Handcuffs and Lace 25 - The Policeman's Balls (5 page)

Josh was thinking about the way Brian puffed in his sleep, his full lips parting and closing on each deep breath, and the dark crescent shape of his lashes resting against his freckled cheeks.

Josh ran a document through the scanner, pushing buttons on the machine and drifting in and out of his happy daydream. It had been a great lazy weekend.
Even better than watching Brian sleep was the way he moaned into wakefulness when Josh lazily jacked Brian’s morning wood. The gorgeous rub of Brian’s lips wrapped around Josh’s cock, his bright hazel eyes shining with something akin to adoration wasn’t bad either. Or sinking into Brian’s body—God, it left him speechless.
“Severn. In my office, now.”
Josh took his originals and followed the captain back to his enclosed office. “Yes, sir?”
“We’ve had reports about your inappropriate on duty conduct. Care to explain yourself?”
“What kind of reports, sir?”
Josh’s mind flew with possibilities. There was only the one instance when he’d been on duty. The road had been dark, and there couldn’t have been anything visible the way he’d opened the cruiser door to block oncoming traffic from seeing them.
“Sexual conduct with a citizen.”
“Sir?”
The chief shuffled papers on his desk like they each weighed ten pounds. He sighed and looked up at Josh. His brows rose and the wrinkles on his forehead creased his otherwise smooth skin. “Would you like to remember that we now have sound on our cruiser cams, and then revise anything you might be thinking of telling me? You really ought to read your briefing emails.”
Josh winced. He’d forgotten about that. The addition had only been put in a few of the cruisers a month ago and they were slowly updating all the cruisers to carry it. Evidently, his had been updated, though all the hardware looked the same.
“Uh, what part did you want me to explain?” Josh asked carefully.
“We had a call come in about suspicious activity, last night. A driver thought an officer was using undo force with a civilian.” He sighed. “So I pulled the tape. It seems you pulled over but never filed a report. Instead, we examined the footage to account for the time you spent, and got an earful. I’m sorry, Severn, but I can’t let this slide. You’re a representative of this precinct on and off duty. Your behavior warrants immediate suspension with pay pending an investigation.”
“An investigation of what?” Josh couldn’t hide the tightness in his voice.
“Of prior behavior. Any discrepancies in your reports are going to be reviewed by the board and cross referenced with the video and audio surveillance.”
“Sir, with all due respect, that’s ridiculous. I have one instance where my actions were questionable while on the clock.”
“Are you suggesting I can’t prove what was happening? I have multiple kisses in front of the camera at the citizen’s car, some groping, and a series of sexual commentary when you were out of sight.” The chief rubbed his forehead as though he were wiping thoughts from his mind. “I’m glad there’s an audio record of you confirming consent or we’d have legal climbing up our asses and demanding your badge.”
“I acted out of line one time, Chief. Once.”
“That’s all it takes. Look on the bright side, you get to keep your job. For now. Suspension starts today after you have a chat with Internal Affairs. They’re expecting you.”
Josh placing his badge and gun on the chief’s desk. “I’ll talk to IA on the way out.”
“And Severn?”
“Sir?”
“Next time you find yourself a little candy on the side, do it off duty. Then make damn sure you aren’t good enough to send roses to.”
“Would it matter if I told you his matchmaking neighbor sent those?”
The chief shook his head. “No, son, it wouldn’t. The impression was made loud and clear on your cruiser cam, putting a stamp of guilt all over it. There may be no basis for discrimination on orientation here, but there’s also no tolerance for misbehavior. You set yourself up for a doozy. Do yourself a favor. Stop seeing the man until this thing blows over.”
“I can’t do that.”
The chief stood to his full, stunted height. His gut tested the strength of his leather belt hidden beneath his swollen abdomen. The chief had been trapped behind a desk for too long. “Don’t complicate things further, Severn. Stop seeing him. That’s an order.”
Josh clamped his jaw. He respected the chief, he just didn’t agree with him. “I believe that’s my call.”
“No, it isn’t. Not if you want your suspension revoked. Don’t give the board any ammunition and don’t leak the reason for your suspension. I mean it. I can only do so much to preserve your reputation, but you’ll tie my hands if you don’t follow my orders to the letter. You’re a good cop and we need you back here. The guys—” his gaze flicked toward the door, beyond which was the rest of the department. “They won’t understand fucking another man. They’ll be even less tolerant of it because of when it occurred. I’ll try to keep it quiet, but some leakage of information is to be expected. Is this man worth that risk? Is he worth the relationship you have with the men in the department?”
Severn felt the weight of importance settle around his shoulders. Despite his ire at being caught and judged for it, he knew the chief was right. The guys
wouldn’t
understand. Continuing to see Brian after the hand slap Josh had just received and the warning about his suspension could create delays.
He thought of Brian’s easy smile and the way he gave himself to Josh without holding anything back. He looked steadily at the chief again. “To be honest, I’m just getting to know him, but from what I’ve seen, he just might be worth all the grief.”
* * * *
“You can’t,” Brian insisted. He adjusted the phone receiver and plumped up the pillow beneath his head.
