[Conduct Unbecoming 01.0] Conduct Unbecoming

by LA Witt

  The other guy stood way too close to just be shooting the breeze about something. They were near the speakers, which gave them every excuse to lean in close to be heard. Shane held eye contact with him. Put his hand on the other guy’s forearm. Laughed at something meant only for his ears.

  Well, at least I got to see him again.

  Glenn and I found an empty booth. I gestured for him to go first, then slid in beside him. I slung my arm across the back of the bench but made no move to put it around his shoulders. He glanced at my arm, then raised his eyebrows as a grin spread across his lips. I returned it and winked, hoping he took it as, Patience. I’m getting there.

  We went back to making small talk and shop talk, but it was stilted and tense now. And all the while, I was off-balance. The whole room had shifted like a bumped chessboard, and all the pieces were out of place. The man I’d come to find had unexpectedly arrived, and his presence tingled at the ends of the hairs standing on the back of my neck.

  More than that, Glenn had tipped his hand and revealed a card that would put him firmly out of the running unless he found a way to redeem himself before I found a polite way to bow out of here. Or, rather, he had until I found a way to make a safe exit. If there was one thing I’d learned over the years, it was that a guy who was quick to get territorial was not very quick to let another man leave without a fight. Glenn had had just enough to drink, and been just hostile enough toward Shane, I needed to play it as cool as I could. That was why I let him sit first, so I could leave without needing him to move.

  Not that I was intimidated by him—he was bigger and stronger, but law-enforcement training had taken the helpless right out of me—but if this got out of hand, the Japanese police would get called in. Then I’d be involved in an international incident and my chain of command would find out I’d been in a gay bar. Not good.

  Lifting my glass to my lips, I tried to ignore the heavy, sinking feeling in my chest. That feeling that I really, really didn’t want to be here in this club, and that the very thought of taking this evening any further with Glenn simply exhausted me. I swore into my drink. Should’ve known coming out here tonight was a bad idea.

  I set my drink down and rubbed the back of my neck. Even if Glenn hadn’t been a little shit earlier, now that I’d crossed paths with Shane, I wasn’t sure I had it in me for a one-night stand tonight. It wasn’t that the night I spent with Shane was special or any kind of nonsense like that. He just turned me on like no man had in ages. Sex with him was unreal, and fifteen platonic seconds in his presence tonight had been enough to raise the bar impossibly high for every man in this club. What I craved now was the kind of guy who’d slam me up against his front door and suck me off before we even made it into his apartment.

  Son of a bitch was a hard act to follow, what could I say?

  A hard act to follow who’d showed himself, offered to buy me a drink, then bowed out when Glenn got territorial. And then, of course, went off and found someone else.

  And with that, I wasn’t in the mood to stay here a minute longer. The one guy I really wanted had his sights set on someone else. Glenn had simultaneously shown himself to be aggressive in a way I didn’t find remotely attractive and cock-blocked Shane.

  Yeah, I was done for the night.

  Glenn finished his drink and pushed the empty glass away. “I could go for another. How about you?”

  “Actually…” I drained my own drink and set it beside his. “I think I’m going to call it a night.”

  “You’re leaving?” He didn’t sound surprised. Well, maybe he did, but the only thing that registered in my ears was irritation.

  “Is that a problem?” I asked with twice as much irritation.

  Glenn stiffened, then made a sharp gesture. “What the fuck, man?”

  Whatever. I didn’t even care if he thought I was an ass at this point. He’d shown the possessive card, and as a result, I couldn’t get past my discomfort at being around him, so I wasn’t about to go someplace where we’d be alone. Besides, while I could be accused of being easy under the right circumstances, I had a low tolerance for bullshit.

  Keeping my voice even but firm, I said, “It was nice meeting you, but I think I’m going to go.”

  I started to slide out of the booth, but Glenn grabbed my arm.

  I froze. Turned. We locked eyes.

  “I suppose you think that’s going to win me over?” I asked through gritted teeth.

