Everything in Brian froze when he heard the sound of the front door opening and then closing again. He couldn’t move a muscle as footsteps sounded, coming closer and closer to the dining room. Even when Rex stood and disappeared out the back door, whispering “I’ll go make a supply run, give you guys some privacy.” Brian still didn’t move. He could only stare as the door to the dining room opened and AJ came walking in.
For a moment the two stood there and stared. Brian’s eyes drank in the sight of AJ before him, alive and well. He couldn’t stop himself from looking his lover over from head to toe and making sure that all of him was still there. He was alive. Thank God above, AJ was alive.
Followed quickly on the relief was a sense of immense rage. Who the hell did he think he was, sneaking out of bed when everyone was asleep and going off on his own? Brian felt his whole body go from relaxed to tense in the snap of a finger. “Where the hell have you been?” Brian demanded in a voice almost as raspy as AJ’s.
A slight grimace flashed over AJ’s face. “I imagine you know the answer to that question.” AJ said slowly.
“Rex said you probably went out to gather info and such.” Brian stared at AJ as he spoke, unable to move toward him for fear he’d hit him. “Getting the lay of the land, he said. Talking to people, asking questions.”
Though it wasn’t phrased as a question, AJ answered it anyways. “Pretty much.”
For one charged second Brian stayed silent. Then he actually felt the last strings holding his temper down break away. “What were you thinking, AJ?” He snapped at him. Fury born from fear vibrated through him. “What if something had happened to you out there? Neither of us would have known! We’d have been stuck here waiting, wondering where you were or what was happening. That’s what we did half the night anyways!”
“Look, Bri, nothing serious happened, ok? I got some information, confirmed a few things we were thinking and proved a few that weren’t true. All in all it was a worthwhile mission. We needed to know these things.”
AJ’s reasonable, only slightly annoyed, tone put Brian’s back up even more. “I don’t give a damn about the information you gathered right this instant, AJ. Even someone as stupid as me can see the logic in finding out anything you did. What I’m pissed about is you sneaking out of the house like a kid and not telling me you were going. Just climbing out of bed while I’m sleeping and sneaking out!”
Temper snapped hard and bright over AJ’s face. “I never said you were stupid.” He snapped out. The rest of the comment didn’t irritate AJ nearly as much as Brian assuming that he thought he was stupid.
“You must think I am if you can’t even sit and tell me what you’re going to do.”
“Dammit, Brian, don’t make this into more than it is. I didn’t sneak out because I thought you were too stupid to understand. I snuck out because I knew you’d understand the risks and you wouldn’t want me to go!” AJ shouted at him.
Everything inside of Brian seemed to quiver with how hard he was trying to control his temper. God, as much as he loved this man he felt like he could strangle him! “So I’m not allowed to worry about you now?” He demanded furiously. Unable to help himself, he took a few steps toward AJ. “You going to tuck me home like the ‘little woman’ and just pat me on the head and go off and make all the decisions yourself? Is that what you think, AJ?”
“Trust me.” AJ growled. “I’m not thinking of you like a little woman right now.”
“Good, because I’m not!” They finally stood toe to toe, their furious faces only inches apart from one another. “I’m your partner in this, Alexander James Mclean, and you damn well better start remembering that! I may not like what you’re doing, but at least show me the respect of talking to me. That way I might actually believe you value my opinion.”
“I value your fucking opinion, but you don’t know this lifestyle. I do! So when it comes to this shit I’m going to make my own damn decisions because I know what the hell I’m talking about!” AJ, as usual, jabbed his finger against Brian’s chest as he made his point. It made Brian grit his teeth. He hated when AJ did that and AJ knew it. Most likely that was why he did it. Still, he couldn’t stop from responding to it. “Quit poking me, dammit. Can’t we go one argument without you poking me?” Brian swore, slapping AJ’s hand away.
AJ pushed himself closer. “I will do whatever I need to so that you understand that I mean what I say, Littrell. I’m not treating you like a baby or like a little woman. I am treating you like my fucking partner.”
“How?” Brian seethed. His hands clenched into fists on either side. “By pushing me aside and making me feel like what I say doesn’t matter?”
