He went to his work room and grabbed his sketch book, planning to work on backgrounds for his web comic. Danny sat down to draw, but the architecture he wanted to sketch wouldn’t come together. He had trouble visualizing it, and he couldn’t find any good reference pictures online. He’d have to go out and take some photos of his own to use.
Danny changed into more casual clothes, packed his messenger bag with a sketch book, pencil case, his ear buds, and a camera, and made his way to the Metro Link station. He’d decided to catch the train instead of driving so he wouldn’t have to worry about parking. The train would let him out near the buildings he wanted to see, and the walk would help burn off more of his fidgety energy.
The train rolled in with a rush of warm air and a recorded voice announcing its arrival. Danny stepped into a near empty car. At this hour, the work commuter rush was long past over and there weren’t any major events going on downtown. He took a seat, placing his bag next to him, and popping his ear buds in for music to listen to during the ride. The trip was quick, and soon Danny was leaving the station and heading toward a popular microbrewery.
He’d chosen this particular location because it had a restaurant and rooftop bar. The bar is where Danny was headed. He went up a dark narrow staircase papered with vintage beer advertisements and onto the roof. A few hipsters were kicked back at the cafe tables and lounge chairs, enjoying flights of beer and appetizers under the night sky.
Danny moved to a lone table near the edge of the rooftop and set up shop. He took out his camera and started taking pictures, not worrying too much about focus or composition. His goal was to get the look of the area so he could translate it into his work.
It didn’t take him long to get the shots he needed. Since he wasn’t in a rush to get back home and he had time before the trains stopped running for the night, he sat down at his little table and ordered a pale ale and basket of fried ravioli. While he waited for the late-night snack to arrive, he took out his sketchbook. He started to draw rough sketches of the buildings on this street, getting a feel for the area in his hands while he was in the midst of the old brick buildings.
Now he could visualize the cityscape he wanted for his comic. His pencil moved over the cream paper in quick, short lines, with pauses to retrace and shade. When the food and beer arrived, he set the pencil aside so he could eat, but kept the sketch book out to look over his work. A style was already emerging in the raw lines. Hungrier than he’d realized, Danny quickly polished off the toasted ravioli, then leaned back to savor the rest of the beer.
As he sipped, the air grew heavy and still. Lightning flashed far off in the distance. It was going to storm soon. He hadn’t brought an umbrella and didn’t want to be stuck walking home without one in the rain. Danny called the server over to pay his tab, right before others started doing the same.
The bill paid, Danny tucked his sketch book away in his bag, stood up, and stretched his back. It was time to go. He went down the narrow staircase, through the main bar, and out onto the street. As he strolled down the sidewalk back to the Metro Link station, he thought about the different ways he could use the buildings to set the scene for his comic. The street was well-lit with people about, so Danny didn’t pay too much attention to his surroundings while he walked. He quickened his steps a little as he passed an alley, but didn’t otherwise stop thinking about his work. Until a familiar deep voice floated out to him on the warm, humid breeze.
“You don’t have your weapon out.”
Danny stopped and turned around. Blaze stood just outside the alley he’d passed. Danny was surprised to see the hero, but nonetheless retraced his steps to join him. He shrugged with a sheepish smile once he reached his side in the alley. “Busted. My head was so filled with art plans I didn’t even think about protecting myself. But maybe I don’t need to.”
“Why not?”
“Because maybe you’ve decided to be my personal protector.”
Blaze moved, prowling forward, backing Danny up against the wall behind him and crowding in close, until Danny’s vision was filled with the sight of a broad chest covered in tight black leather. That chest was so wide, and thick with muscle. The B cut by the lightning bolt rose and fell with each inhalation, daring him to reach out and touch it. He barely managed to resist the temptation. Danny dragged his gaze up to meet Blaze’s eyes. As always, they were shadowed by his helmet.
“Maybe I have,” Blaze said.
He’d lost the thread of the conversation and it took him a moment to grasp it and come up with an intelligent answer. “Oh.”
