Scottie closed the file folder on the GrI Enterprise account and stuck it in his file keeper next to the computer. “Yep.” It didn’t feel like they’d only known each other less than three months because it was hard to remember what it was like to not call him every day and spend several nights a week together.
Once Jax was graduated to the hinged brace and told to start putting weight on his knee, he’d moved from the crutches to a cane within weeks. They’d gone on a few local walks and visited the gristmill at Cedar Creek to get fresh apple cider and let Scottie get some shots of the beautiful fall leaves. Since Scottie did his personal projects on his laptop, he could do his photography work anywhere. Jax liked seeing the finished photographs.
Unfortunately, an account had been dropped on his lap by his boss when the client hated the website mock-up done by another designer, and it had been a rush job so he’d had to work through the weekend they planned to visit Long Beach. The rain had finally started, and the following weekend had been stormy at the coast.
“I still can’t believe you went up in the woods and I went to Hawaii, yet you’re the one who met someone.”
Scottie snorted. “I bet you met a lot of women, and you probably slept with more than one too.”
Carter shrugged. “Maybe.”
“Just a maybe? Usually you’re crowing about the hot chicks you picked up when you go out.” Scottie turned and frowned when he saw Carter’s unusually serious expression. “What’s up?”
“I don’t want to talk about it here.” Carter ran a hand through his hair. “It’s private.”
“Okay.” Scottie hadn’t been paying much attention to his friend, and that made him feel bad. He’d been so focused on what he was building with Jax, on the growing relationship between them, that he’d gotten tunnel vision.
“Look, don’t worry about it.”
“No way, man. You’re my friend and I care about you. Let’s go get dinner.”
“I thought you had plans.”
Scottie shrugged one shoulder. “I do, but it’s nothing special tonight. We’re going to the coast tomorrow, but we’re just going for the day, so I don’t have to rush home. Let’s go.” He picked up his backpack and stood up.
Carter stood and pushed his chair into his desk. “Home as in your house or home as in his house?” he asked with his back to Scottie.
That question stopped Scottie in his tracks. When he’d said home, he had meant Jax’s house. He had two suits over there and some casual clothes—no pajamas of course—plus a toothbrush and razor in the bathroom. It was hard to keep their hands off each other when they were in private, and he’d spent more than one morning getting ready for work in Jax’s bathroom. The migration of his stuff just happened sort of… gradually. Every time he was with Jax, he was so focused on how good it felt to be around him that everything else faded into unimportant details.
“Scottie?” Carter stopped halfway down the hallway toward the elevator and turned partially to look at him. “Did you forget something?”
“No.” Scottie slung his backpack over his shoulder and started walking. “Just thinking. Where do you want to eat?”
“Sushi?”
“Okay.” Scottie hated sake, so he wouldn’t be tempted to drink. “Do you want to meet there?” He knew Carter’s favorite sushi place a few miles away from the office had plenty of parking, unlike many of the restaurants and shops in downtown Vancouver.
“Meet there.”
“Sounds good. I’ll see you in a few.” They’d parked on different levels, so Scottie walked over to the stairs when Carter headed for his car. He slung his backpack behind the passenger seat and then pulled out his phone. He had it set to dial as soon as he got out of the concrete parking structure.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Jax. I wanted to let you know I’m going to be late.”
“Oh?”
Scottie changed lanes so he could turn right. “Yeah. Something’s going on with Carter, and he needs to talk. I’m going to get some sushi with him. Do you want me to bring you something?”
“No, that’s okay. I have some pasta primavera left over from last night. I’ll eat that. Are you still coming over after?”
“Yeah. I can sleep in an extra twenty minutes if I’m there.” Scottie smiled when he heard Jax huff.
“Is that the only reason you’re going to sleep over?”
Scottie couldn’t resist teasing Jax. “Maybe. You do have that awesome mattress. Very comfortable.”
Jax’s voice was silky. “And what if I told you I have full range of motion again and was cleared to put full weight on my knee?”
