Resilience (18 page)

brother, but if it would get the giant blond guy to talking instead of just…just watching Adam, that’d be great.

Zane’s lips twitched and Aidan flat-out grinned and Adam wondered what the hell the

joke was and if it was on him like he suspected it was.

“We plan on being here for a few days,” Aidan rumbled, “then we’re going to take a

hiking trip since someone hasn’t shut up about the Catwalk.”

Zane snorted and muttered something about the appropriateness of them being on

something called a Catwalk, but before Adam could ask what he meant Gabe bounded into the living room.

“Er, Iko kinda got the platter of steaks. Everyone okay with burgers instead?”

Adam stood up and barely stopped himself from heading out back. “Did you get the

meat away from Iko? Raw meat isn’t good for dogs, not in such large quantities.”

Gabe rolled his eyes. He pointed a spatula at Adam. “And what the hell did dogs eat

before they were domesticated animals? Tofu?” Adam opened his mouth to snark back but Gabe shook the utensil at him. “I’m not a dipshit. Iko got away with one of the steaks but the rest are all nasty and dirty and gross. I wouldn’t want to eat ‘em, but if you annoy me…”

Adam arched a brow but sat back down. “I was just concerned about Iko, that was all. I doubt it’d hurt you at all to eat the remaining raw meat yourself.”

Gabe walked over and ruffled his hair. “Aw, you’re sweet. You’ve got pathetic

comebacks, though. Good thing Todd isn’t with you for your rapier wit.” He turned and pointed the spatula towards Aidan and Zane. “Okay, Zane. You get to help me make

hamburger patties, because Mika can’t be a rude host and abandon y’all to help me, and, frankly, I would probably end up shoving this spatula up Double D’s ass—”

Adam heard Gabe’s teeth snap together. What the hell was that about? And Double D?

Did he mean Aidan? He glanced at Todd, who was frowning and looking as confused as

Adam felt.

Gabe spun around and had a fake smile plastered on his face. “The Double D is for

Aidan’s moobs. They may be muscles, but he still has big tits.”

“Ass,” Aidan sniped. Gabe flipped him off and Zane kissed Aidan’s cheek.

“I love your Double D’s,” Zane purred, and promptly yelped when Aidan smacked his

ass. “That’s not discouraging me any, just so you know.” Zane chuckled as he backed away.

He only turned around once he was out of Aidan’s reach, then Zane and Gabe headed off into the kitchen.

“Men,” Aidan said, but he had a sappy grin on his face that surprised Adam for some

reason.

Mika darted a look at Adam and Todd then grunted. “Sorry about the steaks. Iko’s been pushing his boundaries lately.”

“Maybe he needs a sibling,” Adam suggested. He saw the refusal coming before Mika

even spoke and moved to cut the man off. “Don’t even say y’all have a kennel full of siblings.

Those rescues aren’t treated like Iko and you know it. They can’t be, or else y’all would never be able to adopt them out. But maybe you and Gabe should talk about it, see if there isn’t one of the rescued dogs that would really fit in with your family. Wouldn’t hurt Iko to learn to share, and he’d have a consistent playmate.”

Adam leant back, having said his piece. Mika narrowed his eyes and Adam wasn’t sure

if he was getting glared at or if Mika was just contemplating what he’d said.

“For what it’s worth, I think Adam is probably right,” Aidan said. Adam turned to look at him. The guy was just freakin’ huge, maybe that was why Adam didn’t feel comfortable around him. “I don’t know that it’d help with the whole steak-stealing thing, though. I mean, that’d be like leaving us near a steak cooked to perfection, when we hadn’t had a steak in years.”

“But he’d have companionship,” Todd added. “Maybe Iko gets lonely. I hated being an

only child, although, I guess, all things considered, it was for the best.”

Gabe poked his head through the doorway. “Okay, y’all know what? Everyone can

help. Zane is pokey as hell, insisting on adding just the right spices to the hamburger and stirring it and getting the heat of the grill just right.” He glared at Aidan. “If you’d have warned me, I would have dragged your ass in here instead. Now you can come cut up the tomatoes and onions. Mika, you can handle the lettuce and condiments. Stop snickering.”

Gabe came all the way into the room. “What? Are you like, twelve?”

