4-Bound By Danger (5 page)

It was Sunday morning—the weekend had blurred into nonstop sex and food, and Tomcat could think of nothing better.

“Get him out of there by morning,” his handler told him. He’d been none too happy about the recent development, and he’d be even less so if he knew Jace had made Tomcat. As it was, he was simply pissed that Tomcat the MC enforcer had allowed someone in with the MC to get so close.

Yeah, well, that made two of them, he supposed. But it didn’t stop him from strolling over and pulling the covers off the boy. Before Jace could even turn around, Tomcat was spreading his legs, mounting him, running his tongue down along Jace’s spine and continuing along his crack.

Jace’s breath caught hard, and he instinctively tried to move away. Tomcat anticipated that—the move actually worked in his favor. Jace’s hips rose, giving Tomcat better access to what he wanted, and he held Jace’s hips firmly and in place as his tongue circled Jace’s now-exposed hole.

“Tomcat…Jesus…” Jace stopped speaking after that, when Tomcat’s tongue speared inside of him, fucking him until the boy was pounding his fists in vain against the mattress, all the agonizing pleasure a good rimming was giving him pushing him over the edge.

He’d bet Jace was blushing—he’d waited until the boy felt a little more comfortable—and cocky—with the sex before he did this.

He buried his face inside of Jace’s ass, not letting him go even after he came all over himself and the sheets, loving the way he tasted. He grabbed the muscled globes of Jace’s ass hard, wanting to leave imprints of his hands there. Wanted the boy to have memories of this weekend forever.

And finally, when Jace collapsed, nearly wrung out, Tomcat flipped him and lubed him carefully. But Jace was so beyond fighting—was lying there open to anything Tomcat wanted to do to him, which made his cock even harder.

He entered the boy slowly, at first watching for any signs of discomfort as he fucked him more gently than he had since this started. When Jace was moaning enough for Tomcat to know there was no pain, he buried his face against the boy’s neck, his hair, let the boy hold him as they both came in a shuddering rush, and he wondered what the fuck he’d been thinking, getting this close to someone.

An hour later he sat, showered and fully dressed, on the edge of the bed, while Jace lay there naked, taunting him.

He couldn’t go there again, no matter how much he wanted to. Had to get Jace out of here and out of the MC, for both their sakes. The time for fun was over—the serious discussion needed to start. “You walked into the middle of something you weren’t supposed to. You need to stop courting danger.”

“I like riding,” Jace told him.

“Find yourself another group. A legal one. Get your SEAL buddies together. You’re going to get yourself kicked out of the military—or worse.”

“I’m not in the military because I like safe or easy,” Jace pointed out as he got off the bed and tugged his jeans on.

“You can shower if you want,” Tomcat offered, and Jace gave him a small smile.

“I want to smell you on me for a while.”

Jesus Christ, he almost came in his pants. He looked away and heard Jace’s laughter, even as he asked, “What happens now?”

“You go away on your mission, and you don’t come back to the MC. Anyone questions you, say your CO threatened your ass,” Tomcat said, knowing that wasn’t the question Jace wanted answered at all.

“You trust me, right?”

Tomcat stared. “I don’t trust anyone.”

“That’s great.” Jace blew out a frustrated breath. “Well, you’re welcome for saving your ass.”

Tomcat nodded, opened his mouth to say something flip about Jace’s ass but the look in the boy’s eyes…

No, Tomcat could deny that something happened between them to everyone but himself. “You’ll be safe if you stay away.”

“What about you?”

He was about to say, “Don’t worry about me,” but instead he told the boy, “I’ll be all right. If you wait half an hour, some agents will come by to make sure you get home safely.”

“I don’t need the CIA to escort me out,” Jace said irritably. “Plus, then they’ll have to know shit. Just tell them you figured it out. This way, you’ll owe me.”

“How do you plan on collecting?”

“More weekends like this one,” Jace told him. Left out the side door and somehow disappeared like smoke down the fire escape into the early-morning darkness.

