Sweet Southern Comfort

The first swipe of my tongue had Liam crying out so loudly; I thought he'd cum. Each dip, each taste, each flick, had Liam moaning and crying out until his body began to open. I had placed condoms and lube in my bedside drawer, hoping we'd be at this point this night. I grabbed both and doused my fingers in lube, replacing my mouth with my hand, kissing his ass cheek as my fingers, one at a time dived into Liam. With one hand opening him, I tore open the condom with my teeth, and used my free hand to roll it down my aching shaft. When we were both ready and dripping with lubricated help, I moved up, flipping Liam over. I had to see his face; I had to watch him as I took his virginity. Being on top of him, looking at his face, I'd be forced to go slow, not as deep as I could. It would have to be enough; it was the only way I knew to control the consuming need to fuck him hard and rough.

I looked into Liam's deep blue eyes and saw fear. I lowered my forehead to his, and kissed his lips lightly. "What's wrong?"

Liam's arms came around me and hugged me to him. "New territory. I'm just nervous."

Damn. My heart beat real hard at that statement, then slowed and mellowed with some deep emotion I couldn't, wouldn't name. "I won't hurt you."

"I know."

He said it with such surety that I couldn't stop myself. I pressed against Liam's body and felt him give way. As Liam's body opened to me, as I watched his face, as he traveled the emotional journey from fear of the unknown to curiosity and wonder at something new, I felt my heart give way again. Damn it, I didn't want to feel this, but it was too late. I had a sinking feeling I was falling for Liam McCoy. I pushed my way home and stayed in place, so easy now, now that I'd gotten inside him. I waited until I felt the soft, gentle fluttering of his body's adjustment stop before I pulled back and began a slow, gentle rocking that made both of us gasp and whimper in a moment of breathless delight.

The pleasure built so quickly, so tightly as he fisted my cock, milking my body. I watched his face, wanted to see his pleasure. Liam's thighs cradled my hips as I continued to move slowly, grateful that I couldn't move faster, because if I did, it would be over much too soon. This first time, I needed to find that elusive spot, that right rhythm to bring him with me. When Liam shifted his hips, to take me a tad deeper, I cried out, and hoped to hang on. "Don't do that, cher. It'll be over with if you do."

Liam began to chuckle. "I'm on edge, chief. You feel so damn good."

His words started my own chuckle and stopped my hips. My chuckle rumbled through my body and caused Liam to arch his back, causing me to cry out. "That's so good, cher. Move for me. Find your pleasure, baby."

I watched as Liam thought, concentrated on how to move, how to bring about his own release. After hitching his hips against mine, rubbing me nearly insane, he grabbed my hips in his big, strong hands and moved me for him. The control left, the need took over and I moved, pounding hard into him. The final stretch came about hard, pushing us both. I watched as Liam arched his back and cried out as I pounded once, twice, three more times into him before we both exploded, crying out our pleasure, our need, our culmination.

As our world righted itself, I lay my head against Liam's chest, listening to his heartbeat slow. When we had both begun to breath near normally, I propped myself on my elbows to look down into Liam's eyes. He had a sleepy, lazy, satisfied grin on his face. I lowered to take his lips when I felt him against my belly, still rock hard. "God damn! You're gonna kill me, Liam."

Liam threw his head back and laughed. "I told you. All night, chief." I rolled my eyes, but started chuckling too. I could handle all night, but just with this man.

I think we finally dropped off to sleep around three or four in the morning. We'd used four condoms; ten had been me bragging. I sort of woke while lying sprawled across Liam's chest. I could feel him hard against my belly. It caused me to groan. "Not again, Liam. I'm wiped out. And sore." Liam kept struggling under me, and I petted his arms, still not quite awake. "Come on Liam, it was your first time, you have to be sorer than I am." When he struggled again, I snorted awake and looked up at Liam. "Fine, I'll stroke you, but that's all."

Liam started laughing and pushed me off him. "I'm going to be late for work. I need to get going."

I frowned at his words. "What time is it?"

Liam laughed harder and looked at the bedside clock. "It's almost six."

I rolled over and grabbed the pillow. "It's too damn early."

When I heard Liam stand and get out of bed, I looked at him through squinted eyes. "Where the hell's my shirt?"

I shook myself awake and sat up. "I think those got left behind in the living room." I watched as he tucked himself into his underwear before pulling on his jeans. "Why are you leaving so early?"

