Glenn Read online

  Brushing by him, he walked into the living room where a large fire roared in the hearth. What he wasn’t expecting was to find a young man sitting there a stubborn and defiant expression on his face the second he spied Tate.

  That’s a kid who knows cops and he’s just realized that I am one.

  He wasn’t there to hound the kid, not his point of again being under the roof of Glenn Howard. Therefore while he didn’t interrogate the kid, he made sure he looked away first.

  As Glenn paced before the fireplace, Tate took advantage of the opportunity to study him. Leanly muscular, his fingertips burned with the memory of being allowed to joy of touching him, but he remained where he was. He allowed himself to just observe. The light gray shirt tucked neatly into dark blue slacks that he had no doubt were professionally pressed, and even though the day was nearing it’s end, they were still pristine. Black shoes on his feet that made a light tapping sound as he moved back and forth over the tiled section before the fireplace.

  “Thank you.” Glenn touched his ear and moved toward Tate, his expression unreadable. “Sorry, I thought I would have been finished with this call before you got here. Thanks for coming. Can I fix you a drink?”

  Kiss him. Kiss him.

  Fucking heart and its off the wall demands, no matter how much he wanted to follow them.

  “Water please.”

  “Sure. Grab a seat. I’ll be right back. Chris, another Pepsi?”

  “Yeah.”

  The tone grated on Tate. He’d grown up in a military dad who would have beat his ass, had he the inclination to speak in such a manner. It was on the tip of his tongue to correct the behavior only to realize it wasn’t his responsibility.

  Glenn returned two glasses of water in one hand and a blue aluminum can in the other.

  He handed the drink to the mulish kid then walked to Tate.

  “Here.”

  There wasn’t a single reason for him to touch Glenn, but he did, just because, it was killing him to not have a reaction from him after their time together.

  Glenn arched an eyebrow but didn’t say anything.

  “Come on.”

  I’m about to.

  He accompanied him toward the table in the far side of the living room, still getting warmth from the fire but not right there. There were a few scattered papers on the surface.

  He sipped his water and cleared his throat.

  “You want to do this before him?”

  Glenn never looked over his shoulder. “He’s in his own world. Plus, he’s the one who brought it to me.”

  Who is this kid to you?

  “Start at the beginning,” he ordered.

  Tate stood there, when Glenn turned and faced the table, mesmerized by the art of his throat moving as he drank. His dick kicked uncomfortably within his jeans.

  “He was instructed to bring me an envelope, by my brother if he died. While I saw Chris, that’s his name, at Todd’s funeral, he never once approached me at that time.”

  “How long ago did your brother die?”

  Now there was a flicker of alarm and hesitation. He hardened his features.

  “I need it all, Glenn.” In more fucking ways than one.

  This man was the only one who’d made him feel as if there could be a future with someone. Anyone else could have just as easily been fucking a blow up doll for all the emotion he had toward them as a partner.

  However, Glenn, was a livewire to him.

  “A few months ago.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “October?”

  “Yes.” To his credit, Glenn didn’t lower his gaze.

  Realization hit.

  Chapter Two

  Glenn leaned back on the sofa and exhaled slowly. A sound to the left grabbed his attention and he turned to watch Tate move from the kitchen and breakfast area, back into the living room. He still wore his hoodie, as if he were loathe to take it off.

  His gut clenched. Tate still got him, and it wasn’t easy to act as if the time they’d had together didn’t mean a damn thing. It had meant more than he ever wanted to admit to himself, much less aloud.

  “You know I’m SWAT, right? I’m not sure what you think I can do for you.”

  His tone remained carrying an edge to it and Glenn didn’t doubt it was from the date matchup when he realized that their weekend together was immediately following him burying his brother.

  “I know that, just like I’m thankful that you took the time to come over here. I just need to know what my options are. Like, do I have to wait until I’m looking at this fucker coming at me with a gun between us? Or what are other precautions I can put into place?”

  Tate’s entire body went rigid for a moment. He took a long drink of water and cleared his throat.

