by Tatum Throne
“What’s this?” Cole asked.
“Everything you need to do to qualify to work with me again,” Trent said.
It looked like six months’ worth of work. “How long is this going to take?”
“Not as long as you think,” Trent said. “We need you to take the Academy test. You can take it as soon as you feel up to it.”
“What’s your background in?” Bane asked.
“I have a master’s degree in linguistics and a minor in American Sign Language. I’m a trained expert in nonverbal communication. I work several cases a month for the FBI as a certified expert. I’ve been through the bureau’s training.”
“And you’re my interpreter,” Trent said.
“I only take on interpreting work with law enforcement.”
“So, are you game for some more certification?” Trent asked.
Cole let out a sigh. “Fine. When?”
“Call me when you’re well enough and ready to start,” Bane said.
“Is there anyone you want us to call for you?” Trent asked.
Cole’s family was way out of town and way out of his life. He shook his head as he signed. “No. There’s no one.”
A frown played overtime on Trent’s face. There were a lot of unasked questions about why there wasn’t anyone at the hospital checking on him.
“Need a ride?” Trent asked.
“I’ll be okay.”
“Feel better,” Trent said.
Cole took Bane’s card that was handed to him, but he couldn’t meet those devastating green eyes again. They made him feel vulnerable and whole at the same time. When Cole looked in Bane’s eyes, he wanted to trust him completely. Everyone left, leaving Cole feeling all bungled up inside. Tears flooded his eyes as he thought about the gun that had been pointed at his head.
He glanced toward the windows and saw his reflection. Bruises shadowed half his face and a white bandage covered the other half of his face. He did not look good. Cole swung his legs out of bed, testing them. He hit the call button for the nurse. He was getting the hell out of there right now.
Two hours later, Cole was sitting in a cab going home. His head was rocking something fierce, but he didn’t want to take the pain pills they’d given him. They made him feel groggy.
The house was quiet under the moonlight. Home looked really, really good. He paid the cabdriver and headed up the long walkway to his wraparound porch. He unlocked the door and went straight upstairs to go to bed. He was beat. Cole emptied his pockets, dumping his cell phone, wallet, and keys on the nightstand. He dropped Bane’s business card on top of his wallet. Cole kicked off his shoes and pulled his shirt over his head, before falling softly into bed. He thought about Trent’s ultimatum as his eyes grew heavy. Maybe it was time for him to move on? Maybe he was a little too close and had lost all perspective? Cole took a really long blink and didn’t feel like opening his eyes again.
Cole gasped awake. His heart hammered in his chest. He was flat on his back and the room was completely dark. He grabbed at his chest, feeling only smooth skin beneath his palms. The nightmare continued to chase after him despite the physical reassurance that he was okay. The sound of the gun firing continued to echo within his mind. Sweat slicked Cole’s body, causing the sheet twisted around him to stick. Cole shoved the sheet aside as he sat up. He ran his hands down his face, trying to push the last few moments of the dream away. He wasn’t one to be afraid of the dark or even of a little nightmare. That was before he was thrown into the middle of a SWAT standoff. Cole glanced at his clock on the nightstand. It was a little before midnight. He reached for Bane’s business card, flipping it over in his hands several times. The motion of the card within his hands gave him an odd sense of peace and control. It was late, probably too late to be calling someone he didn’t know well at this hour. Officer Bane Duncan probably had a family at home.
Cole got out of bed and walked to the window, clutching the card in his hand as though it were a lifeline. Right now, he was feeling really alone. He’d give anything to have someone hold him as he fell back to sleep. He was going to have to settle for calling Bane.
Darkness pressed against the window. He looked down at the card, brushing his thumb over the glossy print. He should probably wait until morning, but he was going to call the officer now. Cole crossed the room and reached for his cell phone on the nightstand, dialing Bane’s number. Nerves had him pacing back to the window overlooking his back yard. He pressed his sore forehead to the cool glass, closing his eyes as he listened to the sound of Officer Duncan’s phone ringing. To Cole’s surprise, he picked up a few seconds later.
