A Deep Family Tradition

Story by twisted_trisk on SoFurry

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#3 of Gay

A blacksmith's apprentice receives a mysterious letter claiming to be from a father he's never known. When he goes to investigate this dying, enigmatic man who claims to be his father, he meets a mysterious and beautiful maid who throws herself at him. But nothing is as it seems and he is thrown into a world he can't comprehend.

This is a fairly long story, really more a small novel, and is without a doubt one of my absolute favorites of any I've ever written. It makes me laugh, it makes me cry, and I love each of the characters dearly. I hope you'll enjoy it too!


A Deep Family Tradition

© 2010-2012 Twisted_Trisk, Benjamin J Johnson


** Contents: Gay Sex (m/m) Crossdressing (m)**

1) ** **Family Ties

2) ** **Flashback

3) ** **The Maid

4) ** **A Frightening Revelation

5) ** **A New Arrival

6) ** **Holding on to a Dream

7) ** **An Evening on Fire

8) ** **A Tense Journey

9) ** **Back Home to Sorrows



1) ** **Family Ties


I was in the middle of hammering a horseshoe into shape when a courier came bearing a letter addressed to me. I was sweating profusely over the hot oven, and looked at him with skepticism. A letter? From whom? I'd never gotten a letter before in my life.

I dropped the glowing red horseshoe into a barrel of water and walked over to receive the envelope. Looking at it, I felt a thrill as I saw very feminine handwriting. I thanked the courier, giving him a tip of the only penny I had in my pocket, then walked over to the sunlight streaming into the front door of the blacksmith shop.

My grandfather had watched with curiosity as I received the letter. He'd paused what he was doing and was watching me intently. "Who's it from, Adam?" He asked with great interest.

"I dunno. Someone named Ellie Vintessa." I said, reading the name on the envelope. "I've never met someone by that name that I can remember."

"Maybe you have a secret admirer then, eh?" He chuckled.

I ripped open the edge of the envelope and unfolded the paper inside. I frowned as I began to read it, until I read the first couple sentences. I was from my father. My eyes bulged out of my head in shock.

Suddenly the world swung crazily around me and I could hardly breathe as I lowered the letter and took in the realization. I'd never known my father, and my mother refused to so much as tell me his name. All she would ever say was that he'd run out on us before I'd been born, and that he was a cruel, evil, wicked monster.

But here he was, writing a letter to me. I was shaking and sweating profusely and my heart was hammering so fast I thought my chest would burst. In the first paragraph he'd asked me to make certain I was alone when I read the letter, so I walked outside and around our blacksmith shop to the back where I plopped down under a nice shady tree.

As I walked, I tried to imagine what had happened all those years ago between my mother and father. I'd always known that there was more to the story than my mother would say, and sometimes it seemed like she'd be so close to telling me something, only to clam up again and refuse any details to me.

We'd lived all my life with my grandfather and grandmother, and I was apprenticing to become a blacksmith and take over my grandfather's shop soon. He'd always been a father to me, trying to do fun things with me and bond with me as if I were his own son. I loved him very much, but the thought of actually learning something about my true blood father was both exciting and terrifying.

Trembling, I unfolded the letter again and began to read it. The butterflies in my stomach intensified as I read.

Dear Adam,

It is always so difficult to introduce oneself in a letter, so I will cut right to the chase. My name is also Adam, Adam Henrickson, and I am your birth father. Your mother has forbade me to have any contact with you whatsoever, so I put a false name on the envelope in the hopes that she would give it to you and not suspect it is from me. Son, PLEASE read this letter in private and do not let her know it is from me or she will do everything she can to take it from you and destroy it.

The reasons for her bitterness towards me are many, and some of them are perhaps deserved, but I suspect she has never told you the truth of the matter of what happened between us, and has probably told you many lies about me as well. Let me set the record straight by saying it was not my choice to have no contact with my son, and all these years I have desperately wished to meet you and to be a father to you. I have even watched you from afar, secretly viewing you from the inn across the street from your grandfather's blacksmith shop. What I have seen of you makes me very proud of you, son. You are a hard worker and have a gentle heart, and I so very much would like to meet you.

But I digress. The reason I am writing to you is because you are nineteen years old now, and an adult. Your mother no longer can control your destiny, and I would like to finally meet you after all these years. I would love to finally hold my son in my arms and meet you face to face.

Yet even this is not the entire reason I now write. I am dying, son, and probably only have a few months left to live. I want to meet you just once before I pass away. There is so much I want to tell you, and my time is so short on this world.

Son, please consider visiting me. I know you must mistrust me after all these years of no contact, but I swear to you that it was not by my choice you have lived your life without me. I feel I owe you the truth at least, even if your mother refuses to tell you.

Think it over, if you will, but please do not tarry long. I will not live much longer and I write with great urgency that you come as soon as you are able, if you wish to meet me and set the record straight. The directions below will guide you to my home, several days journey by horseback. Do not tell your mother where you are going, or she will try to stop you. I leave it to you what you will tell her of your trip, as after all these years I'm sure you know her better than I.

I love you, son, and I'm proud of you. I hope to see you in a few days. Bring this letter to gain admittance to my home so my servants will know it is you.

Your loving father,

Adam Henrickson

I read the letter over and over and over again, memorizing its every detail. There was no question, I was going to go meet him. I stood up and went into our small house. I packed some hard cheese and dry biscuits for food, and my only change of clothing. I slid my dagger into my belt and raided my meager savings for traveling money, which I hid in several purses under my clothes. I donned a traveling cloak and went to find my mother.

"Mom, I'm going on a trip. I'll be gone for a few days, or perhaps even several weeks." I tried to keep my voice light and even and not betray my strong emotions to her. She was sitting and knitting as she often did and looked up at me with surprise.

"What? What in the world for? Where are you going?" She asked, sounding worried.

"I'm going to travel, Mom. I want to do something I've never done before and strike out on my own, even if it just is for a few weeks. Don't worry, there's nothing wrong, this is just something I want to do." I hoped I was being vague enough that she wouldn't get suspicious.

She looked at me shrewdly. "This has something to do with that letter you received, doesn't it? May I read it, please?" My grandfather must have already told her about it.

I shook my head. "No, it was a very private letter, I'm sorry."

My mother was domineering and didn't like it when she didn't get her own way. "Son, it has obviously upset you very much and I insist on reading it." If my father's words were true, she probably suspected who it was really from, I realized.

I generally was very weak willed and would capitulate when she became demanding, but I was not going to this time. Nor for that matter was I going to let her continue to try and weasel some information out of me, I didn't trust myself to be smart enough to evade her. I turned and headed for the door, speaking over my shoulder as I left. "No Mom, I told you it is a private letter. I'll return in several weeks, or send you a letter if I'll be gone longer."

I left to the sounds of her protests growing more and more forceful and insistent. "Oh no you don't young man! You get back here right this minute and let me read that letter! Adam! Don't walk away when I'm talking to you! I forbid you to do this! GET BACK HERE!!!"

I walked down the path from our house and she came to the door to berate me more. "Adam, you get back here or so help me I'll tan your hide! How dare you do this! You'll not be welcome back in this house if you leave, do you hear me? Get back here I said! If that letter is from... who I think it is from, I'll never speak to you again!"

I turned for a moment, walking backwards. "Goodbye Mom! I'll be back in a few weeks!"

She let out a roar of frustration and I had the feeling I'd better pick up the pace or she would try and follow me. I began to jog towards the town's livery stables, where I would rent a horse for my journey. I chose a beautiful black mare and began my trip, starting her off at a canter to put some distance between myself and my overprotective mother.

* * *

It was a lovely early fall day that I rode through. The air was crisp but not overly cold. My horse was young and energetic, so I made very good time. I'd rarely been beyond the outskirts of our city, and this felt like a grand adventure. If I were not worrying about the coming encounter with my father, I would have been having a wonderful time.

I slept that night under the stars, munching on my modest food and dreaming about what it would be like to finally meet my father. All my life I'd wondered who he was and why my mother was so angry with him. I'd always thought ill of him because of my mother's harsh words, and this was the first proof I had that she had never told me the truth about him. Sleep was slow in coming as my mind wandered for a long time.

The next day I realized I was being followed, about a mile back along the road. I was surprised at my mother's persistence, and grew more certain she suspected the truth of the matter. I quickened the pace and my shadow kept up with me. Over a hill I turned my horse off the road and hid in the bushes, but my shadow never appeared. However, when I resumed my ride there he was, following me again. He didn't seem worried that I knew of his presence, nor did he care to let me catch him. It made me furious at my mother that she would do this to me. Well, I wasn't going to be dissuaded by this or any other thing, I was going to meet my father.

The rest of the journey was uneventful. My shadow stayed with me, and the weather warmed slightly as I continued south. At long last I rode into the city where my father lived. I found the local blacksmith so I could ask him about the address. A giant, bald bear of a man, he looked up at me and grinned a toothless grin. "I know muscles like that! Yer a fellow 'smith, ain't ya?" He bellowed jovially as I approached.

I nodded and smiled. "Yes, my friend, you are indeed correct. Adam is my name."

He nodded. "Worsh, they call me. Good ta' meet ya, Adam." Suddenly his smile faded and he gazed at me shrewdly. "What ya here for? You ain't thinking of setting up a shop are ya? This town ain't big enough, and I was here first."

Holding up my hands in a sign of peace, I quickly shook my head. "Oh, no sir! I'm traveling through is all. Actually, I'm looking to find and visit my father, who lives in your fair village, and just stopped to see if you could give me directions to where he lives?"

"Be glad 't help! Know everybody within ten miles o' my shop! What's 'is name, an' I'll connect ya to him."

"Adam Henrickson is his name." I said, grinning. I liked him, he seemed a very nice fellow.

As if a light switch had been flipped, his smile was gone. "What in th'... What's yer name, boy?" He growled, suddenly angry.

Shocked and confused, I said "Adam Henrickson... junior, I suppose. I was named after my father. Please sir, I don't mean any harm."

"Don't mean harm? Phah. Is this some kind o' joke yer playin'? Adam Henrickson cain't have no son. If he was yer father, you'd know him and know he cain't be yer pappy."

I was completely confused by his twisted logic, and simply replied with the first thing I could think of. "Well sir, to be honest, my Mother refused to speak of him ever, so I know less than nothing about him. I didn't even know his name before this week. He wrote me a letter and asked to meet me because he is dying."

His eyes were cold as steel as he examined me closely. "I 'spose 'tis true. Ya look jus' li' the man, only younger. You know nothin' about yer paw?"

"No sir, nothing at all. Only what he told me in the letter... my Mother refused to tell me anything."

He rubbed his chin. "Boy, I like ya. I b'lieve ya, in fact. Lemme give ya a bit o' advice worth more'n a pound o' gold. Yer ma has it straight. You don't wanna meet yer father, or know anything about him. You go there, you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

It was such a confusing thing to say. I imagined my father might be a rapist, or a murderer, or any number of horrible things... but I'd come too far to turn back. I had to know the truth, and I was old enough to handle it, no matter what it was that had this man so spooked. "Warsh... Thank you for your concern, but I'm prepared to handle the fact that he may not be a saint. Please, won't you tell me where I can find him? For good or ill, he's my father, and he's dying, and he begged me to meet him before he dies."

There was an odd glint in the blacksmith's eyes. "Dying, eh? First I heard o' that. 'Course, nobody knows much o' nothin' 'bout what happens there. They keep to themselves. Alright son, if ya won't listen to me warning, I'll get ya there. Keep on this road here until about a mile outta town. His is the first giant plantation on yer left, surrounded by a massive, wrought iron fence I built for them."

Bowing, I tried to give him a friendly smile. "Thank you so much! I hope your business treats you well, my friend."

He smiled stiffly, nodded and resumed his work. I headed back to my horse and mounted up, and with increasing nervousness rode towards my destiny. I spurred my horse on, wanting to finally meet the man who'd been so important in my life, yet I'd never even met. His dire warning had me afraid, but more determined than ever.

* * *

The plantation house was huge, with multiple outbuildings, three floors and giant marble columns. It looked fantastically opulent, especially considering how meager my life had always been. I wondered if this could possibly be correct, and yet the house number matched the one on the envelope. Before I entered, I looked back at my shadow, and realized he was turning around and galloping away, probably to report to my mother where I'd gone. I grimly hoped my father would be able to help me deal with that situation, as I doubted my mother would spare any expense in trying to get me away from him.

The gate was open, so I dismounted and led my horse up the long drive, past a striking hedge garden and beautiful statuary. Fountains and immaculately kept gardens made the lawn a paradise the likes of which a poor blacksmith's son had never imagined. Servants were tending the gardens, and behind the house I could see sprawling fields, all dormant as the harvest time was over. The sky was overcast and it looked like there might be rain coming. Even as I thought about it, there was the distant rumble of thunder.

I began to wonder if this could possibly be my father's home, looking at all the fantastic wealth. Perhaps he was a servant of this house instead. I couldn't conceive that he would be this wealthy. As I reached the hitch and tied my horse there, I decided that must certainly be what this was. If he was this rich, why would mother have left him? Why would he not have sent us a little money to help us make ends meet during bad years? All the money we would have needed to keep from going hungry would have been but pocket change for someone with this much wealth.

I walked up the porch steps and almost knocked on the door before I remembered he'd said to bring the letter as proof of who I was. I returned to my saddlebags and fished the well-read letter out and brought it with me. The servants were looking my direction, but none of them were coming up to me, seemingly too busy doing their work to bother with me.

I lifted the heavy brass knocker and struck the door several times. I stood there and tried to keep my breath slow and my trepidation down enough that I wouldn't get sick. After a few moments, the door whisked open on the most beautiful creature I'd ever seen in my life.

She was a medium-brown furred young feline wearing a French Maid's costume that looked sexy as hell. The satin skirt was so short it showed her garter belts, and her white silk stockings were a sharp contrast to her fur and costume. She had on black five-inch heels with bows on the ankle straps. The top of the costume was low cut, showing off her nonexistent cleavage and pretty neckline. The back was low cut too, almost all the way down to her swirling tail before the shiny black cloth started. The sleeves had large puffs at the shoulders, and ended less than half-way to her elbows.

She wore black satin opera-length gloves on her delicate, pretty arms. A satin tiara held her pretty blonde hair out of her eyes, as well as completed the costume. All the hems of all her clothes were edged with frilly white lace and bows that made her extra cute looking.

Her legs were long and ungodly sexy, and her shapely hips and luscious round ass just begged me to touch them. Her tummy was toned and lithely muscled, and her cute little muzzle and pretty large blue eyes drew me into their glistening depths, drowning me in lust. Her pink nose twitched a little and she smiled brightly at me. "Ooo, handsome! Hullo, can I help you sir?" She cooed sweetly and smiled a smile so lovely my legs almost gave out beneath me. Her voice was so deep and husky and sexy, she was a goddess!

I was at a loss for words. I was a simple blacksmith's apprentice, and I had never conceived of such beauty even existing in the world. I just stared at her with my mouth hanging open and a look of dull shock on my face, looking her over from head to toe. What a luscious beauty! I was instantly in love with her with the intensity of a naïve but earnest youth.

She giggled at my slack jawed staring. She wasn't angry or embarrassed, but seem to think my ogling was cute and flattering. "Heehee! Sweetie, did you come just to stare at me or was there some reason for your visit?" She started swaying her hips back and forth, her tail roaming about and flicking, giving me a show.

I vaguely remembered myself, and had enough presence of mind to thrust the letter forward to her delicate little paws, still unable to speak as I stared at her. She took one glance at the letter and squealed in delight. "Adam! It's you! It's really, really you! Oh my God, you're just like how I always dreamed! Oh, master will be overjoyed you came! He didn't know if you would even get our letter or not! It's so very, very wonderful to meet you!" She leapt forward and pressed her warm body against me, hugging me around the neck and giving me several lingering kisses on the cheeks. She smelled of lilacs and honey as I breathed deeply her scent, and gingerly slipped my arms around her pretty waist. I hardly dared to breath I was so in shock at her words and sudden familiarity.

"My name's Ellie, by the way. El works fine to, if you need me for anything, and I do mean anything. Oh, it's so good to finally meet you! Gosh Adam, you're sooo cute!" She purred, her lips so close to mine that they occasionally brushed together. Her eyes were heavy-lidded and she absolutely screamed seduction and lust. A poor boy like me had never had this kind of attention from any female, let alone one as out of this world lovely as she was. She was throwing herself at me! I didn't know how to respond to this, but I wrapped my arms around her waist and hugged her warm body tightly to me. She melted into my embrace with a coo and with a thrill I felt her begin to stroke one of her luscious long legs against my side and hip, pressing the other one into my swelling penis. I groaned at the contact.

"I've dreamed about this day, Adam. I've dreamed about you for half my life. I knew that someday I would meet you, and fall in love with you." She gently purred, moving her body against me. "I've saved myself for you, for this day. Do you have anyone special? A lover?"

I could hear the blood rushing in my ears. She was amazing! She was... throwing herself at me! Who was I that she would dream about me? Who was I that she would save herself for me. "I... don't..." I weakly managed to whisper.

She didn't seem the least bit surprised by that. "You see? You were waiting for me as well, whether you knew it or not. Adam, we were meant for each other. I've known that since you father first spoke of you. He talks of you so proudly, and so often. Each time he talks, I listen, and I know that this is meant to be. I believe in destiny. I believe in fate. I believe in true love, and you are all those things to me."

"I... I... g... g... I..." I blubbered, unable to comprehend what was happening to me. Part of me was frightened by her thick, heavy words, but to be honest, I was so shocked and she was so sexy, right then I bought every bizarre thing she said.

She smiled cutely at my inarticulate blather. "Hold me, Adam. Embrace my body and pull me close." She looked down where my hand was eagerly stroking the leg she'd brought up and hooked on my hip. I looked down at it too, embarrassed but unable to stop, this was so amazing.

"You like my legs? I'm very proud of how long and slender and shapely they are." She cooed. "Wouldn't you like stroking them while they're draped over your shoulders while we make love?" I gulped and nodded, eyes bugging out of my head. I'd never had sex before, and this felt unbelievable.

My hands trailed around her curved back and found her firm, round, luscious ass. She closed her large eyes and nuzzled into my neck. "Ohhhh yes. It feels so good to be touched by you, sweet Adam. My body belongs to you, my darling. Every inch of me is yours to enjoy. Don't be afraid, I give myself to you, oh dream of all dreams. You are my destiny, just as I am yours."

"So beautiful..." I croaked, growing more eager to touch her every second that her warm, sensuous body moved against mine.

Her laugh was musical and entrancing. She jumped up, wrapping her strong, sexy legs around my hips and her arms around my neck. I staggered a bit as I adjusted to holding her weight. I grabbed her under her ass to steady her, but before I could even register what was happening, her tongue was deep in my mouth. I experienced my first kiss with a girl so beautiful I was left dumbfounded.

"I want you Adam. I've wanted you since I was little." She murred, breaking the kiss a moment later. "Do you like me? Do you want me? Please tell me you feel this connection as strongly as I feel it."

I was so horny and aroused by then I would have told her I could fly if she'd asked me to in that tone of voice. "I do..." I whispered, eagerly reaching for her lips again. She did not resist, contentedly swirling her tongue against mine in a deep, loving kiss.

I was in heaven with this little goddess. Another maid appeared from out a door to the left, and stopped dead, seeing us making out so eagerly there in the front door. "Ellie?!? She squawked in incredulous shock. "Who... who is that???"

I reluctantly let her muzzle go, her tongue pulling gently from my mouth. I glanced at the intruder, a red-head canine who, while pretty, couldn't hold a candle to Ellie. The young feline relaxed her legs and slipped them from around me, dropping daintily back to her feet with a click. Never even taking her eyes from me, she purred "This is Adam Henrickson... Junior."

The red-head let out a gasp. "Master's son? Really??" She took in our tender embrace, and the fact that Ellie's hands were stroking up and down my chest while I held her close, our bodies tightly intertwined. "El... you an' he are a couple already?" She whispered.

The warm, soft kitty looked up at me tenderly, her eyes liquid love and intensity. "Are we, Adam?" She purred.

I immediately nodded. "You're the most beautiful girl I've ever met in my life. I'd... I'd give anything to make you mine."

She nodded sagely, even knowingly, like she already had known my answer before I spoke it. "All I want from you is your love and devotion, and I am yours, body and spirit. I love you, Adam. I want to be your life-mate."

She kissed me again, and the other maid scampered off, probably to tell everyone with ears the news. We were left alone with each other again, kissing and stroking each other's bodies in ever more intimate ways. I drew careful fingers up the silky chest of her costume, feeling her firm chest and tight, sexy, muscled upper body. I gave a happy groan.

After a moment of this intimacy with a girl I'd only met a minute before, she tenderly kissed my lips with her glossy black feline ones, then gently but firmly pulled out of my grip. I was reluctant to release her, but I did, and she took my hands in her satin-gloved paws. "We can't be selfish. Your father... is very sick and he desperately wants to meet you. I shouldn't keep you down here when he's up there alone and in pain. Let's go, OK?" This made me remember why I was here and I nodded.

As we walked, I just continued to stare at her. She looked up at me and giggled shyly. "Whacha thinking?"

I worked my jaw but no sound came out. I cleared my throat and was able to speak. "I'm... I'm sorry... I've just never seen anyone as stunning as you in my life." I manage to weakly spout.

"Aww, thanks!" She brightly cooed, beaming at me sweetly as if my bumbling words were the nicest compliment she'd ever been given. "You're the cutest boy I've ever seen, too! Oh Adam, I've dreamed of this day since I was a kitten."

"You... have?"

"Yes I have."

I shivered to see her looking so lovely and smiling at me. I was no good with women, but she made me feel like I was a total stallion when she smiled at me in return for my pitiful compliment. Her large innocent eyes were so cute, and her fur was so soft and pretty, and that costume made her look sexier than I'd ever believed a woman could possibly be.

She lead me to a large set of fancy, carved double wooden doors on the second floor and smiled at me one last time before knocking gently on them. I heard a tired voice from inside speak softly. "Yes, what is it?"

Still smiling up at me, Ellie responded. "Master, your son is here."

There was a moment of silence, then the voice came again, sounding much sharper and more full of life. "What? Riding up the drive?"

"No master, he's standing right here with me." She said, grinning and winking up at me.

I heard a flurry of movement from within the room, and heard him talking to someone. After a minute or two, footsteps approached the doors and they opened upon my father. He was indeed my father, I could tell that much instantly. His hair was gray, but was my same fly-away waves that never seemed to do what I wanted. He had my eyes and ears and even his face looked quite like me. He was wearing a bathrobe and slippers and walked with a cane.

Behind him I could see another perfect little doll of a French-maid leaning back against the large four-poster bed that took up one side of the large master bedroom. Her fur was darker brown and her hair glossy black. I didn't think she looked as pretty as Ellie though, who was the most beautiful girl in the world by far. She looked a bit disheveled, as if she'd dressed quickly, but was otherwise looking at me brightly with a smile on her face.

I took her in in a brief glance then returned my eyes to my father. "Son! Thank you, God!" He cried and we embraced. He was thin and frail, and I could tell he was sick, even though he couldn't be over forty-two years old. He was frighteningly pale, and his eyes were gray with pain. For a while we just hugged. "I wasn't sure if you'd get my letter or if your mother would intercept it. I wasn't sure if you'd believe me and come or not. Oh, how I've longed for this day. I can die a happy man now, to have held my son!" His voice choked off.

I held him at arm's length. "Mother got suspicious and had me followed, but here I am, come hell or high water, to meet my father."

He frowned. "Followed? That is unfortunate. She'll be here as fast as she can be to take you away by whatever means she has. I'll have told you our story by then, so you will be able to choose your path for yourself, though. I'm afraid I can't stand for long anymore, come in and let's sit by the fire and talk."

I nodded, then hesitated and looked down at Ellie, then up at my father, not wanting her to have to leave. He seemed to take it in and understand in an instant. "Ah, you're taken with Ellie, are you? Oh dear. Well, Ellie is quite a sweetheart and so lovely, any young man would fall in love, right? We'll have to discuss it though. For now come in with us then, dear, and have a seat with my son. I hate to say it, but is seems as though you were right."

She glowed happily. "Oh, thank you master! You're very kind!"

He sat heavily down in a large chair before the warm fire, and Ellie took my hand and led me over to the couch across from him, sitting down next to me so that her warm body touched mine all the way down and made me shiver. God, was she a beauty! I'd come for my father, but she was suddenly just as important to me. All her flowery, intense words were bouncing around in my head, making me dizzy and afraid and reckless all at once.

My father looked up at the other maid and softly said, "Loa dear, would you please get us some hot tea? My son looks cold from his long trip."

"Certainly." The other cute little maid purred and stepped daintily out. I heard her high heels clicking on the rich wood floors as she headed off down the hall.

I'd had days to think about this and was ready with my first question. "Dad, what happened? Why is Mom so angry with you that she wouldn't ever let me see you? I didn't even know your name."

He sighed. "That's the heart of the whole matter, and I suppose there's no sense beating around the bush, is there? I met Cynthia, your mother, on a business trip twenty-one years ago. She was the daughter of a village blacksmith, a simple girl from a poor family, but strikingly beautiful and enchanting. I was in love with her from the first moment I saw her. I courted her for months, traveling to and from my home here many times to see her. Her parents were not happy with it, which I could never understand. They seemed to feel that there shouldn't be a melding of classes, and since I was rich and she was poor, they didn't approve of me. Nevertheless, we were in love and I proposed to her, and though they didn't like it, her parents gave their daughter to be my wife."

His eyes grew moist as he remembered. "Ah, it was such a wonderful time. I'd never loved a woman before her or after her, and she was so sweet and kind. She was tough as nails too, and loved to work in the gardens with the servants, or in the fields during harvest time. It was her choice and she enjoyed it very much. I gave her everything she ever wanted, and we were happy. After making love one night she told me she was pregnant. You were on the way, and I was overjoyed beyond words. But I began to feel guilt at that time, and it began to eat away at me more and more."

He was silent and contemplative. I finally prodded him. "Guilt? Over what?"

He shifted his weight uncomfortably. "Son, one thing I want to tell you right now, is that when you find someone you love, be it Ellie or someone else, let them know everything about you. Don't hold any secrets, or they will come back to haunt you. I kept a secret from Cynthia until after we were married, and it tore us apart. I always will be left to wonder, if I had been honest with her from the start, would she have accepted me, accepted my secret?"

I couldn't imagine what could have torn their marriage apart. "What secret did you hide, father?"

He sat back and closed his eyes while thunder rumbled outside. "Let me take you back and tell you the whole story of what happened the day I decided to tell her."

2) ** **Flashback


Adam was eager to get home to his wife. He hated travel more and more, as it meant being away from her. Now that she was pregnant with their first child, (a boy, she confidently told him,) he was actively working to put representatives up in his businesses that could manage his holdings without a need for his constant visits.

As his coach turned up the drive to the house, he stuck his head out the window and called out to the driver, "Sam, drop me off at the front door so I can get in and see Cynthia, OK?"

"Aye sir." Came the reply.

Adam sat back and grinned. Already thinking ahead to swooping his lovely little wife into his arms and smothering her in kisses. Then his smile faded as he thought about his secret. More and more it ate away at him and he wasn't sure at all why. When they'd gotten married, he'd thought it would be no problem to just keep it tucked away and never tell her, but now it seemed to fester in him more and more every day.

Perhaps it was because of how much he loved her, how much he felt she completed him. He hated having a secret, and wished he'd told her about it before they'd gotten married. Every time she looked at him now, it seemed her eyes had accusations in them; accusations at him for keeping a secret from her. He lowered his head in shame. More and more he felt he was simply going to have to tell her for his own sanity. She would understand, wouldn't she? He loved her so much, he was sure it wouldn't get in the way of their marriage.

"'Ere we are, sir!" The driver called out as he reined the horses in. Adam leapt from the coach and hurried up the steps to the front door, not waiting for a servant to open them, he rushed inside. "Cynthia! I'm home, darling!" He cried.

He heard a delighted laugh and his lovely wife ran through the door from the parlor and into his arms. He picked her up as he always did, swirling her over his head as she giggled. As he set her lightly down on her feet, they melted into a warm kiss that lasted several minutes. When he pulled back, he gently rubbed her swelling tummy. "How's Adam junior doing, my sweet?"

She smiled the smile of an overjoyed new mother. "Oh, wonderfully. He keeps me awake all night sometimes playing down there. He's certainly got your energy, my love. I thought you weren't due back for another couple days!"

"I wasn't, but I managed to get everything in order and I finally got a manager I trust to handle the mining operation. No more business trips out there, honey! That's one more we can cross off the list! I'm almost positive now that by the time our son is born, I'll be able to stay here full time with my family. Shall we sit down?"

They walked into the parlor and sat on the sofa together. He lowered his head and rested it gently on his wife's swollen belly. "Hello son." He said softly. "I missed you these last two weeks, and it looks like you've grown up while I was gone."

Cynthia laughed happily and ran her fingers through her husband's head full of wavy and wild hair. "I swear I can feel him getting bigger every day. I just know he's gonna be like his Daddy; perfect in every respect."

Adam felt a crushing guilt again at her words, and sat up quickly. The move was not lost on her, and she looked at him with her large green eyes. "Is something wrong, darling?"

He sighed. He wanted to clear the air, and he needed to tell her about this, to not have this secret holding over him. He wasn't entirely sure why it was bothering him so badly, and he prayed that God would help her understand.

* * *

My father paused his story as there was a loud peel of thunder. It was going to rain, it seemed. He sat there, lost in thought. The other maid arrived with four cups and a tray and served us all tea. "Thank you Loa." Ellie and I chorused. This made Ellie giggle a pretty, sexy little giggle that warmed me up more than the tea ever could.

It was excellent tea, and when Loa offered my father his cup, he took it and squeezed her black gloved paw affectionately in silent thanks. I was struck with the thought that my father was far from lonely with all these beauties living with him in his home, and probably sleeping in his bed as well. I looked down at Ellie and tried to read her, tried to imagine if she slept with him. The thought made me very uneasy about what I was doing, acting so familiar with a complete stranger. She's said she'd saved herself for me, though, right? I was momentarily confused.

She looked up at me and not understanding my thoughts, apparently thought I was staring at her beauty again. She put her arm around my shoulders, and leaned up to give me a peck on the cheek. My doubts evaporated from the touch of this stunning little goddess. I slipped my arm around her as well, and reveled in how soft her fur was.

I turned back to my father, who was still lost in thought. "So you told her your secret then?"

He jumped a little, then sat back and sipped his tea. "Yes. I thought it would be the right thing to do. Will you excuse me for a moment, I need to use the restroom. Loa, can you help me?"

The pretty maid nodded. "Of course, dear." She proffered her hand and helped him rise out of the chair.

"I'll be back in a few minutes, son." He said over his shoulder as he shuffled out with the maid helping him. She'd called him dear. They acted like lovers.

I was alone with Ellie, and I instantly forgot about Loa. I swallowed and looked down at her. She was already staring up at me with a dreamy and highly seductive smile on her face. When our eyes met, she suddenly rotated and daintily placed her legs in my lap. I looked down at them in pure shock, getting a hard-on instantly. Gingerly I reached out and touched her silky stockings, then explored her pretty shoes and feet with my fingers.

I looked down at her, trying to think when I was getting as horny as hell. She lay back in the couch and smiled at me in a way that made it obvious she was encouraging more interaction from me. A lot more. Trembling, I leaned over her and she reached her delicate arms up and pulled me to her, kissing me deeply on the lips. She tasted as good as she smelled, and I swirled my tongue around her sharp feline teeth and rough, spiny feline tongue. I touched my hand to her slender, lithe tummy and felt the shimmering satin material of her maid costume covering a soft, luscious and warm body.

I broke the kiss, and she hugged me tighter, beginning to cover me in soft nips and gentle bath of wet kisses and licks. "Ellie... I... are you this way with everyone?"

I heard my father's voice behind me, sounding bemused. "No, Ellie is never this way, are you my dear? Normally you are the most shy and reserved- and chaste- of all my servants."

I shot back up and to my end of the couch, blushing purple and apologizing for my indiscretion loudly. "I... I'm sorry! I shouldn't be... she's your servant... I have no right to do that... it'll never happen again!" I blubbered, feeling faint I was so embarrassed.

My father laughed and waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, go ahead and don't be afraid. I've never seen Ellie warm up to anyone like that in my life, so I think that speaks well of the fact that you two belong together. Is that right, my dear?"

I looked over at Ellie, and she was beaming and blushing shyly. "I like him very much master; he makes me very happy and content. I'm in love with him already, as I knew I would be."

His eyes twinkled for a moment, then faded into a look of unease that I couldn't fathom. He raised his cane and pointed at me. "Then it seems to me I'll have to give Ellie to you, eh? What do you say Ellie, would you like to be with him?"

She clapped her paws and nodded excitedly. "Oh yes! Oh thank you, master!"

I finally found my voice through this exchange. "Dad! I can't hardly afford to buy food for myself some months! I could never afford to pay for a servant, especially one as... perfect as Ellie is."

"Oh son." He sighed, his smile fading. "I would have helped you with money if your mother would have allowed it. She wouldn't take a single penny from me, for either of your sakes, no matter how badly things were going. I tried many times and many different ways, but she refused it all."

He was silent for a moment, then his smile returned. "At any rate, you are here now and can make your own decisions in life from now on. I intend you to want for nothing ever again, if you'll accept my help. And as for a servant, I think Ellie wants to be with you as your lover, not as your servant. Am I right, my dear?" He seemed to be passing some message to her with his eyes.

I looked at her, still confused and dumbfounded at how easily everyone was taking this. She nodded emphatically and smiled shyly at me, slipping her delicate arms around my neck again and moving close enough that I could smell her sweet breath as she spoke. "Yes master. I want to be his lover." We stared into each other's eyes.

Dad was silent for a moment, still with that uneasy look in his eyes, then sat back down in his chair and broke into our thoughts. "I'm glad for both of you, however, there is still much of my story I want to tell you, and some of it is going to be important to you if you want to be with Ellie."

I looked up at him and felt her lace her fingers through my own, squeezing my hand. I squeezed back and felt her lay her head on my shoulder, which made my heart start to hammer. "I'm sorry Dad, please continue your story."

He frowned and furrowed his brow, thoughtful. "Ellie, I would like to tell my son this next part man to man, father and son. You know the story well yourself already anyway, so can you let me talk to him in private for just a bit? I'll call you back in when we're done."

Her ears drooped and she looked crushed, but nodded. "Yes, of course master. I can understand why, if he really doesn't know. I mean..." Suddenly she froze, then got a horrified look on her lovely face. "... Oh God, do you think he..."

Dad broke in and interrupted her loudly. "No I do not think so, which is why this is important, Ellie."

Her eyes widened even more and she released me, standing up immediately, sounding scared. "Oh dear! I... he doesn't? Will he... Oh God... Why didn't you tell me... I should have guessed it..." As she spoke, her face looked more and more ashen.

