by Ari McKay
“Yes!” Finn pushed back eagerly, offering himself up.
That was all the encouragement Joe needed. With a heartfelt groan he moved forward, claiming Finn’s body with one smooth, slow thrust. He buried himself deeply, enjoying the sensation of Finn’s body, hot and tight around him. “God, Finn. You feel so good, so perfect!”
Finn gave a soft cry as he threw his head back, his body pliant and welcoming. “Feels good to me, too,” he moaned.
Joe flexed his fingers on Finn’s hips. “Good. Because I don’t think I can hold out for long.” He pulled back slightly and then thrust in again, deep and hard. “Want you too much.”
“Don’t hold back.” Finn looked over his shoulder, and his green eyes blazed. “Fuck me as hard as you want. As hard as you need.”
With a soft moan, Joe did as Finn said, letting his need overwhelm him. He pulled back again, then rocked forward, and again, faster, harder, claiming Finn’s body with rough, pounding thrusts. Only Finn could make him feel like this, drive him to the point of desperation, but Joe loved it. He loved Finn—even if he couldn’t say the words out loud.
His need spiraled higher and higher, sweat slicking his skin as much as the steam of the shower. Finn made him feel primal, and he gave himself over to the moment, until with one final thrust, he came. Ecstasy coursed over him in a bright, hot wave. Finn’s fair skin was flushed, and his breathing was labored as he rocked with Joe, as if Joe’s pleasure was spilling over into him.
“Yes… yes… so good, Joe….”
“Yes.” Joe slowly melted against Finn’s back, breathing hard, and nuzzled Finn’s neck. He sighed gustily. “Give me a minute, then we can wash off and I’ll take you to bed and get you all messy again.”
Finn braced against the wall to support Joe securely, and Joe could feel as well as hear his satisfied hum. “Take your time,” he said. “I’m in no hurry.”
Joe wasn’t, either, and he pressed a kiss to Finn’s neck, closing his eyes and reveling in Finn’s beloved scent. He wasn’t looking forward to this mission, to being away from Finn for who knew how long. He was in for a long dry spell, but it wasn’t the sex he was going to miss most. It was Finn’s presence, his unquestioning loyalty, his support and acceptance. Even if Joe couldn’t speak of the love he felt, it was there, and every minute he was away from Finn was going to be torture. He wished he didn’t have to go, but this was a job that he needed to do, and this time Finn couldn’t accompany him.
Joe could only hope that the mission would be over quickly, so that he could come back home to the arms of the one person in the world with whom he felt complete.
2
When Finn arrived at Cade “Hercules” Thornton’s office, he was greeted and waved through by Lexy, Herc’s personal assistant. He wasn’t sure what kind of temporary assignment Herc planned to put him on, but he was eager to find out. Joe had been gone a whole week already, and Finn was getting antsy.
Part of it was nerves. He didn’t remember the last time he and Joe had gone on a mission separate from each other. Unfortunately, Joe’s current mission called for a translator but not a medic, and Finn didn’t speak Urdu. Joe wasn’t going in alone and he was capable of holding his own, but Finn was still uneasy about Joe being out there without him. They’d worked so many missions together that they were practically a single, well-oiled unit at this point, and Finn didn’t trust anyone else to look after Joe’s back as well as he would.
The other part was that he hadn’t gotten laid since Joe left. That wasn’t usually a problem because they weren’t in a committed relationship—more like very good friends with very good benefits—and Finn could find someone to hook up with if he wanted to. No, the problem was that he didn’t feel like going to the effort to find someone. He’d scrolled through the dating app on his phone and kept swiping left until he ran out of options because he hadn’t see anyone worth swiping right on.
Maybe, at the ripe old age of thirty-six, he was finally ready to stop indulging in random hookups. If he was honest, the thought of being with Joe long-term was appealing, but Joe was a white-picket-fence kind of guy. Joe even got wistful every time he saw someone with their dog, but he traveled too much, often leaving the country for weeks at a time, which he didn’t think would be fair to the dog. Instead, Joe had a somber-faced black and gray Maine Coon named Ezekiel, who was content to stay with the elderly couple next door while Joe was away.
