Touch&Geaux (8 page)

“Are we investigating a murder while we’re here, or are we

actually going to get to be normal tourists this time?” Kelly

asked.

Zane glanced at the scowls they all gave Kelly and he

laughed. “This time, huh?”

“Don’t ask,” Nick muttered. His theory was that it was

because they were all trained to help, but even he had to admit

they stumbled over crimes more often than your average bear.

Digger shrugged. “Sounds like a hoodoo thing. Turf wars.

The locals can handle the weird ones like that.”

Ty looked relieved.

Nick wondered just how much trouble Ty would be in if

someone recognized him down here. He knew Ty would never

tell them until trouble reared its ugly head, but he supposed

he should have expected Ty to have left New Orleans with

enemies. He was suddenly very conscious of the fact that they

might have put Ty in danger by luring him here.

“Not our jurisdiction. Not our problem, right?” Ty said.

Zane’s brow furrowed, but he remained silent.

Nick shrugged. “I guess not.”

Kelly continued on down the street. “Kind of a buzzkill

though.”

The grisly crime in the middle of their revelry had indeed

cast a pall over the night, but they only had the weekend to

enjoy each other, so they continued on. They hopped from bar

to bar for another hour, and after a quiet talk with Zane about

the alcohol, Ty finally ordered himself a few oddly colored

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drinks to toast the memory of their fallen brother. They told

stories, sharing them with Zane so he wouldn’t feel left out,

and reminisced about the good days they’d spent together.

Most of the tales had to do with Elias Sanchez, and Ty

had to force himself to relax and enjoy it. It wasn’t hard to

push the murder out of mind; that was what they dealt with

every day and he’d learned to compartmentalize. He ignored

the fact that Owen was ignoring him. He battled the guilt

that came with every sip someone took in Zane’s line of sight.

He tried to forget that he might be recognized by the wrong

person and bring all kinds of trouble down on them.

The ambiance and good company were finally enough

to filter through the worries, and the night wound down as

a success. As they were strol ing toward the hotel, Ty slipped

his arm around Zane’s shoulders. New Orleans was still one

of the most romantic places Ty had ever been. He couldn’t

wait to get Zane alone and finish what they’d started back in

Baltimore.

Nick had booked them all into the Bourbon Orleans,

making a point of giving Ty and Zane their own room for the

weekend. The rooms weren’t together, so they said good night

to the Recon boys in the elevator at the third floor, and then

rode up two more to their own room.

“It was nice of him to do this,” Zane said. He was working

the key card to the room as Ty leaned against the wall beside

the door.

“More like self-preservation. Nobody wanted to share a

room with us.”

Zane glanced at him with a smirk. “How drunk are you?”

Ty bit his lip against a smile. He reached out for Zane,

hooking him by his belt to pull him closer, and Zane left the

key in the door and reached for Ty’s hips with both hands. He

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pressed Ty hard against the wall as they shared a languorous

kiss. Ty was ever conscious of the taste of liquor on his tongue,

but he supposed the cigarette taste in Zane’s mouth would

combat it.

Zane broke away and opened the door, shoving Ty in

ahead of him. Ty chuckled as he entered the room.

Zane gave him a smack on the ass, then shrugged out of his

jacket and tossed it at the chair in the corner as he headed for

the balcony doors to peer at the view. Ty hung back, enjoying

the roll of Zane’s shoulders and the way his long body leaned

to the left without him realizing it. Ty had decided it was a

cowboy lean, something he’d never actually noticed until

after he’d seen Zane in Texas over the summer. It probably

had more to do with the gunshot he’d taken to his thigh than

anything, but something about it hit Ty the right way.

“Ty.”

“Huh?

“You didn’t hear a word I just said, did you?”

Ty looked into Zane’s eyes and began to smile, shaking his

head. Zane huffed.

“What did you say?”

“I was talking about how odd it is that we keep stumbling

over these murders. It’s like someone has it out for us.”

