Wade placed one last lingering kiss on Eli’s mouth. Drew out the touch until Eli’s shoulders shook from trying to keep his body balanced over Wade’s. Then he flipped over with his head turned to the side on the pillow.
His eyes stayed open until Eli trailed a line of kisses over his shoulders. His mouth traveled across and then down. Warm skin and sleek muscles greeted his lips. On any other day Eli could stay like this for hours. Prolong the sensual torture until they were both sweating and aching with need. Not today.
He opened the drawer of the cabinet next to the bed and his fingers closed around the tube and the packet. He yanked, bringing them to his side on the mattress as his mouth kept moving. Licking Wade, rimming him, would start him squirming. Next time Eli would take Wade there. When the need didn’t hammer quite so hard.
Eli got the condom on and opened the lube. Rubbed the gel over the tip of his finger. One hand went to the base of Wade’s neck and pressed him deeper into the mattress. The other skimmed down his body. A finger slipped inside, opening him and sending him into a wild frenzy. His legs moved and a harsh grunt escaped his lips.
Eli soaked it all in, loving that he had the power to bring such a strong man to this point. “Who do you belong to?”
Wade’s head flipped from side to side as one arm stretched out under the pillow. “You.”
The harsh gasp of his voice broke the last of Eli’s control. “That’s right, baby.”
With one hand still on Wade’s neck, Eli slid his other one down Wade’s extended arm until their fingers tangled together. Without a word, Wade lifted his hips. Slight, but enough for Eli’s tip to press against him. Then he plunged inside. Inch by inch, in a slow rhythm that even had Eli’s vision blurring.
Pinning Wade down, penetrating him, the obvious staking of a claim on his body and heart, sent waves of excitement crashing through Eli. Need twisted inside him. Every muscle tightened as he pressed forward, then retreated, dipping the mattress under their weight.
As they moved together, the room filled with the sound of sex. The grunting, the choppy breaths as Wade’s free hand grabbed the sheet and balled it in his fist. The bed knocked against the hardwood floor with each thrust, but Eli didn’t care. Something primal had taken over. This was about bodies and pleasure, about proving they were meant to be.
Eli balanced his forehead against the back of Wade’s head as he sped up. “Do not come.”
“I can’t . . .” Wade bit down on the edge of the pillow and held it between his teeth. “Eli, now.”
The material muffled Wade’s words but Eli could make them out. “I want you to end in my mouth.”
“Jesus.” Wade shifted, lifting his body a fraction.
The move sent Eli crashing. The release hit him, almost blindsided him. He couldn’t hold back as his body bucked and his breath tore out of him in staccato bursts. One minute he was up on his elbows. The next his body sank deeper into Wade’s, earning him a moan that vibrated against Eli, rousing him.
With his back teeth slammed together, he pulled out of Wade, ignoring the last ripples of pleasure as he turned Wade over to his back. His skin was flushed and his hand went to his cock. Eli pushed it away and replaced it with his mouth.
This was what he wanted. To lose himself inside Wade, then bring him to a knee-buckling end. Eli had barely gotten his lips around Wade when he started coming. His head pushed back into the pillow and his fingernails dug into Eli’s shoulders. He said something Eli couldn’t hear because he was too busy drawing Wade deeper.
Wade’s chest rose and fell on harsh breaths. His body stayed in constant motion. His hands traveling over Eli’s skin and his legs shifting. Eli ignored it all. Concentrated only on the man underneath him. His scent and his body’s reaction as the orgasm ripped through him.
Eli didn’t stop until Wade’s body lay flat against the mattress again. Even then, all Eli could manage was to balance his head against Wade’s stomach and close his eyes.
“Damn.” Wade’s voice sounded more in awe than anything else.
Eli couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, we can do that anytime.”
“Any chance I can convince you to stay tonight?” Wade’s hand continued to brush over Eli’s hair, light and caring.
Despite the gentle caress, Eli had to fight off a flinch. Bit back the “no” caught in his throat. Eli knew Wade needed something from him and decided to give it to him no matter how much it might shred him or how many awful memories it would bring zinging back at him.