“I want to see you. The two weeks the investigation was supposed to take were over three days ago.”
“Have you heard from the chief?”
Josh’s frustrated grunt couldn’t have been louder if Josh was sitting in the room. “I’m coming over.”
“Don’t. It’s not worth the risk. We’ll just…take care of things the way we have been.” Brian nudged his fingers inside the waistband of his pants. “Mm.”
“I’d give anything for that to be my hand on you.”
“Look at it this way, we had a whirlwind romance, and now we’re taking the time to get to know each other better,” Brian reasoned. “It’s backward but I’ll take what I can get.”
“I’d like to take
you
.”
“I’m imagining that you are,” Brian breathed, reaching lower to stroke his balls. “I’m so hard for you right now.”
“Just now?” Josh questioned. “Tell me what you’re imagining.”
“Your hands are on me. You’ve just grabbed my cock.” Brian hissed with pleasure as he took his dick in hand and pumped his fist over it.
“Wet your hand. Pretend it’s my mouth sucking you off.”
“Oh, geez.” Brian did what Josh asked him to, liberally licking his palm and then using it to slick his shaft. “Mm. Your right. This is so much better in person.”
“I’m coming over,” Josh said abruptly.
“No, don’t. You’ll lose your badge.”
“I’m coming over, right now.”
“Josh!”
Brian stared at the dead receiver. Josh had already hung up. His heart hammered in his chest as excitement coursed through him. Josh was on his way over. Then the words washed over him.
Shit! Josh is on his way over
. He leaped off the bed. If he was still under investigation, the police could be watching Brian’s house. The last thing he wanted was to get Josh in trouble.
Get in trouble
with
him, sure, if it meant having kinky roadside sex. But causing trouble? Not a chance. He grabbed his house keys and raced outside. He hoped he could head Josh off and redirect him to some other location. Anywhere but here.
Brian paced the driveway before he realized that being seen picked up in front of his house was no better than waiting for him inside. He could hardly contain the thrill that he was going to see his guy again.
He paced back toward the front door. Mrs. Jackson’s front door light was off despite the darkness. Brian turned and paced to his mailbox. He was too excited to wait inside. Josh would be here any minute. Brian grinned.
He collected the mail and headed back up the driveway. Glancing at Mrs. Jackson’s house, he wondered again at the darkness. Maybe she needed a bulb. Mrs. Jackson hated a dark house. She’d cited the reason she’d called the cops on Brian as being because she couldn’t see him. Brian’s grin broadened. And if he hadn’t left his security lights off, he’d never have met Josh that night.
Brian jogged over to her front door and gave it several solid knocks. “Mrs. Jackson, it’s Brian. Your front light is out.”
He listened but didn’t hear the sound of her shoes clacking on the entry tile.
“Mrs. Jackson? It’s me. It’s Brian.”
The interior lights didn’t come on either. Brian knocked again. After a few moments, he pulled out his key ring and unlocked her door. “Mrs. Jackson? It’s Brian. I’m coming in. Your lights are out. Is everything okay? Mrs. Jackson?”
Brian checked the first floor. When he got to the kitchen, he found her sprawled on the floor. He ran to her, quickly checking for a pulse. He thought he’d found one, but it was weak. Brian grabbed her phone.
“Yeah, this is Brian McCray. I’m at my neighbor’s house. She’s elderly and she’s unconscious. Send help.”
Brian wedged the phone between his shoulder and his ear, cupping her tiny hand in his. “It’s okay, Mrs. Jackson. I’m here. I’ll take care of you.”
He answered the 911 operator’s questions as he continued hold Mrs. Jackson with one hand and text Josh with the other.
“Brian?” Josh’s voice sounded from the entryway.
“Back here,” he called.
“Operator, I have an off-duty officer on the premises. Officer Joshua Severn.”
The operator asked to speak to Josh, Brian handed him the phone, and rushed to find a pillow to put under her feet as the operator had told him.
The next several minutes rushed by. The ambulance took Mrs. Jackson and refused to let Brian ride with her. Josh tucked him against his side, underneath a comforting arm. He kissed Brian’s temple, not caring when the Emergency Medical Technician snorted disdainfully.
“C’mon. I’ll take you to her,” Josh murmured into Brian’s hair as he hugged him.
Brian hadn’t realized he was crying until Josh swept a tear off his cheek and Brian choked through the emotion tightening his throat.
“She means a lot to you, doesn’t she?” he asked Brian.
“Yeah. More than I knew.”
“Let’s get there so you can tell her that.”
Brian nodded. Josh escorted him to the car and held the door for him. “Give me your keys. I’ll lock everything up for you.”
Brian handed them over. “Josh,” he began numbly. “Turn on her front door light. She hates when it’s off at night.”
“You got it.”
Brian couldn’t even begin to explain the relief he felt when Mrs. Jackson’s light flicked on. Josh locked the door, jogged over to Brian’s and double checked it too. Brian’s heart seemed to swell behind his sternum as he watched the man he’d fallen in love with jog back to the car and slide in.
