Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
“Bax? Bax, honey? Y’all need to wake up. AJ’s here to see you.”
Jason’s momma was knocking at the door, almost too lightly to hear, but it brought Bax up in bed like a shot. His rough movement almost shot Jason right out of bed. Damn.
“Coming, Momma,” he called, settling his hand over Jason’s mouth to keep the man quiet. “You just tell him I need to get dressed.”
“I have coffee on. I’ll tell him.”
Shit. He lifted his hand as soon as he heard her walk away. “You okay, Mini?”
“I… I… Yeah? I guess. I was… AJ?”
“Yeah. Momma says he’s here to see us.” Hell, he wasn’t sure Coke had even told Aje everything. “I’ll go out first. Tell him you’re in the bathroom. That way I can make sure he knows what’s what.”
“Jesus… Okay. Okay. I… Okay.” Jason got up, headed for the pile of clothes Momma left out every evening, making sure everything was clean and matched.
“Stop.” It was the easiest thing to grab Jason’s shoulders, turn him around, and kiss him clean on the mouth.
Of course, it would have been way more suave if he hadn’t stumbled on the bad leg.
Still, he reckoned Jason didn’t care all that much about suave, then. Not the way the man responded to him.
Better. Much better. “I’ll send Coke in, okay? I won’t leave you hanging.”
“I’m cool. I’ll get dressed.” Jason leaned a little bit, then straightened up.
He leaned in and kissed Jason’s jaw, just underneath. “You’re amazing, Mini. I’ll be back, huh?” Bax pulled on some jeans and an undershirt before heading out.
“Well, well. Look at your lazy ass, finally getting out of bed. Good lord.” AJ was standing there, grinning like an asshole, coffee in hand.
“Hey, I’m on hiatus.” He clapped AJ on the shoulder. “Morning. You talk to Coke yet?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I been talking to him for a couple days. Had to drop some bulls off, figured y’all’d just fucking dither until the end of time.” He got a shit-eating grin. “So I’m here to fetch y’all.”
Oh. Thank God. He loved Momma and Jack, but Goddamn they needed to get a move on. Hell, he needed to start his own physical therapy, and Momma didn’t have room for weights and shit.
“Well, that’ll work.”
AJ nodded, tilted his head. “So…he’s really blind?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I am.” Listen to Jason growl.
“Hey, Mini.” Bax tried not to sigh, ‘cause Jason would hear it and growl more. Instead he reached out and took one of Jason’s hands, keeping it from starting to grope like he knew it would.
“Jase!” AJ’s voice came out a little too loud, a little forced, but Bax could see the how tickled AJ was to see Jason up and moving.
“Hey, man. Who invited you?” Jason ducked his head, hiding behind the brim of the gimme cap.
“Coke, I guess. I needed to see you, though. Make sure you were among the living.” AJ finally just brushed past him and gave Jason a big ole hug.
“Hey, buddy.” Jason grinned, slapping AJ on the back. “You been good?”
“Austin James! What dragged you in?” Coke wandered in, hair still wet from the shower.
Lord. Momma’s house was exploding with cowboys.
“Hey, Coke.” AJ released Jason and pounded on Coke’s back, grinning like a fool. It helped Jason—Bax could feel the man relax.
“Lord, lord. Y’all want some breakfast? I got biscuits in the oven and sausage started.” Momma kissed Jason’s cheek and pushed a cup of coffee in his hand. “Mr. Coke, you want a cup of coffee?”
“Yes, ma’am. If it’s not too much trouble.”
Bax led Jason to the table with a hand under his arm, figuring no one would notice too much. Luckily, no one did, and Jason managed to get sat without having a fit, even if that jaw was hard as steel.
The noise in the house was just getting louder and louder—AJ hooting and Jack and Coke yammering. The TV news was on in the front room and the dogs were still barking at AJ’s truck.
Jason was gonna blow a vein.
“AJ! Why don’t you take Coke out and settle the dogs. Momma, I bet Jason would love some orange juice.”
The TV clicked off, and Jack came to stand in the doorway, staring at him a minute before the old timer nodded. “Hey, AJ. You ought to come down and see that three-year-old I got.”
“Yeah? I could do that, yessir. You coming, Coke?” AJ grabbed his hat.
“I’m gonna growl at them dogs, first, but yeah. Unless you need help, ma’am?”
“No, honey. I can cook breakfast. Y’all go.”
Silence fell, all but for the sizzle of bacon and sausage and all, and Bax let out his breath. “Come on, Mini. Let’s hit the head, huh?”
Jason’s lips were set tight, one hand on his arm. “Okay.”
He took Jason to the bathroom in the back, far away from everyone. “You want a shower?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I gotta get out of here, Bax. We gotta.”
“We are. AJ’s ready to take us back. I just know Momma will balk, so we need time to figure.” He helped Jason get naked before he started the water going. Lord, he was all flustered and his mouth was still watering.