“I can’t help it, between you flouncing and everything else, I’m finding it hard to be my usual taciturn self.” Mika stood up and, yeah, Adam had to admit the man seemed happier than Adam had ever seen him. Not that Mika was a snarly asshole, but he could be kind of quiet, solemn even. But he had a great smile when he let go, which happened rarely. Tonight he was grinning fit to be tied, and Gabe’s prickly irritation faded as he fell under the spell of Mika’s smile.

“Maybe we could…” Gabe began. Mika shook his head.

“Nope. Got to get dinner ready.” He cocked his head at Adam and Todd. “Y’all want to join us in the kitchen?”

Something seemed to have shifted, some tension Adam had either carried alone or that had existed was now gone. Maybe it was just him—getting comfortable around people he didn’t know well was just hard for him—but Gabe and Mika’s love and affection, and

teasing, had worked like magic. Even Adam’s impatience was tempered, which was a trick he’d bet Todd wished he knew how to do.

Of course, if he threw Adam down and fucked him senseless, that usually offed his

impatience. And, suddenly, Adam just needed a few minutes alone with Todd, needed to touch him, kiss him, feel the reassuring strength of the man as Todd held him—but he also wanted to know just how Aidan and Zane thought they might be able to help find Jameson.

Adam leapt up and tugged on Todd’s hand. He winked at his sexy sheriff then faced

Gabe and Mika. “Yeah, we’ll help, too, because I’m thinking no one is going to tell us what is going on until after we eat.”

Gabe nodded. “Pretty much. So, dinner, dessert, then the serious stuff.”

Adam wondered why the ‘serious stuff’ caused Gabe and Mika to glance at each other

and frown. What did they know that he didn’t?

If there were any more weird looks passing between Gabe, Mika, Aidan and Zane,

Todd was going to snap. He wasn’t sure just what that would entail, but, damn it, Gabe had been his closest—and only—friend for years, and to feel so left out of the loop now was driving Todd batty.

About the only thing keeping Todd from flat-out asking what was going on was Adam.

The man seemed to know just how to touch Todd, what little caresses and soft looks to give that would calm him down.

Normally Todd wasn’t so tightly wound, but everything tonight just felt off. God, he hoped he wasn’t just being an insecure jerk because Gabe had new best buddies. He sure did seem close to Aidan and Zane, even if he did give Aidan shit almost constantly.

Oh Geez. He was jealous, wasn’t he? Todd peeked at the other couples just in time to see more of those suspicious looks. Okay, he wasn’t jealous, or not just jealous, anyways.

Todd averted his gaze and took another bite of his burger. He slipped into cop mode, as he thought of it. It was as if he stepped outside of himself and viewed everything that had happened and was currently going on. And his conclusion was, he was most definitely

suspicious. Something was going on, some secret between the other four men from which Todd and Adam were excluded.

Todd tried not to think why that might be, but even he couldn’t keep his mind out of the gutter all the time. He excused himself from the table and gave Adam a look he knew his lover wouldn’t misinterpret.

“Gotta go check for messages,” Todd offered as an explanation. “I left my phone in the car on the charger. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

The story had the benefit of being the truth, too. He walked off and heard Adam make some borderline lewd quip about following Todd out for a grope. Todd heated from the inside out with arousal. Even though he knew Adam was joking, his words still sent a flare of want up from Todd’s groin that seeped out through his pores. It wasn’t just the humid Texas evening that had Todd breaking out in a sweat.

He heard the front porch screen slap shut seconds after he went through it. Todd stopped walking then and turned around to wait for Adam only to find himself the recipient of a very thorough groping.

“Didn’t wanna be a liar,” Adam proclaimed, his voice rich with laughter and lust as he palmed Todd’s balls and squeezed his ass. “Think we have time for a quick blow job? I bet I could have you spilling down my throat in under five minutes.”

“More like under three,” Todd wheezed, his chest tight as need coiled his insides. His dick had gone from nice and content to raging hard so fast he was surprised he hadn’t hurt himself, and the sheer naughtiness of Adam fondling him like this while their friends sat inside, less than twenty feet away… Well, he was both very turned on and very terrified.

Adam grinned and rubbed him for a second before planting a sloppy, wet kiss on

Todd’s lips. He stepped back and patted Todd’s ass. “As much as I’d love to suck you dry, I really want to know what the hell is going on!”

