Absolution (The Protectors, Book 1) (15 page)

“Yes,” Cole moaned as he tugged his hands free of my hold and grabbed my head so he could plunder my mouth. He switched our positions so it was my back against the wall. This time when we separated, he let his lips hover against mine as he said, “Sorry I left without talking to you.”

I nodded, stole a kiss and then said, “This thing between us, Cole, I don’t want it to be about scratching an itch. Jonas and I, we’re already in too deep for that. I know it’s not fair to ask since you’re also dealing with the newness of it all…”

“An itch wasn’t what kept bringing me back to Jonas. It isn’t what had me scared to death when you said you were going back to the gallery by yourself yesterday. Everything about my life is fucked up right now, Mace. Everything I’ve known has been stolen away from me. You and Jonas…you make me feel a little less lost. I’m not giving that up just because it didn’t come in the package I always thought it would.”

Cole kissed me thoroughly and by the time we separated, I was riding a high unlike any I’d ever known. “We need to talk about Jonas before this goes any further…what he needs from us if we do this,” I managed to say as I struggled to catch my breath.

Cole nodded and put some space between our bodies. I missed the contact almost immediately but we both turned when we heard the floorboards creak. Jonas was standing in the entryway and I could tell from his flushed skin that he’d been watching us…and that he’d liked what he saw.

“I’ll tell him,” Jonas said to me before he turned his attention to Cole.

Cole

“Let’s go in the living room,” I said to Jonas as I reached out to take his hand. It felt cold and clammy in mine despite how turned on Jonas was as a result of having seen me and Mace together.

I’d had a shitty day from the moment I forced myself to release my hold on Jonas this morning and climb out of bed. I’d known Mace would be pissed at me for leaving without an adequate explanation but I hadn’t expected him to actually be worried about me. I also hadn’t expected to hear that he shared the same affliction as my father but in a perverse way, it gave me hope. Mace had suffered so many of the same things as my father, but had come through it. Maybe I could still get back the man I’d idolized instead of having to bury the bitter, angry drunk who just this morning had called me some pretty choice names when I’d told him I was going to go see his doctor about getting him into rehab. The answers I’d gotten were on par with what I’d expected. The most I could do was try to get a court to find my father incompetent but since he didn’t have any mental issues, it was unlikely any judge would give me the power to make medical decisions for him. Which meant the only way my father was going to get help was if he chose to. And that was looking more and more like a pipe dream.

I led Jonas to the living room and sat on the couch, pulling him down next to me since I didn’t want to relinquish the contact between us. I turned my body so that I was facing him and was pleased when Mace took up a similar position on his other side. Cushioned between us like he was, I hoped that it would be a little easier for him to say what he needed to say. I already had a good idea of what he needed to share with me considering his childhood, but I didn’t push or rush him in any way as he twisted his hands. But when he didn’t speak after several minutes, I leaned forward and kissed him. My plan was to keep it short and sweet but when he opened his mouth on a moan, I couldn’t resist taking a taste of him. It took everything in me not to continue the molten kiss and when I released his mouth I said, “Nothing you tell us changes anything between us. Nothing.”

Jonas nodded and sucked in a deep breath. His hand searched out mine.

“You asked me if I worked for Mateo, do you remember?”

I nodded.

“I did for a little while when I first arrived in Chicago. I met him at the bus station.”

I felt my heart clench as I remembered how Jonas had stepped in to try to stop Carrie from the same fate.

“His brother…his brother was the one who got me ready to meet with customers. They were planning to sell my services online and then have me meet with the johns in motels. Eduardo kept me for almost a week before he said I was ready.”

Jonas’s voice shook but I resisted the urge to tell him he didn’t need to say anything else. Instead, I began stroking his palm with my thumb.

“I hated it,” Jonas whispered. “Them,” he added. “Eduardo always went with me when I met clients so I couldn’t get away. But this one client liked to drink and do drugs while he was fucking me so one night I kept urging him to drink more and more till he passed out. I climbed out of the room through a bathroom window.”

“Did Eduardo or Mateo find you after that?” I asked.

