Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2021 22:41:04 +0000 (UTC)
From: rw6789@aol.com
Subject: "A Trial Of Strength" - Part 548  by Rob Williams

A TRIAL OF STRENGTH – PART 548 by Rob Williams

Chapter 548 – "DOC STEVE & LLOYD – MELTING THE ICE"

IN THIS CHAPTER

Cold animosity persists between Doc Steve and his handsome lover Lloyd, and
their rift badly affects their anxious boy, ripped gymnast Tommy. So Steve
boosts Tommy's self-confidence in an erotic role reversal where the macho
doctor submits his ass to the young jock. Meanwhile, lonely, sex-starved
Lloyd pines for Steve and fantasizes about him in a vividly pornographic
jack-off session.

_________________________________________________________________________

<><> IN THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER <><>

It was a lazy Sunday, the second day of the tribe's weekend party at the
sprawling Grady House, given by their hosts, the heartthrob movie-star
Grady and his Italian lover Mario.

As the big group of men and boys idled contentedly about the lush grounds
in pairs and groups, the relaxed, mellow atmosphere was marred only by one
cloud.  One of the guests, the handsome psychologist Doc Steve, had fallen
out with his hunky lover Lloyd.  It was a deep-freeze – they were
conspicuously keeping their distance from each other – no talking, no
sex.

As co-host of the party, Mario determined to help melt the ice between two
hot men he loved and admired.  "Grady has had regular therapy sessions with
Steve to vent about work and fights with the studio," he said.  "Steve has
helped so much and now we must do something for them."

Mario's first mission was to satisfy Steve's long-neglected sexual needs.
He took the doctor to his Secret Garden a small, magical wilderness where
they made passionate love.

After that Mario turned Steve's treatment over to another man.  He knew
that Steve was a figure of authority, a successful therapist that everyone
looked up to, but he had a stubborn streak.  Just like his brother – the
tribe's tough gypsy leader Randy – Steve found it hard to concede he was
wrong, that in fact his rift with Lloyd might be at least partly his fault.

What was needed, Mario reasoned, was a man with even greater authority than
Doctor Steve.  So he approached another guest at the party, an older man
affectionately known as Uncle Mike, still fit and sexy even in his fifties.

Mike, the owner of a popular leather bar in Palm Springs, had come to this
party with his devoted boy Larry.  Mike had become close with Randy who
loved him as a father figure, and Mike could be strict with the macho boss
– he even called him "boy".  Mario hoped Mike could be equally strict
with Steve and make him see reason.  Mike agreed to try, as he said he was
"pissed off" watching a loving relationship fall apart.

So Mike had talked with Steve and pulled no punches – as tough and
straightforward with him as he had been with Randy. "Dammit, boy, what is
it with you and your brother Randy?  You are both so sure of yourselves,
big handsome muscle-studs that everyone lusts for.  Don't either of you
ever consider that you might be the one in the wrong?"

Steve was stunned. "Mike, where's this coming from?  May I remind you that
I know something about men.  As an expert psychologist, I hear and treat
all kinds of problems from my patients."

"Yeah, and I've been a bartender for thirty years, and I'd trade what I
hear across my bar any day for what you hear on your Beverly Hills couch.
And all your shrink mumbo-jumbo ain't working too well on your own problems
uh?"  Mike lectured him so firmly that it was as if roles were reversed
– he was the shrink and Steve the patient.  One thing he brought up was
Steve's often highly unorthodox therapy methods, where he even involved
Lloyd.

"Whenever you want to demonstrate some sexual solution to a patient's
problem you recruit Lloyd to fuck them, blow them, fuck Tommy in front of
them – whatever point you're trying get across.  Have you ever thought
what it really feels like to be used as a sexual prop in the little plays
you enact for your patients?  You can't know unless you've actually been in
that position.

"For instance, here I am trying to make a point, trying to imagine what
Lloyd really feels, being used as a sexual stuntman in your movie.  What if
I called in my lover to demonstrate?"

"Well, what if?  Go ahead, Mike – demonstrate, turn the tables on me.
You're the doctor here, I'm the patient. ... show me what it feels like
being on the other end."

Mike abruptly sprang into action and his brawny arms locked Steve in a
full-nelson hold.  Then he called on his boy Larry.  "Get over here, boy
and help with my therapy session.  Pull out your dick and fuck the doc's
face.  I wanna give him a demonstration – teach him a lesson."

The excited Larry willingly did as instructed by the dominant older man. It
was a wild homoerotic scene as Larry fucked the kneeling doc's rugged face.
After Larry poured semen down the doc's throat, Mike, as a finale, took
Larry's place and sprayed Steve's face with jizz.

When it was over and Steve regained his wits and his breath, he looked up
at Mike and managed a smile. "To quote that corny old movie line, Mike
... `Thanks – I needed that'."

Amid the laughter Mike said, "That's only the beginning, doctor.  Now the
real therapy begins – bringing you and that hunky architect together
again where you belong.  I can see that the next few days are gonna be a
bunch of fun."

========= CHAPTER 548 =========

<><> BUT WHAT ABOUT TOMMY?  <><>

When Uncle Mike and his boy Larry emerged from the hidden clearing,
followed by a chastened Doc Steve, Mario and Grady were eagerly waiting to
greet them.  Mario smiled expectantly at Mike who said, "Well, we made a
start."

Steve grinned. "Ah, Mario, now I get it.  Would this be another of your
famous plots you've been hatching, you devious Italian?"  He patted Mario's
shoulder.  "Just kidding, dude, I know you had the best of intentions.
And, like Mike said, I guess we did make a start, though Lloyd and I are
not out of the woods yet by any means."

"But at least you have all agreed to stay on here after all the party-goers
leave later this evening.  We will be a nice intimate group, much more
conducive to harmony than this boisterous crowd, bless their hearts."

