For Love of the Dead Read online

  Jake stooped and removed his sneakers and socks and felt the cold tile warming under the soles of his feet from the humidity of the running shower. He crossed his arms and seized the hem of his shirt, making as if to tug it over his head, but pausing when it was midway up his torso, knowing only the plates of his stomach and the lower half of his treasure trail were showing. Poised in that position for a long moment, he knew he presented a picture that any male model would envy

  – partly bared stomach, flat and hard and tantalizing, the thin line of silky black hair running down the middle, hinting at the lush forest still hidden by his pants. He tightened his midriff, forcing the indentations where the muscles met to stand out even more prominently. The gimmick worked; Jake could see the gleam in Mark’s eyes at the sight and his obvious anticipation of the revelation of the rest of Jake’s body.

  Jake had no intention of actually giving it to him. The frustrating tease would be a sweet payback.

  “I’ve been wanting to know what you look like under all these clothes since the minute I woke up. Time to find out, eh, Blue Eyes?”

  Hartner’s tone was quiet, almost reverent. Jake wanted nothing more than to tell him to go fuck himself, to tug his shirt back into place and walk blithely out of the bathroom. Instead, he peeled the damp sweatshirt over his head and stood bared to the waist, with the humidity from the running shower almost instantly beading on his skin.

  Jake took a great deal of satisfaction from Mark’s gasp of appreciation and delight.

  “Now, that is what I call a real man.” Mark whispered it so softly that Jake thought he might have imagined the compliment.

  Mark stood up with some effort, never taking his eyes from Jake’s torso. Once on his feet, he stumbled and reached out, as if involuntarily, but Jake quickly sat him down again. He was almost certain Mark was faking the weakness. Almost, but not quite. And he didn’t want to risk the possibility that he might have to haul him off the floor should he legitimately collapse.

  With infinitesimal slowness, Jack released his zipper, one metal tooth at a time. When it was undone, he leisurely spread the denim open, exposing the outline of his now-hardened dick outlined beneath the cotton briefs. Mark licked lips that seemed to have grown dry, and his brow furrowed in mild confusion. The satisfaction of opening a chink in Mark’s armor of confidence and control was an incredible turn-on for Jake. His jeans hit the floor and he stepped out of them in less than half the time it had taken for him to undo his fly.

  Jake couldn’t resist posing. He stood, wearing nothing but his come-stained briefs and his own perspiration, watching Mark’s expressionless examination of his body. Gradually, the corners of his admirer’s mouth turned up.

  “You’re deceiving in clothes, aren’t you? Looking all football player-like and husky. The broad shoulders are so misleading. I expected a little pooch around the middle with all the beef but I gotta hand it to you, stud, you’ve actually got something like a swimmer’s build. Too hairy to be a real swimmer, but you know what I mean.”

  Mark grinned again. “I like it! Now, say thank you.”

  For the first time, Hartner’s tone held a hint of something that wasn’t crass, crude, or disdainful. It was almost like a connection had been forged between them, as if under different circumstances they might have been friends. Perhaps Mark Hartner was not the completely disgusting person he presented himself as. Perhaps it was just the trauma of his resurrection that had caused him to be such an asshole. Perhaps the person lurking underneath mirrored the angelic exterior. Perhaps, with Jake’s help and support, even someone who had been as loathsome as Mark had at first appeared might eventually—

  “Those shorts must be uncomfortable,” Mark continued, and the unbridled lust in his next words brought Jake’s budding romantic ruminations to an abrupt end. “Sticky and just barely holding in that big piece of meat. I was hoping you’d be more of a tease. You know? Delay the anticipation and wait until you were in the shower before you stripped off completely, but...”

  His hands snaked forward and grabbed the elastic of Jake’s briefs. “Why bother trying to resist temptation? It’s ever so much more fun just to give in, I always say.”

  With the aid of his surprising strength, and before Jake could stop him, he twisted his hands and ripped. Jake winced at the pressure around his waist and the elastic cutting into his skin where his inner thighs met his groin. But the discomfort was short-lived and the cloth tore with a barely audible sound. Mark released his hold and the tatters fell to Jake’s feet. Amazingly, his dick was rock hard again and, for a moment, Jake wished he could cut it off rather than allow it to betray him anew – as he knew it was going to do.

