“Of course. I don’t want you to have to get up and go home,” he said and kissed his nose. “You should stay cozy in bed when I’m done with you.”
“Such arrogance,” he teased.
“Who’s not even able stand on his own yet?” Ennis bantered back.
“I know.” He groaned and then grinned. “You screwed me so good. Are you wearing a cock ring or something?” His eyes widened. “You didn’t use a condom!” he shrieked.
“No, but it’s not like you’re going to get pregnant, and I’m not carrying any STDs. I promise you that.”
Jase gave him shove. “Never. I never do it without a rubber. Ever.”
“I’ll remember that tonight,” he said dryly. “Where’s your bathroom? I need to clean up before I get to work.”
“Over there.” He pointed, glaring.
Ennis gave him an amused look and then went to clean up. Jase joined him a moment later, having tucked his flaccid flesh into his briefs. His gaze met Ennis’s in the mirror of the small, powder-blue room. “I’ll bring the condoms, Jase. I promise.”
“I don’t have anything either. I just want to be safe,” Jase said.
“Don’t apologize for that,” Ennis ordered and washed his hands before pressing a kiss to Jase’s forehead.
“Okay, I’ll see you tonight?”
“Seven.” He offered Jase a smile and Jase smiled back, noticing the light in Ennis’s eyes. Did that mean he was excited about tonight, too?
“Okay.”
“Jase? Are you here yet?” Darik called from the hall. “How did your little seduction dance go last night?” Darik screamed. “Jase!
Ennis grimaced. “Stay put.” He ran from the room. Stepping out into the hall, Ennis saw Darik down the hall.
“Ennis!” Darik rushed toward him and Ennis met him halfway.
“What is it?” Ennis asked, looking down into the younger man’s horror-stricken face.
Darik pointed. “Jase’s workroom—it’s a mess. Looks like someone broke in and smashed his cameras and his computer.”
Jase came running out into the hall. “What? My darkroom was vandalized? No! Rey needed those files to help catch Rebecca’s killer.”
“What killer?” Darik demanded.
“She was killed at the wedding,” he wailed.
“Call Rey,” Ennis ordered. “You two wait out here.”
Jase placed a quick call to Reynard and then leaned against the wall. He threw Darik a look. “He’s on his way.” He sighed and rubbed his forehead.
“This is a bad situation, but maybe you can get Mr. Wonderful to protect you until it’s over,” Darik said.
“I don’t need to be protected, Darik,” he said softly. He had a feeling that just might be lie.
“Well, fake it, honey, and you just might get lucky with him again.” Darik’s gaze traveled down Jase’s body and back up and Jase blushed. “Mmm-hmm.”
Ennis stepped out into the hall again. “Unless you had the files backed up, the cops aren’t getting whatever they were after. Someone beat them to it.”
Chapter Nine
Phil pulled on his shirt after getting his facial prosthesis into place. He examined it in the mirror before putting in the special contacts that would keep the sun from hurting his eyes. This wasn’t the face he’d worn to the wedding, so he wasn’t worried about being identified as he headed out today.
He stalked into the bedroom of the small apartment he’d rented just as a knock broke into the silence around him. He went to answer it, reminding himself to be friendly.
“It’s you.” He gave his boss a negligent glance and headed back to the bedroom. “What is it?”
“I want to know how last night went.”
“No, I didn’t find the video of the murder yet,” he answered. “If he actually has one it wasn’t at the studio,” Phil answered. “I erased the other stuff he had—pictures, video of the wedding.”
“You broke the cameras and smashed the computer?”
“Yep. He won’t be turning anything over to the police,” Phil assured him.
“What about Sandy and Amy?”
“I have a date with, Amy,” he said. “I picked her up last night at a convenience store.”
“The gray spade running this city is looking into your kills,” his employer said. “Bring Amy to my side of the river. We have to be careful from now on. I don’t want to have to go up against this guy until I’m head of the death stalker house.”
