“We’ll head out right now,” Mitch finally said.
“Keep me posted, but keep it secure, Knox, and watch yourself.” Kreed was serious about that. “We’re heading that way in a couple of hours.”
“Yeah, you got yourself out of the ass kickin’ I planned for you the next time I saw you.” Mitch chuckled.
“I told you to trust my ass. I had to get everybody working together under the guise of it being their idea,” Kreed responded. He knew Mitch must have gone through hell being forced to sit back and wait.
“And Aaron’s on board with all this?”
“Yeah, about that kid. He’s kind of a pain in the ass,” Kreed said, dodging the answer because Stuart was absolutely not on board. His cooperation was grudging at best.
“He’s not a kid and I miss playing with him. He’s the only one who gives me a run for my money. Don’t fuck that up for me.”
“When was the last time you talked to him?”
“Probably before Christmas, so four or five days ago.” Kreed’s brow furrowed. He’d kept a steady pace in the parking lot, but now his eyes cut toward the spa’s front door and he stopped dead in his tracks. Had he misunderstood Stuart this morning? Maybe Knox didn’t want Cody to know he played every morning… Yeah, but that made no sense. Mitch was the type of guy that did what he wanted, whenever he wanted. He’d have Cody playing alongside him in no time. The front door of the salon opened and the receptionist stood just outside the door, motioning him back in.
“I gotta go.” He ended the call and walked forward, then jogged the last few steps with his mind pre-occupied. This morning wasn’t a good measure. He was too focused on Aaron’s body to remember any of his words correctly. He had to have misunderstood, right? Why would Aaron lie about something like that? Maybe there was another Mitch he played with? Crazier things could happen.
Kreed hit the door, opened it with a hard tug, but came to a stop just inside. His body heated even though he’d been freezing just a second ago. Aaron stood by the counter, his button-down rolled up to the elbows, showing two nicely tattooed forearms. His handsome face was freshly shaven, his blond hair with purple and black tipped strands gone, replaced with dark, rich, silky locks that were clipped into the sexy-ass haircut Kreed had been convinced would look hot—just not this hot. Honestly, the new look took Aaron to a whole new level of sexy. Kreed’s entire body tightened in response to the visual stimulation. He hadn’t known he would have such a primal reaction to Aaron’s makeover. It was just hair, for God’s sake.
Kreed’s grin grew. “It’s perfect. You have to like it.”
“It’s a little short,” Aaron said, making eye contact.
Sergio nailed it; the color certainly made Aaron’s blue eyes stand out, so much so that he didn’t want to look away. Kreed had figured he was in trouble when it came to Aaron Stuart, but in this moment, he realized just how truly and completely fucked he was.
“But so damn sexy,” Kreed added, finally moving forward to appraise the new look up close. “I think I actually like it better than that whole disheveled thing you had going on. I like both, but this… Fuck me. Kid, you’re seriously gonna have to fight the dicks off with a stick.” Kreed immediately bristled at the jealousy his own words evoked. Where had that possessiveness come from?
Sergio came blasting through the room, a couple of bottles of shaper and gel in his hands. “I explained the importance of the products to achieve the results. The fuck-boy was made for guys like him.” Sergio was proud of his creation and placed the products on the counter, turned around, stopped briefly to pat Kreed on the chest, bat his eyes then exited as quickly as he’d arrived.
“I think Sergio has a bit of the fuck-boy attitude.”
“Stop calling it that,” Aaron grumbled, back to being irritable again.
Hell, the kid was always disgruntled. He hadn’t expected anything different with the new package.
“It’s the name. The fuck-boy hairstyle. You know, ‘Fuck, boy, you look hot.’” Kreed waggled his eyebrows when he got the desired result of a warm blush coloring Aaron’s cheeks. He reached back and tugged out his wallet, pulling out his credit card to pay the bill. At least he could expense part of this day, and if he worked it right, they might actually pay for his, which reminded him, he needed to check in with Skinner.
“We need these?” Kreed asked about the shaper and gel.
