The Lost Locket

by Marie Harte

  “Not those stories again.”

  “I heard you had the entire senior staff of the PWP half in love. The men wanted to be you, the women wanted to do you.” Keegan flushed and focused on the road. “I’m not a horndog. I genuinely like women.”

  “I know. I never said otherwise.”

  “Yeah, well, I don’t keep a scorecard.”

  James sat up, looking affronted. “I don’t either. I just corrected your mistake. I don’t let others do me. I like to be on top. But sometimes I make exceptions.”

  “Yeah?” Keegan so didn’t want to have this conversation, but some insane part of his brain wouldn’t shut the hell up because he needed to know.

  “Depends on the partner, really. I’m pretty selective about my love life, believe it or not. And I like to top other men. But when the right man comes along, it’s different.”

  Was James waiting for the right man, or had he meant that only the “right” men he’d already had made a difference?

  Keegan unconsciously spread his legs wider to ease the ache in his balls. This trip was turning into the ride from hell.

  Later that night, James watched Keegan down another beer as they waited for their table at the restaurant. Women had been throwing them covert looks for some time, attracted not only to good looks but to the power they could sense but couldn’t see. Being psychic had its upside, certainly. As randy as Keegan had seemed earlier, he should have been more alert to the subtle flirting going on around him, but he seemed more focused on his beer than company.

  Poor bastard. James contained a grin. He’d been patient for three years, watching, waiting. And now he was being rewarded. Reeling in this particular fish was turning out to be a heck of a lot of fun.

  Keegan growled, he bristled, and he nearly jumped out of his skin whenever James casually touched him. To test his theory, James gave Keegan’s shoulder a friendly pat and watched his buddy choke on his beer. Then the Texan subtly crossed his legs to hide his erection.

  “This won’t help.” James sighed. “Come on.” He’d already gotten the phone number of one of the girls working at their hotel when he’d checked in. She’d seemed clean, of age, and decent enough. And she’d liked the looks of both of them.

  He slapped down a twenty on the bar and dragged his friend off the bar stool—not an easy feat when Keegan was built like a bull.

  “Where are we going?”

  “To feed you.”

  Keegan frowned. “But—”

  “Just trust me, okay?”

  Keegan shrugged and followed him, and James felt a warm satisfaction that his partner trusted him with his health, at least.

  At the truck, James held out his hand by the driver’s side. “Keys. I haven’t been drinking.”

  “Shit. Okay, Mom. My two beers and my bodyweight don’t amount to a hill of beans, but if it’ll shut you up, by all means, take the damn wheel.” James drove them to a fast-food joint and scored Keegan a few burgers and fries. He bought a salad, which Keegan ribbed him about the whole way back to the hotel. Once there and checked back in, Keegan looked better.

  “Your never-ending stomach is full. Let me finish my salad.”

  “Go ahead. I’m getting ready for bed.”

  James stared in amazement at the clock. Nine o’clock? Keegan was worse off than he thought. James wolfed down his salad and waited for Keegan to finish using the bathroom. The big guy left, and he entered. The scent of toothpaste made him smile. Too bad he wouldn’t be tasting Keegan’s minty freshness tonight. Baby steps, he reminded himself. He closed the door and made the call with his cell phone, confirming her arrival. He brushed his teeth and cleaned himself up. When he exited, he found Keegan lying back on his bed, clad in jeans and nothing else, flipping through channels.

  James took a steady breath and forced himself to go back to his book. A half hour later, he hadn’t managed to read more than one page over and over again when someone knocked at the door. Thank God. “I got it.” Keegan groaned. “What now?”

  James looked through the peephole and smiled. “Carol, come on in.” Keegan grunted as he shoved his cock back inside Carol’s warm, wet pussy. At first the idea of a threesome had made him uncomfortable, but Carol seemed into it, and if it got rid of this hard-on he couldn’t shake, so much the better. Except the situation was growing far worse.

  He shafted Carol with a hungry rhythm while still making sure to go easy on the woman. She wasn’t big, but she liked him a little rough. And taking her doggy-style while she blew James was just about the hottest thing he’d ever seen.

