In the Blood (Metahuman Files Book 4) Read online

  Warm fingers brushed against his cheek, rousing Kyle enough to pull back. He gasped a little for air at the end before filling his mouth again, over and over. The thick length on his tongue was a welcome weight he couldn’t get enough of. Kyle swallowed his cock down over and over, hollowing his cheeks with every suck, willing to do so until Jamie came so far down his throat Kyle wouldn’t even taste it.

  Jamie had other ideas, as proven by the finger he hooked between the tie and Kyle’s neck, holding him still as he pulled all the way out. Kyle stayed where he was, panting softly around the sudden emptiness in his mouth, swallowing against it. Jamie tugged him closer, his spit-slick cock sliding messily over Kyle’s cheek.

  Kyle went where he was led, nose buried against warm skin as he licked at Jamie’s balls before sucking one into his mouth for a few seconds. The warm weight settled against his lips like a treat, and Kyle couldn’t help but nip gently at the sensitive skin. He felt Jamie shudder against his hands and mouth, rocking against him.

  He tongued his way back to Jamie’s cock, licking his way back to the tip and the pre-cum beading in the slit. Kyle licked the taste away, sighing softly, breath ghosting over warm skin. He fit his lips around the velvety crown, sucking gently for a few seconds before he filled his mouth with that heavy thickness all over again.

  Jamie pressed his thumb against the knot on the tie until it sat flush against his throat. Warm knuckles brushed against the edge of his jaw as Jamie flexed his fingers around the makeshift leash.

  “Eyes on me.” Kyle obeyed immediately, meeting Jamie’s gaze without hesitation. “Fuck, you always look so good with my cock in your mouth.”

  Kyle whined, struggling to catch his breath against the tight collar of silk knotted around his neck that Jamie was in no hurry to loosen. Jamie rotated his wrist, wrapping the tie around his hand to shorten it and drag Kyle forward, forcing Kyle to swallow his cock without stopping. Kyle could only let it happen, sinking into the moment, and letting Jamie choke him in a way that left him wanting more. Jamie’s cock filled his throat to near-painful capacity when paired with the constriction limiting his ability to breathe.

  He slid his hands down Jamie’s body and dug his fingers into firm, unyielding thighs as he forced his body to relax. Mouth stretched wide around the throbbing length in his mouth, saliva dripping down his chin, the world ground down to the taste and feel of Jamie on Kyle’s tongue.

  Jamie cupped his jaw and stroked a thumb over the arch of his cheekbone and the faint hollows beneath. “So fucking perfect.”

  Kyle felt Jamie’s thighs flex beneath his hands, giving him just enough warning to brace himself. Jamie rocked out of his mouth to grant him breath before plunging back down his throat in a hard thrust that brought tears to Kyle’s eyes. Jamie did it again, and again, forcing his way in through the tightness wrapped around Kyle’s throat.

  The burn at the corner of his lips lasted for milliseconds before fading, the ache in his jaw barely registering long enough to become pain. His own cock was a painful weight between his legs, trapped beneath the confines of his tight dress pants with no relief allowed. Then all worry about his own pleasure was driven right out of his skull as Jamie hauled him forward one last time, grinding hard against his mouth. Kyle greedily choked on his cock, wanting to be nowhere else but here as his lungs burned and the faint roaring in his ears steadily grew louder.

  Then warm fingers loosened the knot around his throat as Jamie pulled his cock out all the way. Kyle’s sudden gasp for air hurt, ripped out of his lungs in a ragged plea as he leaned forward to press his face against Jamie’s stomach. Spit smeared over the vest as he heaved for air like a starving man, fingers weakly plucking at Jamie’s thighs.

  “Up,” Jamie said.

  Kyle didn’t know if he had the wherewithal to move, but the brush of silk against his cheek was something he couldn’t ignore. Jamie pulled him to his feet by way of the tie, and Kyle could only follow where Jamie led. The room spun for a moment, the lack of air earlier making him a little lightheaded. Jamie didn’t let him catch his breath, not really. He tugged Kyle over to the wall, away from the door, between the ornate dresser and the wide plas-glass windows overlooking Central Park far below.

