Night Is Darkest (6 page)

“You worked the case all night despite the captain’s orders? You have a gut feeling on this one, don’t you?”

Mason didn’t answer the rhetorical questions. Instead, he fired a fierce stare in Ty’s direction. Goddamn, would he ever blink?

Ty tried not to shuffle like a kid busted with his hand in the cookie jar but that’s exactly what he felt like. “Shit! Say something already. Curse at me, let the bottle fly or kick my ass old-school. Just quit looking at me like that.”

“Like what? Like you’re the scum of the earth? Like you’re a cock-sucking asshat who broke the shit out of a pact with his best fucking friend?”

A strong breeze ruffled Tyler’s hair as the bottle of alcohol whizzed past his right ear on its way to oblivion. It smashed into the brick fireplace with a tinkle of glass. The arm he’d instinctively raised to protect his face prevented him from witnessing Mason’s charge but the impact of their collision rocked every joint in Tyler’s body. The shorter man brought him to the floor without effort.

“Or…” Ty choked against the pressure on his windpipe but he didn’t fight back. “…you could opt for all three.” Broad fingers spanned his throat, pinning him to the beige shag.

“She was off limits for a reason!” Mason’s temple bulged as he got right up in Tyler’s face. His free hand fisted in Ty’s shirt as he shook him. “We just lost Rob. Do you want to chase her away, too? You’ll only end up hurting her and I won’t fucking let you do that because you can’t say no to your cock. After years of hard work, you had to fuck up now?”

Tyler winced as Mason shifted on top of him. The full weight of his powerful frame straddled Ty’s torso while the other man’s shins trapped his arms on the ground. Being manhandled didn’t sit well with him. Every guy had his limits and the events of yesterday had pushed him beyond rational thinking. Up close and personal with the bulging crotch of his roommate’s jeans, self-preservation flew out the window as his smart mouth took over.

It wouldn’t be the first time it’d gotten him in trouble.

“Jealous, Mason? Don’t you wish you’d stayed? You could have slaked that woody about to drill a hole in your pants. I bet you jacked off at least three times since then. It didn’t matter, did it?”

“Of course I’m jealous, asshole. We’ve craved her for nearly a decade. But I’m man enough to walk away if I have to. Even from something I want more than my next fucking breath.” Ty had never seen him this pissed, and that was saying something. Mason possessed a legendary temper. He leaned down to snarl right in Tyler’s face. “And I suggest you keep your eyes off my junk unless you plan to do something about it.”

The combination of anguish and need radiating from every flexed muscle of the man on top of him dissolved the defiance Ty’d attempted to use as a shield. Mason’s suffering affected him as much as Lacey’s had yesterday. All resistance fled. He went slack in Mason’s hold.

A throaty growl echoed around them as the dominant man’s hand moved in a flash from its perch on Tyler’s throat to rip the flaps of his own button fly apart. His glorious cock stood framed in denim, the veins pronounced and throbbing. Even as Mason’s hips thrust forward, Ty opened his mouth to welcome the intrusion.

He’d never get used to the mammoth girth stretching his jaw, though he’d given Mason hundreds of blowjobs. Each time, the thickness impressed him as he savored the weight on his tongue and the ecstasy on his lover’s face. Mason reached forward, cradling the back of Tyler’s head in his palm as he urged him to take more. His fury evaporated as desire replaced it.

“Fuck, yes. That’s right, Ty. Suck me.” The urgency of the rhythm Mason set guaranteed their encounter would be short-lived. Tyler devoured as much of the engorged shaft as he could on each pass. He swore it was even bigger today than usual. The salty tang of pre-come washed his tongue as Mason plunged in again. This time the fat head nudged the back of his throat. His reflexive swallow tore another groan from Mason’s chest.

“Relax, Ty. Take me deeper.” Their positions made it more difficult, but Tyler tipped his head back as Mason dropped forward onto his forearms until he could bury his erection full-length into Ty’s throat. As he shifted, his jeans slid further down his thighs, freeing his balls. Tyler wished Mason’s weight had shifted from his arms so he could stroke his own rock-hard cock. But when the hot skin of Mason’s tight sac bumped his chin with each complete stroke, he knew it didn’t matter. He was a goner.

