Sweet Hart

by Rae Marks

  His abdominal muscles tightened as Sam gently prodded and the pain took care of any problem he might have had with tenting his boxers.

  “I don’t imagine many people get to see you on your knees,” Bray blurted.

  He wanted to face-palm himself. Why did he get so tongue-tied around Sam?

  “Only you,” Sam replied with a smirk. “Unless of course you get yourself killed.”

  Bray rolled his eyes but then hissed out a breath when Sam continued to prod him. Sam covered up Bray’s little blunder seamlessly. He wanted to apologize, but that would break character too.

  “I think sex is off the table, for tonight at least.”

  Sam winked at Bray when he said it, like they should both be relieved for the reprieve. He could only nod and give a small smile to hide his…was it really disappointment? Bray was definitely curious about how they’d address the sex side of this. Would they moan and bounce on the bed?

  “At least tell me a story to distract me from the pain you’re inflicting.”

  “I’m almost done. I just want to check your head again. What kind of story do you want to hear?”

  “You never talk about your family. Tell me about them.”

  “I never talk about them because I stopped existing to them when they found out I was gay.”

  “I know that part. Tell me about the part before that. Were you close to your siblings?”

  Bray was taking full advantage of the situation, but he couldn’t bring himself to feel guilty. He was very interested in Sam. He was pretty sure Sam wouldn’t close up on him while they were playing lovers for their audience.

  “I don’t know why you find this interesting, but I was pretty close to my siblings. When there are a lot of you, the older ones start parenting the little ones. My sister is the oldest. She’s a mother hen if there ever was one. She was a second mom to all the kids, but she could also be a horrible tattle-tale.”

  Sam huffed out a small laugh, probably at a memory. Bray stayed quiet.

  “I was second oldest, so I helped with the younger ones too. Sometimes it just felt like my mom wanted us out of the house. She’d let us play outside for hours while she cooked or cleaned—or maybe she was inside watching TV—but she sure as hell expected us to keep track of each other.”

  “So you weren’t close to your parents?”

  “My dad was always at work. My mom was always doing something—cooking, canning, quilting, sewing, singing in the church choir. Her hobbies seemed endless.”

  “Sounds pretty old-fashioned.”

  “Total nuclear family, but we were always tight for money. I was lucky as the oldest boy. Most of my clothes were new or passed down from older cousins. By the time they got to my youngest brother, they were threadbare or patched or both.”

  “I always wanted more siblings, especially…” Bray stopped himself from talking about Mase. “Well, especially after I lost my oldest brother. I guess it’s not always what you imagine it to be.”

  “I wouldn’t say I was close to my siblings. I just didn’t have many options when it came to playmates. But you were close to your brother before you…before you lost him?”

  “He was my hero.” Bray nodded. “I wanted to be just like him. I tried to copy everything he did. I guess that was what worried my dad. He didn’t want me to be ‘reckless with my future’. I didn’t understand a lot of things when we lost him.”

  Bray heard a quiet buzzing as he’d made his last statement. Sam pulled his phone out of his pocket and unlocked it. He frowned at whatever he read but continued on with the conversation as if nothing had happened.

  “I’m sorry you lost him,” Sam said quietly.

  Anyone listening would probably think his brother had died. In a way, he probably had. Bray couldn’t imagine losing his whole family at seventeen. He’d lost part of his family when he was nine and another part when he’d been eighteen, but he’d always had his mom. She was steadfast and true.

  “Thanks, Sam.”

  Bray was embarrassed at the soft emotion apparent in his voice. It might fit the character he was supposed to be playing, but he wasn’t an actor.

  “I need to find out what Ax did with the Epsom salt. I want you to take a nice long soak. It'll help with the soreness.”

  Sam stood and left the room. With the door open, Bray could hear the cadence of his voice while he talked with Ax, but he couldn’t hear what they were saying. After a moment Sam was back.

  “Ax left all the supplies in the car. I’m just going to run down and get them.”

  “Shouldn’t Ax go with you?”

