A Trial of Strength

A TRIAL OF STRENGTH - PART 85 By Rob Williams

IN THIS CHAPTER

The twins have arrived! The boys are put in charge but Pablo resents Jamie's authority. "I'm in charge, asshole. You were nothing when you came here and you're still junior to me." Pablo attacks Jamie. Mark confronts Randy and the cop takes spectacular revenge for his boy. But the twins still have a problem ... with Bob. "We're not really sure what love is, but we think we might be in love with you, sir."

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A TRIAL OF STRENGTH - PART 85

It was late afternoon and the shadows were beginning to lengthen across the lawn. Bob and Randy were sitting at the outdoor table with Mark and Zack, relaxing after a hard week. The twins, Kyle and Kevin, came out of the house holding trays loaded with beer and elaborate snacks, some of them straight from the oven.

"Excuse me, sir," said Kevin to Bob, "we thought you might like some appetizers before dinner. There's quite a selection." The four men stared at the trays in amazement.

"Shit," said Randy, "this looks great. You guys don't quit, do you?"

The twins had been in the house a little over a week now and they were constantly surprising the men with their culinary expertise, which they had gained during the time they had worked at an upscale restaurant. They were eager to please and were going a long way to redeeming themselves from their first day there, when they had tried to steal one of the cars from out front and were tied up and beaten by Pablo and Darius.

Since then a lot had happened. Randy had given Pablo a lesson in what it takes to be a man by letting the boy fuck him. Zack had a long session with Darius, explaining to him that it's not fists that make the man. And even though Jamie had not really participated in the beating of the twins Mark had "punished" him in a way Jamie had loved, having to suck the cop's dick, then drink his cum down to the last drop.

All this was a prelude to the next chapter in the education of the three boys. Bob had turned the twins over to them, so Pablo, Darius and Jamie were fledgling `masters' and the twins were their boys. "Quite an experiment," Bob had said, after the twins returned to the kitchen. "So how do you think your boys are doing, guys?"

Mark was enthusiastic. "Jamie is a changed man. He's really blossomed, taking charge of the twins, showing them round the house, how everything works. They really seem to look up to him, respect him."

"Yeah," Bob agreed. "I even caught Jamie showing Kevin the work he does in the office and the young kid seemed to latch on to Jamie's enthusiasm. How about Darius, Zack?"

"Oh, you know Darius," Zack grinned affectionately. "He's great with them ... jokes around, makes them laugh, and I guess they haven't had a lot of that lately. I think he fantasizes about them ... hell, he fantasizes about everything. But I made it clear he's their boss ... no fooling around."

Through all this Randy was silent, until Bob looked at him questioningly. "Yeah, well," Randy said, "Pablo still has issues with them. Can't seem to shake his anger about them stealing the car. I think he still resents them, somehow. And the twins are scared shitless of him. Can't make him out."

"You should," Bob said. "He takes after you, a chip off the old block. Remember how reluctant you were to take the twins in, Randy? You still haven't warmed to them. And if I recall it took Pablo a long time to accept Jamie when he first came here. Wasn't until Jamie saved Billy, Pablo's dog, that he finally embraced him." Randy nodded in agreement.

"It'll take Pablo a while," Bob continued. "Trouble is, just as Pablo looks on you as boss of the house, he sees himself as the leader of the boys ... the dominant one. We'll just have to see how this plays out. Just so long as he doesn't let his anger get the better of him. We've had enough of that around here ..." and he grinned at Randy.

"Anyway," Mark said. "The twins seem to have settled right in. And one thing even you have to agree on, Randy, the food is sensational. Are the boys in there helping them in the kitchen?"

"No, the twins are fine on their own. The boys are up in their room ... watching a video, I think they said."

"Oh, hell," Zack said. "That video ... the one Darius made when I was teaching Lloyd a thing or two a week ago. That'll keep them happy."

But as it happened their attempt to watch the video was thwarted yet again. They had just started when there was a knock on the door and the voice of one of the twins, said, "Sirs, dinner is on the table."

Dinner was the usual raucous affair. The guys were in a boisterous mood and the twins silently and unobtrusively served the seven men a great meal. When it was over they all went to kick back in the big living room. As they grabbed their beers and left the table only Jamie hung back for a word with the twins. "You OK with all this guys? There's a lot to clear up. The meal was sensational, by the way, as always."

