OVERTIME (40 page)

Control
. There it was, again. It was what he always wanted. He’d wanted to be in control of his own life so he wouldn’t have to depend on another person for anything. It was what he had worked for his entire life. He didn’t want it anymore though, especially control over Colton.
Never
control over Colton. Sure, the urge was still there—he supposed it always would be, but what had once been the flaming-burn of desire to possess had dropped to a flickering flame. There was something else, something so much more important, so much more powerful than control.
Colton
.

He heard a burst of laughter come from somewhere inside the club and then heard a fun shriek rip from Landry’s mouth. Maybe he hadn’t thought this through. Maybe he was putting all of them in an awkward position? He mumbled a goodbye to Rory and turned to leave. He didn’t make it two steps before Rory grabbed his upper arm, breaking the no-touch rule, and jerked him back around to face Rory’s wrath.

“Oh hell to the no, Wildcat. You don’t get to run away again,” Rory hissed. He moved his body, blocking Jagger’s exit so that he could remove his hand from a quivering bicep. Hell, the kid hated being touched. He knew better than to do what he’d done but he panicked. He couldn’t let him leave Colton. “You’ve already pulled that little stunt, so it’s off the table going forward. You’re going to march that pretty little ass of yours into that club and you’re going to make it right with my boy. Do you understand me? No. More. Running.”

Jagger surprised him with a soft smile. “I wasn’t leaving Key West or Colton, Rory. It sounds like they are having fun in there, and I don’t want to intrude and make the entire situation uncomfortable for everybody. I was just going to go to Colton’s boat and wait for him there.” With a shaky hand, he reached up and cupped the back of Rory’s neck, focusing on the warmth and strength instead of the fact that he was touching another man. “I…I can’t promise I’m not going to fuck this up, Rory, but I’m going to give it everything I’ve got. I’m messed up. I’ve
got issues and I don’t have a clue how Colton and I are going to work around them. I’m not going anywhere unless Colton asks me to.” He took a deep breath. He wanted to tell Rory he loved Colton but the first time he said those words out loud were going to be straight to Colton, nobody else. It was theirs to share.

“I love you, kid. I know you don’t believe me when I say it, but I do.” A huge grin split his face. “Now let’s get your ass in there and make my boy smile again. Welcome home.”

“You…you forgive me? Just like that?” Jagger stuttered. He supposed he would spend the rest of his life being surprised by the love and generosity of these guys. Colton’s friends.
His
friends.

“Ah, baby, you don’t need forgiveness for doing what your heart was telling you to do. You hurt Colton and that hurts me but the pain I felt because I knew you were hurting too was just as heart-wrenching. You’re one of us,
cher
. Whether you want to be or not.”

“Thank you,” he Jagger whispered.

“Yeah, yeah. Come on, let’s get inside. I can’t wait to see his face when he sees you. Oh, before you go in, you need to know that he’s kind of in a compromising position right now. It’s totally innocent, though, I promise. Landry made him get all tied up to test some of his new equipment.”

Rory looked worried, like Jagger was about to turn into a jealous bitch. Of course, he probably would have morphed into a jealous bitch if he wasn’t the one behind Landry tying Colton up. And the picture? Fuck, it had been hot!

“I know exactly what Landry is doing,” he answered with a smile meant to appease Rory’s concerns. “Who do you think was behind this whole night?”

“You had Landry to bring us all down here and tie your boy to a St. Andrew’s Cross
?” Rory burst out laughing. “Hell, kid, now I like you even more!”

“You know there’s only three years difference between us, right?”

Snort. “Yeah, but I’m way more mature than the rest of you idiots. You’re all kids to me,” Rory said.

“Even Riley?”

Rory’s silver eyes brightened and then darkened at the mention of Riley’s name. Uh oh.

“We’ve got to talk about that one, you and I,” Rory said gruffly. “I need your help. He’s being ridiculous.”

“Still not interested in bottoming?” Jagger asked. “You guys are both idiots. You don’t know what you’re missing.”