Steve and Lloyd had previously decided to get away somewhere to sort out
their differences, and Mario had suggested they stay right here for a few
more days when the party was over.  "Without the formality of a hotel this
is a perfect place to unwind. You will be well taken care of here, and we
will leave you alone whenever you prefer to just be with each other."

Mario made the same offer to Mike and Larry who had been working hard and
wanted to get away for some rest and relaxation.  The offer had been
gratefully accepted by all concerned.

With a satisfied smile Mario sad, "Ah, I see Danny approaches with an
update."

The blond chef smiled, "Hello, sirs.  Mario, just to let you know that
Brian and Brandon have cleared away breakfast and we are planning for lunch
at one and dinner at six o'clock.  We thought an early dinner was best as
most of the guys are leaving afterwards."

"Good thinking, Danny.  And Tommy is helping you and the other chefs in the
kitchen?"

"Er, yes, sir ..." Danny frowned and started to say something but bit his
tongue.

"Come on, Danny.  It's clear you have something on your mind and you know
you can tell us anything – we're your family."

"Well, sir, ... as the doctor is here, I just ... I know it's not my place
to say this, but Tommy is my boyfriend and I hate to see him upset."

"Danny," Steve said, "I'm glad you spoke up – Tommy is very important to
Lloyd and me.  You're so close to him that you know what he's thinking and
feeling, so please tell me."

"He, er, he's feeling real unhappy about ... well you know, this thing with
you and Lloyd. He's feeling insecure.  He loves you both, you're his
family, and he's scared that you might even split up.  He even asked me if
I think there would be a job for him here at the Grady House if ... if that
happened."

"Oh no, no ..."  Steve pulled Danny into a hug.  "No, things are nowhere
near that, Danny.  But I'm glad you told me `cos it makes me realize how
remiss I have been in neglecting Tommy's feelings.  Of course he must be
churning over with anxiety and I have done nothing to reassure him."  Steve
smiled weakly.  "Mike and Larry here have just got through showing me a few
truths about myself that make me ashamed.  Now I must build on that, and
the first step is to calm Tommy's fears."

"Anything we can do to help, doc, you have only to ask."  Grady was
sincere, and felt bad for the couple, but there was a secret little part of
him that relished the intrigue and the possibilities for later gossip with
his boy Brian.

"Thanks for saying that Grady but this is something I have to take care of
myself.  But, er, there is one thing, though. It's too soon for me to have
a heart-to-hearter with Lloyd, but I would like everyone to be friendly
with him – oh, nothing forced or exaggerated, just casual conversation.
I don't want him to feel that all the attention is directed to me – that
would make him feel isolated.  Of course I know no one here would take
sides, but he could get that impression.

"We know just what you mean, doc," Grady grinned. "It's time I made the
rounds again.  The guys always like teasing me – the verbal equivalent
of throwing bread at me as they do when I make a speech at meals. Could
turn into a minor riot and I'll make sure Lloyd is in the thick of it."

Mario laughed, "You see, signori.  Grady does have his uses after all.  And
you thought he was just a pretty face."

When the laughter faded Steve said, "Another thing I suggest is to keep all
this very low key.  I know guys are talking already, but Lloyd would hate
feeling that he and I had become a major issue. So Danny, I don't want to
come to the kitchen to speak to Tommy, but perhaps you could ... I dunno
... tell him that I asked for a margarita, and he'll no doubt offer to
bring it to me."

"Will do, sir."  Danny ran off and Steve turned to Mike and Larry, Mario
and Grady.

"Guys, I gotta confess that I was feeling confused and helpless about all
this.  You know that old phrase – `physician heal thyself'?  Well this
physician had no clue how to heal himself, or Lloyd.  As a man who spends
his life treating other guys with relationship issues, I'm hopeless at
looking at myself."  He chuckled.  "Until Mike and Larry made me see
myself, using a crazy technique not unlike the wilder therapy methods I
sometimes use.

Mario, Grady, there's nowhere more conducive to healing wounds than this
magical world you have created here, and I thank you for all your help."

"È il nostro piacere, amico, Mario smiled.  "Here, here," Grady grinned
... "whatever he said.  Hey, I think the troops are getting restless.
Better go and get some bread thrown at me."

Grady ran off to a raucous greeting from the crowd, including Lloyd.

<><> STEVE & TOMMY <><>

The four guys left Steve on his own, sitting at the same table as before,
only now he was not nervous and morose.  Now he had a sense of purpose.
And he didn't have long to wait.

He saw Tommy coming toward him bearing a tray.  The blond ex-gymnast was
wearing his usual tight black pants and the burgundy T-shirt that
constituted his work uniform as manager of Steve and Lloyd's house in the
Hollywood Hills.

The pants had been designed by Lloyd to show off Tommy's exquisite ass, a
tribute to his years as a gymnast and an ice-skater before that.  Lloyd was
an avid butt-man – actually an avid everything when it came to beautiful
men, and Tommy certainly qualified as that, with his blond hair,
classically handsome features and chiseled physique.

When he reached the table and put the tray down Steve saw that it contained
two glasses, a plate of salt and a pitcher of margaritas.  Tommy smiled,
"The kitchen currently has four chefs in it, and five's a crowd, so I
thought I might join you for a while, sir, if that's OK."

"You know I'd be delighted," Steve beamed. "I always enjoy your company,
you know that, but you're always working so hard that we don't get that
many opportunities to talk.  As a matter of fact, I was wanting to have a
word with you, Tommy."  He smiled.  "Actually, that's why I asked Danny to
tell you I needed a drink."

"I guessed it was something like that, sir.  And it's about you and Lloyd,
I suppose."

"You're right, of course – and I have to start with an apology.  In all
this unpleasantness between me and Lloyd I have neglected you.  It was
Danny who opened my eyes to that.  He loves you very much, Tommy, and he
hates to see you anxious and sad."

