"I love you," Walker whispers, "I'm missing you like hell - and I've someone here who wants to meet you. So, c'mon, gamekeeper. Call me home."

~~*~~

All day Mellors has felt a strange prickly feeling to his skin, a tugging at his consciousness. The desire to call to the Blouseman never stops but he must not be greedy.

It's been a hard day, and he's been away too long from his Blouseman. That is the reason why he has been working so hard today, in the hope of wearying himself out and being able to get some sleep tonight.

When he reaches the hut he stops in his tracks and rubs his eyes to make sure he is seeing what he is seeing. Walker is stretched out on the bench, sound asleep judging from the movement of his naked chest. A small grey striped kitten is curled up on his chest, sleeping as soundly, its ears twitching now and then.

A huge smile lights up Mellors' face as he walks silently up to them and sits on his heels by the bench. He leans forward and kisses the Blouseman on his lips.

"Wake up my sleeping beauty," he whispers softly, happiness bubbling in his voice.

Walker turns his head at the sound and the feel of warm lips on his, his eyes opening and focusing slowly on Mellors. He smiles, curling an arm around Mellors' neck and pushing his fingers into the gamekeeper's hair.

"Thought you'd gone off me," he growls, voice rough from sleep, "me and Hendrix here have been waiting for days."

"Never... Missed you..." Mellors murmurs in between hot but brief kisses. His hand instinctively goes to stroke Walker's chest and meets the kitten's soft fur, disturbing its sleep. His head shoots up abruptly and Mellors finds himself staring into the startled blue eyes of the little tabby.

"A kitty? You've brought a kitty with you?" he whispers, amazed. He reaches out one finger, offering it to the kitten for inspection and smiles entranced when the kitten sniffs it carefully, then bats at it with a small furry paw.

He darts a quick look up at Walker. "It has your eyes," he comments like a proud father.

Walker sighs contentedly and smiles at Mellors. "My eyes? Well ... he'll be a reminder for you," he murmurs, his voice nearly a purr. "Because he's yours - I brought him for you."

Walker tickles the back of Mellors' neck with one hand and the kitten with the other. "Missed you too - I figured that if I couldn't stay here, Hendrix might be able to."

"You mean my kitten brought me a kitten?" Mellors laughs, delightedly, as he watches the kitten arch and purr under Walker's tickling.

He looks up at the Blouseman, his eyes burning.

"I need no reminder of you," he says huskily. "Thinking of you is as breathing to me. But I'd love to have this kitten with me; it will make it a little less lonely to pass the time while I wait for you to come to me. What did you say its name is?"

"Yeah, your kitten brought you a kitten," Walker murmurs, sitting up slowly and handing the kitten to Mellors. "He looks a whole load different now to when I found him... and I sort of called him Hendrix - but you can call him what you want."

Walker smiles as he watches Mellors fondle the sleepy little cat.

"Think I'm a bit jealous already," he murmurs, "I've been here a whole five minutes already and I haven't held you in my arms yet."

"Be reasonable, Blouseman! How can I take you in my arms when you're lying there with a little cat draped over your chest? The poor thing would get squashed. And what sort of name would Hendrix be? I hope it's not the name of some kind of dope," Mellors asks, looking sternly at the Blouseman.

"Tell me little one," he inquires, scratching the kitten behind its ears. "Has this disreputable lover of mine been treating you right?"

Walker sighs and lies back down on the bench, folding his arms over his eyes...

"Hendrix was a very fine guitarist - probably not as good as Clapton in my opinion - he died in London on September 18, 1970 - he was only 28. And yes, I have looked after the kitten very well. I'm not completely useless. There's some food and toys and bedding and stuff in that bag from David..." Walker yawns and rubs his eyes and folds his arms back over his face.

"Wake me up when you two are finished getting acquainted..."

"Mf," Mellors mutters picking Hendrix up from Walker's chest and bringing it up to his face to rub his nose against its little head before settling it back down on the Blouseman's lower belly.

"I am not sure about this Hendrix of yours but Clapton is a fine British name. Anyway I don't mind Hendrix being called Hendrix. If that's the name you thought it should have, then I'm happy with that name. What I really would like to know is something else," he continues bending his face close to Walker's chest.

"Who exactly is this David?"

