Bait & Hook Page 8

  Roy let him skim the backs of his fingers against the grain. The stubble against his skin made a rasping sound. Casey wondered if Roy was out. He'd never seen him before that first time at the bar, so no way did the cop frequent them. He didn't seem to have much of a life outside work at all-no pictures, no CDs, just a big-ass television and a shitty apartment. He scooted closer.

  The cop stared at him. "You tired?"

  Casey let his hand drop. "No."

  Gunfire popped on TV, catching their attention. Roy sat back like before, and draped his arm over the back of the couch. It was an ambivalent gesture until his gaze flicked to one side, and Casey let himself relax into it. They stayed that way for the rest of the movie and didn't say anything. Casey kept telling himself it was weird to just sit there not doing anything, but he didn't want to move, either. Roy's body was warm through his jacket, and he smelled good. When the movie ended Casey turned his face into the leather and breathed. He felt a nose in his hair and Roy's arm closed around him.

  They kissed again, not like before. Wasn't a crash, like fighting, and wasn't just business like with tricks. Instead it was deep and appreciative, and Casey wanted to keep doing it. He wanted to linger in that moment, with Roy rubbing his arm slowly up and down, with his own hand at Roy's face and neck. It made him feel warm inside.

  Roy broke away but Casey didn't stop. He put his lips to Roy's neck and throat. He could feel breath hot in his ear, and Roy's arm still around him, the other hand at his shoulder squeezing.

  "Casey-" Roy breathed.

  "Don't." Casey shifted on the couch and swung a leg over. Roy looked up dumbfounded, hands on the thighs that straddled him. Casey said, "Just don't, all right? I've been looking, too. At you, I mean. And don't go thinking it makes you special or anything because it doesn't, but come on. We wouldn't be here otherwise."

  Roy just stared at him kind of surprised and Casey said, "See? You kill the mood, Parker, every time you open your mouth."

  The not-frown returned. Maybe, in Roy's book, that was a smile. Hell if Casey could tell. Roy just stared at him that way for a minute and Casey's insides went from pleasantly warm to hot with embarrassment.

  "Well fine," he said, putting a hand on the back of the couch, next to Roy's head. He meant to push back and get the hell off the cop's lap but a hand shot up and held him there.

  Roy said, "I'll be quiet."

  Casey made a show of eyeing him like he wasn't very sure, and Roy tugged him down.

  "Promise," he murmured. "Won't say a word."

  Turned out Roy knew what he was doing. Casey was so used to leading guys along and calling the shots it was almost nice to let someone else take the wheel. He wasn't sleepy but his body was tired, and his thoughts still sluggish, and somehow Roy seemed to get that. Talking to him was like pulling nails but lose the clothes and all of a sudden he was Mr. Empathy.

  He let the Roy play with him, kiss his chest and belly and smooth his big brown hands all over. Casey reached for him, but it was a halfhearted move and the cop just batted his hand away. He bit Casey's thighs and sucked the skin, and Casey jerked himself slowly through it. He wasn't sure he wanted Roy to fuck him, but didn't think he'd resist, either. He didn't have the energy. Whatever happened, he decided, he'd go with it. Go with the flow. He was tired of fighting everything. Maybe, with Roy at least, he didn't have to.

  Roy sort of nuzzled at his stomach, stubble scratching, and Casey pushed up against him. He watched Roy move up and reach off to the side of the bed. He was maybe frowning, Casey couldn't tell, so he dropped his gaze and stared at Roy's erection, standing hard and tight against his belly. Roy sat back on his heels and rubbed Casey's knee and stared at him for a few seconds.

  "Okay?" he said at last.

  The sound of his voice brought Casey out of his little fog. "Oh yeah," he said, like he'd forgotten something, and that earned him a funny look. He pushed up on one elbow as Roy came down. "Do you want-?" Casey started to ask, but their foreheads bumped. "Ow, sorry. I could-"

  Roy's mouth met his, and Casey tasted himself. Roy urged him down and Casey went with it. They kissed some more before a hand closed around his cock, and Casey jumped at the touch. Roy didn't stop, though, just stroked him easy and slow, and again Casey went with it. He groped blindly down between them and found Roy, too, and they touched that way for a while.