“By keeping you safe!” AJ roared. He shoved Brian back, stalking after him. “You just don’t get it! You would have told me no if I would’ve brought it up and we would have fought then and you guys would have tried to restrain me in here if you felt strongly enough. So I kept it to myself and took a calculated risk. I considered it worth any fucking cost to keep your Goddamn ass safe.” He jabbed his finger against Brian again. “You wanted me to bring Xander back. You wanted me to be whole again. Well you don’t get to fucking quibble now that I have just because you don’t like parts of what you get! It’s a whole fucking package.”
This time it was Brian’s turn to put his hands on AJ and shove. He felt the harness and the weapons underneath his hands and cursed. “You are so damn lucky you have that shit on.” Brian swore in a low voice. “Or I might be tempted to take you down for being so damn stubborn!”
“You think you could actually take me?” AJ said incredulously.
“You know I can.”
A sneer curled AJ’s lip. He didn’t say a word, just suddenly pulled his jacket off and tossed it to the floor, followed quickly by his shirt. The chest harness came next, followed by the ones on his forearms. Boots were next.
As bad as it was, Brian found that he lost a slight edge to his temper just by watching AJ strip. It almost made his mouth water. “What are you doing?” He managed to croak out. God, he wanted to grab hold of AJ and just start biting…
Dressed down only to his boxers and skin, AJ was both furious and extremely attractive. Then he shot forward and knocked Brian back into the wall. “You think you can take me?” He sneered. “Then do it already.”
The force of his head slamming into the wall had Brian seeing stars for a moment. When his vision cleared again, he swore it hazed over red. He wasted no time in darting forward to shove AJ back. The next thing he knew they were wrapped around one another, trying to wrestle the other to the ground. Instead of burning off his temper, though, Brian felt the start of that familiar sensation deep down in his stomach. The anger was mixing with lust to create that dark passion inside of them.
The decision of what to do about it was taken from him when AJ lifted him up and threw him bodily onto the kitchen table. Brian caught a glimpse of AJ’s eyes and saw that he was feeling the same things inside of him. Didn’t mean that Brian had to make it easy for him, though. He smirked on the inside when AJ reached to tug at the pajama bottoms that Brian wore. Instead of letting him take them off, Brian bucked and fought.
His knee caught AJ in the face, making AJ swear loudly. Brian took advantage of the moment to try to roll sideways off the table. But AJ was fast. He launched up on top him and the table, catching him just before he would have made it. Brian found his arms pinned above his head and AJ’s body pressed full length over his. There was blood on the corner of AJ’s mouth. “You little fucking shit.” AJ swore only seconds before he pressed a crushing kiss to Brian’s lips.
It was almost embarrassing, how easily AJ held him. With one hand AJ kept his wrists pinned while he moved off the table. Whatever he did was out of the line of Brian’s sight, but suddenly there was something else around his wrists and Brian knew what he’d done. AJ used his bandana to tie Brian’s left hand to one table leg, and then used his tank top to tie Brian’s right hand to the other table leg.
Brian yanked, but he couldn’t pull them free. The position thrilled him, as did the game they were playing. He stayed in role when AJ reached for his pants again, kicking out at him to try and stop him. AJ let out a furious growl and reached down to the ground again. When he straightened back up, Brian had to shiver. AJ held one of his knives in his hand.
Without a quiver or a qualm, AJ stuck it in one leg of Brian’s pants and sliced straight up the side in one easy move. Then he did the same to the other side. Brian felt his blood heat and could have sworn that his brain cells just died. But then AJ was up on the table, straddling his hips, and that knife point was against Brian’s throat, just barely touching the skin. “You thought you could take me, did you?” AJ growled at him. That knife point traveled lazily down over his chest, just a hint of it felt against Brian’s skin. “Well, Littrell, I’ll show you who’s taking who here.”
The knife came back up, going sideways across his throat so that even as he swallowed, Brian could feel the sharp edge of it. He had never known how thrilling that sensation could be. His skin felt electric.
“Now, move your legs.”
The only thing Brian could do was obey him. He spread his legs, letting AJ drop down between them. Neither of them was in the mood for patience, thank God. One hand still holding the knife to Brian’s throat, AJ used his other to reach between them and position himself. Then he was pushing in, hard and fast, and Brian couldn’t stop himself from throwing his head back on a guttural cry.
The knife at his throat moved, only to slam down into the table between his arm and his ear, startling him, making him jump. But now that he had his hands free, AJ was moving, bracing Brian’s legs with his hands to angle deeper, thrusting harder and faster. The table was shaking underneath them with the force of their lovemaking.
