Indebted (24 page)

Shrugging, I pull out my weapon. “You get used to it. It’s like doing push-ups. Your arms kill you at first, but then it’s not so bad after a while. You build up to it.”

Aaron stands back and watches me aim, then nail the target right in the center. I hear him suck in a breath, but I ignore it and get into the zone. Firing round after round, I am accurate every time. I’m shocked when I feel him come up behind me and trail his fingers over my ass. Thankfully, due to years of training, I don’t make another hole in the ceiling. I keep going and pretend not to notice his hands on me. It’s damn hard, like my cock.

Slowly, he traces my tensed muscles, making my breathing become shallow. Playing his little game, I reload and begin emptying the clip. Now he’s molded himself to my back and snaked his arms around the front to my chest. His lips brush my neck as his fingers map out my abs, making their way to my nipples. Once there, he pinches them through the soft material of my shirt, causing me to moan loudly.

“Fuck,” I mumble under my breath.

I feel him smile against my skin before he moves his tongue along the corded muscles in my neck. His heated breath, mixed with the sensation of his warm, wet tongue, makes me completely forget about doing anything else but fucking him. I lay the firearm down and enjoy the attention.

His hands gravitate downward to my dick and massage me through my jeans. Aaron groans while grinding his cock into my ass. I’m now gripping the table in the booth for all it’s worth, my knuckles turning white with the effort.

Aaron growls, “I want you so desperately. I’m ready to go… now. Are you ready?”

Thank fuck!

I turn around and answer, “Hell yes, we can go.” Glancing down at my obvious erection, I continue, “Like you even need to ask.” I lean down and take his lips in a hard kiss full of want, stopping only when we are both breathless. “Let’s go.”

He doesn’t need to be told twice, immediately following me to sign out, and then to the car. The engine revs to life and the hum of sexual tension fills the car. Glancing over, I see Aaron’s leg anxiously bouncing up and down. His cock is hard and pressing against his zipper. Mine is the same and really uncomfortable. These jeans are too fuckin’ tight now. Further down the road, I catch sight of him out of the corner of my eye, rubbing himself through the fabric. Soft little moans fill the quiet in the vehicle.

“Aaron, fuckin’ stop or we’re going to have an accident.”

“You telling me you can’t drive with distractions? I find that hard to believe. Speaking of hard, my dick is screaming right now. I think I’ll relieve the pressure some.” The little asshole has the nerve to wink at me.

My breath hitches as I hear the zipper open. “God damn it, Aaron!”

His chuckling turns into a hiss, and I know he’s released himself from his confines. My foot hits the gas and the car leaps forward, speeding down the road because I can’t wait much longer.

Aaron is now stroking himself. The sounds he’s making have me about to come in my pants like an untried teenager. Why the fuck do I have to live across town from the damn place?

He’s getting close to coming. I can tell by the increase in his volume. I’m going fucking nuts—anxious to enjoy my man. Finally, we arrive at my place. Turning off the car, I arrange myself to enjoy the show. Aaron meets my eyes, leans his head back, and continues to pump himself. I’m frozen, watching the image before me. His face is tense, with a sheen of perspiration coating his brow.

Panting, he whispers my name and then licks his dry lips before pursing them in concentration. As his movements become fast and less fluid, I reach over and pull his shirt up for him. Suddenly, his back arches off the seat, and growling, he spurts all over his hand and stomach. He breathes hard with his eyes closed, sitting there enjoying his high. Aaron’s scent hits me in the confined space, and I do the first thing that comes to mind. Bending forward, I lick his fingers clean. The taste of him explodes on my tongue and I actually whimper. As I make sure I consume every last drop, Aaron’s eyes grow wide and his dick actually twitches

Leaning back, I peer at him with determination in my eyes. “We need to get the fuck upstairs right now. I’m willing to put on a more public show if we don’t.”

Swallowing hard, he nods and does up his fly. We make our way upstairs and to my room.

A
FTER
FEEDING
our desires, and in the process learning Aaron has a thing for tying me up with silk neckties, we lie comfortably on the bed with the lights out cuddling.

While I run my fingers through his soft hair, I decide to bring up the subject I’ve been avoiding. “Sooo, you really liked the gun stuff, huh?”