Again my father interrupted her. "If it was truly meant to be, then yes. I'll try to help him understand for you, Ellie. I'll do my best, and I think he'll be OK with it, I really do. He's my son, after all."

She nodded, looking miserably at me for a moment, with tears streaking down her face. "I... I really care for you even though we've just met, Adam... I... I hope I won't... lose you..." I stood up and tried to embrace her and comfort her, to tell her she wouldn't lose me, but she backed away and shook her head, then turned and quickly left the room, almost running. I started to go after her, looking angrily at my father, wondering what he'd said that upset her so much.

He caught my arm as I passed his chair and shook his head. "Let Ellie go, son. You'll understand why in a moment. If you really do care, even though you just met, it will not in any way hamper your relationship, but we need there to be no secrets between you, OK?"

I still wanted to chase her down and comfort her, and he said softly, "Trust me son. This is very important for you to hear first."

I slowly returned to the couch, finding it suddenly very cold and lonesome. Why did Loa get to stay and Ellie had been kicked out? Grumpy, I listened as my father resumed his story.

* * *

Adam walked with his wife out into the beautiful hedge garden. Her arm was in his and they glided slowly through the thick greenery until they reached the center of the garden, their special spot. Surrounded by tall hedges, there was a single weeping willow tree growing in the middle. Beneath it was a double swing chair that the two loved to sit in together and swing, looking at the beauty around them.

Cynthia sat down primly and Adam sat next to her, putting his arm around her and trying to calm his racing heart.

"Make it go, sweetie." Cynthia softly asked, resting her head on his shoulder.

Adam propelled the swing into movement with his foot, and after a few moments, his wife broke the silence. "So what is it you needed to tell me?"

Adam swallowed and started in. "My little dove, you know I love you with all my heart. You're the only person on this planet that I love and you know my devotion is undying. You are the only woman for me, the only one I'll ever want, need, or love. I'm so happy here with you, I don't know why exactly this is bothering me now, but I feel I need to tell you about it."

He had her interest now, that was for certain. She was looking up at him, obviously wondering what in the world he was talking about and getting a bit concerned. Looking down at her, he suddenly calmed down. She would understand, and everything would be OK, he could feel it. He was glad he was telling her, clearing the secret out so that their love could grow ever deeper.

He kissed her lips gently. "Ever since I was a boy and began to transition into a man, I've realized I was different. My thoughts were very different from other boys, as were my feelings. Cynthia, until I met you, I thought I would never be normal. I thought I would never have a normal life and a normal family. I want you to know how much you and your love mean to me, my sweet darling."

"Normal, Adam? What are you talking about? I honestly haven't understood a thing you've said yet." She gently soothed. She could tell something was bothering him and was trying her best to put his mind at ease.

He took a deep breath and steeled himself. "Cynthia, until I met you, I was only attracted to other men."

She just sat there, not moving, expressionless. Adam pressed onward, trying to explain his feelings to her. "Oh my dear, everything changed when I first saw you. You were the most ravishing beauty I'd ever seen, and I mean it from the bottom of my heart. You are the only woman who's ever affected me this way, made me feel this way."

"Cynthia, I love you dearly, and I'm so attracted to you, you know that. I would never cheat on you with anyone, man or woman, I swear it to you. I...I don't know why I'm telling you this, why it has become so important to me to let you know about it. I never intended anyone in the world to ever know my secret, but for some reason I feel now like I must tell you because I...love you so much, I don't want to hold any part of myself hidden from you." He fell silent, and watched her nervously.

Many minutes passed. She stared blankly at the hedges and he waited patiently for her to speak first. After a while, she got up and he was afraid she was going to storm away, but she did not. She began to pace around, absentmindedly rubbing her growing belly. He was desperate to know her thoughts, desperate to know that all was well, but he bit his tongue and waited for her.

At last she spoke. "Have you...ever had sex with anyone but me?"

"No, never. We gave each other our virginity on our wedding night."

She stared intently at her husband. "Are you telling me the truth?" She said softly, and he felt hurt that she would doubt him.

"Cynthia, I wouldn't tell you the truth now only to turn around and keep more secrets from you! I swear it is the truth, and you are the only one whom I will ever be with, what's more!"

"Do you...look at our male servants and... desire them?" She asked, her voice chilly.

"No I do not. I don't even notice them, just as I don't even notice other women. My eyes and heart belong only to you. I am so happy with you, and I can hardly wait for our son to be born." He smiled at her, swept away with love for her.

She returned and sat back down beside her husband. "OK."

"OK?"

She nodded. "OK. I trust you."

He beamed at her. "Oh thank you, my love! I...feel as if a great weight has been lifted off my shoulders!" He took her hand and gently played with her wedding ring. He felt better than he had in months.

* * *

Things were mostly OK between Adam and Cynthia for the next several weeks. He would catch her staring at him sometimes, but for the most part their relationship was the same as it always had been. He made love to her and enjoyed it very much, as he always did. She was so sexy, and somehow being pregnant had made her even more so to him.

They were eating breakfast one morning and he'd been noticing she was lost in thought. "A penny for your thoughts, darling." He said, putting his hand on her shoulder.

She looked up at him. "I haven't seen my parents in several months. I'm going to take a trip and visit them before I become too pregnant to travel. Can you come with me?"

He was surprised. "I...I would love to, but I have to take a business trip again in three days, dear, you know that. Can it wait until I return?"

She nodded, a little cool towards him. "I know that. No, I don't want to wait. I'm having the servants pack up my things and I intend to leave this afternoon."

"Is...is everything alright, darling?" He asked, getting worried.

She nodded dismissively. "Oh yes, everything's just fine. It is just that I'm pregnant and it's making me think about family; I suddenly really wanted to see them again last night, so I planned this trip."

Feeling relieved, he smiled. "I understand. Alright, well, you enjoy yourself, and I'll try to return home as quickly as I can. If you are still there I will make haste to join you for a visit. Sound like a good plan?"

She smiled and nodded. They went on with their meal, and a bit after noon he kissed her lovingly goodbye before she mounted up into one of their carriages to begin the trip. "I'll miss you, Cynthia!" He called. She leaned out the window and blew him a kiss and smiled. It was the last time he'd ever see her face to face.

* * *

My father fell silent, looking sad. I waited but he didn't continue. Finally I could be patient no longer. "And? What happened?"

He examined the top of his cane and spoke slowly. "I really don't know, son. I came home from my business trip and found a letter from her. It was in her handwriting and everything, so I know it was indeed from her. She coldly told me she was leaving me and filing for a divorce, and that her son would never even know my name. She forbade me to come see her, told me any letters I sent would be torn up and burned unopened."

"I was horrified beyond words. I ran a horse to death in my mad rush to get to her father's blacksmith shop. When I got there, her father pointed a rifle at me and coldly told me to leave and never return. He refused to tell me what happened, refused to let me speak with her, and when I wouldn't leave, he shot my horse dead to prove he meant business."

I couldn't believe it. I could see my father was crying, the memories were still painful to him. "What...what could have happened? You said she was OK with you, that she trusted you?"

He shook his head sadly. "I did some extensive investigations and learned some things. First, she told her parents about my secret, and they somehow convinced her that I was lying about my only sexual relations being with her. I believe they talked her into believing that my business trips were actually vacations for me to go out and have sex with men. Second, she did everything she could to ruin my reputation. She told everyone I ever knew that I was homosexual, that I had cheated on her, that I had defiled our marriage, and that I even raped some of my own servants. I was hostilely removed from any executive positions at all my companies, and every servant I had quit, to the man, woman and child."

He paused and blew his nose and wiped his eyes before continuing. "I was and am still very wealthy, but I lost all my friends and businesses. My house was an empty tomb, and my happy life was gone forever. Everyone in town knew my secret and I could get no servants to help me for any amount of money. I spent months so depressed I barely moved other than to eat some raw flour and drink water."

"When the papers of divorce came, it was the final exclamation point to end our once happy life. In the package, she sent her wedding ring and everything I'd ever given her. And that was all I ever saw of her again." He looked at me with pleading in his eyes. "Son, I beg you to believe me where she would not. I never had any sexual relations with anyone but her for the years of our marriage, and had never had sex before we were wed. I don't understand why she thought I had, but I swear to you this is the truth." He reached for a tissue again and cried softly.

I sat up. "I believe you, Dad."

He looked up at me in cautious joy. "You do? You truly do?"

"Yes I do." I looked around. "How did you ever manage to get servants then, if everyone knew about you?" A thought hit me. "Oh, since you're gay, you were able to convince some females to come and work for you, since they knew you wouldn't bother them. Am I right?"

He sighed and shook his head. "No, son. That's another story in itself."

3) ** **The Maid


Adam looked at himself in the bathroom mirror. His eyes, once bright green and twinkling with life, now stared dead and gray back at him. He'd lost so much weight he was skin and bones, emaciated and weak. These weeks had led him to one conclusion: He no longer wanted to live. Cynthia had been his life, their unborn child his muse, and their home together all he'd ever wanted. Now the house was an empty tomb, the echoes of laughter long having died in its halls.

He couldn't cry anymore, it seemed. It was all he'd done for weeks, and yet now when the final chapter was written, he could shed no tears. He looked down at the letter from Cynthia clutched in his skeletal hand. It had only four words in it: "We are now divorced." With it was all the paperwork to make it official, she was gone and would never come back to him.

Somehow he'd felt this day would come. He'd written out his will, giving his fortune to several charities, but keeping a small portion divided away in a separate account to be given to his son when he turned twenty-one. He'd put the mansion up for sale, and though there had not yet been a buyer, he had no doubt that the realtor would take care of that for him when he was gone.

He dropped the letter and package of papers carelessly on the bathroom floor and walked slowly through his house for the last time. Everywhere he looked he could see ghosts of himself and Cynthia laughing and loving and enjoying their time together, and even now it caused waves of pain to pour over him. There on the couch was where she'd first told him she was pregnant. They'd cried and laughed and dreamed of their child coming into the world. His big recliner by the fire was their favorite place to cuddle on cold winter nights, his wife snuggled in his lap while they read together in front of the cheery glow of hot coals.

Not wanting to remember any more, he tried to focus his vision on the closet door, his destination. The world seemed to glide past him as if he was floating, and for the first time in weeks he felt at peace. This was going to end it, thank God. He was going to be free from this nightmare, perhaps with a better life to come.

He opened the closet door and pulled out his old but excellently-kept Colt .45 single-action army revolver, then grabbed the box of cartridges off the shelf beside it. He could barely walk as he made his way to the couch and sat down, looking at the end of his life clutched in his trembling fingers. Oh, how he regretted ever even telling her now. It would have been better to let it eat him alive inside than eat him alive on the outside as it was now doing!

He slowly opened the box and pulled out a single .45 long colt cartridge and loaded it into the cylinder. He thought about adding more, but what was the point? A single round would do the deed after all, and then it wouldn't matter to him in the slightest. He dropped the box of cartridges and closed shaking fingers around the cold wooden handle of the old service gun.

He'd thought his tears were unable to fall any more, but now, as he looked at his end there in his hands, he began to shake and sob in heart-wrenching anguish. He was shaking so hard it was difficult to lift the sidearm to his lips. He cocked the hammer and closed his eyes. "Goodbye Cynthia." He whispered.

There was a gentle but unmistakable knock on the front door. Adam wanted to just pull the trigger, but he was kindhearted and didn't want whoever it was to have to find this mess. He carefully set the gun down and shuffled over to the door. He ran his fingers through his long, wild and unkempt hair, trying to smooth it down, and then flung the door open on his intruder.

He'd taken a moment to answer the door, and the little feline who stood there had turned around to look at the beautiful but untended gardens of the once great manor house. At the sound of the door being thrown wide, he whirled around and looked up at Adam, his blue eyes wide and sparkling with life. "M...master Henrickson?" He squeaked, sounding nervous and afraid, as well as alarmed at Adam's appearance.

"Yes. Whadizzit." Adam croaked flatly, wanting nothing more than to be rid of this irritant.

"My name's Loran!" He gushed, then paused. Adam looked him over. He had lovely chestnut brown fur and long glossy curls of black hair shimmering down around his shoulders. He wore a simple pair of dirty slacks and a white tanktop, and looked bedraggled and hungry himself. He was probably a vagabond.

After pausing to look each other over, Loran spoke again. "I used to work for the steel foundry you owned back before...before those awful rumors started up. When you were ousted for your sexual preference, things turned really bad there. Suddenly everyone was strongly and violently full of hate, and I found my life to be in constant danger. Several workers targeted me, and I was getting beaten up more and more severely on an almost weekly basis."

Adam shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I was removed from the company. I would help you if I could, but I don't have any say there anymore. Is that what you're here to ask me about?"

"No, nonono." Loran shook his head emphatically. "I came here because I heard that you needed servants and couldn't get any. I'm hoping I can get a job working for you as a maid and cook and helper and whatever else you might need in a place this big."

Adam stared at the little male. He was ferociously cute and sexy, with such shiny fur and hair and such lovely curves on his body. Adam felt a stirring of feelings he'd hidden deep down inside for many years when he looked at this little feline; he felt burning desire. It was the first emotion he'd felt other than sorrow for weeks, and he grabbed onto it like a dying man grabs onto a plank of wood floating in the ocean.

Still, Adam felt cautious. "Don't you know the other rumors going around? That I raped my servants? Why should you want to come work for me?"

Loran shook his head. "Oh, I know that isn't true. You aren't a rapist."

"What makes you so sure?"

Loran blushed a little and eyed him. "Well, I met you once when you were touring our factory, though I'm sure you don't remember it. I...was rather smitten with you and kind of followed you around every time you'd come back from then on. I know you and your smell well enough to know that you'd never do something like that."

Adam just stood there, weakly taking in the stunning little beauty. "Really?" He said in a small voice. "You...you believe in me?"

Loran nodded, looking very graven. "Yessir. I know that it isn't true."

Adam felt a wave of gratitude so strong that it almost made him fall over. "Loran, I desperately need help. Please, yes I would like you here very much...I...haven't eaten or bathed or anything in weeks." He managed with a trembling voice.

The little feline gave a happy cry and hugged his new employer tightly around the neck. Adam didn't know how to respond to this, but it awoke in him even stronger desires. "Oh master, thank you! I finally ran away from the steelworks, and I've been homeless since then. I just KNEW coming here would be the right thing to do!"

Loran pulled back and beamed at him. "Don't worry master, I'm here now and I'm gonna take very, very, very good care of you, I promise! Let's get started, shall we?"

He slipped his glossy brown arm into Adam's larger human one and led the dying man back into his own house as if he were a nurse helping a patient to a hospital bed. He saw the revolver lying on the couch, the box of cartridges fallen to the floor spilling rounds everywhere, and gasped. "Oh my God. Did I just get here in time?" He whimpered.

Adam suddenly had no desire to kill himself anymore, nor did he ever intend to keep secrets from anyone ever again. "Yes Loran, you did. If you had waited even another two seconds to knock, you'd have been too late."

The little feline looked up at him with large and frightened eyes. "Master, please promise me that you won't attempt to do that anymore while I'm here, OK? Promise me you'll let me help you? I'm all alone in this world too, but if we stick together, then we won't have to be lonely anymore, right?"

Adam looked down at the little male and nodded, swallowing hard. "I promise, Loran. Somehow, seeing you has taken all thoughts of suicide away from me."

"Will you let me care for you and help you, master? Will you let me nurse you back to health?" Loran said softly, looking so earnest.

"I...know I look like a complete mess, don't I? Yes, you nurse me and I'll do as you ask."

The little feline looked ecstatic by this news. "Then let's get started! First things first, you need a bath, a shave, a haircut, a manicure, and all of that. Where's the master bedroom and bath?"

Adam walked arm in arm with his new little servant, taking him up to his bedroom. He stood in the middle of the room as Loran scampered every which way at once, finding his clothes and then starting to draw a hot bath. "Now you just don't worry about anything and do as I say, and I'll get you feeling a hundred times better in no time at all, 'K? Let's get these filthy clothes off of you and you can jump right in. I've got the water nice and warm."

Adam's clothes were whisked off his body quickly, and he was too stunned to protest. Soft furry paws gently helped him into the tub and into the wonderful, relaxing hot water. He looked up to thank the young cat, but he was already out the door disposing of the dirty clothes. He called over his shoulder. "You just rest and relax for a moment. I'm gonna get rid of these and get my uniform on and maybe see about getting you some food. You look like you haven't eaten in weeks, so that's a top priority. Just relax and let the tension flow out, alright? I'm here now, and everything's going to be OK from now on. You aren't alone anymore Adam, so don't be afraid. I'm here for you to lean on, to rely on, to cry on, anything you want or need."

"Thanks" was all Adam could weakly manage to say. Loran's words were unbelievably comforting. He'd not slept for days and he felt so at peace all of a sudden that he passed out almost instantly, sleeping for how long he was not sure. He was awakened some time later by a click-clack sound that he couldn't immediately identify. Then Loran walked into the room and Adam sat partway up in the tub, startled. The little feline had put on a skimpy French-maid costume, fishnets and heels. He'd combed his hair till it shined even more, and looked for all the world like a female. Only his flat chest gave away that he was anything other than what he appeared to be; an ungodly sexy little beauty in a satin costume that left little to the imagination.

The skirt was so short he'd catch glimpses of a pair of white silk panties, and the garters holding up the black fishnets were almost completely exposed. His legs were long and luscious, and he had very beautiful hips. Adam was instantly aroused. "Loran, what in the world?" He said in total shock.

Loran glanced at him shyly, and he saw the young feline's eyes trail down and note his arousal approvingly. "I've always loved wearing girly clothes, but I've always just done it at home. This is the first time I've ever worn them in front of somebody. Do you think I look good?"

Adam spluttered a little, then was silent. Finally, he softly said, "You look incredibly sexy."

Loran beamed happily at him. "Awesome! You know, I had a feeling you were like me when I met you several years ago. It's so nice to be able to be myself around someone who understands me... You know I didn't meet a single other person like us ever when I was in Massachusetts? If there were any, they sure hide well."

He grabbed the soap and briskly said, "Alrighty then. Time to clean you up. I've got some hearty soup simmering downstairs for when we're done, so I'm sure that will taste very good to you."

Adam found the strong but gentle paws scrubbing his body suddenly to be both confusing and relaxing. Knowing that the male doing it was a lover of men and a cross dresser was a strange feeling. He'd never let on to anyone other than Cynthia his deep down feelings for men, and now here was one touching him with a sexy familiarity that Adam had never experienced before.

Loran washed every inch of him until he was squeaky clean, even lathering up his asshole and penis, though not with any great sensuality. Adam still got a hard-on from it though, which Loran didn't comment on. After the bath, the young male lathered his face up with shaving cream and gave him a shave. Adam wondered how a furkind would know how to use a razor, but he did an excellent job and his unkempt beard was removed, leaving his face smooth as silk.

He was briskly rubbed down in a flurry of towels, then pulled by the hand into the bedroom where the young male had laid out some cloth and a chair. "Sit." was all he said and Adam complied. He walked over to Cynthia's old make-up table and grabbed something lying there. When he turned around, Adam saw it was scissors and a comb.

Only a feline with such grace and animal balance and accuracy could possibly have given a haircut that fast. Within five minutes, Adam looked like a well-kept gentleman again as Loran fussed over styling his hair. "My hair never does what you want it to do." Adam offered apologetically.

"Hmmm. I see that. No matter, I think it looks very sexy as it is." He smiled warmly and Adam blushed, pleased. The little male was cheering him up so much he could scarcely believe it.

Loran brushed all the loose hair off, then stood Adam up and had him step over the piles of hair to the bed where he'd laid out a suit. Adam insisted he could dress himself, so the little feline instead cleaned up the hair with a broom, folding up the cloth to take outside to beat and clean the last bits off.

Feeling alive for the first time in months, Adam looked at himself in the mirror. He looked infinitely better than he had a few hours ago, and there was even some of the old twinkle creeping back into his eyes. Loran bustled up and whisked him away to the kitchen, sitting him down at the table there and plopping a steaming hot bowl of hearty beef soup down in front of him. Suddenly Adam was famished and felt as if he hadn't eaten in years. He had packed away two bowls of soup before he remembered his manners and asked his new friend to join him.

"Oh, thank you master, I wasn't sure if you'd want me to or not since I'm a servant, after all." Loran said, ladling himself up some soup.

Adam dropped his spoon with a clatter and caught the other male's paw. He looked into his eyes and said earnestly, "Loran...I'll pay you whatever you want to be paid, and I'll give you whatever you want to be given, but right now you're the only friend I've got in the world, and you are in no way my servant, alright? You saved my life today, and that's a debt I'll never be able to repay."

Loran had looked surprised and worried when Adam had dropped his spoon, but as the human spoke he got a bigger and bigger smile on his face, glowing with happiness. "Thank you, Adam. As far as payment, just being here with you is all I need if you'll feed and clothe me and give me shelter."

Adam shook his head. "Loran, all I have is yours from now until eternity. This isn't my house, it's our house." He choked up and couldn't speak anymore. He knew how close he'd been to death, and he knew how he'd been rescued. He owed this little cutie his life and more, and he was determined to repay that debt. He began to cry again, and Loran swooped around the table and into his arms, hugging him tightly.

"Everything is OK now, Adam. You'll see. We're together now, just you and me against the world. We'll fight it together from now on, you hear me? You'll never have to be alone again, I promise." He rocked the larger human gently in his arms as he spoke, calming him down. The two sat down to eat and Adam wolfed more food down as fast as he could stuff it in. Loran ate more daintily, but was very pleased that his cooking was appreciated.

At last when he could eat no more, Adam stood up and tried to help clean the kitchen but was shooed away to sit and rest. After things were cleaned up, he took his new friend on a stroll through the house and gardens, giving him a tour of it all. About half way through, the cat put his arm through Adam's again during an incidental sighting of a cardinal, then left it there for the rest of their walk. Adam was feeling buttery in his stomach from the contact. After so long feeling only bitter loneliness and sorrow, the sensation of physical attraction was addictively wonderful to feel.

After the tour, Adam sat down on the couch and Loran sat down next to him, crossing his legs prettily and swirling his toes around through the air. Adam had meant to ask questions of the younger male, but now sitting here he suddenly was dumbfounded. In the end, Loran spoke first. "So, what really happened between you and your wife?"

Adam did not want to talk about it at first, but he began and soon could not stop. He cried as he told everything, how she'd suddenly turned cold and left him, his anguish and confusion as to the reason why. The young feline moved close and hugged him gently around the neck while he spoke, and when he'd finished his sad story, even though he was crying, for the first time in a long time he didn't feel hopeless. In fact, suddenly there was a huge weight lifting off his chest. He hugged back tightly.

"She was a fool, Adam. She didn't trust you even after being married for years. For her to have such a lack of trust in you, it makes me think that there was something she was hiding from you as well, some infidelity that made her think you would do the same thing to her."

"I...I hadn't really thought about that. You could be right, I suppose... It was odd. I hate to think ill of her because I loved her so much, but there is perhaps no better explanation for now."

"Anyway, I believe you, and that's all that matters now. I knew the rumors of you raping your servants were lies, I can tell you that much. Doesn't surprise me they were started by someone holding a huge grudge against you." Loran absentmindedly rubbed his friend's neck in a gentle massage.

Telling Loran this, knowing he was openly homosexual, knowing he was unafraid and uninhibited to wear sexy clothing and walk and talk in such a way, it was making Adam incredibly horny. Then there was the fact that he'd just spilled his guts to the young male, which made him feel as if he was already very intimate with him. He felt surges of emotions and affections he was unsure how to direct. He wanted to swoop the other male into his arms and kiss him and hold him and make love to him, but he was afraid that he was getting the wrong signal from Loran and that he would hurt the feline and make him angry with him for trying to molest him.

Paralyzed with indecision and not wanting to ruin the relationship with the only friend he had left in the world, he weakly said, "Loran, you're very beautiful, princess."

The smaller feminine male looked up at him for a second, then smiled. "You know what I think? I think she was a major bitch, throwing away a beauty like you. If I had you for myself there's no way in hell I'd ever EVER let you go. You smell and feel so sweet, Adam, you're my dream boyfriend."

Adam's heart jumped in his chest, but he still felt he had to be sure. He would go back to the revolver if Loran left, he knew that much. He needed him to stay more than he needed him in bed. "L...Loran, forgive me if I'm misinterpreting something here because I'm lonely but..."

Before he could finish, the feline put his finger to Adam's lips, silencing him with a gentle, "shhhh...you aren't misinterpreting anything, my love." His smile was tender, but also lusty.

Then just like that they were kissing deeply. Adam yanked the pretty male into his lap and swirled his tongue deep into the sweet muzzle of his new friend and soon-to-be lover. He reveled in the spicy and sweet taste as he drew hungry and trembling fingers over soft satin and silky fur, hearing Loran groan and gasp happily at the contact. He was exploring every inch of the cat's body at once as he tried to dive into his mouth he was reaching so deeply in.

Loran gently broke the kiss and whispered, "Come on, let's go up to your bed for this, I felt it and it is so nice and soft. Anyway, it's evening so by the time we finish we'll probably want to go to bed anyway, right?"

Adam tried to pick up the little sexy male and carry him to his bedroom, but he was too emaciated to manage it. "Oof. I'm sorry, I'm still too weak from months of poor food. I promise I'll be able to carry you when I'm doing better, lover." He mumbled embarrassed at his weakness.

Loran smiled. "I understand completely. Don't be embarrassed with me, Adam, you never have to be embarrassed when I'm around, I promise."

They walked up to Adam's room and for a brief moment he could see ghosts of himself and his wife passionately making love in any one of dozens of different positions, trying different ways to pleasure each other. Then the image was gone as Loran slipped out of his little uniform and languidly lounged down on the bed, letting his erect penis pour out of his tiny, skimpy panties. "Just gonna stand there staring and touching yourself?" He purred softly.

Adam looked down and realized he was indeed stroking his penis as it struggled to escape from his pants. He suddenly was in a hurry to release it and started shrugging out of his clothes as quickly as he could while the other male looked on with unbridled lust. "So this is your first time being with another male?" Loran asked.

"Yeah, but don't worry, I know what to do."

"Got some lube?"

"Oh, oh yes I do." He walked over to his former wife's vanity and grabbed a clear glass bottle with a colorless gel in it. Dropping his pants, he finished with his underwear and stood naked before the other male.

"Mmm. You look even more delicious out of the water than you did in it, baby!" he groaned in lust, fingering his penis and looking lecherously at the human.

Adam stepped forward and scooped the feline into his arms and pushed him over in the bed, laying down on top of him and grinding his penis into the other males', feeling the intense sensation of their two dicks rubbing and sliding over each other. They kissed and panted and writhed about together, getting hot and sweaty in their heated lust for each other. This was marvelous sex and they hadn't even started yet.

Whispering sweet nothings to each other and giggling, the two paused so that he could slather some lube on his dick, then he flipped the smaller male onto his side and lay down behind him, spooning their bodies together. He drew his hands up and down the feline's sexy body, moaning in delight at the soft fur and sensuous silky feel of his curves.

"My God" Adam spoke in hushed awe, "I've never seen beauty like yours. Oh Loran, I'm smitten with you completely."

Loran's voice was just as hushed as he spoke over his shoulder to his lover. "Then take me, Adam. I've had a crush on you since I saw you at the factory. I want to love and comfort you in your time of need, to be there for you and fulfill your desires. Oh my sweet, I will never leave you like she did, I swear it. Open your heart to me and I will fill it with more love than you could ever have believed. I will make you forget your loss, I promise. I can do things for you and to you that you could never have dreamed possible."

Adam's face flushed and he felt a pang of guilt at the mention of his former wife. He remembered his promise to her, but he felt he was no longer bound by that as she had forsaken him. Loran's words were the sweetest honey of seduction Adam had ever heard and his body and mind burned with desire for the sexy little feline.

"Lift your tail for me then, Loran. I'm ready and willing to make you my mate. You've saved my life and made me feel whole again... and... I feel... happy." His words trailed off as he felt the young beauty draw his tail up, rubbing the entire length of it along his penis until it was up and curled over his shoulder.

Loran lifted his leg up high and reached back, pulling his ass wide apart in a sultry invitation to his new partner. Adam slid the head of his dick along the younger male's crack, then began to push at his anus. Harder and harder he pushed until in a glorious moment the muscles gave way and he slipped inside the silky, tight haven of the little male's ass. His feline body temperature was higher than a human's would be, and it made his anus feel incredibly hot and steamy. The small male moaned loudly.

Adam had never acted out his fantasies or desires for other men before, this was the first time he was experimenting and fulfilling desires he'd carried suppressed since he was a boy. Just looking down and seeing that sexy male ass filled with his throbbing cock was maddening and incredibly erotic. He felt completed in a way he'd never felt before being here like this. He hugged the other male tightly, pressing every inch of his body against every inch of Loran's, spooning him as completely as possible.

Carefully pushing slowly in and out, he marveled at the heat and softness of the feline's bowels. He felt like warm, wet silk sliding over every inch of his hungry shaft. "Oh my God, Loran, this is incredible! You are so tight and slippery inside! Does this feel good to you?" He moaned as he stroked and hugged his lover.

Loran was panting happily. He propped himself up on his elbow and looked over his shoulder to see his human lover slowly sliding in and out of his tight body. "Oh, it feels wonderful, Adam. You fit me like a glove, and every thrust gives me shivers of pleasure. I love having sex with you! Fuck me, my mate!"

Emboldened and in ecstasy, Adam began to slowly increase the speed of his fucking, feeling the warmth of their bodies sliding back and forth from the intimate contact. He was in heaven between Loran's luscious ass cheeks, fulfilled in a way he never could have understood before this moment. The feline was meowling and gurgling in complete rapture as he felt the human's large penis assaulting his tight and heated rectum. Adam began to fuck him faster, hammering it home with increased force and excitement. The faster and harder he was fucking, the better it kept feeling and the louder him mate's cries of ecstasy became.

They grunted and groaned and panted in delight as they fucked, getting more used to each other and more relaxed all the time. Loran was begging for more sluttily, and though he was weak, Adam did his best to obey the requests.

He found himself staring in rapt attention at the other male's pretty face. Loran's eyes were squeezed shut, his mouth wide open and drooling. His head was thrown back and to the side, his glossy black hair cascading into his face. Adam was holding his hips to steady himself, but now he reached up and gently brushed the silky curls out of his lover's face so he could see his beauty unhindered. He was absolutely perfect.

He drew his fingers up and down the sides and hips of his new mate. Loran's body was firm, tight and yet marvelously soft, and he looked unbelievably luscious holding his leg high in the air to allow Adam easy access to his tight ass. His sphincter was stretched wide open, slurping over the contours of his lover's throbbing cock. "Oh! Oh! Oh fuck me Adam! Oh it feels so good! Oh! Ah! Yeah! My ass feels so good with you buried in it! Fuck my ass and jizz inside of me!

"Oh God, Loran! I've needed this all my life and didn't even know it. Oh my sweet, you are welcome to stay in my bed for the rest of our lives! G....God...L...L...LO....AAAAA!" Adam felt his orgasm coming on, but was powerless to prevent it, powerless to interrupt his frantic pounding of his mate's sexy rump. It was the most powerful pleasure he'd ever experienced as his passion exploded into Loran's tight ass.

"Oh God! Oh Adam, I can feel it blasting into me! Oh, fill me with your seed, my love! I can feel every streamer you pulse into my guts! I'm cumming tooooOO!" Loran howled.

Adam had the hardest, longest-lasting orgasm he'd ever had in his life that evening, clinging to his new lover for dear life. Loran exploded as well, spraying his feline seed all over the bed as he took another man's load up his ass. "Fuck yes, Loran! Take my God-damned cream right up your cute little ass, baby! Oh yeah! This feels amazing!"

The two screamed in delight and ecstasy, bonded so close then it was like they'd known each other all their lives. Loran's body writhed in passion at the incredible feeling of anal stimulation. His fur stood on end and he delighted in being fucked.

As their orgasms subsided, they were left panting and trembling, Adam still clinging to his lover's chest. Loran softly cooed, "Oh Adam, that was so good. Oh my love, thank you. I promise I'll make it worthwhile for you every day of the rest of our lives. Thank you for letting me into your heart and into your bed." He panted for a few moments then added, "What did you call me when you came? Loa?"

Adam still had his eyes closed, nestling softly into Loran's back. He managed a trebling, "I did? I probably meant to say 'Loran' and I just couldn't pronounce it in the throes of passion."

Loran gently pulled his mate's softening cock out of his ass, then turned around and embraced him. "I like that name! I've never picked a female name for myself when I'm trying to pass as one, but I think my new mate just found one for me. Loa!"

Adam wiped away tears of joy and grinned, blinking up at his pretty feline face. "Well, pleased to meet you, Loa. Please stay with me forever!"

The two laughed and embraced, then gently explored each other's bodies with eager fingers. For many minutes the only sound was their breathing, soft gasps and gentle laughter as they became intimately familiar with each other.

Loa kissed Adam's nose, then asked, "This was really sudden. I hope I didn't push you too far too fast when you were in the midst of grieving, did I? I sure didn't mean to, but we were driving each other crazy."

Adam shook his head. "I've been grieving for months, Loa. I wanted to die for over a week now. It had gone way beyond grieving and into unhealthy depression. I needed you so badly to come and help me, I can't explain it. You were and are my last chance at life, my pretty. Oh Loa, God above sent you to rescue me, and I owe Him a debt I can never repay."

Loa smiled. "You've filled the void in my heart too, Adam. Thank you for accepting me."

They drifted off to sleep completely intertwined in each other's bodies, full and content.

4) ** **A Frightening Revelation


** ** My father sat back in his chair, finishing this chapter of his tale. "Loa and I lived and loved and never looked back from that day on. He was and still is so sweet, he managed to worm his way into the hearts of some of the townsfolk, enough that we could buy and sell and survive while we tried to get the mansion put back together. I still don't know how he does that, but no matter how bigoted someone is, he manages to make them like him. He's so sweet and kind and thoughtful... He's so precious to me..." He looked lost in sweet memories as he said this. Loa looked embarrassed at the high praise.

"He worked hard alongside me, then loved hard beneath me and above me at night. We weren't sure how we could ever get the plantation running again without servants, but things were happening all over the country that we weren't aware of."

"Word somehow got out that I would hire like-minded males and give them work and a safe and happy place to live. I'm still not sure how this happened, and Loa denies having anything to do with it. Apparently Loa and I became a sort of 'true life' fairy tale that was told to each-other by repressed men. Those who believed the story enough to seek us out and learn if it was true were indeed rewarded by a safe and loving community happy to welcome them in."

My father smiled warmly. "They came from all over the country, and I've given them all work here. My plantation has grown and become wealthy with their help. We share the profits from it equally, and I build them homes and provide anything they need for as long as they choose to live here. Some leave after a while, but many have stayed." He fell silent again.

Suddenly, with shock that made my hair stand on end, I realized the full brunt of what he was saying, as it related to me. "Oh dear God in heaven...then you mean all your servants are...are male? Then Ellie is..."

