and talked to Claire. I grabbed a beer as I passed and made it to the grill just as I overheard Claire talking to Jackson. "...If you hurt him, I'll grind your balls into soup and spoon feed it to you."

Jackson's chuckle was forced, his shoulders hunched and when I saw his face, I could tell he was both frustrated and amused. "If I do, I'll cut them off for you and place the bib around my own neck."

Claire hadn't seen me, but her shoulders eased up a bit. "I like you, Chief. But I love my cousin more."

I watched as Jackson leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I promise."

The concern of both of them really touched me. It wasn't necessary, but it was very moving to see them square off over me. "He prefers to be called Jackson."

Claire spun around, blushing sweetly. "You're right." Turning to Jackson, she smiled at him. "I'm sorry, Jackson."

Erik came up behind me and spoke with his soft, but commanding voice. "I think you were doing what you had to do."

Claire's face lit up. "Thank you, Mr. Johansen."

He chuckled and reached out to chuck her on the chin. "Do you always insist on calling men by something other than their first names?"

Her blush had me wanting to laugh, but I knew it would mean instant death to all three of us in the most gruesome of ways. Claire and Erik walked away from the grill and I felt Jackson stand behind me, sniffing into the back of my neck, nipping me gently with his teeth. "You smell good, cher."

Goose bumps erupted over my skin and I felt my body harden. "Thank you, Jackson."

His deep-throated chuckle made me powerless to move, unable to turn, only to feel. I felt his hands trail up my arms, reaching around me to brush against my chest. My breath hitched as my eyes shut, lost to sensation. I was ready to throw caution to the wind and turn into his arms and kiss him when I felt something hot touch my mouth. "Open, Liam."

When I complied, something hot and juicy entered my mouth that tasted salty and spicy. It was a bit of the sausage Jackson had been grilling. I bit down and chewed, letting the spicy meat replace the rampaging lust that Jackson had called to the surface. When I had swallowed and turned, Jackson stood over the boiling pot, his shaking hands the only sign that he had been as affected as I.

I watched as Jackson turned around, cupping his hand around his mouth, hollering, "time to eat!"

*** Jackson ***

When I left Liam's house, my hands shook so damn bad I'd only made it two blocks when I had to pull over and take some deep breaths. The man made me crazy. Achingly full, powerfully aroused, once calm enough to drive, I drove home, walked straight to the shower, and blasted my body with enough cold water to chill the raw lust I felt. Somehow, once he'd capitulated to agreeing to our affair, my own hand would never do. Standing beside him at my outdoor barbecue, I wish I hadn't been so stringent.

His scent filled my nostrils, over and above the spicy home cooking on the grills. I wanted him so badly; my teeth ached from clenching my jaw shut. I had only meant to tease him, but it was I who was most affected. When he bit into the sausage, I walked away, quickly, to keep from stripping him naked and fucking him in front of his cousin. Thankfully, dinner was ready.

We sat around the picnic table as Erik helped me dump the basket out onto the table. I kept the boil juice. Hell, it made a great base for gumbo, soups, and even rice. We all dug in, cracking crabs, eating potatoes and corn, all of it spicy and sweet and just about perfect. I enjoyed the food, the company, and the ting of the Zydeco music playing in the background. The tension from before melted from me. At least until I saw Liam licking his fingers, taking the boil spices and butter from his corn with his tongue. That was it. I had finally had enough. I grew so damn hard and wanted him so badly, that it took a very strong force of will to keep me from leaping over the table at him.

When I'd finally stopped panting, by digging my fingers into the table, Liam turned and winked at me. The son of a bitch knew what he did. Two could play at that game. I looked him square in the eye as I grabbed a crab leg and brought it to my mouth, sucking at the end to pull all the juices out of it while licking around the tip with my tongue. I watched as his eyes dilated and he dropped his ear of corn to his plate. It wasn't until I heard the polite but insistent 'ahem' that I looked at Claire. She was blushing but clearly irritated. Erik looked from me to Liam then back before his mouth split in a wide grin before he nodded at me.

I watched as Liam's face erupted in a blush so deep it was nearly crimson. By tacit agreement, we stopped flirting and went back to eating. We managed to polish off a dozen crab, ten potatoes, six ears of corn and a bunch of biscuits. I still had a dozen crabs that needed to be shelled, but I simply put them in a bag and stored them in the refrigerator.

Claire put away the dishes while Erik and Liam cleaned up the backyard and turned off the grill. When the household chores were done, Liam came inside and checked the ice cream maker and announced it was done. Claire whipped out her killer brownies and sliced them up and put them on a plate as we gathered around the living room and had dessert.

