The doorbell rang, and Jak jumped up to answer. He tripped over a barstool, cursing at the pain in his shin. But he managed to get to the door before the second ring.
He opened the door and smiled at the delivery person. She smiled back and pulled the box from the insulated bag. Jak took it then handed over a generous tip. Her smile brightened, and she flounced away to the elevator.
Reaux didn't like him eating junk food. He usually cooked at night, and Jak ate to his heart's content. Lately, the detective had been swamped with various cases. After his success with Damian's case two years ago, he'd been transferred to the special victim's unit. He was Stabler to Tiffany's Benson.
Unfortunately, some people hadn't learned from Conrad Evers' fall from grace. In the last six months, two of Jak's classmates had been arrested on charges of sexual assault and battery. They'd been two people he'd thought were upstanding citizens only to find out they were power hungry and wanted what Tay had. Jak had been so disgusted he'd walked away from them. He couldn't be associated with people like that. Not after Damian.
So Reaux's workload had increased. He's spent several nights this week at the station just working on paperwork. He said one night when he'd come home for a shower and clothes that he'd rather work all night to make sure a victim knew he or she was loved than come home after half-assing it.
That was the main reason Jak liked him so much. Reaux didn't leave anyone behind. He gave everyone the same amount of respect he gave the chief of police. Just like with Damian, he had talked at length with each victim/person who'd crossed his desk. He'd figured out who they were and what they'd had to live for, and he'd made damn sure he got the justice they deserved. Not once had he been dumb enough to believe everything was perfect, but he'd done his best.
Jak sat at the dining room table and folded open the pizza box. He ate as he edited his paper again. He'd downloaded an app to help with grammar and punctuation. Damian had given it to him since he'd already had one on his work computer. It made editing a lot easier, and Jak didn't have to stare at the screen the entire time.
Thirty pages later, he put the finishing touches on a paper he had lived through and sat back for a well-deserved break. He finished off the now cold pizza and had some ice cream before working on his footnotes and five page bibliography. He really didn't need the five pages since he'd been there, but he'd used various papers and other cases to help define the judge's and jury's decision. It had to have a professional ring to it despite his personal affiliation with it.
He'd promised Damian he could read the final product. When they'd decided their final projects, the two stipulations they'd had were that it had to be a case in the last ten years and another student had to pose as the defense. Jak's class friend Karl had wanted to cover Damain's case but he'd wanted to be the defense. Jak had jumped at the chance to be the prosecution.
But he'd asked Damian's permission first. Due to him not being a detective or prosecutor, Jak hadn't had access to all of the information. Now with the case done, he had the ability to rifle through it all. He could uphold the verdict.
Damian had agreed, but he wanted to read it. Not because he was afraid of his past, but because he wanted to see a generalized outlook on it. Even though Jak had been instrumental in finding evidence, he hadn't been given access to it while the case had been in court. So Jak had agreed to let Damian read it. He was nervous about it but he would do it for Damian. He would do anything for him.
Ten o'clock rolled around followed by eleven, twelve then one. Jak rolled his enck to pop it. He had six more references to do then he was finished. He was determined to finish this paper tonight so he could turn it in and prepare for the debate.
The clock hit two-thirty, and Jak closed his computer with a contented sigh. It felt good to finish such a long project. He just hoped it was good enough to get him his master's.
Jak cleaned up the pizza box and washed his bowl. He put his computer in his bag and shoved his notes in it as well. He would make note cards to guide him through his debate. He texted Reaux before he went to shower.
With no one to bother him, he was able to shower quickly. He gathered the three days worth of laundry and tossed it into the washer. Glancing at the clock, he watched the big hand strike the twelve once again. It was three in the morning and still no Reaux.
Jak was getting worried. He looked at his phone. There wasn't a reply. Reaux must have really been busy not to even reply to a text. It set Jak's nerves on edge. This wasn't like Reaux.
By three-thirty, he was calling. There was no answer so he hung up and called again. Then he didn it again for a third time.