He nodded gently. "Yes. His name is actually Elliot. He and the other maids in my house are all transvestite males, which means they prefer to wear women's clothing and pose as females in their everyday life, just like Loa does. Ellie escaped from a terrible home, and suffered spectacularly before he came here, which is why I was very surprised to see him latch on to you immediately. I think he's healed enough from the hurt of his past that he can love again, and has fallen in love with you. Felines pick mates very quickly and are very passionate towards them when they do, as I can attest. He has picked you to be his mate, I can tell."

My head swam. "No. God, no."

Watching me very closely with a sympathetic look on his face, my father softly replied, "I'm afraid it is true that he isn't the gender you thought he was, but it is also true that he loves you already and has dreamed of meeting you for years. He can make you very, very happy."

"But Dad, I'm not like that...I could never do that. I'm sorry, but he'll have to find someone else." I felt crushing sickness engulf me. I had fallen in love with her, only to find out...she was a he? It was crazy, and didn't seem like it could be true.

He looked at me shrewdly. "Are you sure that is so, that you shouldn't take some time to think it over? You are my son, after all. You were enamored with him when you thought he was a female, I could tell by the way you looked at him. He's a luscious little beauty, whatever his gender is, he is passionate and a deeply emotional, delicate creature. I say again, he would be loving and devoted to you for the rest of his life, and will gladly give you amazing pleasure that you can't even fathom, whenever you desire it."

Leaning forward, he emphasized his words. "Are you sure that you could not love him, despite what he carries between his legs? Are you sure that it even matters? You can love just as deeply, care just as strongly for each other as any male and female on the planet ever could."

I shook my head, "But I couldn't have sex with another male...it's impossible."

He laughed. "No it isn't son, and in fact it is not only possible but every bit as pleasurable as having sex with a woman, and in my opinion, much more so. I've had to make my peace with the memory of your mother and my promise to her, and I felt absolved from it when she divorced me. I took Loa as my mate and have never once regretted it, and the sex was always fantastic all these years."

Loa was blushing visibly. "Dear, that's a little bit too personal to be talking about so freely."

My father smiled to him gently. "Normally yes, but this is very important for both my son and for little Ellie. I think candor is the wiser choice here."

Reluctantly, the beautiful male nodded. "I suppose you are right, dear. Adam, believe us when we tell you that it doesn't matter at all if you truly love each other. Your gender is really not important."

I shook my head but was unable to speak, unable to form thoughts. My feelings were crushed, but my father and his lover's words were intoxicatingly persuasive. "I...don't want to, Dad." I managed, without much conviction.

He nodded sadly, and Loa made a little sad sound. "It is your choice. But I would like to tell you a bit of his story as well, so you can maybe understand him a little better."

5) ** **A New Arrival


** ** Loa was tending the garden and showing several new arrivals around the place when he caught sight of a tiny bedraggled figure peeking in the gate of the plantation. He recognized what looked like a small feline boy. He sent the new furs on with one of the others and casually tended a rose bush while he observed the little figure. The boy was just standing there, hiding around the corner of the brick fence and peeking through at the hustle and bustle around the property. They had over forty people working together and profiting together now, and it seemed like every month a new one would show up. Alone and needy, they were cast off by the world because of their sexual orientation.

The boy looked afraid, hiding in the shadows, so Loa decided not to go over and try to talk to him just yet. He caught a whiff of baking apple pies from the kitchen, and it made his stomach rumble a bit in anticipation of the evening meal. As he watched, the little boy caught a sniff of the pies too, and the tiny figure was suddenly pressed up against the gate, sniffing longingly at the delicious smells wafting over the lawn.

Loa could see him clearly now, and was horrified. He looked like he couldn't be more than a day or two from absolute starvation. He was so skinny he was nothing left but skin stretched over bones. His light brown fur was matted and large clumps of it was missing. His blond hair was a tangled mass of burrs and filth that looked like it would never be clean again. He looked more like a corpse than a child.

Afraid or not, Loa couldn't leave the starving child there a moment longer. He walked towards the gate, lowering his head and squinting his eyes in the feline way of showing submissive and friendly intentions. So intent was the sickly little child on the smells coming from the kitchen that he didn't even notice Loa's approach until his high heels clicked on the surface of the cobblestone path only a few feet from him. He let out a frightened yowl and stumbled over backwards, falling on his butt and looking up at Loa with terror in his eyes.

"Shhhh...Oh deary, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to frighten you. I just came out to ask you if you'd like something to eat." Loa smiled gently at the frightened child. He didn't respond, but some of the fear left his eyes and he instead stared at Loa in something of a look of wonder.

He decided to try again. "You would be welcome to come in and eat with us, dinner is almost ready as you can smell. We're having ham and potatoes and green beans and rolls and fruit and apple pie, and there will be plenty to share with you if you'd like. All you could possibly eat, in fact! Would you like that?" He could tell the little boy's mouth had started watering at the description of food, and he stared up at Loa with longing in his big blue eyes.

Again Loa tried to calm and help the little boy. "We have lots of orphans living here, honey. In fact, I'm one myself. The master of the house is very kind and takes in anyone who needs food and a place to sleep, and he would protect you like you were his own son." That didn't have the desired effect, as the boy whimpered and backed away.

Not sure what he'd said that was upsetting, but frantic to try and help the skittish child, he continued to soothingly talk to him. "Or if you'd rather just eat and leave, that would be fine honey. You don't have to do anything that you don't want to, I promise. We are all free to come and go here, and it would be the same for you. What do you say, would you like some ham and apple pie?"

Still nothing. The dinner bell rang, echoing over the yard, and Loa looked over his shoulder to see everyone drop what they were doing and eagerly head for the dining hall, ready to partake in the mouthwatering food they'd all been smelling. He turned back to the homeless boy. "That was the dinner bell, we're all going in to eat. I'll tell you what, I'll open the gate here, and if you'd like to come in, you can just follow me and we'll go right into the kitchen and get you as much food as you can eat. You don't have to meet anyone else but me and the cook, and then you can decide if you'd like to leave or stay after that. OK? Does that sound good?" Loa advanced on the gate and swung it open, but the boy cowered away from him and looked like he was about to run.

"I'm just going to go into the kitchen honey, you can follow if you like. It will be OK, I promise." He turned and walked slowly towards the side door of the mansion that led into the kitchen area. He surreptitiously kept an eye over his shoulder and sure enough, the little boy crept along behind him, about twenty feet back. Satisfied he was coming, Loa led him to the side door of the mansion before turning and smiling warmly at him. "Come in, sweetie! We'll get you all the food your tummy can take!"

The boy retreated and hid behind a lamp post. Feeling more and more sorry for him, Loa quickly modified his plan. "Well, why don't you just stay here and I'll go in and get you some food, OK? Just wait a moment and I'll be right back."

He went into the kitchen and grabbed a plate, quickly cutting slabs of steaming hot ham, carving out spoonfuls of potatoes and green beans, and generally grabbing as much of everything there was that he could stuff on the plate. Gregor, the masculine and tall buck that had become the head cook saw him. "What are you doin' Loa? I worked so hard to get the presentation perfect and you're ruining it all! Can't you wait for a couple more minutes for dinner to be served?"

Without looking up, Loa continued his frantic collection of food. "Gregor, there's a little boy outside. He looks like he'll die within a day if he doesn't get food. He's so starved and sickly it's horrible. I'm getting him some food."

"What?" Gregor gasped. He was big and acted tough, but he was very kind and as gentle as a mouse in reality. He started for the kitchen door to investigate.

"No! Gregor, he won't speak and he won't get within twenty feet of me. Don't go out there and risk frightening him off. I could barely get him to come up this close, and I'm afraid he'll bolt if he gets overwhelmed by too many people. You can see him from the kitchen window, he's hiding behind the lamp post there on the walk.

The buck strode over to the window and looked outside. A moment later Loa heard him mutter, "Oh dear God help him! That poor little child!"

Loa had as much food as two plates could carry and was balancing a giant glass of apple juice besides. He headed quickly for the door. "Gregor, keep everyone from coming outside, OK? Keep them in here. Tell my Adam about this, but tell him not to come outside either, alright? I'm scared for this poor little thing."

"You got it, Babe." Gregor said, striding for the dining hall.

Loa stepped back outside and slowly approached the little boy. "Here we go, honey! I've got tons of food here, and if you are still hungry when you finish these, I'll get you more, and more until your tummy is stuffed full!"

The little kitten's eyes were bulging out of his head as he stared at the massive plates brimming with hot food, drooling all over himself. Even then, when Loa got within about ten feet, he began to back away. Sensing this was as close as he was going to get for now, Loa stopped and gently set the plates down on the path. He then stood up and retreated back. When he got about ten feet away the boy dove for the plates and buried his face in the food, too desperate to eat to even use his hands, instead gulping up food as fast as he could gobble it into his little muzzle.

Loa waited patiently while the boy ate every last morsel of food, even gobbling up bits that had fallen on the stone path. When he'd licked both plates clean, he skittered away, looking fearful again. Loa stood up and walked slowly towards the plates. "Would you like me to get you some more, honey?" He picked up the plates and backed up from the cowering child. "Honey, you have to tell me if you'd like more. Just nod your head and I'll get you lots more, OK?"

Trembling, the little kitten nodded his head. "Thanks, honey. You just wait right here and I'll go get you more. I'll get you some apple pie too this time. Would you like that? Again he nodded, eagerly this time. Well, it was progress of a fashion, and Loa beamed happily at him.

When Loa reentered the kitchen he found Adam there, staring out the window with Gregor, looking upset and concerned. "Loa, what's going on?" He asked immediately as Loa filled another plate full of food and asked Gregor to cut him a slice of the hot pie.

"I don't know much, love. I noticed him peeking around the gate and smelling the food. He won't speak to me, and he won't let me get near him. He's got mange and he's emaciated severely, as you can see. He must be homeless. I'm trying to get him to relax and trust me, but he's terrified of me getting close."

Adam nodded. "Do your best, darling. If anyone can win his trust, it's you. I want to help him, if we can...I'm sure we all would." Gregor nodded emphatically at that.

Loa nodded. "I'll do what I can. Hopefully he'll be less skittish when he's been fed." He grabbed the food and took it outside. Again the kitten shied away when he got close, so again he set the plate of food and pie down and backed away. Again the little feline dove on the food, though this time he used his little grimy paws to shovel bites in. He cleaned the plate and then savored the apple pie. Finished he at last licked his little black lips and rubbed his tummy happily, seeming to have forgotten that the quiet and patient Loa was even there.

Loa knelt over so he could be at eye level with the child. "My name is Loran, but all my friends call me Loa. Would you like to be my friend?" Nothing, just wide eyes staring back. "Can you tell me your name, honey?" He said, smiling and lowering his head submissively. Still nothing from the kitten.

"Well, I've got to call you something, at least until you trust me enough to tell me your real name, OK? I think I'll call you my little Prince, does that sound good? I'll call, 'Prince! It's time to eat!' and you'll know I mean you. Does that sound like it would work, at least for now?" He thought the little mangy head nodded just a tiny bit.

He beamed like he'd just won the Olympics. "Wonderful! Now, are you full or should I get you some more food, Prince? There's lots more if you'd like it."

The little kitten suddenly had trouble meeting Loa's gaze. With half the fur on his face gone, Loa could see he was blushing shyly, and he took that to be a good sign. "Well, if you won't tell me, I guess I'll have to go get some more and see if you eat it." He started to get up, but the kitten shook his ratty little head. "No? You're full?" A tiny nod. "Oh goody! I'll bet that feels wonderful to you after days of no food, huh? Well, I'll tell you what, Prince; whenever you get hungry, you just point to your mouth and I'll get you all the food you can eat, OK? Morning noon or night, it doesn't matter, I'll get you food so you never have to feel hungry again. Doesn't that sound nice?" There was no reaction except for another blush, and the little kitten began to play with his toes.

Loa talked away with the boy for quite a while, telling him about the house, about the people, about Adam, and about himself. He couldn't exactly tell if the boy was listening or not, but at least he didn't leave, and if Loa every now and then edged a bit closer to him, he didn't seem to mind much anymore.

Loa was trying his best to put the boy at ease, but little seemed to be getting through. The sun had set, and suddenly the little one just lay down on the path and curled into a tiny ball. "Would you like to come inside to sleep?" Loa asked. "We've got lots of soft warm beds and you can even have your own room. Would you like that, Prince?"

The kitten meowed softly and shook his head. "No? OK, well, I'm going to go in to bed then. See that window up above with the lights on? That's my room. If you get hungry or cold or need anything in the night, you just come and meow under my window there and I'll be down here in a flash and I'll get you whatever you need." No reaction, but Loa was tired and hungry himself, and it looked like the little cat might have already fallen asleep. Probably hadn't slept in days his tummy hurt so badly.

* * *

Loa stood at the window in his skimpy nightgown, looking at the tiny figure balled up below. Adam was sitting up in bed, waiting for his lover, but he'd been waiting for over a half an hour without Loa moving an inch or twitching his tail. "Loa, maybe making love would get your mind off him, babe." He said, trying in some way to help his worried mate.

Loa looked over at him sadly. "Oh Adam. You know I've never once told you 'no' before, but tonight I'm just not in the mood. That...that poor, poor miserable little wretched creature out there..." He shook his head and tears ran down his cheeks.

Adam was there in a flash to comfort him. "Oh, I'm sorry Loa. I shouldn't have suggested it. I was only trying to think of a way to get your mind off it, Love. You have the most gentle, tender heart of anyone I've ever met, Loa."

"I'm sorry Adam. I don't mean to drag you down all the time with stuff like this." He swallowed thickly.

"Drag me down? Loa, I was paying you a compliment. I love you for your giving spirit and heart! Even those people in town who can't stand us and our 'man-loving' plantation like you, you're just too impossibly sweet not to like! Oh Loa, I love you." He hugged his warm mate tightly. "Shall we take turns staying up and watching over him?"

Loa looked up at him and whispered, "Thanks for understanding, Adam. It's why I love you so much. I'll take the first watch on him, you get some rest, OK? I promise I'll make it up to you in a whirlwind night of sex when this is over."

* * *

Loa never woke Adam though. He stayed up all night watching the little figure sleeping. When the night grew cold, he slipped downstairs barefoot and stole outside, quiet as a ghost. He gently laid a warm, thick blanket over the little shivering boy and then stole soundlessly back inside.

For days, the little kitten acted feral. He wouldn't talk, but he hung around, letting no-one come close to him. Loa fed him and he ate and ate and ate, as if afraid each meal might be his last. He was already looking much better by the end of a week. Loa talked with him every day about coming inside and cleaning up and having a nice warm bed, but the boy preferred to sleep outside, wrapped up in the blanket he'd been given.

After two weeks, he finally let Loa come within arm's reach of him. Loa sat down beside him while he wolfed food down and talked about sweet nothings as he always did with the boy. He told him about the garden, about how much he loved Adam, anything and everything, just to talk and help the boy trust him. To his surprise, when he went to get up and go inside, a little mangy paw was suddenly in his hand. The little kitten was standing up, looking ready to be led indoors, but shyly avoiding eye contact. That he'd made this much progress made Loa begin to cry.

He brought the boy inside and into the master bathroom and scrubbed him until he was clean as a whistle, then treated his diseased skin with mange creams before dressing him in some of his own male clothing, which he never even wore anymore. It was too big for him, but he looked much better in some clean clothes.

He took the little kitten on a tour of the house, showing him everything. Whenever they would pass anyone, he would hug Loa's leg and hide behind him until the intruder had gone, but he wasn't running anymore. He was overjoyed that the child was responding at last.

As time went on, Loa now found that the boy didn't want to let him out of his sight. Worse yet, he seemed terrified of Adam, more than anyone else in the house. He refused to go into any room Adam was in, so he wouldn't sleep in their room with them, but nor would he leave Loa out of his sight. He would stand there yowling until Loa took him to a guest room with two beds and slept with him there.

This put a strain on Adam and Loa's relationship. They were both fiercely in love with each other, but also fiercely dependent on each other. Being separated all day every day even though they were in the same house together was a hell for both of them. And Loa's little Prince seemed to get more clingy to him all the time.

Weeks passed, and Adam and Loa felt like strangers to each other. Adam loved and respected Loa and what he was trying to do far too much to complain, even though he was getting lonelier for his lover every day. Loa felt awful about it, but he was more determined than ever to help this child.

After two months, it happened. He was coloring pictures with the little kitten, who now had a shiny new coat of light brown fur, pretty shiny blonde hair, and all the flesh back on his bones, when suddenly after calling him 'Prince,' the boy looked up. "My name's Elliot." He said. And that was it. Like a floodgate breaking open, he suddenly would talk openly and freely to Loa, and everyone else as well. Everyone showered him with attention, which he seemed to shyly enjoy. He was adorably cute, and Loa could tell when he grew up he would be ravishingly beautiful in the exotic, feline way.

The little cat was warm and kind and polite and soft-spoken, and he was eternally grateful to Loa for rescuing him. He was a clever kitten, and Loa loved him like a sweet little brother in no time. The only problem was that he was still terrified of Adam.

Loa sat down on the couch, determined to get to the bottom of this for the sake of his poor mate. The last time he'd seen Adam, the human had burst in to tears he was so overjoyed to see his lover. It made Loa realize Adam needed him too, and he couldn't remain so distant from him any longer. He'd barely been able to say ten words to Adam for months, and he felt his Prince was stable enough that he could gently force the issue with him. "Elliot, come sit on my lap." He said gently. The boy hopped gracefully up into his lap and looked up at him with large, innocent eyes. "Elliot, do you trust me?"

He nodded rapidly. "And you know I love you, right?" Again Loa received a vigorous nod. "Can you please tell me why you are so afraid of Adam?"

The kitten scowled. "He's...yucky."

"Elliot, listen to me very carefully. Adam is my husband, and I love him very, very much. He's as sweet and kind as I am, and he wants to help you too. All this, our home, all the yummy food you've gotten to eat, he's given that all to us freely because he cares for us. He cares for you too Elliot, if you would ever let him show you that. Won't you please tell me why you think he's yucky? Maybe we can work it out if you tell me."

The little boy gave him a scared look, then whispered, "He...he...you said he would be like my Daddy."

"Elliot, tell me about your daddy, sweetheart. Was he mean to you?"

The little boy nodded miserably. "My Daddy died before I was born, and my Mommy remarried. Mommy then died giving birth to me. When I was five years old, my step Daddy made me his wife and started fucking me. It hurt and was so scary, but I couldn't get away. Finally when I was thirteen I escaped, and I wandered for a year or so before I ended up here."

Loa began to cry, shocked at the cold, matter of fact way the child said these awful things. "Oh Elliot! My dear sweet prince! Oh, Adam wouldn't be anything like that to you, I promise you! Cross my heart and hope to die! That isn't what I meant when I said he'd be like a daddy, I only meant that he would love you and care for you, not that he would rape you and hurt you. Adam is sweet and gentle, just like me. You'll be as safe with him as you are with me, I promise you."

The kitten looked up at him, his eyes so large and trusting. "Really? He'll be nice to me?"

"Oh, I promise Elliot! If ever you believed I love you, believe me when I say he would never ever, ever hurt you." Loa said earnestly.

He watched the little kitten closely. "I trust you, Loa. If you say he won't hurt me, I believe you. I'm sorry I was afraid of him."

And so, shyly, carefully, Elliot at last met his benefactor. Adam was gentle and kind to the young kitten, and it didn't take long before he was well liked by the boy, though he seemed to be a little shy and nervous around the human for several years.

He was small for a fourteen year old, which made him seem somewhat younger than he actually was. Loa was very protective of him, and Adam could see the two had bonded as close as brothers. In fact, little Elliot often called Loa "Big Sister," not realizing his true gender. Slowly he became less and less clingy to Loa and began to explore his new home as his fears seemed to diminish.

One day Loa came in from the fields during the day to get some drinks for himself and the other workers, and he found Elliot parading around the empty mansion wearing one of Loa's French maid costumes. He was drowning in it he was so small, but Loa could tell he was aroused and loved the women's clothes just as much as Loa did. It was time to have "that" talk with Elliot.

"Hey little brother." Loa said softly, alerting Elliot that he wasn't alone. The poor kid must have jumped about ten feet in the air and gave a frightened yowl. He shot up the stairs and disappeared as fast as he could run in heels about three sizes too big for him. Loa trailed after him, giving him a moment or two to change or something before he gently knocked on the bedroom door. There was no response, so he opened it and slipped inside.

He had to look around for a moment before he spotted a shadow behind the bed that shouldn't be there. "Hey bro, c'mon out. I'm not mad at you at all; I'd just like to talk to you." The shadow just shrunk a bit as Elliot tried to hide further. Loa sighed and walked around the bed, finding the boy in a fetal position in the corner behind the bed, his eyes squeezed shut in fear.

He walked over and knelt down in front of him. "C'mon, El. I'm not mad and there was nothing wrong with what you were doing. I'd just like to talk to you about it, OK?" Big blue eyes looked up at him fearfully, and he held out his hand until the trembling youth finally took it. He led him over to the couch by the fireplace and sat down.

"So you like to wear girl's clothes, El? It's OK with me if you do, just tell me about it, alright?" No good, he'd gone mute again. Well, Loa decided to share his story with the boy, then. "I can understand why you enjoy doing it, El, because I do it every day." He watched that sink in, and his eyes shot up to meet Loa's.

In shock he stammered "Y...Y...you're a...b..."

"I'm a boy just like you, yes. My real name is Loran, I told you that when we first met, but I'm not surprised you've forgotten. Loa is just my female nickname, given to me by Adam. In fact, all of your friends here are boys, whether they look like it or not. I've always been small and feminine, and I've always been attracted to other boys, so when I was your age I started to dress up in my sister's clothes and pretend I was a girl. I'd dream of boys chasing after me and I'd dream of kissing them...and touching them. I never wore these clothes out in public until I came here and met Adam. I wore them for the first time for him and I could tell it drove him wild to see me dressed like this, so I've worn girly clothing ever since. I feel much more comfortable in them, and I love their sexy feel on my body." He finished and sat back. "OK, so now can you tell me your story?"

Elliot was staring up at him in shock. He spoke almost like he was in a trance. "My step Daddy always made me dress up in my Mommy's clothes. I hated it then, but now I miss it and want to wear them again, I don't know why. Maybe like you said..." His voice trailed off.

Loa smiled sadly at him. Elliot hadn't ever talked about what had gone on between him and his father since the initial revelation, and Loa could only shudder when he tried to guess. "Well, if you'd like, I can buy you your own clothes to wear whenever and wherever you want, El. You won't be thought any less of here if you do."

Elliot stared up at Loa. "I..could? You'd buy me my own? In my size even? Really?"

"Yes really, little bro! But I should warn you about a few things that will happen when you do it." He reached out a paw and took one of Elliot's little warm paws and drew him up into his lap and hugged him. Elliot clung to his neck tighter than he'd ever done before, and Loa just smiled.

"First of all, you are a little cutie-pie, El. In a few years you are going to be as ravishing a beauty as I've ever seen in my life. But even now you are cute, and if you start wearing sexy clothes and showing yourself off, a lot of the males living here are going to start noticing how sexy you look and will begin to shower you with attention. I'm fairly certain that no-one will try to take advantage of you, but they'll certainly flirt with you constantly, and you'll need to be careful about how much you flirt back. Too much and they may try to get you in bed. If that's what you want, that's one thing, but if it isn't, then you need to be much more careful. You are still only fifteen, so right now I would strongly advise you not to go to bed with anyone. You have your whole life ahead of you and now isn't the time to become sexually active."

The young feline nodded. "I don't want to have sex ever again."

Loa sighed, feeling sorry for him all over again. "I hope someday you'll feel differently. There's someone out there somewhere who'd be perfect for you and will make you feel complete, I just know it. Until you're ready though, it can wait."

Elliot looked up at him. "How 'bout Adam?" He suddenly blurted out.

This was the first time Loa had any inkling that he had a crush on Adam, but he covered it smoothly and gently as he could. "Adam and I are mates honey. You know that. His heart belongs to me and mine belongs to him."

Elliot nodded glumly, then another idea occurred to him. "Master has a son, doesn't he?"

Loa's eyes tightened a tiny bit. "Yes he does. He'd be a year or two younger than you are. Adam thinks about him all the time."

"Maybe he'd like me! I want him to be my husband." He declared, apparently closing the matter in his little mind. "When can we get me some clothes?"

"We can go right now if you'd like. I would just need to change out of these dirty work clothes and take a bath quick, and we could go into town and buy you a whole bunch of pretty outfits." Loa smiled.

"Ya! Let's!" the boy squeaked and ran through the door. "I'll get the horses!" He cried over his shoulder.

After a day of shopping, Loa spent the evening and into the night showing him how to walk with a feminine step, how to put on makeup, how to dress his hair like a girl, and a million other things. Elliot was a quick learner and seemed to be a natural at most of it.

"What can my girl's name be?" He asked suddenly as he practiced walking back and forth.

"I was thinking about that, How about Ellie?" Loa said.

Ellie grinned from ear to ear. "I like that!"

6) ** **Holding on to a Dream


As Loa finished the story and was silent, my father looked at me sadly. "I never intended for one of my servants to fall for you the moment you walked in here, son. I'm sorry that makes things more complicated. But I beg you to be gentle when you tell him. Ellie has been hurt terribly in ways you and I can't even imagine by his step-father, and he still carries the emotional scars of that abuse. Worse, I think he's dreamed of meeting you for the last seven years, believing you to be his chosen love. That he's given his heart to you is a wonderful thing, and it is going to crush him beyond what he'll be able to stand when you reject him. Please be as absolutely gentle as you possibly can, alright?"

I nodded, feeling miserable. We were silent for several minutes before he changed the subject again. "Be that as it may, the other reason I asked you here is because I want to put you in my will, if you will permit it. I'm going to split what I own down the middle half-way, and give you and Loa equal parts of it all. He has promised to keep this place running as a safe bastion for like-minded males to work and live and love, and it is my hope that you will put your portion to the same goal, though I will not order you to do it. Loa should have enough to carry on himself if you do not wish to participate, but in that case he will get sole ownership of all the land and buildings, and your portion will be only half of my monetary wealth."

My thoughts were still on Elliot. I nodded absently. "I would like to live here Dad. I could help carry on the work if Loa can teach me what I need to know. I've only ever been a blacksmith, and a poor pauper of one at that."

He beamed at me and stood up and held out his arms for a hug. I stood and hugged him, the man who was my father, a man I'd never known. "I'm so proud of you son. I hope we can spend a few days getting to know all we can about each other, and try to make up for the life we were denied having. I love you, son."

"I love you too." I said, my voice choked with tears. "I want to get to know you, too. I told Mom I might be gone for several months, and now I'll just have to tell her I'm not coming back. You won't die alone, Dad. I'm never gonna leave."

He hugged me tightly and we both stood there for a very long time. He was overjoyed, I could tell, and I was too...there was only one problem: Elliot. I wanted to talk to him and put that behind me.

When our hug broke off, I wiped my tears and blew my nose and asked, "D'you know where Ellie is, Dad? I gotta talk to him."

He nodded and pulled a rope hanging from the ceiling. I heard a bell ring in the distance, and the red-headed canin appeared a moment later. My father smiled at him. "Any idea where Ellie is?"

The the cute little canine nodded. Looking at him, I still couldn't believe they were really all males. The only clue was that his chest was flat, but the rest of his body was incredibly feminine and sexy. "He went out to the hedge garden. He was very upset, I could tell. Is something the matter?"

He shook his head sadly. "He fell in love with my son before I had a chance to tell him my story. Adam didn't realize he was a male, and now I'm afraid he has no interest in a relationship."

Loa looked sad as well. "I've never seen him open up to anyone like that before in my life. Oh, he dreamed of Adam for a long time... put him on a pedestal and worshiped him, more accurately, but he hadn't said anything about it for years, so I thought it was a childhood fantasy that he'd given up." He turned to me with earnest brown eyes. "Adam, please be tactful. Ellie is very emotional and very tender. This is going to be hard on him."

My father nodded. "I already explained the situation to him."

The canine whined softly. "Ellie is so sweet, and you were kissing him so happily. Now you don't want him anymore?"

I looked from one to the other of them. "I...I'll do my best to break it to him, I just...I'm just not like that. I didn't know... I... I feel really badly abut it." I stammered in response to their worried looks. They were all making me feel extremely guilty.

* * *

The hedge garden was beautiful. The tall, thick hedges cut it off from the rest of the world and it was filled with brilliant and beautiful flowers. I looked to the center and saw a giant weeping willow with a couples' swing underneath, the very same one from my father's story. There sitting I could see Ellie, or Elliot, or whoever the hell he was. He'd changed clothes I could see as I drew nearer. He was wearing a lovely flowery sundress and high-heeled white sandals. He was looking down at his paws, and as I drew nearer I was absolutely captivated by his beauty. Even knowing he was a male couldn't pale his incredible sexiness in the least. I realized I still desired him deeply and suddenly felt confused and no longer determined to break off anything with him. A breeze caused his long blonde hair to shimmer and dance, and he reached up and pulled it out of his eyes and drew it back over his head.

I approached and sat down heavily on the other side of the swing. He looked up at me quickly I could tell, with more than a little trepidation. "So, your dad told you the whole story, right?"

"Yeah."

"An'...an' he told you 'bout me, I suppose?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I had no idea you were a male. You still don't look like one in the least to my eyes."

"I'm really sorry about that, Adam. We're all males here so it never occurred to me that you wouldn't know that, even though I was fooled by it myself as a kid." He swallowed thickly and whispered, "I suppose you aren't interested in me now, right?"

I looked over at him and couldn't find the words to say. He was very beautiful, and so cute and sexy, my thoughts were all in a jumble. What my father had said was weirdly compelling; why should his gender matter if we loved each other? If Dad was right and it would be perfectly possible for the two of us to make love, then should we deny ourselves if it was what we both wanted?

I reached over and touched his shoulder. "Ellie, tell me about yourself, please?"

He looked up at me with his beautiful blue eyes. "There isn't a whole lot to tell. My mother died giving birth to me, and I was always small and feminine. My...my step Dad...wasn't like your dad at all. He made me the replacement for his wife and gave me no choice in the matter. I ran away when I was thirteen and wandered around homeless for over a year before I heard about this place and came here. I've been happy here ever since. Master protects me, protects us all and we can be ourselves here. Dad always made me wear my Mommy's clothes, and I found I really love wearing them and missed them when I left. They make me feel sexy and desirable, so I started wearing them here years ago and haven't worn male clothes for a minute since then."

I looked at him sadly. "I'm sorry to hear that about your dad, Ellie. You are a little sweetheart, and you only deserve the best out of life, not that kind of shit."

He looked up at me and smiled his stunning, enthralling smile. God damn, he was sexy. "Thank you, Adam. You're a very nice person. I could tell that from the moment I opened the door and met you. I like your smell and the sound of your voice; it really makes me feel happy and complete." Suddenly he realized he was flirting and got a worried look on his face, blushing. "I'm sorry. I know you don't want to hear that. I won't bother you anymore, 'K? You didn't come here for me, after all, you came for your daddy, and you don't have much time left with him."

He kicked his legs dismally back and forth. He was so small that his sexy little heels were a good foot off the ground when sitting on the swing. I felt so many strange and exotic emotions as I looked at him, just taking in the sight of him living, breathing, moving. Just the sight of him existing was beautiful to me_._

"What is wrong with my Dad, anyway?" I asked him, still thinking about what to do. The thunder rumbled ominously in the distance, making me vaguely wonder if it was about to rain. He was so amazing... could I possibly...?

He heaved a massive sigh. "I think Loa knows the most, you should ask him about it, but we don't exactly know. He's been to all the doctors and none of them can figure it out. It's some kind of wasting disease, and we think he picked it up from his travels in the jungles of Africa several years ago. Nobody here knows what's going to happen to us when he dies. We're afraid we're all gonna lose our homes."

I looked down at him and resisted the urge to hug him and kiss his cute little muzzle. "He hasn't told anyone? He just told me he plans on splitting his fortune between me and Loa, and Loa is going to stay here to keep everything running. He asked me to stay too and I already agreed to it."

Ellie looked up at me, shocked. "Really?" He squealed, then threw his arms around me and hugged me tightly. I found my face pressed into his soft blonde hair, smelling his flowery, fragrant scent. "Oh thank you! Everyone is going to be so happy!" Suddenly he realized he was hugging me again and jerked away, looking mortified. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean anything by it! I was just hugging you because I'm happy! Don't be angry!" He squeaked.

I shook my head. "I'm not angry. I..." I fell silent. Why was it so hard to say? Oh, how I wanted to tell him how I felt. Anger rose inside of me. Why should this be hard?

I looked vaguely around at the thick green hedges, hemming us into our own little private corner of the world. All around was such beauty, and the epitome of that beauty was Elliot. It felt impossible to give into this, but much more, it felt impossible not to. I wanted him badly, I realized.

I took a deep breath. "I've never been so attracted to someone in my life, Ellie. And to tell you the truth, it hasn't diminished one bit since I found out you are male. I'm scared to try it, but...I still...I..." He looked up at me with his large, beautiful blue feline eyes sparkling. I reached out and pulled him to me, and we kissed. It was not so much a kiss of passion but one of sweet friendship, and a very wet one at that as he started to cry very hard in my arms, his tears dripping down into our mouths as we gently tasted each other.

As we kissed, the clouds broke open and cast bright sunlight onto the plantation without ever having dropped any rain. It was like heaven itself was approving of our relationship, and I felt giddy as I explored his sweet mouth. He was so sexy.

I hugged him and ran my fingers through his soft hair. At last I gently broke the kiss. "Oh my God, you are so beautiful, you taste so sweet. I feel like I'm tasting heaven when I touch you."

He purred and smiled at me. "Oh God, thank you. This is the only prayer I've ever had for myself. Adam, I love you, I want you, I need you. I swear I'll do everything imaginable to make you happy. Can we make love?"

I shuddered at his words and fought down my beating heart. "Ellie, we'll have all our lives to explore these feelings and become intimate. I...I want to make love to you, but right now I'm here for my father, so...can we wait until tonight?"

He looked at me, still crying and looking incredibly relieved. "Of course, love! I...I'm sorry my selfishness got in the way of your visit."

"Oh, don't be silly. There isn't a selfish bone in your gorgeous body. When I came here, my sole purpose was to meet my father. Now, I've found another reason, which I like just as much: you." We stood and walked arm in arm back to the mansion, grinning at each other.

At the door, he paused. "I'm gonna get my uniform back on. I'll meet you back at master's room, OK?"

I released him gently and murmured, "Don't take too long, I'll be very lonely without you close."

"I...I'll fly!!!" he gushed ecstatically and ran for one of the large outbuildings as fast as he could while still running like a female in sexy heels.

I returned to my father's bedroom with a smile on my lips. He and Loa were talking about something when I knocked and entered in. "Ah, there you are, son. Loa and I are going to hold a banquet for everyone here so they can meet you tonight, and we were just planning it out. Did you find Elliot?"

I nodded but didn't say anything, still lost in thought about my choice. I decided to tease them a bit since I could tell they were worried.

"Were you as gentle as you could be?" He asked softly.

