“A Dom?”
“Yeah,” he blushed.
“Well, you found one now.”
“What?” He blinked confusedly at Miles.
“Honey, Diesel is a Dom. He’s not a traditional one, though, he’s mellower.” Miles cocked his head and grinned. “You’ve got the best of both worlds.”
He blinked, stunned in a way, yet not really surprised. His gut had told him Diesel was a Dom. He hadn’t asked Diesel because he’d been hesitant about the whole scene.
“Does he go to the parties?” he blurted.
“Only to mingle. He’s more of…” Miles thought for a moment. “I want to say caretaker, but that might not be the right word. Domineering, control freak?” Miles giggled.
Suddenly, a deep voice from the doorway interrupted their gossip. “Miles.”
Miles’ gorgeous eyes went large. “Yes, sir?”
“What have I told you about talking about other people’s business?” Ted asked.
“I asked,” Triton blurted, suddenly terrified for Miles.
Miles gave him a cheeky grin and a wink.
“Are you going to spank me, sir?”
Triton’s mouth gaped when Miles spun and jumped into Ted’s arms. The small man wrapped both arms and legs around Ted and giggled.
Ted tried, Triton would give him that. The man tried to remain stern, but ended up chuckling before smacking Miles’ bottom and untangling the submissive from his body.
“I think you’d like that too much. I’ll use the guest bathroom,” Ted grumbled and then winked at him before the big man left the room.
Miles giggled and danced back over to start with the makeup again.
“You’re both in the scene?” Of course they were, he silently groaned at his stupid question, but Miles only smiled.
“Yep. We’ve been in the scene for years. If you ever want to go again, you can go with us.”
“Oh, I think Diesel would have something to say about that,” Sally said, returning to the room with a small container of glitter.
She proceeded to place metallic green glitter around his eyes, clear lip gloss on his lips, and a dusting of multi-colored glitter on his cheeks.
“It’s so nice to see your face healing.” Sally pointed to the bruise Miles had covered up on Triton’s face.
“Ah yes, the miracles of makeup.” Miles giggled.
“Tell me more about the scene,” Triton begged. He envied both Miles and Sally for having a Dom.
“My Dom is also my daddy bear,” Sally said, and launched into detail about her relationship with her master.
“Sir and I put on a show when people are around,” Miles said when Sally finished. “We do parties, but we don’t practice twenty-four seven. I have my own Dom tendencies, and Sir loves that. It works for us.”
“It sounds awesome and complicated.”
“It’s not really complicated when you find the right person,” Sally told him with a smile. “There are different levels of what people like or want. The good thing is that whatever you want or don’t want, it’s not wrong. You have a voice and a choice in what you’ll do or won’t do. And anyone who tells you differently really isn’t in the scene.”
“Yeah, they’re just in some warped version of it in their own mind. Kind of like your ex beating you because you went to a party.”
Sally gasped, and her eyes flew open wide. “No! Beating has no part in the scene unless it’s consensual, and then every person has a safe word.”
“A safe word?”
“Oh my gawd, baby bird, you’re so innocent,” Sally giggled.
Miles elbowed her. “A safe word is something you say when things get too intense. Like for me, it’s eggs because I hate those.”
At his confused look, Miles continued. “If sir is spanking me or using the whip and I can’t take any more, I say eggs and he immediately stops the scene and cuddles me and takes care of all my needs.” Miles sighed dreamily.
Triton smiled in response, but then sobered. “Why would he use a whip?”
“Um…” Miles’ blue eyes danced. “I’ll tell you sometime, but right now, we need to get back downstairs or we’re going to have some upset Doms on our hands.”
“Oh goody,” Sally exclaimed.
Triton giggled and hopped off the counter.
“Come on.” Miles linked their fingers together.
The three of them reached the bottom of the stairs, and he was tugged toward the den.
