Stopping to adjust his bulky backpack, Ryder took a deep breath. The air was crisp and fresh, the day sunny and a pleasant temperature. He smiled as he took in the view around him. The forest was losing its leaves as autumn headed inexorably to winter. Over to his left, obscured temporarily, were the mountain ranges. As beautiful as they were, they were not the objective on this trip. On his right was the river they were following.
Once through this part of the forest, which was likely to be another day yet, there was a rise that overlooked a magnificent lake. That was the intended destination. If the weather stayed as good as it was supposed to, there would be a perfect vista of lake, forest and sky.
A minimum of photographic equipment was in his backpack, but more than enough to get him some good shots; sunrise, sunset and, best of all if the night sky was cloudless, a reflection of the imminent full moon. He grinned widely. He had a couple of journals lined up to pay him for the shots if they were sufficiently good.
In addition, he would take any shots he thought might be good sellers. He had an eye for a good shot and an aesthetically appealing view.
And talking of aesthetic views...
Oh. Yeah.
Ryder ran his eyes appreciatively over the rear view of his guide. Lyall was a half blood Native American. His bone structure was sharp and defined, his skin smooth and almost burnished bronze and his long, dark hair plaited and tucked up inside the black, woollen beanie he currently wore. But at the moment, Ryder's attention was drawn to the toned, jean-clad ass that swayed slightly as Lyall led the way.
Now that was a gorgeous sight. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to compose himself. He had to stop his thoughts going in that direction. They had a lot of ground to cover, and he was on the look-out for good photo opportunities. Lyall had them on quite a strict schedule for reaching the lake, which they needed to achieve to take best advantage of the full moon when it came.
As he opened his eyes, it was to see Lyall leaning against a tree, looking back at him with amusement in his deep, mocha-brown eyes.
"You need to keep up, my friend," Lyall said.
"Not a problem," Ryder assured.
The eyes that ran over his skinnier frame seemed to possess a heat Ryder could feel even at the distance between Lyall and him. He put a great deal of effort into remaining nonchalant and casual, despite the very enthusiastic reaction from his cock. He casually tucked a few errant strands of straw-blond hair back into his own beanie.
"Okay, then don't lag behind. This isn't the city now," Lyall warned.
"I may be a city boy, but I can deal with the great outdoors, too," Ryder insisted as Lyall eased himself from the tree and sashayed towards him.
"So, a city boy like you isn't scared at being out in the woods?" Lyall asked, his tone lightly mocking.
"Now why should I be afraid when I have a big, strong guide like you to look after me?" Ryder teased back, earning a lazy, sexy grin.
"You know why," Lyall said, sauntering towards him, hips swaying provocatively. "With all the mountain lions, wolves and bears." He stopped walking to stand just inches from Ryder already highly-aroused body.
"Lions, wolves and bears?" Ryder asked.
"Oh, my!" they said in unison and laughed.
"Not even when Halloween is so close?" Lyall added with a smirk. "From midnight tomorrow. Maybe it would be ghosts, ghouls and banshees."
"Banshees are from Ireland," Ryder said, folding his arms. "Hardly likely to be out here." Despite his confident rebuttal, Ryder couldn't help but glance around quickly. Something instantly noticed by his companion.
"Don't worry, Ryder," Lyall said. "We're not going to any houses, motels or castles with a haunted or killer-lived-here history, we're not going to pick up hitchhikers, there are no reports of strange lights in the sky, no unscrupulous companies dumping toxic waste into the water or any stories about government experiments gone wrong. We'll be just fine. Come on," Lyall urged, reaching to tug Ryder into moving again.
Glowering, Ryder followed. He just didn't like slasher movies or the seemingly endless array of movies that equated horror with copious amounts of blood, torture and people being killed in many and varied ways. Then Lyall stopped and smiled at him.
"I wouldn't take you anywhere I thought you would be endangered," he said before walking on.
The smile, as much as the words, instantly evaporated Ryder's annoyance. He walked a little faster and caught up with the other man.
"Thanks," he said and returned the smile.
"We have a good hour or so of walking before we reach where I want to stop. Then I'll catch us a fish dinner while you set up camp. Deal?"
"Deal," Ryder agreed.