Again I nodded. "He understood that I didn't know he was male and was...as brave as I could expect under the circumstances. Sorry, Dad."

"Not your fault son. I'm sorry that things went that way. I'm sorry Ellie fell for you so suddenly, for I would have prevented him from meeting you had I known it would happen. We knew he used to dream of you, but he hadn't talked about it for several years so we thought he was over it and didn't even think about it."

"Don't say that, Dad. Everything happens for a reason, I think."

He and Loa looked at each other sadly. Loa softly said, "We'll try to comfort him as best we can, dear, don't worry. And Adam, maybe try to avoid him for a bit so he doesn't think you are leading him on or something. He's very confused right now, I'm sure. Your kisses are still warm on his lips and your rejection ringing in his ears, he doesn't know which way to think."

I nodded. "You don't worry about that. It won't be a problem, I promise. Now, can I do anything to help with tonight?"

Loa shook his head. "No, but thank you much for asking. I've got everything in mind and we'll all work together for this banquet. It is in your honor, after all, so it wouldn't do to put you to work on it." He smiled. "If you'll both excuse me, I have a lot of work to..." he broke off as Ellie slipped into the room, back in his sexy French maid outfit.

Loa and my father looked at him in shock, then worry as he made his way for me, beaming with the healthy glow of someone newly in love. Loa stepped forward. "Ellie, sweetie, didn't you understand what Adam was telling you? I don't think you should be here right now."

Ellie smiled. "I understood perfectly, don't worry." he hadn't taken his eyes off of me, nor I of him.

"Loa, stop him please, before we have a terrible scene! Ellie, you didn't understand at all! My son isn't interested!" My Dad said in alarm, but the little light brown feline was already only two steps from me.

Loa started for him and dove on him, grabbing his slender arm and dragging him to a halt. "Prince, Adam isn't gay, he isn't interested in you. He thought you were a girl, just like you thought I was once upon a time. You have to let him go, that was just a childhood dream you had, not reality."

Ellie squirmed, trying to pull away from Loa. "Lemme go! Adam's my mate! He's chosen me, too! This isn't just a dream!"

My little joke was going to get ugly quickly if I didn't intercede. I stood up and broke in. "Loa, it's OK, let him go."

The raven-haired beauty blinked at me in surprise, but did not relinquish his firm hold on Ellie's shoulders. "Adam, no. You're a stranger here, I've known El for years. I don't want him interacting with you anymore, it is too hard on him. Trust me."

Ellie squawked "Loa, you dummy! C'mon, it's OK, I'm telling you, Adam said he wants me!" He turned to me, pleadingly. "Tell 'em, Baby!" He cried, starting to get upset.

Patiently, Loa caught his face in his lovely paws and spoke before I could. "Elliot, snap out of the dream world, now. This is just a fantasy, and you have to live in the here and now and let that dream go! I love you, little brother, but Adam is beyond your reach. It's OK, honey. There's still someone out there for you, I swear it!"

My prank had turned out badly. I quickly strode forward and gently caught him from Loa's grasp. The older feline took a breath to issue an angry protest. "Adam, God dammit! I appreciate that you are my lover's son, but..." At that point, I melted into an embrace with Ellie and began to French kiss him with every ounce of passion I had, an act which he whole-heartedly reciprocated.

I broke the kiss and Ellie nuzzled into my neck as I smiled at them and explained. "Sorry for the confusion. The moment I laid eyes on El out there in the hedge garden I fell in love all over again. I do love him, and I do want to be his mate."

Weakly, sounding monumentally relieved, Ellie whined "See, Loa? I tol'ja it isn't a dream!"

I felt his sexy little arms tighten their grip around my neck. Loa and my father looked at each other, then laughed in delight, which was a relief to me. I hadn't meant any harm, but that had turned abruptly ugly and I'd reacted to it too slowly. "Oh, that's wonderful!" Loa beamed. "Oh Ellie, I'm so happy for you dear. I can tell Adam is going to be a perfect match for you, he's got your sense of humor!"

Ellie beamed at them. "I've dreamed of this day for years. I...I never would have been able to love again if it weren't for you and all your patient help. You gave me my self-esteem back and helped me to realize I could love and be loved. I love you both like you are my own parents." He turned to me with a heavy lidded, sexy and seductive look. "And you are going to learn the true meaning of love and devotion."

I grinned at him, blushing shyly and we just gazed into each other's eyes. Loa excused himself and left to prepare for the banquet, still chuckling to himself, and I took in the older male maid a bit as I snuggled my lovely boy. He was older than Ellie, though he didn't look as old as my father. He was probably in his mid to late thirties, I guessed. His dark brown fur and glossy black hair were beautiful, and he looked just as feminine and girly as Ellie, though I biasedly thought Ellie was much prettier. He walked and held himself much less like a young girl and more like a sophisticated lady of refinement.

I could see deep sadness in him, too. If he and my father had been lovers all these years, I was sure this was destroying his world. He was trying to be strong and maternal, but inside I guessed he was in agony at the coming loss.

I sighed and tried to put the unhappiness to come out of my mind as I began to talk with my Dad again. He seemed to be in fairly good spirits, or perhaps he was just putting on a brave front for his friends, lover and son. Happy hours of talking passed, with Ellie snuggled in my lap giving me lots of sweet, wet kisses.

Loa swept gracefully into the room at around five-thirty in the evening, wearing a lovely crimson gown that flowed around his luscious body, making him look more beautiful and sexy than ever. "We'll be ready for our feast in about a half hour. Ellie dear, do you want to wear something special for the occasion, since it is in honor of your mate? You're going to be getting a lot of attention tonight, and I know you like to show off."

Ellie looked up at this, startled. "Oh, is it that late? Yes, I would very much like to wear something elegant for the celebration of my darling. Adam, is it OK if I go and change and meet you at the banquet later?"

"O' course it is, honey. I'll see you there." I gently encouraged, kissing him on the lips.

After he left, I half muttered to myself, "I wish I had something to change into for the occasion."

"Oh! Well, we can do something about that, son!" My father brightly declared. "Loa, see if you can find something he'd like to wear? He's about my size, and the size of a couple of the other maids, for that matter. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if he borrowed something."

Loa smiled at him. "Of course, dear. Come with me Adam, and we'll find something sexy for you to impress Ellie with."

He led me down a hall to a room that was apparently used by him and my father for clothing storage. I found myself glancing at his sexy ass and admiring his picture perfect body in the shimmering red satin gown. He was a beauty. Just the fact that I was looking and observing this about another male made me shiver. How had my world changed so much so quickly?

"Well, would you like to wear men's or women's clothes, Adam? I think you'd look sexy in either one." He said, gently.

I blushed. "I've never even thought about wearing girl clothes before. I'd be too embarrassed even if I did want to. Something of my fathers would be fine."

"That's fine, I just make it a policy to always ask." Loa picked out a nice looking black tux that had blue striping for accents. "Ellie will wear blue I think. It's his favorite color and many of his sexiest clothes are blue, so if you wear this, you'll compliment each other and look all the more like a couple."

I nodded and he helped me begin to dress. It was odd, knowing he was gay and looking so beautiful, I would have thought I would be embarrassed to change in front of him, but I wasn't. Maybe because he was my father's mate, he felt somewhat maternal to me? "Loa, can you tell me what my Dad has? I mean, what's killing him?"

He paused and I could see pain written on his face. "He and I took a trip to Africa several years ago. We had a wonderful time together, but one night we didn't set up his mosquito netting properly and it failed. He was stung so badly it made him sick, and when we got home he began to exhibit signs of the disease that is killing him. We went to all the best doctors, but had no luck and no help. They finally sent him home to die..." His voice broke off and I could see that he was trembling with emotion.

"Oh Loa, I'm so sorry. I can tell you love him so much, this must be killing you inside as well." I gently put a hand on his shoulder, and he turned and hugged me tightly. I gently hugged him back, rocking him softly as he cried. It felt strangely comfortable to hold him. It was not sexual, but it was sweet, like hugging my mother, and I nestled my face into his soft hair.

"I don't know what I'll do without him." He sobbed softly into my shoulder. "He rescued me and has been with me ever since...I can't remember how to live alone anymore."

He broke the hug and dashed his eyes, trying to regain his composure. "I'm so sorry, this is supposed to be a happy occasion and I'm ruining it." He smiled weakly. "Let's get you dressed up while we still have time. You don't want Ellie to show you up, do you? He's always the center of attention whenever he dresses up, he's so lovely."

I nodded, still feeling sorry for him and wishing I could help my dying father. He helped me dress in the tux, something a poor blacksmith's apprentice had never done before, then helped me comb my flyaway hair. I was surprised to look at myself in a full length mirror and see how handsome I was. "Very sexy, Adam!" Loa smiled. "Now come on, the banquet is about to start and we can't be late when you are the guest of honor." As we left, a tiny idea flickered to life in my brain, one that I wanted to explore later, when I had the time.

* * *

We stopped at my father's room to collect him, and we stood on either side of him as he slowly made his way downstairs. We entered the grand banquet hall and I gasped at the opulence and finery on display. The walls were painted with lovely nature scenes, there were marble columns with gold leaf that supported a domed ceiling that was also painted to look like a sunny day. Gold trim and sculpting edged all surfaces in the room, and the floor was rich marble. One side of the great room was a banquet area, with rows of tables and fancy dining chairs. The other side of the room held a rich looking wooden dance floor, and just beyond it was a small orchestra pit.

The room was lit with multiple crystal chandeliers, hanging from the ceiling and filled with hundreds of tiny twinkling lights. I looked around in amazement. There were about a hundred people here, and I saw humans, felines, canines, pandas, foxes, rabbits, and many other species represented. It was hard to believe all were males as so many wore ravishing gowns and looked for all the world to be female. About a half-dozen young beauties were still in french maid's uniforms and were apparently going to be serving everyone. I could see couples walking around and talking, admiring the paintings or sharing kisses and hugs with each other.

As we entered, a hush came over the crowd and suddenly all eyes in the place were on the three of us. I felt monumentally self-conscious, but my father strode forward with Loa helping him and addressed everyone present. "Hello to everyone, and thank you so much for coming. I would like you all to meet my only son. I haven't been allowed to see him ever in his life, but as most of you know, I sent a letter to him and he came to meet me. I have some good news for you as well. As you know, I don't have very much longer to live, and I know many of you have been wondering and worried what would happen when I pass on. I'm happy to report that Loa and my son have agreed to stay here and keep the plantation in operation when I am gone. That means you are all welcomed to stay, and they will continue to take any needy people who come asking for help."

There was a loud ovation and cheer, and the throng pressed forward to meet me. I was overwhelmed and somewhat frightened at all this attention. I was naturally shy and this was almost too much for me. I shook many paws and many friendly faces greeted me warmly, many strangers gave me big hugs and welcomed me to the family. Names were pouring in faster than I could remember them, but I did my best anyway as it seemed every single last one of them introduced themselves.

At long last my father asked everyone to take their seats and the crush lifted off of me. I looked around, but still did not see Ellie. Loa motioned for me to sit down at my father's right hand as he sat to the left. Seeing me looking around, he said "Ellie can sit to your right when he gets here. He primps himself obsessively when he's trying to look sexy, and I'm afraid I didn't give him enough time to get ready, especially because he'll want to look perfect for you."

The French maids brought out trays and bowls filled with food. There was ham, chicken, steak, as many different fruits and vegetables as I'd ever seen in my life, and puddings and wine to complete a massive feast. The cute maids served everyone, then took a seat at their own table and began to eat as well. When the pretty little canine maid with a long red braid served me, I asked him, "I don't suppose you'd know where Ellie is would you? Does he live with the rest of the maids?"

He smiled at me. "Yes, he was a flurry of movement trying to get dressed and presentable in time. He's kinda vain about his looks. Everybody always says he's the sexiest boy here, and he works hard to keep it that way. Is it true you two are a couple? I saw you kissing him when you got here... but the reports are all conflicting."

I blushed, feeling self-conscious again. "Yeah, it's true. I wasn't even gay until I met him, and he just swept me off my feet."

The canine wagged his tail and started to pant happily. "Oh! That's sooooo romantic! Ellie's been so alone for so long, it's wonderful he's finally found his life partner. Congratulations on snaring the prettiest boy in the world, everyone's gonna be so jealous!" He giggled and smiled at me.

I nodded, feeling embarrassed. "Thank you so much...Rori, wasn't it?" The maid nodded and wagged his tail all the more that I'd remembered.

We started to eat, but my heart wasn't in it, even though the food was delicious. I kept looking at all the doors, eagerly waiting for Ellie to arrive. I couldn't believe how dependent I felt upon him already, and how much I felt incomplete when he wasn't nearby. Maybe there was something to that destiny speech he'd given me.

I talked with my Dad distractedly, nibbled on the food and watched for him. At long last the main doors swept open, revealing my stunning new boyfriend. As Loa had predicted, he was wearing a striking blue satin evening gown that flowed like liquid along his sexy body. The long skirt swirled around his sexy, shapely legs as he walked, and he wore matching blue strappy heels. There was a slit up one leg nearly all the way up to his hip, and his black fishnet stockings and garter belts were visible through it. The gown was strapless, leaving his lovely shoulders and arms bare, and he wore delicate little blue satin gloves on his paws. His hair he'd braided into dozens of small braids which he had swirled around his head, holding them in place with blue satin ribbons that he left to flow long about his head. He had a striking white rose carefully fitted into his braids, and wore many bracelets, anklets, arm bands, necklaces and earrings, all of gold.

He'd put on a lovely coat of makeup that increased his sex appeal exponentially over his already ravishing looks. Dark makeup around his eyes and blush on his cheeks gave him a sensual, feminine look that made me doubt he could possibly have a penis. A hush again fell over the hall as all eyes turned to look at him. I could tell he was pleased that he'd left the room in stunned silence, and gently turned around in a complete circle to give everyone a look at everything.

Then, smiling happily, he looked to the master table, saw me and his place next to me, and made for it, walking so feminine and sexily that my hands fluttered towards my dick involuntarily. I imagine I wasn't the only one to have that reaction, either. He walked up behind me and I shivered and got goose bumps as I felt his satin-gloved paws stroke my neck gently. "Is this spot for me?" He purred gently.

I nodded and remembered my manners, jumping up to help my date into his seat. He adjusted my jacket for me before wrapping his lovely arms around my neck. "My God in heaven, you are beyond beautiful, Ellie. I'm just an ordinary kid, I don't deserve a goddess like you."

He grinned his lovely grin and adjusted my bowtie. "Oh, you are doing just fine on your own, looking totally handsome and sexy. Ooo, and someone must've told you my favorite color is blue 'cause we match perfectly! Don't you think we make a cute couple?" He giggled.

I nodded. "Like beauty and the beast."

He laughed and playfully smacked my ass "You are sexy as hell, Adam. Don't sell yourself short." He hugged me close and we kissed lingeringly.

His muzzle tasted so sweet and I reveled again in his rough little feline tongue. We gently kissed and tasted each other for several minutes before I suddenly became aware that you could hear a pin drop in the whole massive hall. I broke the kiss and looked around, realizing that every single pair of eyes were glued to the two of us. I turned purple and just about passed out. Ellie seemed to be used to being stared at though, as he smiled and waved to everyone before I helped him into his seat and sat down myself, grateful to be out of most people's view. The buzz of conversation was instantly loud and intense, and I guessed there was only one topic being discussed at all the tables; me and Ellie.

With him there I was suddenly happy and complete again. He talked contentedly with Loa and my father, and I mostly listened and drank him up. My appetite was in full force and I ate and ate the delicious food. When we finished eating, a group of furs stood and went over to the orchestra pit and began to play slow and romantic dance music. Soon couples were streaming over to the dance floor, and Ellie gently asked, "Do you want to dance?"

I swallowed. "I would love to, but I've never danced before in my life. I've never ever had anybody to dance with."

"That's because you were meant for me alone. I'll let you in on a secret... I've never danced with anybody but Loa, 'cause I been saving myself for you. I'll be glad to teach you how. Intimate dances like this are incredibly easy. You'll be a pro in five minutes, love." He was right, and in a few minutes we were holding each other close and slowly dancing to the music. His body pressed so close to my own was turning me on and making me horny as hell to fuck him, an emotion I could hardly believe I was having.

I daydreamed about him laying before me on his back crying out in pleasure, with me licking his sexy shoes, feet and legs. I really had no idea what we'd exactly do beyond that, so I tried to imagine what his soft fur must feel like pressed against my naked flesh, and it gave me a shiver of raging desire. I wanted him so badly, I wished this banquet would end.

He spoke, and it took me a moment to absorb his words and recognize what he said. "What are you thinking about, love? You just shivered."

"I'm looking forward to getting to know you a lot better tonight. Really, really looking forward to it, more than I've ever wanted anything in my life. El, I don't even understand what's happening to me. It really is like I've been waiting for you all my life. How could you have known that we would be like this?" I caught his cute little chin in my fingers and tipped his little face up to mine and kissed him. Even with heels on he couldn't be standing taller than five foot four, and his delicate little body was so cute and sexy. He looked better than any woman I'd ever seen in my entire life.

"I dunno, I just knew it. More and more when master talked about you and mused about you, I could feel our hearts connecting. Did you ever look into the sky and dream about the person who would be your mate?" He gently murmured as we swirled to the music.

I almost denied it automatically as a bunch of foolishness, but I suddenly realized that in fact I had often looked up into the sky and dreamed... It had been of a girl, but I had looked into the clouds and felt like somewhere, my future wife was looking and thinking of me, too. I wordlessly nodded to him, confused.

He nodded sagely, obviously having known I would say yes. "I would look skyward and I could feel you were looking up too, thinking of me. We were connecting then. I knew it was you, and even though you didn't know me, I could feel your heart touch mine too."

I shook my head. "I don't know if you are crazy or spooky cognizant. I feel so confused."

He beamed up at me. "I've never felt comfortable getting this close to anyone before. Never felt comfortable letting anyone touch me, except for Master and Loa, but he's like my brother. I've had so many offers for dates here, and I'm always so flattered by it, but I just always got scared at the thought. I always could feel my father's hands grabbing me, holding me down as I cried, and I always turned them down. You are so different. My past, my father doesn't bother me in the slightest when I'm with you. I really never thought I'd be able to have sex again, but you've changed all that and I'm dying to make love just as much as you are."

We kissed again, long past the end of the song we just stood there, alone in the crowd, living and loving each other as we kissed. My father made another speech, but I barely heard him and couldn't tear my eyes off of Elliot. The evening seemed to drag on forever, but I did my best to be gracious and friendly to all the people clamoring to talk with the son of a man who was apparently their hero. I was overwhelmed by the attention and even a bit afraid of them all, they were looking at me in such awe.

For the hundredth time that night I told someone, "No, I actually am just a poor blacksmith's apprentice. I've barely had enough food to eat myself, let alone being able to follow in my father's footsteps of charity." Or perhaps it was. "No, I never knew my father before today, so there isn't anything else I can tell you about him, I'm sure you know him better than I do."

At long last, my father was tired and told everyone he was going to retire for the evening. I took the opportunity to plead that my long and difficult journey had made me very tired too, and at last Ellie and I were leaving the dining hall, saying goodnight over and over again and being told "Good luck," and "Enjoy yourselves tonight," and even a jovial "have fun, you lucky bastard!" by everyone we passed. Everyone was giving us knowing looks, and it made my face burn with embarrassment and discomfort from it all.

Finally the four of us were out the main doors, and I closed my eyes and let out a long sigh. My father caught the look and chuckled. "I'm afraid if you stay here, you're going to have to get used to that. Loa and I have helped everyone here, and we are looked at as parents, friends, heroes, and even saviors by everyone."

I shook my head. "Helping people I would like to do, but I don't feel like I'm at all worthy of all the adoration I was given. I haven't done anything to deserve it, you have. This is overwhelming."

We were at my father's door now and Loa opened it for them and smiled at Ellie. "Dear, why don't you take Adam to the blue room for your first night together. You'd probably both enjoy it."

Ellie giggled and looked delighted. "That would be wonderful! Oh, thanks Loa, I can't believe it! You're the best!"

"Goodnight then, we'll see you both tomorrow." My Dad said, grinning and winking at Ellie. I felt like everyone was enjoying a private joke at my expense, Ellie and I were getting so many knowing looks and furtive smiles. Part of my mind still stubbornly was rebelling against the strength and speed of this relationship, even as I hurtled headlong towards intimacy with him.

Alone in the hall, Ellie put his arm in mine and led me onward. "What's the blue room?" I asked him.

"Oh, you'll see in a second." He chuckled cutely.

There was little noise of the party behind us now, just the click clack sound of his pumps on the rich wooden floor. We were far enough from the dining hall that the music and talking was barely audible, and I began to get nervous. All evening this had been my goal, but now that it was here, was I really going to do it? Was I really going to have sex with another male? I knew I didn't have a damn clue how to do it. What was going to happen when we were naked? What if I had no reaction? What if he didn't turn me on in the slightest and this whole thing would be a bust? How would he react? How would everyone else react? My heart began to hammer in my chest and I began to tremble nervously, getting cold feet.

We were at a cherry wood door with elegant carvings all over it. Ellie looked up at me and murmured. "Don't be afraid."

7) ** **An Evening on Fire


I tried to take a deep breath and stilled my quivering muscles. Ellie opened the door and switched on the light switch. I looked around in surprise at the blue room. It was laid out in stunning opulence with rich sensuality on proud display. There was a bed on the left, a giant four poster bed with red satin sheets and quilts and pillows and curtains. There were red satin chairs to the right around a fireplace all laid out with wood, ready to be lit. On the back wall under a large bay window was a pit in the floor that looked like it was padded out with endless ruffles of red silk cloth and pillows, a place to snuggle up and make love while wallowing in a soft shimmering satin embrace.

There were numerous large green plants around the room giving an almost outdoors jungle feel, and I looked up to see where they got light from. Overhead, the entire ceiling was patterned glass diamonds looking out at the night sky. On one side of the room was a heavy satin curtain held horizontally in a track along the glass ceiling that could be drawn by means of a pole against the wall. It could then cover over the ceiling for darkness and privacy if desired, but would also cuckold the room even more in a red satin embrace.

The corners of the room had posts of rich cherry wood, sculpted into ornate patterns. The walls were a soft gray and were covered with many paintings of nude males, many, if not all of which I recognized as Loa. The floor was thick brown bear fur-like carpeting that my feet sunk down into and felt wonderful after a long time standing in uncomfortable shoes. There were also several statues placed around the room, depicting homoerotica in various forms, which made me uneasy as I thought they looked like they might be depicting my father and Loa. One of the lovers was human, one was feline, at any rate.

Ellie was looking all around too, craning his neck to take in all the details. "What do you think, love?" He breathed softly.

"What is this place, El?"

"It's Loa and your father's private...playroom. Well, at least it was until your father got too ill to...y'know, do 'it' in here anymore. Loa keeps it immaculate though, even to this day as you can see. I guess...I don't think he's accepted the fact that your daddy is not going to get better. Or maybe he wants to keep the memories of their love in place, in remembrance of what they've shared."

"At any rate, I've only been in here once, and only then because Loa and I are besties and I asked to see it. Nobody else has ever been in here to my knowledge. He keeps it clean and tends the plants all himself, nobody else helps or is allowed in here. It's a very, very great honor that he's letting us spend the night here, believe me."

"You and Loa are that close?" I said, sympathetically.

"Yeah. He...I dunno. I couldn't even talk when I came here I was so messed up. He worked with me every day, reaching out to me and being a friend to a scarred little kitten to get me to open up. We're blood brothers now, and share just about everything." He pointed to the paintings. "I think your dad painted those, by the way."

I sighed. Somehow this conversation had relaxed me and I reached for him, gently pulling him to me, running my fingers over the beautiful satin of his dress and feeling the warmth and softness of his sexy feline body underneath. I kissed him for several minutes and began to feel horny and eager again. Breaking the kiss, I enthused, "Where...where do you wanna do this, love? I have no idea what I'm doing or how we do this, so you'll have to help me, you know."

He looked up at me with a grave expression on his lovely little face. "I haven't had sex since I was thirteen, that was eight years ago. For that matter, I've never had consensual sex, so while I'm technically not a virgin, I don't know a whole lot more than you do about mutual sexual pleasure, my love. I'll share with you what I do know, and we can take our time and play with each other and experiment, and I think our instincts will naturally tell us what to do."

I nodded. "I'm really scared that...when I see you naked, I'm not going to..." I broke off, unable to force myself to say the words.

"You're not going to find another male arousing?" He finished gently for me.

I nodded. "Ellie, I'm so attracted to you, but twenty-four hours ago I had no interest in gay sex at all. I don't know what's gonna happen, and I'm scared."

He smiled. "There's only one way to find out, dearest. Let's stop talking about it and start doing it. I'd like to try the satin wallow, how 'bout you? Loa says it's the best thing in this room."

I nodded. "OK, sounds good." I bent over and removed my shoes and socks, then the sport coat and bow tie. I then carefully climbed into the red satin pit and turned around to see what Ellie was doing. He'd pulled the ribbon from his hair, and now was quickly pulling his braids out so that his shiny blonde hair would swing freely about his face. He went over to a small dressing table and grabbed one of Loa's hairbrushes and began to brush his silky hair. I watched him, letting my sexual desire for him grow without any inhibitions. My penis became erect, and I didn't try to hide it or suppress the thoughts and desires that were igniting my sex drive.

Ellie finished making his hair shine and stood up, walking over to the edge of the pit and turning his back to me. "Could you help me with my dress, baby?" He purred gently.

I stood up from where I'd been lounging and waded over to where he was, grabbing handfuls of his round, full, sexy ass and kneading the warm flesh to my heart's content. After a few minutes, I drew my hands firmly up his body, one up the front and one up the back, feeling how tiny and lithe his little figure was. "Your body is so God-damned sexy, El, I just want to bury my face in your fur and drown in you." I grabbed the zipper on the back of his blue dress and carefully zipped it down, then parted the material and ran my fingers through his soft back fur. I sighed in love and total pleasure at the feeling. He held onto the front of the dress to keep it from flowing off his body like liquid.

After a moment of wonderful physical contact, he stepped away from me and turned so I could watch him. Flicking his blond hair over his shoulders, he slowly lowered the dress. First exposed were his little male nipples and flat chest. He had a bit of definition in his pecks, but otherwise was as flat as could be. His tummy was toned and muscular, and I could see a bit of his abs. He was in excellent, sexy shape, I could tell.

He then let the dress fall to the floor with a sigh, exposing himself to me. He had on a black satin garter belt that held his fishnet stockings up, and a matching pair of black silk thong panties with a little pink bow at the front. The panties were far too tiny to contain an aroused young male, and his penis was already unsheathed and free of its panty prison, throbbing erotically. His balls were tightened up, held close to his warm body.

He dropped his panties and I drank in the view of a naked male, and with no inhibitions left I let my mind lust after what I saw. His circumcised penis was pink, covered with a lovely latticework of veins that made it look like a beautiful work of art. He was so aroused that his luscious cock was tight and glossy, the head swollen and shiny, throbbing with his quickly beating heart. His sheath was pulled back to the base of his dick, a furry soft fold of skin that would protect him and keep him warm when he was not having sex. The whole thing was so beautiful it was striking. He was perhaps just a bit smaller than I was, but on his tiny body that equated to quite a large and lovely looking penis.

His balls were also covered with downy-soft, short fur in a light, creamy-brown like the rest of his body. They were tight and ready already for sexual contact and release, and he fingered them for me, showing me their curve and shape. I wanted to taste them, to suck them into my mouth and experience the flavor of another male's sex.

He turned around and let me see his round luscious ass and hips. He bent over, and his pretty curves made his ass form a perfect heart shape. Females would have killed for an ass like that, I thought. From behind, I could see his ball sack between his legs, dangling invitingly and welcoming taste and touch. Above them I beheld his little pink anal pucker. His light brown fur ended a centimeter from his sphincter, leaving his skin bare and showing me his lovely anus. His tail swirled gently through the air above his ass, and he swayed gently from side to side, his gloved paws on his hips in a way that lit me on fire to fuck him.

"Ellie...whoa." I whispered in awe.

He looked over his shoulder at me and gave me a knowing wink and a smile. "Still think you're gonna have trouble fucking me because I'm a male when the time comes?"

"Oh hell no, I'm not! I...I didn't know anything in the world could be this sexy. Oh God, El, you are the most perfect creature on the planet! Your body is sooo sexy! I'm so horny just from seeing you I feel like I'm gonna cum and we haven't even done anything yet."

He turned back to me and glided into the pit with me, still wearing his blue satin gloves, garters, stockings and heels. He flowed towards me and purred, "Let's free up your cock quick before the stimulation of your clothes makes you waste all that delicious semen into your pants, OK? Strip for me, my love. I want to see your naked human body, the body of my precious lover."

I swallowed thickly and nodded. I didn't make such a production out of it as he had, merely stripping myself naked as quickly as my trembling fingers could go. I left my underwear for last, and he knelt before me before I could pull them off and put his hands on my thighs gently. He gazed at the bulge in my undergarments with unbridled lust and desire, then reached up and gently pulled them off of me. My cock caught in the waistband, at last popping free and jiggling through the air before it settled into place, defying gravity and throbbing as much as his was when I'd examined him a moment ago.

He let out a gasp of delight. "Ohhh wow! Your penis is so beautiful, Adam! I've never seen a human naked before. This is truly the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life!"

My voice was husky and trembling. "Yours is more beautiful. I can't believe how utterly sexy your penis is. It's like I've desired sex with men all my life."

He smiled. "Sounds like it's a deep family tradition. Like I said, you really are your father's son. Is it OK if I show you one of the ways males can love each other, now?"

"Y...yeah...please...I'm dying for it." I moaned.

He gave me a seductive smile. "Lay down and get comfy, I mean get totally relaxed. Prop your head up on some pillows so you can watch, and open your legs so I can lay between them. Don't be afraid of this, darling. You know how much I love you. This is going to be wonderful, beyond anything you've ever experienced before. Enjoy our precious first time, OK?"

I nodded, a little nervous but mostly eager to begin. I did everything he asked and tried to let the tension out of my muscles. He crawled sexily around the edge of the pit on all fours, letting me watch his long crawl. I drank in the movement of his long, sexy legs and heels, and the way his throbbing penis bounced and jiggled with every movement. Yesterday, I would have found the thought of licking another male's cock to be vomit inducingly disgusting, but today I was dying to taste him, to suck him into my mouth and feel his glossy penis's warmth on my tongue.

After crawling twice around the complete circumference of the pit like a predator stalking his prey, he pounced between my legs and put his little gloved paws on my dick. I gasped and tensed up at the sensation of someone else touching me. His satin gloves felt wonderful on my prick as he lightly stroked me a bit, exploring me.

"Can't feel it." He grunted softly and pulled his gloves off before taking my meat in his paws again. His pads were velvety soft, and his fur was much softer even than the satin. I moaned in delight at the feeling of being touched by him.

He reached up and took my hand in his paw. I looked into his brilliant blue eyes, and into the deepest wells of lust I'd ever seen. "Are you ready to mate? To make it more than just a word, to make it an action? Are you ready to become lovers?"

I was trembling again, but I squeezed his paw tightly. "More than anything else in my life, Elliot." I breathed through clenched teeth.

He opened his lovely little muzzle and flicked the tip of his tongue against my glans. I gasped, but he didn't stop there. Next he ran the tip of his tongue all the way around the base of my glans, then continued swirling out until he'd licked the entire head, ending off lapping at the tip as if it were a pool of water. He looked into my eyes and smiled a naughty, sexy smile. "You taste like heaven. Your musky male scent is incredibly sexy, and you taste as good as you smell; like heaven."

He then moved forward again and gently gripped my penis in his thumb and forefinger, lifting it up so he could easily access the underside. I cried out in delight and clenched my toes as he gently drew the tip of his tongue all the way from the bottom of my balls to the tip of my cock. His little mouth was so warm and wet, the stimulation of even just the tip of his feline tongue was maddeningly delicious.

He wasn't done teasing me, though. He held my dick in both his little paws, gently clutching it like it was the greatest treasure in his life. He moved it every which way, licking tenderly over all surfaces over and over again. After a while of this he lifted it up and pressed it to my stomach and began to lick my balls like an ice cream cone. He sucked one, then the other, then both balls into his mouth and worked them gently over in his little muzzle.

I reached down and ran my fingers through his silky head of blond hair. I was practically in tears this felt so incredible and was so emotional. Not only did this feel good, not only did it feel natural, but it actually felt better than anything I'd ever felt in my entire life. I moaned and gasped in delight, unable to articulate any words to express how much this meant to me. He looked up at me with his eyebrows up and winked at me as if to say, "See, I told you that you'd enjoy this. I told you it'd be better than any other sex could ever be."

He licked over my inner thighs and up my stomach to swirl his wet tongue over my belly button a few times. I laced my fingers through his and he used his other hand to turn my penis off to the side so he could lap rapidly side to side up and down the shaft. "G...God...El...lemme...lemme touch yours while you do this, please!" I cried, eager wonder showing on my face.

He turned his body to the side so that I could reach his throbbing cock. His skin was breathtakingly soft. The shaft underneath the stretchy skin was rock hard, and the head was spongy and slippery, especially when wet.. The soft downy fur that covered his balls was so delicate that it tickled my hand to touch it. I cupped his balls in my hand and rubbed them, and was rewarded with them tightening up against his body. He moaned at the touch.

"Ellie, can I lick you too?" I breathed excitedly, wanting to taste him.

He paused. "Well...for this first time, I would really like to just experience the one on one contact together. It'll feel wonderful to suck each other together, but...it's a different feeling. You are distracted from both jobs because of the intensity of everything. Can we just take turns our first time so we can focus on the sensations together without any distractions?"

"Oh. I hadn't thought of it like that. Yes Ellie, of course we can. You're probably right, this is better for our first timmmmMME!" As I finished speaking, he opened his mouth wide and sucked my cock head entirely into his mouth for the first time. His eyes were locked into mine as he did it and I felt the amazing sensation nearly overpower me. He brought his tail up and wrapped it around my wrist where I was still touching his dick, and began to bob up and down on me, holding my prick steady at the base with his fingers. Taking a little more of my swollen cock into his mouth every single time he went down, I felt every millimeter he was taking as a massive and pleasurable shock to my nerves.

His hair was raining down in his face and he released my hand so that he could pull it back out of the way. It immediately fell forward as soon as he released it, so I gently grabbed it with my hands and ran my fingers through it, gently pulling it up and out of his pretty face. He glanced up at me with a look of thanks and then began to massage my balls with his other hand. I felt them tighten in his grip and I fought to maintain control against the ever increasing pleasure and orgasm that threatened to overwhelm me.

"Nnnn...Ee...Elllll...God! Fuck!" I cried, writhing in ecstasy as he finally took all of me. He deep throated me for the first time, and almost immediately gagged and pulled off, gurgling and gasping.

"Kyaah...sorry! He gasped, swallowing rapidly. "I...whew...I've not done this for years. It's hard to do!"