He let out his breath sharply and had to remind himself that he wasn’t the type of person who would put supporting a friend second to getting laid… because Scottie knew exactly what Jax had been waiting for. They’d had their hands and mouths all over each other, but he hadn’t gotten that thick cock inside him yet. Scottie squirmed in his seat, barely paying attention to the light.
A horn honking behind him jerked Scottie out of his extremely vivid fantasy. He pushed the gas pedal a little too hard and the tires squealed.
“Are you okay?” Jax asked.
“No, I’m not okay.” Scottie’s voice was hoarse. “You are an evil man who must be punished.”
Jax chuckled. “You say that a lot. Does that mean you won’t be coming over?”
“Hell no!” Scottie turned into the lot and parked, thankful he’d gotten to the restaurant without completely checking out. “I’m here and Carter is waiting by the door, so I need to go.”
“Okay. I’ll be waiting.” Jax hung up.
“Oh, he’s going to get it.” Scottie reached down and rearranged his cock in his slacks, thankful he’d worn tight boxer briefs so he wouldn’t completely embarrass himself when he got out. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Something was going on with Carter, and he’d help him figure it out.
Then he was going to make sure Jax got exactly what was coming to him.
They’d sat down, ordered, received their sushi, and had almost finished eating without Carter revealing what was bothering him. He said everything else, keeping up a steady buzz of meaningless conversation about all his other friends, the bars he’d been to recently, but not a single word about his vacation.
Scottie had enough. He tried to think of a way to approach his concern without saying it flat out. “Are you—” He paused, clearing his throat. “I mean, is whatever you didn’t want to talk about in the office a medical thing?”
“What?” Carter scowled and shook his head. “Are you asking me what I think you are? No, I didn’t pick up any tropical diseases, if that’s what you mean.”
“Well, what else am I supposed to think? You don’t exactly censor yourself, even at work.” Scottie grabbed the check when the waitress dropped it off. “This is mine. I still owe you from before.”
Carter didn’t argue. He pushed his plate aside and leaned forward with both elbows on the table. “I met someone on vacation.”
“A topless chick on that nude beach you wanted to visit?”
Carter cleared his throat. “I didn’t go over there. She’s actually from the area. We met on the flight to Honolulu and hit it off. We got together a few times, you know, and then we came home.”
“Seriously? All this hemming and hawing is because you met someone you like?” Scottie thought there was something seriously wrong with Carter, and it turned out to be some random chick drama—the kind he had all the time? “So what the hell is the problem? Is she too clingy now that you’re back from vacation?”
“No. We didn’t even have sex, but I can’t stop thinking about her.” Carter scowled.
“Wait, wait, wait.” Scottie held up his hands. “You said you guys got together.” He did the air quotes with his fingers.
“Yeah, to do tourist stuff. She likes tequila, and she can really move on the dance floor, but we didn’t just go to the club. We went on one of those mountain bus tours with a p
icnic lunch and had dinner together four times. She sat next to me during the luau on the final night too.”
“But you didn’t have sex with her?” Scottie asked. “At all?”
“Well she kissed me, but it was… chaste.”
Carter wouldn’t know chaste if he was hit upside the head with a chastity belt. He had one speed, and that was full throttle from hello to Wham! Bam! Thank you, ma’am. Scottie had never heard of Carter going on multiple dates when sex wasn’t involved.
“So what’s the big deal? You’re actually dating someone. That’s great! Why couldn’t you tell me about this back at work?”
“That’s just it.” Carter slouched in his chair. “She said we were having fun on vacation and that was it. She won’t go out with me again.”
Scottie raised an eyebrow. “What did you do?”
“Nothing! No, seriously,” he said when Scottie scoffed. “She dropped me. At the luau the last night, I mentioned getting her address so I could pick her up for a date, but she dodged around giving it to me. Her flight was earlier than mine, so I got up the next morning and decided to see if she wanted to ride to the airport together. I thought I could try to change my flight to Honolulu at least, but she was already gone. No note, no number, nothing. I really liked her, and we had a lot of fun together.”
“You said she’s from around here. Do you know where she works?”