"Thank you, sir," said Kyle. "We'll be fine," added Kevin. "When we've finished we'll bring something into you."

The twins liked Jamie. He was kind to them and he was the one they looked up to as their boss. Before they came here their lives had been spinning out of control and now, for the first time in years, they glimpsed a measure of stability and refuge, a place where they could be together and do what they enjoyed doing ... cooking good food.

Of course this rowdy group of spectacular-looking men overwhelmed them. Bob was the man who had first befriended them and welcomed them here, the one they looked up to with awe, but he was so far above them that they could only gaze at him in gratitude and admiration. They had never met a man as beautiful as Bob and their feelings for the gorgeous muscle-stud were fast becoming an infatuation.

The two black guys they didn't know well yet, but they seemed friendly enough, especially the younger one. Even the gorgeous-looking cop they liked, mostly because he seemed to be the master of Jamie.

They were scared of the big boss guy, though, and his boy, the one they called Pablo. They didn't seem to like the twins, seemed as if they resented their presence in the house. They were tough, too, and looked as if they would punish them hard if they put a foot wrong. But at least the twins were together ... and Bob had promised them they would never be split up.

They worked quickly at clearing up the kitchen and loading the dishwasher. They could hear shouts and raucous laughter coming from the living room as the guys relaxed after dinner. They pulled out more drinks, put cheese, crackers and several dips on a big tray and took them to the room.

They knocked and went in, and it was Jamie they addressed, rather tentatively. "Er, sir, we though you would like some drinks and something to go with them. We even found a bottle of brandy in the cupboard."

Jamie smiled at them and was about to thank them when Pablo shouted, "Just leave it there. We'll call you if we need anything else." Bob frowned at his tone of voice and glanced meaningfully at Randy. The twins put the tray on a low table and left the room.

Jamie looked at Mark. "Er, sir. Don't you think we could ask the twins to join us? Must get lonely down there on their own."

"Up to you boys," Mark said. "You're in charge of them."

"Why should they come in here?" Pablo objected. "They're not part of our group."

"But that's the point," Jamie persisted. "Perhaps it would be good for them to get to know us a bit better ... make them feel more at home. They can't always live separate lives. What do you say, Darius?"

"Hey," Darius grinned, "I'm all for getting to know them a bit better. Why the hell not?"

Bob nodded encouragingly at Jamie so he ran into the kitchen and said, "Hey you guys. Why don't you come and join us? Grab a beer for yourselves. Don't be shy. You can sit together on the couch over by the wall if you like."

The twins were shy so they sat apart from the others, close to each other, and listened with rapt attention to the ribald chatter and laughter of this extraordinary group of men. When the party finally broke up, they walked over to Jamie and shook his hand. "Thank you, sir. Thank you for including us."

As Pablo looked on his expression was dark as thunder clouds.

The storm clouds broke the next day. Randy, Bob and Mark had gone over to Zack's house to check out his progress on building the guest house. The twins were in the kitchen preparing lunch and the three boys were in the pool. When they got out they pulled on shorts and T-shirts and realized they were thirsty. Pablo yelled loudly, "Hey, you guys ... bring us something to drink out here ... now!"

"Hey, dude," Darius said, "ease up on those guys a bit, why don't you?" But Pablo ignored him.

It was only a minute before Kevin emerged with an array of sodas and juices and set them on the table. Jamie looked up and smiled, "Thanks, Kevin." But Pablo frowned as he looked at the drinks and said impatiently, "You forgot the bottled water. Go get some."

Jamie jumped up. "It's OK, Kevin. You don't have to do that. You're busy with lunch. I'll get the water." He walked back to the kitchen with him.

When Jamie came back with the water Pablo was standing, legs astride and confronted him angrily. His resentment of Jamie and the way the twins treated him as boss, was clearly boiling over. "Listen, man, when I give an order to those guys I don't expect you to contradict me. We lose their respect that way."

"Jeez," Jamie said mildly, "I was just giving them a hand."

"No!" Pablo shot back. "You were trying to cozy up to them as usual. You like the way they treat you as their boss, don't you? So you cut Darius and me out of the picture so's you're the one they call sir."

Jamie retorted, "Well if you treated them with a bit more respect maybe they'd respect you too. You treat them like dirt under your finger nails."

