The Magic in Your Touch Ch. 13

Nate nodded in misery. Brandon wanted to take him into his arms, but he didn’t. Nate was grieving, and Brandon was going to have to be careful not to do or say anything to make it worse. He resumed shaving him without saying a word. Finally Nate said, “Aren’t you going to tell me how stupid that is?”

Brandon rinsed the razor and started on another strip of hair. “Nope. Amy was your friend. You have the right to mourn her however you see fit.”

“Don’t you think it’s wrong to be thinking about sex when her body is barely even cold?”

“No, I don’t. I think sex is an expression of life, a way to show how glad you are to be alive. Every time you and I make love, it’s sacred. Nothing can make that wrong or dirty.” He started on the other side of Nate’s face. “But it isn’t what I think that matters. You’re the only one who can say what’s right for you. I’m willing to wait as long as it takes.”

Nate kept his eyes on the floor. “Physically, I’m ready, as I guess you could tell. My body is raring to go. It’s my mind that’s holding me back. Grandma Taylor helped me a lot, but I guess there are still some things I have to work through.”

Brandon shaved the last strip of hair and then grabbed the washcloth from the counter and scrubbed away the remnants of the shaving cream. “You don’t have to explain it to me, Nate. You’ve had a shock and you need time to adjust.” He threw the cloth into the hamper beside the sink. “I’m not in this for the sex, although, I gotta tell you, baby, the sex is great.” He took Nate’s hand. “I’m in this for life, Nate. We’ll take care of what you need right now, and let the rest take care of itself.” He turned Nate around so that they were both looking in the mirror. “Well, what do you think?”

Nate ran his hand over the smooth surface of his face. “I was starting to forget what I looked like without all that hair.” Brown eyes met blue in the mirror. “Thanks, Bran.”

Brandon kissed his hairless cheek. “Anytime, sweetheart. Anytime.”

* * *

A week passed before Nate returned to some semblance of normalcy. Though he was still skittish about sex, he seemed to be healing, albeit slowly, both physically and mentally. The cuts on his chest had been minor, requiring bandages but no stitches. His arm was almost as good as new, with only the occasional twinge. His heart was healing, too. He’d started sleeping with Brandon again, even though all they did was sleep. Yesterday, he’d called his mother and Seth, and was relieved that they seemed to be taking Calder’s arrest in stride. And he’d actually smiled this morning. That smile had been on Brandon’s mind all day.

He was sitting in his office on Friday afternoon, going over the case against Calder, when the intercom went off. He pressed the button and said, “What is it, Lorna?”

“Agent Howard is here to see you, Sheriff.”

“Send him on back.”

A few minutes later Rex Howard stuck his head in the door. “Hey, Nash, how’s it going?”

“Come on in and have a seat. Haven’t seen you since the funeral.”

Howard sat down and pulled some papers from the inside pocket of his overcoat. “I’ve been a busy boy since the explosion. It took some doing, but we’ve finally pieced together what happened. We also have enough evidence to tie Wilson to the bombing, and we think we may have found a connection between Calder and Wilson.”

Brandon leaned back in his chair. “You know how Wilson managed to disable the alarm, sneak past both of our men, and plant that bomb?”

Howard shook his head. “That part I’m unsure of, but we do know that the blast originated upstairs, and that Wilson used plastic-probably C4—with a remote detonator.”

“Damn. So he could have planted that bomb at any time.”

“Yep. He must have been watching the office. When he saw the red Saturn leaving, he assumed it was Dr. Vaughn and detonated the bomb, thinking Dr. Morris was still inside.”

Brandon shuddered “He very well could have been.” He forced his mind away from what could have happened and said, “Tell me about this other evidence.”

“Apparently Wilson used to live in Atlanta. One of his brothers works for Mor-co at the home office in Georgia. Naturally, he denies introducing Calder to Wilson, but I doubt a jury will buy it.”

“They might. As evidence goes, it’s pretty thin. Half of Atlanta has worked for Mor-co at one time or another. It’s one of the largest employers in the city. Nate and Amy both worked part time for Mor-co while they were still in high-school. And Seth worked there up until about a week ago. I think Mike even worked there while he was in college. A good defense attorney will say that anyone could have met Wilson through his brother. Besides, Calder isn’t exactly known for fraternizing with the hired help. His lawyer will be able to shoot that connection right out of the water.”

Howard flipped through the sheaf of papers he held and handed one to Brandon. “Maybe so, but this won’t be quite so easy to cast doubt upon.”