The question is followed by a sharp little tug at Walker's nipple with his teeth.

Walker hisses at the feel of Mellors' teeth on his nipple, the sensation sending messages of pleasure and anticipation straight to his groin. The feel of the kitten moving on his belly is distracting. He unfolds an arm and strokes Mellors' face with his fingers.

"Hendrix it is then," he smiles softly. "And David? Just someone I met back there - a fellow cat lover - but he'd had to give his cat to a friend on account of where he was living and the stuff was going spare... why?"

Mellors moans under Walker's gentle caress.

"Oh god, you've barely touched me and I'm already moaning. Let's go inside, I can't properly say 'thank you' to you for bringing me Hendrix and at the same time keep track of the kitten."

He scoops up the little cat, thwarting its attempt to climb Walker's thigh, and cradles it in the crook of his neck.

"Don't get your claws out at my asking about this David, Blouseman. I was not implying anything. It's just that I know so little about your life that I wanted to know something about this friend of yours. I am sorry he had to give up his cat. If it was anything as cute as this little guy he must be desolate about that."

"Yeah, he is, more than he's willing to say, I reckon." He pauses, still stroking Mellors' cheek.

"I'm sorry," Walker murmurs, "it's just that the minute I see you I just want you so bad, that everything else seems so unimportant."

He smiles at Mellors. "David is someone I just met - he looks a lot like me and he's a whole load crazier than I am - if you can believe that..."

Walker stands up and pulls Mellors to him. "And yeah, let's get this little fella sorted for the night, gamekeeper, then I can give you my full attention - and something tells me I can stay a little longer this time."

"I want you badly too, and you can be sure that you won't be leaving here until I've had my fill of you. And that will take quite a bit of time," Mellors replies, his voice low and hungry, as he chases with his mouth the hand that is stroking his cheek.

"But do you really think we can leave Hendrix by himself the whole night? Look at him," he says, pointing with his chin to the kitten that is trying to wiggle his way inside the neck of Mellor's shirt. "He needs warmth, body contacta33; He needs to stay close to us. He's so small..."

"I know all about needing warmth and body contact," Walker growls, dropping soft kisses across the kitten's back and up the side of Mellors' jaw and cheek, "and we'll make sure he gets what he needs."

He slides a hand down over Mellors' buttocks pressing him in close and tugs at the gamekeeper's bottom lip with his teeth.

"But right now we can get him comfy for a little while so you can make sure I get what I need..."

Mellors moans again, grinding his quickly hardening cock against Walker's hips. His free hand curls around the Blouseman's neck, his thumb stroking the pulse point on it, his fingers tangling in the long hair.

"I'm sure I'll find a way to see that both my kittens get what they need. I'm willing to make a huge efforta33;" he whispers.

He draws back, cradling Hendrix in his hand. He strokes the kitten's belly with one finger but his eyes never leave the Blouseman's body, stroking him with his hot gaze.

"Keep looking at me like that and I won't be responsible for my actions," Walker murmurs, his hands reaching for Mellors' hips and pushing him gently backwards through the doorway of the hut.

"I'm so hard, gamekeeper," he whispers softly. "Tickle this kitten's belly, stroke him with your tongue."

"Love, looking at you is only a very small taste of what I will want to do to you, with you. I'm always ready when my kitten wants to play. I'm sure each of my kittens will have games it wants to play that the other won't be much interested in playing, but I'm also sure that there will be games you both love," Mellors says softly, lifting Hendrix close to his face and rubbing his stubbly cheek against the furry belly, making the little cat purr loudly. His free hand goes to grab the waistband of Walker's jeans, long fingers dipping in and dragging him inside the hut.

"See? I ask you to stroke my belly and you stroke the cat - you're all talk and no action, gamekeeper," Walker mutters, pulling away from Mellors grip.

"I'm real fond of the little squirt but right now it seems you're more interested in stroking him than you are me."

"Are you sure?"

The question is whispered huskily against Walker's ear as the Blouseman finds himself abruptly pulled back against Mellors' chest. A squirming Hendrix is deposited gently in Walker's arms and the gamekeeper's hands are finally free. Free to close around Walker's waist, free to unzip his pants and slide in to palm the warm half-hard cock.