"Maybe you shouldn't do it, then?" I asked, not wanting to make him do something as unpleasant as that had obviously been.

He smiled up at me and opened his muzzle wide, then slowly slid over my dick, farther and farther until his cute little muzzle was completely full. Then he took a deep breath, furrowed his brow and pushed my cock down into his throat for a second time.

I heard him choking and felt his throat constrict against my head. The sensation was enough to make me see stars, but at the same time I was watching him and seeing how hard this was. Tears streamed from his eyes, which he had squeezed shut as tight as he could. Then his eyes suddenly opened wide and he yanked quickly off me, dry heaving and gagging so hard I thought he was going to vomit. Drool poured from his open mouth and he whimpered a little.

I was thoroughly horrified by this, no matter how incredibly good his throat milking my cock had felt. "Ellie, stop doing that! I don't like it!" I said admonishingly.

He looked up at me and wiped the tears from his eyes. "What? Why? Doesn't it feel good?"

"I don't care how it feels, I don't like how awful it obviously is for you! I don't want you to do it anymore!" I said, still feeling horrified that he would do such a thing just for me.

He looked up at me and his ears drooped. "But...I love it, Adam." He said softly.

"Love it? You are gagging and practically throwing up trying to do it! It doesn't look like it is anything other than terrible! How could you possibly love it?" I said, trying not to be angry with his obstinacy.

He drooped even more and looked close to tears. "I love it because it is you." He said in a tiny little voice.

I looked at him in absolute shock. That he would actually want to do something that was obviously uncomfortable and unpleasant, not for his own sake, but to do it for me floored me so much I began to cry. "Oh Ellie! That...that is the sweetest thing I've...the sweetest gift I've...ever been given! It felt beyond wonderful!" I scooped his little body up from between my legs and pulled him into my lap so I could kiss him everywhere my lips could reach as fast as I could, completely overwhelmed with love for him. I whimpered that I loved him over and over again.

He hugged me and gently spoke words of calming. "Oh my sweet, it's OK. I promise, it isn't that bad. The more I do it, the more I'll be able to control my gag reflex until I can just stay with you buried in my throat as long as I want to. I just have to practice it for a little. I'm glad it felt good to you."

I tried to control my tears and smiled at him. "I'll...show you how awesome it feels when it is my turn to do this to you, El." I sniffled. He kissed my lips gently and then slid back down my body between my legs and began to lick and kiss my penis again.

After a few moments he slowly took me back into his throat and I gasped as I felt him bottom out, felt his muscles constricting on me again. He stayed that way for several seconds before he had to pull off again, this time only gagging a little and not dry heaving. He didn't even pull off of me completely this time, but immediately sank back on me, taking all of me within his little pretty mouth. I was shivering with delight at the sensation, and though I was still worried about how hard it was for him to do this, I was beginning to feel just how amazingly good this really could feel.

With my entire length in his mouth, he could suck down with incredible pressure and practically slurp the skin right off my cock. I groaned and gasped, whimpered and writhed beneath my sexy little lover as he was able to remain on me for longer and longer. At last, he was beginning to bob up and down again, this time deep throating me all the while. I ran my fingers through his hair again, brushing it out of his face so I could look down at his cute little muzzle enveloping my dick.

He was focused on his work, licking all around me and cuddling my penis in his little paws. He looked so adorably cute concentrating on pleasing me and exploring my body, I almost began to cry again just viewing his simple purity. Sensing I was looking down at him, he looked up at me and gave me a naughty and seductive smile, his eyes twinkling maliciously.

"El...this is...too much for me. I'm gonna cum, baby! Oh God, this is so good! I love you! Fuuuuuck!" I howled and resisted the urge to smash his face down on my dick as my pleasure increased and overflowed. He pulled off enough so that he could take my entire load in his mouth and used both paws to rub my shaft frantically as I jittered and twitched, spewing my seed into his mouth.

He yowled in delight and opened his mouth wide so that I could see the lake of cum I was filling him with, still wearing a naughty and exuberant smile. I couldn't believe I was cumming this hard or this long. The pleasure raged over me as he pawed me off madly, letting spurts of my jizz splatter his pretty little face and begin to drip down his cheeks onto my legs. "Yummy!" He giggled happily and licked his lips, smearing cum all over them.

At last my orgasm subsided and I collapsed back on the satin pillows and watched him luxuriously swallow my seed, savoring the flavor and texture of every drop. He ran it around his tongue, through his teeth and finally bit by bit swallowed it, then slurped up every last drop off his face, my legs, and my penis until everything was squeaky clean. It was a crazy act of love, and was incredibly erotic as well. I'd never in my wildest dreams imagined something as sexy as my male lover savoring my spunk.

"Mmmm...Your human semen tastes really good. Best flavor I've ever tasted, no joke! Just knowing it is yours makes it taste sweeter than a chocolate cake!" He grinned and blushed, looking so sexy it almost got me hard again immediately after just cumming.

I drew his little soft body up onto my lap and muttered, "Lemme taste it then." I said and kissed his glossy black lips before I could have second thoughts.

The flavor was strange to me, very mild and not at all unpleasant as I might have thought. Then again, I was only getting the aftertaste left over in his mouth, not the direct flavor of my own emissions. His mouth was oddly slick though, and I guessed it was probably because of a remnant of my slippery sperm still in his sexy little mouth.

After a moment or two of swirling our tongues together and me experiencing the flavor of male cum, he broke the kiss and hugged me tightly. "This is the best night of my life." He purred into my ear.

"It's the best night of my life too." I returned in a whisper. I realized I really meant that, too. This was beyond my most erotic fantasies. I began to pet his body, touching him everywhere from his toes to his lovely round ass. "I love my little mate." I added.

We lay there for a few moments, then I realized he must be dying to have sex, and here I was selfishly enjoying myself at his expense without offering him any sexual pleasure to repay his wonderful oral pleasure. "El, can I try to do the same thing for you, now?"

He smiled up into my face and eagerly nodded. "Oh yes, please! I'm dying to feel what it's like! I've never been treated to oral sex before, so there's nothing else in the world I'd like to do with you more!"

I was a little surprised. "You've never done this before?"

He shook his head. "My Dad never gave me anything, just took from me."

I rolled his little body over on his back and grabbed his ankles, spreading him wide open and crawling between his sexy legs while crooning gently to him. "Then it's high time someone loved you enough to let you experience how good this feels, Prince. Relax and let me show you. This is my first time too, so if I do something wrong, tell me, 'K?" I stroked his cute little feet and sexy pumps as I spoke.

He stared up at me with large eyes. "Prince? How did you know that name?" I belatedly felt worried he would be angry at my invasion of his privacy.

"My Dad told me a little of your history, and your relationship with Loa. He was trying to help me come to terms with desiring a male, and to understand why you are so sweet and special. It helped me explore and deepen what I felt for you... I hope that's OK?" I replied, kissing his ankle.

Hesitating for a moment, he said "Sure. There's nobody I'd rather have knowing my story than you, my husband. You owe me some stories about your childhood and growing up so I can get to know more about you, though!"

Grinning, I happily chirped "Deal! Let me show you how it felt, now."

It was his turn to be trembling in anticipation as he looked down eagerly at me between his legs. "Just do what comes natural and it'll be great. Keep your teeth in mind though, 'cause you could really hurt me accidentally if you bite me."

I nodded. "I won't nibble no matter how good it tastes, I promise." I reached down and touched his swollen shiny penis, so tight and engorged with blood, covered with such lovely veins. I stroked his cock head, feeling how spongy it was and how slick the throbbing purple skin felt. I rubbed his velveteen balls, pulling gently on the skin and releasing so I could watch it pull back up tightly in anticipation of sexual contact.

I leaned in close and smelled his dick. There was a slightly musky smell mixed with a bit of body odor. I understood for the first time truly what he meant by "I love it because it is you." Just knowing that this smell was my sexy mate's masculine smell made it the most erotic and arousing thing I'd ever smelled. I nuzzled my nose into the cleft between the base of his prick and his balls and breathed deep lungs full of his male scent, memorizing every nuance of the delicious fragrance of my mate's sex.

He giggled at me, smiling and enjoying what I was doing. Remembering my higher purpose, to make oral love to him and not just sniff is cock, I carefully stuck out the tip of my tongue and licked at his balls. It was a little fuzzy, but a pleasant feeling. I extended my tongue and began to lap at his balls, sucking them into my mouth and enjoying their flavor of sweat and musk. His giggle turned to groans of delighted pleasure and he began to squirm a little. I slurped on his balls until they were squeaky clean, then steeled myself and licked slowly up the entire underside of his penis.

The musky taste was stronger here, but I found it no less pleasant than before because it was him. His reaction to my tongue on his throbbing cock was a precious memory that I would hold onto warmly for the rest of my life. He gasped and yowled in total disbelieving shock and delight, squirming up into a sitting position and crossing his legs Indian style, he grabbed onto my head and hugged me tightly.

I licked the underside of his throbbing penis several more times, then began licking long strokes along the sides and top, struggling to maneuver his dick into position to lick him he was so hard and stiff. He lashed his tail erratically and he cried out in delight. "Ohhhh my God! This is so much better than my hands! Oooo...I never ever knew it could feel like this! Oh please, my darling mate, give me more! I'm going to die this feels so good!"

I planted several lingering, loud, wet, smacking kisses on him, then sucked the tip of his rod into my mouth. The soft, sleek skin was slippery with my saliva on it, and I ran my tongue swirling around the tip, exploring every contour of his glans. I remembered how good sucking on it had felt, and sucked down hard on him. I was rewarded with a sexy cry of ecstasy. "Of God's sake! Oh wow, this is awesome! I love you so much, Adam!"

I began doing as he had done, bobbing up and down on him, taking a tiny bit more of him into my mouth with every stroke. As I did this I explored the main part of his penis with my tongue, slurping it out of my mouth to cover more of him every stroke. I could feel the webbing of veins under his skin and and marveled at how damn hard his throbbing shaft was.

I realized what I was doing and felt giddy with ecstatic delight. I was sucking on another male's penis! I was engaging in sexual acts with this cute little god, and I was loving every second of it. The happy thoughts made me suck down on him as hard as I possibly could and take as much as my mouth could handle into my eager lips.

He cried out loudly in delight when I sucked down. "Oh yes! Oh God yes! Of fucking God yes!"

There was still a length of his dick that I couldn't reach. I realized now why he'd been so eager to deep throat me. I was worried to try it, but I loved seeing how much pleasure this was giving him and that drove me into absolute determination to give Elliot the same precious gift he'd given me. I pulled off him for a second so I could speak. "How do I do this, babe? How do I deep-throat you?"

I went back to licking his member to keep him in the mood. He panted in delight. "Are you sure you want to do that the first time? I'm OK with it if you don't. It isn't easy to do."

I glared teasingly at him. "Don't make me give you the same speech you gave me, now how do I do it?"

He laughed lovingly and beamed down at me. "OK, you win. All you do is force it down your throat. Try to fight your gag reflex as hard as you can. If you lose control and gag, pull off of me fast or you can make yourself vomit, which would kinda ruin the mood. Don't force it too much all at once. You saw how I kept doing it until I got used to you all the way in, so just take your time and practice it. We have all night and my penis isn't going anywhere, so don't be in a hurry. Does that all make sense?"

I nodded and slid my mouth back down on him. He grabbed handfuls of my hair and stroked me everywhere he could reach with loving paws. I took a deep breath and gingerly pushed down, forcing more of his dick into my mouth than it could comfortably take. For a brief moment it just felt good, then without warning my gag hit and I jerked off of him, swallowing quickly. "God damn, that's hard!" I panted, wiping tears from the corners of my eyes.

He smiled, looking a little concerned, but seemed to know not to try and discourage me. He knew why I wanted to do this for him, he'd felt the same way a few minutes ago. I tried again, sinking down on his warm dick, taking more and more until my mouth was full. I then pushed on him, taking more in and letting it slip down to the back of my throat. I eased it back, pushing it against my throat, and found it difficult to breath I was so full. Dammit, I still had an inch to go! I tried to push more in and immediately gagged and had to pull off.

Panting, I shook my head. "Sorry! How...how do I get it past the back of my tongue? The moment I do that I lose all control and gag."

He was panting with lust and whimpered, "Oh, this feels just awesome! Lower your tongue down so it doesn't block your throat. Tip your head back to straighten your throat out so it is more of a straight shot for my dick. Then just bob up and down and try to take a little more each time. Take your time, love. I can't believe you're trying to deep-throat me on our first time together- this isn't easy, you know, and I love you so much just for trying." Tears of love dotted his cheeks as he spoke these last words, and I could tell it really meant a lot to him that I was doing this. It also gave me determination that I was going to do this, dammit, I was going to do it for him.

I did as he said, lying down between his sexy legs so that I could try and straighten out my throat to better accommodate him. I laid my tongue flat on the floor of my mouth. I closed my eyes and focused on trying to breathe, but lost control and gagged quickly without my tongue in control. He moaned in delight and I knew that even my failed attempts were milking his cock with intense squeezing pleasure.

On the next attempt I didn't try to force too much into my throat all at once. Instead I bobbed up and down on his slippery penis, taking it as far down my throat as I comfortably could without gagging. With a nice rhythm going I started to swirl my tongue around on his dick, tracing the contours and veins with the tip of my tongue pushing against his warm throbbing cock. I happened to suck down hard one time as I slid off of him, and felt his whole body tense as he squeaked in pleasure. I knew I was onto a winning move with that, and began to focus my sucking during the pull-back much more than the push-in of each stroke.

I could taste something leaking out of him a bit, and I guessed it was precum. It was slippery but mild of taste, not really identifiable. I paused for a moment to worship his balls for a while and rest my mouth and throat. I slurped wetly at his lovely furry testicles and felt them again tighten from the contact, eager to release their reward for my hard work. I reveled in their taste, and in the unique texture of the stretchy flesh underneath his velvety fur. He was running his lovely little paws through my hair and squeezing his shapely thighs around my head as he attempted to control himself.

I moved below his balls to his taint and licked the flat of my tongue as firmly as I could up and down underneath his sack. Soon I had this fur soaked and matted as well, just like the fur of his balls. I finished up this attention by tenderly kissing first one testicle, then the other, back and forth as I nuzzled into his sexual parts worshipfully.

Having had enough of a rest for my throat, I slurped back onto his penis, again taking time to resume a nice rhythm of up and down strokes. I was horny and in the throes of passion at the kinky pleasure of this act by now, and it increased my drive to succeed in my attempts to take him down my throat. Once I was comfortably blowing him, I began to push the depth of my strokes gently. Each time working to take a little bit more in my mouth. I gagged a bit, but kept on sucking, just backing off the depth for a few strokes until I was in control again.

Again I pushed it and again I failed. He was just so long and thick, and I realized that his muzzle gave his mouth some depth that I was lacking. Even though his oh-so-sexy penis was a little smaller than mine, I was actually having to take quite a lot more of him into my throat than he'd had to take for me.

"Guhhhh...Oh Adam...my God, this feels sooo gooood. Oh, I want to do this with you all day every day from now on, my sexy mate. I'm finally getting to experience sex with a partner who truly loves and cares for me! Oh, this is so worth it...I'm so glad that you are here with me, that everything happened that needed to happen so that we could eventually meet. I've truly met my soulmate and lifemate in you! Oh, suck me deep baby, just take as much as you can and be content knowing that you've given me more pleasure than I ever even knew existed." He spoke these words so intensely I knew I was overpowering him with pleasure.

I reached up and ran my fingers lovingly through the soft light brown fur on his toned and tight tummy. He took my fingers in both his little paws and kissed them with such passion I knew he was trying to throw every ounce of love he was feeling into it. All this was making me wild with lust, and my penis was fully erect and throbbing again, ready and wanting another piece of this sexy action.

"Oh, another thing you can do to help with your gag reflex is make a fist with your left hand, but put your thumb down in your fingers and squeeze it. That lessens your gag reflex, but nobody knows why." He added belatedly between kisses, then released my hand so I could do as he suggested.

His emotions and joy drove me to try again. I squeezed my thumb as he'd indicated, and at long last, I managed to suppress the gag reflex and felt his penis slide partway down my throat. I let out an excited exclamation to let him know I was doing it, but I needn't have worried, he could obviously tell. He let out a cry of ecstasy and pushed back into the satin pillows, arching his back and pushing his cock upwards towards me. I realized he was a few scant seconds from climax and I used my new found ability to blow him as fast and hard and deeply as I could.

On my second stroke I made it all the way and squashed my face into his crotch, feeling the base of his shaft press to my lips. That was all he could take, and as I sucked hard and pulled back off, I felt his penis pulse and begin to shoot streams of hot feline semen into my mouth. I considered going deep again, but I wanted to taste what he'd tasted as he'd reveled in the mouthful I'd given him. Instead, I sucked in and out as much as I could and still make sure all his seed flooded my mouth, right on my tongue.

I wrapped my thumb and forefinger around the part of his shaft that I couldn't fit in my mouth and rubbed him as fast and hard as I could, trying desperately to prolong and intensify his orgasm. He had practically wrapped himself into a ball surrounding my head he was so tensed up. His tail was just spasming randomly, but otherwise he didn't move. He howled and mewled in delight, shivering and panting frantically in the throes of an orgasm.

His powerful jets of semen turned to pulsing wads of sperm that oozed thickly from the tip of his dick and formed in globby pools in my mouth. His taste was like nothing I had ever tasted before, and the scent of his seed was different from a human's. It was a tiny bit salty, not at all bitter, and one hundred percent all sexy. I was so incredibly horny that there was absolutely no way in hell I wasn't going to love what he pumped into me, even if it had tasted like skunk spray. I reveled in it, swirled my tongue through it, and marveled at how slippery and silky it made my mouth feel. When his orgasm finished and he fell back limply into the satin pillows, I pulled back and began to enjoy my treat.

Just like he'd done, I found myself making quite a production of testing and tasting my mouthful of his cream. I slowly rationed swallowing the silky, thick mass, and glanced up and saw he was watching me with rapt attention. He was obviously enjoying watching me enjoy his spunk as much as I had enjoyed watching him with mine. "Whoa, that looks so awesome." He breathed as he watched me.

Finishing my just reward all too soon, I kissed my lover's penis and sucked the few drops that were left in him out, then finally relaxed, laying down with my head resting on his tummy, and took my lovely new pink muse into my hands and slowly stroked it as he softened. He wanted more intimate contact though, and caught my head and pulled me up to hug me and kiss my lips as we pressed our bodies together. I kept a hold of his cock in my hands as we kissed, and I felt him take mine into his little sexy paw and begin to play with me just as I was playing with him.

"How did I do, Elliot? I asked softly, having calmed down enough to stop panting.

"I...never knew it could be like this." He whispered. "Oh my love, this was more wonderful than I ever could have imagined. It was better than I've ever hoped, better than I've ever dreamed it would be like to be with someone who loves me. Please, tell me you love me and want me. Tell me that I'm special to you and that you'll never, ever leave me."

He was crying tears of happiness as he spoke, but I could also tell there was an underlying note of insecurity behind these words, that he needed my reassurance that I loved what we had just done as much as I loved him, and wasn't going to leave him tomorrow, or the next day, or ever. I wondered at the horrors of his past, at being forced to do something when he was too young to even understand, alone, frightened and in pain. That he could ever love again was a marvel, and I hugged him tightly to me, pressing my lips to his as I responded.

"El, my darling. My sweet, sweet baby. I've never ever loved anyone before you, and I'll never love anyone else after you, no matter what happens. If you were to die tomorrow, I would remain true to your memory for the rest of my life, I swear it to you. After being with you, there could never be another who could fulfill me in even the slightest way. You are the sexiest creature I've ever seen, and I believe we were made for each other, that we would be in love with each other no matter our species or gender."

"Ellie, this was meant to be, just like you said. I will die a little every time you aren't by my side, even if for just a moment. As long as you'll tolerate this poor blacksmith's rough hands and clumsy manner, I swear I will bow at your feet and worship you every day of our lives. That can't begin to express my love, but it is the best words I have to give you."

"Oh Adam. I have always dreamed of you. I dreamt that I would fall in love with master's son every day of my life. I really honestly did! I dreamed that he would ride up one day and be just like master, so gentle and pure and caring. I knew that master's son would sweep me off my feet and make me feel love like I never knew I could feel. I had such a huge crush on your dad, like so many people here, and I knew he was taken by Loa. I don't know how to explain it other than it was my feelings for him transfered into someone I could have, someone who wasn't already spoken for. I knew it was just a matter of time before we'd meet."

"When master had me help write that letter to you because of my penmanship, I dreamed my dream even more and hoped I would finally get to meet you. When you knocked and I answered the door...Oh Adam, you are such a sexy boy, I didn't even comprehend that you were my dream in the flesh, I just stared at you in wonder...and then you handed me the letter! The one I'd written to you! You can't imagine how that felt, to see you after years and years of dreaming and wondering, and have you be every bit of what I'd dreamed, just as I had always known you would be."

"...And even better, the way you looked at me with such admiration and lust...I just about passed out because I knew that the feeling was mutual! It took all my willpower to keep from throwing myself at you right then and there." He sighed happily, finishing his story.

"Wow." I said softly. "Did that all really happen?"

"Every word."

"They said you used to talk about me all the time, but you'd stopped years ago. You hadn't given up on me then?" I asked, curious how deep his feelings went.

He shook his head and snorted. "Loa and Master didn't understand. They couldn't understand, for some reason. Even though they'd experienced love at first sight with each other, my conviction about you started making them more and more uncomfortable, and they were beginning to insist it was just a dream I had. I knew it wasn't, but I didn't wanna fight with them every day over it, so I did the hardest thing of all, I stopped talking about you every day. But believe me, you were still on my mind always."

"Oh El, it must have been awful when you realized I wasn't gay and didn't even know you were male, after we'd kissed and everything! Oh my God, how did you cope with it?"

"Do you want to know the truth?" He purred slowly.

"Yeah...I do..."

He ran his fingers over my cheek. "I wasn't the least bit worried, actually. I knew you might take a while to find me, but I knew you would. Everything I ever thought about you was true, and I knew it was my destiny to be yours. As corny as that sounds, I knew that today, or next month, or even next year, we would end up in bed with each other, and that was good enough for me."

"You had a ton of faith in your dream, baby." I said, tweaking his little pink nose gently.

He blushed. "Mind you, if you had rejected me today, I would have begun 'Operation: Seduction' on you within five minutes. That's why I was wearing that dress, by the way. I would have immediately done my best to make it sooner rather than later that you came around to loving me. I've waited years to meet you and become your lover, I think we've both waited for this long enough."

I couldn't help but laugh at that, and he giggled along with me. "Well, if I had pigheadedly rejected you today, I can promise you that it wouldn't have taken much seduction to change my mind. Finding out you were male hadn't dampened my lust for you in the slightest."

He looked down at my throbbing penis, still lovingly held in his gentle paw. "Looks like you are ready and waitin' for round two, huh? Shall we practice more unconscionable debauchery on each other?"

We both laughed and I kissed his glossy black lips. "Well, that makes it sound oh-so very naughty and wonderful I just can't refuse. What do you have in mind for us?"

He took a deep breath and looked up at me with serious eyes. "I want to...you know... have...try...I used to do it... It hurt, but it also felt sooOO good... I don't know if I'll manage it after...but for you..."

He fell silent and looked embarrassed, and I was confused. "What? Darling, it's me! What's the matter? I love you, you know. If there's something you don't want to do, then we won't do it, OK?"

He shook his head. "Nono, it isn't that, I'm just not sure if I'll be able to do it or not on our first try. If I'd have known about you, about tonight, I would have practiced it so I could do it. We might have to stop because it's just too much for me."

"Do What, Ellie-love?"

_ _ "I want you to take me from behind." He said, looking a little apprehensive.

I knew nothing about sex in general, and especially nothing about gay sex. "What? Like, you want me to suck on you while you lay on your stomach?"

"No." He laughed. "Take me from the rear?" I still didn't follow. "Take my rear?" I was clueless and shook my head, uncomprehending.

He smiled gently. "You understand how heterosexuals have intercourse, don't you?"

I was getting thoroughly embarrassed. "Well, not exactly, no."

He raised an eyebrow. "Have you ever seen a naked woman?"

I shook my head, blushing even deeper.

He covered for me smoothly. "OK, well, you know about penises, so that's half of it. The other half, a woman, is the polar opposite. She's got a hole in her crotch, and when males and females have sex, the male puts his penis inside her vagina. She gets all wet and slippery when she's turned on, and it makes for great sex, or so I'm told. I don't find females attractive so it doesn't appeal to me."

He returned to topic. "Anyway, the most intimate sexual contact two lovers can share is the act of penetration like that, it's what your penis was made for. Oral sex is great, but...it isn't the best you can have. At least, I don't think so, though some do." He was blushing now. "So what I mean is, you can put it up a guy's hole to have sex with him, now do you follow?"

"A guy's hole...No, I don't understand, you don't mean your mouth?"

He blushed a deep red and said, "No, stick it up my bottom. Up my butt? Where I go to the bathroom out of?"

At that last sentence I finally got what he was saying. I'd never even conceived of such a thing, and my jaw just about hit the pillows. I stared at him in shock, which made him squirm a bit, looking uncomfortable. "You...can't be serious? How could we do that? El, that's...that's insane! That's gross!" I laid back and looked at the ceiling, unable to look at his face.

He softly replied, "I don't think it's gross, Adam. It feels wonderful to both lovers and is the most intimate expression of love we'll ever be able to share together."

"Do...gay lovers really do that?"

"Yes, all the time."

"Doesn't it hurt?"

"It'll hurt me a little, when you first push it into me. Once I get used to it, the whole thing will just feel great."

"And you really want to...to do this..?"

"With you, yes. I'm dying to do it."

"I...don't know if I can do it, Ellie. I...that's a very foreign and nasty thought."

His smile was warm and gentle. "I promise you once you start, it'll be just as fun and natural as what we've done already. I don't know what you object to specifically, but it is clean, safe, pleasurable and really, really sexy, I promise. Everybody always says I have a sexy ass; take a look."

He rolled over on his stomach and lifted his butt into the air. His cheeks were perfect and round, his shapely hips looked so beautiful, and his eyes peeking seductively over his shoulder were beyond beautiful. I drank him in for a moment before he directed my attention to his rump. He got up on his knees, pushing his ass into the air, then grabbed his butt cheeks and pulled them as widely apart as he could. I could see his little pink anal pucker outlined with soft brown fur. His balls hanging down between his legs in this view were gorgeous.

"Take a look at my ass, lover. Isn't it round and sexy? Just imagine stroking your penis between my cheeks, stuffing it down in my crack and feeling the warmth of them squeezing you. Then imagine pushing against my asshole, pushing until the muscles release and open, and you slide into the warmest, tightest, sexiest feeling you've ever felt. Just think how sexy it would look, me on all fours with you kneeling over me, my hips held in your hands as you fuck into me. Every thrust makes my ass open up wide to accept your dick, and you can watch yourself sinking in and out of my cute little tail hole."

He continued his seduction. "As for me, the intrusion into my sphincter will be painful at first because it opens me up more than I've been opened up for years. But you'll go slow and gentle, pushing a little in and then letting it slip back out so that my muscles are gently stretched. By the time you push your cock head past my sphincter and make full sexual contact, I'll be loosened up and all I'll feel is powerful, intense, erotic sensations. It will feel so good to me in fact, I'll have an intense orgasm without any stimulation on my penis, which will blow your mind and make you want to try it really bad yourself."

"Trust me, Adam, if twenty-four hours ago you didn't even know you were meant to be with males, I promise you that if you give it a chance and let me get us started, you'll end up loving it so much you'll be begging me to do it again. You know me, and you trust me, don't you?"

I looked at him, apprehensive but horny from his description. "I trust you with my life. Let's try it, and I'm sure you'll be right...but just in case, if I get really weirded out, you aren't gonna be too disappointed, are you?"

"Naw, don't worry. Like I said, once we start you will not get weirded out, you're just going to want more. I promise. I'm gonna go get ready for this quick, because it does take a little preparation. I hope I can find all Loa's stuff. Be right back, darling." He waded out of the satin pit and I marveled at how good he looked and moved as he walked to the small dressing table and rooted through a couple drawers.

Finding several items I didn't recognize, he turned and headed naked and proud of it towards the door, wearing only his garter belt, stockings and heels. He glided with a graceful, feminine step, saying over his shoulder, "I gotta do this in the bathroom. Relax, love and I'll be right back to get started." He disappeared through the door, leaving it open a foot or so. I lay back and closed my eyes and listened to the silence of the household. The party must have wound down downstairs, as I could hear nothing. I breathed and tried to calm myself down, which wasn't easy.

Twenty minutes or so passed, and I was getting a little sleepy when I heard the click of high heels returning. Suddenly he stopped, and I just could make out him whispering with someone, I guessed Loa. "How is the evening going, dear?"

I heard Ellie respond with incredible trembling emotion in his voice. "Oh Loa, this is the best! He's beyond my wildest dreams, and he loves me so much! I can scarcely believe this is his first time, he's so willing and un-conflicted about it; he's never even had sex before, but he's willing to do it all because he loves me! He worked so hard and made the blowjob he gave me into a deep throat on his first time! I've never felt so desirable, so sexy in my life, and he just keeps making it better and better. Oh, and he's sooooOOO sexy, Loa! He's got the most masculine, muscular body I've ever seen, not an ounce of fat on him...He looks just awesome when he's naked! His hands are rough from hard work, but he's so gentle with me they just feel like the most beautiful hands in the world."

He continued his whispered gushing while I blushed, very pleased at the compliments he was paying me. "When he hugs me tight I feel so safe and warm and happy, I feel like I'm the most special person in the whole world, and I know that to him I am. I can have sex with him easily, without any flashbacks to my father or any fear. Oh Loa, he promised himself to me and me alone for the rest of his life. He even promised me that if I died he would never take another lover, and I know he means it with all his heart! All my wildest dreams are coming true! I'm soooo happy!"

I heard Loa respond and could tell he was hugging Ellie. "Oh that is so wonderful, El. You two make such a cute couple, and I could see how enamored he was with you right from the start. I'm so glad for you that he came around and woke up to how much you love him, and how trivial his fears were. You were meant for each other, beyond a shadow of a doubt, just like Adam and I. You were right all along!"

"Thanks Loa! For everything! Well, I gotta get back in there. I just cleaned my ass up and tried to stretch out and loosen up, and we're gonna try anal sex next. I can hardly wait to feel him fill me up and fuck me! He's nervous about it and thinks its gross, but I know when he tries it there won't be any inhibitions and he'll fuck my brains out and come back begging me for more. I'm so happy!"

"Little brother, I'm so happy for you. Ellie, if you and Adam would like, you can make the blue room your permanent bedroom. My mate and I...can't use it anymore, and it would mean a lot to me to know that you two are able to enjoy it."

I could tell they were hugging again. "Oh my God. Loa, I know what that room means to you, I don't feel worthy of it. I promise we'll treasure every night in it. Thank you so much for the gift!"

"You are very welcome. Now get back in there and show him the true thrill of sex and I know he'll enjoy it to the utmost. Goodnight, little brother dear."

"G'night, big brother!"

I heard high heels coming closer again and I tried to decide if I should let on that I'd heard them, because I felt like thanking him for all the kind things he'd said. In the end, I didn't know if he'd intended me to hear or not, so I opted not to say anything. I felt air move as he swung the door open and slipped inside, and the sound of the door latch softly closing. Then the thick carpet completely masked his movements as I assumed he was approaching me. I just lay there with my eyes closed and loved him with all my heart.

After a few moments, I heard him softly whisper over me, "Are you asleep?"

I smiled, keeping my eyes closed. "Nope, just gettin' awful lonesome waitin' for my warm fuzzball lover to come back."

He laughed softly as he climbed back into the pit with me. "Sorry, it took longer than I thought it would because I wanted to get good and stretched out and ready for this. Then I ran into Loa in the hall and he wanted to know how we're doing." He knelt down about a foot away from me, teasingly.

I pretended I didn't know that and looked a little embarrassed. "I hope you didn't have anything bad to report..."

He beamed at me. "Bad? Of course not, silly. This is the most wonderful night of my life! I told him you're my dream come true and you make me feel like a princess. An' he said we could make this room our permanent bedroom if we want!" He practically yeowled, clapping his paws together in glee.

That was sort of nice, but it also made me feel funny. This was my father's special place, and I felt like I was invading on his intimacy with Loa. Looking around at all the paintings of him, the sculptures of them...being in here, even if they had given us permission, felt like I was violating them somehow. Then there was the bare fact that the reason they weren't using it themselves was because my father was too sick to have sex in here anymore. Loa looked to be in his late thirties, and I was again sure losing his lover so young had to be tearing him apart, despite the brave face he was putting on in public.

Still, I could see it meant a lot to Ellie, and I wasn't going to spoil the moment for him with my misgivings. There was no denying that laying in this silky pit of satin pillows was absolutely an exquisite place to have sex. I winked at him. "That's awesome! We're gonna get spoiled making love in here."

He giggled happily and nodded. He was so sweet, my heart just ached looking at him. I was getting aroused again seeing his sexy naked body, smelling his sweet fragrant scent. I reached my arms out towards him. "C'mere, love. I need to touch you and hold you close."

He gave me a devilish grin and put his hands on his hips. "I'm not that kind of girl, you cad!"

"Oh no?" I growled playfully and dove at him. He screeched in glee and dodged my clumsy dive, and we scrambled around the pit as I chased him. He fell over and let himself be caught, squealing and squirming in my arms.

"Oh help! You big bully! Leave me alone!" He giggled.

I began smothering him in kisses and his protests quickly turned to purrs of pleasure as he stroked his warm little paws over my body. "Oooo, you're a nice bully." He murmured.

I ran my fingers over his hardening penis and was rewarded with it jumping to life in my fingers. I paused my kissing. "God, you are so sexy, Ellie. I can't believe how much you drive me wild."

I climbed up over him and lay down on top of him, feeling him wrap his arms around my neck and his legs around my hips. I could feel his warm penis pressing against my stomach and I gently moved up and down against him to pleasure his beautiful rock-hard cock. Feeling his body enveloping me was so erotic. This was the most sexual, intense feeling I'd felt yet. Knowing that he was going to let me fuck him, let me do things so intimate to him had my heart pounding as fast as ever.

He stroked his arms and legs up and down my body, and I could feel his soft fur tickling every inch of me. He let out a long slow moan which drew me up to his lips. I sank into a deep French kiss, tasting his sweetness again. I hugged him tightly and sat up, keeping his body pressed to me. From this position I could better explore his body with my fingers, tracing and feeling every line and every contour of his sexy male figure. I caught handfuls of his luscious ass flesh and kneaded it, pulling it open, I squirmed a bit and let my dick slide gently along his fuzzy crack.

I was so horny by this point I didn't know if I could wait much longer. My sex drive had returned full force and I wanted to breed with him fiercely. I was already warming up to the idea of anal sex. He was right, he had the most gorgeous butt I'd ever seen, and those round rippling cheeks just begged to be stuffed full of my throbbing penis. "God, you do have a sexy ass." I growled.

