by Victoria Sue
Gael nodded. “Communication is the biggest problem. I’m thinking if we get to where he can say some things to me, maybe I can go with him next time he has his eyes checked out.”
Talon paused and looked at Gael. “Let’s hope he’s allowed, huh?”
Gael swallowed because Talon was right. If they decided Derrick was unsafe, he might never see the outside of Bayside Psychiatric again.
Gael locked Jake’s front door and ran back upstairs. Jake was in exactly the same position as he had left him, his arm thrown across his face. Gael turned off the overhead light and switched the small lamp on. Jake sighed.
“Hey, take these.”
Jake groaned, rolled onto his side, and came up on one elbow. He looked at them suspiciously.
“They’re just Tylenol.”
He grunted, swallowed them, and took a few large gulps of the water Gael held out. Then he lay back down.
Gael immediately started unlacing his sneakers and pulled them off. “You need to get your clothes off, Jake. Do you want me to leave you for a few minutes?” He took the pitiful whine as his answer and pulled off Jake’s socks, took a breath, and pulled down his jeans. Jake never moved. Gael got a T-shirt out of the closet and nudged Jake until he rolled so Gael could get his shirt off and the T-shirt on. He covered him with a sheet and looked at the clock. There wasn’t even a chair in here, and there was no way he was going to another room.
“I know you don’t want to, but the bed’s big enough so I won’t touch you.”
Gael swallowed. He’d thought Jake was asleep. “I need to keep checking on you.” He came and sat on the bed, and Jake didn’t open his eyes as it dipped. “How’s the head? Can you open your eyes for me?”
Jake squinted at him, and Gael caught his breath. He’d always thought them gray, but just then, with the low light from the lamp, they could be silver. Long black lashes framed them and lowered, then raised as Jake tried to widen his eyes. “There’s one of you, no weird colors, and you’re not fuzzy. I was nauseous earlier, but I’ve just got the headache from hell now.”
“You’ve had a concussion before,” Gael acknowledged quietly. “You’re gonna hate me because I’m going to have to keep doing this.” That wasn’t what he wanted to say. He needed to say so much more. “I—”
“Can we leave the inquisition until tomorrow?” Jake said wearily. He didn’t wait for a reply, just closed his eyes. “And get in bed, huh? I get why you’re here, and I’m certainly not in any condition to touch you.”
Gael pressed his lips closed so he wouldn’t blurt anything else out. He went into the other bathroom and brushed his teeth. His clothes were still in the suitcase. Pathetic. By the time he came back, Jake had rolled on his side, and Gael was pretty sure he was asleep. He set his phone alarm for two hours and got in bed, completely convinced he wouldn’t sleep. He stared at Jake’s back, and even as his fingers ached to touch Jake, he knew he’d blown whatever chance he might have had.
Chapter Twelve
GAEL HAD been awake for a few minutes, but he didn’t dare move. He wasn’t sure how it had happened, but sometime in the last hour since he had woken Jake to check he was okay, they’d both fallen back to sleep and moved.
To each other.
Gael was lying on his back, Jake on his front, but his left arm was slung across Gael’s abdomen as if to anchor him, and he was using Gael’s chest as a pillow. Gael swallowed. He didn’t know whether to move slowly or to move quickly.
Jake sighed and moved his head a little. Gael froze. So did Jake. He must be awake, then, and Gael figured he had nothing to lose.
“I am so very sorry,” Gael whispered. He’d meant to ask how Jake was feeling, but those words came out instead.
Jake’s shoulders lifted slightly as he inhaled and moved away from Gael. “I understand,” he mumbled as he sat up gingerly. He put a hand out to the nightstand and stood slowly.
“Can I—”
“No.” Jake stumbled to the bathroom and closed the door.
Gael sat immobile. He heard the sound of the toilet flushing after a minute, and then the water from the tap. The bathroom door opened, and Gael winced. Jake’s face was awful. Black and purpling bruises tracked up the left side of his neck, jaw, and cheek. Any farther and it would have given him a black eye. Jake walked to the bed and drained the glass of water that sat there. Gael glanced at his phone. It was six.
