Contents

1. Cover

2. Copyright

3. Blurb

4. Preface

5. Chapter One

6. Chapter Two

7. Chapter Three

8. Chapter Four

9. Chapter Five

10. Chapter Six

11. Chapter Seven

12. Thank You

Cover by AE Lister

Copyright AE Lister (2021) ©. All rights reserved.

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogue are purely from the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is fictionalized and coincidental.

Christmas is approaching. Jensen Moriarty is living and working at The Braided Crop Ranch while Luke and Noah canoodle in each other’s arms in distant Ottawa. Jensen wants to spend Christmas with the two of them but doesn’t want to intrude on their longstanding relationship. When the invitation to join them doesn’t come, he wonders if he is truly to be included in the circle of their affection or if it was just a polite way to leave things.

This short, stand-alone Christmas story includes:

A very lonely cowboy

Hot virtual sex

Pining and misplaced guilt

Coffee table bondage

A snowball fight

Christmas wishes

Pony boy, pony boy, won’t you be my Tony boy?

Don’t say no. Here we go off across the plains.

Marry me, carry me right away with you.

Giddy up, giddy up, giddy up, whoa! My pony boy.

~ Bobby Heath and Charley O’Donnell, 1909*

*Bruce Springsteen performed a version of this song for his album Human Touch in 1992.

~ ONE ~

The sound of sleigh bells made me nostalgic for Christmas on my family’s ranch. Growing up in small-town Alberta, horses figured large in any celebration. As a six-year-old barely tall enough to climb onto the rail of the fence and offer a juicy apple to my older sister’s white pony, Christabel, I loved the smell of equine sweat and the feel of powerful muscles under warm fur.

It was quite the mindfuck to remember the sound of sleigh bells at The Braided Crop Ranch meant something completely different.

I’d wondered what winter at the BCR would look like. Seemed crazy to continue the mandate through the colder months, but tourism in this area was almost as good between November and March as in the summer, and if people wanted to come, well, we’d have the ponyboys to entertain them. Plus, the demand for ponyboy spots was high enough to make year-round operation necessary.

Temporary, heated walkways were installed between the grooming barn and the arena in October. A local snow-clearing company kept the parking lot and resort area free of snow build-up, and BCR staff had use of a small plow to keep the paths between the buildings and the bunkhouse walkable.

If I’d thought the grounds were pretty in summer, the beauty of The Braided Crop Ranch in early December blew my mind. Pretty Christmas lights were strung all over the wrap-around balcony at the main house. There was even a wreath on the door of the bunkhouse and some pretty greenery in urns by the entrances to the grooming barn and the arena.

Snow had fallen at the end of November and it had stayed, with temperatures remaining below zero for the time being.

I was shadowing Kamal two afternoons a week to learn the art of training ponyboys, and Adam had kindly let me have a room at the main house, even though I wasn’t a full-fledged trainer yet and wouldn’t be for a while. He knew my relationship with Luke and Noah would be challenged by the distance between us, and he wanted me to have access to my phone in order to facilitate our connection. I think he assumed I needed it for conversation, and not the incredibly hot virtual sex we enjoyed on a weekly basis, but who knows? Adam was pretty smart about stuff like that and he knew Luke and Noah pretty well. And, well, me.

I appreciated his thoughtfulness more than words could express. I missed my boyfriends terribly. If not for the fulfillment of working with the ponyboys, trainers and stable hands at the BCR and the friends I’d made here, it wouldn’t have been worth it. But I loved working at the ranch, and, despite my inauspicious beginnings, felt well-suited to this environment.

Maybe a little too well-suited.

One particular ponyboy turned my crank in a really big way and it made me feel guilty. Aaron reminded me of Noah in so many ways.

It felt like a betrayal of the bond I had with Luke and Noah to be so attracted and aroused by another man, even if it was ridiculous to assume I’d be able to groom and train ponyboys without my body responding in an instinctual way. I hadn’t realized how challenging my situation would be. I loved the ranch and what we did here. I was looking forward to a ‘career’ as a trainer so I had to get used to the constant temptation and deal with it in appropriate ways—like paying for a healthy data plan so I could sext and video-call my boyfriends at will. And that would have to do until we could get together in actuality again.

I’d hoped to receive an invitation to Ottawa for my week off at Christmas, but it hadn’t come and I would feel awkward mentioning it. Noah and Luke had been together much longer than I had been with them. Maybe they wanted to celebrate the holiday together, without me. The thought made me sad and frustrated, but I didn’t want to be selfish. I was lucky to have them at all.

From what I understood, most of the staff left the BCR for Christmas week. The last ponyboy session of the year ended two weeks before the holiday and staff spent a week catching up on paperwork and organizing the ranch for the next group of men who would arrive after New Years. Kamal was going to Mexico with a friend. Although not a practicing Muslim, he’d grown up with Islamic rituals and traditions rather than Christian, so the holiday was simply vacation time for him. Adam would be spending the week with family in Toronto. The only one who didn’t have concrete plans was Lorraine. And me.

But I put that out of my head and decided to worry about it later. I could simply stay at the ranch. The resort hotel remained open and would be booked up the week of Christmas even though pony shows were off the table. It was a testament to the luxurious accommodations and beautiful setting that guests wanted to stay at the resort even when they didn’t have access to beautiful ponyboys. Anyone who had to stay at the ranch over Christmas could get their main meals at the resort café at a discounted rate. I had a hot plate, a Keurig machine, and a mini-fridge in my room and the small cafeteria on the main level had a full kitchen with a big fridge, so I wouldn’t have to buy all my meals. It would be comfortable and quiet here—just lonely.

I was already lonely, living on a ranch full of people.

When I glanced up from under the brim of my worn cowboy hat at the whiteboard in the grooming barn with the tacking instructions and saw Sleigh Bells scrawled in black dry-erase marker, I stared at the words for a long moment.

“Liv?” I said, unable to look away as childhood memories of real ponies and horses in jingling harness assaulted me.

“Yeah?”

“Why does the whiteboard say sleigh bells?”

She laughed. “Well, my dear boy, that’s because we need to put the special, custom harnesses that Kamal commissioned years ago on the ponyboys today.” She glanced at Corey who had come around the partition and now parked himself underneath a shower head. “It is Christmas.”

I should have known. “Custom-made harnesses?”

She nodded and walked to the wooden cabinet that held the various pieces of tack. Pulling the bottom drawer out, she reached in and hefted a harness made with thick leather straps and strewn with sleigh bells. She jingled it in front of me. “Pretty, huh? It goes over the regular body harness.”

I closed my eyes. “I associate that sound with something different.”

Liv laughed and slapped a hand to her forehead. “Oh yeah, I guess you would since you grew up with real horses.”

She jingled the harness again.

I grinned, remembering. “Family sleigh rides in the dead of winter, sometimes at night with lanterns. Helping my Dad tack the horses in the barn. Being out in the cold with the stars bright in the sky, but warm underneath blankets and furs in the sleigh.”

“That’s beautiful, Jensen,” Liv said. “Do your parents still live on the ranch?”

“Nah. Divorced. After my Dad left, my mom sold the ranch. But I have a lot of memories there. And I worked on the neighbour’s farms all through high school.”

“Well, the sound of sleigh bells at the BCR means pretty ponyboys in seasonal fetish gear prancing their asses off for their trainers.”

I smiled shyly, skin flushing at the image and what it did to me. I couldn’t pretend to be an innocent ranch hand anymore. I’d done things at the BCR I could never tell my mother, and why would I want to?

When Aaron came around the partition in the grooming barn and stood beneath the second shower head, I tried not to watch him. But the more I attempted to avoid looking at his naked body, the harder it was to do so. And, somehow, I always ended up being the one to groom him.

I was busy tidying things up from the morning when Corey—the other ponyboy in this afternoon’s session—had come in and Liv had started getting him ready. By the time Aaron showed up I had finished with my tasks, and there was nothing to do but walk over and start preparing him for his session with Kamal.

My job as a stable hand was to give the ponyboys a thorough rubdown and cleaning before tacking them and delivering them to the trainers. During the summer months, when the trainers were able to take the ponyboys outside for some of their lessons, the BCR mandated three ponyboys per three-hour training session. In winter, to maximize inside space in the arena, only two ponyboys per session were signed on.

I would have had an excuse to rush through Aaron’s preparations if there had been three ponyboys to attend to, although doing so wouldn’t be fair to him. He deserved every bit of attention I was being paid to give. I would just have to suck it up, ignore the fact that I found him so tempting, and focus on my professional mandate, rather than on Aaron’s beautiful ass and soulful eyes.

Easier said than done, especially when I was denying my body any kind of meaningful contact with other men. Touching Aaron without the promise of anything more was downright torture. But I could do this. I had to.

“Hey, Aaron. Time for a rubdown,” I said as I fastened his hands to the dangling cuffs and lifted the ball gag to his lips. “Open.”

He gave me a quick smile and blushed as he opened to accept the gag. His pink tongue tempted me and I had to push away the images that rose to my mind involving it.

After fastening the metal cage over his penis to keep him soft and under the control of his trainer, I picked up the loofah and turned on the shower, checking the temperature of the water to make sure it was hot. Aaron moaned with pleasure as the water sluiced over his pale, peaches-and-cream skin, sliding down his long legs and pooling at his graceful feet. I ignored the shivers that went through me, and the sudden hardening of my dick under the fabric of my rolled-up sweatpants.

I smiled as I scrubbed the loofah over Aaron’s muscular thighs and calves, wondering at myself for agreeing to this unexpected change of career. But then, who wouldn’t want to bathe and prepare gorgeous men for kinky sessions with talented trainers? It was a dream job for the right person. It was a dream job for me. I just hadn’t anticipated the level of longing I’d feel for a physical release that didn’t involve my own hand.

Aaron let out another guttural moan when I brushed over his pale backside with the loofah.

“Down boy. Relax,” I said, glancing at his cock as it strained against the cage. I remembered watching Luke and Noah confined in the same way, and how sexy it was to see them fighting the restraint when they became impossibly aroused. There was something about observing a man in such a predicament that brought out the sadistic part of me, that wanted a guy to be in a bit of pain because of what I was doing to him. Or not doing. Whatever.

Once I’d dried him off, I tacked him in the regular body harness, thick leather collar and pelvic piece. The custom harness with the jingle bells went on top of that, and added a jaunty festive look to the pretty ponyboy.

I clipped the leather lead to his collar and held my hand out for Corey’s.

“I’ll take them.”

Liv handed me Corey’s lead and winked at me with a saucy head tilt. “Directly to their trainers, now. No funny business, Jensen. I see the way you look at Aaron.”

I felt the heat in my cheeks. “Very funny.”

“I can also see how much you like looking at him.” She nodded to the bulge in my pants that it was useless to try to hide.

“Yeah, well, I can’t deny he’s a beautiful ponyboy. But seeing I have two, even more gorgeous, ponyboys who would do anything for me, I don’t need to get up to any funny business with this one.”

Aaron gazed at me longingly and sighed.

“As much as he might like it,” I added, giving Aaron a quick smile.

Liv chuckled. “You’re a stronger man than I, Jensen.”

I laughed and saluted her as I led the ponyboys out of the grooming barn and into the heated walkway.

Aaron’s moony gaze held adoration mixed with longing and I felt an answering pang inside me. It was the same look Noah used to give me when I was grooming him. Enough that it reminded me how far apart we were. But Aaron was right here and…

Nope. Not going there. I wouldn’t betray my bond with Luke and Noah for anything temporary, as much as it might relieve the tension I felt. It was a moot point at the moment anyway. I had to deliver these ponyboys to Kamal and Lorraine, then return to the grooming barn and clean the tack. I had a fucking job to do.

“Come on, ponies. Pick up your feet,” I said, giving a tug to the lead reins and straightening the hat on my head. Corey, taller than Aaron and with the darker skin and black hair of an Eastern European complexion, followed briskly and shook his head, snorting like a real pony, making me laugh while Aaron took every step with purpose and care. They were both lovely. Beauty was everywhere at the ranch and I could enjoy it if I could keep my impulses under control.

Kamal glanced up when I brought the ponyboys through the door of the arena.

“Jensen. How is Aaron today?”

I held out his lead. “See for yourself. Gorgeous as usual.”

