Ricochet (Out for Justice Book 1)

by Reese Knightley

  “It was a long time ago,” Noah confessed.

  “I wish you would have trusted me enough to tell me,” he said hoarsely, the words thick on his tongue.

  “It only happened the one time, and I felt ashamed,” Noah explained.

  “You have nothing to be ashamed of, that’s on him.” Mac clenched his jaw, struggling to get his anger under control.

  “After years of therapy, I know that now.”

  “I’m going to crush the fucking life out of that fucker.” He couldn’t hold back the words. Manning would be lucky to see the inside of a jail cell even if it cost Mac his badge.

  Noah smiled, actually fucking smiled. “Get in line,” he whispered. “But I didn’t tell you about Manning to make you angry, I told you because I needed you to know. I want this, us, to be built on trust.”

  Noah bent one knee and ran the edge of his toes along the top of his thigh. They settled in the crease of Mac’s leg where groin met thigh, and Mac lifted a small couch pillow to set over his crotch, as if that wasn’t suspicious.

  Their eyes met and held. Noah smiled that damned sexy knowing smile. The man’s heated gaze swept boldly down his body, searing him, setting him on fire. And here he was trying to be good, talking and learning about each other.

  “Thank you for trusting me,” Mac croaked, clearing his throat. He shifted beneath the pillow and pressed a hand to the growing bulge in his sweatpants.

  “Mmhmm, but there’s something I’ve been wanting to do all day,” Noah growled, and then sleek and sexy like a fucking wild cat, the man lifted out of the casual sprawl and stalked across the space between them in a slow, measured crawl. Mac gave up any further thought of getting his cock to behave.

  The heat in Noah’s eyes held him in place. Desire and pure need hooded the man’s gaze and kept Mac still. He wanted nothing more in that very moment than to please this man, to give him everything.

  Noah moved up and over him, shoving the pillow out of the way to straddle his lap, settling his hands on Mac’s shoulders. Mac tipped his head back, his body hardening, his hands possessively gripping Noah’s hips.

  “Noah?” Mac said, the man’s name sounding like a groan.

  “Yes?” Noah rumbled.

  God help him, but Mac suddenly needed one last reassurance. “Are you sure about this?” The words sounded guttural, like a growl.

  “Yes. Are you on board with me?” Noah asked huskily.

  Their gazes met. The gold in Noah’s eyes sparkled, pupils blown. Slowly, Mac lifted one hand and brushed the back of his knuckles against his jaw. Noah swallowed, and Mac eased forward. Noah smelled like peppermint, coffee, and heaven.

  Here was the moment of their truth. In this moment, sitting before Mac was every fantasy he had ever craved rolled into one long, lean package. His desire and dream that Noah would someday be with him, as a grown man wanting Mac, wanting him above all others, had come true.

  The age difference was still there. But Mac didn’t worry about it any longer. They were no longer part of a protector and victim crazy relationship. Mac no longer had to keep Noah safe. The man before him could, and had, taken care of himself. Mac suddenly and with urgency wanted to take advantage of anything and everything that Noah offered. He would take a chance on Noah because he was worth it.

  “So on board,” Mac said, running his hand from Noah’s hip and up along the man’s back, pulling him closer.

  They came together, not slow, but rather hard and fast. Pressing mouths together, open, hot.

  “Mac,” Noah groaned, breathing against his lips, and Mac went from semi-hard to iron hard in seconds. The kiss deepened, and Mac lifted one hand to cup the back of Noah’s head. The kiss grew languid and slow until Noah eased back. The man sank his fingers firmly into his hair and Mac tipped his head back, luxuriating in the strong, stroking touch. Noah’s unshaven face roughly rubbed against his neck, lips and tongue swirled against his pulse, and Mac groaned. He didn’t want gentle; he needed hard. Maybe later, after the edge was knocked off, he could slow down, but not now.

  His hand fisted in Noah’s hair, and he tugged the man’s head back. Taking Noah’s mouth again, and then again. The meeting of their mouths was hot, unyielding, and dirty. He loved every minute of it. Parting his lips, he bit at Noah’s mouth, sliding his tongue along the man’s lips until Mac heard Noah groan and part his lips willingly. Their tongues tangled in a marauding slither of need that took Mac’s breath away.