“The library. She kept telling me all these facts out of guidebooks she’d read on the island.”
“Which library?” asked Scottie. “There’s a bunch in Vancouver, you know.”
Carter’s eyes widened. “I didn’t ask.”
Scottie shook his head. “A librarian who told you anecdotes about the island and wouldn’t have sex with you. She must have been really hot to get you this tied up in knots. Either that, or you have a thing for chicks who play hard to get.”
“She was hot, but that’s not the point. How am I going to find her?” Carter jerked his hands apart and looked at Scottie like he had all the answers. Apparently the level of lust he was feeling had definitely affected his brain.
“You know her name, right?”
“Yeah.” Carter nodded.
“Then why don’t you just call around to each library and ask if she’s working. Then go talk to her.” Scottie smacked his palm down on the table. “Voila, mystery solved.”
“That doesn’t seem a little… stalkerish to you?”
“Take her flowers. No chick will get upset if you bring her flowers.”
“Flowers? Okay, I can do that. You know, you’re pretty good at this.”
“I think you’re just spectacularly bad at this,” Scottie countered. “I’m headed out. Are you good now? Have a plan?”
They stood up, and Carter gave him a one-armed hug. “Yeah, thanks. I really appreciate you letting me talk. This was embarrassing, and I couldn’t tell anyone else. I knew you wouldn’t give me a hard time.”
“Anytime, man.”
While they’d been eating and talking, Scottie had been able to push his conversation with Jax out of his mind, but as soon as he was alone in the car and headed toward Jax’s house, anticipation made it hard for him not to break every traffic law in existence. He managed to restrain himself, but just barely.
At least there wasn’t any traffic going north on I-5. Scottie took the exit at sixty and barely slowed for the turn at the light. He didn’t even look for cops on the side streets, but he tried to keep it to five miles over the limit. The gate inched open, deliberately slower than usual he was sure, and waiting for the garage door to open so he could pull in left Scottie ready to scream. He jumped out of the car.
Jax was waiting in the entry wearing nothing but a pair of dark jeans when Scottie opened the door. “Holy hell,” Scottie said as he paused in the doorway. Jax tucked his hands in his pockets, pushing his pants down another inch. The button was undone, and they barely clung to his hips. Scottie couldn’t look away even if he wanted to.
“Enjoy your dinner with Carter?” Jax asked.
Scottie made an inarticulate sound that Jax could take any way he wanted and took a step forward, letting the door swing shut behind him. His heartbeat sped up, and his mouth went dry. Not even the first time he’d seen Jax naked had sent him spiraling into arousal so fast.
He saw the smoldering look in Jax’s eyes and his breath caught. Scottie dropped his keys and backpack to the floor and lunged for Jax. All the pent-up tension overwhelmed him. He wrapped both arms around Jax and demanded a kiss he immediately lost control of. Jax cupped his hand against Scottie’s jaw and held him close. Scottie gasped when Jax nipped his lip.
Tasting him, Jax hummed. “Salty,” he whispered. He dove back in for more, thrusting his tongue inside and stroking the roof of Scottie’s mouth. Scottie swayed closer, their lower bodies brushing together.
They wouldn’t be stopping with blow jobs and some fingering, not this time. Scottie couldn’t wait. He stepped back, ignoring Jax’s protest, so he could shed his coat and yank off his tie. He started to loosen it, but then Jax grabbed the end and wouldn’t let it go.
“Not yet,” he said. “Come with me.” He used the tie to pull Scottie through the first floor and over to the stairs. They slowly made their way up the stairs toward the master bedroom. Scottie had a great view watching Jax’s back muscles flex as he led him through the house. His pants were so low those small indentations on the small of his back were visible.
Scottie wanted to lick them both, and then worship that taut ass filling out Jax’s tight jeans. The light was on in the hall, cutting through the shadows just enough that Scottie could see in the dark bedroom. He reached out and squeezed one cheek. Jax jumped, dropping his tie, and his knee buckled forward. Scottie plastered himself to Jax’s back and grabbed around his waist before Jax threw out one hand to catch the edge of his dresser.
