“I told him I wasn’t interested, and he got really angry.”
“Angry? How angry?” That wasn’t a normal reaction when someone said they weren’t interested in hooking up. I was sure the arrogant ass wasn’t used to being told no, but that didn’t give him the right to get angry. I felt my own fury rising and my indignation growing.
“He told me it was a bad move for my career. He basically told me working on the campaign would have cemented my future both in law and politics. He said he could’ve molded me to reach my full potential and that we could become the most powerful gay couple in the country.” Jag shook his head at the memory. “Molded me to reach my full potential?” He gave a short bark of derisive laughter. “Since I’m not interested in fucking him, he doesn’t want my help with his campaign. What a putz.”
The microwave dinged, and Jag turned to get my food, but I stopped him. “I don’t know what to say, Jag. I’m sorry about the campaign. I know how excited you were to be working on something at the national level, and it sucks that he…” Jag silenced me with a finger over my mouth.
“He’s an idiot if he thought I’d sell out on what I have with you to work with him. There will be other campaigns, but I’ll never find another you.”Oh, dear lord.His words lit me up on the inside and emboldened me to be brave.
“I love you, Jag.” It was the moment I had been waiting for. I held my breath as I waited for his reaction. His eyes widened in shock, then a smile slowly spread across his face.
“Bones,” his deep voice sounded raw as if it was painful for him to speak. “I love you too. It feels so fucking good to finally say it out loud.”
We stood there grinning at each other for a few moments before we were all over each other like trick-or-treaters on candy. I forgot about being hungry, angry, or any other feeling except the desire to take and be taken.
“It’s my turn to top,” I said teasingly. “You rode my ass like a champion bull rider the last time.”
“You begged me to fuck you, so it doesn’t count,” Jag growled against my throat. His hands were fondling my ass through my leather pants. “I was prepared to give it up to you, but you were all ‘Fuck me hard, Jag,’ so what else could I do?”
I pulled back from his embrace and looked into his eyes. “Let’s flip for it.”
“That sounds very familiar,” Jag said, his eyes glittering with adoration.
We reenacted the scene from my maiden visit to his house, but that would be where the similarities ended. It would be the first time we made love with our feelings out in the open, and I knew it would be stronger and more meaningful than anything we’d previously experienced.
I was right. Jag’s heat nearly burned me alive when I slid inside him, and he imprinted himself everywhere on my body when it was his turn to top. Neither of us was willing to close our eyes or look away while we truly made love for the first time. The whispered words of love between tender kisses fueled our passion for one another. I had never loved or been loved so thoroughly. My orgasm had never been as strong as when we came together. That night changed everything between us.
I was never eager to disengage from Jag’s embrace, and that night, I held on even longer than usual. It was the moment I had been waiting for, and I clung to it as long as I could while we lay in a tangled knot, sharing every breath. I finally understood all the sappy crap Gray had been saying ever since he’d met Chase. Jag breathed life into me and I into him. I wasn’t the same person I’d been before he’d come into my life, and I knew the same was true for Jag. Together, we were better.
“Don’t you dare let me turn into a fucking sap,” I said after we showered and got back into his bed. “I mean it, Jag. I’m on the verge of drawing hearts, writing poems, or sending you flowers.”
“I won’t let the sickening saps get you, Bones. I’ll keep you grounded.” His chuckle was the last thing I heard before I fell asleep.
As usual, Jag was gone before I woke up. I went about my normal routine and got ready for work, but it was obvious there was an extra gleam in my eyes and more pep in my step, which was commented on as I made my way to my office. I opened my door and was shocked to find an enormous bouquet of red roses sitting in the middle of my desk. My heart beat erratically in my chest as I pulled the card from the middle of the bouquet. Inside was a roughly drawn heart and the words:
I must have read the card four or five times before I finally stopped laughing. I leaned forward and breathed in the fragrance of the roses. The sickening saps had caught me too and damn if it didn’t feel good. I sat in my chair and began to plot my counter move—work was the last thing on my mind. A fun idea occurred to me, but I’d need some help to pull it off. Gavin came through the door and grinned like an idiot when he saw my flowers and the goofy smile on my face.
“Shut up,” I said before he could even get a word out of his mouth. “I need you to do something else for me instead of grading papers. It’s personal, and I shouldn’t ask you to help me, but—”
“I’m in,” Gavin replied without hesitation. He listened intently as I laid out the materials I needed him to buy for me while I gave my lecture. I handed him my credit card and shooed him out the door.
I only had a few minutes before my first class, but I couldn’t teach without taking the time to thank Jag for his gift. I shot him a quick text that ended withI love you.
I whistled through my morning and spent my lunchtime putting together the surprise package for Jag. I barred Gavin from my office and locked the door so no one could witness my humiliating display of sappiness. I would’ve loved to deliver it in person, but my schedule just wouldn’t permit it, so I hired a courier service to deliver the gift to his office.
JJ
Isat at my desk a few days before Thanksgiving and pondered what kind of sappy-ass gift I could give Miller next. Ever since I’d sent him flowers, we had been exchanging gifts that had gotten more and more elaborate over time. I’d started the game with simple flowers and a lame-ass poem that was supposed to make him smile and let him know how serious I had become about our relationship. He’d fired back that same day with an elaborate gift that made me laugh and touched my heart.
I had grinned when my receptionist called me out to the lobby to sign for a package. There had been strict instructions that only I could sign for it. It could’ve been from any number of people, but I knew in my heart it was from Bones. My pulse sped up when I cut through the tape on the outer box to see what was inside. I lifted a shiny red box out of the larger one and placed it on my desk, then I just stared at it like it was a ticking bomb or something.
I finally lifted the lid off the box and peered inside. At first, I was confused about what I was looking at because it looked like a box of scrap construction paper. I pulled one scrap out, flipped it over, and noticed it had a few words printed on it, but they didn’t make sense. They appeared to be random words printed on pieces of paper. Then I noticed the odd shape of the pieces and realized it was a puzzle. I began to pull each piece out one at a time, placing them all on my desk so I could put the puzzle together. Once assembled, I sat in my chair and laughed until my stomach hurt as I read the poem he’d written and cut apart.
I returned my attention to the box because there were still more items inside. I pulled out a box of assorted Belgian chocolates, a small plastic ball and chain, and a red plastic heart that pulled apart like the eggs that went in Easter baskets. Inside were little slivers of paper where Miller had written mushy movie lines.
I didn’t think anyone could top my tacky-ass poem, but Miller had definitely taken the prize with his. From then on, we tried to one-up each other at least once a week, but privately instead of involving our workplaces. I bet Miller would be surprised if he knew I’d kept every one of those puzzle pieces and the plastic heart with the movie lines inside my desk. They were meant to be funny and cute, but it was the first romantic gift I had ever received, and it meant the world to me.
The receptionist called me and let me know I had someone there to see me, but they didn’t have an appointment. That was something that never happened, and I figured Miller was up to something. So, I was surprised when I entered the lobby and saw Grayson Wright.
