Loki's New Job - A Red Hot short story (M/M contemporary romance)

by K. A. Merikan

  Loki’s New Job

  A Red Hot short story

  Sex & Mayhem #5.1

  K.A. Merikan

  Acerbi & Villani ltd

  Loki’s New Job

  K.A. Merikan

  Life hasn’t been a bed of roses for Loki, and he is painfully aware that his idyllic relationship with Red Jack has to be tended to if it is to last. So when Jack starts disappearing for longer and longer each day, Loki is on edge. But when Jack comes home smelling of women’s perfume, Loki knows it’s time to act. His man might be evading questions, but Loki will find out where Jack disappears to, and he will make sure everyone knows Jack is his and his only.

  This is a Red Hot short story, and NOT a standalone.

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living, dead, or undead, events, places or names is purely coincidental.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transferred in any form or by any means, without the written permission of the publisher. Uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without a permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law.

  Text copyright © 2016 K.A. Merikan

  All Rights Reserved

  http://kamerikan.com

  Cover design by

  Natasha Snow

  http://natashasnow.com

  Table of contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  NEWSLETTER

  PATREON

  About the author

  Chapter 1

  Loki awoke from a shallow slumber and glanced at the poster of a naked girl illuminated by lamplight coming through the window. His electronic clock stated it was four in the morning. Only after several seconds did he realize what had pulled him out of the restless dream. There were blunt noises coming from behind the wall, from Jack’s room.

  After several heartbeats, he was awake enough to slide off the bed and rush to the door. Those sounds were the very reason why his nights became sleepless. Loki’s brain was spinning with the effort of dragging his hazy body across the room. He was so tired, and yet knowing that Jack returned so late for the fourth night in a row was making it impossible for Loki to catch up on sleep. His chest ached, stabbed by phantom needles as he tried to take a deeper breath, stumbling in the doorway. After that, only a few steps parted him from the one person who had been missing in Loki’s life recently. He pressed on the door handle and stepped inside, blinking when lamplight shocked him with its brightness.

  Jack looked up at him as he was taking off his shirt, and the sight of his muscular chest only reminded Loki that they hadn’t had sex in three days.

  Jack frowned. “What are you doing up? Did anyone see you coming in?”

  Loki shut his eyes tightly to relax the muscles around his eyes and chase the sleep away. He closed the door and stepped forward, filling his achingly empty lungs with air. “I thought you’d be back sooner. Where have you been?” asked Loki, watching Jack’s pecs flex. The red hairs in the middle of his chest glistened in the light, beckoning Loki closer.

  Jack shrugged and pulled Loki’s hand to his pec as if he was reading Loki’s mind. “Doing club stuff.”

  Loki chewed on his lip, savoring the heat of Jack’s skin, so pale under the spray of freckles. He put his head on Jack’s shoulder, hugging him. “No one else is out all the time. Why is it always you? You’re no longer a prospect.”

  Jack groaned and stroked his hair, but all of a sudden, Loki noticed a sweet smell of perfume in Jack’s beard. He went rigid.

  “You know I can’t tell you details,” Jack said.

  Loki clenched his jaw and pulled away, staring at Jack, slightly numb. Was his mind playing tricks on him? “What did you do?”

  Jack frowned. “I’m tired, babe. Let’s talk tomorrow.”

  Loki blinked and shook his head, looking for other traces of a woman. Lipstick? Did Jack have used panties stuck in one of his pockets? His heart was racing so hard it made him slightly light-headed. “Who is she?”

  Jack grabbed Loki’s chin and looked into his eyes. “Are you high?”

  Loki shook his hand away. “No. I can smell her on you! Is that why you’re away all the time?” He moved back toward the door, not letting Jack out of sight for even a second. He needed to know the truth, even though he had no idea what he’d do with it yet.

  “Loki, keep it down,” Jack growled and ran his fingers through his hair. “You better go check your head again, because this is some bullshit I’m hearing.”

