Chasing Justice (Gay Detective Romance Novella) (7 page)

“What?”

“When was the last time you danced this close to someone, your wife or anyone else? You must be enjoying it a little.”

Luke had to think for a moment to be able to remember the last time he danced with his wife. Two years? Three? When was Kathy’s cousin’s wedding? Maybe four, when they could still stand to be in the same room with each other. And with the exception of the moment of closeness he and Elizabeth had shared, it had been...months since he had held someone in his arms.

He was staring at those blond curls when he answered. “Maybe a little.”

“Good.” Eddie pulled him a little closer. “I’m sure every bit of your buttoned-down cop persona is screaming that this is wrong,” he whispered in his ear. “I know the thoughts are rebelling in your head, telling you that it’s wrong to enjoy being this close to another man. It doesn’t make you some kind of sinner, Luke. It makes you human...and every human wants someone to hold them once in a while.”

“I never thought the other human would be a leather-wearing U.S. Marshal with a mustache,” Luke whispered back, his head nearer to Eddie’s shoulder.

“Try not to think. Just enjoy the feeling.”

“I am. And keep your hands off my ass.”

“You do have a nice ass,” Eddie said.

“So do you,” Luke answered without thinking.

Eddie pulled back in surprise, and Luke shook his head at his verbal slip.

His instincts were telling him he shouldn’t be doing this. He wasn’t supposed to be reveling in the feeling of Eddie’s muscular back and arms rubbing up against him. He wasn’t supposed to be distracted by the way Eddie smelled, which was a mixture of a light cologne, deodorant, and hints of leather that still clung to him even though he wasn’t wearing his jacket. Luke didn’t want to notice the way Eddie’s blond curls danced across the back of his neck every time he moved. He
tried
to shut it all out, but every time he sought to quiet the confusion, a small spark of curiosity fluttered through him.

“What else?” Eddie asked.

“What else what?”

“What else is nice about me?”

“Christ, Brock—”

“I’m superficial. Humor me.”

Luke sighed. “Your hair.”

“I was thinking about cutting it.”

“No! I mean, it looks good this length. I like the—”

Eddie looked into his eyes and smiled. “What?” he asked softly.

“I like the curls,” Luke answered, slightly embarrassed.

Eddie pulled him close again as they continued to dance. “I’ll keep ‘em then.”

“Oh shit.”

“What?”

“I just saw Julio near the dressing rooms,” Luke said, halting the dance.

“Good, we can stand over near the bathrooms. I gotta piss anyway.”

“You shouldn’t have sucked down that beer so fast.”

“It’s not that,” Eddie said, disentangling himself from Luke’s arms. “I’m nervous. The adrenaline is pumping...it makes me pee.”

Luke shook his head. “Come on.”

They walked to the edge of the dance floor and made their way through the crowd to where the bathrooms were.

“You wait here while I pee, and then we’ll split up and follow Julio when he comes out for his number.”

“I can’t believe you have to stop and pee during this. You must be hell to work with.”

Eddie shrugged. “But they love me anyway. Mostly. I’ll be right back.”

The door swung shut behind him, and Luke stood to the side, relatively obscured by a large potted plant. His senses alert now, he scanned the crowd, hoping to catch sight of Thayer. As a creature of habit, he was sure Thayer would be here to watch Julio dance. It was just a matter of catching the bastard before he had a chance to sneak out through the crowd. Luke’s heart was pumping now, his mind turning over scenarios in his head as to how this was going to turn out. He was hoping Thayer would go down without too much struggle.

Suddenly he saw Julio exit the dressing rooms, his hand wrapped in someone’s behind him. Fuck, it was Thayer. And they were both headed for the bathroom.

Barreling into the bathroom before either of the men could recognize him, he found Eddie washing his hands at the sink.

“Goddammit,” Luke cursed, eyes scanning the room.

“What? I washed my hands.”

“Come here,” Luke said, grabbing Eddie.