  “I think you should hire a bodyguard.”

  “No. I don’t need someone following me around all day. What would they do while I was at work? It’s not practical.”

  “Letting someone kill you isn’t practical, Glenn. Protecting yourself is.”

  “Not happening. Other suggestions?”

  “Are you sure it’s not the boy?”

  He shrugged. “I thought about it for a moment, especially once I realized that I’d seen him at the wedding, but I hardly think my brother would task him to come find me with that message if he thought that was the one hunting him. Or any of us.”

  “But you still have doubts.” It wasn’t put in the form of a question.

  “My brother tells me we’re being hunted after he’s killed in what, whatever the local law there passes as, consider a hate crime. Honestly, I’m surprised they know the term. I would have thought they would have deemed his murder as a public service.”

  “That’s being a bit dramatic, don’t you think?”

  A self-deprecating laugh escaped. “Not even close. I grew up there, you didn’t. Believe me when I say the loss of a gay man isn’t going to be anything that dings anyone’s radar.”

  “If it was so bad, why did he stay?”

  He captured his head in his hands and sighed, the weight of the world on his shoulders. “I wish I knew. For whatever reason, Todd considered that place home. He refused to leave. Even after we got out of the sadistic ‘camp’ we were at, he always wanted to head back there.”

  The pain of losing his brother was a knife cutting out his heart. “Maybe, I could have saved him. Done something more to keep him alive and away from there. Insisted he come to me or any of the others.”

  The couch dipped with the added weight of one Tate Eder joining him on the furniture. Glenn bristled, thinking the man was going to tell him how to feel or something like that. He was surprised. Tate didn’t speak, just sat there. Not close enough to be touching, but enough that Glenn could feel the warmth from him and if he did want to instigate bodily contact, he wouldn’t have to move far at all.

  Time passed and he sat there, head down, trying to come to terms with the loss of his brother. Beside him, still silent as a boulder yet as strong as one, he knew would be shoulder for tears were it wished, was Tate. Not shifting, fidgeting, or doing anything to suggest to Glenn that he had somewhere else he wanted or needed to be.

  Eventually, Glenn rose to see to the fire. He insisted on having a real one, not a gas one. He loved the smell of burning wood. As he bent over to add a few more logs, a whisper of sound alerted him that he wasn’t by the fire alone.

  Rising, he pushed his glasses up on his nose, and held Tate’s brown gaze. He didn’t ask him what he was doing there, because he hoped he was fucking going to kiss him.

  “How asleep is your guest?”

  “No clue, I only met him today and I don’t fucking care.”

  A harsh glint rose in Tate’s gaze. “You will when you’re trying to keep quiet as I’m fucking your ass.”

  His own cock pulsed at that announcement. Since he’d been with Tate months ago, all his relief had come by his own hand. And honestly, he was tired of that. He wanted another’s touch on him, bu
t not just anyone. He wanted the grip and feel of this man on him.

  “I have pillows,” he retorted.

  Tate reached between them and cupped Glenn’s cock, squeezing with purpose. It wasn’t a light teasing touch. No, this let him know the man who was there had plans for him.

  “Lock your house up and be naked on your bed with that ass in the air within three minutes or I’m coming to fuck you wherever you’re at.” A final squeeze and Tate moved through the breakfast area toward the master bedroom at the complete opposite side of the house from where Chris was sleeping in a guest room.

  Glenn didn’t tarry. The longest bit was making sure the fire was banked for the night and wouldn’t be a hazard. As he headed up the hall to his bedroom door, he was already stripping off his clothing. His shoes had been stepped out of and his socks followed, next up was his shirt and slacks.

  One light was on in his room. Tate was reclined on the bed, one leg up and his head resting on one hand. Naked.

  Glenn’s blood hummed at the sight of the man waiting for him, stroking his own fucking magnificent cock. A pile of condoms lay on the comforter between them and Glenn smiled briefly.

  “Confident?”