Aaron blushed and preened, standing taller and lifting his head.

“And sweet as punch,” Kamal murmured, taking Aaron’s chin in his hand. “Too sweet for my strict discipline?”

Aaron pulled away and snorted, looking back and forth between me and Kamal.

“Nah. He’s got a stubborn side.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon for another training tutorial. I can show you how I manage Aaron’s stubborn side,” Kamal said, winking as I moved along with Corey.

“Can’t wait,” I said, wondering how I would manage my impulses when I had a front row seat for that. Well, it was simple. I’d store it all in my memories and use them for masturbation fantasies later. I had no compunction about doing that.

Lorraine smiled as I handed her Corey’s lead rein.

“Thank you, Jensen. How are you, by the way? Managing all right without your boos?”

“Pardon?”

She stared at me out of dark brown eyes. “Noah and Luke. Those lovely rascals.”

I shrugged. “As well as can be expected, I guess.”

She said nothing, but continued to hold my gaze as if waiting for something else.

“I miss them,” I said, rubbing my elbow and avoiding her gaze.

She put a hand on my shoulder. “I’m sure. It’s got to be hard being away from them. Are you going to Ottawa for Christmas?”

I shrugged. “I’m hoping to get an invitation, yeah.”

“I’m sure you will.”

“Do you have plans for Christmas?” I asked. I didn’t know much about Lorraine’s personal life. I had no idea where her family was or if she had a long-distance partner, or what.

“I have some options,” she said. “I haven’t decided which one to go with as of yet.”

“Oh.”

“I’ll probably hang around here until Christmas Eve. It’s kind of nice when everyone leaves. The ranch is so peaceful.”

I smiled, wondering if I’d enjoy the serenity or if it would make me even more lonely. But, then, I was hoping to be able to spend the entire week with Luke and Noah in Ottawa, not just a couple of days.

After my shift, as I trudged along the plowed path from the arena toward the main house, I glanced back at the covered walkway. Made from shipping containers, the temporary structure had been modified to include windows and electric lights. The unit was dropped off mid-October then disassembled in late April and taken off-site. It was an ingenious way to accommodate the barely-dressed ponyboys through the harsh winter months.

The Christmas lights had been turned on so the main house looked very pretty as the sun lowered in the winter sky. The forests surrounding the ranch were already dark and forbidding. My breath formed a visible cloud as I walked, and listened to the soft crunch of my boots in the snow.

“How did it go?” Adam asked as I took off my boots inside the door and placed them on the boot tray, grabbing my Softmoc slippers from the shelf. I slipped them on before stepping into the corridor.

“Good.” I walked to where Adam stood just outside his office with an envelope in hand. He wore his usual dress pants and button-down shirt, with leather oxfords. No slippers for him unless he was in his room. Most of us wore slippers around the main house since it was a pain-in-the-ass to keep switching from boots to shoes and back again. “I’m just heading upstairs for a minute before supper. Be down by five-thirty.”

“Say hi to Luke and Noah from me.”

I blushed and ran a hand through my hair. “Uh, sure. Will do,” I said.

Adam had the room at the top of the stairs, Kamal’s was next to it on the left, Lorraine’s was beside it, and mine was at the end of the hall. Michael, Liv and Hiro had rooms on the next level, beside the large boardroom.

The boardroom.

Adam held occasional meetings there with the training staff and sometimes the stable hands, but my memory of the boardroom was less typical—a vivid, visceral recollection of Luke, naked and restrained over the long table, while Kamal tormented him with harsh words and a brown riding crop. Noah and I had watched Luke come apart under Kamal’s discipline—a punishment for tricking the two of us into using Adam’s room for a soak in his massive bathtub and a three-way on his bed.

My cock swelled as I pictured Luke’s desperate, hands-free climax when Kamal had finally taken the cock cage off him and let the vibrating plug take him over the edge.

I keyed open my door and entered my room, closing it behind me and locking it from the inside. I didn’t want anyone to disturb me. I wasn’t sure if either Luke or Noah would be available for a quick wank session but even if they weren’t, I needed to take the edge off somehow.

I peeled off my t-shirt and threw it in the hamper, then got comfortable against the pillows on the bed, and unplugged my phone from its charger.

I opened the FaceTime app and hit Luke’s number, hoping against hope he was around and at home, and available for a fifteen-minute jerk off session. Because I sure as hell needed one.

~ TWO ~

When Luke answered after three rings, his familiar face appearing quickly on the small screen, hope blossomed in my chest as arousal spread through me.

“Hey cowboy,” he uttered in his lazy drawl. “What’s up?”

I blushed and ran my free hand through my hair, eating up his voice like it was candy. It hit me like heroin injected right into my bloodstream, accompanied by the image of him with his messy bleached hair and piercing blue eyes.

I groaned. “What do you think?”

Luke laughed. “Well, after a day of grooming ponyboys, I think I only need one guess.”

I unbuttoned the top of my fly and pulled the zipper down, releasing some of the pressure on my swelling dick. My laugh sounded more like a sigh. “Yeah. I was hoping you could—"

“You were hoping I could what, Cowboy?” Luke asked. His cocky, quirked grin on top of that sexy-as-fuck arrogance sent electric charges through my body. “Jerk you through the phone?”

“Well…yeah. You’ve done it before.”

“Oh yes, I have. Many, many times. You’re my sexy puppet. I tell you what to do and you do it.”

“Yes,” I moaned. “I always do it. I want to do it now.”

“Got lube?”

I held up the tube.

Luke laughed. “Then take your dick out.”

I scrambled to do just that.

“Now show me. I want to see it.”

I stroked myself a couple of times, then angled the phone down.

“Oh, holy shit. Fuck, I wish I was there.”

I angled the phone back up so I could see the look on Luke’s face.

“Me too. I wish you were here too,” I panted.

“Look who else wishes we were there,” Luke said, turning the phone so I could see sweet Noah’s smiling face.

”Me,” Noah said. “Hi Jensen.”

“Hi, Noah,” I said. “I miss you. Both of you.”

“We miss you, too,” Noah said. Where Luke’s features were sharp and angular, Noah’s were softer and sweeter. He looked like your next-door neighbour’s younger brother, even though he was in his early twenties and kinkier than Luke in many ways.

“Okay, enough chit chat,” Luke said, angling the phone back to his face. “Want to see what I’ve got here?”

“Yeah,” I said breathlessly.

Soon, Luke’s raging erection filled the frame.

“Fuck,” I moaned. “Oh fuck.” I snapped the lube open with my thumb and poured some into my hand. Grabbing my cock and stroking it I closed my eyes and listened to Luke’s voice.

“Noah’s too shy to show you his dick long distance but he’ll show you his tongue. Won’t you, babe?”

My eyes snapped open. I swallowed thickly as Noah’s chin appeared in the frame, and his tongue licked up the underside of Luke’s cock.

“Oh my God. You’re gonna make me come. You’re gonna make me come.”

“That’s the fucking idea, cowboy. But I want to see it. Can you hold the phone so I can see you shoot?”

“I think so. I’ll try.” I angled the phone with one hand and moved the other quickly along my dick.

“Now stroke it, cowboy. Pretend we’re there. Pretend we’re getting ready to put our mouths around your big, hard, cock, taking turns sucking you off.”

And that was it. I groaned and jerked in my hand, spurting come in every direction while I tried to keep the phone angled correctly.

“Oh fuck. Holy shit!” Luke sputtered.

I turned my phone back just in time to see Luke jerk himself off on Noah’s face.

“Oh my God. You’re gonna kill me. I want to lick that off so, so bad,” I sighed.

“Here, Noah, use my shirt,” Luke said, turning the phone to face him as he gave Noah his shirt to wipe off the mess. “Well?” he asked me, “Better now?”

I nodded, giving him a weak smile and memorizing the way he looked, all post-orgasm woozy and blissful.

“Yes. Much better. Thanks.”

“Was my pleasure. Our pleasure, in fact. Glad we were able to help.”

“Me too. Me too.” I sighed. “What are you guys up to tonight? Are you going to be around?”

“Noah’s dragging me out to see this artsy-fartsy film he insists will be great. I’m skeptical.”

I felt the disappointment at the same time I felt the guilt for feeling it. “Oh. Okay.”

“But we’ll be around tomorrow night if you want to go another round.”

I nodded. “Yeah. I do. Oh, by the way, Adam says Hi.”

Luke laughed. “Awe, that’s sweet. Anyway, It’s a date. Say goodnight to Noah.” Luke turned the phone to Noah, who smiled as he wiped his chin with Luke’s shirt.

“Goodnight, Noah.”

“Goodnight, Jensen.”

“Over and out,” Luke said, blowing me a kiss and disconnecting.

My hand dropped, the phone sliding onto the sheets as I lay my head back and stared, unblinking, at the ceiling.

*****

The next morning, I was back in the grooming barn, preparing ponyboys and trying to stave off the feelings of loneliness that threatened to engulf me. When I entered the arena at one o-clock in the afternoon, Aaron was in his jingle-bell harness, bent over the wood table with his legs spread. Kamal handed me the butt plug tail.

“Here, you do it,” he grinned, gesturing to Aaron’s luscious ass.

I tilted my head and gave Kamal a long look.

He shrugged. “Oh, come on. You’ve been dying to get your hands on his ass for days.”

I blushed and looked away, then found my gaze drawn back to Aaron’s ass, then to Kamal. “Am I that obvious?”

“Yes. Now plug that pony’s ass so we can get to work. I’ve got his bridle here.” He gave Aaron a hard spank that sent cheery jingles through the room.

I grabbed the bottle of lube from the table and squirted a large amount at the top of Aaron’s exposed crack. He moaned and closed his eyes, rubbing his cheek against the polished wood of the table.

“Look at him. He’s ripe for it. All this teasing about pony play but he’s never had a tail before.”

I glanced at Kamal. “He’s never had it?”

“Not yet. I was saving it for you.”

“What? Kamal I…”

“Jensen. I know you’re struggling with this long-distance thing. But it doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy your work here. You shouldn’t feel guilty about the pleasure you get from working with the ponyboys. I certainly don’t.”

“But…but you’re not committed to anyone but yourself. You’re not potentially betraying anyone when you imagine doing more with a ponyboy than is required.”

“Neither are you,” he said, handing me a glove and pulling one on. He moved in closer to Aaron as I put down the lube and tugged the glove onto my hand. While I was doing that he rubbed the lube into Aaron’s crack and pushed some into his hole as the ponyboy groaned and shuddered.

“Don’t forget, I have restrictions, too.”

I hesitated as I lubed up the plug. “Yeah, true.”

Kamal withdrew his hand and motioned me to begin.

“I know trainers aren’t allowed to fuck ponyboys. Is that the only rule?”

Kamal narrowed his eyes at me. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, is there a grey area? This is dominance and submission. Are you allowed to make a ponyboy suck your dick as part of that? I’m totally serious right now. I need to know the limits.”

Poor Aaron whimpered as I rubbed the plug against his hole and pushed it in. Listening to us talk about him as if he wasn’t here or was just an object being handled, was crack to a submissive.

I glanced at Aaron’s profile. Sure enough, his mouth was open and eyes still closed and his breaths came fast. He was flushed from his ass to the top of his head. He was getting off on this big time, even though his cock in its cage couldn’t get hard.

“Yes, you do. So, no, we’re not supposed to do that although I suppose it would be allowed, per se. I’ve no doubt the ponyboys would enjoy it. What I usually do is have a ponyboy clean my boots rather than my dick. Simpler, and even more debasing.

“Ah.” Brilliant.

He stared at me. “It’s not rocket science. And it gets my boots clean.” He grinned and pointed to Aaron’s quivering buttocks. “You’re just about killing him. Get it in there.”

“Sorry,” I said. I pushed the plug in all the way. Aaron gave a high-pitched groan and whimpered as I removed my glove and arranged the long fronds of the horsehair tail to cascade gently down over the backs of his sinewy thighs.

“All right,” Kamal said. “Up you get.” He grabbed Aaron by the leather arm bands and pulled him to stand. With deft fingers, he unbuckled the gag and let it fall from Aaron’s wet mouth. “How does that tail feel?”

Aaron licked his lips, then wiped his chin on his shoulder before glancing at me shyly. “Good.”