  Casey didn't care what bullshit had gone on between them, or what Roy really wanted. He couldn't be bothered. To touch someone like this, to be touched, it was good and he felt like he needed it. Needed the easy pace, and to take his time. Roy's chest was hard under his hands, skin blazing, and the way he squeezed Casey's cock on the upstroke had him this close to coming. When Roy finally let go, Casey made a small sound of complaint.

  There it was, Roy's smile.

  Casey pushed his hips up and murmured, "Hey…"

  Roy sat back on his heels and Casey gave his cock one more tug before letting go. Maybe Roy was going to fuck him after all.

  "What gives, copper?" he asked.

  Roy placed a finger over his lips. Silent, he tore a small packet and neatly rolled the condom over Casey's dick. Casey watched again, and put his hand over the cop's head as he went down. Roy sucked him a while and got Casey worked up all over again, and when they were both close ditched the condom. They jerked off together and made a neat little mess over Casey's chest.

  After, Roy brought him a towel and climbed back into bed. Casey happened to look at the bedside clock and the display read 2:39. He felt Roy squeeze up close behind him and then he just shut down.

  It was a dreamless sleep. Casey woke in the same position he'd drifted off in. The display read 6:52. He groaned something.

  "Casey," a voice hissed, and a hand squeezed his shoulder, shook him. "Casey, wake up."

  Casey groaned that he was awake. The hand on his shoulder stilled, and Roy's face came into view. He'd shaved and his dark hair was wet and worst of all he looked wide awake. Ridiculous, Casey thought. God didn't get up this early. When Roy spoke, Casey smelled coffee on his breath.

  "She's here. We don't have much time, so get up."

  Casey pushed the covers back and felt the air prickle his skin. It was so damn cold. He pulled the covers back.

  "Here's your stuff." The bag landed on Casey's legs on the bed. Casey pulled them in, curling up on his side. The mattress dipped and the hand came back.

  "Don't," Casey warned. "I'll bite it off."

  Roy sounded bemused. "What?"

  Closing his eyes again, Casey sighed. How was he so tired? He'd done nothing but sleep for two days. Something in the air around his face changed and he opened his eyes.

  "Mmph!"

  Roy pulled quickly away. "What?" he demanded. "What? Sorry. I was just-"

  Casey sat up, the blankets falling away. He wiped a hand across his mouth, where Roy's lips had just touched. Roy sat close, staring at him. He looked embarrassed and daring at the same time.

  "What is it?" he asked.

  Casey gave a small shake of his head. "Nothing," he muttered, pushing the blankets away. His balls practically shriveled up inside his body at the cold and he tore through his bag, dressing fast. Roy hung around, dressed nice for once in dark slacks and a white button down shirt. It was only half done up and he'd missed a button anyway, leaving one side hugging at his chest and the other hanging loose.

  Giving the getup a nod, Casey muttered, "You got a date tonight or what?"

  Something about that seemed to strike Roy as amusing. "Close. Got to play nice at the station today."

  A kind of terror shot through Casey, brief but it threw him all the same. He stared into his bag, forgetting what it was he needed. Roy would be gone all day, of course he would. What had Casey thought? That he'd stick around to babysit? He grabbed a pair of socks and sat back on the bed to put them on. "All right." He had his car outside. He guessed he could drive around. Maybe look into that grill Roy had told him about. Where was it, Colma? He could make
it there and back again by the end of the day, easy.

  Roy stood around some more looking uncomfortable. He said, "You can stick around. Go back to sleep when we're gone, eat, watch TV. It's fine by me."

  "Nah, I got stuff to do." He poked around for his sneakers as Roy watched.

  "Oh yeah? What kind of stuff?"

  Casey shrugged. "Just stuff, I don't know."

  "Casey."

  Casey looked at him.

  "Damn it."

  "It's fine."

  "It's not fine. Listen, just stick around. This was your big idea in the first place, wasn't it?" At Casey's sour look he tried a different tack. "Please," he begged. "I'm asking you, here."

  "I don't know, Roy-"

  "We've got to talk." Roy stared at him, intense. His eyes were hard but searching. Casey laughed but it rung hollow, and Roy's frown deepened.

