Taking It Slow (Code of Honor Book 4)

by Reese Knightley

  He shot Spencer an annoyed look, but the soldier raised his brows and crossed his arms against his muscled chest. He looked so goddamned sexy, every thought flew right out of Liam’s damned head for several minutes.

  Thank god the officer filled up the silence with questions. They all stood in a group while he, Spencer, and his security guard gave their statements to the cop.

  “Come into my office,” Liam told Oliver some twenty minutes later when they entered the house after the cops had left. He knew he wasn’t going to get out of getting his head checked.

  He led the way into the large room and poured a small splash of whiskey. Spencer followed him and poured a glass for himself.

  Zane stood leaning against the wall. Isaac took a seat on one of the wide backed chairs and flipped a leg over the arm, bouncing it in the air.

  Easing into his desk chair, he sat back so Oliver could lift up his bloodied shirt and check his ribs.

  After visually checking them, Oliver placed a stethoscope to his chest and told him to draw a breath, hold, and release. He did that three times. He clenched his teeth when Oliver eased his arm upward, firing off questions with each new position. After a few moments of probing the back of his head and shining a light in his eyes, Oliver stepped back.

  “Do you have a headache?”

  “No.”

  “Well, I think you’ve got some good internal bruising along the ribcage. Icing it and wrapping it will help. And a mild concussion,” Oliver announced when he was done and handed Liam some Tylenol. “If you get a headache later, take these and cut back on this.” Oliver snatched the whiskey from his hand.

  “Hey!” he grumbled.

  Oliver lifted one eyebrow, drank his splash of whiskey, then filled a new glass with water and handed it to him.

  “What about the jacuzzi?” he asked, taking the glass.

  Oliver grinned. “You should really ice it, but yes, the jacuzzi is fine as long as you don’t stay in too long and we’re all invited.”

  “Blackmail,” Liam teased, but really, all he wanted was a quiet moment with Spencer. Not that he didn’t enjoy the company of his men, but it was Spencer he craved. His nearness, his voice, and his touch. His bicep from when Spencer had gripped his arm still tingled.

  “Swimsuits still in the guest house?” Isaac yelled as he sauntered out the door.

  “Yep.”

  “Don’t be wearing that yellow one,” Zane griped, heading out the door after Isaac.

  “Why?” He heard the snappy come back. “Going to be ogling my ass?”

  “You fuckin’ wish,” Zane groused at Isaac. Laughter filled the hallway and Oliver chuckled.

  “That’s my cue. I’m supposed to referee.”

  “Why’s that?” Spencer looked quizzical at Oliver.

  “I was assigned by the team to keep those two from either killing or fucking each other.”

  Liam choked on his sip of water and coughed. He curled his arm around his waist when it throbbed like a motherfucker. Oliver laughed and Spencer shoved from his lean against the bar and strode to his side.

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah,” he croaked and straightened up when the pain eased. “Just swallowed wrong. God damned men are going to be the death of me. If one more of them get into a relationship with each other, I’ll have to transfer them.”

  “Really?” Spencer frowned at him.

  “Well, no, not really.” He grinned, watching the smile suddenly light up Spencer’s eyes. “But it sounded good.”

  “Come on.” Spencer held out a hand to help him up.

  God help him, but Liam held the man’s hand longer than he should have and enjoyed the roughness of Spencer’s palm against his fingers. And the weird thing was that Spencer didn’t pull away until they were out of the office. At the end of the hallway, Spencer left him.

  Some ten minutes later, Liam stepped out the back door and found Spencer standing just outside on the patio as if waiting for him. It brought a smile to Liam’s mouth that he did nothing to hide.

  The teenagers were in the pool with Oliver. Zane was reclining with his drink in a lounger near the pool.

  Isaac came out of the guest house wearing a minuscule pair of yellow briefs.

  “You just had to go there,” Zane growled.

  Isaac blew him a kiss and laughed when Zane flipped him off. Even though Zane acted all put off, Liam noticed the way the soldier’s eyes followed Isaac’s saunter to the pool. Isaac had a swimmer’s build, compact but ripped with muscles, and Zane seem riveted.

