Attachment Strings (3 page)

“Come here,” I said.

Alex slid onto the bed, a small tube and a foil clutched in his left hand. After throwing both items next to my head, he crawled up on me, blanketing my body with his. I clutched his hips and ground our groins together. We moaned and then his mouth slanted on mine, his tongue invading and toying around. As I tasted him, I finally found out that hidden beneath the taste of beer lingered the tang of toothpaste and lemon. Lemon toothpaste? I sucked at Alex’s lower lip, inwardly grinning. We had at least one thing in common.

Alex lifted his head and let out a heavy sigh. “I can hear you thinking. Are you always that thoughtful during sex or are you just distracted by watching yourself in the mirror?”

Startled, I gazed up at him. Which one of us was the detective here? The kid was much too perceptive, annoyingly so. “Why? You’d like it better if you could see yourself in the mirror?”

“I haven’t had the experience so far.”

“We can’t have that.”

We both grinned. I wrapped my arms around him and rolled us around. Alex spread his legs to accommodate me and I latched onto his left nipple. His back arched up, urging me to slip my hands behind his back, to roam and knead. Alex’s hands gripped my shoulders, holding onto them with unexpected force, surely leaving bruises there.

Each of us explored the body of the other, at first slowly. After a while our explorations grew in their urgency. I nudged Alex’s legs wide apart, mouthed his balls, and went further down to the sensitive skin behind his sac. Alex gasped and writhed, all the while uttering needy noises in the back of his throat. “
Please
, Jeff.”

My cock grew more engorged, which should have been close to impossible. I grabbed the tube, squeezed some lube on my fingers, and breached him. “That better?”

Alex wiggled and pushed down hard on my fingers. “Not enough.”

“Open the foil for me?”

Alex complied in an instant. I scissored my fingers inside him and felt his tight hole clench around them. I withdrew my fingers and wiped them on my thigh. When I reached for the condom, Alex shook his head. “No. I’ll do it. Get up here.”

“You still think you’re in charge here.”

“Lemme pretend for a few more seconds. After that you can go all caveman-like on me.”

I growled. Alex chuckled and rolled the condom over my hard cock. I hissed and closed my eyes. He squeezed my sac lightly when the condom was all the way down and my eyes flew open. I almost shot my load then and there.

The smug little prick smirked at me knowingly. “Come on, show me who’s in charge here.”

I lifted his legs onto my shoulders, positioned my cock at his entrance, and pushed. Alex’s fingers dug deeply into my shoulders. I pushed further, studied Alex’s face, and prayed not to come too early. In between gasps, I told him, “You’re
tight
.”

He squeezed around me and I let out a loud moan. My arms quivered slightly and sweat trickled down my back. I stared down into Alex’s flushed face, his eyes dark with a somewhat surprised look in them. I stopped. “Tell me you’ve done this before.”

An annoyed mutter that sounded suspiciously like a cuss word escaped his lips. “Don’t worry. You’re not taking my
virginity
and you don’t have to hold back. Now, could you maybe finally fuck me? I’d be eternally grateful for that.”

I cackled. I hadn’t laughed and smiled that often during sex since… I probably never laughed all that much during sex. I feigned a frown and asked sternly, “Aren’t you taking me seriously?”

Innocent eyes blinked at me. “Me? Of course I am! Now come on, do what you promised.”

Alex clenched around my cock and I groaned. The pressure was almost too much. I pushed the rest of the way in and hit his gland spot-on. Alex cried out. I pulled out and then pushed back in, reveling in hearing him cry out again. I had his knees bent to his chest, which immobilized him. “I’m all for fulfilling my promises.”

Alex gurgled something incomprehensible and I plunged into him over and over again. My thrusts became more and more erratic, and Alex’s cries of pleasure matched my own grunts. I watched him watching us in the mirror. I wanted to ask him if he liked what he saw, but just at that moment, he emitted a keening noise. I felt Alex shivering and his release shot between our bellies. His channel pulsed around my cock and my rhythm turned frantic. I howled when my climax ripped through me.