"You have my full attention now, Blouseman. So, are you sure it is your belly that you want stroked?"

Walker shudders at the feel of Mellors' fingers on his hardening cock. "Bastard," he mutters, "you're not playin' fair - you know how much I've missed you, how much I want to kiss you, to touch you, to..."

Walker's aroused as hell but irritated at the same time as he looks straight into the gamekeeper's amused eyes. "This ain't the time for games, Mellors," he growls. "So put the kitten in that box over there or I'll leave you two to play on your own..."

Mellors' green eyes glint, mirth and lust mixing in them.

"Sshhh," he murmurs placatingly, leaning forward to plant little kisses at the corners of the Blouseman's pouting mouth. "The game I have in mind is not one I can play with a little cat, it is one for grown up cats. And grown up cats never play fair at this kind of game, it is morea33; exciting that way," he concludes with a playful nip at Walker's nose.

"Let's get Hendrix here settled in into his new home and then I'll let you play with me all you want."

Walker holds Hendrix secure in one arm and curls his other around Mellors' neck, kissing him softly on the mouth.

"I'm sorry..." he whispers, "I know I shouldn't be jealous of the little squirt... I guess I'm not good at being teased - I remember when I... ah, forget it. All I want is you to put him somewhere warm and safe and then hold me and kiss me and show me how much you've missed me..."Mellors sighs, reluctantly taking his hands off Walker's body.

"Right, help me get him sorted out, the poor sweetie looks half-asleep already, while I'm feeling very much awake and not so tired as I felt when I was walking home. Seeing you asleep on my bench with this beautiful little one on your chest did wonders for that. It was a dream come true," he winks at Walker, bustling about to get stuff.

"I have a box we can put near the stove for him, so he'll be warm. These old shirts of mine will do for padding. And while I get that arranged you can tell me what is it that you were about to say about getting teased."

"What? Nah... it's nothing," Walker murmurs, watching Mellors fussing over Hendrix and settling him into his new bed. He doesn't want to think about that time - wishes he hadn't mentioned it.

He's glad that he brought the kitten here, even though he already knows how much he'll miss him when he goes back. The bus will seem very empty and quiet without him. Suddenly the all too fragile nature of his relationship with the gamekeeper seems frighteningly apparent and Walker shivers, breathing in sharply and grasping Mellors' arm.

"Love you," he whispers.

Mellors turns to hug Walker tightly, feeling the beautiful body tremble in his arms. "I love you too, even more so for bringing Hendrix to me. I know it will be a joy to have him here when you're not with me, but I am sure you needed his company as much as I do and that you'll miss your little squirt. You will have to come to us more often..."

He nuzzles his face in the crook of Walker's neck, inhaling the scent of his skin. "You know I call out to you with every breath I take. Every hours that passes while you're away from me is spent waiting, waiting for you to be here, waiting to be able to hold you against me..."

"Well, I'm here now," Walker murmurs, hugging the gamekeeper close to his body, this voice thick with emotion, "and it feels so incredibly good." He lifts Mellors face and kisses him slowly, nibbling and then opening his lips with his tongue, exploring and tasting his mouth as if for the first time. He feels Mellors push against him, returning the kiss and feeling the familiar tingle of arousal throughout his body.

"I needed that," he whispers, brushing his lips across Mellors' jaw, "and now I need a whole lot more."

"I'm here, my Blouseman, and I'm all yours."

Mellors' fingertips brush Walker's sides, trailing up and down, again and again, skimming lightly the quivering flesh. He arches his neck under Walker's exploring mouth and his voice is already raw with need.

"Tell me, my love, tell me what you need, tell me what is your pleasure... Were you dreaming of me when I woke you up? What was I doing to you in your dream?"

"I can't remember the last time I dreamed of anythin' else but you, gamekeeper," Walker murmurs, looking directly into Mellors' eyes. "Sometimes I wake up so hard I have to ease the ache with my hand and pretend it's your fingers curled around me." He leans forward and licks a wet trail up Mellors' throat.

"Other times I wake up covered in my own come and wish you were there to lick me clean." Walker trails his tongue once more up Mellors' throat.

"Just now I was dreamin' that you were inside me, lookin' into my eyes, moving slow and deep - and I was moanin' your name. That's what I need, gamekeeper - need it real bad."

