Page 12 of Absent Without Leave
“Depends on what you’re after. Hometown Diner serves the best American fare anywhere in these parts and breakfast twenty-four hours. But if you want something a little more upscale, there’s an Italian place across the street. There’s also a Tex-Mex place down the highway.”
“Mmm, Tex Mex. Haven’t had decent fajitas in ages. Aiden O’Leary, will you go out with me tonight?”
Aiden’s mouth drops open, then clicks closed. “What? Like a date?”
“Yes, like a date.”
“Well, yeah, but… You want to…even after what I did?”
“What did you do?” Jake asks, leaning forward. He flinches at the pull of his wound. “You thought I threw you over for a quicker, easier lay. I can see how and why you might have thought that. I could have done a better job of making you understand why I had to go.
“It sounds to me like maybe we both had a hand in the misunderstanding. If you’re willing to forgive me for my part in the whole thing and put it behind us, then I’d like to start over.”
“I’d love to start over and I’d love to go on a date.” Aiden’s face glows and he laughs.
“Good. We do have a bit of unfinished business, however.”
Aiden’s expression neutrals out. “We do?”
“Yeah.” Jake looks hard into Aiden’s eyes. “Last time I left here, I was supposed to return in two days’ time so we could…” He arches an eyebrow.
Realization dawns on Aiden, and he’s grinning again.
“…fuck each other’s brains out. So if you don’t mind putting the cart before the horse, I’d like to follow you back to your apartment and do just that.”
Aiden blushes. “Yeah. Okay. Yeah.” He rises and heads into the hallway.
On the way upstairs, Jake texts Rick letting him know that Aiden’s going to need a replacement server for today at least.
The blinds are open and midmorning sun pours across Aiden’s unmade bed.
They’re in the middle of getting undressed, when Aiden exclaims, “Shit—you’re hurt,” and comes around so that he can look at the red and purple abrasion on the flashy part of Jake’s waist.
“It’s nothing. It’s fine.”
Aiden looks wrecked. “Now I feel even more like a douche.”
“Aiden, don’t.” Jake’s voice is sharp and Aiden straightens, his brown eyes going wide.
“Don’t assume a guilt that isn’t yours. I was hurt in the line of duty, I was hurt because some asshole shot at me and caught me right underneath my vest.” Jake tugs Aiden into his arms.
“But I—”
“No offense, but I wasn’t thinking about you. When I’m on a mission, I’m focused on my men and the mission. That’s it. We’re trained to compartmentalize and focus. Okay?”
“Okay,” Aiden says, his voice quiet, his eyes still unsure.
Jake wants to touch, wants to taste, and closes in for a kiss. For all Jake’s earlier rush, the kiss is slow and sweet; it tastes like spearmint and chocolate. He’d been in a hurry to get to this point, but now that he’s here, the pace doesn’t matter. Aiden’s fingers scratch at Jake’s scalp, his hands clench Jake’s shoulders, and his hips sway back and forth, their dicks waking up with each brush of denim against denim.
The kiss ends and Aiden releases Jake. They separate and finish pulling clothes off.
“Have you got supplies?” Jake asks, sprawling on the bed. He would have brought some, but doing so would have seemed a tad presumptuous.
Aiden nods and slides onto the bed next to Jake, lying on his side with his head in his hand. “In the drawer.”
Jake mirrors Aiden’s pose and they kiss some more. The sun is warm, but not overly so, and after the hell hole Jake was in the last two weeks, he’ll take the brightness and the warmth. He scoots closer, drawn by Aiden’s own warmth and the brush of his skin. In the brilliance of the sunlight, Jake can make out the smattering of freckles all over Aiden’s body like a pale dusting of cinnamon sugar. He’ll chase the taste of that later.
For now, he tangles his legs with Aiden’s, and enjoys the graze of leg hair. Jake skims Aiden’s thigh and cups his ass cheek, which is, unsurprisingly, pale and mostly smooth. It twitches beneath his fingers. “Top or bottom?” Jake murmurs into the skin behind Aiden’s ear. He nips and then licks at the pulse fluttering there.
