Love on the Rocks Page 8

  “What is it?”

  “I want to be able to do something for you.”

  Riley stepped close and stroked Joe’s face. “You are doing something for me. You kiss better than anyone else I’ve known.”

  “Really?”

  “Really, and until you’re fit again, that’s good enough for me.” He bussed Joe’s cheek. “So now, let’s eat!”

  They sat at the counter and demolished the pizza between them while the dogs chowed down with gusto on their kibble. Joe told Riley to grab another beer for himself adding that he was limiting himself to just one for the time being.

  “So, Riley, you have family nearby?”

  Riley nodded. “Mom and Dad live up in Bellflower. I go up once a month. Any more than that and they’d think I was fussing.” He chuckled. “They’re pretty social, so it’s not like they’re pining for my company.” He watched, smiling, as Barney and Champ, their food bowls empty, gulped at the fresh water he’d put out for them.

  “You the only kid?” Joe asked.

  Riley grinned. “Kid? I’m twenty-eight. What, you’re, like, a couple of years older than me?”

  “I’m thirty-one.”

  “You said you had a sister. What about your folks?”

  Joe shook his head. “My mother died when I was two so I never really knew her, and my father died ten years ago.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. He was a drunk and he was abusive, both verbally and physically, so I can’t say I miss him, I’m afraid. My grandparents had washed their hands of him years before, they couldn’t stand the drinking. Guess that’s why they left the house to Rachel and me…as a kind of consolation for not being able to do anything more for us when dad was at his worst.”

  “What did he die of?”

  “Booze. His liver was shot through from the stuff. A painful way to die and every time I visited him in the hospital, I wished that I could feel more sympathy for him, but… There’s a song I heard years ago about digging down deep in order to feel…something, and I tried really hard, but I came up empty.”

  Riley reached for Joe’s hand and intertwined their fingers. “Sometimes it’s hard to find the right words of comfort, and right now I can’t even hold you like I want to…you know, like wrap you up in my arms, press myself to your hot, muscley body…”

  Joe smiled. “You’re making me dizzy and hard.”

  “Good. Well, the hard part anyway.” Riley got off his stool and stepped between Joe’s thighs. He nuzzled Joe’s neck, causing Joe to gasp and shudder. “Mmm, Joe. You smell so good.” He peppered light kisses from Joe’s ear to his chin then caught Joe’s lower lip between his teeth and nipped gently. “I want to take your mind off sad things. I want to strip you naked and kiss every part of you from head to toe and everything in between.”

  Joe groaned, “Oh, God, Riley…”

  Riley checked to see where the dogs were. Seeing the kitchen was clear, he dropped to his knees and buried his face in Joe’s crotch, teasing his erection through the denim of his jeans. Joe groaned even louder.

  “Okay, gonna take care of you now.” He unsnapped the waistband of Joe’s jeans and pulled down the zipper.

  Joe was breathing heavily and leaned against the counter for support. He caressed Riley’s hair and stroked the side of his face with his free hand. He almost came unglued when Riley slid his lips down the throbbing length of his cock. My God, this will never get old, I’ll never get tired of this. He is amazing…

  He stared down at the top of Riley’s blond head. Not just the feel, but the sight of what Riley was doing was enough to have him come way too soon. He gritted his teeth and willed himself not to come, to enjoy every nanosecond of what they were sharing, to watch with fascination as his cock disappeared then reappeared, glistening with Riley’s saliva, and so hard it ached with the need for release.

  Riley gripped Joe’s thighs, sliding his hands up and down and under, the denim against Joe’s bare skin acting as some kind of erotic friction. It seemed to him that everything Riley did to him was a complete and total turn-on. He wanted to slip off the stool, hoist him over his shoulder—Ha! That’s a good one—throw him on the bed and ravish every inch of him. Why in hell did they have to meet when he was going to be incapacitated for weeks? But then, if he hadn’t been lying unconscious on a pile of rocks they most likely never would have met.

  “Fuck…” Joe shuddered as Riley clenched his throat muscles around the head of his cock and had him seeing stars. He raked the fingers of his left hand through Riley’s thick hair and gritted his teeth harder.

