BREAKAWAY (The Dartmouth Cobras) (51 page)

"Yes." Seb chuckled. "I know."

"My mom wants to meet you," Luke said, in a rush, mind racing, heart swelling, part of him sure this was too good to be true. "I usually have her stay in a nice hotel when she visits, but your place is big so—"

"She is more than welcome to stay here."

Luke nodded, his gaze slipping to Seb's lips. He really didn't want to talk about his mom right now. He swallowed. "You can't get me a puppy tonight."

"Then what would you like me to give you, niño?"

"Shit, man. You
gonna
make me say it?" Luke groaned as Seb backed him into a wall of books while sliding his hand under his jeans and boxers to grab his ass.

Seb ground his pelvis against Luke's so their dicks rubbed together through their clothes. "There is only one thing I need you to say, Luke."

Balls tightening, blood pumping into the head of his dick, Luke threw his head back so hard it cracked against a shelf. He didn't feel any pain. His brain wasn't working right. He barely managed a "what?"

"Please."

* * * *

Sebastian pulled Luke down to the floor with him, clucking his tongue as he checked his head for a bump. He found a tiny one, but nothing to be concerned about. He peeled Luke's still damp shirt off, tossed it aside, then went to work on his jeans, which seemed to have molded themselves to his body.

“Please, Seb. Fuck, please!”

Luke trembled under him, but he didn't seem cold. Or overly hot, which would have ended everything so Sebastian could tend to him. He was angry with himself for leaving Luke in his wet clothes this long, but the scene with Jami had demanded his full attention. He had to train himself to be better able to handle them both. But not now. Now, Jami was tucked away in his bed, sleeping peacefully. His guests were gone.

There was only Luke.

And as much as he wished he could be slow, gentle, desperation drove him on at a furious pace. He had Luke naked, tearing at his shirt, tugging at his belt. He needed to be inside him, to feel the man he loved completely lose control, to prove to his heart and his body that this was real.

Holding Luke's wrists in one hand, Sebastian pulled his leg over his shoulder, then spit on his palm to slick his dick. He took a moment to spread Luke open with two fingers, but a rasped plea soon had him shoving the head of his cock against that tight hole, grunting as he slid halfway in and Luke's muscles clenched around him like a vise.

"Breath through the pain, semental." Sebastian checked his urge to slam in as he felt Luke tense even more. "I should not take you like this. Tell me if it is too much."

"It's not. Just . . . oh fuck. This is so much better than with the lube." Luke dug his heel into Sebastian's back. "I can feel all of you. Don't stop."

Sebastian pressed his weight down on Luke, forcing his way in inch by inch, the grip around his dick, the friction, such a carnal, burning pleasure that he knew he wouldn't last if he let himself go. But he lifted Luke's hips off the floor so he could take him deeper. He angled his cock until Luke moaned and struggled to free his wrists. Then paced his long strokes to hit the same spot again and again.

"Fuck! Seb!" Luke cried out, panting into Sebastian's mouth. "I'm
gonna
come!"

"Come, niño." Sebastian reached down to squeeze Luke's balls. "This time, there is no need to hold back."

Warmth hit Sebastian's stomach, spreading as he leaned down to swallow Luke's hoarse cry. Only when Luke stopped shuddering did he find his own release with one, hard thrust. Pleasure erupted from his balls and shook him to the core. A roar scored his throat as he dropped his head to Luke's chest, his body sated, but his heart bruised and battered. He found himself wondering if Luke would pull away. Be disgusted with himself for letting the man he'd believed used him fuck him in such a rough, careless manner.

"Seb?"

"Yes, Luke?" Sebastian kept his head bowed. He could almost hear Luke telling him to 'Get the fuck off me'.

"I'm crashing here tonight. Right here. Mind getting me a pillow?"

Sebastian lifted his head and laughed. He kissed Luke, whispering. "You will stay?"

"I need to see you in the morning," Luke said, as though it should be obvious. After Sebastian eased out, he rolled to his side, resting his head on his arm with a contented sigh. "I might even make you breakfast."

Chapter Twenty Three

A trilling ring woke Jami, and she reached blindly for her phone, which she usually left right by her bed on her night table. Then she remembered she wasn’t at home. She was at Sebastian’s house.

Her phone was on his dresser.

