The Lost Locket

by Marie Harte

Keegan pulled more of him inside that wet mouth. James hadn’t moved an inch between those lips when he cried out and came, jetting inside Keegan’s mouth with force.

  He moaned and shuddered as Keegan swallowed him. Big, strong, powerful Keegan on his knees, worshipping James. James knew he’d never in his life forget this moment.

  When Keegan had finally swallowed all of James’s cum, he pulled his mouth away and stood. Beautifully erect, powerfully aroused. “Different, but not bad.” Keegan smiled, and the sight of his happiness pushed James into another realm altogether. Lust mixed with a heavy dose of love, scaring the shit out of him.

  “Oh yeah. You’re tasty. But I’m not done, James. I’m hurting, man. And you offered.” Before James knew it, whisper hands dragged him across the room and bent him over the dresser, which stood at the perfect height for what Keegan obviously had in mind. The tube of lube and a foil packet flew across the air, and then Keegan was slipping the condom on and greasing himself.

  “Just go slow. Remember, I’m fragile,” James teased, but he was somewhat serious. Keegan was more than excited and very, very big. Injury was always a hazard when someone without experience did the driving.

  Keegan must have seen his hesitation, because he stilled. “Don’t worry, James.

  I won’t hurt you. You direct this part, and I’ll follow your lead.” He paused and grinned. “This time.”

  Chapter Five

  Keegan had to force himself to move with slow deliberation. He wanted nothing more than to ram himself inside James. The connection he’d felt when he’d swallowed his friend’s cum was nothing on this. Fucking women for pleasure was one thing, but fucking James would mean so much more. He knew it, could feel it, but had no idea how to put it into words.

  For days he’d struggled with what it would mean if he succumbed to his desires to bed his best friend. Worst case, he’d lose their friendship and everyone would know he’d done a guy. Big friggin’ deal if anyone called him names. Of course, he had no intention of letting his family know anything about this. They’d never understand, and he couldn’t afford to lose the only people in the world he loved.

  Best case, he’d finally have James all to himself, their friendship would grow even stronger, and maybe, just maybe, they could do it again.

  Keegan trembled as he positioned himself behind James. He put his hands on James’s hips and stared at him in the mirror over the dresser. He could see every one of James’s expressions, and that turned him on as much as the thought of fucking him did.

  “Spread my cheeks and rest the tip of yourself in my hole,” James said in a thick voice.

  Keegan stepped forward and looked down at the tight white ass under his hands. He pulled James’s flesh apart and angled his tip to sit at the entrance to heaven. He could feel heat there through the condom, and for a moment, he wished it was just him and James, no rubber between them. He glanced up at the mirror to see James’s eyes fogged with lust. He watched as James flushed and bit his lip as he pushed back, impaling a small bit of himself on Keegan.

  “Oh boy. This is gonna be tight. Just wait, you’re going to love it,” James promised on a breath. “Now slowly push forward, just past my sphincter. That’s it.” Keegan groaned at the pressure surrounding him, and it took all he had not to surge deep.

  “Yeah.” James wiggled his hips. “A little more. Keep going slow. Fuck, you’re huge.”

  “And you’re like a fist. You sure you’ve done this before?” Keegan gripped James’s hips hard enough to bruise.

  James laughed, and the vibrations pushed Keegan deeper. “Funny. I have done this once or twice, but like I said, it takes an exceptional lover to top me.” James met his gaze in the mirror. “More, lover.” Keegan moaned and pushed deeper. Every inch was torment, the need to thrust hard and to come overwhelming. To distract himself, Keegan counted by fours in his head and slowed almost to a stop.

  “Bored with me already?”

  “I want to fuck you like you can’t believe. It’s all I can do not to shove deep inside you, James. Shut up and let me concentrate.” James chuckled, then gasped when Keegan finally settled all the way inside him. “Fuck, I think you just hit my throat.”

  Keegan grunted.

