Handcuffs and Lace 24 - Balls and Chain (5 page)

Sam’s ass felt like he’d been run through. He almost laughed. He supposed he had been run through. He wriggled backward, hoping to find the solid wall of muscle behind him, but found empty bed instead.

He sat up gingerly. His skin still burned from the spankings Jude had delivered. Though it hurt, his dick already lifted with the thought of more like it. He’d never been one for pain before, but this time had felt right.

Sam had fantasies about things like that, but he’d never intended to act on them. Now that he had, he wanted more. But he also wanted a deeper connection. He wanted Jude to make love to him. They’d had their fucking. They’d gotten that part out of their system, but Sam couldn’t seem to get enough of Jude.

It worried him a little.
“Jude?” Sam called cautiously, climbing out of bed.
For the first time he noticed that the belt had been taken off his wrists. He’d gotten used

to it being there. Sam levered himself off the bed without letting the cool sheets touch his sore skin. He walked down the hall to the bathroom and turned to look at the damage in the mirror. He blushed when he saw the angry marks. He liked it, he decided. It looked good. He turned a little to admire it from another angle.

Yeah, his ass looked good in red. His cock rose, as eager to find Jude as the rest of Sam was.
“Jude,” Sam called again.
He heard Jude’s low rumble. He must be on the phone. Sam rubbed a sleepy hand through his hair and padded down the hallway to the living room. “Jude, come back to bed.”
Sam stopped dead in his tracks. Jude, Agent James and another agent turned to him, their conversation grinding to a halt. The agents looked from Sam’s naked, erect body to Jude and back again.
Jude glowered. “Get some fucking clothes on.”
Sam’s stumbled over an apology, quickly covering his cock with cupped hands. He turned and darted around the corner into the hall. Once there, he pressed against the cold plaster, cooling his ass, and mentally kicking himself.
“Back to bed?” The agent Sam hadn’t recognized repeated leadingly.
“Derek, cut the crap,” James stopped him.
“That shit is so wrong,” the unknown agent, Derek, said not getting the hint.
“I fuck men,” Jude said unapologetically. “I fucked
that
man. Any questions?”
There was a stretch of silence.
“Nope. Think that cleared it up,” Derek answered.
“Good.” Jude’s finality made Sam smile.
“Jesus, Jude, don’t antagonize him. He could report that shit. The condoms—” James blew out a breath. “They were a joke.”
“With a practical application.”
“Whatever. Have you told him yet?” James asked.
He heard the sound of footsteps approaching. Sam tensed as Jude’s recognizable tread drew nearer. He stopped short of the entrance to the hall. When he spoke again, Sam imagined that he’d turned to face the other two.
“No.”
“You’ll need to. He’s gotta go back tomorrow,” James said.
“I’ll tell him.”
“Before or after you fuck him again?” Derek asked stupidly.
“Unless I’m fucking you, my cock is none of your business.”
“Fuck this. I’m going to wait outside. James, when you’re done here…”
The screen door swung open and slammed shut. The steps across the front porch faded down the steps.
“It’s over, Jude. It didn’t even take a week to catch up to the bastard.”
James’ statement was met with silence.
“Did you have to sleep with him?” James asked finally.
“Weren’t you standing here when I addressed that issue with Derek?”
James’ voice sounded louder though Sam hadn’t heard him move. Still the tone and volume suggested he had. “What were you thinking?”
The creaking of floorboards alerted him to movement seconds before he saw Jude back up into the doorframe. Jude knew he was there, knew he was listening. Sam licked his lips, waiting to hear what Jude would say next.
“I was thinking that Sam really does it for me.”
“But the
job
, man. The
job
. Is he worth it?”
“I’ve had five days with him. All I know is I have to see where this thing goes.”
Jude’s words spilled like warm honey into the pit of Sam’s stomach. He smiled at Jude’s profile. Jude propped his hand on the doorframe.
“Listen, James, I need a minute with Sam. I need to let him know he doesn’t have to hide anymore.”
“What if he doesn’t want you? What if you risked your job for nothing?”
“Is it a
bad
risk? If life is nothing more than a collection of paychecks, then it sucks. If it’s about taking risks and seeing where it leads you, then I’m jumping on that train.”