When he entered, his eyes sought out Diesel. It was easy to do. While there were plenty of Doms and bears, according to Miles and Sally, Diesel was easily the biggest one in the room.
Intense green eyes flicked over his face, and Triton saw the heated desire lurking in their depths. Was there a snowball’s chance in hell that Diesel would ever want him permanently? And just how did he feel about being a submissive to someone? The thought actually didn’t bother him at all as long as Diesel was the one. Diesel had promised he would never hit him, and Triton had believed him. Excitement raced through his belly when the big Dom held out a hand to him.
Triton floated across the floor and took it.
Diesel drew him toward the table and stood while Triton piled two plates high with food. They found a spot on one of the couches in the corner of the game room.
“This is good,” Triton moaned around a bite of potato salad. He loved Diesel’s cooking.
Diesel smiled and popped a potato chip into his mouth before forking up some lasagna.
“I brought it a few years ago. Seems to be a big hit,” Diesel said, watching him.
“What did you bring before then?”
“Buns.” Diesel grinned.
Triton giggled. He loved Diesel’s smile.
Diesel gave him a teasing scowl. “Hey, they were lucky they got those.”
“I’m sure it was more than just buns,” he argued with a smirk.
“There might have been some hotdogs and chips in the bag.”
Diesel winked.
Triton’s lips stretched so wide, his cheeks hurt from smiling.
He loved a teasing Diesel best of all.
Triton
“Can you carry this inside and I’ll take Molly out?” Diesel asked, handing him the empty cooler.
“Sure.” He took the ice chest handle and headed up the steps.
Diesel unlocked the door and reset the alarm before it could go off.
Molly darted out the door and down the steps. She ran off barking down the street.
“Be right back.”
Triton laughed. “She must really need to go.”
“Molly!” Diesel shouted. “Come back here.”
Triton placed the ice chest down and turned just in time to see Molly running like a bat out of hell down the street after what looked like a dark figure.
Diesel jogged after the dog.
Triton slammed the front door and ran through the light drizzle to catch up to Diesel. It had rained harder earlier, but was slowly tapering off.
“You should stay inside.”
“I locked the door.” Triton slipped his arm through Diesel’s.
“I’m going to get you a weapon.”
“What?” He stopped walking.
Diesel stopped as well and turned toward him. “Just as a precaution.”
Triton chewed on his lip. “I’ll need to practice.”
“I’ll take you to the range.”
Triton smiled. “Okay.”
“Molly!” Diesel turned and called, then gave a shrill whistle.
A sharp yelp of an animal sounded, and Triton’s heart lurched.
“Oh my god.” He released Diesel and started running. His feet carried him over the distance and down the dark street that stretched before him. The road was wet and the massive trees overgrown, hanging over the pavement, shadowing everything.
“Molly! Molly, come here, girl!”
“Triton, stop!” Diesel ordered.
He froze and glanced back and fo
und Diesel jogging toward him in the dim light of a streetlamp.
“Shit. Don’t run! You’ll hurt your knee.” Running back to Diesel, he slipped his arm around the man’s waist.
“Thank fuck,” Diesel muttered, closing an arm around him tightly. “I’m okay to jog. Trust me. But don’t call for her. If she’s hurt, she’ll try to get up, and she may injure herself more. Plus, you don’t want to give away our position any more than you have.”
“Shit, shit, sorry,” he half-sobbed in a whisper.
“Shhhh,” Diesel murmured, rubbing a hand down his back, and then guided him off the road into the shadows.
They stood still for what seemed like hours, but was only a few minutes. The leaves from the trees stopped some of the rain, but it was still cold, wet, and miserable.
Triton couldn’t stop shaking, and the fear that Molly was hurt seeped into his bones. His hands were freezing, but Diesel’s arm around his shoulder held him tightly to his larger frame. He lifted his free hand and blew warm air on it.
“Okay, let’s move,” Diesel murmured, and they headed toward the end of the road. The house at the end had a light on signally someone was home, but Diesel kept walking until they reached the end of the street.