  Slanting his eyes away from them, he found his own vision once again focused on Spencer and the miles of muscles and that tiny bird tattoo that was etched into the soldier. He’d give his fortune to trace the ink of that tiny winged creature with his tongue, or hell, even a fucking finger, anything to be able to touch him.

  “You’re staring.” Spencer’s tease brought his head snapping up to see a smirking grin.

  “Oops?”

  Spencer shook his head and stalked to the edge of the jacuzzi that sat off to the side of the pool and lowered into the hot water.

  Liam followed and tossed his towel aside. Climbing in was a bitch, his ribs hurt like hell and his face throbbed. He felt Spencer’s hands on his waist and just about popped a nut stepping onto the first step. Spencer’s strong grip guided him down the few steps it took before Liam could sink up to his torso beneath the water. He hadn’t needed the help, but stayed quiet and enjoyed Spencer’s attention.

  “Okay?”

  “Yeah, thanks.” He ran a wet hand through his hair, then played it up. “Not sure how I’m going to get out though.”

  “I got you covered.”

  Liam swallowed, thinking of Spencer covering him. Taking a deep breath, he eased it out and laid his head back to rest, letting his legs float outward.

  A moment later, he felt a touch and cracked one eye open to see Spencer’s legs floating near his, their feet and calves brushing. The touch was so innocent, really, but his mind raced with every sexy possibility.

  God, what he wouldn’t give to have Spencer here full time. The thought took root and he couldn’t stop it. Spencer was attracted to him, he’d have to be a blind man not to see it, and he sure as hell wasn’t blind.

  Now, he needed to figure out how to convince Spencer to give them a shot.

  Spencer

  Liam stretched and Spencer found his eyes drawn to the muscles along the man’s stomach, chest, and arms. The t-shirt stretched around biceps taut with muscles. Liam had more of a lanky build, not bulky at all. Perfect, really, if he thought about it and he’d been doing that a lot lately.

  It had been a crazy good day and he couldn’t stop the feeling of peace that had settled in the moment Oliver, Zane, and Isaac had left.

  He and Liam were sitting on the couch with a movie playing, but Spencer had trouble paying attention. The teenagers were in the game room playing something that sounded hilarious by the amount of the laughter coming from the open door down the hallway.

  Being at Liam’s place wasn’t as stressful as last time. Sure, the expensive furnishings were the same and intimidating, but Liam was so down to earth, Spencer forgot he came from money most of the time.

  Liam caught him looking and smiled. Spencer felt heat rising up his neck and grinned sheepishly back.

  “So…” Liam began softly. “Now you really know about my crazy family. What about yours?”

  He froze. No way in hell was he going to put a damper on things by sharing about his family. Besides, he certainly didn’t want Liam feeling sorry for him.

  “Got any more soda?” He reached for his empty can and stood before Liam could answer. Heading into the kitchen, he didn’t need to look back to know Liam had followed him. He could feel his presence fill the room when he entered. Rather than turn on the overhead light, Liam opted for the one over the stove that sent a soft glow through the room.

  “Yeah, several kinds. Grab me a root beer, will you?�
� Liam asked casually and sat at the long center bar that ran the length of the massive kitchen. Earlier, it had been littered with takeout food, but now sat pristine.

  Selecting two root beers, he handed one to Liam, and rather than sit, he leaned against the counter opposite the man.

  After a few sips of the sweet drink, he met Liam’s searching gaze.

  “My family’s a mess.”

  The silence stretched between them. He swallowed and took another sip. When Liam didn’t respond, he sighed.

  “You really don’t want to know. Trust me.”

  “Okay,” Liam said softly.

  His eyes jerked to Liam’s. Was that disappointment he saw? Shit.

  “I…” He stopped. No, he wasn’t going to be guilted into sharing. Fuck that. It wasn’t in his nature. So why the hell did he suddenly want to spill his guts to Liam?