  He blinked, but his hand didn’t move. “Listen, I just think after we’ve—”

  “I think you might want to think twice about that,” I growled, nodding emphatically at his hand on my arm.

  His eyebrows jumped. Then his eyes darted toward his hand, and he wisely pulled it back.

  Without breaking eye contact, I straightened my sleeve, silently daring him to even think about trying it again. Evidently, he did have a brain in his head, because he didn’t reach for me again. In fact, he drew back a little.

  I got up and shouldered my way out of the club. The door banged shut behind me, muffling the music. Shoving my hands into the pockets of my shorts, I started down the steps.

  Well. That sucked.

  Now what? I debated my options as I wandered down the stairs and out into the alley. I could always go to another bar. Maybe just go have a few drinks without sex in mind. Show my face in a club or two where the straight guys hung out, just to keep up appearances.

  Or I could save that for another night. I had beer at home.

  Gate Two Street was choked with taxis, and dozens of people—mostly Americans, and a good many of them drunk as hell—tried to flag them down. Every time I found a cab that wasn’t occupied, he was waiting for someone who’d called him. I waited patiently, though. It wasn’t like I was in a big rush, and at least I was away from Glenn now.

  “I don’t suppose I could talk you into splitting cab fare, could I?”

  The voice turned my head, and for the second time tonight, that grin almost knocked my knees out from under me. For a moment, I forgot myself and almost grabbed the front of Shane’s shirt so I could kiss him, but an instant shy of too late, I remembered all the people around us, any one of whom could work with or for me.

  I cleared my throat. “I…sure. Yeah. If you want to.”

  Shane winked, then shifted his gaze back out to the gridlock of taxis as if to keep anyone from realizing we were talking to each other. “You remember how to get to that cross street? The one where the cab picked us up last time?”

  I ran through a mental map in my head. The alley behind us meandered between several buildings, going every which direction, and numerous cross streets and smaller alleys broke off from it, but we hadn’t taken any turns until we’d reached the end.

  “Yeah, I remember.”

  “Meet me there in ten.” And with that, he was gone.

  I stepped back from the curb so I didn’t block anyone else’s access to a taxi. I glanced at my watch a few times, and when I was sure enough time had passed that I wouldn’t catch up with him too soon, I turned and headed down the alley. The layout was exactly as I remembered, and every familiar neon sign or club entrance made my heart beat a little faster. More than once, I wondered if I’d hallucinated that entire exchange.

  The alley led me right to the place where we’d picked up a cab last time, but Shane wasn’t there. I looked up the street, then down. I glanced at my watch, and it had been almost exactly ten minutes since he’d walked away.

  Fuck, was I in the right place? Had I remembered how to get to where I was supposed to meet him? The sleeping storefronts looked as familiar as anything could in a foreign country; hell if I knew if the signs were the same ones I’d seen before. There was a nail salon, and the other usual businesses, but were they the same ones? Shit.

  Headlights appeared at the end of the street, and as they approached, the yellow glow of a taxi sign hovered above them. I chewed my lip, wondering if I should flag down this cab and see if Shane showed up.r />
  No. No, I’d wait for him. He must have had something up his sleeve. I couldn’t imagine he’d ditched me or gotten lost finding the place he’d told me to meet him.

  Then the cab stopped in front of me. The back door opened, and when I leaned down to look in, I shouldn’t have been surprised to see Shane looking back in the low light. I supposed I wasn’t surprised. The sudden shift in my pulse would have happened even if I’d known from three blocks away that he’d be in that car.

  Heart racing, I slid into the cab beside him.

  “Ready to get out of here?” he asked with a devilish grin.

  “Absolutely.”

  As the driver accelerated, Shane put his hand on my knee, and the warmth of his palm made me jump.

  “I only gave him my address.” His thumb traced a single arc along the side of my knee. “I hope that’s all right?”

  I laid my hand over his. “Fine by me.”

  Shane said something in Japanese to the driver. I didn’t understand it, but I hoped to God it translated to, “Step on it.”