  “Stop worrying about me.” Sam was smiling when he said it. “I can take care of myself. Besides, no one wants me dead that I know of.”

  Sam also lifted each of his pant-legs to show Bray his back-up weapons. Bray had seen his main weapon in a holster at the small of his back as soon as Sam had taken his jacket off in the hotel room. Bray got the message. He was covered.

  “Besides, I think I have more reason to be worried at this point in the game. You’re the one who’s been getting himself into trouble—mugging, stolen luggage, kidnapped and pistol whipped all in one day.”

  “All right. I get the picture. Just don’t take too long or I’ll send Ax after you.”

  Sam shook his head as he walked out of the room, but there was a smile on his face.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Sam

  “What the fuck is my little brother doing in Kiev?”

  Sam had been getting the plastic bag out of the front seat of the car, the bag they’d purposely left so he’d have a valid excuse to go downstairs when Mase called. He hadn’t expected the text message he’d received while checking Bray’s wounds. The text from Mase that had told him to get his ass downstairs so they could talk.

  “He followed me. Is it safe to be meeting me here?”

  “I have all the cameras in here blocked. No video or sound feed for up to ten minutes. You, on the other hand—you’re losing your touch, Magnum. I thought you were an operator.”

  Mase punctuated his statement by shoving Sam back against the car. Sam would be just as pissed if he found out one of his brothers were in danger. Someone like Ax would already be punching him in the face if he were in Mase’s place. So Sam didn’t react, didn’t defend himself physically. He tried to reason.

  “He has a tech guy in his pocket. Some guy that goes by the code name Sin. Any idea who he might be?”

  “I haven’t seen or talked to Bray in seventeen years. You think I know his friends?”

  “Mase, calm down.”

  That seemed to have the opposite effect, because Mase did punch Sam…right in the gut. Still, Sam didn’t defend himself. And because he didn’t, Mase didn’t escalate. He simply stood there, breathing hard, hands fisted at his sides, hatred in his eyes.

  “He’s fucking in love with you,” Mase ground out. “I didn’t even know he was gay.”

  Sam couldn’t help but laugh. Apparently, they even had Mase fooled. No way someone like Bray would ever fall in love with someone like him. He wasn’t sure he’d be capable of loving someone, and Bray sure didn’t deserve someone as hard and cynical as he was.

  “You find this amusing?” Mase leaned forward an intimidating inch.

  “It’s you he loves, not me. Though he is gay, apparently.”

  “What?”

  “I met him two days ago. He showed up at that apartment in Miami—the shit-hole we use for deals. Somehow his friend tied you to me and me to that apartment.”

  “Two days?”

  “Yeah. If you’re talking about the bug, he was talking about loving you.”

  “I saw how he looked at you.” There was accusation in Mase’s voice.

  “Because he knew I was there to save his ass. Nothing more. Now we’re stuck pretending until I can get him out of this. He came to me looking for you. I told him to go on home, that I couldn’t help. Bro followed him to the airport to make sure he left. He had a f
light to DC.”

  Mase’s shoulders relaxed a little. Since he seemed to be calming down, Sam continued.

  “Apparently he beat me to Kiev, thanks to his friend, and was waiting for me when we landed. We lost him at the airport but his friend pointed him to this hotel. He stumbled right into Sergiy and the rest of Kozak’s welcome party.”

  “That’s it?”

  Sam nodded.

  “That message about Nickel?”

  “In Miami I wouldn’t even let him into the apartment. He told me to tell you Nickel needs you and it looks like it could be life and death.”

  “Nick,” Mase whispered. “Is he—?”

  “I don’t know. We didn’t exactly talk about it, and the only chance we have to talk is in the car. We keep checking and it’s not bugged so far.”

  “That’s not their MO. They aren’t that organized or that smart. They assume all deals and lies will go down in the hotel room.”

  Mase darted his eyes around the parking garage, but Sam knew he wasn’t actually seeing anything. They were right on the verge of getting what they needed, but Mase’s family might need him more.

  “He’s brave,” Mase finally said.

  “Tenacious too,” Sam agreed with a chuckle. “Said he wanted to be like his big brother.”