Brian pushed down with his hips, trying to get more. Always more. His body was slick with sweat and vibrating with need. “AJ, God…I…” Words failed him.
The angle changed and Brian gave a small scream as his body jerked tight at the pleasure. AJ growled above him but Brian was almost blind to it. He couldn’t see, could barely hear; only feel. Feel as the pleasure grew and grew, taking him higher. As that familiar glow started deep down in his toes and built its way up. Then feel as everything in him snapped taunt for a single instant before exploding. Then he was deaf and blind, unable to see his lover above him or hear the scream that fell from his own lips, echoing around the room. He didn’t even see as AJ jerked with the force of his own orgasm.
But he was yanked from that post orgasmic bliss as the table finally gave way under the momentum of their lovemaking. The legs up by Brian’s head snapped off; thankfully the ties that held Brian’s hands slid off the legs instead of them pulling him down with it. The table started to drop and Brian and AJ clung to one another to keep from sliding, but then the other legs gave way as well and they slammed to the ground, still on the top of the table, clinging tightly to one another with wide eyes.
After a single moment of silence the two men started to laugh. Brian shoved AJ off him so he could sit up and look around. “Oh my God, we broke your kitchen table.” He said in amazement as he looked down at what had once been AJ’s table.
“Hell, worth every second.” AJ said smugly. He climbed to his feet, gloriously naked, and stretched. “But I think I need a damn shower now. Between the night and now this sweaty stuff, I feel like I need to scrape a few layers off.”
“Well, toss some pants down to me before you go.” As he said that, Brian picked up his cut off pants and held them out on his finger. “Something seems to have happened to mine.”
Smirking, AJ gathered up all of his things, including the knife that had been stuck in the table, and headed toward the stairs. “You liked it!” he called over his shoulder.
Since he couldn’t deny it, Brian only chuckled while he stood up. A moment later AJ called to him from the stairs. Without a worry for his state of undress, Brian walked on over. A pair of jeans came flying down and caught him in the face, followed quickly by a shirt. He pulled them off and glared at his lover. “Thanks, Age.”
“No prob!” AJ called cheerfully.
Brian turned to head to the downstairs bathroom, needing to at least clean himself up a little before dressing. AJ’s voice drew him back. “Bri?”
“Yeah, baby?”
Everything on AJ’s face softened as he looked down the stairs at Brian. It was one of those looks that Brian loved. It made him feel cherished and special. “You were right, I should have told you. I’m sorry.”
The little weight that had been left in Brian’s heart now lifted away. “I love you, Alex.”
“Love you too, Brian.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The shower had done wonders for waking AJ back up. He felt not just clean, but a little revitalized. Being with Brian had been a good start on that. The shower had just finished it off. He stood in the bathroom and dried himself off, humming a little under his breath. So, yeah, it had been stupid to go out and scout around without telling Brian. But, he wasn’t used to working with a partner, really. Sure, in a gang you were a group, but you were given assignments basically and told what to do.
AJ tossed the towel in the hamper as he moved into the bedroom. Without even thinking about it he started to strap on all his harnesses first. Today they would call and get ahold of Jeff, who he now knew was already in LA. For a meeting like that, he wanted to be armed.
After he finished the last strap a funny sound came to his ears. What was that? Absently he checked all the blades to make sure they were secure, as well as the gun at his ankle, while he tried to listen. The next sound he heard was loud and clear and one he knew instantly. Without even thinking about it he had his gun in his hand, the safety off, and was flying out of the bedroom and down the stairs. That had been the sound of Brian screaming.
AJ didn’t pay any attention to the fact that he was without clothes. He saw the open front door and raced out of it and into his brightly lit front yard in just enough time to see a car flying out his front gate. Even as he tried to race off after them, they turned the corner and faded in to traffic. Numb, AJ stared after them. His heart demanded he run faster than he had ever run and try to catch that car. The car that held the person who was the most important to him in the world. But his brain knew better. One, he couldn’t run after him naked. Cops would stop him in an instant, looking the way he did. Not just the nakedness, but the weapons.
Two, he needed to plan. He had to go in carefully and safely or he could get Brian killed.
Rex’s car came roaring into the drive, speeding toward AJ. He paid no attention to it. On steady legs he rose to head back to the house. These fools had done the stupidest thing in the entire world. They had taken Brian from him.
They were going to find out what he would do to get him back, and they would regret their actions for a long time. He would see to it.