Emerson cupped his chin and brought his gaze up. “I’ll never force you to do anything you’re dead set against—unlessit’s in your best interest.”
“And who determines what’s in my best interest?” Dash challenged.
Emerson shook his head. “You do… unless you’re pushing yourself too hard.”
Dash rolled his eyes before snuggling against Emerson. Hopefully he could trust Emerson to keep his word. The man held way too much sway over him.
“How about we stay out here tonight where you can rest easy and I’ll take us into dock early enough for you to get to work?”
“Yes, sir,”Dash murmured before his eyes slowly closed—and he drifted off to sleep.
27
Just before lunch on Tuesday, Dash finally arrived at work. Before Emerson could climb out of bed and navigate them back to dock in the early hours, he’d jumped on the man once more, incapable of stopping himself—or denying their mutual pleasure. He wasstillconsumed by need as he walked through the doors of Keller Security, belatedly wishing he’d taken one more day to ease the pulsing ache within. His heats were usually brief, so it felt strange to still be gripped by it.
Fortunately, it was easy enough to ignore… he’d wasted enough time as it was. A man was missing.Multiplemen were missing. He already felt enough shame that he’d surrendered to craven need instead of doing his fucking job.
His gaze met Eliott’s as soon as he entered. He was expecting the ninth degree and wasn’t in the mood for it—nor did he want to bite the guy’s head off, either. Buzzing past Eliott’s desk, he tossed out a quick“morning,”and kept a brisk pace until he entered his office and closed the door behind him. He sighed with relief, glad to be alone and unquestioned.
That was, until Jackson rose from the seat in front of his desk.
Dash’s gaze flew to the file in the man’s hand before meeting Jackson’s hard gaze.
“How long have you been sitting there?”
Jackson shrugged. “An hour. Maybe more.”
Dash glanced around, wondering if Jackson had peeked at anything in his office. He knew damned well he’d locked everything up before leaving last, yet the door had been sitting wide open. Not even Eliott had a key because of the sensitive items he stored there. “You didn’t need to sit around and wait. I planned to call you once I was in.”
“I sensed you might not call at all.”
Dash didn’t know what to say to that. He might not have called—if that file didn’t hint that it could shed massive light on his case.
“Although, as much as you’re drooling over what’s in my hand, maybe you would have,” Jackson said, his tone lighter than his expression.
Dash didn’t smile. He was too deep in his head, wishing they could just get past what happened and return to the way things were before. He missed Jackson. The old, lighthearted Jackson.
But then, if he was honest, the problem was more him than Jack.
“Look…” Dash said at the same time Jackson said, “Dash…”
They both paused before doing it again.
“We need to figure…” Dash said as Jackson said, “There has to be a way…”
They both paused, chuckled uncomfortably, and looked away from one another.
“Why don’tyougo first?” Dash said.
Sighing, Jackson scanned the office, never looking at Dash. “You know I’d never want to see you hurt, right?”
Dash eyed the man, now more a stranger than friend. He knew Jackson wouldn’t harm him—at least he had until his faithhad been sorely tested. The trust he’d had in the man had been battered and bruised.
“Especially by my own hand,” Jackson added.
“I know that. Logically. But what happened left a mark, Jack.”
Jackson frowned, shaking his head with confusion. “How about all the times we saved one another’s ass?”
