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“Hey!” Nox’s eyes snapped open as an arm lashed tight around Nelson’s middle. “It’s okay!” He pressed his forehead against Nelson’s shushing and chanting his name soothingly.
“I know,” Nelson laughed. His hand spread across Nox’s back and pressed tentatively, drawing him closer. He brushed his lips against Nox’s and sank into the warmth of their embrace. They were both hard, their erections mashed together with Nelson’s boxers stretched and straining between them. He yearned for Nox to take control and command him. And Nelson’s need to satisfy Nox eclipsed any hunger he had ever known.
“So…” Nox’s voice was ragged and cracked. He swallowed loudly and licked his lips, mouthing a silent prayer. “Breakfast?” He croaked.
The powerful urge to taste Nox…down there swelled within Nelson, but he banked it and nodded. “If that’s what you wish.”
“No!” Nox’s head shook wildly. “It’s not!” He pouted loudly as he stroked Nelson’s jaw and chin, making his body ache. Nox whimpered sympathetically. “I am so ready, but you’ve been through a lot and I’m still earning your trust.”
“I’m feeling very well-rested,” Nelson informed him. He would probably go up in flames if he tried to tell Nox, but Nelson was ready as well and open to whatever “unspeakable and unholy” involved now.
“Great!” Nox gave Nelson’s back a stiff pat before unhooking his leg and easing out of his arms. “But you won’t feel rested for long if we don’t get out of this bed. And you’re going to need your strength, we’re going to New Castle later,” he said, snapping Nelson back to reality.
“Let’s go.”
They dressed quickly and Nelson felt determined and ready for battle as he got behind the wheel of the Continental with a belly full of blueberry oatmeal and Nox at his side. He stood guard outside of Nox’s classroom throughout the morning, making calls and downloading reports and articles while he waited.
“Bixby only got about half of the shoes we requested. The MacCrorys’ and a handful of deputies’ boots have yet to be sent over for processing,” Nelson informed Nox as they headed south on Highway 81. “Boyle hasn’t returned any of my calls.”
“That’s curious!” Nox gave Nelson a loaded look that matched his skepticism. “I thought Boyle wanted our help.”
Nelson chuckled wryly, disgusted at the bumbling coverup he sensed happening behind the scenes. “He did until he realized this was his mess and that something evil had been rotting right under his nose.”
“You really think he didn’t know?” Nox asked incredulously.
“He’s a good actor if he did. Boyle and his nephew, Duncan.”
Nox smothered a snorting giggle. “Chip Duncan. Poor kid.” He made a thoughtful sound, then shook his head. “No. I don’t think he was acting. Or his uncle. I think you’re right: Boyle probably realized he didn’t know his neighbors or what was going on in his backyard as well as he thought he did.”
“That’s a hell of a thing to learn about your neighbors, though,” Nelson observed. “Boyle’s probably scared out of his mind and praying this blows over and never happens again.”
“Boyle and New Castle are in for a terrible surprise, then, if we can’t find those girls in the next two days. They’ll leave six young women raped, murdered, and displayed somewhere in those woods and Boyle won’t be able to keep it quiet.”
Acid burned the back of Nelson’s throat as he pictured it and a roar of frustrated rage built in his chest. “No.” He shook his head, saving his anger for Boyle and harnessing his fury into action. “I’ll burn New Castle to the ground and hold Boyle’s feet to the flames before I let that happen.”
“We’re on the same page as usual,” Nox noted with a pleased humph, turning his attention back to the folder on his lap, flipping through Adam Tipton’s criminal record. Tipton had yet to turn up and his phone appeared to be off. “About this morning…” He wrinkled his nose but didn’t lift his eyes from the report. “I hope you know that it wasn’t easy, but I meant what I said. I can be…intimate with you like that for the sake of spiritual work without violating your trust and turning it into something sexual.”
“I know,” Nelson replied and cast Nox a glance, mortified as the car grew hotter and his suit became heavier. He hunkered over the wheel, doing his best to hide his face without taking his eyes off the road. “You could have, though. That would have been…”
“Please don’t say fine,” Nox whispered, biting a knuckle as he looked out the passenger window.
“Okay,” he answered obediently.
“That’s it, though!” Nox said as he turned in his seat, facing Nelson. “You’re not going to understand this, but I’m a soft Dom, and I get off on alpha-presenting men who turn into subs in the bedroom. In a big way.”
“Okay…” Of all the times to be without his notepad. Nelson wished Nox would hold on until he could pull over and write it all down. This seemed like vital information.
“But I wasn’t kidding about the harp thing. Where’s your free will and what’s it screaming for right now?”
You.
Nelson tried to remember what it was like to have free will. It began to seep from his spine sometime during his adolescence when he started cramming himself into his father’s mold. What was left of his will had been completely sapped by Felton and the bureau by the time Nelson stepped into Nox’s classroom. Nelson thought he was being shaped into the perfect agent, but he was an empty, pitiless husk.
“Maybe it’s supposed to be like this,” Nelson said, scrambling to make sense of it himself and thinking out loud. “I think that’s what the dreams are telling me. I’m not supposed to have all this…will, or whatever you want to call it, and you’re supposed to command me.”
“To do what?” Nox laughed, but it was a shocked burst as he leaned away from Nelson.
“I…don’t know.” Nelson regretted trying to explain something he felt in a dream. He didn’t have much experience with feelings or understand them when he was awake. “I want the same things I did before, but I want them for you. Does that make sense?” He asked and Nox shook his head. Nelson sighed at the futility but continued his ramble. “I want to find the things you need to bring these young women home and catch whoever’s responsible. I want that for my own peace of mind and for them—obviously—but I want it for you, more. I crave your satisfaction and happiness and your safety and comfort matter more than my own.”
