Jumping at Shadows (15 page)

He listened to the sound of his zipper as he pushed it down over his underwear, and felt the tingle on the back of his neck the second he turned away from the shaded window.

E
RIC
jerked up from his slouched position on the couch, immediately hearing the voice of a TV judge reprimanding someone for something they had done or said in his courtroom. He blinked the grogginess from his mind, not realizing what had awakened him until the phone rang again. The landline rather than his cell. He reached for it clumsily and wasn’t surprised to hear T.J. on the other end.

“Baby? Are you all right?”

“Yeah,” Eric mumbled, still trying to wake up. He hadn’t intended to fall asleep on the couch, and he winced as he realized a crick in his neck was the price he was going to pay for it. He reached for the remote on the coffee table and muted the courtroom drama. “Yeah, I’m fine. What’s up?”

T.J. sighed into the receiver. “From what I’m seeing on the news, that’s a question I should be asking you.”

“What?” Eric fumbled the remote, changing channels quickly until he reached the local news. He unmuted the volume in time to hear the recap from the news desk.

“There were no serious injuries resulting from the incident, and the Breten City police department has repeatedly claimed that the incident was nothing more than mistaken identity. Mr. Bellview has declined to press charges, claiming that his own experiences with the police throughout his career have given him an understanding of the pressures faced by law enforcement officials. Breten City Police Captain Benjamin Carroll has stated that a full investigation into the incident will take place, and damages will be awarded to Mr. Bellview regardless of the results of that investigation. Detective Geller has been suspended from duty for the duration of the investigation. We will keep you posted as to further developments.” A slight pause. “In other news, the icy weather has led to treacherous road conditions in some parts of the city….”

“Shit,” Eric muttered, forgetting for the moment that T.J. was on the line.

“That is an understatement,” T.J. said dryly. “Are you okay?”

“What? Yeah, I’m fine,” Eric said hastily, bringing himself back to the present. “I’m suspended, just like the lady said, but it’s with pay. I can’t, however, go back to the precinct until the investigation is over.”

“That’s not surprising,” T.J. answered calmly. “And you can’t leave the city, or be unavailable for questions, right?”

Eric felt the smile tugging at his lips. “They didn’t say that, but it was implied. Standard stuff.”

“Though a little more lenient than a rookie cop would get, eh? Or one that didn’t have such a sterling record.”

“Maybe,” Eric admitted with a hint of resignation. “But I do get to keep working. Just not there.” He almost felt T.J.’s frown, and saved him from having to ask. “I’ll explain it when you get home tonight. It’s not as bad as it sounds.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” T.J. told him; then his tone turned a little lighter as the tension in it eased. “So, since you have been reduced to a house-husband, I take it I can expect a clean house and dinner on the table when I get home?”

Eric felt himself smiling. The teasing in his voice was unmistakable, and the low purr when T.J. spoke had the intended effect. Eric’s free hand dropped to his fleece-covered cock, and he stroked it slowly as he answered in the same sultry tone. “I think you can expect more than that when you get home.”

“I’m going to hold you to that,” T.J. murmured. “Just try not to wear yourself out too much before I get there.”

“Never going to happen,” Eric promised salaciously, palming his swelling cock and stroking it rigid. “I’m a slut and you know it.”

“I’m counting on it,” T.J. answered lowly. “Now let me get back to work, and we’ll continue what you started when I get home.”

“I’m sure we’ll be discussing who started what later, and in depth.” Then Eric’s voice lost its teasing. “I love you, T.J.”

“Love you too, baby. I’ll be home in a few hours.”

Eric sighed as the phone clicked off.

E
RIC
closed down the browser on his laptop with a sigh of satisfaction. T.J. would be thrilled to hear that his afternoon hadn’t been wasted—at least he would be if Eric breathed a word of what he had done. But after talking to Jeff for over an hour before his trip through the Internet, he could honestly say there were promising developments toward pinning bribery charges on the judge. They had located the computer used to create the temporary e-mail address, even though it was a public one in a popular Internet café downtown. Still, it was only a matter of checking the records of who had signed in and when to get a lead on a flesh and blood, living body. A positive step, but not the development that had given him the satisfaction he felt now.

He had set up his laptop on the coffee table, and since he was currently relegated to working from home, he would likely keep it there until the case against Victor was closed. Now, however, with his work done for the moment, he could pay more attention to the erection that scraped against his sweats. T.J. had gotten him hard through their conversation at lunch, but Eric’s masturbation once the call had ended had been hurried. The follow-up broadcast had done more to remind him of the danger Victor Kroger posed than the mistake that resulted in his suspension, and the certainty of the decisions he had made as the dangers played out in his mind meant that he had too much to do to spend the time getting himself off thoroughly—the need to protect them both from Victor Kroger had taken precedence. With that now done, he had the time to bring himself back to full, aching hardness, something that he accomplished with little more than a few quick strokes of his hand. He leaned back into the couch as he slid one hand under the waistband of his sweats, letting the other slide up from his stomach to his chest.

High resolution, a range up to ninety feet, and a completely weatherproof casing. The motion-detection and video-recording features were a plus, but the audio-recording function was the clincher. Although T.J. might have a different opinion, Eric hadn’t hesitated when it came to pulling out the plastic. The $1100 price tag on the night-vision security camera was worth it, though the purchase of two of them had definitely been a stretch. Overnight shipping with an early morning delivery—an early morning
Saturday
delivery, at that—had elevated the cost into the vicinity of astronomical. And then there was the gun he planned to purchase tomorrow.