As much as Finn loved Joe—and he did—he couldn’t take that last step toward commitment. He might be getting tired of hookups, but he wasn’t a one-man man. No, his version of an ideal relationship involved at least two men, and he didn’t think that would fit in with Joe’s picket fence scenario.
Pushing all thoughts of his personal life aside, Finn knocked on Herc’s door before opening it. “You wanted to see me, Herc?” he asked as he stepped inside.
“Finn! Good to see you!” Cade Thornton stood up, unfurling himself from behind his desk with surprising grace for such a large man. And Herc was big, taller than any of the men who worked for him except for Gabrielle “Mojo” Crowe. He was also broad in the shoulders, and, despite the leg injury that had ended his career as a mercenary, Herc could do anything his men could, and better than most of them. He stepped forward to shake Finn’s hand. “I hope you’ve enjoyed having a break because I definitely need your skills now.”
“You have perfect timing,” Finn said as they shook hands. “I was getting restless.”
“Figured you might be.” Herc gestured for Finn to take a seat, and then he leaned back against his desk. “I was tempted to send you along with Morrissey, but there is no way you could have passed for Pakistani, not with those green eyes. But it turns out to be a good thing I didn’t. Do you remember Joker, Blaze’s XO in Bravo Company?”
The handle sounded familiar, but Finn couldn’t call up a face to go with it.
“I remember hearing about him,” he said, wishing he hadn’t sat down so he wouldn’t have to tilt his head so far to look up at Herc. “Why?”
Herc seemed to notice Finn’s discomfort from the grimace he made, and he chuckled before moving back behind his desk, sinking down into his comfortable chair with a sigh. “Joker’s an old salt at L&G, but age and wear and tear finally caught up on him. He mustered out. He’s nursing a shoulder injury from his last deployment, and I guess it comes as no surprise that us guys well over forty don’t heal as fast as we used to. I’ve agreed to take him on to see how he likes the security business, so I’d like you to see to his training. And also make sure he gets physical therapy for his injury. He doesn’t always like to do what he’s told, if you know what I mean.”
“Not a problem,” Finn said, unable to hold back an eager grin. This mission might not land him in the middle of a war zone with lives on the line, but it would get him out of the house and using his skills. “I’ve had plenty of practice dealing with ornery mercs.”
Herc laughed outright at that. “I’ll say. I remember how you’ve handled D-Day’s bluster. Hopefully Joker won’t be that bad!”
“No one could possibly be as bad as D-Day,” Finn said, letting out a little snort.
“Yeah, but he’s worth it. Usually.” Herc shook his head, looking amused. “Shall we go meet your new partner? Or would you rather introduce yourself?”
A little flare of alarm shot through Finn, and he regarded Herc with growing concern. “Temporary partner, right?”
Herc raised a brow. “I was only thinking in the short term. What, are you worried I’m taking Morrissey away from you forever?”
Finn released a long, slow sigh of relief. “It’s just the way you worded it—‘new partner’—I wanted to make sure I understood what you meant.”
A teasing gleam appeared in Herc’s eyes. “Sorry, I wasn’t trying to give you a heart attack, Finn. Okay, your new, temporary partner. How’s that? Though I recall that Joker is quite the player, if you know what I mean. You two will make a very interesting pair, for however
long it lasts.”
Finn’s face grew hot, and he knew his fair skin was betraying him with a blush. “We’ll see what happens,” he said. Given his attitude about men other than Joe lately, he wasn’t going to approach this new partnership with any assumptions about what may or may not happen.
“All right.” Herc stood up once more and then moved to the door of his office. “Let’s get started. I figure you can take a couple of days to introduce him around, assess his condition, get him familiar with the facilities here and in Richmond. When you think he’s ready, I can give you a cupcake assignment to break him in. Like most of the guys coming out of the field, he’s going to have an adjustment to the slower pace of the job.”
Finn rose to his feet and followed Herc to the door. “Sounds good,” he said. “If he gives me too much trouble, I’ll call for backup and let Pita work him over with those big baby blues.”