Liam came back to the bed and leaned down to kiss me. "My day starts at six-thirty. I have just enough time to go home, shower, and change."

Shit. "Are you coming over after work for dinner?" I hated how needy it sounded, and almost pulled away. To hide my discomfort, I got up and pulled on my jeans, sans underwear, and left the snaps undone. Liam wrapped his arms around me and kissed me.

"I hoped to. You promised some crab gumbo."

I looked into his eyes and saw no discomfort, no arguments, just acceptance and happiness. "When do you get done with work?"

"I'm usually done by four."

"Great. Let me get you a key, you can come in and shell the crabmeat."

"Okay."

After I gave him the key, he left with a long, drugging kiss at the door. I went down the hall and used all my hot water to wake up. My body hummed with sated sexual power. I felt like I could do anything. It was with a whistle that I left my house and started my day, happy that Liam had spent the night in my bed, glad that he hadn't gone home. Sitting at a stoplight on the way to the office, I frowned. I wasn't happy he didn't leave? How strange. Normally I was a fuck 'em and leave 'em kind of guy. Which is usually why we did it at their place, so I could make tracks in a hurry. But the idea of Liam getting up, putting on his clothes, and leaving me to listen to his car drive away made me feel uneasy. I put it aside to ponder later as I got to work and started the day.

*** Liam ***

I was flat out tender when I left Jackson's house. I didn't notice it that much until I sat down in my truck. It didn't hurt, but it made me cautious. After a shower and a change of clothes, I left for work, but not before grabbing a change of clothes. If we spent another night like the last one, I didn't want to wake up early just to go home. Presumptuous as hell, but, I hoped. The chief might not want to have a relationship, but there were a few moments last night where I thought I saw something. I really didn't know for sure, but I hoped.

After taking care of the lawns at City Hall, the golf course, and the medians on the state highway through town, I finished up enough to go to lunch at Claire's. It was later than normal, and the crowd had thinned so she could come talk to me. I took my usual seat in the back booth, and only winced a bit when I sat down. Claire must have caught it, because she sat a glass of sweet tea before me before sitting down in front of me. "So... how was it?"

The chances of me not blushing are on a par with having a hot winter in Alaska. It just won't happen without something very wrong occurring. "Fine." Not wanting to be outdone, I snuck one back at her. "How was Erik Johansen?"

"Nothing happened. He gave me a ride home."

"Yeah, right. I could taste the attraction between the two of you."

She looked offended, but the glow in her cheeks told me she wasn't really. "He's a nice guy. I think Jackson has a new deputy."

"And if Erik just happened to move here..." I let the words trail off; she knew what I was asking.

"I don't know. Honestly, Liam. He's a great guy, but... he didn't even kiss me. I tried to kiss him, but... he wasn't interested."

I covered her clasped hands with mine. "I'm sorry."

She brightened up a bit, but only a bit. "He called me this morning before his plane left. He told me why." I didn't say anything. I knew she'd tell me. "He's saving himself for marriage." Claire rolled her eyes and looked down. "It's so old-fashioned, out dated, and unrealistic."

"And sweet." I said it, because I really felt that way too.

"Yeah. And sweet. I told him I hadn't waited, but I really liked him." She looked into my eyes, smiling at me in a far-off, I'm not really thinking of you, kind of way. "He told me it didn't matter, he liked me too."

"That's good. I knew I liked that guy."

Claire looked at me with a devilish look on her face before she got up to grab my lunch from the kitchen. When she returned she sat in front of me and put her hands on her hips. "That was a nice evasion, cousin. But you aren't getting out of it."

I rolled my eyes and took a bite of my sandwich, not wanting to have this conversation. When I had swallowed, I looked her square in the eye. "I'm not giving any details."

Claire laughed and punched my arm. "Gross! I don't want any details, just that he treated you right. Are you okay?"

The blush was back. I couldn't help it. Like I couldn't help the silly smile that crossed my face. "It was wonderful. I never knew it could be like that. And yes, he treated me great."

I watched as Claire's face got thoughtful then dropped into a frown. "Oh no. No way."

"What?"

"You can't."

Frustrated, I put down my sandwich and stared at her. "I can't what?"

"You're in love with him."

That made me pause. Actually, it made me break out in a cold sweat of panic. No way. Not so fast. Not really. Please no. Out loud, I said, "don't be silly. I'm not in love with him."