Rising up a little to glance at me, he says, “I did. Does that make me strange?”

I chuckle a little at that. “Why would that make you strange?”

Smiling, he shakes his head. “Hell, I don’t know. I think it’s wrong to feel like I did while shooting something that could kill someone.”

“How did you feel?”

He buries his face in my chest and I barely hear him mumble. “Powerful and in control, with excitement mixed in. I don’t get it. It’s weird to me. I thought I would be scared or something, but my fascination turned into exhilaration.”

I latch on to the “powerful and in control” and run with it. “There’s nothing wrong with feeling that way, Aaron. It actually makes a ton of sense. When you were held at gunpoint, your control was taken away from you. Having that weapon in your hand made you realize it wasn’t you that caused the lack of control, but the weapon. That asshole wasn’t all-powerful, it was what he held.”

He lifts his head, looking stunned. “Yeah, exactly. It felt good knowing it wasn’t me that was powerless to that asshole. It was almost like, if I’d had a gun that day and knew how to use it, my fate wouldn’t have been solely in the hands around me, but my own.”

I’m so relieved he is seeing it this way. Even though I don’t want to have to teach him this shit, it makes me feel better knowing he seems to be excited about it. It makes me feel like less of the ass I am.

“I’m glad you feel that way. I’ve been thinking about something else, but wasn’t sure how you would feel about it. Tristan and I were talking about maybe showing you some self-defense moves. Would that be something you would be interested in learning?”

He lies there quietly for a few minutes, mulling over my proposition, starts to speak, clams up, and thinks some more.

Finally, he does. “What do you want to teach me? I’m not as big as you or as badass as Tristan.”

I laugh at the ridiculousness of this thought process and try to clarify what I mean. “First of all, you could be as ‘badass’ as us if you wanted or needed to be. Second, I’m not meaning full-on battle training.” I stop and smile at him, as he appears mystified by what I’m saying. “I’m talking about how to get yourself out of a jam and that sort of thing. Not joining the mob, babe.”

“Ohhh, good! I was afraid I was going to have to tell you even I have my limits when it comes to our relationship.”

“I will teach you how to handle a weapon being pulled on you, or how to get out of a hold when someone grabs you.”

“I’m actually excited at the thought of this. I know you wouldn’t bullshit when it comes to my safety. If you think I not only need this, but can do it, I’ll take your word for it.”

My worries are alleviated almost instantly. “That’s great. We’ll get started first thing next week. I also want to keep taking you to the range. You need to be as comfortable as possible with a gun.”

Sitting up, he peers at me suspiciously. “What’s going on, Lee? Why all this sudden push for me to be so self-sufficient? Is there something going on I need to know?”

Oh shit, you dumbass, now you’ve done it. Fix it, asshole.

“Nothing’s goin’ on, Aaron. I had another hit put out on me, but it’s not a big deal. There are plenty of people who want me dead. I don’t want you caught in the crossfire. You are considered my biggest weakness now. It’s true too. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to get you back if you were taken, or to keep you from being hurt. I love you too much for that. That’s why I want you to know this shit. You have twenty-four-hour protection, but there’s nothing wrong with having the ability to fight and stand on your own two feet.” I am rambling again, which seems to be a normal thing when I’m talking with him lately. No one has ever made me more excited or nervous. No one has mattered as much.

“So you have hits out on you and you think it’s ‘not a big deal’?”

“Aaron, you’re not stupid. You know the work I do is dangerous and pisses a lot of people off. It’s part of the game, and I’m—”

Interrupting me with a stunned look on his face, he asks, “Wait a second, did you say you love me?”

I’m confused by his question. Why would I have said that? “Huh?”

“A few minutes ago you said you ‘love me too much for that.’ Did I hear you wrong?”

Then it dawns on me…. I did say that. I didn’t even realize with my verbal diarrhea happening. I know my feelings are much deeper than affection and lust. I hadn’t planned on telling him so soon, because I didn’t want him to feel obligated to say he feels the same. I mean, I hope he does, but I want him to come to that on his own.

Now my big damn mouth may have ruined everything. “Yeah, um, I guess I did—sorry.”

