A Trial of Strength

A TRIAL OF STRENGTH – PART 480 By Rob Williams

Chapter 480 – "RYAN DISCOVERS MAN SEX"

IN THIS CHAPTER:

Ryan, a shy Thai boy, interviews for a job in the tribe's office. He is a naïve, inexperienced loner, shocked by the sexual acts he glimpses in the tribe. Scared at first he is befriended by Darius, the construction company's muscular young black foreman – and his life changes. They visit the raw, macho world of the construction site and Darius says, "Don't worry kid, I'll take care of you. You're with me now." ___________________________________________________________________

IN THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER

It seemed that the tribe might be getting two new guys.

As blabbermouth Eddie breathlessly told his friend Ben, "To start with, Darius has told his master Zack that he is looking for a boy of his own. He'll probably find some young black dude who's having a rough life and reminds him of himself when he was that age.

"And number two – Bob has told Jamie and Brandon they have to hire an assistant to help with the office work. And guess what ... the boy coming for a job interview is a Thai boy ... you know, from Thailand. Who even knows where that is?"

The young Thai boy turned out to be a shy, skinny 19-year-old, a self-proclaimed computer nerd. He told Jamie and Brandon, "My Thai name is Ruang-Rit but in America people call me Ryan. I'm pretty much a loner, sir – spend most of my time on my computer. I had a girlfriend in Thailand for a while but ..." he blushed ... "only for a while."

Brandon said, "What we really need around here is more computer savvy," and Ryan seemed to fit the bill perfectly, making several suggestions on how they could upgrade the construction company's computer network.

So things were going well until Jamie asked Ryan to return Darius's wallet to him that he had dropped in the office. Ryan went upstairs and was horrified to see Darius ferociously fucking his lover Pablo. He staggered back down to the office and stammered, "Don't touch me ... I gotta go ... I can't work here after what I saw. Just let me go and don't anyone touch me."

But just as he left, the tribe's leader Bob came in and, in his kind gentle way, soothed Ryan and apologized for what he had witnessed. When Ryan calmed down Bob said, "Tell you what, Ryan, I wonder if you would care to join us for dinner. All the guys eat together out there at that long table by the pool. I understand if you don't want to, but it would be a way to help me prove that we're not a bunch of weirdos and monsters.

Ryan hesitantly accepted, and Jamie took him across to the apartment he shared with the cop Mark to change out of his interview clothes. But Mark came home earlier than expected and Ryan hastily left through the back door. But he lingered by the bedroom window and watched in a trance as the handsome cop made love to his naked surfer boy Jamie.

When it was over Ryan shook his head and slowly emerged from his trance. When he had watched Darius and Pablo he had felt horrified and ashamed. But now the trance lingered and he wasn't sure what he felt. He was confused, but this time he didn't want to run away.

He walked round to the garden ... and bumped into Darius. He recoiled as the shock of his earlier sight of Darius came back to him. "Oh, sorry sir ... I was just ... I mean I gotta ..."

"You gotta calm down, kiddo, is what you gotta do," Darius chuckled. "Don't be scared, I'm not gonna hurt you. Hey, sit here a minute with me will ya? I got something to say ... please ..."

Hesitantly Ryan sat down at a small round table in the garden facing Darius. "Ryan, Bob told me about what you saw when you came up to my place to return the wallet."

"I'm sorry, sir, I shouldn't have been spying ..."

"Nah, it's me should apologize, kid. I shouldn't a' left all the doors open like that. Look, I just wanted to show you that I'm not the monster you think I am – a crazed bare-chested black guy in filthy jeans and boots. That's me at work." Now barefoot in cargo shorts and a black T-shirt Darius leaned back, spread his arms and beamed. "Ta-da ... I clean up pretty good, don't I?"

"Yes, sir."

"Ah, don't be shy with me, kiddo. Hey, how did the interview go? You get the job?"

"I think so, sir. But I'm not sure if I can stay and ..."

"Oh no, kid, don't tell me that seeing me do that stuff with Pablo put you off this place. Look, I promise I'll never touch you, won't even speak to you. When I see you coming I'll run away and hide in the bushes so you don't even have to look at me."

Ryan managed a faint smile. "You don't have to do that, sir."

"But dude, you gotta stick around. You are gonna stick around aren't you?"

"Well, sir, Bob did invite me to stay for dinner so ..."

Darius leaned back and smiled at the earnest, nerdy kid, his too-large T-shirt hanging loosely on him. "Those Jamie's duds you're wearing?"

"Yes, sir, they're too big for me, I know. He's big and muscular and I'm just this ..."

"You ever go to the gym?"

"No, sir. I wouldn't even know what to do there if I did. Anyway, all those ripped guys would laugh at a skinny nerd like me."

"Dude, let me give you a word of advice. Never give a shit about what other guys think. They got a problem with you? Fuck `em. But if you don't like being skinny we got a gym downstairs here. Tell you what, if you come to work here, when you finish in the office and I get home from work I'll show you how to work out in the gym. Deal? You are gonna take the job, aren't you?"

Ryan smiled and shrugged. "Course you are, dude. Hey, after all that bullshit, how about a hug for old Darius, show you forgive me?" They stood up and Ryan found himself wrapped in strong black arms. Darius ruffled the boy's hair and grinned, "OK, kiddo, see you at dinner."

Ryan stared after Darius walking up the stairs. What a day! His mind was racing so fast he couldn't sort out his thoughts and he was nervous about meeting the other guys. But at least he liked Jamie and Brandon, and that nice guy Bob. And even Darius too.