  She let James fuck her mouth clean, no condom, and Keegan could see every vein and sheen of slick flesh as James glided back and forth into her mouth. Keegan couldn’t look away.

  “That’s it. Nice and slow. Feel it, baby.” Damn, but Keegan almost felt as if James was talking to him and not Carol.

  “Feel my dick. Let it fuck you.”

  Keegan watched as James’s shaft disappeared between Carol’s plump lips. She groaned, and Keegan slammed into her harder, so excited, so full. Reaching under her, he flicked her clit a few more times, playing her body as it told him what she needed. That pearly bud was so slick and hard, he knew the woman wouldn’t last much longer. Like him. “I’m gonna come,” he warned, his voice gritty. He’d tried to hold out, but damn if he could stop himself from shooting his wad while watching James handle the girl like a filly he wanted to tame.

  “Come hard,” James said. “Fill that condom with cum, fill it full,” he rasped and met Keegan stare for stare as they fucked Carol.

  Fucked each other through Carol. The uneasy feeling that he was being pulled along a path he wasn’t sure he wanted to go faded under the intense pleasure of Carol’s flesh. Keegan heard her moan and felt her walls clamp down on him, seizing as she climaxed.

  James cursed and shuddered, just as Keegan groaned and came, filling that condom right up. He pumped a few more times before pulling out, still semihard.

  “Damn, Carol. I think you wore us clean out,” Keegan teased and left to dispose of the condom. He returned a moment later, kissed Carol and cuddled with her while James took his time in the bathroom.

  “Oh, shit. I have to get home. My roommate is gonna bust my ass if I don’t go clubbing with her tonight.” Carol perked up as she dressed. “Hey, you guys want to come with?”

  She sounded a lot younger than she looked, though he pegged her age in the mid to late twenties. “Sorry, honey. Me and James are out of here tomorrow, first light.”

  She gave him a pretty pout before kissing him again. And he swore he tasted a hint of James when she tongued him. “Too bad. You are one hunk of hot Texan. And tell your handsome friend I’ll see him the next time he passes through. I have his number.”

  She winked and left.

  Keegan heard the shower running and sank back into bed, finally relaxed and too worn-out to care just what he’d done. He’d save his recriminations for tomorrow,

  ‘cause sure as shit, he’d have ‘em.

  James slumped in the shower, too hot to handle right now. Coming inside Carol had been better than anything, because he’d been coming with Keegan. So fucking hot. He turned the water as cold as he could get it and tried to ease his need to burn.

  Sometimes his urges grew dangerous, more dangerous than anyone knew. In this case, he blamed his raging hormones on his partner. He wanted to fuck Keegan, to swallow his cum, to bend over on hands and knees while Keegan rammed that juicy cock up his ass. For Keegan he’d bottom, oh yeah, whenever and wherever his cowboy wanted. His obsession with the man had finally come to a head.

  James groaned, especially when the room steamed. As if he hadn’t just come hard, his shaft swelled again. He stroked himself, imagining Keegan’s strong grip, his firm mouth stretching to accommodate James’s girth.

  Fuck. Yes, that’s it. Open wider, Keegan. James would plump his balls, lifting them for Keegan’s tongue. But Keegan wouldn’t suck him. He’d be too busy slamming
James face-first against the shower tiles while he spread James’s ass cheeks to lick his hole. His tongue darting, flickering, then plunging deep…

  “Damn.” James spewed all over the tiles, his cum a wash of relief from the extreme heat in his balls. The tiles remained hot to the touch, but now that he’d come a second time, James was too tired to maintain his energy levels, and he felt the temperature around him finally cool.

  He left the shower limp, wet, and exhausted and stumbled into his bed. Part one of his plan to seduce Keegan had been a whopping success. He just hoped he could refrain from burning anything before he completed part two. He passed out cold with a smile on his face.

  Chapter Three

  The normalcy of the next morning boggled Keegan’s mind. James made no mention of their explosive ménage the night before, and Keegan didn’t know what to say about it without coming across as a naive idiot or worse, some starry-eyed, sex-starved fiend. Because the hell of it was, having sex with James— near James—was addictive. He wanted to do it again. Right now, if his cock had any say in the matter.

