A Mended Man (The Men of Halfway House Book 4) (57 page)

Aidan closed his eyes and twisted his neck, exhaling with relief once he heard the pop.

"Ouch," Jessie said, leaning up against the edge of the table.

"Hey there," Aidan said with a half smile, reaching out to rest his hand on Jessie's leg. He wasn't sure what the hell had happened to him over the course of the last few months, but he loved the contact, touching Jessie every chance he had.

"I've got something for you." Jessie set the folder on the table and crossed his arms.

"What's this?" He grabbed the file and skimmed the pages. "One of the Strassburg names? Vannguard Shaw. I remember the file, hard to forget with an odd name like that. He's in for murder and got a life sentence because of the Three Strikes law. What's special about his case?"

"You need to read it. Please work your magic to get this man off the list. I have the notes in the file and all the important parts highlighted that will help speed things along." Jessie leaned over and placed a tender kiss on his lips. "I'm going to bed. We've got Manny's wedding tomorrow and I want to make sure I'm well-rested." He pushed off the table and slowly made his way to their bedroom.

Aidan scowled. He didn't need to be a people-person to know a huge red-alert siren blasted in his ear. He set the file down and reviewed each page of Jessie's research, paying close attention to every highlighted line and handwritten sticky note. He swallowed heavily, turning to the next set of stapled pages, scanning them with equal intensity. A slow anger began to build with each new item he reviewed. He thumbed through to the next page and saw the glaring reason why the courts had overlooked obvious details that would have released Shaw years ago.

The murdered victim was the husband of a senator. The same dirty Senator Margaret Delereux on Rick's snitch list who the team had arrested last week. Without question she probably used her influence to ensure Shaw's extended sentence.

He reached for the last stack of papers. A chill slowly began to spread throughout his body. The senator had a son, Drayton Delereux.

Drayton? The name can't be a coincidence.

A memory suddenly came to mind. A photo he had spotted in Drayton's office during a visit over a year ago when they discussed his role in taking down the exotic car theft export network. Two young men wearing baseball caps, smiling at the camera.

He flipped to the next page, reading through endless highlights and notes Jessie had obviously been able to retrieve after gaining access with the warrant in her case. Aidan's stomach roiled with disgust at the extent the senator had gone through to rid her life of her son after her husband's death.

Aidan's concern shifted to the haunting memories that must have surfaced for Jessie during his review of Shaw's background. He raked his hand through his hair and shut the file. He stood and made his way to their bedroom, staring at Jessie's sleeping form in the darkened room. He slipped out of his clothes and slid under the sheet, wrapping his arm around Jessie's waist and placing a gentle kiss on his shoulder.

"A grocery store," Jessie whispered. "Shoplifting a loaf of bread."

He pulled Jessie flush against his body, knowing it must have brought back memories of Jessie's time begging in the streets hoping a stranger would gift him something to eat.

"And that second arrest, they had the wrong guy and dismissed the charges. It should never have counted in the Three Strikes law." Jessie turned abruptly in the embrace. "He did commit the murder, but it wasn't premeditated." He wrapped his arms around Aidan and tucked his head under his chin. "Did you see my note about his connection to Drayton?" he asked, barely above a whisper.

Aidan closed his eyes and ran his hand up and down Jessie's back, placing a gentle kiss in Jessie's hair. "Yes."

"She threw him away," he whispered brokenly.

Aidan screwed his eyes shut, remembering the pain in Jessie's eyes when he told him about his father kicking him out of his own home at such a young age.

Jessie inched back, his eyebrows twitching as if fighting to hold back the emotions. "Do you think…" He looked up at Aidan, the sadness in those blue eyes ripped through Aidan's soul. "Do you think Drayton would still want him after all this time?"

He cupped Jessie's face and placed a tender kiss on his lips. "Drayton still has a picture of them in his office even though Shaw was arrested ten years ago. I'd say it's a solid yes."

Jessie absently nodded. "Okay."

"We'll get him out of there. I promise. And, Jess," he said, stroking his thumb along Jessie's cheek.

"Yeah."

"Thank you."

Jessie reached up, barely touching a fingertip to Aidan's stubble. "For what?"