Herc chuckled. “Funny you should mention Pita,” he said cryptically. He led Finn past Lexy and then on toward the big gym that took up a significant amount of the Hercules Security facility. As they stepped into the spacious room, which was occupied by many of the off-duty bodyguards, Finn caught sight of Payne Gibson, AKA Pita, which was short for pain in the ass. Although Pita was much smaller than most of his coworkers—including his big husband, Hunter, who trailed along in his wake—Finn had heard Hunter comment that ‘kinetic energy increases mass’ as an explanation for why Pita was actually much bigger than he looked. At the moment, Pita was chattering away a mile a minute as he hauled a tall, rangy, older-looking man with sandy hair around, introducing him to the gym’s occupants.
“And this is Mojo. He’s from Oklahoma, and he’s even taller than Herc,” Pita said, delivering the introductions at lightning speed. “His spotter here is Dead-eye, our best sniper. You might have heard about how he saved Geo and his clients by taking out the guys chasing them from the top of a hotel in Kyrzbekistan. Over there is Tailor. He’s a medic, and we call him ‘Tailor’ because he threatened to sew D-Day’s mouth shut once.”
Finn’s mouth went dry as he took in the sight of the newcomer. Why did the guy have to have a beard? A neatly trimmed beard was one of Finn’s biggest weaknesses. Before he could speak or move, however, Pita spotted him and Herc and led Joker over to them.
“There you are! I was showing Joker around like you asked,” he said cheerfully.
“So I see,” Herc replied drily, but his lips twitched. “If I can get a word in edgewise, I’d like to introduce Joker to Finn. Joker, this is Brian Finnegan. He’s going to be overseeing your training and PT.”
Joker looked at Finn, and there was no missing the gleam of interest in his blue eyes. He held out a hand. “Finn, is it?” he said, his voice deep with a distinct Texas drawl. He smiled, showing even, white teeth. “Pleased to meet you. I appreciate you agreeing to take me on.”
Oh, shit.
That slow, deep voice curled Finn’s toes, and when he slid his hand into Joker’s, the sparks nearly seared his palm.
“Hi.” His voice cracked a bit. He cleared his throat and tried again. “It’s nice to meet you, too.”
Joker didn’t release Finn’s hand. Instead, his grip tightened slightly, and he put his free hand on Finn’s wrist, as though he, too, had felt the tingle. “My off-duty name is Drew, by the way. Drew Martin.”
“Do you prefer Drew or Joker?” Finn gazed into Joker’s sky blue eyes, feeling as if he could drown in them, and he didn’t bother trying to tug his hand free. “I’m pretty much always Finn. No one calls me Brian, except my parents.”
“Well, you can call me anything you’d like,” Joker replied. “So long as you call.”
Hunter Callahan snorted and shook his head. “You haven’t changed a bit, Joker. Just be aware that more than a few of the mercs around here are taken, and these guys could kick your ancient ass for poaching.” He dropped an arm around Pita’s shoulders. “Of course, I wouldn’t have to kick your ass. Payne is quite capable of doing it all on his own.”
“And you would know,” Pita said with a wicked grin as he slid his arm around Hunter’s waist.
“He’s got you there,” Herc said. “Okay, boys, let’s leave these two to get acquainted, shall we? Pita, I wanted to talk to you about the martial arts program the Richmond police asked us to consult on. Joker… you’re in good hands.”
With that, Herc led Pita and Hunter back toward his office. Finn watched them go, a little disconcerted about being left on his own so soon, but he was a grown man, and he could handle training the new guy.
The tall, sexy, bearded, exactly-his-type new guy.
“So, uh… did Pita show you everything, or do we need to pick up where he left off?” Finn asked. “Or did you have any questions you didn’t get to ask because he was talking a mile a minute?”
“Oh, I have all kinds of questions,” Joker said. He brushed his thumb along the back of Finn’s hand. “But none of them are about this place. Hunter gave me a pretty thorough briefing on the drive down from Richmond. What do you say we play hooky? We could go get something to eat, maybe get better acquainted? D-Day bragged to me that Raleigh has better barbecue than Texas, and I don’t believe it for a minute.”
The simple caress sent a shiver all the way down to Finn’s toes, and while he knew he ought to remain professional, he also wanted to give in to Joker’s temptation. He knew where this would lead. They’d eat, they’d talk, the flirting would get hotter and heavier, and they’d end the evening in either his bed or Joker’s. For the first time in a week, Finn found the thought appealing.
