Chasing Justice (Gay Detective Romance Novella) (6 page)

From behind, Luke noticed for the first time Eddie’s bravado swagger; the way he walked made it seem like he owned the entire street. He put his whole body into it, bringing attention to his chest and arms, like a preening peacock looking for a mate. It was a combination of practiced strut and blind narcissism.

“You’re enjoying this. We’re supposed to be working.”

Eddie laughed once Luke caught up with him. “It’s been a while, I’ll admit.”

“Working undercover?”

“Hitting a gay bar.”

At Luke’s blank look, Eddie laughed even harder. “I told you, life is about pleasure. It comes in many varied forms: a perfectly cooked steak; nice tequila; getting your cock sucked—regardless of who those lips are attached to.”

“So, what, you’re telling me you’re gay?”

“I suppose so. Does it bother you?”

“I didn’t expect it,” Luke said honestly. “I’m a little surprised.”

“Why, because I don’t
seem
gay?”

“I…I guess. I don’t know.”

“There’s a lot happening in the world outside of your closed-off world of heterosexual existence,” Eddie pointed out.

“Eddie,” Luke said, stopping him by putting a hand on his shoulder, “I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“It’s all right. You’re learning.”

“I am?”

“Yeah, that you can’t tell a gay guy just by looking. That he can be a U.S. Marshal and ride a Harley and bust down a suspect’s door and still want to suck a dick.”

“But why didn’t you say anything when we were at
Club Tingle
?”

“You were being completely awkward without my help.”

“You were testing my reaction to see how I would behave when you were dropping hints about your sexuality?”

“Among other things,” Eddie replied, holding the door to the club open for Luke.

“Such as?”

As compared to
Club Tingle
,
The Foxxx Trot
was what Luke would consider a dive bar. It was small and cramped, with a makeshift stage occupying much of the space toward the center of the room. There was a dance floor made of old stick-and-peel tile, some of it curled around the edges, and the bar was only half the size of the massive one inside
Club Tingle
. The booths, dated and covered in vinyl, made for cozy seating, however.

Eddie led them to a corner booth, his hand resting gently in the small of Luke’s back. Neglected beer bottles littered the table, which made Luke wonder why he had chosen it. But when they sat down, it was obvious. They had a clear sight line of the entire club, allowing them to easily see who was coming and going.

Luke slid into the booth, with Eddie following close behind.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Luke said after they were settled.

“Do you really want to hear the answer?”

“Of course—”

Eddie leaned close into Luke’s personal space. “We’re undercover in a gay bar, so tonight we pretend you’re
mine
, Luke,” he whispered, mere inches from the other man’s ear. “Only if it were up to me, we wouldn’t be pretending. And that’s also the answer to your question.”

“You’ve been
flirting
with me?
Fuck
,
Eddie.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Luke stared at him. “Why does it seem like I’m always two steps behind everyone else? My wife decides to leave me, and I had no idea. Elizabeth spills to you about me kissing her, and I had no idea. Captain Walton throws me together with you without letting me know. Now this...it’s fucking irritating.”

“Apparently all those years of marriage did nothing to hone your skills enough to realize when someone is hitting on you.”

Luke ran his hand over his face and sighed.

“Losing your temper and punching me because I came on to you is going to bring us unwanted attention, especially when we’re supposed to be a happy couple out for a drink,” Eddie pointed out.

“I’m not going to punch you.”

“You sure? Because I’m too pretty for a broken nose.”

“Yeah.” He sat back in the booth. “You’ll notice I’m not ‘reacting like a typical cop’ as you said, Brock.”

“No, you’re not,” Eddie agreed. “How
are
you reacting?”

“I don’t...” Luke hesitated, meeting Eddie’s intense stare. “I’m not sure.”

“Well, you wanted to know, and there it is. Women don’t interest me. I’m a straight-forward guy, Luke. I don’t bullshit—never had a taste for it. Life’s too short, y’know?” He ran his fingers through his hair quickly and got up. “You want a beer?”

Luke looked up at him. “Yeah. Whatever’s on tap is fine.”

“Be right back.”

Luke’s eyes tracked the other man’s intentional swagger across the dance floor over to the bar. In the white tank top and those blond curls, Eddie caused a distinct surge of energy around the men he passed. It was electric...he walked by and heads turned. Eddie smiled at one man who approached and nodded his head in Luke’s direction. The man must have tried to pick him up.

As he watched Eddie navigate among the many men who were hitting on him, Luke knew Eddie was right about his tendency to rush to judgment about people. Years on the streets had made him cynical. He was often cold-hearted when he should have been empathetic, and angry when he should have been calm. He realized he’d been living his life the way he was trained to be a policeman: right or wrong, black or white, on or off. There was no in-between, no moments of doubt, no gray. It was a very narrow way of viewing the world, and Eddie had every right to be pissed off at him for his limited vision. He’d never met anyone like Eddie. Perhaps it was the devil-may-care attitude or the way he simply seemed to get enjoyment out of life, but Luke found himself wanting to know more about him.

Then Luke could see Eddie talking to the bartender as he waited for the drinks. Interestingly, he kept his right side closest to the bar—his gun side—and kept glancing through the crowd every few moments. He was good at what he did; there was no doubt about that. Luke definitely underestimated him.

Eddie finally returned and placed two mugs on the table. “I asked the bartender about Julio,” he said, sitting down again.

“Thanks,” Luke said, acknowledging the beer. “What did he have to say?”

“The strip show is in about an hour. Julio comes out first.”

“I’ve had my eyes open. Thayer isn’t here yet.”

