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"What do you mean . . . there's an explanation?"

"Relax, and let me tell you some more about my family."

"What's your family got to do with this?"

"Please, just listen for a while. I told you my grandfather left the Ukraine."

"Yes, and?"

"I didn't tell you why he left. Be patient." He leaned down and gave me a quick kiss before continuing, "There's a small group of families that have a very rare inherited condition called Hereditary Hyper Immune Responsiveness or HHIR."

"I've never heard of that."

"I'm not surprised. It's very rare, and as far as we know only one or two laboratories in the world are doing anything with it. The reason for that will become obvious a little later. The condition does a number of things. One of them is an extended longevity. Everyone with this condition has a normal life span extending well into their eighties, nineties, and many are healthy and active past the centenarian mark: my parents and grandparents for example. Another thing that goes along with the condition is a heightening of the senses of smell and hearing. That's why I was able to smell the scent of the bad guys on your car. Another characteristic is any wound heals rapidly without scarring. The rapid healing can be passed on to others through the exchange of body fluids: saliva, blood, sweat, vaginal secretions, and semen. If the exchange of fluids continues, the recipient also experiences an increased life span, an increased ability to heal wounds, and a disappearance of any evidence of previous wounds ‑ like scars. As far as we know, we're also completely unaffected by any known bacterial or viral agent, and that's transmissible through body fluids as well. For centuries, people with my condition have been hunted, killed, or kept captive by priests or rulers, who have heard about our condition and want to use us as a means to extend their own lives and vigor. My grandfather left the Ukraine, because the local Orthodox priest discovered his condition. He narrowly escaped being imprisoned in a monastery to be used as a source of healing and extended life by the priests."

"Wyatt, that's incredible. I'm not aware of any genetic condition like that."

"I figured you'd be a 'Doubting Thomas.' Come on, I'll demonstrate." He got up and went into the bathroom, grabbing his discarded shorts on the way.

I followed.

He had me sit on the stool while he stood by the sink. He removed his jack knife from the pocket of his shorts, opened one of the blades and said, "Watch."

He drew the blade across the palm of his hand, opening a cut about three inches long. I sat horrified as his blood dripped into the bowl of the sink. In less than a minute the bleeding stopped. He rinsed the blood off his hand, then held it out for me to examine. I held his hand palm up. The wound was closed! As I watched, the thin line from the wound disappeared, leaving his palm completely unmarked.

"I must be dreaming."

"Do you trust me?"

I nodded.

He took my hand, held it over the sink and drew his knife across my palm, opening up a wound almost identical to the one he'd put in his own hand. As I held my bleeding hand over the sink, he drew the knife across his palm again. As his hand started to bleed, he placed his bleeding palm on top of mine. With his touch, the pain in my hand disappeared! After a minute or so, he rinsed both our hands to clean off the blood. The bleeding was stopped. He held his hand next to mine, and I watched the cuts on both our hands disappear as if they had never been there.

I sat open jawed. Overwhelmed with what had just happened.

"You look like you need a drink. Stay here; I'll be right back."

He came back with the bottle of Clan McLachlan and two glasses. "Rick and Jeremy are making out on the couch. I don't think they even knew I was there. If you're able to walk, come on over to the bed."

He poured a generous amount of scotch into a glass and handed it to me. I sat on the bed and took a big swallow of the drink.

"I'm stunned."

"Mitch, you realize that I've put my life and the lives of my entire family in your hands. You absolutely cannot tell anyone. People with HHIR have been hunted or killed since the Middle Ages. Many with my condition have been imprisoned and bled on a regular basis to provide a blood tonic for ruthless political and religious leaders, seeking to ensure their own longevity. It's a wonder any of us survive."

"I won't say a word. No one would believe me anyway."

"You'd be surprised at who would believe it and use it against us. There are a lot of really, really bad people out there."

"Do you know if this is a single gene or a number of genes? Is it a dominant or recessive trait?"

"Ah, the scientist emerges. Okay, here it goes. As far as we know, it's a single recessive gene mutation on the X chromosome that leads to all of the manifestations."

"So it's sex-linked, like colorblindness?"

"Right. Since males only have one X chromosome, if they have the mutant form of the gene, they have the condition."

"But you said both your father and grandfather had this. If it's a sex-linked gene, then you shouldn't have this . . . condition unless . . ."

"Right, unless my mother carries the gene on at least one of her X chromosomes. In the case of my mother and grandmother, both have HHIR. Since they have the gene on both of their X chromosomes, and they mated with HHIR males, all of their children would be affected."

"What about your sister-in-law?"

"She has the condition also."

"That means both Nash and Morgan . . ."

"Right."

"So, Jack's sprained ankle healed quickly, because he's ingested some of Morgan's body fluids."

"Right. The healing can be transmitted from one male to another by ingestion of semen, as well as by anal intercourse."

"I don't think anal intercourse has happened yet with them, but what you're telling me is there's no way Morgan could be carrying something like HIV. No matter what his sexual history, he's completely safe."

"Correct."

"Guess I should stop telling Jack to be careful."

"There's another thing about the condition."

"What's that?"

"Most of the affected males are homosexual or bisexual. The tendency seems to be that first-born males are bisexual, but prefer women while younger male siblings are almost always homosexual."

"This is a lot to take in."

It was late. The scotch was working its wonders on my body, and quite frankly, my head was spinning from everything Wyatt had revealed. I lay down on the bed, and Wyatt spooned up against my back.

