Attachment Strings Read online

  Snorting, I took a step toward him. “You really got some balls, kid. Another guy might have fled the scene.”

  Alex shrugged. “So, what’s it going to be? Are you getting off on scaring me or will you fuck me?”

  I grinned and laid my hands on his shoulders. I sensed a light tremor but no shaking or quaking. Good. Naïve and fearful didn’t do a thing for me. I needed to know he wouldn’t break down or have second thoughts later. “I’ll fuck you. Though you ought to be more careful around strangers.”

  “Oh, I’m sure I can knock you out if necessary. But thanks for your concern anyway.”

  I quirked an eyebrow, then moved again.

  “Arrogant little prick,” I muttered quietly.

  “I’m neither arrogant nor little. I do, however, have a prick. I hope you’ve got yours with you, what with all the macho conduct.”

  “You really think you’re able to overpower me?”

  He sighed dramatically. “I’ll kick your ass if I feel threatened by you, but I’d prefer to get fucked.”

  We reached our destination. The hourly paid hotel was old but in good order. Or at least affordable and clean of bugs of any kind. “Two hours okay with you?”

  Alex nodded. I strode over to the bored clerk and paid up. We got room 17, which was a nice, quiet room at the end of the hallway. It also provided a king-size, squeak-free bed with huge mirrors above it. I steered Alex ahead of me, and when we reached it, I opened the door. He walked into the room, eyes alert and taking in his surroundings. When he discovered the mirrors he said, “Voyeur, huh?”

  “It’s atmospheric.”

  He laughed out loud and I grinned. He had a nice laugh, clear and rich. I shrugged out of my jacket and heeled off my shoes. Alex followed my example before he approached me slowly. He moved confidently, fluidly, yet his eyes spoke of caution and alertness. Good. He wasn’t a total fool then.

  A split second later I found myself flat on my back on the floor. My arms were pinned to my sides and Alex straddled my hips. Stunned, I looked up at a very pleased young man. A growl escaped my mouth. Alex’s eyes widened in alarm and he clamped his thighs tightly around me.

  “You,” I snarled, “will not be in charge here.”

  He grinned—a dazzling thousand-watt grin. “So far I am.”

  “Not for much longer.”

  “Whee! I’m so scared!”

  He faked the worst scared look I’d ever seen and I burst out laughing. This didn’t go the way I had imagined it. He wasn’t seriously scared and my usual power plays didn’t work. Astonishingly, I didn’t mind.

  Alex relaxed on top of me and chuckled. I took my chance and shoved, grabbed, and in the end flipped us around. Now it was him lying on his back on the floor with me on top of him. Dazed, he blinked at me. “Damn! You’re fast.”

  I nipped sharply at the soft junction between his throat and shoulder and was rewarded with a loud gasp and his back arching. “Play time is over, kid.”

  “I’m all for it, gramps.” Which stopped me effectively. Alex gazed at me, the picture of innocence, and asked, “What? You call me kid, I call you gramps. Just to make sure neither of us forgets the age difference.”

  Gruffly, I replied, “All right. Got it. No calling you kid.”

  “Thanks. But since you’re older than me and all that, how about we change to the bed.”

  I stripped off my shirt as I got up, then sat down on the edge of the bed. Alex rose on all fours and crawled over to me. My cock jerked at the sight of him crawling. His eyes were fastened on my crotch, and it took all my patience to wait for him and not to pull him close by his hair.

  Without hesitation, he crawled right between my legs and nuzzled his face against the bulge in my pants. He sniffed before popping open the button and undoing my fly. I swore when he mouthed my cock through my boxers. My erection thickened and I moaned when he freed it. The cool air on my cock was quickly replaced by Alex’s warm, moist mouth.

  Christ! He didn’t mess around!

  He worked my cock with his tongue, dipping it into the slit, and I swore again. Another swearword left me when he released my cock. Alex squatted between my thighs and looked at me from under long eyelashes. He was by far the prettiest guy I’d ever taken to bed. Come to think of it, he was the prettiest guy I’d ever known.

  Softly, he asked, “You okay with kissing?”