********************* CHAPTER 480 *********************

BOB TO RYAN – "JUST RELAX, KIDDO"

Suddenly Ryan found himself all alone in the garden. He sat nervously on a bench, feeling confused, not even sure what he was doing here. Did he actually have a job? Did he even want the job? Did he even want to stay here – why didn't he leave?"

Just then a young redheaded boy in a dark green apron and chef's hat came out of the house and spread a tablecloth on the long table by the pool. He grinned when he caught sight of Ryan.

"Hi, you must be Ryan, Brandon's new assistant. I'm Will, the twins' boy and their assistant chef. Hey, I hear you're gonna be giving me help sprucing up our menu with some Thai recipes. Nothing too spicy, mind. I can just see Randy's face when he bites into a hot chili pepper. He'd go apeshit. I gotta run now `cos the heat's on in the kitchen. A couple dozen for dinner tonight – even Grady and Mario are coming from the Grady house. We'll talk later, dude – can't wait."

He ran back to the house leaving Ryan reeling – so many names. And how did that guy even know about him giving Thai recipes? And who was this Randy everyone kept talking about?

"I know, Ryan. Bewildering isn't it." Bob's comforting arm lay across his shoulder as he sat down beside him. "I came out to see how you are."

"Oh, hello, sir. I ... I'm not sure how I am, sir. I feel real confused. So many people."

"Don't worry, you don't have to remember all the names. Who have you met so far?"

Well, Jamie and Brandon of course, and you, sir. And I ..." he blushed. "I saw Darius and his, friend Pablo as you know. And ... I've got a kind of confession. I saw Jamie and his friend the police officer through their bedroom window and they were ..."

"I know, they do that every day when Mark gets off work. Great thing to watch. And you just met Will briefly. He's the boy of my boys Kyle and Kevin. Anyone else?"

"I, er, I bumped into Darius again when I left Jamie's apartment and ... I was scared at first but he was real kind and gentle, not a bit like he was with his friend when they ..." he blushed again.

"I told you ... Darius is a great guy. Did you two chat?"

"Yes, sir, and he offered to show me how to exercise in the gym downstairs, `cos I don't have a clue about that stuff. But ... do you think I should go, sir? I mean, he's so big and muscular, sir, and I'm just this skinny kid. He wouldn't want to do to me what he did to Pablo, would he?"

Bob laughed. "Of course he wouldn't, and of course you should go. Not to build big muscles necessarily, but exercise is always good. All the guys here work out at the gym."

Ryan hesitated as if plucking up courage. "Sir, can I ask you something? Like, before he left Darius put his arms round me and I was scared at first but then it felt ... like, really nice. Kind of different from anything else. I mean, I've never known any big black guys like him and ... I dunno ... I don't know what I'm saying, sir."

"I think I do, Ryan, and my advice is this. This whole experience of meeting the tribe will seem overwhelming, but if you remember just one word it's this ... `relax'. I promise nothing bad is gonna happen and maybe some good things will. Just keep a lookout for the good things. Ah, here's someone you haven't met yet, but I felt sure he'd be next.

Eddie rushed up grinning widely and launched into his breathless spiel. "Hey Ryan, good to meet you. I'm Eddie, Hassan's, boy, he's a big gorgeous Marine. I'm the house manager so I know everything that goes on around here. If you have any questions, I'm the guy to come to. I can tell you who's who and how things work, and I can teach you a few things.

"I have a lot of special skills, one in particular that I picked up, believe it or not, in the back room of a leather bar. I'm an expert and I've taught all the other guys, so when you're ready I can show you how to ..."

"Eddie!" Bob interrupted just in time with a warning glare and Eddie winced.

"Oh yeah, right. Er, I was gonna say I'm expert at ..."

"... at talking Eddie. Ryan, any time you want lessons in talking without breathing Eddie's your boy."

"I know, right?" Eddie grinned. "Anyway, I gotta help the guys set dinner up, so I'll catch you later dude."

Ryan smiled, "Eddie seems very nice, sir."

"You'll find that they're all very nice," Bob smiled. "As I said, just relax. Ah, here comes Brandon now, so I'll leave you in his hands." Bob kissed Ryan on the cheek and left as Brandon rolled up in his wheelchair.

Ryan smiled, then lowered his eyes and stared at the wheelchair. "Sir ... I was wondering ..."

"About the wheelchair, right?" Brandon grinned. "And in answer to your question, no the wheelchair is no impediment, I can do pretty much what any of the other boys do. You can just ask Pete, there he is coming through the gate. He's a forest Ranger and I'm his boy."

A tall handsome man came up, leaned down and gave Brandon a big, long kiss on the mouth. Only a few hours ago that would have shocked Ryan but after everything he had seen today the kiss seemed a good thing. And Bob had told him to look for the good things. When they separated Pete smiled at Ryan. "Hi, you must be Brandon's new assistant."

"He, er, hasn't actually accepted the job yet, sir," Brandon said. "We thought he should check out the tribe first, make sure he doesn't freak out."

"It can be a bit scary at first," Pete said. "I remember my first time. But with Brandon as your boss you would be in good hands. Ah look, everyone's arriving at once. It's like someone banged a dinner gong. Good luck at your first meal, kiddo." He kissed Brandon again and headed for the table.

"OK," Brandon said, "we'll sit back here for a while and I'll tell you who everyone is as they arrive, then we'll join them. Take a deep breath, you're about to dive in at the deep end."