“This is my cousin, Mike, and his husband, David’s, house.” Diesel pointed to the house located there. “I’m going to make sure they’re all right.”
Triton clung to Diesel; he didn’t want him to leave him.
“It’s okay, I’m going to call them on the phone.”
Mike answered the phone when Diesel called. Diesel spoke for a few moments and then hung up.
“Everything’s okay. He’ll keep an eye out for Molly.” Diesel lifted a hand and waived at a man standing in the window.
“Who’s that?” Triton gazed at the silhouette in the window.
“Mike.”
Triton lifted a hand to return the wave before turning to head down the street. He was pulled up short by Diesel.
“Stop.”
“I’m not going back until we find her,” he sniffled, tears blurring his vision, and he wiped his sleeve at his nose.
“Triton, you’re cold. It’s going to storm again. We can’t find her in the dark. I’ll get a group together and look for her.”
“I’m coming,” he hissed, not caring if he was part of the group or not. “With or without you.”
Diesel stared at him oddly for a long moment and then hugged him close.
Diesel
The house was cold and dark when they arrived back home. He lifted a hand to the searchers and entered his home before reactivating his house alarm and the area sensor alarm even though wild animals would set it off. It was better than being sitting ducks in the house.
They’d searched for three hours and had found no signs of Molly.
Diesel had called it quits when Triton began shivering. The boy had argued, but the fire behind the words was gone. The devastation on the boy’s face gutted him.
The chance of Molly coming home on her own was slim. That motherfucker either took Molly or killed her. On the heels of that thought, he suspected Auto knew Triton was here at his house.
The realization that Auto wasn’t stopping until he had Triton back sank home.
He took a moment to reassess. Auto meant business. The best course of action would be to neutralize Auto before Clay made his appearance.
“Get cleaned up, take a hot shower. I’ll make some phone calls.”
Wordlessly, Triton nodded and disappeared into the bathroom. As soon as the shower turned on, Diesel made his way into his study.
He dialed the sheriff. “Hey, Memphis, someone took Molly.”
“What the hell?”
“Yeah, Triton and I and several of the neighbors looked for three hours tonight, but found nothing. It’s too cold and dark. I’m going back out at first light to see if I can find her. I think Auto may have found Triton here. Can you have a cruiser sit outside of my house tonight?”
“Calling one now. I’ll be there at first light.”
“Thanks, man. I’ll talk to you in the morning.”
“Take care, Diesel.”
He hung up and then dialed Maddox as he lowered into the chair behind his desk and rubbed at his aching thigh muscle before unlacing and pulling off the knee brace.
Cedar entered the room, made straight for him, and jumped into his lap. He caressed the brown cat’s fur. “She’ll be okay, boy. We’ll find her,” he told the cat.
“Hey, Diesel.” Maddox said after a few rings. “I was set to call you in the morning.”
“You back on assignment?”
“I am, Liam sent us out last night.”
“Any news on Clay Martin?”
“The marshals made the bust at the house, but no Clay. They found drugs, cash, and weapons and they arrested Sticks, otherwise known as Ronald Bateman.”
“So, they got the ring leader.” He felt a wave of relief.
“Yeah. Except, we had a fire in barn number four last night. I suspect that asshole Clay had something to do with it. The fire caused significant damage, but no animals were hurt. We managed to get the stock rounded up shortly after.”
“Fuck,” he muttered.
“What about Auto?”
“I thought Auto would have left town by now, but he and some of his gang broke into a local surplus store. They stole a bunch of gear and tranquilizer darts.”
“The fuck? What’s he need tranq darts for?”
“My guess? He used it on Molly tonight. I heard her yelp and then nothing. We can’t find her, and she’s not coming to my whistle. I’m hoping like hell he tranqed her and didn’t kill her. I think Auto’s found out that Triton is here with me.”
“That son of a bitch,” Maddox spat.
