“Luke! Fuck man, take it easy. You want to blow this entire thing for revenge?”
Luke was visibly shaking with rage. He took three steps and slammed his fist into the automatic paper towel dispenser, shattering the plastic housing into several jagged pieces.
Moments later a huge bouncer came running into the men’s room.
Eddie held up his Marshals’ badge before the bouncer could say anything. “I need you to call 911 and tell them a U.S. Marshal and an NYPD detective have captured a wanted fugitive and we need backup. Go. Now.”
“All right,” the bouncer said, and left.
“You okay?” Eddie asked Luke.
Luke nodded.
“Then help me get these two out into the alley for the precinct boys to pick up. I don’t want to make a scene in the middle of the club.”
At first Luke was going to grab Thayer, but he thought better of it and turned to Julio instead.
“Come on, Julio. Your ride awaits.”
Chapter 7
“Yeah, I know, Gale,” Eddie was saying into his phone. “What? Yeah, no problems. No, you don’t have to worry about that.” He grinned over at Luke. “I behaved.”
Luke smirked back, watching the patrol car take Thayer away from the back door of the club.
“No, Christ. I didn’t even have to shoot anyone this time. It was all neat and tidy, like a little birthday present from me to you. We waited, snapped the cuffs on, and I called headquarters. They’re holding him for me until I can transport him back to L.A.”
Luke watched the second patrol car pull away with Julio in the back. He was being charged with obstruction, aiding and abetting, and hindering the apprehension of a wanted criminal, along with anything else Luke could find. Julio pissed him off.
“I’ll be back later tonight probably,” Eddie continued into his phone. “I don’t know, Gale. What? No. Okay, maybe. Fine! Yes.” Eddie looked over at Luke again. “The prettiest blue eyes you’ve ever seen. Yeah, Gale. Thanks. You too.”
Eddie pressed the phone’s screen and motioned for Luke. His features were bathed in purple from the club’s sign as Luke walked up.
“Job well done, Detective. The bad guys are on their way to lockup, no one inside got hurt, the world is safe once again.”
“More or less,” Luke mumbled, looking at his bruised knuckles.
Eddie reached for his hand. “Let me see.”
“It’s fine.”
“Give me your hand, Detective, or I’ll use one of my krav maga tactical restraint moves on you.”
Luke made a face, but held his hand up for Eddie to inspect.
“Doesn’t seem broken.”
“It’s not.”
Eddie ran his fingers over the bones in Luke’s wrist. “You’re lucky you didn’t hurt yourself. What the hell happened back there?”
Luke shook his head and tried to pull away.
“I know what it means to lose control on the job,” Eddie said quietly, still holding Luke’s hand. “To have that anger consume you until it feels like there’s nothing left.”
“It’s not anger now,” Luke admitted. “It’s helplessness that I was never able to prove he killed that kid.”
“But we got him off the streets, Luke. He’s going away.”
“I know. It doesn’t make me feel like I did my job any better, though. I fucked up.”
“Listen,” Eddie said, putting his hand on Luke’s shoulder, “I went through your reports with a fine-toothed comb before I came out here. You did everything right, everything by the book. Sometimes there’s just not enough evidence to make the case. You can’t blame yourself.”
“I just wish I could have proved it.”
“He’ll pay. We both know he’s guilty.”
They both started walking back through the darkened alley to where they had parked the car.
“Krav maga? Really?”
Eddie laughed, lightening the mood. “I could show you, but then I’d have to kill you.”
“Bullshit,” Luke smiled.
The streetlights got noticeably dimmer as they walked farther back through the alley.
“I’m going to need a ride to the Southern District headquarters,” Eddie said.
“So you’re leaving tonight.”
“I got to get Thayer back. They’re holding him for me until I can get over there.”
“Yeah.”
“You sound disappointed,” Eddie remarked.
“People are always coming into my life and leaving much too soon.” Luke stopped in the middle of the alley and looked down. “I keep losing them.”
Eddie put his hand on Luke’s shoulder and pressed him back gently against the brick wall. “You have me for a little while longer.”
“That’ll have to do.”