“You like being a ponyboy?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Good. Turn around and shake your tail for Jensen.”

Aaron blushed beet red and hesitated before obeying Kamal. But it only took Kamal’s eyebrows rising for Aaron to do as he was told, and turn, showing me his tail and shaking his bottom from side-to-side to make the hair swish back and forth.

“He makes a pretty pony,” I said, adjusting my hat.

“He certainly does. I want you to put this on him, too,” Kamal said, leaning against the wood table and gesturing to the leather bridle.

“Sure.” I picked up the bridle and approached Aaron. “Lift your head up.”

When Aaron raised his chin and regarded me with those liquid brown eyes like he wanted to suck my dick until I came three times, I felt it in my balls.

I cleared my throat, trying to concentrate on the job and not images of Aaron with his mouth around me. I pushed the silky hair from his forehead and pulled the bridle down over his head, placing the metal bit against his lips as they opened, and he let me put the bit between his teeth. The tip of his tongue swiped my fingers, sending another jolt through me. I wondered if it was deliberate or an accident.

“Easy,” I said, wanting to tell him to back off but maybe he hadn’t done it on purpose.

“If he’s taking advantage, you can discipline him, you know.”

My head shot around. “What?”

Kamal nodded at Aaron, who blushed and closed his mouth as I withdrew my fingers and moved to fasten the straps behind his head.

“I can see the way he’s looking at you. Like he wants to eat you up. And that’s fine, as long as he doesn’t make any moves on you. He needs to behave himself in here. If you choose to take things a little further than just being pony and trainer, that’s your decision, not his.”

I frowned and turned back to Aaron. He had lowered his gaze to the floor and now stood obediently, while I seated the bridle properly and stepped back.

“I can discipline him?”

Kamal laughed. “Uh, yeah. That’s your job as a trainer, Jensen. You need to keep these ponyboys in line, let them know you mean business.”

Right. I mean, I knew that. I’d been at the BCR long enough to figure that out. But knowing wasn’t the same as doing. And I wasn’t a hundred percent sure disciplining Aaron for his perceived assertiveness wouldn’t arouse me more than a furtive tongue to my fingers, and a gaze that could set me on fire.

Goddammit.

Working here, while also trying to maintain a committed, long-distance relationship with Luke and Noah was going to be more challenging than I’d thought.

“Um, how should I—“

Kamal raised his eyebrows and waited for me to figure it out.

“Turn and face the wall. Put your forehead against it,” I said.

Fuck, this was hot. As Aaron obeyed, I tried to remember what I’d seen the trainers do to ponies that were acting up. I grabbed the base of Aaron’s tail and pushed it forward, making him gasp and rise up on his toes.

“Keep your tongue to yourself, ponyboy, unless I tell you to put it somewhere else,” I said, shoving the tail again. And once more for good luck.

Aaron moaned, pushing his ass out for more.

Kamal laughed. “Not sure that wasn’t more of a reward but…”

“Fuck,” I said, stepping away from Aaron. I took off my hat and slapped it against my jean-clad thigh in frustration. “I suck at this.”

I felt Kamal’s strong hand on my shoulder. “No, Jensen. You don’t. You’re a natural, just like you are in the grooming barn.” He squeezed my shoulder, then moved next to Aaron and slapped him hard on one ass.

“Stop trying to seduce my apprentice, you cheeky fuck.”

Aaron whimpered while Kamal did the same thing on his other side, accompanied by loud jingles from the harness.

“Got it?”

“Yes, Sir,” Aaron mumbled, words garbled by the bit.

Kamal pulled him off the wall and faced him toward the far end of the arena, where Lorraine was working with her ponyboy, Marcel.

“Three times around the ring, trotting. I want to see good form and an energetic turnout. Go.”

Aaron took off, moving as quickly and as gracefully as he could with a sizeable butt plug inside him.

Kamal turned to me. “I think I know what your issue is.”

“I know what my issue is,” I said, putting my hat back on. “It’s the same issue I’ve always had.”

Kamal grinned. “Sexy ponyboys?”

I nodded. “Uh huh. Yep.” I gazed at Kamal. “Why am I such a man-whore, Kamal?”

He laughed. “Jensen, you’re not a man-whore. Don’t forget, you’re still new to all of this. You’ll become desensitized, eventually. But don’t rush that process.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I wish I was still struggling to control myself around these sexy motherfuckers and not so blasé about everything now. For me, this is all just another day’s work in what is, admittedly, an aesthetic I appreciate. But it’s been a long time since I’ve been overcome by any of my charges and I doubt it will ever happen. Which is kind of a shame, you know?”

“You and Luke…”

“Luke and I have a singular relationship. We work very well together in a Dom-sub capacity, but there was never anything more. Which benefited both of us. He’s got you and Noah and I have my work here.”

But I didn’t actually have Luke and Noah. Not right now, anyway. I mean, I did, but it wasn’t in the way I needed them. And that was proving incredibly difficult.

“You miss them,” Kamal said.

I nodded. “Yeah. More than I thought I would.”

Kamal nodded again and waited.

“I mean, I knew I’d miss them, but I thought the video calls and sexting would make up for not being physically with them. Newsflash—it doesn’t. Well, it kind of does, but not enough.”

“Ah, Jensen, it’s tough being in a long-distance relationship. I’ve never done it and I don’t know if I could.”

“I have to make this work because I don’t want to lose them.”

“You’re not going to lose them.”

“What if I give in to temptation with Aaron…or someone else?”

“You won’t.”

I side-eyed him. “You give me alot of credit.”

“I know you well by now, Jensen. You won’t do anything you’re not proud of.”

I sighed. “I hope you’re right.”

He smiled. “Oh, didn’t I tell you? I’m always right.”

“He’s like candy—hard and creamy and lovely and delicious,” Kamal said, tracing a line up Aaron’s throat and over his Adam’s apple with one finger, then along his jaw, stopping before he reached his lips. With his other hand Kamal stroked Aaron’s belly above the pelvic strap, then slid it down to cup Aaron’s cock in its steel cage. “All captive and frustrated. He’s as pent up as us, aren’t you, pretty pony? We’re all restrained by various things. That doesn’t mean we can’t have a good time.”

He jiggled Aaron’s cock back and forth, then let go and spanked the ponyboy on the ass, releasing his hold on Aaron’s neck and stepping back to gaze hard at me.

“You’re allowed to look and you’re allowed to touch. And you’re fucking well allowed to want him so bad it hurts,” Kamal said. “That doesn’t mean you’ve betrayed Noah and Luke. If anyone knows there’s a difference between being in the arena and being in the real world, they do.”

That was certainly true. Maybe I was being too hard on myself. I nodded, rubbing the back of my neck.

“If you’re going to be a trainer you need to be able to separate your job from your personal life. And realize that certain responses are going to be instinctive. You’re going to be horny and you’re going to fantasize about these pretty boys. But as long as you act within the limits of your job and the commitments of your personal life, nothing else matters.”

He smiled. “I promise you, if you were to tell Luke how you want to just take Aaron and push him down and make him suck your cock, but you won’t because it’s not a part of the job and it would feel like you were cheating, he’d laugh. He’d probably tell you to do it and then report back. Right?”

“Maybe,” I said, “But Noah—”

“Might not feel the same. So, you’re not gonna do it. But, for god’s sake, Jensen, don’t beat yourself up for getting hard or for fantasizing about it.”

He was right. He was so right. Now I felt better about so many things.

~ THREE ~

When I opened Skype and clicked on our scheduled chat, Noah was there waiting for me.

“Hi Jensen. Luke’s just finishing the dishes. He told me to start and he’d join us in a bit.”

“Okay. God, you look good. Did you get a hair-cut?”

Noah smiled. “Yeah. Thanks for noticing. Luke didn’t notice.”

“Well, it looks great. Um…what are…uh, you and Luke doing for Christmas? Are you staying in Ottawa?”

Noah frowned. “Well, we were going to. But now that our landlord has started the renovations this place is looking pretty inconvenient, especially for the holidays. So, we’re not really sure what we’re doing.”

“Ah shit. Well maybe—”

“I’m back,” Luke said, sliding into place beside Noah. “How’s Kamal doing? Any cute ponyboys this session?” Luke said, wagging his eyebrows.

My cheeks burned. “Well, there’s one.”

“Uh huh. I knew it. He’s got you jonesing hard?”

I cleared my throat. “Yeah.” I scratched my head, scrunching up my face. “I felt kinda guilty about it but Kamal said I was being dumb. That I wasn’t cheating on you guys just by lusting after Aaron.”

Luke laughed as Noah smiled. “We’re not worried about you, cowboy. You are so earnest it hurts.”

“I’m not perfect.”

“Oh yeah? Well, I say you are. So how about you take off your pants and show me that perfect ass so I can imagine spanking it and fucking it sometime soon?”

“Jesus, Luke,” I said, my dick a hard rod in my pants now. “How soon? I really miss you guys.”

His forehead creased. “I know. We miss you, too. But things aren’t looking great for having you down over Christmas. Did Noah tell you about the renos?”

“Yeah. That sucks.”

“Yeah. It does.”

“We could…we could book a hotel room for a couple of days or something?” I said hopefully.

“Yeah, maybe. I’m gonna be strapped with work up until the last minute. I may want to just lay low for a few days.”

“Oh. Right. Okay.”

I was disappointed but I wasn’t going to let it show. Plus, I was here for some much-needed relief. If I couldn’t be with them physically, this was the next best thing.

“I thought I told you to take off your pants, cowboy.”

“Fine. Okay.”

Luke turned to Noah. “Here, come around in front of me, babe,” he said, guiding Noah to stand between his legs with his back facing me. Luke kissed him sweetly, then peered over his shoulder as I took off my pants and showed him my ass.

“Oh, fuck yes. That is a such a fine ass, cowboy. Give it a slap for me.”

I rolled my eyes but did as he’d asked. The sound echoed in my empty room, and I felt ridiculous but I enjoyed the sensation just the same.

“Ungh, I love that sound,” Luke said. “Now sit down on your bed and grab your dick, cowboy. This is gonna be fun. Make sure you have some lube nearby.”

I had everything ready. I nodded.

“Good? Okay. Just watch the screen and touch yourself because you’re gonna want to when you see what I’m gonna do to Noah.”

Oh hell yes. This is so what I need.

“Yeah, okay.”

Luke grinned, maintaining eye contact with me while he dropped his hands to the waistband of Noah’s sweatpants and slid his fingers underneath, pushing them down to Noah’s thighs.

I gasped as Noah’s ass was revealed, pink and warm from a recent spanking.

“Oh hell.”

“I spanked him before supper,” Luke said, nuzzling into Noah’s neck and splaying his hands over Noah’s ass cheeks as if admiring his handiwork. I could almost feel the heat from here.

“Lean forward on me, babe, and stick your ass out for Jensen.”

I closed my eyes, then opened them to see Noah obey Luke’s command and push out toward the camera. “Oh Jesus. Talk about a perfect ass,” I said.

“I know, right?” Luke commented, sliding his fingers down Noah’s crack and pulling Noah’s cheeks apart to reveal the small, puckered hole there. Noah whimpered, his hands on Luke’s shoulders, his mouth by Luke’s ear.

“Oh God,” I said in a high-pitched voice as I grabbed the bottle of lube and squirted some into my hands, stroking my dick eagerly.

Luke touched the soft skin near Noah’s hole as Noah shuddered and pressed his forehead against Luke’s shoulder. “Luke,” he said.

Luke grinned and lifted one of his hands to his mouth, sucking his middle finger inside it with a slurp that Noah reacted to with a shiver.

I felt my cock jump in my hand as my eyes widened.

“Oh God, oh God,” I panted, gaze glued to my computer screen. If the wifi glitched on me now I would legit kill somebody.

But it didn’t. The image showed clear as Luke pressed his wet finger against Noah’s hole and slowly, so slowly, breached our boy and slid it up there.

Noah sighed and moaned, clutching Luke’s waist and pushing his ass out for more. Luke tongued his ear while he pumped that one finger in and out, sinking it knuckle deep then pulling it completely out and pushing it back in while Noah made desperate noises and squirmed in Luke’s grasp.

