Resilience (17 page)

expression. The man who’d taken their picture that day had been enchanted by Jameson, much to his wife’s dismay, until Jameson had turned his smile on her.

Adam stood, keeping hold of Todd’s hand. It was awkward, but he needed the comfort,and Todd managed to get up and move over to his side. Together they walked to the living room. Adam stopped in front of the shelf with the picture on it. “He was more than average-looking there.”

Todd grunted, and Adam, distracted by the memory of that day, flinched when Todd

caressed his cheek.

“Sorry,” Todd mumbled, but he didn’t pull back, instead repeating the touch. This time Adam leaned into it. He closed his eyes and almost purred at the way Todd stroked his face.

Todd’s fingers burned a path down Adam’s neck, then back up to rub at his nape where Adam tended to carry his tension.

“Ungh.” Adam didn’t know what it was about having that spot massaged but it just

seemed to make his tongue thick and his body lax. Todd slid an arm around his waist and pulled Adam to him.

“What was I gonna tell you?” Todd murmured, his breath teasing Adam’s ear. He

nipped Adam’s earlobe and Adam’s dick began to thicken. “Oh yeah. I never really noticed Jameson was even smiling in the picture, because all I really see is you. Gorgeous, Adam.

Look at you. You’re so sexy, tanned and fit—that smile that melts me. Your hair was longer, and, the way the sun was glinting off it, I swear I see a hint of red.”

Adam prised his eyes open and looked at the picture, or, more precisely, at himself in the picture. He’d never really paid himself any mind, except to think he was happy that day, one of the last he and Jameson had spent just the two of them, since shortly thereafter Jameson had met his partner.

Todd jostled him slightly to reach around and trace over Adam’s leg in the photo.

“Look at the muscles here. You’ve got such strong legs, and, every time I look at you here, I think of the way you use them to fuck me. Think about how strong you can wrap those legs around me, too. I think about licking your biceps, sucking up a mark right here.”

Adam was expecting Todd to touch another part of him in the picture, but instead there was the scrape of teeth where Adam’s shoulder and neck met. “Todd,” Adam sighed, leaning his head back and turning it aside in blatant invitation.

“Mm-hmm,” Todd hummed right before he covered the sensitive spot with his mouth

and started sucking. He hummed again and the vibrations from it shimmied down to

Adam’s groin. There was the lewd slurp-pop when Adam shifted his hips and accidentally

dislodged Todd’s mouth from its wonderful suctioning, but Todd latched back on and Adam had to grab at the shelf to brace himself as his knees went gelatinous.

Todd rumbled, and that was a new, toppy sound Adam was coming to love quickly. He

grunted when Todd tightened his hold—lips, teeth, the arm around Adam’s middle. Then Todd brushed his hand over Adam’s erection, just a featherlight touch guaranteed to make him ache for more.

“Please,” he squeaked out, too needy to worry about how he sounded. It wasn’t like

he’d never driven Todd to the same point of desperation.

Todd popped the button loose at Adam’s waistband. He tugged down Adam’s zipper

and ran his fingertips over the wet spot on Adam’s boxers.

Adam bucked into the promise of friction. “Todd,” he warned, doing a little growling of his own.

In answer, Todd sucked harder at the same time he delved his hand into Adam’s

boxers. Todd used his other hand to press Adam back, keeping his ass firmly against Todd’s cock. Todd began stroking Adam’s shaft, twisting his hand as it reached the crown. The rub on Adam’s frenulum combined with the next-second palming of his cockhead was going to undo him quickly, and they both knew it.

Todd held him harder, and began rutting against him as he pumped Adam’s length.

The sounds they made together—Todd’s grunts and slurps, the wet suctioning of him marking Adam, their skin rubbing, Todd’s hand on Adam’s dick, Adam’s pants, his whimpers and the rustle of clothing—all of it combined into one of the most carnal experiences in Adam’s life.

His climax exploded through him, no warning tingles or quivering anything. One second he was so immersed in bliss he couldn’t breathe and the next he was keening, cum spurting from his cock as he shook from head to toe.

Adam was only dimly aware of Todd’s fierce snarl, of the snap of his hips against

Adam’s ass. The world dipped and spun, and Adam became more aware as his orgasm began to ebb and he found himself pushed up against the wall beside the shelf.