  “You know. I’m a pretty good listener if you ever want to talk.”

  He knew that. He’d known it from the first moment he’d met Liam. The guy was all kinds of understanding. Liam made a great leader. People wanted to follow him, not because he was in charge, but because they respected the hell out of him. So did Spencer.

  “I can’t be with you,” he gritted out the last thing he expected to say.

  “I know,” Liam said roughly after a moment of silence.

  “I need stability, I have enough insanity in my life,” he said, the edges of his vision burning.

  “You’ll find stability right here, Spencer. I don’t know what I can say to convince you of that.”

  Liam held up his hand and stopped his words before continuing. “As a friend. You’ve already set that boundary and I respect that.”

  Spencer’s chest tightened.

  “Just know that when you and Wesley want to escape the insanity of your life or world or whatever, you can come here.” Liam’s voice cut through his panic.

  A lump grew so large in his throat, he had trouble swallowing. A niggling thought kept swirling around in his head; was it too late to want more?

  He made the mistake of taking a sip of root beer to counter the feeling and sucked it down the wrong way. The burn was instant and he turned, coughing and hacking into the sink.

  Liam was there behind him with a hand on his back, and then beside him bending close and checking on him.

  “Okay, didn’t mean to get you all choked up,” Liam teased, rubbing his back.

  For some reason, Spencer felt like bawling, and it was either that or laugh. He gave up and laughed as he took the paper towel Liam handed him. When Liam’s arms suddenly hugged him tight, he didn’t fight it. There was nothing suggestive in the hug, just comforting with a sense of steadiness that he needed so badly.

  Here he was a grown ass man, a Special Forces soldier, needing a fucking hug. He almost pulled away, but Liam must have sensed it and tightened his grip. Liam smelled like root beer with only a hint of aftershave he must have used earlier and it went to Spencer’s head. He looped his arms around Liam’s waist and carefully hung on.

  “It’s just me. You don’t need to pretend with me. You can just be yourself,” Liam whispered.

  Spencer drew in a deep breath, released it, and sagged against Liam. His cheek tucked down on the man’s shoulder. They stood the same height, so it was easy to do, and even though he had several pounds on Liam, the man’s embrace felt like a safe haven.

  “My family that’s left is shit,” he whispered. It was all he could get out.

  Liam’s hand smoothed up and down his back, never going lower than the middle of his back and Spencer had the urge to feel them slide down and grip his ass. Liam felt his shudder because he eased back and looked into his face.

  “I’m sorry. We don’t get to pick our family. Sometimes, all we can do is pick up the pieces when things fall apart.”

  “That’s what I’m trying to do.”

  It wasn’t an explanation, but Liam seemed to understand he wasn’t ready to give the details.

  His lips curved upward when Liam smiled at him. The way the man’s eyes filled with light caused Spencer’s breath to stutter. Around him stood luxury like he’d never known, yet his complete focus was locked on Liam, a man who lit up the room when he entered. Spencer’s heart set up a fierce pounding.

  “I think the movie is over,” Liam murmured and gripped his waist lightly before releasing him.

  Spencer wanted to stay there next to Liam, but he forced himself to step away when all he fucking wanted was to kiss the man.

  “What are you going to do about your cousins?” he huskily asked, trying to blow over his almost melt down and hide his fierce desire.

  “I’m not sure, it depends on my talk with Rick.”

  “Does he have access to the money?” He drew in a long, even breath.

  “No. Thankfully, my cousin had him sign a prenup. This house and the other two are owned by me, my brothers, and sister.” Liam leaned a hip on the counter and crossed his arms against his chest.

  “Thank god for that,” he said, finally able to take a sip of his soda.

  Liam agreed. “Rick walks very carefully around me. If I find out he’s doing drugs, the full weight of whatever pull I have will come down on him.”

  “I don’t blame you.”

  “I loved my cousin. She was like another sister to us.”

