The corner of Reese’s mouth lifted. “Something you want to tell me, Jared?” His hands found Jared's hips, pressing into Jared's skin with the faintest hint of pressure.
Jared nodded. “Yeah.” His pulse quickened, anticipation shooting through his body.
Something in Reese changed, a new energy coming off his skin, so strong it seemed to crackle across the lake. Reese walked them deeper into the water, crowding further into Jared's space. “Well?”
Jared reached out, running his hands across Reese’s chest, his fingers brushing over the silver chain of Reese’s Renegade tag. "When I'm with you, I don’t feel like a useless rescue. You make me feel...” Wanted. Special. Jared shook his head. He couldn’t say that. “All the inner voices that hold me back, it’s like you make them disappear."
Reese caught Jared's hands in his and lowered them towards his waist, silently telling Jared not to hold back now. "Show me."
Jared dragged his lower lip beneath his teeth as he curled his fingers around Reese’s hips. Jared held his breath, his eyes drifting over the rigid muscles and flat planes of Reese’s taut body.
"You're welcome to look all you want sweetheart, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want those hands all over me again," Reese purred.
A new warmth bubbled within Jared, and before he could talk himself out of it he wrapped a hand around the back of Reese’s neck and pulled.
The kiss was raw, intense, and when Reese groaned against his mouth it made Jared feel powerful, like he finally had something someone wanted. He darted his tongue out to trace the line of Reese’s lower lip, and snuck inside the second Reese opened his mouth. Jared pushed a hand into the thick hair he’d been dying to touch since the first time he saw it, angling Reese’s head down and slightly to the side so Jared could kiss him the way he wanted. Hard, desperate, with a promise for so much more.
He slid his hands down Reese’s magnificent torso, over the muscles of his chest that were as hard as granite and down a flat stomach dusted with a slim trail of dark hair that outlined the very path Jared wanted to take. His knuckles brushed the faint line of hair leading downward from Reese’s belly button. Jared curled hesitant fingers inside Reese’s waistband, desperate to get his hands on the heat he could feel just below.
“Show me,” Reese repeated huskily. “Show me you can take what you want.”
Jared slid a hand inside and wrapped it around Reese’s hard length, reveling in the moan it elicited. He pumped his hand in a steady rhythm that had Reese’s hips pulsing forward. “You want me?” Jared asked, both terrified and thrilled to hear the answer.
“Like I want my next breath.”
Jared smiled against Reese’s mouth. “You want me to touch you?”
“Fuck yes.”
Jared licked his way down Reese’s jaw, his neck, his chest. “You exhilarate me.” The words twisted in his throat but he pushed them out, his voice sounding positively guttural because of it. “Let me do the same for you.” He caught a glimpse of Reese’s wide-eyed gaze seconds before Jared took a breath and ducked underwater, fusing his lips tight around Reese’s dick.
Reese jerked forward into his mouth, and Jared gripped Reese’s hips as he swallowed him down, twisting his tongue around the head of Reese’s cock while sucking him like a vacuum. Jared’s eyes were squeezed shut, against both the lake water and the terrible fear that Reese would laugh, think him stupid for trying this, for thinking Jared could ever please someone like him.
But he could feel Reese trying to hold back from driving his hips forward, so Jared took courage from the darkness of the water and sucked harder, his thumbs digging into Reese’s hips to hold them both steady. In his last few seconds he opened his mouth and gave Reese the barest hint of teeth, dragging them ever so lightly along his cock as Jared retreated and resurfaced.
“Damn, sweetheart.” Reese hauled him up by his shoulders, crashing their lips together. “I told you that pretty mouth was gonna kill me.”
Jared was shaking with relief and with the need to feel Reese’s kiss become a part of him, to climb so deep inside this man that it would take a flashlight and a dozen maps to find his way out. Close wasn't close enough, and Jared lifted a leg up and onto Reese’s hip, a desperate whimper escaping his lips as Reese’s strong hands wrapped around his thighs to hitch him up further. Jared’s cock was hard and aching, and Reese slid his against it, the lake acting as its own source of friction as Reese grabbed Jared’s hips hard enough that he hoped he’d wake up with Reese’s handprint on his skin the next morning.