And the room was empty and cold again, the way it had been for years.

Chapter Five

Tomcat had spent his time shuffling back and forth between the MC gig and helping Styx with his problems, which included gunning down the man’s father, a known assassin, right after Jace had left.

Styx and his old lover, Law, had been in witness protection with Law’s current boyfriend, Paulo. And while they’d had their share of good sex, from what Styx told him, they’d also all fallen in love. With Tomcat’s help, they’d gotten rid of Styx’s father, and now Styx could live a life free of the CIA for the first time in nearly sixteen years.

So Styx was safe—and back with the old love of his life as well as a new one. Styx was the happiest Tomcat had ever seen him—and since he was happy, he decided Tomcat needed to be just as happy.

“He’s too young,” Tomcat told Styx on his cell now as he drove his truck to meet his Killers contact, wishing he’d never confided about Jace to him. A weak moment, a sappy-as-hell moment, actually, when he’d confessed how Jace made him feel…and more. Since then, Styx had been on him about it, wanting to know if he planned on seeing the boy when he returned from whatever far-flung place the SEALs had him in.

“Then why are you still in contact?” Styx asked.

“It’s just texting.”

Styx snorted, and Tomcat would’ve punched his friend had he been close. As it was, Tomcat’s fists tightened on the steering wheel, and it had nothing to do with the fact that he was closing in on a hundred miles an hour. “I don’t have time for this shit.”

Literally. His handler had called him back to the MC because something big was going down—which meant the CIA and DEA’s own something big would happen sooner rather than later.

“You have a right to be happy, Tomcat,” Styx told him.

“Gee, that sounds familiar, you asshole.” Something he’d been telling his partner for years while Styx wore a hair shirt for his first love.

“Yeah, well, it applies to you, too, if you let it.” Styx paused. “I’ve seen the way you look when you talk about him. I don’t think you realize it.”

He realized it, all right—realized it was a big fucking problem. “Gotta go, man. Say hi to Law and Paulo.”

He hung up without waiting for Styx’s reply. Knew the man would understand, but he didn’t have the time for this kind of shit.

He thought back to his early days in the service and then in the agency, and meeting James in the leather bar for the first time. That was when he discovered just how many spooks inhabited these places. In fact, he was pretty sure it was easier to be gay in his line of work, because there were no relationships. One-night stands, casual flings and no commitments were preferred.

James ended up working with him on some cases—years older and more experienced, having started in the CIA directly out of college, he led Tomcat through some of the trickier aspects of a spy’s life. At the time, James had just met Glen, a young one who’d ended up being James’s sub and companion for the next five years.

Tomcat really liked Glen, even though Glen and James weren’t completely exclusive. He kept up with Glen after James had died—he’d promised his friend he would look after the young one, and he’d kept that promise. He’d just spoken with Glen yesterday.

The boy was finally happy again, able to throw off the heavy cloak of grief that had surrounded him for five years while he built his career as a Navy pilot with the SEALs, and all because of Derek, another Dom.

Tomcat figured that Jace and Glen probably knew each other and had no doubt done missions together, but figured it was safer not asking.

Tomcat had been a good Dom, but a twenty-four/seven lifestyle wasn’t for him. He liked a submissive man, liked to provide the kind of stress relief a good Dom could, but he didn’t consider himself a Dom any longer. Hadn’t for years, had tried to explain it to Glen, who he knew needed the submission like he needed air.

But he did like virgins—he hadn’t been lying to Jace about that. Taking that boy for the first time, well, there was nothing like it. Being the one who kept introducing him to new things, now that was something he’d yet to experience.

Jace had been willing to experiment—eager, always wanting more sex; he’d been the perfect weekend companion. And afterward, Tomcat never felt the urge to leave the bed, found excuses why it was better to lie there next to him or take the boy with him to the shower and then stay the night, if possible.