“Luke, what the f—”

He pulled Eddie into a stall, which was such a tight squeeze that Luke had to straddle the toilet for both of them to fit. He pressed his hands against the walls of the stall to steady himself, and Eddie pushed in tight next to him.

“Not that I’m complaining,” Eddie said, grinning, “but what the hell?”

“Shut up,” Luke hissed. “I just saw Julio and Thayer headed this way, and if you didn’t have to take a goddamn piss, we could have stopped them just as they were leaving the dressing rooms!”

“Dammit,” Eddie whispered, turning around with difficulty and cracking the door of the stall just enough so he could peek out. “This might work out better, though—safer than out in the club. We’ll grab them after they’re done in here.”

“You better hope so,” Luke whispered back, trying to shift his weight so he wasn’t directly pressed against Eddie’s ass. “There’s no way I’m losing him this time.”

Eddie turned his head. “Easy, Luke. He’s not going anywhere. I promise.”

The intensity with which Eddie said those words made Luke relax a little.

Then they heard the door to the bathroom open, with the sound of Thayer and Julio giggling. There was then a loud scraping sound.

Luke nudged his knee to get Eddie’s attention, and Eddie leaned back to whisper in Luke’s ear. “They just slid the garbage can in front of the door.”

“For what?”

“Wait for it,” Eddie said, moving his head back to peek out.

Luke was about to ask Eddie to answer the damn question when he heard the unmistakable sound of kissing—loud, wet, and passionate. Moaning and panting followed, along with the low, bass sound of Thayer’s voice saying “Yeah, baby.”

There was the rustling of material, and then the sound of someone’s belt getting unfastened.

Luke tried shifting his weight again the moment the slurping noises started. Thayer moaned, and the nervousness Luke was feeling morphed into a heat that drifted directly to his abdomen. He couldn’t move; he was balancing himself on either side of the toilet with his arms pressed for dear life against the sides of the stall, and every time Eddie shifted, his ass brushed against the front of Luke’s thin trousers.

Someone out there gasped, and Luke clenched his eyes shut, willing himself to maintain control. But the wet noises of the blowjob were reverberating across the tiles of the small bathroom—and each sound sent pulses directly to Luke’s cock, which was now twitching.

When Luke opened his eyes again, he was staring right into Eddie’s. The blond man smiled, an almost knowing grin, and kissed Luke hard on the mouth.

Eddie pulled Luke away from where he was balanced over the toilet, and they pressed together against one wall of the stall. As the noises continued in the bathroom between Thayer and Julio, Eddie slid his hand over the front of Luke’s pants. There was nowhere to turn or hide in the close confines of the stall, and he knew he wasn’t going to be able to hide his growing erection. At this point he wasn’t sure he wanted to.

Eddie kissed him again, neither man making so much as a sound while they did it. It was all breathless need and energy. All Luke could hear were the frenzied sounds of the other two men in the bathroom, his blood pounding in his ears, and the low growls coming from Eddie’s throat.

Luke controlled the gasp that came from his mouth when Eddie squeezed his cock through his pants. Giving himself over to the feeling, he stayed silent and kissed Eddie back, grinding himself against the other man and thrusting his hips. Luke gripped a handful of Eddie’s curls to pull his head back and then pressed his tongue deep into Eddie’s mouth. Luke kissed him hard, their teeth gnashing together, his lips sucking at Eddie’s, thick and wet and hungry. Eddie’s mustache brushed his face, reminding Luke this was no woman he was kissing, but a man whose own erection was starting to press against his.

Eddie let out a small sigh, which let Luke know he was doing something right. He took the initiative and slid his palm under Eddie’s shirt, his fingers teasing the tufts of hair and tight muscles beneath. With a quick shift of his weight, Luke grabbed him by the hips and turned him around, so that Eddie had his back against the wall of the stall. Luke put his hands on Eddie’s ass and drew him closer, rubbing their cocks together through their pants.