After a final exhale to keep his voice steady, Eli began to talk. “I’ll stay as long as I can. Longer than usual.”
Wade’s hand froze. “You’re sure.”
“I don’t want to sleep separate from you. My leaving has never been about that.”
Wade’s hand traveled to Eli’s neck and massaged the muscles there. “Thank you for saying that.”
The gruffness of his voice nearly did Eli in. He knew he’d made the right choice for Wade. Eli just hoped like hell he could get through it without reliving their breakup fight in his mind again.
“Don’t thank me yet.” Eli lifted his head and stared up Wade’s body to his face. “Because I plan to keep you up while I’m here.”
Wade’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction. “I’ll take that deal any night.”
***
They’d made progress. Wade held onto that thought the next night as he walked up to Eli’s door. Eli hadn’t run out the night before, and that was a start. But Wade needed more. He came here tonight, after work, half asleep and weary but still thinking they needed to handle the sleepover issue once and for all.
But his plans changed the minute Eli opened the door. He stood there all tall and lean and so inviting. He’d changed out of his work clothes and into faded jeans and a gray T-shirt. The casual clothes hung on his shoulders and highlighted every muscle.
It took all of Wade’s control not to wrap his arms around Eli and usher him back to the bedroom like he’d done so many times before. He couldn’t deny they understood each other in there. After, in the darkness, they could open up and talk. It had worked for them before. Maybe he could—
“Are you going to come in or just stand there?” Eli smiled as he asked the question.
Eli had eaten dinner with Becca at the club. Managed not to stab each other or anyone else, which Wade saw as a victory. They talked and Eli spent time lingering at the bar, as much as he could do before the paying members got pissed off. Wade expected to get to the apartment tonight and have to fight off his need and any temptation to take Eli straight to bed. But something else was happening and Wade couldn’t pinpoint what.
He glanced over Eli’s shoulder and saw two beers and a big bowl. Music played in the background. “What is this?”
“A date.”
The word flashed through Wade. He couldn’t wrap his mind around the concept. Not in the world he lived in with Eli. “It’s after two.”
Eli pulled Wade inside and closed and locked the door behind him. Then he slipped Wade’s jacket off his shoulders. “Bast is away, so I’m taking off tomorrow. That means we can sleep in.”
“And we’re going to do that because?” Wade looked around at the . . . was that popcorn? He spied the blanket on the couch and the pile of pillows stacked there. Two beers and all the lights turned off except for the one near the couch. “I don’t understand what’s happening.”
“I have an evening planned.”
The lightness in Eli’s voice broke through the haze winding around Wade. He picked up the amusement, a bit of flirtation. Saw the gleam in Eli’s eyes and that smile that drove him wild. No way was Wade fucking up whatever Eli had in mind. They could talk later. Much later. For now he’d play along and see where Eli took them.
“What are we doing?” Wade unbuttoned his shirt sleeves and rolled them up. He wasn’t exactly dressed for casual, but he’d make it work.
“You’re going to take off your pants.”
This
he understood. This was not new, though he had to admit the addition of popcorn threw him off. “That’s your idea of a date?”
“We both are going to take off our pants and then we’re going to get on the couch. Under the blanket.” Eli turned and started walking there. He stopped and pointed at the popcorn and beers. “Bring those. We’ll need them for the movie.”
Wade’s legs and arms seemed to work in slow motion, but he got them moving. He wasn’t sure what to do about the shock of warmth on his cheeks. “A movie?”
“Not porn.”
“Okay.” Wade wasn’t sure what else to say, so he went with that.
Eli picked the remote up off the table and dropped it on the couch cushion. Then he unbuttoned his pants and dropped them. Next came the sneakers. The T-shirt stayed on as he gestured for Wade to join him. “I believe it’s called snuggling.”
