Splintered (25 page)

Noah’s fingers played over the sinew along Hutch’s back, the muscles flexing with the tingling soft touches. Hutch wanted it to last, make it good. His lips traveled over the soft skin of Noah’s neck, tracing the thick muscle down, where he swirled his tongue over Noah’s collarbone.

As Hutch continued to explore Noah’s skin, he shifted, rubbing his hard cock along Noah’s thigh, the soft hairs tickling against his heated flesh. Lying along Noah’s side, Hutch snapped open the tube of lube and squeezed out a generous amount onto Noah’s cock.

“Oh shit,” Noah yelped and jerked. “That’s cold.”

“It won’t be for long,” Hutch chuckled as he tossed the tube aside and ran his fingers through the lube, spreading it, slicking up his fingers and Noah’s cock.

“That was just mean, man,” Noah huffed, then moaned when Hutch wrapped his fingers around his cock and pumped it a couple of times. “Ah yeah, that’s better.”

“Then you’re going to love this,” Hutch murmured slyly and slid his fingers along Noah’s balls, then farther back to press against his opening.

Propped up on one elbow, Hutch stared down at Noah and worked his finger inside him. Noah moaned and then bit his lip as Hutch made tiny circles, stretching Noah before pushing deeper into the tight, hot channel. The lust darkened Noah’s blue eyes till they were nearly black, and the blissed-out look on his face caused Hutch’s pulse to speed and his cock to throb.

“Fuck you’re tight,” Hutch commented as he continued to move in and out, speeding up just a bit.

Noah didn’t respond beyond low moans and bearing down on Hutch’s finger. His white teeth pushed into his bottom lip, nostrils flaring as if he was trying to hold back the shout that wanted to escape his lips. But it was in his eyes, the pleasure evident.

Hutch worked in a second finger alongside the first, stretching, curling and twisting. Noah’s sharp intake of breath and the tightening of his muscles alerted Hutch he’d hit the right spot. He did it again and again until Noah finally stopped abusing his bottom lip and cried out.

“Jesus, Hutch. I need you to fuck me,” he begged and then groaned loud enough to shake the bed.

“Yeah, you ready?”

Noah shook all over, and he bore down hard. “Don’t tease. I can’t wait much longer.” His voice was deep, seductive, pleading, the sound going straight to Hutch’s balls.

Noah whimpered when Hutch pulled his fingers free and watched him intently as Hutch rolled the condom down his length, then slicked up the latex with his wet, sloppy fingers. Hutch went to his knees between Noah’s spread thighs, and his hands shook as he settled them on Noah’s hips. Hutch slid them under Noah, lifting and pulling him forward till Noah’s ass was lying on his thighs, with his knees bent and his lower legs caught around Hutch’s waist.

Noah reached up and grabbed the headboard in both his hands, his head tilted back as Hutch nudged at the tight opening, pressed firmly, slowly, until the tight ring of muscle opened up to him and they both groaned as the head of Hutch’s cock invaded him.

Hutch stilled and closed his eyes, breathing heavily as Noah’s ass contracted around the sensitive head as his body tried to adjust to the invasion. “Tight, fuck you’re tight,” Hutch groaned again and dug his fingers into the meaty flesh of Noah’s thighs.

“Just give me a minute,” Noah moaned. The flush of his skin glowed in the low light, his eyes glassy as he licked drops of sweat off his upper lip.

“Dammit, one minute you’re begging me, another you’re making me wait,” Hutch sulked, but he couldn’t hide his grin.

Noah looked up at Hutch, brow dropping low as his face darkened, and he clenched his ass, making Hutch growl in warning, then clamp down on his jaw, fighting the urge to bury himself deep.

Noah must have realized he’d pushed Hutch to his limits, and he tightened his legs around Hutch. “Now move,” he demanded and pushed his feet against Hutch’s lower back, forcing him forward.

Hutch thrust, going deep, bottoming out, his balls snug against Noah’s ass. He grunted and shifted against Noah’s thighs, trying to adjust the angle. Noah’s cock twitched and he moaned wantonly when Hutch slammed into him again, hitting the sweet hidden spot. He gripped Noah’s hips, pounding into Noah, control lost, hitting Noah’s prostate over and over and over.