“Yes, sir. Sergio showed him exactly how to achieve that look.” The receptionist ran his totals then his card, before bagging up the hair products. By the time Kreed finished, Aaron had moved closer to the door, his jacket hanging from his hand. Kreed looked him over from behind. Mental images of threading his fingers through the short dark hair and drawing Aaron’s head backward for a deep thorough kiss played across his mind. He could almost imagine how those silky strands would feel against his palm. Oh yeah, that would definitely be a fuck-boy moment.
Kreed actually stopped behind Aaron, giving himself a minute to fully absorb that thought. Too bad they hadn’t spent their few hours living that fantasy yesterday, but on an upside, when he closed this case, he could test this man’s sexual orientation boundaries again and hopefully get him on his knees at least once before they went their separate ways.
“Come on, handsome. We have some clothes to buy and a plane to catch,” Kreed said as he reached to push the front doors open, still dwelling on his missed opportunity.
“All right, you ready? We need to head out,” Kreed called through the opened door in their hotel room.
“I already told you that I can’t leave until I can ship my shit somewhere.” Aaron didn’t move from the desk chair where he sat playing Pay Day. He focused all his attention on executing the perfect heist. Man, he had to get Mitch on this game. Aaron had always felt like playing games where the bad guys did things like rob banks and plan strategic heists in casinos should be a conflict of interest for a deputy marshal, but having Mitch on his team… They would just kick ass.
“I texted you Colt and Jace’s home address. Skinner’s working on the details of our stay. It won’t take long for him to get us hooked up with a place. He’ll have our operation headquarters ready tonight. Did you load your background information for the job interview yet?” Kreed asked, coming to stand at the door.
“Yep. Done. Ha ha! Oh, man,” Aaron exclaimed, his eyes glued to the screen, even though he’d lowered one earbud in order to hear what Kreed was saying. He’d felt, more than heard, Kreed walk up behind him and watch over his shoulder.
“What kind of masks are those?” Kreed asked, bending to better see the laptop’s screen.
“Clowns. I’m always Dallas,” Aaron said, never stopping the flow of his fingers.
“Huh? Hurry up and do whatever. We gotta go.”
“I need to ship my equipment,” Aaron repeated, not moving.
“We’ve already discussed that. Get your ass movin’,” Kreed ordered, walking back through the open door. After a minute more, Aaron closed the laptop and moved out from under the fresh scent of Kreed’s cologne. How the hell was he going to sit next to that the entire trip to Texas while trying to manage the impending hard-on? If karma were on his side, maybe the flight would be booked and they would be forced to have to sit apart. As Aaron packed his laptop into his bag, he decided he might prefer sitting next to a crying baby over Kreed Sinacola, and he could only pray that would be the case.
Chapter 8
Aaron followed along behind Kreed through the back entrance of the airport. What a seriously better way to enter and deal with an airport. Kreed had managed, through official channels, to book them on the earliest flight out, forcing the airline to bump two passengers to another flight in order to make room for both of them on the plane. Aaron stood ready with his credit card in hand to purchase his ticket, but when he placed the plastic on the counter, Kreed did little more than look down, laugh, and hand his marshal service credentials to the airline employee behind the desk. Apparently she remembered
Kreed, because she waved his badge off with a smile as she worked at entering their information.
The attendant never weighed their luggage. Instead, she fastened the ticket around each handle and dropped both on the conveyor belt behind her. She printed and handed over their tickets, and they were moving toward security in a matter of minutes.
When Aaron headed for the standard TSA security line, Kreed grabbed him by the back of the collar, guided him around the long line, and pushed him toward a back entrance. “You’re with me,” he growled.
“Okay, so you have the traveling pass?” Aaron asked. His parents did the fast-boarding passes, but he didn’t realize that it had its own area.
“Nah, it’s different than that being a US marshal.” Kreed opened a door, waving Aaron through first. Once inside the restricted area, Kreed placed a hand on the middle of his back and guided him to the side. Aaron looked around in amazement; it was a completely different setup.
“I’m Deputy Marshal Kreed Sinacola,” Kreed said to a person sitting behind a podium. He pulled his wallet and badge, flipping them open.
“I remember you. You’re Deputy Knox’s partner,” she said, checking his boarding pass and credentials. “How’s he doing?”
