Sweet Hart

by Rae Marks

  “I told him I didn’t know who you were meeting with. I gave him your car information in case he could track you that way. He said he’d do what he could, but asked…”

  “What?” Sam asked.

  “He asked me why I was doing this, why I was searching for someone who… He asked why I was looking for my brother and I remember saying, ‘I love him’. If your room is bugged, then Kozak thought I was talking about you.”

  “So he thought he had inside info. I guess he did. I think we’re in the clear, then. It appears Kozak has already listened to you in my room. If you’d said Mase’s name, he wouldn’t have been there today.”

  “He’d be dead,” Ax said.

  Bray shivered at the thought. He was hurt that his brother wanted nothing to do with him, but he still wanted Mase alive.

  “At least you can follow some orders,” Sam grumbled. “Call Sin.”

  “What? Why?”

  “He called to tell me you were in trouble. We were already on our way to get you, but he seemed worried.”

  While Bray called Max, only to leave a message, Sam made a phone call too. He was speaking in French, but Bray understood most of what he was saying. It sounded like he was giving a report to his commanding officer. Ax pulled into the parking lot of a store and got out of the car.

  “When we get back to the hotel,” Sam said, “you have to be on all the time. You’ve put us in a precarious situation, so you’re going to have to live with the consequences.”

  “Consequences?”

  “Yes. You’re now my ‘boyfriend’. I assume you’re straight, but—”

  “Why would you assume I’m straight?”

  “If you’re not, Mase went through a whole hell of a lot of grief for nothing.”

  “I’m gay. So is Nick.”

  Sam looked down at the floor in front of him for a long time. “Does Mase know?”

  Bray shook his head. “It’s not exactly something you send in an email to your brother when you’re trying to repair a broken relationship. He would never meet with me.”

  Sam sighed and looked up at Bray. As they sat for a moment, Sam seemed to come to a decision.

  “We have to pretend to know each other pretty well. Mase’s life is at stake, so we need to keep his name completely out of it.”

  “They called him ‘Mason’. Is he using his own backstory?”

  “He is, in a way. He’s going by the name Drew Mason, whose background is that he was dishonorably discharged from the army, but for more serious crimes than the allegations Mase faced.”

  Bray nodded.

  “So can you keep this up? Can you pretend to be in a relationship with me, all the while keeping your mouth shut to protect your brother? At least until I can get you safe passage back to the States?”

  Bray wasn’t sure what would happen if he didn’t agree. He’d do pretty much anything to protect Mase, even if his brother didn’t want him to. Pretending to belong to Sam wasn’t a hardship. Bray wondered how far the pretending would go. His body lit up at the thought.

  Chapter Twelve

  Sam

  Brayden nodded slowly. It wasn’t like he had much of a choice. Sam’s mind kept going back to the fact that Brayden was gay. He’d felt a strong pull toward the man from the moment he’d set eyes on him. But he’d been attracted to plenty of straight guys in his life.

  He’d once thought himself in love with one. To be fair, Grayson hadn’t been straight. He’d simply been so far back in the closet that he was probably in Narnia. Sam didn’t like to think about that time in his life. If there was one thing he could scrub from his memory, it would be that year between the ages of sixteen and seventeen.

  “Are you and Mase…?”

  Sam had been so lost in his reverie that he’d almost forgotten what they were talking about. He looked at Brayden, expecting him to continue his thought. When he realized what Brayden was asking, he laughed.

  “Mase is more a brother to me than my own brothers.”

  Sam could have bitten his tongue in two when Brayden’s face fell. He would have done it too, if it would reel those words back into his mouth and prevent the look of shock and hurt in Brayden’s eyes. Sam wouldn’t have felt guilt, even a few days ago, but knowing Brayden had been trying to contact Mase changed his perspective on everything.

  “I meant brothers-in-arms. It wasn’t a dig at you. I’ve known Mase since boot camp.”

  “You and Mase were in boot camp together?”

  Sam nodded as he thought back to those days. He’d finally found a purpose but had still been hiding who he was. He and Mase both had, which was probably why they’d bonded so easily. Brayden seemed so hungry for intel on his brother that Sam found himself wanting to give him some.