“That’s stupid,” James scoffed. “You’ve worked too hard for this position. In five days you found a cock that makes you want to risk your years in the FBI? That’s just pointless.”
Jude glanced over his shoulder. His deep brown eyes met Sam’s, and Sam felt himself smiling, though he suspected he looked a little goofy. Mussed hair, naked, and grinning like an idiot, it was a wonder Jude saw anything in him at all. He had to agree with James. Jude didn’t know how Sam felt. He was effectively giving up his livelihood just to see where things went with Sam, a virtual stranger.
How was that wise?
“It’s only pointless if I don’t take the chance.” Jude looked back into the room where James stood out of sight of Sam. “Besides, you’re assuming that this would make me lose my job. I have a clean record. I’m more likely to get a slap on the wrist.”
“You know me, man. We’ve been partners for four years. I’m not filing a complaint. I can’t say the same thing about Derek.”
“Let me worry about Derek. He’s been chaffing my ass since I moved to the sector office. I’m not afraid of what he can dish out.”
A cell phone chirped cutting off James from whatever he’d intended to say next. “Yeah, I’m going. He knows.” James sighed. “I gotta go. There’s a Cessna waiting for you at the airfield. Just tell the controller who you are.”
Jude nodded. He stayed put until the screen door opened and closed. A car engine rumbled to life in the yard. The sound of the motor faded in the distance. Jude’s chin dropped, then he faced Sam.
“Well, it’s over. It’s time to pack up and head back. You’re expected in the sector office tomorrow.”
“Will you be there?” Sam asked.
“Until I deliver you, you’re mine.”
Sam quirked a smile, wondering if Jude realized the double meaning of his words.
“So we have one more night,” Sam clarified.
“We fly back as soon as we get to the airfield. The flight plan will be waiting for us. Back in New York, we’ll have one more night.”
Sam stepped up to him, uncaring that he was still naked and Jude wasn’t. “Did you mean all that stuff you said, or was it just for my benefit?”
“I said it for your benefit,” Jude began. He took Sam’s hand and pulled him closer. His brow furrowed slightly as though he was uncertain that Sam wanted to get nearer. “All of it was true.”
“You’re risking your job for me.”
Jude shrugged. “Not really. It might look like I am, but my job isn’t at risk here.”
“Then what is?” Sam hedged, hoping idiotically that Jude would confess that his heart was involved.
“I don’t know yet.”
“So last night wasn’t about getting off? It sure felt like it.” Sam tilted his head to the side as he studied Jude.
Jude gave nothing away in his expression. He barely knew this man, yet Sam felt like he had to see where things went. Jude said he felt the same way. Sam didn’t believe in love at first sight.
“Why me?” Sam asked him.
Uncertainty flitted across Jude’s face. “I’m not sure. Can that be enough for now?”
“I think so, but I’m going to want to know more if we see how far this thing goes. I can’t hang around waiting for you to make up your mind. I want more for my life than that.”
“You
should
want more.” Jude didn’t offer any further explanation.
“And last night? What was that?”
Jude winced. Dropping Sam’s hand, he ran a hand through his hair and folded his arms across his chest.
Sam frowned. “Don’t get all defensive on me.”
“I’ve had enough confession for the day.”
“Last one. We don’t have time to play coy. What happened last night?” Sam pressed.
“I fucked you.”
“Yeah, you did do that. You also tied me up and spanked me. Care to explain?”
Jude shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “Not really.”
Sam put his hands on his bare hips. “Just tell me it won’t be the last time.”
Jude’s gaze heated. “I didn’t hurt you?”
“I liked it.”
“Have you ever—”
“No,” Sam finished for him. “Have you?”
Jude shook his head. “But you liked it.”
“I liked
you
doing it.”
“There are other things I want to do,” Jude suggested cryptically.
“Like?”
Jude shook his head. “Enough talk. We have a flight to catch.”
He physically turned Sam around and swatted him on the ass. Sam yelped and hurried to the bedroom. Packing would be easy. They’d come with nothing. They’d leave with nothing more than Jude’s gun and their toiletries. A shower and some clothes were all Sam needed. Well not all. He needed Jude hard and inside him. His body quaked happily. Soon. Tonight. In New York, now that the threat against him was over.
Thank God.
* * * *