“Every time I push this finger inside him I want you to give your cock one pull. Just one per finger-fuck. Got it?”

“Yeah,” I said, thrilling to Luke’s command. “Yes, Sir.”

He grinned. “Oh, you’re such a good cowboy. Wait, where’s your hat? You need your hat on for this.”

I rolled my eyes. “Really? It’s across the room.”

“Get it. Now.”

He kept his finger lodged deep inside Noah as I scrambled for the door where my hat hung on a hook. I pulled off my t-shirt before grabbing it and shoving it on my head, resuming my place on my bed.

“Oh yeah, that’s better, so much better,” Luke said, slipping his finger out of Noah’s ass. Noah’s hole, shiny with spit, clenched and unclenched before me.

“Luke,” he moaned. “More.”

“Hold on, my luscious little slut,” Luke muttered, squirting some lube from a tube onto his fingers.

I wrapped my hand around my dick and waited while Luke rubbed two fingers against Noah’s hole before pushing them both inside. My mouth dropped open as I slid my clenched fist up my cock and down again, fluid pulsing out the tip as I watched the screen. This was so much better than any porno I’d ever seen.

“You look so fucking hot, Jensen, with your cowboy hat on and your dick in your hand. Fuck! Noah, look at him.”

Noah twisted his head to peer at me behind him as Luke slid his fingers out and in again and I just about died from the hotness of it.

“Jesus, Jesus,” I said, my dick so hard it hurt, my breaths so quick I could barely speak.

“Now three, baby. You ready for three fingers?” Luke asked Noah.

I closed my eyes for a second, then opened them as Noah said, “Yes, three. Three please. Fuck me with three fingers, Luke. Fuck me hard for Jensen.”

“I need to move my hand. Please!” I begged.

“You can still keep with my rhythm, cowboy. I’m going to go faster.”

“Fine. Okay.” I shuddered with arousal as I watched Luke shove three fingers into Noah, so deep and hard Noah cursed.

“That what you want, baby?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh fuck, yeah,” Luke groaned, pushing those three fingers in and out of Noah so fast I was dizzy and ready to come any second.

Then Luke shot me a look. “Get your hand off your dick, cowboy.”

“What? Why?” Despite my questions I obeyed him instantly, even though I wanted to keep going and come. I’d had a crazy couple of days and I needed that tension released, goddammit.

“Because I need to reposition us.”

He moved so that Noah was side-on to the camera and then Luke knelt and took Noah’s cock in his mouth, pushing those three fingers back in Noah’s ass so fast he didn’t even have time to blink.

“Oh fuck!” Noah swore, hands twining in Luke’s hair where it was longer on the top. “Oh my God, Luke, I’m gonna come.”

Luke swallowed Noah’s cock deeper and moved his hand faster as he sidelined a stern gaze my way, probably to make sure I wasn’t touching myself.

I wasn’t. But I fisted the bedsheets with frustration as I watched Noah come undone and almost lost control anyway. Somehow, I held off, and as Luke sucked the come out of Noah and slid off his cock, he looked at me and said, “Okay. You can jerk yourself now. Make sure that hat stays on your head though.”

I didn’t respond, just fisted my dick and stroked fast, eyes on Noah’s shiny cock, and Luke’s glistening mouth. When I saw Luke’s fingers still wedged deep in Noah’s ass I let out a cry and came all over myself, shuddering with the release.

As I came down from the endorphin high and my body sagged with relief I re-focused on the screen. Noah knelt on the sofa as Luke stood and jerked himself off all over his pretty face, jizz landing in Noah’s freshly cut hair, on his long eyelashes, and over his parted lips and pink tongue.

I threw my hat onto the floor and collapsed to my back in exhaustion. I barely stayed conscious long enough to bid them goodnight before rolling to my side and falling asleep.

*****

It looked like spending Christmas with Luke and Noah was not going to happen this year and I was pretty fucking bummed about that. I didn’t understand why we couldn’t spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day together at a hotel but Luke had said he was too busy with work and planning to catch up on his sleep for most of the holiday.

Anyway, I wouldn’t beg. I had no issue pleading for sexual favours but I was not going to be so obviously needy about my emotional needs.

Fuck that.

Anyway, Adam seemed pleased there would be someone here to keep an eye on things even though he understood my disappointment.

*****

Aaron, or “Beau” as he was referred to in the show ring, and the other ponyboys acquitted themselves well in the final performance of the session. The weather necessitated it being held indoors in the arena, so it was different from the outdoor summer shows, but still a trip. The jingling of the sleigh bells on the ponyboys’ harnesses filled the large space with a seasonal ambience.

While I was looking after Aaron in the grooming barn after the show, he rested his sweaty forehead on my shoulder and moaned, as if begging for attention.

“That poor boy, Jensen,” Liv grinned. “I think he needs a hand.”

“Fine,” I muttered, not averse to helping sweet Aaron out so he could relax. When I’d learned the ins-and-outs of grooming ponyboys, it had been mentioned that we were allowed to give them a quick hand job if they returned with their cage still on (which meant their trainer hadn’t rewarded them). The fact I’d fantasized about doing that and more made it all the better when he shuddered in my grip and erupted over my hand with a small moan and a sigh.

“Thank you,” he murmured to me with genuine gratitude and obvious relief. “I’ve been hoping for that since I started here. From you, specifically.”

“Yeah?” I said, giving him an indulgent smile. “Well, I’ve been fantasizing about you every other night.”

“Awe, really? You have?”

I nodded. “Yeah. I’m in a relationship but I can’t help thinking about you sometimes. You’re very good looking and sweet as hell. You remind me of one of my boyfriends.”

He flushed with pleasure. “I’m…glad. It’s been fun having you as my trainer and stable hand, Jensen. Never imagined the BCR would have an actual cowboy looking after me.”

He gestured to my hat, which I straightened self-consciously.

After I’d hosed him down and dried him off, I said, “You make a great ponyboy, Aaron. I hope you’ll come back to the ranch again.”

He grinned. “Oh, I’ll be back. You can bet on it.”

“Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas to you and your boyfriends. They’re very lucky to have you.”

As I watched him go around the partition to get dressed, I couldn’t help thinking, if they were so lucky to have me, why didn’t they want me with them?

~ FOUR ~

The week following the end of the session was spent catching up on jobs that needed to be done, cleaning that had fallen behind and preparing things for the next batch of ponyboys who would start the week after New Years.

A few people asked about my Christmas plans and when I told them I was staying at the ranch they didn’t question me. Some of them evinced some envy at not having to travel and being able to enjoy the ranch in all its seasonal beauty with minimal disturbance. I did have that to look forward to.

I Skyped a bit more with Noah and Luke who seemed quite happy to be facing a Christmas without me, which made me all the more melancholy. I started to wonder if they had been honest about their feelings for me or if they just wanted a third person for sex games. Maybe I’d need to reassess our relationship in the new year. Being a long-distance third was difficult for me and maybe I wanted the freedom to fraternize with the occasional ponyboy or two before I became a certified trainer.

By the 19th of December everyone had left except for me and Lorraine.

I went out of my way to mail a few things to Luke and Noah they could open on Christmas morning. Nothing that made a statement—just some winter hats and gloves I’d found at a touristy store in Huntsville, and a couple of Tim Horton’s gift cards. I half expected something to arrive in the mail for me, even though we hadn’t discussed gifts. But by the 22nd I’d given up on that hope. My mom had sent me an e-transfer for a couple hundred bucks as a Christmas gift, though, so that was something. Maybe I’d order a new cowboy hat after Christmas.

On the afternoon of the 23rd I wandered the mostly empty house, wondering what Luke and Noah were up to besides work and trying to avoid the renovations going on in their place. Why their landlord had chosen this time of year to make major changes was beyond me. I knew they were glad their townhouse was being improved but at what cost?

It was strange for the main house to be so quiet in the middle of the day. There were usually staff members in and out with Connor and Adam normally around.

I wandered into the front room where a Christmas tree had been placed, surrounded by fake presents, beside the fireplace. There were twinkle lights around the large windows that looked out over the snowy grounds. Adam sometimes had a fire going on a winter’s evening as he relaxed in one of the armchairs to read, glasses perched on his nose and a mug of tea or coffee in hand. Occasionally one or two of the staff would join him and either listen to music on their phone or pick up a magazine from the table. Someone thoughtful had laid the base for a fire but there was no point lighting it if I was the only one here to enjoy it.

Now the gift shop was locked up, Connor’s desk tidier than I’d ever seen it, and Adam’s office door was closed, although I doubted he’d locked it. The house was secure. In the office were Adam’s laptop and flash drives, his psychology texts and books on kink and fetish, and one heavy photo album I vividly recalled. Although, not quite vividly enough I didn’t want another look.

Adam wouldn’t mind. I’d gone in there before without permission, to grab something from his desk or borrow one of his kink books. He trusted me.

I tested the doorknob and, sure enough, it wasn’t locked. I saw what I wanted as soon as my eyes found his bookshelf. Moving forward I took down the large, old fashioned album, placing it on Adam’s desk and sitting in his ergonomic leather chair. I flicked on the lamp and opened the album.

The images of the first ponyboys to grace The Braided Crop Ranch with their presence were stunning in their simplicity. I recalled almost fainting when Adam had shown me, on my first day, what the “ponies” at the BCR were. Not the horses I’d imagined. Not anything I’d ever imagined.

I grinned to myself as I remembered my shock and disbelief. Crazy how quickly I’d gotten used to it. How easily I’d slid into my role as stable hand to a group of kinky men instead of giant, powerful creatures.

My dick swelled as I flipped through photos of ponyboys in harness, cocks captured in steel cages, all decked out for pony shows. I leafed through close-up photos of the gear, those damn butt plug tails and the pretty pony masks they wore during performances. What those first few weeks hosting ponyboys must have been like for Adam and Kamal, their kinky vision manifested in delicious detail.

“See something you like?”

Lorraine’s smoky voice from the open doorway made me look up as I guiltily closed the book.

But she clicked her tongue as she walked into Adam’s office, a devilish smile on her face, the diamond stud in her nose glinting in the light from Adam’s desk lamp.

“Naughty boy. Don’t think I don’t know how those photos get you off,” she purred, sitting on the edge of Adam’s desk and reaching out to open the book. “They get me off, too. Why do you think I work here?”

I laughed, embarrassed to be caught looking. “I thought it was the fresh air.”

She raised her eyebrows as she turned the book so she could see the photos properly.

“That’s Henry,” she said, pointing to a muscled ponyboy with dark red hair and pale, freckled, skin. “He was mine that first session.” She smiled. “It didn’t take long to know I’d found my calling.”

“He’s stunning.” His body was perfect—lean but thick in all the right places.

“Yes, he was. And sweet as punch, too. He was lovely. They all were. Adam and Kamal and the rest of us were so pleased with how things turned out. The intense planning and preparation certainly paid off in happy ponyboys and satisfied trainers.”

“I still can hardly believe this place exists,” I said.

Lorraine laughed. “And we get to work here.” She held up her hand for a high-five and I gave her one.

“You want to go for a walk? It’s starting to snow.”

“Sure,” I said, closing the book and putting it back on Adam’s bookshelf. “I think we’re supposed to get alot. Should make things nice and Christmassy. What time are you leaving tomorrow?”

“Just before lunch, so hopefully the storm is done by then. Not much fun driving through a heavy snowstorm.”

“True.”

“I almost wish I was staying here, to be honest. But I have promises to keep.”

*****

By the time we’d put on boots and coats, thick flakes were coming down. Packed snow already covered the ground from previous snowfalls and it looked like the cold weather would hold through to Christmas Day.

The beauty of the BCR grounds in the midst of this whirling whiteness made me feel somewhat better about being here. I turned to look back at the main house as we walked across the field. The multicoloured lights glowed from the porch railing and the Christmas tree in the front room glittered through the window.

“Pretty, isn’t it?” Lorraine said, following my gaze.

“Yeah. Like a postcard.”

We walked in silence, past the darkened grooming barn and arena. The bunkhouse loomed in the distance, quiet and gloomy. It seemed strange that these places, usually so full of life and mischief, were silent but they blended in with the serenely beautiful landscape.

“You miss them, don’t you,” Lorraine said, watching me as we walked.

“Yeah.”