  “I was coming in as an officer. I’d just graduated from college on an ROTC scholarship. Mase was fresh from high school, so we weren’t even in the same barracks, but we bonded. We both applied for Ranger School as soon as we qualified. We helped each other through that too.”

  “So I guess he told you what my dad did?”

  Sam nodded. He only knew a little, like Mase’s parents had kicked him out and told him to stay away from his brothers.

  “I know he had the same background as me. I don’t know all the specifics. It didn’t matter. We both lost our families because we were queer. We didn’t get too much chance to talk about it anyway. ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ and all that bullshit was still around until we’d been serving for a while.”

  “Your parents asked you to leave?”

  “My parents thought they were giving me a choice, just like your parents and Mase, but it’s no choice. Pretend to be something you’re not and die inside or leave. Parents are supposed to love their kids unconditionally. The only kinds of parents who gives their kids that choice are selfish, immature and unfit. They’re worried their kid’s sexuality is going to reflect poorly on them because they take credit for all their kid’s accomplishments.”

  Ax opened the door and cut the conversation short. He threw a plastic bag into the passenger seat and started the car. Sam and Brayden both remained quiet as they made their way back to the hotel.

  “You lovebirds work everything out?”

  Sam gave Ax a glare. Ax lifted one hand from the steering wheel in surrender and probably apology, considering this predicament was partially his fault as well. The asshole still had a smirk on his face, though. Sam turned to find Brayden frowning as he gazed out of the window.

  “So I guess we’ll play this exactly like they think,” Sam said. “You came here wanting to try to give me another person to watch my back. We’ll go back and forth about it. I’ll tell you that you can come to the next meeting since Kozak told me to bring you, but you can’t be in on the actual conversation.”

  “Kozak said to bring me along?”

  “He thinks we’ll all be safer if we can have eyes on you, kid.”

  “You should probably stop calling me ‘kid’ if you’re my boyfriend.”

  Sam had to gear himself up to use the kid’s nickname out loud. It would feel too familiar, and Sam didn’t get familiar. He didn’t have boyfriends. He hadn’t had anything even close to a relationship in years. He settled for the kid's full name instead.

  “Brayden,” Sam finally said.

  “Only strangers call me Brayden.”

  Sam swallowed. “Bray.”

  “Should I call you ‘master’, since you call all the shots?”

  There was a loud snort that came from the driver’s seat.

  “Sam is fine.”

  “Or Magnum,” Ax suggested.

  “Magnum?” Bray asked at the same time Sam said, “No.”

  “Absolutely not. That has ties to me.”

  “Just kidding, boss,” Ax said.

  “That’s your call sign? Magnum?”

  Sam shot Ax a look that said they’d be talking about this later, then nodded in answer to Bray’s question. Ax already liked Bray if he was pulli
ng him into inside jokes. Sam didn’t like that the idea of Bray and Ax in cahoots had his stomach gnawing with…he didn’t know what exactly.

  “Like a three-fifty-seven?”

  “No. As in P.I.” Ax barely got the words out before he started to laugh.

  “I get that too,” Bray said with a serious nod.

  “Get what?”

  Bray shrugged like it was obvious as he said, “Well, you can probably pack a punch like a three-fifty-seven, but with the mustache I get the P.I. vibe, even though you have a beard.”

  Ax was very loudly trying not to laugh.

  “You sound like a pig choking,” Sam told him.

  At that point, Ax stopped trying to hold it in and just guffawed. Sam had a powerful urge to smack him on the back of the head, but he kept his hands firmly in his lap.

  Bray gave him a somewhat naïve smile, as if he were simply enjoying Ax’s merriment. The corner of Sam’s mouth kicked up a little when Bray started laughing at Ax’s laughter.

  “You sure do pack a punch,” Ax said through his laughter.

  “Shut the fuck up, Loco,” Sam groused.

  “Loco? Your call sign is ‘crazy’?”

  “Better than ‘Magnum’.” Ax said. “What’s your handle, kid?”

