Homeward Bound (Journeyman Book 1) (8 page)

Holy shit!
she thought as his broad head rested right against her door and she was about to let him in. When he starting swirling it around, the shivers kickstarted again.

At last he entered, pushing his power tool into the welcoming warmth. It was a tight fit and she writhed in silent, agonizing joy after only a couple of inches. Double digits still remained. This was going to be an incredibly long…
oh my God!

Her firm hold sent waves of pleasure down his shaft. He looked over her naked body as he throbbed in reply, wondering why they had waited so long for this. The feelings were beyond incredible and she was even more so.

But she wasn’t going to control him. Each time it looked as though comfort was setting in, he taunted her by sliding in a fraction deeper, her wetness making it easier the longer they went. He definitely loved being in charge of the situation, but noticed that he was now over halfway in. Nobody had ever lasted to the end of a battle with this beast before yielding a scream.

Unbeknownst to him, Adrienne had been screaming since the first moment they became one. As he continued to press on, the exhilaration of the night became too hard to contain and she overflowed onto the covers.

It was time.

Her flow allowed Gage to push himself deeper and as he plowed all the way in, he grabbed her and rolled completely over. Now on top, she screamed as he went balls deep, pulling back before charging in once more.

And again.

Oh Gage!

And again.

Ahhhhhhh!

Her eyes couldn’t focus as the world became a blur.

He flipped her back over and furiously drilled her, grinding away until the pressure built so much he couldn’t hold back. Waves of euphoria overcame them both as he surged, unleashing a carnal bellow before pulling out and collapsing in a massive, meaty heap at her side.

Her vision slowly returned to normal as he laid there utterly spent.

Soreness began to take over the lower half of her body as she looked over to Gage, now facing her way with an emerald fire in those eyes. Sweat had beaded across his back and forehead and he breathed heavily.

“Was that a scream I heard from
you
?” she asked, tapping his nose lightly with a finger.

His brow furrowed. “I dunno what ya speak of,” he said.

“Of course not,” she said back, looking at the ceiling.

Gage loomed into view, pressing his chest against hers while his hair had molded into the textbook definition of bed head. “I don’t scream,” he said with a underlying growl. “Now take that back or there may be some punishment.”

“Well,” she said. “Fortunately someone has me immobilized.”

He leaned in for another welcomed kiss.

THE BIRDS CHIRPED THEIR
melodious morning vocals despite it being another dreary and overcast day. Per Adrienne’s weather prediction, the sun worked to burn its way through the thick mist and cloak of gray drizzle that did not want to leave.

The Lodge, as it was know by the team, sat quietly on its grassy mat nestled amongst the trees. It was a plain but spacious two-story wood cabin, inviting at first glance if not overly rustic. A separate garage, which also doubled as a workshop, was a leisurely stroll from the main house. It was dubbed Joey’s Supernatty Funhouse by Gage, even though he was frequently in there using the makeshift gym set up in the front.

From there and other spots around the property, glints of metal could be seen snaking in and out of the ground like a shiny thread. The power of iron being ancient and fundamental, Joey’s father Arthur created the continuous barrier from thousands of molten railway ties before they moved in to use the land as their base of operations. The setup was sufficient enough, when coupled with masking and renewal sigils, to keep the place off of the map while physically repelling most supernatural beings.

Along both sides of the dirt path between the two buildings were less arcane stacks of lumber to fuel the cabin’s wood burning stove and fireplaces. Gage could often be seen out there chopping after his workouts, getting in his cardio while keeping the place well stocked.

Overall the place was simple, but it was home.

Upstairs in the Lodge, Joey had awakened earlier and sat alone beside his bed with the lights off, the room cast in a monotone shade not far off from the ink shading along his left forearm. He could have sworn he heard muffled screams from down the hall overnight, wishing it was his imagination but suspecting it wasn't after what he had seen in the kitchen.

Gear of all shapes and sizes found itself scattered all over the comforter and floor, while gadgets at various stages of completion adorned multiple rows of shelves lining all four walls. Resting peacefully in the corner of the room, a set of radios sat atop a small desk, their displays dark from inactivity. Beneath their tiny peg feet, a collection of scribbled notes offered some cushioning for the already scratched, antique surface.

Joey’s room, similar to the JSF, was a “chaotic mess of ordered purpose,” meaning that from the outside it looked as if a hurricane tore through on a nightly basis, but he knew exactly where each and every item was, or at least where it
should
be in those cases when Gage came in for an unsanctioned raid.

Joey cleared an area in the center of the bed, his nerdy if not somewhat twisted sense of humor evident in the zombified arm print clawing its way around the edges of the blanket.

He lifted his phone from its charging dock on the nightstand and slung himself on his back, head landing squarely in the center of the fake blood splatter that was printed on the pillowcase. Teasing some of his long, dark hairs between the fingers of his right hand, he clicked on the photo gallery with the other and navigated to a special folder that he had dedicated to Gage. One at a time, he began to flip back through the pictures.

He paused briefly on a selfie that caught his eye; this was one he had been sent after Gage had finished a wood chopping session back in June – God what a tease. Covered in sweat with his trademark eyebrow lift, sunlight glistened off the moisture pouring from Gage’s tight body. The unique angle of the shot instantly made Joey think of the view one would have should they be… engaged in nightly cardio, so it was easy to imagine the tree canopy that was in the shot dissolving away to become a ceiling. Perhaps a bedroom ceiling. If he had to admit it: his bedroom’s ceiling.