Placing his hands against the wall on either side of Luke’s head, Eddie leaned closer. “I didn’t get a chance to thank you for all your help, Detective Everett. You’re a great cop. And your partner was right.”
“About what?” Luke breathed, his face inches from Eddie’s.
“Being a good kisser,” Eddie replied, dropping his head to claim Luke’s lips hungrily.
Luke gasped for breath after Eddie broke the kiss, overwhelmed by the power of it. “Eddie...God...”
“Remember what I said,” Eddie mumbled, his lips heating Luke’s neck. “Try not to think. Just enjoy the feeling.”
Eddie kissed him again, harder this time, pressing the entire length of his body into Luke, pushing him into the brick. His hands moved away from Luke’s head and traveled downward, caressing his arms and chest.
Moaning, Luke’s knees buckled slightly, and Eddie huffed a soft laugh into his neck, supporting him with one arm.
Luke had to concentrate on letting himself relax, to allow this man he had just met only a few days earlier take possession of his body. He’d never done anything as reckless and exciting as this before in his life. His existence had always been meticulously structured. First he did the right thing and married Kathy when she got pregnant in high school. He worked two jobs for pay for diapers, completed his GED, went to night school, and then got into the police academy. He worked hard, saved, and bought the little house in Queens to raise his family. He went to church. He paid the mortgage. He cleaned the gutters. He became a detective and managed the long hours and sleepless nights to put food on the table. He did everything that he was supposed to do, for years, and he was sick to death of it.
Eddie began kissing Luke’s chest, which was still exposed in his half-open shirt from earlier that night. Eddie’s tongue blazed a long, hot, wet trail over Luke’s breastbone and pecs, then his nipples, eliciting a gasp of pleasure from Luke.
Bending down now, Eddie wrapped his arms around Luke’s waist and then slowly sunk to his knees, kissing his way down Luke’s abs as he went. He pressed his teeth against Luke’s stomach, nipping and biting at the tight muscle. He began playfully running his fingernails back and forth under the waistband of Luke’s pants, and he laughed when goosebumps rose on Luke’s skin.
“Jesus,” Luke said.
Flicking his tongue over the path of hair that led from Luke’s navel to where it disappeared beneath the edge of his trousers, Eddie began to remove the silver buckle that was attached to Luke’s belt.
“I told you my silver buckle looked good on you,” Eddie said, kissing Luke’s stomach.
Luke simply moaned in answer, and pushed his head back against the brick.
Eddie undid the belt and unbuttoned Luke’s pants.
Luke looked down and locked eyes with Eddie when he felt his zipper methodically being lowered inch by inch. His cock twitched in anticipation.
“Is this what you want?” Eddie whispered, his fingers lightly brushing the bulge of Luke’s balls. Luke nodded silently, and Eddie slipped his hand inside to caress Luke’s thick cock over the outside of his briefs.
He could feel his legs trembling, not from the strain of his position against the wall,
but because of the sheer rush of adrenaline and need coursing through him. Even as a teenager he’d never done as anything as illicit as what was happening to him right now in a dimly lit back alley. His by-the-book life was steadily being turned upside down by a scruffy, long-haired U.S. Marshal with a mustache.
Eddie unzipped the fly on Luke’s trousers and pushed the material down around his knees. He slid a hand under Luke’s leg and gripped his ass, squeezing him gently.
“Oh God—”
Eddie pushed Luke’s already straining cock up and clear of his underwear, and then pulled the briefs down to the top of his thighs to gain better access.
Slowly, tantalizingly, Eddie began licking the tip of Luke’s dick, making him buck at the sensation. He circled the crown almost in slow motion, and then lapped at the underside of the shaft, taking his time. He pursed his lips and sucked-kissed his way to the base, and then pressed his mouth against Luke’s balls, rolling his tongue against the velvet skin.
Luke hissed, spreading his legs farther apart. Eddie slipped his hand between Luke’s legs again, this time stroking the sensitive area of skin just below his balls. Luke twitched and sighed, and that was when Eddie took Luke into his mouth.