Claire shook her head and looked at me with compassionate eyes. "Yes, you are. I'll bet he invited you over tonight for dinner and whatever. You have some spare clothes in your truck don't you?"

I looked away, uncomfortable. "I wanted to be prepared."

Claire touched my cheek, until I turned back to face her. "Honey, I'm not saying anything bad. I just don't want you to get hurt."

I nodded. "I know." I swallowed the lump in my throat. "I don't want to get hurt either."

"Well, the chief knows I'll castrate him if he does."

I shook my head. "He won't hurt me. Not intentionally. I'm afraid I'll hurt myself though."

"How?"

"By falling too deep, too fast."

Claire smiled at me. "That's love for you."

I snorted. "Since this is my first time even trying, I'd rather not destroy myself on it."

On that sober note, Claire got up and came around the table and sat in my lap, hugging me. "It won't happen. I don't know what the chief is expecting, but no one could not love you."

"Thanks, Claire." I hugged her tightly before she had to leave me to my lunch. I sat there, eating without tasting as I thought about my feelings. It was true, if I wasn't totally in love, I was falling fast. Christ, how did this happen? I wanted a nice time, a great guy, and some fun. I knew Jackson wasn't looking for the same thing, but his words from the drive in told me some things. He might not be planning for forever, but he didn't want us to just fuck then move on. That helped.

Still thinking, I got through the rest of my day before driving over to Jackson's house. I had crabs to shell. Jackson got home about five, and made his way into the kitchen. Before kissing me deeply, he asked, "How was your day?"

I looked at him and saw the giddy smile. He was happy I was there. It eased my doubts a bit more. "It was okay. Got the third degree from Claire, but I also have good news."

"What?"

"I think you're definitely getting a new deputy."

Jackson started laughing, deep and low. "He called me just before I left the office. He'll start on Monday."

"That fast?"

"He said he knew he wanted to work here even before he visited. The visit simply decided when he'd be here."

I laughed. "You owe Claire."

Jackson raised his eyebrows at me before going to the fridge and grabbing some of the boil liquid, a bowl filled with something that looked like hot fudge, and some vegetables. I watched as he set the boil liquid on the stove and chopped vegetables. "I think Erik is smitten with Claire. I know she's pretty gone on Erik."

Jackson chopped into an onion and chuckled. "I knew you'd be good for me." The way he paused while chopping into the onion only hurt for a minute. "Claire makes killer brownies and helps snag a damn fine deputy."

"She's great, and really the only family I have left."

Jackson's smile, warm and compassionate, turned towards me. The smile deepened into an affectionate grin that made me think of sweaty sheets and moaning. "You're lucky to have her." I watched as Jackson shook his head, blinked a few times, and shifted his hips. "Did you get a chance to grab a shower?"

"No."

"Why don't you? This will take another hour at least once I get all this chopped and sautéed."

I nodded at him and walked down the hall to his bathroom, peeling off my clothes. Once in the shower, I banged my head into the ceramic tile, calling myself an idiot. "Go ahead, fall for him more than you already have, dumb shit."

After I had finished in the shower, I grabbed a towel and searched for my clothes. They were gone. I wrapped the towel around my waist and went looking for Jackson. He stood in the kitchen, stirring something that sizzled on the stove, wearing nothing but a pair of nylon running shorts. I cleared my throat and watched the Chief turn around. "How was the shower?"

I grinned, a little embarrassed. "Good."

"Great."

"How's dinner coming along?"

"Great."

I started laughing, really hard. "Jackson? Where are my clothes?"

I watched as Jackson shrugged, as if my clothing walking away was an everyday occurrence. "I grabbed them and threw them in the wash."

I nodded, not really paying attention. "Okay." But it wasn't okay, not really. "So dinner dress is extremely casual?"

Jackson chuckled and walked up to me, cupping my face. "Cher, you got nothin' to be modest about. But if it'd make you feel better, I'll get you something to wear."

Damn him for knowing what really bothered me. "Don't go to any trouble. Besides, we're not exactly the same size."

Jackson winked at me as he walked out of the kitchen. "No worries, cher. Stir the onions for me."

Muttering to myself to cover my embarrassment, I went over to the stove and stirred the translucent onions. I looked under the boiling pot lid and smelled the same spicy, sweet smell from the crab yesterday. The man knew how to cook; I'd give him that. Lost in thought, it wasn't until Jackson pressed against me that I knew he was back. "You look good at the stove, cher."

