Page 68 of Jace 4Ever
He gripped my elbow. “Don’t do it, Powers. You’re going to work with us, or you’re going to get outed in wrong ways.” His grip was tightening. “I’m not going to be put out by a fag.”
“Mr. Altern. If you don’t let go of my elbow, you are going to seriously regret every decision you’ve ever made in your life.”
The guy chuckled and pulled me ahead to where there was a screen that would hide us from view. Jace followed, and no one else noticed the strange interaction.
“I am going to show the world what your perverted little boy toy here does for a living if you don’t agree to this film.”
“He’s a lighting specialist?” I asked, but saw the blood drain from Jace’s face.
The grin turned cruel. “He does porn.”
“Yeah, he did. What’s your point?”
Altern blinked at me, his cruel expression sliding off his face. “Porn, Powers. Porn. That’s not acceptable. It’s disgusting—”
“And I am sure that if I fired up your computer, I’d find at least ten of those links in your browser. I’m sure they’re for research purposes, Jay. Let go of my arm. Right now. Or you’re going to regret it.”
Altern stared at me. I figured he was stuck in feedback loop, trying to determine if I was lying about his regret. The smirk slipped back on when he decided I was bluffing.
“Nice try, Powers. You’re going to star in our film, or the world finds out your fuck buddy does porn.”
I clucked my tongue. “Wrong choice. Let go of me.”
His hand didn’t move. I covered it with mine and shook my head. “I warned you.” I stepped into him, slipping my leg between his, pivoted so my back found his front, shoved back so my weight was on the foot between his legs, and yanked him up off his feet, rolled him over my back, and slammed him onto the ground on his back. I held his arm fast and he wound up winded and his arm twisted in my grip. I knelt down, turning the arm into an even more painful position, and he yelped sharply. Jabbing my fingers into a pressure point behind his ear, I kept the smile off my face.
“Major Nils Siggurdson, US Army Ranger. Pleasure to meet you, you piece of shit. I told you, you were going to regret this. When I release you from this hold, you’re going to stand up and walk away and never, ever speak to me or Jace again. I don’t care that my boyfriend was in porn. He did what he had to do, and you’re not going to exploit that.Capisce?”
“I…” Altern’s voice wavered.
“I asked if you understood!” I tweaked a nerve in his neck.
“Yes! Yes. I understand.”
I released him and stood in a single move, stepping back next to Jace. He climbed off the ground, massaging the arm I’d twisted. His eyes were murderous, but I didn’t care. Archie and the other dick quickly swept in and led him away from the red carpet so no one would see them.
Jace stood quietly next to me until they disappeared. A blast of air escaped him, and he leaned into me.
“Jesus Christ, Nels…” He tipped his head and looked me in the eyes. “Were you really an Army Ranger?”
“Yes. I was. Four years out of high school. It was something I did to shore up my citizenship bid.”
“Hell,” he whispered. “Do we have to go to this? Because I kind of need you inside me right now.”
My laugh escaped. “We’ll have plenty of time for that later. Keep the Ranger stuff on the down-low. I don’t like to spread that around, but it needed to be used right there.”
I started back out to the red carpet, but Jace wasn’t right next to me. I looked at him, standing there, looking a little lost.
“You really don’t care that I worked in that industry?”
“No, I really don’t care.” I held out my hand. “Come on. We have to finish the carpet. After this little incident I could really use a cocktail.”
Another loud breath escaped him. “Me too.”
