Page 234 of Sticks and Stones
That way if this ever came back to bite them in the ass, they were covered.
All the way there, as Gene drove, Ethan was watching him, and Gene knew it.
He could feel his gaze, and it made his body react. They’d had fun this morning, thinking they were going on their vacation, and before they managed to squeeze in a quickie, but it didn’t matter.
Gene missed his man.
Half of the fun in his life was getting up close and personal with his partner.
It wasn’t often they split up on a case, and Gene didn’t like it. That was a little too much for him. Keeping Ethan close was his biggest hobby.
Tomorrow, when he was doing interviews, he had to find a way to get Ethan back out in the field.
For a few reasons.
One, he liked checking out his ass whenever he possibly could, and two, with Javier on the cusp of buying his way out of a bondless holding, he needed to make sure his man was right next to him.
Continually.
There was no way he wanted him out of his sight where something bad could happen.
Call him crazy, but Gene was worried about what could go down.
If Javier could pay someone to ice Diesel in lockdown without anyone knowing, what could he do to them?
Oh, the list of possibilities was endless.
Yeah, he wasn’t taking any chances with either of their lives at this point.
IfPhillytaught him anything, it was to be wary as fuck when it came to anything that could happen here.
When he glanced over, Ethan was suddenly staring out the window, silently.
“Want to share what you’re thinking?” Gene asked, shifting gears and then connecting them by taking Ethan’s hand in his.
Did he want to share?
Absolutely.
Because he couldn’t love this man more, he caught him off guard by giving him a kiss on the cheek.
“I just want to tell you that it’s sexy when you’re playing big brother to Corbin. I like that side of you, big, mushy bear.”
He laughed.
And corrected him.
“I have news for you, EJ. I’m soft and mushy when it involves you and my family. When it’s not, I’m vicious and mean.I’m a cranky old man in a young man’s body. Soon, I’ll be yelling at the kids to get off our lawn.”
That amused Ethan.
Well, either way, he didn’t think he’d ever not feel this way about Gene.
“For the record, I also told Corbin he could crash with us. I know that’s going to put a damper on the couch kinkery, but he needs us.”
Oh, Ethan knew Gene was going to do it. If anything, he was a good, kind, sweet man with a big heart. That cranky outer shell was just because he was a Fed.
And he saw through it.
