Stranded (Auctioned Book 2)

by Cara Dee

  “You’re a lifesaver, El. Thank you.” The thought of putting on his own clothes, using his old phone…goddamn. For months, he’d been stuck with stand-ins and throwaways, from identities to phones.

  About that…he had to get to the motel room outside of Miami where he’d stashed it all before boarding the yacht.

  “We’re gonna get some dinner,” Elise said. “Why don’t you freshen up and join us? There are two restaurants here at the hotel, but one just has sushi. So…”

  Darius’s mouth twisted in humor. “Ethan still on about that?” Their brother had had some bad sushi at a hotel bar in San Francisco when visiting Ry, so that had to mean sushi in every hotel restaurant in the world was bad.

  Not that Darius was much of a fan either. Period.

  “You know it.” Elise’s stiff smile said there’d been an argument with Ethan.

  Darius grinned faintly and touched her chin. “Patience of a saint.”

  She thawed a little. “I grew up with unruly heathens. I’m used to it.”

  He laughed and brought her in for a hug and a kiss to her temple. “I’m not sure I’ll be good company tonight—”

  “When are you ever,” she deadpanned. “Listen, I shouldn’t have phrased it as a question earlier. You’ve been cleared to eat proper food, and you shouldn’t be left to your own devices. I’m under strict instructions from Ryan to keep you from moping in your room.”

  Godmotherfuckingdammit. “You talked to Ry?”

  She nodded. “He also told me not to ask you why he seems to know why you would need such instructions.” She gestured for the elevator. “Now, come on. You have fifteen minutes. One dinner, then you can sleep.”

  There were going to be plenty of battles, so Darius didn’t pick this one. Having a beer and harvesting some cuddles from a hopefully sleeping one-year-old didn’t sound half bad. Especially if he had to spend the rest of the night away from Gray. Lord knew he’d need distractions to keep sane.

  “You need this?” He extended one of the keycards to Elise.

  “Oh, Mrs. Nolan already gave me one. I was going to leave the bag in your room, but I wanted to see if you’d made it here yet.”

  Darius’s pulse kicked up as he acted on instinct and made a beeline for Gray. His ears were ringing, and he knew it was a stupid fucking choice. A stupid choice to interrupt Gray with his brother and stepsister, a stupid choice to interfere in the kid’s life further, a stupid choice to give him a key.

  He might need it…

  Sometimes, Darius’s desperation spoke louder than his sense.

  Gray glanced away from Gage, curiosity in his eyes.

  “In case you need to talk,” Darius said quietly and handed him the card. He extended the sleeve with the room number too.

  “Oh…” Gray swallowed and stared at the card, then nodded slowly and clutched it tightly. “Thanks. I’ll…yeah. I didn’t think that far ahead, but of course we won’t, um…be in the same—never mind. Thank you.”

  Be in the same…? Be in the same room?

  Darius stared at him. Never before had he wanted to read Gray’s mind more than right now.

  “What, um, what are your plans now?” Gray asked unsurely.

  “We’re gonna grab some dinner.”

  Gage spoke up, a hand on Gray’s shoulder. “We didn’t wanna overwhelm you with any outings, so Mom’s got room service coming soon.”

  Good call. Darius appreciated their forethought.

  “Okay.” Gray’s gaze flickered between Gage and Darius, and he looked like he wanted to say something else. Something more. “Okay, yeah, sounds good.” Or maybe not.

  Darius got exactly what should’ve blissed him the fuck out an hour later. He’d showered, gotten dressed in his own jeans and a tee, he’d had a good burger, an even better beer, and now he was leaning back in a comfortable chair with his niece sleeping on his chest.

  Hazel was holding his finger in her sleep, kinda like the first time he’d seen her at the hospital when she’d been born.

  The dimly lit patio was packed with dinner guests, yet it was peaceful. The occasional laugh and clinking of glasses rose above the din, but it didn’t disturb the calm atmosphere.

  If only the calm could spread to Darius too.

  It was late. He checked his watch before taking a swig of his second beer. Was Gray asleep by now? Was he catching up with his brothers? Sitting close to Chloe, maybe? Talking to Isla about the baby?

