Chapter 3 JACQUES
“You need to trust me, Ezra,” I said, my heavy limbs banging around as I chased him through his apartment.
I hadn’t explained myself properly, but there wasn’t much sense to it that didn’t paint me as some obsessive.
Which was the truth, of course, and yet I didn’t want him to know that.
I was just a man looking for someone who would love me for who I am, instead of running for cover like I’d hurt them.
“Please, Ezra,” I called out. “Let me explain.”
Ezra was hiding behind the sofa, right beside the front window of the apartment.
The same one with the view to the tree outside in the courtyard of the apartment block.
I could see it through the window, there was a clean snap to the branch from where I fell.
Flickers of the moments passed behind my eyes, and I dropped to my knees.
I didn’t know what had happened to me, or why it was happening, but when I came to again, I was on the hard floor, Ezra’s face in front of me. He was stroking my face and wiping my mouth. There were words coming out, but they felt like they were being told to me like I was inside a balloon.
Grabbing his hand with my phone in it, I pulled it away. “No,” I said.
“If you weren’t so broken right now, I’d call the police,” he whispered to me, shaking his head.
“You wouldn’t,” I mustered. “I don’t work for anyone targeting you.
I know that’s what you must be thinking.
In my work, knowing everything about people is important.
So I had to know everything about you, and I found some bits of your research.
It’s why I told them I didn’t want those drugs in me. ”
Ezra’s sweet face shook, all pink and red across the bridge of his nose and under his eyes.
“So it was you,” he said. “I knew someone had been through my files. But if it was you, then—” He let out a shaky breath.
“The FBI are going to put me into witness protection. They’re going to protect me. Like I said.”
“I saw someone,” I told him. “When you didn’t answer, when I was in your tree, I saw someone, they were in here.” I tried my best to gesture to the window, but my limbs were heavy.
Chewing on his lip, Ezra nodded. “What drugs did they give you?” he asked. “I can probably figure out something to counter it. I have a lot of stuff in the medicine cabinet.”
I shook my head. “I don’t do drugs, don’t give me anything,” I told him. “I’ll ride this out.”
“What did they give you?”
It didn’t come off my tongue easily, and he told me I didn’t have to think or push myself too hard, which I knew was stressing something in me and triggering these episodic seizures. I knew I’d need to go back to Sanctum and be plugged back into their medical systems to figure it out.
“I can help.” Ezra’s soft voice came through all the internal noise. “We need to flush your system. I know the drug. It’s their sedative, Nexzen. It’s killed hundreds of people,” he said, stroking my head. “Long-term users, not you. You’re going to be okay.”
I lifted my head from the ground a little too quick, and dizziness hit like my brain had been put in a blender and was suddenly rearranging itself right in front of my eyes. “I’m . . . okay.”
“I believe you now,” he said. “If you were working for Nexovex to see what I knew, you wouldn’t have tried Nexzen. You’re gonna have to help me lift you, you need to go back to bed.” He hooked a hand under my arm. “Oh, you’re . . . excited.” His soft voice pitched into a giggle.
I was chubbed inside my sweatpants, and since I was free balling, there was a full print impression. After the seizure, my muscles had tensed, and that specific muscle was almost standing to attention. “It missed you,” I told him.
“We need to keep you from getting too excited,” he said. “And you need fluids. A lot of them. I think I have some diuretics to keep you peeing it out. How long did they have you on this stuff?”
“Ten days,” I said, my heavy feet stomping back to the bed.
I stood a foot taller than Ezra, and he wasn’t doing much to hold me up, but it was the thought that counted, and I also liked that he was forgiving.
I’d confessed to stalking, and I’d told him I’d seen someone else in his place.
I didn’t know if he’d even clocked that I’d told him.
Once I was in his bed, I told him again.
“I’ll call my FBI contact, but for right now, I want you to get better,” he said. “And maybe we can go into witness protection together. Just until the evidence is presented and whatever happens with the trial goes through.”
I knew a billionaire company would probably have had people out here, ready to murder to keep their secrets. I didn’t trust the FBI; I was even suspicious of Sanctum right now. They might even be on the payroll, especially since they were using their product.
