Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2010 13:03:35 -0700 (PDT) From: Daniel Miller Subject: the barbarian and the boy, ch. 11 This is a fictional story. The characters and events described herein are fictitious. The story and its contents are the sole property of the author. It has been posted on the Nifty Story Archives page with the permission of the author. If you are offended by sexual acts between two consenting males, or by a relationship between an older man and a significantly younger one please do not read any further. For the rest of you who don't need this read on and enjoy. Let me know what you think. Copyright 2006 The Barbarian and The Boy Chapter XI Three days later Baraethius had his first fight. True to his word that first night, and each after, Leo only slept, as did Baraethius. The contact was certainly intimate, but there was a boundary there that Leo did not cross, would not it seemed without Baraethius' consent. The first day they began to train together Leo insisted that Baraethius go through the full sword form that he had seen Baraethius perform a few days ago, and slowly. Leo exacted a meticulous precision from Baraethius. The man instinctively knew when a step hadn't been performed quite right. But the end of it Baraethius' body was quivering with exertion, and that was apparently just the warm up. After that they began to spar. Leo fought using a spear, the metal tip on the end flicked as quick as a serpent's tongue. The weapon was blunted, but try as he might Baraethius was peppered with minor cuts and bruises by the time they were done. Every so often Leo would halt the fight for a moment, retracing the last few steps they had made. He would see an opportunity to use some piece of the sword form and work out a feasible way in which it might be implemented. Much to Baraethius' surprise the man was able to work out an execution of the move and not have a gaping hole in his defenses. They would then spend the next half hour drilling it till it became reactionary. By the end of the first day Baraethius felt like he could hardly move. The hot bath was a welcome relief, and after that Leo rubbed the knots and sore spots out of Baraethius' body. Baraethius lay face down on the bed, drowsy and on the verge of sleep, as Leo worked on his back. The strength of Leo's hands was wonderful. "You did very well today," Leo commented, his thick calloused fingers proved surprisingly agile as they pressed and glided over Baraethius' back. "Ummnn..." Baraethius made an unintelligible grunt. "I don't think my first day of training for the Legion was as bad as today." "Probably not," Leo agreed. "But `de Roman Legion, `dey are not having to earn `deir right to live daily. You will. From `de first time you enter `de Arena your every day will be bought by someone else's blood. `dat is what a gladiator is." Baraethius didn't know how to respond to that. In the Legion he was comfortable with killing, that's what armies do. But in the field of battle it is different. There you kill a man as quickly as you can, knowing that death can close in on you from any side. In the Arena the longer you could draw out the bloodletting the more the audience would cheer. The bloodier, messier and longer the match the better. If you had fought well the crowd might always let you live if you lost the match. That was supposed to be part of the appeal. The audience ultimately held the power of life and death in their hands. But any man who was counting on such a mercy to begin with was dead before the match had really begun, his mind just hadn't accepted it yet. "You are quiet," Leo observed. "Just thinking about the Arena," Baraethius responded honestly. "Do not fret over much on it," Leo admonished. "You will do well. I am more sure of `dat after today `dan I was before." Leo's hands continued to glide and press on Baraethius' back. While the contact was, again, very intimate, both men as bare as the day they were born, Leo was still respectful without being prudish. There were times when Baraethius caught the other man looking at him with an approving eye. But the man never pushed the issue, would pay Baraethius a compliment without making an advance. Baraethius had to admit that the man had a form that was pleasing like very few others were. But something still held him back from consenting to the all but unspoken offer. "You would do well to remember," Leo said, not stopping the motion of his hands, "'dat none of `de ot'er future gladiators you have been training wit' would have been able to keep