by Nora Phoenix
Connor pulled Josh's head in for a slow kiss that was obviously meant to yank Noah’s chain. The first three seconds, Josh was painfully aware of Noah and Indy watching them, but then he forgot completely about them and sunk deep into the kiss. When Connor finally broke off the kiss, Josh let out a contented sigh and stayed safe in those strong arms for a few seconds more.
“If you guys are gonna be like that all day, we’ll lock you right back up,” Noah said.
“Oh, shut up, you. We were just as bad in the beginning,” Indy came to their defense.
Josh turned in Connor’s arms to face his two friends, leaning back against the powerful body behind him. “Worse,” he confirmed, not embarrassed in the least.
Indy giggled. “True. You watched us fuck on more than one occasion. Does that mean you’ll return the favor?”
Before Josh could say anything, Connor’s hand clamped down hard on his shoulder. The warning was clear: this was not something he should joke about. The openness about sex he had with Noah and Indy was a foreign concept to Connor. Josh understood Connor’s insecurities, respected them enough to obey. Not that obeying hadn’t been his first instinct anyways. Damn, it was scary how deeply ingrained his need to submit was.
Josh smiled at Indy but didn’t respond. Instead, he reached for Connor’s hand, squeezed it to signal he understood. Connor mumbled a low ‘“Thank you” in his ear.
“What do you want for breakfast, baby?” Josh asked, changing the subject. “Indy is preparing an omelet if that’s what you want, but I can fix you anything else. Pancakes, waffles, a fruit smoothie, or a yogurt with granola and fruit.”
“Waffles and a fruit smoothie sound good, thank you.” Connor kissed Josh one more time and let him go.
With a bounce in his steps, Josh got the ingredients. Connor lowered himself on a bar stool next to Noah, who wordlessly held out a section of the newspaper. It was as good as a peace treaty, and Josh inwardly sighed with relief. Thank fuck Noah had decided to cooperate. Now, all we need to do is find a solution to Indy’s dilemma so we can all live happily ever after.
His hand was halfway to the blender with a hand full of frozen strawberries, when it hit him. He wanted a happily ever after with Connor. How the fuck had he fallen for the guy that quickly? It was utterly ridiculous. Nobody could fall in love that fast. It had to be the mind-blowing sex, the fact that he’d finally been fulfilled in that craving to be fucked hard and rough, to be dominated. That had to be the reason for this weird, deep connection with Connor.
“Josh?”
Noah’s voice pulled him back.
“I’m good,” he said, smiling despite his inner turmoil.
Connor shot Noah a look, raising his eyebrows. Noah hesitated for a second, then gave in. “If Josh freezes like that, it could mean something has triggered an episode in him. If that’s the case, and you recognize it early, you can usually bring him back with your voice. You’ll learn to read his body language over time.”
Connor nodded, focused his attention back on Josh. Fuck, Josh felt like a total nutcase now, with two men discussing his weaknesses. You are a total nutcase.
Josh turned back to the counter, threw the strawberries in with more force than needed. The noise of the blender drowned out any other noise, but not the angry voice inside him.
Why can’t you be normal, like everyone else? Noah got blown up by a fucking IED, and he doesn’t have PTSD. Indy has been raped and abused, and he’s able to function normally. And Connor has been held hostage, tortured, and watched his best friend die, and he’s a cop for fuck’s sake. Why is everyone but you able to deal with the shit in their lives?
He was such a loser, reluctant to go outside most of the days. How could he ever expect to keep a man like Connor happy? Sure, Connor had said he was okay with staying home, but at some point, he’d want more than a boring homebody. Now that he had discovered how good sex could be, wouldn’t he want to look for someone healthy to share his life with?
Dammit, he needed to show Connor he could be fun, spontaneous. What was it his therapist had advised him last week? Right. He had to try and engage in playful battle situations. Well, here was his opportunity. He pushed his anger down, took a deep breath. “I want to go paintballing today,” he announced. “With the four of us.”
He looked at Noah, who opened his mouth as if to say something. “You fucking owe me after hitting Connor and storming in this morning,” Josh said coolly and watched with satisfaction as Noah clamped his mouth shut again.