"We seem to be dreaming the same dreams, my beautiful lover..." Mellors' voice trails off, his breath hitching as Walker's tongue explores his skin.

"There are so many things I dream of doing with you that eternity itself would be too short. Things like this," he adds sliding his hands inside the waistband of Walker's jeans and cupping his buttocks.

"I dream of how smooth you are here and of feeling that with my mouth. I dream of tasting you, of making you open up for me. Then my dream becomes your own... being joined with you, my body inside yours, our eyes binding us, my sweat and your come mingling when we come off togethera33;"

Walker groans, his cock painfully hard as listens to Mellors' words and feels his hands on his ass. He can almost feel Mellors' mouth - his tongue on his trembling body. He purrs with pleasure, pressing open mouth kisses across the gamekeeper's jaw and then biting down on his earlobe.

"So what're we waitin' for, gamekeeper?" Walker asks softly, sliding his tongue into Mellors' ear and pulling him slowly towards the bed.Mellors pushes his hands down along the back of Walker's thighs, dragging the fabric of his still unzipped jeans down with them.

"We're waiting for you to step out of the only piece of clothing you're wearing," he growls, pushing Walker to a sitting position down on the bed so that he can pull his pants off. Once he has the Blouseman naked, he steps back to leer at the beautiful golden vision sitting on his hay bed.

"Then we're waiting for you to play valet on me and get my clothes off. I rather fancy the idea of you undressing me," he purrs, taking Walker's hands in his owns and bringing them to his braces.

Walker smiles but his fingers are shaking as they slide the gamekeeper's braces down his arms. "Love you," he whispers, as he lifts his hands to unbutton Mellors shirt and slide it from his shoulders. "Want you," he murmurs, pressing his lips to Mellors' belly. "Slip your shoes off," he mouths against sweet warm skin, "and push your socks down," he adds, fingers slowly unfastening Mellors pants. "That's it," he breathes, trailing his hands down Mellors' hips, taking the cord breeches with them, Walker's fingernails scratching lightly over the gamekeeper's buttocks.

"You're so beautiful," Walker whispers. "Can't believe you're mine."

"You'd better believe that, cause I don't want to be anybody else's," Mellors growls, stepping out of his breeches and kicking them away. "Except for Hendrix's maybe, but not exactly in the same way," he adds with a wink, joining Walker on the bed and pushing him down on his back.

"First I want to kiss you," he whispers, capturing the Blouseman's mouth in a hot, searing kiss. "You taste so good here, sweet and wild. That is how I imagine that dope you like to smoke would taste. But you're far more intoxicating. And I long to find out how intoxicating you will prove to be somewhere else... Turn around, Blouseman, lie on your belly for me."

Walker's breathing a little faster when their mouths part and he looks up at the gamekeeper, his eyes darkened with desire.

"I was thinkin' it's a long time since I had sex under the influence of drugs, gamekeeper, but that's not true," he murmurs, stroking Mellors' face. "Because every time we make love it's like I'm drugged - on the taste and scent and feel of you."

Walker smiles up at Mellors and licks his lips. "And I'll lie anywhere you want me to," he purrs, turning over on his belly and resting his arms above his head with a contended sigh.

"Christ, you're so beautiful," the gamekeeper's words are filled with wonder and need as he settles between Walker's thighs. His fingertips trace the curve of the bronzed buttocks almost with reverence.

"You're golden all over... The sun has kissed your skin everywhere, just like I want to do. I want to be your only drug, I want to be your sun," he murmurs as he lowers his mouth to the smooth, tanned skin.Walker closes his eyes and abandons himself to the seductive tone of Mellors' voice, the touch of his fingertips trailing over his skin, the feel of his mouth.

"You're all I'll ever want," he murmurs, unable to stop rubbing himself slowly against the bed, his muscles rippling in minute stretches and shifts of position. Walker's fingers curl into the rough sheet of the bed and he can no longer tell whether the purring he can hear is his own or that of the little kitten asleep nearby.

"Behave, Blouseman, slow down," Mellors murmurs as he maps with his kisses the smooth curve of Walker's ass, his fingers rubbing soothing circles on the small of his back. "Tell me love, can you wait for me while I taste you?"