Tommy concentrated on the tray.  He pressed the rims of the glasses in the
salt, then poured the margaritas.  Without raising his eyes he said. "Sir,
you don't have to ..."

"Yes I do, Tommy.  I was so wrapped up in my own problems that I lost sight
of the impact on you.  You are an intimate part of our family, so any
discord must of course affect you profoundly.  I should have kept you
informed of what was going on, which I'm doing now."

Tommy smiled gently.  "I saw you disappear into the bushes with Uncle Mike
and Larry and figured that Mike might be doing the same number on you that
he has often done with Randy."

"You figured right, Tommy. Mike is a tough old bird who loves us all and
gets pissed when he sees any of us fighting.  I can see why Randy looks up
to him as a father figure.  He sure didn't pull any punches in making me
see sense.  Said I was as arrogant as Randy – we always think we're in
the right in any fight."

Steve chuckled.  "He even ended up using a page from my own shrink
playbook, the one where I sometimes involve you and Lloyd in therapy
sessions with patients.  It was as if he was the shrink and me the patient
when he demonstrated how Lloyd must feel being used as a prop in my little
scenes.  Mike recruited his boy Larry, who seemed thrilled being ordered to
give the doc a savage face-fuck.  He sure made me see things from a
different angle – on my knees!"

Tommy laughed as he took another sip of his drink.  "I do love Uncle Mike,
and Larry too, everyone does.  It's great to see the devotion between a
virile young guy and an older man."

"Well, he knocked the arrogance out of me, which I didn't even know I had.
It's hard sometimes for a shrink to look critically at himself.  And now I
have to begin putting things right – starting with you, Tommy.  It's a
bit too soon for me to have that necessary `big talk' with Lloyd, but
talking to you could help me see things more clearly.

"I promise to talk to you as a friend, not as a shrink, but I have to begin
with a shrink-type question.  Could you explain to me what your feelings
have been about your life with us, even before the shit hit the fan between
Lloyd and me?"

"Hmm," Tommy hesitated, before warming to his topic.  He took another long
drink and said, "Sir, in my past, before I even came to the tribe, I used
to have three-ways with guys, but no matter how good they were, there was
always a sense that two of the guys were more into each other than the
third, who often felt left out.  That's kind of how I felt with us three.

"I mean, it's kind of inevitable with us `cos you and Lloyd are successful
professional men – a doctor and an architect – and I'm just the
houseboy, known mostly for the way I look, the gymnast body and what Lloyd
calls my `killer ass'.

"See, I love you, sir, and lust for you, but I always sensed you didn't
really feel the same love for me that I felt for you.  Actually, I feel
closer to Lloyd as we have sex with each other a lot more than you and I
do.  `Course, that's mostly because Lloyd's a butt-man and loves my `killer
ass'."

Steve sighed.  "Yeah, Mike said that I didn't mention the word love much
– said I seem to have delegated that to Lloyd and you, who made love
more often than we did.  Again, that's my fault, Tommy – so involved in
my own therapy practice that I haven't given you enough attention – even
though my cock stiffens whenever you walk into a room.  But although I
don't show it, I love that you are a part of Lloyd and me, a big part of
our little family up in the hills.

"So Tommy, it really hurts to hear you say you are `just the houseboy'.  We
don't make that distinction – we both love you, dude.  Sure, we are busy
professionals, but you manage our house and our lives impeccably.  We're a
team, Tommy – a family of three."

Tommy said softly, "Thank you for saying that, sir."

"But on that other topic that Mike brought up.  How did you feel whenever I
called you in to demonstrate something sexual for the benefit of my patient
– either alone or with Lloyd?"

Tommy smiled.  "Sir, you know what a show-off I am, and love to see guys
salivate over me. I also love when Lloyd fucks me, he's such a hot stud.
But when you used us in your therapy it always seemed a bit mechanical.
There again, I had that feeling that you were not really into me, or Lloyd
for that matter.  You were naturally focused on your patient's reaction,
that's your job, and when you got what you wanted you said, `thanks guys'
and we were no longer needed."

Steve frowned.  "So what I hear you saying is that you and Lloyd didn't
object to performing sexually in front of those guys, it was the way I
asked you and treated you – as Mike said, like sexual stuntmen in a
movie."

Tommy looked at Steve and tears brimmed in his eyes. "Bottom line, sir, is
that I love you.  I love you and Lloyd and I hate the thought of you ever
splitting up."

Steve reached over and pressed Tommy's hand.  "Thank you, Tommy.  Matter of
fact I believe we all three love each other – and it's not the kind of
lopsided three-way you mentioned before.

"If there's any fault to be assigned here, it's mine.  As I keep saying, I
neglected the family, the more absorbed I became in my job.  I was the
big-shot high-priced Beverly Hills psychologist – Mike was right when he
said it was a kind of arrogance.  And now I have to put things right.  As I
said, Tommy, starting with you.

"So how are we going to do that, Tommy?  All my therapy training doesn't
help here.  This is a personal thing between you and me.  I don't want to
sound crude here but, would sex help?"

Tommy chuckled.  "That does sound a bit crude, sir.  But let me put it
another way.  When did we last make love, sir – just you and me?"

Steve wrinkled his brow but couldn't come up with an answer.  "Point taken,
Tommy.  But it's not for lack of desire.  As I told you, my dick gets hard
whenever you walk into a room.  It sure did when I saw you walking across
the lawn with that tray.  How about you?"

"Sir, I've had a hard-on ever since I sat down here."

Tommy grinned mischievously and lowered his voice to a conspiratorial
whisper.  "You know what I would really like, sir?  When I worked as
assistant manager at the hotel before coming here, it's no secret that I
supplemented my wages by privately entertaining male guests in their rooms.
I always started by stripping slowly – I liked that part; I was good at
it – and then inevitably had sex with the customer.  I didn't like that
part – though I was good at that too.

"Thing is, I always had a fantasy that one day I would do that for a guy,
strip and all – but then when I had sex with him, I would actually fall
in love with him and end up living with him.  `Course, that never happened
..."