“Maybe he won’t show up.”

“He and Julio had a really hot and heavy relationship,” Luke said. “I
know
Julio was hiding something when we asked about Thayer. If Julio’s here, Thayer can’t be far behind.”

“Or he might be here and we just haven’t seen him.”

Luke motioned to the dance floor. “It’s a little crowded to see every face clearly.”

“Mm.”

Luke continued scanning the crowd, hoping to catch a sign of either Julio or Thayer.

“Did you go out dancing with your wife?” Eddie asked, his eyes on the dance floor as well.

“Not really. I worked too much.”

“Did you ever take her out for a good time?”

“Sure, dinner every now and then. Whenever I had off.”

“No, I mean a
good time
. Like crazy kid’s stuff. Y’know.”

“No, I
don’t
know,” Luke said.

Eddie sighed. “Didn’t you ever take her out and then wind up in a parked car or something? Or have her go down on you in a movie theater? Get crazy and dirty in a bathroom or a closet?”

“After twenty-two years of marriage? Hell, we didn’t even do any of that when we were kids. She got pregnant before we had any fun at all.” Luke hated the way that sounded, but he had to admit to himself that it was true. He never did get much of a chance to simply enjoy being with Kathy before he was permanently attached to her.

“So you’re just into the vanilla stuff then.”

“I wouldn’t really say that,” Luke said, sipping at his beer. “I just never had the chance to try anything different.”

“Yeah, you never know until you try,” Eddie remarked with a smile.

Luke made a face at him.

“Didn’t you ever have anything you wanted to do?”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know,” Eddie shrugged. “Something dirty.”

“Something dirty? I don’t think...”

“C’mon, Luke. You’re a man; don’t tell me you never thought about it.”

“Well...”

“I won’t tell,” Eddie grinned.

“That’s comforting.”

“We’re just two guys shooting the shit.”

Luke hesitated for a moment. “I’ve never told this to anyone...fine, I always wanted to get a blowjob in a back alley, where it just happens without having to ask. Like you always see in porn.”

“Interesting.”

“You don’t think that’s a good fantasy?”

“Oh no, it’s perfect,” Eddie said, looking him over. “I’m surprised you watch porn.”

“Of course I watch...why are we having this conversation?”

“Does it make you uncomfortable?” Eddie asked, sipping his beer.

“Not really.” He looked sideways. “You staring at me like I’m a piece of meat might.”

Eddie snickered. “You can’t really blame me.”

“This new level of honesty is a little disconcerting.”

“You can’t take a compliment, is what it is,” Eddie said after swallowing another mouthful of beer.

“That’s not true.”

Eddie moved closer and looked Luke in the face. “If I said you had the most gorgeous blue eyes I’ve ever seen, what would you say?”

Luke could feel his heart begin to hammer in his chest, but he answered truthfully. “I might say you haven’t looked in a mirror in a while.”

The other man frowned at first, and then broke out into a laugh. “Son of a
bitch
.”

Luke looked down, a little self-consciously. “I’m just being honest,” he admitted.

“A little disconcerting for you?” Eddie teased, his eyebrow raised. “What would your girlfriend Elizabeth say?”

“I told you, she’s my partner, not my girlfriend.”

“Even though you kissed her?” Eddie asked with that shit-eating grin. “Or do you do that for all your partners?”

Luke couldn’t help but smile at that. “Asshole.”

“An apt description of me if I ever heard one,” Eddie proclaimed, draining the rest of his beer. “Now c’mon, big guy, we got police work to do.”

“What do you mean?”

“We need to get out on that dance floor. You’re right, we can’t see faces from up here.”

“You want me to dance with you?”

“Don’t worry, you can just hang onto me and shuffle your feet.”

Luke heard the music change and scowled. “You waited for a slow one!”

“Maybe, but can you dance to anything else without looking like a middle-aged cop?”

Luke made a face again. “Point taken. But keep your eyes open. And don’t let me see you go running off all half-cocked if you recognize Thayer.”

“Depending on how close we’re dancing,” Eddie smirked, “you may see me fully-cocked.”

Luke rolled his eyes, causing Eddie to giggle and huff through his nose. He followed him down onto the dance floor, and as Luke’s eyes were once again drawn to that trademark strut, this time he noticed the way Eddie’s ass filled out his jeans. He could see the muscles of his thighs and calves flex as he made his way through the crowd, and when he turned around, all Luke could see were those two blue eyes meeting his. The look was intense, and Luke was surprised to discover he actually felt nervous. Unable to tear his eyes away from Eddie standing there with his hand outstretched, beckoning him, Luke swallowed and walked onto the dance floor.

Chapter 6

“This feels weird.”

“Pretend I have tits.”

Luke glanced down from Eddie’s curls to a spot in the center of his chest. “That makes it worse.”

Eddie was dancing at arm’s length from Luke, fingers laced behind Luke’s neck.

“Just keep one eye over my shoulder and one eye on me,” Eddie said. “I’m watching the edge of the bar and the front entrance. You watch the bathrooms and the side of the stage.”

The music switched to yet another slow song, and Eddie slid his hands down Luke’s back to the top of his hips.

“You seem tense,” Eddie said.

“Uh, no,” Luke lied, acutely aware of Eddie’s fingers tracing circles on his back.

Eddie laughed. “Jesus, Detective, relax a little.”

“We’re supposed to be working.”

“We’re supposed to be making this look good,” Eddie replied.

“Keep your mind on the job.”

“It’s difficult with you dancing so close,” Eddie grinned.

“Brock...”

“Tell me you hate it.”