Traction

by Autumn McKayne

  Reese reached out and gently lifted Jared’s chin, forcing those chocolate eyes onto his before leaning down to place the sweetest of kisses onto Jared’s lips. Reese then turned his head, his eyes wandering along every inch of the jagged oval of burned flesh that had been forced upon Jared for his own protection before kissing Jared’s scar from top to bottom.

  Jared pushed at his shoulders. “You don’t have to-“

  “I want to,” Reese rasped against his skin. He finished his loving ministrations of Jared’s burnt flesh before he raised his head. “I told you, nothing on you could ever be anything but beautiful, including this. I’m not ashamed of it, Jared, and you shouldn’t be either.” Reese kissed it again, the pink raised swath of skin that Jared protected so closely. “I’ve seen you push your cuff into it,” he whispered as he tongued Jared’s mark. “It still hurts you, doesn’t it?”

  He hadn’t really expected an answer, so when Jared responded with a barely there, “Sometimes,” Reese felt a pinch in his chest and he laved the skin even harder, expressing to Jared with his mouth what his words couldn’t quite get across.

  “You don’t deserve it, Jared,” He rumbled. “Damn, sweetheart, I’d take every ounce of pain from you upon myself if I could.” Reese locked Jared’s wrists together with one hand and ran his other hand down Jared’s body, starting at his jawline. His cock rubbed against Jared’s as his fingers marked a possessive line along Jared’s collarbone, his chest, down the center of his abs and along the muscular line of his hips. Reese trailed his hand along Jared’s thigh, taking immense pleasure in watching Jared watch him. There was something obscenely voyeuristic about it, and Reese dragged out the moment, his eyes locked on Jared’s wanton expression at their cocks sliding along each other.

  “Don’t want pain anymore,” Jared whispered. “Only want you.”

  Reese groaned, pushing his hips into Jared’s before snapping them away. He leaned over the side of the bed and fished around in his duffle on the floor, his fingers wrapping around the tiny bottle he sought. He popped the cap and slicked himself up as Jared watched.

  “Didn’t wanna have to rush this,” Reese murmured as he used his slick fingers to make sure Jared was open and ready for him. Jared moaned and spread his legs further, hitching his hips up into Reese’s hand. “Next time we won’t have to keep quiet.” Reese maneuvered Jared’s legs, hooking his thighs around his waist. “Next time, I’m gonna make you scream for me.” Reese finally had what he wanted lying naked and needy in his bed, and hearing Jared’s whimpers of need only deepened his desire.

  “Gonna take my time with you one of these days, sweetheart,” Reese continued. He was aching with need, and could have come just from watching Jared pliant and twitchy beneath him as he worked him open with his fingers. “Gonna worship every inch of your beautiful body.” Reese dipped his head down and caught Jared in a wet, dirty kiss. “Gonna put my hands and mouth all over you, leaving my fingerprints on your skin while I suck you dry.” Reese shoved a pillow beneath Jared’s hips, grabbing his thighs and fitting himself between them before swallowing Jared’s moan on another kiss. “But for now, I’ve gotta feel that tight, delicious heat around something other than my fingers.”

  Jared wrapped a hand around Reese’s neck and pulled, fusing their mouths together as he shoved his hips upward. Desperate for release, Reese’s instincts took over. Reese was poised just outside of where they both needed him to be, Jared’s thighs hugging his hips, when he raggedly choked out, “Tell me you want this.”

  “Want it.” Jared’s hips inched off the bed. “Want you.”

  Reese brought his hips forward, the tip of his cock teasing Jared’s entrance. “Wanted you from the second I saw you,” he growled. He watched Jared’s face for any sign of hesitation, but saw none. Jared was biting his lip, wordlessly begging for Reese to take him.

  Reese did, sliding into Jared with one smooth thrust of his hips, filling him inch by inch as they both groaned in pleasure. “Holy Jesus,” Reese swore. “Don’t move. You feel so damn good, I’m gonna…” Reese fisted his hands in the sheets beneath Jared’s head. “Gonna need a minute to make this count,” he groaned.