Stumbling naked from the bed, wrinkling her nose at the slight tugging pain in her breasts, she went to the dresser and picked up her phone.

The number was vaguely familiar. She eyed the clock on the night table at the other side of the bed. 5am. Who the hell would call her so early?

“Hello?”

“Miss Richter, it’s Greg Hasher—the superintendent? The police are at your apartment.” He paused and cleared his throat. “One of your neighbors called after they heard noises. It seems your apartment has been broken into.”

She felt behind her and sat hard on the bed. “What?”

“I think you should come see if anything’s missing. File a report.”

“Yes, yes of course. But . . . .” She shook her head, her lips trembling as she considered the only thing she had that meant anything. “Greg . . . I know we’re not supposed to have pets, but I have a bird . . . is he okay?”

Greg didn’t answer for a very long time. The he took a deep breath and sighed. “I’m sorry this happened, Jami. Come to the apartment. The police will be able to tell you more.”

Jami numbly told him she’d be right there, then ruffled through Sebastian’s drawers for some clothes she could borrow. She found a pair of Luke’s shorts and almost dropped them before she could pull them on under Sebastian’s big shirt. Had he really come back? She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. The night was a blur. It had been good. Awesome actually. But she couldn’t think about that now.

Her sweet little bird, Peanut . . . he had to be okay. Whoever had broken into her house had their pick of valuable electronics to steal. Her TV. Her stereo. Why bother with her harmless little baby bird? He couldn’t have made that much noise with his blanket covering his cage. Unless . . . unless he’d thought she’d come home and was excited to see her. He chirped a little when she came in to get her attention.

Oh please . . . please let him be okay.

She was halfway out the door before she considered telling Sebastian what had happened. Light shone under the door in the library. Had he stayed up late again, reading?

Easing the door open quietly, she peeked in, then shut the door, careful not to make a sound. Luke
was
back. She pressed her forehead against the closed door, blinking back tears. If she’d seen Sebastian and Luke cuddled together on the floor before finding out about her apartment, she would have been nothing but happy for them. Mostly for Sebastian because she knew how much he’d missed Luke. She might have gone in there and snuggled up with them—then pounced on Luke with some choice words first thing in the morning.

But as it was, the best she could do was not disturb them. Sebastian would be pissed about her not telling him right away, but she couldn’t pull him away from Luke, not yet. It just didn’t feel right.

Not like there’s anything he can do anyway except get all worried and tell me to stay while he makes sure it’s safe.

The cops were there. So he didn’t need to worry. But she knew he would.

She shut and locked his front door behind her. Called a cab from the corner. And went home, praying for the best.

And expecting the worst.

She wasn’t prepared for what she saw when Greg led her past the police crowding her living room. He made her sit in the kitchen and got her a glass of water.

“You look like hell, kid.” Greg crouched in front of her. “You didn’t drive here, did you?”

Jami took a sip of water and shook her head. “I took a cab. I was at my boyfriend’s—”

“Why isn’t he with you?”

“I didn’t want to wake him up.”

“If he’s any kind of man, he won’t be happy when he finds out.” Greg frowned at her. “Is there anyone else I can call? Maybe your father?”

She shook her head quickly. “He’s got enough to deal with.” Her eyes narrowed as Greg glanced towards the hall. “What aren’t you telling me, Greg? You brought my bird out so all the cops wouldn't scare him, right? That was really nice of you. I—“

“Jami . . . .”

“Tell me he’s okay!”

“He’s not here.”

Shoving her chair back so hard it cracked against the tiles, Jami stood, moving around Greg to check the living room where Peanut’s cage should be. She shouldn’t have missed it, but she was an idiot sometimes. Spacey.

Or maybe she’d moved him to her room and forgotten. She scowled as Laura appeared in front of her, blocking her path. How fucking typical. The whole scene had fucked up her brain so bad she was seeing things.

“You don’t want to go in there, sweetie.” Laura shook her. She glanced around and lowered her voice. “Hey. Look at me. Where is your Master?”

Jami stared at her, taking in the uniform, still convinced she was tripping out. “You’re a cop?”