  Keegan ignored his unnaturally high sex drive and listened to Kenny Chesney, tuning out everything but the road for the next few hours. Yesterday, in a little mining town outside of Scottsdale, they’d gotten a few good tips on one of the artifacts Jack wanted them to look for. One plus at least.

  After stopping for a quick lunch, Keegan drove some more, his foot heavy on the gas as they flew out of Arizona into New Mexico on their way toward New Orleans, where they needed to look for another relic belonging to Jack’s mysterious new client. Keegan could only be thankful he made salary. He’d drive through Canada if it would keep him out of the gym and on a mission once more.

  Randy Travis started crooning through the speakers, and Keegan saw James wince. Just to be a prick, he turned up the radio. Country music soothed him, reminded him of home. Life on a ranch helping his father settle horses and muck stalls. Watching his older brother ride to the roundup, his mother waiting at home with a hot meal and welcome arms when they finished for the day.

  His parents were fine folks. God-loving people who believed in honest pay for a hard day’s work. His father was foreman of the Circle Seven, and his brother worked as a hand, living life to the fullest. By now Judd would be bugging the crap out of his mother, still dithering about tying the knot with Aggie, his hometown sweetheart. They’d announced their engagement last month, and his mother was tickled to death. At least one of her sons would give her grandkids before she hit sixty.

  Keegan sighed. He liked his lifestyle—or he had before Bend. Before he’d been forced, once again, to hide what he was. It sure the hell wasn’t his fault he could break things with his mind. Keegan didn’t just bend spoons. He busted cars, broke trees in half, and when he didn’t let his mind get the real exercise it needed… He blinked hard, trying to forget the first few weeks after his induction into the PWP.

  His talent had always been strong, but those damn drugs had made him into a monster. Only years of training and conditioning had tampered the psychotic need to destroy. And then they’d been kicked out of the program. No wonder so many of his former friends and agents had gone postal. A few days without the gym, and he was starting to lose it.

  “You okay?”

  He glanced at James, not thrilled to see his buddy staring at him with concern.

  “Fine. Why?”

  “Because I feel a lot of energy, and it’s stirring my own. Not good, hoss.” James squirmed in his seat, and Keegan felt a blast of heat that made sweat bead on his forehead, despite the AC.

  “Maybe we should pull over.”

  He pulled off I10 and drove a ways before finding an abandoned motel.

  “Perfect. Pull around back,” James suggested.

  Knowing what his friend needed, Keegan hurried and parked the SUV. The sun had set, and he turned off the lights, so they had anonymity in their favor. He watched James leave the vehicle, hold out his hands, and create one hell of a huge fireball. So much for remaining inconspicuous. Keegan could only hope the place was as empty as it seemed. He left the SUV and watched as James bounced the fireball, free to create and mold the flames as he saw fit.

  “You think I’m hot, don’t you? Go ahead, you can say it.” James laughed and threw the fireball into the dirt, where it scattered into sparks and faded with nothing to burn, leaving them in darkness once more. “Man, that felt good.” He paused. “Well, go ahead. Try that broken-down truck over there.” James tossed a ball of flame into the truck, where it caught fire in the seat fabric. A small burn, but enough to illuminate the target.

  Grateful to have an outlet for his building energy, Keegan directed his telekinesis at the truck and smashed it in on itself.

  “Anyone ever tell you that you have a bright future as a human trash compactor? Bet your guidance counselor would be proud.” Keegan laughed, wishing James wasn’t so easy to get along with. Then his strange feelings for his friend would be easier to ignore. Not liking the fact that his body needed similar release, he exercised his mind, picking up and tossing the heavy garbage littering the motel.

  “Think we made enough noise to get noticed?” Keegan asked, breathing hard.

  “Nah. Go ahead. Tear into those cars over there. You know you want to.” Keegan noticed the vehicles stacked one on top of the other. He knocked them down and shoved them into each other.

  “Crash derby without wheels. Nice.” James chuckled and lit a few of the stacks of tires on fire by the Dumpster. When he’d had his fun, he held out a hand and closed it into a fist, dousing the flame with his mind. Keegan collected the trash in the lot into one central pile. If anything, he’d at least made it easier to clean up the place.