“Will do,” Phil agreed. Neither did he. The spades were the most dangerous of the incubus breeds, especially once they mated. Their mates were wells of succulent energy. They were natural batteries that never ran dry unless he met a death stalker.
Then, they’d die from suffocation or heart failure from being violently fed from.
“I’ll put someone on Sandy,” his boss said. “Maybe Rebecca sent her the information in the mail. It would be would just like her to send Amy and Sandy a copy.”
“I did find a clip of Rebecca talking to Sandy,” Phil told him.
“What did she say?”
“She knew you were onto her, and she was obviously going to the police. You should hire a hacker for their online accounts,” Phil suggested. “I ran up against a brick wall when I tried to get the information out of Rebecca.”
“I’ll do that,” he said. “Thanks for the suggestion. When this is over, I’ll have a place for you in the agency.”
“I might take you up on it,” Phil said. He’d think about it, but truth was he didn’t want to live this close to a gray spade.
* * * *
As they sat across from each other in a small café for lunch, Jase watched Ennis covertly. This wasn’t what he’d had in mind when he thought of a date with Ennis. He’d envisioned more conversation, gazing into his eyes, and flirting, but Ennis was paying more attention to their surroundings than to him.
Jase took a sip of his soda and his gaze locked with a woman at a nearby table. She gave him a smile, which he returned. That made him wonder if Ennis was worried about what people thought of two men having lunch together.
“What exactly did you see?” Ennis asked.
Jase looked at him and contemplated bringing up his concerns. “Part of Rebecca’s murder,” he admitted.
“Jase,” he said softly. “Why didn’t you tell me this at Milligan’s?”
“I was too busy trying to show you how interested I was in you,” he answered patiently. “It’s obvious why you don’t have a boyfriend.”
“Is it?” Ennis asked. “What is your opinion on the subject?”
“You’re all about work,” he said, shaking his head. “You have me in a nice little café, yet you’re ignoring me. Are you embarrassed being on a date with a man?”
“I wasn’t ignoring you, Jase.” Ennis denied. “I was visually checking things out, and no. Your brother didn’t know I was gay because I’m discreet.”
“I was curious about that,” he admitted and then smiled. “You should be checking me out. The guy got what he wanted, I mean partially, so there is no reason for him to come after me.”
“You have backup files?” Ennis asked.
Jase nodded. “I just have to remember the password to my cloud account.”
Ennis chuckled. “Baby boy, you have to be kidding me. Please tell me you have passwords written down someplace.”
“Someplace,” he admitted. “I just don’t know where I put the notebook.”
Ennis shook his head. “Well, I’ll take you home after this so you can find it.”
“You’re going to stay with me?” he asked with a hopeful smile.
“I am,” Ennis agreed. “I’m going to stay at your place tonight. I’ll get a bodyguard lined up for you, too. I don’t want you to be unprotected while a killer could be after you.”
The waitress brought their meal and gave Jase a lingering look as she left.
“What do you do when you aren’t working?” Jase asked.
&n
bsp; “Read John Grisham books,” Ennis answered.
“Not enough romance.” Jase wrinkled his nose and bit into a fry. “But that’s the story of my life at the moment.” He looked up into Ennis’s eyes. The enigmatic pools mystified him. “What?”
“I think last night was the start of something different for your love life.”
Jase smiled and started to reach across the table to touch his hand and stopped. Ennis raised a brow at him.
“Afraid of what people will think?” Ennis asked.
“I didn’t want to overstep my bounds.” He put his hand on his lap.
“I’ll train you to be a good sub when this is over,” Ennis said, giving him a teasing smile.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
* * * *
As they strolled down the walk to his apartment, Jase felt as if someone was watching them. He turned his head to look out to the street and saw a few passing cars and a woman walking by. He glanced behind them and saw someone leaving the parking lot but the hairs on the back of his neck were still on end.