pace wit' us today." "It is good to train with someone who is more than just passing competent with a weapon," Baraethius admitted. They both fell silent. Baraethius didn't remember falling asleep but he woke up with the first rays of dawn, Leo having curled this long body around Baraethius' own. Baraethius lay listening to the sound of Leo's even and measured breathing, lost in his own thoughts; in truth more a dog chasing its own tail in his head. Leo woke soon after and the day began. Training went much as the previous day had. This time the `warm up' lasted a much shorter time, Baraethius performing the moves much more precisely and smoothly. In addition though, Leo had Baraethius go through all the sequences they had worked out the day prior for the applications of the moves. Sometime about mid-day the warden came out to watch them, leaning against one of the buildings and scowling at them both. The man said nothing, but Baraethius felt like he should be bleeding the man's gaze was so sharp. By the end of the second day Baraethius felt like he might actually be able to survive in the Arena. He still would like a few more days to practice but he didn't think it likely. That evening while they dined the warden paid them a visit. "Good evening slaves," the man called in a cheerful tone as he walked through the door to the apartments. "Warden," Leo said in a deferential tone, standing and bending slightly at the waist and dropping his eyes to the ground briefly. For all the world, to Baraethius at least, it looked like a favored lieutenant or commander greeting a slightly higher officer in his own tent. Leo gave the warden every ounce of respect he was due without being subservient or meek in any way. Leo raised his eyes looking at a spot just under the warden's nose. Baraethius caught the sudden twitch in the warden's eye. It was incredibly satisfying. "To what do we owe `dis honor?" "Save it slave," the warden almost spat. "I'm not dealin' with you right now." He swept his gaze to Baraethius who dropped his own just in time. "You, traitor," there was a kind of glee in the man's voice, "will begin fighting tomorrow. The Emperor has been informed of your release from your physician and is eager to see you perform in the Arena. Besides, any man who is able to practice that rigorously has no excuse for not fighting. You are to be taken to the Arena tomorrow at noon." "'dis is all you came to say?" Leo asked politely. The warden, confirming it with a curt nod and a grunt, not deigning to give a verbal response, turned to go. "'den you may go," Leo said seating himself and beginning to eat as though the warden was of no more concern. The warden stopped mid stride as though struck by a physical blow. Baraethius saw a vein begin to throb in the warden's forehead. He observed this out of the corner of his eye, not facing the man. "You do not command me, slave!" the warden was almost screaming as he whirled around to face Leo, spittle flying from his lips. "If you do not wish to leave `den you are free to join us," Leo said mildly, as though every inch of the warden was not in fact quivering with barely suppressed rage. Baraethius had to hide a small smile. He began to view Leo in a different light. This man was leading the warden about by the nose, and the warden didn't even realize it. It seemed that those dark eyes held much more depth than Baraethius may have given the man credit for. The warden stood there for a few moments quivering impotently as Leo began to eat idly, giving the man only the barest acknowledgement of his presence, then turned on his heel and stormed out, yelling at the guard for some minor infraction and demanding that the door be bolted for the rest of the night. Baraethius heard the door close and the bolt slide home. "I will pay for `dat later," Leo spoke quietly. "How?" Baraethius asked. "The way you toyed with that man's emotions was worthy of some of the senators that I've come into contact with. Aside from the fact that it was also incredibly satisfying to watch him stand there like that." "Indeed so," Leo agreed, a smile spreading across his lips. "It will still cost me. I may be immune from direct retribution because of my standing wit' `de Emperor, but `de warden runs `dis place. T'ink for a moment what `dat can mean. He oversees `de preparation of food, `de cleaning, and everyt'ing else `dat goes on here. He may not be the one performing `de task but he is in charge of `dose who do. "For at least `de next week I can expect little t'ings not to be taken care of. `de chamber pots