At the first creamy, sweet, vanilla-heavy bite, I actually moaned, as did Claire and Erik. Who knew that ice cream could be this rich or divine? We all slurped up the creamy wonderment, practically licking the bowls clean. Claire's brownies were heaven, but this ice cream was pure... ecstasy.

"My God, Liam. That was delicious. Holy shit!" I said.

Liam blushed, but was obviously pleased. "It isn't anything special."

"Bullshit. That was the closest thing to a sexual experience. It isn't better than sex, but it comes close." Erik's words were honest and got a strange look from Claire. I thought Liam would burst into an embarrassed bank of flames.

"It is good Liam. Really good." I turned to Claire, trying to ease the tension a bit. "If you served this in your café, you'd have to turn the hose on the customers to get them to leave."

Claire patted Liam's hand and looked towards me. "I know. But it's Liam's recipe, and he won't give it to me."

"Why not?" I said, which Erik mimicked.

Liam looked uncomfortable, but finally answered. "It's my mother's recipe. I kind of like having that simple something that no one else has of hers."

Claire hugged her cousin and Erik began to look uncomfortable. When Erik stood to leave, Claire stood with him. I stood and offered a hand to Erik. "I hope you decide to come join us here. I hope you've found enough to like around here."

Erik turned and winked at Claire, causing her to blush. "I'll let you know."

Claire tuned in to the currents arcing between Liam and I and put her hand on Erik's arm. "If you wouldn't mind giving me a lift, Erik?"

"Not at all." His smile was warm and friendly, but just on the slight side of masculine possessive that told me that Liam and I weren't the only attracted couple in the room. Once they were out the door, Liam sat on the couch, staring at me as if he could consume me.

My blood thickened and slowed to molasses as my heart raced to push it through my veins. The wait over, I would have Liam that night, unless he absolutely begged me to leave him be. "If you are thinking of leaving at all, you'd better do it now."

Liam stood and walked to me, slowly, as if he had all the time in the world. "I'm not leaving. Not tonight anyway."

The words barely left his mouth before I took his face in my hands and feasted upon him. My lips roved over the contours of his face as I finally, finally got to sate myself, finally knowing that it wouldn't end with a kiss. His tongue brushed against my cheek as I bit his earlobe, causing both of us to moan. The excitement built so high, so fast, so hard, that I knew that this first time would be hard and fast, perhaps too fast for Liam. Changing my plans in mid kiss, I pulled at Liam's shirt as he ripped mine from me until we could press our chests together. I moaned at the sensation of his warm skin that practically scalded me. His chest hair was soft and crinkly against my skin, his back smooth and muscular beneath my kneading fingers. God damn, but I wanted this man, smooth and sleek, writhing beneath me. I could feel my desire like a caged beast, pacing inside me, pawing at the cage, trying to get out.

When Liam started at my belt, I pulled back and grabbed his hand, leading him down the hall to my bedroom. That morning, hoping that this would happen, I'd cleaned up and changed the sheets. I left the bed turned down, waiting for us to arrive, like a warm caress, a taste of home. I toed off my shoes and watched as Liam did the same. Once his shoes were off, I had my hands tearing apart the buttons on his jeans, separating them until I could see white underwear. Pushing down his hips, I got his jeans off until Liam stood before me in tented boxer briefs. I wanted what tented that fabric in my mouth. I needed that more than oxygen. As I started to drop to my knees, Liam caught my arms and kept me standing as he worked to remove my jeans until I stood before him in only my low-cut briefs, so hard that I hung over the waistband, leaking profusely.

"My God, you're beautiful, chief." The way he called me chief was like a prayer, warm and reverent. Hell, I didn't mind when he called me that anymore, not when he said it with such hunger.

"You aren't anything but drop-dead gorgeous, Cher." And I meant every word. I slipped my hands into the waistband of his underwear and tugged until it passed his rounded, muscular ass and slipped off his leaking, aroused length then I let gravity do the rest. He quickly returned the favor before stepping into me, letting me feel every inch of him naked, hard, and aroused against me.

I let my knees unlock and pulled us both onto the bed, pressed into it by Liam's weight as my back came in contact with the velvety texture of my goose down comforter. Hot, hard heat against my chest, and smooth, soft pillowed comfort on my back, and I was in heaven, moaning as the sensations grew, almost to pain. My arousal had never climbed this high, been this needy. I had to have him. I wanted to feast on his mouth, kiss every inch of him, but not now, not after two long weeks of heavy foreplay. I couldn't wait. I hoped he'd forgive me.

