“I really wanna see you, Cody,” he added sincerely.
“I’m not sure…” There was hesitation in Cody’s voice, and Mitch knew what that meant, so he stopped him mid-sentence.
“Shh…it’s okay. You don’t have to answer me right now. Think it over,” Mitch threw in before Cody could say no.
“I will,” Cody mumbled. Mitch saw his eyes slowly closing. “I should go. I’m exhausted.”
“Promise me you will really think about this, Cody, and text me in the morning.”
“I promise. Goodnight. Thanks for this tonight,” Cody said and lifted a hand to close Skype.
“Goodnight,” Mitch whispered. Cody hadn’t closed the program correctly; he was still on Mitch’s screen as he drifted off to sleep.
He couldn’t take his eyes off him or force himself to close the program. Cody snored and all Mitch could do was stare at the peacefully sleeping, gorgeous, still nude man that lay there for him to get his visual fill. And he did, watching Cody for a long time. He let his overactive imagination run wild with visions of them falling asleep wrapped in each other’s arms. Cody would be so fucking hot in person. Probably the hottest he’d ever had, but he needed to focus, put all his mental energy toward solving this case.
As he stared at Cody, a yawn finally tore free. He had to get Cody Turner out of his mind, and there was only one way to do that. He typed Cody a Skype message, and he also texted him so he wouldn’t forget.
“Come to DC for a day or two. I have a lot going on, I’ll be busy, but I want you like I’ve never wanted anything else in my life. Don’t fight me on this. Just come, you have the time off. I’ll buy your ticket.”
Chapter 22
Mitch surveyed the T-shirts he’d bought the day before, trying to decide which one might be the least offensive of the bunch. He didn’t give a shit what the director thought about his choice in clothing, but Gladys, now that was a totally different story. Her evil eye carried across the entire floor.
Even though he’d had just a few hours sleep, not more than seven in the last couple of days, he felt alive, invigorated, and ready to start this day. He was positive he could talk Cody into coming to DC for a couple of days. So sure in fact, he abandoned his wardrobe search and left the clothes hanging in the closet to go in search of his cell phone.
He sent a quick text to his assistant in Louisiana asking her to book an open-ended flight in the next few days from Austin to DC and charge his personal credit card. He had no idea how much that was going to cost him, since he hadn’t had to pay for a flight in the last six years, but whatever the cost, it would be worth it, of that, he was certain.
Mitch chose the T-shirt that had a print screen across the front saying, ‘I’m not gay, but twenty bucks is twenty bucks’, and smiled, looking in the mirror. He’d save the one that read, ‘I’d bottom you so hard,’ for tomorrow. Hopefully he’d be picking Cody up from the airport wearing that one.
Mitch opted for the shoulder holster today. He’d bought the jacket, but for some reason adding the outside, under the arm holster to the T-shirt just seemed all the more fun to poke at his temporary partner. And honestly, he knew he shouldn’t. Connors’s son was hurt. Released from the hospital last night, but still down for a good long time. He should be considerate, but whatever. He was in such a flipping good mood, and he loved giving people shit when he was having a good day.
Mitch looked himself over in the mirror once more and barked out a laugh. He looked perfectly ridiculous. He grabbed his jacket and laptop as he made his way out the door. It was a little before six in the morning, and Starbucks was right downstairs. A venti coffee and blueberry muffin would be absolutely awesome.
“Hey,” Mitch said, getting on the elevator. Damn, he hadn’t paid attention, and now he was going up, instead of down.
“Good Morning,” the woman replied. She was just coming in from what looked like a very long, but good night. Her dress rumpled, her makeup smeared, and her hair still partly up, well, he supposed that was what some would call it.
“Good time last night?” he asked, with a lift of his brow.
“You know it. Made some good money, that’s for sure.” She gave him a wink. “No one tips like the religious freaks.”
“That was more than likely keep-your-mouth-shut money, not a tip,” Mitch chuckled.