“Thank you,” Brian whispered.
“You’re welcome.” Josh linked their fingers, and drove off in pursuit of the ambulance. “You send good thoughts for her. I’ll look after you.”
Brian rested his head against the seat, staring out the window as the scenery sped past. He let go of everything else but his concern for Mrs. Jackson. He didn’t have to worry about the rest of it. Josh would be there to catch it.
He squeezed Josh’s hand. “I’m so glad you’re here. I’m so glad you didn’t listen to me and you came anyway.”
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”
* * * *
Josh couldn’t stand to see Brian hurting. Mrs. Jackson had been rushed to the intensive care unit. The doctors were bandying about the word ‘stroke.’ He’d just as soon not have them say anything than to guess. Brian was a nervous wreck. He sat in one of the waiting room chairs, elbows on his thighs, hands in his hair, and staring at the floor.
Josh paced. Other than bad hospital coffee, Brian hadn’t wanted anything, and Josh was at his wit’s end about what to do to help. He liked the old lady, but he’d only met her twice. Brian had been her neighbor for years and was closer to her than Josh had realized.
He walked to him and ran his fingers through Brian’s hair, offering comfort where he could. His cell phone buzzed and Josh jumped. He’d forgotten to turn it off. The screen read that it was from the chief. Josh squatted down so that Brian wouldn’t have to lift his head much to look at him.
“I have to take a call. Are you going to be okay?”
“Yeah,” Brian said through a sigh. He looked up and offered a weak smile. “I’ll let you know if the doctors say anything.”
Josh pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I’ll be right back. Do you need anything while I’m gone?”
“No. Thank you. You’ve been great.”
“Hey,” he waited until Brian’s gaze met his. “I’m not done being great. I’ll be right back.”
“Okay.”
Josh got to his feet and went for the nearest exit. He hit redial as he cleared the sliding doors to the parking lot.
“Chief, it’s Severn.”
“Suspension is over. You’re cleared with a warning and one week’s pay. We need you clocked in tonight.”
Josh ran a hand through his hair. “I can’t do that, sir. My boyfriend needs me. There’s been an emergency.”
“I’m sure your boyfriend will understand.”
“I’m sure he will, sir, but I won’t ask him to. I’m staying with him at the hospital as long as he needs me. Tell the board to handle that however they see fit,” Josh informed him bluntly.
The chief didn’t sound pleased. “Relax. It’s okay. If you’d told me you were at the hospital to begin with, I would have let you off the hook. Stay with him, but check in tomorrow.”
“I’ll do that. Thank you, sir.”
“Yeah, yeah. Good thing you’re cleared or this could have blown up in your face.” The chief hung up.
Josh took the first deep breath he’d had in a long time. He turned on his heel, powered down his phone, and strode through the automated doors. He wanted nothing more than to be at Brian’s side. Emergency or no, that’s where he belonged.

Brian poured Mrs. Jackson a glass of ice water. Josh handed her the gift bag and put his arm around Brian’s waist.
“What’s this?” she snapped.
“Something you need,” Josh answered cryptically.
Brian eyed him curiously. He had no idea what Josh was up to. He’d seen the gift bag in the car that morning, but Josh had refused to tell him what it was for. Mrs. Jackson dug through the bag and pulled out a box. “First Alert Transmitting System.” She shot Josh the evil eye.
“What? What did I do?” Josh laughed.
“I have a stroke and you buy me something called
FATS
? Is that a joke?” she snapped.
Brian laughed and the rare blush raging up Josh’s neck.
“It’s one of those wristbands that let you call for help when you go down,” Josh explained.
“Honey, at my age, there is no
going down
. These knees would never let me back up again.”
“When you faint,” Josh tried again.
“Sure, I’ll just tell myself to stop fainting so I can press a little button. You’re not a clever boy are you, Officer?”
Brian had a hand over his mouth to stifle the laughter he couldn’t seem to hold back. Mrs. Jackson winked at Brian. “He’s a good one. You two should stop wasting time with me and go back to whatever it is you kids do these days.”
“I’m not leaving you,” Brian promised.
“Dear Lord, please do. The tall good-lookin’ nurse is scheduled to give me a sponge bath, and I don’t need you two ogling my merchandise! Shoo! Shoo! Get out of here,” she barked, waving them to leave.
Josh herded him out the door. “You heard the lady.”
Once they were in the hall, Josh kissed him full on the lips. “Besides, I have unfinished business to attend to with you.”
“Oh?”
“I may have slept on the couch last night so you could get some rest, but I was still thinking about my mouth on your cock,” Josh whispered only loud enough for Brian to hear.
“Ah, the interrupted phone conversation. Have you talked to the chief yet?”
Josh blinked at him. “I didn’t tell you? I’m cleared for work. Slap on the hand stuff.”
“So…” he hedged. “You’re mine?”
Josh grinned and wiggled his eyebrows playfully. “All yours. As long as you’ll have me.”
“That could be a long time,” Brian warned.
“I’m holding you to that promise.”
“You can hold me however you want to, Officer Severn. I refuse to resist your arrest.”