“I love you, too,” he says, his voice deep with emotion.
“I know,” I say, and give him my own smile.
He lifts a brow. “You know?”
“Hell yeah, I know. Umm… hello? How could you not?” I ask playfully, and to add more humor, I run my hands down my chest and grip my dick.
He laughs again at my playfulness. “You’re right. How could I not?”
“Tell me about your parents,” I say, changing the subject. We haven’t really talked about his life in Georgia because I know it’s a touchy subject, but it’s something I really need to know, especially since we’ve thrown out the love word.
He looks down at me and I see a frown line appear on his face.
“What do you want to know?” he asks.
“Whatever you want to tell me. From what Chris said, I know they haven’t treated you fairly.”
He barks out a humorless laugh. “You could say that. Chris didn’t have it as bad as me, and I thank God for that. My dad and I have butted heads for years. My parent’s religion forbids body modifications.” He throws his arms out wide, showing off his naked tattooed chest. “As you can see from my ink, I don’t agree with it. My dad hates it.”
“And what about your mom? How does she feel?”
“My mom’s not as bad as my dad. Don’t get me wrong, she looked down her nose at me the first few tattoos I got, but after a while, she realized no matter what she or my dad said, it wouldn’t make me change.”
Anger shoots through me. How in the fuck could any parent look down on their child? Kids are supposed to be able to express themselves in different ways. They need to be encouraged to be different. They need to stand out from each other.
“When I told my dad I was gay,” he continues, staring off into space as he talks, “I had never seen him so disgusted. Their opinion didn’t really matter anymore at that point, but I needed to tell them. I don’t know, maybe I told them because I knew I’d get the reaction I did. Or maybe it was a test to see if they could finally overlook something I’ve done or become. Either way, once I told them and watched my dad recoil in revulsion, I knew I was done. I haven’t seen or talked to them since.”
“I’m sorry,” I tell him. White-hot rage still simmers in my blood. His parents’ better hope to God I don’t ever meet them, because it won’t be my face his dad will be meeting first, but my fist to his jaw. The bastards can stay far away as far as I’m concerned.
Jase looks down at me, smiles, puts his hand under my shirt, and starts rubbing my upper chest. “Don’t be. It used to hurt when they rejected me, but I got used to it quickly. I still had Chris and my friends so it wasn’t so bad.”
“It still must have been hard not having parents that supported you.”
He shrugs. “Not really. I learned to accept their behavior. Besides, I became close with a couple of my friends’ parents. When I needed advice and shit, I went to them.”
Still not the same, but I’ll give him that. At least he had some form of adult guidance and support.
“What about your dad? Tell me about him,” Jase asks me, bringing me out of my dark thoughts.
I turn away from him and look up at the ceiling, a smile forming on my face.
“My dad was great. The best there was. He was always there when I needed him. We had a tradition. He’d come home, pin my mom to the kitchen counter, wall, whatever was closest, and greet her with a big sloppy kiss, something I gagged over many times.” I stop and chuckle at the many memories. “Then we would go out back and play soccer, football, catch, whatever we were in the mood for. We did that every day for years. Even when he became so weak he couldn’t stand on his own, we’d push his wheelchair out back and between him, my mom, and me, we’d still play.”
“He sounds like a great person. You were lucky,” Jase says, and I look back at him.
“He was. You would have liked him. And he would have loved you.”
And I know my dad would have. My being gay wouldn’t have mattered to him. He always told me to be happy. No matter what anyone thought, I needed to do what I could to be happy and be me.
We lapse into silence, thinking about the difference between our childhoods and wondering what it would have been like to have the others. I can’t imagine not having the emotional and physical support that a parent is supposed to give to a child. It pisses me off that Jase didn’t. It also makes me sad.
Jase’s hand starts tweaking my nipple under my shirt and my dick reacts, giving a little jerk in my sweat pants. I turn my head and plant a wet kiss on his stomach right below his belly button. When I look up at him, he’s gazing down at me with hooded eyes.
“What do you want, baby?” I ask huskily.
“Suck my cock,” he replies.