Brandon looked down at the paper in his hand. It was a purchase order from Radio Shack for a mass of different electrical components. Brandon was no techno-junkie, but he recognized what he was seeing.

“These are the parts used to make the detonator?”

“Yep. And I have another receipt for the parts used to make the bugs we found in your house.”

Brandon kept staring at the paper, but he couldn’t see the relevance. “I don’t get it.”

“We have surveillance footage of Wilson buying all that stuff at a store in Chicago. He went to the same place both times. The tie in to Calder comes from Wilson’s method of payment.”

Brandon caught on. “Don’t tell me the son-of-a-bitch was that stupid?”

Howard grinned. “You got it, my friend. The crazy bastard paid for all of it with a Mor-co company credit card. I have the statements from the credit card company to prove it.”

“Well I’ll be damned. Patterson said that Calder insisted he use the card while he was gas-lighting Seth because he wanted a record of all his expenses. I just never thought he would be dumb enough to give the card to his hit-man.”

“It gets better. We found receipts for a hotel in Naperville, about a two-and-a-half hour drive from here. Wilson signed in under his own name. Needless to say, he’d already checked out by the time we got there. My guess is, he stayed there while he was making his little toys, but moved somewhere closer to Reed when the time came to do the wet work. My men are looking for him now, but we’ll keep up the surveillance on Doc until he’s found.”

“I’m glad to hear it. I’m doing the same thing with my own men.” He glanced down at his watch. “Not to cut this short, Howard, but I’ve got to get home. Tonight is the homecoming game at Plunkett High, and my baby sister is up for Homecoming Queen. I told her she could drive my car.”

Brandon saw Howard cringe. “Good luck. No way would I let one of my kids drive a classic like that.”

“Megan’s a good driver. And I’ve got one of my deputies following her just in case. That way, if Wilson sees the car and thinks it’s me or Nate, Megan will have protection.”

“Uh huh. And if her date tries to take her parking, the deputy will put a stop to it.”

Brandon grinned. “That, too.”

* * *

In high school, Brandon’s game of choice had been baseball, but he still enjoyed a good football game. The fact that the Plunkett Panthers were winning and Megan had just been crowned Homecoming Queen made the game that much more exciting. Having Nate by his side didn’t hurt.

They were sitting on the top bleacher with the rest of the Nash family. It was cold, about forty degrees, and Nate’s cheeks were rosy from the icy wind. Brandon thought he’d never looked sexier. He wished his body would stop reminding him that he hadn’t made love to Nate in over a month.

After the game, Brandon and Nate both kissed and congratulated Megan and headed for the parking lot. Brandon waited until Nate was buckled in and then started the engine. As they drove away from the stadium, Brandon said, “Are you hungry? I could stop somewhere and grab us something.”

Nate shook his head. “That’s okay. I think I’d like to head home, if that’s alright with you.”

Brandon said, “Home it is.” He thought he saw Nate smile when he said it, but he wasn’t sure.

Sasha was waiting at the door when they pulled up. She had her bowl in her mouth. Brandon started to take it, but Nate shook his head. “Why don’t you go on up and take a bath? You didn’t have a chance to take one before the game.” Nate pushed him towards the stairs. “Go on. I’ll feed Sasha.”

Brandon agreed, wishing like hell he had the balls to ask Nate to join him. He was so damned scared of doing something that might push him away. Every night for the past week he’d lain in bed beside Nate wanting him like crazy and unable to do anything about it. Facing another lonely night was something he was just going to have to live with. He’d promised Nate time, and time was what he was going to give him.

Brandon turned on the taps and stripped while the tub was filling. He didn’t bother to check the bottom of the tub before he got in. The minute he stepped into the water, he noticed it felt different, kind of oily. He also noticed the smell. Cinnamon. He started to let the water out and run a fresh tub, but he was afraid he wouldn’t have enough hot water left to fill it back up. Besides, nobody ever died from cinnamon poisoning. Not that he knew of, anyway. With a shrug, he sank down into the hot water and allowed some of his tension to ebb away. He leaned back and closed his eyes. That’s when he heard the music.

One thing Brandon liked about Nate was his taste in music. Nate wasn’t prejudiced. He liked all kinds of music, and had an impressive collection of CDs to show for it. At the moment he was playing a mix he’d downloaded from the internet. Brandon remembered teasing him about the unholy combination of artists on that particular CD, everything from Pearl Jam to Johnny Cash. At the moment,Closer by Nine Inch Nails was playing. When the line, “I want to fuck you like an animal” came up, Brandon started to get suspicious. That’s when the lights went out.