Pablo's anger was spilling over. "Now get this straight, asshole. I'm the one who calls the shots around here. Randy's the boss and I'm his boy, so I'm in charge of those guys." His finger repeatedly jabbed Jamie on the chest. "So don't get any big ideas, asshole. You were nothing when you came here and you're still junior to me."

To his credit Jamie held his temper and replied evenly, "Look, dude, we're all equal. We were all put in charge of the twins. Who made you boss of the boys all of a sudden?"

"This did," Pablo snarled, clenching his fist in front of Jamie's face. "You want me to prove it?"

"Look, man," said Jamie holding up open palms. "I don't want to fight you over this. We can work it out."

"What's the matter?" Pablo taunted. "You chicken, or something ... scared of me? Come on man, let's see who's the best." Pablo's jabs became punches and Jamie doubled over as he felt the fist in his stomach. In a defensive move he grabbed Pablo round the waist in a bearhug. But Pablo was a fighter, stronger and more skilled than Jamie, and soon the two were grappling fiercely with each other as Darius stood back yelling for them to stop.

Pablo's irrational anger now consumed him. His physical supremacy soon showed and Jamie was getting the worst of the fight. Pablo smashed his forearms into his ribs and stomach and Jamie crashed to the ground on his back. Pablo knelt astride him, grabbed the neck of the T-shirt and hauled his face up, slapping it from side to side until angry welts flared on his cheeks.

Darius yelled, "Hey dude, stop! You gone crazy or something? This is not good, man ... you're totally out of control." He hauled at Pablo's shoulders but Pablo had the strength of pure adrenaline and didn't even feel him. In his blind rage he continued pummeling Jamie.

But suddenly Darius was shoved aside and a stronger pair of hands yanked Pablo upright and spun him round. Pablo found himself gazing into the blazing eyes of Randy, just as he was lifted off his feet and sent spinning across the ground. Darius ran toward him but crashed against the body of Zack barring his way. The men were back.

"Everybody cool it!" Bob's voice rang out and everything stopped as the boys took heaving breaths, the residual effect of anger and exhaustion. Mark rushed forward, scooped Jamie up off the ground and helped him hobble into the house. Pablo was picking himself up and Randy growled at him, "Go up to your room, boy, and wait for me."

Darius stood dazed and bewildered before Bob, Randy and Zack ... like a tribunal. "OK," Zack said. "Did you see all of this, Darius ... you know how it all went down?"

"Yes, sir," Darius said nervously.

"Look at me boy! Now we want the truth. Don't hold back, don't protect anyone, and don't exaggerate. We want the whole truth."

Darius didn't dare to do otherwise, so that's what he gave them ... the whole scenario from start to finish. It was obvious from his account that Pablo had been spoiling for a fight and that Jamie had tried to reason him out of it. When Darius stopped talking Zack put his hands on his boy's shoulders. "Thank you, Darius. You're a good guy ... you haven't betrayed anyone. Now come with me over to my house. These guys have a few things to sort out here."

"How is he?" Bob stood with Mark in the corner of Mark's bedroom. Mark had helped Jamie shower and he was resting on the bed. There was a bloody towel on the floor.

"He'll mend," said Mark softly, his anger muted. "No bones broken, but he took a hell of a beating. His ribs will be sore for a week or so, and he'll have bruises and a black eye, if not two. Jesus Christ, that kid must have totally lost his mind."

"Let Jamie sleep now," Bob said gently, and they went outside and sat by the pool. "We should have seen this coming," said Bob. "It's partly my fault, turning the twins over to the boys. They weren't ready for that kind of responsibility."

"You're wrong, man," said Mark. "Jamie was doing just fine, and Darius was OK too. But Randy's boy! Hell that anger inside him is something else. He sure takes after Randy, and I gotta say I blame him. Like master like boy. Hell, I thought they'd sorted all that out, thought Randy had told him that fists don't make you a man."

As a matter of fact, at that moment Randy was doing all he could to restrain his own anger in Pablo's bedroom as he stood over his boy sobbing on the bed. He shook his head, "I don't fucking get you, boy. I thought we had a deal ... thought you understood what it took to be in charge of boys like the twins. What the hell am I gonna do with you?"

Pablo looked up through tear-stained eyes. "Send me away, sir. I'm no good for you."

"Just shut the fuck up!" Randy yelled, then turned his back, controlling his anger. "I'll never send you away. I won't give up on you, kid. But you can't get away with this and I am gonna punish you, worse than ever before."