  Bray’s eyes widened but he kept his mouth shut.

  “Oooh, it’s worse than Magnum?” Ax teased.

  “Magnum is a cool handle,” Bray said.

  “And your call sign isn’t,” Ax guessed. “Hmm, are you out to your team? Is it ‘Sugar Britches’?”

  Ax chuckled at his own joke while Bray turned red from the tips of his ears to the neck of his shirt.

  “Did I get it on the first guess?” Ax glanced at Bray.

  “No,” Bray grumbled.

  Ax was obviously close—or at least in the same vein.

  “What about ‘Sugar’, because you’re so sweet?” Ax guessed.

  “Right thought, wrong word,” Bray said. “My handle is Sweet, as in Sweet Hart.”

  “Oh, man. That is worse than Magnum.” Ax laughed.

  Everything was all fun and games until they walked into the hotel room. Ax headed off to his room on one side of the suite while Sam led Bray to their room on the other side of the suite. Their room.

  If Bray were any other guy—hell, if he were himself but not Mase’s brother—Sam might be looking forward to spending a few nights in the same bed with him. But he was Mase’s brother. And though the kid was fully responsible for getting himself tangled up in this mess, Sam was still responsible for his safety.

  That meant that no matter how attracted he was to Bray, he would keep his hands to himself. With Kozak and Andreiko listening in, they at least had to pretend something was going on between them. Chances were that once they heard any type of kissing, Kozak and his men would fast forward—or they might listen to every damn second.

  “Where’s your luggage?” Sam asked when Bray only brought in a backpack.

  “I…um… I kind of got mugged at the airport.”

  “Mugged?”

  “Yeah, it’s why I’m wearing your hoodie. Mine got cut up a little when I was fighting the guys off.”

  Sam sighed.

  “Don’t get all huffy. I’ll give your hoodie back. I just needed it to cover the gun.”

  “Bray”—Sam didn’t like how easily the name fell from his lips—“where did you even get a gun?”

  “It’s one of yours.” Bray smirked, playing his role perfectly.

  “And the muggers. Did they hurt you too?”

  “No. They jumped me in the bathroom, but some other guys interrupted while I was trying to fight them off.”

  Bray took a coin from his pocket and began playing with it. He walked around the room before setting his backpack on the dresser.

  “Well, it’s not like you need clothes while we’re in the hotel room, but tomorrow we’ll have to go buy you something to wear. I’d prefer you don’t look like a high school student if I take you to my next business meeting.”

  “I don’t look like I belong in high school,” Bray grumbled.

  “College then,” Sam conceded.

  Bray shrugged as he unzipped his backpack.

  “Don’t act like I’m the bad guy here,” Sam said. “You knew I wanted you to stay home. I knew this could be a risky trip. Legally speaking, homosexuality is recognized here, but socially speaking, it’s a dangerous thing to be in Ukraine.”

  “I could have pretended to be your bodyguard too.”

  Sam smiled at the thought. “Bray, you’re adorable, but you are not a bodyguard.”

  Bray turned at looked at Sam. After a moment, he lifted his mouth in a shy smile.

  “I really didn’t mean for all this to happen,” Bray said. “I just wanted to see where you go. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

  “And what about me?” Ax was standing in the open doorway. “Didn’t you want to make sure I was okay?”

  “Ax, do you know how to knock?”

  “Door was open, boss. Anyway. I’m ordering some grub. What do you two want?”

  Ax handed Sam the menu. The suite offered twenty-four-seven butler service, but that was just another person spying on them. He and Bray could probably pull this off with someone listening, but not if they were watching as well.

  “I’m glad you’re okay too, Ax.” Bray smiled.

  Sam crumpled the menu when his hand fisted at his side. Ax patted Sam’s shoulder and chuckled as he headed out of the room.

  “I’ll be ordering mine in about five minutes. Let me know if you want anything.”

  Sam handed Bray the menu.

  “What do you want, Sam?”

  Sam swallowed back a groan. How could his name on someone’s lips be such a fucking turn-on? He watched Bray as he went over the menu.

  “You know what I like.”