Pulling Liam further on the bed, I rolled us so that we lay on our sides, still kissing him, still touching all of him as fast and as much as I could. I pushed Liam back and sat up, breathing hard, watching his chest heave to get enough air. "The fire burns too hot between us, cher. We need to bank the embers a bit."

"I know. What do you want?" The loaded question made my cock lurch. I preened as Liam caught the sight of it and gulped. Damn! This was going to be so good, but so fast.

"Taste me while I taste you." Liam nodded and dove down on me, licking against my length. I called out from the pleasure of it as I pushed him away again so I could lie out opposite him. Staring at his hard, shiny tip, I could feel my mouth water. "This is gonna be good, Liam. Real good."

Anything he might have said back disappeared as he engulfed me, taking me deep, flicking me with his tongue. Without pausing, I cried out then dove onto him, flicking, tasting, and taking his salty-sweet excitement on my tongue. I wove my arms so one went between his legs and the other over his hip, so I could wrap my arms around him and drive him deeper inside me.

Liam couldn't take me too deep, but he could do wonderful things with his tongue. He kept pushing down, but kept up this hard suction as if he could use my cock as a straw to get my semen out of me. Each time he pulled back, he'd pull my foreskin with his lips, sucking hard as he pulled beyond the head, but kept my skin in his mouth before licking around and inside the puckered foreskin. God damn, but he drove me wild.

His experiences might have been limited, not that he was awkward, only less able to experiment or take me deep, but he'd had a long time to imagine, and worked hard on me. When I buried my face into his pubic hair, taking his cock deeply into my throat, he moaned around my shaft as he moved up its length, causing me to moan too. We had been at it for less than a minute or two, and we both exploded. Our need, our desire was too strong as we came against the other's tongue, feeling the spasms of delight. His taste was so thick, so salty, so wonderful that I kept searching for more, swallowing his goodness. Liam kept working me, to the point where it got painful, before he pulled my foreskin up to cover the head, and it helped, it took the pain away and simply drew out my pleasure.

We collapsed against the bed, breathing hard. I kept chuckling, because I knew it would be like this. I knew it would. I stared at the long length of Liam's body, and saw that he was still rock hard. "Damn, Liam. You always like that?"

Liam shrugged his shoulders, "It's only the second time I've been with anyone, but probably. That first night, I told you we went at it all night long."

Oh my God. If this is what I had to look forward too, then I'd be dead by morning. What a way to go! "What did the two of you do together?"

He looked at me as if I were crazy. "We had sex."

I rolled my eyes and took his hand, pulling us both up so we sat, facing each other. Because I could, I kissed him, slowly, brushing my lips against his. When I pulled back, he had a silly grin on his face that I knew I mirrored. "No... what kind of sex did you have?"

Liam looked into my eyes, somewhat embarrassed, mostly nervous. "He liked to be fucked. That's pretty much all we did. It wasn't until that morning in the shower that I got to taste him."

This part would be tricky. Liam had no idea that I liked to be in control, I needed to be the top. "You've never had a man inside you?"

Liam looked at me, really looked at me. "No. No one."

Choking on my desire, I whispered my words to him. "I need to be inside you, Liam. I want you so damn bad I can taste it. Will you let me?"

Liam's smile spread across his face quickly, filled with boyish curiosity. "Sure." He rolled to me, kissing me deeply, taking my breath from me. I pushed him back, rolling on top of him, feeling his still rock hard length press into my belly as my own cock rose and pressed between his thighs. I broke from the kiss to taste his jaw and lick at his neck. "You taste delicious."

Liam's hand fisted in my hair as his voice became deep and groaned. "Christ! That feels good when you bite my neck."

Good? Great! I bit down into the flesh of his neck under his ear. Liam moaned even deeper, pulling on my hair, causing me to groan against his neck. I shook my head, Liam's flesh still between my teeth, trying to clear my mind, so I wouldn't end up doing nothing but hump against him, causing it to be over with before we started. I let loose my jaw and kissed down Liam's throat, trailing my lips and tongue over his collarbone, down his sternum, along his nipple. I slowly moved down his body, nipping his skin with my lips, watching Liam's skin break out in goose bumps.

By the time I hit his groin and bypassed it for his hips, Liam was a pile of willing, obedient jelly that I turned over onto his belly. I had seen his ass in jeans, in underwear; naked with water running over it, but never like I did at that moment. Full on vision, hot and tempting. Dusky dark hair covered his beautiful ass, thickening inside his cleft, each twin globe muscular and dimpled. My hands got the privilege of the first encounter with hot flesh and strength. After I had caressed, massaged, and molded him with my hands, I separated him and lowered my face, taking in the sweaty musk before my lips found his flesh, warm and inviting.