“God, that’s good.”

He flexed the muscles of his throat around Mason’s cock as his tongue massaged the sensitive underside of the shaft.

“Just like that, Ty. Shit, don’t stop.”

Tyler redoubled his efforts. He loved pushing Mason beyond his usual control. When Mason’s abdomen tightened above him, he applied the slightest rake of his teeth.

“I’m gonna…” Mason hadn’t finished the warning before hot jets of his come blasted from his jerking cock. Ty’s hips rocked instinctively, rubbing his own hard-on against the satin boxers encasing it. Then he joined Mason. They grunted their release in simultaneous waves. Tyler still suckled the wilting mass of Mason’s cock, drawing out every last drop, when he retreated and collapsed on the floor nearby.

The rough exhalation of their mismatched breaths slowed over time. Tyler hadn’t recovered when Mason’s iron grip encircled his wrist then tugged him close. He buried his face against the defined muscles of his lover’s chest and sighed. Mason’s suffering had to be great if he allowed this rare level of intimacy between them.

“You were right to go.” His fingers clenched Mason’s shoulders as he confessed.

Mason’s hands stroked his back and one buried in his hair, tucking him against the man’s still pounding heart. “I’m sorry, Ty. You were hurting. We all were. I get why you stayed.”

“She was a virgin.” Ty registered Mason’s surprise in the twitch of his slack muscles. The pause deafened him as he waited for additional recriminations.

“Then I’m glad it was you, Ty.” Comforting fingers trailed down his spine. “I’m sure you made it good for her. You can be so gentle. And you love her.”

“I hurt her.” Misery spread from his aching heart.

“The first time is never comfortable…”

“No, uh…not that. I mean, she bled some but she definitely liked it.” God, when had he become such a blubbering fool? He wasn’t sixteen anymore.

“You told her about us?”

Tyler tried to ignore the hint of unease in Mason’s voice. Unlike him, Mason had never been with another man. He’d never accepted his bisexuality, swore only Tyler attracted him, and insisted they keep their relationship secret. Ty’d given up arguing about it years ago. Mason would never change his mind.

“No. That’s up to you. But I couldn’t mislead her either. I told her I was involved with someone else, then I walked out on her.” The memory of betrayal drowning her eyes cut him all over again. “Hit me if it helps. I kind of wish you would.”

“Ah, shit, Ty.” Mason damn near suffocated him in a bear hug. “That sucks.”

“Mason, I didn’t even use a condom. I didn’t want anything between us. I’ve never done that with a woman before.” He didn’t mention the times he and Mason fooled around.

“Well, we know she’s on the pill. Remember when Rob got all bent out of shape, freaking out over how bad her cramps were until she got on it?” They shared a crooked smile over the memory of their friend’s deliberation on the best way to tackle the awkward conversation with his sister.

He seemed like he was about to continue but didn’t. “Spit it out, Mason. What?”

“I didn’t think you’d come back. I’m a selfish bastard but I thought I’d lost you. Why did you give her up instead of me?”

Tyler squirmed under the uncomfortable pressure of their heart-to-heart. It didn’t bother him to spill his guts, but he knew it could make Mason flee their emotional intimacy. Then again, it could have been Mason caught in the line of fire just as easily as Rob. He refused to regret withholding his emotions if the unthinkable happened. Again. “We’ve been through so much together. I can’t imagine my life without you.”

“You’re willing to sacrifice your friendship with Lacey? She means the world to you. To me, too. You know that.”

“Then why can’t we tell her, Mason? You heard her yesterday, she wants us both. Please…”

“No. I won’t make her the center of our freak show. She was a virgin for Christ’s sake! How would she cope with all the things I want to do to her? I’m no gentle lover. And no matter how I wish it were otherwise, I can’t deny what I need. She can’t handle me.”