“More than you let on, I think.”

Lorraine was perceptive. She could suss out a Ponyboy’s needs and desires in seconds. I was probably easier.

“Maybe.”

“It must be very difficult, to love two people and not be near them very often.”

Something stabbed my heart. Perhaps the truth of that statement.

“Yeah.”

We walked on silently, both of us in our own thoughts.

“I’ve had two opportunities to observe Luke and Noah, during different six-week sessions. And I think they’re worth it.”

“Worth the pain of missing them?”

“Yes. Because I think they really do care for you, Jensen.”

I shrugged. “Maybe. Seems like if they felt like I did, they’d have found a way to spend Christmas with me.”

Lorraine smiled in sympathy and shoved her gloved hands in her pockets. “Have faith, cowboy. The season’s not over yet.”

We walked all the way to the lake and back, revelling in the beauty of the dark woods. Silver streaks of moonlight glinted off the snow by the time we passed the bunkhouse and caught sight of the main house again.

I had loosened my red scarf and now carried my hat. The work of trudging through the fresh snowfall had kept me warm. Every once in a while I shook the snow from my hair and Lorraine laughed.

“Who’s the pony now, Jensen?”

I gave her a wide grin and whinnied convincingly.

“Oh, there’d be a few boys and girls who’d want to see their favourite cowboy in harness.”

I shook my head. “I don’t think I’d handle that very well.”

Lorraine stopped and took my chin in her hands, piercing me with her frank gaze. “You’d handle it as well as anyone.”

She looked past me toward the house and her smile widened as the sound of a car’s engine growled over the snow. Her hand on my chin tightened so I couldn’t look as she kissed me sweetly on the lips before saying, “I’m going in. But you may want to stay outside for a bit.”

She let go and moved past me as I turned to see a car pulling into the parking lot of the main house, headlights shining bright in the snowy darkness.

Lorraine moved quickly and had reached the porch when she turned back.

“Merry Christmas, Jensen!” she said with a wave, then continued up the steps to the door and disappeared inside.

I stood motionless in the snow of the field, watching the car come to a stop against the fence as the engine shut off.

Then I started running.

~ FIVE ~

“Whoa, cowboy, slow down,” Luke said, as I vaulted the low fence and all but fell into his arms. “You’re gonna give yourself an embolism.”

“How are you here? Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” I panted, lungs aching and heart doing flips in my chest.

Luke held me tight, chuckling as he gazed at me with barely restrained glee. “Well, that wouldn’t have been much of a surprise, now would it?”

Then Noah was beside us, grabbing me and pulling me into another hug.

“God, I kept telling Luke to drive faster and he just wouldn’t. I missed you so much.” He nuzzled my cold cheek and found my lips with his, kissing me so hard I couldn’t breathe.

But who needed oxygen?

“I wanted to get us here safely, you moron,” Luke said to Noah, kissing me on the cheek and grabbing the hat from my hand, putting it on his own head. “Yeah, the driving’s awful.”

“You drove through a fucking snowstorm to be here? To see me?” I said, trying to catch my breath and still not believing they were actually here.

Luke grabbed the collar of my coat and pulled me close, staring into my eyes with a stern, heat-filled gaze. “I would’ve driven through fire for you, cowboy. You know that. Or you should.”

I blinked, trying not to cry with the emotion I felt. But he must have seen because his gaze softened and he kissed me softly, his hands letting go of my coat and slipping behind my head, holding me against him like I was the most precious thing in the world.

After a time he pulled back, smoothing his thumbs over my stubbled cheeks. “We love you. And we couldn’t face a Christmas without you.”

He kissed me again, and I soaked up his heat as his familiar mouth got its fill of me.

When he finally pulled away, breathing hard and scowling with intensity, I smiled. “Better?”

“Oh, I’m just getting started. Noah, let’s get our things and go in. We have a cowboy to warm up.”

“Did Lorraine know you were coming?” I asked as Luke moved to open the trunk.

“I didn’t tell her,” he said. “Did you tell Lorraine we were gonna be here, Noah?”

“Nope. I checked with Adam to make sure Jensen was planning to be here over Christmas but I swore him to secrecy.”

“Adam knew you guys were coming? Goddammit.” He’d let me stew in my disappointment and loneliness when he knew all along I’d be with them.

“How do you think we got through the gate?” Luke said, grinning. “He gave me a code to use from my phone.”

“Huh.”

“So, Lorraine’s here? We were kind of hoping we had the ranch to ourselves,” Luke said with some regret.

“She’s leaving in the morning. So, we will,” I said, my gaze eating them up like Christmas candy. I still couldn’t believe they were here.

“Well, isn’t that fabulous. An entire ranch to ourselves, Noah. Whatever will we do to occupy our time?”

“Sex parties in every room?” Noah laughed.

Luke grinned. “Maybe not every room.”

“Come on,” I said, “We can start with mine.”

Luke opened the trunk of his Nissan and gestured to bags and wrapped boxes inside. I recognized the gifts I’d mailed among the bunch.

“Well, grab some shit, cowboy, and help us unload the car.” He grinned with that particular brand of mischief that was Luke’s alone. “Before I unload something else.”

*****

I had a fire in my belly the entire time we spent clearing out the car and putting the gifts they’d brought under the tree in the front room.

“Jensen, are you aware there are presents here for you?” Noah said, examining the wrapped gifts I’d assumed to be fake.

“What? No, those are just pretend.”

“To Jensen, From Kamal. Feels pretty heavy. Probably a huge dildo,” Luke said, hefting a present. “We can only hope.”

“Here’s one from Adam,” Noah said. “And there’s one from Lorraine, too.”

“What? No way.” I was stunned. I’d had no idea there were presents for me here. How thoughtful to leave them so I’d have something to open on Christmas morning. Adam was probably planning on texting me to let me know they were here.

“Why are you so surprised? Did you think nobody cared about your holiday?” Noah said, moving close and sliding his arm around my waist.

“Well, I kind of did feel a bit ignored, to be honest. Until you guys showed up.”

“Hey, here’s one to the three of us,” Luke said, examining a bulky gift. “It’s from Adam and Kamal. Probably some kind of BDSM gear.” He laughed and looked at me. “Just goes to show you, cowboy. You’re loved. By so many people,” Luke said, hefting his duffle bag and raising his eyebrows as something jingled inside it. “Now, are you gonna show us to your room so we can make sure you don’t feel ignored for the next five days?”

*****

Up in my room, they dumped their bags inside the door and tackled me onto the bed.

“Oh, fuck, cowboy, I missed you so much,” Luke groaned, pushing up my shirt and licking his way to my nipple as I stretched out on the bed. “Get the restraints outa my bag, Noah,” Luke said and my cock jerked under him. He gave me a devilish smile as Noah hopped off the bed. “Oh, yes, cowboy. We’re going to restrain you and take our damn time fucking you. We’ve been planning this for weeks.”

“Fuck, yes,” I groaned. I was theirs. I had always been theirs, from the first time Luke had told me he and Noah were an item and he might, just might, pull me into their orbit. Now I was a planet to their sun, living off their combined energy, even when we weren’t together. There’d been a bit of an eclipse, but now the dark times were over and they were here to shine down on me.

I heard more jingling as Noah returned to the bed, holding up leather wrist cuffs with clips to attach them together. That didn’t surprise me as much as the three sleigh bells attached to each one that jingled with the nostalgic sound from my childhood.

Luke grinned down at my surprised expression. “It’s amazing what you can commission online these days. Now, sit up. We need to get this shirt off.”

I did as I was told, for once happy to let them do what they wanted without any pushback. I was their puppet and happy to be so.

I held up my arms as Luke peeled my shirt off me, then held out my wrists. Luke buckled one cuff on and Noah did the other, as I shifted my gaze between the two of them, not sure how I’d gotten so lucky.

“I’m about ready to bust out of my skin,” I said.

Luke lifted the corner of his lip and and winked at me. “Me too. Pretty sure Noah feels the same.”

Noah watched as Luke clipped the wrist cuffs together, then backed off and pulled me by the ankles so I lay flat with room for my arms to extend above my head. I gasped as my back hit the mattress and the bells jingled merrily.

“Hands over your head, cowboy. Keep them as still as you can, you hear me?”

“I hear you,” I whispered, gazing up at Luke with a deep-seated, almost religious reverence.

Noah lay beside me, licking his finger before touching it to my nipple and moving it in circles while I moaned. “All those virtual sex sessions were great but they don’t measure up to this in any way,” he murmured.

Luke worked the button of my jeans open and unzipped me as my teeth bit into my lower lip. “You remember your safeword, cowboy?”

Oh geeze, did I? I’d forgotten it.

“Nope. Never needed it, so I can’t say as I remember what it was.”

“No worries. I’ll give you a new one,” Luke said as he rubbed my cock over the cotton of my boxer briefs. “Ooh, you seem to have a present for me.”

“For both of you,” I panted. “It’s all yours. I’m all yours.”

Luke grinned, and it was that cocky, know-it-all grin I loved. “Oh, I know you are. And you are gonna be a good little cowboy for us, aren’t you?”

“Yeah. Yes, I am. So good.”

“Your safeword is Rudolf.”

“Okay.”

“Say it.”

“Rudolf.”

“And use it if you need to. You may need to.”

“Why? What are you gonna do?” I asked, my eyes heavy-lidded as I looked between him and Noah.

“We are gonna take our time with you, cowboy. And you’re gonna go crazy before we let you come.”

I made a sound in my throat. “Oh God. Yes, please.”

He smirked and winked, pulling my pants down and off, then grabbing the waistband of my boxer briefs and tucking it under my balls and laughing. “Look at all that hair. Your manscaping has fallen behind.”

“Shit. I wasn’t planning to be naked with anyone.”

Luke grinned. “I’m happy to hear that. S’okay. I like it. Makes you look fucking primal and wild,” he said, cording his fingers through the thick hair around my balls and tugging gently. “I wanna swallow you whole.”

“Fuck!” I’d missed his dirty mouth. I’d missed having it close to me rather than hurling sex bombs from a screen. As if to reinforce that thought, Luke gripped my cock and bent to take the head in his mouth.

A clash of sleigh bells sounded as my bound hands came forward. I twined my fingers in Luke’s hair because I just couldn’t help myself. I threw my head back and gasped as he sucked and used his tongue in wicked, wicked ways, while Noah nudged my hands away from Luke’s head and pushed them back over mine.

“Noah,” I groaned, turning my pleading gaze on him. He smiled and bent to my lips, kissing me with a hunger less urgent than Luke’s but just as incendiary.

I whimpered and opened my mouth as he slid his soft tongue inside and stroked my palate in a teasing dance, the jingles of my restraints a festive backdrop.

“Shhh, just relax and let us have our fill,” he murmured as he licked across my lips and pulled back so he could look at me. I gazed into his liquid eyes as Luke’s mouth on my cock did amazing things. I was close to coming already.

Just as I realized that Luke sat up and and pulled my boxer briefs down the rest of the way with a quick tug.

“You can’t come yet, cowboy. Turn over.”

Oh, goddammit, yes. I needed to be fucked so bad.

My cock throbbed as Noah helped flip me over and Luke grabbed my thighs, pulling my legs apart as I rocked my cock into the mattress.

“Oh, fuck yes, there’s the poor, neglected hole right there, come to Daddy,” he murmured, stroking a finger along my crease and tickling my entrance. “Up on your knees. Stop fucking the bed.”

I groaned with regret as he yanked me up onto all fours, the jingle of my wrist cuffs making an alarmingly loud noise.

“Too bad we can’t get into the grooming barn right now. You and Noah would make such pretty Christmas ponies,” Luke said.

I glanced back at him with a grin. “You can ride me as hard as you want.”

He raised his eyebrows, then slapped my ass and winked.

I gasped as Noah slid close and found my mouth again, kissing me while Luke slapped me again.

As much as it hurt, I didn’t mind the pain, since it meant Luke was right here causing mischief again. Not as much of a pain slut as Noah, I could take a spanking right now if Luke wanted to give me one. I’d take anything from him right now.

But I felt the mattress dip as he disappeared for a moment. Then he was back and I felt the unmistakeable sensation of cold lube in my crack and his fingers smoothing it onto and into me.