“Good. Ornery as always, but good.”
She gave a cackle as she stuck out her hand for Aaron’s information. “He always is. We see so many of you guys coming through here, but he’s got such a big personality,” she said, doing her thing with Aaron’s driver’s license before handing it back.
“Don’t tell him. He’s already got the big head.” Kreed laughed.
“Yeah, he’s not lacking in ego, I would imagine,” she grinned. “Have a good flight.”
“Will do,” Kreed said. Aaron didn’t immediately follow—because, seriously, was that all he had to do to board a flight?
“They aren’t even gonna check my bag?”
“Are you gonna bring that to their attention?” Kreed whispered in his ear, lifting a hand to the agent by the back door. “Besides, that’s the power of Mitch. He makes friends everywhere he goes. He’s this larger-than-life personality. People make allowances for him. They trust him.”
“I can see that,” Aaron said, feeling the same about Mitch himself. He’d been an unexpected friend since the very beginning.
“The flight’s probably boarding now. Let’s go.” Kreed took off, seeming to automatically know which way to go. Aaron followed, double-timing his steps to keep up.
When Aaron heard the overhead announcement calling their first and last names for final boarding, Kreed took off in a jog, looking over his shoulder to make sure Aaron followed. The flight was loading early, which meant all the seats were taken, and he’d be stuck in the crap seats no one wanted. His earlier hope that he’d sit next to a crying baby over Kreed became more of a reality than he truly cared to consider.
Picking up the pace, Aaron bypassed Kreed, moving quickly toward the gate. As they arrived, he went against his manners, edging past a small crowd still in line as he again heard the last call announcement overhead. Against an angry protest, Aaron stuck his boarding pass in the attendant’s face, praying Kreed’s tickets might offer preferential treatment. He relaxed some when the woman said, “We were afraid you weren’t going to make it.”
“Flight full?” he asked as she scanned his ticket. Since Aaron was so tuned in to Kreed, he knew the man had caught up without looking over his shoulder. He could sense his presence anywhere.
“Yes, but they saved you two seats.” She winked at Aaron like he was someone important and handed him back his pass. Kreed stuck his out, caging Aaron in as she scanned it. “I think you’ll like them. Roddy’s flying you out today. When he got the call you were boarding, he worked his magic.”
“Good boy,” Kreed said, sounding happy by the news. He took off down the jet bridge, leaving Aaron trailing this time.
“Who’s Roddy?” Aaron asked, moving slower, still several steps behind Kreed.
“Jealous?” Kreed asked, throwing him that sexy grin over his shoulder. Damn, he hated the way that grin made his heartbeat skip like that.
“Definitely not,” Aaron declared, giving Kreed a clear ‘you’re crazy’ look. Except he kind of was a little jealous. First, Sergio went nuts over Kreed, now Roddy was working magic. “Is he some government employee? Why does he hold seats like that?”
“What? A government employee working as a flight attendant? No. Believe it or not, I’m quite the catch in some circles.” Kreed turned around, walking backward, as Aaron caught up to him. He waggled his eyebrows before turning back around and stepping onto the airplane. A man he could only guess to be Roddy stood right at the door entrance. He couldn’t have been much taller than five-seven or five-eight with long dreadlocks and a bright smile greeting everyone, but when his eyes landed on Kreed, his grin grew genuine, just irking Aaron that much more.
Finally some kind of sign! The kid was jealous, no doubt about it. His body language, attitude, and biting tone in the comment he’d made, all rang true for a green-eyed monster. As Kreed waited to board, he knew he shouldn’t be so excited that Aaron was at least bi-sexual, but he was. Not that he could do anything about this knowledge, because he couldn’t, not while they were partners. But that didn’t matter. Someday would come. Eventually he could tap that guy’s ass and that was enough of a victory for right now.
“Woo, boy, it made my day to hear you were on my flight!” Roddy declared, reaching up to hug Kreed’s neck. Being based close to Dallas—the closest international airport to his home base of Louisiana—both Kreed and Mitch had gotten to know Roddy pretty well over the years. Roddy flew this route regularly. He was older, maybe had twenty years on Kreed, but he never hesitated to reach out, fold Kreed tightly in his arms, always giving him a good-natured, full body hug when he stepped on.