  “Now pull out slowly. That’s it. Oh, it burns, but so good.” James moaned, and knowing it was from as much pleasure as pain really turned Keegan on. “Now fuck me. Slow then fast, push me hard. I like it a little rough.” The magic words. Keegan needed no further urging. He lost himself to the feel and rhythm of mating, of taking James the way he wanted to. His lover bent over, receiving Keegan, submitting…

  James moaned as Keegan worked him, and unfortunately, Keegan didn’t take much longer to come.

  “I wanted to draw this out, but I can’t,” he apologized in gasps as he moved from sliding to slamming his girth inside James’s passage. “Oh fuck. James. Yes, yes.” Keegan shouted and came hard.

  He trembled with the force of his orgasm, lost in the bliss of so much feeling.

  Like a lightbulb had burst in front of his eyes, he was blinded with lust as he emptied into the condom. Sweating and panting, he continued to spend in smaller jolts, the electric fractures of release stealing everything but the tactile sensation of James against him.

  When Keegan could again think, he carefully withdrew.

  “Good, hmm?” James stared at him in the mirror with half-closed eyes. “I told you.”

  Keegan chuckled and turned to the bathroom to clean up. Trust James to have to have the last word. But the little shit was right. God above, that had been the most explosive climax he’d had in a long time. A lot like the one he’d shared with James and Carol, but so much better. Here, it was just the two of them. Carol had been sweet and convenient, but she didn’t pull at him the way James did. The way someone else might in the future. The right woman would make all the difference.

  At the thought, he stilled, his hands on the sink. So now I’m not only a bisexual, but an orgy guy? Keegan groaned and wet a clean washcloth with warm water, then turned off the water.

  He took it to James, now lying belly-down in the middle of his bed.

  “James?” James didn’t answer, but the smile on his face said what words didn’t. Keegan spread James’s legs and cleaned him up, not feeling at all weird about taking care of his friend—his lover—the way he’d expected he might.

  As he examined his emotions, he realized he felt no less manly, no less James’s best friend. With benefits, he added with snark, thinking James would appreciate the sentiment. Keegan tossed the washcloth to the floor and stroked James’s firm, muscular back, in awe of the toned body his friend had developed.

  One thing for living on the outside of the government’s program. Without the regimented schedule and magic drugs from the PWP, the team had definitely gotten in much better shape. Every one of them had a body others envied. Though Keegan knew the rest of the team looked at him with appreciation, he now understood how they felt about James as he looked at the man from a new perspective.

  A glance at the bedside clock showed the lateness of the hour, and he knew he should get some shut-eye like James. But after what he and James had just done, he couldn’t make himself go back to his side of the room. Telling himself not to be such an emotional pussy, he made all sorts of excuses for himself as he eased next to James and pulled the idiot into his arms.

  He just didn’t want to hurt James’s feelings, was all. And they needed to be partners again. The last few days had felt like he’d cut off his own arm. The jokes, the laughter, and the easy friendship he shared with James Foreman meant a lot more than he’d ever admitted to himself.

  Keegan tightened his arms around James and pulled him against his chest.

  Hell, he means a lot more than I’m admitting to myself now. But take it slow, Keegan. Tomorrow ain’t worth sacrificing tonight.

  He fell asleep with James in his arms and a lost locket dangling in his dreams—the promise of something more just out
of reach.

  * * *

  Four days later, Keegan stretched his neck, cracking left and right. “I’m beginning to miss Bend. And I never thought I’d say that.”

  “Well, you did say Bend and not Jack.”

  “Hell no. Not seeing Jack Keiser’s pissed-off expression day in and day out is a blessing.” Keegan grinned and dug into the diner’s special french toast, which he had to admit was excellent. “Darlene,” he called out. “This is the best damn breakfast I’ve had in weeks.”

  The older woman beamed and flushed, then scurried back behind the counter to whisper with her friends.

  “Stop flirting,” James said as he salted his eggs. “It’s embarrassing.”

  “Jealous?” Keegan teased, his voice low so as not to be overheard.

  James snorted. “You wish. Come on, cowboy. Get your strength back up so we can find what we came for. I swear, I’ve never seen anyone eat as much as you do in my life.”