“Yeah, this guy is ex-military. If he’s a few cards short of a full deck, I may have my hands full.”
“What do you need?”
“I need a few reinforcements to help me keep an eye on Triton. Did you all deploy?”
“No, not all of us.”
“Can you see if a couple of the team can get here? I’d feel better with a few more men.”
“It’s no problem. I’ll put the word out.”
He rubbed at his shoulder and sighed. “Thanks.”
“How’s the knee?”
“It’s getting stronger, but it’s not completely stable. Other times, it almost feels ninety percent. I tweaked it tonight.”
“So, slow going, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“You think you won’t pass your medical?”
“Honestly? I don’t know, and even if I’m cleared medically, I’m thinking of not reenlisting,” he said out loud for the first time.
“I’m sorry.”
“Bah, don’t be. I’ve been thinking about this since my last reenlistment. I’m ready, you know? I want to explore other things.”
“I’m happy for you. Does this exploration include my cousin?”
That brought him upright, hand pulling at his beard. “Haven’t gotten that far.”
Maddox snorted. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”
“I’m a lot older than him.”
“I think that bothers you more than him.”
“It does.”
“You’ll figure that out too.” He heard the smirk in Maddox’s voice. “When I’m back stateside, I’ll come collect Triton.”
Diesel’s heart lurched. “When it’s safe for him to come home, I’ll bring him myself.”
“That works.” Maddox sounded like he was smiling.
Diesel frowned, hung up, and stared into space. Was Molly hurt and lying in the dirt out there? Cedar had enough of his caressing fingers and jumped down, heading for the door.
He couldn’t stop thinking about Maddox’s question. Does this include my cousin?
Diesel would put Clay and Auto behind bars or in the ground to keep Triton safe.
The floor creaked in the hallway, drawing his
gaze up, and he found a freshly showered nymph standing in his doorway. He stretched out his hand toward Triton.
The young man hurried across the room and burrowed into his arms, filling his lap.
Unable to resist, he fisted a hand in Triton’s hair and pulled the boy’s head back, face up.
“Diesel,” Triton said, licking at his full bottom lip.
Diesel made a sound in his throat and then devoured those plush pink lips. There was no sin in taking comfort from each other. That was all this was, he reasoned, refusing to let the niggling voice of wanting more creep in.
After several long and tender moments, Diesel ended the kiss.
“I’m so sorry,” Triton cried and buried his face into his neck.
He ran his hands up and down Triton’s slim back, keeping him close.
“It’s not your fault,” he murmured, kissing the top of Triton’s bright head.
“I won’t be able to sleep until she’s home.”
“We’ll go out at first light and find her,” he promised.
Triton sniffled and pulled back.
“Come on.” Diesel urged Triton to his feet and then took the boy’s hand and drew him out into the hall. Diesel led the way into the living room, and once there, he stretched out on the couch and lifted his arms.
Triton came to him and stretched out over him. The feel of that slim body against him thickened his cock, but he gave himself a stern talking to. Triton nuzzled his cheek against his shirt-covered chest and Diesel ran his fingers through silky blond hair. He tugged the throw from the back of the couch and over them.
His heart hurt for Molly and he hoped his girl would be okay out there. Somehow, having Triton in his arms lessened the pain and worry.
Sometime before daybreak, he woke with Triton still in his arms.
“Triton,” he whispered against the sleeping boy’s temple.
The automatic coffee maker flipped on and the smell drifted on the air.
Triton’s head lifted, and his lips tried to smile, but he could see the worry in his eyes.
His own eyes burned from lack of sleep.
“Come on, Memphis and the boys are probably here. They’re going to help us look.”
Triton sat up and hurried into his bedroom. Diesel made his way back into the kitchen and filled his thermos full of coffee and added creamer. They both drank their coffee the same way, so he could share with Triton.
Bringing It Home (Code Of Honor Book 3) Page 13