“I saved you each a seat. Who’s this?” Roddy asked, his face changing, becoming overly interested in Aaron before moving his excited gaze back to Kreed and giving him a wink. “Well, look at you. He’s a cutie. Let’s get you two settled.”
Probably because they were holding the line, Roddy ushered them both to two seats in first class. “Roddy, meet Aaron. How pissed off are the people you moved to coach?” Kreed asked, reaching up to lift an overhead bin. He placed his backpack inside then reached over to grab Aaron’s laptop backpack.
“They’ll live. They were very well compensated,” Roddy answered, giving a tsk and a solid roll of his eyes before moving his gaze back to Aaron for another onceover. “I like your friend. Is he always this quiet?”
Aaron didn’t let go of the strap, instead lifting his backpack to the compartment himself. He was particular about this bag, making sure it lay a certain way, and nothing got in the way, which meant crowding Kreed’s carry-on. “Hey, be careful. My Lush products are in there,” Kreed said, moving everything in the overhead bin so his backpack wouldn’t get too crushed.
“What’s Lush?” Aaron asked, shrugging off his coat, shoving it inside the bin as well.
“Boy, you don’t know amazing until you’ve had yourself some Lush,” Roddy added, helping Kreed with his coat, before tucking all the straps and things inside the bin.
“That’s right. You’re the one who introduced me to that stuff.” Kreed gestured for Aaron to take the window seat.
“Mmm hmm. You two need to take a seat. Help your boy with his seatbelt. I need to give the green light.” Roddy moved around them as Aaron scooted in first and Kreed took the aisle seat. It was far easier to stretch his long legs in the aisle.
“What’s Lush? Is it an alcohol?” Aaron asked, pulling the belt around his lap.
“No, bath products. It makes your skin soft,” Kreed answered, buckling himself in.
“What?” Aaron stopped in mid click.
“What?” Kreed asked after a minute’s pause.
“You’re really such a girl. Is that what you were doing when I was trying on all those clothes?”
&n
bsp; “Yeah. I usually have to ship the shit in, but there was a store here. It’s relaxing. Sue me. Besides, I got you a fizzbanger bath bomb to try. You need to lighten up. Seriously, that scowl you wear all the time’s gonna cause premature wrinkles.”
Aaron just stared at him for several long seconds before he answered, “I think I heard about that stuff on Rooster Teeth. It was advertised for their mothers for Christmas or Mother’s Day or something like that.”
Kreed was right on the verge of asking what the hell Rooster Teeth even meant when a female flight attendant bent in toward him. “You need to buckle your seatbelt, sir. Hi, Kreed.”
“Hey, honey,” he said, but never looked up. He kept his eyes on Aaron’s disbelieving face. The flight attendant patted him on the shoulder and continued down the aisle. Aaron’s look conveyed the same hard time Mitch always gave him about his hygiene habits. Wait until Kreed took his night off and headed to the bathroom instead of the bar. Aaron was going to flip the fuck out. He slid his gaze to Aaron’s hands still holding the buckle. “Need help with that?”
“No…” Aaron still just paused, studying him like he’d never seen him before. After a second or two, he dropped his gaze to buckle himself in as the engines started. Moments later, the plane began to back up. “Everybody on here knows you.”
“I fly a lot with this airline,” Kreed said, still just watching Aaron. It wasn’t a hardship. He was the best-looking thing on this plane.
“It’s cool how you got us first-class seats,” Aaron said, his head turned away from Kreed, his gaze glued out the small window, forcing Kreed to have to lean in to hear what he said.
“Was that said with a hint of appreciation?” Kreed asked, moving his head back when Aaron turned toward him. It was hard to stay focused on the conversation when those blue eyes landed on his. Kreed forced himself to take a giant mental step backward at the realization he had no idea what he’d just asked that fine-looking man. In his entire life, he’d never had that happen with anyone, male or female.
Nice Guys Collection With Added Bonus Material Page 80
