Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
THORNE
“Oh my god, Echo. I’m so sorry! I thought you were Michael trying to come in and murder me.”
I groan, sitting up, my head throbbing slightly. Fuck, he got me good. I look at what he’s holding and sigh.
“Is that a croquet mallet?” Shit, at least it wasn’t the baseball bat with the nails on it. I realize just then he took it with him when he left the house, but when he fell in the dirt, he no longer had it.
That was not good.
Leaf glances at it, his chest and legs bare. In fact, he’s wearing nothing but a little scrap of underwear, which shows off his cute little bulge.
I can’t look away.
Maybe he knocked something loose in my head with that swing.
“It is. But at least it’s not the bat with the nails…” At least he admitted to having it, which is…something. His voice trails off, and he rushes out of the room, leaving me on the floor, disoriented and slightly turned on.
A moment later, he returns with a towel filled with ice. He presses it against the nape of my neck, and I wince slightly.
“I really am sorry. But honestly, what are you doing here? You were supposed to let yourself out? Wait.” He freezes slightly. “Are you here to murder me?”
I shake my head and wince when pain moves into my skull. Time to pull out the big lie. If he really thought I was Michael, then maybe I’m not wrong. Or maybe Michael is the bad guy, mentally tormenting Leaf to the point of insanity.
I need to make sure I can stick around a bit longer.
“Nah, just being a nosy bitch.”
That makes Leaf laugh. “I—yeah, okay. You are being a nosy bitch and also being a bit creepy, so really, you deserve this. Snooping around in an old house? Dick move.”
He meets my gaze, and my own falls to his lips.
His breath catches, and he blushes slightly. “And stop looking at me like that. You definitely don’t want me kissing you after pummeling you.”
I say nothing, realizing I wouldn’t quite mind it, which says something about me.
Like maybe I have a concussion. It’s one thing to realize I’m attracted to a man.
It’s quite another to realize I’m attracted to a possible psychopath.
Fuck, maybe this job really has warped my sense of right and wrong.
Whatever. There’s no point in denying it, and if I can use his obvious attraction to me to buy myself a little more time on his property, well, I’ve done worse things to close a case.
“Maybe I should offer you a blowjob,” he murmurs so quietly I mostly have to read it off his lips.
That makes my breath catch this time, my head going slightly dizzy. Yeah, using sexual prowess to get my way is one thing, but wanting it as much as I do?
That’s different.
“I mean, you can say no,” he adds, “but I think it would be the best apology. If you want me, that is.”
My lips part and then close as I try to decide what to say. This is so unprofessional. So fucking unethical, and yet, earlier, I was about to stroke his dick. And technically, I’m undercover, so would it really be so bad? Besides, it’s not a lie. I do want him.
Leaf mistakes my silence for rejection. “Ope. There I go again. Sorry, shouldn’t have asked. I’m just tired and clearly unstable. I need a restart.”
He starts to move, and my hand shoots out, grabbing onto his arm and holding him in place. “I didn’t say no.” My voice feels thick and raspy against the back of my throat.
He’s bent over slightly, his eyes flashing. “You said nothing, and anything less than an enthusiastic yes is a no to me.”
I shake my head and then pull him closer. I can do this. In all honesty, it’s going to be too easy. I want him so much the back of my throat aches. And frankly, after everything I’ve seen and done, I’m already going to hell, so what’s one more brick to pave that path?
“It’s not a no,” I tell him, keeping my voice so low I can barely hear it, “but we should make this fair.”
“How so?”
“How about we get each other off. At the same time. As a mutual apology.”
He bobs his head, and the ice clatters to the wooden floor beneath us. “An apology,” Leaf says. “An apology for you not selling me what you promised, and an apology for me trying to put a hole in your skull?”
I laugh as he scrambles onto my lap, that cute little ass now on my thighs, his lips precariously close to mine. He smells like coconuts, like he took a shower after falling face-first in the dirt.
He breathes, and I smell the mint on his breath, his hands clumsily working my pants open.
He feels nothing like a woman at all. Granted, it’s been a while since I’ve done this with anyone, but the weight of him is different.
