Part 9 (1/2)

”C'mere, Ducky.” Jez tugged me closer.

I s.n.a.t.c.hed a pillow and smacked him over the head with it. It all went downhill from there, turning into a naked wrestling match of sorts, with lots of rubbing and heavy breathing. Jez pinned me down and worried one of my nipples with his tongue and teeth. I'd never thought of my nipples as an erogenous zone before, but what Jez did to them was such sweet torture.

By the time he moved on to the other one, my morning wood-effectively terminated by Ginny's appearance-was back in full force. I threaded my fingers into Jez's hair and pulled his face back up to mine. I had to kiss him, morning breath be d.a.m.ned.

Jez's lips were like sin-soft and firm, knowing and wanton. They said without words more than spoken language could express. I replied in kind. My hands roamed all over his body, as if I could mark him as mine just by touch. s.h.i.+vers of desire fluttered through me as we rutted together. There was so much heat and friction between us, I expected the bed to burst into flames. Jez reached in the direction of the night table, and unknown objects tumbled loudly to the floor. He got what he wanted, though. The lotion coated our c.o.c.ks in slippery goodness. To my surprise, Jez rolled us over till I was on top of him, straddling his hips.

”You'll like this,” he said, maneuvering my c.o.c.k between his thighs.

I thrust experimentally. The tight, moist heat felt like heaven. Jez let out a pleased little sigh as my c.o.c.k slid along his perineum.

”Yes, like that,” he said, prodding me on.

I plunged in and f.u.c.ked his thighs, amazed at how good it felt. Jez's c.o.c.k was trapped between us. I felt its hard length slipping and sliding, and I didn't think the friction would've been enough, but from the noises Jez made, I had to be wrong. I licked his nipples, trying to remember how he'd done it to me. I must've gotten it right, because he arched into my touch.

”Oh Nate, baby, yes,” he moaned.

It stole my breath away, hearing him so abandoned, so needy for me. It was still so hard for me to believe that someone like him would want me. That note of desire shot straight through my heart and down to my groin. As the tingle of impending release spread through me, I buried my head into Jez's neck to m.u.f.fle the sounds I was about to make. I came, crying out his name.

Once I got my breathing back to normal, I took Jez's neglected c.o.c.k in hand. Our fingers entwined over his shaft and pumped till he spurted all over our hands and his stomach.

Chapter Eleven.

I had mixed feelings about heading back to Venice. I really liked it out here, but I was keen on getting Jez all to myself, without concerns for noise and nosy teenagers. I was also worried about Arthur. Jez had called him several times a day and was told everything was fine, but I knew he was twice as anxious as me to get a.s.surances in person.

I was gathering our stuff when I remembered a beach towel left on the deck's railing, and went to get it. I heard Doug and Jez talking down below and almost called out to them, but something in the tone of their voices stopped me.

”It doesn't make any sense, driving up again tomorrow,” Doug argued.

”It's not a big deal.” Jez sounded resolute. ”I'm not going to get him involved. With all the precautions you take to keep your family out of it, you should understand.”

”They know about it, though. Don't you trust him?”

”You know it's not about that.”

”Have you told him?”

Jez walked away, and I didn't get to learn what he hadn't told me. I staggered back to our room with my heart thumping like cornered rabbit. Scenarios, each wilder than the last, chased each other around in my mind. Only one didn't look like an escapee from a direct-to-DVD horror flick. It caught the other ones one by one and clubbed them dead. It was so f.u.c.kin' obvious, I should've figured it out a long time ago. We were in Southern California, where the main forces of the economy were the movie industry, pot, and p.o.r.n. Suddenly Jez's easygoing lifestyle, seeming lack of employment, and frequent absences all made sense. By the time I fit all the pieces together, my head was spinning.

That's how Jez found me: sitting on the edge of the bed, clutching a brightly colored beach towel. He frowned.

”You all right?”

”I'm not stupid, you know. You don't have to treat me like a child!” Even I was surprised at the edge of anger in my voice.

”O-okay...”

”I know what you're doing.” I threw the f.u.c.kin' towel across the room.

Jez looked at me with alarm. ”What are you talking about?”

”I ate one of Arthur's cookies.” I recalled the sense of elation I'd felt that day. I should've realized then they weren't normal cookies, but I can be exceptionally dense sometimes.

”You weren't supposed to,” Jez said with a deflated sigh.

”He offered.” I launched myself off the bed. I wanted us to be at eye level. ”How was I supposed to know there was pot in them?”

”He shouldn't have done that.” Jez retreated to the window and perched on the sill.

”He probably thought I knew. And really, what's the big deal? We smoked together before.”

”You knew what you were doing then. I wasn't going to secretly drug you. I even made separate cookies for you.”

”Well, that's nice, but why all the secrecy?” I shot a sharp look at him, but then I felt bad about it. I wasn't even sure why I felt so irritable, but it filled me with a nervous energy that needed a target. I dumped the contents of our bag back on the bed and started repacking. Jez finally spoke.

”Look, I just wanted to keep you out of it. It's complicated.”

”Not really. Doug grows it. You take it back to LA, right?”

Jez nodded.

”Then what?”

”I have a friend in Silver Lake-Rafael; he works in a hospice. He has patients with everything from cancer to HIV.”

”Isn't medical marijuana legal in California?” I shoved the undies back into the bag.

”It has been for years, but it's still illegal at the federal level. The feds can bust you anytime for possession. Growing for personal use, selling, and trafficking are still illegal at a state level too.”

”Didn't a proposition just pa.s.s recently that made dispensaries legal?”

”Yeah. Again, at state level only. Welcome to our f.u.c.ked-up legal system.” He threw his arms wide.

”So what...? You and Doug are running a big illegal charity?”

Jez looked out the window and back. ”Not exactly. I pay Doug a fair market value for it. Part of it goes to Rafael in Silver Lake. The other part I sell to cover my costs and pay the bills.”

That made me pause and think, so I folded a few T-s.h.i.+rts before looking up again.

”I can't see you standing on street corner, peddling weed.”

Jez laughed, but there was no real cheer in it. ”I have an exclusive clientele. Hollywood types mostly.”

”So that's what the phone calls and the sudden trips are all about?”