My body trembles. Having my mouth filled with Jase is one of my favorite things to do.
Instead of getting straight to it, I grab his hand and shove it into my sweats. He knows exactly what I want and wraps his palm around my hard length. I close my eyes for a brief second and suck in a harsh breath, savoring the feeling of his hand on me.
“Oh shit, that feels good, Jase,” I groan.
After he pumps my cock a few times, I turn my head and run my tongue along his stomach. I feel his stomach muscles tighten and the length of his cock grows hard under my head.
Impatient for a taste of him, I get up from my lying position, which dislodges his hand from my cock, almost causing me to stop, and get down on my knees on the floor between his legs.
Jase has his eyes on me once I’m kneeling before him. The pure desire I see flashing in them has my body tensing in anticipation. I grip the sides of his pants with greedy hands and yank them down. He lifts his ass off the couch to make it easier. When his cock slips free my mouth waters.
“Hold it for me,” I growl at him.
Jase grabs himself and gives it a few strokes before aiming the tip at me. I waste no time licking and sucking my way down his entire dick, but instead wrap my lips around him and slide my mouth down until he reaches the back of my throat.
Jase doesn’t expect that and throws back his head and shouts.
“Fucking hell, Andrew!”
I hum in the back of my throat, knowing the vibrations will feel divine for him. The taste of his precum nearly has me shooting my own load. I reach in my pants and palm myself, gathering my own precum and swiping it across the tip.
With his free hand, Jase grips a handful of my hair and starts moving my head up and down, setting the pace to his own liking.
“That’s it, Andrew, suck my cock. Faster, baby,” he says, his voice low.
Ready to please my man, and with the guidance of his hand, I pick up my pace. The hand wrapped around my cock speeds up to match. I release it for a moment and give my balls a tug. It shoots fireworks through me and I have to force myself not to come. I don’t want to come by my hand. I want it either in his mouth, his ass, or by his hand.
Just as I feel him stiffen in my mouth, I pull back. Jase groans and grips my hair, trying to pull me back.
“You come in my ass tonight,” I tell him, and watch his jaw clench and his eyes flare. “Bedroom, now.”
I get up, grab his hand, and we walk to the bedroom, where we devour and drain each other’s bodies until there’s nothing left to give.
Andrew
“Hey, Nitra, can we get another pot of coffee over here please?” Mia calls.
“Sure thing!” she hollers back.
Chris, Mia, Jase, and I are sitting in a booth at Maggie’s eating lunch. Mac was supposed to join us, but he said something came up and was running late. It’s just after the lunch crowd, so the place isn’t too busy. Mia was just telling us that her mom wants to have a barbeque one last time before winter hits. She wants me to invite Ally, Becky, and Brent. She hasn’t gotten to meet Ally yet and is dying to.
“You sure your mom’s up for throwing a party? I can just bring them by,” I tell Mia.
“I asked that
and she insisted we all get together. You know she’s stubborn. The doctors have given her the all clear.”
Lilly just recently had surgery on one of her ovaries to remove a cyst. There was a scare for a while that it might be cancerous, but the doctors discovered it was benign. Unfortunately, the pain became so unbearable that she was left with no other option but surgery.
“How’s Levi?” Jase asks. He and I went over to Lilly and Levi’s the other day to check on things for Jaxon. Jaxon had something come up at work and he was worried about his mom. When we got there, Levi looked haggard and worn down. I know the feeling of having someone you love become ill. It’s not good and it leaves you exhausted.
“He’s better. Still not letting mom do anything. She has to threaten him with bodily harm to let her walk anywhere,” she says, laughing.
Levi is our old science teacher. He and Lilly started dating a couple years ago, but no one knew about it until a few months ago. We were all surprised by the news. Jaxon was pissed, but he got over it quickly.
“Will Tricia, Hunter, and the kids be there?” Chris asks, taking a sip of her coffee.
“Yes. They’re excited to meet Ally as well. When I told them about her, it took me thirty minutes to convince them I wasn’t joking.” She rolls her eyes.
Nitra walks up to our table and deposits a fresh pot of coffee.