“I’m here for the rest of the week. Room eight-oh-one. Come see me” she said, as the elevator door opened. She moved forward, then leaned against the frame of the elevator, half in and half out. “You don’t even have to tip me, handsome.”
He was absolutely certain that was meant to be a sexy pose and certainly might have been without the mascara running down her cheek and her lipstick smeared across her face. She stifled a yawn and straightened her stance. He gave a nod and wink, not mentioning how that was never going to happen. She stepped out, still looking at him.
“I love the T-shirt. It’s the motto of my life,” she winked again. He wondered if she knew she closed both eyes when she winked. Thank god the elevator door closed just as she dropped her key card on the hallway floor and bent over to retrieve it. He would have gotten a full shot of what was going on under that micro mini and no one wanted to see that this early in the morning, especially before breakfast.
~~~
Questioning the Secret Service sucked. Mitch scrubbed a hand over his face and listened as the fourth agent repeated exactly the same spiel as the others. He bit at his thumbnail and ran his fingers across his chin. Good cop, bad cop interrogation tactics didn’t work on this crowd. Mitch sat in a room with the senior directors of both departments, along with legal counsel from each. It was all incredibly ridiculous.
Apparently things hadn’t gone so well yesterday in Director Young’s meeting with Don. They were now sitting in a neutral building, not FBI headquarters. They had been given very strict guidelines as to what could happen. Needless to say, the initial fun of the ‘twenty bucks is twenty bucks’ T-shirt had worn off, so Mitch now sat with his jacket zipped up, a cold cup of coffee in front of him, and just let Connors do all the talking.
Apparently the guy hadn’t clued in that every question was answered the same way—they were definitely pre-versed and rehearsed. If any question was deemed inappropriate, the attorneys stepped in, stopping the flow.
Mitch shoved back in his chair and stood. When he saw all eyes were on him, he realized he’d fucked up again. Well, nothing he could do about it now, so he started to leave in mid-question. Connors gave him one serious go-to-hell look and Mitch conceded, attempting to keep the situation civil.
“I’m just taking a bathroom break, please continue,” he said, waving a hand toward the conference room table where they all sat.
Mitch left and headed straight for the elevators. He needed sun, even though a cold front had blown through. He punched the down button with his thumb, then punched the button again for good measure. Just a few days ago, he’d been so relieved someone picked up this case. Mitch had known things were going to finally get done. This was the FBI for Christ’s sake. No matter how much trash talking he did, Mitch absolutely had respect for this division. These agents were badasses. Well, at least in the field they were hot shit. Here in DC, they played a political game. Corporate politics meets political correctness at its finest. All the things Mitch totally hated.
The elevator opened, granting his access to freedom. He wove his way into the overly full box and listened as a little female beside him said something about this elevator being the only one working today.
They stopped on every floor on their way down, delaying his escape, but luckily after the second stop, no one got on. As he hit the lobby of the high-rise, his phone immediately started vibrating. He must have finally gotten a signal. He dug the cell out of his front pocket as he hit the front doors, surveying the area. He came to a halt a few steps from a water fountain.
Mitch scanned through the calls and then the texts, choosing Ellen’s message first. The tex
t message started out with her trying to be funny several hours ago and then ended with her declaring she wanted pictures of the guy he was willing to spend a thousand dollars on for a couple of days together.
A thousand dollars? For a damn plane ticket?
Mitch had always thought he made decent money. Well, sort of, his salary wasn’t that great, but he didn’t have to pay for much. His benefits were amazing. Reduced housing, car allowance, health insurance paid for… add all that together and he did okay for himself, but a thousand dollars for a plane flight? He thought about that for a minute and decided he would pay whatever it took to be able to hold that cowboy in his arms again.
Instead of letting himself overthink this, he forwarded Ellen’s message with the arrangements straight to Cody. Who he had technically not even talked to today, although Cody promised to text him when he got up.