“Sure,” he said, giving Joker’s fingers a little squeeze. “I know a good place that’s not too far away.”
“Perfect.” Joker’s smile was as slow as warm honey and just as hard to resist. “I’ll follow your lead, Finn. Anywhere you want to go.”
Well. That certainly wasn’t a loaded statement rife with innuendo.
“How hungry are you?”
Oh God, now he was doing it too!
Joker’s eyes grew darker, and he lowered his voice. “Starving. I’ve been in the field for almost two years, and even if L&G wasn’t as strict as the military, my opportunities for a good meal were few and far between.”
“You poor deprived man.” Finn moved into Joker’s personal space until he could feel the heat radiating from his body. “Maybe we should skip dinner and go straight to dessert.”
“Well, my mama always did say to seize the day.” Joker gave a wicked grin. “At the risk of being too forward, can I suggest your place? I haven’t even checked into a hotel yet.”
Under normal circumstances, Finn wouldn’t have taken a hookup back to his apartment, viewing it as a potential security risk to allow a stranger access to his home. Joker wasn’t a security risk unless he’d somehow fooled everyone at Lawson & Greer, Herc, and wherever he’d served before all that.
“Sure, let’s go. Want me to drive, or do you want to take separate vehicles?”
“I came with Hunter and Pita,” Joker replied. “So I’m all yours.”
“Not yet,” Finn said with a playful wink as he headed to the elevator so they could go down to the parking garage. “But you will be.”
Joker chuckled as he followed along in Finn’s wake. When the elevator arrived, he stepped in behind Finn, then, as the door closed, Finn found himself pushed up against the wall, with Joker’s lean, hard body pressing against him. Joker gave a soft groan. “God, you feel so good.”
Finn tipped his head back slightly so he could see Joker’s face, and he slid his arms around Joker’s lean waist. “If it matters, we’ve got eyes on us right now.”
“I don’t care if you don’t,” Joker murmured. He paused for a moment, apparently checking to see if Finn would object, and when nothing was forthcoming, he leaned in and captured Finn’s lips, kissing him firmly but with a hint of a question.
Finn parted his lips and slid his hands down to Joker’s firm ass as he returned the kiss. Exhibitio
nism wasn’t one of his kinks, but he didn’t particularly care about the security cameras, either. He doubted they were the first two people to make out in the elevator. Hell, if Herc and his husband Jude hadn’t done a lot more than make out all over the building, he’d be shocked.
Apparently Finn had answered Joker’s question satisfactorily because Joker deepened the kiss, exploring Finn’s mouth hungrily. He seemed totally absorbed in finding out how Finn liked to be kissed, so much so that he didn’t stop when the elevator chimed its arrival at the parking level.
“Well, damn,” a voice interrupted them. “Don’t y’all know this don’t count as a room?”
Finn drew back and shot an annoyed glare at Daryl “D-Day” Greer. “Haven’t you ever heard of priming the pump?”
“From the look of Joker, here, if you do any more priming, you’ll have a blowout before you get home.” D-Day’s smile was positively evil. “Pace yourself, dude.”
Joker snorted. “I knew about sex before you were born, pipsqueak,” he said, but he pulled back. “We were just on our way to that room you mentioned.” He glanced down at Finn. “Are you ready?”
“You bet I am.” Finn gave Joker’s ass one last grope before he exited the elevator and headed to his SUV.
All thoughts about chatting to pass the time during the drive fled once Joker started living up to his handle by teasing Finn mercilessly. Joker fondled Finn’s knee and stroked and squeezed his thigh while stopping just short of touching Finn’s cock. Finn squirmed in his seat and tried to hold back moans—and to avoid getting in a wreck. Somehow they made it to his apartment in one piece, and he practically dragged Joker up to the tenth floor.
Once they were inside with the door closed and locked behind them, Finn curled his fingers in the fabric of Joker’s shirt and tugged him close. His place was a wreck as usual with empty pizza boxes on the coffee table and several days’ worth of dishes stacked in the sink. He’d thought about hiring someone to come in and clean once a week, and Joe had dropped “subtle” hints about it often enough, but he’d never gotten around to setting anything up.