"Swat me good and hard." He growled back, rolling off me and onto all fours in front of me. He began to swirl his hips around in little circles which drew me even closer and made me all the crazier for his bottom.

"Hit you? Are you kidding? I don't want to hurt you! I'd never hit you in a million years!" I protested.

He sighed playfully. "Oh you. Not that hard, obviously. Hard enough to make my butt jiggle and ripple and bounce, and you can enjoy the view even more!" He pushed his ass into my face and lashed his tail, tickling my nose. "C'mon, gimme a swat!" He begged sexily.

I applied a light smack to his rump and was rewarded by a sexy ripple and jiggle. Instantly hypnotized by it, I began to spank and swat him until he was constantly bouncing. I grabbed his little body under the tummy and pulled him over my lap so I could "bend him over my knee" to get the job done right. It was incredibly sexy, and he was moaning and cooing and squirming. His rump got very flushed red under his fur and became hot to the touch.

"Ooo! God Ellie, I'm really warmin' up to your ass! It's so damned sexy, I guess I just needed you to point it out." I stopped swatting him and instead filled my fingers with handfuls of his beautiful, flushed and hot ass flesh.

"Oh master- I've been so naughty, I just needed that spanking! Now there's something else I need in order to be punished properly." His voice trailed off.

I plopped him down on all fours and knelt over to gently and lovingly smother his hot and irritated butt in a deluge of kisses. I paused, fingering my penis. "How about instead of punishing you more, I do something nice and soothing for your pretty little sore bottom?"

"Does that something involve stuffing me full of something?" He purred, looking over his shoulder at me.

I laughed. "I refuse to answer that."

He handed me an unmarked glass bottle he'd apparently brought with him, though I hadn't noticed it before. "Slather some of that on your penis before you try, though, or you'll tear me to bits."

I opened the cap and sniffed, but didn't really smell much. "How much is 'some' of this?"

He smiled sagely. "I keep forgetting you haven't done this before." Get yourself totally slick over every inch, almost enough that it is dripping off. That'll be enough to make it silky and sexy and feel incredibly good when we join."

I nodded and hesitantly did as he directed, shivering and wilting a little from the cold. It was very, very slick though, which felt good as I covered myself with it. He was panting and drooling, looking heated and faint. I could tell he was dying for this, and I was dying for it too. "Ah...uh...OK...now...just push it in?" I said, my voice trembling. I was back up and rock hard again, though the lube felt uncomfortably cool.

He moved himself onto all fours and spread his legs open wide enough to look ready to be bred. "Yeah, but please...I haven't done this since I was thirteen so it's gonna be painful if you go too fast. Can you please just push your head in a bit, then let it back out and in a little farther, like that? I just...I know this shouldn't be painful at all if we do it right, but my only memories are of agony and not even being able to walk after it."

I moved in behind him and cupped my hands under his chest, pulling him up against me and hugging him tightly. "I'll go slow, and you let me know everything my darling. If it hurts even a bit, I want you to promise me you'll tell me and I'll back off, alright? This isn't open for debate and I'm not going to accept 'I'll do it because it's you.' If I'm hurting you, you are to tell me. OK?"

He nodded. "OK. Thank you, Adam. Just hearing you say that makes all my fears subside again. I promise if it is too much I'll stop you." He turned his head and kissed my cheek. I found his lips and we kissed for a moment before he broke it and pulled himself back onto all fours.

I grabbed my penis, which was difficult because it was so slick, and tried to push it in. It slipped off and squirted up his crack. I grabbed it again and tried to push it in, same thing. "Damn. I'm so slippery and you're so tight, baby." I muttered.

He looked back at me and moaned. "Oh sure. You just want to tease me. I want this really badly Adam, believe me. Don't think for a moment that I don't just because I'm a little worried."

I nodded. This time I grabbed myself up by the head and applied pressure right on his sphincter. My dick squirted out of my hands. "Dammit!" I laughed a bit.

"You're mean!" He groaned in anticipation.

"I'm not trying to be! I can't get it inside, honestly! I've never done this before!" I used both hands this time and tried to press the head down into him. After some more fumbling, I was rewarded with his sphincter caving in and my head pushing inside of him.

"Keeeyaaa! Wow!" He whined.

"Shit! That went in farther than I mean it to. I'm sorry, El, do you want me to pull out again?" I said, already beginning to remove myself.

"Nnn...no, wait. Keep it there. It's stretching my muscles out. Wait for a few seconds...OK, can you pull out?" He looked back at me.

I carefully removed myself from within him, feeling his sphincter slide closed as I pulled away.

He let out a sigh. "Aahhh...so nice. OK, back in again."

I pushed against him again, and the muscles caved a little bit easier, or maybe I knew a bit how to do it this time. My instincts told me to drive it into him, but I resisted the temptation and instead waited while he crooned and shivered. "Oh, it's a lot better this time. Pull out once more please, and next time I bet we can couple all the way with no pain."

I removed myself, watching his ass close sluggishly as the invader was removed. I slipped the head around in little circles in his crack and felt him shudder. "OK, once more. Don't put it in any farther until I say so though, alright?"

I nodded. "You're in charge, love."

"Adam, thank you for going slow for me. I know this must be hell for you because you want to fuck me so badly, but you being patient is really making me feel at ease and trust you more because I don't feel out of control like I used to. I know you love me and it is silly, but I still guess I feel a little of my past boiling up."

I leaned over and kissed his back. "No, don't worry about me in the slightest, lover. I can wait as long as you need me to. I am excited to try it, but I want you to be ready, so it isn't a problem in the slightest for you to take as long as you need."

I carefully again pressed inside him. He gasped and began to shake. He waited for a few seconds, then squeaked "More! Give me more of you!"

I pushed in again. Slowly I slid inside, feeling the incredible warmth of his body. Suddenly I must have pushed into the last part of his sphincter, because all at once it was easy to slip in, like I'd passed an invisible barrier. "Gahhh! Whoa! Ugh...nnnnnggggmmmmm" He gurgled.

Scared I had hurt him, I paused. "Too much? Tell me, Ellie, you promised!"

"Naahhh...Noooo...Oh not at all Adam I...Guh...the sensation is overwhelming and so sexy! We're passed the point of pain now my love, so just push it all the way in and fill me up!" He grunted through clenched teeth.

I pushed in and cried out in total delight. I had not thought of how this would feel exactly, but his asshole was so hot on my dick I practically felt like I was going to melt. He was incredibly tight, too, squeezing me with such pressure I was ready to burst as I sank for the first time in my life into another male's body. It was heaven on Earth.

I could tell he was ecstatic that we were coupled. He dropped his head down and looked between his legs. "Whoa. You're all the way in! Oh wow this just feels great! My God, it doesn't hurt at all! Not even a little tiny bit! I'm so good and so full, I feel like I'm finally your mate, truly your mate!"

He was silky and soft inside, and I felt as if his entire body was enveloping me in the most intense cocoon of pleasure imaginable. I looked down at his round rump, spread open wide with me stuffed inside. I couldn't believe how wide his butt was spread out, and how luscious it looked kissing my penis.

"Ahh...ahhh...Adam! Don't just kneel there, do what comes naturally! Your instincts have got to be telling you what to do, aren't they? Oh my God, I need it so bad I'm on fire!"

I shivered and slid out. His anus tightly enclosed me, shaping itself to every contour and nuance of me as I passed out of him. I was ready to burst and I'd hardly done anything yet. I pulled all the way out and watched his rectum close up again, then eased back in, feeling how much easier it was this time. "Oh, you're great, so incredibly tight! I moaned."

His body was shuddering and tense, I could feel the tightness of his muscles as I ran my fingers over every inch of him, drinking in the sensation of his body being in perfect union with mine. I was truly mating with him, this was really happening! What's more, it felt fantastic. I'd never felt so very, very alive and whole as I did right then, buried to the hilt in his tight, hot, slick ass.

"Are ya ready, El?" I said, shaking with eagerness and delight. "I'm not gonna hurt you if I go in and out of you now? I'm gonna die if I don't start soon, little doll." I whispered into his pretty ear. He twitched it as my breath tickled him, then turned his lips to find mine in a warm kiss.

"I'm ready. Make love to me, Adam!" He grinned over his shoulder.

I still was careful for a bit. Gripping his hips, I pulled out, then pushed back in through a long slow stroke. His body gripped me with breathtaking tightness, seeming to fight removal much more than insertion. I did a faster stroke the next time, feeling the friction ignite us both in heated lust. "Oh dear God this is great...is it still OK, Elliot? I'm not hurting you?"

"No! God! Stop being so gentle, I'm not made out of glass, dammit! Fuck me! Make me feel it when you do it! Use your muscles, AdaaahahhhhHH!"

He screeched as I took his advice and began to pound him in a fast, powerful rhythm. If he really said he could take it, then I was eager to give him the fucking of his life. I gripped his hips tightly, using my arms to drive his little body back against me as I drove forward with ever increasing strength. We were both gasping for air, both from exertion and the heart-pounding eroticism of our act. I felt crazy with exuberant lust as I drove it into him, making him mine. I was freed from all my inhibitions for the first time in my life, and I was engaged in something so crazy and wonderful I was absolutely on fire.

"Augh! Yes! This is what I'm talkin' about! Oh God, you're slamming and massaging my prostate so hard and fast, it feels amazing! Incredible! This is nothing like how I remembered it, it doesn't hurt at all! It just feels incredible and makes me tingle all over...Oh fuuuuck, you've gotta try this, baby! You're gonna love it, I promise! Unnnnnnng!" He was nearly sobbing and in total instinctual wildness, squirming and bucking in my arms like a caged animal.

His slippery anus was stretched to the extreme, but was still tight as hell. The sensation of his bowels embracing and massaging my penis, the heated tissue so tight and cloying yet so soft and tender was rapidly taking me towards the point of no return. I didn't want this to be over, no matter what, so I forced myself to pull out just before I tipped over the edge.

"No! The hell!?" He nearly shouted, turning around and baring his teeth and hissing at me.

"Guh...guh...I'm sorry, baby! I...guh...was about to lose it, and I didn't want to cum yet, not when it feels so good." I couldn't tear my eyes off his anal pucker, and I stared in lust and amazement. He'd been stretched out so much it wasn't even quite closed, and it made him look fucked. Knowing I'd been the one to do that? ...Well, it didn't help me come back from the brink of ejaculation very much.

He was a wild animal. With his eyes blazing, he whirled and leapt at me, bowling me over backwards and pinning me down with surprising strength. He suddenly didn't have the aura of a cute little feline crossdresser, but of a small, fearsome, masculine male ready to tear me to bits to show his displeasure with me. It scared the hell out of me.

I could feel his needle sharp claws biting at my wrists as he pinned them back. He roared into my face and sank his teeth into my neck, stopping just shy of drawing blood. "Ellie! Stop! You're hurting me!" I squalled in terror, suddenly feeling like I'd made a terrible mistake trying to do this. He was dangerous!

And yet, the instant I said this, the fearsome rage was gone, replaced with his normal gentle sexiness. He released my throat, retracted his claws and began to groom me gently with his tongue. "Mmm...my baby. I love your taste and smell and sound. I love the feel of your soft skin and your strong, rough hands."

"Ellie, what the hell was that?" I said, still in shock and fear.

He kept lapping at my skin gently as if nothing had happened. "A reset."

"A what?" I replied accusingly, raising my voice. I was scared enough of him I was about to throw him off me and call it off.

"Look at your penis." I looked down and saw I had gone half soft. "I reset you so we can start from the beginning, lover. Just stopping isn't going to calm you or me down in the slightest, and the second you put it back inside we would have been right to the brink of orgasm again. By resetting us, I broke our train of thought, and we now can start over more completely and can enjoy it all again."

"That wasn't funny or worth it! Ellie, please don't ever do that again! I thought you were gonna kill me." I admonished, still upset.

I could tell immediately I'd made him feel really bad and he started to cry, looking ashamed. "Oh, I'm sowwy Adam! I didn't mean to really upset you, I was just tryin' to help an' I got too intense! I'm really in heat right now!"

My anger at him evaporated in an instant and instead I felt guilty for making him weep. "Don't cry, baby. Shhhhhhh...I'm sorry, I just had no idea what you were doing. I thought you'd gone feral and were gonna attack me, especially when you sank your teeth into my neck."

He sniffled. "I sorta was more violent than I'd meant to be because I was so lost in lust. I just meant to break into our emotions, not frighten you."

"It's OK. If that's the biggest mistake we ever make, we'll be sitting pretty. Let's get back to it." I rolled him off me and he let himself be manipulated onto his back, missionary style. He propped himself up on his elbows and looked up at me with large, trusting eyes. "I love you, kitten." I murmured. He smiled and wiped the tears from his eyes, looking calmed down again.

I caught his ankles and spread his legs wide open, lifting them up to my shoulders. I stroked my hands over his firm chest and tummy, enjoying the feel of his body beneath me. He was a lot stronger than I would have thought considering how tiny his body was, as evidenced by how easily he'd overpowered me. I was calmed down now at any rate, and getting aroused again. I pulled his lips to mine and kissed him deeply, enjoying the taste and feel of him, which had me ready again to make love.

In this position, entering him was completely different. He was nice and loose now though, so penetration was slick and easy. Somehow even then he seemed almost tighter from this direction, if that was possible, perhaps from the curvature of his bowels. I wasn't sure if this was like a human would be or not, but I did know it felt pure awesome.

I wrapped my arms around his legs and immediately started pumping into him, this time driving hard and fast from the start. He yelped in pleasure and I reached down and stroked his penis, feeling it harden to my touch. He writhed around again, and howled "Kyaaaa! Please! Ugh! I can't! Ohhhhh fuck! Yes!"

I snarled "Oh yeah, Ellie. This is so awesome! You were right, I'm gonna be begging you for this every damn hour of the day from now on! OHHHhh yeah!"

His ass was hot as hell on my dick and I was losing control as I felt his slippery guts sliding over every inch of me. Grinding as deep as I could into him squished my balls hard against his round luscious rump which made them tighten and ready. This was the last I was going to be able to make it, I realized, it was just too sexy and erotic.

"Oh my God! Oh Adam! Augh! I'm cumming! KyaaaaaaaaaaAAA!" Ellie shrieked. I watched eagerly as he tensed, shrinking in on himself into a ball as his climax overpowered his senses. His penis swelled and gave a throb before squirting spunk all over his chest and tummy. The first stream was powerful enough to blast a hot smear across his face, with each subsequent squirt losing a little power. He shot each load onto his tummy, soaking down his fur with pungent and erotic creamy seed.

Watching this display was about all I could take. "Holy shit that's hot, Ellie! God! Watching you spray your luscious seed all over yourself is the most sexy thing I've ever seen...Oh damn...your ass is so tight and warm and slippery...I'm gonna...gonna...I'm gonna lose it and CUM!" I drove my prick in as deeply into his guts as I could, as hard and fast as I could several more times before I saw stars. It was like heaven itself was wrapping my gorgeous little lover into a sexy shroud of light and life and love.

I exploded into him with intensity I'd never felt before but would feel many times with him from then on. "I can feel you gushing into me!" He wailed in delight. As my cum churned into him I could feel his bowels getting even more slippery and luscious as I lubed him with my love juices. I tried to keep pumping, but I couldn't do a whole lot more than twitch and moan in complete ecstasy as our orgasms left us shivering in delight. I wished the pleasure could have lasted forever, but it slowly faded into relaxing bliss.

We were mates, now and forevermore joined in a physical and spiritual union I never would have believed possible a few scant days ago. I was his and he was mine, and I no longer felt like I was just myself, I felt complete only in him. We cuddled and kissed ourselves to sleep and floated through dreams of each other.

8) ** **Days of Joy


** ** The next several days were wonderful. I spent my days sharing stories of our lives with my Dad, with Loa and Ellie together with us the entire time. Ellie sat beside me and was a perfect angel, glowing in his first love, which made Loa and my father incredibly happy for us. I couldn't believe I had a mate, a male mate, a sexy, loving, feline male was my gay lover.

In the evenings, Ellie and I would couple over and over again, each time getting more used to the contact, more comfortable with the feelings and sensations involved in making love. The pleasure was unreal, and I drowned myself in him, my lust making me into a wild animal which only he could tame. I drilled him, shot cum into his mouth and ass, slurped up his spit and cum with mad craving, and reveled in his body as we writhed in ecstasy, crying out in fornicating lust.

I received a crash course in running the plantation as well. I was given a grand tour by Loa and Ellie, and I was able to observe them interacting. They were indeed as close as brothers, or perhaps more aptly they were as close as sisters, the way they walked and talked and behaved. In all the happiness, all the pleasure and companionship, I'd all but forgotten about the threat of my mother looming overhead.

Ellie and I were naked in the hedge garden, nestled into the flowers, making love missionary style. His sexy legs were wrapped around me tightly, and he had his arms loosely around my neck as I jammed away at his tight little ass. "Oh God, yeah! Ellie, you are so steaming hot, kitten! This is so good, and your male body is so sexy. God... your cock bounces all over the place wildly when I do your ass, doesn't it? Yummy."

He writhed his hips as I pumped him, helping me to bang away at his tight little body. He'd quickly acclimated to anal sex and now couldn't get enough of me fucking his ass. We indulged ourselves whenever the mood struck us, which was all the time. We'd been enjoying the couple swing, when he'd pointed out that it would be fun to be fucked lying in a bed of flowers. The next thing I knew, we were naked and doing it.

We were alive with ecstasy and grinning at each other when his ears pricked up. "Sumthin's comin'." He mumbled.

I paused my onslaught, panting, and snorted. "Not yet, I'm getting better stamina all the time, baby!"

I was on all fours over him, with my arms and legs spread wide so I was as low and close to him as possible from this position, and I was driving it into his slippery guts with short, fast strokes from my hips alone. He had my clothes bundled under his head, propping him up so he could watch me as I worked. It was both of our favorite position, at least so far. I loved feeling his legs grip my hips as I fucked him.

He shook his head, smiling through the pleasure. "No, I mean horses. I hear horses trotting up the road from town." A moment later I heard them too. A moment after that, five horses turned up the drive and started for the mansion.

"Holy sh...!" I whispered and dropped down against Ellie, hiding him and myself as best I could in the bed of flowers we'd been fucking in. "Oooohhh God damn."

"What? Who is it?" He asked, trying to sit up and look behind him to see. I pushed him back down and pressed even lower as one of the riders glanced in our general direction.

My heart was hammering my chest. "It's my Mother. And she's got four men with her, and they all have rifles." I tore my eyes away and cupped his face in my hands, looking down at him with frightened eyes. "El, listen to me. My Mom is crazy, you know my father's story of her. If she figures out that you and I are lovers, she will kill you. I want you to go to your old room in the maid's quarters and hide out there until this blows over, OK? She can't know about us, no matter what."

The horses were past the entrance to the garden we were hiding in now, giving us privacy again. I pulled out of his ass with a luscious slurp that normally would have had me dying for more, and quickly stood up, throwing my clothes on. Ellie did the same thing, watching me and looking scared. "Are you gonna be OK?" He asked, his voice trembling a little.

"She won't kill me, don't worry. Go Ellie, I'll be alright as long as you are safe. I love you, El." He looked at me worriedly one last time, then tip-toed out of the garden along the cobblestone path opposite of the one facing the road.

As I made for the doors of the mansion where my mother and the men had stopped, I heard her shouting. "Adam? Adam! Damn you, you bastard, I've come to collect my son."

As I approached, the mansion door opened and my Dad and Loa came out onto the front porch. He spoke evenly and calmly in the face of five rifles. "Cynthia. I haven't seen you in nineteen years or more. What makes you think you are welcomed to come to my house with guns drawn?"

"Shut up, you swine. I want my son and we'll be leaving." She snarled.

"I'm right here, Mom." I said, and she whirled and saw me.

"Lars, give him your horse. Mount up sweetie, we're getting you out of here." She said, sounding momentously relieved.

My father spoke before I could, gently trying to calm her. "Cynthia, he's here of his own free will and he doesn't want to leave."

"Bull. You've maybe hypnotized him like you did me once upon a time, but there's no way he wants to stay, not if he knows the truth about you." She sneered. Without waiting for a response, she turned to me. "Your...father, as I suppose we must call him, is a shagging faggot. He has sex with other men, and he was doing it since before we were married. He made a mockery out of me and defiled our marriage. Sweetie, I never wanted you to have to bear the heartbreak of knowing these things, but it seems this...thing I used to call a husband has forced my hand. Now please mount up, OK? Trust your mother."

I crossed my arms across my chest. "What proof do you have that he was cheating on you?"

She glared knives at me. "Honey, it's what they do. They all do things like that. Love doesn't mean anything to them, they are rutting animals. Of course he was cheating on me!"

"So you have no real proof? Mom, Dad told me the whole story, and I believe him that he's telling you the truth, that he always told you the truth. You were the only one for him and you threw him away because of mistrust and jealousy. I'm here for my Father now, and I'm not leaving ever again."

She gasped and shouted, "Did you not hear me, boy? He's a stinking, rotten homosexual! They all rut like whores with each other whenever they can! Of course I wasn't the only one for him, I never was!"

I wanted to snarl back that they certainly did not, that *I* certainly did not rut like a whore, and neither did any of my new friends. I knew that would mean revealing to her I was in fact gay now when I had not been before, which would make this situation vastly worse. She would blame my father, and might even shoot him in a violent rage.

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Mother, and I feel sorry for you, too. You lost everything because you couldn't trust him, you know. I believe him and I'm not leaving. Mom, look at him, he's sick! He's dying, and I'm not going to leave his side, I'm going to be here at his end, I've already promised him that and I would never go back on my word no matter what. He will not die without me by his side." I tried to be gentle, but it was as if I had spit arcs of lava at her.

"This is not open for any kind of debate! You get on that horse right now or I'll blow his filthy head off!" She pointed her rifle at my father.

It was my turn to get upset. "And what then Mother? Do you think killing him in cold blood will in any way bring me back to your side? If you harm him I swear I will repay an eye for an eye!" As I spoke I walked around them until I was standing directly in front of my Dad.

"Get out of my way!" She spluttered, lowering the rifle. I could tell she hadn't anticipated this and wasn't sure what to do.

Suddenly all at once the door banged open and 6 of the maids all poured out, all carrying rifles pointed at the intruders. At the same time, all the windows of the house flew open and one or two maids or other furs leaned out of each window, all pointing rifles or revolvers in their direction. There were no less than twenty small arms now pointed at the group of riders. With a sinking feeling in my stomach I recognized that one of the maids, one who'd leapt through the door and was now standing by my right shoulder, was Ellie.

I saw my father reach out and squeeze Loa's arm, and I was terrified that Ellie would do the same to me, but thankfully he didn't act like he knew me. I was glad for that, because I knew it was the only reason he was alive. If my Mother saw him react to me with affection, even hinting we were lovers, I had no doubt she'd kill him even if it meant her own life would be taken.

My voice brooked no arguments. "Men, if you want to live, drop your weapons and turn and ride away. This is your only chance, take it or leave it. You'll all die in a hail of gunfire if you stay." The four men with my Mother didn't even hesitate, but dropped their weapons to the ground and put their hands up. "Now leave." I ordered and they turned their horses.

One of them looked at my Mother. "Sorry ma'am. You hired us to rescue your son, not die in a crossfire from twenty guns. I ain't plannin' on dyin' a fools death to rescue a boy what don't even wanna leave his so-called kidnapper. You kin keep the rest o' yor money, we don't want it." They turned and rode away.

My mother was left very alone, still clutching a rifle in her trembling hands. She had a wild look in her eyes and I was afraid she might do something very rash. I stood up tall and reached my arms out creating as large a shield in front of my Dad as I could. "Mom, you can't win, you can only die if you try and fight. Drop the rifle, please."

Her eyes rolled wildly in her skull, and for a tense moment it looked as if she might even shoot me. Then all at once the fight left her eyes and her fingers went slack, letting the rifle slide off her horse and fall to the ground. I was greatly relieved, but I tried not to show it. "Thank you, Mother. Now listen to me. I don't know what convinced you that my Father was cheating on you, but I believe him and I know he was not. Look around you, Mom! My God, what a life we could have had here! You could have played hide and seek with me over there while Dad rested under that big oak looking on proudly. That big swing under the willow tree could easily have seated three while we looked up and watched the sun set and the sky light with stars."

"We could have been a family here, we could have lived happily ever after, but you threw it all away. Why? You had no proof! Why Mother? Had he ever lied to you before? Had he ever done anything less than love you with all his heart? God damn your foolish hatred, Mother! He's devoted his life to helping others and saving lives of those in need, while you've nursed howling bitterness and hatred for a man who did nothing wrong!"

"He has lived a life of selfless love, and you are a completely selfish fool. His life has been full of greatness, friendship and kindness while you've sat alone in grandpa's house, knitting your life away! I'm not leaving his side, Mother. I'm staying, because this is where I belong, where I've always belonged. My father is my hero and I love him and am proud to be his son. You pushed him away, and now you'll have to push me away by proxy too, I'm afraid. There is nothing for you here, so please leave now."

All those present joined in: "Please, we don't want to hurt you."

"Can't you see he wants to stay?"

"Master is the most loving person in the world, I believe in him."

"Adam's already agreed to stay and help us when his father's gone." They all spoke at once, voicing their support and appreciation.

My Mother spoke in a tiny voice. "Can't you see he's turned you against me?"

I felt frustration. She'd heard nothing I'd said. "Mom, you turned me against you when you rode in here with guns. Dad is dying. Can't you let go of your hatred and...stay with us and be here at the end? It would mean worlds to me and to Dad. Isn't there any part of you that loves him and misses him?" I spoke from my heart, wishing we could all be together for these final days.

She stared at me, crying silently, then turned and rode away. Everyone waited, holding their breath until she rounded the corner. Then all at once we all let out a sigh and relaxed gratefully. I was suddenly shaking so hard I could barely stand, and I saw my Dad teetering the same way out of the corner of my eye. Like two caregivers, Ellie and Loa were immediately there by our sides to steady us.

I found myself hugging Ellie tightly, trembling and weak. "You were amazing, lover." He breathed into my ear. "And your speech... you are as wise and articulate as your father. I love you all the more now, my brave hero.

"Brave? I was scared out of my mind. I wanted to run away and leave you all to it, that's how brave I was." I whispered back, grateful for his embrace, the touch of his beautiful body.

"You think being brave means that you don't feel fear? What's important is that you stood your ground, and you talked her down! That's what bravery is, Adam. You are my hero." We looked into each other's eyes and smiled.

Loa broke us out of our reverie, speaking softly so only we could hear, not the other maids. "Please, help me. This was too much for your father. We need to get him back to bed." He sounded desperate, pleading and afraid.

Indeed, as we looked, we could see that my Father looked like he was nearly unconscious, and Loa was struggling to hold his weight and keep him from collapsing. We rushed to help, I took my Father's other arm and we carried him back inside and upstairs. I could hear Loa crying from the other side of the limp figure we carried, and the brief moment of elation was gone into a pit of deep despair for all of us.

We managed to get him back into bed. He opened his eyes and looked from one to the other of the three concerned faces looking down at him. "Son, you did so well. I don't think anyone else could have talked her down like that. You saved lives today."

"Dad, don't talk. Just rest and take it easy. You're the one we're all worried about." I said in a shaking voice.

He smiled up at me. "Oh Son, just having you here has made me so happy these last few days, you've made my life complete. I look up at all three of you and see my family who loves me, and I feel I've lived a good and happy life. I feel I can die contented now. I only wish I could spare my sweet family all the grief of parting."

Loa collapsed onto his chest and began to bawl his eyes out. My Father hugged him gently and tried to console him while Ellie and I looked on stricken and helpless. We stayed there for several hours until at last Dad's breathing slowed and he fell asleep. Ellie went and got some food for Loa, then we went down to the kitchen and miserably began to nibble on some food ourselves. It was late and we retired to the blue room, but our hearts were far too heavy to make love. We lay in the bed and hugged each other like frightened children, each with our own dark thoughts.

Ellie eventually fell asleep, and I cradled his body in my arms and thought and thought and thought of what I could do to help. Hours passed, the only sound that of his gentle breathing. Suddenly I remembered the vague idea I had had several days before. A glimmer of hope so tiny I didn't even know if it could be called hope. I thought about it and I dared to begin to contemplate the possibilities. Suddenly I could lie still no longer. I carefully extricated myself from my lover's arms.

He awoke and mumbled. "Whazzizzit?"

"Shhhh...nothing honey. Go back to bed, I'll be right back."

"K" he grunted and was back asleep immediately.

I threw on a bathrobe and hurried down the hall to my Father's bedroom. Not wanting to wake him, I carefully opened the door, being as quiet as I possibly could. I slipped into the darkened room and made my way over to the bed. I squinted through the darkness and at last made out which sleeping form was Loa and which was my father. Trembling, I gently shook Loa's shoulder. His fur was soft and his body very warm.

He gave a little gasp and sprang awake, turning in the darkness to look up at me. "Adam? What is it dear?" He asked in a soft whisper, and I was surprised for a moment that I didn't have to identify myself to him, before remembering felines could see in almost total darkness.

I motioned for him to follow me and slipped back out through the door, pacing around in the hall waiting for him. After a moment he stepped out, still tying the belt of a pink silk bathrobe. "Whatever is the matter, Adam?" He said, looking concerned. I shook my head and lead him into the study. It was filled with maps and charts and encyclopedias and many reference books.

I paced there, still trying to sort through my thoughts. "Adam, you're worrying me, dear. Is everything alright? Is Ellie OK?" I glanced up and could see he looked frightened.

"No, no, everything is fine. I just...I had a thought Loa, and I had to ask you about it."

"And it couldn't wait until morning?" He yawned.

I shook my head. "No. Well, maybe this is nothing, maybe you tried it already, maybe I'm just being stupid but..." I took a deep breath. "Have you ever tried going back to Africa and seeing if any doctors there could help him?"

He stared at me for a long time, then said slowly, "Why would we do that, when the finest doctors of our country have been unable to help him?"

I shook my head. "They can't know everything, Loa. Do they even know what he's got?"

"Some kind of wasting disease."

"You see? They don't know! Maybe this is a common illness in Africa! Maybe...maybe there's even a simple cure for it!" I said, trying not to betray my enthusiasm.

Loa shook his head sadly. "Adam, he's much too weak to travel across the ocean, and anyway, you are grasping at straws here, that seems highly unlikely, don't you think?"

Now I felt desperate. I needed Loa's help to execute my idea. "I could go. We could get his doctors to write up a detailed brief on his symptoms, and I could go there and ask around. We might find something, Loa, wouldn't it be worth it to try?"

He began to cry. "I don't think it would be worth it to get our hopes up for a pipe dream like that. I'm sorry Adam, I know you're only trying to help."

"But...but...Loa... ...He's dying! What have we got to lose? Maybe it won't turn anything up, but we'll be no worse off than we are now, and at least we'll know we tried. If there is even the tiniest chance, even a ghost's breath of a chance, isn't it worth it?" He was silent and looked at his painted toenail-claws. "Please Loa, I can't do it without your help, at least let me try." I whispered, pleadingly.

He looked up and drew a sobbing breath. "Adam, that is a huge journey across the ocean. The chances of you getting there, being able to find a cure in a reasonable amount of time and then getting back here to administer it...I don't think he has that much time left to us."

"It's ten to fourteen days by steamer these years, Loa. With a bit of luck, we might make the trip in a month. Ellie and I could go, if you would help us pay for it, we could even hire a private steamer and leave tomorrow. He looks bad now, but that's because of the stress from my Mother. You still thought he might have several months left, right?" I pleaded.

"Adam, what if you can't find anything?"

"Then we're no worse off than we are now, Loa!"

"We could be. What if he dies while you are gone. You promised him you'd be here beside him when he goes, and he needs to believe that...I need to believe that promise, Adam. I don't think I could bare the pain if you and my closest friend Ellie are both gone and I have to watch him die alone." His tears fell freely as he spoke.

"Loa. I'll make it back in time, I promise. I...I know that we've hardly known each other for a week, but...I love you. You helped my Dad all those years ago, then helped my lover when he was starving and in need. I feel like all the good things in my life, I owe to you. Please help me do this, for you as well as for my Father. I promise I'll make it back in time, whether we succeed or not."

He stared at me for a few moments, before suddenly throwing himself on me and hugging me fiercely, sobbing. "All right, I'll help you, Adam. I won't let myself hope that you'll succeed, but I'll help you try. Thank you so much for caring about us this much." He kissed me full on the lips, flicking my tongue with his briefly. I tasted his sweetness in surprise, but before I could react he was already digging madly through filing cabinets on the other side of the room.

He pulled a packet of papers, found and unfolded a map of the west coast of Africa out on my father's study desk, turning on the lamp. "This is the route we took exactly. The port city is a major one, so it would be a good place to start your search. You can follow our route and try any village or town along the way to see if they know of the disease there. With a little luck, Captain Coolridge might have his steamer in port this time of year; your father always said his was the fastest ship on the ocean. He knows us, knows our secret. He found out I was a male once while we were sailing with him and he warmed up to us quite a bit after that. We think he's probably a closet gay himself, and I think we're close enough we could call him a friend."

As he spoke, he pulled a painting off the wall revealing a safe, and started to unlock it. The door opened and Ellie peaked in at us. "Hi Honey. Did you wake up?" I said. Loa looked up at him but didn't stop what he was doing.

"Yeah, an' you weren't there. What's going on?" he whispered, picking up on the somber mood in the room.

I outlined my plan to him, and his eyes got wide as he listened. I could tell he was scared, and I suddenly was afraid he wouldn't want to accompany me. I didn't think I could manage it without him at my side. "Ellie, will you please come with me?" I softly asked, my eyes pleading.

He hesitated, staring at me with evident fear, but at last whispered "Yes, of course I want to come with you. I wouldn't let you go without me." I sighed in relief and smiled at him, filled again with love and admiration for him.

Loa returned to the table with a massive clip of money and counted out a great deal of it. "This should be plenty of money to charter the entire steamer for you two alone without cargo or other passengers so you can make better speed. It will also get you across the plains of Africa. Adam, do NOT let anyone you deal with see this amount of money, no matter what. Find out their price, go somewhere private and count it out and give them the exact amount. It never hurts to act as if you went to a bank to procure the funds so they don't get the idea you have more. Take this .357 revolver, too, you might need it for protection in the wilds. Wear it and let people see it but only draw as a last resort."

He turned to Ellie. "El, choose your gender now and stick with it for the entire trip. There are advantages and disadvantages to both, and I know you know what those are, but they are amplified over there. There are some thugs who will bother you if you go as a female, I can guarantee it. My Adam had to defend my honor multiple times over there, and it was not pleasant. Being dressed as a male would let you avoid all of that."

"I'll be me." He said immediately, and I took that to mean female.

Loa nodded and handed him a small double shot pistol. "I don't blame you, honey. I felt the same way. Take this derringer and keep it in your purse, then. You two ALWAYS carry these. Ellie, you are ravishingly beautiful and there are those who would rape a beauty like you in parts of this world, male or not. Don't be naïve, be safe. Stick together always no matter what. I'll go rouse Derrick and have him ready the horses, and you can reach the port by the morning. You'll have days of sailing to sleep after that, OK?"