  Chapter Eight

  Shane

  Eric and I made it from the cab to my front door, and I couldn’t go an inch farther. I grabbed his arm and, just like I had the last time, shoved him up against the door. He gripped the back of my neck in both hands, digging his fingers in and refusing to let me even think about pulling away. I groaned into his kiss; Jesus, he tasted faintly of rum, and that hint of rum tasted even more like that first night together than my beer had. Like the night we’d burned up the sheets, which we’d do again tonight if we ever got to my bedroom.

  I put my hands on his shoulders and shoved us apart. Breathing hard, I looked him in the eye and whispered, “Let’s get in the house.” I fumbled in my pocket for my house key. “Before I end up fucking you right out here.”

  Eric bit his lip, and judging by the palpable intensity in his eyes, he wasn’t far from suggesting I do just that.

  Once we were inside, Eric grabbed me and shoved me up against the other side of the door I’d just had him pinned against, and his kiss was desperate and violent and hungry.

  “I’ve been”—he kissed me, dragging his fingers through my hair—“thinking about…this. Since last time. God, Shane…”

  “Me too.” I dipped my head to kiss his neck. “I don’t know what you did last time.” I paused to inhale his musky scent, then whispered, “Just fucking do it again tonight.”

  “With pleasure,” he growled.

  I raised my head, and he kissed me again. I shouldered myself off the door, pushing him back a step. He held on to the front of my shirt and took another step, pulling me with him. One step and half a dozen kisses at a time, we inched down the hall. My arm brushed the wall. His hip grazed the molding around the bathroom door. We both nearly stumbled, somehow righted ourselves, and when we stumbled again, it was only the lack of condoms and lube within reach that stopped me from just dragging him down right then and there.

  Somehow, I guided us into the bedroom. Eric’s shirt landed on the floor by the door. Mine fell a few inches shy of the bed. I reached for the front of his shorts, but he grabbed my wrist.

  “No,” he said, and before I could panic and wonder what I’d done wrong, he added a whispered, “Just fuck me. Now.”

  I kissed him again, even more desperately this time. Then we pulled apart to get the last of our clothes out of the way.

  As I tore the condom wrapper, I looked him up and down. It wasn’t like I hadn’t memorized every inch of his body last time, but he was just so fucking gorgeous. I’d always loved abs like that, the kind I could bounce a penny off, but looking at Eric’s, all I could think of was how his muscles had quivered and contracted when I’d put him on his back and fucked him the second time.

  Our eyes met, and damn if his didn’t have do it again written all over them.

  I swore it took me hours to get the condom and lube on. Everything happened in slow motion except the shaking in my hands, and every second I wasn’t inside him drove me insane.

  Finally, though, everything was in place. The condom was on. Eric was on his hands and knees. I was on my trembling knees behind him.

  And…oh God…I was inside him.

  I steadied his hips with unsteady hands and pulled out slowly. As I slid my cock into him again, I held my breath, willing myself not to come yet. All week long, I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him, and now he was here. He was here, in my bed, and I was inside him, and I was so fucking turned on I could barely stand it.

  Taking slow, smooth strokes, I watched myself disappear into him until I was buried to the hilt. Then I withdrew. Slid in again. Withdrew again. Christ, no one made it this hard for me to hold back. No one. I always came when I was damn good and ready, especially when I’d already come once tonight, but from the first stroke—from the first damned kiss—I was a shiver away from letting go.

  Against my will—and my better judgment, if I had any hope of making this last—my hips moved faster. Faster. Still faster.

  Eric shuddered and rocked back against me; it was all I could do to keep from coming, especially when he released the sexiest, most helpless moan I’d ever heard.

  “Am I hurting you?” I asked through clenched teeth.

  “No,” he said.

  I fucked him harder, my head spinning as I damn near lost it with every thrust. “How about now?”