Wade was pretty sure something just misfired in his brain. “You want to—”
“You like action movies, right?” Eli pointed at the television screen. “I checked and thanks to Bast’s billion satellite channels and something called streaming, we have a lot to choose from. This is not my thing, so you can pick.”
Wade almost lost it. He’d spent his youth running the streets and his early adulthood doing a lot of things he wasn’t all that proud of today. But he’d had access to movies and video games and everything else. Eli hadn’t, which made this gesture even more amazing.
Without a word, Wade put the beers and popcorn down on the table with a soft thud and unzipped his pants. Eli watched every move, his gaze never straying from Wade or his body. He never made a move to stop the date and shift them to the bedroom. Instead, he stood there and waited. Wade figured it was time for him to take the lead, just a bit, because he wanted this moment more than anything.
He sat out the couch and stretched his legs out in front of him on the lounge part of the sectional. He then crooked his finger at Eli. In two steps Eli had the beers balancing on his fingers. He handed one to Wade then sat on the couch with his back resting against Wade and their legs tangled together. After a bit of moving around, a blanket covered them and Eli’s head rested against Wade’s collarbone.
Wade inhaled, hoping to ease the clenching around his heart. He’d craved this, secretly needed this, and Eli somehow sensed it and gave it to him. No fanfare or big discussion. Just a normal, calm, loving moment.
Wade picked up the remote and wrapped his other arm around Eli. He was about to dial around but stopped to kiss Eli instead. Pressed his lips against Eli’s soft hair and whispered. “Thank you.”
Eli’s hand trailed up Wade’s thigh under the blanket in a gesture not sexual so much as comforting. “Don’t give up on us.”
Wade closed his eyes in relief. “Never.”
Chapter Six
The next afternoon Wade looked up in time to see Gabe walk into the main dining room of Holton Woods. Amazing how seeing the guy killed the buzz still running through Wade after last night’s date. Gabe reminded Wade of work and all the danger still swirling around Eli and how much Eli liked it.
Eli wasn’t the only dangerous guy around here. Gabe had gotten through the security system without sounding the alarm or causing any trouble. That meant either Jarrett saw him on the door camera and buzzed him in or Gabe was as spooky as everyone said. They’d had limited contact, but so far Wade found the rumors about the guy to be true.
“What are you doing here?” Wade asked as he continued to clean the glass in his hands.
Gabe stopped on the other side of the bar. He held a folder and didn’t let up on his grasp as he balanced his palms against the edge of the wood. “Final financial arrangements with Jarrett.”
“Because he’s paying for Natalie’s protection?” Wade should have known. That was the sort of thing Jarrett did. He never threw his money around—and Wade guessed the piles amounted to millions—but he quietly stepped up and got things done. Wiped the debt slate clean for most of the people he cared about. “Figures.”
“Bast and Jarrett are actually fighting over that right,” Gabe said.
“Also not a surprise.” Bast and Jarrett were the light and dark sides of the same type. They’d grown up differently, with Jarrett being the son of a prostitute and Bast the child of privilege with his senator father¸ but they shared a bond. A bone-deep decency that guaranteed the safety and happiness of the people they loved and an undying loyalty to each other.
It was the one reason Wade had offered only a token objection when Bast started dating Kyra. Why, even now when they were off on some romantic out-of-town getaway, Wade didn’t really mind. The age difference and Bast’s anything-goes reputation in the bedroom made Wade wary, but he got over it. He knew Bast would make Kyra happy. He might even get to take care of her . . . if his strong-willed sister tolerated it.
Gabe shook his head. “Never seen two guys so eager to hand over money.”
“Not that you’re complaining.”
Gabe smiled. “Never do.”
With the idle conversation exhausted, Wade dove into the topic he most wanted to discuss. If he was going to be tripping over Andy every day, he might as well know that now, so he could build up a tolerance of some sort. “Didn’t bring your brother with you?”
Gabe tapped the edge of the folder against the bar. “Nope.”
It was the way he said it, even more curt than usual. “Why do I sense a story behind that simple word?”
“Don’t really want him near Eli. I like the guy, but not with Andy.”
