Antidote (Don't) (6 page)

“
Months
,” shouted Gray.

“And he’s as grouchy as fuck.”

“Yeah,” said Gray. “You had a shower yet? You’re getting grease on my lounger.”

Jack shifted his ass, obviously getting more deliberately comfortable. “Don’t hear Jan complain like that.”

“He’s a gentleman, I’m not,” said Gray. “Get the fuck off my chairs.”

“Hear the class go out of the window with that. They were loungers a moment ago.”

“
Now
.”

A groan, a kick off of his boots, Jack pulled off his socks, then headed over to the music system that sat behind the drink’s tray. After flicking it on to play, he went to where Gray worked his art on the hardwood floor, and stood watching him.

“Problem?” said Gray, stopping his run of kata to face him.

“Nope.” Jack looked Gray up and down. “Just thought I’d come train with you for a while.”

Gray folded his arms, a very suspicious look darkening his blue eyes. “Why?”

Jack was up to something, and hell did this look interesting.

Jack stood there in the hall, just inches from Gray, and he was doing a really lousy job of looking innocent. “Well, thing is,” he said quietly, “you know if there’s any chance of you playing torturer on me, I need as much exercise as possible to keep supple, toned...” He pressed his body in close, drifting a touch over Gray’s trousers. “All hard. Inviting.” A sigh was given as he slipped a look down to where his hand played. “Hmmmm.” He frowned, that head of his already with Gray in some deep, dark dungeon. “Invite me,” he whispered. “Please.”

Gray went to say something, either that or drag Jack down into the cellar by the scruff of his neck and screw the hell out of him, but music kicked into life, some eighties rave track that Gray only shook his head at.

He pushed Jack away, and, giving a huge grin, Jack fell in at Gray’s side, facing me as he calmed his body. After a little warm up, Jack followed Gray’s moves with the same skilled attention, his kicks and flips all in perfect sync with Gray. Yet when Gray turned his back on him, Jack suddenly moved in close, doing this little dance in time with the heavy beat, hips adding an extra kick to moves that I swore should be X-rated and on some shelf somewhere. Air-spanking Gray’s ass came into play; then he moved in with every obscene indication of air-humping him. There were no mirrors in here, no arrogance with either of them watching themselves work out, so Gray was none the wiser.

As Gray turned around, Jack fell back into the perfect martial arts’ partner, all decency and full control. Yet when Gray turned his back... Jack settled back into another bout of
I wanna fuck you
dancing, and I choked laughter as Gray looked in my direction for the second time. He glanced at Jack, but Jack only shrugged and mouthed
what the hell
back at him.

It was inevitable that Jack would get caught out; you could even see it written in his chaos chart that something would go wrong somewhere. A faster song came on, and Jack got a little too cocky, singing along and turning his back on Gray as he danced his latest obscenity.

I stopped the music mid-track and it forced Jack to look over at me as I put the remote on the table.

“Saw that one, didn’t he?” said Jack, and I nodded, unable to talk as I snorted laughter, pointing at Gray as he stood behind Jack, arms folded, no doubt plotting which area of the Thames Jack’s body would float best in.

“Uh-huh,” said Jack more to himself. A sniff, a glance over his shoulder, he was suddenly bolting over the sofa, missing me by inches, Gray going psycho on his heels. The sofa got a jolt, then I was tipped onto the floor, forcing Gray into a skid by me.

“Go get him, kid,” said Jack, already halfway out the door. Gray steadied me as I got to my feet; then he was off after Jack. I raced after the cries as they tore through the mansion, out to the pool, all in time to see Gray grab Jack by the waist and unceremoniously dump him hard onto the wet concrete. Jack was laughing hard, now struggling to breathe as he fought underneath Gray.

“Stop...” cried Jack as Gray tried to catch hold of Jack’s wrists. “Now you...” He was struggling to take a breath. “You know you’ll only get your hands dirty. Can’t... can’t have that now, can we, my old mukka?”

I made it over, and Jack took full advantage of Gray’s distraction, pushing him off and shouting “yes” before he scrambled to his feet. Gray followed after him, but Jack, looking like he was about to slip over on the wet concrete, he forced Gray to reach out.

With a wicked grin and a shove at Gray’s shoulders, Jack sent him into a very cold November pool for his considerations.

“Fuck—oh yes.” He started fist-pumping the air and giving “Rocky, Rocky!” shouts as Gray surfaced, leaving Jack doubled and laughing. “Had to cool you down and, well... who’s the daddy now, eh? Who’s the fucking duh-had-dy?”