  “Riley,” he whispered in warning. “Gonna come.’ He almost screamed when Riley increased the speed and strength of his sucking and Joe threw his head back and roared as he came in almost painful racking spasms. “Jesus, sorry,” he said once he’d gotten his breath back. “Didn’t mean to try blowing your head off.”

  Riley looked up at him with shining eyes. “That was fantastic. You come like a teenager.”

  “Making up for lost time, I guess.”

  Riley stood and kissed him, long and languorous, their tongues weaving and gliding over each other. “You taste so good, Joe. I’m gonna need a steady diet of you.”

  A soft woof had them turning around to see both Champ and Barney staring at them, their heads cocked to one side.

  Joe and Riley laughed. “Guess those noises you were making had them intrigued,” Riley said.

  “Well, I can guarantee Barney’s never heard the like of it before.”

  Later they lay on the couch and watched a movie on TCM while the dogs slept in front of the fireplace. No swashbucklers were featured on the TV guide, but All About Eve got two thumbs-up. It turned out they were both Bette Davis fans, joining in on her famous ‘Fasten your seatbelts’ line.

  Joe laughed. “Man, are you gay, or what?”

  “Excuse me.” Riley pinched his good arm. “Was that just an echo I heard in my ear?”

  “Ow, and okay, I knew what was coming. Is there a more famous line in movie history?”

  “Funny,” Riley said, “I’d never have guessed you were gay if you hadn’t told me I was cute when I found you among the rocks that day. Even then I thought it was because you were delirious. Kinda surprised me, though. You’re all like big and butch and hard cop.”

  “Is that a compliment?” Joe asked, laughing.

  “Of course it is. Hey, by the way, did you see Feud with Susan Sarandon and Jessica Lange? It was really good.”

  “No, darn it, I was working nights when it was on.”

  “That’s what DVR is for,” Riley teased him, and bit his earlobe gently.

  “Ow, do that again.”

  Riley chuckled and kissed it this time. They were snuggled on the couch, Riley behind Joe, a pillow under Joe’s shoulder for comfort.

  “This is nice,” Joe said, stroking the side of Riley’s face. “Frustrating, but nice.”

  “Why frustrating?”

  “Because I can feel something hard pressing into my butt and you won’t let me do anything about it. It’s gotta be frustrating for you too, all hard and nowhere to come.”

  Riley chuckled. “Soon, Joe.”

  “It wouldn’t exactly do me in to get on my knees, you know.”

  “Your shoulder…”

  “I don’t use my shoulder to kneel, now, do I?”

  “Joe…”

  “Come on.” He struggled upright then turned to face Riley. “I am dying to give you head. I haven’t even seen your cock yet…I mean really seen it.” He put his hand on Riley’s crotch. “Jeez, that feels good and I’m pretty sure I can make it feel even better.” He tugged on Riley’s zipper. “Pretty please?”

  Riley sighed. “Who could resist that pouty lower lip? Okay, but don’t put any strain on your shoulder, please.”

  Joe slid off the couch onto his knees with nary a wince. “You open up. It would take me forever one-handed.”

  Riley unzipped his jeans and sh
ucked them down over his thighs.

  “Oh yeah, tighty-whiteys.” Joe leaned in and traced the length under the soft cotton covering Riley’s erection with his lips before lifting the waistband to let the glistening head peek out. Riley shuddered as Joe ran his tongue around the slit, scooping up the pre-cum that pooled there. He peeled back Riley’s briefs and murmured with appreciation when the hot, rigid flesh sprang out, smacking him lightly on his lips. He didn’t hesitate, just drew it all into his mouth, sliding his lips down to the base and taking it to the back of this throat.

  “Uh…” Riley’s hips bucked and he ran his hand over Joe’s close-cropped hair. “That’s too good, Joe.”

  Joe paused and glanced up at him. “Glad to hear I haven’t forgotten how to do this.” He got down to business again, using his tongue to tease the ultra-sensitive nerves on the underside of Riley’s cock. It had the desired effect—Riley’s body jerked from the stimulation and a long, satisfied moan escaped his lips.

  Oh yeah, want him to feel like this is the best, even though I’m a bit rusty.