Walker turns his head and looks at Mellors, through heavy lidded eyes.

"Your fingers on my back feel wonderful - it's like warm water flowin' through me," he purrs. Walker's lips are dry and he licks them unconsciously.

"Yeah... I can wait," he whispers hoarsely. "Just don't make me wait too long...

Mellors meets Walker's eyes and without even realizing it he licks his lip like Walker just did.

"I won't, I can't... Tell me when you can't hold back anymore, tell me if my stubble burns you..." he whispers, his voice raw with need, as his hands spread the tanned, muscled cheeks making room for his mouth.

He traces the length of the cleft with his tongue before settling on the Blouseman's opening, circling, wetting, dipping in.Walker gasps, trying to draw in air, as he's suddenly unable to breathe.

"Jesus...oh...fuck... please..." he groans, his hands scrabbling in the sheet. Mellors mouth and tongue are branding him, sending searing waves of pleasure through him and he whimpers, begging silently for release as he tries to raise himself up on his knees.

Walker's movement brings a low growl to Mellors' throat. He feels the muscles spasm and clench gripping his tongue, and the feel shoots down to his hard cock, damp with precome and tight against his belly.He draws back, reluctantly but knowing that he is too close to last longer, aching to be fully inside his Blouseman.

"Need you now, love. Please," Walker gasps, his whole body trembling, his cock achingly hard, "not goin' to last..."

Wiping his mouth on his arm, Mellors helps Walker turn again to lie on his back.

"It is as I imagined," he whispers, burning green eyes seeking the blue ones hazy with need. "Inside you are hot and taste like a wild fire. And now I want to feel that fire again burning me..."

Knees are pushed apart and pressed back, making room for his body as he inches close, slicking his shaft with his own fluid.

Walker's hands come up to grasp Mellors' arms, desperate for something to hold on to, to ground him, to keep him sane. Shaking legs wrap round the gamekeeper's waist, encouraging, his need consuming him.

"Now...now," he murmurs, canting his hips up, urging Mellors home.

"Yes, now..." Mellors hisses, pressing his cock against Walker's opening and sliding home in one smooth push.

"God, you feel so hot, so open, it's like coming home after having been away. You feel mine... Tell me that you are mine, tell me..." he pleads, as he starts to move in and out, slowly, as if they have all the time in the world.

Walker opens his eyes, panting softly and smiles up at Mellors. He lifts his fingers from their vice like grip on Mellors' arm to stroke his cheek.

"Yours," he says on a whimper, his eyes closing as Mellors' cock brushes over his prostate with every stroke, "yours - always... I'm yours."

He manages to open his eyes again, living the dream - the magic - again.Mellors smiles, rubbing his cheek against Walker's hand much in the same way the kitten would do. The eyes that meet the Blouseman's are slitted in pleasure. Supporting himself on one elbow, he reaches for Walker's cock, curling his hand around it, using his thumb to stroke the sensitive underside.

"I am ready love," he whispers huskily. "Let's fly off together."

The words and the voice are enough. Walker shudders at the feel of Mellors deep within him and comes suddenly, his muscles tightening and making him gasp. His body arches up towards Mellors, spilling hot seed over the gamekeeper's fingers.

The muscles rippling around his spurting cock feel like a hand; stroking and squeezing him, feel like his own hand cradling Walker's cock through the spasms. Mellors feels so joined with him, it is almost difficult to tell their orgasms apart.

"I love you," he murmurs as he collapses, sweaty and trembling, on the Blouseman's chest.

The feel of Mellors' warmth spreading in waves inside him makes Walker moan with pleasure, legs sliding down to wrap around the gamekeeper's calves. Instinctively, he wraps his arms possessively around Mellors' shuddering body and pulls him close. He can feel both their hearts pounding and Walker doubts they've ever been closer than right at this minute - connected - physically and emotionally. With a sigh, Walker presses his mouth to Mellors' damp hair.

"I love you too," he whispers. "I reckon I'm the luckiest man alive - someone sure smiled down on me the day they led me to you."

"We both are," Mellors' breath is still ragged, panting. "I know I have never lived, I have never loved before you came to me. The times when we are apart are hard, but what we have when we are together is such that it makes the waiting and loneliness worth it."