Jack landed heavily in the pool close to Gray and quickly surfaced, spitting out water as he looked up at me. “
Richards
, you’re fucking well meant to be on my side!”

I gave a light flick of my head back into the pool to prove it. “Twelve O’clock,” I said, folding my arms. Jack glanced back, saw Gray coming at him, then giving an “oh fuck”, he swam as fast as he could for the steps. Gray caught him just as he reached for the first rung, then dunked him under the water. Four more times with Gray doing that, Jack was left crying no more, and I went over and helped pull him out of the water, followed by Gray.

“Shit.” Ed made me jump as he was suddenly there, handing Gray a huge heated towel and an umbrella against the pouring rain. Jack looked at him hopefully, but Ed just snorted and walked off.

“Well fuck you very much, you old fuh—”

“Jack.” Gray looked him up and down. I followed a moment later seeing what held his distraction. Jack’s drenched coveralls hugged every shape and contour of his body, the rain seeming to fall a little harder, chuckling a dark
Missed a bit, love, let me just wet it here for you
. Gray’s eyes smiled, liking the offer, but there was something else in there that seemed to quiet Jack.

“You’re in serious shit, Jack.”

“Really?” he said back to Gray. “You mean the whole
piss you off, you fuck harder
thing?” That grin of his was torture on the balls. “Hadn’t worked that out yet. Thanks for the heads-up, mukka.”

Gray went in close. “Yeah,” he said quietly. “You keep that heads-up real close, Jack.”

Grinning, Jack looked at me.

“What?”

“You.” He added a scowl. “One thing, you couldn’t just give me this one fucking thing.”

“Your annual bath? You’re halfway there, Jacky boy.”

“Oh. Take the piss out of the OCD working class, is it, today?” he said, looking between me and Gray. “It’s all right for you city boys. All suits and ties, but the rest of us who actually move ass for a living, we get the piss taken out of us because we know how to play dirty—”

“
Get
. You get dirty, Jack.”

“Yeah? Whatever,” he said, flashing his eyes. A sneeze, he looked at me thoughtfully, then Gray. “You notice he’s the only one that’s sorta dry?”

I gave him the finger. “That’s all you’ll be riding if you try it. I’ve got my mobile on me.”

“Oh, hear the sexual non in-your-end-o on that,” said Jack, inching his way over. I let him get a little closer, then bolted back for the house. A clip at my heel sent me down onto the sodden grass, and I had enough time to turn over before Jack, with wet clothes and dripping hair, dropped on me. Shaking his head, making sure I took a shower, he waggled his eyebrows. “Just finger-play?”

He was getting hard.

“Telling me you’d moan at just finger-play?” I said back at him.

“That a threat there, boy?” He gave a smile, a grind of hips. “I’ll make you cry first.”

Fuck.

“Hmmm.” I fought a deep blush. “What’s with the ‘Mukka’ thing?” I breathed, looking up.

He bit back a chuckle. “And you’re the one with the council upbringing, hmmm?” He sneezed, just managing to turn his head away. “Old mukka,” he said, wrinkling his nose and giving a sniff. “My old friend?”

“Oh,” I mouthed, then let a slow smile creep in. “Don’t... kiss me.”

Jack narrowed his eyes. “Pull that shit, hmmm? You know it doesn’t work with soft sods like you?” But the fight was there in his eyes, the itching to disobey a command, but give me exactly what I wanted in the process. And it was a fight he’d wrestled since he was a teen. “Nope, not gonna work. Ever,” he added.

“Yeah? Don’t...
kiss
me, Jack.”

He pulled a face, groaned, his Conduct Disorder scratching, needing to get to the surface. We’d looked at doing this over the past few months, as cruel as it seemed, but it was part of the aftercare, that gentle repetition that would get him used to it, and the need to disobey “don’t” commands would ease.

“Don’t... fuck me, Jack.”

He failed to stop his grin. “Oh, well, if you put it like that, Richards.”

Before he could touch down with a rough kiss, a towel dropped on his head, making us both wince.

“Hey.” Jack pulled it off to see Gray smiling down at us. “What?” he said. “You can come and fuck about too. Talk dirty to me, I might let you fuck him. Like how you keep eyeing up my things lately.”

Something played in Gray’s eyes. “Real good to see you back in full swing, Jack. Real good.”

He disappeared and Jack’s smile dropped. “I shouldn’t be worried, right?” He looked down at me. “I mean, I really shouldn’t be fucking worried about that tone, should I?”