  “You should see my brother.” As soon as he said it, Keegan had a sudden urge to invite Judd out to introduce him to James. He’d of course talked about his partner with his family, but in much less intimate reference.

  “I’d like to.”

  Keegan couldn’t read the look James sent him. “What about your family? How are Aunt Gloria and Uncle Chris doing?”

  James smiled. “Same old, same old. This year they’re after Marianne to settle down with her boyfriend. Last year it was Katie. Two down, two to go.” Keegan knew his friend had four cousins, all older, all women. “So we’ve never talked about it, but how did they respond when you told ‘em about, well, you know.” The smile around James’s mouth invited Keegan to lean over and taste it. And the notion freaked him out, because behind closed doors, the intimacy between them was one thing. But in public? Keegan wasn’t ready for that yet, if ever.

  “My family knew everything there was to know about me when I was eight. I set my cousins’ dollhouse on fire while trying to debate who would make a better kisser, Barbie or Ken.” Keegan froze with his cup almost to his mouth. “What?” James shrugged, humor in his dark eyes. “My cousins used to treat me like their personal living doll and included me in everything. So when I overheard Katie talking to Melissa about who she’d rather kiss, I joined in. I couldn’t figure it out in my own head, and when I said it out loud, they started quizzing me like you wouldn’t believe. Then Marianne went and told my aunt, and she came in and started grilling me. I was so upset and confused, I set the dollhouse on fire.”

  “No shit.”

  James chuckled. “But it ended well. Thankfully, my family is pretty open about things. My uncle and aunt sat me down and had a talk. As I got older, they continued to talk. Never at me, but to me. Makes a difference.” James took another bite of his eggs.

  Fascinated, Keegan nodded. “I guess it does. My family never talks about anything confrontational. Ever. To this day, my momma still hints about grandkids, but you say one word alluding to sex and she turn three shades of red and runs from the room. Which is weird because I know my daddy was a real hell-raiser growing up.”

  “Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” James murmured suggestively, and Keegan felt his face heat.

  After their explosive encounter four days ago, he and James had blown each other a few times, but nothing as fierce as what Keegan had done, taking James the way he had. He thought the fact they’d slowed down had been a good thing, giving him and James time to relax and treat the new aspect of their friendship as mostly casual. But Keegan never quite stopped thinking about sex without imagining James somewhere in the picture. And that he hadn’t expected.

  “Well, my momma has been on my ass for grandkids for years. I think my brother is gonna fulfill her wishes soon, though. He asked his girlfriend to marry him last month. Now the pressure’s off me.”

  James chuckled. “What?”

  “Come on, Keegan. Was the pressure really on? Do you ever do anything you don’t want to do?”

  Keegan wanted to argue, but James was right. “Sometimes it’s scary how well you know me.”

  “I’m good like that.” James wiggled his eyebrows.

  Keegan laughed. “Dick.”

  “Freak.”

  “Can I get you anything else?” Darlene asked when she came back, trying to stifle a grin.

  “No, darlin’, we’re good.” Keegan held out his hand to accept the check.

  James smiled, and like that, the woman was hooked on all that gooey brown-eyed charm. Keegan restrained himself from rolling his eyes.

  “Actually, you might be able to help us,” James said in that husky voice designed to remind a body of sex. “My cousin and I are looking for a long-lost relative. My aunt passed away and left us a family history. It’s actually pretty neat, though I wish Aunt Kitty was still with us.”

  James was in his heyday spinning stories, but Darlene seemed to like him well enough.

  “You don’t say.” She leaned closer to hear.

  “Yes, ma’am. Seems like Aunt Kitty found out she had a cousin disinherited a long time ago. Some indiscretion or another,” James said in a lower voice. “But anyhow, she wanted us to pull the family together for our annual reunion.”

  “So how can I help you?”

  A good question. Keegan glared at James to hurry the hell up.

  James ignored him. “Well, from what we’ve learned, Aunt Kitty’s cousin had a daughter who lives somewhere around Jackson Heights. We don’t know what she looks like, but we do know she’ll be wearing a locket the size of a dime. It looks gold or silver, depending on how the light hits it. And there’s a—”

  “Small blue stone right in the middle of it.” Darlene nodded. “Well, what do you know? The new girl is who you’re looking for!”

