“Yeah. I guess he’s deserving of an ass-kicking.” He didn’t feel bad for Lattimer, he’d simply never had anyone enact vigilante revenge on his behalf before.
“We can handle it my way, or if you prefer, I can give all of this information to the cops and let them take over.”
Danny shook his head. “No. Your way is fine with me. And it’ll probably be faster than going to the police.”
“I’ll track him down tomorrow. Tonight, you just get some sleep.”
“M’kay. Good night.”
Held in the safety of his boyfriend’s arms, Danny let himself drift into sleep. The last thing he registered was the warmth of a naked chest beneath his cheek and a soothing hand rubbing up and down his back. Then he was out, leaving the stress of the day behind.
Chapter Sixteen
T
he next night, Jordan hit the streets, headed for 1027 Cedar Place. He hadn’t come last night because his first priority had been to take care of Danny. But Danny’s accounts were cleared, restored, and secured, and Danny himself was calm. Now it was time to find the asshole harassing his lover. He’d exact a little punishment and make damn sure this creep never bothered Danny again.
Blaze killed the lights on the Challenger and rolled up to Lattimer’s home. Earlier that evening, he’d run checks on Lattimer’s background. He knew that the man lived alone and had no family in town. Unless Lattimer had friends over, he could expect to visit with Lattimer one on one, with no interruptions. Blaze knocked, prepared to shove his way inside when Charles opened the door. But no one answered. That didn’t stop him. He wasn’t above a little breaking and entering.
It took a measly amount of his strength to break the lock, allowing him to slip into the dark house. He stood still, scanning for any signs of an alarm system or pet. No alarms beeped and nothing furry and four-legged came at him, so he activated the flashlight on his wrist and moved further into the house. He crept into the bedroom to find an empty, unmade bed.
There was no one here. Drawers were left open, clothes hanging out of them and scattered on the floor. The bathroom was in the same state of disarray. Knocked over toiletries littered the countertop and a bottle of shampoo had spilled in the tub. Lattimer must have figured someone would come looking for him after the stunt he’d pulled with Danny’s social media and packed up to high-tail it out of there.
Blaze spared a moment to regret not coming after him sooner, but he’d made the right choice in staying with Danny last night. Moving through the rest of the house, he looked for clues as to where Lattimer might have gone. In the smaller, second bedroom he found what could only be described as a shrine to Ignite. He swept his flashlight over the room, taking everything in.
On the back wall were several shelves and bookcases. All of them were crammed full of Ignite memorabilia. Action figures. Standees. Framed photographs. Another wall was covered in posters of Ignite. He recognized Danny’s style in most of the art. Blaze moved to the desk. A bottle of lotion and a box of Kleenex sat there. The trashcan next to it overflowed with used tissues.
Blaze sneered in disgust. He wanted to vomit at the thought of this creepy fucker in here jerking it to artwork of his friend done by his boyfriend. Blaze avoided sitting in the cracked vinyl chair as he snooped through the desk. The dust free square in the middle of the desk indicated where a laptop had been. A quick look through the drawers and various papers on the desk didn’t reveal any clues as to where Lattimer might have gone. Pressing the earpiece in his helmet, he placed a call to Caleb.
“He’s not here. Does he have anywhere else he could be that I missed in my search?”
“Nope. That’s the only address associated with him in St. Louis. His previous address is from nowhere Ville in the boot hill of Missouri but records show he hasn’t lived there in seven years. No record of family in town. His social media doesn’t have too many references to friends either. You’ll have to track him down another way.”
“If I need to use DNA to find this punk, I’ve got plenty of samples.”
“What?”
“Nothing. Thanks, Caleb.”
Blaze ended the call. He wasn’t giving up. He didn’t trust that this guy was finished harassing Danny. He looked around the room again. If he was this intense over Ignite, his fixation on Danny was unlikely to stop. He clearly felt safe attacking Danny in the cyber world. But Blaze was going to give him some real world experience.