“That’s why you have me here,” Ennis said in a low voice.
“I felt it last night,” Jase admitted. “And this morning.”
“And yet you didn’t tell Rey or call me,” Ennis said. “What is wrong with you, Jase? Whatever you saw is grounds enough to make sure you don’t talk.”
“I just—I guess I thought that since he didn’t really see me that I was safe.”
“Hello, Jase.” An elderly woman stood in her doorway.
Jase pulled to a stop in front of the Bittermans’ door. “Hi, Mrs. Bitterman. How are you?”
“I’m fine. Ennis, you handsome boy, could you come in and put a lightbulb up for me? It went out an hour ago, and I can’t read on my Kindle without it.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he answered and motioned for Jase to precede him.
Jase listened to her chatter as Ennis changed lightbulbs. She offered them cake and he indulged her but wished he hadn’t halfway through his slice.
“You know, Ennis, it’s not very nice of you to make Jase cry,” Mrs. Bitterman said and Ennis gave her a blank look. “He was heartbroken last night.”
“I wasn’t crying, Mrs. Bitterman,” Jase said quickly throwing Ennis a covert look. “It was allergies.”
“I know a thing or two about crying over a boy, Jase.” She patted his hand. “Ennis, you’re a good man from what I can tell. You helped Jase get his place. I thought you were going to move in with him. Why haven’t you? He shouldn’t have to live alone when he has a boyfriend.”
Jase choked and Ennis smiled and handed Jase a napkin. “Are you okay, sweetness?”
“Fine.” He snatched the napkin and coughed into it.
“There’s the possibility things might change in the future,” Ennis said, stroking the back of Jase neck. “But we really have to get going. Jase has to pick up some things for work, and I have to get back to work.”
“My husband used to take me to lunch three times a week when we were courting,” she said with a smile.
“Oh really?” Ennis asked and Jase sighed. They were going to be there another half an hour.
Chapter Ten
Jase was still flushed when they stepped into his apartment forty-five minutes later. The fact that Ennis seemed completely amused by his neighbor’s antics only made him flush even more in anger.
“How could you encourage her?” Jase demanded as he started for his spare bedroom.
“She’s a nice old lady, Jase, and she was obviously lonely,” Ennis replied.
“And what did she mean by ‘you helped him get his place’?” He turned in the doorway of the bedroom to glare at Ennis, who pulled to a stop in front of him. He looked completely nonplussed.
“I don’t know,” Ennis answered. “Maybe she inferred it because I came with you to see the place. She probably thinks I’m paying the rent.”
“Why would she?” he demanded, suspicion growing in his belly. He hadn’t been able to afford the rent, but the manager had called him and told him the price was being lowered. “Oh my God! You are paying part of my rent!” He didn’t know whether to be angry or grateful. He’d fallen in love with this place and had been heartbroken that he wouldn’t be able to afford it.
“You know you can’t find the password standing around here with your mouth gaping open,” Ennis said calmly.
Jase gave him a light punch and then turned and stalked into the room. “How did she know?”
“She saw me talking to the apartment manager,” Ennis admitted as Jase sat down at the desk.
Jase pushed his braid over his shoulder and began going through a drawer. “I’m mad at you,” he said. “You should have told me.”
“Why, sweetness?” he asked. “I just wanted to help.” Ennis stroked the back of his neck. “I could see how badly you wanted this place. Jarrett said you were worried you wouldn’t be able to find anything nice.”
“I was.” Ennis’s fingers trailed over his throat and Jase shivered.
“Then, don’t be mad at me.” Ennis’s fingers closed over Jase’s throat.
He knew he should be afraid but the proprietary hold evoked feelings of safety instead. Ennis’s thumb stroked down over the telltale hickey, making Jase moan. He couldn’t believe he was getting hard from a mere caress.
“Do you forgive me?” Ennis removed his hand and leaned down to kiss the side of Jase’s neck.