"Until now?" Steve smiled.  "Man, I do love making fantasies come true.  My
room or yours, Tommy?"

<><> A SHAMELESS EXHIBITIONIST <><>

Tommy flashed back to those days when he would visit hotel guests after
hours.  "Er, why don't you go up to your room, sir, and wait for me while I
clear away these drinks?  Won't be long."

Steve was surprised to feel his heart beat a little faster as he stood up
and went back to the house, careful to use a discreet route through trees
to avoid attention from the other guys – or from Lloyd.  This was
between him and Tommy.  It was the first step in `putting things right' as
he had phrased it, a thought that energized him, especially as it meant
giving pleasure to Tommy by playing along with his little fantasy.

He went into his guestroom, the room he had shared last night with Lloyd,
Tommy and Danny, where he had kept his distance from Lloyd and slept with
Danny.  It had been cleaned and tidied by Brian or Brandon, the bed neatly
made – as it would be in a hotel.  He felt a buzz of anticipation,
almost like a hotel guest waiting for the private attention of the
assistant manager.

What would the hotel guest be wearing? Hm, that was pretty obvious ... not
much.  Had to be good and ready for his visitor.  He kicked off his
loafers, took off his jeans and shirt and folded them over the back of a
chair. Still wearing his undershirt and shorts he lay back on the bed. On a
whim, he had left his socks on too, something he imagined a nervous hotel
guest would do.  Then he waited, but not for long before there was a knock
on the door.  "Come in."

"Good evening, sir."  (Although it was closer to midday). Steve's cock
jerked in his shorts as he got his first look at Tommy.

He was wearing his usual tight black pants, shiny black shoes, and his
torso-hugging burgundy T-shirt. But he had added the smart black matador
jacket that he wore for formal occasions at their Hollywood Hills home.
The jacket had been designed by Lloyd, with long sleeves and, of course,
the short back that ended at the waist, matador-style, and showed off his
perfect ass.

Tommy moved around the room as he always used to at the hotel, checking
that everything was in order for the guest.  Then he smiled, "Is there
anything else you need, sir?"

"You and I both know what I need, dude."

"Very well sir."  Keeping the smile in place, Tommy paused momentarily for
dramatic effect, then unbuttoned his jacket and eased it off slowly over
his shoulders.  He turned round and bent forward slightly to drape the
jacket round a chair, giving Steve a perfect view of his perfect ass
straining against his tight pants.

He turned around to face the bed again and pulled the burgundy T-shirt out
of his waistband, then reached behind his neck and pulled the shirt up with
short tugs.  Steve watched the shirt rise up over his long, sexy waist,
exposing his washboard abs.  It rose further to reveal the solid mounds of
his pecs, before pulling all the way off over his head.

Tommy made a show of folding the shirt neatly over his jacket on the chair,
then crossed the room to the light switch and dimmed the overhead
spotlights slightly.  An old hand at this, Tommy knew his lighting, and
what showed him off to best effect.

He stood facing the bed and Steve gazed up in awe.  This was one of the
sexiest images of Tommy, stripped to the waist, his long waist tapering
down into the tight pants, with the promise of more revelations to come.

Several of the room's walls had floor-length mirrors, giving reflections of
the shirtless man from different angles.  As he bent double to remove his
shoes and socks Steve saw his flared back and, again, the flawless ass
raised seductively in the air. Steve's hand strayed down to his own shorts
and stroked the bulge under the thin fabric.

Finally Tommy unzipped his pants and pushed them down, then elegantly
folded them over the back of the chair.  He was wearing black briefs
underneath and now the shameless exhibitionist paced round the room, aware
of the spotlights playing over the rippling muscles of his near-naked
athletic body as he moved.

Steve pulled his cock out of his shorts and stroked it, gazing at Tommy as
if seeing him like this for the first time.  In fact, it had been a long
time since Steve had sat back and stared at Tommy like this.  He felt just
like the horny hotel guest admiring a handsome boy-for-hire putting on a
show just for him.

In fact, everything Steve said had a double meaning – playing the dual
role of an imaginary, paying hotel guest on the one hand, and on the other,
the real man making amends for ignoring a boy's feelings. The two roles
merged into one as he said, "I can cum just watching you, young man, you're
so beautiful. We don't actually have to have sex if you don't want to."

"Oh, I usually do go the whole way, sir."

Steve grinned, "Through gritted teeth, uh?"

Tommy shrugged.  "Sometimes, sir. But don't you want my ass?  Most men do
– it's what they want most."

"I'm not surprised," Steve said. "But a man as beautiful as you is worth
much more than your butt, sexy as it is."  Steve pulled off his T-shirt.
"What I really want is more than just sex.  I would ... I would like to
make love to you.  But I don't suppose you really do that, do you?"

"Not as a rule, sir.  But for a man like you, I could make an exception."
Tommy's cock strained in his briefs as he stared at the stunning man on the
bed, in just his undershorts, his muscular torso gleaming under the lights,
his ruggedly handsome, square-jawed face smiling up at him.

In all those years at the hotel – showing off his body to men whose only
attraction was their money – this is what Tommy had dreamed of –
meeting a man who was more than just a client, a man he really desired, a
man he wanted to make love to – and who wanted that too.

<><> LOVE, AT LAST <><>

Tommy shed his briefs and, from force of habit, turned round to display his
ass.  "No," Steve said.  "Oh, of course I lust for your ass, like all your
other men, but I want something else.  Steve got off the bed and stood
before Tommy.  "As I said, you are worth more than your ass, more than just
a body to be worshipped.  You are a man to be loved."

Steve clasped Tommy's face in his hands and gazed at his face, then ran his
fingers through his blond hair.  "So beautiful."  He wrapped his hand round
the back of his neck and pulled him into a kiss, tender at first then
growing in passion.  When he pulled back he stroked Tommy's face, his neck,
and ran his hands down his body.  "Yes, to be worshipped and loved."

