by Laurin Kelly
"Morning."
"Oh my, Diorso. What have we here? Did you bring your gun to bed with you last night?"
Rob snorted. "Nope. But it is something that's likely to go off. Maybe you should, ah... check to make sure the safety's on." He rolled his eyes mentally at his own cheesiness but couldn't wipe the smile off his own face. Maybe it was stupid, but he was having fun. Rob couldn't remember the last time he'd found something fun and couldn't resist the urge to just go with it.
Kelan's eyes lit up and his smile widened. "You're probably right. That's the first rule of gun safety." He slid his hand down Rob's furred chest to his navel, circling it once before tracing down the trail of hair beneath it. Reaching his goal, he grasped Rob's erection firmly. "Always treat any weapon like it's loaded."
"Oh, it's loaded, all right." He groaned as Kelan's hand stroked him up and down. "I'd think last night would have proved that."
"I don't know, I'm feeling skeptical. It's not like I got to see much, not the way you had me bent over." Rob's eyes closed, his groaning getting louder at Kelan's words. "Maybe if I take a closer look it'll convince me." He tossed the covers off and looked down at Rob's thick cock gripped in his hand. After an agonizing pause, Kelan slipped down the bed until his face was level with Rob's cock. He carefully examined the shiny skin stretched over the flared head, then inhaled the musky scent of dried sweat and come. Finally his tongue flicked out and laved the warm, silky skin of Rob's shaft.
Rob gasped at the feel of Kelan's tongue. "Fuck."
Kelan stopped for a moment, looking up at Rob and curling his tongue up to touch the center of his top lip. "I think I might be a little too sore for that right now. You remember why, right? Why my ass is so sore this morning?"
Rob nodded sharply once and grunted, figuring that responding might help get Kelan's mouth to stop talking and get back on his dick.
"Why, Rob?" Kelan's voice was low and sultry. He brought his lips back again, but didn't make contact. Instead he spoke, his hot breath tickling the sensitive skin.
"Because I fucked you."
"That's right. You took this big cock," he paused to lick at the strained flesh, "and drove it inside me so fucking hard. I thought I was going to split in two." He continued to trade off swipes of his tongue with words. "So thick, spreading my ass wide open. Must have been tight in there for you."
Rob clenched his jaw, breath quickening. "So tight."
Kelan paused, looking up at Rob through his long lashes. "I'll take it again, soon. But in the meantime..." Kelan shifted up onto his knees, and Rob parted his legs so Kelan could get between them.
"Ungh," Rob grunted. The heat and damp of Kelan's mouth was exactly what he needed after being teased so naughtily. The sides of his cock rubbed against the pillowy insides of Kelan's cheeks, the underside dragging along the wet path of his tongue. Kelan's lips curved up in a smile around his dick when Rob made a particularly needy sound, and heard the pleasurable mmmf noises that punctuated the rise and fall of his mouth.
Rob was getting close. He could start to feel the pressure building in his balls, the flesh of his sac tightening. But instead of following through and emptying himself into Kelan's mouth, he found himself wanting to take Kelan with him, and see Kelan's face when he came. He reached down with his hand and took a handful of Kelan's hair, tugging on it lightly. Kelan made a whiny noise of dissent, obviously not wanting to be interrupted from the task at hand. Rob gripped harder and tugged on the silky strands until Kelan pulled off with a glare.
"What, Rob? I'm trying to blow you, in case you hadn't noticed." He started to dip his head again, but Rob pulled his hair again. "Jesus Christ, what?"
Rob stared at Kelan, completely turned on by his spit-slicked mouth and dedication to the matter at hand. "Get up here." Kelan raised himself obediently up Rob's body until their faces were even. Rob used the firm grip he still had on Kelan's hair to press their mouths together in a kiss, and the moment their tongues touched they both lost control.
Kelan's knees gave out and sent him sprawling onto Rob, who finally let go of his hair so he could bring both hands to Kelan's ass. Gripping the taut globes he ground their cocks against each other, thrusting up powerfully. Kelan cried out into Rob's mouth, grabbing his shoulders and sinking his fingernails into the skin. Rob pulled Kelan over so that they were lying on their sides, heaving and straining against each other desperately. Rob came first, groaning out Kelan's name as he spilled. "Almost, almost," Kelan chanted.