  "We suck at talking," Casey said.

  Roy's mouth twisted up into a little squint.

  "What's there to talk about, anyway, huh? Last night? Come on."

  Roy stared some more, then he just said, "There's coffee," and left.

  Casey made a pit-stop to splash his face and wake up a little, taking longer than needed just because he could. Then Roy hollered his name from down the hall and he went.

  A woman in a dark blue suit was there, hands high on her hips and one foot tapping. She looked pissed, staring at Roy in the kitchen and saying, "No. No. No. I already had a latte and anyway I told you no."

  "Well, sorry, I'm just trying to be hospitable, here. I'm not really-here he is."

  But the woman had already noticed. She was about Casey's height but skinnier, almost gawky. Her black hair hung straight and untouched down past her shoulders.

  "Hi," she said, following him with her eyes. "Casey, right? Detective Gomez. How are you?"

  Casey glanced briefly at Roy, who watched from the kitchen over the rim of his mug. He looked back at Gomez and said, "Great. A little tired, maybe-"

  "Glad to hear it," she said. "Why don't you have a seat?"

  Casey went and did that. It was good to be at rest again. He looked up and caught the detective in the middle of sharing a weird look with Roy, who shrugged. She looked back at him. Casey tried to see the situation from her point of view. A one bedroom apartment, no pillows on the couch, no sign of anyone sleeping out in the main room. Casey suppressed a short sigh but figured fuck it-he was what he was and Roy could field any questions regarding sleeping arrangements in his own home. Casey had enough on his plate to deal with. Two cops messing with his head and now a third? He was losing his damn mind.

  The detective chose to stand. "I guess you know why I'm here, but what the hell. Mr. Brown, I'm very curious to hear about your relationship with Detective Lee Darren."

  "Relationship," Casey echoed. He looked over at the spot Roy had occupied in the kitchen, but the cop was gone. He looked back at the woman. "The relationship is, um. Well, he arrested me."

  "And you filed harassment charged against him. Were those legit?"

  Casey stopped himself from looking again to the kitchen. Roy was banging around in there doing something. Probably faking, the bastard. "Yeah, they were legit," he said, a little more forcefully than he'd intended.

  "All right," Gomez said, raising a placating hand. "Tell me about it."

  Things went on like that for maybe half an hour. The lady finally got to asking him about the drugs. Casey spoke around what had happened between him and Darren at the motel, but he got the feeling she knew he was holding back. Roy decided to show himself right then and hung in the entranceway to the kitchen just watching. Casey described the guy at the men's bar, Darren's friend, and Gomez got a little light in her eye. Casey asked her who he was but she just gave a little shake of her head and asked if he'd recognize the guy in a picture. He said yeah, probably.

  Once she'd finished with him she shared a quiet word with Roy and took off. Roy closed the door after her and stood over the couch staring at him. He was fighting with a necktie and Casey couldn't decide which the weird gleam in his eye was aimed at-him or the tie.

  "You going to be okay here?" Roy asked.

  Casey laughed and rubbed his eyes. "Yeah," he said. "Sure, I'll do my best not to accidentally kill myself."

  Roy looked almost hopeful. "You're really going to stay?"

  "I don't know, Roy." Casey pushed himself up from the couch. He walked in a big half circle around the room and decided to inspect the DVD player. Maybe it was a DVD player. He hit a couple buttons and a tray popped out. Mystery solved. Too bad Roy was still standing behind him.

  "What else would you do? Will you tell me that at least?"

  Casey elected to stand. He didn't like the idea of staying put for long, not by himself. He didn't think Darren had the balls to come at him with Roy around, but alone he always felt that prick at the back of his mind. Like he was being watched, like any second something bad could happen. He didn't know what the fuck to say about it though so he just shrugged and stared at his shoes, and Roy surprised him by coming close.

  "Listen," he said, forgetting the tie. "All this-this crap with Darren. It ends for you tonight. Trust me on that, at least, will you?"

  Casey rubbed his face. Fuck, he was tired.