When his hands reached Tommy's waist, Steve sank to his knees and stared at
the rigid cock inches from his face. He licked the tip ... then lowered his
mouth over it and took it all the way down his throat.  Tommy gasped,
gazing down at the erotic sight of his own cock buried in the doctor's
handsome face.  He dared to touch the doc's head, grab his hair and pull
his face down and back on his shuddering cock.

The image was so erotic that soon Tommy was saying, "Sir, you're going to
make me cum in your mouth.  I can't hold back."

Steve pulled back abruptly and got to his feet.  "No, I don't want that.  I
want this."  He dropped his shorts and lay naked on his back on the bed.
Tommy gasped in disbelief as he saw the muscular alpha-male hook his hands
behind his knees and pull his legs back, showing his ass.

"That's what I want, dude.  I've always wanted to be topped by a gorgeous
young athlete like yourself.  I know, with that ass, you mostly get fucked,
but are you ready for a role reversal like this?  I've already lubed your
cock with my mouth."

"Absolutely, sir." Tommy suddenly felt supercharged. Maybe his ass was the
reason he sometimes felt demeaned.  Lloyd had jokingly called him "a great
piece of ass," and that was how he saw himself.  But making love to the
alpha doctor like this boosted his self-image, banished his sense of
inferiority – as if he had changed suddenly from boy to man.  He knelt
on the bed, straddling the doctor, and bent low to kiss him.

Steve had the exhilarating sense of surrendering to the muscular young
jock.  He stretched his arms up and grabbed the corner bedposts, as if tied
to them, at the athlete's mercy.  His legs were still raised and Tommy
eased back until he was kneeling between them.  His former reticence was
replaced by a confident smile as he pushed Steve's legs farther back and
slid his cock between his ass cheeks.

"Aaahh," Steve sighed as he felt Tommy's cock filling his ass.  Reflexively
he tightened his ass muscles round it, which made Tommy smile. "That turns
me on even more, sir."  His cock penetrated deeper, in long gentle strokes
as he bent low and kissed Steve, who responded by searching Tommy's mouth
with his tongue.  He was still grasping the bed-posts tight, knowing that
if he touched his cock he would have to cum.

They were both on uncharted ground.  The doctor saw Tommy in a new light, a
passionate young jock who could take charge and dominate.  And Tommy at
last felt like an equal, a man who could make love, rather than just show
off his body and offer his ass – as he had done as a boy-for-hire in the
hotel and as he often did for Lloyd.

He pulled back from the kiss, smiled down at Steve.  He clamped his hands
round his wrists and pinned them to the bed. Steve's fingers loosened round
the bedposts, but he was trapped. "How's that feel?" Tommy grinned.  "A
prisoner of the gymnast ploughing your ass."

"Feels good, only I need to touch my cock `cos I'm aching to cum."

"You don't have to touch your cock.  I can make you cum just like this.
But I will let you touch my body.  He continued to massage the doc's ass
with his cock, bringing him close to orgasm, several times before slowing
down, teasing him, driving him wild with desire.  When he released his
arms, Steve reached up and touched the gymnasts smooth flesh, tracing his
hands over the flexing muscles, pressing them against the slabs of his pecs
as they rose and fell above him.

He gazed into Tommy's blue eyes. "I love you, Tommy.  I haven't told you
that for a long time, but it's true.  Your cock feels so good in my ass,
your body feels so beautiful to touch.  You're an exciting man, dude, and
... and you're gonna make me shoot.  Yeah, fuck yeah ... aaahh!"

Steve's body tensed, he dug his fingers in Tommy's chest as semen spurted
from his cock and splashed down on his own heaving muscular chest.  As he
climaxed, his ass clenched round the pounding cock that flooded his ass
with the juice that had been straining for release.

Suddenly they were both still, staring at each other in a trance of
disbelief, until Tommy at last pulled out and fell on top of Steve.  They
kissed, long and passionately, then rolled over and over on the bed,
kissing, licking, biting, and laughing with the joy of rediscovered love.

When their energy drained Steve briefly lapsed back into the persona of the
hotel guest.  "Young man, how do you feel about giving up the hotel life
and coming to live with me?"

"Yes please, sir, definitely. I waited so long for someone to say that to
me."

"I live in a house in the hills with a lover.  You'll be one of us.  You
will love him and he you."

"Especially my ass, eh sir?" Tommy grinned playfully.

"Yeah that too – definitely that too."  Steve wrapped his arms round
Tommy and they soon dozed off.

They were sleeping so soundly that they didn't hear the door open nor see
Lloyd come in.  He stopped, stared, and backed out of the room, closing the
door softly behind him.  His mind was racing with confused and conflicting
emotions as he walked slowly back out to the garden.

<><> LLOYD TIES HIMSELF IN KNOTS <><>

Up to now the focus of this little domestic drama had centered on Doc
Steve, probably because he was always perceived as the most senior of the
trio at the Mulholland house. Tommy too had now been comforted, and
reassured that he was an equal partner in the three-way relationship.

But what of the other member of the trio, the man whose falling out with
Steve was the root cause of the turmoil?  What was Lloyd feeling?

Right now, as he sat alone in a corner of the garden, he didn't know what
he felt.  He had just seen Steve and Tommy asleep in each other's arms,
obviously after making love, a sight that surprised Lloyd and knocked him
off balance.

But after all, he thought, what was wrong or unusual with that?  How many
times had he, Lloyd, had sex with Tommy, had fucked that beautiful ass?
Which Steve took in stride as a natural and acceptable part of the fabric
of their lives.

And yet Lloyd was unnerved by the sight – angry? – jealous? – a
bit of each probably. But why? Obviously, his confusion stemmed from his
rift with Steve, which skewed his reactions to everything else.