“Noah, take off your clothes and play with yourself. I want to watch you jerk off while I’m fucking Jensen.”

“Yes, Sir,” Noah murmured sweetly, backing away and going to his knees so he could unbutton his pink shirt and toss it away, then unzip his jeans and push them down.

“Oh, fuck,” I moaned, seeing his erection bounce free. “You’re not wearing underwear.”

Luke laughed. “He was under strict instructions not to. I’m not wearing any either. I don’t even need to take my pants off to fuck you.” He rubbed his finger over my entrance before pushing it inside with a familiar insistence. He slid it deep and the sensation undid me. I hadn’t had anything up there in months and this was Luke, Luke, who had driven through a snow storm so he and Noah could fuck me and be with me at Christmas. My nerve endings pinged like the strong-man bell at the fair.

Ding-dong.

I groaned and mumbled something incoherent as Luke finger-fucked me for several moments, then fumbled with his jeans and opened them. I heard the pop of his button and the zip of his zipper before his dick slapped me on the ass as he made a noise of relief.

“Oh God, this ain’t gonna take long,” he panted. “I had plans but you’re ruining them.”

“Fuck. Good. I’m dying.”

“You look pretty healthy from this angle.”

I heard the flick of the lube bottle as he began to slick himself up. When he was done he tossed it to Noah who dripped some into his hand and resumed stroking his dick as he sat against the headboard and grabbed my cuffs with his free hand.

“Good idea,” Luke muttered. “In a minute this cowboy is not gonna be able to control himself.”

“Jesus, stop talking and just fuck me, dammit!” I growled, sweet submissive Jensen gone in a flash of primal impatience.

Luke gave a shaky laugh as he rubbed the head of his cock against me, then pushed until he breached me in a smooth, long slide.

“Awe, fuuuuck,” I groaned, my voice high-pitched and needy as Luke’s thick cock slid home.

The sleigh bells on my wrist cuffs jingled as Luke’s thrust pushed me forward. Without waiting for me to recover he pulled out and thrust again, groaning.

It only took four deep drives before he stilled and whimpered as he came unexpectedly quickly, leaving me wanting and desperate but also satisfied in a strange way.

“God…” he panted. “Jesus. Goddamn you, cowboy.” He pumped me lazily as his orgasm subsided. “You got all of me now.”

His hand found my cock, pulling on it a few times until I jizzed all over his fist, his dick still buried inside me.

As I lay there recovering, I heard the soft sounds of Noah beside me. I opened my eyes just in time to see him jerk himself and shoot a big load onto us both, his lips pressed together and a frown of concentration on his sweet face.

“And that’s how we do it, boys and boys,” Luke said, sounding wrung out and exhausted. “That’s how you brand a cowboy.”

*****

Later, while Noah and Luke were showering, I placed a call to the resort café and asked to speak to my favourite server.

“Alison. Hi, it’s Jensen.”

“Hey Jensen, what can I do for you?”

“Listen, I know this is alot to ask but I’ve got a couple of friends here for the night…well, for a few nights actually, and I was wondering if there was any way you could, um, bring me a couple of the Saddlery’s specialty pizzas?”

She laughed and I heard the clink of glasses. “What, you mean like drive through a snowstorm to deliver them to you at the ranch?”

Oh, shit. “Is it still snowing?”

“Yeah, it’s still snowing. Where the hell have you been?”

In the middle of a Noah and Luke sandwich, actually, so, no, I didn’t notice.

“Oh, well never mind. We’ll figure something out.”

She snorted. “I’m kidding, Jensen. I own an all-wheel drive SUV. I can bring you some food. Better be a big tip in it for me.”

“Thank you so much! And, yeah, of course!”

It only took about half an hour for Alison to get here with our food and we pitched in to give her a hundred dollar tip. I went down to answer the front door.

She was bundled up and holding two large pizza boxes.

“Merry Christmas!” I said, taking them and passing her the payment and the tip.

She stared at the bills in her hand. “Holy hell, I didn’t mean this big. Are you sure?”

“Yes. Just drive carefully and thank you. I didn’t want to go outside.”

Alison grinned and glanced at the stairs. “Yeah, I wouldn’t either if I had Luke and Noah in my bedroom. Have fun.”

As I closed the door I sent a silent thank you to the gods who had brought my boyfriends back to me.

~ SIX ~

I woke the next morning trapped under Luke’s heavy thigh with Noah curled against my body like a sexy barnacle, feeling an urgent need to piss. Ten minutes of excruciating indecision before my bladder made the call.

I carefully extricated myself, hoping not to wake them but figuring if I didn’t hit the head soon my cover would be blown anyway. I was climbing off the bed when Luke’s hand circled my wrist.

“Where’re you goin’?” he murmured groggily, his blond hair deliciously mussed and his eyes only half-open in the soft light of the morning.

I clamped down on my pee reflex and let him pull me back for a kiss. “Gotta piss.”

He quirked an eyebrow. “Fine. But we need to talk about watersports because that’s something I’ve always wanted to explore.”

He almost got to explore it right then because his words just about caused me to let go. I’m pretty sure the kink didn’t include dousing the entire bed and its inhabitants with a full morning bladder.

“Sure. But right now I need the toilet.”

“Okay. Come right back. I need you near me.” He closed his eyes and nestled into the blankets as I stared for a whole long minute while my bladder screamed. Luke wasn’t one for making declarations like that and I savoured it for as long as I could before I turned and made for the bathroom.

While enjoying the relief of a good long piss I thought back on the events of the previous evening.

The incredible shock of Luke and Noah pulling up at the ranch had just about undone me. I hadn’t imagined in my wildest fantasies they might come to me without warning. And they had.

After a fiery, combustible reunion in my bed, we’d shared the pizzas from the Saddlery and joked around like we’d never been apart at all. We spread out on the floor with pillows and blankets like kids at a sleepover. We were too tired from the events of the day and the physical release we’d enjoyed to even try for more sexy times. We knew we had Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to spend fucking and revisiting old routines, and as many days after that as I could convince them to stay, until after New Years when we’d all have to get back to work. So we passed around a bottle of wine and got drunk and silly and sleepy, finally collapsing in a heap together in my bed at midnight. I don’t know if I’d ever gone to bed happier or more satisfied.

When I returned and crawled in beside my two adorable partners, Luke pulled me against him and Noah snuggled in close, wrapping his arm around us.

*****

Lorraine left before lunch, giving each of us a kiss and a promise to behave ourselves while everyone was gone. But the way she winked at Luke made me believe she wasn’t all that serious, barring any break and enters.

We ate cold slices of leftover pizza for lunch. Afterwards, Luke dusted off his jeans and said, “Up you get, you lazy-ass fools. Look at the sun shining on the snow out there! We’re going for a walk.”

Luckily, the wind had blown most of the new snow off the plowed paths. As we trudged across the field, Noah and Luke took in the beauty of their wintery surroundings.

“This is kind of unreal, y’know? I’m so used to being here in the summer,” Luke commented.

“It looks so different. And that walkway is ingenious,” Noah said, pointing to the covered corridor between the buildings.

I nodded. “It’s the only way to keep the ponyboys in their skimpy gear through the winter.”

“Do they ever take them outside?” Luke asked. “Seems like Kamal would attach them to a sleigh or something.”

I shook my head. “Nah, they’d have to wear pants. But, he does wrap them in sleigh bells for the pony shows.”

“There, see?” Luke said, shoving Noah’s shoulder gently. “You said I was nuts for ordering those cuffs.”

“They did make our kinky reunion very Christmassy.”

“Just wait. I’ve got a Santa hat in my bag for you to wear tonight.”

“Fuck off, Luke, you do not,” Noah said with an annoyed look over his shoulder.

But Luke only grinned and nudged me. “He doesn’t believe me. Just wait. I’ve got more plans for later.”

“Oh yeah?” Noah said, walking a little faster and bending down to gather some snow in his mitts. “Well, I’ve got some plans for right now.” He grinned impishly and hauled off, lofting the snowball right at Luke.

The snow exploded on Luke’s cheek and Noah suddenly looked sheepish. His eyes widened as Luke cursed and bent to gather some snow.

“Oh shit. Run Jensen!” Noah shouted as he grabbed the sleeve of my coat and pulled me after him.

We ran as fast as we could, curses mixed with laughter. Luke threw a snowball that landed in the middle of Noah’s back, then one that hit me in the face.

“Fuck!” I said, snow sliding down my neck and under my shirt. “Faster,” I yelled, grabbing Noah’s hand and pulling him toward the bunkhouse.

By the time I managed to pull Noah beside the building and away from Luke’s accurate trajectory, we were panting hard and covered with snow. But I didn’t care. I pinned Noah against the wooden wall, covering him with my body in the pretence of protecting him from a snowy onslaught when, really, I just wanted to kiss him.

I caught his gaze with mine and laid my leather-gloved hand against his cheek. Melting snowflakes glistened on his long eyelashes and rosy lips, parted in anticipation. I smiled slowly before landing an openmouthed, desperately wicked kiss on him while we waited for Luke to catch up and cream us.

Noah welcomed my assault and clutched my arms. The warmth of his mouth contrasted with the cold of the snow on our faces as we lost ourselves in the liquid heat between us.

I expected an onslaught of freezing cold snow when Luke found us, but that didn’t happen. Instead, his warm body pressed against me from behind, his cock hard in his pants, the thickness of our jackets a frustrating barrier between us.

He pumped me a couple of times to assert his presence, then slid next to me and took my chin, stealing my mouth away from Noah and taking my lips with his. The three of us kissed for a long time in the cold shadow of the bunkhouse on that snowy Christmas Eve, the fires inside us keeping us warm and promising more fun back at the house.

“You remember the things we did in the bunkhouse last summer?” Luke murmured, holding my gaze with his bold blue eyes.

“Yes,” I said, voice husky with desire. “I remember.”

“And the shed?”

“Fuck yes.” The Shed. The hidden dilapidated outbuilding Adam had arranged to be cleaned up so we could have some privacy.

My eyes slid to meet Noah’s. “I remember alot of spankings.”

Noah smiled like an angel who couldn’t possibly orgasm from having his backside slapped. “Yeah. Me too. And more good stuff.”

“Lots of good stuff,” Luke agreed.

“Well, we don’t need the shed now. It would be pretty fucking cold out there, anyway,” I said.

“Yeah. We’ve got the whole house to ourselves today and tomorrow and the next day,” Luke said.

I grabbed the collar of his winter jacket and kissed him quickly on the lips, then did the same to Noah.

“Adam laid a fire in the front room.” It must have been Adam, knowing we might want to make use of it. “We could camp out in there tonight, wake up next to the tree on Christmas morning.”

The grin that emerged on Luke’s handsome face made me weak.

“Now you’re talking, cowboy. Let’s go get warmed up. Come on.”

He grabbed our gloved hands and pulled us after him across the wintery landscape, towards the multicoloured lights of the porch in the distance.

*****

We took turns showering because if we’d gotten naked together we’d have ruined the anticipation of an evening of debauchery in front of the fire in the room downstairs.

When we were done I suggested driving into Huntsville for groceries to keep us comfortable over the next few days. We wouldn’t be able to cook a turkey or anything that elaborate but I had no interest in leaving the coziness of the main house to go to the café every time we needed a meal.

Luke offered to join me while Noah stayed behind and prepared the front room for our spontaneous campout.

“Luckily, I packed sleeping bags just in case there wasn’t room in your bed. There’s our two singles and the double we bought last summer. If we lay them out on the floor and grab some blankets, we should be comfortable,” he said, passing them to Noah.

Huntsville was twenty minutes away along Muskoka District Road 3. We took Luke’s Nissan since he had installed winter tires and filled up with gas on the way here. He tuned in a radio station playing modern Christmas music while we caught up with each other during the drive.

I confessed how lonely and depressed I’d been at the thought of spending Christmas on my own.

Luke gave me a sympathetic glance. “Yeah, maybe surprising you like that wasn’t the best idea. We should have just told you we were coming.”

I thought about it, then shook my head. “No. I’m glad you surprised me. Seeing you guys pull up yesterday was the happiest, most amazing moment of my life.”

Luke smiled and the flush that came over him made me feel all tingly inside. I was glad I’d made him feel that way—a little bit embarrassed at his own emotion.