  Loki couldn’t believe Jack would so blatantly lie to his face. “Do you think I’m stupid?” he asked with his throat numb. “I can see what you’re doing! You hardly talk to me, and you’re gone all the freaking time. Say it to my face, huh?” He stepped forward, all tense.

  Jack sat on a little desk, and it creaked under his weight. “I told you to keep it down. I’m just busy lately.”

  “Stop lying. You can’t smell like that without being close to a girl--” Loki swallowed hard, suddenly choked up. “Is it someone from the club?”

  Jack rubbed his face. “You have to trust me. I’m really tired…”

  “You don’t even want me to suck you off anymore,” hissed Loki, increasingly agitated. Jack used to be hyperactive, with a libido to rival Loki’s, but as his absences became longer, he also seemed to lose interest in Loki’s body. Was he resentful now that Loki had forced himself into his life?

  That at least got Jack’s attention. He got up from the desk with a sneer, and approached Loki, unbuckling his belt. “That’s what you want? At four-fucking-AM? You’ll shut your mouth if I put my dick in?”

  Loki exhaled, as if struck across the face. He made a point of not losing it any further and took slow, shallow breaths, focusing on not letting his voice get any higher, even as his eyes tingled. Of course Jack was getting bored with him. He’d lost everything he had because of Loki. It was only by sheer luck that he hadn’t thrown Loki out into the street yet to get his old life back.

  After a few tense seconds, Jack took a deep breath and let go of his belt. “I’m sorry. I really just wanna sleep, Loki. There’s no one else.” He cupped the sides of Loki’s face and leaned in for a kiss, but it seemed bitter, even with how soft and warm his mouth was.

  Loki didn’t move away this time, completely deflated, and just waited until Jack was done. It was all lies, and Loki didn’t want to sleep here anymore.

  “I wish you could stay with me here,” the treacherous lips whispered into Loki’s. “I’ll sort out a place for us soon, okay?”

  Loki looked up, and the tattoo on his back burned him like a branding iron. “I carry your name on me. I need to know what’s going on...”

  “No. What you need to know is that I love you, and that you need to do your physiotherapy, and chill.” Jack teased his tongue over Loki’s top lip, and it was frustrating to get excited when Loki was supposed to be angry. He couldn’t help the fluttering in his chest when Jack said those three words again. It was so hard not to trust him after what he’d done for Loki, and yet his recent behavior went against everything he said.

  Loki exhaled and decided to just go with it for now. “Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

  “Sure. Maybe we can rent a room somewhere, and fuck?” Jack slid his big hands to Loki’s neck.

  Loki nodded, swallowing against Jack’s palm. Those hands could break his neck so easily, and yet they were so gentle. Maybe it had been just a drunk incident? Maybe Jack had made out with some woman while he was drunk, and he just wanted to forget about it
now? Those things happened, and Jack was a catch, so he’d have women throwing themselves at him.

  “I’ll get us out of here soon, so we don’t have to sneak around. Just be patient.” Jack gave him one more kiss and patted his ass. “Go on. I need to sleep.”

  Loki swallowed and walked out the door, looking back just before it closed. “Night, Jack,” he whispered.

  *

  Loki woke up with his head buried under the pillow, and after several moments, he rolled back into the light. It was past noon. He dragged his rear end off the mattress and stretched like a cat. It had taken him a while to fall asleep after coming back from Jack’s room, but the promise of spending some time together had eventually lulled him into a slumber.

  He slid out of bed, and walked to the bathroom with only one half-open eye leading him all the way into the tiny shower stall. The rush of cool water was enough to rouse Loki from the zombie-like state, and he quickly got himself clean. Was Jack still asleep? Loki already had a plan to wake him up with pancakes. He bought them in a bottle, ready for frying, and after burning them on one side too many times, he was slowly getting better at it, courtesy of Candy, who taught him some tricks, such as turning the pancakes once there were bubbles of air on top

  Loki wanted to wow Jack, especially after yesterday’s disheartening discovery. He believed Jack when he had said he wanted to spend some time with Loki. Maybe it was his way of making amends, and as heavy as Loki’s heart was at the thought of Jack cheating on him, he couldn’t help but grasp at that tiny glimmer of hope.