Gael swung his legs out of bed. “How are you feeling?”
Jake put the glass down. “Headache’s manageable. Face is sore, but I’ve had worse,” he said quietly and sat on the bed, his back to Gael as if he didn’t want to look at him.
Gael didn’t blame him.
He picked up the jeans he had worn yesterday. “Give me ten minutes and I’ll be out of your hair,” Gael said. He watched as Jake’s shoulders dipped.
“If you want.”
Gael stopped as he was just about to put a foot into his jeans and stared at Jake’s back. If you want. Was Jake really giving him a choice, or was Gael hearing things he wanted to, not what was actually being said?
“I didn’t mean to keep it from you,” Jake whispered, his voice cracking as if every word had sharp edges. “Gregory shocked the fuck out of me when he partnered us. But then….” Jake hesitated.
“Shit happened,” Gael said, putting his jeans back down on the floor. He walked around the bed and stopped. He so wanted to sit. Jake seemed to gulp a breath and dropped his head so it was resting in his hand, his eyes covered.
“Sawyer was right. We didn’t check, but that’s what SWAT is. We have to make split-second decisions. I wish it was different—had been different. I got transferred to ENu pretty easily and the opening was here, but I wouldn’t have cared where it was. My experience in SWAT was exactly what they were looking for, but I didn’t know what they were like. Then I met your team, and realized I wanted to be on it because that was where I could do the most good.”
Gael did sit then, taking comfort in the fact Jake didn’t tell him to fuck off, but he barely noticed either. He stopped talking and just sat with his face buried in both hands.
It was ridiculous in a way. They were both suffering. Both seeking forgiveness for a guilt that wasn’t their fault. Gael had hurt Jake when he had done his best to try to redeem himself, but really there wasn’t anything to forgive, and Gael? He should know better. He was better than this. If fighting to protect Wyatt had taught him anything, it was that his ugly was only skin-deep. He wasn’t the best person in the world, but he was no means the worst, and somewhere in the last few weeks, he’d forgotten that. Forgotten himself.
Gael swallowed and raised his hand, then let it hover for a few seconds while he dredged up a little more courage. He let his hand fall on Jake’s bare thigh, nearly snatched it back when Jake stilled, but he had to know. Was it guilt? Subconsciously? Or was Jake really attracted to him?
“I have somewhere to go. I’m not homeless and I’m not defenseless. Yeah, life’s shit sometimes, but I got carried away with my own pity party. There are a lot of people a ton worse off than me.”
Jake let his hands fall and covered one of Gael’s, raising his head and looking at Gael. “Room for another at that party of yours?”
Gael smiled, staring at the swelling on Jake’s face. “Shit, your face looks awful.”
Jake grinned, then clutched his jaw. “Ow, fuck. I can’t smile.”
Gael leaned forward and kissed the bruising. When he leaned back, he watched as Jake’s eyes got stormy. “How about we start again, partner?”
Jake grunted. “There’s no way Talon’s gonna swap us back. I think we’re stuck until Vance’s partner shows up.”
“Yeah—penance. You got Vance and I got Drew.”
Jake pointed to his jaw. “You deserve him.”
Gael grinned. “How about you get a shower and I’ll go make breakfast?”
Jake’s eyebrows lifted. “Or how about you help me shower, seeing as I’m injured?”
JAKE MOANED softly as Gael’s firm but gentle hands smoothed soap on his back, up to his neck, and dug in the tight, sore muscles. He felt lips press between his shoulder blades and moaned again. “Not fair,” he muttered. “I want a proper kiss.”
“I think that’s gonna have to wait a few days,” Gael replied. “At least until the swelling has gone down. I’m sor—”
“If you apologize again, I’m gonna get mad,” Jake spat. “Starting again, remember?”
Gael pressed another kiss to his back in acquiescence.
“Besides, there are other things I can do that don’t involve lips… mine, anyway,” Jake mumbled, his voice cracking as Gael’s hand dug into the curve of his spine and smoothed the ache away over his buttocks. When Gael brought his other hand around to Jake’s aching shaft, Jake made a noise that didn’t qualify as speech.
“That good?” Gael whispered as he clasped Jake tighter.