Retracing his steps back to the front door, Blaze left the house. His next stop was Lattimer’s place of employment. He worked the deli counter at one of the chain grocery stores in the area. If Lattimer was in the wind, he was unlikely to show up for work. But maybe he was dumb enough to go in.
The store was only a few minutes away from Lattimer’s house. Blaze pulled into a parking spot in a dark corner of the lot but didn’t get out of the car. He wasn’t going to go strolling down the freezer aisle in his vigilante gear. If Lattimer was there, he’d wait until the end of his shift, then have their meeting outside. He used the in-dash video phone to call the grocery store. An automated system answered. Following the recorded voice’s instructions, he pressed 4 for the deli. The phone beeped a few times before someone picked up.
“Dierborne Deli department. How can I help you?”
“Can I speak to Charles?”
“Chuck quit without notice. If you see him, tell him I had to miss the Cardinals game to come in and cover his shift. Lazy bas-”
Blaze hung up without listening to the rest of the complaint. Frustrated at his failure, he threw the car into gear and peeled out of the parking lot, headed for home.
Back in his garage, Jordan tugged off his cowl and sat down at his work station. Right now, the easiest way to track Lattimer down would be to put tracers on his credit cards. Using the technique he’d learned long ago, he slipped into the credit card systems for each of Lattimer’s credit cards. A few clicks, and he’d activated tracers on each one. If he used them anywhere — like to check in to a hotel — Jordan would instantly be notified of his location. He’d stay at the ready. The second he received a hit, he’d be on him.
Jordan leaned back in his chair. He rubbed his chin, the other hand restlessly tapping the home row without hitting a keystroke. There was another way he could search out Lattimer. He could hack into Pruitt’s city-wide facial recognition surveillance system and use it to track him down. If he plugged in a photo of Lattimer, which he could easily get from the DMV, he could set the system to scan for him and alert him when he’d been found.
Jordan hesitated, fingers hovering over the keyboard. He hated that system. Hated the way Pruitt abused it. Hated that it even existed. Jordan backed off. He’d find Charles Lattimer on his own.
***
A few days after the doxxing incident, things had calmed down. Danny posted an apology on his Twitter for the confusion, then immediately got back to regular posting to take the focus off the embarrassing pictures that had been shared on his accounts.
Jordan was still looking for Charles Lattimer but so far had been unable to find him. And Caleb sent them a follow-up monitoring report. Thankfully, he hadn’t noticed any further attempts to attack Danny’s accounts.
Danny was over the entire situation. He hoped that Lattimer had gotten all of the anger out of his system with his malicious attack, and realized that there was no way he was going to do any Ignite art for him now. Danny just wanted to continue on with his life, creating art and enjoying time with his boyfriend. Like today.
Scott was on a weekend river float trip with friends, so they had the house to themselves. Earlier, Jordan had helped him clean and restock the kitchen. Now, they sat on the couch, watching TV. Danny was curled up against Jordan, practically in his lap. Jordan’s big hand rested on his hip, warm and heavy. He absently caressed Danny’s thigh while the movie played, fingers dipping beneath the hem of his shorts. The touch might have been innocent but it set off a low hum of arousal in his veins. Danny shifted, pressing his face to Jorda
n’s chest. That chest rumbled when Jordan spoke.
“I’m sorry.”
He started to move his hand away but Danny stopped him. “Don’t stop. You know I love when you touch me.”
The hand stayed, but its owner looked down at Danny with a frown.
“You’ve been stressed over the Lattimer situation. I don’t want you to think I’m putting any kind of pressure on you for sex while you’re dealing with it.”
“You’re sweet. I have been stressed, but I’m over it. I want to stop worrying about that guy. He’s gone and I hope he stays gone. But we’re here and I miss you.”
“I’m right here.”
“I miss being with you.” Danny emphasized his meaning by pressing his body even closer.
Jordan wrapped an arm around his waist, tugging him over to straddle his lap.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Danny focused on the black t-shirt covering his boyfriend’s chest, drawing aimless little shapes on the cotton canvas with his fingers. “It’s been a while since we went to the club but I don’t feel like going out. Do you think maybe we could play here?”