“Yes. A friend asked me to cover her shift. Chicklet wasn’t thrilled, but I’m glad I did. You’re in no shape to deal with this alone. Let me call Sebastian—”

“No! This is my home! I’m a big girl, I don’t need a man holding my hand to deal with this shit!” Jami covered her mouth as a sob wrenched out of her chest. “Greg said Peanut isn’t here. Where is he?”

“Peanut?”

“My lovebird. He’s just a baby. Sebastian gave him to me. I have to make sure he’s all right. He must be so scared with all these strangers around.”

“He’s
not
here, Jami.” Laura took a firm grip on her arm. “Come with me. I’m calling Sebastian right now.”

“Don’t you fucking dare.” Jami jerked free. “He’s with Luke. He’s finally happy. I won’t spoil this for him.”

“But—“

“Why won’t you let me in my room? This is my fucking house! It’s not bad enough that someone broke in? Violated my home? Took something from me?” Jami hugged herself. “If you don’t let me see, I’ll assume the worst. Tell me Peanut isn’t—”

“Let her see,
Tallent
.” Another officer stood in the doorway of Jami’s room, gesturing her forward. “Maybe she can give us some idea of who would do something like this.”

Laura let Jami go, following her into the room. Jami gasped and tripped backwards as the red words smeared on the wall above her bed burned into her skull like a fiery brand.

‘No more whore. Leave him. This is your last warning’

“Blood.” She covered her mouth with her hand. “No. Please no.”

“It’s not blood.” Laura put her hand on Jami’s shoulder. “That’s what I thought when I got here. I thought it was yours until my partner, Cruise, let me know your superintendent had gotten
ahold
of you. It took a while to get someone to come in and check it. Seems like it’s some kind of paint.”

“But Peanut isn’t here.” Jami paced around her room, her gut clenching as she stepped over her emptied panty drawer. Something white was smeared over her dresser mirror. All her makeup, perfumes, and pictures had been swept off the top of the dresser and laid in a pile in the corner. A picture she’d never seen took their place.

She was being helped out of Sebastian’s car. Sebastian held his hand out to her, but if she hadn’t recalled that moment, she wouldn’t have known it was him. His face was covered in the same blood red of the words on her wall.

This wasn’t Amy messing with her because of Luke. This was someone who didn’t want her with Sebastian.

‘Last warning’

Whoever it was probably knew Sebastian had given her Peanut. And as much as she loved the little bird, as much as she was afraid something bad had happened to him, Sebastian’s face blotched out scared her so much more.

“Fuck.” Laura came up behind her, taking the picture and holding it up to the light. “Jami, this isn’t random. And it’s not the first time someone’s sent you a message, is it? You weren’t that surprised by the words. You’ve seen them before.”

“Yes.” Jami groaned as she leaned her elbows on the dresser, staring at her own pale face in the dirty mirror. “I thought it was a girl on my team trying to get to me. I thought if I ignored her, she would give up.”

“But you don’t think it’s her anymore?”

“No. She wants Luke. This is about Sebastian. I don’t know who—“

“Do you have a jealous ex who might feel like Sebastian is taking what belongs to him?”

Ford?
No. Ford wouldn’t do this. He’d always been straightforward with her. He cared about her. Even if he was an asshole sometimes, she knew he was looking out for her. That he wanted to see her happy. He wouldn’t play games if he had a problem with her and Sebastian. If anything, he was brutally honest about his opinion. He’d never stoop to mind games and intimidation.

“I don’t know who’s doing this, but this proves I made the right choice in not bringing Sebastian. Fuck!” Jami massaged her forehead with her fingertips. “I should have reported all the other shit. The letter, what this freak did to my car . . . I was hoping it would go away.”

“Did you keep anything? Take any pictures?” Laura groaned when Jami shook her head. “If you had, I could report this as a stalking, maybe have someone tailing you, try to catch the bastard. I don’t know if I can with what little we have. You should go back to Sebastian’s place. Or come stay with me if you’re afraid someone will go after him. I get it. If I thought someone would go after Chicklet, I’d keep my distance.”

“Good. Then you understand why Sebastian can’t hear about any of this.” Jami pushed away from the dresser. “Thank you for the offer, but I need to get away for a bit. If I’m out of town, this person won’t have the press pushing him—or her—to do anything stupid. I’ll check into a motel for a few hours. See if they follow me. If nothing happens, I’ll go stay with my grandmother. Out of sight, right?”