Rob rubbed the tip of his finger against the crinkled rim of Kelan's hole, but he could tell from Kelan's frustrated whimper that it wasn't enough. Rob brought the pad of his thumb to the fingernail of his middle finger. He tightened both, then released his middle finger, delivering a stinging flick to the outside of Kelan's hole. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't have been forceful enough to create more than the slightest discomfort. But the tissue there would be overly sensitive, still tender and chafed from Rob's cock. Kelan's orgasm hit him instantly; he wailed as he came all over Rob, adding his own come to the sticky mess between them.
They lay together for a long time after, trying to catch their breath. Kelan eventually released his death grip on Rob's shoulders, leaving behind deep half-moon indentations where his nails had dug in deep. Kelan brushed his lips against the ones he could reach, until Rob tilted his head up with a finger on his chin and moved in for a kiss. He had just started to suck on Kelan's bottom lip when his stomach rumbled loudly, startling them both out of the kiss.
Kelan laughed. "I think somebody worked up an appetite."
Breakfast was a leisurely meal of Eggs Benedict and hash browns. After clearing the table and dumping their dishes in the sink, Rob went over to his laptop and lifted the lid. Before it was halfway up the lid was slammed closed by Kelan. When Rob looked up in surprise, Kelan captured his lips with a smile. Detaching his mouth from Rob's, Kelan spoke. "We're taking the day off."
"We are?" He smiled as Kelan's nose brushed his own. It was easier than it should have been to fall back into the playful sensuality of earlier that morning.
"Yes. I haven't had a day off in years, and I'm willing to bet you haven't either. We have a lot of time to make up for, and if it's okay with you I'd like to spend most of it naked."
Rob pretended to consider. "I guess that would be okay. On one condition."
"Which would be?"
"I get to be naked too."
"Well, if it's a deal breaker, I guess I have no choice. Nudity all around."
They found their way back to the bedroom in a haze of touching, kissing, and groping. Soon their clothes were abandoned on the bedroom floor and once again Kelan and Rob were under the covers of the bed, their warm bare skin pressed together.
They spent most of the day and evening in bed, going downstairs only to heat up the leftovers from the previous night’s dinner and gobble them down for sustenance. There was no corner of either of their bodies that escaped exploration by the other. The hours passed in a blur of moans, body fluids, and touches both gentle and rough. Kelan and Rob slept in fits and starts, always waking hungry and needing each other. When they finally woke to sunlight after hours of darkness, by unspoken agreement they blatantly ignored the fact that their day off had come to an end. Instead they had each other again, sucking each other's cocks in a side-lying 69 until both reached their peak. Laughing, they stumbled naked down the hall to the too-small shower and crammed themselves in, washing each other with soap-slick hands. They dried off and headed downstairs for some breakfast, not even glancing at the closed laptop sitting on the kitchen table. Instead of heading back upstairs, they settled on the couch and argued jokingly over what to watch while flipping channels on the TV. They settled on a Law and Order marathon, whiling away the afternoon discussing how the perps could have done a better job of covering their tracks and comparing notes on which guest stars were the most attractive.
The more time they spent together, the further away Rob felt the re
ality of their lives retreated. In this house, they weren't vicious killers; Kelan wasn't a devastated orphan, and Rob wasn't a street kid who'd never had a chance. The safe house had somehow become a haven where Rob could catch a glimpse of the men he and Kelan might have been if things were different, if they had lead their lives uninterrupted by years of violence and isolation. They spooned on the couch with a ratty blanket over them, watching TV like any average couple might do on a cold winter Sunday when there was nothing better to do.
But as twilight approached, Rob couldn't help thoughts of what they really should be doing creeping in. He sighed, pressing his lips to Kelan's temple and gathering him even closer into the warm embrace.
"What?" asked Kelan, caressing Rob's hands where they were linked around his waist.