  “Nice. Very nice!” Mark quipped. “Bet it’s gonna taste goood. But let’s get cleaned off first, shall we?”

  He held up one hand and, instinctively, Jake gave him a lift up. Mark stepped into the stall and faking unsure footing, he tripped and hauled Jake in after him. The hot water pounded onto his back and shoulders, darkening his hair to a jet black. Suddenly the memory of the intimacy Jake had so recently shared with Mario under this same spray made being naked in the shower with Mark obscene.

  Again, Mark seemed to pick up on his innermost thoughts. “Interesting,” he commented as if to himself. “Very interesting. But we can worry about that later,” he murmured so quietly that Jake wondered if he’d only imagined he’d heard the fiend speak.

  Mark’s hands cupped the muscles of Jake’s ass and pulled him close, their naked chests pressing together tightly. Jake could feel the stiffened nubs of Mark’s aroused nipples on his own chest; Mark’s hard rod poked into his thigh until he shifted so his dick stuck straight out between Jake’s legs, forming a sort of shelf for the taller man’s dangling balls. His fingers kneaded the tense muscles of Jake’s ass, roving upward to massage his back and finally, his shoulders. Throughout, Jake stood, unmoving and submissive, arms at his sides with water trickling from his fingertips. Perhaps if he did nothing and allowed this godlike creature with the misleading face of an angel to take complete control, Mark would grow bored and give up. And yet…and yet Jake wanted him so badly to continue.

  “Not very responsive, are we, lover? I need to fix that.”

  With no further warning, Mark clamped his mouth down to cover Jake’s, his tongue thrusting past his tightened lips and clenched teeth. The instant Jake tasted him, his eyes grew round and he felt himself melt. His hatred remained strong but it seemed to recede into some closeted portion of his mind and the door sealed shut after it, leaving only a dim fiery glow of rancor to seep from the cracks in the frame.

  He’d expected dark honey – and he got it. Mark’s mouth was bitter and sweet at the same time; his saliva had overtones of spicy exotic herbs torn from their stems, their rich flavor holding an undertone of something sharp and savory. Mint-infused honey? With chili peppers, maybe? Jake couldn’t tell. But the taste of him – the rich sun-warmed musk of his sweat which rose to his nostrils in the steam of the water as it pounded down – made him dizzy and he could not seem to organize his thoughts. His tongue twitched as his mouth was probed. Of its own volition, it responded and, in short order, his jaw loosened and the two men were devouring each other’s mouths, their tongues fighting for prominence.

  Jake’s hands finally moved as if with minds of their own, his fingers digging into the muscle of Mark’s ass and seeking to move him closer, even though their chests and bellies were already pressed tightly flesh to flesh, as if trying to pull Mark’s body into his own. His dick was trapped between their stomachs, pointed upwards, the blood within his staff pounding, filling the veins and arteries. He felt his balls expand and contract like a bellows as they worked to summon any juices he had in reserve, preparing to propel them from his dick when he came again.

  Closer and closer, shocking himself with his urgency to shoot, Jake approached the edge. Then, just as he felt he could hold back no longer, Mark released his lip lock and stepped back.

&n
bsp; “Not yet, lover boy. Clean first. Play later.”

  He snatched the bar of soap from the dish and lathered his hands, never looking away from Jake’s face.

  “You’re a complete dick,” Mark told him without animosity. “Great body. Amazing cock. But I dunno when I’ve seen such a tight-assed, judgmental...” He brightened as if struck by a thought and slathered the suds across Jake’s torso, covering the black hair of his chest and teasing the nipples, hardening them with light flicks of his soap-slicked fingers as he continued.

  “Speaking of tight asses...”