Reese pushed and pulled at Jared’s hips, thrusting them against each other like he was trying to start a fire. His other hand fisted in Jared’s hair, pulling Jared’s head back to ravage kisses along his neck in a slick move that Jared was coming to love. Jared moaned at the feeling of Reese’s hands on him, his arms surrounding him, his legs and hips and cock driving him.
“Gonna come, sweetheart, fuck, gonna-“ Reese tore his lips from Jared’s neck and breathed heavy pants against his mouth, his forehead pressing into Jared’s. “Tell me. Tell me what you need.”
“You,” Jared answered raggedly, gasping as Reese’s cock slid fast and slick against his own . He held onto Reese’s shoulders, reveling in the motion of Reese’s powerful muscles push pulling him towards release. “Just need you.” The strength in Reese’s thrusts sent shocks of heady arousal through Jared, and he imagined what Reese would look like using that force to take Jared and fuck him like he was the only thing that could bring Reese to the edge of paradise and make him want to jump in.
“You’ve got me.” Reese drove them faster, harder, his nails digging into Jared’s skin. Jared reveled in the sensation, every nerve of his body attuned to Reese’s mouth, his hands, his cock.
Jared locked his legs tighter around Reese’s waist and shot forward, coming in long hard stripes onto Reese’s stomach. Even as he chased the aftershocks he snaked a hand down between their bodies, wrapping it around Reese’s length to pump along with his hips.
“Never, damn, never needed it this bad before.” Reese thrust hard into Jared’s fist, a ragged moan escaping his lips. “Don’t stop, sweetheart, don’t stop,” he whispered against Jared’s neck as he came, half into Jared’s hand and half into the depths of the lake around them.
Jared lowered his body off of Reese, both of them panting, Jared’s hands shaking as he dragged them along Reese’s torso. His let his head fall against Reese’s chest, soaking in the moment and the smell of Reese’s sweaty skin.
Now that it was over, everything inside Jared told him to back away, but he stayed where he was, fighting against the urge to brace for a rejection he still feared was coming.
Two strong hands wrapped around his lower back as Reese pulled him close, pressing soft lips and harsh stubble against his temple. Jared ducked his head, hiding his face in Reese’s chest. His fingers flexed on Reese’s hips and he held on tight, because somehow Reese kept him from falling into the pit of darkness within his soul that told him he was nothing.
When they dragged themselves away from each other and out of the water, Jared picked up his shoes, but his shirt had disappeared from where he’d left it. Casting an accusing look in Reese’s direction, Jared was stopped short by the smirk dancing across Reese’s face. “It’s a short walk back,” he offered casually, Jared’s shirt hanging loosely from his fingers. “Besides, you wouldn't want to get this all wet.” He caught Jared around the waist, fusing their mouths together in a heated kiss. “Not to mention you look gorgeous like that. All flushed and wrecked, with the look of me still on you.” Reese pulled back and handed Jared his shirt. “Wouldn't want to give your brother a heart attack when we get inside, though.”
Jared yanked his shirt from Reese’s hands and hastily pulled it on, talk of Declan instantly bringing Jared back to reality. He hated feeling like this was something wrong, something he shouldn’t have. It made Jared all the more angry at the man in front of him, at how badly Jared sti
ll wanted him. “You should lay off my brother,” he said, voice clipped. Frustrated at his own self-consciousness, Jared stalked ahead of Reese, heading back to the house.
“Hey.” Reese jogged up beside him. He caught Jared around the wrist, gentler than last time. “I’m sorry. I was just giving you a hard time.”
Jared stood in the middle of the trail, waiting for more.