“This is Duncan,” he said.
The sound of Officer Duncan’s sleepy voice was like a salve on a very raw wound. “Can we start on Friday?” Cole asked.
“Cole? Are you okay?”
Cole closed his eyes, drinking in the sound of the officer’s deep voice. It reminded him of hot chocolate on a cold day, warm and very smooth. “I’m good.”
“You wouldn’t be calling so late if everything were okay.”
“I didn’t wake your family, did I?” Cole asked.
“No. I live alone. What happened?” Duncan asked.
“Nightmares.”
“Damn. Do you want to talk about it?”
Cole sighed, walking back to bed with the phone. He sat back against the headboard, pulling the covers up over his legs. “It was bad.”
“About the incident on the bridge?”
“Yeah.”
“The first forty-eight hours are usually the worst for flashbacks.”
“What do you think will help?” Cole asked.
“Talking it through with someone. So, you’re making a good start of it with me.”
Cole felt the need to explain. “I wasn’t afraid for myself out there. I was worried about the kid.”
“We all were, but you saved the day. Remember that tonight when you’re falling asleep. Don’t think about all the what-ifs. Think about how happy that kid is to be with his friends and his mother.”
“Yeah.”
“Is there someone there with you?”
Cole flipped Bane’s business card around. “No. I live alone. I’m feeling better now.”
“You sure?”
“I just needed to clear my head,” Cole said.
Duncan sighed into the phone. “Are you sure you’ll be up for training with me?”
“I’ll be ready.”
“I have time to work with you Friday morning. Around ten. Meet me in the training center,” Bane said. “You should know, the media is all over this story. You’re a fucking international hero.”
“Okay, good to know. I’ll see you then.”
“One more thing…sleep well tonight, Cole. You deserve it.”
“I will.”
Cole hung up the phone, feeling as though his life had gotten sidetracked permanently and sucked inside out. He was putting all his trust in Bane Duncan to make things right. With Bane Duncan on his mind, Cole slid his cell phone back onto the nightstand. He curled up under the covers, clutching Bane’s card. He imagined Bane’s strong arms holding him tightly as he fell asleep. Cole looked down at Bane’s card. Master K-9 Officer Bane Duncan was his golden ticket back to his life. He couldn’t wait to get this training over with.
Chapter Two
Four days later, Cole walked into district headquarters for his training with Bane. He’d breezed through the police academy training books and taken the test at the Academy. Now, he was onto the physical aspect of things. Bane was his go-to guy for that.
Cole’s blue Nike jacket was zipped up high to hide the bruises on his neck. He was still feeling shaken up inside and out from the near miss with the kid. Cole passed by the offices. He was getting a lot of looks and nods that gave him the support he desperately needed to feel inside.
Cole cut through the building and downstairs to the training center. The training center was a state of the art facility with the lat
est and greatest equipment used to build officers. Cole hovered outside in the glass walkway, watching the class underway. He wasn’t anything like these officers in training.
Rock music pumped inside the center. Bane was up at the front, running the class with another instructor. Footsteps coming down the walkway had Cole glancing over his shoulder. Trent was headed down the glass walkway with his head buried in his cell phone. At the last second, Trent glanced up seeing Cole standing by the doors. He put his cell phone away.
Cole lifted his hands and signed, “Hey, miss me yet?”
Trent groaned. “You wouldn’t fucking believe how much I miss you. I feel like I have to be on my best behavior around Liv. Hey, I have a question about a sign.”
“Shoot.”
Trent lowered his voice and came in close. “What’s the sign for rimming?”
Cole grinned. Over Trent’s shoulder he saw Bane watching him closely. “It’s going to cost you.”
“Stop fucking around and just tell me. I have to get to a meeting.”