He finished his instructions as we walked towards the bedrooms. "Hire a guide and translator at the port city. We always used a man named 'Old Charlie.' He acts like an ornery old cuss, but he's reliable and he'll fight to protect you if it comes to that. He can translate for you when you reach some of the smaller villages as well. He should remember Adam and Loa. Ellie, you go call Adam's doctor and get him out here right now so he can write out an analysis for us, then you and Adam can pack. I'll be back from the stables in a moment."

He was already hurrying down the hall. "Do you think this will work?" Ellie asked, sounding afraid. "I've never sailed an ocean before."

"I don't know, but I want to try, don't you? For my Dad and for poor Loa. My heart breaks every time I see him, he's so sad."

"Yeah. He's nothing like he used to be. I do wanna try, you're right. I'll go call the doctor." He scampered away, leaving me alone in the hallway.

I was packing my things when Loa crept into our room. "Adam. Thank you for this. You are as sweet as your father, and I wish that we could have been a family together all these years. I would have loved to have been your mother. I'm proud of you." There were tears in his eyes, and a gentle smile on his glossy lips.

I reached out and took his paw in my hands. "I feel the same way Loa. You're so nice... you're nicer than my mother ever was, and I wish you had been my mother and raised me. I would have been the luckiest boy alive."

He fell on my neck and hugged me fiercely, softly crying. I hugged back, then earnestly said "Loa, that dream is worth fighting for. I'm going to do everything I can in the world to make it come true, so we can be a family from now on. If... if I fail... you'll be the only family I have left too, and I promise I'll take care of you."

He smiled up at me, his eyes shining with tears. "And I promise I shall take care of you, too. Oh Adam, thank you for those kind words, you have no idea how much they mean to me, to know that my husband's son loves and accepts me. There are so many other things I would tell you and share with you if we had the time..." His sweet voice trailed off.

I gave him a squeeze. "We'll save it for when I come back. I promise Loa, we're going to make it back in time no matter what."

8) ** **A Tense Journey


** ** We packed and were in the wagon traveling before either of us could begin to comprehend the journey we were embarking on. "Adam, I'm scared." Ellie whispered into my ear. "I've never been out of the country before."

"I am too, love. I'd never even left my home town before a couple days ago. But we can do this, El, for our family and friends, can't we? For my Dad and for Loa, we can work together and try our best, can't we?"

He nodded. "I'll do whatever it takes. I haven't seen Loa that alive with energy since they announced that your dad was terminal. He used to be a boundless well of cheerful energy before...before this happened. He's hardly the same person, so sad and quiet."

We bounced along through the night in mostly silence. Ellie managed to doze a little bit, but sleep would not come to me. I was too busy thinking about all the possible problems we might encounter.

As dawn broke, Derrick the coach driver announced "We're to the port."

Ellie yawned and stretched, and I leaned out the window to get my first glimpse of the sea. "Wow, that is amazing!" I breathed.

Derrick looked down at me and smiled. "Your first time to the ocean, son?"

I smiled a little in spite of the dire situation at hand and looked up at the grizzled old dog. "Yeah, it's...huge." Ellie poked his head out the other window. "Yeah, I've swum in it, it's pretty amazing. Too bad we can't enjoy it for a bit, but this is too important."

Derrick let us off at the gates leading to the docks and warehouses that made up the waterfront of the city, and we were truly alone. We must have looked quite the helpless children, looking around, scared and nervous, a young man and a tiny little female feline in a traveling dress and sunhat. I saw several sailors leering at Ellie and pointing, and it brought home again that we were alone in a hostile world. I pulled my sport coat open, revealing the revolver strapped to my waist. The move did not go unnoticed by the men, who glanced at me with a bit of surprise and respect before returning to their jobs.

Ellie had seen the move too, and looked up at me with a proud look. "Loa said Captain Coolridge has a shack at the corner of 13th and Larson, that's only two blocks from here, shall we go?"

I nodded and we started walking. I kept my jacket open enough to show little peaks of the revolver and nobody on the streets bothered us. At the corner of 13th and Larson, we found a ramshackle little hovel that looked ready to tip over if a seagull landed on it. Looking at each other with apprehension, we approached and knocked on the door. There was no answer.

"Knock louder Adam, if he's old he may be hard of hearing."

I knocked loudly and for a longer time this time, but again there was no sound from inside. "I think he might not be home, I hazarded, feeling dejected."

Ellie was looking up at the roof of the building contemplatively. He stepped purposefully forward and began to wail on the door with all his strength "Open up!" He shouted. "We aren't leaving until you let us in!"

I shrank a little from the racket he was making and was about to tell him to stop, when I heard an angry voice from within. "Alright! Alright, you damned fool! I'm comin'."

A moment later a gray-haired and leather-skinned old man threw the door open and beheld us while lighting a corncob pipe. He looked like he had just woken up. "What in the name of the blackest hells are you two doin' pounding on me door at this hour of the mornin'? Get outta here before I kick yer in yer arses!"

I was cowed, but Ellie was not. "Captain Coolridge? We need to charter your steamer for a trip to Africa."

The old man looked down at Ellie, then began to laugh long and loud and deep. "Ya're jokin' me! I wouldn't hire me ship to you two if'n you were the last passengers on earth! Now get outta here before you taste the edge o' me dagger."

He started to slam the door, but Ellie stuck a high-heeled riding boot in the jam. "We're friends of Adam and Loa. This is Adam's son, also named Adam."

The old sea dog opened the door slowly and looked us up and down. "How's he doin'?" He asked gruffly.

"Not good. My father is dying. That's why we need your help."

He looked at me intently, then said. "Ya look ju' like 'im. C'min."

We told him our story and he listened intently to all we had to say. When we finished, he sat silently for a few minutes, smoking his pipe. Finally he looked at Ellie. "If you are wunna his servants, I imagine you got a little more goin' on wi' ya than you would appear to have, am I ri'?"

Ellie and I glanced at each other. "I'm not sure what you mean, he said evasively."

"Oh, I know all about Loa, me boy, don't worry. Yer secret's safe wi' me. Well, I'll help me ol' friend Adam's son 'cause he helped me outta more'n one jam. Trouble is I can't run no cheerity, you unnerstand. Can ya pay me sumthin' for me time?"

"How much would be enough?" I asked eagerly.

"Oh, lesse. Since he's an ol' friend I'll do both ways fer ya fer two thousand."

"That sounds fine." I said

"Apiece."

I glared at him but drew out my money and thumbed the amount out to him. He let out a low whistle. "Son, you best not be waving that flag around or you'll find yerself the victim of a muggin'. Keep yer money hidden or risk losing it all in this part o' the world!"

I remembered Loa admonishing me about this and blushed red, quickly returning the money to my wallet. Ellie covered smoothly. "Thank you Captain, we'll be more careful. Please understand, we are in a desperate hurry here. When is the soonest we can leave?"

Coolridge picked up the bills and stuffed them into a shirt pocket. "Again, fer an old friend I can go quick. Tonight at six o'clock we'll weigh anchor, but there's lots to do. I gotta round up me crew and get 'em gatherin' supplies and fuel for our journey. Me ship is small, but she's fast as the wind and tough as a crow's gizzard. I can out run any pirate you might meet in her, but she still don't run herself."

He looked us over again thoughtfully. "You two stick out like a sore thumb. You'd best be stayin' here until tonight if ya know what's good for ya. Me home is small but it's open to me friends anyhow. I know yer carryin' a piece there, lad, but that will only stop so much. Get enough drunken sailors together and they'd mess wi' ya."

Ellie nodded. "We haven't slept all night. Thank you Captain. Our lives and the lives of our friends are in your hands now."

The old man blushed at the kind words and mumbled. "Aww, no worries pretty lad. We'll run like the wind and save 'em yet, you'll see. Loa did good ta send ya to me." He walked out the door and we were alone.

Suddenly I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open. His small bed looked better than anything I'd seen in my life. "Let's get s'm sleep, El." I muttered, stumbling towards the bed.

We curled up together, clinging and snuggling close to each other. Both of us were asleep in a few seconds.

We slept the sleep of the dead for hours, only waking up when Captain Coolridge returned and gently awakened us. "Don't ya make a cute pair though, clingin' to each other while ya sleep." He chuckled. "C'mon you two, it's time to load up and be off. Are these yer only bags?"

I looked down at our meager belongings, one pack for me and three for Ellie. "Yes, this isn't a pleasure cruise, it's a desperate mission of mercy. All we have with us is in these bags."

"Aye." Coolridge said gently. "We'll do our very best for our friends."

He led us through the docks to a steamer that was apparently his. It was small indeed for a vessel made to cross the ocean, but it was in good shape. We boarded and he brought us to a small cabin right across from the captain's quarters. "Here ya go. Not big but it's private wi' a door ya can lock."

We put our packs down on the bed and followed him out to meet his crew. There were ten men all together, including a cabin boy and the cook, all hardened looking veteran sailors. We shook hands with them all, and they all stared at Ellie appreciatively while kissing his little paw, calling him 'pretty lady' or 'fair princess.'

At long last we set out to sea, and the land began to sink into the horizon. We stood on deck, arm in arm watching our last glimpse of land for several days. A gust of wind hit us suddenly, blowing Ellie's sunhat off his head. With lightning reflexes I dove and caught it before it was carried over the rail and into the ocean. He clapped for me, grinning. "Nice catch, love! I'll either have to keep a paw on it or maybe not wear a hat while we sail." He kissed me lingeringly on the lips and we smiled at each other.

* * *

The days crawled by. We got used to the constant thrumming of the engines, as well as the swooping feeling of the waves rocking the little ship. We were both nervous and afraid, which wore our tempers a bit. I was proud of the fact that we never once got angry or snapped at each other, though. In fact it never even crossed our minds. We alternated between fear and trepidation keeping us sexually in check, and throwing ourselves into a frenzy of hours of intense mating. This at least helped pass the long and nervous hours of idleness, even if only for a while.

The conditions were perfect, and Coolridge drove the ship as hard and fast as it could go. With less passengers and therefore less weight, we were also able to slice through the waves with good speed, and it looked like we'd make the journey in a fast ten days or even less. Ellie became very popular with the crew, as could be expected with a bunch of lonely sailors and a beautiful little female. He seemed to be at once flattered and also afraid of the rugged looking men, but as long as I was with him he was friendly and kind to them, without becoming overly familiar.

We both felt the constant pull of my Father's health driving us onwards, and our tension was felt by the crew a bit as well. I would spend long hours studying over the clinical description of my Father's ailments as written up by his doctor, wishing that there was some pattern to be seen, that someone would recognize this when we got there. Ellie and I would cuddle and read it, musing if we would have any luck on our wild adventure.

The cabin boy, Ross, was by far the most smitten with Ellie. He followed us around like a lovesick puppy, trying to do anything at all to make the little feline smile at him. I began to find it irritating, particularly since we didn't attempt to hide the fact that we were lovers in any way, but that didn't dissuade the young man from flirting constantly. I became increasingly hostile towards the youth, and that fact made Ellie pull away as well, which made me feel an incredible relief and affection for him, knowing he'd remain true to me even in the face of worshipful advances.

All of this made us feel strained and made us all the more desperate to land and begin the next leg of our journey. In the early evening we sat watching the sunset over the ocean and talking softly to each other, marveling at the beauty of it while we embraced.

"Miss Ellie!" Came an excited call from the stairs leading to the lower deck. A moment later Ross came bounding up looking excited.

I felt him tense in my arms a bit, but he was cordial enough when he spoke. "Yes, what is it?"

"The Cap'n says we'll hit the port tomorrow! We made the trip in nine days, the fastest we've ever done!" He was obviously proud of this news.

"Oh, that's wonderful! Every moment counts for Adam's dying father. Thank you for telling us, honey."

Ross blushed purple at the words and muttered something under his breath that neither of us caught before scampering down below again. We smiled at each other. "I know how he feels," I breathed to him, "but you're already spoken for." Ellie melted me to a puddle with one of his smiles.

* * *

The next day at around noon we sailed into port and Ellie and I, along with our meager belongings and Captain Coolridge, were rowed ashore by an excited Ross. Coolridge had said he would help us locate Loa's guide, Old Charlie. He'd been very friendly with us, and we'd confided in him a bit of our own story one evening as we talked in his quarters. He'd seemed to find our little tale highly romantic, and got a happy and faraway look in his twinkling eyes as he imagined the things we told him. When I asked him a bit about himself though, he had quickly changed the subject.

Still, I could see why my father had liked him. He was kindly and helping us a great deal in getting here, seeming to know we were both out of our element in all this. As the rowboat made contact with the shore, Ross jumped out and yanked it to the sand, then was there to take Ellie's dainty paw and help him out of the boat. Ellie beamed at him, but I knew him enough to tell that the smile was forced.

The captain and I were left to our own devices getting out of the boat, and I looked around the African city for the first time. There was hustle and bustle everywhere I looked. Giant crates of fruit, mostly bananas, were being lifted by cranes onto massive ocean liners. A couple crewmen were struggling with a large net full of freshly caught fish, and beyond them I could see a small market selling different strange looking foods.

"Keep close and try not to look like a tourist." The captain said to us.

"Umm...how do we do that?" I asked, embarrassed.

"Don't be lookin' all ways at once, cranin' yer necks around to look at things for a start. If ya can't see it outta the corner o' your eye, don't bother, it ain't important. C'mere, I know this old salt over 'ere." He headed over to an old man who was fishing off the docks with a simple string tied to a stick. He was smoking a pipe and lounging like a vagabond in tattered clothes.

Coolridge walked up and spoke to the man in a strange tongue. The old man smiled and the two sat down and talked for a few moments. After a bit, Coolridge motioned towards us as he spoke, and the old man appraised us out of the corner of his eye. He spoke a few words and motioned towards the land, seeming like he was giving directions. Coolridge nodded and handed him a few coins, patting him on the back as he stood up.

Walking back to us, he said "I got directions. Follow me."

Into the narrow busy streets we walked. The smell of body odor all around us was stifling in the heat, and I could see Ellie getting many lusty looks. Again I opened my coat enough that the powerful magnum revolver could be seen sparkling in the sunlight, and no-one bothered us. We passed more stands selling odd smelling foods and unintelligible tools. I kept Ellie between the captain and I, with Ross bringing up the rear. After a tense walk, we arrived at a small group of buildings.

"You wait here, you three." The captain ordered. "I'll see if I can find 'im for ya. Keep yer heads down, OK? This is a bad part 'o town."

We walked back across the street to some shade provided by a building there. There was a crowd gathered around a stand to our left, and they were loud and obnoxious. I couldn't see what had them roused up, but I didn't think it sounded like a kind throng. We shrank back against the wall and waited.

After a while, I could tell Ellie was beginning to get worried. He was shifting about uncomfortably and kept glancing towards the buildings that Coolridge had disappeared into. Unfortunately, in doing this he began to lash his long brown tail about, and apparently brushed it against one of the men at the back of the crowd around the stand. Neither of us were aware of it until his eyes suddenly bugged out and he gave a yowl, trying to whip his tail back.

I looked and saw the man had a hold of his tail and was grinning a filthy smile. Ellie's ears laid back on his head and he grabbed his tail in his paws and tried to yank it back. The man's smile widened and he began to approach him, speaking in a low, threatening voice. I noticed he had an erection, and my blood ran cold. Ellie shrank back, but he couldn't get far with his tail held tightly in the man's hand. The big brute reached out a hand for Ellie.

I didn't remember moving, but I had suddenly reached out and put a hand on his chest. He scowled at me and drew a knife, then saw the revolver I had leveled at his face. I motioned for him to drop the knife, which he did, slowly stepping back, releasing Ellie, who grabbed his tail like it was a wounded animal and began nursing it. After taking a few steps backwards, he turned and ran.

"Ohhhh...that wasn't good." Ross intoned softly.

"What? Why?" I asked as I returned the revolver to its holster.

"What if he comes back with a gun of his own? And friends with guns?" Ross said, sounding worried. I hadn't thought of that and my stomach felt icy.

"Well, I couldn't leave him be, he was after Ellie." I said defensively.

"I hope Cap'n gets back soon." Was his only response.

After about five more tense minutes, wherein Ellie held his tail close to keep it from touching anyone else, we were ready to cross the street and look for Old Charlie ourselves. What could possibly be taking this long? "Oh no." Ross whispered and pointed.

I looked, and saw the man returning. He was carrying a rifle, and had two friends brandishing rifles as well. He was scowling and looked spoiling for a fight. "Ross, you got a gun?" I whispered.

"Naw, but Cap'n does. Oh, where could he be?"

The men came to a stand-still about ten feet from us and began to speak in their own language, laughing at us maliciously. The leader lifted his rifle and pointed it in my general direction, motioning for me to throw down the revolver I was holding in my hands. I shook my head, knowing that the worst thing I could do would be to relinquish my only means of defense. I was terrified, but determined to stand up to these scumbags.

Ellie stepped up beside me, and I saw out of the corner of my eye that he had pulled out the small pistol Loa had given him and was holding it ready as well. The three men eyed us and the two guns and murmured to each other, probably trying to decide whether their bravado was up to the task of killing us.

The other two unslung their rifles and actuated the bolts on them. I was terrified I was going to die, but I still held my ground, bringing the revolver up and pointing it at them. They hesitated, and just then there was a thundering crack from our right. I didn't dare look away, but Ross exclaimed "It's Cap'n and another man what must be Charlie!"

The three thugs looked in the direction of the shot and saw two more men walking towards them with guns drawn, and began to back away. We scampered over to them as quickly as we could. "Follow me." The other man said, and he led us into a building without saying anything in response to our eager questions. We walked into a small room that was stuffed full of strange nick-nacks and garbage. In the corner on a cot, the stranger plopped down, and we got a good look at him for the first time. He was a weather-beaten old man, and the smell in the room was awful.

He looked up at us with misty eyes. Well, so you're Adam's boy, eh? How'd that old fag ever manage to reproduce?" He laughed a hoarse laugh that grated on my nerves. Suddenly he stopped laughing and asked, "How's he doin'?"

"He's dying from a disease he caught in Africa. I'm here to try and find a cure." I said stiffly.

He snorted. "Why don't he just crawl between that fag Loa's legs eh? That aughta cure him right up!" Again he laughed and my face burned in anger.

"Captain, I don't think this old fool is going to be of any help to us. Let's get out of here." I muttered softly to Coolridge.

Charlie looked at me, bemused. "Oh, don't get all sore 'bout it boy. I don't mean nothin' by it, just funnin' me old pal. So you're here to find a cure fer him, 'eh? Well, ya come to the right guide, fer sure. I know over half of this continent like the back o' my ass and if there's a witch doctor or medicine man who can help, I'll get ya ta him no problem."

I glared at him, unconvinced. "There must be others who would know it just as well who aren't so openly hostile. I want to find one of them. Let's go."

Charlie sat up in his cot. "Now hold on there, son. By God, you're as headstrong as your father, fer sure. I can take ya by the very route I took them by that trip where he got sick. You can visit every village along the trail and check every last one of them. Ya think any other guide can do that? Take it easy, I was only kiddin about yer father. He's a fag, but he's a good friend, b'lieve me. I'll take care o' you no worries."

He looked Ellie over. "So, I'm guessin' you don't be what you appear to be, eh?" He grinned, and Ellie shrank back.

"That is none of your damn business." I growled with anger.

"I 'spose not. Well kid, if yer father's that sick, we better get goin' sooner rather'n later. What say we save the small talk fer th' trail and go find some doctors in this town? We might get very lucky, eh?"

Coolridge looked at me. "I think he's OK, son. I do. If Loa recommended him I think you can trust him. Adam is very shrewd about things like this."

Charlie looked at us, bemused. "Who ya talkin' 'bout? Somebody I might know?"

I had to snort at that, and it broke the tension. "Alright, what's your fee, Charlie?"

He waved his hand dismissively. "Fer my ol' pal's life, I'll do it no cost. Don't worry kid, money ain't a problem."

He grabbed a pack, threw a pouch over his shoulder, then slung a rifle across his back. Grabbing a battered cowboy hat off a pile of refuse, he stood up. "Alright then. Let's go. Coolridge, you gonna stay in port 'till we get back?"

Coolridge nodded. "I'll be here, waitin' fer a return journey. Just get them and their cure back to me in one piece."

"Them I can promise, the cure I cannot. At any rate, we won't find it by slappin' our gums." He opened the door and waited for us to file out, then carefully locked it.

* * *

We split up with Coolridge and Ross, who headed back for the wharf. Charlie brought us to a much nicer looking area, into a modern looking hospital. He spoke back and forth with several people, then turned to me. "What kinda money ya got, kid? He wants a hundred American to skip the paper work and get right in to see a doctor."

I wasn't sure if I should do what Loa had said this time or not. As I hesitated, he urged me on. "C'mon kid, we ain't got all day." I pulled out my wallet and did my best to let nobody see how stuffed it was. I handed over a hundred dollar bill, which the man snatched before motioning for us to follow.

The doctor was a handsome man with dark skin and a shaved head. Charlie talked with him for a moment, then took from me the medical descriptions we'd brought with us. He read them to the man, showing him charts and illustrations. The doctor frowned and spoke for a minute. Charlie nodded and turned to us. "OK, he doesn't recognize it, but he says if it came from mosquitos deep in the jungle, we should try doctors in some of the bigger villages out there. I knew we didn't have much shot here, but it was worth a check."

He took us to a stable where he procured a buckboard for us, apparently his that he kept here for storage. Once again we were bouncing along roads following several horses. The trip was miserable. We were hot, constantly tired, and feeling the pressure of our dire plight pressing at us constantly. Ellie was shedding like crazy in the hot climate, which made him look sort of bedraggled as he always had wads of fur falling off of him. I felt bad for him, and I would fan him whenever I could with whatever was handy. He always smiled and thanked me for the meager relief.

At night, if we could steal a little privacy I would brush his coat for hours, collecting masses of loose fur and helping him relax in the horrid heat. "I'll never think it's hot at the manor again after this." He moaned one evening as I brushed him and sprinkled him with water to cool him down a little.

"I'm sorry Ellie. I maybe shouldn't have asked you to come with me... I can see how badly you are suffering." I said, feeling guilty to have dragged him into this oven.

He turned and looked at me with his beautiful blue eyes. "Like I would have quietly stayed home and let you go without me. Are we mates or not, that you would ask me to leave your side?"

I licked his wet nose. "We're mates, and I'm really, really glad you are here with me... it's just that I hate to see you suffering like this because I love you."

He lovingly took my hand in his paw. "It's OK, darling. You are helping me stay cool with all your fawning over me, and every day I'm losing lots of my undercoat. Every day I feel better and better as I shed more and more, so don't fret about it, it's getting better."

We stopped at several villages on the savanna, but had no luck when we asked around. Days passed, and while we hadn't even been traveling the mainland of Africa for a week it felt like we'd been here for years. We were miserable and hounded by the urgency of our quest.

I was brushing Ellie behind a small thicket one night when Charlie walked up on the other side of it. "Kids, we'll reach the jungle tomorrow. It'll be cooler, but a hell of a lot more humid, so it's gonna feel even worse than this. Enjoy the weather while we're out here."

Ellie had hunkered down and pulled a blanket around his naked body when Charlie started talking. When he didn't show up around the thicket, I gently began to brush him again, pulling the blanket away. "Your shedding is slowin' down El. I hope you're starting to feel a little better?"

"Yeah, I am. I can't believe I can shed this much and still have any fur!" We both chuckled at that.

"It's going to get worse in the jungle? I don't see how. For me, the worst is Charlie doesn't give us enough privacy to have a chance at making love."

Ellie groaned. "You actually think you'd have enough energy to have sex? I'm so hot and tired I can hardly move at night." I'd been able to tell this, which was why I hadn't pursued doing anything yet on this trip. I was starting to get pretty horny though. It had been days since we'd coupled in our cabin on the ship.

"I'm tired, sure... but I'm addicted to you now, you know. I don't feel happy without sharing intimacy with you." I murmured, stroking my hand over his fur and marveling at how light and silky it was getting. He'd been deliciously soft and sexy before, but now his fur was so light and soft it defied reason, and I'd never felt fur this silky-soft and delicate.

He grinned and his long whiskers twitched. "Aww, you're a sweetie. I love you, babe, and I promise I'll make it up to you later." We kissed gently, embracing and letting our lust flow out.

Loudly, from around the side of the thicket, Charlie yelled, "Shall we get some rest, kids? It's getting late and I'd like to put the lanterns out!"

We both jumped a foot in the air and looked at each other with a painful grimace. At the first sound of a voice, he'd grabbed his blanket and covered his body again, and I sighed. How did Charlie manage to do that whenever we so much as kissed? The old goat had to be spying on us and doing it on purpose.

* * *

We arrived at the jungle, and true to what Charlie had said, the temperature dropped but the humidity skyrocketed. We were tinted by a constant green hue from the light filtering down through the leaves of massive, gnarled trees. The road became close and even more lumpy and difficult to travel on.

The first village we reached in the jungle, we had our first hint of luck. The medicine man listened to Charlie's description, looked at the drawings and nodded. He spoke for a long time motioning around. Charlie translated for us when he'd finished. "He says that it is a deep jungle disease. Occasionally one of their people will contract it, but he doesn't know how to cure it. He says that they send their people deeper into the jungle to another village and they cure them there."

I gasped in excitement and stared at Ellie with hope in my eyes. Ellie started to clap his paws, but Charlie held up a hand. "Wait, I ain't finished. He says that he doesn't know if someone can be cured once they get to a certain point of sickness. He says we can try, but the medicine men that know how to help may feel the disease is too advanced to be able to aid it. At any rate, I know which village now."

Ellie was forceful. "Then it is all the more important that we hurry! Oh Charlie, we've just got to get this antidote and get back in time." I nodded in agreement, swallowing, trying not to get my hopes up too high.

* * *

Onward we traveled, hot and miserable and frantic to go faster even as the road grew worse and impeded our progress. Sleeping in mosquito netting was uncomfortable and the sound of about a million mosquitoes whining overhead bothered me, as I'd always been afraid of them as a child. Knowing they'd all but killed my father certainly didn't ingratiate them to me either. Worse yet, the netting was only large enough for a single person, so I wasn't able to even sleep with Ellie, something I'd grown addicted to in a very short time. Though he was only about two feet away, I was sleeping poorly every night, missing his soft body gently pressed against mine.

By the eighth day of jungle travel, we rolled exhausted into the village we'd been directed towards. It was a furkind village, felines in fact. But as I looked around, I could see these were not tiny, soft and gentle felines like my mate, but huge lions, standing over six feet tall and rippling with muscles over their entire bodies. A group of laughing cubs ran along behind our cart as we bounced along to the center of the village.

I looked around at the villagers. They were beautiful, if a bit frightening. The lionesses were every bit as powerful looking as the males, and in fact looked somewhat more vicious and intimidating. Many of them had scars across their muscled bodies, reminding me that this was a harsh place to eke out a life.

A big male with ornate bone decorations adorning his body trod up to us and greeted us. Charlie spoke to him, then turned to us and said "Dismount for a formal introduction. This is their leader, so bow low for him. He can make or break our mission."

He spoke each of our names in turn, and we bowed low with Ellie giving a curtsy. The chief then gave a small bow and introduced himself as Oma, before introducing three of the females around him as Ama, Ema, and Ima. I got the feeling these were titles rather than names. The four of them looked at us ponderously, then he motioned for us to follow him and smiled.

We were led into a large hut that was well-crafted and well-maintained. Inside, several young males jumped forward and attended our every need, bringing us water and pillows to sit on. Charlie translated for us as we began to talk.

"So, what brings you bedraggled strangers to our village?" Oma asked, looking at us each with bemusement. His eyes lighted on Ellie and his face lit up as he stared hungrily at him. "What a lovely little female. So tiny, so delicate. I would like to make her my wife."

I cleared my throat. "Ellie is already spoken for, we are already mated." I said emphatically, as Ellie squirmed closer to me on his pillow in obvious fear and discomfort.

He chuckled. "A pity, visitors would come from miles around to see such a tiny little thing of wonder and beauty. She looks like she could be broken with one paw. Don't worry, dear, I only meant that figuratively. Now, what brings you to our village?"

We described our mission to him, and he nodded. "Call Ama in here, guards." He turned to us. "Ama is our healer. What you describe sounds like what we call 'The Waste,' a terrible curse of a disease. If any could help, it would be her, for she has cured many of the malady."

Ellie and I exchanged looks of daring hope. A moment later the large female walked in. She was not scarred like the others, probably because as a healer she was protected from war and hunting due to her value to the village. She had put on a ritual mask and was topless, though her breasts looked more like large pecks than any woman I'd ever seen. She was still magnificent and beautiful, though. She bowed before Oma.

"My sister, thank you for coming. This young human says his father contracted The Waste on a trip here several years ago. He is dying and needs your help. Do you think you can heal him?" Oma said, bowing low the whole time he spoke.

"Can he still walk?" She said, turning to me. "I...I'm not sure. He could when I left, but barely. That was over two weeks ago now, I'm afraid."

"Did you bring him with you?" She asked. Her voice was deep and gentle, and I relaxed a little even though we were surrounded by such huge furkind.

"No, we felt he was too sick to make such a long journey." I said, and Ellie nodded.

"Unfortunate. I could do more for him if he were here. I cannot promise you success in any way. If he can no longer walk...well, I've never managed to save the life of one that sick. The body is usually too weak from all the damage by that point. The cure is a shock to the system that may kill him outright." She sat down beside Oma and looked across at us.

"Please ma'am, he's my father, even if there is a sliver of hope, we must try. He's dead already without help, we know that, so I feel it is worth the risk. I beg of you to help us."

She nodded. "Then help you I shall, as I have sworn my life to protecting and healing the sick. You must hurry though, for every moment will count towards his life. I will go and begin preparing the medicine, as it will take me until morning to ready it all. Brother, please extend them our hospitality for the evening, won't you? May I go to prepare?"

The chief nodded. "Of course. Go and prepare sister, we shall have a feast for our weary travelers. Servants, go begin preparations." The attending males scampered off, and he turned to us. "We welcome you to our village in the meantime. There is a spring a small distance behind the village whose water bubbles up from deep underground. It is cold and sweet and a wonderful place to rest after a hot day. I would welcome you to go there and clean up if you would like while we prepare food. Then I would like to hear about your people."

* * *

We sent Charlie to the spring first, and he came back looking very refreshed and smiling. "Ah, it's a magic place. Very relaxin' and restoratin'. I think you two will prob'ly want to fag out in there." He laughed when I scowled at him. I still didn't care for him very much.

Together, we walked down the path to the spring. Indeed it was lovely as Oma had said. Rocks formed a natural basin about five feet across from which the water bubbled out. It cascaded down one side of the rocks in a small waterfall into a larger basin that could probably accommodate ten or more bathers at once. Over an edge it again cascaded and fed into a river. It looked as if the village drew water from the top basin while using the lower one for bathing and washing utensils and clothes.

Ellie threw off his dress and panties and boots as fast as he could and practically leapt into the water. He slid beneath the surface and was gone so long I nearly panicked. Suddenly he popped up with a loud gasp and gave an exuberant mew. "Oh Adam! It's wonderful! It's so cold, this is the first time I've felt comfortable since we came to this sweltering place! Come join me and let's make love, darling. Life has been hell without you between my legs these many days."

He didn't need to tell me twice and I threw my clothes off, grabbing the soap from my pack as I made my way into the water. El was right, it was cold, but not too much, just incredibly refreshing as I slid down in. Nobody seemed to be around so we took our time and enjoyed bathing each other, which felt wonderful. To finally be clean and not sweltering was a marvelous feeling indeed. Once we'd washed up completely, we began to kiss and pet each other, both horny and eager from many days without sex.

We swam over to the far side of the pool where some rocks shielded the view to the path in case anyone should come along. The water was also shallow enough that I could sit in only about six inches of water and pull Ellie into my lap. I stroked his wet fur and heard him groan in delight as I explored him with my fingers. "I've really missed this, my love." I whispered.

"Me too. I just want to go home so bad...this trip might've been fun if we'd done it for other reasons, but I feel so depressed all the time it's just miserable. Oh God, touch me there some more."

I stroked his throbbing penis and kneaded his ass. "Oh, I know, but think of our friends. If only we can help them...this will all be worth it."

He whispered, "You're the most caring person I've ever met, and I mean that. I love you."

I blushed. "No way you mean that after all Loa did to help you, but thanks Ellie, it's sweet of you to say."

"But I do mean it, Adam. Loa had the means and support, you're doing this all on your own for a father you never knew existed. You aren't a world traveler, and I can tell you're scared witless half the time by everything, but you're doing this with single minded determination, because you love a man who was never there for you."

I felt unworthy of this. "I don't know, El. Any son'd do this for his Dad. And anyway, it wasn't my father's choice to not be in my life, Mom wouldn't let him."

He growled. "I wouldn't lift a finger to help my Dad. I'd spit in his face."

That was a mood ruiner, but I drew him to me and hugged him. "Hey. That's all in your past now, Ellie. He'll never hurt you again. He'll never see you again. He can't touch you anymore, I promise. And if he were to ever come around looking for you, I promise I'll get in his way and beat the shit out of him 'till he leaves, you got my word."

He smiled up at me softly. "Thanks, Baby." He whispered. "Sorry I got gloomy."

"Don't ever apologize for that. I'm here to help you whenever it hurts, El. Don't bottle it up, let it out and we'll share it together."

We kissed and he began to squirm about on my lap, which had me hard again in no time. "Where's our lube?" I moaned, fingering his ass.

He nodded and swam over to where we'd dumped our clothes and rooted through his pack until he found the small bottle we'd brought with us. I put as little as I dared on to conserve for the return trip, and eased carefully into him. It felt exquisite. He was always so tight, but this time he felt even more so, probably because it had been a while since we'd had anal sex. I moaned softly and began to bounce him on my lap, gripping his hips and little flat chest.

"Ohhhh Goddd!" he cried softly, and I reached around to finger his cock and found him hard as rock.

"Whoooeee, I never get used to this, Elliot! Every time I slide into you it's like the first time all over again. You feel so exquisite and sexy, I'm never prepared for it, and it always is a shock how absolutely great you feel inside." I panted, bouncing him faster and faster on my lap. He looked really sexy when I did this.

He was looking so completely enthralled by the fucking, it was amazing. "OH GOD! I've missed this soooo much these last weeks! Oh Adam, I love being fucked by you! I love you so much and it feels so good!"

We panted and humped each other, groaning in ecstasy. I melted more and deeper into his tight, hot body. Suddenly he tensed and froze, pushing me back down into the rocks. I was about to protest, when I heard Old Charlie's voice. "Oi there Ellie, You seen that mate o' yours? I thought you came here together?"

Ellie sounded very wobbly and shaken when he responded. "Ohh...we...we...did...he....I...I think he went into the jungle that way to explore a bit..."

"you OK, kid? Ya sound shaken."