  Keegan’s heart raced. “New girl?”

  “Rory Taylor. Pretty girl. Long blonde hair, tall, kind of thin except up top.” Darlene held her hand out in front of her chest. Then her face fell. “Oh no.” James asked, “What’s wrong, Darlene?”

  “Well, it’s just that Rory was having some problems with Gina Jackson.” Darlene glanced around her and, seeing no one, pulled up a chair from a nearby table and joined them at their booth. “See, Gina is jealous of Rory, on account of half the men in town are panting after her. Beautiful girl, but she has a bit of an attitude.” Darlene sniffed. “Anyhow, rumor has it Gina keyed Rory’s car for some reason. Then Rory socked her right in the kisser.”

  James blinked. “Rory punched the woman in the mouth?”

  “Broke her nose, actually.”

  “Sounds like Aunt Kitty’s relations to me,” Keegan said with a straight face.

  Their friend and fellow psychic Kitty was a pain in the ass, but this woman sounded like someone he’d like to get to know better. Too bad they’d come to take back the locket she’d stolen.

  Darlene nodded. “Gina surely had it coming to her. No one likes her. Problem is, the Jacksons pretty much run the town. From the mayor to the sheriff. Ed Jackson, one of the town council members, was in here with Rory just the other day, right before the sheriff came to take her away.”

  “Sheriff?” Keegan prodded.

  “But you know what?” Darlene whispered, her watery blue eyes bright with excitement. “I heard Ed asking her about her locket. Wanted it for a friend of his who collects jewelry. Rory told him right off no way in hell she’d give it to him. Her mother gave it to her. Means the world to that girl. So anyway, Ed called his brother, who came to arrest her.”

  “That doesn’t sound right,” James said slowly.

  No, it didn’t. Another player in this game looking for the same locket they’d been sent to retrieve? What were the odds that an antique piece of jewelry missing for hundreds of years just happened to turn up here, now, and not only were they after it, but someone else was as well? So much for a simple grab and go. Keegan couldn’t be happier this wouldn’t be simple. He hated easy.

  “Well, I never thought Ed would go that far,
but Rory won’t have anything to do with him. Personally, I think he’s hoping she’ll beg him to free her. Ed Jackson is a thug in designer pants. Wants Rory real bad.”

  “So she’s sitting in jail as we speak?” Keegan asked and pulled out a wad of bills, more than enough to cover their breakfast and leave Darlene a whopper of a tip.

  “Yes, she is. But you didn’t hear it from me.” Darlene accepted the money, nodded, and left their table under the watchful stares of the few patrons at the counter, the couple at the far booth in the corner, the busboy, and the other waitress.

  How she thought no one would know she’d said anything was beyond him, but Keegan didn’t much care. Time to collect the locket and go. He had a funny feeling they needed to move sooner than later.

  “Yeah, I know that look on your face, and I agree.” James stood with him, and they left the diner in a hurry, walking the short distance to the police station just down the road at the end of the main strip.

  Keegan pulled him to a stop before they entered. “Let me do the talking. I’m big, but my good ole boy accent eases ‘em. You do charming real well, but your accent can irritate us Southern folks.” “Yes, sir.” In a quieter voice, James added, “Don’t think you can get away with this dominance shit all the time. It’s sexy, but it’s also annoying. And you’re going to owe me for this later tonight.”

  Keegan had to fight down the urge to smother his growing erection. He mentally called on visions of his boss and imagined failing to retrieve the locket.

  That willed his arousal away in a heartbeat.

  Preceding James, he entered the building.

  * * *

  Rory had had enough. She’d tried to play nice, but four days in the slammer for failing to sleep with Ed or hand over her most prized possession was the end of enough. She’d been saving her breakout for an emergency, but at this point, she’d make do with just leaving this stupid six-by-eight-feet cell. They’d moved a belligerent drunk into the one next to her last night, and the creep had vomited all over himself. The stench alone made her want to heave. Low voices caught her attention, and she eased off the narrow cot.