  “I don’t remember Grace being that easy,” Ethan murmured, watching Hazel.

  Elise snorted softly. “She wasn’t.”

  Darius pressed a kiss to the top of Hazel’s head and breathed in the baby scent. “You and Willow did the trick, though. That bundle thing—when you buried her in a blanket or whatever.”

  “Buried,” Elise giggled. “Yes, Mom taught us how to swaddle her. It worked most of the time.” She reached over and covered Hazel with her thin cardigan. “Anyway. How’re the guys doing? Is anyone spending the night at the hospital?”

  “No, thankfully,” Darius replied. “They held Charlie and Gray a little longer, that’s it. Charlie was chipped more recently—we removed it, but it was pretty badly infected.” Not a single kid had escaped a generous prescription of antibiotics.

  “We removed it?” Ethan smirked slightly.

  Well, shit. “One of the boys helped,” Darius said with a shrug.

  Ethan didn’t buy it.

  It wasn’t a big deal, to be honest. Ethan was family and knew when to shut up.

  Enjoying the silence for a beat, Darius pressed his lips to the top of Hazel’s head again and closed his eyes. In an instant, he saw Gray, and he hoped the knucklehead was having a nice time with his family. Okay, that was partly bullshit; Darius wanted to shut everyone out and keep Gray to himself. To keep him safe, to protect him from the shitstorm he was still facing, to guide him through the flashbacks and nightmares…

  Would they hit right away or creep in slowly? It was possible he wouldn’t even get flashbacks. Not everyone with PTSD had those problems. Darius’s biggest issues had been smells and sounds causing panic. Anxiety clenched its fist around his chest when he felt like he was losing control.

  The nightmares had faded over time, though he had them on occasion. Flashbacks were even rarer.

  Exhaustion was winning right now. He reluctantly opened his eyes and yawned.

  “What happens tomorrow?” Elise wondered.

  Darius sighed at the thought. “More interviews. They’re setting up a field office here in town just for the investigation.”

  “Because they can’t agree on who should be in charge?” Ethan guessed.

  He wasn’t far off.

  “Pretty much,” Darius replied. “They’ve got agents coming from every branch, it feels like.”

  “Like some group of superhero misfits,” Elise joked.

  Darius slanted a lazy grin. “That’s what I said.”

  They’d just have to see what these superheroes could accomplish.

  It’d been one of the longest days of Darius’s life, and he still couldn’t sleep. At two in the morning, he found himself on his balcony with a smoke and a foul mood. Arms resting on the railing, he took a deep drag and listened to the invisible waves rolling in below, the traffic on the other side of the building, and the ever-present crickets.

  The no-smoking allowed card on the table was cute.

  What he wouldn’t give now for the smell of a fire, freshly brewed coffee, the crisp scent of snow, and chopped wood. He closed his eyes and drew in a long breath, picturing himself stepping outside of his cabin.

  He was missing his first winter in his new home, goddammit.

  He had countless memories from his parents’ hunting cabin up in Whistler, and he wished he could transfer them to his place. Snow shaking off the pine trees with a hard gust of howling wind, the ax hitting the trunk of the tree with a satisfying thunk, the crackling sounds from the fire—fuck. He could see Gray there. In the snow,
with cheeks and nose rosy from the cold, a similar grin to the one Darius had seen in that picture of Gray and Abel…

  The knucklehead would probably complain a lot, a thought that made Darius smirk to himself.

  How pissed would the kid get about a snowball down his jacket?

  Darius took a final drag from his smoke and flicked it over the railing.

  What he wouldn’t give, what he wouldn’t give.

  Instead, he was here in this tropical hell.

  And Gray was—

  Darius tensed up. A key was inserted into the reader in the door, the lock whirring as it opened.

  Please.

  He turned around and leaned against the railing just as Gray reached the balcony doors.

  Something built up rapidly inside of Darius and threatened to explode, a clusterfuck of emotions and C4 and confusion and, and, and—shit. “You shaved.”

  Gray had lost the hoodie, too. He was back in just sweats, hair that looked damp, and a fresh-shaven face. Vulnerability shining in his eyes. “I can’t sleep.”

