Reese hadn’t been in bed ten minutes when he heard his door creak open, waiting silently as the intruder slowly shut it behind him. He held his breath, not wanting to scare Jared away from his bold move of entering Reese’s bedroom.

 

When Jared was mere steps from his bed, though, Reese couldn’t help himself. “You don’t hate me.” Reese didn’t give a shit what Declan or anyone else thought of him, but after confessing that he had been keeping a secret from all of them, it was from Jared that he needed to hear it, needed to make sure.

 

Jared lowered himself onto the bed, keeping Reese in suspense as he folded the thick grey comforter between his fingers. Even in the scant moonlight filtering through the window, Reese could tell when Jared’s eyes met his own. “Never,” he whispered.

 

It was all he needed. “Jared,” Reese breathed. He sat up, his mouth instantly devouring Jared’s as his hands framed his face. His kiss was possessive, demanding, and Jared returned it with fervor, giving Reese everything he never knew he wanted.

 

Jared broke from his kiss just long enough to utter against Reese’s mouth. “When I asked you about the phone call, I about had another panic attack. I expected dismissal, to be ignored. Maybe that you’d deem me not worthy enough to know the answer. Since I’m just a rescue and not an actual Renegade.” At Reese’s objection, Jared placed a finger against his lips. “Or for Declan to explode again at the very idea that you had made phone calls in secrecy.” A nervous laugh escaped his lips. “Shit, Reese, I am so sorry that he-“

 

This time it was Reese who silenced Jared. “He was protecting you. Your brother can be an arrogant ass, but I will never, ever fault him for that.”

 

Jared launched himself at Reese, fusing their lips together again as he worked his tongue inside. Reese grinned against his mouth. “Never heard my sweetheart swear before.”

 

“Shut up.” Jared lifted his arms as Reese's hands glided up his body, taking Jared’s shirt with them. Silver starlight spilled over Jared’s lean form, and Reese wasted no time crawling along the length of him, repositioning Jared onto the head of the bed, reveling in the idea that Jared was giving himself to Reese as his to touch, to love, to take. Their tongues tangled together as Reese pushed his knee in between Jared’s thighs, gently nudging open his legs so he could slide his hips in between.

 

Reese ran his mouth along Jared’s jaw to his neck, his lips blazing a red hot trail against sweat dampened skin. His mouth was warm and wet as it nipped and licked its way down Jared’s collarbone, the salty sweet taste of Jared consuming him, lighting a fire within that Reese was in no hurry to put out.

 

Jared’s hands glided through Reese’s hair, fisting tight. Reese relished the feeling, each and every one of his nerve endings standing on end as Jared thrust his erection against Reese’s muscled thigh. Reese couldn’t get enough of the hot, heavy weight of it, and he abruptly stood, needing to be naked, to feel every inch of their bodies skin on skin.

 

Someday he would savor the notion of stripping them both down, inch by inch, but in their fevered time together now, Reese shed his clothes in an instant. He took a moment to look at Jared, lying on the bed propped up on his elbows, running his hungry gaze along Reese’s body. Reese brazenly ran his hand slowly down his chest, his abs, over his cock. Jared’s eyes followed his movements, and when he pulled on his lower lip with his teeth, Reese was lost. Jared smirked, and let his knees splay wide so his legs fell open.

 

“So beautiful, sweetheart,” Reese murmured. “All laid out for me.” He stepped back in between Jared’s legs at the same time that Jared’s upper body shot up off the bed to meet Reese’s mouth with his own. Reese gasped as Jared took his cock in hand, pumping up and down with a torturously slow motion as those golden chocolate eyes stared up into his.

 

Reese fumbled with the zipper on Jared’s pants, gripping Jared through his sleek cut briefs before yanking his pants down and off his legs. Reese’s brain was short circuiting, between Jared’s tongue back in his mouth and his hand on Reese’s dick. He fell over Jared again, barely catching himself with one arm near Jared’s shoulder. Desperate to regain control, Reese reached down and pulled Jared’s hand off his cock, pushing Jared’s arms above his head, trapping him against the mattress as Reese marked his own trail up Jared’s lean, muscled arms.

 

When he reached the leather cuff encircling Jared’s left wrist, Reese pulled his head back and looked at Jared, an unspoken question hovering between them.

 

Jared drew in a stuttered breath, his brows coming together in nervous concentration. Reese bent his head to kiss him again, silently reassuring Jared that he didn’t need to be completely naked for Reese to want to fuck him, take him, love him.

 

Reese felt a tug on the back of his hair, and his eyes widened, watching in awe as Jared grasped his right hand and fitted it over the leather bracelet. Using the tangle of their fingers together, Jared unhooked his cuff, anxiously watching Reese’s face as the braided adornment fell away.