Jonas shook his head. “I took the client’s money when I ran. It wasn’t much but I was able to get a room to stay in. I tried finding a regular job but no one was going to hire a fourteen-year-old kid. I knew I’d have to keep doing what I’d been doing. I thought if I was in control than maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.”

I knew listening to Jonas would be hard but I hadn’t expected the full-on rage that took over me. I wanted to track down every man who’d ever touched Jonas and rip him to shreds. I managed to keep my grip on Jonas gentle but that was only because my eyes connected with Mace over Jonas’s shoulder and I saw the silent message there. Jonas didn’t need me to be angry for him, he just needed me.

I let my fingers drift up to his wrist while I waited for him to continue but when I felt the raised flesh beneath my touch, I dropped my eyes to look at what I was feeling. A long, ugly scar ran the width of his wrist.

“I did it about a week after I got away from Eduardo,” Jonas said softly as he watched me caress the healed wound. “The first few times that I was on my own, a couple of the guys I’d been with took more than they’d paid for and one didn’t pay at all…he had a knife. I thought I was going to die and when he was done, I wanted to.”

Jonas shook his head. “I was just really tired, you know?” he whispered as he lifted his eyes to meet mine.

“I know, baby,” I responded as I closed my hand around his and pulled his fingers up against my lips.

“I met Carrie about nine months later. After I got away from Eduardo, I didn’t go to the bus station at first because I knew it was one of Mateo’s favorite places to find new girls. But picking up johns on the streets was more dangerous because you’d have to get in their car or go to motels. At the bus station, the johns were in more of a hurry and there was this spot behind the building where people couldn’t see what was happening but they’d hear if you started calling out.”

Jonas’s voice dropped off for a moment before he seemed to collect himself. “I kept a low profile whenever I worked the bus station and if I saw Mateo or one of his guys, I took off. I saw him talking to Carrie one night and I saw the way she looked at him…desperate, hopeful. I knew I couldn’t leave her there. You know the rest.”

“Jonas, you said there was someone in Paris,” Mace said softly and I saw his hand rubbing gentle circles over Jonas’s shoulder.

“Um, yeah, Victor. I met him my first year in school. He wasn’t a student. He was a few years older than me. We met in a café and started dating. I was attracted to him but I was having trouble letting him get close to me. We didn’t even kiss until our seventh date. I could tell he was getting frustrated with me so I told him the truth about my past.”

Jonas fell silent again and I could see tears shimmering in his eyes. “What happened?” I asked, knowing he needed to finish his story so he could start finding a way to be free of it.

“He said he understood, that we could take it slow. We were hanging out one night in his apartment just watching TV. He had a lot to drink and started kissing me. It was okay at first but then he wanted more. I told him I wasn’t ready and he got pissed. Started calling me a cock tease. He pinned me down on the couch and began unbuttoning his pants. I begged him to stop but he kept saying I should be good at sucking cock since I was a professional. He was having trouble getting his pants loose so he had to release me and I hit him. I was able to get away…I never saw him again after that.”

I struggled to find the right words and finally settled on just kissing Jonas. “I’m in awe of you, Jonas,” I whispered against his mouth. “Thank you for telling us.”

Jonas nodded. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready to be with you like that.”

“Just having you with us is enough,” I said. Jonas glanced over his shoulder and saw Mace nod in agreement.

I could see Jonas’s nervousness increasing as the silence grew between us so I said, “Did you like watching us?”

“You guys are beautiful together,” he said softly, a small smile gracing his lips. I returned his smile and then covered his mouth with mine. He opened to me almost instantly and as I swept my tongue into his mouth, I gently eased him back so that his back was flush with the couch cushions. I let my hand rest on his belly as we kissed but didn’t move it. As soon as I pulled free of the searing kiss, Mace’s mouth took the place of mine and I felt my dick swell at the sight of them consuming each other. Then it was my turn. I welcomed Mace as he took my mouth over and over again. Jonas had a perfect view of us since he was still between us and I could hear his breathing increase as Mace made love to my mouth. Fingers curled over my thigh and since one of Mace’s hands was at the back of my head and the other was supporting his weight as he leaned over Jonas to reach me, I knew the hand belonged to Jonas and a thrill shot through me that he felt comfortable enough to participate.