“Look.” Reese blew out a breath. He placed his hands in his pockets and locked his arms, avoiding Jared’s gaze in favor of looking back out towards the lake. “I know you’re nervous about Jefferson.”
“You don’t know anything about me.”
“I know what it’s like to feel helpless.” Reese cut his eyes back to Jared, and Jared tilted his head, trying to find what was hidden beneath those stormy irises. “I don’t have your same life experience, but I know what it’s like to have shit happen around you and be completely powerless to stop it.” Reese took a step towards him. “Just, whatever happens, know that I have your back, okay? And Rae’s and Declan’s. I’m in this with you one hundred percent, yeah?”
Jared shifted his weight from foot to foot. “It’s a job,” he said, shrugging. “You’ve been on millions of those.”
“But not with you.” There was a vulnerability coming off Reese that Jared hadn’t noticed before, but rather than make him nervous, it elicited a need to comfort, to assure. It was gone as quick as it had come, though, and Reese morphed back into that aloof, cocky man astride a motorcycle that had glided up Gideon’s driveway some days ago. “Anyway, I just wanted to let you know. I mean, if it helps.”
Jared cocked his head and stared at him, trying to suss him out, and when he couldn't take the tension anymore he just nodded. “Thanks.”
“Come on,” Reese said, placing a hand at the small of Jared’s back. He resumed their walk back to the house. “I know you’re a mean cook. Let’s see if that translates to breakfast.”
The warmth at the base of his spine calmed him, and Jared walked alongside Reese, curling his fingers into his sleeves to avoid the urge to reach for the hand that dangled so close to his.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
After breakfast, Declan laid a hand on Jared’s shoulder and pointed to Gideon’s desk chair. “I wasn’t kidding about Rae giving you a haircut. Sit.” When Jared objected, Declan frowned at him. “At least let her get it out of your face.”
“It’s not that long!” Jared protested. Okay, so maybe it was getting a bit unruly in the back, and he had to admit that when he’d been out shooting, the wind had blown his bangs into his eyes.
Declan whipped out a pair of scissors out from the drawer of Gideon’s desk, placing them in Rae’s palm before running upstairs to get a towel.
Rae shot him a sympathetic smile. “It has been awhile since I’ve cut it, Jare.” She darted into the kitchen to wash her hands.
Glancing around at the empty room, Reese bent down and fisted a hand in the hair at the base of Jared’s neck. “Don’t let her cut it too short,” he whispered huskily in his ear. Jared shivered, from both from the touch and the heated gaze Reese gave him before retreating as the others filtered back into the living room.
“When the hell did my office turn into a damn salon?” Gideon complained as he and Iris joined them.
“Don’t worry, I’ll sweep up.” Rae started in on Jared’s hair, scissors flying.
Declan sat back in the overstuffed arm chair. “What gives here, Iris?” He cut a glance towards Reese, who was lounging in one corner of the couch. “There’s a reason for your visit, and for Slater sticking around as long as he has.”
“Break time is up, cher. We’ve got a job.” At Declan’s eager expression, Iris held up a hand. “It’s big, and it’s dangerous. We all need to work together, hear? That means that whatever nonsense you two have going on-“ she gestured between Reese and Declan- “you best get it worked out before we hit the road. Clear?”
“Clear.” Declan ground out.
“Yes ma’am.” Reese drawled. He winked at Jared. Jared fought the urge to roll his eyes, even as a coil of heat curled in his belly at Reese’s slow, sexy stare.
Iris glided over to the map and put a purple pin into Jefferson City, Missouri. “Vivienne has got an Agent training compound near here. According to Blaine and Brandt, they’re also holding about a dozen rescues. A couple small factions of Agents have been delving into the human trafficking of rescues, trying to make money off of them with sexual exploitation. We think that’s why they’re being held.”
The noise of clipping scissors faded fast as blood rushed to Jared’s ears. He swallowed rapidly, trying to fight back chilling memories of being tackled to the ground, hands roaming over his body and twisting in his hair.
No. No! Don’t touch me! Let me go!