  Jamie shoved him face-first up against the wall, kicking his feet apart. Kyle slapped his hands against the wall to try to hold himself up since his knees felt a little weak. Jamie let go of the tie only long enough to undo Kyle’s belt and pants, yanking them down around his thighs, along with his underwear. Kyle blinked down at where his cock jutted out from beneath his dress shirt, hard and glistening at the tip with pre-cum.

  He heard Jamie digging through his pockets, then the rustling sound of a packet of lube tearing made Kyle huff out a rough laugh. “Always a Marine.”

  Jamie pushed two wet fingers into his hole with no warning, driving Kyle to the balls of his feet. “You mean always prepared?”

  Kyle managed a strangled sound in response as Jamie worked him open with the barest of attention spared for his comfort. Then Jamie reached over his shoulder with his other hand to grab at the tie, pulling on it with a hard tug. It drove Kyle’s head back as he sought to alleviate the pressure on his throat, the silk cutting against his jaw, but no relief was to be found.

  “Tell me to stop,” Jamie growled against his ear.

  Kyle choked on a laugh, eyes fluttering shut. “Never, sir.”

  Because he knew they both wanted this, and Kyle wasn’t stupid enough to deny them that pleasure.

  A heavy hand gripped his ass and pulled him open just enough that Jamie had no trouble finding his hole. The first push of Jamie’s cock into him made Kyle shout breathlessly, clawing at the wall with blunt fingernails. He stood on tiptoes, but Jamie was inches taller than him, and there was nowhere he could go—nowhere else he’d rather be—as Jamie fucked his way inside with short, brutal thrusts that forced Kyle open.

  “Oh God,” Kyle gasped, the room spinning even with his eyes closed as Jamie found his way home.

  Jamie burrowed his face against the curve of Kyle’s throat as he pressed Kyle against the wall, trapping him there. Kyle bent an arm to grab weakly at Jamie’s shoulder, trying to pull him closer.

  “Please, sir. Please,” he begged, not sure what he was begging for, but knowing that whatever Jamie wanted, that’s what Kyle wanted, too.

  Jamie’s breath hitched in his throat, the sound intimate in Kyle’s ear, before he rocked backward, the hard slide out burning straight through Kyle. When he thrust back in again, Kyle’s yell was choked off by a hard yank of the tie. He nearly bit through his tongue as Jamie fucked into him again, hard and heavy behind him, his own cock scraping painfully against the wall.

  Kyle stared up at the ceiling, air punched out in whistling breaths with every thrust of Jamie’s cock, like a perfectly held beat in a song. He couldn’t think beyond the ache in his chest, the burn in his ass, and the tight circle of silk around his throat that Jamie never let go of.

  Dimly he felt Jamie’s hand on his cock, the arm around his waist half-holding him up against the wall as Jamie pounded into him. Then Jamie’s hand let go of the tie and wrapped around his throat, squeezing, and Kyle couldn’t breathe.

  He came like that, breathless and almost weightless, pinned between Jamie’s cock and ever-sure grip. Release poured through him in shivery waves that made his lungs hurt. For a second, everything went black, and his knees gave out beneath him before Jamie let go of his throat, loosened the tie, and gifted him the ability to breathe again.

  It was on that first deep breath that Jamie came, spilling into him with a deep groan that resonated through Kyle’s body, they were pressed so close together. Jamie wrapped both arms around him, breathing harshly against Kyle’s sweaty hair. Kyle was dimly aware they were both shaking from the intensity of what they’d just shared, and as much as he wanted to say something, he couldn’t find the words.

  Jamie ran a comforting hand down Kyle’s side before pulling out. Jamie c
arefully eased Kyle around until he could put his back against the wall, still twitching through the aftershocks of orgasm. Jamie cupped his face with one hand before leaning in to kiss him softly. Kyle wasn’t coordinated enough to kiss back, and could only hum in appreciation when Jamie carefully undid the knot of the ruined tie and tossed it on the dresser.

  The heat from bruises was gone from his throat; Kyle idly missed them. Jamie’s marks never lasted very long, but the memories were enough to keep Kyle warm when they were separated.

  “The things you let me do to you,” Jamie murmured, kissing him softly on the corner of his mouth.