“I just heard over the scanner Mrs. Cranny was found dead in her house,” she says sadly.
“Oh my God!” Chris says, throwing her hand up to her mouth in shock. “Do they know what happened?”
“I don’t know. All I heard was she was found in her bed not breathing.”
Grief hits the table. Mrs. Cranny was a ninety-year-old lady who loved calling the sheriff’s department to have a deputy come by the house. Most times her excuse was spiders, rats, or snakes in her house. Everyone knew she just liked looking at the deputies, especially Mac. We used to always pick on him about it. She was crafty and sneaky, but also a part of our community. Losing that hurts.
Unfortunately, her husband passed away years ago and her only son died while serving overseas. She has no other family left.
“We need to ask Mac what arrangements are being made,” Mia says, mirroring my thoughts. “She has no family left. I want to help if I can.”
“Me too,” says Chris.
“Let Jase and me know if we can do anything.” I look to Jase for confirmation and he nods.
After the news of Mrs. Cranny, the mood around the table is dampened, and we decide to call it and go our separate ways. I pay the bill while the others gather their things.
“I’ll see you tonight at the bar,” Jase says, once we’re outside. He’s headed back to Joe’s, while I’m headed to Jaxon’s to do inventory.
“Yep.” I lean in for a kiss.
“See you ladies later.” He waves at Chris and Mia.
Just as he turns away to walk to his Jeep, Jaxon and Bailey come up. Jaxon’s holding a squirming Amari in his arms. Both of their faces are somber.
“You heard?” Jaxon asks.
“Yeah,” Mia says.
“It’s a shame. She was a pain in the ass sometimes, but she’ll be missed.”
We all nod in agreement.
“How did the appointment go?” Mia asks, a moment later. She grabs Amari from Jaxon’s arms. He doesn’t protest, which is strange for him. He’s normally very possessive of Amari and likes to keep her to himself. It just shows how distracted we are by the sad news.
“It went fine,” Bailey answers. “She has an ear infection. The doctor gave her some medicine and said she’d be fine in a couple of days.”
Chris’s phone starts to ring and she takes a few steps away from the group to answer it.
When Amari starts to whimper, Jase reaches over and lightly runs his fingers along her stomach, giving her a little tickle. She perks up a bit and gives him a smile.
“Mom said to call her after the appointment to let her know what’s going on,” Mia tells Jaxon, without looking away from Amari.
“Already did.”
I feel a vibration in my pocket and pull out my phone. Mac’s name is displayed. Swiping my finger on the screen to accept, I put it to my ear.
“Hey, Mac, we just heard about—”
“Where are Chris and Jase? I can’t get in touch with them” he says, out of breath, interrupting me.
“At the diner. Why?”
“They need to get the station right now.” The urgency in his voice is telling. Something’s wrong.
I hear a shuffling on the other side of the line, almost like he’s running. His breathing is hard over the line.
I look over at Jase and demand, “What happened?”
The others go quiet, eyes focused on me. Jase takes a step closer, pinning me with hard eyes.
“No time. Just get them—”
He’s interrupted by a scream. We all whip around and see a dark-haired man of average height with his arm around Chris’s neck. His other hand is pointing a gun at her head. His eyes are sunken and his skin pale. His clothes are unwashed and stained, and his hair looks like it hasn’t been brushed in a week.
This must be the bastard Damien, and he’s not looking very good. Which could be bad for us.
“He’s here,” I rumble into the phone, and pocket it, leaving the call connected for Mac to listen.
Jaxon steps in front of Bailey, who had just taken Amari back from Mia. Mia’s at Jaxon’s side. He tries to push her behind him as well, but she ends up staying beside him in front of Bailey and Amari.
Jase and I both take a step closer to Damien and Chris.
“Let her go, Damien,” Jase growls. His hands are clenched at his sides, and I can tell he’s barely holding on to his anger.
“I think I’ll keep her right here for now,” Damien says. “It’s good to see you again, Jase. Still looking good, I see.”
“You want me? I’m right here. Let her go and you and I both will leave.” Jase tries again, and takes another step closer.