  Not usually, but since he was the exception to the rule anyway…. I nodded. He got up, stripped off his jeans and underwear, and helped me to get naked too. I waited for him, curious as to how he intended to approach me. Not my normal modus operandi either.

  Alex sat down on my lap and our cocks brushed together. We both gasped at the sudden contact of flesh. Wasting no time, I aligned our cocks and wrapped my hand around them, setting a good rhythm. Alex dropped his head on my left shoulder, his hands tracing patterns on my back. He exposed his neck, inviting me in to lick, bite, and do as I pleased. He jerked and shuddered in my arms whenever I nipped sharply at the tender flesh. My arousal heightened and my cock filled with even more blood. I hadn’t felt like this in… a long time, that’s for sure.

  I was surprised when his hands tangled in my hair and his mouth closed over mine. When he nudged his tongue against my lips, I opened willingly. He explored and I did the same. He tasted of beer but also something else I couldn’t pinpoint.

  During this exploration, I kept up the strokes around our cocks. Alex thrust when I flicked my thumb over the head of our cocks, smearing precome all over them. My free hand squeezed his ass before I brushed my fingers along his cleft. A shudder ran through him. His sensitivity was oddly irritating. I wanted to take my time with him, not to rush it and just get off.

  Alex had different plans. He pushed against my chest and told me, “Scoot up, I’ll get the supplies.”

  I scooted upward on the bed, stuffed a pillow under my head, and watched him fumbling with his jeans. He gave me a good view of his backside as he bent over, and my hands flew to my cock. I told myself to slow down, but it was pure torture to stop myself from stroking faster and ending our encounter too soon.

  “Fuck!”

  I grinned at Alex, who stood at the end of the bed, wide-eyed and panting. I barely had time to admire the flatness of his stomach and the way his abdominal muscles rippled beneath the smooth skin.

  “Come here,” I said.

  Alex slid onto the bed, a small tube and a foil clutched in his left hand. After throwing both items next to my head, he crawled up on me, blanketing my body with his. I clutched his hips and ground our groins together. We moaned and then his mouth slanted on mine, his tongue invading and toying around. As I tasted him, I finally found out that hidden beneath the taste of beer lingered the tang of toothpaste and lemon. Lemon toothpaste? I sucked at Alex’s lower lip, inwardly grinning. We had at least one thing in common.

  Alex lifted his head and let out a heavy sigh. “I can hear you thinking. Are you always that thoughtful during sex or are you just distracted by watching yourself in the mirror?”

  Startled, I gazed up at him. Which one of us was the detective here? The kid was much too perceptive, annoyingly so. “Why? You’d like it better if you could see yourself in the mirror?”

  “I haven’t had the experience so far.”

  “We can’t have that.”

  We both grinned. I wrapped my arms around him and rolled us around. Alex spread his legs to accommodate me and I latched onto his left nipple. His back arched up, urging me to slip my hands behind his back, to roam and knead. Alex’s hands gripped my shoulders, holding onto them with unexpected force, surely leaving bruises there.

  Each of us explored the body of the other, at first slowly. After a while our explorations grew in their urgency. I nudged Alex’s legs wide apart, mouthed his balls, and went further down to the sensitive skin behind his sac. Alex gasped and writhed, all the while uttering needy noises in the back of his throat. “Please, Jeff.”

  My cock grew more eng
orged, which should have been close to impossible. I grabbed the tube, squeezed some lube on my fingers, and breached him. “That better?”

  Alex wiggled and pushed down hard on my fingers. “Not enough.”

  “Open the foil for me?”

  Alex complied in an instant. I scissored my fingers inside him and felt his tight hole clench around them. I withdrew my fingers and wiped them on my thigh. When I reached for the condom, Alex shook his head. “No. I’ll do it. Get up here.”

  “You still think you’re in charge here.”

  “Lemme pretend for a few more seconds. After that you can go all caveman-like on me.”

  I growled. Alex chuckled and rolled the condom over my hard cock. I hissed and closed my eyes. He squeezed my sac lightly when the condom was all the way down and my eyes flew open. I almost shot my load then and there.

  The smug little prick smirked at me knowingly. “Come on, show me who’s in charge here.”