Jason stepped into the water, the steam starting up, all those lean muscles getting wet and slick. Goddamn. Swallowing hard, Bax sat on the toilet, staring at his hands. He just wasn’t sure if Jason wanted him in there.
“Can you…with the cast?”
“Huh? Oh. Yeah. Let me get a baggie.” Momma had taken to leaving him trash bags all over, bless her. Bax grabbed one and pulled off his cut-offs and shirt, wasting no time sliding right in there.
Jason grabbed hold of him, dragged him close. “Bax.”
“I got you.” God, when had he become the only solid thing in Jason’s world? At any other time, Bax would have reveled in it. Now it just made him want to put Jason right again.
“No. I got you.” Jason squeezed a little, proving his words.
“You do.” That had him grinning, relaxing. Damn. “Hey, Mini. You feel good.”
“I ain’t feeling too bad at all.” Jason settled him against that flat belly. “So what’re we tellin’ Momma?”
“I think we’re gonna tell her that you need to just have a little time, and that AJ has that little guest house that we can rearrange without bothering nothin’.” That would be a good start.
“That works. I just gotta get out for a while, even if I can’t ride a bull.”
“You’ll have plenty of time to work on it. AJ’s got the machine, all that training space, a weight room.” He stroked Jason’s shoulders, letting the water smooth the way.
“Shit, I’m feeling like a new baby in some ways. I can’t even figure out how to shave.” Jason gave him a half-grin. “Course some shit I’m figuring out okay, huh?”
“You do real good by touch.” In fact, Jason was doing pretty good at touch right then, hands slipping below the belt.
“Yeah. I have some incentive, huh?” Jason relaxed back, fingers weighing his balls, rolling them some.
His legs spread like a buckle bunny’s in the back of a pick-up. “I… Oh. I guess so.”
“You just guess?” Lord, something wicked’d gotten into Mini. Something wicked and fine.
“I think definitely.” Bax went up on tiptoe on his good foot when Jason’s fingers brushed the skin behind his balls, his whole body burning with the shock.
“That a good sound, Bax?” Jason touched him again, then one more time, that feeling liked to drive him wild.
His hands clenched on Jason’s shoulders, his whole body rocking against that touch. “Jesus, Mini. Ain’t… That… Christ.”
“Uh-huh.” Jason slipped down, mouth on his belly, free hand bracing him. “I got you.”
“You do. Body and soul.” Shit who knew he’d wax poetic when Jason touched him there.
“Mmmhmm.” Those lips found his cock, wrapped around his dick and just gave it up for him. All the while, those Goddamn fingers kept tapping and stroking, scratching a little.
Squirming, Bax leaned as best he could on the shower wall, reaching up to grab the shower head, knowing it would give him better leverage to thrust. “Jason. Jesus.”
That finger slid back, just for a second, as Jason took him deeper.
His eyes tried to roll back in his head, his hips snapping, and he nearly passed right out. His cock coulda drove nails. “Mini. Please.”
Jason’s eyes rolled a little and the suction got bigger, stronger. Then Jason touched him again, circled his hole and pushed in, just the littlest bit.
Bax stifled his shout by biting his lip, his head falling back as his cock pushed forward. He came like a ton of bricks, his body feeling as if he’d been on about ten eight-second rides. When his brain and body got all re-combobulated, Jason was panting, lips against his hip.
“You. What do you need, honey?” He wasn’t sure if he could move without falling, his leg throbbing, the rest of him limp as a dishrag.
“I’m good. I… Uh. Yeah.” Jason went pink as could be, grinning against him.
“Yeah?” Well, Lord love a duck. “That was... Your momma’s probably out there listening.” That tickled him.
“Oh. Shut up.” He got a quick, sharp bite on his belly.
“You’re gonna have to help me out, Mini.” There. See him give Jase a job. Up the confidence. Jesus, his knees were jelly.
“I got you. Just a second.” Jason stood and turned the water off, then hunted the towels.
“Left about three inches, man.”
There. Jason’s hand went right to the towels, and Bax figured they were getting a handle on the directions shit, at least.
Jason got him pretty well dried off, eyes jumping around from one thing to another, every sound making them move.
They’d have to do their research, see if there was anything to do on that.
If not, Jase would just have to keep his head down.
Shit knew Mini did that enough, avoiding the cameras right in his face.
Bax took a kiss, just a slow, lingering touch of lips. He wasn’t gonna bring that up now.
“Come on. They’ll be waiting. Momma’ll be ready to bitch about eating or something.”
“Yeah.” They finagled their clothes back on, that soggy bag stuffed in the trash. Coke and AJ and Jack were back, sitting and talking quiet like.
Coke nodded to him, then to the kitchen. “There’s food.”
“Cool. You haven’t eat us out of house and home yet, AJ?” Bax had to tease, had to just grab Aje and hug. “Good to see you.”