“Ugh, Zane, don’t think too hard about it.”

“Fine. I’m too tired to shower and too dirty to go to bed,”

Zane said. He was stripping off the rest of his clothing, tossing

them toward the chair.

“That’s the beauty of a hotel.”

Zane narrowed his eyes, looking Ty up and down. “You

coming to bed?”

Ty nodded, but he made no move to undress. “Will you

tell me a story?”

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“A story? What are you, five?”

Ty grinned. He began pul ing at his buttons. “Tell me

about the guy in Miami.”

Zane snorted. He reached to help Ty out of his shirt.

“Why? Does it turn you on to hear about my past conquests?”

“A little, yeah,” Ty admitted.

Zane arched an eyebrow. “Really?” He tossed Ty’s shirt

away and pulled him closer. “Take that shower with me first?”

Ty nudged his nose against Zane’s cheek, grinning.

It didn’t take much to convince Ty to shuck his clothing

and climb into the shower with Zane. They went about it

slowly as they let the water heat up, standing in the middle

of the bathroom and kissing. Zane could see them in the

mirror over Ty’s shoulder. He watched his hands drag across

Ty’s skin, leaving red streaks behind that soon disappeared.

He watched the muscles of Ty’s back slide, the biceps with the

bulldog on it flex.

He grabbed Ty’s arm and dragged his teeth over the

tattoo. “This might be my favorite part of you.”

Ty turned his head to press a kiss to Zane’s chin. “Why?”

“It’s who you are.” He kissed Ty again, holding him tighter.

“It’s you in meta form.”

“Zane.” Ty’s voice was harsh in his ear. “Don’t speak geek

to me when you’re naked. It shatters the illusion.”

Zane laughed and grabbed Ty’s ass, squeezing hard enough

to force Ty to stand on the tips of his toes. He dragged him

into the bathtub, kissing him messily as the water beat down

on them both.

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“I like seeing you with your team,” Zane said against Ty’s

cheek.

“Really?”

“It’s kind of hot.”

Zane inhaled through his nose as he was thoroughly

kissed, and he slid his arms around Ty’s waist to pull his lover

against his body.

When Ty ended the kiss and pressed his nose to Zane’s

cheek, his fingers were digging in harder, giving him an almost

desperate edge.

“Sometimes I wonder who I’d be if it weren’t for them,”

Ty said, his voice a whisper that barely rose above the sound

of the water.

Zane swallowed hard. He’d played that game, and all too

often it resembled Russian roulette. What if he hadn’t broken

with his family? What if he hadn’t joined the Bureau? What if

Becky hadn’t died? What if he hadn’t gone to Miami? But all

those things had put him on the road that had led him to Ty.

And Ty’s road had been just as rocky, but it had led him

here.“You,” Zane said, his voice thick. “You’d still be you.”

Ty shook his head in a stubborn denial, but he kissed Zane

again without offering any evidence to support his belief.

When they broke apart, the bare honesty of what Zane

wanted to say hurt him all over. But it was high time these

things started being said. “Things have happened to us, to

both of us, horrible things that changed us. If you want to tell

me, I’ll listen, or if . . .” Zane swallowed hard. He knew that Ty

had endured worse than he had, but there were dark spots in

Zane’s past that he didn’t want to relive, much less tell anyone

about. “If you want to know, I’ll tell you.”

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Ty’s hands slid over Zane’s hair and he patted him before

kissing him again. The water was still pounding down on Ty’s

back, running in rivulets down his face. “I want to know.”

Zane nodded and slid his hands down Ty’s back to cup his

ass, then slid one hand between them.

Ty’s breath stuttered. He relaxed against Zane and kissed

him again.

Zane wrapped his hand around Ty’s cock, warm and wet

and firm under his fingers. Zane had been hard since Ty had

touched him, and he pushed against Ty’s thigh, moaning as he

dipped his head for another kiss.