“Oh fuck! There, right fucking there!” Noah cried out and dug his fingers into Hutch’s shoulders, nails digging into tender flesh.

Hutch curled, hunched over Noah, to run his mouth along Noah’s jaw. Noah arched up, and his hard cock, wet at the tip, rubbed against Hutch’s belly. He pistoned in and out of Noah’s ass as he ate at his mouth, licking, sucking, biting. Hutch was close.

“I…. Fuck, Hutch,” Noah mewled, forcing Hutch to break the kiss. “I’m so close…. God, harder…. Fuck…. Please.”

Noah’s words were running together, short broken sentences as he writhed beneath Hutch. Hutch knew Noah wouldn’t last much longer; neither of them would. How could they? The pleasure so great it was surrounding them, pushing them to that perfect place.

Leaning back, Hutch tightened his grip on Noah’s hip with one hand while he ran his other thumb over the slick tip of Noah’s cock, lower, against the delta of nerves just under the head, making the column of flesh jerk and weep in his hand.

“Gonna make you come so hard,” Hutch groaned huskily, voice thick, drunk with arousal.

“God, yes! Do it!”

Hutch gripped Noah’s cock hard, pulling, tugging in the same rhythm he slammed into Noah’s ass, going deep, pulling nearly all the way out before going all the way back in, over and over and over, slamming against Noah’s pelvis with brutal thrusts. Noah grunted with each connection, harsh noises like a rutting animal.

Hutch’s hips lost their finesse, his hand on Noah’s cock sloppy, but he couldn’t help it. His body coiled like an overwound spring, balls heavy, burning like a flame and ready to detonate.

Then there was no more air and no more thinking, only Noah’s name in his throat as he broke wide open and the so-good-it-hurt end of the world. Hutch exploded into Noah’s ass nearly the exact moment Noah roared, hot come fountaining over Hutch’s fist, landing on Noah’s chest and neck.

One last hard thrust, then Hutch released Noah’s wet cock and slumped forward, buried deep in Noah’s body. Neither of them moved for long moments, breathing heavily, hearts pounding, bodies shaking as they enjoyed the postfuck glow of bliss.

Hutch wanted to close his eyes, sleep right where he lay, but the thought of crushing Noah in his sleep got Hutch up and moving. He made quick work of disposing of the condom, did a little clean-up, and then rejoined Noah in bed, pulled him close, and covered their still sweat-damp bodies with a sheet. With his head on the soft pillow and Noah’s head on his chest, Hutch held him, snuggling in and enjoying the heat and peace of the night, ignoring anything that might make him want this as more than a one-time thing.

Chapter 24

H
E
’
D
MADE
a huge mistake. He’d given in to Noah’s advances, and while he didn’t necessarily regret it, it would make the current living arrangements uncomfortable, since Hutch promised himself as he slipped from Noah’s bed that he would not allow it to happen again. Not until he caught the killer, if ever. What the hell had he been thinking?

His new resolve was stiffly in place—to keep his focus on the case rather than Noah—and the walls of the hotel room closed in on Hutch until he felt like a caged animal. Under threats from Granite of being beaten within an inch of his life, Hutch was forced to move his pacing to the hall, but he wouldn’t go any farther, as he refused to be too far away from Noah. Five days. Five of the longest fucking days of his life as he waited for a response, something, anything, from the killer.

Nothing.

Compounding his restlessness was the way Noah watched him. Noah was totally understanding about the new no-sex law, but he wasn’t as understanding about what had transpired on the balcony. He kept hinting at it, but had yet to ask Hutch. Hutch both dreaded and looked forward to the questions that would surely come. He’d held tight to his secret, even from Granite, who he thought he was closer to than any other human being, and yet, it was Noah who he wanted to share it with. The question was why? Why was he compelled to share such a thing with someone he barely knew?

At the end of the hall, Hutch spun and stomped back toward the opposite wall for the hundredth time as he let the questions simmer. It simply made no sense, was totally illogical that he would feel such a compulsion. Just as he approached the door to his room, Granite popped his head out, causing Hutch to jerk back and come to a halt.

