Copper Script

by K.J. Charles

WELL, THIS WAS EMBARRASSING. Joel had a tendency to be overwhelmed by his feelings. He knew it, hated it, and resented that he never seemed to get better at noticing he was doing it in the moment. He overreacted, and said stupid things, or humiliated himself with tears, and then had to pick up the pieces. He’d spoiled more than one promising love affair in the past with an explosion of feelings he could have kept to himself. And he’d just exploded on Aaron, who was probably in at least as much trouble as himself, and instead of telling him to shut up or calm down, Aaron had opened his arms and somehow Joel was now wrapped in a strong embrace, his wet face pressed against a damp but sturdy shoulder, with Aaron whispering meaningless reassurances into his hair. He tried to pull away, albeit not very hard. Aaron just tightened his arms. “It’s all right, Joel. It’s all right.” Joel appeared to be clinging on to him. Could he make more of a fool of himself here? “Sorry,” he mumbled into the cloth of Aaron’s jacket. “You’ve every right to be angry. It is my fault.” “It’s Colthorne’s fault. I’m only shouting at you because you’re here and I’m scared.” Aaron’s hand slid up to the back of his head, into his hair. Joel wondered if he was even aware he was doing it. “If it’s not my fault, it’s my responsibility. I’m so sorry. I didn’t want, I never wanted to hurt you.” Joel squirmed so he could look up into Aaron’s face. Those dark eyes were devastating at close range, with the warm ...

“I want your full weight,” Joel growled. “I want a big strong policeman on my back and between my legs. Have you got that?”