  Jake realized immediately what Mark meant and his mind froze. Never, never in his entire life had he been anything but a complete top. Though he had tenderly and joyfully probed many a young man’s ass, fucking him with abandon and filling him with his hot fluids, giving an experience to remember, he had never been fucked himself. The thought of Mark putting his massive dick between his virgin cheeks, the imagined pain of the violation, filled him with fear. Mark leaned in, transferring some of the soap to his own smooth chest, and bit the lobe of Jake’s ear gently before hissing into his ear vindictively, “Don’t fight me, stud. Trust me. You’re gonna love this.” Jake was about to retort, to suggest that Mark might be better satisfied if he shoved his massive dick up his own ass, but he stopped himself. He took one look at the young man’s unearthly beauty and knew he was doomed. What had he been thinking? He should never have allowed himself to end up naked in the shower – of all places! – with a man who, purely physically at least, turned him on far past the point where he had ever been turned on before.

  The muscles around his asshole twitched, this time not with trepidation, but with anticipation. True, he’d never been penetrated before, but then again, he’d never been with someone as breathtakingly stunning as Mark Hartner. Few men on Earth could come close to Mark’s beauty; to be taken by him was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And a little voice, located far in the back of Jake’s mind or, more probably and ignobly, somewhere in the vicinity of his dick, whispered seductively, “Why not?”

  Jake offered no resistance when Mark spun him around so he faced the tiled wall. The water ran into his eyes and mouth, almost choking him but, the threat of drowning seemed to recede in importance when he felt Mark’s body pressing full length against his back.

  “Don’t remember if I ever screwed a virgin before.” Mark’s tone showed he was relishing the turmoil of emotion he sensed from the taller man. “So I guess this will be the first time for both of us.”

  Jake clenched his cheeks, reviving his determination to prevent the violation. Deep within himself he knew there was little chance he would not willingly, in the end, succumb.

  “Don’t make it harder on yourself,” Mark crooned. “You don’t want it to hurt any more than it has to, lover. You know, for times like these, you might want to keep a bottle of lube handy in the shower.”

  Teeth gritted, Jake felt the huge head of Mark’s dick move between his cheeks, the plum of it pressing against his crack. The suspense was excruciating. Abandoning all reserve, Jake finally gave in.

  He wanted this. He wanted this badly. He wanted it hard and ripping and rough and brutal. He wanted to experience the delicious sensations he suddenly knew Mark’s cock shoved up his ass would bring. At the same time, he felt ashamed of himself for wanting it, for allowing his little head to get the better of his big head, and he hoped the unavoidable mercilessness of the act would somehow punish him for having desires inspired by something as shallow as the mere physical perfection of Mark Hartner’s body.

  Mark whispered into his ear once again. “Dunno how I know this, but the soap suds aren’t gonna help. They just sting. Sorry about that.”

  Before Jake could utter a word or prepare himself any further, Mark viciously pressed forward, slamming Jake’s chest against the wet tile. The mortician’s assistant resisted for only a moment, feeling the monster’s huge dick jamming against the crack of his ass, threatening to tear the tender tissue asunder as it ripped his virginity from him. He clenched his ass as hard as he could.

  For the briefest of instants, Jake thought he might have finally found the inner strength to turn, to pull away, to slap Hartner across the face for his temerity or, better yet, to bury his fist in his solar plexus where the six-pack stomach became an actual eight-pack. To watch as the breath rushed from his lungs and he doubled over in agony. To laugh as the tables were turned and he, Jake Marshall, assumed the dominant role and put Hartner in the place where he belonged, retching and heaving at Jake’s feet like the disgusting insect he was.

  But Mark’s arms snaked around Jake’s chest and his fingers began toying with the sensitive tips of his nipples again, teasing the nubs and pinching lightly. His tongue licked the tender skin on the side of Jake’s neck, nibbling, moving upward and gripping the lobe of his ear gently between his teeth, biting down just hard enough to twinge but not quite passing into the realm of becoming painful. In seconds, without lessening the pressure of his dick against Jake’s pristine rosebud, Mark established a rhythm between earlobe and nipple, pinching and biting in tandem for an instant, then letting up and licking and stroking. First harsh, then soft, such that Jake might have misinterpreted it as tender foreplay had he not known that the motions were nothing but Hartner showing off his technique.

