The Tin Star (20 page)

Julia nodded. “It can be. GHB depresses the respiratory system, which is pretty standard in a high dose or when someone has a bad reaction to it. Most people get kind of high on it. But Jamie either got quite a large dose, or his body isn’t tolerating it well. Mixing it with alcohol intensifies the effects.”

Ethan watched her closely. She wouldn’t make eye contact. “What aren't you saying, Jules?”

“You can die from it, but typically someone just suddenly snaps out of it. One minute they’re lying there; the next, they’re freaking out trying to get the tubes out.”

Ethan could swear his heart stopped.

Julia touched his arm. “Ethan, I’ve seen this before. Jamie’s gonna be okay. He’s stable. He’ll wake up in a bit. Come on, let’s go see him.” Julia hooked her arms through his and her brother’s and led them down the hall and past a nurses’ station.

Please let Julia know what she is talking about.

“Hey, Julia! Is this your other brother?”

Jules looked over her shoulder but didn’t slow down. “Yeah, Kev, this is John and this is Ethan. Ethan is like a brother, too. I’ll be back in a sec. I’m taking them to see Jamie.”

“Okay, when you’re done, the cops want to talk to them.”

She nodded. “Got it!”

If he ever saw Jamie in the hospital again, helpless and hooked up to any number of machines, it’d be too soon. After seeing Jamie, which just about killed him, Ethan and John had told the cops what little they knew, then called Ed and Hayden to get more details. Julia checked on Jamie periodically and reported back that he was still unconscious but having no other problems, which was a good sign.

She’d taken Ethan and John back to the break room after their meeting with the cops. They were drinking coffee, waiting for a change in Jamie’s condition.

Ethan was on his fifth cup of coffee when Kevin, the male nurse Jules had talked to earlier, came in. “Hey, guys! Jamie’s awake. He’s asking for Ethan.”

Ethan jumped up.

Kevin laughed. “Slow down, big guy. He isn’t going anywhere. The police are with him right now. Come on and I’ll take you to him.” He winked at Julia. “Y’all coming?” Then he led Ethan out. Ethan followed Kevin down the hall wondering if the man could possibly walk any slower. Jules and John were right behind him. Kevin finally stopped and knocked on the wall beside the door to Jamie’s room.

“Knock, knock!”

Jamie looked up. He was sitting on the edge of a hospital bed, and he still looked a bit pale, but he was buttoning his cuff back up. He saw Ethan and grinned, “Where’s my hat?”

Oh, thank God!
Ethan chuckled, giving a sigh of relief. The claws and cold lump of fear finally left his stomach. Everything was going to be okay.

Chapter Fourteen

Jamie knocked on the office doorframe the morning after they’d returned home and leaned against it just as Ethan hung up the phone.

Ethan smiled. “Hey, Blue Eyes! How you feeling?”

“Much better. That little catnap helped. Throat’s still sore, though, and I don’t remember much beyond the trip to San Antone.” He nodded toward the phone. “Who were you talking to?”

“Sheriff Hunter.” Ethan scooted back from his desk and met Jamie at the door. “Thought he should know about the drugging and that Jeff and Carl were at the bar. He’s going to question them about the fence-cutting and the shooting. Provided I don’t get a hold of them first.” He grabbed the open lapels of Jamie’s shirt and pulled him forward for a kiss.

Jamie sighed into his mouth. He needed Ethan’s touch. He’d had the crappiest birthday on record, but this would go a long way toward making up for it. As Ethan’s tongue touched his, he undid the buttons on Ethan’s shirt.

Ethan released his lips and cupped his cheek, tilting his face up. “You sure you’re okay? You scared the hell outta me.”

He nodded. “I’m fine. Honest. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Not your fault.” Ethan shook his head and brushed his lips across his again, then pulled him back into his arms. “Jesus, Jamie, when I saw them hooking you up to a respirator and you were so unresponsive ... I don’t ever wanna feel like that again.”

Jamie was torn at how he felt. Part of him hated that Ethan had been so worried, hated to make Ethan feel bad, ever. But the other part was elated that Ethan cared so much. He ran a fingertip down Ethan’s cheek then kissed him lightly. “I don’t want you to ever feel like that again, either. Wanna come upstairs with me? I’ll make it up to ya.”

Ethan groaned and dropped his forehead against Jamie’s. “You sure you’re all right?”

“Yup.”

“Let’s go!”

He chuckled, grabbed Ethan’s hand and headed upstairs.

“Jamie?”

He stopped on the stairs and looked back. “Yeah?”