  “Me either.” Darius swallowed hard and threw caution to the wind. Two steps were all it took. He dipped down and covered Gray’s mouth with his own, earning himself a gasp and two hands locking around his neck. “Thank fuck you’re here, knucklehead.”

  Gray whimpered and pressed his body closer, quickly deepening the kiss.

  Come hell or high water, Darius was gonna push forward until something broke. He was too weak to do the right thing, to hold back…to listen to Ry.

  “This is mad.” The words gusted out of Gray as he yanked Darius’s tee over his head.

  Mad was a fitting term, even more so if one was familiar with what it stood for. Darius acted on instinct and gave Gray little to no warning when he reached down and grabbed on to the backs of Gray’s thighs. Then he picked Gray up and started walking him toward the bedroom.

  Bumping into walls and knocking down a lamp was more accurate, but whatever. They kissed hungrily and clung to each other with the same amount of desperation, that was all that mattered.

  Darius grunted, his shoulder hitting the doorframe. “Ever heard of Mutual Assured Destruction?”

  “Ummm…” Gray was busy kissing his way down Darius’s neck. “No?”

  “It means—never mind. Not important.” He threw Gray down on the bed and climbed over him.

  Being with Gray ignited the most intense fire, yet, at the same time, the tension faded. The stress, the worries, the anxiety—all gone. Darius could breathe properly. Desire surged through him, and he let himself get completely lost in the moment.

  He groaned when he felt Gray’s fingers slipping underneath his boxer briefs. Skin on skin, that was what he needed. He needed to feel every fucking inch. Taking another hard kiss, Darius pushed down Gray’s sweats, feeling lean muscle flexing under his touch.

  Gray sucked in a breath and moaned. “Darius…”

  “Fuck, keep saying my name like that.” The fire grew hotter, and Darius peered down at Gray with hooded eyes, seeing him for the first time in a new light. As sinfully goddamn sexy. He licked his bottom lip while staring at Gray’s. Even in the low light, he could see Gray’s cheeks turning darker. “You blushed earlier…” He touched Gray’s cheek and kissed him slowly, deeply, pushing his tongue into Gray’s mouth. “Jack said something that flustered you.”

  Gray made a noise, breathing heavily, gaze unfocused and filled with lust. “A topic for another time?”

  Well, now Darius had to know. He sat back on his heels between Gray’s parted legs and got rid of his briefs all the way. “Tell me.” He stroked himself unhurriedly.

  Gray pushed up and supported his upper body on his elbows. “Jesus Christ, you’re sexy.” He stared unabashedly at Darius’s cock and bit his lip. “I hooked up with Jack’s brother once. That’s all. Jack teased me and passed along a get-well message.”

  Darius narrowed his eyes. Funny how un-fucking-funny that was. “You’ve slept with Jamie?” Why did that bother him? It shouldn’t matter in the slightest. And it had to be Jameson. Adam was straight, Jack was with Isla, and Alex was…well, he was a mixed bag, but Darius couldn’t see that happening.

  Gray’s brows rose. “You know Jameson? By the way, you were sexier when you stroked yourself in front of me. You should get back to doing that.”

  A low growl emanated from Darius’s chest. “He’s too old for you.”

  Gray chuckled incredulously. “He’s younger than you, Daddy.”

  Fuck!

  Darius was hovering over Gray in an instant. He grabbed Gray’s jaw. Noses touching. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Darius had to shake that feeling. The tightness around his chest. “I’m too old for you too.”

  “Keep talkin’,” Gray whispered. “Keep pretending.” He wrapped his arms around Darius’s middle and kissed his jaw. “All I can think of is sucking your cock again. You sure you wanna talk about a one-nighter I had a fucking year ago?”

  No. Gray’s mouth on his cock sounded better. So he sat back again and let his knucklehead make the next move.

  Gray wasted no time. He sat up and leaned forward, sucking Darius’s cock deep into his mouth.

  Goose bumps rose across Darius’s back and arms, and he stuttered a sharp breath. His fingers disappeared into Gray’s hair. Sweet fuck, the feeling was indescribable. Hot, warm, so wet, so tight.

