Page 17 of Flash and Bang
“Take yourself in hand, Thayne. Get yourself off and come with me, darlin’.”
Thayne whimpered but he did as he was told and Jarrett watched him reach for his own cock and begin to stroke it.
“That’s right, come on, Thayne,” Jarrettgrunted as he continued to pound inside him. The sight of Thayne’s arm moving and Jarrett’s cock disappearing inside Thayne’s body was incredible. The way Thayne’s ass squeezed his dick was amazing. Everything about him was submissive and Jarrett’s entire body broke out into chills as he realized how much he must care about him to do this for him. It was exactly what Jarrett needed. He felt his control returning. He felt a wave of confidence flood through him like he hadn’t felt in years. Only when he had a target in his gun sights did he ever feel this much in control and Thayne was the one who had given this to him. Thayne suddenly threw back his head and groaned.
“Come for me, Thayne. Come on.” Jarrett grunted as he slammed inside Thayne’s tight ass, feeling his own orgasm approaching.
“Jarrett…,” Thayne whispered.
“So good, Thayne… you’re perfect, darlin’.” Jarrett felt Thayne’s ass spasm as he whimpered and his lover’s climax triggered his own. “God, Thayne!” Jarrett shuddered and came, convulsing into his orgasm as he thrust in hard, once, twice, and then again, holding Thayne’s beautiful ass in a death grip. He filled the condom buried so deeply inside Thayne that he felt as though no two people could get any closer than they were right now. Jarrett set his forehead on Thayne’s trembling back as he felt the last of his orgasm wash over him.Love you, baby.The thought came unbidden into Jarrett’s mind but for the first time in his life, he didn’t shy away from what those thoughts could possibly mean to their future. Thayne had given everything to him tonight. With his simple act of trust and submission, Thayne had become his whole world; all the pain and horror of finding that tiny rag doll on the cold ground was washed away, swept out of Jarrett’s heart and replaced with the frightening feelings of love instead of loss.
****
Thayne shuddered beneath Jarrett, soaking in the feeling of having him in his bed, not letting his fears chase them away for the first time since they’d been together. He knew something had changed between them… suddenly gotten more serious and intense and oddly, he was okay with it. As Jarrett clung to him, Thayne relaxed his arms and carried him down to the bed with him as Jarrett remained buried deeply. He could still feel Jarrett throbbing inside him, still feel his heavy cock as he pushed in and out slowly. He knew that he’d done whatever Jarrett needed from him tonight, and that alone meant everything to Thayne. As Jarrett’s large body settled down on him from behind, Thayne felt him press a kiss to the side of his neck and he remained still, turning his head to capture Jarrett’s soft lips with his own. Jarrett grunted and broke the kiss a few moments later, pulling out and rolling to the side. Thayne instantly missed his lover’s weight and wanted it back.
He rolled to the side and caught sight of Jarrett’s angelic smile as he sat up and dealt with the condom and then lay down again, reaching out for him. Thayne rolled closer and moved into Jarrett’s strong arms, bringing their mouths together for another hot kiss. They stayed that way, clinging to each other, saying nothing, but just kissing for long moments. Jarrett’s mouth wasn’t frantic; he was slow and deliberate as he explored Thayne’s mouth with his own tongue. He kissed him back, needing this as much as Jarrett did, trying not to think about the feelings that had been growing between them for the longest time.
He was beginning to think he was falling in love with this man and Thayne was suddenly struck dumb, terrified that he was alone in this journey. Jarrett had never professed his love to him and he’d always made sure that Thayne knew he was in thisrelationship for sex and the comfort that brought. The last thing Thayne had expected when he’d met Jarrett was that he would fall for him. He’d tried to keep his distance, especially when they’d been separated for months after the trial for Mills Lang. He’d hoped they could keep their distance when Jarrett returned from his training but Jarrett must have been feeling something for him to climb into bed with him again. Thayne hadn’t expected or wanted that to happen. He told himself that they could remain emotionally distant from each other and that was the way they worked best together, but he couldn’t… especially now.
They kissed for a long time before Jarrett finally pulled back and when Jarrett reached up and ran his fingers through Thayne’s hair, he could see how hard he was fighting his own emotions. He’d been wearing them on his sleeve all goddamned day. Jarrett met his gaze with the ice-blue eyes that Thayne loved so much and then he closed them, shuttering his feelings and emotions as he dropped his hand and pulled Thayne tightly against him. Thayne relaxed into his hold, throwing an arm over Jarrett’s waist as he closed his own eyes and drifted off.
****
Two hours after Thayne had fallen asleep in Jarrett’s arms, he opened his eyes and looked over at him. Jarrett had relinquished his hold on Thayne when he’d fallen asleep and he was lying on his back, one arm thrown over his eyes as he snored gently. Thayne moved slowly as he put his legs over the side of the bed. He glanced at the table where he’d hastily dropped the file Ada had given him when they were out at the base. He stood up and padded into the bathroom, closing the door as he flipped on the light. In the bright glow of the halogen can lights, he faced the mirror, noting the ugly scar which ran down the center of his chest right between his pecs. It had faded over time, no longer red or even pink, lightening to a silvery white but he still hated it. Some days, he felt relief to just be alive when he looked at it, and some days it filled him with so much anger, he could think of nothing else.