not changed, my clothes not laundered, soaps and oils for `de bat' not refilled, sour wine, stale bread, meat and cheese `dat is almost inedible, and fruit and olives `dat are not ripe or are too old to eat. Any number of inconveniences `dat can end up being infuriating." "Oh...," Baraethius said quietly, his spirits falling some. "Then why do it?" "Because," said Leo, meeting Baraethius' eyes, "while alt'ough a slave I may be, it is good to let `dem know `dat my spirit is not broken. As a soldier I am sure you understand `de concept of choosing your battles, yes?" "If you meet the enemy any and every time he appears," Baraethius answered, "you run the risk of being led along or driven as he sees fit. There are times when it is better to surrender an outpost or fortification rather than holding onto it. The cost in lives and resources might leave you too crippled to defend yourself, or any other number of outcomes that you do not want. "Instead it is better to meet the enemy on your own terms," Baraethius sound as though he was quoting text. And to a certain extent he was. "Precisely," Leo said. "It is somet'ing `dat you will have to learn to survive in here. `de warden, he is petty, cruel, and spiteful, obsessed wit' inflicting as much suffering on `dose he oversees as he can. He will try to break your spirit if you let him. `dat must not happen, for it will kill you almost as surely as if `de man had planted `de blade between your ribs himself, and `dere will not be one drop of blood on his hands." "It just occurred to me," Baraethius said, changing the topic slightly, "that you haven't been fighting any matches this last week or so. Why is that?" "At `dis point," Leo answered, "I have fought so much and won so much `dat `de Emperor only wishes me to fight in matches `dat might actually be a challenge, or on holidays. For `de most part I only fight on special occasions or when his Majesty wishes to see me fight. I only end up fighting five, maybe six times a mont' `dese days." Baraethius was quiet for a few moments, his appetite having fled. "I'll really be fighting tomorrow," he almost whispered. It sounded stupid to give the thought voice, given his situation. He had thought he had accepted his lot, been resigned to it. But the facts that he had apparently kept from some remote corner of his mind finally invaded his final sanctuary, sinking in some tiny, almost imperceptible distance and settling. Leo studied him across the table for a moment. Then the other man stood and retrieved a square of linen cloth and wrapped the rest of their meal in it. He stowed it in a remote portion of the wardrobe in the other room. Baraethius sat, lost in his own thoughts. He heard water running as Leo filled the bath. Baraethius stood and walked to the bath when he heard the water stop. A fire had been crackling under it when they had come back to the apartments and it had now died down to embers. Steam rose off the surface and Leo stood next to the basin already undressed. Baraethius walked over to the lip of the bath and started to remove his clothes. Leo's hand on his made him stop and look at the other man. Without a word Leo began to undress Baraethius, even removing his sandals and small clothes. Then, stepping into the water, Leo drew Baraethius by the hand. He sat Baraethius between his legs, and rested his back against the side of the bath. Baraethius' shoulders and the top of his chest were still out of the water, the bath not being too full and the water just this side of too hot. Leo reached for a chunk of soap and a square of cloth. Working them into a lather he began to wash Baraethius' shoulders and chest. "Come," Leo said gently, intimately, "tell me your greatest fear or nightmare, we shall wash it away." Baraethius was quiet for a moment, take aback by the question. He thought to himself for a moment or two longer and answered as Leo continued washing. "I stand upon Olympus," Baraethius said quietly, "in the Hall of the Gods. Venus, Mars, Saturn, Mercury, Neptune, all of them, even Jupiter himself. They sit in judgment. Towering over me, sitting on their thrones in all their glory and I stand before them, naked, unable to hide anything from them. "Jupiter asks me `Who art thou, mortal, son of man? Why does thy soul not depart to Tartarus? What hast thou done to make thee worthy of Elysium? The gods themselves now sit in judgment to hear thy deeds.' "And there is nothing I can say. I have been a soldier all my life, since I was old enough to join the Legion. Yet many are soldiers, my life is not