"But what exactly was the rift?  He tried, but failed, to answer that
question.  He couldn't even remember how it had begun.  They had not had a
row that created hard feelings.  In fact there was nothing he could
describe as hard feelings, exactly.  Just ... just a distance that had
grown between them and fed on itself – and here we are, he thought,
barely speaking to each other.

Lloyd knew that he loved Steve.  They had a great life together, two
successful, well-paid professional men, a doctor and an architect.  Of
matching sophistication and intelligence, they had a lot in common and
conversed easily about sports, politics, trivia, all the stuff that goes to
make a happy life together.  Sex had been great too – before the
deep-freeze.

And yet ... maybe that was it – sex.  Did he mean sex or making love?
What was the difference? But there was a difference.  Lloyd had an
attraction to beautiful men, bordering on an obsession.  Steve was
certainly a beautiful man, but the difference there was that they made love
too ... didn't they?  Hm, when had they last expressed their love each
other?  He couldn't remember – it was kind of taken for granted.

"So it had come down to sex ... fucking.  Ah, that's where the problem lay
– he didn't feel they were sexual equals.  He sensed that the rest of
the tribe thought of Steve as the dominant partner – domestically as
well as sexually.

And it was true wasn't it?  Like the times Steve had called him into a
therapy session to perform sexually in some way for the patient. He had not
minded doing that – sex was sex – but it sure felt like being taken
for granted ... ! ... performing on cue.  And when Steve was concentrating
on his work, which was most of the time, Lloyd felt like an afterthought
– more like Steve's boy than his lover, a boy waiting for the master to
pay attention and take him to bed.

And even then sex had become routine, a physical act without the added
dimension of love, of making love.  Which was why Lloyd so often found
sexual release in Tommy and his seductive ass.  Maybe his automatic sex
with Steve – wham-bam-thank-you-man then turn over and sleep – was
what infected all other aspects of their life together.  Lloyd came back to
his earlier thought that the rift between them, which began in bed, had
grown wider and fed upon itself.

Had it grown beyond repair?  After so long, could it be salvaged?  Why
couldn't they simply say that they loved each other and leave it at that?
It was true after all.  But after all the coldness would it even sound
true?  If it rang hollow it might make things even worse.

Lloyd sighed. All this soul-searching had left him even more confused than
before.  He realized that he was waiting for Steve to find the solution
– he was the shrink, after all, it's what he did for others every
day. But in waiting for Steve to take the lead, wasn't he just reinforcing
the idea that Steve was the master, and he, the boy, was waiting for the
master to take charge?

"Stop, he thought, he was going in circles, winding himself into knots.  At
least Steve had taken the step of suggesting they get away for a few days
together to try to sort things out.  But he had felt nervous about the
prospect of winding up in some hotel, staring at Steve across the dining
table.  He could almost feel the cold winds blowing round them, making the
ice thicker.

Which is why Lloyd had jumped at Mario's generous invitation to stay on
here as long as they liked.  Mario was canny – he knew what was going on
and had not hesitated to jump in.  Lloyd knew that Mario had taken Steve to
his secret garden, a place that was rumored to be magical, where men went
to make love.  Lloyd brightened.  Did Steve miss making love with him?  Is
that really what this was all about?

But Steve could be stubborn.  Who was going to make him see sense?  Ah,
Lloyd grinned to himself, Mario had taken care of that too, by recruiting
the help of Uncle Mike.

He had seen Mike talking to Steve in what seemed like an intense
heart-to-hearter, and then taking Steve and Larry into the bushes.  It
reminded him of being recruited by Steve to give a sexual demonstration to
a patient in one of his therapy sessions.  He hoped Mike and Larry had done
something similar with Steve.

Ah well, he thought at last, better go back join the land of the living.
At least he was surrounded by friends here, like Jason.  His mind went back
to that hot body-worship scene he had played out with Jason, the musclehunk
fireman.  Had that pissed Steve off?  Was that why he had done it?  Maybe,
he grinned – a little jealousy goes a long way sometimes.

As he got up to join the others he sighed, thinking about tonight.  Last
night they had shared their room and bed with Tommy and Danny.  But with
everything so up in the air, he didn't feel ready to share a bed with Steve
yet, just the two of them.  Oh well, he'd cross that bridge when he came to
it.

<><> ONE ROOM OR TWO?  <><>

Actually, Mario was ahead of Lloyd in his concern about tonight's sleeping
arrangements.  Most of the guests would be leaving this evening after an
early dinner, and Mario was now meeting with Grady, Danny and Brian to work
out what came next.

"So, who will we have here overnight, apart from ourselves?  Mike and Larry
are staying on, and Steve, Lloyd and Tommy.  Quite a merry bunch."

"If they can sort out their problems," Grady said.

"Well we shall do our best to help them do just that, amico.  Mostly by
leaving them alone, I would imagine.  We've intervened as much as we
should, and I flatter myself that we've helped.  Uncle Mike, in his wisdom,
has made Steve see sense, and I suspect that Steve took Tommy upstairs to
reassure him that his place in the family is equal and secure."

Grady grinned, "And you, amico, can take a bow for taking Steve to the
secret garden to prove that love still exists.

"Grazie molto, amore," Mario smiled with a slight bow.  "But I am still
concerned about Lloyd.  Danny, you mentioned that Tommy will be sleeping
with you tonight, which leaves Steve and Lloyd sleeping together.  I wonder
if they are ready for that yet, just the two of them sharing a bed.  I have
a feeling that might be uncomfortable for them, and maybe they would prefer
separate rooms for tonight."

"We'll have to ask," said Danny, "but that's easier said than done.  Touchy
subject.  We'll leave that to you, sir."

Mario sighed.  "The problem is, I don't want to make too big a deal of
this, emphasizing to Lloyd that we know about their problems, and delving
into the intimate subject of who's sleeping with whom."