“So it’s not just me,” Todd said before biting back the whole ‘being a jealous dickhead’

part. “Do you… Do you think maybe Gabe and Mika, you know, with Aidan and Zane?” His cheeks burned uncomfortably but he knew Adam wouldn’t laugh at him for being a perv for wondering.

Adam cocked his head to the side and peered at some point to Todd’s left. He hummed

slightly and tapped his thigh. Then he shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. As possessive as Mika is, and as… Come on, can you picture Gabe sharing Mika? No, those two would kill anyone who tried to fuck with the other. Now, I don’t know Aidan and Zane, but I just can’t imagine Mika or Gabe putting up with anything like that.”

“Whew.” Todd’s relief was probably exaggerated but he didn’t care. Gabe and Mika

were his proof that a couple could have a happy, monogamous relationship. A stable

relationship. “Well, then, I’m afraid someone in there might have done something illegal. Or they’re hiding something from us, from me at least. I don’t like it at all.”

Could that be the reason for the secretive looks? Had Gabe and the others been judging Adam’s frame of mind, and Todd’s, even? But Todd thought about Gabe’s joviality earlier.

Surely, even though Gabe didn’t know Jameson, he wouldn’t be so happy and Gabe-y if he had such horrible news for them?

Adam sighed and hooked his arm through Todd’s. “I think you’re right, sort of. They’re hiding something, but I don’t think it’s illegal. I’m afraid…” Adam’s voice cracked and Todd had to hug him, had to hold him for a moment. Adam’s breath was warm against Todd’s

chest when he spoke. “I’m afraid Jameson is dead, and they don’t want to tell us.”

“I don’t think that’s it,” Todd said. He cupped Adam’s cheek and tipped his head just so for a kiss. Adam relaxed against him. It was one of those perfect moments Todd knew would remain branded into his memory, the two of them standing under the moonlight,

kissing, loving as they leaned on each other.

A sharp outburst, a shout answered by another, snapped him out of his reverie. He and Adam both leapt back, as if they’d had anything to do with what was, obviously, a heated argument coming from inside.

“What the hell?” Adam muttered. “Grab your phone.”

Todd ran over to the vehicle and quickly got his phone. He could still hear arguing, although he couldn’t make out the words. And he definitely heard Gabe’s voice. The other low rumbles were hard to place to their owners. In fact, it almost sounded like a bunch of growling to Todd.

“What the hell are they doing in there?” Adam huffed as he darted up the porch steps.

“Sounds like a bunch of snippy intact male dogs in there! Men!”

Todd snorted even as he ran up the steps behind Adam. He almost tripped when he

caught sight of Adam’s fine ass flexing in front of him. They thundered over the porch and into the house—then stopped right inside.

“It’s totally quiet now,” Adam whispered, and, even so, he sounded damned loud to

Todd. “Gabe’s never quiet. Do you think they killed him?”

Todd knew Adam was joking, but his heart still rolled over in his chest. He cocked his head and concentrated on listening. “No, they’d have had to kill Mika too, and there wasn’t enough noise for all of that to be going on.” He gestured towards the kitchen and held out a hand behind him. Adam gave him an arch look but didn’t argue. He moved in behind Todd and took his hand.

Together they crept down the hallway, Todd feeling like a total idiot for doing so. This was, after all, his buddies’ home, and one Todd had found refuge in when he’d been younger. And, okay, even as an adult at times. Why was he sneaking around?

Adam squeezed his hand and Todd stopped worrying about what noise they might make. It was too silent in the kitchen—surely everyone could hear his pulse since it was thudding like a damned gavel in his head?

Todd entered the kitchen only to stop immediately. There was no blood, no dead bodies, but there was at least one broken dish. If he’d had to bet, he’d have figured Gabe had thrown it at someone…someone other than Mika. None of the other four seemed to notice him or Adam. They were all too busy standing stiff, chests puffed out, glaring at each other in some battle of the wills or testosterone…

Then he heard it, and so did Adam judging by the way he grunted and edged up against Todd’s back. A low, rumbling growl. Todd looked for Iko, but the dog was nowhere to be seen. Besides, Iko had better manners than to act like that. He darted looks from one man to the other and finally pegged Mika to be the one making the noise. Made sense, he supposed. Mika could be a snarly guy, possessive and rough and perfect for the more boisterous Gabe. But what had set everyone off?

“I’m going to tell him,” Gabe announced, and for some reason goose bumps broke out all over Todd’s skin. “No, I’m going to tell them.”