exceptional. I can give them no answer. "Then Jupiter says `This one has done nothing to be remembered for, so let his memories be taken from him. Pluto.' And with that Pluto makes a gesture and the Furies rise up from the shadows and take hold of me while Jupiter's own cupbearer pours a drought of the Waters of Lethe down my throat. I feel my memories slipping from me. One by one, those I love, those I hate, those I have helped, those I have hindered; they all slip from me like water through my fingers as I struggle to hold onto them. My father, my tutor, the precious few memories I have of my mother, friends and comrades, Ithukas..., and that boy. Everything becomes a fog and I can't remember why I was struggling so hard, then I can't even remember struggling, then I just can't remember. The Furies take me quietly, gently down to the Fields of Asphodel and there is no more fight left in me. "I suppose," Baraethius said quietly as Leo continued to wash him, "that I fear forgetting, not so much that I will not be remembered beyond my death. Who am I? I am the only child of a somewhat successful merchant that is a decent leader of the men in his charge. I am content to live the life the Fates have laid out for me. And yet, I do not wish to forget my life. Yet how do I earn the right to my memories when I have not achieved Arete?" Baraethius became silent when he finished, lost in his own thoughts. Leo took a small pitcher, filled it with water from the bath and, telling Baraethius to close his eyes, poured a steady stream over his head and shoulders. Baraethius felt the water running over him and rinsing away the soap, dirt and sweat. With it, it seemed, went his anxiety as well. He was still nervous, but the bone deep despair that had been rapidly closing in on him was gone. "Thank you," Baraethius whispered tremulously, his body relaxing into Leo's torso. "T'ink not on tomorrow till tomorrow comes," Leo murmured, resting his chin on Baraethius' head and draping his arms across Baraethius' shoulders. Baraethius was quiet for a few more moments, wrestling with his own thoughts. At length he came to a decision. "Leo," Baraethius said hesitantly, "may I ask you for a favor? A favor from my friend?" "Of course," Leo said without hesitation. "Make me forget about tomorrow," Baraethius said, turning his head into Leo's shoulder and gripping Leo's arms at the elbow. "Please." Leo was quiet for a moment before he answered. "You are sure?" "No, I am not," Baraethius answered. "But I think... I think that, with a friend, I can let myself go, that it's not a betrayal to someone in my heart if I let you in as well." `Take it,' Ithukas had said, Baraethius thought, `take it and with it my blessing. Do what you must to survive.' He had been given leave, the only things that mattered now were his own reservations. Baraethius let them go. "I think I need this," Baraethius said, his lips brushing lightly against the flesh of Leo's shoulder. "I need this, as much as you wanted a friend. Someone to train with, talk with, and simply spend quiet moments with. I think I can understand now why you asked for what you did. "Now I ask you. Please, make me forget about tomorrow. Make me forget where I am, what lies ahead of me, and what I have to do to earn my right to live. "I will be able to cope with tomorrow when tomorrow comes. For now take from me the burden of tomorrow and give me memories of tonight. Please." Leo moved his arms down, pining Baraethius' arms against his own body, squeezing almost to the point of not being able to draw breath. Leo moved his lips over Baraethius' wet hair till they were tickling the back of Baraethius' ear. "As you wish," Leo whispered, low, intimate. "What do you want, what do you need?" "I've not the mind to lead tonight," Baraethius answered, his lips still moving against Leo's shoulder. The taste of fresh water danced on his tongue, sweet almost. "Lead me and I shall follow." "Come," Leo said, standing and pulling Baraethius up with him. Leo opened the drain on the bath and extinguished the candles in the bathing room and the front. The late spring air still carried a hint of a chill that caressed Baraethius' skin and sent an involuntary shiver down his spine. He followed Leo into the bedchamber by the light of the dying embers on the hearth. Candles in the sconces on each wall gave a soft, warm glow. Droplets on Leo's skin caught the light and glittered, as though his skin had been dappled with stars. The sight was captivating and, in conjunction with the form of the man's body, stunning in a