For loving me. For putting up with my shit. For always being there. For not throwing
me
away when you had an easy out.

"There's no way I would have been able to hold up my end of the deal without you finding this." He leaned in and pushed his face into Jessie's hair, loving the way the soft, silky strands brushed against his face. "You saved my ass."

Jessie wrapped his arms around Aidan's neck. "Good. Because I love your ass and want to make sure it's around for a very, very long time."

Aidan smiled, thankful to hear the lighter side of Jessie make an appearance. "And here I thought you liked my balls best."

Jessie quietly chuckled, tucking his head under Aidan's chin. "I also love your ink, your eyes, your stubble, you're amazing heart, your Aidanisms, and this whole tough guy thing you have going on that scares away most people at the precinct. It's all a package deal. I love everything."

"Everything?"

Aidan closed his eyes when Jessie softly stroked the back of his neck.

"I love you, my incredibly stubborn, sexy man. Every inch of you."

He sighed and pulled Jessie close, resting his cheek against the side of Jessie's head, thankful for the man he held in his arms and for the love that always surrounded him in his presence.

* * * *

Jessie tugged on the cuffs of his sleeves, sneaking a peek at his wristwatch.

"C'mon, Aidan. You said you wanted to be there early."

He took one last look in the hallway bathroom mirror before switching off the light and making his way to their bedroom, frowning at the silence. He figured using the other bathroom would speed things along, but now they risked cutting it a little close to the start of the Reyes wedding. He rounded the corner and there, on the edge of the bed, Aidan sat, his stubble perfectly trimmed and shaped, dressed from the waist down with his white dress shirt open and his head down staring at his hands.

"Aidan?"

He looked up, the pain and sadness screaming loud enough from his expression to knock the air out of Jessie's lungs. Aidan looked away as a deep scowl formed on his face. "You should go, so you're not late."

Jessie sat next to him on the bed and reached out, slowly caressing his thigh, hoping to coax him. "Why don't we back up a little and you tell me what's wrong."

Aidan looked down again. "I can't."

Jessie reached over and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. "Can't what?"

Aidan sat, unmoving, his jaw muscles tightening with tension.

Jessie looked down and noticed Aidan's white-knuckle grip on the necktie twisted around his fist. He wrapped his arm around Aidan's shoulders. "The tie?"

Aidan nodded once, barely noticeable. "I tried." He looked over to Jessie, his eyes haunted. "I…can't."

"You don't need the tie."

"It's formal, Jess. If I don't show up with it, he'll think I'm disrespecting him…them. And I don't want to do that," he finished quietly. "You should go. Tell them I was sick or something and didn't want to fuck things up for them."

"You're coming." Jessie stood and tugged Aidan's hand, unwrapping the tie from his fist and pitching it to the side. "Do you have a black dress shirt?" he asked, already making his way to Aidan's closet.

"Yeah. Haven't worn it in a while, but I'm sure it still fits."

"What about a dark vest?" he absently asked, combing through the items in the closet.

"I don't wear those." He stood, walking over to Jessie. "Wait, would a vest from a three-piece work? I think Hunter left some of those when he moved out. There should be one in the closet of the workout room. It'll be a little loose, but it should work."

Jessie found the black dress shirt and pulled Aidan by the hand, leading him into the next room where he thumbed through the hanging suits and pulled out a black vest. "We need to throw these in the dryer for a few minutes to freshen them up." He smiled as Aidan followed him numbly along his path to the laundry room then back to their room and into the bathroom, without uttering a word of protest. "Sit."

He expected Aidan to make some crack about being a puppy, shadowing him around the house and following commands. His silence, as usual, spoke far more than his words.

Aidan sat on the closed toilet and looked up at Jessie, waiting for his next set of instructions.

"You trust me?" He smiled at Aidan's nod and grabbed his hair gel and spray to style Aidan's hair into a sleek, polished more formal but totally
metrosexual-I'm-hot
style. He took advantage of Aidan's silence as he brushed, blow-dried, and styled his hair, stilling for a moment of surprise when Aidan's hands reached up to rest on his waist. Aidan tried to see himself in the mirror, but Jessie held his face. "Nope. You see the final package when I'm finished." After the last few touches on his hair were complete, Jessie pulled Aidan back over to the laundry room and cooled the shirt and vest, flicking them each in the air back and forth, before having Aidan slip them on.