At that time, the front door opened. Reaux pulled his phone from his pocket and looked at the screen. When he looked up at Jak, he raised an eyebrow.
"Three times?" he asked.
"You didn't answer my text. You usually do," Jak replied.
"Sorry. I dropped Tiffany off at her place then came here. I couldn't reach my phone."
The other man nodded. "Did you eat?"
"Tiff ordered Thai food."
Tiffany Lane was Reaux's partner. She was several years younger than Reaux, but they'd gotten along since the day they'd met. They'd moved up the ranks together. When Reaux had been transferred, the only thing he'd asked for was Tiffany's transfer. It had taken several months, but she'd finally gotten there. Sometimes Jak thought she liked Reaux, but they were just good friends. Reaux could read her mind, but he had no feelings for her. He was essentially her work husband.
Reaux grabbed a drink from the fridge. He eyed the pizza box stuffed in the trash can. Jak shrugged when he raised an eyebrow.
"I guess there's no need to ask if you've eaten," he mused.
"I took the chance," Jak replied. "But you had Thai food so I don't feel guilty."
The older man laughed. "Shower with me?"
Jak shook his head. "I already have. But I'll give you a massage when you're done."
Reaux nodded. He put his drink back in the fridge then headed for the bedroom. He paused just long enough to give Jak a kiss before continuing.
Jak sighed and turned over the laundry. He turned off the laundry closet light and closed the door. He followed Reaux's path to the bedroom. He heard the shower running and smiled. He would have joined him, but Reaux's eyes had been very dull. Jak knew he was tired. This was the longest he'd been out this week.
The shower turned off, and Jak gathered Reaux's favorite lotion. It was lavender scented and went well with his natural oakmoss smell. His Alpha scent as Alana called it blended well with Jak's own amber scent.
Reaux stepped out looking like a Greek god. Water rolled off his sun-kissed skin, and his wet hair was wavier than usual. His amber eyes were tired, but when he was fully awake, they were bright and alert. He was taller than Jak by a good three inches, but that didn't really bother him. Alphas were typically bigger and taller than Betas and Omegas. They were all bigger than Damian, but he was a rare case.
Jak sat patiently on his side of the bed as Reaux dried off then pulled on a pair of boxer briefs. He turned off the bathroom light, leaving the baseboard lights to illuminate the room. Then he crossed to the bed, flopping on his belly with a sigh.
"This feels so good," he groaned. He rolled his head slightly to peek up at Jak. "Get my lower back and shoulders."
Laughing, Jak straddled Reaux's hips and sat back on his butt. He popped the lid on the bottle and squirted a liberal amount on his hands. He rubbed them to warm it up before placing them on Reaux's back.
Slowly, he pressed into the other man's muscles firmly. Reaux always carried tension in his lower back and shoulders. Right now they were rife with knots. Jak worked slowly to unravel them. With each move he made, Reaux grunted and groaned. He shifted for Jak to get even more access to the places he needed to work on the most.
Jak felt the tension leave his lover's shoulders several minutes later. He ran his hands along his left side, across his lower back, and up the right side. He heard a gentle snore and smiled. Reaux had fallen asleep. Jak wasn't surprised. He'd worked himself to exhaustion.
Rolling off, Jak went to wash his hands and put the lotion away. He returned and tugged at the duvet to get it out from under Reaux. He finally dislodged it then covered the other man up.
Returning to his side of the bed, he made sure both phones had enough battery then settled under the cover. Reaux had turned on his back, one arm under his head. Out of habit, Jak rolled to him, pressing tightly into his side. He could feel the scorching heat coming from Reaux. If the older man wasn't careful, he'd catch a fever.
That didn't seem to bother him. The older Alpha turned onto his side and wrapped Jak up. Smiling into his chest, the young Alpha nuzzled into his skin and got comfortable. He was certain there would be many more nights like this, but he would always love these quiet moments that followed the chaos.
It wasn't long until Jak was sleeping peacefully. He always slept better with Reaux. He hoped he would be able to sleep well for a long time. But sometimes life was a bitch and liked to throw wrenches in people's plans.