  Mase snorted. “When he was nine.”

  “And yet he joined the army just like his brother.”

  “Nick’s in the army too. They always did everything together.”

  Sam smiled. He wasn’t surprised Mase knew exactly where his brothers were. Sam knew his siblings were safe too. They had followed in their parents’ footsteps. All but Noah. Noah was the only one who wasn’t married with kids, but Noah was the youngest. He’d been their parents’ ‘oops’ baby. Sam had already been a teenager by the time Noah was born.

  “Can you check to see if he was injured in combat?”

  Shaking off thoughts of his own family, Sam nodded. He was able to check in with Jazz a lot more frequently than Mase was. He’d make sure to have the intel next time he saw Mase.

  “I’d better get back,” Mase said.

  “Me too. I’m just grabbing something out of the car. Do you think—” Sam had to clear his throat before continuing on. “Any possibility you could be the one to listen to the recordings from our room? I don’t want to resort to bouncing on the bed, but…”

  Mase shook his head. “Kozak does that himself. He doesn’t really trust anyone, not even Andreiko. Then again, I wouldn’t trust Andreiko either.”

  “All right.”

  “Besides, even if I know it’s you jumping on a bed, I couldn’t handle listening to my brother.”

  Sam gave his friend a shoulder bump.

  “We’ll figure it out, okay? If you need a hiatus, we’ll figure it out.”

  Mase nodded and gave Sam a quick, tight hug.

  “Keep him safe,” Mase whispered before he walked away.

  Sam rubbed his forehead and watched until Mase was out of sight before quickly putting in a call to Jazz about Nick.

  When he opened the door to his suite, Sam found Ax lounging on the sofa in the living room watching TV. Bray was pacing behind him, wearing only a pair of Sam’s sweats. The pants were huge on him, but he’d pulled the drawstring tight. Sam was a few inches taller, so the cinched hem of the pants bunched at Bray’s ankles. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, but Sam guessed that was more because it would have hurt to put one back on.

  “Food should be here any minute,” Ax said without looking away from the TV.

  “That took a long time,” Bray said.

  “Car’s in valet, so it took a little longer than I thought it would.”

  Sam reached into the plastic bag he held and pulled out the Epsom salt.

  “Are you hungry? Would you rather eat first then take a bath? We could save your food. You probably ordered sushi, so it’s not like we have to worry about it getting cold.”

  Bray’s eyes went wide with surprise. Sam had heard everything he’d told Ax. Sam winked. Bray opened and closed his mouth then shook his head. They didn’t even know each other, yet Sam could almost hear him say ‘good one’.

  “Ugh. You two are too cutesy for me,” Ax complained. “If you’re going to start making out, at least take it to your bedroom.”

  Sam knew Ax was just playing along, but Bray’s cheeks flushed pink and he looked away. After a few beats, he looked back at Sam, but it wasn’t embarrassment in his gaze, just curiosity. Bray was wondering what it might be like. Sam was too.

  “Sam said no sex tonight, so I guess we’ll just keep you company.”

  Ax choked on the beer he’d been drinking. Bray rushed over and patted him on the back. When he could finally breathe again, Ax chuckled. His chuckle turned into a laugh that had Bray and Sam smiling as well.

  “You’re a good sport, kid, but you’re sharp too,” Ax said. “I’ll have to remember that when I tease you. But be careful. I don’t think Sam likes you talking about your sex life—or lack thereof, as it were.”

  Bray laughed but took a decorative pillow from the sofa and hit Ax on the head with it. The teasing continued through dinner. The more comfortable Bray got with Ax, the more uncomfortable Sam got.

  Sam wasn’t big on joking around. It had also never bothered him before, but watching Ax make Bray laugh or blush had Sam feeling hostile toward his friend. Even as he appreciated Ax putting Bray at ease, Sam still wished Ax would shut the fuck up.