  “Joe,” Riley whispered and Joe took another glance upward. He almost lost his momentum. Riley’s torso was stretched tight, every muscle of his chest and abdomen in sharp relief, and his face…

  Oh my God, it looks like he’s in total ecstasy, and he is so beautiful…I’m gonna come in my pants at this rate.

  He released Riley’s cock just long enough to thoroughly soak his middle finger with his saliva. He leaned in a little so he could insert it between Riley’s butt cheeks and push into his opening.

  God, but he’s tight…and hot.

  Riley gasped with surprise then bore down on Joe’s finger, drawing him in past his knuckle. Joe smiled around Riley’s erection, loving Riley’s soft moans and the sensation of him squirming over his finger.

  I so want to fuck him. In his eagerness he leaned in too far and his shoulder protested with a sharp reminder that it was just over a week ago he’d been shot and thrown off a cliff onto some very hard rocks. As determined as he was to not signal the fact that he was in discomfort, he just couldn’t hold back the yelp of pain not quite muffled by the cock he still held in his mouth.

  Dammit!

  And in a flash, it was over. Riley was scooting backward away from him and no matter how loudly he protested, Riley wasn’t listening. “Joe, damn it, I knew we shouldn’t have been doing this! Shit, I won’t forgive myself if you’ve opened your wound.” He pulled up his briefs and jeans and knelt by Joe on the floor.

  Champ raised his head at Riley’s worried tone and both dogs padded over to watch what was going on.

  “Oh great…” Joe grimaced. “Now they’re in on my lousy performance.”

  “I need to look at it, but I won’t have to undo the whole thing,” Riley said, his face creased with concern. “Just enough so I can ascertain that the staples are still in place.”

  “Okay.” Joe cursed himself. Everything had been fine until he’d tried finger-fucking Riley. Got carried away, didn’t you? Never was one for half-measures, and now look what you’ve done. Ruined a perfectly good moment.

  “I’m feeling like all kinds of a fool,” he said. “How to fuck up something I’d been looking forward to for days.”

  “It’s not the end of the world, Joe.” Riley chuckled. “I guarantee there will be other opportunities. Now don’t move while I ease the bandages away some.”

  Joe contented himself with having Riley’s face close to his while he performed the examination. At least he doesn’t seem too upset by my messing this up. He brushed his lips over Riley’s cheek.

  “Stop, no distractions while I do this.”

  “Sorry.”

  Riley shot him a quick smile then continued while Barney and Champ nosed in closer as if for a better look at what Riley was doing.

  “I’d forgotten they were over there,” Joe said. “Don’t think I’ve ever had sex, or should I say attempted to have sex, with Barney in the room.”

  “Mmm…” Riley pursed his lips as he eased enough of the dressing away to see the wound underneath. “No blood or discharge, that’s good, and nothing’s out of place, thank goodness. You got lucky.”

  “No, I didn’t get lucky. That’s the bitch of it.”

  Riley laid his forehead on Joe’s and they laughed softly together. The dogs took that as an invitation to get in the mix and Riley had to shoo them off before their playfulness did real damage to Joe’s shoulder.

  “Okay, now that the mood has been totally killed, what would you like to do?” Joe asked with a rueful twist to his lips.

  Riley glanced at his watch. “I should go. I have the early shift tomorrow, and I need to walk the dogs one more time before I turn in.”

  Joe sighed. “Sorry again for messing things up.”

  “Don’t apologize, Joe. I should have gone with my first thought that it wasn’t at all a good idea.”

  Joe nuzzled Riley’s neck. “I so want to fuck you. Feeling how tight your ass is has given me all kinds of ideas of what to do with it.”

  Riley kissed him. “I want that too, but I have to tell you, that’s aways down the road. The doc will have to give you the all clear before that happens. But just think…” He kissed Joe again. “When it does happen, it’ll be so worth waiting for.” He got to his feet and helped Joe stand. “D’you need anything before I leave?”

  “Yeah, all the things I can’t have.”

  * * * *

  While Riley watched the dogs chase each other in the park, his cell chimed. Thinking the text might be from Joe, he glanced at the screen.

  Hey, will be in Laguna next Saturday. Can we meet?

  Miles. He left it unanswered.