"Whip me, sir. I deserve it."

"Oh, no. That would be too easy. No, I have something else in mind ... something much worse. This is a punishment you won't forget." He strode out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

He walked out to garden where Mark was now sitting alone, nursing a beer. "How's he doing, man?" Randy asked.

"He'll live," said Mark curtly. "No thanks to you, though. Hell, have you no control over that kid?"

"Look, buddy. There's not much I can say ... words won't cut it ... but there is something I can do. There is a way I can punish my boy and apologize to you at the same time. And it involves you. You won't go for it at first, I know, but you have to, man. It's the only way I can get through to the kid."

Randy explained his plan and Mark recoiled. But Randy was insistent and finally won grudging consent from Mark. "And no holding back, Mark," Randy said. "It has to be for real."

A few hours later the stage was set. Zack and Darius had come over from Zack's house and were sitting at the table by the pool. Bob came out of the house, bringing the twins with him. He was taking a chance letting the twins watch, but this was to be a rite of passage in the house, a seminal event, and Bob had decided that the twins should not be shielded from it, no matter how rough. They should be given a good look at the way the house operated.

Bob joined Zack and Darius but the twins sat at a distance in the background. And they gazed in amazement at the focus of attention ... Pablo. He was standing naked under a tree. His arms were stretched straight up, tied to a branch by the wrists. He knew this was to be his punishment and he stood with his head bowed.

Mark emerged from the house supporting Jamie, who was limping, his face swollen. Jamie sat with Darius who threw his arm over his shoulder and spoke softly to him. Mark remained standing, wearing his usual jeans, boots and a white T-shirt. There was a pause and then Randy came out. A gasp went round as everyone, including Pablo, saw the belt Randy was holding. Pablo knew he was to be its target and welcomed the punishment to come. He knew he deserved it and wanted the others to see him take his punishment like a man.

There was tense anticipation in the air as Randy addressed them all. "You all know that this boy has disgraced the house with his unprovoked and savage attack on another member of the group. That will not be tolerated and has to be punished. The victim is Mark's boy and it is proper that Mark deliver the punishment." There was another collective gasp as Randy handed the belt to Mark. Pablo was surprised but not shocked. He understood that Mark had to avenge his boy, and he could take the beating from Mark just as well.

"So Mark will deliver the punishment," Randy continued. "However, I am Pablo's master and as such I have to share the blame. I have nurtured and taught the boy. It was I who trained him and taught him how to use his fists. Pablo's anger was my anger. When boy attacks boy, by association it is the master who insults the master. And the master has to assume responsibility. So before you all, I apologize to Mark. I have insulted him ... so it is I who will take the punishment.

At first nobody quite understood, until Randy walked over to a tree a few yards in front of Pablo. On a branch over his head were ropes and Mark quickly secured Randy's wrists to them. Randy now faced his boy in exactly the same position, both of them bound a few yards apart, their arms stretched high above their heads. Now Pablo understood and he howled, "NO!"

Randy spoke quietly to him. "Now you understand your punishment, boy. I told you I would punish you worse than ever before. Watching your master take your pain for you will hurt you more than a whipping ever could. You are to count off for the police officer ... up to twenty."

The men seated at the table could hardly believe their eyes and ears. "Son-of-a-bitch," Bob murmured. "The man is incredible. He'll do anything for that boy. Poor kid."

And so it began. Mark reached behind his neck and pulled off his T-shirt. Standing behind Randy, he reached forward, grabbed his T-shirt and ripped it from the bound body. Both men were now stripped to the waist, in jeans and boots. And one muscle-stud was about to thrash the other. As instructed by Randy, Mark did not hold back. He raised his arm and lashed the belt against the broad, muscular back. The huge body shook, but Randy made no sound.

As ordered, Pablo managed to say, "One, sir." He had never been in such a state of shock and despair. He knew he had behaved unforgivably, driven by his anger, and knew that he should be punished ... welcomed it, even. But this was unimaginable, watching his master, the man he worshipped, his hero, being beaten before his eyes, taking a brutal punishment that he, Pablo, had caused. He pulled at his ropes, desperate to get away and hide from this torment, but he was forced to watch.

Again the belt curled round his master's naked torso, again the body jerked. "Two, sir." It was the sound that was the worst, as the belt whistled through the air and cracked against the muscles that flexed to withstand the pain. Lash after lash fell on the bound bodybuilder until the skin was marked with angry red welts and the rugged, stubbled face streamed with sweat.