  His arm pained him, and he used his other arm to keep Noah wrapped tightly up against his chest. Relishing the feel of his body sinking against him, Mac slid one hand down Noah’s side and cupped his ass through the denim. His other hand inched beneath Noah’s T-shirt until he could stroke over the smooth skin he found there.

  It was a bit of a struggle, but with Noah helping him, they were able to carefully remove his shirt. Noah yanked his own shirt away and tossed it onto the floor to join Mac’s. With roaming hands and lips, Noah explored all of his chest before latching onto a nipple. Mac hissed. His hand again fisting in Noah’s hair, he drew him up, back into a heated kiss.

  Noah reached between them and palmed Mac’s cock through his jeans. The man started a slow stroking slide that drove him crazy. Mac surged against Noah’s palm.

  “You’re killing me,” Mac breathed out, breaking the kiss.

  Noah

  Noah shook his hair back and looked through hooded eyes at Mac. “Is that a good thing?” At the man’s nod, Noah stood and held out his hand. “Show me.”

  Mac gripped his outstretched hand, and Noah pulled the man to his feet. He led Mac down the hallway to the room he’d placed him in last night. The room was big, with a picturesque window that faced the frozen lake. Shear cream-colored curtains shut out the world but let in enough light to see. The king-sized bed took up most of the room, the spread a mixture of earth tones and cool colors, the pillows oversized and of various shapes.

  The bed’s softness met Noah’s back, and he sank a few inches into the fluff until Mac chuckled and tossed pillows to the floor. Noah stretched against the softness of the bed, and then paused when he found Mac watching him.

  “Hurry up already.” He gave Mac a slow smile.

  “Just enjoying the view,” Mac remarked.

  “The view is better down here,” Noah purred and reached for the button on his own jeans. Mac suddenly stopped his hands with one warm palm.

  “Let me,” the big man offered, running his fingers beneath the waist band of Noah’s jeans. Then his large fingers released the button on his pants. Noah sucked in a quick breath and shifted on the bed, his cock painfully hard, trapped in his jeans.

  “Mac,” Noah groaned.

  “Yes,” Mac whispered, dipping his dark head to trail lips over his exposed hip. The scratching of his unshaven jaw trailing over the sensitive skin where hip met groin was erotic. Mac explored there, tonguing the skin and driving him crazy. He fell back to the bed beneath the touch of Mac’s mouth.

  “So sensitive,” Mac mouthed against his hip, and Noah arched into the touch. He never thought he was sensitive, but beneath Mac’s mouth, he felt on fire.

  Mac tormented him, licking, kissing, and sucking on each exposed piece of skin. Bit by bit, the larger man eased the jeans down with Noah’s help until he was naked and sprawled on the bed. With heated eyes, he watched Mac stand and push his sweats to the floor. Noah eased up on his elbows to watch the show.

  The marshal was sexy. All hard muscled on his chest and a trail of hair started low beneath his navel and ended with a dark nest surrounding his cock. Noah had imagined so many times in the past of taking Mac’s cock into his mouth. He licked his lips, wanting a taste of Mac.

  Noticing the man’s sudden stillness, Noah swept his gaze upward. The heat in Mac’s icy blue gaze seared him, and Noah realized how wanton he was sitting, naked, with his legs spread and his cock and balls on display. He personally liked the feel of his trimmed groin area, and Mac did too by the look on the
man’s face. A shiver coursed through him, making his nipples bead and his cock bounce.

  “Mac,” Noah managed, sweeping one hand down his stomach and wrapping around his cock.

  Mac moved, crawling up and over him so Noah was forced to sprawl out on his back. Mac was balancing on one arm and Noah suddenly sat upward, wrapping his arms around Mac. He urged Mac flat on his back on the bed. Gazing downward and unable to resist, Noah straddled the man’s hips, and careful of Mac’s injured arm, he draped his body along Mac’s naked form.

  “You drive me crazy,” Mac husked into Noah’s neck.

  “Yes,” Noah moaned. His hand came up, sliding fingers through thick, dark hair as he turned his head to kiss Mac’s mouth.

  Noah drew back long enough to ask, “Condoms?”

  “No,” Mac groaned.

