Private Dicks (9 page)

“He’s something, isn’t he?” Wash said quietly. Trevor
glanced over at him in surprise and then nodded. The two men shared a look that
made Rhodes extremely uncomfortable.

“Enough of this,” he grunted. “What do you think, Trev?
Don’t want to get you into any kind of trouble with your boss, even if he is a
slimy asshole.”

Wash shuddered. “Christ, is he ever slimy.”

“No, it’s okay,” Trevor said, looking back and forth between
the two men. “I’ll help. If Ness
is
mixed up in this whole missing-kids
thing, I don’t want to work for him anyway.”

Toasting Trevor with his beer, Wash grinned happily. “Then
welcome aboard, sailor! You have no idea what you’ve just gotten yourself
into.”

Smiling wryly, Trevor toasted him back. “Probably not,” he
agreed with a quick glance at Rhodes.

Chapter Five

“Want to know what I’m thinking?” Wash asked. The game was
still muted. The three men had spread the files across the coffee table in
order to go over all the case details again.

Rhodes rolled his eyes. “Last time you asked us that, you
were thinking about that cheese commercial and now that fucking annoying jingle
is stuck in all our heads, so no, I probably don’t want to know.”

Wash ignored him. “We should have Gomez check for any other
missing kids from that area.”

His look of pained forbearance dropped away as Rhodes considered
the idea. “All missing teenagers from that section of the city would be a long
list. How about only the kids who lived within walking distance of the youth
center?”

Nodding, Wash jotted down a note. “Good idea. What’s walking
distance—a mile? Two?”

“Do any kids get bussed to the center?” Trevor asked.

“We should check that,” Wash agreed, making another note. He
glanced up and grinned at Trevor. “Look at you, P.I. rock star!”

Trevor blushed and smiled. “I always wanted to be a cop.
I’ve always been good at putting things together in my head. You know, logical
stuff.”

“Why didn’t you?” Rhodes asked. When Trevor gave him a
questioning look, he clarified, “Become a cop?”

“Oh you know…” Trevor trailed off and frowned at his beer.
“Life. Stuff got in the way.”

“Huh,” Rhodes grunted skeptically. “Although it’s not like
it’s too late or anything. What are you, twenty-five or so?”

“Twenty-six.”

“You’d only be three or four years older than most of the
guys at the academy. You should do it,” Rhodes urged him.

Trevor shook his head.

“Why not?” Rhodes pressed. “You’ll like it better than the
drunk-asshole patrol you do now.”

“Just can’t.” His frown turning into a scowl, Trevor glared
at the other man. “Drop it, okay?”

“What, you got a record or something?”

With an exasperated huff, Trevor crossed his arms across his
chest. “What part of ‘drop it’ is so hard to understand?”

Rhodes grinned, showing all his teeth. “What part of this
conversation makes you think you’re giving the orders?”

Trevor flushed and dropped his eyes, suddenly looking ten
years younger. “Sorry, sir,” he muttered.

The words shot straight to his cock. Rhodes bit back a groan
and shifted in his chair, trying to hide the bulge at the front of his jeans.

Wash looked back and forth between the two men. “What just
happened?”

“Nothing,” Trevor and Rhodes chorused.

“Uh-huh.” Wash didn’t look convinced. “So why is the room
suddenly so thick with pheromones that I can’t see? It’s like testosterone soup
in here.”

Catching his bottom lip with his teeth, Trevor stood up.
“Um, I should probably go.”

“Really?” Wash asked in surprise. “Don’t leave because of my
bullshit.”

“I’m not,” Trevor assured him, slipping a quick glance
toward Rhodes. “I just—I mean, I have to work tonight. I’d better go get
ready.”

“Yeah, ’cause it takes,” Wash checked his watch, “five hours
to put on a black shirt and black pants.”

“Wash,” Rhodes barked. “Enough.”

Trevor jumped at the sharp tone but Wash just raised an
eyebrow and smirked. With a final quelling glare directed at his partner,
Rhodes stood up to walk Trevor to the door.

“You mind if I use your bathroom before I go?” Trevor asked.

“Course not.” Rhodes gestured in the direction of the
bathroom. “Through there.”

“Thanks.”

The door shut behind him. Rhodes thought for a moment, scowling,
and then moved closer to Wash.

“What?” Wash asked, a grin threatening to break free.

Glancing toward the bathroom door, Rhodes finally asked, “If
I, um, kiss him goodbye, are you going to get all bitchy with me?”

With an offended huff, Wash sat up straight. “I am never
bitchy
,”
he protested.

