Sky Pirates

Chapter 52

Cole walked through the woodlands alone with his thoughts. All around him, in the trees above, birds called out and sang. The forest provided a respite from the heat. As he ambled he considered recent events. He didn't understand his feelings for Horatio. He'd never felt like that with anyone he'd met. None of the girls from the town, or any of their visiting relations, had ever caused him to feel such a longing before. Neither had any of the men or boys he'd ever met or encountered.

He knew he was in love with Horatio. Cole knew that these things he was feeling, this longing and desire he struggled with, was like the love he'd read about in his sister's novels. Cole never told Mildred, but once she finished a book and discarded it to the tall shelves in the library, he would sneak them out, one at a time, and, under the gas lamp in his room, late at night, he'd read them. One after another he devoured these novels looking for some clue, some hint about what love was like.

Of course, he felt love for his sister. To him, that type of love felt like being her protector. Such feelings kept him going. Such feelings motivated him to see that no one harmed her. He also knew that it was the love that he felt for her and knew that she felt for him that gave him permission to tease and pester Millie.

He felt love for his uncle, the man who was rarely there with them. His uncle provided for their well-being. His earnings provided their food and home and the clothes that they wore. His oversight of their lives also provided servants to care for and educate them.

He felt love, too, for his long-lost father. As Cole thought of his father, a twinge of guilt ate at his stomach. How could Cole not be a disappointment to the great, educated, world traveler that was the person of his father? Cole again felt the sense of failure. His ineptitude at everything must reflect poorly on his family. Yet, it wasn't a relief that his father was gone and couldn't be shamed by him. No, his father being gone made it even worse. Shaming a memory was harsher than shaming a living man. No one had ever said it to his face, but he had heard of the whispers of just about everyone that if it weren't for being the son and nephew of wealthy men, and having a well-proportioned body and handsome face, he'd have no attributes or abilities to offer to anyone.

This made him think again of Horatio. That boy never made him feel guilty or sad. In the short time they'd known each other, Horatio had treated him well. He'd shown him kindnesses as no other. But, his feelings for the vicar's son were more than just those for a friend who supports another. At the first sight of him, Cole had felt his blood pump faster. He'd been sexually aroused, too. That had made him feel embarrassed the first time they'd been swimming together. But, in short order, he'd discovered that Horatio's body showed similar, unavoidable-to-hide physical signs.

Just the thought now of Horatio's cock being hard in his presence caused Cole to look around, and being sure there was no one near him, he pushed his hand into his trousers and adjusted his own hardening member. Again he looked around, stepped off the path and walked into the forest a few yards, and with his back braced against a tree, not facing the path, he unbuttoned his pants, took himself into his hands, and stroked himself to release, all the while remembering his cock entering Horatio that rain soaked night in the stone, huntsmen's cabin.

It wasn't just the act of sex, while that was wonderful, but feeling so very close to Horatio. Knowing that their bodies had merged into a single entity. That night had been different. They had already pounded each other at the swimming hole. It had been manly and rough. They'd been wrestling in the water, playfully attempting to dunk one another, when Cole had reached under the water, in a wrestling attempt to better Horatio while keeping the knowledge of his own erection from his new friend, that he discovered that Horatio's cock was also fully erect. He hesitated only for a moment, and then, because of some previously unknown animal urge, he grabbed Horatio's dick and held tight to it. Not in some cruel way, but with a gentle force. He wanted to see what would happen.