After another hour of driving, he pulled over in the lot behind the abandoned factory where he would meet his MC contact. But first he put his earpiece in and then pulled his phone out of his pocket and let his fingers linger on the keys for a minute too long.

Don’t send it.

But he did, typed in the random check-in text and sent it. Immediately, his chest tightened. How he could miss someone so much was beyond him.

“We’re on,” his handler said in his ear as the MC guy called, “Hey, Tomcat, we gotta run,” across the lot.

Tomcat pulled the earpiece out as he exited his truck, waved to the MC guy named Larry. He walked toward the car Larry waited next to, and in that split second, he glanced beyond the man’s shoulder and knew something had changed. Why he hadn’t been told about it was something he didn’t have time to ponder. Instead, he kept his feet moving until the explosion shattered the quiet, and the last thing he heard was the ringing in his ears.

Chapter Six

They were taking fire from both sides, but Jace was too busy concentrating on the mission at hand, which was the rescue of two American Red Cross workers. Rex and Sawyer flanked him with a cover of flash-bang grenades and rapid fire as he worked to extricate the unconscious woman from her bonds. She’d been tied inside the abandoned building along with her coworker, who was barely awake and was helping Jace now.

Jace finally cut her free, and she fell back into her coworker’s arms. He caught her before her head hit the ground, and then Jace took her in hand. “We’re headed toward that Humvee.”

“Through the street?” the man whispered over her head as Jace picked up and cradled the woman in his arms so if she woke, she wouldn’t see what she was heading into. The guy wasn’t that lucky.

“Yes. Keep your head down, your hand on my belt and stay close.” Jace got a better grip on the woman and nodded to Rex. “We’re going in three.”

He counted down, and the man did as Jace asked, holding on and running for dear life. The trip probably seemed like it took forever, but it was under a minute from the time they left the building until they were inside the truck and semisafe.

The Humvee was bulletproof but not bombproof, and Sawyer drove like a bat out of hell to get them away from the line of fire as Jace worked on the woman and Rex readied to give cover while guiding Sawyer. Their CO was calm and cool under any pressure, and that made it easy for them to be the same way.

“Drink this.” Sawyer pushed fresh water at the man, never taking his eyes off the road. “What’s your name?”

“Hank. That’s Lani.”

“Hank, you’ll be fine—so will Lani. We’ll take you to an American base where doctors will look at you.” Jace looked up. “If you want to go home, you’ll be escorted from there.”

Hank looked undecided, and Jace didn’t blame him. Relief workers in this part of the world got the shit end of the stick—and most stuck with it despite the many risks.

He and Sawyer and Rex hadn’t gotten called in to rescue these two. They were there on a much different mission when they stumbled on the hostages, literally. And they refused to leave them behind, even in the face of mounting danger. Rex had radioed to base camp that they’d found the missing Red Cross workers who’d been kidnapped days earlier and presumed dead even as he had Jace getting them ready for transport.

“We’ve got company,” Rex said, quietly enough so Hank didn’t notice. Sawyer sped up and took a hard right turn with all the grace he could in the big truck while Jace hung on and braced Lani, who was still out of it.

“Was she hit?” he asked Hank, mainly to distract him, since there was an obvious contusion on the side of her head.

“Twice, with the butt of a gun,” Hank confirmed. “She started yelling at the kidnappers when they tried to drag her away from me. She went down and she’s been out maybe the last four hours.”

These two were lucky, although they probably didn’t feel that way now. “She’s breathing okay—pupils equal and reactive,” Jace said.

“I tried to rouse her—she opened her eyes once, but she’s disoriented.”

“You a medic?”

“Yes,” Hank said. “Lani’s an RN. We came here together—same flight, although we didn’t know each other before. We’ve been here three months.”

“You’ll have to give a full report once we’re on base,” Rex cut in, and Hank nodded at the big man with the big gun.

The ride would seem like forever—Jace knew from experience that just because they seemed like they were safe didn’t mean shit. Too many things could go wrong, and he’d been planning for such eventualities since they got into the car.