"THIS BOY'S A KEEPER"

Brandon pulled his wheelchair alongside the bench and rested his hand on Ryan's as he kept up a running commentary on the arrivals, noting who was whose boy, what job everyone did and a few other facts. Amid the crowd he spotted another boy in a wheelchair coming in with two extremely handsome men. "That dark-haired one is Mario, he's Italian, with his friend Grady and their boy Brian. Brian is my boyfriend," Brandon smiled.

Ryan did a double-take when he saw Grady. Couldn't be, he thought. The guy looked just like the actor who played Tarzan in the movie he had seen several times. No, couldn't be the same man – but it sure looked like him. Brandon said nothing, always discreet about Grady.

Eventually most of the guys were seated at the table and Bob came up to Brandon and Ryan. "Well, Ryan, time to dip a toe in the shark tank. No, not really – more like a goldfish pond, all kinds of beautiful exotic fish."

Ryan squeezed Brandon's hand nervously and they went to the table. "Gentlemen," Bob shouted above the clatter of voices, "we have a guest joining us for dinner tonight. He came to interview for the job as Brandon's office assistant and we invited him to stay for dinner. His name is Ryan."

"Hi, Ryan!!" The welcoming chorus was deafening and Ryan blushed deeply, but Jamie saved him by pulling him down in the chair beside him and Brandon wheeled himself up on his other side. As Bob had promised they would be his shield, guys he could talk to. On Brandon's other side Brian pulled up in his wheelchair, leaned over and kissed Brandon. Ryan was used to men kissing each other by now, and now he actually thought these two boys looked sweet.

But suddenly the sound level around the table dropped and Ryan heard a deep booming voice behind him. "So who have we got here?"

Ryan jumped to his feet, turned round to face a stunning sight – a tall, brawny gypsy-looking man with a ruggedly handsome face, heavily stubbled jaw and shaggy black hair. He was wearing jeans, work-boots and an old oil-streaked tank top over his heavily muscled torso. He would have scared Ryan except for his shining pale blue eyes and his amused smile. "So you're Brandon's new assistant I've been hearing about, kid."

"Er, he hasn't actually accepted the job yet, sir," said Brandon.

"But he will, won't you kiddo? You're gonna say yes to the job right?"

"Y...yes sir," Ryan stammered.

"Good that's settled. Brandon'll take good care of you. I hear you're gonna teach me how to use a computer, that right?"

"Yes, sir. I think you should, sir."

"Oh you do, do you?" Randy said with a huge smile. "I got this old lap-top thing in my trailer on the site but the only time I tried to use it it was so damn slow, even when I yelled at it. I almost threw it in the nearest cement mixer."

"Oh you mustn't do that, sir. Cement would kill it." This man was totally intimidating but he had brought up a subject where Ryan was on safe ground and he took refuge in it. "Sir, if it's an old laptop using Wi-Fi it's probably only 2G and you need one that supports 5G."

Randy chuckled, "Kiddo, you're talking Greek to me."

"But a person can learn Greek, sir, and you can learn how to use a computer." Then he stopped abruptly and blushed red, realizing how pushy he was being.

But Randy roared with laughter. "Hey, guys, this boy's a keeper. Come here, kid." Randy spread his arms and enveloped Ryan in a hug that felt like he was being crushed by a bear. He could hardly breathe but he was aware of the thunderous applause and cheers. What they all knew, though Ryan didn't, was that he had been formally accepted into the tribe with this hearty seal of approval from the boss. Plus, he had accepted the job. Nobody said no to Randy.

When at last he unwrapped his arms Randy said, "Hey Darius, bring this kid to the site tomorrow and he can look at my ... what was it ... a two-jeez laptop? And he should get to know what a work-site looks like if he's gonna do the books with Brandon. OK, kid?"

Bob shouted "Catch" and threw a clean white T-shirt to Randy who grinned at Ryan. "You've met Bob, of course. Trouble with that guy is he always makes me dress for dinner. He pulled off his tank top and used it to wipe his sweaty face and under his arms. Ryan gazed in awe at the muscular chest as Randy tossed the tank aside and pulled on the T-shirt.

Stunned, Ryan sat down again and Brandon squeezed his hand. "Well done, Ryan. You know what just happened? You were accepted into the tribe. Randy always has the last word. Have you decided if you want the job?"

Just then Bob stood up and said, "Gentlemen, please join me in our nightly ritual of thanking the chefs for providing this delicious meal for so many hungry mouths." Ryan watched as the boy he had met earlier, Will, came from the kitchen with two smiling identical twins, all three wearing the same dark green aprons and white chef's hats. They took off the hats, raised them high in the air and swooped them down low in a deep theatrical bow.

Again there was laughter and thunderous applause and Ryan found himself clapping heartily along with the rest. When the noise died down Ryan smiled at Brandon. "Yes please, sir. I would like to take the job."

"Excellent", Brandon grinned. "You're hired."

RYAN STAYS THE NIGHT

During the lively meal Ryan was fascinated watching all the men and boys, but when he spoke it was only to Jamie or Brandon on either side of him.

"Actually," Jamie said, "it was a good idea of Randy's for you to visit the construction site and get a sense of the company we all work for. I always think that figures on a computer screen are a bit sterile and it's good to have the back story of the firm they represent. Darius is Randy's foreman on the site so he'll be a good guy to show you around."