  Bray looked up at him with worried eyes. The kid was probably scared he’d order something Sam wouldn’t like, but Sam wasn’t picky. He’d eat pretty much anything.

  Bray quietly walked over and stood next to Sam as he looked at the menu. Sam could smell him again, but it was a strange mix of the sweet odor of Bray mixed with the scent of Sam’s own laundry detergent from his hoodie. The mixing of their scents shouldn’t have distracted him so thoroughly, yet it did. Visions of them mixing other things flooded his brain.

  Holding the menu between them, Bray pointed to a rib-eye steak. Sam was definitely a meat and potatoes kind of guy, so he nodded his approval.

  “I’ll go tell Ax what we want.”

  When Bray left the room, Sam found himself taking deep, cleansing breaths as he tried to rid his nostrils of the intoxicating smell that was Brayden Hart.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Brayden

  “You want to add to the order, kid?”

  “You guys act like I’m sixteen. I’m twenty-six.”

  “It’s the baby face. I’m only a couple years older than you, but you remind me of my kid brother who’s sixteen.”

  “I don’t look that young.”

  “Maybe not, but there’s an innocence about you.”

  “I’m definitely not innocent.”

  Bray had seen combat. He’d killed. He’d wounded, been wounded. He’d rescued people who’d been tortured. There was no way anyone could truly call him innocent.

  “Maybe innocence is the wrong word. Naïveté, maybe? Then again, maybe it’s your tenacity. What you did today was tenacious, kid, and don’t let the boss tell you any different. Yet you still have this positive light about you—like no matter what you’ve seen, you think the world is a good place and people are ultimately good.”

  Bray didn’t know what to say to that. It was probably one of the nicest compliments anyone had ever given him. He smiled and gave Ax a nod of thanks. The funny thing was that Bray didn’t mind Ax calling him ‘kid’, but he sure minded when Sam did it.

  “So what did you want to eat?”

  “Sam’ll have the
rib-eye with mushrooms and mashed potatoes. I’ll have a dragon roll, a tempura roll with eel and a strawberry tart.”

  “Okay, I’ll add that on. It’ll probably be here in thirty.”

  Bray thanked Ax, but when he turned around, he was surprised to see Sam standing in the doorway that led back to his bedroom. Their bedroom.

  “Don’t tell me you don’t trust me to even get your dinner order right.”

  As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Bray’s eyes widened in surprise. Not only was he not usually snarky, but that was a little bit of a break in character.

  “I was actually coming to ask you to add mashed potatoes,” Sam said.

  “You were?”

  Sam nodded and Bray let out a relieved sigh. They both headed back to the bedroom together and Bray’s nerves began to make his movements a little stiff. He didn’t want to ruin this for anyone, since he was the interloper.

  “Calm down,” Sam said. “I’m not mad, but don’t flirt with Ax.”

  Bray had been unpacking his toiletries from his backpack, but he stopped and looked up at Sam. Was Sam jealous? Of course he wasn’t. He was just playing jealous.

  “I wasn’t flirting. Ax isn’t interested in me. He thinks I’m a kid.”

  Bray gave Sam a sharp look. In return, Sam gave him a half smile. That little lift at the corner of Sam’s mouth made a real smile break free on Bray’s face.

  “Ax is two years older than you. I can call you both kids if I want to. Now, take off your clothes.”

  Every muscle in Bray’s body froze in fear and excitement.

  “I want to check all your injuries.”

  Bray swallowed and nodded. He didn’t examine his disappointment too closely at Sam tacking on that second statement. Wondering if this was an act or if Sam really wanted to check him, Bray raised his eyebrows in question. Sam nodded.

  After putting his toiletry bag on the counter in the bathroom, Bray tried to will away the half chub that had plumped up as soon as Sam had told him to get naked. Bray slowly took off everything but his boxers.

  Head down, Bray hurried out of the bathroom and plopped down on the bed. When Sam knelt in front of Bray’s knees, his heart rate doubled. Images of other things Sam might do on his knees bombarded him. With his pants gone, Bray did everything he could to keep his body from reacting to the proximity of Sam’s mouth to his dick.