  He briefly wondered if he’d ever felt so desired before—or rather, if he’d ever been with anyone who was so goddamn passionate—but the answer would probably depress him. Instead, he refocused and let one hand roam Gray’s arched back. The cuts and scrapes were healing, and Darius was torn about it. As much as he wanted Gray to recover completely, he also knew the experiences had already changed his life forever. The scars that would decorate his body might be painful reminders for Gray, though to Darius, they meant more. Scars were proof of battles that had been won. They were medals worth something. Never delivered in a fancy box to surviving relatives.

  He didn’t want his cock sucked anymore. He wanted something else. With a gentle tug on Gray’s hair, he eased out of his mouth and told him to lie down on his stomach.

  “But I wasn’t done,” Gray protested.

  “My turn.” Darius waited until Gray had complied.

  “I brought lube. Well, after-sun lotion, but I’ve used it before—”

  “Let’s not discuss what you’ve used with other lovers, all right?”

  Gray snickered into the pillow. “I love it when a man gets possessive.”

  It probably wasn’t good that Darius got possessive, though. Or jealous. Jealousy was new and ugly and unfamiliar and wrong and…yep, still there. Fuck. Pushing that thought aside, he reached for Gray’s sweats and found the keycard and a small bottle of lotion. Or oil, it looked like. Good enough.

  He dropped it onto the bed for now. Then he lowered himself over Gray’s body and placed a featherlight kiss on his shoulder.

  Gray shivered.

  Darius rubbed his back in slow strokes, brushing his fingers carefully over still-healing wounds. A few of them had been bandaged at the hospital. Darius kissed each one of them, and for every second that passed, Gray seemed to melt into the mattress a little more.

  The barcode that had been tattooed on the back of his neck was covered too. Along with the digits Darius had added. Maybe one day he’d tell Gray the significance of those numbers.

  “What’re you doing?” Gray asked cautiously. “We could be fucking right now. Don’t you wanna get off?”

  “Not yet.” Darius pressed the length of his body against Gray’s, his cock nestled perfectly along Gray’s ass. “Are you in a hurry?” He dropped an openmouthed kiss to Gray’s neck and sucked lightly at the skin.

  A violent shudder rippled through Gray this time. “No, I’m just… I don’t know, I’m not used to this.”

  That was a fucking shame. Then again, Darius wasn’t used to this either. None of it made sense to him, even as he admitted to himself it felt so na
tural with Gray.

  He continued with the softer assault, kneading Gray’s flesh, tasting him, finally just taking his time, something he barely knew he’d needed. Badly.

  Darius realized he was doing his own exam. You’re gonna heal. He kissed one marking, an irritated little red scrape. This one wouldn’t leave a scar. Some others would. The spike mat Gray had landed on after getting thrown off the mechanical bull had left his entire back littered with the same cuts. But you’ll recover.

  “You’re beautiful, Gray.”

  He heard Gray’s nervous swallow.

  “I mean it.” Darius created a path of unhurried kisses down Gray’s spine. His own need grew, but he checked himself. He wasn’t gonna rush. “You may not see it today or in two months, but one day… I’ll make sure you see what I see.”

  “Heh.” Gray trembled and squirmed. “I think I’ll skip asking this once. I won’t believe you.”

  No, he wouldn’t. Hell, Darius could barely believe what he was thinking. He’d never come remotely close to feeling this way about another man, and he wasn’t ready to acknowledge it fully now either. He could still explain the attachment logically. The things they’d survived and overcome together, the memories that would haunt them…but also connect them.

  This overwhelming urgency would lessen with time.

  “God,” Gray exhaled as Darius slid his thumbs between Gray’s ass cheeks.

  He got comfortable between Gray’s legs and kissed the inside of his thighs. His mouth fucking watered, and his cock became uncomfortably hard.

  “Darius, you don’t have to—”

  “Quiet, boy.” It was the last thing Darius said before he left a lingering, openmouthed kiss directly over Gray’s opening. He teased his tongue around it, over it, and prodded gently to get inside.

  Gray gasped, a thin, drawn-out sound, and arched his back. Darius hummed and began to tongue-fuck him slowly, and he loved every little plea that slipped out of Gray’s mouth. The surprise was clear; Gray wasn’t used to this treatment or pace, and it gave Darius a sense of selfish joy. Something that was only his.