Darius was sitting almost opposite them and Brandon asked him. "Are you OK with taking care of Ryan, Darius? I know how busy you always are."

Darius had been amused by the interchange between Ryan and Randy and now he smiled at Ryan. "It'll be my pleasure ... never too busy to take care of a guy like Ryan. Only thing is I'll be leaving real early in the morning, right after breakfast. You think you can get here early, kid, so I can drive you there?"

Jamie jumped in. "You know, the obvious thing is for Ryan to spend the night here and have breakfast with us, then you take him to work, Darius. Mark and I have a nice guestroom with its own bathroom so you'd be quite alone, Ryan. Trust me, nobody will barge in and nobody will touch you. Hell, you'll have a police officer sleeping next door, it don't get any safer than that."

"Sounds good to me, dude" Darius said. "Only thing is, I think Ryan is a bit scared of me. He, er, saw me giving the works to Pablo earlier, and that's kind of a scary sight. I don't want to make you nervous, kiddo."

"Oh you don't make me nervous anymore, sir. And I don't mind staying in Jamie's guestroom if it makes things easier for everyone."

"Good," Darius grinned, "that's settled then – thanks for the offer Jamie. Look forward to showing you the ropes, kiddo."

Then Darius turned to the guys sitting next to him and Ryan watched as he laughed and joked with them. He saw the easy smile on his handsome face, his sense of fun, and that muscular body flexing under the black T-shirt he was wearing. His mind went to earlier that day when he had stumbled across Darius yanking open his jeans pulling out that enormous cock and driving it into Pablo. No, he still couldn't get his mind around that. He didn't want to think of it anymore and pushed the thought away.

Fortunately Brandon interrupted Ryan's thoughts by asking him about where he lived and the other jobs he had done. And that's how the meal progressed, though Ryan was aware of Darius from time to time flashing him a smile across the table, which gave him a strange, warm kind of feeling.

When the meal was finally over the group started to disperse. Several of the men and boys came over to Ryan as they left and welcomed him to the tribe. Brian came over with Grady and Mario and once again Ryan couldn't get over how much Grady looked like Tarzan in the movie. Mario smiled, "Benvenuto, Ryan. You will be happy working for Brandon. And soon you must come to the Grady House and we will give a party for you." Mario kissed him on the cheek. "Ciao, bambino."

Randy passed by next with Bob. "OK, kiddo, see you tomorrow. I'll report to you in my trailer for my first computer lesson but I warn you, I'm a tough nut to crack. I got kicked out of school in tenth grade, they said I was rebellious."

Bob laughed, "And see how that turned out – nothing changed." Randy ruffled Ryan's hair and they left.

Darius flashed his gleaming smile. "I'll expect you bright and early in the morning, kid, ready for your grand tour. You OK about all this?"

"Yes thank you, sir."

"Good boy, Ryan," and Darius squeezed his shoulder as he left.

Jamie and Mark took Ryan to their apartment and Jamie showed him the guestroom. His last glimpse of Mark and Jamie was of them pulling off their shirts and this time he had no illusions about what they would be doing – the same thing he had seen them do on the bed when the cop had come home from work.

RYAN'S FIRST EVER SEX FANTASY

Ryan was impressed by his room, much larger and finer than his own small bedroom at home, and the shower looked so inviting he took a quick shower, brushed his teeth, then put on the T-shirt and boxers Jamie has given him to sleep in.

He snuggled down under the comforter in bed and switched off the light. Bright moonlight streamed into the room through the slatted blinds and he gazed up at the ceiling trying to gather this thoughts. So many thoughts crowding in, such a strange day. He had a feeling his life had just changed in a big way – as the old saying goes, today was the first day of the rest of his life.

It seemed impossible that it was barely eight hours ago that he had arrived here for a simple job interview. But so much had happened since then that it felt like days had passed. He had enjoyed his interview with Jamie and Brandon and had briefly met the handsome black man Darius. But everything had changed when, to his horror, he had stumbled across Darius pushing that enormous cock in the ass of his friend Pablo.

His only thought then had been to get away from this place, but then that wonderful man named Bob had talked to him and persuaded him to stay. When he happened to look through a window later and saw Mark and Jamie making love he was no longer upset. Making love looked good, even between two men.

And then came dinner with all those new faces, and they actually cheered when the big boss Randy hugged him. Randy still scared him but Ryan really wanted to help him with computers, and he was a computer expert which made him more confident about tomorrow.

But above this jumble of thoughts rose one memory that seemed insignificant but he couldn't get out of his mind – the way Darius had squeezed his shoulder and said, `Good boy, Ryan". Why couldn't he shake that memory? It was nothing, really ... and yet he still had a vivid image of Darius's green eyes smiling down at him.

His mind went back to their earlier conversation when Darius had put him at ease, joking that he would hide in the bushes so Ryan didn't even have to look at him. That made Ryan smile. He actually wanted to look at Darius, he was a really stunning man, especially when he was in the bedroom with his friend Pablo ... no not that. He had told himself he wouldn't think about that.

He lay still trying to push that scene out of his mind, making his mind go blank. But suddenly he realized that his hand was resting on the bulge in his shorts – his cock was getting hard. He pulled his hand away.

He had never been comfortable thinking about sex. His girlfriend in Thailand had wanted that but he didn't feel anything for her in that way. In the end it got embarrassing and they split up. In fact he had never had sex with anyone, and when he masturbated, which wasn't often, he made his mind go blank. So it was just the friction of his hand round his cock that made his sperm come out, and it always embarrassed him.