Eddie seemed happy enough to let Luke take the lead, and tilted his head back to allow Luke to bite and kiss his neck. It was as if he knew all along this is where they would wind up, and he let Luke explore his desires. Luke’s hands were everywhere on Eddie’s body: his ass, his chest, the tops of his thighs, and especially his crotch.

The sensations were almost overwhelming to Luke, who had kissed approximately two other people in his entire life: his wife and his ninth-grade girlfriend. Years of faithful marriage couldn’t prepare him for what it felt like to kiss another man. It felt raw, and sensual, and forbidden all at the same time.

Then Eddie broke the kiss, and Luke opened his eyes, sensing the loss. He was about to speak, but Eddie put his fingers to Luke’s lips and reached down for his gun. “Business before pleasure, big guy,” he whispered, brushing his lips against Luke’s cheek. “Listen.”

Luke blinked and cleared his head, then nodded. The men out in the bathroom had obviously just finished. He reached behind him for his gun hidden in his waistband.

“You take Thayer,” Eddie said, his lips touching Luke’s ear in such a way that it sent chills down Luke’s spine. “I want him to be your collar.”

Luke nodded again, and kissed Eddie. “On three.”

“One, two...”

Luke and Eddie both pulled their weapons, and when the countdown ended they burst from the stall with simultaneous shouts of “NYPD!” and “U.S. Marshals!” Julio was bent over the edge of the sink, his pants pulled down to his thighs to give Thayer access. Thayer was mid-thrust when Eddie and Luke pulled them apart.

Luke grabbed Thayer’s wrist, twisted it behind his back, and pushed him face-first against the grimy tiled wall of the bathroom to cuff him.

“Finally caught you, you son of a bitch.”

“Whuh?” Thayer mumbled.

“Luke, he’s practically flying he’s so high. Look at his eyes. I don’t even think he knows what’s going on,” Eddie said, handcuffing Julio.

“Why you always gotta be persecuting him all the time?” Julio squeaked, his face red in anger. “He didn’t ever do—”

“He’s a
murderer
, Julio, and you’re lucky you weren’t next,” Luke said angrily. “He beat two people to death.”

“And attempted to kill a third,” Eddie finished. “The Marshals will be taking him back to L.A. tonight, and then he’s going to prison for a very long time.”

“But…but Neils, you didn’t do nothin’ like what they sayin’, did you?” Julio asked, turning to his lover.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Thayer said quietly.

“Sure you do,” Luke said. “A kid a little younger than you, handsome, with red hair and blue eyes, his face and skull smashed in with a car’s steering wheel lock.”

Thayer met Luke’s eyes.

“Sound familiar now?” Luke asked, shoving Thayer’s face against the wall again. “That kid you killed and left tied up and gagged like he was a piece of trash you could just throw away?”

“Luke—”

Luke had his hand pressed against the back of Thayer’s neck. “He was a rentboy, working the streets, struggling to get by, and you took what you wanted from him because you could, right? Because you’re a rich little asshole who thought the world should bow down to you because you have
money
? You think you can treat people however you want?”

“Luke, man, come on—”

“Did you even know that boy’s name?” Luke asked, squeezing now. “Cory Milligan. Do you want to know what his mother did when she found out her only son had been killed? She let out the most agonizing scream I have ever heard in my life. She
screamed
, Neils. Is that what Cory did when he was begging for his life?”

Thayer began to sputter and cough against the tile, and finally Eddie stepped in and pulled Luke away, shoving him against the side of the sink.

“
Luke
! Fuck man, take it easy. You want to blow this entire thing for revenge?”

Luke was visibly shaking with rage. He took three steps and slammed his fist into the automatic paper towel dispenser, shattering the plastic housing into several jagged pieces.

Moments later a huge bouncer came running into the men’s room.

Eddie held up his Marshals’ badge before the bouncer could say anything. “I need you to call 911 and tell them a U.S. Marshal and an NYPD detective have captured a wanted fugitive and we need backup. Go. Now.”

“All right,” the bouncer said, and left.