I released Alex’s legs and slumped down on his chest, not caring if I smothered him. My arms quivered heavily as I lay there, spent and satisfied. I listened to his heartbeat as it slowly changed from a frantic gallop to a more relaxed rhythm. His hands stroked my shoulders and upper arms. It felt more intimate than the sex itself.

Reluctantly, I pushed myself up on my elbows and looked at him. Alex took in a deep breath and told me, “You’re
heavy
.”

“I was expecting something along the lines of ‘you were good’
.
”

“You weren’t.”

I froze. I hadn’t expected such an answer either.

“You were goddamn
fantastic
.” Alex grinned at me, that impudent smirk which seemed to characterize him.

I rolled us around so we were lying on our sides, facing each other, and applied a solid swat to his backside. “Imp.”

He gave a satisfying yelp and ruefully rubbed his butt. “Sorry, but you should have seen your face.”

Alex erupted in laughter and I didn’t have it in me to be offended. The sex must have short-circuited my brain, because I was so mellow I turned over on my back and drew him with me. He snuggled up to me without hesitation, although he said, “I need a shower.”

“We still got almost an hour left. Time enough to rest for a bit and shower later.”

“Never imagined you’d be a cuddler.”

“I’m not.” I really wasn’t. Though my former bed partners didn’t seem to fit so perfectly in my arms as Alex did.

“You’re not?”

“No, this is an exception.”

Untroubled by my remark, he said, “Oh, all right. Will you clock me if I tell you that this is nice?”

“Don’t interpret something into it.”

Alex didn’t reply, but he tightened his grip around me. I rested one of my hands on the small of his back and glanced up at the mirrors. Alex had slung his body around mine and the contrast of our skin and bodies caught my attention. Whereas I had a naturally dark complexion, his skin was almost white. He was slender yet well-muscled. I was way broader and brawnier. His blond hair on my dark chest hair looked odd, as if we were from two different species.

We stayed like that for a while, each of us lost in his own thoughts. Half an hour later, I sighed and patted him lightly. “Guess it’s time for the shower.”

Alex disentangled himself from me and, without saying a word, collected his clothes and scurried to the bathroom. I lay on the bed and listened to the shower noises, wondering why I felt cold and empty. I got up and prowled around the room restlessly. When it occurred to me that my shivering could have to do with being naked, I dressed.

Alex emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later. His hair was damp and stuck up from his head in wild disarray. My heart leapt at the sight. Did I really have sex with someone who looked that young? Geez, I had robbed the cradle!

There was an awkward silence between us while we tied our shoes. We slipped into our jackets and stood in front of each other. Usually, I’d just say, “Have a good life, then,” or something like that, but the words didn’t come. They felt wrong, which just added to the awkwardness of the situation.

Alex cleared his throat. “Are we supposed to shake hands now or what? Normally the guys I’m with have fled the scene by the time I’ve finished showering. Or they’re sleeping.”

My mood deteriorated even further. “Want me to walk you back to the club?”

“Nah, but thanks for the offer. I’ll get a cab.”

“Okay. Well, in that case… sleep well.”

“I will,” Alex whispered when I walked past him.

What I did next was a spur-of-the-moment thing. I whirled around, pulled him into a crushing hug, and kissed him hard on his mouth. Alex gave a small sound of surprise but complied instantly. The kiss didn’t last long, but I gulped in deep, harsh breaths after releasing him. Without another glance at him, I stormed out of the room.

Two weeks later

Friday, April 9, 2010

F
OR
the past two weeks, the weather had matched my mood. Foggy and cold in the mornings, with rain added through the day, and ending in a darkness that chilled more than just my body. Life was muted, devoid of color and delight. Bouts of light depression weren’t uncommon in cops. I had seen it. I’d never thought it would affect me, especially not so shortly after crossing the thirty border. However, I wasn’t alarmed about it. To be honest, I probably felt out of it because I was lonely. Incredibly so.