He sucked at him gently at first, sliding his mouth down halfway, barely passing the head. On the way up he allowed his tongue to trace swirls on the hard but yielding skin, following the veins and ridges as he did so. He brushed him lightly with his lips, fluttering kisses over the shaft. Luke moaned in appreciation. Then he took hold of the base of Luke’s cock and began to stroke him, just as he pushed Luke deeply into his throat.
Luke involuntarily gasped and nearly lost his balance. Eddie had to grab one of his hands to keep him from falling, and in automatic response Luke threaded his fingers through Eddie’s.
And that was how it continued: Eddie’s left hand wrapped in Luke’s right, and Eddie’s mouth and right hand around Luke’s cock, until slowly, almost hesitatingly, Luke reached down with his free hand to wrap it in Eddie’s curls.
On one upstroke, Eddie released the other man momentarily and looked up into Luke’s face.
“You like it like this?” Eddie asked, his voice low and seductive.
“Y-Yes,” Luke stuttered.
“You love seeing me on my knees in this alley with my mouth around your cock?”
All Luke could do was merely nod.
Eddie flicked his tongue over Luke’s cock, which glistened with pre-cum and saliva in the harsh light of the alleyway. “Say it.”
“I...I...”
Eddie ran his fingernails over Luke’s balls, causing the other man to whimper.
“Say you like it dirty, Luke. Admit it. Tell me that I’m making your fantasy come true. Tell me that you want to lick my lips to taste yourself on me when I’m done sucking you off.”
“I...”
“Tell me you love the smell of two men with sex on them,” Eddie said, dropping his head and licking Luke’s shaft.
Luke moaned and bucked, his cock hard and quivering. “Oh God, I...”
“Tell me you’re not thinking—just enjoying it.”
Eddie took him deep into his mouth again, and when Luke’s cock hit the back of his throat, Eddie made a moaning sound. Luke flexed against the brick wall and thrust himself farther into Eddie’s mouth.
“Oh fuck, yes! Yesssss, just like that, Eddie, Christ. T-This is how I want it...God...”
Eddie began sucking and stroking Luke again. Eventually Luke started pumping into Eddie’s mouth, his hand tightening its grip in Eddie’s hair to keep his balance.
But Eddie pushed back, so that after every thrust he sunk his mouth lower and lower onto Luke’s cock, slamming him back against the brick wall. The sounds of slapping flesh as Luke’s ass and back touched the wall carried down the alley.
Then Luke grabbed Eddie’s hair with both hands, fingers entwining in the curls. His hips began to pump more rapidly, making Eddie have to rise up higher on his knees to take all of Luke in.
“Ed...Eddie...Eddie....”
Luke pulled his cock from Eddie’s mouth and slammed back against the wall just as he came, his cum shooting across Eddie’s cheek and neck. He shuddered and cried out, his whole body shaking as he stroked the last of his spurting cum from his throbbing cock.
Before Luke could recover, the other man was there, his mouth pressed against Luke’s, roughly kissing him. Luke responded in kind, kissing Eddie back and lapping up his own cum from Eddie’s face.
The two men stood there for a moment against the wall, wrapped in each other’s arms. Luke locked eyes with Eddie, and then brushed the other man’s blond curls away from his face.
“That was—”
“Fucking amazing,” Eddie finished, smiling. “Fuck, I’m covered in you.”
“I haven’t had an orgasm that intense in…I can’t remember how long,” Luke said, pulling up his pants.
“Pretty damn impressive, Detective.”
“But what about you?”
“This wasn’t about me, Luke. This was all for you.”
“But—”
Eddie kissed him to quiet his protestations and then grinned. “I’m going to remember that look on your face for a long time.”
Luke smiled, embarrassed.
“I enjoyed that more than I should have.”
“You don’t know what you’ve been missing, cooped up with a woman all these years,” Eddie said. “Why don’t you spread your wings a little bit?”
“And what, go out and date men?”
Eddie shrugged his shoulders.
“I wouldn’t even know where to start,” Luke scoffed.
“I could be persuaded to show you the ropes…if you’d have me.”
“What do you mean?”
“You and I could date.”
Luke blinked. “Are you being serious?”
“Why not? I don’t have anyone tying me down. You can stand to be in the same room with me for more than five minutes—which, I have to be honest, is a record for me lately—and you’re sexy as hell. What’s to think about?”