I match his step. He better be bluffing because there’s no fucking way I’m letting him leave with Damien. Chris isn’t either. We’ll find another way to get Chris away from him.
A malicious smile creeps across his face before he says, “How about I take you both?”
“That doesn’t work for me, fuckface,” I tell him, trying to draw his attention away from Jase.
Chris starts squirming, desperately clawing at Damien’s arm. Her face is turning red from the pressure on her throat. Damien clocks her upside the head with the gun. “Stay still, bitch,” he snarls at her.
Jase growls in the back of his throat, and I throw my arm out to catch him before he goes after Damien. “No,” I tell him, my voice low. I turn back to Damien. “She can’t fucking breathe, you jackass. Ease up.”
I’m so pissed right now that my body is shaking. I want to wrap my hands around the fucker’s throat and watch as I squeeze the life out of him. These are my people he’s threatening to harm.
He turns his eyes in my direction and gives me a lecherous grin. “Ah, Andrew. So good to finally meet you. I’ve seen you with my boy Jase. He fucks good, doesn’t he? Likes to get it hard, just as much as he likes giving it hard.” He looks me up and down and licks his lips. “I’d let you fuck me.”
“Not in this fucking lifetime,” I tell him, my voice laced with revulsion.
He just smirks at me.
I see out the corner of my eye Jaxon trying to slowly walk Bailey, Amari, and Mia behind a car parked at the curb. Damien notices the movement, his eyes moving beyond me and Jase.
I’m about to divert his attention back to us, but Jase beats me to it.
“How’s your mom?” Jase asks.
Damien swings his eyes back to Jase and they narrow. “She’s fucking devastated,” he growls, and spit flies from his mouth, hitting Chris on the cheek. “You fucking killed her youngest son. How in the hell would she be?” He’s shaking by the time he gets
done talking. A shaky hand is not a good hand to be holding a gun with.
“Let my sister go and you can do whatever you want with me. You know your mom wouldn’t want you to do this.”
He laughs harshly. “You don’t know jack shit, Jase. Mom’s all for hunting you down and killing you just like you did Drake. She begged me to do it, even though I had already planned on it. No, I think I should have a sibling for a sibling.”
Out the corner of my eye, I see Mac slowly creeping closer to Damien from across the street. He has his gun drawn and two deputies with him. The streets, which only had a few people milling about, are now deserted, but I’m sure there are plenty of faces pressed to windows and glass doors.
From Mac’s angle, he doesn’t have a good shot at Damien without putting Chris in more danger. Something is getting ready to go down, and I pray no one is hurt in the process.
Jase notices Mac too and he shifts his body slightly. The move is almost unnoticeable. My body tenses, preparing to distract Damien when Mac gives the signal.
Jaxon has Bailey, Mia, and Amari behind a car. At least they’re out of harm’s way. Damien must have let up on the pressure on Chris’s throat because there’s a little color back in her cheeks. She has tears falling down her face, but I can see hatred in her eyes.
That-a girl. Be pissed. Don’t let the fucker see your fear.
Just as Mac is raising his gun to take aim, there’s a loud wailing behind us. Damien shifts his body to the side, which fucks up Mac’s shot again.
“Shut that damn baby up,” Damien growls at Jaxon, his eyes turning frantic.
Jaxon, still standing by the car the girls are hiding behind, says, “She’s a baby. You can’t just make them stop crying. She’s scared.” His voice is calm, but I can still feel the rage emitting from him. His family’s in danger. Jaxon doesn’t do well when his family is in danger.
Everything happens fast after that point, and I swear my heart rips from my chest and plummets to the depths of hell. Damien aims the gun at Jaxon. Bailey screams, I assume because she can see over the car. Chris digs her nails into Damien’s arm, causing him to yell and release her. She falls to the ground. Jase, playing the fucking hero, shoots forward to tackle Damien, but before he reaches him, Damien adjusts his aim and fires at Jase at the same time Mac fires and hits Damien in the chest.
Unveil Me (The Jaded Series Book 3) Page 19