As much of a chore setting up camp alone would be, when it came to fishing, Lyall had him beaten hands down. Ryder had tried with a rod, and with a spear, he had even tried with a net. That had resulted in a catch. However, when Ryder had tried to land it, the... slippery article... managed to escape, much Ryder's disbelief and gales of laughter, and many subsequent jokes, from Lyall.
Now the silence as they walked was companionable and Ryder was looking forward to making camp.
****
The meal of grilled fish and instant potato was followed by black coffee and a shared bar of rich, dark chocolate. Ryder smiled as Lyall checked the fire was safe to leave before they crawled into the tent. Ryder stripped out of his clothes, both men had thermal underwear to use if they felt particularly cold, but the sleeping bag had been picked for its warmth rating, so Ryder had few doubts he would be warm.
As the last of his clothing was removed, he turned and was enveloped in Lyall's warm embrace.
"I've looked forward to this all day," Lyall whispered, "I've wanted you so much."
"Me, too," Ryder instantly admitted.
As he was lowered onto the bedding, Ryder grinned as he realised Lyall had covered it with a towel. There were a couple of blankets handy if they felt particularly chilled and a packet of baby-wipes was also close by.
He doubted they would feel the cold for a while.
Ryder reached for his lover, their arms winding around each other as they kissed, each man's lips seeking the warmth of the other. They moaned softly as the kisses deepened, becoming more demanding, more passionate. Their tongues teased and stroked, reacquainting each man with the familiar taste of his lover. One of Lyall's hands tangled into Ryder's hair, while his other travelled over Ryder's chest.
As his lover's fingers found one of Ryder's bare nipples, a thumb teased it, and he moaned encouragingly. He gave a throaty groan as Lyall's mouth began to meander down his highly aroused body. Starting at his neck, Lyall suckled and nipped downwards and then to the junction of Ryder's shoulder and neck where he nipped hard enough to leave a small red mark.
Ryder's hands weren't still, exploring the smooth, contoured strength of Lyall's musculature, caressing his lover's back and trying to pull the bigger man more solidly against him. Lyall's lips and hands moved over Ryder's chest, lavishing each of his nipples with sucking kisses. Ryder felt them pebble as Lyall's teeth pulled each into his mouth to suckle. Ryder gasped encouragingly and arched upwards, his hands running through Lyall's long, dark hair.
Writhing as Lyall continued his descent downwards Ryder felt a warm tongue dip into the hollow of his navel. As he kissed and nipped, Lyall's hand began to stroke Ryder's leg, slowly moving up to his thigh. Ryder unconsciously moved his legs open wider, allowing Lyall further access to intimate flesh. He watched rapt at the look of raw desire that glinted in his lover's eyes, the look alone threatened to consume him.
Ryder reached to pull Lyall against him, feeling another hot rush of arousal at the sensation of skin meeting skin. Their groins were in full contact and the two men ground shamelessly against each other. The friction grew hotter as their breath came in short, warm pants against one another's skin.
"You feel wonderful, babe" Lyall said, his voice low and husky. "I wanted this for so long."
Lyall was unable to reply due to the hungry tongue that possessed his mouth as he was kissed hard. Ryder's hands were on Lyall's tight, toned buttocks and he heard a soft sound from his lover as his fingers trailed down the crevice between the muscular mounds.
He gave a whine of disappointment as Lyall moved, that became a low moan as his lover's strong, capable hands spread his legs further apart and Lyall kissed the creases of Ryder's thighs. As he nibbled at the vulnerable flesh, Lyall's fingers brushed against Ryder's sac and Ryder arched again as his balls were expertly rolled and squeezed.
Tossing his head back and forth, Ryder muttered incoherent half-words as he ached with pleasure from Lyall's teasing. He could feel the beads of sweat gather along his brow and over his chest. As he glanced down his body to watch Lyall licking at his inner thighs, the droplets glistened from the light of the lamp. It seemed as if his whole body was ready, just waiting for Lyall's final touch to release him.
Slowly, the dark head lowered to Ryder's eagerly waiting shaft and he whimpered as his lover's tongue darted out to lick at it. His hips thrust upwards, needing more. In response Lyall licked at the red, engorged head, lapping the pre ejaculate. The sounds of pleasure that reached his ears told Ryder that his lover was savouring the taste.