Luke considered the ramifications on his own life. His separation was nearing the divorce stage. He was fairly certain of that at this point. He thought back to the comments he made to Elizabeth about how the work came first and nothing got in the way of that, and how he was now thinking about breaking his own rule. For a man. What a hypocrite. He had to admit it to himself, though: the thought about having sex with someone like Eddie made him curious.
“But you live in L.A.,” Luke said.
“Minor inconvenience.”
“What about our work schedules? Or fraternization rules if we work with the Marshals again? Or—”
“Luke,” Eddie said, interrupting him by placing a hand on his chest, “believe me, I’ve already gone over this in my head a thousand times. I’m not asking to get married or anything. I’d just like to try. God knows we both could use a little comfort in our lives. I feel like I can trust you enough to give that to me, even if it’s only for a little while.”
Luke sighed. “I haven’t been on a date since I was sixteen.”
“I haven’t given a New York City detective a blowjob in a back alley until tonight. There’s a first time for everything.”
“You make it sound simple.”
“Oh, it’s not, believe me. But I’d like to go out to dinner and for once not be worried about telling someone that I catch dangerous criminals for a living. You and I understand each other. We can have some drinks, talk, argue over baseball, maybe get to know each other better. Fuck once in a while. I’m not asking for exclusivity. I’m looking to have fun without someone I don’t hate.”
Luke thought about the lonely nights that were ahead of him once the divorce was final. Eating meals alone, decorating a new apartment with his meager possessions when they eventually sold the house and he had to move out, watching TV until he couldn’t keep his eyes open simply because he didn’t want to sleep in a bed
by himself for the first time since he was eighteen. None of it sounded particularly good to him.
“I’d love to get to know you better, Eddie.”
Eddie put his hands against the wall on either side of Luke’s head and leaned in for a kiss. It was lingering and deep with lots of tongue, and it made Luke’s stomach quiver.
“I take it that means you’re looking forward to it,” Luke laughed.
“I am, Detective. I’m just glad you said yes. But even if you’d said no, well…that dance tonight would have been enough.”
Chapter 8
They’d been driving in cross-town traffic for about twenty minutes when Eddie finally said something.
“I’m no expert, but…I feel like we’re leaving Manhattan,” he said, staring out the passenger-side window.
A green sign for the Queens Midtown Tunnel came into view, and Eddie turned to Luke with a questioning look on his face.
“You’re right,” Luke said.
“They’re waiting on me to transport Thayer,” Eddie said.
“I know. They can wait a little longer.”
“Luke—”
“I thought we’d go for a drink to celebrate,” Luke said.
“Where? There are a thousand bars in Manhattan.”
“My place seemed more appropriate.”
“Your place. In Queens, I suppose, based on that road sign?”
“I don’t know when I’ll be able to see you again after tonight. So I’m trying not to think. I’m just going to enjoy the feeling.”
“The feeling? Of what?”
Luke turned to him and met his eyes.
“Oh shit.”
“You said life’s too short to worry about anything other than pleasure. A nice long fuck was part of that as I recall,” Luke said.
“I said I wasn’t expecting you to reciprocate, Luke. I meant that. You don’t owe me anything.”
“I know, Eddie. I simply want to be with you for a little while.”
Eddie leaned back in his seat, and put his hands behind his head. “I think we can manage that.”
+ + + + +
The drive out to Queens took almost an hour in traffic. Luke was quiet for most of the ride as he contemplated his decision to sleep with Eddie. Was he ready for something like this with a virtual stranger? His entire sexual history up until that point had been getting to second base with his freshman year girlfriend, and then getting married. But he couldn’t deny the physical attraction he and Eddie shared, nor could he adequately describe the way his entire body felt after getting that blowjob in the alley. It was liberating to give in to pleasure and not care about the consequences. He wasn’t thinking about Kathy, or the divorce, or anything that had been keeping him up at night for God knows how long. All he wanted in those moments were Eddie’s mouth on his cock and the sweet sensation of release.
Chasing Justice (Gay Detective Romance Novella) Page 6