He chews on his bottom lip for a moment and then asks, “You’re sorry because you didn’t mean it, or you’re sorry you told me?”

The little fucker is perceptive.

Sighing heavily, I try and dig myself out of this hole. “I’m sorry I said it. It’s not the way I wanted to tell you, or when. I didn’t want to pressure you.”
There, now shut the fuck up before you start rambling again.

He smiles sweetly at me, then starts laughing, and now I’m back to confusion.

Sobering a little, he says, “Only we would start a conversation about someone putting a hit out on your life and end up having a discussion about the proper way to say ‘I love you.’”

I chuckle at his logic, relieved he’s not making a big deal over my fuck up. “So, as I was saying earlier, I don’t want something to happen and you to not be able to handle things. I need you to be safe at all times. Plus, I think you need this for yourself. You’ve been struggling for a while over not being able to do anything when Adam attacked you.”

Laying back down and snuggling into me, he sighs a little. “True, it will feel good to be able to do something, hell, anything, if someone comes after me.”

He goes quiet, and we lay there enjoying the silence. After a while, I would have thought he was asleep if he hadn’t still been tracing my chest with his fingertips.

Clearing his throat a little, he whispers, “Hey, Lee? I do too, you know?”

I know exactly what he’s saying, and I’m more thrilled than I’m willing to admit. My heart is racing and feels like it’s going to burst.

Smiling like a goon in the dark, I have to ask. “Yeah?”

Aaron burrows down and kisses my chest. “Yeah.”

He drifts off to sleep soon after, and I enjoy being with him. I tell myself this doesn’t change anything, but I know it does. I want everything with him now. My mind takes a long time to shut down, but finally I manage to fall asleep too.

O
VER
THE
next several months, Tristan and I train him, teaching him the basics. Aaron is so nervous at first. We keep having to remind him we can take a hit without getting upset at him. It is important he learn to hit full force. After he is confident, he really buckles down, wanting to absorb everything the right way.

“Lee, can we go over that one more time? I’m not sure which way I’m supposed to turn.”

“Of course, as many times as it takes for you to be comfortable. Remember, the idea is to get loose and run. If you can’t do that, what do you do?”

He rolls his eyes at me as he replies, “Use what’s around me and fight dirty. There are no rules when your life is in jeopardy. I know, you’ve beaten it into my brain.”

Grinning at me mischievously, he turns his back and gets into position. I step up behind him, wrapping my arm around his neck to where my elbow is centered at the front of his throat, and grip my hands together to solidify the hold.

“Now, Aaron, I want you to remember. Always go for the sensitive areas: nose, eyes, feet, groin, and knees. Since you’re right-handed, that arm is your dominant one, so it will be stronger by default. I want you to twist your right leg behind my left knee at the same time. Then you’re going to use your momentum to elbow me several times in the head with your right arm. When you do this, your attacker’s natural reaction is to let loose and step back. When this happens, the leg that is now behind me will make me trip and fall, or at least stumble. That will give you time to run. Don’t even look back when you do.”

With each try, he gets better and is much smoother at it. The little smartass even reaches up and pulls once on the underarm hair exposed by my tank top, which has me belly laughing after the initial shock of him coming up with that “defense.”

“What? It could work. At least with you it did.” He smirks at me, and I can’t help but teach him a lesson.

I run at him and he takes off, squealing. Tackling him to the ground, I tickle him. He laughs so hard he’s actually snorting, and begs me to stop. Finally, I do, just to attack his mouth with mine. The heat picks up between us and he grips my hair, holding me in place. As if there is anywhere else I’d rather be. Slowly, I run my hands down his body, going for that sweet ass of his.

As I’m about to reach it, I hear Tristan. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, you two. I can’t leave you alone for more than twenty minutes? Liam, you wanna climb off Aaron? I really don’t want to see this shit right now.”

Tristan appears a little pissed, and I sense it isn’t because he walked in on our make-out session. He may say it bothers him, but I know he’s joking. This has to do with something else, which makes me nervous. He’s been a little preoccupied lately, and I’ve been wondering what’s going on. He’s usually so calm and easygoing. I’ve let it go because I’ve had my own shit going on, and he seems to be fine at work. I’m now questioning whether we need to have a talk.