“Would it bother you to be under my protection?”
“No. It’s comforting.”
Blaze braced his palms against the brick wall on either side of Danny’s head, caging him in. The lightning grew closer, flashing in the sky behind him.
“Is that all you want from me? Comfort?”
Danny ran his tongue over lips gone dry from his rushed breaths. “What do you mean?”
“I see the way you react to me. Your pupils are blown. Your pulse speeds up. And you lick your lips.”
A gloved finger touched the center of his bottom lip, gently tugging it down. Danny trembled as he fought not to lick his tongue out again and taste the leather of Blaze’s glove.
“What else do you want from me, Danny?”
Danny was too overwhelmed, his head too filled with Blaze to answer. The warm scent of leather and his skin. The power radiating from him. The commanding presence that urged him to drop to his knees and submit. Blaze slowly pulled his finger away but he didn’t move out of Danny’s space. He leaned in, his intent clear.
Although he had plenty of warning, Danny gasped as their lips met. Blaze kissed him with fierce passion, dominating his mouth, demanding Danny submit and let him take control. And for several moments of blissful surrender, Danny gave in to the demand, returning the kiss with equal passion, while letting Blaze lead. But he was a one-man kind of guy. He’d couldn’t kiss Blaze hours after he’d kissed Jordan. Besides, he didn’t know this man. Had never even seen his face. He shouldn’t be making out with him in dark alleys. As much as he hated to do so he tore his lips away and turned his face to the side.
“I shouldn’t... We should stop.” Blaze raised a gloved hand to cup his cheek and turned him back. Danny shuddered at the feel of the supple leather on his skin. His already shaky resolve faltered even more when warm lips trailed down his neck to his collarbone then back up to his cheek. A rough whisper slid into his ear.
“You want me to stop? But you didn’t say your safe word.”
“How would you know it?”
Blaze froze. He pulled back, his eyes wide behind the mask.
Danny went still too. He’d only meant the question as a joke — to tease. But with Blaze’s reaction he knew. He knew what he should have known all along.
Chapter Nine
F
uck. He’d blown his cover. No more than he deserved for letting the whims of his dick control his actions. He shouldn’t even be here. He’d had plans to patrol in a different sector of the city. But the tracker he’d placed on Danny, embedded in the card he’d given him, had alerted him that Danny was on the move downtown late at night. He’d immediately changed direction to go and see that he was okay, with the vague plan of only watching him from afar to ensure he made it safely home.
But the need and desire still churning beneath his skin had risen up and taken over when Danny walked by, prompting him to call out to get Danny’s attention. Now he’d tripped up, admitting that he knew Danny’s safe word. Blaze quickly tried to recover for his dumb mistake.
“I figured you’d have one by now if you’ve been going to that club. And if you said something off the wall while I was kissing you, that would be it.” His excuse sounded plausible to his ears. But Danny clearly wasn’t buying it. He peered up at him with narrowed, suspicious eyes. That was Blaze’s cue to make his exit. “I have to go.” He stepped back from Danny and quickl
y moved to leave the alley.
“Wait!”
Blaze kept going.
“Jordan, please!”
Blaze stopped.
“I don’t know what to say. I’m not angry but please talk to me.”
He started to turn back around. They did need to talk. Now might not be the time for it, but he couldn’t leave Danny there on his own. “Danny, I-” He stopped as he spied a flash of silver hurtling toward him.
Blaze jerked back in time to avoid the knife sinking into his arm, but it still managed to cut through his sleeve and slice across his bicep. He immediately powered up, ready to go after the assailant, a Red Vest who stood down the street with a second throwing knife in hand, but a yell from Danny stopped him.
He looked back into the alley. Another Red Vest had shown up, a huge man who had Danny in the grip of a brutal bearhug. Danny struggled, kicking and scratching in his fight to break free, but his efforts were ineffective against the Red Vest’s size and brute strength. Damnit. He needed to help Danny but he couldn’t leave an enemy at his back. He spared precious moments to shoot a blast of electricity at the knife thrower, taking them out of the game before running back into the alley to face the Red Vest who’d dared to assault his lover.