"Why don't you let me do it, sir?" Brian asked.  "Coming from me it
wouldn't be a big deal.  I mean, it's my job.  I can just say I'm making a
list of the rooms I have to prepare for tonight, which is true, and do
Steve and him want one room or two.  Matter-of-fact, just like that."

"That's my boy," Grady grinned, giving Brian a hug.

"Perfetto, bambino, thank you.  By the way, I don't want too much of a
burden to fall on you, Brian, you've worked so hard all weekend.

"Oh, I was gonna tell you, sir.  Brandon has offered to stay overnight and
help.  It was actually Pete who suggested it as he has to get up real early
for his work with the Forest Rangers.  He won't mind sleeping alone –
for one night anyway.  So Brandon will sleep here in my room."

"Hey," Grady said, "don't forget me, kiddo, and the debriefing we always do
after a big party."

"Grady," Mario scolded, "you are only looking for an excuse for gossip."

"So what's wrong with that?  Call it what you like, dude, it's standard
post-party procedure."

"OK," Danny said, "I have an idea.  I want to go to bed with Tommy as early
as possible, but why don't you four gather in the master bedroom before
bed?  Grady, you can pump Brian and Brandon for gossip, two for the price
of one."

Buona soluzione, Danny.  We'll have post-party drinks and snacks in our
room and Grady you can get all the dirt from both boys.  But don't keep
them from their bed too long – or us for that matter.  I have neglected
your needs this weekend, amore, and I want to catch up."

Grady laughed, "I'll drink to that, sexy.  OK, Brian, off you go.  Good
luck."

Brian wheeled himself through the clusters of men and approached Lloyd
casually.  "Er, sir, sorry to interrupt, but I'm doing my rounds trying to
work out how many rooms I have to get ready for tonight.  Most of the guys
are leaving after dinner but a few are staying on, such as Uncle Mike and
Larry and you and Steve.  So, do you and Steve want one room or two?"

Lloyd saw right away a solution to his dilemma.  "Thanks for checking,
Brian.  Er, two would be good if you can manage that."

"Piece of cake, sir.  Your room will be right across the hall from Steve's.
While I'm here, is there anything else you need, sir?"

"Can't think of a thing, Brian.  You guys have worked really hard to give
us the best time.  Can I get a hug?"  Brian reached up and Lloyd bent down
to hug him.  Then Brian wheeled away and returned to Mario's group.
"Mission accomplished, sir.  Two rooms."

Lloyd glanced across at them and smiled to himself.  Another of Mario's
little ideas, I bet, he thought.  These guys think of everything.

<><> THE PARTY'S OVER <><>

And so the party wound down.  After a lazy afternoon they had an early
dinner where Randy, as tribe leader, rose and gave his usual thanks, even
more effusively than ever.

"Guys, we've all had a blast here at the Grady House.  We've relaxed, had
fun, laughed a lot and fucked a lot.  And all this is due to the generosity
of our hosts, Mario, Grady, Danny and Brian, and to our chefs and all the
helpers here.  You know who you are so please stand up and accept the love
and thanks of us all."  He raised his glass and the small group took their
extravagant bows to tumultuous cheers.

And that was it – until the next time. Soon after dinner the crowd broke
into groups and pairs and the gates swung open to let the line of cars and
trucks drive through and down the hill.

Mario addressed the small group that was left.  "Signori, Grady and I are
going straight to bed to sleep it off and, er ..."  He trailed off to
ribald laughter.  "Feel free to stick around out here, eating and drinking,
as we are leaving the cleanup till tomorrow, so our weary helpers can go to
bed.  Brian and Brandon have made sure your rooms are ready, and we look
forward to seeing you at brunch tomorrow."

In fact, no one did stick around – they were all eager to go upstairs to
bed.  Mario whispered to Steve that Lloyd had asked for a separate room and
Steve nodded in some relief.  Mike and Larry said their goodnights and went
to their room.  So did Danny and Tommy.  Lloyd disappeared discretely to
his room, and Steve to his.

The remaining four went merrily off to the master suite – Grady and
Mario were followed by Brian and Brandon, their tray tables loaded with
drinks and snacks.  And in no time Grady was propped up in bed with Brain
on one side and Brandon on the other, as Mario looked on with an indulgent
smile.

"OK, boys," Grady said.  "So let's get started.  There's a lot to get
through."

"Well, sir ..." Brian began, blinking behind his owl glasses – and they
were off to the races.

<><> "IT'S A START" <><>

Alone in his guestroom, Steve suddenly felt lonely.  After all the noise
and laughter of the party, the silence of the room accentuated his sense of
something missing – or more accurately, someone.

His own depressed feelings at his rupture with Lloyd had been well soothed
by various members of the tribe.  It had been like a course of treatment.
First, Mario had focused on his sexual needs with a much-needed infusion of
love-making in the secret garden.

Next, Uncle Mike had led him through a stern lecture that helped him to
sort out his own tangled emotions and get a handle on the issues between
himself and Lloyd.  And finally, realizing his neglect of Tommy, Steve had
taken the young gymnast to his room and boosted the boy's self-esteem by
offering his ass to him in an erotic role reversal.

So far so good.  But, Steve wondered, what of Lloyd himself?  Was he
feeling lonely too in the room across the hall?  Or didn't he care?  He had
sure spent a lot of time with the sexy fireman Jason, so maybe he was
starting to turn his back on Steve for good.  But still, following his
psychology training, the doctor had judged it premature to finally address
Lloyd until he, Steve, had sorted out his own thoughts and
feelings. Physician heal thyself.

Steve sighed as he undressed, stripping down to his boxer shorts, and got
into bed – the cold sheets matching the shiver of loneliness that he
felt.  He closed his eyes and tried to sleep – which wouldn't come.  No
matter how much he tried to empty his mind, his thoughts kept coming back
to Lloyd, lying alone in his room across the hall.