  I lifted his legs onto my shoulders, positioned my cock at his entrance, and pushed. Alex’s fingers dug deeply into my shoulders. I pushed further, studied Alex’s face, and prayed not to come too early. In between gasps, I told him, “You’re tight.”

  He squeezed around me and I let out a loud moan. My arms quivered slightly and sweat trickled down my back. I stared down into Alex’s flushed face, his eyes dark with a somewhat surprised look in them. I stopped. “Tell me you’ve done this before.”

  An annoyed mutter that sounded suspiciously like a cuss word escaped his lips. “Don’t worry. You’re not taking my virginity and you don’t have to hold back. Now, could you maybe finally fuck me? I’d be eternally grateful for that.”

  I cackled. I hadn’t laughed and smiled that often during sex since… I probably never laughed all that much during sex. I feigned a frown and asked sternly, “Aren’t you taking me seriously?”

  Innocent eyes blinked at me. “Me? Of course I am! Now come on, do what you promised.”

  Alex clenched around my cock and I groaned. The pressure was almost too much. I pushed the rest of the way in and hit his gland spot-on. Alex cried out. I pulled out and then pushed back in, reveling in hearing him cry out again. I had his knees bent to his chest, which immobilized him. “I’m all for fulfilling my promises.”

  Alex gurgled something incomprehensible and I plunged into him over and over again. My thrusts became more and more erratic, and Alex’s cries of pleasure matched my own grunts. I watched him watching us in the mirror. I wanted to ask him if he liked what he saw, but just at that moment, he emitted a keening noise. I felt Alex shivering and his release shot between our bellies. His channel pulsed around my cock and my rhythm turned frantic. I howled when my climax ripped through me.

  I released Alex’s legs and slumped down on his chest, not caring if I smothered him. My arms quivered heavily as I lay there, spent and satisfied. I listened to his heartbeat as it slowly changed from a frantic gallop to a more relaxed rhythm. His hands stroked my shoulders and upper arms. It felt more intimate than the sex itself.

  Reluctantly, I pushed myself up on my elbows and looked at him. Alex took in a deep breath and told me, “You’re heavy.”

  “I was expecting something along the lines of ‘you were good’.”

  “You weren’t.”

  I froze. I hadn’t expected such an answer either.

  “You were goddamn fantastic.” Alex grinned at me, that impudent smirk which seemed to characterize him.

  I rolled us around so we were lying on our sides, facing each other, and applied a solid swat to his backside. “Imp.”

  He gave a satisfying yelp and ruefully rubbed his butt. “Sorry, but you should have seen your face.”

  Alex erupted in laughter and I didn’t have it in me to be offended. The sex must have short-circuited my brain, because I was so mellow I turned over on my back and drew him with me. He snuggled up to me without hesitation, although he said, “I need a shower.”

  “We still got almost an hour left. Time enough to rest for a bit and shower later.”

  “Never imagined you’d be a cuddler.”

  “I’m not.” I really wasn’t. Though my former bed partners didn’t seem to fit so perfectly in my arms as Alex did.

  “You’re not?”

  “No, this is an exception.”

  Untroubled by my remark, he said, “Oh, all right. Will you clock me if I tell you that this is nice?”

  “Don’t interpret something into it.”

  Alex didn’t reply, but he tightened his grip around me. I rested one of my hands on the small of his back and glanced up at the mirrors. Alex had slung his body around mine and the contrast of our skin and bodies caught my attention. Whereas I had a naturally dark complexion, his skin was almost white. He was slender yet well-muscled. I was way broader and brawnier. His blond hair on my dark chest hair looked odd, as if we were from two different species.

  We stayed like that for a while, each of us lost in his own thoughts. Half an hour later, I sighed and patted him lightly. “Guess it’s time for the shower.”

  Alex disentangled himself from me and, without saying a word, collected his clothes and scurried to the bathroom. I lay on the bed and listened to the shower noises, wondering why I felt cold and empty. I got up and prowled around the room restlessly. When it occurred to me that my shivering could have to do with being naked, I dressed.

  Alex emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later. His hair was damp and stuck up from his head in wild disarray. My heart leapt at the sight. Did I really have sex with someone who looked that young? Geez, I had robbed the cradle!