  “Mm,” was all Kyle could manage, the noise a smug little hum passing across his lips. A thank you, a love you, that he knew Jamie would understand.

  No matter the language, Jamie always knew what he wanted, what he needed.

  Jamie slipped his hands beneath Kyle’s thighs, easily hauling him up into his arms. Kyle had enough coordination left to wrap his arms around Jamie’s shoulders as Jamie carried him to the bed, where he was divested of his shoes and clothes, and tucked beneath the warm blankets. Jamie joined him after getting out of his own clothes, leaving them in a heap on the floor.

  Kyle blinked slowly at him as Jamie got comfortable before wrapping Kyle in his arms. He closed his eyes, still floating, despite being grounded by the man he loved lying next to him, telling him to, “Sleep.”

  So he did.

  8

  Eye of the Beholder

  Sun Tech was one of the premier solar power companies in the country, a blue chip stock option that Jamie’s family had invested in during his great-grandfather’s time. Its headquarters was located in the Los Angeles megacity despite its main fields of solar panels having been zoned within the Mojave Desert in California and the Sonoran Desert in Arizona.

  Even during autumn, the desert wasn’t an easy place to travel to, much less use as a backdrop for a political campaign stop. Jamie could see why his father had chosen to hold his speech at Sun Tech’s main solar panel manufacturing plant with its up-to-date environmentals over the heat of a sunbaked desert.

  Kyle leaned against Jamie as he peered out the side window, squinting at the people milling around the entrance. Most of them were in suits or conservatively tailored dresses that spoke of campaign workers as opposed to actual employees of Sun Tech.

  “They made your dad a sign,” Kyle said.

  Jamie glanced at the holographic sign set up above the sliding metal doors welcoming Senator Richard Callahan before refocusing on his personal tablet. “There’s always a sign. It’s not a campaign stop without one.”

  “Am I going to have to wave one around in the crowd?”

  “You’ll be stage-side, even if you won’t be up there with me. You don’t need to carry one.”

  “I’m telling everyone you said that if they try to pawn one off on me.”

  “We’re here, sir,” their driver announced.

  Jamie biolocked his tablet before tucking it away in his suit pocket and undoing his seatbelt. A special agent already on the premises approached the SUV and opened the door for him. Weather forecasts had warned of Santa Ana winds throughout the day. Jamie had to duck his head against some of the grit blowing through the air.

  Honestly, he’d rather be back in D.C. keeping watch over his team and the threat Cillian Halloran posed than smiling for the cameras.

  “Your father is expecting you, sir,” Burwell said as he got out of the front passenger seat. “We’ll escort you to him.”

  “I’m perfectly capable of finding him on my own,” Jamie replied as Kyle exited the SUV.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Burwell didn’t back off. Jamie shared a look with Kyle, who didn’t bother to hide his amused smirk. “I think he’s still pissed we gave him the slip yesterday.”

  Out of the corner of his eye, Jamie saw Burwell force back a scowl. “You’re probably right.”

  They’d flown back to D.C. Tuesday morning, where Jamie had barred the Secret Service from his condo, but couldn’t keep them out of the apartment building’s main security control room. It took Katie hacking into the system to upload a loop of all public spaces to hide their movement and guide them around the Secret Service setting up a perimeter and patrol in order for Donovan to pick them up outside the emergency exit. Nazari had been expecting them for a debrief and hadn’t wanted any tagalongs.

  Jamie had received an annoyed call from his father about his Secret Service detail having lost him on home territory. Jamie didn’t apologize to anyone when they arrived back at the condo hours later. Burwell had bluntly requested Jamie never do it again, to which Jamie had only smiled and promised nothing. Kyle had wandered away laughing, not endearing him to the Secret Service in any way, but Jamie didn’t care. His father could assign him the security detail, but that didn’t mean he’d make it easy on them.

  “It’s a lot smaller than I thought it would be,” Kyle said, squinting at the sprawling building and the stage set up outside in the loading area. “Figured your father preferred convention centers and things like that.”

  “Campaign speeches with the American working class always play well in the media. The more intimate the space, the better,” Jamie said.