“If that’s what you want. What are you in the mood for?”
Danny thought about it for a moment. He’d really enjoyed their electric play. But Jordan had pulled his powers back once they’d started to have sex. He wondered... “How tight is your control over your power?”
“Pretty tight,” Jordan said with a smug grin.
“Do you think you could touch me with it while we’re having sex? Not only before like the other night but while we’re actively doin’ the do.”
“Absolutely. You trust me that much?”
Danny cupped Jordan’s face with both hands. “I trust you with my life.”
Jordan closed his eyes for a moment. “I don’t know that I deserve to have you give me that trust. But I’ll do my best to earn it. Come on.”
He lifted Danny off his lap, then laced their fingers together to go up the stairs to his bedroom. Once they were behind the closed door, Jordan immediately pulled Danny into his arms and leaned down for a kiss.
“What’s your safe word, angel?” Jordan asked against his lips.
“Exposure.” He breathed his answer in to their kiss.
“Use it if anything feels like too much or if you change your mind.”
“I won’t.”
Jordan undressed quickly, tossing his clothes and shoes aside. But when he undressed Danny, he moved slowly, brushing his fingers over every inch of flesh he exposed. With his touch, sparkles of electricity traced along Danny’s skin. By the time he was naked, he was already buzzing with pleasure.
Jordan left him for a moment to turn out the light, leaving the room lit by the moon’s glow, and to grab the supplies from the nightstand. He took a moment to prepare himself, then sat on the edge of the bed, pulling Danny to stand between his spread thighs. Jordan gazed up at Danny for a moment before he turned him around to face the mirror hanging on the back of his door.
“I want to watch this. And I want you to watch it too.”
Danny couldn’t see Jordan’s hands as he pushed a finger inside him to stretch him open and slick him up. But he could see his face. And he looked so powerful and intense, Danny could easily imagine what he was thinking: You belong to me.
“Come and fuck yourself on my cock,” Jordan ordered roughly.
Danny groaned at the dirty commanded issued in that rough growl. He immediately obeyed, easing down onto his lover’s shaft, Jordan guiding his movements with one hand on his hip. The other continued to touch him with his power. Blue sparks lit up the dim room as Jordan’s glowing hand moved over his body. Danny watched the show in the mirror as he rode his lover. It was beautiful.
Jordan put his lips to Danny’s ear, their eyes meeting in the glass.
“I’ll give you anything you need, sweetheart. I’ll make you feel good,” he said as he stroked the insides of Danny’s thighs. “I’ll protect you and take care of you.”
Danny listened to the tender promises. If he hadn’t already realized he loved Jordan, he would have fallen in this moment.
“I never thought I’d get to touch you like this. Wouldn’t even let myself dream of it. But tonight, I have you in my arms. So sweet and submissive.”
When Jordan finished speaking, his pressed his face to the side of Danny’s throat, kissing the pulse there. And he began to stroke his cock.
“Jordan.” His head tossed back, hands braced on Jordan’s thighs to help him move, Danny let the sensations inside him spiral higher and higher. He gasped when Jordan circled the head of his cock with his thumb, petting the sensitive spot just beneath it.
“Let go and come for me.”
His body had become so trained in following Jordan’s orders, that his climax immediately began throbbing in his cock. They watched as his release spilled free in a hot rush. He trembled and moaned, bouncing on Jordan’s lap a little harder to wring forth every ounce of pleasure before the climax could fade away.
Danny was still feeling the trembling aftershocks when Jordan took over. He gripped Danny’s hips tight, raising him up and dropping him down onto his cock with sharp, quick movements, until his shaft throbbed inside Danny, signaling his approaching climax. As Jordan came, he pressed kisses all along Danny’s shoulders and the nape of his neck, softly whispering his name against his sweat-damp skin.