“It made me realize how strong my feelings are, and this unexpected visit will sustain me after you go back to Ottawa.”

Luke licked his lips, grinning and side-eyeing me. “We love you, you moron.” He laughed. “Wow, I can’t believe I just said that.”

I laughed, too. “Careful, ponyboy. You’re going to ruin your street cred.”

“You ruined my street cred, you sexy fucking cowboy. As soon as I saw you with Adam, before you’d even decided you could do this weird-ass job, I was done. Finished. Caput.”

“Oh yeah?” I said, hardly believing him.

“Fuck yeah. You in that cowboy hat? Looking all innocent and sweet and confused and out-of-your-mind horny at the sight of us? D-O-N-E done.”

I tipped the brim of my hat to him with a wicked grin, then leaned in and licked his cheek. He cursed as I bit his chin and the car swerved mildly.

“Careful, cowboy, don’t start something you can’t finish right now.”

I sat back, adjusting my seat belt and smiling so wide my face hurt. “Well, I’m sure as hell gonna finish it later.”

“Promises, promises.”

We loaded up with groceries—fruit and cheese and processed meat, bagels and muffins and croissants, canned soups—simple, tasty stuff that would get us through. We also made a pit stop at the Liquor Store and got Baileys and a couple of bottles of rum we could mix with the coke we’d bought. It took longer than we expected because we forgot everyone else in the world was celebrating Christmas too.

When we got back to the main house we found Noah in the front room, relaxing in front of a roaring fire, one of Adam’s books in his lap, sucking on a candy cane.

“Hey, you’re back. You didn’t stop for a blowjob, did you?” he said, eyeing us mildly.

“Nope. But the stores were packed. Help us put these things away and we can have something to eat, then cozy up in here for the evening.”

“Sure,” Noah said, biting off a piece of candy and putting his book down.

We stocked the big fridge and cabinets in the cafeteria with our groceries and grabbed some muffins and fruit to bring to the front room for supper.

“I don’t know about you two but I’m eating light tonight—saving my pig-out for tomorrow. Planning to focus on non-food sources of pleasure this evening,” Luke said with a waggle of his eyebrows. “I’ve got plans.”

Noah smiled. “You always have plans, Luke.”

Luke shrugged. “What can I say. I like to spend my time thinking of various ways to sex you up. Now, I get to sex Jensen up, too. This is the best Christmas Eve ever.”

*****

We were settling in for a picnic around the coffee table in the front room as the sky outside began to darken, when my phone started ringing. We were sitting cross legged on the area rug so I reached up and grabbed it off the side table, seeing Adam’s name when I brought it down.

I hit the Answer button. “Hey, Adam.”

“Jensen. Happy Christmas Eve.”

“Thanks. You too,” I said, looking at Luke and Noah. “I’m gonna put you on speakerphone.”

“Sure. I take it they made it in yesterday?”

“Yes. Thanks for keeping the secret. Best Christmas surprise ever.”

“Howdie, Adam,” Luke said.

Noah leaned forward and greeted Adam as well.

“Luke, Noah. Look after our cowboy, now.”

“We already—“ Luke began. I knew he was going to say something rude so I shook my head sharply.

Luke grinned and leaned toward the phone. “This place sure is pretty at Christmas.”

“Listen, there’s a present from me under the tree for all of you.”

“Yeah, we saw it. Thanks, Adam.”

“There’s one for just you, Jensen, that you can open tomorrow. But I want you to open the other one now.”

Luke went over to the gifts and found the one to all of us. “Is this something kinky, Adam?”

He laughed. “Sorry to disappoint you, no. It’s not kinky. But you’ll get more use out of it if you open it now.”

“Okay, sure,” I said, gesturing to Luke to go ahead and open the gift.

As the wrapping fell away we found ourselves staring at red and black plaid cotton. Luke lifted one of the items out and held it up.

“What the fuck, Adam?”

Adam laughed. “I got you guys comfy pyjamas. Because you probably didn’t bring any. It’s cold at night in the country.”

“Not when you’re in bed with two other guys,” Luke said. “Hell, these are nice though. Roots, huh? Swanky.”

“Thanks, Adam! They look soft and warm,” Noah said, lifting another one out.

Adam cleared his throat. “Well, I saw them in the catalogue and I thought of you three.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Luke said with a smile. “Too bad you’re not here to see us get in these later.”

Adam laughed. “Send me a selfie.”

“Thanks Adam,” I said. I was suddenly overcome with emotion. “I’m so glad to be working here. Even though I can’t be with Luke and Noah most of the time, this job is worth the inconvenience.”

He sighed. “I’m so glad to hear it. We’re very happy you’re with us. Now go and have fun with your boys.”

“I will. Thanks, Adam. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas, kids. Enjoy the holiday.”

I shut off my phone and laid it on the side table again.

“Fucking Adam,” Luke said, holding up his onesie. “Jesus Christ.”

“Wow. These are really nice,” Noah said, examining the smaller one. “This should fit me all right.”

“Of course,” Luke muttered. “When I really want to spend three days completely naked, Adam sends me clothes.”

“They sure look comfy,” I said, touching the thick, brushed cotton. “And warm.”

Luke glanced at Noah, then turned to me. “We have something we want you to unwrap right now,” he said.

I grinned. “Yeah, I bet you do.”

“You pervert. A present, not my cock. I’m saving that for later,” Luke smirked.

I blushed. “Oh, sorry. I mean, what?”

Noah brought over a square parcel from under the tree. “Merry Christmas, Jensen. This is from Luke and me.” He placed it in my lap.

“Open it, cowboy,” Luke said.

I grinned, ripping off the pretty paper to find a cardboard box. I opened the box and peered inside.

“It’s a new hat,” Noah said. “Not that we don’t like your old one. You should keep it for sure. But Luke thought you might like a new one.”

“There’s a catch, though. We want to take your old hat home with us. So we can have a piece of you there.”

I nodded, blinking with emotion. I lifted the new hat out of the box.

“We thought you might not want it to look brand new, so we chose one that had a rougher finish to the leather. But it’s in much better shape than that one,” Luke said.

I turned the leather hat in my hands to examine it. The tag said Outback Trading Company and I could feel the quality of the leather. Distressed, in a rich, reddish brown, it featured two lines of grommets on the band and a leather chin strap.

“It’s beautiful,” I said, unable to take my gaze off it. It was exactly what I would have picked out myself.

“It’s a medium,” Luke said in hushed tones like this was a religious ritual rather than a gift opening.

“Should be just right, then.” I lifted my old, battered and worn cowboy hat from my head and passed it to Luke, who took it with a pleasure that made me feel giddy. I quirked my lip in a sheepish half-grin and popped the new hat onto my head, peeking at them from under the brim. “Well?”

“Fuck. Me,” Luke said, hand flying to his heart as he closed his eyes and swallowed, then opened them and shot me a genuine smile. Not a smirk, but a real, honest, pleased and affectionate smile. From Luke, it was fucking gold.

“You look like you’re in a movie,” Noah murmured, “Like you’re gonna save the day and ride off into the sunset.”

I laughed softly, loving the way they looked at me. “Ain’t got nothing to ride. Except the two of you. And that would be a whole different movie.”

“Hell, yeah, it would,” Luke grinned.

He took my old hat and put it in the box, then laid it and the plaid pajamas under the tree. “Time to start enjoying this very special Christmas Eve.”

~ SEVEN ~

After eating, we had cleared off the low, reclaimed-wood coffee table with the criss-crossed iron bars at each end and placed it in the middle of the room on a blanket. Now, bent naked over top of it with his wrists cuffed and clipped to leather bands around each thigh, and my red winter scarf tied over his eyes, lay Noah, flushed and aroused and waiting for torment.

“Holy fucking hell. I thought you were just gonna dress him up like Santa’s Little Helper.”

“Changed my mind,” Luke said. “That table could be a proper piece of bondage equipment. Seemed a shame to waste it.”

Noah moaned and shifted, the sleigh bells on the wrist cuffs jingling with a pretty nuance.

“He’s been begging me for a proper bondage scene for weeks.”

Instead of putting the Santa hat he’d brought on Noah, Luke had it perched jauntily on his head as he regarded our bound subject with appreciation.

“Fuck, he’s gorgeous. Even without a pony tail butt plug,” he said.

I nodded my agreement. “That he is.”

Noah’s creamy skin glowed in the soft firelight and illumination from the mini-lights draped around the window. The pink tip of his tongue peeked between his lips as he waited for us to begin.

“So, what are your plans?” I asked, gazing at Luke and pressing my hand against the front of my jeans. “I await your instructions, Sir.”

Luke’s mouth curled into a wicked grin as he nodded. “Good. Because I’m gonna use you to torture him. It’s one of my favourite games and we haven’t been able to play it in a very long time.”

Noah made a noise in his throat and the sleigh bells jingled again.

Luke gazed around the room and walked over to where we had placed the remnants of our meal. He grabbed a clementine from the side table and brought it over as my eyes widened and I opened my mouth to protest.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, I’m not that stupid,” Luke muttered, kneeling down beside Noah. “Open your hand, Noah.”

Noah did so and Luke placed the small fruit on his palm. Noah’s fingers closed around it.

“Hold onto this and if you need to safe word, drop it.”

I felt my cheeks heat with the thought of what I’d imagined, for a second, Luke might do with that clementine. But he’d never compromise Noah’s health and safety in the name of a sex game.

Putting a small round piece of fruit into any orifice but your mouth was not exactly advisable. The last thing any of us wanted to do tonight was rush to the ER in Huntsville to have a clementine removed from Noah’s ass. And I’m pretty sure he’d never speak to either of us again.

“Sorry, I…uh, got carried away,” I said, scratching the back of my neck and wondering exactly what Luke was thinking.

He stood up. “What I am planning does involve Noah’s perky little ass,” he admitted. “Because it’s not nearly red enough. In fact, it’s been a week since I’ve been able to give him a real good hiding. Poor boy needs one. Badly.”

Noah groaned and shifted his knees. Luke had bound his ankles with cords attached to the iron legs of the coffee table, so he couldn’t go anywhere. Each time he struggled against his bindings, the sleigh bells on his wrists announced the futility of this endeavour with a ringing exclamation.

“And you’re going to give it to him,” Luke told me.

My chin dropped as desire surged through me. “I’m…what? Really?”

Sleigh bells jingled as Noah’s hips moved from side to side with eagerness. A drop of pre-come glinted at the tip of his penis.

Luke laughed. “Yeah. Really. It’s not difficult.”

I nodded. “Sure. Okay.”

I’d watched Lorraine spank Noah. I’d watched Luke spank Noah a few times. I’d even been spanked by Luke. And I think I’d laid a hand on Noah’s ass a couple of times when we’d used Adam’s room. But I’d never really spanked him, like Luke did. I mean, a real, solid spanking that either made him come or cry, or both. I didn’t know if I could but I could try.

“You know, it’s warm in here with the fire going. You’d probably better strip. But leave on your boxer briefs for now.”

I grinned, because there wasn’t anything I wanted to do more than that right now. “Yes, Sir.”

While I took off my clothes, Luke walked over to his bag and fished inside it, drawing something out and walking back to where I stood pushing my jeans down.

He held up a riding crop. “Can’t come to the Braided Crop Ranch without a riding crop.”

“If you say so,” I breathed, eyeing it as I tossed my jeans aside. “Am I using that on Noah?”

Luke grinned and shook his head slowly from side-to-side, staring at me with illicit purpose.

“Oh,” I said. “That’s for me.”

Luke’s eyes widened as he slapped the crop against his jeans, startling me. “Very good, cowboy. You’re starting to understand how my mind works.”

Oh holy shit, I didn’t know if I was ready to be cropped. I hadn’t particularly enjoyed the few spankings Luke had given me. Not the pain, at least. The submission of being draped over his lap had been exciting and erotic. But I didn’t get off on the pain the way Noah did.

At my expression, Luke softened his features. “Relax. I’m going to watch you spank him. Then I’m gonna give you a taste of this.” He held up the crop. “But I know you aren’t the same as Noah. I’ll go easy. You’ll like it.”

“If you say so.”

“Oh, I do.” He grinned so wickedly I almost dropped to my knees and crawled over there to beg for it.