"I...I'm finnne. The water's just a little c...coold is all."

I couldn't wait. I needed more, and I carefully began to thrust up into him in a way that wouldn't send him visibly bouncing everywhere mid-conversation. He let out a whine and glanced at me in horror. I grinned up at him and began to pump harder.

"Well, if it's that cold, why don't you get out? You get sick and we're all in trouble, you know." I couldn't see Charlie, but this kind of compassion seemed out of place for him.

"nnn...NNN...No! It...*hah* it isn't that....*dammit* cold...I...gah..." He muttered over his shoulder, "I'm gonna...I'm gonna k-kill you for thiiiIISs."

I laughed softly and tightened my grip on his hips to hold him steady as I began to fuck harder. Charlie was still not leaving. "Well, I'm sposed to find Adam, so I recon I better go o'er there an' look."

"NO! ...no...no...d-don't commmme over here...*fuuu* I'm...naked back here! I'll *gasp* tell him to come back to the village when I seeEEE him!" He squealed.

Charlie sounded worried. "You sure you're OK, girl?"

"YES GOD DAMMIT LEAVE US ALONE YOU BASTARD BEFORE I COME OVER THERE AND BREAK YOUR ARMS!!!" Ellie suddenly screamed at the top of his lungs.

I could hear Charlie laughing as he walked off. Ellie whirled on me, impeding my thrusts. "You...you...fat lot of help you are! How dare you take advantage of my compromised position! You aren't gonna get any for a month after this!"

I was laughing so hard it hurt. "I'm...I'm sorry baby! I couldn't help myself it felt so good! Don't you get the feeling he knew what we were doing all along?"

Ellie couldn't keep a straight face and he burst out laughing too, playfully pounding his fists on my chest. "You'll pay for this! You'll be sorry in three weeks when you've got blue balls!"

I guffawed in laughter and tried to catch his flying fists. "Mercy, Love, mercy! I'll die if you withhold your affections from me for that long! Any punishment but that, I beg you!"

We laughed and he pulled off me briefly to turn around so he was facing me. "Any punishment, eh? I got a good idea." He eased his ass down on my lonesome penis and sank to the hilt on me. He leaned over and rested his chin on my chest and began to use his hips alone to give long luxurious strokes. He'd never done this before and it felt and looked awesome.

I cried out in horny pleasure as I was engulfed by this wonderful new sensation he was giving me. "Oh wow! Awesome! Oh God Ellie, I love you so much! Fuck, this is great!"

Faster and faster he went, and I could tell that the thrusting was also rubbing his penis against my stomach. He reached down and pressed himself harder against me to increase the stimulation. I stared down at his luscious body moving so fluidly over me. I caught his little chin and lifted up his face so I could kiss him deeply.

The kiss only broke when we both neared climax. "Aahhh! I'm gonna cum Ellie! I'm gonna fill you with 'nine frustrating days without sex' full of my seed!"

"Oh yes, fill me up! Oh God Adam, fill me like a balloon until I swell up like I'll burst! Oh, I want to be packed full of your love! Mmmm! Ahhh!

We spurted in perfect unison. We were getting quite good at that actually. His pent up sexual frustration shot a good three feet into the air and splashed down into the water before us. I watched his penis with rapt attention as he shot more cum than I'd ever seen him blast out, grunting in delight. From what I was feeling, I was doing the same thing to him as well, just in his guts.

We howled and cried out in ecstasy at the pleasure of our intimate coupling. He was amazing, and the sex just kept getting better and more and more fulfilling. I was so captivated by him, and still fascinated by our coupling. In fact, I doubted I would ever get over the thrill just of the idea of making love to another male.

He collapsed back against me and we kissed and hugged for a while. "You think Charlie actually did have a reason for calling you back to the camp, or did he just come out here 'cause he's a horny old pervert?" He asked.

I sighed, not wanting to leave. "I suppose we better go find out, huh. I don't wanna leave this. It's the first time we've felt good enough to make love since we got here, and I bet the return trip will be just as bleak."

He nodded forlornly, but resigned, we got up and after a brief cleaning of our sex, we paddled over to the other bank. I climbed out and dressed quickly so I could keep watch for Charlie or some other intruder while Ellie got back into his dress. Neither of us wanted it to be over already.

* * *

We arrived back at the camp and found Charlie. He was giving us a wicked little grin which made my ears burn, but at least he didn't comment about it. "The healer wanted to speak with you about something." He said and led us to a small tent on the edge of the village. Inside a small fire was burning, over which there was an old-looking cast iron pot with some ghastly smell wafting off the bubbling liquid inside.

The healer had removed her mask but was still topless. Her fur was soaking wet like she'd dowsed herself in water and she was working intently on the smelly concoction. Without looking up, she spoke and Charlie translated.

"Adam, what is your father's name?" She asked. "I need it for the spell."

"I was named after him, so his name is actually Adam as well." I felt a bit of doubt creep in when she brought up using a spell. Was this really going to heal him, or would it end up being nothing more than superstition?

She wasn't done yet. "Normally I would use some of the sick one's blood for the potion, but he isn't here. I hope the bond of family will be strong enough that yours will suffice. May I have some of your blood, please?"

I gulped and nodded, stepping forward. Ellie seemed to recognize my fears, because he stepped forward as well, putting his arms around my left arm and pressing close in comfort. The healer paused and removed a blade out of the fire, then dowsed it in water to cool. She then wiped some yellow slimy stuff on the tip, and at last she stepped over to me and made a gentle cut on my right arm.

I began to immediately bleed hard and fast, and she held my arm over the boiling mass in the pot. I soon realized that something was wrong, as I was bleeding far faster than I should have been from such a little cut. I began to get scared. "Why am I bleeding so hard?" I asked with confusion and mounting fear.

"I put an anti-coagulant on the knife before I cut you. Don't worry, when I have enough blood I'll cauterize it with an antidote." She said, quickly stirring her brew.

I nodded and looked away from the stream of my blood, There was a remarkable amount coming out very quickly. I looked away and down into Ellie's cute face to take my mind off of what was happening. He looked up at me and smiled, then kissed me gently on the lips.

The healer caught this move and commented. "You are lovers, I see. Strange union, I must say...a human and a kitten, both males."

Ellie drew himself up indignantly. "I am not a kitten just because I'm smaller than you all! I'm two years older than my mate, for Godsakes."

The healer laughed. "Forgive me in that case, little one. I've never seen a species of feline as small as you are, but you are right, that doesn't make you a child. Forgive me."

"No problem. I shouldn't lash out like that." Ellie said, sounding mollified

"Well, you certainly are a beauty. The entire village is in an uproar over you, but I don't believe anyone realizes you are male. I would strongly recommend you keep it that way as some might feel embarrassed and angry if they discover you are not as you seem."

"Don't worry about that. But...how did you figure out my gender?" Ellie said, looking himself over to see if any obvious elements of a male body were evident.

"I'm a healer, in tune with nature and able to hear the voices of all living things. Your body tells me you are male even if my eyes tell me you are not, pretty little one."

Ellie looked dubious about this, but he nodded. The healer wiped something on the cut and the blood flow stopped immediately. "Thank you, that's all I need for now. I must continue to prepare this throughout the night, and by tomorrow I should have a thick paste ready for you to take home."

* * *

The feast in our honor was a nice gesture, and in spite of their massive size and somewhat frightening looks, we realized that the tribe was friendly and hospitable. In another situation we would have greatly enjoyed ourselves spending time with these gentle giants, but we were desperate to return home.

Their food was mostly meat, with a few boiled roots for flavor, but it was spiced well and tasted excellent after days of hard bread and jerky. We told the lions tales of our country, of our culture, and anything else they asked us about. We asked them many things about themselves. We talked for quite a while, until exhausted, we could barely keep our eyes open. Realizing this, we were sent to our hut for the night.

They only had one hut for guests, so unfortunately Ellie and I were again denied intimacy by the constant presence of Old Charlie. I think we both figured he was hounding us on purpose, thinking it was great fun to keep us apart. At least he hadn't been able to deny us intimacy during our bath, though he'd tried.

I slept the sleep of the dead in the blessed silence of a hut. After days of lying awake listening to the whine of mosquitoes, I was exhausted. All too soon I was being shaken awake gently by Ellie. "Hey love, it's time to go. The healer just came and told us she finished the ointment, and I told Charlie we needed to get on the road. I let you sleep as long as I could, but now they have food for us and we'll be on our way."

I stumbled out of bed and outside, running my fingers through my hair and putting on my shirt. After a quick meal, we were thanking them gratefully for their kindness. I fervently wished there was some way we could repay them for all they'd done.

The healer took me aside and again, Charlie translated. "Wipe this ointment over your father's nose so that he breathes it in. Every fifteen minutes wash it off and apply more for a complete day. Now listen Adam, this is going to make him very sick. It will burn his lungs and make him cough and choke and gag, and he may even cough up some blood. If he is too weak, he will not survive it. I cannot be there to give judgment in the matter, so you must try to gauge if it is even worth it by the time you return home."

She took my shoulders in her massive paws. "I know that may not be what you want to hear, but you must realize that if he is too weak this will give him a horrible death, and you will have to live with that memory for the rest of your life. If he is too weak to stand, you must let him go. That is the only way I can advise you. I know it will be difficult to watch, but you must not be foolish."

I nodded, feeling tears well up. "How will I know if it is going to work?"

She paused. "If he has not died within twelve hours, he is probably going to make it. It will take as long as twenty-four hours before he'll finally get relief and relax. After that, if he makes it, he will simply need to regain his strength and begin eating again."

Crying, I spoke again. "Is there any way we can ever repay you for this?"

She smiled. In a way, even though she was massive and powerful and intimidating, she was beautiful. "There is probably not much you could offer us of value from your meager packs of belongings. If your father survives, perhaps you will have enough gratitude to return to us, because if you had time I'm sure there is much you could aid us with using the wonders of your world."

I was suddenly overcome with emotion. I threw my arms around her neck in a bear hug. "I promise I'll return, whether he lives or not, and I'll help you all in any way I can. Thank you so much for helping us, Ama."

She had growled a bit in surprise when I grabbed her, tensing her body, but then she relaxed and hugged me tightly back, patting me gently and cooing. "Thank you, Adam. I shall look forward to seeing you again someday then."

* * *

We took our leave and began the long journey home. I won't bore you with the details as there was not much of interest that happened. Charlie continued to pop up every time we tried to make love, which Ellie was more willing to do now that he'd shed off his fur coat almost all the way. With Charlie hovering over us, we never got the chance, however. I was greatly relieved when he at last led us to the port and bid us farewell and good luck. When he wasn't looking, I deposited a large amount of money into his cart under his pack where he'd be sure to find it.

Coolridge was waiting in port for us when we returned. We answered his questioning look by holding up the leather skin of ointment, and he laughed jovially, delighted. Once we were underway we sat down at a table in the small galley and related stories of our travels to him and Ross, who was once again clinging onto Ellie.

When we related my promise to Ama, Coolridge looked at me gravely. "I hope ya were meanin' that, son. A broken promise would make 'em mistrust outsiders an' the next traveler in need of help might not get it."

I nodded. "No, I meant it very much, sir. They were very kind to us and I plan to do what I can to help them, no matter if my father survives or not."

Coolridge smiled. "Yer a good man, lad. Jus' like yer father in so many ways."

"Yes he is!" Ellie said emphatically, giving me a sappy look.

I blushed. "I'm nothin' special, you two."

* * *

The journey back home again seemed to take forever. The temperatures dropped steadily and we began to feel more normal which was a great relief. Ellie and I could again make love whenever we wanted, but a melancholy had fallen over me since we'd begun to sail. I couldn't see how we could possibly be in time, and I was listless and disinterested. We were so close to helping him, and yet so far away, it felt like a cosmic cruelty that was being laid upon me. I wanted so much to save him, to spare the grief we would all feel.

Days dragged on forever. Coolridge ran the engines at maximum output, and had the crew working around the clock to keep the boat cruising at its maximum speed. He even took shifts feeding the boiler himself, and I was glad to take turns on it too, which kept me preoccupied for a while at least. Being that I had worked the hard job of a blacksmith, it was easy enough.

Ellie helped me immeasurably just by being there with me. He was a quiet companion that stuck close to me but didn't intrude on my brooding thoughts. I was in agony over what the healer, Ama, had said. Deep down I knew I was going to try it no matter how sick he was, and I was afraid of watching him die in agony. I was also afraid of how Loa would react to that horror. Poor sweet Loa, how I wanted to spare him this heartache.

At last we were docking in the port. Coolridge got us to the livery where we rented their fastest cart and driver. "I'll follow ya long kids. I can either rejoice with ya that he's made it, or pay my respects."

"He's going to make it, Captain." I said coldly. "I haven't come all this way to let him die."

9) ** **Back Home to Sorrows


The final leg of the journey was the worst. We were so close, I was absolutely panicked. I kept urging the driver to go faster, promising him larger and larger sums of money for the fastest trip he could manage. In my hand I clutched the leather skin of ointment, trembling every time I thought of it. Ellie put his arm around me, and I rested my head on his shoulder.

"El...I...I'm gonna give it to him no matter how close to death he is...and...as much as I know you and Loa want to be there...if he dies horribly, I don't want either of you two to have to live with that memory. Can you please help me get Loa out of the room, far enough that he won't be able to hear the screams?"

Ellie's eyes were huge as he looked up at me. Tears welled up in them and began to drip down his pretty cheeks. He tried to blink them back to no avail, then slowly nodded. "Adam, I'll do it, but are you sure? Are you sure you can bare it?"

"No, I can't bare it, but you two shouldn't have to try and bare it too. This is my decision and I want to be the one to live with it. In fact, I don't even want Loa to know this is my choice. We'll tell him that all we can do is try it. I...I don't think I can manage it if he is furious at me for making the wrong choice, so it's better if he doesn't know. Do you understand, El?" I brushed a lock of his glossy blond hair from his eyes.

He hugged me tightly around the neck and began to cry. "I pwomise Adam, but...I don't want you to be alone in there. Promise me...promise me that if it fails and he dies, you won't do anything rash."

I nodded and breathed. "I promise."

* * *

At last we were on the driveway of my Father's mansion. We leapt out, not bothering with our bags or anything, we ran up the steps and into the house. I pelted into my Father's room with Ellie close behind me. We skidded to a halt and surveyed the scene before us. My Father was in bed, looking very pale, and Loa was sitting on the bedside looking bedraggled and in shock. He'd obviously been crying before we burst in.

He jumped up and dove at us with a sob and hugged us as hard as he could. He was shaking violently and was crying almost hysterically. For a few seconds I feared the worst, that we were too late. "You're back!" He bawled. "You kept your word! Oh thank you God, I won't have to be alone at the end!"

I pulled back and grabbed his trembling shoulders urgently. "Loa, how is he? Hurry, every second counts!"

He stared at me with wide, shocked eyes. "You mean you had success???" he loudly squeaked.

I nodded and held up my skin of ointment. Loa gave a shrieking cry of joy and collapsed. Ellie was quick on his feet and caught him, lowering him awkwardly to the floor. "Loa, wait, don't get too hopeful yet." I said hurriedly. "He may be too far gone for this to work. The healer had no idea if it would help after he'd had it this long, but this is the cure for this disease."

I walked over to the bed and sat down. "Dad?" I said softly.

He opened his eyes and slowly focused them on me. "Son! You did come back! Loa told me what you were trying to do, but I didn't think it could possibly work. I thought I'd never see you again!"

"I'm here Dad, and I've got the cure." I swallowed, and continued in a trembling voice. "Dad, listen to me. She says this stuff gives you a violent reaction, and that it's going to hurt like holy hell. She wasn't even sure if you'd make it." I grabbed his hand in mine. "Dad, this is going to be awful, but you can't give up. No matter how bad it makes you feel, promise me you won't give up. Promise me you'll fight and fight and fight with everything you've got. Dad, I'll stay with you no matter what, no matter how bad it gets. I'm going to be here and we're going to finish this fight together, OK? I promise, we're going to beat this together, as we always should have been."

We were all crying now. He nodded. "I promise I'll fight with all I have and more. I want to live, son. I want to get to know you. I want to grow old together with Loa. I want this more than anything else in the world, and I'll fight for all I'm worth to make it."

I nodded and looked up grimly. "Loa, this may be truly horrible. I know that at this hour you would rather die than leave his side, but I'm going to ask you to do it anyway. I don't think it will do you any good to have to witness what is coming for him, and...if this doesn't work, I don't want you to have to live with what I'm going to have to witness, OK?"

Loa started a flat refusal to leave, but my father interrupted him. "Adam is right, darling. I would have spared you all the agony you've lived through for these last two years if there had been any possible way. If this is to be my end, I don't want you to have to witness this as well. Adam will be right here with me, so I won't be alone, and he'll let you know the moment he knows anything."

Loa sobbed and threw himself on my Father's neck. They hugged and cried for several minutes before my Dad held him back to look at him. "Loa, I love you. All these years we've been together, I owe them all to you. I owe you my life for coming to my door that day, seconds before I pulled the trigger and killed myself. Be at peace, my love. What will be will be, and we have done the best we can. I wouldn't trade a single day that we shared together for all the money and love in the world. My life with you has been heaven. I'll love you for all time Loa."

The elegant feline could barely manage, "I wouldn't trade... a single... day either..." then he lost it and just bawled and buried his face in my father's emaciated chest. Their love was so strong, I felt wonder at it, trying to imagine what it must be like to love and be loved with that depth of emotion. I vowed that Ellie and I would be like them someday; truly united in soul, spirit and mind.

"Be strong Loa. I love you. I'll see you again... when, son?" He paused and looked at me.

"If this works, you'll be through it and we'll know you are going to live in twenty-four hours." I said, wiping my eyes.

My Father nodded and turned back to Loa. "I'll see you again in one day then, darling. Ellie, please take care of my baby for these hours."

Ellie nodded. "I will. C'mon big brother, let's go walk in the garden. That always helps cheer me up." He led his best friend from the room, closing the door after giving me one last longing look.

When they were gone, my Dad tried to be jovial. "So what do we do? Let's get this started so we can get it over with."

I nodded. "The healer told me to wipe some under your nose and have you breathe it. Every fifteen minutes I'm supposed to wash it off and apply more. Dad, she said it will make you cough and choke and gag. She said it will probably even make you spit up blood, so don't be concerned if that happens, because that's apparently part of the cure."

He nodded grimly. I grabbed a basin from the master bathroom and filled it with water and grabbed a rag. I brought them to the bedside and opened the leather skin. The paste was thick, about like peanut butter, and smelled strongly of iodine. It was a greenish brown color, and I guessed the brown was from my blood in it. I closed my eyes and prayed one last time, then wiped some around my father's nostrils.

"Stinks." He grunted.

I nodded. "Yeah, it does. Dad, do you want to hear about our trip to help take your mind off it?"

He smiled weakly at me. "More than anything."

I began to relate the tale. After fifteen minutes I cleaned him and reapplied, and it was then that it began to make him ill. His breathing became labored, and he began to sneeze and cough. Minute by minute it was to grow worse. I told my story slowly, relating every detail, wanting to make it last the entire time we fought. After fourty-five minutes, I was beginning to see the full brunt of what was going to happen. He could hardly take a breath without coughing, and eventually he began to gag and vomit bile. I managed to catch it in towels, and I hugged his pain-wracked body to me and comforted him as best I could.

He continued to choke and vomit, until I began to see blood in the bile. He was crying out in pain, writhing in agony in my arms. I was terrified and felt like I was going to pass out from the frightening scene. I spoke louder and louder so that he could hear me over the noise he was making and doggedly kept telling my story to him, pausing only to get fresh towels and rags to keep him clean. In brief moments between episodes I forced him to gulp water, never stopping my constant story telling. I clung to my own words as a dying man might, trying to keep my sanity with them, and I hoped they might be helping him in the same way.

His breathing became labored and erratic, and his eyes roamed about the room wildly. I grabbed his face in my hands. "Focus Dad! On me!" His eyes stayed locked on me and I resumed the story.

I had feared his breathing might stop, and several times it seemed to, and I quickly slapped him in the face, hard enough that it seemed to wake him back up. He was still retching, but at least no more vomit was coming up. He was dripping and spraying blood from his mouth every time he coughed.

I had lost count of how many fifteen minute segments we'd been through. It had been black outside for some time now, and he was beginning to fight me as I tried to reapply the medicine. "No..." he croaked. "No more, please! I can't stand it anymore!"

I grabbed his head firmly in my hands and yelled in his face. "No Dad, fight it! God damn you, you can make it another fifteen minutes! Do this fifteen for Loa, OK? Do it for him!"

He stopped struggling and again I put the foul ointment on his nose. I hugged him to me, cradling his head in my arms and shouted down at him as he cried out in agony, continuing my story, I wasn't sure who it was helping at this point, if he could even hear me at all, or if I was simply doing it to maintain my own sanity.

Every fifteen minutes, I dedicated another round of torture to another name. Another person whom I'd met, another person he'd helped. Every time I begged him to fight for that person, and every time he continued, though he was sobbing and howling in pain. He was drenched with sweat, and I couldn't get him to drink any more.

The sun was rising when he suddenly went limp. He was still breathing, shallowly, but he lay there in my arms, his eyes unfocused. At first I felt a surge of hope that he might be going to make it, that he was turning the corner, but he began to moan for his mommy. His voice sounded faint and his breathing was coming shorter and shorter. I couldn't rouse him with any stimulus. I shouted, slapped him, shook him, but nothing made him act like he even knew I was there.

I was terrified, tears streaming down my cheeks. This felt like the end. This felt like he was going to die. "Dad, please, do this one for me." I whispered, unable to even speak out loud. "Do this one for me and we can both say we did our best."

I washed and reapplied, then hugged him to me, my words filled with tears and grief. "I used to dream of you, Dad. I would pretend that you were there with me all the time. I'd imagine you there when I'd go fishing, I'd imagine you there sitting by my bed when I was sick, watching over me all night. I would imagine you tucking me in at night and telling me you loved me. You were my imaginary friend all the years I was growing up. All I ever wanted was for you to be there, Dad. If you can just hold on a little bit longer, all those dreams might...well, they might come true."

He didn't respond, but his breathing became deeper. I held him to me, rocking him and letting my tears soak his bed. All was silent now, and I cleaned him and reapplied several times without any reaction from him.

Suddenly I heard him whisper. "So what happened next?" It was so soft, so barely audible I had to think about it for a moment before I realized what he'd said.

Speaking gently now, I continued to recount the tale of our African adventure. I continued it after he stopped moving, after his eyes closed. I recounted the story, no longer paying any attention to whether or not he was even still alive. Every fifteen minutes I put more ointment on him, refusing to look, refusing to try and determine if he still had life.

Finally that evening I applied the last dose of ointment and finished my story. The room was silent for the first time in a day. I heard nothing from him, and for a long time I sat there in total silence, afraid to look. I thought of Loa and how he must be in agony not knowing, and I looked.

His chest was gently rising and falling. He was asleep. He was alive.

* * *

I staggered out of his room and made my way downstairs, covered head to toe in sweat and vomit and blood. I found a maid and mumbled about Loa. I don't even think he heard me, but he said that Loa and Ellie were holding a vigil in the servant's quarters. I'd never even been in there, but I stumbled my way to the building and floated inside. I looked down at myself. I was covered with blood and dried vomit, a ghastly sight for all to behold. I was sweaty and bedraggled, and I was so exhausted I couldn't even feel joy at the revelation that he'd made it.

I found them in a large living area on the ground floor. There were many couches and game tables and recreational facilities here, and I was dully surprised to see it as I had had no idea there were such nice facilities available to the residents. A large group, most of everyone who lived here was gathered around in a circle, praying.

Someone looked up and saw me and interjected. "Loa, Adam's here."

Loa whirled around and ran to me with Ellie right behind him, looking frightened at my appearance. "Oh my God, you look horrible! Adam, is he going to make it?" he sobbed.

I nodded. "He's gonna be alright."

* * *

I don't remember collapsing, even though they told me I fell over right then and there. I hadn't slept for days, and with the peace of success my body had literally shut down on me. All I know is that I woke up nearly twenty-four hours later lying in the bed in the Blue Room. I had been washed and stripped of my filthy clothes, and Ellie was sitting on his side of the bed, reading a book and holding my hand in his paw.

I blinked and looked up at him. "Wa'timeizzit?" I gurgled.

He slapped the book closed and looked down at me. "You were asleep for almost an entire day. How ya feelin?"

"Like hell. How's Dad?"

Ellie couldn't hold a straight face, and broke out in a wide smile. "He's already feeling way better. He says the pain is gone and he's famished. We keep feeding him and he keeps never getting full."

I smiled and relaxed back into my pillow for a few moments while I woke up.

Ellie looked at me. "Was it as bad as you thought?"

I nodded silently.

He shivered. "If you want to tell me about it, to get it off your chest, it's OK."

I shook my head. "He's alive now, that's all that matters. I want to go see him."

He nodded and grinned. "Loa made me promise to bring you right in when you woke up, so I'm sure it's fine. Think you are OK to walk?"

I sat up and saw I was naked. "You better not have taken advantage of me while I was unconscious." I growled, winking at him.

He laughed. "Oh, I had my way with your ass a few times, but that's all."

I clenched my muscles in back. "Really?" I said weakly.

He shook his head. "No, of course not silly."

I felt relieved. "Good, 'cause I want to be awake the first time we try that."

He helped me up out of the satin sheets and helped me get dressed, still smiling at my comment. We walked down the hall to my Father's room and knocked. "Come in!" I heard my Dad's voice, sounding stronger than I'd ever heard it.

We slipped in and they both gave a roar of delight at seeing us. Loa was up in a flash and shot across the room and pounced on me, bowling me over flat on my back. He covered me in kisses and licks and nips so passionately it sort of became uncomfortable with Ellie standing right there. "Loa! Let me up!" I laughed. "Have mercy! I'm still really sore from all that happened!"

He paused over me on all fours. His eyes were heavy lidded and he licked his mouth sexily, letting a drip of saliva splash into my mouth from his glossy black lips. He switched his hips back and forth, flicking his tail. "I owe you everything for this, Adam. I think you'll find me very appreciative."

I let out a squeak and was rescued by Ellie. "Loa, he's mine you dummy! Get off him!" Ellie pulled him up, but he kept his eyes glued to me and smirked seductively.

"We'll see about that." He purred, than sashayed over to their bed and laid down primly next to Dad, who was eating a bowl of soup. My Father didn't seem the least bit nonplussed from what Loa had just done, and I hoped there was some innocent explanation.

We walked over to the bed. "How ya feelin' Dad?" I asked softly.

He looked up at me and smiled. "Better than I have in over a year. Son...thank you. None of us had any hope left and you kept on fighting for me. You never gave up, and I owe you my life for that."

I shook my head. "I didn't do anything special. You were the one that had to suffer and find the will to fight. I just wish I could have taken some of the pain away from you."

Dad just laughed. "Oh, take some credit son! You sailed half way around the planet, found a cure nobody here even knew existed, and sailed back in what had to be a record breaking time! You have the right to feel proud!"

I didn't think I really did, after all he'd been the one in pain and Ama had made the ointment, but it was easier to just nod and smile than it was to keep arguing. They seemed determined to think I'd done something so great, not just something anybody would have done in my shoes.

10) ** **Epilogue


That night Ellie and I finally were able to have sex again. It had been so long, I thought I was going to die as he stripped me and began to lick me. I ran my fingers through his long blond hair and groaned in delight to be experiencing my sexy mate again. I took his clothes off and ran my fingers over his fur.

"Wow, Ellie! Your fur got so soft when you shed your thick coat! It feels great!" I enthused. "Not only that, I can feel the heat of your body so intensely through it, it's wonderful."

He paused from licking my balls. "I'm glad you like it. I'm freezing now that we're back home, and I can't grow it back nearly as fast as I can shed it." He scowled and resumed pleasuring me.

I moaned in delight. "Awe Baby, that just means you've gotta come to me for more snuggles and love to keep you nice and toasty warm." I fingered his fuzzy balls.

He paused and mumbled through a mouthful of penis, "I s'pose that's true, hunh. Well, maybe it won't be too bad then."

I laid back and felt him draw his tongue from my taint all the way to my tip in long, slow, luxurious strokes. He knew just how much pressure felt perfect and applied it with relish every time he licked me. I was still very sore from all that had happened. Apparently I'd been very tense the whole time I'd been working with my Father, and now my muscles ached from the strain I'd put them through. I'd asked Ellie if we could just keep it low key and at oral sex for now to spare me having to move.

Now though, as he worshiped my penis, I was struck with a better idea, one that would still not require me moving around. "Hey El. I wanna try anal with me on the bottom and you on the top, what do you say?"

He pulled off my dick with a loud smack and looked up at me, surprised. "Sure! That would be great! Do you think you're ready for it?"

I shrugged. "I wanna share everything with you, Baby. Besides, I can tell you love it, so I've been thinking about trying it for days when I was horny and we couldn't fuck."

He giggled in delight and anticipation. "Oh boy! I've never gotten to do this! I can hardly wait! Don't worry, I know how to take it slow, it won't hurt even a tiny little bit, it's just gonna feel beyond awesome!" He grabbed the lube and dove on me, kissing and licking me. He took on a more dominant role, and I became more submissive as I settled into the job of the one being fucked instead of doing the fucking.

In fact, he threw off his feminine guise completely for the first time since I'd known him. He removed any girly accoutrements he still wore, and like he'd hit a light switch, he suddenly wasn't moving in a feminine way, but in a dominant, male way. He was still tiny and curvacious, but I saw my lover from a point of view I'd never had before, and I liked what I saw. There was no way to pretend he was a female now. We were males, both of us, and we were going to share sex together as males.

I kissed him and rolled over onto my stomach, then up on all fours. I turned and watched him lube up to prepare for entry, and saw he was trembling with excitement. He finished and looked up at me. "Ready?" He said, excited.

I nodded. "Fuck me, baby."

He grinned and lined himself up with me, and I felt pressure on my anus. He slowly increased the pressure until I felt my muscles give a bit, which made me gasp in shock. My muscles tightened and cramped up, which made me grunt. He slowly pulled back, letting me close up again, relaxing my muscles. As soon as I was relaxed, he began again, pushing in a little harder and farther this time.

I heard him counting under his breath, then felt him pull back out. Again and again he did this, a little more each time, pushing deeper and deeper inside of me. Suddenly, my muscles gave and with a silky sliding feel, he sank down deep inside of me. I bellowed in delight at the overwhelming sensation he was giving me, the sensation of my first anal penetration.

"Is it too much? Should I pull out?" He asked me quickly.

"No! Fuccck! No! Whoa! It...my muscles are relaxing! Holy shit! Oh El, this feels awesome! How does it feel for you?" I moaned.

"Oh God, it feels better than I ever imagined! Oh, you are so soft and slick and hot inside! I didn't know it felt this good! Oh my God, Adam!" He mewled as he slowly slid in and out of me.

Bit by bit he increased speed, and just when I thought I could handle no more, my muscles seemed to give up and relax. I let out a sigh and relaxed my body, just absorbing the feel and sensuality of the act. Suddenly he was slipping in and out of me with silky ease, and began to really drive it into me. I cried out in delight, tears flowing from the intensity of it. I loved the feeling of being fucked! Feeling him assaulting by anus was the sexiest feeling I'd ever had! I was so horny, I could hardly believe it.

I looked back over my shoulder and could see him panting and drooling and licking his muzzle in delight as he held on to my hips and fucked me. He didn't look feminine, he looked completely male. Like a male fucking his bitch. I was in pure heaven.

He fell over on top of me and hugged me around the chest, using his hips to continue to fuck me. It felt so intimate, I was on absolute fire. "Oh God, Elliot, my love! Oh, this feels so awesome! I love being taken by you!"

He growled in delight. "Yeah? You like being fucked? You like being on the bottom, being my bitch? You like it when I plow into you? Maybe I shouldn't be the one wearing girly clothes, little fuck toy."

"Gaaah!" I cried as he reared back up and began to pound away again as hard as he could. "I was born to do this, Lover!"

"Kyaaa...Oh, I love your ass. You're so tight, Baby! Yes this really is what you were born to do, you know. I knew it years before I met you, that we were going to fuck when we finally met." He hissed.

"I don't...gurf...I don't know how you knew that, but it was true...hahhh...we were born to be together in bed, Elliot...nnnnnmmm..."

He rolled me over onto my back and pushed my knees into my chest, sliding effortlessly into my stretched out hole. He sank deep, moaning in delight. He opened his eyes and we looked into each other's faces. He sank down over me and kissed me while he fucked me. I loved it and felt even more feminine. I ran my fingers through his long pretty blond hair and realized I was losing control. I was going to cum without any kind of stimulation.

"El...Elliot! I'm gonna cum!" I whined in desire.

"Not without me you're not!" He snarled, baring his teeth. He began to crash into me with all his strength, enough to start me slipping around in the satin. I felt incredibly fucked from this frenzy, a feeling which stayed with me for hours after he pulled out. When he fucked me I stayed fucked.

With a last shudder I shot cum all over my chest and tummy, and he let out a keen of delight upon seeing it. A couple more shuddering thrusts and I felt him swell inside me and felt a hot sensation leaking around inside my bowels. I realized he was cumming in me, I was taking his load, becoming his bitch. "Yes, my love! Fill me up with your lovely cream! Oh Elliot! I love being fucked by you! This is amazing! Being on the bottom feels just as good as being on the top!"

Neither of us had had sex in many days, and our pent up lust and passion resulted in a massive ejaculation and shockingly intense orgasm from both of us. Feeling him shooting his seed deep into my guts while I soaked down my chest with my pungent cum, it was what sex was all about. He snarled and growled like a feral breeding his mate and I bellowed my sexual passion along with him, begging him for more.

He was tearing up and hugging me, and we kissed as our orgasms subsided. He relaxed backwards and carefully pulled out of my ass. I seriously felt like my ass was so hot it must be steaming. He collapsed on top of me and we kissed for a long time, gently petting each other. I loved the masculine feeling I was getting from him now. He wasn't quite so little and feminine anymore, he was more my male lover than it had ever felt before.

We were almost asleep when I remembered something I wanted to ask him. "What was up with Loa...geeze, he was practically shouting 'fuck me!' right there in front of you and my Dad. I was so embarrassed!"

Ellie propped himself up on his elbows and looked down at me. "Oh, I think he was just overwhelmed with feelings of affection for you. I don't think he meant anything inappropriate by it, or it would have bothered your Dad, right?"

"Yeah, I suppose that's true." I said, thoughtfully.

He giggled. "Don't worry, Adam. He loves and respects us both far too much to do anything we hadn't all four of us agreed on together. Don't fret about it. Now come here, my little love toy, and relax and let your mate enjoy your sexy body."

I let go of my concern and closed my eyes, lying still as he felt and stroked my body, massaging my muscles and helping me relax until I fell asleep, feeling happy and at peace at long last. For the first time since I'd read the letter from my father and learned he was dying, everything in my life was happiness, and that happiness centered around my beautiful lover, my healthy and loving father, and Loa, a young male I was happy to call my step mother.

The End.