  A hedonistic smile spread across Jared’s face as he lifted his hips off the pillow and into Reese. “Move,” Jared commanded, and damned if a rush of heat didn’t shoot through Reese at the forceful note in his beautiful, shy boy’s voice. “Wanna feel you.”

  Reese was sweating against Jared’s chest, his forearms braced on either side of Jared’s biceps. He gripped Jared’s strong shoulders in his palms and raked his teeth along his ear. “Careful what you wish for, sweetheart.” He pushed in further. “I’ll fuck you so hard you’ll feel me for a week.”

  Jared gasped with pleasure as Reese slid home. “Please,” he begged.

  He was rewarded as Reese drew out then pushed back in, one agonizing inch at a time. “Tell me again,” he demanded.

  Jared dug his fingers into Reese’s hips, his arms rubbing against Reese’s sides. “I want you.” His head fell back against the pillow. “Please, Reese. Make me feel you.”

  Jared cried out when Reese pulled out only to suddenly thrust himself all the way back in. “Feel nothing but you,” Reese confessed. He would gladly give his heart, his soul, his life for this man pulsing beneath him. He pumped his hips, building up a steady rhythm that was sending heat coiling through his veins. Reese licked his palm and slid a hand in between their bodies, gripping Jared’s cock, running his fingers up and down his hard length. He set a frantic pace, shrouded in the haze of Jared’s warm, welcoming heat.

  Jared rocked along with him, small moans escaping those gorgeous lips at every thrust. “I can’t get enough of you,” he panted. “I know I should stay away, but I can’t.” His hands came up to wrap around Reese’s biceps as he jacked himself into Reese’s palm. “Please, Reese, you feel so good. I’m so close.”

  Reese’s heart caught in his throat, and his hands fell to the bed, bracing his upper body as he drilled himself into Jared. “Come, sweetheart.” Reese’s abs scraped along Jared’s cock. He grit his teeth and thrust harder. “Let me see you come for me.” Their eyes met in the dark as Reese’s driving thrusts sent them both over the edge.

  Jared cried out as he splashed white hot across his stomach and Reese’s chest. Reese shot his hips forward, pumping his own release into Jared over several long, deep thrusts. He savored the feeling of Jared’s tight heat surrounding him as he rode out the aftershocks of his orgasm, his forearms catching him from collapsing fully onto Jared’s chest.

  Jared’s arms came around him, running their way along sweaty skin to cradle Reese close and it tugged at something deep within him, something that argued that he was the protector, not the protected, even as he wanted nothing more than to let himself fall into Jared’s loving embrace.

  “I don’t know what will happen tomorrow,” Jared whispered. He chuckled softly against Reese’s stubbled cheek. “Today, I guess.” He pulled his arms tighter around Reese’s torso. “But whatever comes, I’ll be forever grateful for tonight.”

  Words caught in Reese’s throat, everything he wanted to tell his lover getting stuck on the way out. So instead he dipped his head and pressed his lips to Jared’s, hoping to convey in a kiss what his voice held trapped within his heart.

  Jared had been asleep for what felt like only minutes when a strong hand shot out to wrap around his wrist, the one that Reese had spent what seemed like hours loving on last night.

  With one strong tug, Jared was pulled into a rock hard chest. “Mmm, better,” Reese declared, his mouth seeking out Jared’s in the dark. He threaded a hand through Jared’s hair, fusing his mouth to Jared’s in a kiss meant to conjure up every dirty image from the night before. Jared sighed into a kiss that was all soft lips and probing tongues as Reese’s strong arms enveloped him, pulling him underneath a soft sheet and into a hard body.

  Reese opened his legs and Jared slid in between them, the two of them fittin
g together like perfectly matched puzzle pieces. Jared braced himself on his elbows, digging his fingers into Reese’s messy, sleep-strewn hair. Tilting his head to get a better angle, Jared took control of the kiss and drove his knee gently upwards, pushing against Reese’s hard length. One hand drifted down Reese’s side, trailing along the sensitive underside curve of his ass.