The words washed over Wade with an icy cold. “I know why I want them apart, but why do you?”
“You really can’t tell?”
Any idiot could see Andy just needed the green light and he’d climb all over Eli. A thought that continued to make Wade want to beat the guy to death. But Gabe’s concern had to be about more than a harmless crush . . . unless it rose to the level of being something else. If so, Wade wanted to know that, too. “The attraction is obvious. I think it’s one-sided.”
Gabe nodded. “It is.”
The words should have brought some relief but Wade wasn’t quite ready to let up on his guard yet. “Happy you’re so sure about that.”
Gabe’s folder tapping grew louder as the strikes increased in speed. “It nearly broke Andy last time.”
That sentence raised more questions. The kind that would keep Wade up at night.
“What does that mean?” He slowly lowered the glass to the bar. Thought he’d held in the rage building inside him until the crystal clanked against the wood.
Gabe frowned. “I’m not really comfortable—”
“Just tell me. I get all the clandestine and need-to-know stuff, but this is personal. I think you know that.” As far as Wade was concerned, they could skip Gabe’s newest round of frowns. The expression was Gabe’s go-to move, and Wade just needed the words delivered plain and clear.
“Shouldn’t Eli be the one to tell you?”
In theory, but Andy was a touchy topic. Wade could imagine the breakup between Andy and Eli. Could almost see whatever they had unravel in an emotional onslaught while Eli acted cool and detached, believing all was fine. But despite the jealousy and anger over Andy’s bad timing in popping up again now, Wade understood Andy’s side of this. Wade knew what it was like to love Eli. Every cell protested and ached at the idea of losing him.
If Andy had been the same way, Eli’s leaving had to rip Andy apart. And that’s where Gabe came in. “Can Eli tell me how Andy handled the breakup or was he already out the door and clueless about the mess he left behind him?”
Gabe’s frown only deepened. “I don’t blame Eli. Not really.”
Wade didn’t know how that was possible. “They were in a relationship of sorts.”
“I’m not really sure that’s what it was.”
This guy should train CIA operatives, not act as their bodyguard. “You are not an easy man to have a conversation with.”
“Not t
he first time I’ve heard that.” Gabe tapped the folder a few more times before dropping it on the bar. “Look, they had whatever they had.”
That qualified as the most unhelpful sentence ever. “I’m hoping you’re not going to stop there.”
Wade grabbed another glass to keep his hands busy. He just hoped he didn’t crush the thing in his palm when Gabe finally got out whatever he was trying to say.
“Eli saw the relationship one way. Andy saw it another. Eli didn’t lie but Andy hoped for more.”
Wade had figured out that much. The difference and the depth of Andy’s feelings showed in the contrasting ways they handled seeing each other again. For Eli, surprise. For Andy, pure joy.
Wade had reacted to that joy and still had to mentally block it to get through the day. “Andy thought they were a couple.”
“Hoped.” Gabe held up a finger as if he believed he were making a significant point. “Think it was one of those ‘want to change him’ things, but Eli never wanted more than sex.”
Now there was a road Wade had traveled down more than once. He could almost sympathize with Andy for trying. Wade wondered every day if he’d chosen a lost cause. “You don’t think Eli can change?”
“He already has. When I told Andy you two were together and Eli didn’t rush to deny it—” Gabe clamped his mouth shut on whatever else he was about to say. After a quick throat clearing, he started talking again. “That’s progress.”
But was it? Wade was no longer so sure. “Not much.”
“Don’t sell it short. I’ve known him for years. Never seen him settled.”
“Not exactly what I want to hear.” But not words Wade hated either. He got some comfort knowing he was special. That for him Eli would at least try. Whether he could overcome the struggle or not was the question.
“He’s with you,” Gabe said. “That’s my point.”
The sex, the time together. Wade won Eli over on those points, but Wade wanted so much more. As he stood there, he twisted the glass in his hand. Shoving the towel deep inside to dry it even though it was long clean and ready to go. Anything to delay the question dancing on his tongue.
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