Blaze smashed his fists together, and an explosion of electricity crackled around him in a bright blue sphere. He would have loved to channel that energy and send it right at the punk’s head to take him out, but he couldn’t. Not with Danny in the line of fire. “Let him go!” His shout thundered down the alley.
“Don’t think so. The boss is angry you messed up his shipment.” He squeezed tighter and Danny yelled, his face twisted in pain. “You can consider this payback.”
“He wants payback? Fine. Let him go first. He’s got nothing to do with me.”
“Yeah? Didn’t look that way to me with the way you two were cozied up a few minutes ago.”
“Damnit,” Blaze cursed under his breath. He’d been so preoccupied with Danny he hadn’t even noticed they were being watched. A stupid and dangerous mistake. Unfortunately, he didn’t have time for recrimination. At that moment, his only priority was to get Danny out of harm’s way. He took a chance, hoping it would work.
“Danny! Drop!”
To his relief, Danny instantly obeyed. He stopped fighting and went limp, sliding down in the punk’s hold. The move surprised the big man, giving Blaze enough of a window to sprint forward and smash his fist into the punk’s face. He put enough of his power into the strike to knock the big man out but not so much that it went through his whole body and made contact with Danny too. Unconscious, the brute’s arms loosened as he fell. Blaze already had Danny in hand before they’d completely fallen away.
“Let’s go.” He started running, pulling Danny behind him out of the dark alley. But their escape route wasn’t clear. More L Street Posse goons had arrived, lined up in the street and blocking the path out. As they faced off, the storm that had been threatening finally arrived. The skies broke open and rain poured down in ice cold sheets. Still, none of the Red Vests moved. Even six on one, Blaze could take them on and come out the winner but fuck that. He wasn’t stopping to fight with Danny there. He yanked him into his arms. “Hold on,” he yelled over the sound of the thunder and pounding rain.
As soon as Danny’s arms squeezed around his neck, Blaze took a running start and leaped into the air over the heads of the Red Vests, using his body to shield Danny in case any of them had a projectile weapon and managed to get off a lucky shot. They pursued but they couldn’t keep up with his speed. The punks fell behind, but Blaze was taking no chances and kept moving, taking an indirect route back to his car to make sure they weren’t followed.
His suit became slick from rainwater, making it hard for Danny to hold on. Blaze paused to swing Danny around to his back so he could hold on more securely with all his limbs. With his arms now free, Blaze moved even faster, sprinting, jumping, pushing off the sides of buildings to propel himself forward. When his car was within sight, he looked over his shoulder at Danny, rain water splashing into his mouth as he spoke.
“One more jump, baby.”
Danny nodded with his face tucked into Blaze’s neck.
Blaze dropped from a fire escape down to the ground, landing with a splash. The car unlocked and Blaze swiftly opened the driver’s side door. Moving as quickly as possible without being needlessly rough, he pushed Danny in and over to the passenger side before sliding into the driver’s seat. “Buckle up.”
His eyes were wide and hands shaking but Danny did as he was told, the seat belt connecting with a quiet click.
The car roared to life and Blaze immediately slammed it into drive. He sped through the city, heading back to his place. Blaze took the closest of his routes home, determined to get off the streets and to the safety of the garage as soon as possible. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Danny had has arms wrapped tightly around himself, shivers making his entire body shake.
“Are you hurt?”
“No. Just cold.”
Blaze turned the heat all the way up. Warm air rushed out of the vents, quickly heating the interior of the car. He cast a glance at Danny every so often as he drove. Once his shivering stopped, he turned the heat down to low.
“Why were those guys after you? I mean, I know it’s normal for you to fight bad guys, but they seemed to have an agenda and a plan.”
“The other night, I destroyed a shipment of a new drug their boss wants to distribute.”