He took refuge in his computer instead, but never looked at porn sites. He stumbled across a few occasionally, hard to avoid, but they always disgusted him. In fact the whole idea of sex scared him, which is why he had been so shocked when he had watched Darius and Pablo – it was just like a porn scene. So why had he watched? His first impulse had been to run away and he had been on the verge of running away several times since. But he had stayed ... why?

His hand had crept down to his shorts again and this time his mind wasn't blank. He still had a vivid image and this time he didn't want to blank it out. He saw Darius again, in his bedroom, standing at the foot of the bed with no shirt on, his muscled torso tapering down to a slim waist and his black jeans.

As he recalled Darius ripping open his jeans and pulling out that monster cock he unthinkingly pulled his own cock out of his shorts and stroked it as Darius had stroked his. He saw again Darius slapping Pablo's ass, then his long rod sinking into it, inch by inch. He saw so clearly the rugged young construction worker pounding ass, his body gleaming with sweat.

He heard his voice again – "No escape now, big guy. You're trapped, I win. I can rip your ass with my cock or choke you with my arm – or both. Only one way to escape, boy, and you know what that is."

Yes, Ryan knew. He pumped his cock harder as he saw Darius flex and heard him yell, "Here it comes, dude ... I'm gonna cum ... fuck ... yeah." Then he saw Darius stand up on the bed above Pablo. But now he imagined Darius standing naked over him, smiling down at him as he pumped his cock and "Aaagh". Ryan could almost feel Darius's cum spraying down, not on Pablo this time, but on him. His body was shaking and as the image of Darius faded he realized that he was the one who had cum ... and the shout had been his.

The orgasm had been like nothing else he had ever experienced before. It was not mere friction that made him cum this time but the thought, the vision, of a man, towering over him and splashing him with his semen. What had happened? What had he done? It was his first ever sexual fantasy ... and he froze in panic.

Suddenly he was jerked back to reality by a soft knock on the door and Jamie's voice. "Everything OK in there, Ryan?"

Ryan gulped. "Er, yes, sir, it's nothing – just a bad dream."

"OK, just checking. Sleep well – and sweet dreams from now on, eh, kiddo?"

There was silence and the panic slowly subsided. What should he do? Leave the house maybe? No, Darius was expecting him and he didn't want to disappoint Darius. Darius ... Darius ...everything came back to Darius.

But then he had a bigger problem. His shorts were soaked with sticky semen – Jamie's shorts that he had lent him. He jumped out of bed, took off the shorts and went to the bathroom. At the sink he furiously rubbed the shorts under the hot tap. He had to get rid of all traces of semen. At last he squeezed them dry and hung them over the shower head hoping they would drip dry by morning.

He got back into bed and when his heartbeat slowed he realized that he was exhausted. The day had drained him emotionally and now physically ... literally. His jumbled thoughts merged, became hazy and faded into sleep.

"I'LL TAKE CARE OF YOU, KID"

Ryan woke early and his first thoughts were for the shorts. He ran into the bathroom and they were mercifully dry. In any case he saw a laundry basket and tossed them and the T-shirt in. There was now no trace of his shameful act last night – except in his mind, where it was lodged indelibly. He put on the oversize T-shirt and cargo shorts Jamie had given him yesterday and left his room.

Mark and Jamie were sipping coffee and Jamie smiled, "'Morning, Ryan, sleep well?" Ryan wondered if they had bought his `bad dream' excuse for his shout and blushed. He declined their offer of coffee, saying, "Darius is expecting me, sir, and said he would leave early."

"Then you better get out there, boy," Mark smiled. "Don't wanna keep him waiting."

In his guilt about last night, everything anyone said seemed to be teasing him about last night, so he excused himself and went down to find Darius in the throng of early breakfasters. His heart missed a beat when he saw Darius, already dressed for work – shirtless in black jeans and boots. He flashed a smile. "Hey, kiddo, you sleep well?"

There it was again. Did everyone know about what he had done? "Breakfast is buffet style here, Ryan, so grab something to eat and coffee, juice, whatever and we'll be off. Ryan had the impression that Darius was being excessively generous to him, though he was merely making a routine suggestion that he eat breakfast. Fortunately Jamie and Brandon joined him and they had casual conversation until Darius said, "OK, kid. You ready for the off?"

A few minutes later he was seated next to Darius in his truck and when Darius reached for the gearshift lever and accidentally brushed his leg Ryan flinched and pulled away, blushing deeply.

"Uh-oh, did I do something wrong?" Darius asked cheerfully. You're scared of me again. You want me to go hide in the bushes like I offered to do yesterday?"

That made Ryan smile. "No sir, I'm not scared of you, not at all. You don't have to go in the bushes."

"Phew, that's a relief. Driving this big ol' truck into the trees might fuck it up – us too. OK, kid, let me tell you something about the worksite. The company has three divisions now – one for residential construction where a guy called Seth is the foreman, the second for commercial projects, and my man Zack manages both of those.

"The site we're going to is new, for government contracts. Randy just landed a big one for the City of L.A. so he's a bit on edge – even more than usual. The City Planning Department is coming tomorrow for one of their routine inspections so Randy wants to make sure there are no fuckups or delays

"One thing you should know about Randy, he's a terrific guy but his anger can flare up at any time. We've all been at the wrong end of his fists from time to time, but you don't have to worry, he really likes you. Actually the reason I'm his foreman is that the insurance company insisted he get an assistant. It was when he slugged a crewman who was acting up and the insurance got scared of lawsuits.