  Chapter Nine

  Julaine was at Joe’s promptly at eight-thirty. “So how are you today? she asked, breezing past him. “Hmm, I smell dog. You have one?”

  “Yes, but a friend’s looking after him for me till I have better use of my arm.” Joe told her. “He brought him by last night to say hi.”

  “How sweet.” She cocked her head at him. “What you been doing to those bandages?”

  Joe squinted at his shoulder. “Uh, nothing?”

  Julaine laughed. “You trying to show your friend your war wound?” She tutted and said, “Sit.”

  Joe sat.

  “Lemme take a look at this. Hmm… You’ve been having a problem with it?”

  Joe shook head. This woman is too smart by half. “It was a bit painful so my friend checked to make sure the staples were okay. He’s a paramedic, so I figured he’d know what he was doing.”

  “Uh-huh. Okay, I’ll check it out. You’ll want to shower, right?”

  “Yeah, if that’s okay with you.”

  She gave him the fish-eye while she unstrapped the bandages. “Your friend, the paramedic, he the one that found you on the beach?”

  “Yeah, how’d you know that?”

  “Honey, I can read. It was in the Laguna Weekly. Nice-looking guy. You make a good couple.”

  “Uh…”

  “Hmm, there’s some inflammation here. Did you pull on it or strain it somehow?”

  Joe hoped he wasn’t blushing. His face felt hot. “I could have, I guess. Not that I remember, though.”

  “I’ve got some antibiotic cream I can put on it. You better take it easy. No fooling around for a few weeks yet.”

  Oh my God.

  “They won’t take those staples out if there’s inflammation, so take it easy, you hear?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He tried moving his arm now it was temporarily free of restraint. “Ow…”

  “What did I just say?” Julaine snapped. “Way too early for that kind of thing. Men…” She tutted again as she applied the cream. “You have a long way to go yet.”

  “Not what I wanted to hear.”

  “I’m sure. Another week or so before you can make do with just a sling, I’d say. Oh, I brought a plastic sleeve for you to wear in the shower.”

  “Thanks, an
d I forgot to offer you coffee or something yesterday. Would you like a drink? Coffee, tea…?

  “No thanks, hon. I’ll get some water while you shower.”

  * * * *

  Romero called him later that morning. “Murdoch is not cooperating,” he told Joe. “He keeps insisting that you are culpable, that you and one other who he won’t name were in the deals with him.”

  Joe growled with irritation. “What proof does he have? The Feds can check my bank account. I have nothing to hide.”

  “Didn’t think you would have, Joe, but we have to tread carefully here. If it turns out someone else in the department was in with him, the shit will hit the fan.”

  “Have you talked to them?”

  “Me and McKenna both. Everyone denies everything.”

  “The Feds will want lie-detector tests if they’re not satisfied.”

  “Probably. Fucking Murdoch is playing games.” Romero sound totally pissed off. He had to be, Joe reckoned, for him to be using nasty cuss words.

  “Have you talked to the wife again? Maybe now she knows he’s going to be gone and there’s no money coming her way, she might just be mad enough to spill some details.”

  “I doubt if she knows very much about what Bob was doing, Joe. From what I hear, they weren’t the closest of couples.”

  “Mmm…” Joe wasn’t so sure, but it sounded like Romero had made up his mind. Once again, he was mad because he couldn’t go out there and do his own investigation.

  “Anyway, two FBI agents will be here tomorrow to question him, so I’ll let you know how that goes.”

  “Thanks, boss.”

  “How are you, anyway?”

  “Oh, just dandy.” He wasn’t about to tell Romero about the inflammation…or Riley for that matter. “Be doin’ handstands any day now.”

  This time he did get a chuckle out of Romero. “Okay, Joe, take it easy. I’ll be in touch.”

  “Bye, Sarge.”

  He was antsy, restless, bored and still pissed at himself for his less than stellar performance the night before. Damn, but he’d wanted to impress Riley, have him begging for more…not that he’d need to beg. Joe would be only too happy to keep him satisfied…if it wasn’t for his damned shoulder. Weeks, Julaine had said… Shit. He was going to be one miserable s.o.b. by the time untold weeks were over.