way that Baraethius had not seen before. Baraethius thought that if he gazed long enough he could have found constellations among the sparkling droplets. The hair that was light upon the man's chest, torso, arms and legs was like a wispy film of clouds after a fresh spring rain, gathered in a nimbus at Leo's beard. Perhaps the wine had gone to his head but it struck Baraethius that I was like looking at a piece of night sky that had suddenly been given life and breath to walk upon the ground. Baraethius thought that this is what the titan Erebus must look like, dark majesty that could enrapture all that gazed upon him. Leo turned and noticed Baraethius studying him and smiled. His teeth flashed, stark and sudden white in all that unrelieved darkness, like a crescent moon suddenly emerging from behind the clouds. He held a hand out to Baraethius, beckoning. As if compelled Baraethius walked across the room, taking Leo's hand. Leo drew Baraethius into him. Baraethius leaned his head against Leo's chest, the man easily stood a foot and more over him. Baraethius was almost painfully aware of Leo's body pressed against his own. He felt starving, voracious in a way that had nothing to do with food. In his heart he felt a pang, such as it was, for Ithukas. Baraethius set it aside as best he could. It would be months if not years before there was even a possibility of being together. For now Baraethius would do as he must, as he had been told and given leave to do. Baraethius wrapped his arms around Leo's waist, running his fingers over the smooth, muscled expanse of Leo's back. The man had a body that must have been cut from fresh volcanic glass and had yet to cool completely. Leo put a finger under Baraethius' chin and lifted it gently to make the shorter man look up at him. His head descended and he placed a gentle kiss on Baraethius' mouth, a brush of lips and faint stir of breath. Baraethius' felt his manhood quickening, his pulse beginning to speed up, and finally he let himself go. Baraethius brushed his tongue against Leo's full lips and Leo answered with his own. A low, rumbling moan echoed in Leo's chest and throat. He began feeding at Baraethius' mouth, kissing deeply, passionately. Baraethius almost gagged, Leo's tongue apparently matched other portions of his anatomy. The man was able to lick Baraethius' back teeth. Not an unpleasant sensation, just something that Baraethius was going to have to accustom himself to. Leo suddenly picked Baraethius up by his hips, making Baraethius give a startled, almost boyish, yelp. Baraethius instinctively wrapped his legs around Leo's waist and his arms around Leo's neck. He realized as he was doing this that that had been the desired result for Leo. Leo gripped the swell of Baraethius' legs with strong, powerful hands. Baraethius kept kissing Leo, intertwining their tongues and nibbling on Leo's lips. He pressed a hand on the back of Leo's head, both gripping the bare, smooth skin of the man's scalp and pressing Leo's head into his own, forcing the other man's tongue deeper into Baraethius' mouth and throat. Leo turned, and without stopping anything he was already doing, laid them both down on the bed, his body pinning Baraethius to the mattress. He started kissing a line down Baraethius' neck, licking and biting gently on Baraethius' throat. Baraethius' breath started coming in short, quick gasps. Leo kissed lower, pausing a while when he reached Baraethius' nipples. He took time to lick slow circles around each, making each nipple hard, then biting down gently and flicking his tongue across each one. Baraethius made low noises from the back of his throat, panting and gasping. Leo continued his trek lower still, biting and licking the lines that criss-crossed Baraethius' abdomen. Leo paused at Baraethius' manhood for a moment. It was hard and already quivering and, while it was not overly long, just the distance from his thumb to his first finger, it was thick. Veins ran the length of it and there was an ample amount of foreskin stretched over the head. Baraethius looked down the length of his body as Leo hovered over his sex. Gods, but he was hard, so much so that he ached with it. Leo's tongue came out of his mouth and he licked a long, slow stroke from the base of Baraethius' shaft to the tip. He took the head of Baraethius' head into his mouth and began to circle it with his tongue. Baraethius let out a quiet sigh as Leo flicked his tongue on the inside of the foreskin. Apparently Leo knew very well how to please a man. Leo began taking in more and more of