God, I’d missed him. I’d missed them both. I didn’t want to think about how hard it would be to say goodbye to them after the holidays. But they were here now, and I had an important job to do, so I needed to focus.

“How should I—”

“Kneel beside him. Touch him, let him know where you are in his space.”

“Okay.”

I did as Luke suggested and knelt beside the coffee table, visually consuming Noah’s gorgeous, displayed body. He was the picture of submission, a tableau of bound desire, and I was here for it.

I leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek, nudging the red scarf with my nose.

“Hey, Noah.”

“Jensen,” he whispered, my name from those lips sacred and beloved.

“Guess what?”

“What?”

“I get to spank you today.”

Noah whimpered, moving his hips again and clenching and unclenching his empty hand where it lay bound to his thigh. The other clutched the clementine tightly, as if he were determined to keep it safe. He could drop it if needed, but if he did we would stop everything.

“Is that okay? You want your pretty ass spanked?”

“Yes,” he hissed, nodding.

Okay, we have consent. Now it’s up to me.

I smoothed my hand over his ass, swiped a finger between his cheeks, and glanced at Luke, who nodded his approval.

“Spank that boy, Jensen. He needs it. He wants it.”

“I know.”

I heard the padding of Luke’s feet as he neared and glanced up to see him move behind me, stroking the tip of the crop up his calf as he leered at my ass.

Oh, shit.

“Luke…”

“What, cowboy?”

“I can’t focus with you behind me, especially with that crop in your hand.”

“Consider this a lesson in multi-tasking,” he said, sliding the tip of the crop up the inside of my thigh, pushing the edge of my boxer briefs up very slowly.

“Luke. Stop,” I said, squirming.

He withdrew the crop and chuckled. “Fine. I’ll wait until after you get started. Don’t forget, your safe word is Rudolf.”

“Got it.”

“Now for fuck’s sake, get spanking. We don’t have all night. I want to curl up with some Bailey’s hot chocolate and read you boys some bedtime stories.”

The picture that formed in my mind of that scenario made me smile and forgive Luke all of his teasing.

“Ready, Noah?” I said.

“Yes. Please spank me, Jensen.”

All righty, then.

I brought my hand down hard, causing him to gasp.

“God. Yes. Fuck,” he moaned.

I repeated the action, again and again, watching the muscles of his buttock jiggle and the skin redden. If he wanted a spanking I’d give him one. Noah did not like soft, tentative gestures when it came to this. He wanted the pain and the jolts of a hard hiding.

Once I found a good rhythm, Noah’s moans kept time with each strike as his breaths stuttered and stopped, only to resume again right after.

“That’s it, cowboy. Tan that ponyboy’s hide.”

Vibrant images of Noah in his pony gear assaulted me—memories of him prancing around the show ring for Lorraine with his pert, horse-hair tail and fancy, sparkly mask, overcame me, and my blows fell harder and closer together.

A lick of fire on my flank made me gasp. “Easy there, big shot. Dial it back a bit.”

The crop.

I focused on Noah’s face, flushed and lightly covered with sweat. His lips parted. He breathed heavily and grunted softly.

“Sorry. I don’t want to hurt him too much,” I said.

“You’re not. But he’s gonna come in a second if you don’t slow down.”

“Oh shit. He is? Really?”

Luke laughed, flicking me with the crop again.

“Owe. Fuck.” It burned.

“Oh, come on. You can take it.” He snapped me with it again. I looked down at my bare thigh to see a pink spot blooming beneath the throbbing pain.

“I can take it,” I said belligerently.

“I know you can. Noah needs a break so why don’t you reach back and lower your boxer briefs, cowboy.

I swallowed thickly, my cock a steel rod from the picture of Noah and the prospect of Luke and what he wanted to do to me.

“Push your briefs down, Jensen. I’m not going to ask again.” That no-nonsense, assertive tone, did wonderful things to my body and terrible things to my assertiveness.

“Yes, Sir,” I murmured, embarrassed but aroused beyond belief.

“Good. Boy.”

Oh holy fuck.

I closed my eyes as desire surged through me. I hooked my thumbs under my briefs, pushing them down to my thighs. Somehow, that made me feel more vulnerable than if I’d been completely naked. I felt like a naughty child awaiting strict discipline and I must have looked ridiculous with my new hat on and my boxer briefs pushed down.

I heard the snap of the crop before I felt the sting on my bare ass cheek. But the burn, when it came, took my breath away.

“Now listen to me. Are you ever gonna doubt how we feel about you again, cowboy?”

My brain whirred with confusion but I knew the right answer.

“No, Sir.”

He snapped the crop again and the sharp spike of pain bit me on the other side.

“Are you gonna remember this moment right now? When I drove all the way through a fucking snowstorm to get you on your knees so I could crop your ass for kicks?”

Jesus Christ. This was epic level shit right here.

“Yes, Sir,” I said through clenched teeth.

And again, on my right cheek. I hissed with the pain but it shot right to my heart.

“Good boy. Because we love you.”

The crop came down on my right cheek, then against the back of my thigh, making me dizzy with pain and a strange, floaty feeling, which must be the endorphins kicking in.

“Yes, Sir,” I panted. “I love you, too.”

There was silence in the room except for the crackling and hissing of the fire and the occasional jingle of sleigh bells as Noah tried to come down from his pain high.

I clenched my fists at my sides, waiting for another strike of the crop but it bounced to the floor as Luke tossed it down and fell to his knees behind me, peeling off his shirt and wrapping me in his arms. He showered me with small wet kisses all over my neck and shoulders, then continued down over my back as I gasped and shuddered with surprise and desire, until he found the marks he’d made with the crop and kissed me there, and there, and there.

“Luke,” I said, reaching behind to find him, wanting to turn but not knowing if I was allowed. He lifted the brand new cowboy hat from my head and placed it gently on the floor out of the way. Then he grabbed my arm and moved me himself, enveloping my naked body against his partially clothed one, hot hands everywhere at once, lips finding mine for a searing kiss.

My arms wrapped around his neck and shoulders, pulling him close as if he might dissolve into nothing or I might wake up and realize this had all been a dream.

But it wasn’t a dream at all. Luke was here with me right now, loving on me and showing me just how much he cared with a little bit of pain, alot of fucking attitude and a baring of his soul so honest it shook me, in the best of ways.

He pulled back and caressed my cheek, blinking rapidly as if he couldn’t deal with how raw this was. “I missed you so much. If Adam knows what’s good for him he’ll let us visit you once a month from now on.”

Sleigh bells jingled as Noah moaned, “I love you guys but if you don’t either spank me or let me up to be a part of this I’m going to hate you for a little bit, too.”

Luke laughed as if he’d just remembered Noah was here, too. “I guess we’d better finish him off. He already knows we love him because we’d never suffer having such sore hands all the time if we didn’t.”

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

“You want to suck my dick, you pretty thing?” Luke asked as he stood and rounded the coffee table, gazing down at Noah’s blindfolded face.

“Yes. I want to suck your dick, Sir,” Noah groaned.

Noah’s swollen cock dripped pre-come at Luke’s raw words. I couldn’t look away as I peeled my boxer briefs the rest of the way off and threw them aside.

“Take off his blindfold. I want him to see what he’s dealing with here.”

Luke unzipped his jeans and shoved them down as his thick erection bounced free. I don’t think Luke believed in the concept of underwear.

I slipped the scarf off Noah’s face. He blinked in the dim light, licking his lips and arching his neck to peer up at Luke’s cock. He made an eager sound.

“What do you want me to do?” I asked, dropping to my knees behind Noah.

“Whatever you want,” Luke said, gaze locking with Noah’s as he stroked his cock leisurely. “You can tease him or spank him, as long as he keeps sucking me.”

He lowered to his knees, jeans wrapped around his ankles, and nudged at Noah’s sweet lips with the head of his dick. Noah opened his mouth and Luke pushed his cock between those lips, groaning with pleasure as Noah sighed happily.

I stroked my fingers over Noah’s rosy bottom, feeling the heat I’d put there with my still-stinging hand. Probably not stinging as much as his ass, though. I kissed the soft, abused flesh there, sliding my tongue over him where I’d spanked him and snaking it along his crack as I held his cheeks open.

He made a strangled sound as I licked and poked at his hole while he sucked and swallowed Luke’s cock. I couldn’t believe how wet his dick was when I wrapped my fingers around it. Fuck. He was dripping with it.

Noah didn’t like penetration other than with fingers or toys, so I rubbed my dick along his thigh and pushed it under him to nudge his balls and the base of his cock. I sucked a thumb into my mouth and ran it down his crack, pressing it against his rim until it sank inside, accompanied by a long, low groan.

I glanced up to see Luke watching me with his mouth open as he fucked Noah’s face with rough purpose and tender care. He mouthed the words Make him come and I nodded, jerking Noah’s dick as I shoved my thumb deeper inside him, over and over again.

At that moment, Luke pulled out of Noah’s mouth and jerked himself, cursing as he shot all over Noah’s face, while Noah cried out and came hard over my fist.

“Oh my God,” I said, gathering Noah’s release with my fingers and using the slick on my cock, tugging violently and climaxing quickly, white spurts of semen landing on Noah’s ass.

By the time we recovered our senses, Noah’s sleigh bells jingled intermittently as he huffed the exhausted laughter of a well-used boy.

“Hold on, there, Prancer,” Luke muttered, wiping his dick on Noah’s cheek and using my discarded boxer briefs to wipe his hand clean, smirking at me the while. “We need to get you out to pasture.”

I stood on wobbly legs and helped Luke release Noah’s bindings, then helped him up and caught him as he collapsed against me, nuzzling into my neck.

“Love you, Jensen.”

“I know, sweetheart. Love you too.”

*****

We did get that storybook Christmas Eve, once we’d exhausted our rampant physical needs for each other.

After showering again, we got into the plaid pyjamas Adam had sent, moved the coffee table aside and laid out the sleeping bags on the floor.

“Thank God these pyjamas don’t have feet. Or I’d have really wondered about Daddy Adam and his motives,” Luke said, grinning and taking a few photos of us cuddling together on the couch to send to Adam.

“True. But I’m disappointed they don’t have those trap doors on the rear,” I said, glancing over my shoulder at my ass and winking at Noah, who laughed.

“Too convenient,” Luke said. “We’d never get any sleep.”

We sat propped against the sofa with mugs of hot chocolate and watched the orange, red and yellow flames, sleepy and excited for tomorrow. We indulged in a long mutual make-out session until we all fell softly asleep on the floor of the front room with the cold of winter outside and the warm glow of satisfaction pervading us.

*****

I woke up on Christmas morning on the edge of our pile, so it was straightforward to ease myself away without waking anybody. I felt good and loved and happy, but I needed a cup of coffee desperately.

I made a whole pot, figuring the others would wake shortly. And if they didn’t I would wake them because, for God’s sake it was Christmas and we had presents to open.

I padded back to the front room with my coffee and settled in the armchair by the window—Adam’s favourite spot. I didn’t think he’d mind me curling up in it with my warm mug, tucking my bare feet under me as I peered out at the unfolding dawn. I snapped a quick selfie and sent it to him, with the caption Merry Christmas and a heart emoji.

The sun streaked the snow with glittering trails as the sky shone pink and blue. Chickadees swooped in the snowy branches of trees on the edge of the forest and squirrels darted about searching for nuts they’d buried. The whole world was awake except for Luke and Noah.

I turned to watch them while I sipped my coffee. They lay unconscious in each other’s arms, Luke on his back with Noah resting against his chest, as if they were in bed at home in Ottawa.

But they weren’t in Ottawa. They were here with me. And I was the luckiest fucking bastard in the word. All because of a misunderstanding that turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me.

I raised the mug to my lips and swallowed another mouthful of hot coffee and thought of all the reasons I had to be happy.

The two main reasons opened their eyes to the bright morning while I watched in the early dawn light.

THANK YOU

To see how Jensen, Luke and Noah fell for each other, read STABLE HAND

(THE BRAIDED CROP RANCH #1).

For more information about me or my books, please visit MY WEBSITE.

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THE BRAIDED CROP RANCH SERIES

STABLE HAND

PONYBOY

DARK HORSE

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SKELETAL EQUATION