A Mended Man (The Men of Halfway House Book 4) (56 page)

"You're really proud of yourself, aren't you?" Jessie teased. "You didn't even bother to aim."

He waited for the target to stop in front of him, pulled the paper off the clips, and turned the paper toward Jessie, proudly displaying the perfectly centered, single target shot.

Jessie held the paper target in his hand and looked up, unmistakable desire dilating his pupils.

Aidan leaned in and whispered, "That turned you the fuck on…hard. And don't even bother denying it. You're aiming your
weapon
right at me."

Jessie swallowed heavily, parting his lips on an exhale.

Aidan smiled smugly. He might not know what to say at times or how best to say it, but he damn sure knew how to use a weapon and how to press Jessie's buttons. He holstered his gun and made his way to the door, turning to watch Jessie's still stunned expression and growing hard-on. "
Now
I'm really proud of myself."

* * * *

Jessie sat on the bed with his back resting against pillows lined along the headboard. Strong arms and the head resting on his lap held him in place. He stroked Aidan's thick, dark hair, sighing each time Aidan turned to kiss his stomach then tighten his arms to snuggle closer. He enjoyed the peaceful moments like these between them, where monsters and haunting memories didn't exist.

He absently ran his fingers along Aidan's arm, smiling at the memory of them racing into the house, tearing away at each other's clothes. He couldn't deny Aidan's ability to handle a gun had made him rock-hard and kept him that way the entire drive home. His strength, his fearlessness, his confidence, his control, all combined with the secret, sweet side of his protectiveness to produce a strong aphrodisiac Jessie couldn't resist. Everything about him was attractive and beautiful. And the best part of it all, Aidan was completely oblivious to his allure when entering a room. Whether feared or admired, he never failed to captivate every person in his proximity and command attention.

"Do you realize you strut?"

"Huh?" Aidan said, lazily raising his head from Jessie's lap.

"When you walk. You strut." He smiled, brushing away the hair covering Aidan's eyes. "It's like you're walking to music."

"No, I don't." Aidan's eyes narrowed. "Do you…like that?"

"Oh yeah." Jessie bit his lower lip. "It's sexy as hell. You've got some serious swagger going on."

"Then yeah, I totally strut," he said, lowering his head again, rubbing his stubble against Jessie's stomach.

Jessie laughed, squirming under Aidan's hold. "That tickles."

"I know," he said, brushing his chin up and down Jessie's torso.

Jessie wiggled his body, laughing and pushing Aidan's shoulder. Aidan tugged him lower, flat on the bed, then pinned him down with the weight of his body. He stilled when Aidan reached out and brushed his thumb along his cheek, leaning in to press their lips together in a slow and seductive kiss.

Jessie's heart hammered against his chest, want and need rippled through his body. He arched into Aidan, enjoying the scrape of stubble and trail of kisses down his torso. "Aidan…"

Aidan wrapped his mouth around Jessie's hardened shaft, engulfing him in wet warmth that stole his breath. He dug his fingers into Aidan's shoulders and gasped a breath with each strong pull, writhing beneath him as the fire ignited in his veins and spread throughout his body. He gripped the back of Aidan's head with both hands and bent his knees, pushing his hips into Aidan as the fire traveled up his spine and threatened to explode.

"Aid—" He barely warned as Aidan hooked his arms around Jessie's thighs with a possessive growl, tugging him closer, taking him to the root and devouring every ounce of Jessie's release.

He gasped each breath as Aidan peppered tender kisses along his body, starting at the surgical scar along Jessie's leg and working his way up Jessie's torso to his neck. Aidan cupped his face and nuzzled his ear, placing a kiss just below his earlobe. Jessie groaned, as he always did whenever Aidan touched that sensitive spot. He finally opened his eyes, reaching for Aidan, resting his palm against Aidan's cheek, rubbing his thumb along the prickly stubble he loved so much. Aidan closed his eyes and took a slow, deep breath, leaning into the caress.

