Page 60 of Free
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Jeremy gasped as D pushed him up against the wall, kissing him hard. He had just walked into the STK house when D all but tackled him. "That's some kind of hello." Jeremy arched his neck as D's mouth moved under his jaw.
"I've missed this." D's hands caressed down his arms as he pressed his hips forward, rubbing his cock against Jeremy's. "Why have you been going home every night?"
It was hard to think when D was all over him like this. Just his touch made Jeremy dizzy with need. He'd been good about leaving early in the evening, telling D he wanted to work around his house, but the truth was, he went home and sat around doing nothing but thinking about D and what they could be doing if he'd stayed. "Because I'm stupid." Jeremy tangled his fingers in D's hair and brought his head back up for another hard kiss.
When D pulled back, he stared at Jeremy. "Talk to me."
Jeremy closed his eyes and rested his head against the wall. "It was too much. I was getting too involved in us."
"And that's a bad thing?" D asked.
Jeremy opened his eyes. "It could be."
D shook his head. "We can't do this here. Come on." He didn't bother telling Rani they were leaving as he tugged Jeremy back out the front door and to his Jeep. "Get in. We're going to my house." D opened the passenger door, waited for Jeremy to get in, then shut it before going around to the driver's side and getting in.
"What are you doing, D? We have work to do. Jessica is coming over tonight." They'd met with her two days ago, and all agreed she was a perfect fit for the team. Tonight they'd all sit down and plan a training schedule that would work for all of them.
"We'll be back in time, but you and I need to figure out a few things." D glanced over at him as he pulled out of the driveway. "I don't want any interruptions, so we're going where we can be alone."
Jeremy stared out the window, wondering if he'd made a mistake saying something to D about his feelings. They had to work together, and the last thing they needed was to feel awkward around each other. "It's okay, we don't have to talk about it."
"The hell we don't." D looked at him after stopping at a red light. "This is important. But I'm not doing this while driving. When we talk, I want to be able to look you in the eye. I want you to know what I have to say is the truth. So let's just drop it until we get to my place."
Jeremy bit his lip. This wasn't going to be good. He tried to focus on other things as they drove, but his mind kept drifting back to the kiss as he walked in the door, and D's reaction when he'd admitted he was feeling something. It hadn't been disgust or anger, it had been hurt and worry. What did that mean?
"Did we get the case of motor-oil in?" D asked, obviously changing the subject.
"Yeah, but I'm not sure what you need it for. None of our vehicles use that kind." He'd ordered it without question, but wondered what D could want with it.
"It's to put in the dummy that we castrate. The oil is messy like blood. It gets all over everything, smears on your skin, makes it hard to see where you're working. Plus, it won't stain everything while we practice, and it's easy to clean up with a little Dawn dish soap. We tried several different things when we trained, but found this worked the best. The part that we can't seem to find a way to practice is the stench of burning flesh."
Jeremy shook his head. "I'm glad you get that part of the job. I don't know that I could stomach that. The blood I can deal with, but smells, they get me every time."
"Yeah, out of all of it, that was the hardest part to get used to. I just keep remembering that the pedophile can smell it too. He feels the burn of the flame, smells the flesh burn. It's amazing no one has died of shock yet."
"Have any died?"
"Not from the castrations we've done. We've had to shoot people before to save our own lives, but we haven't had one die yet from the castration going wrong. Of course, I don't know how long they live after. Trenton once told me the suicide rate was high once the people we go after get out of prison. I read that hormone replacement helps, but I really don't know. Don't really care honestly as long as they can't hurt anyone again."
"Has anyone reoffended when they've gotten out of prison?"
"A few of them have. One woman got out and kept grooming young girls. Of course, with the women, we don't do anything to imbalance their hormones, so it's different for them. When someone reoffends after we've already gone after them, there isn't much more we can do. I know that Carter gets the information he finds to the police, but since we have a no kill unless our own life is at risk policy, we can't go in again." D turned down a small country road. "My house is the one straight ahead."
Jeremy stared at the large home. It was as nice as his own, surrounded by trees and set back away from the street. D had several large windows facing the west. "Bet you have an amazing view of the sunset."
D parked in the driveway. "I haven't been home really to check it out."
Jeremy followed D out of the Jeep and up the front path to the steps. "You're more secluded than I am. I have close neighbors."
D nodded. "Bryon probably knew better than to put me too close to people. My music and my sex can get loud at times."
Jeremy laughed. He had heard how loud things could get when they were having sex. D was very vocal. "You don't have to tell me."
D pushed the door open and walked inside. "They did the decorating, so don't judge."
Jeremy grinned. "It's not bad. Not what I'd pick for you, but at least it isn't horrible." The furniture and artwork were all very modern. He saw D as more a rustic kind of person. "This reminds me more of Rani than it does you. Maybe when he gets a place you can give him all this and get new stuff."
