Colorado Flames WIth A Texas Twist (11 page)

Brody shook his head. “I’m not innocent. I’ve done some bad things in my past, but I always stayed away from drugs. I was trying hard to clean myself up when my dad got sick.”

James thought of all the people he’d killed, many of them government sanctioned, and then there were the ones he’d offed while living at the ranch. “I’ve got no room to criticize what you’ve done. I don’t think it’s safe for you to be here alone. Actually, it might not be safe to let you stay here at all.”

“Where could I go?”

“For now, we’ll stay put while I think through this and do some investigating. So did you get any help in changing your identity?”

Brody walked to the kitchen, his back stiff. “There are things I can’t talk about. I made a mistake.”

James followed after Brody, closing the distance. “If you were in witness protection and did something like contact an old friend, you may need to be relocated.”

“It’s been too long. I’m not in contact with my helper, and I haven’t been in the last year. Life was calm, things were going great.”

“Shit, let me guess, your name isn’t even Brody?”

Brody shook his head and drew in a slow breath. “Will you help me?”

James sighed. “I need your real information.”

“No, I can’t.”

“Trust me,” James begged.

Their gazes locked. Brody’s eyes narrowed before he turned and hung his head. “How can I trust you after what I saw out at the ranch? You guys are scary.”

James wrapped his arms around Brody’s waist and pulled him close. “I won’t let them hurt you, but you have to tell me everything. I can help, and I can make sure this situation is solved, but you need to trust me.”

Chapter Twelve

Marshal hadn’t moved since falling into bed the night before. Zander had stayed up later than him so he could go over every piece of paper a second time. They were going to do the mission, of that Marshal had no doubts. What he didn’t know was how it would all go down. Usually he was on top of things, but he couldn’t keep the information straight. His physical impairments prevented him from concentrating because the pain became too much.

He rolled over and saw that Zander wasn’t in bed. How late had he slept? Marshal threw his legs over the side of the bed and sat up, his heart pounding as his blood pressure increased. It was just one more problem that had popped up since his accident.

The bedroom door opened and he glanced up, blinking from the bright light in the hall. He lifted his arm to shield his eyes and saw Zander stumble in.

“Hey,” Marshal said.

“Did I wake you?” Zander asked.

“No, I was about to get up.”

“I’m so exhausted. I just want to sleep. Well that and give you a kiss. I need a lot of kisses from you.”

Marshal smiled, glad that they at least had that. “Did you sleep at all?”

“In the recliner. Maybe five, ten minutes. I don’t know.”

“Babe.”

“I know, I should have come in here and slept with you. I missed you.”

He stood and hobbled to Zander’s side. “I love you so much.”

Zander kissed his nose. “I need to shower, and I think we should wrap your casts and let me wash you. Then, I want to suck you off before I fall asleep.”

He shivered, his whole body shaking as he thought of Zander going down on him. He clutched onto Zander’s side and raked his teeth over his lower lip. The promise of sex left him feeling giddy.

“Come on, let’s get you bagged up and we’ll take care of you.”

Marshal put his hand on Zander’s arm and stopped him. “Thank you for doing this.”

“What?”

“Taking care of me. You know—”

Zander cupped his cheeks with both hands. “I love you and I like doing things with you and for you. I really like sucking your cock, so that’s selfish.”

“When you’re sucking, it doesn’t feel selfish at all to me.”

Zander laughed and helped him into the bathroom. They both undressed, him much more slowly than Zander. He sat on the edge of the tub as he worked his underwear off. He stared up at Zander, watching the way he moved as he prepared the bag to wrap around the casts.

“Okay, I think we’re ready.” Zander held up the tape and the bag, his blue eyes twinkling with merriment.

“I think you like taking care of me.”

“I do. Plus, when you’re showering, you can’t help with the soap. I get to touch you everywhere. I like that a lot.”

Marshal rolled his eyes, secretly loving how Zander teased him. He helped Zander apply the tape, making sure his casts didn’t get wet. They both stepped into the shower, Marshal holding onto the wall to steady himself.

“This is how I like you,” Zander said.