"But if the sparks do start to fly, just keep out of the way, is all. Sometimes when he's mad as hell the boss relieves the stress by fucking ass, but only on one of us, `cos he knows deep down we love it. Randy is one tremendous fuck. Things can get a bit gnarly when the pressure's on at work but you don't have to worry, kid. I'll take care of you."

As he said that he patted Ryan's leg and left his hand there. This time Ryan didn't pull away – he liked it. He felt safe somehow – protected – sitting next to this bare-chested muscular black guy, listening to his deep cheerful voice and smelling the faint odor of his sweat. He had loved hearing Darius say, `I'll take care of you, kid'. Now, as he concentrated on the day ahead, the memory of last night didn't feel so bad ... not bad at all actually.

"DON'T LET THE KID GET AWAY, DARIUS"

It was still early when they arrived but the site was already humming. Ryan was awestruck by so many tough, rugged construction workers, their bodies straining with physical effort as they yelled instructions at each other. And there was definitely tension in the air. Darius told him that the crew all knew the pressure was on as this was their first government contract. If this one went well more would follow, the money would pour in and Randy would up their wages.

"They love that about Randy," Darius grinned. "He can be a tough son-of-a-bitch to work for, quick with his fists, but he's always fair, and if the company's doing well he makes sure they all share in its success. Come on, let's go see the lion in his lair."

Ryan felt nervous again as he mounted the three steps up to the big trailer office. When they went in Randy had his back to them, dressed as always in grubby work pants, work-boots and his old sweaty tank top. He was poring over blueprints spread out on the drafting table and grunting, "Son of a bitch."

When he turned round his face was set in an irritated frown, but it lit up when he saw Ryan. "Hey, kiddo, good to see you. Welcome to the real world – our real world anyway." Then he vented to Darius. "Hey Darius, I've been trying to make senses of these plans Lloyd drew up for the project. You know me, I could always look at blueprints and visual how it's gonna look. But these government contracts have so many extra rules I can't get my mind round this one."

Ryan glanced down at the plans and said, "Sir, don't you use virtual reality programs for that?"

"Ah, Lloyd mentioned something about that – he's our architect. But like I said, I'm not a computer guy. I prefer getting my hands dirty."

"But there are some great programs, sir. I set one up for my cousin when he built a warehouse for all his imports. I could talk to your architect and find the one that would be easiest for you. Is this your laptop, sir?"

"Yeah, but like I said, I never use it. When I tried it almost landed in the cement mixture it was so damn slow. Hell, a guy reacts when I yell at him. Not this piece of shit, though."

Ryan opened it. "What's your password, sir?" Randy growled "Who the fuck knows."

"I do," Darius said, "I set it up. It's anger-management"

Randy scowled, "I s'pose you think that's funny, asshole."

Darius grinned and shrugged. "It seemed like it at the time, sir."

Ryan logged in and said, "Hmm, like I said yesterday, sir, you're using Wi-Fi and this is an old 2G laptop, it don't support 5G. You need a new laptop before we do anything else."

Randy grinned at the new boy's earnest face. "You know, kid, I don't have a clue what you're talking about but I trust you. Tell Brandon what you just told me and have him order one."

They were interrupted by a frantic knock on the door. "One of the crewmen came in and said, "Boss, we got a problem. We're almost out of toilets. I thought we ordered a few dozen but when I looked we're down to the last few."

Randy's eyes flashed. "Shit, so what am I supposed to tell the City? – OK, guys, here's your great new building, only your workers are gonna have to piss their pants and crap in the street cos we ran out of fucking johns!' Damn it to hell. OK, Darius, go look in the warehouse, see how many more we need then get on to Brandon and tell him to rush order them. Tell Bob too. The suppliers know Bob and like him – no one can so no to Bob." His expression softened a bit.

The shamefaced worker beat a hasty retreat and Randy clenched his fists. "Dammit, screw-ups like that drive me fucking crazy – could fuck up the whole project."

"Sir," Ryan said shyly, "there's no excuse for mistakes like that if you've got the right program for inventory control. I set up a great program for my cousin's import business so he knew exactly where every last item was, how many were left and how long back-ordered stuff was gonna take. I could do that here, sir."

The tension left Randy's face, he smiled at Ryan and ruffled his hair. "Kid, if you can do all the stuff you say you can you're a fucking genius. Darius, don't let this boy out of your sight, the company needs him. Don't let him get away even if you have to put a collar and leash on him.

"Don't worry, sir, I'll keep him on a real tight leash. He won't get away."

"Good, now get your asses over to the warehouse pronto and get me some fucking crappers so the streets are not running with goddam piss."

THE BOSS IN ACTION

As they headed to the nearby warehouse Darius said, "Well you made a good impression on the boss, kiddo. You see how tense things can get around here and how mad Randy gets. Today's especially bad because of tomorrow's inspection. All it'll take is one last straw and ..."

"Sir, that thing about collar and leash, sir. Did he really ...?'

"Figure of speech, kiddo. We don't use collars around here ... only on special occasions," Darius grinned, leaving Ryan even more puzzled than before. But he had liked hearing Darius say `he won't get away'. He was now absolutely sure he didn't want to.

They threaded their way through the crowded worksite and a lot of the crew greeted Darius who was well respected there. He said, "And say hi to Ryan here, he's the new assistant in the office." They all responded amiably, except for one incident when a guy pulling on a rope backed into Ryan. He let go the rope and turned angrily. "Watch where you're going, kid."