He turned to Indy, pleaded with his eyes to be on board with this, despite everything. “I’m keeping Connor’s phone,” Indy said, his face tight. “I’m not taking any chances.”
Josh nodded, understood.
He swiveled again, faced Connor, who smiled. “Whatever you want, baby.”
Noah winced as he rolled the liner and prosthetic sock on his stump. It was so damn irritated and hurt like hell, even after putting lotion on it. Not that he would ever admit that to anyone but himself. Indy especially couldn’t know, not after everything that had happened the day before. He’d been a fucking idiot for bringing up the sex thing in the car. The conversation had derailed horribly, and then that cop knocking on the window had only made things worse.
Coming home and finding Josh being fucked… He now understood what people meant when they said their vision went all red-hot and hazy. He’d been on him in a second, had never even recognized Connor. To be true, he hadn’t been expecting him either. Why the hell had Josh felt he’d had to keep his relationship with the cop a secret? How often had they met before without him or Indy knowing? It left a sour taste in Noah’s mouth, that his best friend hadn’t trusted him.
And the fact that Connor had not only known Indy’s true identity but was in fact connected to the very family that had made his life hell. At first, Noah had been ready to beat the shit out of Connor all over again. But when the cop had explained, every word had sounded sincere. He wasn’t lying—at least, as far as Noah could tell. He couldn’t blame Indy for wanting to make sure.
He’d tried to talk about it with Indy last night, but he’d waved Noah off. He wanted a distraction, not a conversation. So Noah had given him a blow job and had made love to him after. The sex had been great, but it had been hell on his stump, especially the constant friction with the sheets. He’d woken up from the throbbing pain a few times that night.
He’d checked it when he was alone. An old friction wound at the bottom of the stump had opened up again last week and had gotten a bit infected. This morning, it had looked worse, fiery red and hot to the touch, but he’d have to ride it out. There was no way he was having it checked out, not when Indy and Josh were depending on him to keep them safe. Noah wasn’t going anywhere until he knew for a fact Connor wasn’t about to screw Indy over.
He’d taken a triple dose of Ibuprofen minutes earlier, as well as a couple of acetaminophen. The first should help with the infection and the latter with the slight fever he suspected he was sporting. God, he hoped they’d tide him over when they were playing paintball. What the hell had Josh been thinking when he came up with that asinine idea? He slid his limb into the socket and rolled up the sleeve to create a seal with the liner. He had to fight back the tears of pain that sprung to his eyes. Hot damn, this was gonna be a long day.
“You okay?” Indy asked. Noah hadn’t even heard him step into the bedroom. “You look like you’re in pain.”
“Yeah, a little. The painkillers should kick in in a few minutes.”
Indy frowned. “You took painkillers?”
“Uhm, yeah? That’s what they’re for, you know. You’re supposed to take them when you have pain.”
“Don’t get smart with me. I’ve never seen you take them before.”
Noah shrugged, inwardly cursing the fact that Indy was so fucking perceptive. There was little that escaped him, and this was one of those times Noah wasn’t too happy about that. “I’m careful because I don’t want to get addi
cted. It’s all too easy when you’re in actual pain.”
Indy lowered himself on the bed next to him, his brows furrowed. “Are you sure paintballing is a good idea for you right now?”
Noah rolled his pants over his prosthesis, shot Indy an apologetic look. “Probably not. But I can’t refuse Josh this, not after what I did to Connor. And there’s no way I’m letting Connor out of my sight, not until we know for sure he’s not a threat to you.”
Indy snuggled close, lowered his head on Noah’s shoulder. “You’re a good man, Noah Flint. I don’t always appreciate that ego of yours, especially not in combination with that massive amount of guilt you carry around, but your heart is pure gold, baby. I love how you take care of us.”
Noah’s heart filled with joy. This. This was what he did it for. The knowledge that Indy was safe, with him. “How are you feeling?” he asked.
Indy sighed. “Scared shitless.”
Noah looked at his watch. They had an hour before they had to leave. “Let’s lie down for a few minutes, talk.”