 

Even in the dark room Reese could see the puffy skin of Jared’s wrist, shining in the moonlight, still inflamed even years after its torment. The scar that marked where Jared’s stain used to be was a bright sheen of pink standing in contrast to Jared’s tanned forearm, the striking disparity a taboo marking in and of itself. Jared turned his face away, unable to watch as Reese took in his scar.

 

Reese reached out and gently lifted Jared’s chin, forcing those chocolate eyes onto his before leaning down to place the sweetest of kisses onto Jared’s lips. Reese then turned his head, his eyes wandering along every inch of the jagged oval of burned flesh that had been forced upon Jared for his own protection before kissing Jared’s scar from top to bottom.

 

Jared pushed at his shoulders. “You don’t have to-“

 

“I want to,” Reese rasped against his skin. He finished his loving ministrations of Jared’s burnt flesh before he raised his head. “I told you, nothing on you could ever be anything but beautiful, including this. I’m not ashamed of it, Jared, and you shouldn’t be either.” Reese kissed it again, the pink raised swath of skin that Jared protected so closely. “I’ve seen you push your cuff into it,” he whispered as he tongued Jared’s mark. “It still hurts you, doesn’t it?”

 

He hadn’t really expected an answer, so when Jared responded with a barely there, “Sometimes,” Reese felt a pinch in his chest and he laved the skin even harder, expressing to Jared with his mouth what his words couldn’t quite get across.

 

“You don’t deserve it, Jared,” He rumbled. “Damn, sweetheart, I’d take every ounce of pain from you upon myself if I could.” Reese locked Jared’s wrists together with one hand and ran his other hand down Jared’s body, starting at his jawline. His cock rubbed against Jared’s as his fingers marked a possessive line along Jared’s collarbone, his chest, down the center of his abs and along the muscular line of his hips. Reese trailed his hand along Jared’s thigh, taking immense pleasure in watching Jared watch him. There was something obscenely voyeuristic about it, and Reese dragged out the moment, his eyes locked on Jared’s wanton expression at their cocks sliding along each other.

 

“Don’t want pain anymore,” Jared whispered. “Only want you.”

 

Reese groaned, pushing his hips into Jared’s before snapping them away. He leaned over the side of the bed and fished around in his duffle on the floor, his fingers wrapping around the tiny bottle he sought. He popped the cap and slicked himself up as Jared watched.

 

“Didn’t wanna have to rush this,” Reese murmured as he used his slick fingers to make sure Jared was open and ready for him. Jared moaned and spread his legs further, hitching his hips up into Reese’s hand. “Next time we won’t have to keep quiet.”  Reese maneuvered Jared’s legs, hooking his thighs around his waist. “Next time, I’m gonna make you scream for me.” Reese finally had what he wanted lying naked and needy in his bed, and hearing Jared’s whimpers of need only deepened his desire.

 

“Gonna take my time with you one of these days, sweetheart,” Reese continued. He was aching with need, and could have come just from watching Jared pliant and twitchy beneath him as he worked him open with his fingers. “Gonna worship every inch of your beautiful body.” Reese dipped his head down and caught Jared in a wet, dirty kiss. “Gonna put my hands and mouth all over you, leaving my fingerprints on your skin while I suck you dry.” Reese shoved a pillow beneath Jared’s hips, grabbing his thighs and fitting himself between them before swallowing Jared’s moan on another kiss. “But for now, I’ve gotta feel that tight, delicious heat around something other than my fingers.”

 

Jared wrapped a hand around Reese’s neck and pulled, fusing their mouths together as he shoved his hips upward. Desperate for release, Reese’s instincts took over.  Reese was poised just outside of where they both needed him to be, Jared’s thighs hugging his hips, when he raggedly choked out, “Tell me you want this.”

 

“Want it.” Jared’s hips inched off the bed. “Want you.”

 

Reese brought his hips forward, the tip of his cock teasing Jared’s entrance. “Wanted you from the second I saw you,” he growled. He watched Jared’s face for any sign of hesitation, but saw none. Jared was biting his lip, wordlessly begging for Reese to take him.

 

Reese did, sliding into Jared with one smooth thrust of his hips, filling him inch by inch as they both groaned in pleasure. “Holy Jesus,” Reese swore. “Don’t move. You feel so damn good, I’m gonna…” Reese fisted his hands in the sheets beneath Jared’s head. “Gonna need a minute to make this count,” he groaned.

 

A hedonistic smile spread across Jared’s face as he lifted his hips off the pillow and into Reese. “Move,” Jared commanded, and damned if a rush of heat didn’t shoot through Reese at the forceful note in his beautiful, shy boy’s voice. “Wanna feel you.”

 

Reese was sweating against Jared’s chest, his forearms braced on either side of Jared’s biceps. He gripped Jared’s strong shoulders in his palms and raked his teeth along his ear. “Careful what you wish for, sweetheart.” He pushed in further. “I’ll fuck you so hard you’ll feel me for a week.”

 

Jared gasped with pleasure as Reese slid home. “Please,” he begged.