Well, not all the lights, precisely. The overhead light went off just as the sconces above the sink, which were on a different switch, came on. The sconces bathed the tub in soft light, almost like candles. A few minutes later, the room was flooded with the smell of cedar, which mixed with the cinnamon. Brandon got a good whiff of both and started coughing his head off.

Nate was in there in a second. He was also stark naked. “Bran, are you all right. I heard you coughing.”

Brandon was having trouble catching his breath. Nate opened the door wide to let some of the smell escape and then ran some fresh water in a paper cup and handed it to Brandon. When he was able to speak, Bran said, “Would you mind explaining to me why it smells like Christmas in here?”

Nate looked concerned. “You don’t like cedar and cinnamon? I thought everybody did.”

“I didn’t say I didn’t like it. I’m just not used to taking a bath at Santa’s Cottage, that’s all.”

“Sorry. I guess I used too much.”

Brandon’s eyes were so watery, he had trouble looking Nate in the face. “Used too much what? And why is the bathtub so damn slippery? I’ll be lucky to get out without cracking my head open.”

“I’m sorry, Brandon. Let me just put my clothes back on and cut the music off. Then I’ll help you out of the tub and clean up this mess.” He turned to leave, but Brandon stopped him.

“Nate?”

“Yeah?”

“Come here.”

Nate walked over to the edge of the tub. He looked so cute with his lip poked out that Brandon almost started laughing. He opened his arms and said, “Get in with me?”

Nate didn’t have to be asked twice. He climbed into the tub, forgetting about the oil. He slipped and would have hit his head against the side if Brandon hadn’t caught him. Brandon settled him in front of him and looked at him with newly cleared eyes.

Nate’s face was burning with embarrassment. “I guess this wasn’t one of my better ideas, huh?”

Brandon was doing his best not to laugh. Whatever this was meant something to Nate, and Bran wasn’t about to ruin it for him. Instead, he said, “Not that I’m complaining, but would you mind telling me what this is all about?”

“I put cinnamon essential oil in the tub so you would smell it when the tub filled up. Oh, and I got some of those things that fit over light bulbs. These are cedar scented, but I guess you already knew that. You know, those ring things? Anyway, when the light bulbs heat up, the fragrance is released. I wanted the smell to be really strong, so I put three against each bulb, one on top and one on each side. I probably went overboard, huh?”

Brandon said, “Maybe just a little bit. May I ask why you chose cedar and cinnamon?”

Nate’s entire body went red. “There, uh, supposed to be aphrodisiacs.”

Brandon wasn’t sure he was hearing right. “You turned our bathtub into an oil slick because you were trying to sex me up? Why the hell didn’t you just ask me?”

Nate spoke so softly, Brandon could barely hear him. He finally had to ask him to repeat himself. Without looking at him, Nate said, “I’ve made you do without for over a month. I was afraid you might. . .”

Brandon said, “You thought I might be out for a little revenge. Thought I might make you wait just to see you suffer a little bit.”

Nate whispered, “Yeah. I wouldn’t blame you if you did. I deserve it.”

Brandon tilted Nate’s chin until he was looking up at him. “No, you don’t. You’ve been hurting, Nate. I would never hold that against you. Never.”

Nate nodded. “Rationally, I know that, but I’ve been so mixed up, Bran. I’ve wanted you, and then felt guilty about it. Today I realized the only way I was ever going to feel normal again was just to go on with my life the best way that I can. I need you, Bran. Really need you. I want you to be a part of me again. Please.”

The CD changed fromCloser toColorblind by the Counting Crows. Brandon pulled Nate up and onto his lap. “You don’t ever have to say please to me, Nate. You don’t have to ask for what’s already yours.” Then he pulled him closer and kissed him.

Brandon noticed two things. He could feel his dick getting hard against Nate’s leg, and Nate’s mouth tasted funny. It didn’t taste bad. In fact, it tasted good, all sweet and spicy. Brandon pulled back and raised a brow.

Nate grinned. “Clove flavored toothpaste.”

“Another aphrodisiac?”

“Yep. Did it work?”

Brandon pulled him in again. “Come here and let me show you.”

Brandon kissed him with all the pent up hunger of the past thirty days. Every minute he’d spent missing Nate, longing for him, went into that kiss. When he finally had to go up for air, they were both gasping for breath and sporting first class erections.

Nate said, “Make love to me, Brandon. I’m ready.”