  Eric let his head fall forward, and his shoulders quivered over his trembling arms. “Oh…God…”

  He rested his weight on one arm, and I almost whimpered myself as he reached for his own cock. His elbow jerked forward one, two, three times, and every muscle in his back and shoulders tensed. He tightened around me, thrust back against me, and with a throaty groan, he threw his head back and came.

  I gripped his hips and gave him everything I had, fucking him deep and hard while his moans and slurred curses drove me on, drove me crazy, drove me right over the edge with him. Every inch of my body ached and tingled as I took one last thrust, then pulled him against me and lost it.

  Everything spun and blurred. I couldn’t tell my voice from Eric’s, but I was certain at least some of the slurred, whispered curses were mine.

  Eventually, my vision cleared, and I stopped shaking enough to pull out and take care of the condom. After we’d cleaned up, we both dropped onto our backs onto the bed.

  For a while, we were quiet, just staring up at the ceiling and catching our breath. As the dust settled, the coolness of my room set in, so I pulled the sheet up over us, and that was when we both shifted onto our sides to face each other.

  “Glad you showed up tonight,” he said, grinning.

  I ran my hand down his arm. “Likewise. You know, I’ve been kicking myself for not getting your number.”

  “Me too.” He propped himself up on one arm and draped the other over my waist. “Any chance I can talk you out of your number before I leave this time?”

  I chuckled. “After tonight, you’ll be lucky if I don’t tattoo it on your arm.”

  Eric laughed. “I don’t think that will be necessary. How about if I just put it in my phone and we’ll call it good?”

  “Works for me.” I leaned in and kissed him lightly. “I am so fucking glad you were at the club tonight.” Running my fingers through his hair, I said, “And if I may be so forward, I wouldn’t mind making a habit of this.”

  Eric grinned, raising goose bumps along the length of my spine. “Would you, now?”

  “Well, if you’re…agreeable.”

  He brushed my lips with his and whispered, “Oh, I am definitely agreeable.” Settling back onto the pillow, he said, “And believe me, I didn’t think you’d be there, or I wouldn’t have given that other asshole the time of day.”

  I laughed halfheartedly. “He’s not someone you want to give the time of day anyway.”

  “So I discovered. You’re familiar with the guy?”

  I nodded. “Son of a bitch comes to Palace Habu all
the damned time. I guess I’m not his type because he’s never said a word to me, but I’ve heard from plenty of guys that he isn’t one to mess with.”

  “Good to know,” Eric muttered. “So who is this guy?”

  Shrugging, I said, “Rumor has it he’s attached to one of the bases on the north end of the island, and he’s been banned from all the clubs up there for drunken behavior, refusing to take no for an answer, and just generally being a dick. No one reports it to his chain of command, of course—”

  Eric blew out a breath. “Can’t blame them for that.”

  I nodded again. Regulating asshole behavior in a gay bar was a tricky issue. None of us wanted our own commands finding out we came to places like these, so, short of being socially ostracized, nothing ever really came of it. It was a small world, though, and Okinawa was far, far too small to have a reputation like that. Anyone who’d been on the island any length of time knew Glenn well enough to avoid him.

  “Well,” I said. “At least now you know to avoid him like the plague.”

  “Can’t say I’m terribly interested in him anymore anyway.” He grinned and winked.

  “Good.” I teased the corner of his mouth with a flick of my tongue. “Now pardon me while I gloat for a moment about getting you into bed after he fucked up.”

  Eric laughed. “Please. I was ready to get into your bed the second you showed up at the bar.”

  “Well, damn.” I sighed dramatically. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because we were rudely interrupted by Jarhead McJackass.”

  “Oh, right.”

  “And let me tell you,” Eric said, “I ever get called out to deal with that fucker? He isn’t going to like me.”

  Something tightened in my gut. “If you…ever get called out?”

  “Yeah. I mean, Eighteenth Security or the JPs would probably handle it if it was near Kadena, but if he fucks with a Navy guy…”

  I swallowed. “You’re Navy security, then?”

  “Yep. CFAO Security out at White Beach.”

  My mouth went dry. “You’re an MA.”