 

He was rewarded as Reese drew out then pushed back in, one agonizing inch at a time. “Tell me again,” he demanded.

 

Jared dug his fingers into Reese’s hips, his arms rubbing against Reese’s sides. “I want you.” His head fell back against the pillow. “Please, Reese. Make me feel you.”

 

Jared cried out when Reese pulled out only to suddenly thrust himself all the way back in. “Feel nothing but you,” Reese confessed. He would gladly give his heart, his soul, his life for this man pulsing beneath him.  He pumped his hips, building up a steady rhythm that was sending heat coiling through his veins. Reese licked his palm and slid a hand in between their bodies, gripping Jared’s cock, running his fingers up and down his hard length. He set a frantic pace, shrouded in the haze of Jared’s warm, welcoming heat.

 

Jared rocked along with him, small moans escaping those gorgeous lips at every thrust.  “I can’t get enough of you,” he panted. “I know I should stay away, but I can’t.” His hands came up to wrap around Reese’s biceps as he jacked himself into Reese’s palm. “Please, Reese, you feel so good. I’m so close.”

 

Reese’s heart caught in his throat, and his hands fell to the bed, bracing his upper body as he drilled himself into Jared. “Come, sweetheart.” Reese’s abs scraped along Jared’s cock. He grit his teeth and thrust harder. “Let me see you come for me.” Their eyes met in the dark as Reese’s driving thrusts sent them both over the edge.

 

Jared cried out as he splashed white hot across his stomach and Reese’s chest. Reese shot his hips forward, pumping his own release into Jared over several long, deep thrusts. He savored the feeling of Jared’s tight heat surrounding him as he rode out the aftershocks of his orgasm, his forearms catching him from collapsing fully onto Jared’s chest.

 

Jared’s arms came around him, running their way along sweaty skin to cradle Reese close and it tugged at something deep within him, something that argued that he was the protector, not the protected, even as he wanted nothing more than to let himself fall into Jared’s loving embrace.

 

“I don’t know what will happen tomorrow,” Jared whispered. He chuckled softly against Reese’s stubbled cheek. “Today, I guess.” He pulled his arms tighter around Reese’s torso. “But whatever comes, I’ll be forever grateful for tonight.”

 

Words caught in Reese’s throat, everything he wanted to tell his lover getting stuck on the way out. So instead he dipped his head and pressed his lips to Jared’s, hoping to convey in a kiss what his voice held trapped within his heart.

 

 

Jared had been asleep for what felt like only minutes when a strong hand shot out to wrap around his wrist, the one that Reese had spent what seemed like hours loving on last night.

 

With one strong tug, Jared was pulled into a rock hard chest.  “Mmm, better,” Reese declared, his mouth seeking out Jared’s in the dark. He threaded a hand through Jared’s hair, fusing his mouth to Jared’s in a kiss meant to conjure up every dirty image from the night before. Jared sighed into a kiss that was all soft lips and probing tongues as Reese’s strong arms enveloped him, pulling him underneath a soft sheet and into a hard body.

 

Reese opened his legs and Jared slid in between them, the two of them fitting together like perfectly matched puzzle pieces. Jared braced himself on his elbows, digging his fingers into Reese’s messy, sleep-strewn hair. Tilting his head to get a better angle, Jared took control of the kiss and drove his knee gently upwards, pushing against Reese’s hard length. One hand drifted down Reese’s side, trailing along the sensitive underside curve of his ass.

 

“Damn, sweetheart,” Reese gasped against his mouth, pushing his erection up into Jared’s leg. “Gotta let you be on top more often.”

 

Jared smirked, deepening their kiss and turning it into something hot and dirty and wet as he let Reese ride his thigh. It was intoxicating, this feeling of trust that Reese had in him, to let him take control and guide them towards their shared finish line. It was mere hours ago that they’d had sex, but Jared was ready for more, ready to take control and ride Reese’s cock, let him take Jared to that exquisite place of-

 

They both froze at the sound of a rapid knock. “Slater!” Declan called through the wooden door. “Move your ass. We head out in ten.”

 

“Shit.” Reese’s head fell back onto the pillow. “Your brother, I swear.” Despite his frustrated tone, he levered himself up on his elbows and nuzzled Jared’s nose. “Shower?”

 

Jared nodded, barely catching his breath. He gasped when Reese brushed his mouth along Jared’s earlobe and snatched it between his teeth. Pressing a hand to Reese’s chest, Jared lifted himself up and off the bed on shaky arms. “Shower.” He grabbed Reese’s hand and they stumbled into the glass enclosed stall together, hands roaming muscles and mouths seeking skin.

 

Reese washed Jared’s hair and Jared washed Reese’s back, and they looked into each other’s eyes as Reese took him once again, this time against the wall of the shower, both of them fighting to keep quiet as they watched their shared pleasure swirl down the drain.