His head nestled in the crook of Walker's neck, Mellors makes small, contented sounds, breathing in the scent of sweat and musk from Walker's skin.

"Wanna hold you like this forever, gamekeeper," Walker murmurs, rubbing his cheek against Mellors' hair. "Right here, with you still inside me and wrapped around me - warm and sticky and sweaty and perfect." He pulls up the blanket to cover them both and smiles.

"You sound like our kitten," Walker murmurs, "purring away there like that." Walker kisses Mellors' ear. "Sleep, love - I'll still be here when you wake, I promise. I've got another gift for you."

Mellors' purring sounds of sated happiness slow down as he snuggles eagerly into Walker's loving hold, turning into soft, regular puffs of breath against the skin of Walker's neck as sleep overcomes him.

~~*~~

Walker blinks against the semi darkness, waiting for his eyes to accommodate. They must have moved in their sleep because he can feel Mellors spooned up behind him - warm and comfortable. He's relieved but not surprised to find that he's still in the hut. Somehow he knew they'd been granted more time.

He gently disentangles himself from Mellors without waking him and stands up. With a contended sigh he moves over to the stove and peers into the box - Hendrix is still asleep. He squats down and gently strokes the kitten's warm belly, feeling completely at peace with himself.

Walker reaches for the rucksack he'd brought with him and removes a large cloth bag. He opens it, putting his nose inside and sniffing the contents. He returns to the bed; Mellors has turned onto his back and still sleeps. Smiling to himself, Walker begins to sprinkle deep red rose petals all around Mellors' naked body. The hut is immediately filled with their rich fragrance. Walker picks up Hendrix and sits on the side of the bed cuddling the purring kitten. He watches his blond lover sleep, all at once content to enjoy the beauty of the sight and yet willing this other purring kitten to wake up.

Mellors is dreaming.

Dreaming of being with the Blouseman, rolling around in the grass, playing with each other while the dappled light shining through the leaves of the trees paints green and gold patterns on their bodies. The air is thick with scent of roses in full bloom.

He rolls around in the bed, seeking Walker's body, and the scent of roses increases, enough to tug at his consciousness.

Walker smiles as he watches Mellors roll around in their bed, wondering what it is he's dreaming about and hoping it involves him... As Mellors moves, Walker sprinkles more rose petals where there are gaps. He can sense his lover's waking up...

"They said that your love is soft - that is true. They said that when you make love you are like a big cat longing to be pet - you are - a big purring cat."

Walker trails his fingers up Mellors' belly and chest and deposits a kiss on each nipple.

"They said that I'm your soul mate - I hope I am that to you. They said that I'd described you as a great lover - you are - and so much more. They said you deserve a bed of roses - you do - so I brought one for you."

Mellors stretches leisurely, his eyes still closed, purring under Walker's touch.

The Blouseman's words bring a smile to his lips, they feel like the continuation of the dream he was having. The love, the scent of roses...

His eyes fly open as he realizes that the scent of roses is very much real and he looks around. He looks at the hay bed covered in rose petals, their colour dark-red against his skin. He looks at Walker, sitting naked on the bed with a sleepy Hendrix in one hand and a handful of petals in the other. He throws his head back and laughs, a sound fill with joy and love.

"You are crazy, Blouseman, and I am crazy for you."

Walker grins and slowly lies down alongside Mellors, his head propped on one arm, inhaling the rich rose fragrance. He carefully deposits Hendrix onto the gamekeeper's chest.

"Crazy... crazy?" he mock pouts, "is that all you can say, gamekeeper? I was tryin' to be romantic. Do you have any idea how much those rose petals cost me?"

"You are romantic, no one's ever done that for me, no one's ever loved me the way you do. Aye, you're my soul mate, for all time and beyond."

Mellors reaches out to pull Walker closer by his side so that he can whisper in his ear.

"How about a kiss in payment for each rose petal?"

Walker settles next to Mellors, nuzzling his neck and purring softly.

"I can take as many of your kisses as you're willing to give me, gamekeeper," he murmurs, licking softly at Mellors' throat, "you know that." Lifting his head, he strokes Hendrix and looks at Mellors, his eyes shining.

"But just right now, I'd kill for a cup of tea."