“Promise me you’ll be careful. That you’ll stay close to the house until we get this figured out. If something were to happen to you ...” Ethan looked away, a muscle jerking in his jaw.

Jamie tugged him the rest of the way up the stairs, then backed him against the hall wall next to their bedroom, kissing him, slow and easy. Taking his time. Caressing and loving and just showing Ethan how much he cared. How much Ethan’s concern meant to him.

“I’ll stay close to the house until Sheriff Hunter finds out who was responsible. And I’ll stay as far away from Jeff and Carl as I can.”

Ethan nodded. “Good. I’m going to hold you to that.” He snatched Jamie’s hand and hauled him into their room and led him to the bed. “I want you to do me, Blue Eyes.”

Jamie bit his bottom lip and sat down on the edge of the bed. This was new territory. And he knew it had been a long time for Ethan, too.

“What? You look nervous.”

Jamie nodded. “A little, yeah. Don’t wanna hurt you.”

Ethan grinned and dropped to his knees, kneeling between Jamie’s legs. “Does it hurt you?”

“Oh, hell, no!” Okay, put that way, he felt a little silly. But, still, Ethan had said it’d been five years. Jamie might not have had sex before Ethan, but he’d had his toys and used them.

Ethan chuckled and pushed Jamie’s shirt off his shoulders. He ran his hand down Jamie’s chest, then leaned forward to kiss his belly. “Love your abs.”

Jamie’s cock hardened more, and his stomach muscles jumped, responding to those lips. “Yeah?” He reached down for Ethan’s shirt and pulled it over his head, then dropped a hand to Ethan’s belly, stroking. “Kinda fond of yours, too.” Really fond. But then, there wasn’t a spot on Ethan that wasn’t drool worthy. The man was built like a freaking Greek god.

Ethan closed his eyes, burying his face in Jamie’s belly for a few seconds and taking a deep breath. “Love the way you smell, too.” Then he pulled back and stood up, pulling Jamie up with him. He unbuttoned Jamie’s jeans, then pushed them and his briefs down.

Jamie stepped out of his clothes, his cock straining toward his cowboy.

Ethan dropped a kiss on the head of his prick, then got back up, shucking his own jeans. “Relax.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re nervous, though.” Ethan pushed him back until the backs of his legs hit the edge of the bed. That thick, hard-as-nails cock pressed against his as Ethan’s mouth came over his.

Before he knew it they were on the bed, and his hands were full of cowboy. Damn, he loved this, couldn’t get enough of it. Couldn’t stop touching ... feeling.

Ethan chuckled. “That’s better.”

Jamie thought he murmured something about octopuses, too, but he wasn’t sure. Ethan had his hands on Jamie’s cock, and that’s all he could concentrate on. So if the man wanted to discuss marine life, then he was on his own.

Ethan squeezed and fondled for a few moments, then clasped both their pricks in one big hand and started stroking them off. It was absolute heaven, the feel of that hot flesh pressed against his. Jamie was whimpering and moaning and making all sorts of noises, but he didn’t care. He couldn’t stop; it felt too good. And his cowboy was loving it, too. Those big brown eyes were closed, a look of absolute bliss on that gorgeous, tanned face.

He bit down on Ethan’s shoulder and wrapped his own hand around their cocks, helping. His other hand clung to the back of Ethan’s neck, holding him close. He was thrusting into their hands when Ethan gasped and let go.

“Slow down, Jamie. Don’t want to come yet.”

Jamie rolled himself on top of Ethan and straddled Ethan’s thighs, reaching for that thick cock.

Ethan shook his head. “No, get the lube. Get me ready.”

Jamie nodded and grabbed the bottle off the nightstand, then slid down that long, fine body. He didn’t waste any time. His cock was so hard it was about to explode. He was still nervous, but he trusted Ethan to tell him to stop if it didn’t feel good.

Ethan slid his knees up, opening for him.

Jamie moaned. Damn, his cowboy was hot. He fumbled with the lid, getting his fingers nice and slick before he gave in to temptation and licked those tightly drawn balls.

“Oh, shit!”

“Mmm.” Jamie licked and nuzzled, finally sucking the warm sac into his mouth.

Ethan’s head was thrashing back and forth on the bed. He was mumbling incoherently.

Fuck! The man was too damn sexy. Jamie slid his slicked up finger along Ethan’s crease, just rubbing. His lover’s cock jerked in response and dripped on his own belly.

Jamie groaned. He found the puckered hole with his finger and pushed in slowly as he scooted up Ethan’s body. He licked the drops of come off that taut belly and took the head of Ethan’s cock in his mouth.
Oh! So fucking good!
He loved the taste of his cowboy.