“Jesus,” he grumbled, shooting an irritated look toward Granite, who only smiled slyly.

“You’re going to wear the carpet out.”

“Yeah, so, I’ll take it out of your pay since you made me come out here in the first place.”

Granite rolled his eyes and waved him off. “You wanna go for a run?”

“No.”

“C’mon, it will do us both some good,” Granite implored as he stepped out into the hall, blocking Hutch’s path.

“No,” Hutch repeated more forcefully and tried to step past Granite, but he blocked him again.

“You’re doing it again,” Granite growled, hands on his hips as he gave Hutch a disproving look. “You’re not eating, not sleeping, and at this pace, you’re going to fall flat on your face. Then what good will you be?”

“I’m not leaving,” Hutch shot back, not the least bit intimidated by Granite’s angry gaze.

“I’m not asking you to fucking leave, you stubborn shit. I know you want to protect him. I’m just asking you to take better care of yourself. We’ll go down to the gym, do a little sweating and tension releasing on the treadmill, and be back in an hour, tops.” Granite arched a brow. “Unless you want me to tell Byte you don’t trust him to babysit your boyfriend for an hour.”

“That’s a low blow,” Hutch gruffed. “And he’s not my goddamn boyfriend.”

“No, but I can tell you care about him. Hell, the sexual tension arcing in the room between you two is so intense, I swear if you don’t bang soon, you’ll both explode.”

Hutch spun and stomped off in the direction he’d just come, tossing over his shoulder, “You’re out of your goddamn mind.”

“Oh really?” Granite said dubiously as he ran to catch up with Hutch. “You going to try and lie and tell me you’re not attracted to him?”

“That’s irrelevant.”

“Bullshit, Hutch. It’s okay to let yourself care about someone, you know.”

“No, it’s not,” Hutch responded gruffly. “My lifestyle and career is not conducive to caring about anyone. People who get too close to me get hurt.”

“I’ve never been hurt by you. Pissed off? Yes! Frustrated beyond all reason? Yes! But never hurt and I’m pretty sure Byte hasn’t either, other than your insane need to protect him like he’s a child.” Granite grabbed the back of Hutch’s shirt and spun him around. “The three of us are family, and it doesn’t get any closer than that, so stop your goddamn brooding, let down your walls, and let someone else help carry the load you’ve got piled up on your shoulders.” Granite’s angry expression softened. “Let me carry some of it, you stubborn shit.”

Hutch’s first thought was to deny it, to run to… he didn’t know what, but the irritation and anger drained from him when Granite pulled him into a tight bear hug and patted his back, murmuring, “It’s okay to let someone help.”

Hutch leaned his forehead on Granite’s shoulder. He didn’t know how to respond, didn’t know if he could around the lump of emotions in his throat, so he simply hugged Granite back and nodded.

“Thank you,” Granite responded sincerely and then pulled away, turning as he wiped a hand roughly over his eyes. “Now let’s go put your pacing to good use on the treadmill, shall we?” Granite didn’t look back as he popped his head in the hotel room to let Noah and Byte know where they were going, then headed to the elevator.

Hutch didn’t point out or tease the man about the tears on his cheeks, he simply followed him into the waiting elevator car and went to let go of the rest of his frustration in the gym.

N
OAH
LOOKED
up from his case file as Granite popped in and informed them Hutch needed a stress reliever and they were heading to the gym, before disappearing behind the closed door. Noah had half a mind to slip on his tennis shoes and join them. He was getting antsy from sitting in the room all day and night. He could use a little exercise to combat the sluggishness from the constant fast food and junk he was consuming. Instead he tried to focus on the file spread out before him. He had a full day of seeing patients. He’d put it off long enough and finally conceded that he’d allow Hutch to babysit him. He couldn’t get any further behind than he was.

As he began to read the patient’s history, his cell phone vibrated on the table next to him. Noah grabbed it, checked the display—it was the number for the outreach center—and hit Accept.

“Hello?”

“Hi, is this Mr. Walker?” asked a pleasant voice.

“Yes, this is Noah Walker.”