  “Fifteen seconds,” Tate rumbled as he continued to fist himself.

  Even though heat coursed through his veins like liquid fire he didn’t rush. As if he had all the time in the world, he slowly reached for the first button of his shirt and slid it through the hole.

  His own cock, at full mast and pushing insistently against the zipper in his pants. He was commando, he didn’t like to have anything around his junk. For a myriad of reasons.

  Tate was true to his word however, and after that fifteen seconds had been counted down in his head, the man was off the bed, stalking toward him, that long, thick, fucking magnificent cock bobbing with each determined step he took.

  Mouthwatering, Glenn dropped to his knees without hesitation and grabbed onto Tate’s shaft with both hands. Stroking him, he moved one hand to cup and tug on the man’s sac. He knew exactly how much pressure he wanted.

  Relaxing his throat, he swallowed the length with a pleased groan. Tate skimmed a work roughened hand over the hair on his head before gripping until Glenn looked up at him. His brown eyes flaming with undisguised heat and desire.

  Glenn swirled his tongue beneath the crown of Tate’s shaft, his own still doing it’s best to tunnel free and connect with his lover’s grip.

  “Fuck, I’ve missed this,” he growled. “Missed the touch of your mouth on me, your hands.”

  Sucking harder, Glenn worked the rest of his shirt out of his pants and unbuttoning them. When he had it partway off his shoulders, nearly constricting any movement in his arms, Tate shoved forward, the blunt head of his cock bumping the back of Glenn’s throat.

  “Just like that,” the cop demanded. “Look at you, on your knees servicing me, arms pushed back, thrusting your chest forward. I can do what I want to you and you’re just going to take it, aren’t you?”

  “Uh huh,” he mumbled around the thickness in his mouth. He never stopped the hungry slurping he was enjoying on the treat he had between his lips. Glenn wanted to touch him again but there was something highly erotic to him, to have Tate retain all control over him, how fast he took it, how deep, and everything like that.

  Surrendering to the man’s touch, Glenn listened to his not so subtle demands, his scalp tingling from the grip Tate retained on the shorter hair on his head.

  Tate withdrew and gripped the base of his shaft, tapping the side of his face with it. “Suck my sac,” he ordered. Lifting his cock, he offered them to Glenn, who took them eagerly in his mouth.

  “Fuck yes!” Tate’s knuckles brushed against his nose and he continued to stroke his length as Glenn sucked on his balls. He pulled hard on one then the other, unable to satisfy himself with only one.

  Hunger ramped him up from the inside out and he struggled against the confines of his sleeves which kept his arms in their specific locked position. Drawing hard, he let them pop from his mouth, one at a time. Again, he had learned how much pain Tate enjoyed with his sex and made sure to give him what he wanted but never more.

  “Holy fuck, you remembered didn’t you.” Tate pushed his fingers through Glenn’s hair and tugged until he opened his eyes and stared up at the man, illuminated by the lone light in the room. He held his dick and smacked it a few times on the side of Glenn’s face. His mouth hung open, waiting for Tate to slip it back in and allow him the pleasure of blowing him.

  Tate teased him. With the broad head, he dragged it along Glenn’s lips, leaving behind a blend of precum and his own saliva from earlier.

  His pants threatened to cut off his own blood flow, but he didn’t move.

  “Tell me you still have oil.”

  He blinked. “Same drawer by my bed. Would you fucking give me your cock now?”

  Tate’s grin was anything but comforting. Bending, he yanked the shirt off Glenn and with a quick flick of his fingers, opened the button on his slacks. Despite the frenzied energy surging around them, Tate was careful lowering the zipper until Glenn’s cock made his presence known.

  “Hands on your mattress, this first one isn’t going to be gentle.”

  Glenn rushed and put his hands on either side of the condom pile. He stuck his ass out and bit back his whimper as Tate smoothed a hand along his cheeks, dipping into the crevice between them but never entering his ass. Reaching around him, Tate allowed his facial hair to drag along his skin, his corporate beard, as Glenn thought of it. His strong fingers plucked up a condom and with excruciating slowness moved back around behind.

