Page 9 of Exhale (Out for Justice #8)

E arly the next morning, Jordan rolled out of the hotel bed and walked to the balcony doors. Wearing black briefs and a t-shirt, he didn’t bother pulling on pants as he gazed out the partially open curtains.

The busy city of Phoenix, Arizona, sprawled below. Most people were still asleep, but there were a few out and about, probably trying to beat the rush hour traffic. Living in California, Jordan was very familiar with traffic.

The room behind him was quiet. Owen was still asleep in the other queen bed, while he had been up and on his laptop for an hour.

What he had discovered had been startling to say the least, but not unexpected if truth be told.

He tossed a glance back at the bed when Owen shifted. The man settled again, sprawled out on his back, still sound asleep. With miles of muscles, a shadowed jaw slack, and messy dark hair, Owen was yummy.

Turning away from Owen on the bed, Jordan slipped out of the patio door, making sure to close the curtain completely.

It wasn’t full on daylight yet, but it would be soon. From his vantage point, he should be able to see the sunrise when it came up in about half an hour.

He and Owen had spent hours last night going through Ginny’s computer. They had found the man Ginny had been dating, and the guy was next on their list of suspects.

The face of the man in a more recent photo was easy for Jordan to find on Ginny’s computer. He popped the photo into the Pegasus database and came back with the name of thirty-eight-year-old Mark Gumball. Gumball had been in and out of jail for petty theft, drug use, and drunk driving.

After that, Owen called it a night. Jordan could see the tiredness around the man’s eyes and mouth, and he nodded.

Then, Owen had done the oddest thing. He reached out and cupped a hand at the back of his neck, sending chills down his spine at the touch. The man’s fingers were hard and warm, and Jordan shivered like he always did when Owen touched him.

“Sleep tight,” Owen said gruffly and slid his fingers away. “You can crash on the spare queen bed.”

Jordan watched in disbelief as Owen disappeared into the bathroom and shortly after, the shower turned on.

Damn it!

The sexual tension between them was not in his imagination!

Nevertheless, when Owen emerged, Jordan made sure to have his ass in the spare queen bed with the covers pulled up.

The sliding of the patio door sounded behind him, and Owen stepped out.

Jordan kept his eyes on the horizon, but jerked when Owen crowded in at his back.

The Arizona weather in mid-July was warm, even this early in the morning, but the heat from Owen was tenfold.

What was Owen doing?

Surprise held him still, and he waited. Owen slid his arms around to the front of his waist and gripped his hands together, caging him in. With his back to Owen’s hard chest, Jordan could barely breathe.

He felt like he’d stepped into a fantasy and was dreaming.

“Did you sleep at all?” Owen’s husky voice caressed his ear and Jordan shivered again.

“Yep.” The squeak came out with the one word, but really, how in the hell did he keep that in with Owen making a huge pass at him?

And it was a pass, he was sure of it.

After that kiss and putting the brakes on things again last night, Jordan was having a hard time processing…this.

“But you were up early,” Owen murmured, resting his chin on his shoulder.

That put their faces so close that the rasp of Owen’s five o’clock shadow scratched at his own.

“Yeah…” he swallowed.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” he waited nervously.

“You’ve pretty much ignored me since my botched attempt at a pass in the pool that day. Why?”

Jordan shifted so he could turn around, fully expecting Owen to release him, but he was held firm even when he looked up into Owen’s face.

“Old tapes,” he said honestly, it was the only thing he could think of to explain his rotten past.

“And now?”

“Now…I’ve worked through some stuff.”

“Is that a green light?”

“If you want it to be.” Jordan chewed on his bottom lip.

Yeah, it had taken a lot of soul searching and several therapist appointments from a guy Dave had recommended, but he was starting to feel like he could try.

Try with Owen.

“Oh, I want it to be,” Owen croaked.

Through the very faint glow on the horizon, Jordan was able to see that Owen’s eyes were glued to his mouth.

Jordan had to glance away as his heart slammed inside his chest.

Sweet hell and all that was holy, Owen’s big muscled body pressing against him made his dick hard.