  “Me neither,” he said and reached between them, gripping both of their cocks together. The touch of Mac’s hot dick against his felt fucking incredible.

  He wanted this; he’d been fantasizing about this for years. Noah lowered for a kiss, and Mac came hungrily into it, stealing his breath. They kissed, hips undulating, perfectly aligned. Mac reached down between their sweat-slicked bodies and covered Noah’s hand. Noah eased his head back enough to look into Mac’s eyes.

  Their gazes held. Mac’s eyes were filled with a softness Noah knew was reserved only for him. He’d seen it before, years ago. And he knew that his own eyes were filled with the same emotion.

  Mac’s hand joined his, clasping their hard lengths tighter, increasing the friction. Their hands glided, stroked, and twisted around their lengths, and the combined touch and caress quickly drew his balls up.

  Tipping his head back, Noah couldn’t stop the groan from escaping his throat. He ground down as Mac pressed up. Noah dropped his head, and their eyes met. They were in perfect sync, a dance of spiraling need.

  Mac’s gaze went from soft to intense, and Noah held the penetrating look until the man groaned, pupils expanded, and then he closed his eyes, letting his hot seed spill between them. The big man shuddered, and Noah followed, crashing into his orgasm, adding his own liquid to the warmth between them.

  Noah eased over to Mac’s good side and grabbed a handful of tissue from the nightstand. Noah wiped them both off when Mac turned on his side toward him and then tossed the tissues away and scooted closer. Slipping one leg over the top of both of Mac’s legs, he ran his hand up and down Mac’s arm, careful of the bandage.

  “How’s your arm?”

  “Hurts like hell, but I don’t care,” the man admitted, running his fingers over Noah’s eyebrows, down his nose, and across his cheeks before cupping the back of his neck and drawing him close.

  Noah smiled and nuzzled Mac’s cheek and breathed him in. He was addicted to this man, had always been, from the very beginning. Being intimate with Mac felt incredible, and Noah could only imagine the explosion they’d create when they got their hands on condoms.

  “I can hear the wheels spinning in your head,” Mac murmured, and Noah grinned.

  “Oh? And what are they saying?” Noah softly teased.

  “That we need a shower?” Mac grinned, making him laugh.

  “We do.”

  He wrapped Mac’s arm so the bandage would stay dry. Laughing when Mac placed him beneath the water, Noah moved in against the man’s muscled frame, relishing in the freedom to touch Mac. Kissing and sucking mouths turned need into raging desire. Slick hands made quick work of straining cocks. Several minutes later, they lay spent, Noah’s back resting against the wet tile with Mac leaning heavily against him.

  “I think your arm got wet.” Noah sucked in some much-needed air and tilted his head back as warm kisses trailed down his neck.

  “I don’t care,” Mac panted, licking at the wet skin on his shoulder.

  Noah grimaced at the ringing phone and shook his head at Mac’s questioning look.

  “I have to take this,” he said, and strode through the rooms until he reached the patio. “Hello?” Stepping out onto the balcony, he slid the glass door closed.

  “Noah, where are you?” Stefano demanded, making Noah smile.

  “Montana,” Noah said to one of the people that knew where this house stood.

  “Ahhh, I see.” Stefano sighed. “I want you to come in.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Terrance Manning is feeling the heat,” Stefano urged.

  “Good, that’s right where I want him.” Noah leaned on the railing and gazed at the snow-covered field across from the house. Two deer were tentatively searching for food near the edge by the fence. Their heads would lift every so often, large ears twitching at sounds, before they resumed eating. A few birds flew overhead, chirping. The cold stung his face, but he loved the clean, crisp air.

  “This isn’t good, did you forget that he wants you dead?”

  “I forget nothing.” Noah sighed, irritated. Stefano should know him by now. He wasn’t going to stop until the job was done. He’d become single-minded like that.

  Stefano’s voice changed, became quieter. “Please come in, I’ll tell you about your mother.”

  Noah wanted to hear about his mother, and somehow Stefano knew details about the events surrounding her death. It pissed him off that the man was using that to try and control him.

  “You had your chance to tell me about my mother years ago,” Noah rasped, clenching his hand around the phone. After a long moment, he added quietly, “I’m not coming in until this is finished.”