He bit back the pain that stabbed through his leg as he maneuvered himself down on the bed, pulling Indy close. Indy’s head rested on his left shoulder, and the boy’s left hand found his favorite spot under Noah’s shirt, on his belly. Indy loved to play with his belly button, for some reason. It could drive Noah wild with want at times, but he endured it like he tolerated so many other things Indy did that affected him deeply. Indy truly had no idea, and Noah kept it that way. At least for now, while he was still vulnerable.
“What are you scared of, babe?” he asked.
Indy was quiet for a long time. “That they’ll find me. Torture me before they kill me.” He shivered, and Noah kissed the top of his head, pushing back the anger inside. The idea of anyone hurting his Indy, it was almost too much to bear. “But I’m most of all scared they’ll find me with you and Josh. They’ll kill you, too, and if they ever find out what you mean to me, they’ll use you against me.”
His voice broke. Noah held him tight, at a loss for words. There was nothing he could say, for they both knew how real that threat was.
“Do you believe Connor?” he asked finally.
“Yeah, I do. His surprise at finding out who I am was genuine. If he’d been close to the Fitzpatricks, he would’ve made me after the robbery. There’s no way he wouldn’t have known what I looked like, because finding me has got to be a priority for them.”
Connor had mentioned a contract on Indy’s life. Somehow, that was even scarier than the threat of the Fitzpatricks finding him. With them, you knew what you were looking for. With a contract, it could be literally anyone they met.
“Plus, his whole career in the Marines. He’s highly decorated, you know. You don’t serve that long, that well if your character isn’t morally sound,” Noah added.
“I agree, but I need to be one hundred percent certain. I’ll have to work on a way to contact the DA and get him to verify Connor’s story. Fuck, I wish Josh would’ve chosen a different boyfriend.”
A fresh wave of guilt hit Noah. “I’m sorry for my role in that. I sort of pushed him in Josh's direction, without ever thinking about the threat he’d be to you. It was thoughtless of me.”
Indy’s index finger found his belly button, started playing with it. Noah’s cock stirred in response, but he ignored it. “It’s okay. I like him, and I calculate he’d be good for Josh.”
“He’d better be,” Noah said darkly.
“Oh, fuck off. Josh can fight his own battles when it comes to his love life. He doesn’t need you to complicate it even more. Besides, you said it yourself: Connor looks at Josh like he hung the frigging moon.”
Noah sighed. The thought of Josh and Connor together made him feel weird. Not jealous, thank fuck for that. More like sad, melancholy. It was the end of an era, and it also meant he was in serious shit because there was no way Connor would allow Josh to be fucked by Noah. Not that Noah could blame him. The fact that Indy was okay with it was a fucking miracle.
“Did you see Connor’s cock?” Indy whispered.
“No. I was kind of preoccupied at the time as you may recall. You had me in a pretty effective hold, by the way. Impressive.”
Indy giggled. “His cock is huge. Seriously, I’m talking absolutely ginormous.”
Noah’s eyes widened. “How big are we talking? Give it to me in inches.”
“Fuck, I dunno. Maybe, what, nine, ten inches?”
Noah whistled softly between his teeth. “Damn, that’s impressive.”
Indy let out the cutest snicker. “He’s thick, too. Huge balls. The whole package is fucking intimidating. Must make Josh pretty happy, though.”
Noah frowned. “Why would that make Josh happy?”
Indy pushed himself up on Noah’s chest to look at him. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No. What am I missing?”
“Josh likes it rough. He craves a little pain with his pleasure, you know that. That’s why he totally gets off on you fucking him so hard when you’re stressed out. A cock that size, man, that has got to fulfill him. Plus, Connor looks like he may be the kind of dominant Josh needs.”
Indy put his head back in his previous spot. Noah subtly rearranged himself, his cock having grown even harder after their conversation. Of course, he’d known Josh liked it hard. He’d simply never connected the dots that way, had never realized Josh would want more than being fucked hard. It made sense, in a way. And if Connor was into that kind of shit, power to him.
Indy’s hand trailed lower on his stomach, slipped under his boxers. Noah groaned involuntarily. “You’re such a horny fucker,” Indy teased. “You’d think you never got off, but I’m pretty sure you came hard last night.”