Ty’s breaths came hard against Zane’s skin, gusting over

his lips and warming his cheek as Ty pushed closer. Then his

hands were gripping Zane’s arms hard and they separated, Ty

holding him at bay in the bathtub. There was a familiar light

in Ty’s eyes as he pushed him against the tile.

Zane lifted his chin as he hit the cool, slick wall with a

muffled thump. “God I love it when you drink.”

Ty took one more rough kiss before letting his hands drag

down Zane’s body. He sank to his knees at Zane’s feet. Zane’s

head thudded back against the wal . His breath came out with

a shudder as he watched.

Ty didn’t waste time. He rarely did, not when Zane was

already hard and begging for it. He gripped one of Zane’s hips

with one hand, taking Zane’s cock in the other and pumping

him as he let his lips bump against the head. He looked up,

giving a teasing lick. Zane narrowed his eyes and reached for

him, cupping his palm around the back of Ty’s head, tugging.

Ty didn’t make him wait any longer, but he did force Zane to

be patient as he slid his lips over Zane’s cock with agonizing

slowness. Ty never did anything that slow unless he was trying

to drive Zane insane.

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It was working.

Zane curled the fingers of his free hand into a fist and

tried to breathe evenly.

Ty’s free hand splayed against Zane’s hip, and he finally,

mercifully, dipped his head to take Zane all the way into

his mouth. Zane bit his lip and squeezed his eyes shut,

concentrating on Ty’s tongue and the warm slide of his cock

into Ty’s mouth. A clicking noise from the outer room filtered

through his pleasure, like someone trying to use a key that

wasn’t working. Zane glanced at the door to the bathroom,

which they’d left wide open. Ty didn’t seem to care about any

noises as he worked, trying to make Zane come as quickly and

messily as possible—something he was singularly good at.

Zane groaned and closed his eyes, forgetting the sounds.

There was something too debauched about Ty on his knees,

water streaming over hard muscle and smooth skin, Zane’s

hard cock sliding between his lips, forcing them apart to find

his flickering tongue. To top it all off, Ty met his eyes, then

ducked his head forward, taking Zane into the back of his

throat, burying his nose against Zane’s groin and pul ing him

close as if he couldn’t get Zane deep enough.

Zane smothered a curse, and his gut clenched. He had

no control around Ty; never had, never would. He took Ty’s

head in both hands and pumped his hips, feeling the head of

his cock forcing its way past Ty’s tongue to hit the back of his

throat. He gave a plaintive grunt as Ty pulled back, tugging

on Ty’s head until Ty let him thrust in again. How the hell

he did that without gagging, Zane would never know. He’d

been practicing, but he still couldn’t manage. What he did

know was there was very little he enjoyed more than shooting

a load into Ty’s mouth and watching him swallow it down. Ty

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always hummed when he blew him, and he moaned when he

swallowed.

He half bent over in reaction as the trembling started,

and he grabbed at Ty’s shoulder as he started to come, teeth

gritted.

But Ty didn’t swallow this time. He pulled back just

enough, holding Zane’s hip against the shower wall with one

hand so Zane couldn’t chase his mouth, and he pumped Zane

dry with the other hand, letting cum spurt all over his chin

and neck. It hit Ty’s skin, and Zane could see it dripping down

Ty’s throat, sliding off his lower lip. It just made Zane’s climax

more intense, like he was marking his territory. He choked off

a curse as the heat flooding him left him dizzy.

Ty kept at it until there was nothing left but Zane’s

whimpers, then he let Zane slide out of his hand and looked

up at him, licking his lips and wiping his palm across his chin.

Zane dragged his fingers along those lips before tapping under

Ty’s chin, wanting him to stand.

Ty climbed to his feet, diving into the kiss Zane had

ordered with alarming obedience. He pressed against Zane,

hips flexing as he delved into another, more demanding kiss.

Zane could taste his cum on Ty’s lips. Ty was hard against him.

“You are too fucking hot for your own good,” Zane gritted