Cinnamon and cloves filled his senses. He nodded. “Yes, but I’ll have to figure out a way to pay you back and take over the full amount myself.”
“You’ll keep allowing me to help,” Ennis murmured and then bit him lightly.
His thoughts clouded. What was he thinking?
“Are you still looking for the passwords, Jase?” Ennis brushed another kiss along his neck.
“I can’t focus with you so close,” he murmured. He’d never been able to focus with Ennis close to him, but it had never been this bad before.
Ennis straightened. “Then, I better give you some space because we don’t have all day.”
Jase found the passwords and downloaded the files to his computer. “Now, all I have to do is get these to the studio and make Rey copies,” Jase said, looking up at Ennis.
* * * *
Jase finished up his work, glad he’d been able to convince Ennis he’d be safe at the studio without a guard. After all, Darik and Leah were there. Truth was he felt a little violated, but thought the best way to deal with that was to work through it.
“Boss?”
Jase jumped at the rap on his darkroom door. He closed the file and put away his camera before going to see what Leah wanted. “What is it, Leah?”
“Those detectives are back,” she said. “Want me to send them back?”
“Send them to my office,” he told her and watched her walk back to the front of the store before going inside to copy the footage for them. When he stepped into his office, Reynard was patiently looking out of the window while Logan stood tensely next to the door.
“We do have a murder to solve,” Logan muttered, glaring at him, hands on her flared hips.
“Jase,” Reynard said. “Do you have the clip for us?”
“I also have most of her murder on video. You want to see it?”
“You have the murder!” Logan exclaimed. “Why didn’t you tell us this yesterday?”
“I just found it this afternoon,” he told her in an irritated tone. “It was on my camera and I automatically download everything from my cameras to my computer. Then, I backed that up on flash drives and the cloud. You’re lucky I even remembered where the password was. I just kept it on my work computer, so I didn’t have to remember it.”
“Well, stop stalling,” Logan snapped. “This could be the break we need to solve the case!”
Jase rolled his eyes. The woman was a little demanding. How did Rey work with her all day?
“I made you a copy.” Jase held the flash drive up and Log
an snatched it from him.
“Was the murderer’s face visible?” Reynard asked.
“Yeah at some points.”
“I’ll call Ennis and see if he can give you some protection until we get this guy because once we start stirring the pot—” He shook his head grimly.
“The perp will want to quietly break in and erase you,” Logan told him.
* * * *
Ennis wiped a hand over his mouth after surveying the material his investigator had provided him on the case. Among the pictures was Rebecca Hollis, which made him tense. Today’s escapade assured him the death stalker behind these murders was an assassin death stalker, hired to do a job.
He couldn’t be sure Jase was in more danger or less. It would depend on how big a threat the person pulling the assassin’s strings thought Jase was. So, he’d have to look at Rebecca to catch this death stalker before he killed again.
He called his secretary and asked her to send Bale up. As soon as he finished the call, his cell vibrated on his desk and he snagged it. Seeing who it was, he immediately answered.
“What’s up, Rey?” he asked, keeping his tone casual.
“Can you put someone on Jase twenty-four-seven?”
“You know I will,” Ennis said. “What’s happened since we talked this morning?”
“Jase gave me footage of the murder,” Rey said. “He said he didn’t even know he had it, but I’m not sure I believe that. I think he was reluctant to get involved and now he realizes he has no choice.”
Jase hadn’t told him about witnessing the entire murder, but he’d deal with him tonight.
“He didn’t protest when I mentioned getting you to protect him, but I’m sure once he realizes someone is going to be with him at all times, he won’t be so happy.”
“He won’t, but he’ll learn to live with it.” Like a good sub.
“I’m sure he and Jarrett can come up with some kind of fee.”
“Money isn’t an object,” Ennis murmured. “I’ll do the job myself. Can you send me over the information on the case? I don’t want to make any miscalculations about the person after him.”
Seducing His Brother's Best Friend Page 5