“Careful.”
“That would be easier to do if you weren’t groping me.” Jax shot a look over his shoulder. “I know I’m impossible to resist, but safety first and all.”
“You are so full of yourself.” Scottie knew Jax would take the opening, and he did.
“You’re going to be full of me soon.”
Unable to restrain his snickers, Scottie collapsed backward on the bed. Jax stared down at him, a mock-indignant expression on his face as he crossed his arms over his chest. That lasted for a least a full minute before he asked, “Are you done?”
Scottie grinned. “Maybe.” He’d never had a lover before who was the whole package. So hot he made him ache with need, but sex wasn’t the be all and end all when things got physical. He loved touching Jax, but even more, just spending time with him. Everything they did, from watching a movie on the couch to having a nice dinner out was fun. They never ran out of things to talk about, but they didn’t have to fill every silence either.
A jolt went through him, just like earlier when Carter called him on exactly whose house he was calling home.
“Are you okay?” Jax dropped his arms and sat down on the edge of the bed next to where Scottie was staring up at the ceiling. Scottie blinked and turned his head.
“Yeah,” he said softly. “I’m great.”
Jax stretched out next to Scottie and put a warm hand on his chest, gently stroking with his calloused fingertips. “I probably shouldn’t have mobbed you the second you walked in. Do you want to take a shower?”
Scottie snorted. “I’m pretty sure I’m the one who jumped you.” He rolled to face Jax. He dragged his fingers along the slabs of muscles along Jax’s side, down to his trim waist and hip. Small scars and imperfections marred his smooth skin, but Scottie didn’t mind—they proved just how far Jax was willing to go to help others. “Since all this was on display to tempt me.”
He couldn’t resist dipping his fingers behind Jax’s waistband, tugging at that open button. The zipper parted, the metallic rip of the teeth parting barely audible over Scottie’s speeding breath. The tension broken earl
ier returned in a fury, and his fingers started to shake. He pressed them against Jax’s belly, slowly inching his hand down.
The zipper opened wider under the pressure, giving Scottie room to explore. Jax was hard, his shaft angled up and to the left. Scottie traced the rigid length through the cotton of his boxer briefs.
Jax groaned and reached for Scottie’s tie, using it to pull him forward and into a heated kiss. Scottie rubbed his hand up and down as best he could under the assault on his mouth as Jax undid the buttons of his shirt. He tugged the fabric out of Scottie’s pants, then pushed his shirt over his shoulders.
He forgot about the cuffs.
Rather than tease or make a big deal out of it, Scottie stood up, undoing the buttons with his shaky fingers. He knew he didn’t have it in him to wait any longer, but he’d felt how hard Jax was—he didn’t need to. Scottie kicked off his shoes. “On or off?” he asked, his hands on the tie still around his neck.
“Off,” Jax said. “This time.” He rolled onto his back.
“Let me.” Scottie put his hands on Jax’s feet, rubbing his ankles under his pants. Jax nodded and Scottie grabbed the bottom of each pant leg and carefully pulled them off, leaving Jax in just his boxer briefs.
“Now yours.” Jax pushed up until he was leaning against the pillows at the head of the bed. He rested one hand on his stomach just above the bulge in his dark blue underwear.
Scottie loosened the buckle on his belt and slowly pulled it out of the loops, dropping it on the floor. He undid his slacks and let them go to pool around his ankles. He decided to tease Jax a little and turned, grabbing on to the footboard for balance as he pulled his feet out of his pants and bent to peel off his dress socks.
He was wearing a pair of red micro trunks… and it was like waving a flag in front of a bull. When Scottie turned around, his fingers hooked between his hips and his underwear, Jax’s face was flushed and he was breathing hard through his nose.
“I haven’t seen those before.”
“Nope, they’re new. 2(x)ist, bought them online.” Scottie was really glad he’d pulled them on that morning. He knew they hugged the contours of his ass, and the pouch couldn’t hide the bulge of his cock hanging thick over his balls. “I got them in blue, green, yellow, orange, and purple. All the colors of the rainbow.”
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