After a couple of hours together, I’d peed so much, and we’d eaten a lot of Chinese food from the restaurant nearby. It was nice, my muscles felt less tense, and my mind less clouded.
“Does this count as a third date?” he asked, scooping noodles into his mouth with his chopsticks. “I think it should.”
“I don’t want to put pressure on it,” I mumbled. “Since our dates have already gone on to some intense bedroom sessions.”
He laughed. The bed was currently occupied with all the food he’d bought in little metal and plastic containers, alongside the bowls we were eating from. And the crumbs. Prawn crackers were delicious, but those things snapped apart and left their sharp little crumbs everywhere.
“I can clean it off,” he said. “Does it mean you’re staying the night?”
“After you’ve taken care of me, I think I’d love to stay the night.”
He smiled. “Perfect,” he said. “Because as your on-call doc—not a real doctor, sorry Mom,” he snickered. “It’s my recommendation you stay the night. In fact, that’s an order.” His voice fluctuated between strong conviction and soft submission.
It was strange to give up all my power to him.
In usual cases of power play, I was in charge, in control.
I was the one who demanded people stay put, not move, trust me with power over their bodies, and yet here I was, allowing him full rein over me.
I suppose that was the ultimate power, right?
Allowing the sweet, small submissive to play doctor and patient with me.
There wasn’t any pain now. The only pain came from the idea that Mercy would be coming for me.
I could take a little time off from all her demands, especially since she was always the one asking me to do something she needed me for.
But right now, I needed Ezra, to know he was safe, and even if I wasn’t at maximum Jacques, I was always Reaper, and that side of me would reveal itself if we were under attack.
“I have a spare toothbrush,” Ezra said, coming to me in the bedroom.
He was in a pair of boxer briefs I’d left behind—two sizes too big for him.
He swished his hips around, waiting for me to mention them and the tank top clinging to his tight body.
“It’s just a basic one. I bet you’re used to those fancy buzzing and moving ones, aren’t you? ”
I got up off the bed in just my sweatpants. My body ached as it moved now, no pain, but like my limbs required lubrication to function like actual limbs. “It’s fine,” I told him. “Some days I just spin mouthwash around and spit.”
He laughed, planted the toothbrush against my chest, and rubbed his other hand down it, right to my abdomen, which tensed for his pleasure. “That’s not healthy,” he whispered, his eyes following the line up from my chest to meet my eyes. “But you’re going to brush them with me.”
“Is that doctor’s orders?”
He giggled. “This is fun,” he said, nodding. “I need you to make me a promise.”
“I can make a promise.”
“A pinky promise?” His hand slipped into mine, pulling it up. His pinky finger hooked around mine. “Promise me you’re not going to up and leave in the middle of the night.”
“I promise,” I told him. “So, why did you always want me to stay over?”
He snorted so adorably. “I thought that was obvious now,” he said, still pushing the toothbrush to my chest, the bristles tickling me.
He grabbed hold of my upper arm, his small hand barely able to fit around it, and as I flexed, he moaned.
It took a lot of energy to flex, tensing my arm up into an L shape.
“You’re strong. You’re . . . kinda threatening. ”
“Kinda?” I laughed. “People see me coming and they run.”
“Exactly,” he said, still trying his best to squeeze my arm.
“In my mind, you were either here because Nexovex hired you, in which case I was feeling weird about you having sex with me for money, or you were here because of a third party—so many third parties don’t want the information coming out.
” He let go of my arm and tucked the toothbrush into the waistband of my sweats.
“Come on,” he said. “I don’t want to imagine any other reasons. ”
Ezra turned and I pulled him into a deep, strong hug, all my energy being expended for him. It was worth it just to envelope myself around him. “We met because I thought you were cute,” I said. “Opposite of me.”
His voice came through, hitched on breaths. “I think I matched with you because I thought you couldn’t be real, or that you’d accidentally joined the gay side of the app.”
I kissed the side of his neck then let my teeth touch his skin as my tongue came out to prod and lick at it. “So many people think that, and you told me when we first met. I remember like it was yesterday.”
“It was like a month ago,” he said, shimmying around and giggling as I’d rediscovered his sensitivity around his neck and collar. “Not too long. But I remember too. You scared me . . . kinda.”
“In a good way?”