One part of Tyler agreed. Lacey wasn’t ready for the rough passion they both craved. But another fraction screamed they were making the biggest mistake of their lives. He’d claimed her yesterday. In the heat of her passion, some of his preconceptions had been seared away. More lay beneath the surface of Lacey’s calm exterior than she let on.

Confusion, grief, longing and resignation swirled in his mind. He replayed their exchange this morning and her words reverberated in his mind.

“I’ve been hearing the details of your sordid threesomes for years.”

What would she think if she found out those were the least of their indiscretions?

“You’re right, Mason. I know you are. I just wish…”

“I know, Ty. I wish, too.” He sighed then asked, “Tell me, what was it like?”

Chapter Four

Lacey paced a circuit that led from the living room through the dining room, which they’d converted to an office, to the kitchen then back again while daytime TV droned in the background. Three days of lockup had her poised on the verge of insanity. Compared to the hullabaloo of organizing Rob’s service and wake, the aftermath seemed eerily quiet when not occupied by endless tears.

Distant friends and acquaintances had obtained their closure then gone back to the grind but, for her, the reality of the void in her life had just begun to sink in. Every once in a while she heard something—a car driving by, people chatting as they walked their dog or the sound of the mailman on the front porch—that made her think Rob was about to bound up the stairs and through the door before she realized all over again that he’d never come home.

It wouldn’t be so damn obvious if she could pick up her regular schedule at the hospital but state laws mandated she remain out of action for a minimum of seven to ten days. The way her thoughts flitted from despair to vengeance and everything in between, she understood she would only be a hazard to patients in the ER—people who could still be saved.

To make matters worse, the hairs on the back of her neck wouldn’t let her forget that either Tyler, Mason, or both, sat across the street in an unmarked car staring at the house. She’d tried to walk over and shoot the breeze with them a few times but they always drove off when they saw her coming. Chickenshit Ty hadn’t even had the decency to check up on her after he’d run out on their morning after.

Their constant quasi-presence rubbed her face in all she’d lost by indulging her fantasy during a moment of weakness. Loneliness piled onto the grief threatening to paralyze her. What were they watching for if they wanted to avoid her so badly? The constant vigilance made her nervous.

The phone rang, startling her from her morose thoughts. The damn thing had been buzzing non-stop. She figured she might as well make some lucky reporter’s day and answer their call. Rob had been regarded as an up-and-comer, a potential candidate who might even make it to chief one day. She’d responded to a few of the inquiries interspersed between the condolences and sympathies but, for the most part, she hadn’t felt like rehashing her misery for a lousy quote in the daily paper.

Most of the journalists had graciously accepted her “no comment” but one persistent newshound kept insisting Lacey return her calls. She’d deleted every one of the pushy voicemails without hesitation. This time she almost hoped the bitch would be on the other end of the line so she could vent some of her frustration. Mentally, she cracked her knuckles preparing to rip the caller a new asshole.

“Hello?” Instead of the high-pitched, scratchy female voice she expected, only static buzzed across the crappy connection. “Hello?” she asked once more before shrugging and hanging up.

Ring.

“Hello?”

Again, no answer though she thought she heard a soft whimper. After several more seconds of silence, she decided she’d fabricated the sound while straining to hear anything on the other end of the line.

She smashed the receiver into the cradle with a thump. Great, now she had some prankster giving her shit, too. She marched into the living room then collapsed onto the couch. Just glancing at the pitiful excuse for a talk show playing on Rob’s TV brought tears to her eyes. She couldn’t stand the solitude a moment longer.

Her gaze flicked to the gap in the curtains where she spotted another nondescript vehicle parked inconspicuously on the shoulder of the neighborhood road. The glint of tawny hair she caught beaming in the shaft of sunlight illuminating the driver-side window made up her mind.

Lacey returned to the kitchen and dug a stainless steel thermos out of the cupboard. A dash of creamer, two spoonfuls of sugar and a semi-stale pastry—leftover from the wake—completed her package. She bundled the treats and a stash of napkins into a plastic grocery bag before creeping out the kitchen exit, like a thief, into her own backyard.