Damn. A thousand dollars on a guy that keeps blowing you off. Mitch Knox, what the fuck is wrong with you?
No! Stop overthinking. Cody’s worth it.
He sent a quick note to Cody. “Attached are the details for the flight we talked about last night. I don’t know the exact specifics, my assistant made the arrangements, but I think you can leave tomorrow or the next day, even today if you want and return whenever you want. She can set up your dates if you want her to. Don’t stand me up on this. It’s been a pretty sucky day to have started so good. I really want to see you. M.”
Mitch hit send before he could talk himself out of the text. He sat and leaned back on the steps, letting the sun hit his face. His phone rang and Cody’s picture popped up on his screen.
“You didn’t seriously pay that much money to fly me up there,” Cody stated as soon as he answered the phone.
“Yes, I did. I told you I would. Have you looked at your schedule?” Mitch asked, ignoring the money part and stood to move away from people after guessing where this conversation might lead.
“You spent a thousand dollars so I could come there and fuck you and turn around and come home. You’re insane.”
“I’m not insane. I spent the money because I wanna spend time with you. I don’t have much free time, but I’d like those hours to be spent with you,” Mitch said sensitively. And he meant every word. He truly wanted to spend time with Cody and learn everything about him. But he was also kind of proud of himself for not saying that he couldn’t wait to be buried balls deep in Cody’s hot ass.
“Just to fuck me.” Cody ignored everything he’d just said and still sounded incredulous.
“Or you could fuck me.” Mitch paused. Damn, he wanted that too. Wanted Cody driving into him so fucking bad. “I’m guessing you didn’t go to your brother’s again today since you’re talking about sex so loudly?”
“Shit, man, you’re killing me,” Cody said ardently, and Mitch stopped in his tracks. What had he done now? He thought over everything he’d said. Confused, he finally asked, “What did I say wrong?”
“You paid attention enough to remember my plans for today.” Mitch smiled at Cody’s answer.
“I did. I told you, I want to see what this is that I’m feeling, why I’m so far out of my element when it comes to you. When are you coming?” Mitch asked.
“I don’t know. I didn’t think you were serious. I’ll have to figure it out.” Mitch grinned. That definitely sounded like a yes to him.
“Okay, well, sooner’s better than later for me.” Mitch resumed his pacing around the front of the water fountain.
“I don’t have Skype sex. I don’t do things like that,” Cody replied, and Mitch narrowed his eyes to follow that train of thought. His guy could be really random at times.
“I know, you said that several times last night, while we were having Skype sex. And to my disappointment, you kept moving out of view at the most critical times. We’ll have to get better at keeping you angled toward the camera. I loved watching you, though. You’re seriously hot. I’ve already jacked my dick raw just thinking about the look on your face when you came. I loved everything we did. I just wish you had actually been in my bed so I could feel your shudder and smell your release,” Mitch said, pretty proud of those words. He wanted to romance Cody, and he hoped that worked a little magic for him.
Cody didn’t respond.
“If you come tomorrow, I’ll have someone pick you up. And please text me this time, let me know something. I have a hard time waiting to hear from you. It drives me crazy with all the wondering.” Did he really just say that? The silence that ensued let him know he had. Damn, that had sounded needy, but he didn’t know how to get out of it now. He could try for witty.
“It’ll probably be Friday before I can get there,” Cody spoke up.
“That’s fine, just let me know the details. I gotta go back inside. All that investigating needs an investigator you know.” Lame, not witty at all.
“You shouldn’t have spent that much money on me,” Cody mumbled softly.
“Let the money go. I hope to see you soon. Bye.” He disconnected the call and strolled back inside, much happier than when he’d left.
C
hapter 23
“Little brother, are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Sheila asked. Cody realized at that moment he shouldn’t have told her his plans to go out of town. He just felt like someone should know he was leaving for a few days.