“I heard something about that on my last couple jobs.” Declan interjected. “I mean you hear about it in the field all the time, but it used to be more of a hypothetical, hope this doesn’t happen kind of situation. Something wicked that only the cruelest of Agents would actually carry out. But now it seems it’s more than just whispers.”
Jared’s hands clenched into fists.
Don’t touch me! Let me go!
Bile rose in Jared’s throat, and he lurched forward.
Rae gasped. “Jesus, Jare, I almost just sliced your neck open!” She squeezed his shoulder. “What the hell?”
Declan rushed over to him, placing his hands on Jared’s knees. “Jared?”
“It wasn’t hypothetical.”
Reese shot up from the couch, and out from underneath bangs that Rae had yet to trim, Jared could see how tightly his fists were clenched. Light as a feather, Rae ran a hand over Jared’s back, only increasing the pressure when she was sure he wouldn’t flinch away. “Jare?”
Jared looked around the room, his face burning at seeing all eyes on him. Jared hunched forward, hugging his arms. He scraped the fingers of his right hand up and down his thigh, fighting the urge to palm his scar. “It wasn’t hypothetical. Agents would grab rescues all the time to...take them.” He bounced his knees up and down to let Declan know he could let go.
Iris lay a hand on Declan’s shoulder. “Ease up, now, cher.”
Jared lifted his eyes to meet Declan’s. Glacier cold rage was simmering in his brother’s steel grey eyes, and Jared forced a small smile to calm him. “They didn’t...I mean I wasn’t...I got away.” Jared suppressed a shudder. “But it happened. All the time.”
“Oh, Jare.” Rae bent over and wrapped her arms around him, giving him a quick squeeze before resuming his haircut.
“I will fucking kill them,” Declan growled. “Every last one.”
“This fight keeps goin’ the way it has, you may just get your chance for that, son.” Gideon and Iris exchanged a look. “But for now, you’ve got to rein in this anger that’s got you forgetting why we do what we do.”
“Keeping rescues like Jared safe is why we do what we do.” Declan paced the living room. He rounded on Gideon. “That’s why the Renegades got together in the first place, carrying out extractions and rescue jobs.”
“Exactly,” Iris responded. “Extraction. Rescue. Not revenge in the form of murder.”
“They’re upping their game,” Declan argued. “We’ll get our asses handed to us if we don’t do the same.”
“They’re coming at us violent.” Reese spoke up. “We need to go in smart.”
“Exactly.” Gideon nodded. “Blaine and Brandt sent a messenger with the compound blueprints, or at least a crude sketch of them. The plans are waiting for us downtown, so a couple of us will go pick them up today. Didn’t want anyone we didn’t know comin’ to the house. Tonight we will all familiarize ourselves with the layout. Lots of small rooms and long hallways.”
“Too bad there are rescues inside. Otherwise we could just throw some detonators in there and blow the shit out of it,” Declan said, pacing the living room.
“Amen.” Reese crossed his arms over his c
hest. His eyes hadn’t left Jared since Iris had mentioned human trafficking, and Jared’s skin was crackling with self-consciousness.
As well as something else that felt a little too much like arousal. Reese’s muscles were pulled tight, shown off even more by his current pose. A low hum of threatening violence that rumbled calm like thunder but Jared knew would be quick as lightening coiled through Reese’s body, like a snake ready to strike.
Jared’s pulse quickened, and when he met Reese’s mercurial gaze, his mouth went dry.
“You two know better than that,” Gideon said, snapping Jared’s reverie. “Last thing we need is public sympathy on their side. We need to go in quiet.”
“Drastic violence is an Agent’s desire, not a Renegade’s,” Iris reminded them. “Let’s remember that this is an extraction, not an execution.” Her mouth turned up, and she gave them all a wry look. “That’s not to say my heart will be broken if a few Agents get in our way.”
Traction: A m/m romance novel (Renegades & Rescues Book 1) Page 13