  “Noah, there’s more that you don’t–”

  “Goodbye, Stefano,” Noah said firmly and ended the call. He carefully slipped the phone into his pocket and took a deep breath of the cool air. His mother, his beautiful mother. Somehow, she was involved in all this. Whether it was innocently or not, he didn’t know. And Stefano had answers, but for some reason, he wasn’t talking. Noah didn’t know the connection between Terrance Manning and his mother, but he’d be sure to cut the truth out of the man before killing him.

  “Everything okay?” Mac asked, coming up behind Noah and slipping his arms around him, warm and solid. Noah leaned back into Mac’s arms.

  “Yes.” He smiled, turning in Mac’s arms to face him.

  “Let’s watch a movie.” Mac grinned and the boyish look on the sexy marshal’s face pulled him out of his mood.

  “I’ll get some popcorn. You pick one,” Noah said as they stepped back inside.

  A few minutes later, he was back in the living room with popped corn and soda. This time, Mac’s phone rang, but rather than leave the room, Mac stayed. Noah placed everything on the coffee table and took a seat on the couch.

  Mac was pacing, and seriously, the man looked intense, but mouthwatering. The T-shirt Mac wore strained over his muscled chest, and when he lifted his hand to rub the back of his neck, the shirt rode upward, revealing the smattering of hair that started low and trailed down, disappearing into his sweats. Noah reached and adjusted himself through his pants. Mac was in the prime of his life; fit, sexy, and hot as hell.

  As if feeling his gaze, Mac looked up and their eyes met. “I’ll call you back, Jake,” the man said, hanging up the phone.

  “No,” Noah drawled, and stretched his arms along the back of the couch. He crossed his legs at the ankles and smirked.

  Mac arched a brow. “No, what?”

  “I’m not going into WITSEC.” He might have been distracted by Mac’s physique, but he’d heard every word of the man’s conversation. He narrowed his eyes. Did they seriously think he needed WITSEC to keep him safe? Clearly, they didn’t know what he was capable of.

  “Jake knows you’re not going into WITSEC. He’s just worried. Besides, we have a leak, so, no.”

  “Yes, you do,” Noah agreed.

  “There’s just a little matter of where I might be staying,” Mac hedged.

  Noah fought back a smile. “Oh?”

  “Yeah, So I was thinking…” Mac hummed. “What if…I stay with you?” Blue ey
es glittered.

  “Well…” Noah began, lifting a hand to smooth fingers along his unshaven jaw. “There’s some trouble following me.” Teasing laughter swirled in his eyes.

  Mac stalked slowly across the living room. “Is that right?” The man’s voice dropped all growly and shit.

  “Mmhmm,” Noah rumbled just as growly and made room for Mac on the sofa. “I might need…watching,” he goaded, running his gaze down Mac’s body and then back up to his face.

  The man’s sexy mouth quirked at the corner and the smile reached his eyes. “I might have a solution for that.”

  Noah laughed and fisted a hand in Mac’s shirt, pulling him forward. “I thought you might,” he said just before their mouths met. Noah couldn’t resist a teasing Mac; the guy did things to his heart that no other person ever would.

  Noah

  A knock on the door jerked them apart, and they both sat upright. Noah stood to glide to the door with his silencer. He felt Mac at his back, the man’s own gun in hand. A quick peek through the curtain that covered the window next to the door had Noah shaking his head.

  “Damn it,” he cursed, pulling open the door.

  “Is that any way to speak to an old friend?” Stefano greeted.

  Noah snorted and the man entered through the door he had thrown wide open. “Mac, meet Stefano Esposito, my commander. Stefano, this is US Marshal Mac Mackenzie,” Noah said as he made the introductions.

  The two men shook hands. Stefano must have called from a local place. The sneaky bastard had known he would bring Mac here and had followed them.

  “You were here all along.” Noah narrowed his eyes at his handler.

  “Yes,” the older man said, calmly slipping out of his coat.

  “Did you bring the whole goddamned unit?”

  “No.”

  Somewhat mollified that his commander had come alone, Noah turned to Mac. “Stefano knows about Manning and my mother.”

  Heading into the kitchen, Noah pulled down enough cups for coffee and started a pot. The other two men came into the room and took seats around the table.