When Mace released me, I turned my attention back to Jonas and kissed him as I let my fingers rub over the tight muscles of his abdomen. I sensed Mace moving but I didn’t know what he was doing until his body appeared in front of me. His hands settled on my knees and gently shifted my legs open. It wasn’t until he dropped to his own knees that I understood what he was planning and a shot of trepidation went through me. As much as I wanted what was about to happen, the knowledge that it would be a man’s mouth bringing me pleasure was still something I had to adjust to. I didn’t know if Jonas sensed my nervousness or not but he suddenly became the one stealing my mouth in a series of heart stopping kisses and his hand began stroking all over my chest. When Mace pushed my shirt up just a little, Jonas grabbed the hem and pulled it all the way up so that he could get it off me.

His lips were back on mine as Mace worked my pants loose. The feel of Mace’s fingers pulling my cock free of my underwear had me gasping and dropping my head back on the couch. Within a few strokes, he had me rock hard and I wasn’t even sure I’d have to worry about having his mouth on me since I’d probably come long before his lips ever reached me. Jonas’s hands continued to stroke over my skin and I just languished in the differences in how they touched me. But I wasn’t even a little bit surprised to find that Jonas’s inexperienced and tentative touches stirred the same level of lust in me that Mace’s knowing caresses did.

I still had my eyes closed when I heard a zipper open. Since mine was already down, I assumed it was Mace’s but when I opened my eyes, I was thrilled to see that it was Jonas who had opened his own pants. His eyes were on Mace as he stroked himself in his jeans.

“Show us,” I heard Mace whisper as his passion-filled eyes held Jonas’s gaze even while his fingers continued to torment my now leaking dick. Jonas hesitated for a moment and then pulled up his shirt until it was tucked under his armpits and then he pushed his jeans down enough to release his cock. We both watched him stroke himself and I held my breath when Mace settled one of his big hands on Jonas’s jean clad thigh. Jonas didn’t stop his tugs on his dick and to my amazement, he used his free hand to cover Mace’s. Then everything went into overdrive because Jonas turned his head to seek out my mouth at the exact same time that Mace swallowed me down.

Jonas absorbed the curse that spilled from my lips and then I had to rip my mouth from his so I could watch Mace work me. I hadn’t expected the sight of Mace’s wet lips stretched around my dick to be as beautiful as when it was a woman, and I’d been right. Because it was so much more than that. It was fucking epic because I could see and feel Mace taking his pleasure from my body at the same time that he was giving it back to me. His eyes shone with such emotion that I couldn’t hold back my orgasm and it slammed into me before I could even warn Mace so he could pull off. But as my semen flooded his mouth, he swallowed over and over and each time he did it, he milked more of my release from me. I heard Jonas cry out next to me and turned just in time to see white ropes of come spraying over his chest and abdomen. I was so overwhelmed by the beauty of watching Jonas bask in his pleasure that I crushed our mouths together so I could drink down his whimpers as his release crashed through him.

I felt Mace release me and looked down to see some of my come clinging to his lips. He shifted up but instead of seeking out my mouth, he took Jonas’s in a blistering kiss that left me reeling. I expected him to kiss me next but I could only watch in stunned silence as he lowered himself to lick up some of the fluid from Jonas’s chest and belly. Jonas tensed momentarily but then relaxed just as quickly. I knew even as I watched Mace what his plan was and as soon as he lifted his head, I grabbed him and yanked him forward and drank down the proof that Jonas had been with us every step of the way. The salty, bitter taste coated my tongue before slipping down my throat and as I adjusted to the unfamiliar flavor, I reveled in the knowledge that I’d get to taste it again soon enough.

My body felt completely relaxed as I sat back against the cushions but one look at Mace’s flushed features and I knew he hadn’t sought his own relief. I leaned forward and began to put my hand on his crotch but he grabbed my wrist and said, “I want to come when you’re inside me,” he said stiffly. “Will you fuck me, Cole?”

I couldn’t speak. Not even a syllable. So I nodded and grabbed his hand and yanked him upright as I stood. My sated body was already starting to stir again as I reached my other hand down. Jonas grabbed it without hesitation and then I was leading them both towards the stairs.