With that, he bumped Rory out of the way and started into the club. He’d waited as long as he could. His body was begging to be with Colton again. Sure, he was as nervous as hell. He had no idea how Colton would welcome him. He had to be pissed. Jagger knew he was hurt—it had been so painfully visible in his eyes the night he’d walked away from him. Is that how he’d looked the day his mother had left him standing on the sidewalk? He vowed to never do that to Colton again. If Colton was angry and demanded he leave…he would stay. They would work this out.

He wasn’t sure how to make his entrance. Sneak in? Saunter in like nothing had happened? Get Rory to go in and ask everybody else to leave? Whatever it was, he didn’t want to draw a lot of attention to himself. He was doing this but he was still nervous as hell. Stealth—that’s what he would go for. He’d find a way to get Landry’s attention without anybody else notching and Landry would empty the room for him. That was a good solid plan.

“Everybody OUT!” Rory bellowed from right behind him, dragging every eye in the room onto him.

Fuck, so much for good solid plans and flying under the radar. His cheeks burned. He
felt
every eye in the house fall on him but his gaze was locked solely on Colton. He looked even more beautiful than Jagger remembered. He was, just as he and Landry had planned together, secured to the St. Andrew’s cross with his wrists and ankles locked into place. It was supposed to buy Jagger just a few minutes of time to plead his case, try to convince Colton to accept his apology and give him another chance. A pair of baggy shorts and a tight T-shirt was all he was wearing.

He had imagined just about every horribly possibility in his mind. Colton would be angry with him and refuse to ever see him again. Colton would be bitter and say things that he would never be able to take back and Jagger would never be able to forget. There would be a harsh coldness in his eyes that Jagger knew he would be one hundred percent responsible for putting there. He had imagined it all…well, except for the most beautiful, warm, happy smile humanly possible—that was the look on Colton’s face as he returned his gaze.

How was that even possible? He knew how hurt Colton was when he’d chosen the job over their happiness. He had thought his walking out would have surely destroyed the small wall of
trust they had been building. But, instead of anger or sadness, there was only love shining brightly from him. It gave him the courage to put one foot in front of the other, closing the distance between them, and with each and every step, he swore he would never allow anything to come between them again.

He wasn’t even sure when the rest of the guys had vanished into thin air. He only knew that all of a sudden, they were completely alone. It was so quiet, Jagger knew Colton had to be able to hear his heart pounding. He stepped upon the stage and tried to find the right words to let Colton know how ashamed he was for abandoning their relationship.

“Hey, babe,” Colton whispered, taking his fears away. “I missed you.”

He watched Colton tug at the restraints but they held tightly.

“I’m so sorry, Colton.” The words came tumbling out. The tears were quick to follow. Yeah, they were back. “I don’t know what the hell I was thinking. I was so afraid and I don’t know why. Please forgive me. Please take me back and give me another chance to prove my worth.”

“You’re forgiven. Hell, you don’t have anything to be forgiven for, but I think you need to hear the words. Baby, you were doing what you thought you had to do. Please come closer,” he begged. “Where are those damned keys for these fucking locks? I’ve got to touch you,” he growled.

Jagger took another step closer. “How can you do that? How can you just forgive me like that? It’s like you didn’t even think about it. I’m messed up, Colton. I’m going to keep doing shit like that so you need to be…prepared. You can’t just hand out forgiveness like that. I have to earn it.” Jagger’s hand reached up and tucked some hair behind Colton’s ear, just like he’d done to him so many times when they’d been together.

“Forgiveness isn’t something to be held over somebody’s head, Jag. I’m going to forgive everything you do because I love you and I trust you will never be hurting me on purpose.” He smiled. “A little closer?”

One more step and they were almost touching. “I missed you, too. I’m sorry I’m so weak, Colton. I don’t know what comes over me and I don’t know how long I’ll be this way but I’m trying my best to get better. Trusting people is really hard for me.”

