Page 20 of Jewel in the Rough

“You haven’t been abducted by a mad scientist and replaced with a reprogrammed Teagan, have you?”

“Not as far as I know. How would I now if I’d been abducted anyway? Wouldn’t the aliens make me forget everything?”

Back in his bedroom, Teagan striped down to his boxers and slid underneath the down comforter, patting the mattress next to him.

“Come on, we need some rest. I’m not going to ravage you.”

“I’m open to ravaging, just so you know. Pillaging, too,” Benny muttered as he crawled under the covers.

“Not ravaging tonight, but thanks for letting me know it’s an option. Now, get over here next to me so I know where you are.” He needed Benny as close as possible. Benny scooted, laying his head on Teagan’s chest along with his injured hand. Teagan wrapped his arm around Benny. He thought he might feel uncomfortable with Benny next to him in bed, but he only felt a sense of deep contentment as he shut his eyes.

CHAPTER10

Benny

Well, well, well.

Protective Teagan was sexy, hotter than the surface of the sun. Instead of waking to hammering on his bedroom door, Benny woke to Teagan… petting his hair? What alternate universe was this? He wasn’t going to question it, however; instead, he snuggled deeper into Teagan’s side.

“I know you’re awake. We have to go take care of the cows.”

The last thing he wanted to do was visit the Gurls. His hand ached and his eyes were gritty and Teagan was petting his hair. Benny loved pets.

“I’ll do the milking, of course.” Teagan continued, “but they seem to enjoy it when you talk to them. How about I make us some coffee and we get this part of the day over with because I have a feeling it’s going to be a long one.”

Benny awkwardly lifted himself up onto his good elbow. “Why? And,” he took in the sexy expanse of Teagan’s chest and wished he hadn’t hurt his hand, “sorry, but the Gurls have nothing on you. Is this real? Am I really in your bed? To be honest, even though I may have fantasized about you, and I like you regardless of the personality issues, I almost thought you weren’t into men—or maybe, men like me.”

“I hate talking about this shit,” Teagan grumbled.

“But since you are the reigning king of twenty questions, let’s get it over with.” He shifted up a bit. “I am gay, but I need an emotional connection before I want to have sex with anyone. And as a gay cop in LA, it never bothered me not to have a romantic partner. I didn’t miss what I didn’t know, and I wasn’t ever coming out. In fact, I didn’t know what to call myself until a long talk one night with Tristan. But the term is demisexual.”

Benny narrowed his eyes, ignoring the demisexual part for the moment because it didn’t matter, as long as Teagan was attracted tohim. “Whois Tristan to you?”

Teagan chuckled, trailing a finger down Benny’s back.

“Down, killer, Tristan is my best friend, I guess. If he still accepts me after I left town without saying goodbye and ghosted him for a year. But in answer to your question, yes, I do like you, Benny. It’s not aguy like yousituation. It’syourridiculous Benny Brambilla personality that I’m attracted to. There’s probably something wrong with me, considering you nearly got us both killed.”

Benny was ignoring that as well, because it was true and he didn’t want to dwell on what had almost happened. “Is there the, um, possibility of taking this further?”

“If I didn’t expect my sister and the entire Piedras Country Sheriff’s Office to be here within the hour, having sex with you wouldn’t just be a possibility. Also, I’m fairly sure your pain meds have worn off.”

His hand did ache, dammit.

“My dick is going to fall off. It’s registering a complaint right this minute with the Geneva Convention, or whoever those people are.”

“Time for chores, farmer boy.”

Groaning dramatically, Benny rolled out of bed, not bothering to hide his morning erection. “This is a waste,” he complained.

The wreckage outside Teagan’s bedroom hammered home what had happened last night. Glass was all over the place, not to mention bullet holes. Benny predicted a lot of painting and plastering in his future.

A thought occurred to him as they carefully made their way downstairs and into the kitchen. “What’s going to happen to the guys they caught?”

“They’ll be sent back to California or Nevada. It’s likely they already have them on a plane. Piedras doesn’t have the resources to deal with him, and both those states are hungry for a way to cut the head off the snake that is the Sureños.”

“Doesn’t that mean another bad guy will take—whatshisname—Talache’s place?” Benny looked around at the kitchen, where the worst of the damage was. “Have you talked to Ciara yet?”

Teagan groaned. “Shit, no. I meant to, but… fuck.”

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