Ethan was writhing on his finger, head still thrashing. “More.”

He knew that feeling, and Ethan usually had him begging for it. He grinned around the prick in his mouth and gave in to the temptation to tease a bit. A little payback was warranted, after all the times he’d been forced to suffer delicious torment. He began moving that lone finger, fucking the tight little hole with it in gradual thrusts.

Ethan groaned again.

He added another finger, hitting a spot that had Ethan’s head jerking up and his cock standing at attention.

“Fuck!”

Oh, yeah! Jamie rubbed over the prostate again, watching his cowboy’s face. Sheer bliss. He knew damn well how freaking incredible it felt, so he did it again, simultaneously taking Ethan’s cock all the way down his throat.

Ethan practically arched off the bed. “Oh, fucking shit, Jamie! Stop! Can’t come yet.”

Jamie ground his own prick into the mattress, humping just a little bit. He could get off just by watching Ethan, but he didn’t want to come that way. Not today, anyway. He wanted to feel that tight little hole stretched around him, needed to know what it was like from the giving end. Wasn’t there a saying, something about it being better to give than receive? He wondered if it applied here as well.

He stroked that spot once more, then pulled his fingers out a bit, scissoring his fingers, stretching, just like Ethan always did. “Okay?”

Ethan gave a jerky nod.

“Doesn’t hurt?”

“Burns a little. Don’t stop. If you stop, I will fucking strangle you.”

He chuckled and nipped Ethan’s thigh. He set up a nice, even tempo, fucking his cowboy lovingly with just those two fingers until Ethan begged for more, then he added a third finger.

Ethan gasped, his eyes going wide.

Jamie opened his mouth to ask if he was all right, but Ethan cut him off.

“’M fine. Just been a while, is all. Just give me a minute, ’kay?”

Jamie nodded. God give him patience. He was so close to coming already that he wasn’t sure he’d make it long enough to get inside Ethan. But he kept giving his man time to adjust. The sight of that tight little opening stretched around his fingers was one of the most erotic things he’d ever seen. He dipped and flicked his tongue around his fingers, over Ethan’s skin right above them.

Ethan grunted.

Jamie did it again. He kept licking until Ethan pushed toward him, then he moved his fingers in and out, slowly, testing. His cowboy took it all, his head thrashing again.

Ethan was panting, hard. “Now, Blue Eyes, need ...”

He pulled his fingers out and sat up on his knees. Grabbing the lube, he coated his prick liberally, then spread more over Ethan’s hole. God! His fingers felt good slicking over his cock; he was too damned close. There was no way he was going to last long.

“Jamie, please ...”

He moved forward, aligning the blunt tip of his penis to his cowboy’s ass, and gently entered the puckered hole and made his way inside, inch by delicious inch. At first, he tried to watch Ethan’s face, but the look of pure pleasure there was too much to withstand on top of the tight heat closing around his cock, so he squeezed his eyes shut. By the time he was all the way in, he was shaking with need, concentrating hard to not spill himself. He took a few deep breaths, got himself under control, and opened his eyes.

Ethan’s gaze met his. He reached up and cupped Jamie’s cheek. “Come here.” He pulled Jamie forward until their lips met. That hot tongue flicked across Jamie’s lips, then pushed in.

Jamie whimpered, opening his mouth.

Ethan’s tongue caressed his over and over, then explored the rest of his mouth, in a slow sensual glide. It was wonderful, made him feel deeply loved and cherished, forced him to relax a bit. It also took the edge off his hunger and gave him back some of his control. He didn’t feel like he was going to come if Ethan so much as took one more breath.

Ethan released him with a sigh, bucking his hips a little. “Move, Blue Eyes.”

He did. Flexed his hips, then slowly thrust back in. His balls pulled tighter, making him groan. “Damn, that feels good.”

“You like it, huh?”

He nodded, languidly moving his hips. “Yeah.” Holding his weight off of Ethan, he set up a steady pace, staring into Ethan’s eyes. When Ethan began to meet his thrusts, he lost it. “Oh, God, Ethan ... gotta ... oh ...” He pumped faster, fucking his cowboy hard.

“Oh, yeah, baby ...” Ethan grabbed his own cock, pulling in time with Jamie’s thrusts.

Jamie could feel the orgasm start in the base of his spine. His balls pulled tighter and he came, jerking and shooting into the tight, hot body beneath him. Ethan came seconds later, spraying his hand and belly with come. His ass clamped around Jamie, wringing aftershocks from the both of them.