Brantley kept his eyes on Reese because he didn’t trust that Travis wouldn’t read him like a fucking book if he looked him in the eye. His cousin would know that Brantley wasn’t about to leave Reese on his own in this state. He much preferred Travis be the white knight and cart Reese off before Brantley was forced to do so.
Clearly seeing right through him despite no eye contact, Travis let out a gruff chuckle. “I’ll catch up with y’all later.”
Those who’d stuck around to waste the entire night offered up a round of goodbyes to Travis and Gage.
Brantley watched as the two men approached Reese, saw Reese offer a drunken smile. He briefly wondered if he would’ve gotten the same smile if he’d been the one to go over there. Doubtful.
“I think we’re gonna call it a night, too,” JJ said. “It’s thinned out really well.”
Yeah, for the most part, those with kids had already headed home. They might’ve gotten a few hours with adults, but come morning, they’d be right back to entertaining the little ones.
“You’ll holler if somethin’ comes up?” JJ asked, patting Brantley on the shoulder.
He knew she was referring to a case. Since they hadn’t worked one in nearly two weeks, they’d been focusing their efforts on doing a deep dive on the social media kidnappings they’d stumbled on a while back. Unfortunately, they weren’t making much headway, despite the fact the number of missing kids associated with these types of groups was on the rise.
Brantley pushed his beer away, got to his feet. He’d been nursing the damn thing for two hours now, so it was safe to say he was not headed for a buzz anytime soon. Figured it made more sense to head home.
He said good night to Trey, who was chatting it up with Rafe Sharpe. Brantley figured Rafe was hanging out until Bailey Weber got off work. He didn’t know what, if anything, was going on between the two of them, but he knew Rafe often drove Bailey home when her shift was over.
With Reese no longer at the bar, Brantley made his way over, closed his tab, and added a healthy tip before heading for the door.
When he stepped outside, he stood on the old wooden porch and stared out at the nearly empty parking lot. He didn’t see Travis’s SUV or Gage’s truck, so he assumed they’d already left in whichever they’d come in. He also didn’t see Reese’s truck, and he assumed the other had driven it back to their house so Reese would have it in the morning.
Not that Brantley gave a damn where Reese was or what he was doing or even what his transportation options were come daylight. He didn’t fucking care. He couldn’t.
He made that his mantra for the next ten minutes. It was the only thing that kept him from detouring to Travis’s house on his way home.
Chapter Four
MAGNUS LEFTMOONSHINERS FOUR MINUTES AFTERTREY. He knew because he timed it.
In his defense, waiting was damn hard. Almost as hard as his dick had been all night watching Trey as he interacted with his friends and family. No man had ever captivated Magnus the way Trey did. Every single thing about him was sexy. The way he moved, the way he talked. And especially the hair. For whatever reason, Trey was letting his hair grow out. That or he simply didn’t have time to go to the barber to get it cut, because it had surpassed his collar and was well on its way to being considered long. He’d always been attractive, but this change made him hot. The kind of hot that had Magnus wondering if the guy had a Harley parked out in the lot instead of his truck. Between the shoulder-length hair and the goatee/mustache thing he had going on … yeah, Magnus sported a hard-on just looking at the guy.
And damned if it hadn’t been difficult to play his part as the dutiful secret lover and wait until no one suspected he could’ve been traipsing after Trey.
Now, as he pulled up to Trey’s house, parking behind Trey’s truck, he was ready to strip off his damn clothes and stroll in naked just to save time.
He didn’t, of course. But he wanted to.
As was usually the case, the front door was unlocked, so Magnus let himself inside. All the lights were off, except for the one in the guest bedroom where Trey slept. Magnus had attempted to ask him why he didn’t sleep in the master bedroom where he kept his clothes, but he’d been shut down too many times for him to repeat the question. He figured Trey had his reasons, and since Magnus was supposed to be a booty call and nothing more, he’d decided not to pester him.
He had just walked past the hall bathroom when he heard footsteps behind him. The next thing Magnus knew, he was pinned to the wall, his face pressed against the Sheetrock and Trey’s big body crushing him.
Teeth bit into his neck, and he moaned, tilting his head, welcoming the erotic pain that accompanied it.
He sometimes had a difficult time believing they’d been doing this for the better part of a year now. Each encounter was hotter than the last, and no matter how many times they fucked, no matter how many different positions they tried or toys they used, Magnus never got enough. He wanted Trey with every breath he took, and his craving for the man intensified day after day.
Magnus reached back, gripped Trey’s thigh, and squeezed.
“I hope you’re not in the mood for gentle,” Trey rumbled against his skin.
He chuckled. “Have you ever been gentle with me, Trey?”
“Not on purpose.”
Trey sucked the skin on his neck hard, dragging a ragged moan from Magnus’s throat. Trey reached for the hem of Magnus’s T-shirt, jerked it up, then yanked it over his head. He tossed it to the floor, and then Magnus was pressed to the wall once again. The heat of Trey’s body was a welcome relief, but it disappeared instantly when Trey gripped his arm, spun him around, and slammed him into the wall. A second later, those smooth, warm lips were molded to his mouth, and Trey’s tongue was thrusting inside.
Magnus moaned, running his hands over Trey’s arms, up to his shoulders, down his back. He touched him everywhere, knowing that was how Trey liked it. He’d never known anyone as responsive to touch as Trey, and yeah, that was another fucking turn-on.