Two hands. One pulling his cock and one fondling his balls. Fuck, but he was in heaven.
“Ungh,” Jake grunted in appreciation, but Gael must have understood the sentiment because he got a kiss to the small of his back. Gael nuzzled in his neck, dropping kisses, mouthing his skin, and pulling oh so gently with his teeth. Shivers ran down Jake’s spine even as a deep, glorious ache started in his groin and his balls tightened. He leaned heavier on the glass, his arm slipping a little, and Gael brought around his arm, anchoring him and drawing him back against his chest.
“I got you,” he said, and some switch flicked in Jake and he gave all his weight to Gael, who stood effortlessly, supporting him. The ache rushed through his shaft, and bone-deep pleasure chased it. Jake’s lips parting soundlessly, his whole body shaking from the orgasm rippling through him.
He barely remembered Gael getting him dry and into bed. He felt the soft kiss on his forehead and heard the admonishment to take a nap while Gael made breakfast. He didn’t remember if he replied. Probably not.
“THAT SMELLS good,” Jake murmured sleepily as he inhaled the delicious aroma from the breakfast Gael carried in.
Gael chuckled, put the tray down, deftly stacked some pillows, and helped Jake sit up.
Jake was ridiculously pleased to see two plates, and he dipped his head in alarm as his eyes suddenly burned.
“Hey.” Gael lifted his chin, the blue eyes wide and worried.
Jake swallowed, shaking his head, pleading with Gael not to ask. He didn’t know why he had suddenly morphed into a sap. Must be the injury. Maybe he really had a concussion and the sudden urge to bawl like a baby was a symptom.
Gael pressed his lips to Jake’s forehead, his large hand sliding around to cup his uninjured cheek. “You need to eat, and I happen to know the really good cook who slaved downstairs for an hour will be pissed if you let it get cold.”
Jake chuckled as much as he could without smiling widely. It hurt too much.
Gael stepped back and handed Jake two pills. Jake looked at them suspiciously. “I asked Doc Natalie, and she called in a prescription.”
“You went out?” Jake looked in surprise at the clock. Wow—he must have slept for a good two hours.
“Well, there was nothing to eat in any of those cupboards down there,” Gael said dryly. Gael nudged him again, and Jake opened his mouth obediently for the pills. He swallowed the cool water that Gael passed him and sat up, eagerly looking over at the tray. Scrambled eggs, bacon, breakfast potatoes. “All easy-to-eat stuff.” Gael handed him a fork and put the tray on his lap. “I didn’t do toast because of the chewing, but we can try something a little more adventurous later.”
Jake moaned as he shoveled the first forkful into his mouth because it was just so good and he was starving. “So, you can cook, huh?” he said, swallowing.
Gael grinned.
Jake’s breakfast seemed to disappear in seconds, and Gael removed the plate and gave him a large glass of juice and a straw. After draining it completely, Jake shuffled out of bed to the bathroom, peed, and brushed his teeth very carefully so as not to hurt his jaw. He was yawning as he came back into the bedroom to find Gael smoothing down a clean sheet onto the bed. “I swear that shouldn’t look as inviting as it does.”
Gael smirked. “Doc prescribed you something a little stronger than Tylenol now your head’s okay.”
Jake sighed. “But I wanted to spend some time with you.”
Gael got in bed on his back and lifted his arm in invitation. “I’m here?”
Jake moved quickly because that had been a question and he wanted Gael to know he was welcome. He yawned again. “Ow,” he complained as his jaw stretched, although the pain seemed to be subsiding. He got into bed and laid his head on Gael’s chest. He loved the steady thump, thump in his ear. It grounded him, even if his thoughts were getting a little fuzzy around the edges.
“I hate taking medicine,” he murmured, feeling his body relax.
“Yeah, I’m guessing you hate giving up control,” Gael said and brushed a kiss into Jake’s hair.
“Mmm,” Jake responded, more for acknowledging Gael had said something rather than to admit his point. He blinked, realizing his eyes had drifted shut. “Has Talon called?”
“No, but he said he wouldn’t unless there was something to say.”