Pablo's agony was compounded by the fact that Randy never took his gaze off him. His steel blue eyes bored into Pablo's so the boy was mesmerized and could not tear his eyes away from his suffering master. As he heard the lash, and watched his master jolt in pain, he willed the pain to be transferred to him. He saw the pain in his master's eyes and felt every lash himself, as acutely as if the belt was curling round his own body.

The punishment was relentless as the cop's magnificent body applied all its strength. And still Pablo counted. "Fifteen, sir ... sixteen, sir ..." The construction worker was now sagging in the ropes, nearing the end of his torment. Tears ran from his eyes mingling with the sweat streaming over his bruised muscles. Pablo willed his master to endure the torture and finally, at long last screamed, "Twenty, sir."

There was total silence except for the sound of Pablo's agonized sobs. The other men hardly breathed. They had never seen punishment like this, where the physical pain of the master caused searing mental anguish in the boy. Surely it was over ... surely Mark would cut the men down. But that was not to be.

Pablo's eyes watched in dread as Mark made his next move. He unbuckled Randy's jeans and pulled them down below his ass. Then he unzipped his own pants, pulled out his cock, and stroked it until it was rock hard.

Pablo sobbed, "No, please, sir. No more, please." He wasn't sure which of the men he was begging ... maybe both of them as they were both causing his agony. In any case it made no difference as the punishment was inexorable. He watched the shirtless cop come close behind his master, put his arms round his chest and clamp him tight. He saw their bodies jerk, saw the swarthy face wince, and he knew that Mark had penetrated his master's ass.

Still Randy's tortured eyes were fixed on his boy. Pablo watched as his master was pounded, again and again. He knew the piston feel of the cock as it pierced the depths of the ravaged ass. He saw Mark's face pressed against Randy's over his shoulder. He saw both their glorious faces side by side, the one blonde and god-like, the other dark, satanic. In his delirium Pablo watched the god dominate the devil. It was unbearable, agonizing ... it was spectacular!

Pablo lost all sense of where he was, what was happening. All he saw was these two magnificent men, naked to the waist, muscles tense and gleaming as one inflicted punishment and the other endured it. They were pressed together, one glorious body pinioned on the shaft of the other. The boy had never seen anything like this, never felt such pain, such ecstasy. He was hallucinating, lost in a delirium of fantasy and lust.

He started to yell. "Yeah, fuck him. Fuck that gorgeous body. Take it, man. Oh, man, that's beautiful ... one muscle-god fucking the other. It's gonna make me cum. Oh yeah. Here it comes, man ... Aaaagh!"

It was all three men who screamed, all three men who exploded in a tumultuous orgasm. The two bodybuilders shuddered against each other as their juices poured from them. And the boy hung limp, not knowing what had happened, aware only of his cock emptying its load onto the ground beneath. As he came to his senses realization slowly dawned of what he had done, what he had felt and shouted as the blond muscle-stud had fucked and humiliated his master. Pablo hung his head in shame and wept quietly.

He watched in a daze as Mark pulled back, reached up and untied the ropes. Randy's ravaged, near-naked body slumped to the ground, sprawled on his back. Mark looked down at him. His cock was still hanging out of his pants and he took hold of it and pointed it at the fallen man. A stream of hot piss splashed into the rugged, swarthy face, then over his bruised chest. The big, powerful construction worker lay beaten and humiliated in the dirt.

Mark looked down at Randy, with a mix of conflicting emotions. He had done exactly what Randy had begged him to do, and he had exacted painful retribution on both master and boy. He had avenged his own boy, but he took no pleasure in it. As a cop, Mark hated violence and felt diminished by what he had done.

Before he walked over to join the other men Mark untied Pablo who fell to his knees sobbing. He bent over his master, licking his wounded flesh despite the stink of urine, trying feebly to heal the wounds, wounds from the beating and degradation the master had endured because of him, because of his boy. The pain in Randy's body was nothing compared with the agony Pablo was feeling. His mind was reeling from a punishment worse than anything he had ever endured, a searing image that would always be etched on his brain.

"They've gone!" It was Darius's voice. Throughout this ordeal nobody had noticed the twins. They had sat way in the back, shocked but fascinated by sights that were beyond their comprehension. They knew only that two men were being punished in an extraordinary way, and they had a sense that it was their fault. And it scared them. They didn't understand all of it, but they knew it had happened because they were in the house. They should never have come here. They should leave.

