Chapter 2

“What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice soft and low. He kissed Jacob tenderly on the mouth. “Tell me what’s troubling you, lad.”

Jacob could feel his cock growing hard against Peter’s thigh.

“Tell me,” said Peter, kissing him again. “I want to help.”

Jacob made tiny whimpering noises as Peter continued to kiss him. He put his arms around Peter, running his hands slowly up and down the muscular contours of his back.

“You want Peter to make it better?”

Jacob had only ever had sex with two girls, and one of those had been a lady of the night. The thought that two men could have sex had never occurred to him, though Peter had demonstrated on several occasions they could. It had been a revelation to Jacob that the touch of another man, the feeling of a hard body against his own and the rougher, more animalistic coupling, could feel infinitely more pleasurable than anything he’d done with either of the two girls.

He rested his head against Peter’s broad chest and nodded.

Peter began stroking Jacob’s golden hair. “Shhh.”

Slowly Peter released Jacob, turning him around to face the wall.

Jacob braced himself. He felt Peter reach around, his fingers fumbling at the buttons on his breeches. After Peter had tugged them down, he heard Peter spit repeatedly into his hand and then the sweet pain of Peter’s swollen cockhead penetrating him. He cried out and immediately Peter’s hand was over his mouth.

“Shhh,” said Peter, slowly easing his cock in.

Jacob closed his eyes, his body quivering as Peter’s enormous cock penetrated deeper, filling him completely. Its throbbing heat burned into him, radiating outwards and warming his body against the cold night air. He moaned as Peter gripped his hips and began thrusting into him, slowly at first before growing in both intensity and speed. His whole body rocked and his own erection was soon slapping against the smooth skin of his stomach.

“Keep it down, ya pair of mollies,” called a voice from the darkness.

Jacob took hold of his cock and the slapping sound stopped. He squeezed it then began to rub his hand up and down the shaft. It became more difficult to keep his balance, but what did it matter? Peter wouldn’t let him fall.

Peter nuzzled Jacob’s ear from behind.

“I’m close,” he whispered, the rich timbre of his deep voice making the back of Jacob’s neck tingle.

He began thrusting with more urgency. Puffs of Peter’s warm breath burst against the back of Jacob’s neck. The thought of Peter climaxing inside him set his hand sliding at a faster rate up and down his erection. It wouldn’t be long now. For either of them. Then he heard Peter grunt, felt Peter’s fingers dig deeper into the flesh of his hips, holding himself there as he shot his seed deep inside him. It was that thought, that thought of something so intimate between two men, between Peter and him, which soon had thick ropes of seed shooting from the eye of his cock and splattering against the wall of the ship.

Peter kissed the back of his neck.

“Feel better?” he whispered.

Jacob nodded and for a few quiet moments they remained locked together, Peter’s cock inside him and Peter’s arms embracing him. Had it not been for these stolen moments of comfort, Jacob could quite possibly have gone mad. In lonely moments, he could almost believe the stained and stinking walls were closing in on him, or that the other convicts were plotting to take him in ways more violent and aggressive than Peter ever had. He thought of Peter almost as a father, but there was more to the feelings they shared, something deeper and infinitely more intimate. It was almost as if…as if Peter had become his husband, although who’d heard of such a thing?

Finally, Peter withdrew his cock and pulled his stained and dirty trousers back on. He turned Jacob around and kissed him on the lips.

“You’ve exhausted me, lad.”

Jacob pulled his breeches up and together they returned to their bunks. Without another word or a final good night kiss, Jacob climbed into bed and promptly fell asleep.

The following morning, Jacob overslept. He was awoken by the bustle of the other convicts bundling up their bedding in readiness to take it above deck for an airing. A soldier, dressed in full uniform, most notably the red coat for which they were named, was already at the gate, his keys clinking and clattering at the lock. When the gate swung open the convicts streamed out towards the steps that would take them up to the daylight and fresh sea air. By the time Jacob stepped into the blinding light of day there was already a line of men along each of the bulwarks, shaking their blankets and mattresses out over the churning water below and beating their pillows against the wood, sending clouds of fine dust and God-knows-what else drifting out over the ocean on sea breezes.