  “Damn, sweetheart,” Reese gasped against his mouth, pushing his erection up into Jared’s leg. “Gotta let you be on top more often.”

  Jared smirked, deepening their kiss and turning it into something hot and dirty and wet as he let Reese ride his thigh. It was intoxicating, this feeling of trust that Reese had in him, to let him take control and guide them towards their shared finish line. It was mere hours ago that they’d had sex, but Jared was ready for more, ready to take control and ride Reese’s cock, let him take Jared to that exquisite place of-

  They both froze at the sound of a rapid knock. “Slater!” Declan called through the wooden door. “Move your ass. We head out in ten.”

  “Shit.” Reese’s head fell back onto the pillow. “Your brother, I swear.” Despite his frustrated tone, he levered himself up on his elbows and nuzzled Jared’s nose. “Shower?”

  Jared nodded, barely catching his breath. He gasped when Reese brushed his mouth along Jared’s earlobe and snatched it between his teeth. Pressing a hand to Reese’s chest, Jared lifted himself up and off the bed on shaky arms. “Shower.” He grabbed Reese’s hand and they stumbled into the glass enclosed stall together, hands roaming muscles and mouths seeking skin.

  Reese washed Jared’s hair and Jared washed Reese’s back, and they looked into each other’s eyes as Reese took him once again, this time against the wall of the shower, both of them fighting to keep quiet as they watched their shared pleasure swirl down the drain.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  “Dad would know how to handle Jefferson.” Declan lifted two flats of bottled water into the back of the Bronco while Rae loaded up their med kits.

  “Hell, you know how to handle it, son.” Gideon placed his own armload of supplies next to Declan’s. “You were his shadow for almost twenty years. You know what you’re doin’.”

  “Yeah.” Declan sounded unconvinced as he strapped down the weapons duffle.

  Gideon placed a hand on his shoulder. “Jared will be just fine. Ain’t no one gonna let them grab him.”

  Declan blew out a breath. “Yeah,” he repeated. He looked at Rae. “Did you wake Jared up?”

  “Why the hell would I wake up Jared?” Rae tossed her bag into the backseat. “He sleeps in your room.”

  Declan frowned. “I thought he was in your room last night.”

  Rae tucked her pistol into her cargoes. “He was, just to talk about some stuff. He didn’t sleep there.”

  “Oh boy.” Gideon muttered.

  Declan slammed the tailgate of the truck into place and bolted for Gideon’s front door. “Dammit, Slater!” he yelled, storming into the house.

  “Oh, for shits sake.” Rae rolled her eyes and turned to Gideon. “Control freak much?”

  “Boy is gonna give himself a heart attack, he keeps yellin’ like that,” Gideon commented, leaning up against the side of the truck with Rae.

  “He’d better not.” Rae leaned into Gideon’s side. “At least not before he tells me where he hides his liquor stash.”

  “Oh, don’t you worry honey.” Gideon wrapped a beefy arm around her shoulders. “I’ve got you covered.”

  Jared fidgeted in the passenger seat, playing with the cuff on his wrist as Rae drove them to Jefferson. “This isn’t going to be like the shelter raids.”

  Rae cut him a sideways glance, taking her eyes off of Gideon’s truck for a moment. “No,” she agreed. “It’s not.”

  The others were a car length ahead, Gideon driving while Declan and Reese no doubt argued over the best plan of action now that they knew they would have one more Renegade on their side.

  Jared counted mentally in his head. “So there are seven of us, including the Prescotts; plus Logan and Lila,” Jared continued, “plus Iris, Lara Cassidy, and whomever else Iris is bringing.”

  “And Reese’s insider.”

  “Right. So maybe, what, fifteen of us?” Jared guessed at the size of Iris’s team. “Against...well. Who knows?”

  “An entire building of Agents.” Rae supplied.