And when the men finally turned round they had gone. Darius quickly searched the house but they were nowhere. "Did you see them go, or hear anything?" Bob asked anxiously.

"Can't be sure," Darius said. "I think I heard them murmur something about it being all their fault ... least I think that's what they said."

Under the tree Pablo was fixated on his master, but through his haze of pain Randy heard what was happening. He fixed Pablo with an urgent look and managed to groan, "Go after them, kid. Bring them back. Show me the boy you really are. Redeem yourself."

Suddenly Pablo snapped back to clarity. He knew what he had to do. He leapt to his feet, grabbed his shorts and sneakers from the ground, and ran across the garden and out through the gate. The men moved as if to follow him but they were halted by Randy's shout. "No! Let him go. He has to do this alone."

"Redeem yourself," Randy had said. After all Pablo had suffered, all his mental anguish and confusion, he now saw everything clearly, and he had a new, singular focus. The twins. He didn't even think about taking one of the trucks. He pulled on his shorts and sneakers as he ran down the hill, desperate for a sight of them. They couldn't have got far.

In fact they had barely reached Figueroa Street at the bottom of the hill. Scared, confused, uncertain what to do next, they walked hesitantly. When they heard running footsteps and panting behind them they panicked, picking up speed. They heard a voice behind them yell, "No, stop. Please, guys ... wait up."

They turned round and saw Pablo running frantically up to them. They flinched, fearing the worst and stared at the muscular young boy as he regained his breath. "Wait," Pablo panted. "Please, I have to talk to you." They stared at him in fear and confusion.

"Look, guys, please don't leave. Not on my account. Hell, I've been a son-of-a-bitch to you guys. I of all people should have known better. A long time ago those guys took me in when I had nothing and now they're doing the same for you. And I treated you like dirt. I've been a real prick. But I'll make it up to you if you'll come back with me. What d'ya think, eh?"

The twins blinked and Kyle spoke. "Sir, we were scared of you. We know you are the boss's boy and you're the leader of the other boys and ..." Kevin took over. "...and you're so big and tough we thought you looked down on us. And we got you into all that trouble back there."

"No ... I got myself into all that trouble because I was such an asshole." He looked at them forlornly. "I know you like Jamie. That's why I beat him up. Do you really hate me that much?"

"Not really, sir. We like Jamie `cause he was kind to us. We were scared of you, but actually we kind of look up to you. We wish we could be tough and strong like you. We've always been beaten up by other guys ... wish we could defend ourselves like you."

"Hell, that's not a problem," Pablo grinned. All three turned to go back up the hill, Pablo between them, and he threw his arms over their shoulders. "I could show you a few basic moves that would get you out of any trouble. My double-forearm smash has always worked for me, and of course a quick knee to the balls will bring any man down. I'll give you lessons later if you like."

"That would be great, sir," said Kyle, though Kevin looked doubtful. "Trouble is, though, we're not as strong as you. I mean, you're so buff and muscular and we're kind of ... well, thin."

"Shit, that's no problem either," said Pablo, warming to his subject. "Hell, you're sleeping in the gym downstairs, you should be using the equipment. If you let me take you through a few routines I could build you up in no time. What d'ya say?"

The twins' anxiety was turning into enthusiasm ... excitement even. "Would you do that, sir?" Kevin said. "We don't know how to use that gym stuff but if you could show us ..."

"No problem," Pablo beamed. "You'll have to work at it, though. I'll push you real hard. As a trainer I can be a son-of-a-bitch."

"We know that already, sir," Kyle grinned. "But we'll do whatever you tell us to. After all, you're the boss."

Randy had taken a swim in the pool and Darius had brought out a clean T-shirt for him. He was tough, and took pride in being able to recover quickly, put the suffering behind him. Still, the gathering of men was uncomfortable at first as they recovered from the searing experience of the afternoon. Bob realized that they had been through a catharsis, but he watched with satisfaction as things slowly got back to normal.

Randy and Mark were easier with each other now. In fact they seemed closer than ever, two dominant, alpha males who, through a mutually intense experience of pain and retribution, had gained even more respect for each other as men.