"Did you hear that, Hendrix?" Mellors asks the kitten; amused by the way the cat is rolling around on his chest trying to pounce on Walker's teasing fingers. "That's romantic for you."

"I'll give you tea. I'll make you a proper breakfast. Then maybe I'll tell you about my dream. But I think that first we should clean up a bit and give this little guy breakfast before he decides that your fingers are his breakfast."

"Wow... breakfast - it all sounds good to me," Walker murmurs. "Why don't we give Tiger here some grub and settle him downa33; and then maybe we could wash each other - what do you say?" Walker's gaze rakes the length of the gamekeeper's body, his eyes dancing.

"Look at me that way and instead of getting clean, we'll get stickier," Mellors growls, already catching fire again.

"There's a stream behind the hut. The water's not too cold; it comes down from the hot pool. We can wash there," Mellors says, scooping up Hendrix and rising from the bed. He brings the cat up to his face, rubbing his nose into his soft fur just to hear him purr and kissing a wandering paw. "But I think the two of us need to go outside to relieve ourselves first. You can get his breakfast in the meantime."

Walker laughs, rolls over and stands in one motion. "Hmm - a warm stream sounds good - don't be long out there," he murmurs. He watches Mellors leave the hut and then moves over to the stove. He throws some more wood inside puts the kettle on the top and then looks in his sack for some cat food. Thankfully, the stuff David had given him also didn't need a tin opener.

He peers in Mellors cupboard and takes out a saucer and mixes a small amount of food in it. This is Hendrix's favourite. He puts the saucer on the table and waits, smiling and stretching himself, his fingertips almost touching the roof of the hut.

Standing on the doorstep with Hendrix nestled against his neck, Mellors admires the fluid stretch of the Blouseman's body.

"You really are like a big cat," he murmurs huskily. "My big cat..."

Hendrix meows plaintively, as if to remind them that little cats have their needs too, and the sudden hunger on Mellors' face softens, as quickly as it had appeared.

"Yes, little one, your breakfast's ready."

Walker turns and grins at Mellors, stepping aside to allow him to give Hendrix his food. "Big cat indeed," he murmurs, "love you." He reaches out and tickles Hendrix under the chin and then softly touches Mellors' cheek.

"My turn, I think," he whispers, walking to the door. "And I've put the kettle on..."

Mellors puts Hendrix down on the table near the bowl of food and watches amused as the kitten starts digging into it with a rumbling purr.

The rumbling from his own stomach reminds him that the cat is not the only one who's hungry and he gets out a pan, fetches bread, sausages and eggs from the small larder and sets to work.

When Walker comes back the food is sizzling on the stove and Mellors is pouring the steaming water from the kettle into a teapot.

"I think I'll have to try and stay longer more often," Walker smiles, sniffing appreciatively and licking his lips. "I'm starvin' and that sure smells and looks good."

He quickly slips his jeans on, suddenly a little self-conscious of his nakedness, and sits at the table, watching Mellors serve the food.

"I'm sorry I was a bit scratchy when I first got here," Walker murmurs. "I've never been able to read folks that well, know when they're jokin', take teasin' too good, you know?"

Mellors looks up from dishing out the food, his green eyes filled with love.

"You must tell me when I say or do something that irks you. I spend so much time by myself that I tend to forget how it is when you're blurting out whatever comes to your mind to someone else. Someone you care so much about. And I did get a bit distracted by Hendrix. He was such a surprise..."

He grins at the little cat that, having finished his own food, is now hypnotized by the sausages on Walker's plate.

"Yeah, Hendrix is a distraction - but a nice distraction," Walker murmurs. He picks up the little cat, kisses his head and then pops him back in his box. "Just till we've eaten, little one."

Walker sits back down and begins to eat. "This is good," he grins at Mellors, " real good." He eats for a while and then pauses.

"Nothing you do irks me, gamekeeper. The problem's mine, not yours. The first guy I was with - well I wasn't really with him - I was just a kid really and a dumb one at that. I wanted him so bad, thought he wanted me. He teased me for days, weeks... Then one day he found me alone at college. He teased me, said things to me - I was so aroused - it was all so new and then he touched me - made me come in my pants."

Walker swallows, his voice dropping to a whisper. "He laughed at me then, said some awful things - made me feel ashamed, dirty, stupid. And then he told people I thought were my friends..."