"We can't keep doing this." He felt Kelan tense, so he kissed his head again. "Don't get me wrong, I want to. Whatever this is that we've been doing, I wish it never had to end. I never knew I was capable of this. I think... I think I'm actually happy, Kelan."
Kelan turned in Rob's arms. There were tears in his eyes, and his expression was such a beautiful mix of pain and joy it took Rob's breath away. "That's good. I'm glad I could give you that."
Rob couldn't name the feeling that shot through him at Kelan's tear-edged words. It mirrored what he saw in Kelan's face, something both wonderful and painful at the same time. He tipped Kelan's head up and kissed him softly. "Thank you." It sounded so stupid to his own ears, but there were no other words that could come close to expressing his feelings. It was overwhelming, the bitter-sweetness of having everything he didn't even know he wanted while simultaneously knowing it was time for it to end. Rob's vision blurred, and he realized with a combination of wonder and horror that he was starting to tear up himself. The surprise had him shifting from behind Kelan and stumbling off the couch. Rob had never cried before, at least not since he was young enough to have no memory of it. His tear ducts seemed to have shriveled from a lifetime of disuse, and the moisture forcing its way through burned like fire. He heard movement from the sofa, probably Kelan sitting up or something.
"Rob." He turned to see Kelan standing next to the sofa, holding his hand out imploringly.
"This has to stop." He tried his best to sound calm and detached. If the look on Kelan's face was any indication, however, he was doing a really shitty job.
"I don't want it to stop."
A despondent laugh escaped Rob. "Well, like my old man used to say: want in one hand, shit in the other, and see which one fills up first. We can't stay here, Kelan. The only reason this place is safe is because it's used so infrequently. The longer we stay, the more time whoever McLennan hires will have to find us. My connection here is buried deep, but you know as well as I do that with enough time anything can be uncovered. We might have a few days left of this, but eventually it'll end with us both dead."
Kelan’s posture slumped, and his voice went weak and desperate. "We don't have to stay here. We could keep moving."
Rob shot a glare at him. "Fuck that!" He felt bad seeing Kelan's wince in response, but continued. "I'm not going to spend my life on the road, living in anonymous shitholes and constantly looking over my shoulder. I'm not going to run scared, not for this or for you. It would destroy what we've had here and you know it."
"What if it wasn't like that? Would you want to walk away from what you were and start over again somewhere new? No more guns, no more B and E, no more blood or death?" He walked up to Rob and grabbed his shoulders, staring intently into his eyes. "Tell me the truth, Rob. Look me in the eye and tell me. Do you want that with me?"
"It doesn't matter!" He shoved Kelan away. "It's not going to happen, so why do you keep fucking pushing it? Even if we find the pictures and give them to McLennan, it won't make this go away. He won't call off the hit with everything we know. Why would he, when he could easily guarantee we'll never come around to blackmail him one day? We'll be a hell of a lot easier to kill if we stay together. It'll slow us down, and we'll be so fucking distracted worrying about keeping each other safe they'll probably take us out within a week."
Kelan stood his ground, folding his arms. "Answer me." The steely focus Rob remembered was back in an instant. "Stop bitching and moaning about what can or can't be and answer my question. You owe me. I didn't give a shit about anything until you dragged me here. You did this to me, brought me to this." He poked his finger into Rob's chest. "Now answer my fucking question!"
"Of course I want to be with you!" Rob grabbed Kelan by the upper arms, hauling him forward and crushing their mouths together. He ravaged Kelan's soft mouth, then pushed him away again with a pathetic whimper. The burning in his eyes was back, along with a tearing sensation in his chest. "I never knew what it could be like, being with someone like this. I didn't know it would fill up all the empty places inside of me. I didn't even know I was empty until I wasn't anymore, and it felt like-" Rob's voice broke on a sob.
A tear rolled down his face, quickly followed by another. Kelan tried to lay his hand on his cheek, but Rob flinched away. He took a step back, shaking his head.
"It made me soft," Rob continued. "Weak. And I loved it, being like that with you. But we can't be soft and weak and expect to survive when they come for us."