"I love it when you do that," Aidan said. He lazily opened his eyes and looked at Jessie with a steady gaze filled with heat and need. He kept eye contact while he turned his head and kissed Jessie's palm. He wrapped his fingers around Jessie's hand and pulled it to his mouth, peppering more tender kisses on the scar that marred Jessie's wrist.

Jessie's throat tightened with emotion. No one had ever looked at him with so much desire or touched him with so much care. He closed his eyes, hoping to calm his rapid heartbeat.

"What's wrong?" Aidan asked.

He opened his eyes and turned his head to face Aidan. He smiled, loving how peaceful Aidan looked lying on his side with his arm tucked under the pillow. He rested his hand on Jessie's waist and tugged him closer, obviously impatient, waiting for Jessie's reply.

"Nothing's wrong. Everything's perfect. You're perfect. We're perfect."

"That's too much perfection," Aidan said with a lopsided grin. "You're making it too easy for me to screw something up."

A quiet chuckle escaped him. "I don't think you could." Jessie turned on his side, tracing his fingertips along Aidan's inked torso. "It's your turn."

"Not yet. I just want to stay like this with you for a bit."

He gave him a watery smile. Aidan could deny it all he wanted, but Jessie knew he was a very sweet man.

"Then you can have at me all you want so I can sleep the rest of the night."

Jessie laughed. Aidan was sweet when he
didn't
try so hard.

"That didn't score me any points, did it?"

He laughed harder.

"Damn," Aidan said with a mischievous grin. "Give me an extra credit question to make up for it."

Jessie tucked his hand under the pillow, hopelessly staring at the playfulness in those hazel eyes. "It's going to require a multi-part question."

"Shoot. Something tells me I need all the bonus points I can get."

"Smartass." Jessie ran his fingers along Aidan's neck before tucking his hand back under the pillow. For some reason, he couldn't resist touching Aidan when he was so peaceful. "Did you know you wanted to be a detective when you left the service?"

"No. It's a little…complicated."

"Those are the best answers. Makes you talk more. You earn more points."

The corner of Aidan's lips curled into a smile. "Okay. But you have to promise you won't get upset or sad with anything I say. Otherwise, I don't give a shit about the points."

Yeah, Aidan was damn sweet when he wasn't trying. "I promise."

Aidan looked away and quieted for a moment before returning his focus to Jessie. "You can blame Hunter for me being a detective. It's all his fucking fault."

Jessie laughed, reaching out to touch his stubble again, then trailed his finger down to Aidan's chest, resting his palm over Aidan's beating heart. "You were good with that gun."

Aidan remained quiet for a few moments but held an intensity in his eyes. "Guns, knives, and bow and arrows."

"Did you leave the service because…of what happened?"

The intensity lingered in Aidan's eyes, as if trying to gauge Jessie's reaction to his carefully selected words. "Yes. One of the things about the service—you learn to give up control, take orders, and do as you're told. After those six months, there was no way in hell I could give up control again." His jaw muscles twitched. "So I knew I couldn't re-enlist." He absently rubbed his thumb along Jessie's hip. "I shocked a lot of people. Everyone figured I'd serve my entire life."

"What did you do after that?"

"I had offers from a few people as soon as they heard I hadn't re-upped. Contracts for hire mainly." He gave Jessie a knowing look, sending a clear message of exactly what types of contracts he meant.

Jessie set his hand back on Aidan's chest. "There's a lot more to you than that."

"At the time, I didn't think I had many options." He grabbed Jessie's hand and held it up to his mouth, placing a gentle kiss on his knuckles. "Hunter was the one who suggested I join the force or be a bodyguard and use my skills for something positive. I thought about it. I tried the bodyguard thing for a few months, but I was bored out of my mind watching over some useless prick who did more wrong than right then got scared when people were looking for him. I wanted to shoot the son of a bitch instead of protect him."