  Jared shifted in his seat, snapping and unsnapping his leather bracelet against his scar. His mind traced back to the feeling of Reese’s lips on it last night, his mouth laving Jared’s scar like it was something precious, rather than something damaged. “Um.” He cleared his throat and sorted his thoughts. “What if...I mean, when they raided the shelters, the Agents were on our turf. We were always able to run them out, you know?” Here in the comfort of his dad’s truck, sitting with his sister, his best friend, Jared could open about his fears. “What if we can’t do that in Jefferson?”

  “Then we do the best we can. Besides if all goes as planned, we will have the rescues out and gone before the Agents even know we’re there.” Rae gave him a half-hearted smile. “We make one hell of a team, Jare, we always have. Imagine how formidable we will be now, that we’ve got even more Renegades on our side. Gideon, Iris, the Prescotts.” She shot him a wry glance. “Reese.”

  Jared shifted again, unable to hide his smile amidst fond memories of the night before. He could still feel it, the slight soreness from their lovemaking, and even the threat of what might lie ahead of them couldn’t keep him from wishing it would happen again. “You trusted him.” Jared looked over at his sister. “Last night, you helped me defend him to Declan, you-“

  “Hey.” Rae cut off his ramblings. “Of course I did. You wouldn’t fall for someone hateful.” She slowed down as she took them around the curve of a winding back road just inside of Missouri. “You can sniff out an Agent a mile away, you always could.”

  Jared swallowed against the rush of emotion that was the affection he felt for his sister.

  “Besides,” Rae said. “You aren’t the only one who can read people. The way he looks at you, Jare.” Her voice went soft, almost wondrous, and Jared was reminded for a moment that she had never really seen her parents in love. “Declan is blind to it because he wants to be. He’s afraid of losing you, that you’ll cut and run for Slater and disappear from the Cooper clan forever.”

  Jared frowned. “I would never do that.”

  Rae nodded. “I know. Declan does too, he’s just. I don’t know. Being an idiot about it.” It was said with the same fondness that Jared felt. “His jaw clenches up so tight every time I leave with some guy from a bar, like he isn’t doing the exact same thing.” She scoffed.

  “He’s so much like Dad, it’s scary” Jared commented.

  Rae laughed. “Yeah. Always has been.”

  Jared tangled his fingers in his lap. “You’re like him, too.”

  Rae glanced at him again. “Yeah?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. Bold, strong, confident.” All the things he wasn’t. “Fearless.”

  “Guess it runs in the Cooper genes.” Rae shrugged. “Explains why you’re like that, too.”

  Jared huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, right. Explains why I shake every time I meet someone new. Explains why I loathe the idea of shooting someone, while you guys seem to relish it. Explains why I can’t even stand up for myself when someone calls me a ditchbreed. Why I can’t-“

  “You survived on your own, as a child, for ten years. You think that doesn’t take strength? And you made damn sure Reese and the Prescotts knew what you were that night at dinner. You were ready for any reaction they might have thrown at you upon learning your past.” Rae jerked the wheel to the right to avoid a large pothole. “And we don’t relish having to shoot someone. We just, I don’t know, grew up different than you, that’s all. For Dad, it was a part of his job, so like every other method of defense, it became a part of ours.”

  Jared fiddled with a stray thread on his cargoes.
“I never even held a gun before Dad saved me. But I’ve had them pointed at me for as long as I can remember.”

  “Hey.” Rae’s voice was full of spirit. “None of that. You quit sinking yourself down into that rescue headspace, you hear me? You are a fighter. I know it’s ugly and I know we shouldn’t even have to do what we do but we are headed into Jefferson to fight for these people, you got me? Just like we will always fight for you. So don’t for one second think you aren’t one of us.”

  Jared tried to give her a smile, but it fell flat.

  Rae smiled for him. “I’ve got two brothers, Jare, and thank heaven because if I only had Declan, I’d go crazy. You’re like the best combination of brother and best friend. I can talk to you about boys without you getting grossed out or pissed off.”

  Jared laughed, genuinely this time. “Why do you think I told you about Reese?”