“And that’s why the guy who had me said it was payback.”
“Yeah. I’m sorry you got caught up in it.”
“Not your fault.”
It was actually but now wasn’t the time to get into it. They were a half mile away from the secret tree break, so he gave Danny a head’s up. “We’re coming up on the entrances to my place. You’ll see a few strange things.”
“Okay.”
Danny handled the sliding trees fine and only squeaked a little when the street opened up to let them drive below ground. But when they raced toward the steel doors, Danny sat up ramrod straight, hand raised as if to demand the car come to a stop.
“Do- don’t crash,” he stuttered in alarm.
“It’s all right. I promise.” The doors opened, he sped through, and Danny slumped back into his seat.
Blaze parked the car and turned off the ignition. Everything was silent except for the ticking of the engine as it cooled.
Danny cleared his throat. “I guess this is your lair.”
“I don’t call it that. But yes.” He opened the door and went around to Danny’s side but by the time he reached it Danny had already stepped out. Rainwater dripped down the nose of his mask as he patiently waited while Danny looked around at his command center, weapons wall, training mat, and spare gear. He looked shocked, as if Jordan’s secret identity was only now sinking in.
“Let’s go upstairs.” He held his hand out. Danny stared at that hand for a long moment. So long that Blaze started to think his worse fear was about to come to pass. When Danny finally laid a hand in his, Blaze breathed a silent sigh of relief. He’d half expected Danny to reject him and demand to be taken home. But he didn’t. He walked with Jordan to the elevator, and rode up to his apartment.
They were both silent as he led Danny back to his bedroom and turned on the lights. Danny’s clothes were soaked through from the storm, his t-shirt clinging to him. Beads of water dripped from his jeans to the floor. And he was shivering again.
“You’re soaked. I’ll get you a towel and something to change into.”
Blaze dug through the dresser for his smallest t-shirt and sweats, then went into his spacious bathroom and flipped on the light. He grabbed a towel from the linen closet and called out to Danny. “In here.”
Danny approached with slow, tentative steps, his eyes wide. Noting the reaction, Blaze took a step back so Danny could enter the bathroom without having to pass too close to him. Damnit. He hoped Danny wasn’t
afraid of him now. “Get out of those wet clothes and dry off.” Although they were both aware he’d already seen Danny nearly naked several times, he closed the door, giving him privacy to change into the dry clothes.
Out in the bedroom, Jordan stripped too. It took time to get out of his suit and boots but he still managed to be dressed in a pair of athletic shorts before Danny came out of the bathroom. He was about to go and check on him when the door finally opened.
“I’m dressed,” Danny said quietly.
Jordan crossed the room to where Danny stood in the bathroom doorway. The t-shirt and sweats he’d given him to wear swamped him. But at least he was dry and his shivers had stopped. Unfortunately, he still looked nervous. Jordan hesitated, trying to think of what he could say or do to put him at ease. Before he could come up with anything, Danny gasped and reached up, fingers hovering over Jordan’s left bicep.
“You’re hurt!”
Jordan looked down at his arm. The cut was deep but he barely felt the sting of it.
He gently grasped Danny’s fingers and pulled his hand away from the wound. “Accelerated healing. It’ll be fine.”
“But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t treat your wounds. Do you have a first aid kit?”
“Yes. It’s in the bathroom.”
Jordan waited as Danny went back into the bathroom and rummaged around in the medicine cabinet for what he needed. He came back with his hands filled with first aid supplies.
“You’re so tall. It’ll be easier for me if you sit.”
Jordan moved to sit on the edge of the bed, watching as Danny tended to his cut. His brows were knit in concentration as he wiped the area clean with an alcohol pad and applied ointment. He didn’t have the heart to tell him it would be scabbed over in a few hours and completely healed within twenty-four. Besides, he was selfishly enjoying the attention. Danny glanced up and caught him staring. Jordan didn’t look away, but Danny’s gaze skittered to the side as he applied the bandage.
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