  "If you want to get him as bad as you say you do-well, okay. I understand that. Believe me, I do." Roy took a deep breath and held it for a second. He went on. "But you've got to be ready, Casey, do you get that?"

  Casey rubbed his eye again and when he looked back up Roy was staring at him all meaningful. Casey knew he was right. "Mixed messages, Parker," he sighed.

  "Huh?"

  "You're the one who kept me up all night."

  Roy gave a small start before adopting a sly look.

  Casey stepped even closer, gave his tie a tug, and pulled it free from the clumsy knot. It had been a while and he was backwards, but it came out well enough. When he was done Roy gave it a pull and tried to see.

  "Thanks," he said, surprised.

  Casey gave his shoulder a little pat, and found he didn't want to take his hand away. It rested on Roy's chest for a second and they just looked at each other. Casey leaned in and up and their mouths came together. It was a good kiss, slow and building. The way Roy's arms came around him, Casey almost felt what he had on the couch the night before. That easy safety. As soon as he thought it, he turned his face and pressed their cheeks together.

  "I'll stick around," he said, quickly.

  Roy's hold on him tightened. "Thank you." Then he pulled away so fast Casey almost fell over. He produced his wallet from somewhere and fished around inside it. "You've probably still got it, but just in case-" He handed over his card. The precinct number was there under the department number, which was under a direct line which was under a scrawl of handwritten digits. Roy tapped it with one finger. "My cell," he provided. "If you need me. Or if Darren calls-"

  "Got it."

  The moment stretched and Roy seemed reluctant to go. "I'll call you here."

  "Fine, yeah." Casey stared at the card in his hand, embarrassed for some reason.

  Roy gave his shoulder an awkward pat and ducked down the hall. He came back with a sports coat half on. "Just take it easy," he said. "You haven't been a hundred percent."

  "All right."

  "I mean I just-I just-" He found the other sleeve and crammed his arm through. "I'll be with you all the way but I just want you to be ready."

  "Okay, Parker, Jesus. I hear you."

  "Okay."

  Roy's cheeks were smooth and oiled, and Casey pressed his face there. He didn't want to move away. Roy kissed him quick and passed a hand through Casey's hair. He wound a short curl around one finger and let go.

  "Okay," he said again. "Okay."

  Casey locked up after him. He stood there a while tasting aftershave and thinking of how Roy had looked the night before blowing him. Eyes closed, hair fucked. Casey put his hands in his own hair and pulled. He really was losing i
t.

  Chapter Ten

  By the time Roy strode into the pen Gomez wasn't at her desk, and their lieutenant's door was tightly shut. It was quiet for once and Darren's desk was, as usual, empty. He wondered where the son of a bitch might be. Roy knew as well as anyone the man was up all hours, and even the worst kind of bastard needed sleep sometimes. Could be he spent his mornings holed up resting. And didn't that sound nice.

  Roy would have liked a little more shuteye himself. The three hours here, two hours there kind of schedule he'd been living lately was starting to catch up with him and, after the night he'd had, there was nothing he would have liked better than to go home and crawl right back to bed.

  He found the coffee riding empty and poured the dregs, putting a fresh pot on to cough and hiss on the burner. Roy ate two donuts while he waited, staring with a restless gaze into the pen. The chair at Darren's desk sat slightly awry, turned toward him, and Roy realized the computer was on. His gaze jerked to the lieutenant's door just as it opened.

  "Parker," Chen bellowed from within, and Roy left the coffee.

  "Morning," he said in what he hoped was a genial manner. He found Darren immediately with his gaze, lurking in the corner. The bastard gave Roy a nod but didn't say anything.

  "Shut the door," Chen said, rounding his desk. "And sit down."

  Roy glanced at the other chair, at Darren, and sat his ass down. He looked expectantly at Chen.

  The lieutenant gave the impression of a once muscled man gone soft. Beefy. His seat squealed when he sat back and the buttons over his white collared shirt strained in their holes. He stabbed a fat finger over a pile of folders on his desk.

  "This is you," he said.

  Roy shifted in his chair. It was very uncomfortable. "Sir?"

  Chen dragged his thumb along the corner near him and the pages fanned together. "Your work in the last month. You've really held your own out there."