"What a fucking bastard..." Mellors' voice is an angry growl but the hand that goes to clasp Walker's is warm and comforting. "I know how you must have felt. Should I ever behave like that, I want you to hit me and hit me hard."

The hand reaches out to cup Walker's face.

"I tease you sometimes, but I do it in love. There are times when things feel so deep and strong between us that they scare me. When that happens I try to hide what I feel behind a laugh, a tease. But it's because I love you so much that I do it."

Walker puts a hand over Mellors on his face. "I know you don't mean to hurt - you would never do that - I just wanted you to know, that's all. It took me a long time to trust anyone after that."

He lifts Mellors' fingers to his lips. "Maybe it's because I love you so much that I seem a bit crazy sometimes - it's a defence mechanism."

Walker kisses and then sucks on each of Mellors' fingers in turn. "It's good to be loved," he murmurs, his eyes on Mellors' across the table."It's good to love you, and it makes me feel special to know I have your trust, to know that you trust me enough to tell me about these things, about how you feel," Mellors replies, stroking Walker's lips with his wet fingertips.

"Now eat your breakfast, Blouseman, I am getting hungry, very hungry and I don't think this simple fare will appease the need I feel growing in me. Right now I'm beginning to think that you taste better than any food and that you fill me like no food can. I want to go play in the water with you."

Walker grins and slowly lets go of Mellors' hand. He continues to eat for a few minutes, systematically clearing his plate.

"I was pretty hungry myself, gamekeeper," he says softly, "but I always seem to find room for more - I'll never have my fill of you..."

Walker gets up and checks Hendrix - he's asleep and then grasps Mellors hand and pulls him up.

"Shall we go wash in your stream?" he asks softly, running his fingers through Mellors' hair. "Or shall we take our little squirt with us, so we can keep an eye on him, and go find that pool?"

"I've longed to go back to the pool with you," Mellors murmurs hotly, kissing Walker's wrist, sucking on the pulse point and following the vein with his tongue up the inside of the Blouseman's arm.

"We can take the little one with us, box and all. I know he'll have to get used to being by himself while I'm doing stuff around the estate, but he's so small and it's his first day here. If we take him along he will be safe and we'll be able to keep an eye on him. That is if you don't distract me too much..."

"Distract you - me?" Walker murmurs, sighing at the touch of Mellors' lips on his arm, "I think you got me mixed up with someone else."

He locks his eyes with Mellors and slides his other arm around Mellors' back, fingers trailing up and down his lower spine.

"I've longed to go back to the pool too... to float and to wash and, as I recall..." Walker leans in to nibble and then suck at Mellors' throat, "a33;there's something I recommended some time back - maybe the pool is the right place for some riding lessons, gamekeeper."

Mellors moans so loudly at the images the Blouseman's words conjure in his mind that he startles Hendrix who answers him with a loud meow.

"You're too hot for your own good, Blouseman, I've a feeling the water of that pool will be steaming today..."

The gamekeeper's hands grab Walker's hips, bringing him against his body and rocking slightly into him, a suggestion more than an actual movement. "I think we'd better get out to the pool fast. I think that breakfast has only increased my real hunger."

Walker grins, resting his hands on Mellors' buttocks and responding to the gamekeeper's movements. "Love you all eager and hungry," he growls and kisses Mellors briefly but hard.

He steps away and picks up Hendrix's box with the little kitten sitting happily in it and smiles down at him fondly. Still smiling he catches Mellors' hand.

"Come on, gamekeeper," he murmurs, pulling Mellors to the door, "let me satisfy your hunger - let me fill you up."

Mellors licks his lip, chasing the taste of Walker's too brief kiss. "I'll take that as a promissory note, Blouseman..." he growls back.

Lacing his fingers with Walker's, he follows him out the door, chuckling at the image of Hendrix peering curiously out of his box with his ears pricked up.

"This little one certainly has big ears for such a small kitten, we'd better be careful of what we say when he's around."

Walker laughs and bends to kiss Hendrix's head as they walk towards the pool. "Maybe he'll grow into his ears as he gets older," Walker murmurs with a grin. "But he sure is one cute kitten - almost as cute as you," he adds, increasing his speed - suddenly eager to reach the pool.