He’s not a particularly huge guy, but there’s a feeling about him that will not let me think he’s anything other than a man.
And the thought of a soft but calloused hand on my dick isn’t turning me off in the slightest.
No, something about this guy gets me going. And if I really admit it, this isn’t the first time I’ve pictured a man touching me. Not…not really. But this, right here, just makes it incredibly, incredibly real.
If I’m being honest with myself, I think I always knew I was bi.
Just never had the privilege of actually hooking up to test the theory.
There weren’t many opportunities on the force, and definitely not in the FBI.
The queer men there were keeping that very close to their chests, and I think my don’t-fuck-with-me demeanor didn’t exactly give off safe-space vibes.
Seems now I have the chance to try something new. Something I’ve secretly wanted for a long time.
He shifts closer. “Just gotta get close enough for easy access,” he murmurs, his groin pressed up against mine. I lift my hips slightly, helping him tug my pants down, the bulge in my boxers exposed.
He wets his lips and pulls it from its confines.
He gasps, his mouth parted slightly. “Well, shit. You’re huge.”
I roll my lips between my teeth as he reaches out and carefully grabs onto my length, testing it in his palm. It makes me positively weak and light-headed. But then suddenly, he lets go, and I realize I’m desperate for more.
“I think you’re going to be sorely disappointed when you see mine,” he says and then pulls his underwear down, his dick making an appearance.
It’s not small by any means, more average, but I like it.
It’s less intimidating this way.
“Is this okay?” he asks.
I nod and let my finger move up the underside of it. It jumps at my touch. “I like it.”
“Good, I mean, because you have to touch it. As an apology.”
I let out a small laugh and then bring his hand back to my dick, wanting him to touch me again. “You’ll tell me if I’m getting it wrong?” I can’t help but ask as I wrap my hand around his shaft.
He looks into my eyes, exhaling. “I’ll also tell you when you’re getting it right.”
That spurs me on. My hand shifts up his length, and he groans. He does the same to me, his grip strong and possessive. Fuck, he’s good at this. As chaotic as he is, this is fucking perfection.
He twists his wrist around the head of my cock, and I groan, my chin hitting my chest as I watch our hands move in tandem.
Maybe it has been too long. Or maybe it’s just this weird guy who knocked me over the head with a croquet mallet.
I don’t know, but the way he holds me, strokes me is perfect. It’s like he knows exactly what I want. What I need.
My hand trembles as I continue to touch him, watching as his eyes roll into the back of his head. His entire body arches up, his hips rocking back and forth, giving me a tempo to work with.
And I fucking work with it. We’re both sitting on the floor, amidst the melting ice and the doilies, just letting our groans fill the room.
A bead of sweat trickles down Leaf’s temple, and I know I look the same.
He’s making me so fucking overheated. The scent of him, the way he feels in my hand.
The excitement of being with a guy for the first time.
He makes it seem so easy. I don’t know why I didn’t do this sooner.
Probably because he wasn’t around.
That thought is far too romantic for what’s happening now. Right now, it’s just lust and need. Nothing more.
“Oh shit, Echo.”
I try not to wince. I’m desperate to hear my actual name on his lips, but I’m not foolish enough to give it to him. Not yet, anyway.
“I’m coming,” he gasps, his head falling back.
His strokes around me falter as his cock erupts.
Cum spills over my hand and onto my legs as he shakes and gasps, his orgasm going on forever.
And just the sight of him trembling on my lap, the scent of his release, is enough to send me over the edge.
I wrap my hand around the one that’s stroking me and help him pull my release out of me.
My cum joins his on my pants, some hitting his bare thighs before my dick sags in relief.
My entire body relaxes almost immediately, my chin resting on my chest as I inhale deeply. “Fuck.”
“Yeah. Fuck is right,” Leaf replies, and I find the strength to meet his hooded stare. “I needed that. Already feeling more sane.”
I nod, even though it’s a lie. I don’t feel any saner after this. If anything, I feel slightly sideways. That might have been my first time with a man, but fuck do I want to do it again.
And it’s also with a man who is definitely some kind of criminal, and worse, maybe even a murderer.