He couldn’t help but grin. He missed the man, so he’d suck it up and take a musical rain check. Croft knew that his partner planned on some sexy, fun getaway with Brynn the following night, so he’d attack then.
When they returned from the party, his kitten would be all his.
It made him smile.
Unlocking the door to their condominium, he could smell dinner and hear laughter. When he rounded the corner, Emma was cooking, and Curtis was busting her ass.
Ahhhhh. Home sweet home.
“Is it time to eat?” he asked, dropping his gear.
Immediately, Emma glanced over at the sound of his voice. Like always, she was in some girly frock that made his blood pressure rise.
“Grey!”
When she raced at him, he opened his arms for her. As soon as she was against him, Greyson’s mouth closed over hers in a kiss. It was hot, steamy, and the perfect way to be welcomed home.
“Come on!” Curtis teased. In actuality, he was glad they were back to behaving like horny kids. No one wanted to see ‘mom and dad’ get a divorce.
Breaking away, he stared down into her eyes. “I love this dress on you,” he stated, lowering his mouth to her ear. “I’m going to like it more on our bedroom floor.”
When she shivered in his arms, he fought hard to not toss her over his shoulder and take a much needed interlude.
“I’m making you one of your favorites,” she offered, leading him to the stool. “It’s the first meal I ever made you,” she said, getting him a beer from the refrigerator.
“Pasta primavera.”
Curtis pulled out his wallet and handed over some cash to Emma.
“He bet that you couldn’t remember because you were trying to get into my pants.”
Curtis chimed in. “Yeah, and also because of your advanced age.”
Emma pointed at him.
“Ah, it’s good to be home,” he teased.
Croft was glad they had their little circle back. It did his heart good.
“Why did you rush out?” Emma asked, dishing up their food. There were lines of stress around his mouth, and she knew her husband was worried about something.
Greyson explained it all.
“Good for her. I’m glad she belted him one. I would have too,” Emma said. “If my partner did that, I’d lose it.”
“If your partner does that, take a picture,” Curtis said around a mouthful of food.
Croft laughed, and then when his wife gave him the look, he scolded the man. “You don’t take pictures of babe on babe action. You take movies. Have I taught you nothing?”
Emma snickered, before putting his plate down. “You two are funny. Now, what are you going to do about it?”
Croft took a bite of food and chewed it in contemplation. “Well, I’m going to have my partner find me proof that Tessa was groped. If I can’t prove it, she’s terminated. If I can, he is. Because he took this to HR, I can’t bury it. She’s off duty for the next few days.”
“That sucks,” stated Curtis. “We’re down two people now. I’m going to definitely be chained to that tablet.”
“Oh, stop your bitching,” Croft said, laughing. He was well aware that Curtis hated being cooped up inside. “Tessa is officially off the street, but she can sit beside her fiancé and help him do searches.”
Curtis made some whooping sound.
“What are you, three?” he asked.
“Do I get ice cream for dessert if I say yes?” he teased back. “I’m all about ice cream.”
Emma rolled her eyes. She was just about to tell him that he wasn’t getting anything for making an age crack, when there was banging at the door.
Both men jumped up, pushing Emma behind them. Immediately, Greyson grabbed his gun from the counter and headed toward the door.
Emma almost wanted to remind them she was a cop too, but she was too worried. This was the most secure place in town, and she knew what Greyson was thinking.
Ambush.
The banging continued. It was getting louder and angrier. When Croft peeked out the hole, he holstered his gun. He couldn’t believe who was there.
Opening the door, Dante pushed in, and he smelled like whiskey.
“I need to talk to you,” he said angrily, stumbling inside.
Greyson closed the door and followed him in. “Okay, Dante. Say what’s on your mind.”
“I left him, okay? The only person I ever felt complete with and I walked away from him to have you back in my life. All my time with you, I never believed that you’d be so myopically closed minded and a homophobe.”
Greyson lifted a brow, but let the man get it all off his chest. This was months in the making, and it needed to be done.
“I’ll pretend I’m straight. Hell! I’ll even get a girlfriend if you’ll love me again. I love my brother, so fucking much that I’ll sacrifice my heart to have his love. I won’t forgive you for this, but I’ll swallow it. You win, Grey! I’ll give up love to have you back.”
Emma went to say something, and Curtis slapped a hand over her mouth. This had to be between the brothers, and knowing his friend, Dante was going to be sorry he went there.
“Now you don’t have to be embarrassed by your queer brother. You can stop taking your shit out on Emma, and shooting daggers at Steele at work. I’m here to tell you that I love you so much, unconditionally, that I’ll give up happiness to have your love.”
“Is it my turn,” Greyson asked, “or do you have more barbs to lob my way?”
“You’re the great Greyson, mom and dad’s favorite, the golden child, so feel fucking free.”
From the look on Emma’s face, his brother was probably lucky Curtis covered her mouth. Dante wasn’t making any friends.
“First off, I’m not embarrassed by you. You’re my brother, and you mean more to me than what people think or say behind my back.”
He stared at him, not buying it. “You are too! You’re treating me like a leper. Poor Emma has been taking the brunt of your anger, and it’s not fair.”