  All of Jake’s wiser instincts fled. Moaning, his body responded to the sensations. He turned his head to give Mark better access to his earlobes and pushed his chest forward into the teasing hands. Slowly, with the waves of erotic pleasure concentrated in those three places – both nipples and one ear; who knew such pleasure could be concentrated in such small areas? – he found himself relaxing, allowing the muscles of his butt to loosen.

  Until now, he had never had any thoughts about giving up his virginity to another man. Always, always, Jake had been the conqueror, never the conquered. Suddenly, despite his antipathy for Mark Hartner, he could think of nothing he desired more than to be taken by him. To be ravaged, pillaged.

  He could not deny there was an insidious attraction to the tempting prospect of giving up control absolutely to another man even though he knew the experience would be frightening and no doubt not without some discomfort. Jake surprised himself by realizing that, until now – hell, even now – he had always harbored a slight prejudice against bottoms even while seeking them out as bed partners. He had always considered them somehow less masculine and somewhat weak, however muscled or hairy they might have been, solely because they allowed another man to fuck them. Now, when poised on the brink of getting fucked for the first time himself, he had the first inklings of how liberating they might find the experience and it dawned on him that the power and control aspects of sex might not necessarily reside solely in the man doing the fucking. Brief thoughts of Mario, dear sweet Mario, a boy who only last night Jake had realized he might be able to come to love, flashed across his mind. Might there not, he wondered, be a deepening of their potential relationship if Jake could bring himself part from the “top” role to which he had always limited himself? Could it be, he mused, that the giving of one’s self during receptive sex might heighten the tenderness between two men, might bring them emotionally closer, might even—

  He blinked. The pressure of Mark’s dick was making it difficult for him to concentrate. His thoughts ceased to lead him to the brink of what he suspected might be some kind of revelation and scattered along with his mental images of Mario’s face and body. Suddenly, it seemed like his entire being was gathered in one small spot right at the opening of his ass. Tingles spread out across his butt cheeks, down his thighs and into the pit of his stomach. Unable to hold out for another instant against the delicious sensations, he gritted his teeth against the discomfort of the pending penetration and forced the tension from his ass cheeks.

  He gave in to the insistent demand of Mark’s dick and Mark seized the opportunity.

  The searing pain was far beyond what Jake had imagined it would be and
he cried out. It was if a hot poker was being thrust into his bowels from the rear, ripping the tissue and charring the tender inside of his ass. Mark pushed harder and Jake felt like his stomach would explode, that he would look down and see the end of Hartner’s dick poking out of the torn skin of his belly, dripping with blood and spurting hot come onto the shower walls. He managed a strangled scream when Hartner smoothly withdrew almost the full length of his dick and rammed in again. His own dick grew limp, flopping against his thigh with the thrusting motions.

  Jake slapped at the tile, his fingers scrabbled futilely for some kind of grip so he could push Mark away and gain respite from the intense agony in his ass, knowing it was too late. How anyone could enjoy this was beyond him. He screamed even louder as the pounding continued. Then something happened inside him, something magical. Mark’s dick connected with some previously unknown spot deep in Jake’s ass. He felt his face flush; his chest grew hot. Through the agony, his butt hole began to twitch; his dick stiffened again and his balls got heavier. He moaned, this time in ecstasy.

  “That’s right, baby.”

  Jake barely heard the words. Pelvis shifted, his cheeks relaxed as he sought to allow the man he’d come to hate even deeper access. He felt the pulsing throb of Mark’s dick as it released its torrent of hot milky liquid inside him. In the pit of his stomach, he felt a tightening and gathering. His balls ached and he cried out, imagining he could feel his own come springing from his testicles, rushing up the shaft of his penis, pausing at the head before exploding in a massive eruption.

  Startled, he realized he was on the precipice of the most intense, most pleasurable orgasm he had ever had. He leveled his breathing, got the pumping of his hips in sync with Mark’s thrusts and relaxed into the tempo. Closer and closer he came, his entire psyche fixated on his imminent ejaculation, welcoming that rare state of being where he knew he was about to come and could do nothing to stop it, but when he had not yet shot. He took a deep breath, readying himself for an inarticulate shout of ecstasy when—