  His hair was still growing back after the surgery, and Loki carefully styled it so that it looked like the shorter side had been made so on purpose. A few months after, he still wasn’t completely fine, but the problems were gradually disappearing, especially with the physio he was doing at home.

  But when he came back to his room, he found an envelope that someone must have slipped underneath the door.

  Surprised, he picked it up and looked inside. A hundred dollars, and a note.

  Buy yourself something nice, you deserve it. J.

  Loki squeezed the envelope in his hand as his chest collapsed. Oh, God. Jack was trying to make it up to him. That was one of the signs that your partner was cheating on you but didn’t yet want to leave.

  He stormed outside and knocked on Jack’s door with his flat palm. The money had him so nervous he was getting a headache. There hadn’t been much of it to spend recently. It all fell into the endless well of Loki’s medical bills, so this was far from normal. Maybe he could bring himself to forgive Jack if this was a one-time thing--a stumble on the road--but he couldn’t stand the secrecy and lies.

  There was no answer from Jack’s room. He was probably gone for the day, and Loki didn’t even get to make him breakfast. Weren’t they supposed to meet and go somewhere? Loki could then unleash all he had on Jack. He could give him the best blowjob, tenderness Jack wouldn’t get from a stranger, but this way, the wall between them was only growing.

  He rushed back to his room and picked up his phone from the nightstand. Having chosen Jack’s number, Loki curled up in the messy sheets, listening to the beeping in his ear.

  Jack picked up quite fast, so there was that. “Hey, what’s up? Did you get some sleep?” he asked and slurped something.

  Loki swallowed hard. “I wanted to make you breakfast. I got this great new pancake recipe,” he lied, unable to stop his body from relaxing when the dark, low tone of Jack’s voice streamed into his ear. Jack always took him to that edge between absolute safety and toe-curling arousal.

  “Is it called ‘let’s go to the diner’?” Jack snorted.

  Loki sat up, unsure what to say. Did Jack really see him as such a leech? He’d been learning to cook. True, mashed potatoes were usually bought ready to eat or made from powder, but since Loki didn’t have a job, he was making full meals for Jack as frequently as he could. “No, I wanted to make them,” he said flatly. “Are you at a diner?”

  “Nah, Bubbles made me a sandwich, and I got some coffee on my way. It’s cute though. The pancake thing. I’ll be up for it next Monday.”

  Bubbles was a young hangaround with huge tits and round cheeks. She was just the type of girl Jack seemed to go for. Loki swallowed.

  “You could have just woken me up. I don’t go to work.”

  “You were restless last night, I didn’t wanna bother you.”

  “We could have talked.”

  Jack groaned. “Go shopping, and you can tell me about it in the evening.”

  Loki looked at the floor, slouching. “I don’t need anything. What about our date?”

  There was a moment of really loud silence in the receiver. “What do you mean, you don’t need anything? Spend the money. It’s for you.”

  Loki shifted, unsure what to say. “Maybe I could get you something nice?” he asked in the end. “We could go together. It’s been a while.”

  “Get me a cool T-shirt. Listen, the date, it won’t work out today. I’ve got business later, but I’ll be in for an hour or two in the evening. Maybe you can cook for me then?”

  Loki chewed on his lip, with growing anxiety filling his chest. He didn’t believe the whole business thing. Club matters were handled by every member pretty much equally, and yet it was only Jack who was constantly out. “What do you want?”

  “Can you make steak?”

  Loki never felt this useless in his entire life. “No.”

  “Um… Surprise me.” It sounded like a euphemism for ‘just make something you won’t fuck up’.