I sat at my desk, brooding about life in general and the horrible weather in particular. Trenkins came back from his trip to the vending machine, threw a Mars bar on my open folder, and sat down opposite me. I stared at the chocolate with open disgust. Trenkins rolled his eyes, got up again, rounded the desk, and sat down on the edge of my desk.

“Woods, do us all a favor and cheer up a bit.”

I glared daggers at him before I replied icily, “Take that chocolate away.”

“It’s sweet, full of sugar and endorphins, which will flood your body. It’s a mood buster, trust me.”

The only thing busting soon would be Trenkins’s waistline. Not inclined to follow his example, I said, “Thanks, I’ll do without the help.”

Trenkins groaned but snatched the Mars bar. As he got up, he hissed, “Get laid or apologize to your boyfriend. I don’t care about the specifics, but pull yourself together.”

My gaze darted around the room to make sure no one had heard. Everyone appeared to be busy or otherwise occupied. When I glanced over to Trenkins, he spared me a hard glare. Had he followed me? How did he know? I’ve always been ridiculously cautious, never flaunting my being gay.

Reluctantly, I gave a curt nod. Trenkins nodded too and that was
it.

A
T
NOON
our boss, Williams, called us into his office. He told us to sit down and gave each of us a thick folder.

“Miller asked a favor of us,” he started.

I groaned inwardly. A favor for Miller, our mayor, fucking yeah. A muscle twitching in my jaw remained the only outward sign of my annoyance. Trenkins wasn’t that subtle. He probably didn’t get the concept of subtlety at all.

“Oh shit!” he grumbled. “Don’t tell me he fucked an underage girl again! And why do we have to be the ones to help him out? Doesn’t he have an armada of well-paid lawyers for that?”

Williams straightened up to his impressive height and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Trenkins’s resolve crumbled into tiny pieces when Williams addressed him. “A bit more professionalism wouldn’t hurt, Trenkins. And no, the mayor isn’t in trouble and the girl in question was two days short of her eighteenth birthday.”

“So she was
still
underage.” Trenkins didn’t like the mayor and was dead on whenever a minor was involved. I wondered about the reason for his aggressiveness but kept that question to myself.

“The girl wasn’t the one who complained. The mother found out and wanted to make money off it,” I threw in. “Anyway, the girl is now the fourth Mrs. Anderson.”

“There’s an age difference of twenty-seven years! That’s not normal or healthy!”

Williams and I stared at Trenkins, who visibly fought to rein in his temper. He balled his hands into fists before unclenching them. Taking a deep breath, he splayed his hands on the table. Williams pulled a chair out and sat down at the head of the table. Mildly, he asked, “Are you done?”

“Yes.” A short but highly uncomfortable silence extended a moment too long before Trenkins added a mumbled, “Sorry. So, what’s this favor about?”

“Miller’s daughter, Greta Anderson, is worried about her daughter Amaris. She—”

A snort of disbelief escaped my mouth. Williams scowled at me, whereas Trenkins had a very severe coughing fit. Our captain glared first at me, then at Trenkins before he gave up the charade. “All right, the name is ridiculous. Now get over yourselves.”

“I’m sorry, sir. Please go on.”

“Why thank you for your generosity, Detective Woods.”

Trenkins choked on his laughter. It subsided quickly when Williams thumped his large hand several times on my partner’s back.

“Thanks, sir. I’m good now.”

“Isn’t that a pleasure to hear. Now if you two would be inclined to listen, I shall go on with the briefing.”

Trenkins pressed a hand over his mouth. I winked at him. As much as he annoyed me with his inappropriate remarks sometimes, I liked him.

“As I already said, Greta Anderson is worried about her daughter’s safety. She’s gotten various anonymous calls in which her daughter is referred to as a,” he made citing gestures with his fingers, “‘sorry excuse for a human being’ with threats to put her to sleep very soon. The anonymous caller also cursed Mrs. Anderson because she didn’t abort her daughter, although she knew the girl would be disabled.”