  The logistics of the campaign speech would be handled by campaign workers and overseen by Juan, Richard’s campaign manager. Jamie’s father would be ensconced somewhere off to the side for last-minute tweaks on the speech with his speech writer before going on a tour of the facility that would end on stage with a stump speech about jobs. Or the economy. Or whatever the polls said was the top trending topic of the week.

  It wasn’t Jamie’s job to figure out the nitty-gritty details of a political campaign. His job was to smile and look pretty for the cameras.

  Ariella Eichen, his mother’s executive assistant, cut through a group of chatting people and waved at him. A short woman known for her ridiculously high-heeled shoes, the thirty-five-year-old brunette had been working for his mother in a personal capacity for the past ten years and was a familiar face around the Callahan family.

  “There you are, Jamie!” Ariella said.

  Jamie signaled Kyle to follow him as he made his way to Ariella. She flashed Jamie a quick smile before rattling off a list of updates about the day’s schedule as she led them inside the manufacturing plant. He ignored the curious looks cast his way by a couple of Sun Tech employees, careful to keep his expression neutral.

  “You’ll join your father for the tour of the plant,” Ariella said, eyes on the timeline scrolling between her fingers and the data rings she wore. “Kyle will remain with me until the photo ops are finished. The speech will begin at two o’clock sharp.”

  Jamie nodded along, knowing better than to argue against anything his parents had already approved. “Just tell me where I need to be.”

  It turned out she needed him for some old-fashioned glad-handing to talk up his father to company workers. Kyle unobtrusively slipped away from his side, blending into the background while Jamie introduced himself to local voters. Leah and his mother were doing the same, all three of them meeting up in the crowd, discreetly surrounded by the Secret Service.

  “How are you, Mother?” Jamie asked, bending a little to kiss her on the cheek.

  “Well enough, thank you,” Charlotte responded with a practiced smile.

  All of them had been playing the happy, loving family for years in front of the cameras. The fault lines snaking between them from decisions made and fought over were never shown to the public. No matter the tension, the Callahans always showcased a united front.

  It was that kind of solidarity that Richard walked into for the cameras to see. One big happy family that the press pool and voters ate up. Richard might have been a billionaire senator who would never know what it was like to be poor, but he promised economic fixes and a better platform than his rivals, or so he believed and preached.

  Jamie knew his father’s talking points like the back of his
hand, and could shore up anything he said with supportive sound bites that the reporters traveling in the press pool recorded religiously.

  Richard waved at the crowd and the reporters when he arrived before introducing himself to Sun Tech management. Jamie remained on the sidelines with his mother and sister as Richard initiated overtures that led into the tour of the facility. Jamie put on an attentive face as they walked the length and breadth of the processing plant, introducing themselves to workers still on shift, while the press pool snapped enough holopics to satisfy even the most demanding editor.

  A familiar face caught Jamie’s eye halfway through the tour. Adam Dixon was back in the press pool it looked like, wary attention half on the Callahans and half on Kyle, who was conversing quietly with Ariella. She didn’t look pleased at whatever Kyle was telling her, shooting dagger-eyes at Dixon, but Jamie was glad someone was warning the campaign about Dixon’s presence. Ever since the rocky attempt at an exposé on Jamie in January, his family had been cool toward the media in general, and The New York Times in particular.

  This was exactly why having too many different stories churning in the public domain could cause a problem. The MDF couldn’t stretch the lies very far anymore and Jamie hoped the director would soon turn his attention to figuring out how to extricate the team and his family from this mess.

  As they walked through the public control areas where a dozen workers monitored the robotic assembly line, Jamie dropped back enough to match pace with Kyle. He quirked an eyebrow in a silent question.

  “It’s handled,” Kyle muttered under his breath, so low only Jamie could hear him. “Ariella said they’ll look into Dixon’s access. Can’t revoke it right now because it’ll cause a scene.”

  Jamie nodded. Revoking any press pass was a public relations nightmare. Freedom of the press was enshrined in the country’s Constitution, but that wouldn’t matter if the Callahans banned a particular reporter from the press pool for violating privacy laws somewhere else entirely. The negative news stories would be fodder for at least a week and would need to be countered. That particular story, if it came to pass, would focus on Jamie, and he didn’t have the time to deal with the attention it would bring.