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over his dry lower lip, taunting Jarrett to moisten it himself, and the muscles in his throat worked as he swallowed, over
and over again.
"You're gorgeous," Jarrett whispered in his ear. "I wish you could see yourself the way I do."
A shudder rippled through Eli. All of a sudden, he twisted in Jarrett's embrace, breaking the contact he had on Eli's
cock. The denim scraped across the back of Jarrett's hand, but he ignored the discomfort, too consumed by the fresh
heat pouring into him from Eli.
The eyes he lifted to Jarrett were nearly black, the pupils so dilated there was no more iris to be found. His nostrils
flared, and he returned his hand to the back of Jarrett's neck, pulling him down this time so their cheeks skimmed
against each other's.
"I thought you were hot when I was still sixteen and didn't know anybody else who was gay," Eli said. His tongue
flicked out and along the outer curve of Jarrett's ear, fleeting and teasing and all too quickly gone again. "Now I know it
wasn't just me and my crush. You can walk into a room filled with a thousand of the world's sexiest guys, and I
wouldn't be able to see anybody else but you."
Desire like he'd never heard thickened Eli's voice. Jarrett had to tighten his hold just to keep from shredding the clothes
off him then and there, and taking what he wanted. "We need to get out of here," he rasped. "Before I do something
that's going to get us way too much attention."
"Trev has a room--"
"I don't want one of his." It felt vital for their first time--and Jarrett was all too aware that it would be the first of many,
if either one of them had a say in the matter--to be theirs, and theirs alone. He didn't want memories of anybody else Eli
might have been with creeping into what he wanted for them. "Let's get a hotel."
Eli pulled back to search Jarrett's face. "Yager will find us."
"I don't care."
"I do. I haven't cleared my name yet."
"You did nothing wrong."
A shadow passed behind Eli's eyes, and he separated their bodies by another inch. "Yager won't care about that."
He couldn't tell Eli he was wrong. With his partner dead, Yager would be gunning to get to the bottom of everything
even more determinedly than before. If he'd been willing to drag Eli's parents into the mess to locate him--and Jarrett
shivered at the thought of Eli's guilt if Sandora had put a bullet into either one of them--he'd be likely to drag Eli
through the mud.
But now that he'd admitted to this nearly feral attraction between them, he didn't want to just walk away because it
wasn't convenient. His hands slid to a more respectable place on Eli's hips, and he maintained the distance between their
chests. Eli looked disappointed by the new position, but at least he wasn't pulling away completely.
"Where were you planning on us spending the night, then?" Jarrett asked.
Eli shook his head. "I hadn't thought that far ahead."
"Do you have any ideas?"
Eli fell silent for a few minutes, allowing the music to rise and swell around them. The couple who'd been so ardently
following Jarrett's seduction moved away, replaced by another pair of nameless faces. Somewhere in the back of
Jarrett's mind, he wondered if Trevor watched from somewhere on the sidelines, and what he might be thinking if he
was. Eli said they hadn't been serious, yet he'd opened up to Eli without hesitation. Was Eli the one who hadn't wanted
to take it further, or had that been Trevor's choice?
And why the hell couldn't Jarrett let it go?
"I suppose if we got a real dive that takes cash, we'd be safe," Eli finally said. "I just need an Internet connection so I
can keep doing my research."
"What else do you need to look for?"
Eli cocked a brow. "Do you know who Sandora is and what he has to do with anything?"
"But we don't have anything else on him."
"We know he's hooked up with this Fong mess, somehow." The shadows returned to his eyes, this time lingering long
enough for Eli to dart his gaze elsewhere. "And I've got a few theories I'd like to test out."
A cheap hotel was better than nothing, and using cash would give them the anonymity they needed to stay out of
Yager's radar. Discussing the specifics had cooled his ardor enough for him to feel safe peeling away from Eli without
embarrassing himself, and he grabbed Eli's hand and led him toward the employee's entrance.
As soon as they were free of the other dancers, Eli tugged against his grip. "We might as well eat here first. We need to
save what cash we can."
Jarrett wanted to argue he'd feed Eli, not Trevor, but practicality ruled out over pettiness. "Why don't I order us a couple
plates of something and you go pack up your computer?" He grinned, hoping to mitigate some of the tension that had
risen between them. "You can find someplace for us to stay, too, so we're not wandering around bad parts of town in the
middle of night."
When Eli matched his smile, he knew everything was going to be all right. "Get me a cheeseburger. Trev's chef always
orders the best Angus beef in town."
"Sounds good."
He turned away to head to the bar when Eli's hand curled around his elbow. Jarrett glanced back, the query of what Eli
might want poised on his tongue, and met the full force of the young man's body, arms strong as they were thrown
around Jarrett's neck, mouth hungry and questing as it sealed over his own. He opened to the kiss without pause. Just as
ravenous. Just as needy. His tongue twisted around Eli's and sucked him in like a dying man gasping for his last breath.
He'd forgotten about food when Eli pulled away, too focused on how much the bottom of his world had just dropped
out, how Eli's lips glistened when he ran his tongue over them as if chasing Jarrett's taste, how his flesh felt cold without
Eli molded against him. He remained motionless, under the flash of Eli's brilliant smile, in the wake of Eli's jog to the
employee door. The ache in his body had returned with a rigorous vengeance, his practical mind uncoupled from baser
needs that seemed far, far more important.
"He has that effect on people."
Only Trevor's baritone could dampen Jarrett's exhilaration, and he took a deep breath to compose himself before turning
to address Eli's friend. The fact Trevor appeared amused by what he'd apparently witnessed didn't do much to endear
him.
"We won't be in your hair all night." Jarrett deliberately ignored referencing the other man's observation. "Eli's almost
got what he wanted."
A dimple danced in Trevor's cheek. "Yes, I suppose he does."
Jarrett gritted his teeth and mentally put the man in the "hostile reporter" column. He hated this type. They danced back
and forth, usually making snide comments before feinting in another direction, then went in for the kill with a question
that came out of the blue. The trick was to never let them see they'd gotten to you. The moment they detected that
weakness, the game was over.
"He was hungry, though. Does that offer of food still stand?"
"Of course. I'll put an order for a cheeseburger in. Those are his favorite. Would you like one, too?"
"That would be great, thanks." Said through a forced smile that Eli's ex knew what his favorite was and Jarrett hadn't a
clue.
"Where are you two sleeping tonight?"
Together almost came out. Even as he pulled the single word back, Jarrett wished he could afford to rock the boat, just
this once. "A hotel."
Trevor frowned. "What about this danger Eli's in? You really think a hotel's a good idea?"
"I think it's our only option if we want to keep the people we care about safe." Eli hadn't told the specifics about what
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