The tiny plane had been too noisy for Jude to do more than steal glances at Sam. He’d offered to let Sam take the controls, but Sam declined. He couldn’t wait to land. Pleasure hummed through Jude. He actually felt excited. It had been a long time since he’d been excited for a relationship.

He stole another look. Yeah, those bright blue eyes definitely got him going, but it was the sharp intelligence right behind them, hiding a quiet sensitivity that Jude really wanted to explore.

He taxied the plane into a small hanger. Waiting for them, like before, was a duffle with keys, directions, and clothes for the final night of protective custody. Jude dropped a smaller toiletries bag from the cabin into the side pocket of the duffle. Then Jude clicked the key fob until he heard the lock mechanism trigger on a nearby car. The alert beep had been disabled, as expected.

When the other man ducked into the car, Jude followed, handing him the duffle. “That’s how it works,” Jude offered noncommittally.
“How anti-climactic. Does the little girl get to go home too?”
Jude knew he’d been worried about her. After seeing her parents murdered, she’d become

the primary target. “James wouldn’t have come to the farmhouse if she were in danger.” Jude maneuvered the car through the electric gate system. They’d landed in upstate New
York and had an hour or so drive to get to the beaten down motel the FBI had arranged for them.
Tomorrow they’d head to the sector office. Paul Winston wasn’t getting away a second time. “That’s good. What happens after today?” Sam asked.
“We get your statement at the sector office, show you some evidence for identification.
Mostly we need information to back up the girl’s story. We can’t let this guy get through on a
technicality again.”
“I meant with us, but again? This guy has been in the FBI sights before and got away?”
Sam shifted uneasily in his seat.
Jude glanced over at him, then back at the road. “He slipped through our fingers. We
have more on him now than before.”
“But, theoretically, he could get away and come after me and the kid,” Sam supposed. “It’s not going to happen.”
“But it could.”
“It won’t. Quit worrying about it. He’d have to get passed me first,” Jude told him with
finality.
Sam smiled curiously at Jude. Jude wanted to explore that expression further but staying
on the road seemed more imperative.
“What?” Jude asked instead.
“You’re offering to protect me beyond tomorrow?”
Jude shrugged. Had he? Yeah, he supposed he had. “It would look bad if they killed
you.”
Sam squirmed again, pushing himself up to sit on one hip.
“How’s your ass?” Jude teased.
“Sore. Not as bad, but all this sitting isn’t helping.”
“Sorry about that.”
“Don’t be. I enjoyed every minute of it.” Sam tucked a foot under himself and re-seat
belted.
Jude wanted to ask Sam about sex. It was nerve wracking, he decided. He’d been rough
with Sam to avoid emotional attachment and to refocus on just fucking the man. When Sam had
given himself over to whatever Jude wanted to do, and gave back with the same intensity, Jude
knew he’d underestimated Sam.
Jude didn’t know if he wanted strings. Yet the idea of cutting Sam loose for another man
to have made every instinct in his body rebel. He gritted his teeth. The “L” word came to mind,
and Jude wanted to banish it. He didn’t do sappy.
It was just a fuck, that’s all. Get that other shit out of your head, Cheney.

Whatever Jude was thinking about had put him in a sour mood for the rest of the drive. He answered in monosyllables. By the time they pulled up in front of the skeezy motel with dirtstained doors and burlap-like, smoke scented curtains, Sam was ready to knock Jude’s head into the wall for being a dick. They had one more night together, and then it was over. The case, the interlude—if it could even be called that.

