Kreed turned, watching him walk away until he disappeared inside the study. His grin spread and he looked down at his crossed arms. The kid messed with him. Not five minutes ago he was strumming with pent up energy, now he was smiling. Aaron was giving him mixed signals. One minute he was looking at him like he wanted to eat him, then in less than a second flat, he was back to brooding, keeping him at arm’s length. Kreed rolled his eyes at his thoughts and pushed off the wall. He was almost willing to admit he had a crush on Aaron Stuart, and for some reason, that managed to make everything a little bit better. Or did it?
He was a thirty-eight-year-old man crushing on a kid. He regularly ignored the needling fact that Aaron wasn’t a child any more than Kreed was an old man. Aaron was twenty-nine, almost thirty.
Kreed thought about last night. God, he only wished he could be certain of what he’d heard coming from the master bedroom. With as fucked up as he’d been over the kid, trying to read all those mixed signals, he could have used the confirmation. But in the end, he hadn’t asked. That would have been a dick move at this point in the game, because if, for some wild reason, Aaron was experiencing all this overwhelming attraction, too, then Kreed would be obligated to pull himself from this case. Even now he saw how erratic his thought processes were over the kid—imagine if he knew for sure that Aaron shared the same feelings.
So, that little possible jack-off session that may or may not have ended with his name being said would have to be tucked away for later.
“Sinacola, they need you,” Aaron called out. He didn’t say anything, just went toward the room, wiping the smile from his face before he entered. He’d keep that revelation to himself. He didn’t need to consider that or the absurdity of this situation. He’d give them tonight, let Aaron have his job-well-done moment before Kreed explored what truly happened when he’d laid eyes on that pastor today.
Chapter 16
“We can only go over there for a few hours,” Kreed called from the bathroom in the hall. “We need to head back here early.”
“Is that because you’re getting old, Sinacola, and need to go to bed early?” Aaron asked, coming to stand in the open doorway while Kreed finished shaving in front of the mirror. By now, Aaron should have been prepared for the no-shirt policy. Though that always seemed to be the first thing to go where Kreed was concerned, it still threw him off balance when he walked in to see Kreed’s bare chest. He didn’t know if it was the broad shoulders, the beautiful ink, or that tight six-pack that robbed him of his thoughts each and every time he came across the unexpected treat, but whatever the case, he was left momentarily speechless.
“It’s because you’re the church kid. If anyone’s watching, they need to see you comin’ in early,” Kreed said, turning on the warm water. He let it run for several seconds while he grabbed a towel off the counter. The deputy marshal was too tempting to watch, so Aaron tried to avert his eyes, but the tightening in his jeans made him aware it was already too late. Kreed was tough to be around dressed from head to toe, but standing there without his shirt and those well-worn jeans riding way down low on his hips… Damn. Yeah, he was too fucking much.
Aaron shoved away from the door, leaving Kreed there to finish up, and went back to his room. For the first time in more years than he could count, he didn’t want to sit down at that computer. Actually, he’d barely accomplished more than unboxing his CPU and one monitor. He’d checked in with his team then turned the thing off. He never did things like that.
Not only that but he had been eager to go to Colt and Jace’s tonight. Even though they were twenty-four hours out from his first FBI sanctioned undercover adventure, he’d still been riding the high from yesterday, and Kreed had graciously let him. The guy stayed close by and attentive, listening to him turn into Connors as he analyzed everything that had gone down over and over again. Technically, that had been a turn-on too. When did anyone on the planet really give a shit about what he had to say?
Then this morning, it had all started again when he woke to find the bureau’s latest remarkable accomplishment. They’d gained access to Helps’s private email and were in the process of dissecting mounds of information.
More so, he wasn’t worried about or tired of his roommate. Funny, he’d spent all evening then all day with Kreed. They’d talked endlessly. Well, he’d talked as he watched Kreed absently flip a knife in his hand for hours at a time. Kreed’s tricks with that blade impressed the hell out of Aaron. The man didn’t even flinch when he misjudged a move and nicked himself.
The whole scene was hot as hell. The ease with which he took the pain when he missed on a flip mirrored the strength and determination in everything the man did. When he allowed Aaron to fuss over and take care of the wound when Kreed wouldn’t… Well, for the first time since they’d met in person, Aaron felt weirdly satisfied, as though their time together transcended everything.
“I thought you were ready?” Kreed asked from his doorway, tugging a long-sleeve knit shirt over his head. Like most things Kreed wore, it fit like a glove, which was another obstacle for his dick to overcome.
“I am.”
“So am I.”
“You riding in the back?” Aaron kept his eyes averted. He found that to be one of the only effective ways he could find to deal with the constant threat of an impending hard-on, and honestly, that didn’t seem to be helping that much anymore. Aaron grabbed his wallet, tucking it in the back pocket of his jeans before adding his phone to the other side. Kreed disappeared from the doorway, and Aaron followed, turning off the light as he went. Kreed met him in the hallway.