Rhodes heaved an exaggerated sigh and rolled his eyes. “I
meant…” He felt heat creeping up his neck and knew he was turning red. “Is it
going to…hurt your feelings?” he muttered, not looking at Wash.

His partner was silent for so long that Rhodes finally had
to look at him. When he saw the huge grin on Wash’s face, he resisted the urge
to smack it off.

“Rhodie,” Wash cooed. “I had no idea you cared.”

“Fuck off,” Rhodes growled. “I’m sorry I asked.”

With a laugh, Wash sat back against the couch and flipped a
hand at his partner. “Go ahead, suck his face for a while. Seriously, I won’t
mind. What kind of cock-blocker do you think I am?”

Rhodes stared at him. “The kind who pulled me away from
Trevor last night? The kind who had a hissy fit when I invited another guy
over? The kind—”

“Okay, okay, fine,” Wash cut him off. “I’ve had some time to
think—”

“What—two hours?” It was Rhodes’ turn to interrupt.

“And I meant what I said,” Wash continued, ignoring his
partner’s sarcasm. “I want you to be happy, Rhodie. Being happy involves
getting some. Since we’ve decided it’s a bad idea for you and me to mess
around, that means you need to look outside our little circle of two for
potential dates. Besides, I like Trev. It’s cute how he gets all shy and horny
when you order him around.”

Rhodes opened his mouth but words deserted him. He was glad
when Trevor emerged from the bathroom, so he would have an excuse to stay
silent and just toss one last glare in Wash’s direction before walking toward
the front door behind Trevor.

“Thanks for inviting me over.” Trevor reached for the
doorknob but before his fingers could close around it, Rhodes spun him around
and slammed him up against the closed door. Flicking him a hot blue glance before
averting his gaze, Trevor worried his lower lip with his teeth.

“Fuck,” growled Rhodes, staring at the other man’s mouth.
“It makes me crazy when you do that.”

Trevor stopped biting his lip, licking the abused skin.
“Sorry.”

A rush of heat barreled over Rhodes at the flash of Trevor’s
tongue. “Don’t be sorry,” he rasped. “It’s a good kind of crazy.”

Lowering his head, he touched his mouth to Trevor’s.
Although they had kissed just a few times the night before, his taste was
already familiar. Rhodes nipped at his lower lip and Trevor gasped, allowing
Rhodes’ tongue entry into the hot recesses of his mouth.

The problem was that Wash was watching. They weren’t
supposed to be together, were only supposed to be work partners, were
definitely not in a monogamous relationship, but Rhodes was still relieved when
his cell phone vibrated in his pocket, giving him an excuse to break the kiss
before it really got started.

He glanced at the display and flipped the phone open,
catching Trevor’s wrist with his free hand to keep the other man from leaving.

“Hey Gomez,” Rhodes greeted.

“Listen, Rhodes, I wanted to check on what you needed
earlier.” Her voice was muffled and echoed oddly.

“When you cut me off, you mean?”

Her quiet huff of exasperation made him smile. “That fucking
Washington is rubbing off on you,” she accused. “Why don’t you quit busting my
balls and tell me why you called earlier.”

“No.”

“Rhodes…” she said, her voice quiet but no less frightening.

Rhodes just grinned. “Nope. You need to turn off your phone,
get out of that bathroom you’re hiding in and go dance at your sister’s
wedding. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

Snapping his phone shut on Gomez’s shriek of rage, Rhodes
brushed his lips across Trevor’s a final time as he reached behind the other
man to pull open the door. “See you later?”

Trevor nodded, stepping backward into the hall.

“You okay getting home?” Rhodes thought back, pretty sure
that Trevor had nursed a single beer the whole time he was there.

“Yeah,” Trevor confirmed, lifting a hand to brush the backs
of his fingers against Rhodes’ cheek. “I’m good.”

Eyes narrowing, Rhodes growled, “I bet you are.”

With a laugh, Trevor turned and left. Rhodes could hear him
clattering down the stairs.

Wash was carefully studying a sheet of paper as Rhodes moved
back to the couch and sank down next to his partner. Leaning over to read what
was commanding Wash’s attention, he barked a laugh. “That’s a fax cover sheet,
buddy.”

“I know.” Wash quickly laid the sheet down on one of the
piles. “I was…thinking.”

“Uh-huh.” Eyeing the other man suspiciously, Rhodes asked,
“So that bugged you then?”

Blinking innocent doe eyes at him, Wash played dumb. “What?”

“Me kissing Trevor.”

“Oh.” Wash dropped his eyes to another page—this one
completely blank. “That.”

Rhodes sighed. “Just be honest. If it bothers you, I’ll
quit.”