He stirred a little before carrying on, stopping at a photo of Gage and himself after their last vampire clearing several months back. Joey’s full sleeve hadn't been finished yet, so the black inks that were peeking out of his bloodied shirt stopped just above the elbow. The both of them stood next to each other, arms around each other’s shoulders, cheesing hard. A quick swipe showed a nearly identical shot, but Gage had playfully stuck out his tongue.

Smiling loosely, a chuckle worked its way out as he brought a piece of hair down to his mouth and nervously chewed on it. He wondered if he was reading too deeply into things between the two of them.

Could there ever be anything but friendship here, Joey?

Gage always seemed to up the level of flirting between the two of them when he needed something - be it some tech to tinker with or a task that needed to be done.

Would this amount to anything other than an emotionless fling? Do you want it to?

Joey didn't mind however, since he enjoyed feeling wanted and needed during those times. After all it was Gage, and his friendship meant a lot to him.

Should something happen, would your friendship be irreparably changed?

He continued to ignore the voice nagging in the back of his mind, shutting his eyes and sending himself into a world of what could possibly be. The drab melted away and the room was now full of warmth. Gage came in and settled beside him on the bed, wrapping those burly arms all the way around him. It felt like it was going to be good, forever.

Joey… stop ignoring me. Do you love him?

He finally took notice of his own questions, pondering on the last one for a while. Gage was someone who managed to hold his attention, oftentimes for way too long a stretch. For some reason, he would keep him high on a pedestal, whether it be his personality, the way he made him feel, the unknown of whether or not he felt the same way, or maybe because he showed a dominant side Joey found intriguing. Whatever it was, Gage was the one making him think ‘wow, this guy talking to me… and we are friends… and I like it.’

But sadly, forever wasn’t going to start today. Joey’s eyes cracked open and the stodgy gray of the ceiling welcomed him back to reality.

Bummed, Joey sighed as he looked around the empty room. Gage hadn’t come in, wasn't there, nor was he holding him. Perhaps if his brown hair was longer and more tousled things could be different, but he wasn't that girl.

His mind was far from the chaotic mess of ordered purpose he knew how to handle. It had become plain chaos in there and the trips he was making down Feelings Avenue would most likely remain one way. Gage wasn't coming toward him in the opposite direction and his life was certainly going to keep on trucking whether or not Joey was in the other lane.

So with that, Joey tried to evict him from his thoughts, or at least keep things focused on the platonic. But shit, before long he was once again thinking about his ripped body, chiseled jaw, and gruff but characteristic manscaping. That's when he found himself reaching to unbutton jeans in order to ease some of the growing tightness. If the statues of Perseus and Poseidon tattooed on his forearm could close their eyes, they surely would right about now.

Gage had walked out of his room and was stepping down the hall when he paused in front of Joey’s cracked bedroom door. He was about to knock and check on him, when through the thin gap he noticed him lying down on the bed. Retracting his hand from the distressed door frame, he watched for a moment as Joey made his way into the front of his jeans and his head slowly slid back into the soft pillow. His left pec flexed, striations cutting across the musical score and red flowers that adorned it.

Gage debated watching the entire thing as his eyes followed the few petals drifting down from his shoulder to elbow, but his stomach heeded the call of breakfast and took back over.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Joey's hands shot back up toward his chest, the jolt nearly sending his phone into his face.

“Morning, bossman,” said Gage without the slightest indication he had noticed what was going on mere moments before.

“Oh! Um… hey! Hey there G,” Joey stuttered awkwardly as he casually stretched, then buttoned up his pants.

“Are ya getting
up to
anything?” asked Gage.

“Nothing. Just um… chilling a little.”

“Ya can't
beat
that first thing in the morning,” Gage said with an amused smirk.

Joey caught on to Gage’s not-so-subtle wordplay, replying, “Yeah, it's such a stress reliever. So what’s the deal? You seem more chipper this morning than usual. Did you have a good night?”

“Oh yes,” he responded, “I had a great night. After the downright exhausting fun of the last few days, it was nice to finally unwind. Plus, I have nothing official on the calendar today, so it's a win all around.”

Yeah, I bet you had
such
a great night unwinding with her, didn’t you?
Joey thought callously.

“That's just plain awesome,” Joey said, careful not to let his thoughts slip. “I think I'll take the opportunity to play around in the Funhouse today and see what kind of coolness I can devise for our future missions.”

“Hell yes,” said Gage with a massive Cheshire smile. He took a quick glance out the window and noticed the sun hadn’t peeked out from behind the cloud cover. “Oh and since I can’t tan today thanks to the weather, figured I would get more wood chopping in at the lean-to after breakfast. Speaking of, Ady’s already downstairs whipping us up bacon and eggs. Ya hungry?”

Joey’s stomach rumbled at the mere mention of food, but the thought of Gage chopping wood wouldn’t leave. “More wood?” he asked, knowing full well there was more than plenty of it stockpiled. He looked down, catching a glimpse of the photo that was still pulled up. Quickly he closed it, hoping Gage hadn't seen anything.

Of course he already had. “Well, it’s decent cardio as you know and also great practice for sport fucking,” the big guy replied with a wink.

“What?!” said a bewildered Joey. He looked up to where Gage was just standing, only to find him already gone.

How the hell could that moose of a man move so fast?

Just then, one of Joey’s radios began chirping, followed by another, then another. Soon they were all sounding off, the instrument panels flared up like slot machines as Joey rushed over to see what was going on. He quickly scanned over it all, not knowing where to focus until the flickering amber light on the smallest radio drew his attention. His heart was in his throat as he flipped over the comm switch and listened.

“Oh damn!”