Lloyd was having a similar problem.  After covertly seeing Steve and Tommy
in bed together he had sat alone in the garden and indulged in a prolonged
bout of examination of his problems with Steve and his own reactions to
them. But he had found that all his soul-searching had made him even more
confused – tying himself into knots, he thought.

So now he, too, tried to empty his mind – with no more success than
Steve was having.

The trouble was he could not rid himself of images of the sexy doctor.
Earlier, with all the guys by the pool, he had made a deliberate show of
ignoring Steve.  But it was a fake show, as he kept stealing surreptitious
glances.  He had watched Steve, his muscular body clad only in speedos,
diving into the pool, then surfacing, his tanned, chiseled features
streaming with water as he laughed, heaved himself from the pool and
flopped down on a chaise.

That had given Lloyd a hard-on ... as the memory of it did now.  He
silently cursed himself and tried to push his stiff cock back in his
shorts.  But touching himself only made it worse.

His thoughts strayed back to Steve walking among the crowd, still in his
speedos, laughing and chatting with the guys.  Lloyd saw the admiring
smiles and glances from the men and boys for the handsome doctor, his
still-wet muscles gleaming in the sun.

Lloyd was barely aware that his hand had remained on his cock as it got
harder.  God, he loved beautiful men, and his macho lover beat them all.
His lover?  Were they, still?

Lloyd banished from his mind the scene by the pool, but it was replaced by
the image of Steve right now, alone in bed.  Was he in bed yet?  Had he
stripped naked and taken a shower?  Was he, right this minute, walking out
of the bathroom with a towel round his waist, one of his sexiest looks?  He
recalled how Steve used to smile down at him on the bed, then whip off the
towel and advance toward him naked, his fist wrapped round his cock, like a
scene from a porn flick.

By now, in the silence of his lonely room, Lloyd had thrown caution to the
winds and was openly stroking his cock as his imagination took off.  He saw
Steve throwing the sheets off him in that determined way he had, dropping
to his knees and leaning down to kiss him.  Lloyd recalled the musky scent,
the taste of his warm breath as his mouth churned over his.

With his free hand Lloyd ran a finger down his neck, imagining it was
Steve's tongue.  It moved lower, as Steve's tongue had, and Lloyd flexed
hard as it moved down the cleft between his pecs, teased his nipples, then
down over the ridges of his abs, until the rugged faced buried itself in
his pubic hair.

Lloyd stroked his cock harder as he imagined Steve licking all the way up
his cock, then closing his mouth over it and swallowing it all the way down
his throat.  Lloyd saw that sculpted face chowing down on his cock,
pounding up and down and bringing him to the cusp of orgasm.

But Steve always stopped just in time, frustrating the hell out of Lloyd
who begged for more.  And now Lloyd was inwardly begging for more.  In the
last week he had had almost no sex – except for the scene where he had
body-worshipped Jason, something he had done to make Steve jealous.  His
balls were fit to burst ... he wanted more.  Caution be dammed, he stopped
trying to rid himself of his fantasies.  He welcomed them, saw them with
dazzling clarity.

He saw Steve assume the top-man role as the iconic alpha-male, the kind of
man you would pleadingly offer your ass to.  Now, in his fantasy, Lloyd
looked up at the musclehunk kneeling between his legs – he raised them
and begged Steve to fuck him.  And in this silent room, his imagination
merged with reality as he too raised his legs.  Still stroking his cock he
reached down with his free hand and pushed a finger in his own ass.

"Oh yeah, that feels so good, man," he murmured out loud as the finger
pierced his ass.  He saw above him the rugged, squared-jawed face he had
gazed on so often, and felt, actually felt, his cock entering his ass.  His
finger massaged his prostate and he begged, "Please fuck me, sir.  Make
love to my ass, I want it so bad.  You're so fucking beautiful, you turn me
on, make me so hot.  I love you, sir ... I love you ..."

Lloyd closed his eyes and imagined Steve having the same fantasy across the
hall.  Their imaginations merged, and then they were together.  He saw
Steve above him, saw his broad shoulders, his bulging biceps, the flexed
muscles of his solid pecs and ripped abs – a magnificent man, his man,
his lover, making love to him, fucking his ass.

Lloyd now had two fingers in his ass, driving in and out as Steve fucked
him, bringing him close ... close to the release he had craved for days.
"Sir, you're gonna make me cum.  I'm gonna shoot ... please let me feel you
juice in my ass.  Yes ... Yes ... Aaagh."  His fingers pushed deep ... his
cock erupted with the jizz that had been building for so long ... and he
felt his lover's semen filling his ass.

His eyes were still closed, his heart beating wildly, his chest heaving,
splashed with cum. Slowly he pulled his fingers from his ass, took a deep
breath and opened his eyes to gaze at Steve.

But he was not there.  He had never been there ... it had not been real.
Steve was in his own room, probably asleep.  The silence of the room
crashed in on Lloyd.  He was alone, still alone.  God how he wanted Steve.
Tears sprang to his eyes, he couldn't stop them. They poured down his face
and became sobs – weeping for his own loneliness and for the man he had
loved, but lost.

In a daze he felt a hammer pounding his brain.  It got louder ... he winced
... and heard it ... not a hammer, a knock at the door.  Quickly he used
the sheet to wipe the tears from his face, he fought to regain his
composure and took a deep breath.  "Come in."

The door opened and there was Steve, in the doorway, naked except for the
boxers he had worn to bed. He hesitated, then his deep voice said, "I, er,
couldn't sleep.  You?"

"Me neither."

Steve hesitated, unsure what came next.  "You, er ... have you been jacking
off?"

"That obvious, uh?"

Another long silence.  "And, er, who were you thinking off when you shot
your load?"

"You, of course ... I was thinking of you."

Steve smiled. "Well ... it's a start ...  Can I come in?"

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

TO BE CONTINUED in "A Trial Of Strength" – Chapter 549


Hey guys, this is Rob Williams. I hope that chapter got you off, and I
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