He felt Todd’s hand between them, the rough jabbing of his knuckles as Todd freed his dick. Each jerk of Todd’s hand dragged a rough sound from him. He pressed his cock between Adam’s ass cheeks and covered it with his palm. Then he leaned into Adam and rutted, hard, fast jabs that burned despite the sweat coating them both.

Adam fumbled behind him and grabbed Todd’s hip. He curled his fingers, holding on,

and arched into each thrust. Todd’s gasps became erratic as did his thrusts. He shoved forward forcefully, then bit where he’d suckled as the first shot of spunk hit Adam’s back.

Adam could do nothing but revel in the feeling of being so thoroughly owned and knowing he held Todd just as much.

“Got distracted,” Todd scraped out minutes later. “You’re just too sexy to resist.”

Adam rolled his neck and kind of looked at Todd. Kind of, because his vision was still blurry. “Why would you want to?” he teased.

Todd snorted and Adam felt his cock twitch, which made Adam’s want to come up and play, too. “Exactly. Why would I?” Todd pulled Adam over a few steps and tumbled them onto the couch. “Let me show you just how irresistible you are.”

Todd was about at his wits’ end. Not only was he turning up absolutely zilch on

Jameson, but he couldn’t find anything on the guy Jameson ran off with, Dirk Govind, either.

He was truly leaning towards the belief that Dirk Govind wasn’t the mysterious boyfriend’s name at all.

“Seriously, who names anyone Dirk…ever?” Not even if the dude was born in the early

twentieth century. No one would do that to their kid. Todd rolled his eyes then rubbed them.

He was so tired, and it didn’t help that his old man was up for parole. Twice in the past week Todd had even seen his mother in town—not that she’d spoken to him, but whatever. He didn’t know what she was doing in Shasta to begin with. The prison was an hour away in Falls Hills. Most likely she was visiting with the two or three former parishioners who hadn’t moved off.

She sure as hell wasn’t here to see him. It was stupid, he knew it was stupid, but he couldn’t quite silence that little boy inside who wanted his mom’s love, his dad’s approval.

But the man he was now knew better, knew the futility of such wishes. Todd didn’t believe his parents would ever change. He didn’t wait for it, pray for it, hope for it. But he did wish, on those rare occasions he allowed himself to think on it, that his parents had been kind, loving people instead of psychotic nuts.

Todd snorted and pushed away from his desk. The chair’s wheels squeaked and

stuttered, threatening to send him ass over teakettle. Todd just went with it. The chair hadn’t tossed him yet.

He yelped when the chair hit something solid. There shouldn’t have been anything

there. Todd about snapped his neck looking around and growled when Gabe smirked down at him.

“Nice office, Sheriff.” Gabe glanced around the break room. “Good to see my tax dollars hard at work. Nice vending machines.”

Todd flipped Gabe off. “I told you my office is being redone since the ceiling caved in after those storms. Wasn’t much in there that didn’t get ruined.”

Gabe bobbed his head. “Sure, and that was good because your old office was ass-ugly, buddy. Absolutely no taste at all. Looked like every boring office ever created.”

“It’s not supposed to be some cosy spot to snooze in,” Todd pointed out. “It should be austere and maybe even intimidating.” He didn’t really believe it, mostly, but it was fun to watch Gabe get all puffed up and ready to launch into a tirade. “I’m not here to make the criminals cosy, you know.”

“It’s cruel and unusual punishment to fucking beige them to death,” Gabe snapped.

“Jesus, I’ll sue you myself for visual assault or…or something, I swear I will, if that office is more than ten per cent beige when it’s done! And the floor counts, everything in there counts!”

Todd tried not to laugh. Gabe was getting wound up, and it was funny. But if he

laughed it’d be all over because Gabe would know Todd was just poking at him. Todd hated beige, and there wasn’t going to be any of it in his new office.

“What about grey?” he asked, tapping his fingers on his knees. “You know, that

medium-toned grey, kinda like Dallas Cowboys’ colour. Might even add some of the same blue in the trim or something.”

Gabe bent and poked Todd right on the nose. “I will kick your ass, and at least

something in that office will be bright then!”

Todd snickered as he batted at Gabe’s hand, and it got him a thump on the tip of his nose. “Hey!” Todd cupped a hand over his nose as his eyes watered. “That’s assaulting an officer!”