“All that sex talk got me excited, so sue me. I’m a guy, you know,” Noah made light of it.
Indy’s hand found his cock, scratched it with his nail from the base to the very tip. Noah shivered. Fuck, he hoped Indy was willing to do more than tease. If not, he’d have to jack off before they left.
“Well, I’m a guy, too. So what do we do about this?”
The tone of Indy’s voice told Noah he was down for a round. Thank fuck. He wriggled his left hand between their bodies, reached for Indy’s dick to find it equally hard. “I say we make it fast and dirty. We don’t have much time.”
Indy laughed. “I like the way you think.”
He sat up, yanked down his pants, didn’t even bother with his shirt. Noah dragged his zipper down, shoved his pants over his hips and left them there. Too much trouble to take them off entirely. Plus, it would be way too painful to doff the prosthesis again.
Indy angled for the lube on the nightstand, managed to reach it with his fingertips. He squeezed out some gel on Noah’s fingers, took another dollop himself. They worked fast, Noah coating his cock, jacking off till he was hard as iron, and Indy loosening himself up. He’d gotten good at relaxing, only needed a little prep before Noah could take him.
Indy slung one leg over him and straddled him. “I’ll ride you.”
It was what Noah had wanted to suggest because there was no way he could put weight on his leg right now. Had Indy sensed it? Noah didn’t know, but he was damn grateful.
Indy positioned himself, spread his ass wide open. Noah watched as he lowered himself on Noah’s cock, taking him in inch by inch. It never failed to take his breath away, this slender man filling himself with sheer lust on his face. This time, Noah had no doubt Indy wanted him. This wasn’t out of obligation or guilt. This was pure desire, want.
He let out a contented sigh as his cock was engulfed in that moist, hot cave. So tight. So deep. So fucking good.
Indy gyrated his hips, sighed deeply. He took his own cock in his right hand, raised his hips and lowered himself with precision. His eyes closed, his jaw set tight with concentration. He was lost to everything and anything, it seemed, except for the sensations riding Noah delivered.
Noah put his hands on Indy’s hips, helped
lift him up and push him down. He arched his back, closed his eyes, too. His cock throbbed, his balls tightened. Tingles of pleasure raced over his hot skin. He needed this release. Badly. Please let it help with the pain. Even now, his limb was throbbing.
He opened his eyes again, not wanting to miss out on watching Indy ride him. “You feel amazing,” he said, his voice raw. “You’re perfect on my cock. So damn tight.”
Indy smiled a hot, sexy smile. “You’re perfect in my ass. So damn full.”
His body jerked as he sank down, probably from Noah hitting his sweet spot. Little drops of sweat pearled on his forehead. His hand jerked his cock with rough gestures, keeping rhythm with his hips.
“You’re so beautiful,” Noah said in awe. “I could watch you ride me for hours.”
Indy laughed with abandonment, never faltering in his pace. Up and down those hips went, sucking Noah in again and again in that perfect warm spot. “Not gonna last that long.”
Noah’s balls pulled up, the tension in his body gradually building. Maybe the release would bring him some relief from the pain as well. Oh, God, please.
Indy shifted, moving his legs a few inches farther down. One second Noah was gasping with pleasure, his cock taken in even deeper, the next, white-hot pain assaulted his body. Indy’s foot had grazed his stump, causing a torture so blinding it took his breath away. He yelled out, his body cramping up.
“Fuck! I’m sorry, Noah…”
Indy climbed off, careful not to touch his leg again, but it didn’t matter anymore. Noah closed his eyes, waiting with clenched fists for the pain to subside.
Oh, fuck, fuck, motherfucking hell. This is bad. What the fuck is wrong with the stump? It should not be hurting this much.
His stomach rolled in protest. He was not going to throw up, dammit. His cock had gone instantly soft, agony overriding any and all pleasure. Finally, he managed a shaky intake of breath, forced his muscles to relax.
“Dammit, Indy, you have to be more careful.”
The second the snarky words left his mouth, he regretted them. It wasn’t fair to take this out on Indy.