Sam opened the duffle bag on the moist-feeling polyester bed cover. His primary goal was food. He found granola bars and snorted his disdain.
“Maybe someone delivers in this shit-hole,” Sam said, feeling Jude’s dark mood poisoning his own.
Jude flipped through a courtesy folder that some child had scribbled on and torn pages out of. “Pizza.” He picked up the phone and ordered.
“Make sure it has lots of garlic and onions,” Sam snapped.
“Hold the onions,” Jude told the person on the line. He hung up. “Thirty minutes.”
Jude looked at him speculatively. He crossed the room, edging around the second bed corner to get to Sam. “Want to tell me what this is about?”
“You first,” Sam insisted. “You’ve been oozing pissy-ness since we landed.”
“I have a lot on my mind.”
Jude thoughtfully fisted the front of Sam’s shirt, looking like he wasn’t sure he wanted to do what he was doing. As he pulled Sam in, his rich brown eyes didn’t look nearly as confident as they had a second ago. Jude leaned down, giving Sam time to reject the advance. Sam wasn’t about to.
His lips tingled when Jude kissed him. Smooth and gentle, Jude’s mouth rubbed Sam’s, finding a place to settle that fit him just right. Sam slid his arms around Jude’s neck. God, the man could kiss. It made his knees week every time.
One of Jude’s hands eased around Sam’s waist, flattening on his lower back. The hold wasn’t the least bit sexual. It merely supported him, asking for nothing in return but that he stand and accept the kiss, or leave. Sam parted his lips, leaving Jude no doubts that Sam wanted to be nowhere but where he was, held by this man. At least, he
hoped
Jude got the message.
Jude’s other arm wrapped around him, holding him tight to Jude’s chest. The slide of his lips on Sam’s was addictive. Warm and slick, the flick of a tongue to tease the opening Sam had given him was part of Jude’s expert seduction. He didn’t press the kiss further, and he also didn’t let up.
Sam’s cock raged hard and eager. He bumped his hips against Jude’s relishing the equally rigid length he found there. His hands shook to hold it, but he wanted Jude to set the pace, and if it meant accepting the tantalizingly slow seduction, Sam didn’t want to miss a moment of it.
Someone knocked on the door. Jude took a step back. He blew out a breath, a wicked smile flirting with the corners of his mouth. “Dinner’s here.”
Sam licked his lips. “Fuck food.”
Jude laughed as he pulled out his wallet and removed several bills. It was the first time all day Sam had seen him completely at ease. In fact, Jude had never been this relaxed. Sam liked this side of him. His body moved more loosely. He smiled more easily. His eyes lit up and weren’t constantly searching or analyzing. He looked younger, happier, and Goddamn if he didn’t look a thousand times sexier. Sam hadn’t believed it possible to want Jude more than he already did. He’d been sorely mistaken.
Jude backed his way to the door, keeping his eyes locked on Sam, that secretive smile in place. It took all Sam’s willpower to keep from running to him and dragging him to the bed.
“Check the toiletries bag. I put my gun and some other stuff in there.”
Sam reached for the duffle, unzipping the side panel. He pulled out the lube and foilwrapped condoms from the farmhouse. “So that’s what you put in there.”
“I couldn’t just tote my gun in the open. And the risk of a firearm in the cockpit? No thanks. Complaining?” Jude asked.
“Not at all. I’m glad you had the foresight.”
“Always be prepared,” Jude quipped.
“I think you’re confused. That’s the Boy Scout motto, not the FBI’s.”
“There are more similarities than you’d think.” Jude unbolted the door as a second knock sounded. “Coming.”
“I certainly hope so,” Sam said under his breath, eyeing Jude’s firm ass with interest.
The door kicked open suddenly, knocking Jude backward. Sam startled, dropping the small bag he’d been holding, and stared at the barrel of a gun being leveled on Jude.