Gabe arched a brow and planted a hand on one cocked hip. “Well, if I’m already gonna be in trouble, then…”

Todd waved him off. “I can forgive you since we’ve been friends for so long. I’ll let it go this time. Now, did you just come in here to give me grief over my hideous former office?”

Gabe had been studying the vending machine and rubbing his stomach, but he stopped then and looked totally stunned. “Oh shit! No, I actually had a reason for coming in besides harassing you.” He frowned so hard it made Todd’s head hurt. “You know that biii—er, bimbo who gave birth to you is in town trying to get people to go vouch for how wonderful your sperm donor is, right?”

Oh. Well, that explained why she was in Shasta. “I seen her a time or two. She looked right through me.” And, yeah, it’d hurt but he hadn’t gone home and cried about it or anything. Truthfully, he didn’t think he could ever forgive her or his father for everything they had done to him even if they ever did apologise.

Gabe snorted. “Yeah, well. I might have had a word or three with her. At her.

Whatever. Stupid… Anyways. She sure can pucker her mouth up like she’s sucking an as—”

“Gabe!” Todd barely kept from slapping his hands over his ears.

“What?” Gabe said as he blinked, the picture of innocence…or not, considering who

was doing it. “I was gonna say, like she’s sucking an aspirin. Have you ever went to dry-swallow a couple aspirins and had them stick? Gack!” Gabe stuck out his tongue and heaved.

“Nasty shit, man. Makes you pucker your mouth up like an as—”

“Gabe!”

This time the thundering voice came from behind Gabe, and, though he hadn’t cleared

the corner and entered the room yet, Mika’s presence was definitely felt as soon as he hollered. Todd sat up straighter and Gabe sighed. He turned around lazily, sinuously, as if his partner hadn’t just basically made his name into a demand.

“Whatcha want, honey?” Gabe drawled, all sweet and syrup and, Todd knew, at his

most snarky. Mika was going to have to guard his ribs, and probably his balls, too.

Mika wasn’t stupid. He peered through the doorway cautiously, his head appearing an

inch at a time. Once he saw that Gabe wasn’t going to come flying at him, Mika got a little braver and stepped into the doorway.

Gabe smiled, and it wasn’t a nice smile at all. Although, maybe the threat in it meant something entirely different to Mika, who narrowed his eyes and stared back at Gabe. When Gabe sighed softly and sauntered up to Mika, Todd had a moment of curiosity about the two of them. Sometimes there was a powerful force between them, something more than love and sex.

Or maybe Todd didn’t really want to know what it was.

Mika hooked an arm around Gabe and pulled him to his side. He dropped a tender kiss

on Gabe’s lips then looked at Todd. “Can you and Adam come over for dinner tonight?

We’re having some guests over, you met them before, Aidan and Zane. They have

some…skills. Maybe they can help find Adam’s friend.”

Todd’s senses prickled as they did periodically around Gabe and Mika. It’d begun a little over a year ago, and it was weird, like a power surge or something. Todd couldn’t define it, but he knew something had changed, or something was up, or… He didn’t know shit, but his subconscious was jabbing at him. He wished he could prise out whatever it was trying to tell him.

But, for now, he just nodded. Something very weird was going on.

It had taken Adam a while to feel comfortable enough with Gabe and Mika to really

consider them friends. It stood to reason, then, that he wouldn’t be comfortable around Aidan and Zane even though he’d met them before. He didn’t know them.

And how the fuck am I supposed to get to know them if all I do is sit here fretting like some… I don’t even know what.

Todd took his hand and squeezed gently. Adam looked at him and some of his nerves

settled. Todd was here with him, beside him on the couch—the very same couch he and

Todd had walked in and found Gabe and Mika all but fucking on years ago. Adam cringed and fought back the urge to jump up and check the cushions.

“Thank you for inviting us over,” Adam said to Mika. He did, after all, have some

manners. Occasionally. Adam turned his attention to Zane and Aidan. For some reason

Adam had to suppress a shiver when he looked into Aidan’s dark eyes. But Zane’s silver ones weren’t much less intimidating.

And why was he intimidated?

Adam perked up, exuberance bubbling up to cover his discomfort. “So! Are you two in

town long? And don’t you have a twin?” he asked Aidan. He knew the answer, because

Gabe could babble like no one else and he’d gone on and on about Aidan and his twin