Page 2 of Natural-Born Cullers

“Don’t…” He sent it a warning finger. “I mean seriously, mate, if you want to carry on playing perv in here on my ass, don’t you bloody duh—”

As if grinning down at him, the showerhead cut off, and Jack swore. Giving a sniff, a quick open of the door to see if he was alone, he eventually eased back inside and let out a little contented sigh as he reached for the dial and some more… alone time.

A soft alarm beeped from over by the sink, and Jack dropped his head, let alone his touch. “Fucker,” he mumbled, then snorted a smile as the echo of Gray’s ghost played in the bathroom.

The alarm and kill switch for the shower had been put in place not only to control how many times he showered—because, fuck, three during the day and two in the middle of the night really wasn’t, well, “normal” even by his standards—but it also controlled how long he stayed lost under the spray. It had been one of Doc Halliday’s recommendations, but the implementation? True to bastard form, that had all been Gray.

Jack mumbled under his breath, then took theQuit it for your own peace of mind, Jackhint and got out. A heavier line of water made a lazy path down the small of his back, and Jack grabbed a towel and slipped it low on his hips to catch it. The alarm still annoyed the chill of the bathroom as the morning played peeping Tom at the window, and giving a quick glance to the bedroom, Jack went over and fought temptation to toss the alarm out the window—see how long it would take Gray to find the dead body in the chilled undergrowth.

“No doubt electronically tagged already like that boy of yours, eh, mukka?” Jack smiled and patted the alarm distractedly before grabbing another towel to rub his hair. The black strands were longer than he usually liked, touching his shoulders in wet rings, but he shrugged, not really caring too much. He owned the Neanderthalme got worklook lately, although Saturday mornings… back in the garage, in the bollocking cold, when Gray and Jan were tucked up, all naked-like in bed?

“Bastards.” Deodorant came next, along with a longer look in the mirror back into the bedroom, more how it took pleasure in showing how Jan’s bare leg wrapped all cosy-like around Gray’s, the bedcovers trying to go for innocent in all their whiteness but failing miserably with all that… naked body under the covers and how the covers tangled their tongues a little too lovingly around them.

Jack snorted a smile.

Just how long had it taken Gray tobanJan’sTeenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesPJs in his bed? Two months… three? There hadn’t been much protest from Jan, though, strangely enough, just a natural settle in naked next to Gray. The closeness of Jan’s leg up close and personal with Gray’s called that natural intimacy out, and Jack hated them for it. Well, just a little this morning.

“Wrong job,” he mumbled as he tugged off the towel and slipped on some boxers. “I’m still in the wrong fucking job. How t’other half skive when it comes to real work, eh?” His cock grudgingly replied, stirring into life, and Jack glared down at it. “Oh now you decide to join the party? Where the fuck were you last night, huh?”

He tugged on his jeans, dancing a little to get his ass in them, then pulled on his T-shirt, distractedly letting it fall over the blue moon rose tattoo with a silver BDSM collar wrapped around it on his hip, although he did linger a little more on the North Welsh writing etched across it, how none of it was scabbed, not ready to be picked apart. Coveralls came next, and with the added padding of his jeans, he fought to get one leg in, then the other before he made it to the bed and… accidentally ran a light tickle over Jan’s foot.

Jack grinned, but no life stirred under the covers. “Huh, th’fuck?”

He went back in, going full torture on both of Jan’s feet. Crying out, Jan bolted upright in the next moment, tugging his legs in close and glaring Jack’s way.

“Oh you asshole.” Jan flicked him the V.

“Mornin’. You kiss the neighbour’s sweet poodle with that mouth?” Jack tutted and headed for the door. “We discussed this last night, soft lad. New rules. If I’m up for work, you are as well.”

“Erm… no we didn’t.” Jan yawned through all of that. “In fact, I specifically rememberyoufalling to sleep on us before we coulddiscussanything last night.” He ran a hand through his soft bedhead of brown hair, then caught the tired blink of the clock’sChrist,too earlywhimper. “Oh you’re bloody kidding me? On a Saturday?” He flopped back down, an arm going Gray’s way. The cover slipped off him a little, showing his thigh and a very tempting hint of ass as he slipped his leg back over Gray as well.

Yeah. Bastard. Jack went back over and tugged the cover off, snapping Jan around. Wincing, and not panicking in any way—Jack bolted for the door as Gray grumbled, wiped a hand over his face, then—

“Jack,for fuck’s sake.”

“Shit… covers seem to have, erm, slipped off there, boss.” Jack claimed kidnapping rights to the quilt and tossed its dead body over his shoulder as he left the bedroom. “All accidental-like, I swears.” He gave it a moment, then—“You up for that coffee now?”

“I’ll do bloody time for what I’m up for,” Gray called through, and yeah, he didn’t sound happy, but then he’d been up working until the early hours. Jan too. It was part of the reason why Jack had… dozed off early last night, or that was what he put it down to. His rattle-and-shake medicine cupboardhadgotten heavy over the past few months.

It fell quiet for a moment, and Jack glanced back, narrowing his eyes at the whispering that came off Jan.

“Coffee for me, Jack,” Jan called through eventually. “Fried bread, eggs, bacon, sausages… beans, hold the mushrooms for Gray, extra black pudding for me, though.” Was Jan grinning? He seemed to be now. “For two, in bed, just before you, y’know, sod off to work… all day in that ball-breakingly cold garage of yours—on a Saturday, whilst I do time in the swimming pool, and Gray, he does time doing… me.”

Oh yeah. Bastards. Jack snorted a laugh. “What… with all those firemen running around, lads? Kinky.” Jack hit the fire alarm as he reached Martin’s old holding cell. “Up, you assholes.”

Black silk pyjamas on, Gray came into the hall a moment later as the manor burst into life, then he smacked the control panel outside of their bedroom, cutting the alarm. “Fucking quit it.”

“Oh, wow, you’re up early.” Jack hid a grin and buried the body of the duvet in a cupboard. “You ready to give in and have that coffee yet, old mukka?”

“You—” Gray bit back the rest and forced… niceness as Ray, head of security, started talking in the comm from over at the gatehouse. Gray gave out some code that let Ray know it was all clear as Jack headed for the stairs, whistling all the way.

“Black Ivory Coffee,” Gray called after him, “not that pretend shit you use at the garage. Make it worth my while, especially for a bloody Saturday, at five in the goddamn morning.”

Jack glanced back. “You tried going to bed a little earlier, boss?” he shouted as he reached the stairs. “Y’know, about sixish for those old bones of yours?”

“You lasted until, what, half seven last night after you got back from work? You sure you want to go there with me?”

“Hey, play nice.” Jack batted his baby greys back at him. “You’ll do your back in, shouting like that.”

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