"Then we don't wait for them to come to us."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"I want this, and so do you. We can have it, Rob. But you're right, it's not going to happen if we go on the run. We need to do what we've always done; what we've been paid good money for and excelled at. We're going to take care of this problem and make it disappear. I've done it for plenty of clients, just like you have. This is no different."
At first Rob didn't know quite what Kelan was getting at. Slowly realization dawned, but he found it hard to believe. Kelan had some pretty big balls, but surely he wasn't audacious enough to suggest what Rob thought he was suggesting. "You don't mean... "
Kelan smiled, and it was the calculated, cocky smirk that Rob remembered all too well. His eyes were different though; they weren't hard and cold, but heated and impassioned. "Oh, I do. We have to kill Brock McLennan."
"Let me get this straight." Rob was incredulous. "You want to assassinate a Presidential candidate?"
Kelan approached Rob with a slight saunter. He raised his hand to Rob's face, stroking his jaw lightly. "Actually, I want us to assassinate a potential Presidential candidate. It's going to be quite difficult, and I could really use the help."
Rob placed his hand over Kelan's and removed it, but didn't let go. "Difficult? Kelan, it's going to be a lot more than just difficult. Try impossible. You're fucking crazy."
"I realize it will be the biggest, riskiest, most dangerous job either of us has done. But if anyone has the skill to pull this off it's the two of us working together. And I'd say we're pretty motivated to get this shit done. Right?"
Rob examined Kelan for any sign of fear or doubt, but there was none. He thought about what might happen if things went wrong, if they got caught. Then he thought about making the decision to go back to his old life; voluntarily choosing never to see, hear, or touch Kelan again. All at once, Rob knew why Kelan was so sure this was the right thing to do. What purpose did surviving serve if he had to spend the rest of his life knowing that he didn't fight for what could have been. He smiled at Kelan, letting a gentle kiss be his response. He felt himself tugged forward and turned; Kelan pushed down on his shoulders, and he found himself sitting on the couch.
Kelan pulled at his clothes, wordlessly encouraging Rob to do the same. When they were both bare, Kelan straddled Rob's lap and they began to grind against each other, each working the other to hardness. They peppered each other's faces with kisses, their lips meeting often and tongues dancing together. Panting, Rob snatched the half empty lube and condoms out of the cushions, where they'd stashed them in case things got sexy during their earlier TV watching. He prepped Kelan, testing for residual soreness, but when Kelan bega
n to ride his fingers eagerly Rob knew he'd be able to take his cock again without pain. "You ready?"
"Oh God, yes," said Kelan, raising up on his knees and lining Rob up with his entrance. "I can't wait to have your cock in me again." He pressed down strongly. "Unnnnh, so fucking good," He slid down Rob's length until he'd taken every inch.
"Ride me." He used his hands on Kelan's hips and ass to guide him on and off, varying the speed and intensity until they were both damp with sweat and groaning. Nearing the edge, Rob removed one of his hands and curled it around Kelan's cock to pump it in time with their thrusts. He thumbed the wet slit and Kelan spilled with a cry, throwing his head back until the tendons in his neck stood out.
When Kelan's shudders subsided, he began to bounce up and down on Rob's dick even harder than before. Sifting a hand through Rob's silky web of chest hair, he closed one nipple between two fingers and scratched his thumbnail across the nub. It sent Rob flying over the edge, and Kelan milked his cock with rhythmic clenches until it was spent and soft. Sinking down into Rob's lap, he rested their foreheads together, their breathing slowly becoming even again. When he pulled back, they gazed at each other silently.
When morning came, they would begin to work as professionals again, this time to assure their safety and future together. But for that night they were only lovers, with precious few hours before the dawn.
Ten
Rob wove his way through the Cherry Blossom Room, his powerful build tamed but still flatteringly displayed in a two button Hugo Boss tux. He blended in easily; one of the benefits of a job at a black tie event like was that with so many men dressed almost exactly alike, it wasn't difficult to be inconspicuous. Rob nodded and smiled at several people as he passed, amused as usual by how people who had never seen him before returned the gesture with an air of familiarity. Better to pretend, Rob supposed, than to seem unsure and risk offending a VIP. As he made his way closer to the end of the room where the head table was set up, he finally spotted Brock McLennan.