Damn it.

Was that a good thing?

His dick thought it was a grand idea, but his head wasn’t so sure.

Owen tightened his arms, pressing them together tightly, and Jordan caught his breath.

A sudden hardness in Owen’s briefs pressed against him.

Jordan held his breath. It was either that or start panting. He gripped Owen’s bare sides, feeling muscles beneath his fingertips.

Lifting his head, he peered up into Owen’s face again.

The man’s eyes were still locked on him. Then ever so slowly, Owen tipped his head down until their faces were so fucking close that Jordan felt Owen’s breath on his lips.

It would only take an inch to bring their lips together.

Holy fuck, he wanted that.

Jordan parted his lips and ran his tongue over his bottom lip. Owen’s gaze flickered down, watching his tongue dart out.

Jordan’s breath stuttered and stopped.

The anticipation was killing him. Then surprise. How long had he been waiting for another one of Owen’s kisses?

Since the last one.

And how long had he been waiting for Owen?

For like…forever.

Even in those moments where he panicked and ran, it wasn’t from Owen, but more from himself. Well, he was no longer going to run. He was going to stand his ground and take what he wanted.

Because the hard and honest truth of it all was that from the very first moment he had come into contact with Owen Gray, he had wanted the man’s mouth on his skin and much, much more than that.

The hardened soldier standing in front of him was his dream.

His alpha mate, if Owen wanted the job. He wanted the man’s calloused fingers in his hair and his cock buried deep in his ass.

He wanted him there when he rolled over in bed, and the only person he wanted to see across the breakfast table.

“I tried to hold back,” Owen said gruffly. “I really did.”

Jordan nodded because it seemed like that fact was important to Owen.

But even Owen’s brief words did nothing to cool his blazing heat of desire.

“Why?” His voice came out breathless, croaking a bit like a frog. His hands swept up Owen’s bare chest.

“I can’t think of a good reason right now,” Owen said and slowly lowered his head.

When the kiss came, it was electric.

Owen mauled his mouth. Taking and owning his lips and him like nothing Jordan had experienced before. Sure, he had done some shit for money back when he was a kid, but he had always drawn the line at kissing.

Now, though, he put his whole heart into that kiss, and when Owen squeezed him and lifted him with those powerful arms, Jordan wrapped his legs around Owen’s waist and his arms up and around the man’s neck.

Their lips stayed fused, kissing, sucking, then nibbling as they both sucked in air.

Owen walked them back into the room, leaving the slider open because apparently, Owen didn’t want to release him any more than he did.

At the edge of the bed, Owen placed him on his feet, and a thought hit Jordan.

“We don’t have supplies.”

“Yes, we do. When we stopped at that convenience store for water and snacks, I grabbed some.”

“How did I not know that?”

“I told you to go unlock the car.” Owen smirked, looking pleased with himself.

“You could have gotten them while I was there.”

“No…no, I couldn’t. I don’t ever want to take you for granted,” Owen said gruffly.

“Shhh,” Jordan returned, reaching up to cup the man’s unshaven jaw. “Less talking and more action.”

“Oh?” One eyebrow quirked sexily.

“Yeah…oh,” Jordan said with a growling voice and shoved him backward.

Surprised, Owen fell back on the bed and gazed up at him with a shocked expression.

Jordan straddled the man’s hips.

Owen gripped his waist, fingers deliciously digging into his skin.

“What are you doing?” Owen asked thickly.

Jordan snorted in a laugh. “Like you don’t know.”

“Are you sure?”

“Hell yes, I’m sure,” Jordan said, lowering down so his lips were mere inches from Owen’s mouth.

“Once we do this, there’s no going back,” Owen said roughly, and the words shot a thrill through Jordan. Hell yes, there was no going back.

If Owen tried to go back after this, then he’d give the guy a beat down. So, okay, maybe he couldn’t do that, but he could put a virus on his phone that would drive him nuts when it rang.

“That better be a promise,” Jordan whispered and lowered his head so the words brushed against Owen’s lips.