Emotion swelled in Danny’s chest, tears prickling in the corners of his eyes. He didn’t know where this sudden surge of feeling was coming from. He tried to choke it back, thinking it had no place in the afterglow of their sex. But to his surprise, a quiet sob escaped before he could stop it. Danny bit his lip, hoping that Jordan would mistake the noise for a sound of pleasure.
That might have worked, but just then, a tear broke free of his lashes, tracing down his cheek. And of course, Jordan saw it in the mirror. Jordan tilted his head back, wiping that tear and the ones that followed away with his thumb, then kissing him. The position of their kiss was awkward, straining his neck, but Danny savored it, even chasing Jordan’s lips when he pulled back.
“Let’s get more comfortable.”
Jordan lifted him up, disconnecting their bodies. Before he could do anything more than that, Danny twisted around and curled himself up on his Dom’s lap. “I’m so-”
Jordan stopped him before he could get the apology out.
“Ssssh. It’s okay.”
He hugged Danny tight, his big, warm palm moving over his back in a soothing caress.
“I don’t know why I’m crying.”
“Sometimes the emotions get a little heavy during a scene. And maybe that release helped ease some of the stress you’ve been carrying.”
Danny drew in a shuddering breath. “Yeah. It feels like it.”
“Come on, let’s go to bed.”
He disposed of the condom and wiped Danny clean, then they got under the covers together. Jordan pulled him in close, throwing a heavy thigh over him.
“Let me see it one more time,” he quietly asked.
Jordan held up a hand. Within seconds, blue sparks jumped from one finger to the other.
Danny smiled. He closed his eyes, the blue glow visible from behind his lids until he fell asleep.
Danny woke up around midnight when he felt Jordan stirring in bed. He opened his eyes to see his boyfriend zipping up his jeans. “You’re going out.”
“Yeah. I need to patrol,” he said as he pulled his t-shirt over his head. “And I’ll spend time searching for Lattimer too.”
“M’kay. I’ll walk you to the door.” He started to push himself up, but Jordan’s big hand on his shoulder stopped him.
“No. Stay here. I want to come back to you like this, warm and sleepy in bed.” He leaned down and pressed a kiss to Danny’s temple.
Danny relaxed onto the pillow. “Okay, you twisted my arm.”
“I’ll be back in a few hours.”
He nodded, already drifting back in
to sleep as the door softly closed behind his lover.
***
The sound of furtive movement dragged Danny out of sleep. He blinked a few times before looking at the clock with bleary eyes. It was only 1:45.
“You’re back early,” he mumbled into the pillow.
“Sorry. You’ve got me confused with someone else.”
The strange voice in his bedroom snapped Danny fully awake in an instant. He flipped over and sat up in one startled, jerky motion. “Who-.”
Danny caught a flash of movement from the corner of his eye. But he was too late to dodge whatever it was. Something crashed against his temple, and a white burst of pain exploded behind his eyelids. Danny collapsed, unconscious before he hit the pillow.
***
“Wake up.”
Danny swam back to consciousness and opened his eyes, only to be greeted by a gremlin pounding an anvil in his head. He scrunched his eyes closed at the pain — so sharp and metallic he wanted to vomit.
“I said wake up.”
Someone smacked him across the face. Now he had ringing ears and a stinging cheek to add to his list of pain. “Stop. I’m... I’m awake.” He forced himself to open his eyes again. Through blurry vision he saw three dark figures standing in front of him, shifting and swaying. Danny blinked a few times and the three dark figures coalesced into one.
“Guess who?”
Danny didn’t have to guess. He knew. “The Ignite superfan. Charles — Charles Lattimer.”
“That’s right.”
As Danny became more aware, he realized he was in his bedroom, sitting in his desk chair. He tried to raise a hand to touch his sore temple. When it didn’t move, he looked down in confusion. His arm was tied to the chair. Both arms were. And his ankles were tied to the chair legs. Danny quickly raised his head. That was a mistake, as it set off another round of wooziness. The room spun as he looked at the dark shape of Lattimer. “What are you doing?”
“You should have done like I asked. Now I have to teach you what happens when you don’t show your diehard fans a little gratitude.”
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