Aidan stood still as Jessie primped him, tugging sleeves and buttoning the shirt and vest. Aidan's focus was aimed at the ground and his arms hung loosely at his side, but it was the defeat on his face that twisted Jessie's stomach.

"Do I button the top?" Jessie asked, trying to steady his voice through the ache in his chest.

"Open. Please." Aidan looked away for a moment before speaking again. "I can't have anything tight around my neck."

A swell of emotions had Jessie holding his breath. It still twisted his heart whenever Aidan opened up with minimal coaxing. He placed a gentle kiss on Aidan's lips then finished with the vest, helping him shrug on the suit jacket. Jessie stepped back and inhaled sharply, trying to ignore the instant hardening in his own
can't-hide-a-thing
pants.

"Does it look okay?" Aidan asked, flattening his hands on his jacket.

Jessie nodded. "Oh yeah."

Aidan raised an eyebrow, a slow smile spreading across his face. "You're horny."

"And you're hot."

Aidan pulled him by the hand and guided them back to the mirror in their bathroom. He huffed out a chuckle, turning back and forth, looking at his hair and clothing from different angles, stopping himself before his fingers touched his now styled hair.

He looked like he'd just walked off a catwalk.

And Jessie couldn't wait to come back home and strip him out of all those layers, one by one.

Aidan turned and held Jessie's face, bending to place a slow, tender kiss to Jessie's lips. "Thank you."

"You can thank me later when we're in bed."

Aidan reached down to cup the growing bulge in Jessie's pants. He brushed a kiss just under Jessie's ear and whispered, "Not sure how you're going to make it the whole night with this hard-on in your way."

Jessie closed his eyes and swallowed heavily, trying not to focus on the warm breath skating across his skin. "We're going to be late," he croaked.

Aidan stepped away and shot him one of his cocky grins. Yeah, he was damn proud of himself.

They grabbed their wallets and the wedding invitation then made their way to the front door.

Once seated in the SUV, Jessie snapped his seat belt into the clip. "By the way…" he said with a veil of calm in his tone.

"Yeah?" Aidan prompted, pulling out of their driveway.

"When we get back home, I want you to keep that suit on while you fuck me against the wall."

"Shit," Aidan hissed under his breath.

A smug smile tugged at Jessie's lips.

At least now, he wouldn't be the only one battling a full-fledged hard-on for the next few hours.

* * * *

"Mmm." Jessie woke to a hard heat pressed against the back of his thigh and warm wetness trailing up his shoulder and along his neck. He moaned, stretching, craving more. He opened his eyes when Aidan pushed his hard-on against him again. He looked over his shoulder and his still-asleep but lust-filled brain couldn't decipher the emotion that flickered in Aidan's eyes before he looked away. He reached over his shoulder, placing his palm against the stubble he loved so much. "You okay?"

Aidan leaned in for a kiss. The softness and tenderness of the gesture not making it easy to decipher the play of emotions in those guarded, hazel eyes. "I'm sorry I woke you." He looked away, avoiding Jessie's questioning stare. "I want you," he finally said, almost in a whisper. "Is that okay?"

Heat instantly spread throughout his body at Aidan's words. "I'll always say yes."

His heartbeat sped when Aidan grabbed the lube and small fresh towel they kept on the nightstand. He closed his eyes and moaned as Aidan slowly worked to stretch and prepare him, peppering kisses on his shoulder as he thoroughly repeated the process. Aidan finally wiped his hand and pitched the towel to the ground. He slid one arm under Jessie's shoulder and the other around his side, clasping his hands together against Jessie's chest, holding him close. Jessie slowly exhaled and arched his body, welcoming the heated slide of Aidan slowly entering him until they were flush in their connection.

He leaned back into the embrace with a groan. He anchored his hands on Aidan's arms around him, reveling in the glide of their joined bodies moving as one and the warm puffs of Aidan's breath against his shoulder with each slow, deep grind of his hips. The tenderness of each caress, the gentleness of each thrust, the tightness of the arms wrapped around him…was all different. More intimate. A silent plea for a closer connection.