The handcuff scars on his wrists were different. They filled him with an entirely different kind of emotion. He kept them covered, wearing long-sleeved Henleys and suit jackets to try to forget the struggle he’d put up to save Noah Watkins so long ago. Those scars hurt like hell… but the pain was on the inside, not the outside. Thayne had never understood why Lang had left him alive after killing Noah but he suspected it had been Lang’s attempt at torturing Thayne for sleeping with Noah first. Lang was a sadist in the most textbook sense so it would make sense that he’d gotten off on beating Noah to death in front of Thayne, only to let him live with it afterward. He’d lived with the knowledge that he had been weak and helpless for months and months before they’d busted Lang.
After spending almost two years gathering evidence while working undercover in Mills Lang’s crew, he thought they’d have enough to convict the arms dealer, but apparently not every juror had been convinced of his guilt. Even more disturbing than the mistrial that resulted in Lang’s release from jail, was the fact that the State’s Attorney still hadn’t decided whether he was going to retry him. Thayne had nearly died and Jarrett had been badly wounded all because Lang decided to hire someone to kill them and the fucking prosecutor couldn’t decide what to do. Thayne had talked to the prosecutor shortly after the trial and the man had almost seemed embarrassed by the jury’s inability to come to a unanimous decision. He’d been unwilling to commit to a retrial but Thayne had been convinced he’d eventually come to his senses. He hadn’t yet. The more time that went by, the less Thayne was convinced Mills Lang would ever be brought to justice.
Then there was the very real possibility thatthere was still a price on Thayne’s head. When he’d first come back to work after the trial, he and Stanger had discussed whether he should be allowed to go back to his normal life without protection. He knew Jarrett would continue to protect him if Stanger insisted, but Thayne had firmly decided that he was going to live his life the only way he saw fit to do so. He was going to carry on and go to work and the gym and whatever else he needed to do. If Mills Lang still wanted him dead, Thayne had decided that he would deal with that when the time came. From what the ATF could tell, Lang had dropped his desire for vengeance and no new contract hit men had been hired to take Virgil’s place. After nearly seven months, Thayne was pretty sure he wasn’t in any more danger but he was always on the lookout for a way to get more evidence on Mills Lang—perhaps open a new case on him. Thayne wouldn’t be through with Lang until the bastard was rotting behind bars for the rest of his life.
Thayne used the bathroom and washed his hands, stopping to shut off the light before he opened the bathroom door so he wouldn’t wake up Jarrett. When he stepped out of the bathroom and smack dab into a wide chest, Thayne nearly jumped out of his skin. Jarrett’s sinewy arms tightened around him and pulled him close.
“Jesus, Jarrett. You scared the ever loving crap out of me!” Thayne grunted. He swatted Jarrett’s ass. “I know you do that on purpose.”
Jarrett chuckled into his neck. “I’m sorry, darlin’.” He kissed the side of his neck. His three-day-old beard tickled.
Thayne couldn’t help but smile as he wrapped his arms around Jarrett. He held on tight until his heart stopped pounding in his chest and then he turned his head and caught Jarrett’s mouth in a kiss. Jarrett groaned as Thayne thoroughly reminded him of what had transpired in the room only a few hours before and when he finally pulled back, Jarrett chased his lips without success.
“Come on, Thayne. I weren’t done with ya,” he drawled.
Thayne loved it when Jarrett lapsed into the West Virginia twang he tried to downplay most of the time. He only really let it come through when he was making a conscious effort to play it up for some reason or was very stressed or tired. Thayne suspected he was very tired. He reached up and ran his fingers through the short white hair he loved so much. “I’m sorry I woke you.”
Jarrett let go of him and stepped back, out of Thayne’s reach. “S’okay. I never sleep very well.Three, four hours a night is all I need.”
Thayne stepped close and cupped his jaw with a palm. “I think it’s more than that, Jarrett. You have a lot on your mind. You have been off ever since we went out to that scene today.”
Jarrett stared at him for a few seconds and then frowned before looking away. “Yeah, I was just reminded of stuff out there,” he drawled.
“Stuff you can tell me about?” Thayne asked.
Jarrett sighed deeply and then shook his head before meeting Thayne’s worried gaze. “It’s one of those things I absolutely can’t talk to ya about, darlin’. I wish I could tell you but I can’t.” Jarrett reached for Thayne’s hand, pressing it against his own cheek as he stared into his eyes again. His gaze looked far away and Thayne could have kicked himself for bringing up all those painful emotions again.
“I know, Jarrett.” They embraced for a minute or so and then Thayne let go of Jarrett, walking back into the bedroom where he went for his duffel bag and pulled out a pair of sleeping pants and a sleeveless T-shirt which he liked to use in the gym. It was full of tiny holes from being washed a million times but it was so soft, Thayne loved it. He pulled it over his head and climbed into the soft pants beforewalking over to the small table in the room and flipping on a light. He opened his laptop and called up a website before reaching over and opening the file folder Ada had copied for him. When Jarrett came out of the bathroom ten minutes later, he was surfing the web and taking notes on a small pad of paper.
“You just couldn’t resist that file, could ya?” Jarrett asked.
Thayne looked up. Jarrett had pulled on a pair of sweatpants and an olive-green T-shirt. His hair was damp. He’d obviously showered and he looked sexy as hell with the black stubble on his cheeks. He turned the laptop to show Jarrett what he’d found.