Jake’s eyes closed again, and it was too hard to push them open. “I was gonna help you move all your stuff.”
“Plenty of time for that later.”
THE NEXT time Jake woke up, he felt tons better, except he was alone. He could hear faint sounds coming from the other room and guessed Gael was finally unpacking, which was good.
He got out of bed and went to look at himself in the bathroom mirror. The bruises looked darker, but the swelling was down. He opened his mouth experimentally and was happy when he got barely a twinge. His head was clear. He brushed his teeth again and drank the full glass of water—still cold, so he knew Gael had freshened it for him. Jake dragged his cargo shorts on and went in hunt of his nurse. He leaned on the door, watching Gael stuff some papers into a drawer in the nightstand.
Gael looked up and raked his eyes up and down his body. Jake had left his chest bare.
“How are you feeling?”
Jake opened his mouth to reply just as Gael’s phone rang.
Gael put it on speaker. “Hey, Talon.”
“How’s Jake?” came the immediate question.
“A ton better, but you’ve got to stop Gael from feeding me drugs,” Jake chimed in.
They both heard the low chuckle from the phone. “Seriously, Jake. How are you feeling?”
Jake pushed himself away from the door. The question seemed serious. “No trace of headache or blurred vision. My jaw aches when I laugh so I’m cutting that right out.”
“Gael?” Talon asked, obviously wanting his opinion.
“Yeah, his head’s thicker than I thought.”
“Why?” Jake asked, because he didn’t think Talon was just casually inquiring.
There was a beat of silence. “Because we’ve just gotten a call from Mateo Huras. His girlfriend wants to speak to you, and when I suggested you two might not be available, he kind of shut down. I think it’s better if you go, as he knows you both from before. But only if you’re okay. I can send Finn. Every man and his dog likes him.”
Gael laughed, and Jake wondered why Talon sounded defensive. Gael’s eyes crinkled assessingly at Jake. “On the condition that if you get any of those symptoms, we cut the visit short,” Gael qualified.
It was Talon’s turn to laugh. “If it’s any consolation, Jake, he’s been ordering me around for years.” He hung up.
Jake raised his eyebrows. He couldn’t imagine anyone having the balls to order Talon around.
“And I drive,” Gael said as Jake disappeared into his room to get dressed.
Jake tried not to smile as he hurried to find a shirt. “Do we need to go in uniform?”
“
I don’t think so. I know Gregory is very strict on that, but technically we’re off, and you’re injured, even.”
Jake winced a little as he pulled the black shirt down over his head. He was going to pick his favorite white one, but he needed something to mute the color palette on his face. He also wasn’t going to attempt to run a razor over his bruises.
He glanced up as Gael walked in and smiled in appreciation. Black chinos and a dark gray shirt. Simple, not in any way flashy, but fuck, he looked good. Beautiful guys who dressed with care made Jake immediately want to undress them. Gael had been appearing in hoodies, sweats, and jeans for the past few weeks. Every time he saw him, it was that look or his uniform, but….
“I’ve suddenly got a real bad ache and think I need to lie down.” He’d tried to keep his voice serious, but the accompanying lick of his lips gave it away.
“Your head?” Gael inquired in mock innocence and stepped real close. His hand drifted across the bulge in Jake’s jeans.
“No,” he whined.
“Later,” Gael promised and took his hand to lead him downstairs. It was nice.
AMY NEALSON, Mateo’s girlfriend, was nervous, and Jake didn’t think the bruises on his face were helping.
Mateo had just whistled when he saw him and asked what the other guy looked like.
Jake didn’t dare look at Gael.
They were meeting at Mateo’s apartment this time, as it had been released back to them after the forensics people had finished. Toxicology was going to take four weeks, but as Adero’s body worked differently from other people’s in the water, unless there was evidence he had been sedated, they had nothing to go on.
Amy wrung her hands. “I’d completely forgotten. It was only when we were going through Adero’s things that I realized.” She paused and looked at Gael. “I remembered your boy in the photograph.”
Jake looked excitedly at Gael. “Who is he?”
Amy grimaced prettily. “I’m sorry, I don’t know his real name. The other boys called him ‘Skin.’”