Darius flared up. "Hey, watch it, Dan. This is our new boy in the office and he's with me."

"Oh, sorry, Darius, I didn't realize. Sorry, kid."

It was a minor incident but it left a big impression on Ryan. This was a tough macho world that would normally have scared him but now he felt protected by the powerful young black man by his side.

They walked past the trucks where Pablo, the chief mechanic, had his head buried under the hood of a truck. "And that, kiddo, as you know is my lover Pablo and the boss's boy. You can tell him by the spectacular ass in those tight jeans," giving it a playful slap. "Watch it, asshole," Pablo grinned up at him.

When they reached the warehouse Ryan was fascinated by the piles of supplies and he was pleased to see that most of the items had barcodes from the suppliers. When they came to the three remaining new toilets Darius said "Damn, how the hell did that happen?" He checked a nearby chart then pulled out his phone.

"Hey, Brandon, we got a big problem. We fucked up and we need to order another couple dozen toilets – same model and supplier as before. Problem is, we need them, like, yesterday. Randy suggested you alert Bob who has some influence with the supplier."

"Yeah," Brandon chuckled, "nobody says no to Bob. OK, dude, will do. Leave it with me."

Ryan took a deep breath. "Actually, sir, if I set up a good system all you'd have to do is scan the barcode, enter the amount you need and the order could go out automatically."

"You are something else, you know, kiddo." Darius smiled down at Ryan, with his shy, earnest face and his too-big T-shirt hanging on his thin frame. Impulsively Darius grabbed the back of the boy's head, pulled him forward and clamped their lips together in an open-mouth kiss. When he pulled back a stunned Ryan coughed and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Sorry about that, kid," Darius grinned. "I promised I wouldn't do anything like that. Just couldn't resist the impulse. OK, let's go report back to the boss and hope he's in a better mood."

As they got close to the trailer it was obvious that the earlier incident with the crewman was a symptom of the tension that was still building. A couple of guys were arguing and Darius said, "Hey, cool it guys, play nice. We're all on the same side here, you know."

In the trailer Randy looked up expectantly and Darius said, "OK, Brandon's on it, sir, and he'll alert Bob. I'll give you a heads-up when we know how long the delivery will take. In the meantime I think we can work around it."

But Randy was obviously rattled. "Fucking bitch of a day. Damn, I wish Bob was here." Sounds of raised voices came from outside the trailer. The argument between the two guys had boiled over into a fistfight and Randy looked out of the window. "Godammit," he barked, clenching his fists. "This is all I fucking need. You two stay here, don't get involved."

He stormed out of the office and strode over to where the two men were grappling in the dirt. He reached down, hauled one of them up by his shirt and slammed the back of his hand across his face sending him reeling against a wall. Then he dealt with the other guy in the same way until they were both slumped against the wall looking fearfully at Randy. "One more move out of you guys and you will be so fucking fired it'll make your heads spin."

Work had stopped and Randy called out. "Listen up guys. I know the heat's on and some of the tension is my fault for pushing you so hard. These two guys are great workers, you're all great workers, and I appreciate the effort you're all putting in. But we can't lose our cool, we gotta work as a team. Take a twenty minute break to cool off, have a beer. I'll be out to join you in a minute and if we finish this phase by the end of the day there's a bonus for everyone."

There were murmurs of thanks as Randy strode back into the trailer. He was coiled tight as a drum and he kept clenching and unclenching his fists. He went back to the open door and yelled. "Pablo, get your ass in here ... now!"

In seconds Pablo came in, his bare chest streak with oil and grease as usual. Pablo and Darius knew exactly what was about to happen. Randy stared at him, then pulled him forward into a savage, ravenous kiss. "You know what I need kiddo. Darius, get the door and windows."

Darius closed and locked the door, closed the window blinds, then pulled a scared Ryan over to two chairs at the other end of the trailer. "Don't be scared, kid, no one's gonna touch you. I wouldn't let them – you're with me. But it's good that you see this ... it's what we are."

Randy swept the papers off the table, including the laptop which Ryan managed to catch and held tight to his chest with one arm, sitting back in his chair. His other hand was held tight by Darius sitting next to him.

Randy grabbed the back of Pablo's neck and forced him forward onto the drafting table, his arms stretched out sideways, grabbing the edges of the table, bracing himself for what he knew was coming. His feet were planted firmly on the ground as Randy reached round him, ripped open his jeans and pulled them down below his ass."

"Yeah," he growled, staring down at the perfect bubble butt. "That's what I need ... fuck yeah." He ripped open his own pants and yanked out a huge, thick cock, almost as scary looking as Darius's ten inches. There was no foreplay. Randy spat on his cock, braced his hands on the young mechanic's slim waist ... and rammed his cock savagely in his ass.

"Aaagh!" Pablo groaned, turning his grease-streaked face sideways on the table where Ryan could see the handsome Mestizo features grimacing in pain. But his groaning words surprised Ryan. "Thank you, sir. Fuck me hard, sir. I'm your boy."

"Damn straight, you are." Randy's blazing eyes focused on the mechanic's ass, he pulled all the way back, then plunged in again, making the young jock flex his muscles to withstand the shock. The savage fuck had begun and, to Ryan's surprise, Pablo's groans of pain turned to moans of pleasure. "Fuck yeah. Thank you, sir."