Jessie bit his lip, trying to hold back a chuckle.

Aidan wrapped his hand around Jessie's fingers and held it to his chest, stroking the back of Jessie's hand with his thumb. "I remember Hunter was working a case and we were talking about it one night. Different theories, strategies, stuff like that. It was the first time in a while I was excited about something. I remember him getting quiet and just staring at me with this stupid grin on his face. Fucker knew he was going to steer me toward the force. He said I had a knack for seeing stuff others missed and finding answers. He said it wasn't taking the shot I was good at, it was survival, protection, and justice." He quieted, as if remembering that moment. "I hadn't ever thought about that or seen myself that way."

He squeezed Aidan's hand, drawing his attention. "Hunter's a great friend."

"He's always been like a big brother to me." Aidan quieted again, lowering his brow at some thought. "He got me out of there and I'll always owe him for that." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "That's why I need to get him back home. I can't ever repay that debt to him, but this…I know it means a lot to him. It means a lot to me too. I miss having him around."

"I know. I started going through the names on the Strassburg roster. I'm sure we'll find a way."

"Thank you." Aidan tugged him flush against his body, draping his arm over Jessie and splaying his hand across Jessie's back. Aidan's lips brushed back and forth in his hair before he spoke again. "My parents and Ty never knew what happened to me. They didn't know I was held prisoner for six months. Ty still doesn't know…and it's not something I ever want him to find out. I'm here now, and that's what matters."

Jessie's heart ached, imagining how alone Aidan must have felt in the field, knowing no one had a clue what was happening to him or knew enough about the mission to be alerted that something had gone terribly wrong when he hadn't returned. He swallowed heavily, fighting back the emotions.

"Don't. You promised." Aidan inched back and held Jessie's chin. He tilted his face upward and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. "I'm here. I'm home."

Jessie nodded quickly, wrapping his hand around Aidan's wrist.

"All those months I was there, I kept thinking of my parents and brother. If something had happened to me, they would have been given some cover-up bullshit story. They never would have known the truth." He placed a kiss on Jessie's forehead. "
That's
why I work homicide. I feel as if the families need to know what happened. The
truth
of what happened to their loved ones. And if I can bring down the bastard who killed someone in the process, well…then that's like having cake and eating it too."

Jessie smiled brightly, hoping to disguise the emotions squeezing his heart. "And I know how much you like dessert."

"Especially when it requires me to lick it off you." Aidan smiled wickedly, dipping his head to deliver a slow, torturous kiss that made Jessie's toes curl. "Can we spend the rest of the weekend in bed?" he asked, working his way down Jessie's body.

Jessie moaned, digging his fingers into Aidan's shoulders. "Anything you want."

"Good." He looked up at Jessie, the undeniable mischief sparking in his eyes. "Because I want dessert. Lots and lots of dessert."

Aidan sat at the dining room table Friday night, hoping to sneak in the last bit of notes on the case file before officially calling it the end of the week. He stretched his arms and rolled his shoulders, trying to ease the tightness in his muscles. After working the list for a solid month and a half with Jessie's research, they'd finally reached the last page of names. A few weeks, tops, and all the bullshit and drama should be over and each of them could add one hell of a notch to their personnel file for taking down one of the largest organized crime and drug rings the multi-agencies had ever seen. Sunny was excited, Travis relieved to finally close up some cold cases from his department, Wall didn't seem to care either way, and Peacock Manny had paraded around all week like Miss Universe doing a pageant crowning walk.

Then there was Jessie. The solved cases were a direct result of his endless hours putting all the pieces together. Even if Aidan was a talker by nature, he wouldn't know which words to use to summarize how he felt. Jessie's gentle nature and mad research skills won over the detectives in the precinct and resulted in a few job offers from several agencies. He was respected and treated as an equal. And to Jessie, that meant the world. He didn't need to accept a job offer to show his gratitude.