He nodded, with the weakest, breathy “Yes” from his lips. “Then my body realized you were right for me.”
“Your body?” I asked, walking us into the bathroom together.
We stood in front of the mirror above the sink.
“Tell me more about this . . . body.” With one hand around his waist, I pushed it up under the vest, exploring his soft skin and squeezing gently with my palm and extending my fingertips just slightly.
Ezra’s soft voice had me hard, and pressing up against his back, my cock was ready for him.
It had been weeks since I’d seen any action, and it was desperate to find a home between Ezra’s two plump, tanned cheeks where his sweet hairless hole was.
I gripped him closer as my mind map of his body travelled from his ass, up the faint line of his taint to his small ball sack—which was smaller when he came—and up to his chubbed, uncut cock, two tones darker than the rest of his body with a peach tip.
I salivated to the point Ezra’s face turned from excitement to worry.
“Are you . . . okay?” he asked, wiping the drool from the corner of my lip.
“Kiss me,” I said.
He pulled the toothbrush from my waistband. “Brush your teeth first,” he giggled. “I don’t want to taste chicken noodle soup on your lips.” He pressed his head up and kissed me. “One kiss for now.”
“Okay, bossy.”
“I’m still taking care of you, remember.” At his cheesy wink, I was even harder with the want—no, need—to bend him over every surface in his apartment, where I could get between his legs and suck his dick from behind right before destroying his ass.
“I think I’m strong enough now,” I told him.
“Oh, really?” he asked. “Because I really like telling you what to do.”
With a single shake of my head, he knew his time was over. “I think playtime has just started.”
His hand rubbed the outside of my sweatpants, rubbing against my cock. “Yes, Sir.”
“Good kitten. But you’re right, we should brush our teeth. I don’t want to have your perfect smile ruined.”
He couldn’t help smiling and flashing his pearly whites. It was an infectious smile, and something that had initially attracted me to him. I wanted to shove my tongue deep inside and count every tooth with my tongue. I wanted to touch every part of him.
We were practically stuck together at the bathroom sink, and it was easily done. I was only in sweatpants, and my loose fit boxers that Ezra was wearing had dropped to his ankles, almost on purpose, so my hand would cup his ass perfectly. In a way, I thought his ass was made for my hand.
“I’ve missed you,” he said, spitting toothpaste into the sink.
“Good,” I told him, spitting and grabbing the large bottle of mouthwash.
“You make me feel safe, sometimes.”
Uncapping the bottle, I tipped a finger at Ezra’s chin, pulling his mouth open slightly before pouring mouthwash in, then in mine as well. Controlled, I was in my element again. His moment of telling me what to do would have to end.
“I should make you feel safe all the time,” I said after spitting the mouthwash.
He nodded, following me and spitting. “I do, you do make me, but with everything going on right now, I’m so confused about who to trust. And I don’t want to make any mistakes.”
Swiping a hand under his legs, I lifted him into my arms. The underwear at his ankles dropped.
He was light enough I could’ve thrown him without expending too much energy.
“Remove everything the FBI told you from your head,” I said.
“If you’re going into witness protection, they can’t use any of their safe houses. You’ve got to come with me to mine.”
He looked up at me with those big brown eyes and nodded. “Does that mean I’m going to see your place?”
In a way, it might’ve done. “If you’re a good little kitten, yeah.”
Ezra pouted. I kissed him and laid him on the bed. He pushed his tank top down over his cock, stretching it even tighter across his torso. “I’m being very good,” he said, batting his lashes.
From the bottom of the bed, I teased him, taking off my sweats.
My cock clung to the waistband with the upright curve it carried.
It was a slow tug, all the way forward, and with a nice thwip, my cock flicked back against my torso and the sweats came down to my knees.
I took them off, all while he pulled his vest down, covering his balls and trying so desperately to hide his puckered hole.
“Let me see it,” I said. “Let go.”
He raised both hands, surrendering. The fabric sprung back, revealing his hard cock with the foreskin pulled back and the head exposed and glossy. I followed the vines down to his balls, feeling like I could cup them in my mouth together, all of it. I wanted to devour him.
“One final doctor’s order,” he said, buckling his knees together and wiggling, hiding his hole from me.
“What’s that?”
“Fuck me.”