Baraethius' sex, whetting it down with saliva and gliding over the smooth, hard length. Baraethius closed his eyes in bliss, leaning his head back and arching this back. A groan clawed its way out of his throat and his hips rounded upward in the most basic of instincts. Leo swallowed the whole of Baraethius' spear, the hairs at the base tickling his nose. Leo held Baraethius' length there, the head penetrating the beginnings of his throat. The girth made it difficult to breath around Baraethius' sex, but Leo took shallow breaths through his nose and started to make swallowing motions with his throat. Baraethius made a gasp as the muscles in Leo's throat massaged the head and the first few inches of his manhood. Leo's tongue joined in the motion, stroking the rest of the shaft. With one hand Leo began massaging and gently pulling on Baraethius' sack and the sizeable stones it held. With the other hand Leo deftly removed the cork from a bottle near the bed and dipped his first two fingers inside. Baraethius gave a sigh and a groan as first one and then another of Leo's thick fingers entered him. Ecstasy spread over Baraethius' whole body as Leo's fingers slid in and out of him, as the man pulled and fondled his sack and stones. And all the while Leo had not ceased the motions of his throat and tongue on Baraethius' shaft. Baraethius climaxed without warning. One moment his body and mind floated on waves of pleasure and then with the sudden force of a flash flood he was swept away with the torrent of sensations roaring through him. Baraethius clamped his hands down on the sides of Leo's head for lack of anything to hold onto as his body shuddered and convulsed involuntarily. His seed exploded out of the end of his shaft, weeks without release made each spurt into rope-like strands. Leo did not cease, continuing with his actions, swallowing shot after shot of Baraethius' seed. Baraethius cried out, a long, ragged note that shredded its way from his throat and had nothing to do with pain. Then, just as suddenly as they had come, the flood waters were gone and Baraethius' climax receded, leaving him buoyed on trickling eddies of euphoria. Leo came off of Baraethius' sex, removing his fingers from the man's hole. Baraethius' body gave an involuntary shudder in response, his breath came in heaving gasps. Leo climbed on top of Baraethius, placing his long, dark shaft against Baraethius' own spent manhood. The heat of it sent another shudder through Baraethius, a dull echo of the sensations that had carried him away only moments before. "Thank you," Baraethius managed to say in a hoarse croak, looking up at Leo as the man supported himself with his hands on either side of Baraethius' head. The length of Leo's torso was a magnificent display as he propped himself over Baraethius. Leo gave a low chuckle that Baraethius felt against his loins. "Do not t'ank me yet my friend," Leo practically purred, his voice low and sultry. "'De night, it is still young and I can see d'at tomorrow, it still hangs about you like clouds over `de moon. You asked me to make you forget tomorrow, to take it from you. If I must wrestle you for it for the better part of `de night `den I shall, till I have pried it from your grip." Leo gave another full throated laugh and Baraethius couldn't help but laugh along with him. Baraethius' laugh was cut short as Leo almost dove back to his mouth. Leo kissed Baraethius fiercely, with a burning passion and hunger that seemed to be bordering on desperation. It took Baraethius only a moment to get over the shock and he kissed Leo back with equal fervor. Baraethius spread his legs, wrapping them around Leo's waist, the heat of the other man's loins warming Baraethius' own. Leo spread the cheeks of at the swell of Baraethius' legs, maneuvering his shaft in the crack between. Baraethius rolled his hips up even more, trying to allow for a better angle, his manhood being pressed against the ripples of Leo's stomach. Leo's sex glided easily in the cleft of Baraethius' cheeks, aided by the oil that he had been so generous with earlier. Baraethius ran his hands up and down the length of Leo's back, the muscles rippling and flexing underneath Baraethius' fingertips. He began to rake his nails along that smooth, rippling expanse. Leo growled in response against Baraethius' mouth, a low deep rumbling that Baraethius felt against his mouth and chest. Leo grabbed the swell of Baraethius' legs, gripping almost hard enough to bruise. There was a moment's hesitation from Leo, the tip of himself hovering against the