"I spent a lot of time cooking when my mom got sick."

"I'm sorry that you went through that."

I shrugged, more okay with her death each day. "She was in pain. I'm just glad she isn't hurting anymore."

"I think I'd lose my mind if my mama died."

I turned to face Jackson; the lost, sad look on his face was the final straw. In that one moment, I felt my heart melt. God damn it! This wasn't supposed to happen. One minute, I was a horny, attracted man, the next, head over heels in love. Fuck! "With luck, she won't die, not for a long, long time."

Jackson had me in his arms, his lips pressed to mine before I even finished my sentence. His lips were warm, and soft as they molded over mine, pressing firmly until I opened to the sweep of his tongue. Arousal hit me hard, and I didn't care that I only stood in a towel. I could have stayed in his embrace all night long. At least I could have until the onions spat some grease on my back and Jackson's arm. "Damn, cher. Gonna burn my onions."

Jackson pushed me aside and began adding chopped celery and peppers to the onions. He pointed to the table and a pair of shorts sitting there. "That'll cover you up, for a bit while we eat. Then they come off for the night." His wink made my nearly steady heart race out of control.

I left him by the stove when he started adding okra to the sautéing vegetables. I took the sweatshirt material shorts in my hands and shrugging, dropped the towel and shimmied into the tight fabric. I'd finally tucked everything away where it was somewhat comfortable when I saw Jackson putting the hot fudge looking substance into the crab boil juice. "We're having hot fudge flavored gumbo?"

Jackson looked at me in shock, and then started laughing until he had to set the bowl down. "Oh cher, thank you. That's funny. This is a roux. It thickens and flavors the soup."

Feeling my cheeks flush, I grinned sheepishly at the chief. "Sorry. I didn't know."

"Come here, cher."

I walked over and watched as he added the roux to the boil, saw it darken and thicken before he added the drained vegetables. Jackson made some cornbread and stuck it in the oven then grabbed a couple of beers out of the fridge and led me outside. He walked me across the lawn until we were under the large weeping willow I'd planted almost ten years before. Hanging under the boughs, was strung a large hammock. Jackson sat then pulled me down with him. "Come here, cher. We don't have time for some heavy lovin', but we can sure turn up the heat a bit."

We slipped back in the hammock, setting it swinging as we faced each other, wrapping around each other. Kisses turned into long, drugging feasts of tongues, teeth, and lips. My cock, painfully aroused, pressed into Jackson's hip as his own arousal pressed into my belly. Time became meaningless as I fell into sensation. Each kiss drew me further from my senses, muting each one until there was nothing but touch and taste, and only those of Jackson LeDeux.

When time seemed to be endless, Jackson pulled back for air, rigidly holding me at arm's length as his body trembled. He looked over at me, then let his eyes trail the long length of me, grinning as he noted my nipples, peaked and straining. Then his grin grew downright wolfish when he saw how tented and wet my borrowed shorts had become. "Damn, cher. You need to wear my clothes more often."

I would have blushed, only my body was throbbing so damn bad, I could barely see straight, let alone feel embarrassed. I looked at Jackson; saw that the nylon of his shorts seemed wet and slimy where it covered the head of his cock. Damn, what a fine sight. "They're too tight."

Jackson laughed then cupped my face. "That's why I'm hoping to get them off you soon."

I chuckled along with him and pulled him down to my lips, tasting his laugh as I devoured his mouth. When he pulled back, his hands shook and his voice was none too steady when he said, "come on, Liam. Dinner's just about ready."

It was a bit of a trial to stand up from a hammock, especially when your cock is so hard it could burst and the shorts you wear are nearly painted on your skin. But, with Jackson's help, I made it to a standing position and followed him inside. I stood back and watched as Jackson dumped the shelled crabmeat into the wonderful smelling, slightly boiling, and very dark gumbo. He reached into the oven and pulled out the cornbread and put some rice on to boil. The man knew how to cook; I'll give him that.

When the rice had steamed, Jackson put a heaping scoop in the middle of a couple of bowls, ladled the steaming gumbo all around it and put a hunk of cornbread on the side and carried the two huge bowls to the table. He grabbed a couple of glasses and filled it with sweet tea and had me sit across from him. The first bite assailed my senses with spice and flavor, causing me to moan then dig in for more. After two bowls each and half the cornbread, I pushed back from the table, patting my belly. "You need to stop feeding me like that, chief."