  After dinner, Ax excused himself to his room. As Sam walked with Bray to their room, he started to sweat. A bath was beginning to seem like a bad idea. He’d thought it would give him an excuse to leave the room and also help Bray feel better. As they stepped into the bedroom, he realized that, as Bray’s boyfriend, he couldn’t just hand him the box of bath salts, send him into the bathroom, shut the door and do his best not to picture him naked.

  “I’ll get your bath started,” Sam said.

  Bray nodded and trailed Sam into the bathroom. He watched as Sam tested the water temperature and added the Epsom salt. When Sam turned away from the tub, Bray was sitting on the closed toilet lid. He looked ready to fall over.

  “You can’t fall asleep in the bath, Bray. If you’re too tired, we can just go to bed.”

  “I think a soak will help soothe my muscles before bed.”

  Bray stood and began to untie the drawstring of the sweatpants. Sam tried to swallow to get some moisture in his parched throat. Bray was beautiful. He was leanly muscled. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on his young, fit body.

  He wasn’t skinny by any stretch, but he wasn’t as heavily muscled as Sam. The lines of his biceps were deeply defined but not bulky. His small pecs narrowed down to a slender waist, but it was his ass that had Sam’s cock filling and pressing against his zipper.

  He didn’t even know if Bray liked to bottom, but he couldn’t stop himself from imagining what it would be like to watch that peach of an ass jiggle as Sam pounded into him. He tried to shake the thought out of his head. He wasn’t going to fuck Mase’s kid brother. Even the fantasy was a bad idea.

  Bray was struggling to untie the knot in the drawstring of the sweats. Sam reached out to help him but then pulled his hands back to his sides.

  “It’s okay,” Bray said.

  Sam’s gaze shot up to meet his.

  “I mean, it’s okay to touch me.”

  Bray’s eyes widened at his own words when he realized his mistake. So the next words rushed out of his mouth.

  “I’m not going to break. I’m not fragile. You don’t have to back off, Sam.”

  Bray gave him a small nod of encouragement and Sam once again reached for the drawstring.

  “I hate seeing those bruises,” Sam admitted.

  He quickly untied Bray’s pants then turned his back so Bray could undress and get into the bath. When he heard the lapping of the water on the sides of the tub, he turned to make sure Bray was all right. But he wasn’t seated in the tub. Bray was standi
ng, turning this way and that, probably trying to figure out how to sit down without causing too much pain. Sam also noticed something else. Bray was half hard.

  “Here,” Sam said as he approached the tub.

  He scooped Bray up in his arms. Bray sucked in a surprised breath when his feet left the ground. His skin was warm and soft where Sam held him at his back and behind his knees. Trying to keep his eyes off Bray’s cock, Sam watched his face for signs of pain or distress, but Bray seemed too surprised to show any other emotion.

  Slowly, Sam squatted down and placed Bray into the water. When Sam began to pull his arms from underneath Bray, his face was directly over Bray’s hips. Bray quickly covered his erection with his hands.

  Sam looked up at Bray. There was a tinge of embarrassment there, but not as much as Sam would have expected. When Sam watched his lips curve up in a self-deprecating smile, he knew he should leave the room.

  “I’ll let you relax,” Sam said as he stood.

  “Don’t go. You said I couldn’t sleep. I want to relax, but if you keep me talking, I won’t fall asleep.”

  With a nod, Sam backed away and sat on the closed toilet. From there, he could only see Bray from the shoulders up. Much less of a temptation.

  “This feels amazing. The warmth is seeping into my bones. Today definitely didn’t turn out how I thought it would.”

  Sam snorted. “Ditto. I thought I was in for a fairly mundane business trip.”

  Bray reached for the little soap provided by the hotel but flinched. Sam jumped up to get it for him. He tried not to look at Bray’s lower half, but his eyes caught on the bruises.

  “Are they getting worse?” Sam asked.

  “I’d only worry if it hurt to breathe. You’re quite the mother hen, Sam Wheeler.”

  Sam looked up at the sound of his alias. The last name sounded so wrong coming from Bray’s mouth, but the kid was smiling like he was proud of himself. Sam found himself smiling back until his gaze fell once again to the black-and-blue marks on Bray’s abs.