  “I wish I could have met her.” Liam’s family was nice. He’d had the pleasure of meeting them in Crumpet. Nice, except for the asshole next door. He supposed that every family had their shitty relatives. He knew he and Wesley weren’t in a unique situation, but it didn’t take away the fact that he needed to do something about it and soon.

  “Me too,” Liam said, and eased from his lean before heading out of the room.

  Spencer followed at a slower pace, his eyes covertly running over Liam’s denim-clad ass.

  Liam

  “Got a minute?” Spencer asked from the doorway to his office several days later.

  The suddenness of Spencer’s appearance didn’t give Liam time to modify his expression, and before he knew it, Spencer was stepping inside and snapping his office door shut. “What’s wrong?”

  He should have known he couldn’t hide anything from Spencer’s eagle-eyed gaze.

  “Rick failed his piss test. The guy at the house was a drug dealer.”

  “So, what now?” Spencer stood at attention and Liam waved a hand toward one of the chairs.

  “Now, I have a meeting with a judge in two hours. Adam and Jessica are going with me. They are old enough to give their opinion to the judge. I’ll file the paperwork and gain full custody,” he said after Spencer took a seat.

  “You’ll get it.”

  “No doubt,” he agreed. “Why don’t you pick up Wesley and meet us at the courthouse? I’ll spring for dinner. I know they’ve been wanting to check out that new arcade in town.” He hurried on when he saw the refusal building in Spencer’s gaze. “There’s this Mexican place next door to the arcade that has the best food on the planet.”

  “On the whole planet?” Amusement replaced the forthcoming denial.

  “Mhmm, I swear.” He crossed his heart with a smile.

  “I’ll think about it.” Spencer grinned. “But the reason I stopped by is that I have a favor to ask.”

  The words almost took his breath. Spencer had never before asked a favor of him. Liam nodded. “Ask away.”

  “I need you to sign off on a part-time job for me.”

  Liam drew in a quick breath and then clenched his teeth for a split second.

  “Where?” he inquired calmly instead of the “hell no” he wanted to say. Lines of exhaustion already etched Spencer’s face.

  “I’m picking up some night hours at the local mall as a security guard.”

  Spencer slid the request form across his desk. There was a proud and stubborn tilt to Spencer’s chin as if he expected Liam to argue or offer him money. Fuck if Liam would screw this up.

  “Of course,” he murmur
ed, reaching for the form.

  Relief swept through Spencer’s gaze.

  “When do you start?”

  “Next week.”

  “Then you’re free tonight.” He paused, holding Spencer’s gaze.

  Spencer laughed. “Yeah. I’m free.”

  “When does the judge make his ruling?”

  Spencer’s quiet question brought his gaze around from where he’d been watching the teenagers at the pool table. Adam was a bit of a pool shark, and he’d forbidden the boy from playing with anyone other than Wesley and Jessica.

  The arcade was split in two sections, one filled with machines and the other with booths and pool tables. After dropping a couple hundred at the machines, Liam guided them over to the other side. He and Spencer had taken a spot in a booth and he was nursing a root beer.

  “He’s heard our testimony and said he’d take a look at the evidence and get back to me by the end of the week.”

  “He’ll take into account that you’re a colonel?”

  “Probably, but it’s Adam and Jessica’s statements that will be the deciding factor.”

  Spencer looked at him with sudden curiosity.

  “What?”

  “What made you want to enlist?”

  “Oh, let’s see.” He took a breath and slowly released it. “My grandfather served, my father served, Logan and I joined at the same time, and as you know, our younger brother, Elijah, serves. It runs in the family.”

  “All Army?”

  “Yeah, even my grandfather. He retired as a lieutenant general.” He smiled, remembering his grandfather fondly and the kindness beneath his brisk facade.

  “I never knew my grandparents.”

  “Oh?” he encouraged Spencer.

  “Yeah. My dad was like eighteen when his mom passed, he never knew his father, and my mom’s parents died before I was born.”

  “Any of them in the military?”

  “No. My dad was a long shoreman stationed out of San Pedro. He was killed in a fall while rigging.”