puckered opening of Baraethius. Baraethius wanted it, wanted it and needed it with a desperation that was almost suffocating. He pushed against the back of Leo's head, as if he could push their heads together permanently, the other hand pushed against the swell of Leo's own legs. "Please," Baraethius managed to say around Leo's mouth. "Please, and don't be gentle about it." Leo needed no other encouragement. He covered Baraethius' mouth with his own and took the man at his word. One moment the tip of Leo's manhood pressed firmly against Baraethius' opening, the next instant the entire length of the shaft was buried to the hilt inside of Baraethius. A wordless cry came from Baraethius. He gasped sharply but Leo gave him no time to catch his breath. The man began thrusting his shaft into Baraethius, long, hard strokes that were almost without mercy. Baraethius almost couldn't breathe it was so painful. And yet, it was exquisite, the sensations riding that knife edge of difference between pain and pleasure, of being almost too much. Baraethius grunted in time with the sound of flesh smacking against flesh as Leo drove the entire length of his shaft into Baraethius. Baraethius could feel the sensations building again, like the waters of the ocean pulling back from the shore before a great wave comes crashing in. Each stroke felt like it went just a little deeper inside of him than before. The sensation grew, filling him up more and more till it began to spill over. Baraethius' body convulsed and shuddered again, his entire body spasming and still Leo did not relent. The man's near savage rhythm never faltered as Baraethius was swept away by the force of his climax. Leo began to grunt and groan and growl in time with Baraethius' cries, a feral harmony of voices interwoven with each other. Baraethius could feel the beginnings of the next wave building. Somewhere in the back of his mind Baraethius was dimly aware that this kind of marathon as it were had never happened to him before. He had been able to last a long time, to climax twice in an evening, or even a couple of times more, but that had always been with periods of respite in between. This night it seemed like he would spill his seed till there was nothing left in him. Baraethius wasn't sure when, exactly, his throat started going raw from crying out, he wasn't sure when the sweat started running down his body in small trickles, when he began to taste it from Leo's lips, and when his seed had become indistinguishable from the sheen of sweat covering them both. But he was now aware of it, suddenly, sharply, painfully. Leo's breathing took on a ragged tone, his thrusts coming even faster, taking on an edge of desperation. Baraethius could almost swear that he could feel Leo's sex swelling even larger, if that were possible. Leo let out a howl in time with Baraethius' desperate cry. Leo gave a final deep thrust, his arms tightening around Baraethius' shoulders. He was no longer in control of his thrusting, his body spasming and taking over the movement for him. Baraethius' body shuddered again as he spilled his seed for the third time that night. The bodies of both men finally quieted and Leo pulled himself out of Baraethius. He moved down to Baraethius' stomach and now limp sex and licked the film of juices that were liberally spread on Baraethius' skin and dripping out of the end of his manhood. Baraethius gave a few quiet, breathless shudders as Leo's rough tongue played over his now flaccid and very sensitive length. At length Leo came up and, sliding his torso up Baraethius' body, kissed Baraethius deeply. The taste was salty and bitter-sweet on Baraethius' tongue. "I will assume `dat `dis was acceptable to you?" Leo rumbled in a low tone. Baraethius gave a raw, throaty laugh. "Acceptable," Baraethius said between breaths, his voice husky and his throat raw, "does not do justice to what you just did. Gods, I don't think I have ever had that many climaxes back to back in my life! Acceptable? I will probably remember this night for years if not decades to come! Thank you my friend!" "You are most welcome, Baraet'ius," Leo whispered with sincerity. He rolled Baraethius over on his side and pressed up against his back. Leo wrapped his body around Baraethius' like a large cat. They didn't bother with the covers, the night air only carried a slight chill that right now felt pleasant. The only thoughts in Baraethius' head were the fading echoes of passion that had filled him. It wasn't till the next morning that he even remembered his pending bout in the Arena.