“What, vulnerable?”

“No, with your hands busy so I can touch without you touching back.”

“You are one kinky bastard.”

“Thanks.” Zander leaned in and kissed his shoulder. “Now, let me wash you.”

Marshal didn’t remember much of the shower, but he was glad Zander didn’t wait until they were out of the bathroom to start blowing him. They did drag it out, waiting for the big finale to happen in bed. Zander made sure he was comfortable before he slid down his body and started sucking him in earnest. His orgasm bubbled up and his heart slammed into his ribs. It was too much. When he came, he closed his eyes and drifted between sleep and wakefulness. Zander jacked off next to him, letting his come spray over Marshal’s chest. Zander used a shirt to clean him before dropping down beside him, tugging the sheet up to their chests.

“I’ll be on the mission to Brazil,” Zander said. His fingers traced down Marshal’s chest to his hip, pushing the sheet out of the way before pulling it back up.

“I figured you would. Who else is going?”

“Roger and Billy.”

“That only gives you one pilot.”

“I think we’ll be okay.”

“What about the team here?” Marshal clumsily rolled to his side and placed his hand on Zander’s chest.

“We’ve got Mike and Tucker on intel and Grant on communications.”

He sighed and rolled to his back. He hated that Zander would be out by himself. How could he protect him when he wasn’t even involved?

“Hey, don’t go silent on me.” Zander ran his fingers down Marshal’s chest.

“I’m just worried.”

“I understand. I know how protective you are of me, but love, you and I are both professionals.”

“I know you are. I just don’t like not being involved.”

“You’ll be able to hang out in the control room. Duff and Grant won’t keep you out of the loop. They just want you to heal. You know you’re a key member of the team.”

“Yeah, that’s what got me in trouble.”

“None of that. You didn’t know Craig was out to attack us.” Zander went up on his elbow and stared down at Marshal. “Actually, I know it’s wrong to think this way, but had you not been captured, think of what Craig would have done. He planned on killing us in our sleep.”

“That would have sucked.” Marshal tried for humor but it fell flat.

“I love you.” Zander kissed his shoulder. “You should know that by now. I don’t care if you can’t work in the same capacity physically as before, you will always be my man.”

“I don’t like feeling useless.”

“I can’t fix that for you. Right now you’re in a down time. You were working too hard before the attack and now you’re injured. You aren’t useless and you sure as fuck aren’t worthless. But you have to correct this thought process that’s dragging you down. I can’t do that for you. You are a good guy who has a lot to offer. Don’t sell yourself short because you’re afraid of what might happen.”

The words were hard to hear. He had been upset for far too long. The break had been good for him, now he had no option but to have a break in activity and duties. It sucked, but Zander wasn’t abandoning him, and the ranch was still his home.

“I’m sorry. I’m just scared.”

Zander pulled him into a tight hug, holding him close. “I know, babe. We both know how scary it can be. That’s why we’re here, at Wild Bluff. We understand. You’re family here. All of your fears are okay because we’ve all felt them or something like them. Just don’t shut me out, that’s all I’m asking.”

“I won’t.”

“Good. Now I need to sleep because we have a mission to plan.”

Marshal stayed in bed with Zander, holding him until he fell into a deep sleep. Zander was the best thing that had ever happened to him. He couldn’t imagine life without the man. Now, he just needed to get his life in order physically, after that, everything would be perfect.

Chapter Thirteen

Brody couldn’t believe he’d told James about his past. Everything had been going so well. Being a firefighter was a dream come true. The witness protection program had provided him with a perfect set up, allowing him to move forward with his life with no blemishes on his record. All of the stupid things he’d done as a kid were gone.

He was a fireman with responsibilities and respect of his fellow firefighters. Now his job was being threatened. What if this joker struck while he was on the job? His co-workers could be injured. Brody hated having to rely on James, but not giving him the information would be worse.

“Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to go catch a movie or something.” James walked into the kitchen, his shirt off and his hair damp.

Fighting the urge to stare, Brody turned and began unloading the dishwasher. “Do you think that’s wise, going out in public?”