He grunted as he lifted his hips to shove his cock hard through his fingers.

He’d already arranged the purchase of a basic 9mm, common to the police force and easily obtainable by members of the law enforcement community. It wasn’t an outright violation of the rules that would allow him to bring it home immediately. The fact that he was a police officer had enabled him to get the standard seven-day waiting period waived, even though he hadn’t exactly followed standard procedures when requesting that waiver.

What the dealer didn’t know, Eric wasn’t going to tell him. He was hesitant to tell T.J. until he absolutely had to. And he wasn’t thrilled about telling him about the alarm system that would be installed the next day either. His credit card had taken some major hits the last few hours, so he was glad that he was the one who normally retrieved the mail from the box. The increased monthly payments on the card would be just as telling as the itemized charges on the bill. If he was lucky, he could pay it down fast enough to keep T.J. from finding out.

It might seem extreme, but it was necessary if he was going to stop Victor from ruining their lives. And that was exactly what he would do.

He groaned as he slid a nail lightly over the engorged vein on the underside of his cock, then withdrew his hand and pushed to his feet. He could have continued masturbating on the couch in any number of positions, but with the sheer satisfaction at what he had done and the pure certainty of the results he was sure he would get, Eric wanted something a little different, something a little more exciting as a form of celebration. It was why he stopped at the hall closet on the way to the bedroom, and why he pulled out the brocade pillow his mother had given them for Christmas last year. Little more than a long, tightly stuffed roll, it was covered with a raised design in gold over a lavender-gray fabric, and it was the perfect thickness to rest against his balls as he straddled it on the bed. The coarse stitching over slick linen also created just the right mix of rough and smooth, something that hadn’t taken him or T.J. long to find out last Christmas morning. They were just lucky the brocade cover was removable for washing.

The pillow thumped on the bed as his hands slid the sweats along his hips, and cool air kissed his cock the moment it was free. But even as his fingers wrapped around it to warm and stroke, he couldn’t keep his eyes from watching the shade-covered window. The still, solid surface of the shade was his only protection against what lay outside it, and his eyes didn’t close as he crawled up the bed on his knees, not until the scrape of woven threads brushed lightly over his sac. A grim smile crossed his face as he leaned forward to brace himself on his hands, and he slid his balls once before lowering to his elbows.

Victor was out there and had no doubt seen him do this before, probably had video of him spreading his legs so that his own weight pressed his cock into the heavy brocade. His sound system would have captured the sharp, breathy gasp that was forced out by Eric’s first thrust against the textured surface, and would have continued to record the series of low, ragged grunts that issued as he began to move over the rough-woven surface.

Victor no doubt knew every detail of Eric’s indulgence in this form of self-pleasure, from the way his fingers gripped the bedcovers to the flex of muscles as he squirmed obscenely for contact and friction. He would know how the springs of the bed would begin to creak as he worked himself harder against the pillow, how erratic his movements would become as the threads began a delicious burn along the length of his cock, how the thrust of his hips would turn almost brutal as his orgasm drew closer. And he would know how Eric’s body would jerk sharply the moment his release soaked the brocade fibers with thick, hot streams of cum, and how he would tremble and shake as the force of his orgasm eased. Victor had no doubt seen it all, from beginning to end.

A thin smile creased Eric’s lips as he let his exhausted muscles relax, and he stretched his body languidly over the damp, cum-stained fabric of the pillow.

That would change tomorrow.

Chapter Nine

“
C
HECKING
out the Internet dating sites?” T.J. asked teasingly, and Eric looked up to find his lover leaning casually over the bar that separated the living room from the kitchen, his expression a mixture of lechery and curiosity.

The smells of garlic and pepper floated from the kitchen behind him, accompanied by the gentle sizzle of pork chops frying on the stove. T.J. had offered to cook tonight, judging Eric too wound up to keep the meat from burning. Eric had to admit he was grateful for the relief from cooking, even if he silently denied he was “wound up.” At least not wound up for the reason T.J. obviously thought. Suspension had been a shock, but it was the cameras and the alarm that would be coming in the morning and the gun he would purchase the next afternoon that made his nerves jump. He didn’t regret the purchases, but his confidence was mixed with worry as he wondered how T.J. would react to them when he found out, and Eric had no doubt whatsoever that he would. T.J. might love him, but that wouldn’t stop him from being pissed.

“What are you looking at over there anyway?” T.J. asked again, nodding at the laptop but not otherwise moving from his position. He spun the cooking fork he held in one hand deftly as he spoke, obviously not concerned with splattering.

“Nothing,” Eric said quickly, and the screenshot closed with a brief and obvious click of the mouse. He had swung the laptop around so he could sit on the floor, though he had told himself that it was for comfort rather than to prevent T.J. from accidentally viewing the screen. Still, the raised eyebrow had given way to narrowed eyes by the time Eric looked back. Eric swallowed. “I just wanted to make sure I’m not missing anything,” he said with a sheepishness not entirely feigned. “Jeff would probably call, but since he didn’t, I was hoping….” He trailed off with a wave in the direction of the laptop. These words held enough truth that he could tell himself they weren’t a lie, and the statement had enough broadness in meaning that he could convince himself he was being entirely truthful. Convincing T.J. was a different story.

“And besides, I do have all of these long, lonely days ahead of me,” he added innocently, flashing his lover a smile over the top of the laptop in front of him.

T.J. raised an eyebrow. “Looking for ass on the side while I’m at work is one thing, but looking while I’m right here…?” He shook his head, turning back into the kitchen. “That’s just rude. I think I’m ashamed of you.”