Oh, he looked good worried.

A sniff, he got up, pulling me with him, and shook himself like a soaked rat again. I winced, pulling back slightly as he soaked me. “Look.” He was roughing up his hair. “About you moving in with me here. I—”

“Jack, can I go first?” He looked at me a little worried. “Just hear me out before you get mad, please.”

“Mah—” Something in Jack’s eyes slipped, a pull back to old
Don’t... screw with me
times, to where it had taken Jack getting whipped before I’d managed to talk to him. I quickly went in close, and in between gentle kisses, I told him about the two texts from Lisa. He slowly pushed me to arm’s length.

“Gray,” that look in his eyes was dark, “he’s sorted it, yeah?” I nodded and let him know about Gray’s call as he looked back towards the house. “You get any more,” he said eventually, now back with me, “you tell whoever is closest, yeah?”

Despite him being wet, I snaked my arms around his neck.

“You okay?” he whispered, cuddling back with this grip that threatened to break bone.

“Am now,” I said quietly, nuzzling into his neck. “Didn’t mean to keep it from you.”

“Good.” A kiss to my head. “Because she does it again, I’ll trace the fucker, then I’ll—”

“Phone call, Master Harrison.”

We both looked back to the house hearing Ed call down. “Oh for fuck’s sake,” Jack grumbled under his breath. “
I’m full into a Mr. now, Ed
,” he shouted. “
Fucking call me it in front of the boyfriend at least
. Please.”

Ed just snorted and as we started toward the manor, I winked at Jack. “He likes manners, or at least you trying to manage a few without swearing.”

“Old fuck makes me swear.”

“Suuure, it’s all
him.
”

Jack glanced at me, then pulled me in for a cuddle. As we made it into the conservatory, Jack paused to take off his coveralls and boxers, leaving him naked to the elements.

He gave a huge kick-ass grin, and I closed my eyes knowing what was coming as he headed on in.

“Jack—get some clothes on for—”

“Phone call, Ed,” said Jack, innocently. “This way, right? But thanks for calling me Jack.” I could even picture the naked, two thumbs up look that Jack would be handing out in there.

Gray was hiding a grin as I went in. Jack had disappeared, but Ed was sat there on the arm of a chair, looking very pale.

“Everything okay?” said Gray. I nodded, going over and giving him Jack’s wet clothes.

“Yeah,” I said quietly, “it is now.”

“Good,” said Gray as I followed Jack’s wet footprints into the training hall to get my book. Jack gave me a wink as I mouthed an apology. He shook it off and told me to hang on. He’d grabbed a towel from those on offer in the adjoining steam room and wrapped it snugly around his hips, giving him some decency, yet still all so indecent with how his damp hair dripped water onto his shoulders, all to run teasingly down his abs. “Yeah, okay. Thanks, Michelle. I’ll be there.”

Picking up my book, I cocked a brow hearing the woman’s name. “Michelle?”

Jack was scratching his head as he put the phone down. He frowned at Gray when he wandered through. “Suppose that’s down to you?”

“What’s down to him?”

Gray just smiled, ignoring me.

“Jack?” I was back with him now. “Who’s Michelle? What’s he done?”

Gray came over, clothes now changed, hair still damp, but looking very at ease as he poured himself a drink.

“Seems I’m wanted at the MC base,” said Jack, folding his arms.

The base? Oh. I buried my grin. “Feeling better are we, Jack?”

Jack came over and forced Gray to turn around, drink in hand. “Appears so,” he said. “Wonder where they got that idea?”

Gray shrugged. “With all the CCTV the Masters have at their disposal, Jack, they no doubt saw it. That and heard you screaming like a pansy when Jan pushed you in the pool.”

Jack pinched Gray’s drink and downed it in one. “Yeah. Real strange that.”

I chuckled. “When?”

“Thursday after work,” said Jack as Gray picked up the whiskey decanter and offered it back to Jack.

“Another one, Jack? You starting back with the MC after such a long, long—long absence, lubrication is best started early.”

I couldn’t get it together enough to stop chuckling.

“Oh, laugh it up, Richards.”

I was.

“Let’s see what you’re like after no sex for three days.”

That sobered me up. “No sex? Three days? What the hell?”

Jack offered me the whiskey. “I can’t be touched or touch anyone else for three days prior to inauguration.” He looked at Gray. “Only saving grace is that you’re on no-touch street too, boss.”