Cole lifted his left hand and made a fist. He made a letter U with his right hand. With the U he rubbed his fingers over his fist, circling the top of his fist. Cole parted his mouth, pressing his tongue out from behind his teeth. To drive the point home, Cole let his eyes go dreamy as though the U was lapping the rim of someone’s anus.
Trent chuckled. “God, I’ve missed you. Thanks.”
“Anytime.”
Trent headed back up the walkway, but stopped. “We’re going to go to the brewery Saturday night. You’re coming out with us.”
“Sounds fun.”
“Bane’s going, too. We’ve already decided that you’re coming out with us.”
He was about to protest, but Trent turned walking away. The rat bastard made that move on purpose. He didn’t want an argument with Cole about why he couldn’t go. Cole glanced back inside the training center. Class was over. Bane was talking to some of the guys, but his gaze cut to the windows where he saw Cole standing outside. As the class cleared out, he came over to the center’s doors. He opened them up and leaned out into the walkway. Up close, Cole could see the deep cleft in his chin and a five-o’clock shadow darkening his strong jaw.
“Are you going to come inside?” Bane asked.
“Thinking about it.”
“I promise that I’ll go easy on you.” He grinned and paused for effect. “The first time.”
“Just be careful of my hands. I need those for work.”
Bane smiled. “Any other place on your body I need to watch out for?”
The corner of Cole’s mouth ticked up as he thought about it. “Just the standard issued.”
“I’ll be gentle with you.” Bane held open the door, and Cole followed him inside. “Are you feeling up to training today?”
“I’m ready to get this over with to get back to work. So you train officers in self-defense?”
“I do. I also work as part of a multiagency task force with the US Marshal Service as part of their K-9 division.”
“You sound busy.”
“I am. Like most officers we have ancillary duties within the department.”
“How so?” Cole asked.
“Well, the SWAT team is made up of many officers, detectives, and lieutenants. SWAT trains twice a month to keep their skills fresh. K-9 is often called out as part of SWAT and high-risk evidence searches.”
“I didn’t realize how much you guys multitask.”
“At the end of the day it saves the department money. You ready to get to work?” Bane asked.
“Let’s do it.”
They started off easy with Bane showing Cole basic self-defense with knives and weapons. They built on each move with Bane pretending to be the attacker. Cole used the moves to fight him off. Bane pretended to stab him with the knife. Cole sidestepped the attack, striking Bane’s arm. They repeated the moves over and over.
“If they have a gun or knife, jump to the side, grabbing the wrist. Like this.” Bane demonstrated using Cole’s wrist. His grip was firm and hot. “Throw your body into the move.”
Cole felt like the moves were coming slow.
“Again.”
Sweat dripped off of Cole’s brow as he went over the complicated arm moves Bane demanded to follow up on the attacker. Cole used Bane’s muscled chest as a striking point.
“Give yourself time. You’ll get this. Here, let’s try something else for a while.”
Bane grabbed him from behind, locking his arm around Cole’s neck. Heat seared over Cole’s back and ass as Bane’s hard body pressed in close from behind. Cole froze as Bane’s breath brushed over his ear. Cole’s eyes fluttered closed as he felt the heat of Bane’s body on his and the beat of Bane’s heart through his chest. All of a sudden, Cole had trouble swallowing and breathing when they were so close.
“Fight me off.”
Cole’s heart tripped as though he’d fallen down a flight of stairs. He didn’t know if Bane was gay. In fact, there was a good chance that he wasn’t. Crushes burned hotter than the sun and faded fast. Most times, it left Cole feeling like he couldn’t move on after he fell hard and fast for someone who wasn’t gay. The outline of Bane’s flaccid cock pressed against Cole’s ass cheek. Cole reached for Bane’s arm, trying to regain the balance he was no longer feeling inside. He desperately wanted to get away from Bane.
“Cole?”
“Yeah?”
“Fight me off.”
He didn’t want to fight the desire rushing through his blood. Cole arched his ass back, rubbing it against Bane’s cock. It felt so wrong, but he couldn’t resist the temptation to feel more.