However, the doubts about Pablo and the twins still hung in the air. Then, suddenly, those doubts were dispelled. The gate opened and Pablo came in with his arms over the shoulders of the twins on either side of them. He stepped forward and said, "Hey you guys, everything's gonna be good. I behaved like a real jerk and I apologize to everyone, especially to Jamie and to my dad, for putting you all through this. I guess I've got a lot to learn. But I'm glad to say the twins are staying ... for ever I hope." And suddenly his trademark crooked grin spread over this face.

Jamie stood up, walked over to Pablo and threw his arms around him. "I'm sorry, dude," Pablo whispered to him. "I totally lost it. I love you man, and I'll make it up to you." Darius got up and ran over to join them. "Hey you guys, let me get a piece of the action here." Looking over their shoulders Pablo smiled at Randy, who said softly, "That's my boy."

So the dust had settled ... but Bob was still uneasy. A short while later he walked into the kitchen where the twins were working as usual. "So," he said, "is it true that everything's OK with Pablo now?"

"Sure, sir," said Kyle. "He's gonna set us up with a workout routine in the gym." Kevin added, "And he's gonna show us a few of his fighting moves so we can defend ourselves if we ever need to."

"Good ... good," Bob murmured, though his sensitive instincts detected a certain reticence in the boys, despite their enthusiasm for Pablo. They had not made eye contact since he came in and were now looking down at the counter-top concentrating on their work.

"Hey, come over here and sit at the table with me," Bob said. Hesitantly they obeyed, though they still didn't look at him. Bob chose his words carefully. "You say that you ran away because you thought you had caused all that trouble today. Is that right?"

"Yes, sir. But Pablo said that wasn't true, that is wasn't our fault."

"Well he was right ... nobody blames you." Bob looked at them carefully. "Are you sure that was the only reason you ran away?"

They didn't respond, but shuffled uneasily and still avoided his eyes.

"Now Kevin, Kyle ... look at me and tell me the truth. Has anyone else in this house upset you?"

There was a long silence. Then Kyle said almost in a whisper, "Yes, sir."

"Who was it?" No response. "I said, who was it here that upset you? Answer me."

Another long silence as the twins looked at each other and blushed. Finally they spoke in unison.

"You, sir. It was you."

Bob jerked backward as if he had been physically struck. "Me? What do you mean? Have I treated you badly, done something wrong? Tell me. I want the whole truth."

It was Kyle who plucked up the courage. He took a deep breath and the words tumbled out in a rush. "Sir, you told us when we came here that nobody would want to have sex with us and we shouldn't think about it. But we can't help it, sir ... I mean, sir, we've never met anyone like you. You are so incredibly beautiful, sir, your face, your body and you're just so.... perfect ... and gentle and kind and ..."

He ran out of words so Kevin took over. "Sir, sex for us has always been something we did to survive. We've never ... like ... well, wanted anyone ... loved anyone. Except each other. But now ... well ... at night we talk about you all the time and ... and we jerk off thinking about you. We can't help it. We're not really sure what love feels like but we think we might be in love with you, sir. And we know that's wrong, that you would forbid it, but we can't help it and ..."

Kyle took over. "... and that's why we left, sir ... `cause we knew you would send us away if you found out."

There was total silence. Bob looked at them stunned. He saw their blushes, saw tears in their eyes, saw their shoulders slumped in embarrassment. And there were tears in Bob's own eyes as he slowly he got up from the table and walked round to the twins. "Stand up," he said.

They stood and faced him. He took Kyle's face in his hands, leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the lips ... a long, gentle kiss. Then he repeated the move with Kevin, pressing his mouth tenderly against the boy's lips. He pulled back and put a hand on a shoulder of each one.

"Look, guys. What I said was that nobody would ever ask you to have sex against your will, or make you do it for money. But there's a phrase you probably don't know ... consensual sex. That means when both guys want it. And that is not only allowed in this house... it's fine, it's great ... it's encouraged."

"But you would never want ..." Kyle stammered. "I mean, you're so gorgeous, so far above us, you would never want ... not with us."

"Who says I wouldn't? Guys, I like you a lot. Now, you're new to all this and you saw today how rough this house can be. So I have no idea where this all goes from here on. But why don't we find out? Later tonight, after dinner, I'll come down to visit you in your room and we'll see. OK?"

"Yes sir!" they said together. And Bob saw a sparkle in their eyes that he had never seen before.

TO BE CONTINUED in "A Trial Of Strength ... Part 86"