  Biting his lower lip, Glenn shifted his feet as the tear of the package echoed through the room like a shot. Finally, the strong grip he’d needed gripped his ass and spread him. moistened fingers pushed into the hole, slowly fucking him in preparation.

  “Tate,” he begged, legs already trembling from what he knew was to come.

  His fingers were exchanged for the thick cock, and Glenn breathed out in relief as the familiar ache and burn of Tate going up his ass washed over him. hanging his head, he shivered as Tate picked up speed and depth as he began to fuck him.

  The smell of frying bacon woke him. Tate blinked and stretched, he wasn’t in the guest room. A slight smile flickered the corners of his mouth. He’d stayed all night in Glenn’s room. Even from the first moment he saw this room, he’d loved it.

  There was a mural on each wall, then again perhaps the better way to describe it was one on all four walls. You had the distinct feeling of being on the beach. Where you were completely surrounded by sand and water. Almost allowing you to hear the waves slapping on the shore.

  This panoramic view wasn’t only bright, middle of the day, but a day there where you could turn your head and not only witness a bit of change in the shoreline but also the time of day.

  To his left, he could view the sunset or sunrise coming on over the destruction of an old long pier. The posts trailed out into the water becoming smaller and smaller until they were simply no more. Some reeds were along the closer ones to shore and the colors ranged from golden yellow to oranges to purple. If you looked really hard, you could see a few stars shining on the anthracite of the night sky.

  As he climbed from bed, naked, he glanced at his reflection in the full length mirror he’d taken Glenn against at some point last night.

  Or was that this morning.

  His cock twitched at the thought. swiping his clothing, he padded to the large master bath and didn’t spend to long cleaning up. He must have been exhausted, he was typically a light sleeper.

  Stepping from the hallway and into the kitchen, his morning joy faded as he spied the cook to be the moody boy, he still wasn’t all that sure about.

  “Morning,” Chris said without turning around. “Glenn said you’d be up as soon as you smelled the bacon. He told me to tell you he’ll be back but he had to run take care of a few things.”

 
; He clenched his jaw. Didn’t we just get through talking about the importance of him having protection? Maybe not, perhaps it had just been on the menu but they’d gotten sidetracked by other things.

  “You don’t seem to have an issue with me coming out of his bedroom.”

  Chris turned and Tate could pick up on the remnants of a black eye. One pierced brow rose, the yellow gold bar catching the light.

  “Do you even know this family?”

  He crossed his arms, adopting what many knew to be his “I’m serious as shit right now SWAT face” and it did nothing to the boy who rolled his eyes and faced the stove once more.

  “Dude, you need to check the shit. All the brothers are gay. I’m gay. Todd was helping me get off the street and get my degree. The fact that you and his favorite brother were fucking over the course of last night and into this morning, if the screams were anything to go by, tells me there is something there. Not my concern. I came to do what I was supposed to, and I have to head back.”

  Glenn’s brother’s friend—who by all accounts was just a damn kid—knew more about the family than he did. That bothered Tate on a deep, deep level. If Chris knew the extent it annoyed the fuck out of him, he never acted like he had a clue.

  “What’s your purpose?”

  Chris slid the bacon onto three plates with the ease of someone who looked like they’d done this before. Fry cook maybe? His cop mind struggled to figure it out. All of it out. To his satisfaction.

  “I don’t have any further purpose than what I’ve set out to do. Bring the letter to Glenn.”

  “And now?”

  Chris glanced at him and cocked an eyebrow as he cracked eggs—one handed—in the pan, the sizzle oddly relaxing.

  “He’s here to the end of the week,” Glenn stated, as he strolled into view.

  Another perfectly fit suit on him. Chris smirked, his back to Glenn, before he gazed away.

  Tate gnashed his teeth together with frustration. Why was he being so cavalier about this? The officer within him who protected and served wanted to roar in anger. Instead, he blinked and shrugged.