Randy pulled off his tank top and Ryan stared in awe at the muscular torso, carved to perfection by years of physical labor on construction sites. His rugged gypsy features were more ferocious than ever, his darkly stubbled jaw clenched, shaggy hair whipping over his laser blue eyes as he pounded ass.

Watching the violent scene Ryan grabbed Darius's hand tighter and looked anxiously at him. "Sir, are you OK? Pablo's your ... your lover isn't he?"

"Yeah," Darius said softly, "but he's also Randy's boy – and his adopted son. They've been fucking ever since Randy rescued him from a bunch of thugs he was working for as a young mechanic in the desert. Pablo worships Randy, tries to be like him, and loves getting butt-fucked by hm."

Ryan tried to get his mind round all this, but he was not horrified as he might have been earlier. In fact he was excited watching the fuck intensify. The table banged against the wall as the bare-chested construction boss ramrodded his monster cock into the rugged mechanic who gripped the table hard and flexed his muscles to withstand the attack on his ass.

"See that, kiddo?" Darius said quietly. "All the boss's tension goes into his cock and this is how he gets rid of his stress. He does the same thing at home with Bob. And once you've been fucked by Randy you never forget it."

Ryan began to realize that Randy was not all about brute force. He didn't just pound the ass, he toyed with it, driving his victim to the brink of orgasm before pulling slowly out, then slamming in again in another wave of pile-driving action. Drops of sweat clung to the hair on his chest, dripping down from his face and stubbled jaw, and there was a crazed, hypnotic look in his piercing blue eyes.

It was clear he was reaching his climax and Pablo was at the limit of endurance. "You ready, boy?" he growled.

Pablo raised his ass to feel the full impact or the boss's orgasm. "Yes, sir. Cum in my ass, I want it so bad, sir ..."

Randy yelled, "Fuck em, fuck em all. I'll show `em who's the fucking boss around here. Yeah, here it comes ... fuck yeah ... Aaagh!" He tensed and veins bulged on his flexed muscles as he rammed his cock in one last time and blasted jizz deep in the mechanic's ass. Pablo yelled, "Thank you, sir ..." and his own cock, pressed under his stomach, spurted its juice up over the rattling table.

RYAN GETS AN INVITATION

As they stayed in place, their breath heaving, Darius reached across and felt the erection in Ryan's shorts. "Thought so," he grinned. "You're getting there, kid – had a feeling you would."

Then, his stress all gone, Randy pulled suddenly out of Pablo's ass and stuffed his cock back in his work pants. He pulled Pablo off the table, spun him round and pulled him into a voracious kiss. "You OK, man?"

"Never better sir," Pablo said with his crooked grin, pulling up his pants.

"OK, get your ass back out there to that truck. I need it before the end of the day."

"Aye-aye, sir." Pablo left with a jaunty step and a smile on his face.

Randy picked up his discarded tank, used it to wipe Pablo's cum off the table, then pulled it back on. He smiled at Ryan who was staring in awe, the laptop still hugged to his chest."

"So, kiddo, you salvaged that thing eh?"

"Yes sir. You have to be careful not to get fluids in the keyboard, especially ejaculate, sir."

Randy chuckled, "Better known around here as jizz, eh Darius?"

"Or jism, sir."

"Yeah, that too. OK, I gotta go out there and make sure the whole fucking train don't run off the rails. Take care of the boy, Darius. Then come out and help me crack the whip." He smiled and ruffled Ryan's hair. "You're one of us now, junior."

He left and Ryan said, "Did he mean that Darius?"

"Kid, Randy never gets stuff like that wrong. You're too important to him. Now like the boss said, I gotta go out there and do my foreman act – he's gonna need all the help he can get. So here's what's gonna happen. You know Will, the young chef? Well he always brings our lunch around this time and he'll be here soon. I'll have him take you back to the house with him and you can report to your boss Brandon."

"Thank you, sir. While I'm waiting I'll check out the modem and the router in here and do a speed test."

Darius looked down at the eager young face and realized what confusing thoughts must be racing through his mind. "Listen Ryan. Tonight Will is catering a dinner for us guys on the second floor – my man Zack, his lover Miguel, Pablo and their boys Finn and Tyler. I would really like it if you could join us, get to know our little family a bit. What do you think?"

"I ... I think I would like that a lot, sir. Thank you very much."

"OK, do your computer thing. It's been quite a morning eh? You made a good impression on the boss, kid ... and, er, on me too. He smile that dazzling smile, kissed Ryan on the lips, and he was gone.

Ryan sat for a moment trying to collect himself. He found his thoughts going back again and again to Darius, to the things he said – You don't have to worry, kid. I'll take care of you ... I won't let anyone touch you, kid ... I'll keep him on a real tight leash, he won't get away ... This is our new boy and he's with me'. And then the invitation to dinner with his family'.

And that kiss in the warehouse ... and the other one just now. Was that just what everyone does around here? Did it mean anything? He thought of last night, jerking off fantasizing about Darius standing over him.

Then he thought of what Randy had done to Pablo. I could never do anything like that with Darius, he thought. He grinned to himself. Especially with that monster cock of his. I wouldn't even go near that thing. No definitely not.

He would stick with computers. A boy knew where he was with them.

TO BE CONTINUED in "A Trial Of Strength" – Chapter 481

Hey guys, this is Rob Williams. I hope that chapter got you off, and I welcome your comments and suggestions, which can be very helpful in planning future chapters. E-mail me in confidence at rw6789@aol.com.

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