Chapter 23 #2
A much younger Jack, Will, Alex and Corey were grinning at the camera. There was a fifth man I didn’t recognise. Corey had his arm slung over the man’s shoulders, the two of them leaning against each other.
Jack didn’t answer, and when I glanced back at him, his pulse was jumping in his neck. “Jack? What’s wrong?”
Again, no response. He was examining each picture closely. A tear slid down his cheek.
Frowning, I looked again, trying to see what had caused such an extreme reaction. There were a few more group shots, but the vast majority were just of Corey and the guy I didn’t recognise.
There were so many of just the two of them. Snapshots of them on holiday in places all over the world. Sat in front of a Christmas tree. In their army fatigues, trying to look serious even as their eyes sparkled.
Some of them must’ve been taken in this very room. Corey sprawled on the sofa a few feet away. The stranger painting the walls their current shade of blue.
“This wasn’t Corey’s place,” Jack choked out, swiping at his tears with a thumb. “It was his and Mike’s. Fucking hell. Why didn’t he tell us?”
“Who’s Mike?”
This time, Jack answered, his voice rough. “Mike was in our unit. He was killed in action in Afghanistan during our last mission.”
“Fuck.”
Jack lifted his wrist, the wrong time showing. “It’s why we all wear these. They’re the same brand Mike wore. We keep it on Kabul time so we don’t ever forget.”
Oh, Jack. I’d been through a lot of shit in my life, but never anything like this. Pulling him into a tight hug, I stroked his back soothingly. “I’m so fucking sorry, Jack.”
“It’s okay,” he said, kissing my hair and sighing. “It was a very long time ago. Seeing all these photos though…I wasn’t expecting it.”
“That makes sense. Were he and Corey…together?”
Jack chuckled. “No, not like that. Corey’s straight. They were best friends though, closer than brothers. They did everything together. Including purchasing a cabin in rural Wales, apparently.”
As Jack pulled away from me, my gaze snagged on a photo just to the right.
It was a bright sunny day, the two men surrounded by woodland.
Corey’s face was relaxed as he grinned at the camera.
It wasn’t his expression that caught my attention though.
No, it was Mike’s. How he was smiling up adoringly at Corey, like his world began and ended with him.
My heart ached for Mike. I’d seen that look all too often before, every time a camera had caught me staring at Jack.
Jack pulled out of my arms, giving the photos a soft smile. “It’s nice, actually, now that I’m over the shock. It’s great to remember the good times.”
“Looks like you had a lot of them.”
“We did.” He touched a group shot of them all dressed up as members of Scooby-Doo. “Fuckloads of them.”
Turning with a sigh, Jack snapped back into work mode. “Okay, stay here while I scope out the rest of the property. Once I’m satisfied it’s safe, I’ll do a perimeter check.”
“Do you have to do that now?” I murmured, toying with the chest hair peeking out from his still unbuttoned shirt. “It’s not like he knows where we are, and even if he did, he wouldn’t have beaten us here. Not with the way you were driving.”
Jack’s pupils dilated as we both remembered exactly why he’d been speeding. For a second, I thought I had him, but then he shook himself and took a few steps back. “No, I need to do this. I won’t be able to relax until I know you’re safe.”
I sighed dramatically and pouted, but really it was all for show. A way of distracting myself, because if I thought too long about why we needed to do this, the panic and fear would take over.
I was going to bury my head in the sand until I forgot there was an obsessive stalker who wanted to wear my skin as a suit.
And by ‘bury my head in the sand,’ I meant have sex with Jack. Lots of it. Until neither of us remembered or cared about the fact that we were in hiding.
That was why I played the role of the brat—something I hadn’t done in a very long time. Not breaking eye contact with Jack, I slowly started to unbutton my own shirt. Let it fall to the floor. Unbuckled my belt with the same casual slowness.
“What are you doing, Arlo?”
“Getting started,” I replied, stepping out of my trousers and kicking them aside. “So if you don’t want to miss out, I suggest you get your checks done. Otherwise I might be finished before you’re ready to start.”
I barely had time to blink before Jack was on me. Hand lightly around the front of my throat, he backed me up until he had me boxed in against the wall.
“Fucking brat,” he muttered, nipping at my jaw. “Why do you have to be so impatient?”
“Impatient?” I gave a disbelieving laugh that turned into a groan as Jack pressed his erection against mine. “I’ve been more than patient, Jack. I’ve waited fucking years for this.”
He rolled his hips against mine once more before withdrawing. “Then it won’t kill you to wait a few more minutes, will it? But believe me, Arlo, the only way you’re coming is with my mouth on you or my cock buried deep inside you.”
An old fear fluttered in my throat, making me grab his wrist as he turned to leave. “Wait.”
He turned back to me, a brow raised. “What’s wrong?”
“About what you just said…I’m not sure I’m ready for you to fuck me.”
“Oh.” Colour flushed his cheekbones. “I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed you were a bottom. That’s on me.”
“It’s not that,” I said, squirming at how uncomfortable it was to open up. “I do want that…I’ve just not done it before.”
“Oh,” he said again, understanding dawning in his eyes before he shrugged. “That’s not an issue. We can do other things, or you can just fuck me.”
My eyes bugged wide. “What?”
Jack was already walking away, but he called back over his shoulder. “You can fuck me. You do that, right?”
I didn’t get a chance to answer before he vanished into the kitchen. Did he really mean…?
Oh my fucking god, he did.
I was going to fuck Jack Stokes.
If I didn’t die from shock first, that was.