  “I love you, Jack,” whispered Loki. The longer they were together, the more he understood just how little he was contributing to their relationship. With all the scars on his face, he couldn’t possibly get a job in retail. He’d briefly toyed with telemarketing, but they fired him after two days, claiming he didn’t have the right attitude. In the end, what was left was just staying home all day, waiting for Jack like a boring housewife. And he couldn’t even make steak. No wonder Jack was getting tired of him.

  “And I will fuck you so hard as soon as I get a chance,” Jack whispered back. “Talk to you later. Have a good day.”

  Loki’s breath trembled, and he nodded, even though Jack couldn’t see him. “Yes.”

  Jack disconnected, leaving Loki with a deep longing that couldn’t be satisfied.

  He stuffed the money into his pocket and left the room with a heavy heart. He didn’t want to think too much, and so he shared a few words with the girls in the kitchen, ate a croissant, and exercised a bit in the club gym once all the men left for lunch. He felt disconnected and sad, even though Jack was clearly making an effort to compensate for whatever he was doing behind Loki’s back.

  He was almost done with his gym routine when soft footsteps resonated down the hall, and moments later, Loki saw someone enter the gym from the corner of his eye. Too short to be any other guy, it was bound to be Sam.

  Sam just gave him a nod, and went over to one of the weight machines. Loki cleared his throat, and his pulse quickened.

  “Hey,” he said, getting up from the bench and following him.

  Sam raised his eyebrows. “What’s up?” He sat down on a bench and grabbed the weights to his sides.

  Loki sat down across from him, with the perspective on Sam’s package between his thighs. It looked pretty decent, but Candy wouldn’t ever tell him anything about Sam’s plumbing, even when drunk. She was no fun sometimes.

  “What’s the big operation, huh?” Loki started with a smile.

  Sam stalled with pulling up the weights. “What operation?”

  Loki pouted and massaged his calf. “You know, the top secret thing Jack’s taking care of.”

  Sam groaned and looked up at him. “Why don’t you ask Jack and see what he says?”

  “He told me you know the details,” lied Loki with a straight face.

  “Oh, did he now. I guess I have to tell you then…” Sam let go of the weights, looking into Loki�
�s eyes. “Not a way in hell. He either tells you himself, or he doesn’t. Get out of here, and let me do my workout.”

  Loki flinched. “Oh, so you know where he’s disappearing to,” he growled, leaning forward. If this really were club business that Jack was busy with, Sam would point-blank tell him to stop inquiring.

  “Yes, I do. And you should stop poking your nose where it’s not wanted. Jesus Christ. Why am I even getting involved in this?”

  Loki exhaled. “Sam, please, you have to tell me. Does he have someone on the side?” Shame stung Loki when that last sentence came out in a somewhat higher pitch. He looked away.

  Sam rolled his eyes. “No. Can you go now?”

  “Then where is he disappearing to all the time? How would you feel if Candy was away all the freaking time and wouldn’t even sex you?”

  Sam cringed. “Fuck! Too much information! I know what I wouldn’t do. I wouldn’t go asking her best friend about it.”

  “What if she refused to tell you what she’s doing?” insisted Loki.

  Sam smirked. “I won’t tell you, because I don’t want you doing that.”

  Loki gritted his teeth. “This is not a good situation for Jack, you know! If you are his friend, you should really tell me what’s going on!”

  “Don’t try this weirdass reverse psychology on me. It’s not working.”

  Loki shifted uncomfortably. Sam could really make a man feel out of his depth sometimes. “Tell me, or you will regret it. This is serious!”

  To his dismay, Sam laughed in his face. “What are you gonna do? Tell everyone I have HIV?”

  “No, but I might troll you with gay porn.”

  “You don’t even have my e-mail.”

  “I have Candy’s.”

  Sam grinned. “She might like it. You never know.”

  Loki’s face fell, and after a moment of stunned silence, he got up and threw his sweaty towel at Sam. “Fuck you!”