  There was an awkward silence between us while we tied our shoes. We slipped into our jackets and stood in front of each other. Usually, I’d just say, “Have a good life, then,” or something like that, but the words didn’t come. They felt wrong, which just added to the awkwardness of the situation.

  Alex cleared his throat. “Are we supposed to shake hands now or what? Normally the guys I’m with have fled the scene by the time I’ve finished showering. Or they’re sleeping.”

  My mood deteriorated even further. “Want me to walk you back to the club?”

  “Nah, but thanks for the offer. I’ll get a cab.”

  “Okay. Well, in that case… sleep well.”

  “I will,” Alex whispered when I walked past him.

  What I did next was a spur-of-the-moment thing. I whirled around, pulled him into a crushing hug, and kissed him hard on his mouth. Alex gave a small sound of surprise but complied instantly. The kiss didn’t last long, but I gulped in deep, harsh breaths after releasing him. Without another glance at him, I stormed out of the room.

  Chapter 3

  Two weeks later

  Friday, April 9, 2010

  FOR the past two weeks, the weather had matched my mood. Foggy and cold in the mornings, with rain added through the day, and ending in a darkness that chilled more than just my body. Life was muted, devoid of color and delight. Bouts of light depression weren’t uncommon in cops. I had seen it. I’d never thought it would affect me, especially not so shortly after crossing the thirty border. However, I wasn’t alarmed about it. To be honest, I probably felt out of it because I was lonely. Incredibly so.

  I sat at my desk, brooding about life in general and the horrible weather in particular. Trenkins came back from his trip to the vending machine, threw a Mars bar on my open folder, and sat down opposite me. I stared at the chocolate with open disgust. Trenkins rolled his eyes, got up again, rounded the desk, and sat down on the edge of my desk.

  “Woods, do us all a favor and cheer up a bit.”

  I glared daggers at him before I replied icily, “Take that chocolate away.”

  “It’s sweet, full of sugar and endorphins, which will flood your body. It’s a mood buster, trust me.”

  The only thing busting soon would be Trenkins’s waistline. Not inclined to follow his example, I said, “Thanks, I’ll do without the help.”

  Trenkin
s groaned but snatched the Mars bar. As he got up, he hissed, “Get laid or apologize to your boyfriend. I don’t care about the specifics, but pull yourself together.”

  My gaze darted around the room to make sure no one had heard. Everyone appeared to be busy or otherwise occupied. When I glanced over to Trenkins, he spared me a hard glare. Had he followed me? How did he know? I’ve always been ridiculously cautious, never flaunting my being gay.

  Reluctantly, I gave a curt nod. Trenkins nodded too and that was it.

  AT NOON our boss, Williams, called us into his office. He told us to sit down and gave each of us a thick folder.

  “Miller asked a favor of us,” he started.

  I groaned inwardly. A favor for Miller, our mayor, fucking yeah. A muscle twitching in my jaw remained the only outward sign of my annoyance. Trenkins wasn’t that subtle. He probably didn’t get the concept of subtlety at all.

  “Oh shit!” he grumbled. “Don’t tell me he fucked an underage girl again! And why do we have to be the ones to help him out? Doesn’t he have an armada of well-paid lawyers for that?”

  Williams straightened up to his impressive height and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Trenkins’s resolve crumbled into tiny pieces when Williams addressed him. “A bit more professionalism wouldn’t hurt, Trenkins. And no, the mayor isn’t in trouble and the girl in question was two days short of her eighteenth birthday.”

  “So she was still underage.” Trenkins didn’t like the mayor and was dead on whenever a minor was involved. I wondered about the reason for his aggressiveness but kept that question to myself.

  “The girl wasn’t the one who complained. The mother found out and wanted to make money off it,” I threw in. “Anyway, the girl is now the fourth Mrs. Anderson.”

  “There’s an age difference of twenty-seven years! That’s not normal or healthy!”

  Williams and I stared at Trenkins, who visibly fought to rein in his temper. He balled his hands into fists before unclenching them. Taking a deep breath, he splayed his hands on the table. Williams pulled a chair out and sat down at the head of the table. Mildly, he asked, “Are you done?”