“I know that, baby. Give me a kiss. You’re killing me here. Just one little taste and then we can talk more. I think Landry left the key over on the edge of the stage. Grab it and let me
out of these things. I can’t believe I let him talk me into this.” He strained his head but still couldn’t reach Jagger’s lips. “Kiss. Now.”

Jagger allowed his lips to hover right over Colton’s pouting mouth. “I’m not a professional at this BDSM stuff, but I’m pretty sure I’m the one calling the shots when you’re the one tied up all nice and pretty,” Jagger purred.

“Kiss. Now.”

Jagger’s lips crashed against Colton’s mouth, suckling and nipping, tasting and tormenting, and finally submitting. His hands cupped either side of Colton’s face possessively, holding him firmly in his grasp as they devoured each other. Jagger felt Colton’s tongue slide between his lips and begin a dance with his own. His body was throbbing with triumph as it welcomed Colton back. His cock might have twitched a hello as soon as their lips touched, but his heart, oh how his heart came roaring back to life as soon as he felt Colton’s lips on his own.

When they finally broke apart, Colton growled, “Five days, Jagger. I was only giving you five days before I flew to Kentucky and brought you back to me by any means necessary. Don’t for one minute think I was letting you go. I will never let you go because I know that one day you will love me as much as I love you. I promised Landry I’d give you five days.”

Jagger was still placing soft kisses all over Colton’s face. Between those sweet pecks, he said, “Thank the fuck it only took me three days. Actually, it only took me two days. I just couldn’t get here any faster.” His tongue swiped a streak from Colton’s ear lobe all the way down his neck. “Fuck, you taste so good. You taste like
mine
.”

“Unlock these cuffs before I go crazy, Jag. You can’t keep doing stuff with your tongue and expect me not to explode. Let me go, pretty please,” he pouted.

“Nope,” Jagger answered, making a popping sound with his lips. “I have some stipulations regarding this relationship that I need to put on the table for negotiations.” He’d moved back to the ear lobe and was biting the tip hard enough to make Colton moan his appreciation.

“Anything, babe,” Colton answered. “I’ll give you the world if you ask for it. Ever since I’ve known you, all I’ve ever wanted to do was put a smile on your face. Tell me what you want and I’ll make it happen.”

“You’re going to have to be patient with me for a while. I’m unemployed. I have to have a job, so I hope that doesn’t bother you. I’m still struggling with that whole control thing, but I’m trying to do better. I think I’m pretty marketable, so hopefully I won’t be dragging my sorry ass
around the boat for too long.” He kept placing soft kisses in all sorts of hard places. “Well…I’m marketable as long as they don’t check with my last place of employment—I only lasted about an hour there and just walked off the job without giving notice.”

“We just won’t add that job to your resume,” Colton answered. His breathing was becoming a bit faster as Jagger continued to work magic with his lips and tongue. “I don’t think you’ll have a problem finding a job and, for the record, I would never ask you not to work. I know how much your independence means to you.”

“Good. I also want us to have three dogs and two cats.” He smiles shyly. “I’ve always wanted a pet but could never have one. I want to raise a little furry family with you.”

“I think we can make that happen. As a matter of fact, giving you a pet has been a fantasy of mine for quite a few years. I remember this cute little boy with legs way too long for the rest of his body that used to play with the neighbor’s dog all the time.” Colton gave him a devilish grin. “I’ve never wanted to be a dog more in my life than when I used to watch you cuddle up with that terrier.”

“You’re sick,” Jagger answered with a grin. “Is this shirt important? Like, was it your great grandfather’s wedding shirt or anything like that?” He had raised the hem of the T-shirt and was skimming his fingers along Colton’s stomach muscles, loving how they would quiver or ripple in response. The heated flesh called out to him, demanding more.

Colton laughed. “You do realize it says ‘
add sparkle to your life, put some glitter on your ass’
, right?”

“Not a wedding shirt, then?” Jagger asked innocently before ripping it off his body and tossing it aside. “Good because it was really getting in my way.”