“For the record, I wasn’t being mean to Emma. I’m under a lot of pressure. I have a mobster trying to take my wife, a building with six hundred employees, three bosses breathing down my neck, and a brother who is on my last damn nerve. I’m not mad at you because you’re gay.”
“You can’t be mad at me for kissing someone here. You’re always making out in the condo.”
“Uh, it’s my condo to make out in, and that’s far from what has me pissed off, Dante.”
“Then why?” He stumbled, barely able to stay up on his feet.
Croft signaled to Curtis. When he let Emma go, she immediately was at his side. The look she was shooting Dante was full of ice.
“Honey, will you get me a drink?” he asked. She needed a distraction, or his wife was going to kick the boy’s ass.
Begrudgingly, she left his side, muttering under her breath.
“How long have you known you were gay, Dante?” Croft asked, waiting for his drink and brother’s answer.
“Since I was sixteen.”
“Have you had relationships before Steele?” he asked, dying for a sip of bourbon. He was trying to stay calm. After all, this was his brother.
“Yes.”
“In those sixteen years, half of your life, did you ever once think to trust me enough with a secret so big?”
He stared at him.
“What?”
“When I came home from the war, and I’d been shot, you asked me how it happened. Did I lie about what I did? That I was a sniper and killed people?”
“No.”
“Want to know why I didn't?”
Dante was beginning to feel bad. “Um…”
Emma returned with a glass half filled with bourbon and followed her husband into their sitting area. Still, she gave Dante a withering glare.
“Let me tell you why I opted not to lie to you,” he offered. “You’re my brother, my blood, and family, so I trusted you with my
deepest darkest secret. It was one I just told Emma, and Curtis never knew about until now.”
Dante glanced over at the other agent. He shook his head. “I don’t know…”
He cut him off. “You had your chance to come into our home, shitfaced drunk, and throw recriminations around at me, but now you’re going to shut up and sit down.”
The man did what he was told.
“I’m beyond hurt that you didn't come to me and tell me that you’re gay. You had so many opportunities to be honest with me. When you turned twenty-one, I took you out to get drunk and pick up babes. You never mentioned it.”
His brother had a point.
“When you headed off into the military, I tried to set you up with the sister of one of the women I was dating. You never said anything.”
Dante swallowed, the booze bender was wearing off, but the sickness was remaining.
“I’m your only brother. I think I should have been let in on a secret of this magnitude, don’t you think?”
He opened his mouth and was cut off.
“I’m also pissed off that you had the balls to think I’d hate or judge you. When have I ever been less than proud of you?”
Dante didn't have an answer for that.
“When you graduated boot camp, who was there?”
“You.”
“When you earned your first medal, who was there?”
“You.”
Who pinned it on your uniform, Dante?”
He swallowed, his gaze darting to his sister-in-law. Her arms were crossed and she looked like she wanted to flay him alive.
“How dare you accuse me of not loving you as much as you love me. If anything, I should be the one showing up at Steele’s place and acting like a fool, but I wouldn’t do that to you. I gave you time and the opportunity to man up to what happened. I came home to find you in a full lip lock with one of Emma’s co-workers, and immediately, you were embarrassed and made me the bad guy.”
Dante’s eyes filled with tears.
“To add insult to injury, you call me a homophobe. When the hell have I ever trashed someone because of their sexual preferences? All I’ve ever done is try to include you in our life. You came here, and I invited you in. You cuddle up to my wife, and I never say shit, because I have the utmost trust in both the men in this room. Yet, I can see that’s not reciprocal--not from you.”
“Grey, I’m…”
“I won’t lie. It caught me off guard, but had you taken that moment to man up, tell me that you and Steele were a couple, I would have welcomed him into our family. Instead, you packed your shit and jumped ship.”
He glanced down at his wife. “We would have opened our arms to him, wouldn’t we, honey?”
“We would have, Grey, because we love Dante very much,” Emma stated.
“I didn't think…”
“To add to this, I haven’t been shooting Steele Bentley daggers. I’ve been waiting for one of you two chickens to approach me, man to man, and tell me the damn truth. I happen to like the man. He’s decent, smart, and very hard working. He’s the perfect partner for you.”
Dante didn't know what to say. He’d screwed this up.
Standing, Greyson put his glass down on the table. “I am ashamed of you, Dante, just not for being gay. I’m ashamed that you didn't believe in me after all these years--that you didn't trust your brother to have your back, no matter what. ”
Croft was angry, and he needed some time alone. He couldn’t get a break. All he wanted was to come home and have peace.
Unfortunately, it eluded him.
As he prepared to walk away, his brother called to him. “Greyson.”
He stopped. “What, Dante?”
“I’m afraid. I need you.”
He heard it in his voice. While he was angry enough to make the man pay, he wouldn’t.
“I just broke up with him, destroying his heart. I don’t know what to do. I’ve made a horrible mess of this, and I need my big brother. Please forgive me. I need you, Grey. I have no one else to turn to.”