He kissed the back of my neck and said, "We're very sexual beings, Mitch, but once we find our life-mate, we're completely monogamous. The first time I caught your scent, I knew you were the one for me."

I fell asleep with that reassuring thought.

I woke in the middle of the night. Wyatt was still spooned against me, and his erection was pushing into the trench of my ass. I reached down between my legs and guided the head of his dick to my hole. He stirred and pushed a little way inside me. I relaxed and took more of his considerable girth inside. Now awake, he kept making little movements with his hips. With each movement he went deeper and deeper, until his entire shaft was inside. We moved together slowly and gently. It took a long time for us to cum, but it was fantastic when it happened.

We were both back asleep in a matter of seconds. I'd have to wash the sheets in the morning.

The next day was Sunday, and it was a lazy day for everyone. We all slept late. I was the first one up, long after my normal waking time. The couch was empty, and the door to the office where Jeremy was staying was open slightly. I peeked through the cracked door. Two naked bodies were entwined on the sofa bed, Jeremy's blond hair and lighter skin contrasting nicely with Rick's dark hair and olive gold skin. I smiled and continued into the kitchen to start the coffee.

The smell of the brewing coffee brought everyone out from their bedrooms. Jeremy rustled up some eggs, bacon, and more of his fantastic biscuits. Nash arrived in time to help finish off the last of the eggs and biscuits. Jack and Morgan had gone into Nowhere, at Jack's mother's urgings, to attend church with her and Jack's father. They'd told Nash they'd be back at the cottage after lunch. Wyatt and Nash cleaned the kitchen while I put both our sheets and Jeremy's into the wash. In the late morning, Wyatt, Rick, and I set off on a run while Nash and Jeremy drove over to Wyatt's place to use the kayaks. After our run, we had sandwiches and chips for lunch, and Rick, with Jeremy's assistance, whipped up some sort of Puerto Rican marinade for the chicken breasts that would be grilled for dinner while I put the fresh sheets on the beds.

The afternoon was again a hot one for that time of year. When Jack and Morgan returned from church and lunch with Jack's parents, all of us, except Uncle Nathaniel, stripped naked and played tag football in the shallows of the lake. Nathaniel perched himself in a lawn chair by the lake shore and enjoyed the show.

At one point during the game, Nash threw an arm around my shoulder and drew me into a full body hug. He whispered in my ear, "Wyatt told me you know about our family. I just wanted to tell you how happy I am to have you as my other uncle." Later, it was Morgan who hugged me and said, "Welcome to the family."

When the game was over, the group sat in lawn chairs or on towels by the shore and talked. None of us bothered to get dressed. Nathaniel continued to sit and enjoy the scenery.

Nash and Morgan pulled two kayaks from the shed and staged a kayak race across the lake. When they were gone, Jack came over and sat down next to me. "Mitch, can we talk?"

"Sure. What's on your mind?"

"Uh, I know you said to be careful, but uh, Morgan and I, uh, we . . ."

"I think I know what you're going to say. Was it good?"

He practically gushed, "Oh, God, it was more than good. It was amazing. You were right about my butt being able to stretch. It hurt a little at first. Morgan's kinda big, you know."

"I can imagine."

"It was wonderful. He had me do him first. I was kinda nervous, being my first time and all, but as they say, I rose to the occasion. I really liked it, and so did he. In fact, I was afraid we'd wake up Nash out in the camper. After we'd recovered for a while, he started preparing me. His tongue and fingers just about drove me over the wall. When he started to put it in me I tensed up. He just stopped and got me to relax. After that, it went in pretty easily . . . and it was fantastic. Don't get me wrong, I've loved every single thing we've done to each other, but the thought of his jizz spilling out inside me was mind blowing. I liked it all. I guess I can play either pitcher or catcher. I'm sorry I told you we'd wait until we got tested."

I glanced down at his naked lap. His dick head was sticking out of his foreskin, and there was a drop of precum at the end of it. "It's okay, bud. I know he really turns you on. That's the way it should be. I'm also sure you don't have anything to be concerned about from Morgan."

"He keeps telling me that we're bonded. I don't have any experience with other men, but I can't imagine there's someone out there I'd want more than I want Morgan."

I gave him a shoulder hug, "I know what you're saying. Enjoy it."

"Thanks, Mitch."

That night, after a spectacular round of love making, I lay cuddled up against Wyatt playing with the hair surrounding his left nipple.

"If you don't stop doing that, I won't be responsible for what happens."

"You mean you might put that big thing back inside me?"

"You got it."

"And that would be a bad thing? You Johnson men seem to know just how to use that thing. That reminds me, Morgan has taken Jack's cherry. Jack seems very pleased with the whole idea."

"I'm sure. Morgan has been bedding young studs since he was fourteen. And before you get all concerned, remember we can't get or transmit any diseases. Don't worry about Jack or Morgan. Remember, I told you my family can tell by scent that a person will be their life-mate. Morgan has claimed Jack as his life-mate. They're bonded, just like we are."

"Yeah, I forgot about that whole 'sense of smell thing' for a second. Does your family have any other little quirks that I don't know about?"

He pulled me closer, "Well, there is one more . . ."

I pulled away from him and sat up in the bed. "What do you mean?"

He pulled me back down in the bed, and his hand wrapped around my cock. "I'll tell you about that in the morning. Right now, there's something else I need to do."

I became too interested in what he was doing with his hand to worry about what his revelation would be.