“We need to get out of this tub. The lube—”

“Already taken care of.” He grinned as Brandon slipped one finger easily inside him. “What do you think I was doing in the bedroom while you were getting in the tub? Besides, if I hadn’t taken care of it, the oil in this water would have. By the way, I asked the lady at the herb store and she said this oil was safe for internal and external use. And before you get all mad about me going out by myself, I took Sam with me.”

Brandon added another finger. “I’m not mad. And I’m through talking.” With that pronouncement, Brandon removed his finger and replaced it with the head of his cock. He watched Nate’s face for any signs of discomfort. Finding none, he slid inside, inch by inch, until Nate was sitting all the way down on him, completely impaled.

“Oh God, that feels so good. I’ve missed you, Bran. I’ve missed this.’

Brandon was finding it hard to form a complete sentence. Nate was so hot, so tight. The warm water lapping up against them and the look of rapture on Nate’s face were too much. Brandon wanted to take it slow, to savor the feelings of being inside the man he loved, but he couldn’t. He grabbed Nate’s hips and raised him almost completely off, then lowered him back down. With each stroke and thrust Brandon felt himself moving closer to the edge. He changed the direction of his thrusts and aimed for Nate’s prostate. He used one slippery hand to stroke Nate’s erection while his other hand guided Nate up and down. When Nate screamed out and shot all over Brandon’s stomach, he thrust upwards one more time and filled Nate with his release.

Nate collapsed against Brandon’s chest. Brandon wrapped his arms around him and put his lips to Nate’s ear. “I love you, Nate. I’ve missed you so damn much. I thought I was gonna go out of my mind.”

“I’m sorry, Brandon. I never meant to hurt you like that.”

“Shh. I wasn’t trying to make you feel guilty. Just don’t shut me out like that again, okay? Whatever it is, we’ll handle it together.”

Nate nodded, but didn’t say anything. Brandon could tell he was tired. “Come on. Let’s get out of this tub. If you fall asleep, I’ll have to carry you. As slick as this sucker is, we’re liable to slip and break something vital.”

Nate stood up and got out first. He managed to make it onto the mat without falling. Brandon got out next. He almost made it. He would have, if he hadn’t accidentally put his left foot on the tile instead of the mat. He slid backwards and grabbed for the first thing his hands came in contact with. Nate.

Nate made a desperate attempt to keep them both upright, but it didn’t work. Brandon fell in a sitting position onto the commode, which was closed, thank God. Nate landed hard on his lap, knocking the breath out of him.

When Brandon was able to breathe again, he said, “Are you all right, babe?”

Nate was shaking. At first Brandon thought he was hurt, but he soon realized Nate was laughing. He turned around and gave Brandon an apologetic grin. “I guess next time I decide to provide a little romantic atmosphere, I should warn you first, huh?”

Brandon snorted. “First of all, I don’t ever need help getting aroused. Just looking at you does the trick. Second, with you being a doctor and all, I’m just glad you didn’t decide to slip me a couple of Viagra. My dick probably would have broken in half when you landed on it just now.”

* * *

Being in bed with Nate and having no barriers between them again was heaven for Brandon. Of course, being completely naked was nice, too. Brandon held back the covers as Nate crawled underneath and leaned in for a kiss. Brandon pulled him down, rolled on top of him and started sucking on his neck.

“If you give me a hickey, you’ll have to explain it to your mother.”

“If she says anything I’ll remind her of all the times she’s had to wear a scarf to church to hide some of the hickeys dad has planted on her from Pastor Oakley.” He resumed nibbling.

Nate jumped as Brandon moved from his neck to his shoulder. “Does this mean I’m forgiven for oiling up the tub?”

Brandon licked his way down Nate’s breast bone. “Yes, but I can think of things I’d much rather oil up.”

Nate gave him a put-upon sigh, but Brandon wasn’t buying it. “I suppose if you must, you must.”

Brandon moved his hands down Nate’s stomach to the dark blonde hair between his legs. “If I must, huh? I’ll show you just what Imust do.” Brandon had just reached the good stuff when the phone rang.

He fell back onto the bed. “Fuck. What’s a guy got to do to get a little lovin’ around here?”

Nate nudged him in the ribs. “Quit bitching and answer the phone. It could be important.”

Brandon gave up and reached for the receiver. “Nash.”

“Nash, it’s Howard. If you aren’t already, you might want to get dressed.”

Brandon sat up. “What is it? Where are you?”

“I’m at a motel just inside of the Chicago city limits. We’ve found Wilson.”