“It’s been a couple of days. The guy hasn’t struck here at your house, we need to draw him out.”

James had spent the day before searching the Internet for news about the guy Brody had sent to jail. Brody was frustrated. It had been hard to come by the information. So far, they didn’t have much. James seemed frustrated. Hell, they both were.

“Fuck, I don’t like being bait.”

James took a seat at the table. “Maybe we should call your handler. You could relocate.”

“No.” That was the last thing Brody wanted.

“They could set you up somewhere else and you could find a good job, kind of like here.”

“It wouldn’t work.”

“Then we have to draw him out. Once we do, I’ll know more about him.”

Brody looked at James and shook his head. “You’re crazy.”

The corner of James’s mouth turned up and heat shot straight to Brody’s dick. He focused on the dishes, trying to ignore the desire racing through him. At some point in the last two days he should have called Jessica, but he’d honestly forgot about her. What type of guy forgets about his girlfriend? Brody slid his gaze to James, staring at his profile. Maybe it was just the nearness, or the injury, but all he wanted was to kiss James. Jessica hadn’t even crossed his mind once. He and James had held each other that one time, but they hadn’t touched since then. If he could just kiss James one more time then maybe he’d know.

“Let’s go grab something to eat then we’ll drive into Pueblo and catch a movie. Nothing big will happen because it’s not your normal pattern. If we stay here too long they might decide to set the house on fire or something like that.”

Sweat popped out on Brody’s brow. “Shit, I hadn’t even thought of that.”

The corner of James’s mouth turned up. “I’m going to finish getting dressed and we can go out.”

“You were joking about the fire thing, right?”

James nodded. “Yeah.”

James stood and Brody moved quickly, placing his hand on James’s shoulder, his fingers burning from touching James’s skin. He had no idea what he was going to say, but he needed to feel again and James made him feel.

“Yes?” James turned to face him, his brow lifted.

Brody wanted to spill it all, wanted to tell him how he felt and how much he wanted to be with him, but he wasn’t gay. Or was he? Being with James so much over the last few days had left him confused. How was he supposed to know what to do?

James stepped closer, the lines around his eyes grew softer, almost like he knew what Brody was thinking. They were only inches apart, his hand still on James’s arm. Their breaths mingled and Brody dipped his head. James’s nipples looked so inviting. He wanted to see if they were hard. His nipples were tingling along with his dick. His balls were tight against his body and he felt like he could come with just a brush of James’s hand against his dick. Brody wanted to touch and taste, but it was James, not a girl, and this desire went against everything he’d been taught growing up. He loved and respected his dad, but maybe he’d been wrong about a few things. The temptation was too much for him.

Brody reached out and ran his thumb over James’s nipple. He snapped his head up at the gasp James released. He flicked the tight little nub again, growing braver from the desire he saw in James’s eyes. James didn’t move as Brody slid his hands over his chest. His dick filled out more and his whole body tingled. Brody grew more confident and traced a slow path down James’s torso to the waistband of his pants.

“If I undid the button on your pants right now, would you be okay with that?” Brody asked.

James nodded. “Yes,” he hissed.

Brody hesitated and reached around James’s back, tugging him close. “What if I just kissed you instead?”

“I’m going to come, if it’s here with you, then so be it. If I have to go jack off after this kiss, I’m fine with that too.”

“Either way you’re going to come, right?”

“Yes,” James moaned.

“Can I?” Brody slid his fingers between the waistband of James’s pants and his belly.

“This is wrong. You have a girlfriend and I have—well, I have responsibilities.”

The doorbell rang and Brody jumped. He turned and headed to the door, ashamed of what he’d been about to do.

James grabbed Brody’s shoulder. “Are you expecting someone?”

“No.”

“Let me look.” James headed to the front of the house.

Brody followed close behind. He watched as James pushed the curtain back then shook his head. Fear slid through Brody. Living with the threat of the drug dealers coming after him, if that’s who it was, had hit him hard and made him fearful of what would happen next.

“It’s only Jessica,” James said as he moved toward the door, but Brody held up his hand.