“Cole? What’s wrong?”
Heat flooded Cole’s body, landing solidly in his cock. His prick flexed hard against his boxers and finished by doing a high kick against his waistband. Bane would know instantly he had a raging hard on if they dropped to the mats to ground fight.
“Let go of me.”
“No. Fight me off.”
Bane dragged Cole off his feet. Panic rushed through Cole’s body. He was not about to let Bane know that their sudden physical connection was turning him the fuck on. Despite Cole’s protests, Bane wouldn’t let him go. The heat of his body seared through his clothes.
“I won’t hurt you. Fight me off,” Bane said.
Cole was frozen in place.
“You have to think. Don’t let fear take over. You have to be ready to fight for your life if necessary.”
With every beat of Cole’s heart, he felt the quick tick-tick of his hard prick. He resisted the urge to adjust. “I can’t.”
“Not an option.”
Bane forced him down onto the mat, flipping him over. Cole instinctively started to fight him off, by grabbing the front of Bane’s T-shirt. Bane straddled him, grabbing Cole by the front of his shirt.
Their eyes locked. Surprise moved over Bane’s handsome face. Cole’s throbbing prick was sticking up at an angle between Bane’s ass cheeks. A shiver went through Cole’s body as Bane’s legs straddling his hips locked down tighter. Bane flexed his hips forward, rubbing his ass over Cole’s cock. The movement of Bane’s ass awakened something dark and sensual deep inside. Cole felt his cock kick out, making his balls pull up tight against his prick. He wanted to rock their cocks together in a very private place.
“Fuck,” Bane cursed, hopping off of Cole. He walked off, running a hand through his hair. This was pretty much what Cole expected. Their training was probably over for the day, if not forever. Bane paced around the room as though he’d just caught the gay. Cole knew what was coming and didn’t want to be there for the play-by-play recap of the accidental moment they shared.
Cole sat up, adjusting his cock. “Sorry about that.”
Bane continued to pace like he didn’t know what he was going to do next. Cole ran a hand through his blonde hair. “Look, I didn’t mean for my dick to misbehave.”
“Don’t say anything.”
The order had Co
le snapping his mouth shut, but not for long. “It won’t happen again.”
“I told you not to say anything.”
There was heat and emotion in Bane’s voice. Cole had had enough of the day. He felt his cock deflate fast as he stood. He grabbed his gym bag and started for the locker room. “I think I’ve had enough for today. Thanks. I understand if you don’t want to keep things up.”
Bane followed him into the locker room, slamming the door and locking it behind. “Cole.”
“We can call it good. All I need you to do is sign off on things with Chief Anderson.”
“Cole.”
“No, really. It’s okay. I understand. I don’t want to make this any more awkward than it already is for both of us.”
“Cole.”
“It’s fine.”
“Will you just listen to me for a minute?”
Cole dropped his bag on the wooden bench between the lockers. He closed his eyes. He loved the sound of his name on Bane’s deep voice. What the hell was wrong with him? There was no way anything could ever happen between them. There were strict policies within the department about no dating. Even as a contracted employee, Cole was subject to the same policies and procedures that the officers he worked with were.
“I’m listening,” Cole said.
Bane came in close. He was taller and stronger and sexier than anything Cole could ever be. It hurt to look at someone so beautiful and to know that it would never, ever be happening. Cole looked away. His back was up against the lockers. He felt trapped and cornered by Bane.
“Look at me.”
He didn’t want to. He couldn’t control his physiological response. Slowly, Cole lifted his eyes to Bane’s green eyes. It was then that he saw the flecks of blue in them. Bane came in closer. All the air went out of Cole as he tried to step back further, knocking his shoulders against the lockers.
“What are we going to do about this?” Bane asked.
“There’s nothing to do.”
“My job is to train you.”
“I get that. We can call the training done. It’s no big deal. Chief Anderson just wants to make sure I’m solid in the field.”
“Cole.”