Tapping his fingers on one of the files, Wash frowned.
“That’s not fair.”

“What isn’t?”

With a heavy exhale, Wash flopped back against the couch.
“It
does
bug me. In fact, watching you with someone else pisses the
ever-loving
fuck
out of me.”

“So I’ll stop.” Rhodes kept his tone nonchalant, although
his heart jumped in excitement. Possessiveness should be a good sign, shouldn’t
it?

“No,” Wash told him, shaking his head. “Who am I to tell you
not to make out with other guys?”

Looking at him sideways, Rhodes offered, “My friend? The guy
I slept with last night? My partner?”

“No,” Wash said again, this time resolutely. “If I’m not
going to fuck you anymore, I have no right telling you not to fuck other
people.”

Almost afraid to breathe and definitely afraid to ask,
Rhodes finally had to force out the question. “So
are
you going to fuck
me again?”

“I don’t know,” Wash muttered, shoving his head against the
back of the couch so he could stare at the ceiling. He laughed but it had no
humor in it. “Does it make me sound like a teenaged girl if I say that I’m
really confused?”

“Well, yeah,” Rhodes said.

With a startled laugh, Wash swung a fist at Rhodes’ stomach.
“Fucker,” he accused.

They sat quietly for a few minutes.

“Would it help you decide if we made out?” Rhodes offered
into the silence.

Wash laughed again. “Probably not but I still want to say
yes.”

“Yeah?” Rhodes’ hand slid over Wash’s thigh and squeezed.

Wash jumped. “I shouldn’t.” Despite his words, his tone was
undecided.

“Why not?” Leaning over, Rhodes began placing light kisses
down the side of Wash’s neck.

“Because,” Wash shivered under the touch and his voice
roughened, “this impairs my judgment. Can’t make…a decision…while you do this.”
He was almost gasping for breath by the end of his sentence.

“Okay,” Rhodes agreed with a sigh as he sat up, taking his
hand off Wash’s leg.

Wash looked at him with what appeared to be disappointment.
“You’re not going to talk me into it?”

“You
are
a fucking teenaged girl,” Rhodes growled,
pushing himself up from the couch. “Go home. If I don’t get to fuck anyone, I’m
going for a run.”

“Fine,” Wash huffed, standing up. “But I’m going to write
‘Rhodes is an asshole’ in my diary like a hundred times.”

Rhodes had to laugh. Looking down at his partner’s amused
expression, Rhodes couldn’t help but kiss Wash again. It was sweet and hard and
much too short, but Rhodes had to break it off quickly or he really wouldn’t
let him leave.

“Go,” Rhodes commanded, physically setting Wash away from
him.

“Going.” Wash turned to leave, tossing back over his
shoulder, “Call me when you run to fucking New Jersey or somewhere and can’t
get home.”

Rhodes flipped him off and headed to the bedroom to change.
As wound up as he’d gotten him, his partner’d be lucky if Rhodes didn’t run all
the way to Alaska.

He didn’t quite get to Alaska but Rhodes ended up running
longer than he should have. Tremors ran through his quads and he thought for
about three seconds about calling Wash, but then he would just get all
desperate and horny again and the run would’ve been for nothing.

With a snort of disgust at his roundabout logic, Rhodes
picked up his usual rhythm, blocking out the twinge of pain from his left knee
and the tight pull of his exhausted calves. The worst part was that, despite
the worn-out muscles, Rhodes knew he wasn’t going to sleep tonight.

That was the problem with having a one-time sleepover with
Wash—it made every other night seem a million times lonelier. Shaking off the
self-pitying thoughts, Rhodes picked up his pace. The sooner he got back to the
apartment, the sooner he could wander around trying to kill the rest of the
hours until it was Monday.

When his phone vibrated against his hip, where he had zipped
it into his pocket before he left, Rhodes thought at first that his muscles
were trembling from the strain. At the second ring, he figured it out and dug
out his cell.

“Rhodes,” he answered without looking at the display.

“You still running, Rhodie?”

“Yeah,” Rhodes admitted, trying to shove back the smile that
covered his face at the sound of Wash’s voice.
He
was the one acting
like a teenaged girl now, not his partner.

“Where are you? I’ll swing by and pick you up. You have to
get all prettied up for your date tonight.”

“Date?”

He could almost hear Wash’s grin through the phone. “Yep.
With a hot, sexy, slightly greasy man. Okay, more than slightly greasy and not
hot or sexy at all. But he’s loaded, so that makes up for it.”

“Ness?”

“How’d you guess?” Wash confirmed. “So where in New Jersey
will I find your sweaty, sorry ass?”