“I’m almost a foot taller than you, and it’s just a weekend away. No big deal,” he said, smiling. He hoped that reached his voice as he tried for nonchalant. He walked through the long-term parking garage at the airport, hoofing it inside as quickly as possible.
“Hmm….you’re taller, I’ll give you that. But I’m not sure about this just being a weekend away, Cody. It took forever for you to make those plans to go to Dallas and that’s three hours away. And getting you to talk to me is like pulling teeth. Why are guys like that?” she asked.
“I don’t know, sis.” He laughed at her randomness, she was always like that.
“You know the Turners are a fertile bunch, and when we fall, we fall hard. You gotta stay strong,” she advised.
“I’m gay. No chance of babies,” he laughed again, sidestepping a woman texting and not paying attention to where she was going.
“You know what I mean. Washington’s a long way from Texas,” she said a little more seriously.
“He doesn’t live there. He’s just working there right now. He lives like in Louisiana,” Cody answered.
“Still a long commute, and Louisiana’s more backwoods than even Texas. It’s not safe for you there,” she shot right back.
“Sis, you’re gonna make me say it, aren’t you? I’m just going up there…” He placed his mouth closer to his phone and slid his duffel over his shoulder as he checked the flight board in the terminal.
To fuck his brains out! He just couldn’t say the words to his sister, even as close as they were. Truthfully, Cody wanted this time with Mitch, just to be with him, however that might work out. Hell, he’d probably come home and never talk to the guy again, but at least he’d given this a try.
“You could easily find that here, if it’s sex you’re talking about. There’s a guy in my office I’ve been meaning to talk to you about,” she said, breaking his train of thought. “He’s a cutie. I think he’s just your type too. He’s in our accounting department. Lots of stimulating conversation,” she laughed. She’d never been overly fond of the guys he’d dated. Regularly making fun of him and them.
“No, I’m good. I can’t even imagine what you think I think my type of guy really is,” he said, standing in line for his security check.
“I’ll snap a picture of him,” she said.
“No! I gotta go. I’m going through security,” he said. “Love you!”
“Cody, please be watchful and safe. I know you’re a big guy and can take care of yourself, but that’s a new place and…yeah. Promise me you’ll be safe,” Sheila said in all honesty. He knew she worried.
“I will, I promise. I
gotta go.” He ended the call before she could say anything more. Cody held his driver’s license and boarding pass in one hand and had his duffel bag still slung over his left shoulder. He’d called Mitch earlier and left a voice message letting him know about the weather delay they were experiencing.
At this point, Cody refused to let his analytical or negative side keep him from boarding this flight. He’d almost let the weather delay be a sign from God that he shouldn’t go, but he fought that too. As he made his way through the security screening, he tucked his phone back in his front pocket and began walking toward his gate. The farther he got into this airport, the less chances he had to ditch this weekend.
Besides, he had to keep his perspective. All this weekend really meant was a fuck-fest with a super good-looking US Marshal, while spending most of the entire day alone. It really wasn’t much different than what he did here at home. Well, except he would be in Washington, DC, and his head was really weird about Mitch.
There was just something about him that kept driving Cody to do things completely out of character, like having phone sex and smokin’ hot webcam sex. When they’d had video sex, he’d come so hard his toes cramped up, and he swore they’d heard him all the way over on Sixth street when he came.
When he boarded, Cody tucked his bag in the overhead bin, refusing the help of the flight attendant right at his side. Mitch’s assistant had contacted him today on her own and let him know she’d done some wiggling and Cody had been upgraded to first class.
He had an aisle seat big enough to fit his large frame. He smiled and had just gotten comfortable when his phone vibrated. He leaned forward and pulled his phone from his pocket, then slid a finger across the screen, pulling up the text message.
Mitch had sent a selfie giving a thumbs up. His grin stretched from ear to ear, accentuating his handsomeness. The message was short and sweet.
Full Disclosure (A Nice Guys Novel Book 2) Page 17