With that, he turned around and closed the gap between him and his brother. As he opened his arms, he pulled the man against his body to hold him. “It’s okay, Dante. We’ll fix this. I’ll help you,” he promised.
“I’m so sorry, Grey. I hurt you and didn't mean it. I hurt Steele and didn't mean it. I’m a disaster.”
The man wept.
Emma felt bad for him. She closed the gap, wrapping her arms around the two men, as she laid her head on his shoulder. “We’ll work this out,” she reassured.
Even Curtis felt for him.
Who didn't screw up? He crossed to them and rested his hand on Dante’s shoulder. “You aren’t the first man to make a relationship a mess. We’ve all been there.”
What could he say? Dante Croft let all his feelings free and prayed his big brother would find it in his heart to help him take care of this mess.
All he wanted now was his heart back.
* * *
She had liked it dirty, just like him. The entire time they went at it, she was wild with need. After a few drinks, she’d mellowed out. Then, they had snuck into the local parish to get it on.
In the confessional, he stripped her, screwed her, and then stole her life.
By the time he’d exploded, she was already on her way out. Then, it only took a little more squeezing to end her life.
This dirty girl made his fantasy.
Then, because he was still excited, he took her again, after the fact. There was one more thing off his sex list.
It was perfect.
He couldn’t have asked for more.
Oh wait! Yes, he could! When he was done with the sex, he stole her hair. It would go with the others, and he would be able to look back and remember their night.
Forever.
Until the day he died.
Now came the hardest part. Since burying her wasn’t an option, he decided to leave her right there. Inside the confessional, she would be safe. It was like one big coffin.
If she wasn’t dead, there was no doubt that she would be aroused.
That was entertaining.
Now, he would sneak out, get cleaned up, and start pretending to fit in.
He had another woman to find, and he couldn’t wait. He only hoped she would be as fantastic as the last one.
He couldn’t wait to make her fantasies come true.
Then follow it up with a night that he wouldn’t soon forget.
* * *
Friday Morning
Paris was slowly pulling from sleep. He was exhausted from their night in bed. After eating, they’d made the trek upstairs, and then rolled around in bed. It was sweet, gentle, and frustrating as hell. No matter how hard Paris tried, he couldn’t get his body to come alive.
He tried to make a joke of it, but he wasn’t feeling it. Until Tessa reassured him, he was ready to take the bridge. Not once did she make him feel broken. In fact, she found other things that made both their hearts pound.
There was holding each other.
Talking about their wedding.
And long passionate kisses.
Paris knew Rome wasn’t built in a day, and he had the reassurance that Tessa was okay with that.
Well, now, he noticed something. The telltale weight of her head, normally on his shoulder, was gone, but he could still feel her near. Opening his eyes, he found a giant lump under the comforter.
Then he realized something else.
He could feel her mouth.
God!
He could feel her!
Whipping the comforter back, he found his sweet Tessa getting him hard. Miraculously, it was working.
“Oh shit,” he muttered as wave after wave of heat flooded him. Finally, his brain was connecting to its lower partner in crime. Now, Paris could just let whatever was happening happen. His body was on autopilot.
Tessa grinned up at him, releasing him from her lips. “Last night, you were so wo
rried about us having sex, that I began wondering if the pressure was getting to you. It seems you’re quite capable of getting it up, Paris. You just need a little provocation and no stress.”
At that point, he wished he could do cartwheels. “Tessie baby, don’t stop!”
It had been four long months of not feeling her mouth on his body. Now, he never wanted it to end. His hands found her hair in desperation, and Paris used it to set the pace.
When she moaned low in her throat, the vibrations made goose bumps crisscross his flesh.
“Oh, Tessa!”
She loved hearing the pleasure in his voice. All night, she’d been curious about this little experiment. When Paris had fallen asleep, Tessa did some research and Googled their situation. There were a lot of men out there with his same injury who still had active sex lives. They just needed some modification. Paris would need lots and lots of oral stimulation to get him started. After that, he’d be fine. The minor brain disconnect was the main hurdle. Once his body relearned that it could feel, he’d be on his way.
As her hands slid up his torso, they left a trail of fire. Paris was completely lost in the sensation of it all.
This was miraculous.
There was no other word for it.
Again, she released him. “I seem to want to make love to my fiancé. You’re okay with that, right?”
He started laughing. “I just hope this isn't a dream.”
As she ran her teeth across his erection, with just enough pressure to give him stimulation, Paris came alive beneath her.
“Oh God! Tessa! It’s been so damn long, baby,” he moaned, loving every second of what she was doing to his body. From her mouth to her wandering hands, his heart was healing again. This had been his biggest worry.
Not being able to make love to his Tessa.
Now, it was gone.
While her hand was on his thigh, Paris couldn’t feel anything, but when she gripped his erection, there was indeed sensation.
He wasn’t useless after all. Now, he could be part of this relationship, much like he had been. “Baby, get on,” he urged. “I need to feel this,” he said.
When she did what he asked, bracing her body above his, he went to close his eyes. “No, Paris, you need to watch. Your brain needs to see this and process it.”
Heaven is Weeping (A Croft & Croft Romance Adventure Book 5) Page 15