  He stretched. “Man, I feel much better now.” Tired but good, and not so horny.

  “Me too. Let’s motor. Another hour and we’ll hit Las Cruces. We can get a hotel there.” They returned to the truck, and James drove the last of the way, finally pulling into a nice hotel. “Wait here. You look beat. I’ll sign us in and be right back.”

  “Whatever.” Keegan was in no rush to open his eyes.

  The knock on his window revived him, and he grabbed his hat and his duffel bag. Pleased to see he wasn’t the only one wearing a cowboy hat as he glanced around the parking lot, he felt more at home in the Southwest than he did in Bend.

  Not that he disliked central Oregon. He actually preferred the mountains and the colder weather. But it wasn’t Texas.

  He followed James up a few flights of stairs to the third floor and into another moderate room. “Two queens again? Shit.”

  James tried unsuccessfully to restrain a grin.

  “What?” Keegan tossed his bag on one of the beds built for tiny people and flopped down on it.

  “I don’t know how I feel about being called a queen. I actually thought I was pretty manly. But maybe you didn’t mean it as an insult, because you mentioned two queens. Hmm, I never knew you were so into—”

  “You’re about as mature as a fourth grader,” Keegan mumbled, forcing himself not to laugh. Hell, he was just as bad as his partner.

  “Admit I’m funny.” James took a few steps closer and knocked Keegan’s hat off. He held on to it. “Ha. See? You’re smiling.”

  “Gimme my hat back.” Keegan grabbed for it, but James moved back out of reach. Keegan pushed him forward again with a psychic shove.

  “That’s cheating,” James rasped as he tripped over Keegan’s feet and landed on him with an oomph.

  Keegan grabbed for his hat and ended up wrestling with James to get it back.

  The physical exertion felt pretty good. Like roping a stubborn calf, except somehow, Keegan ended up straddling James, their groins plastered together, while he pinned James’s wrists above his head on the bed. The hell of it was, he felt James’s erection pressing against his own.

  He blinked down at dark brown eyes deepening into black.

  “Well. Not exactly how I thought we’d spend th
e night, but I’m game.” Keegan scurried off him and stood as far away from James as the room would allow.

  “Relax, cowboy. It’s just a hard-on. You’ve seen them before.” To Keegan’s astonishment, James sat up on the bed, swung his feet to the floor, and spread his legs wide as he unbuttoned his fly.

  “What the fuck are you doing?”

  “I’m getting hot. I don’t know why, but lately I’ve been having a problem keeping my fire down.”

  Worry for James overtook any sense of caution. “You gonna blow now?” James grinned. “You have the damndest way with words. Yeah, I’m going to blow. There’s another way I can get rid of this steam. If I can’t work it off with exercise, I can fuck my way cold.” He didn’t take his gaze from Keegan’s as he reached into his jeans and freed his thick cock.

  “Help me, Keegan.” James began stroking himself. “Take yours out. Give me something pretty to look at so I can get off before I cook the room and us in it.” Keegan frowned. He didn’t feel overly warm. But James did look pretty strained. “I don’t know…”

  “Come on, cowboy. You need it too. I’m all the way here on the bed, not moving, not touching you. Just you and me, easing this need to destroy something.” Rationalizing it made it easier for Keegan to accept what he wanted. And he wanted to watch James beat off. Hell, he wanted James to touch him, sexually, and that weirded him out.

  “If I do this, no smart-ass comments about it later,” he growled.

  James shook his head and leaned his head back. “Fuck, I need this.” More than a little hard, Keegan took a few steps closer to James and ripped the tab of his jeans open. In seconds he had his cock out, stroking it in time with James’s fist.

  “That’s it. That big hand with those rough calluses feels good, doesn’t it?” James liked to talk, and his sexy words made Keegan even harder. “Imagine warm lips sucking you off. A tongue right in your slit, then under the head there, oh yeah.” James locked on to his cock and didn’t look away. “You’re slick, man. So ready.”

  “So are you,” Keegan said on a breath, ready to come. Needing to come. Christ, his balls hurt.