Benediction: Diversion Book 9

by Eden Winters

  Lucky needed good news about now. What a relief, though he couldn’t quite reconcile the small, sickly infant Andro had been with the healthy as a horse baby who crawled all over the living room. He held his son relatively still, moving his arms and helping Bo hide him under layers of fabric.

  “Isn’t that great news?” Bo beamed as they made their way to the parking lot. This time Lucky strapped Andro in, and sat beside him. The kid conked out before they’d gone two blocks.

  They stopped by Avis to pick up Lucky’s rental car, and moved Andro into the backseat, allowing Bo to return to the office.

  A white van pulled in behind the car a few minutes after he’d left the parking lot. Lucky’s heart began to pound. It followed him for several blocks, then turned off. A sign now visible on the side said, “Joe’s Plumbing.” Lucky whooshed out a relieved breath. Safe.

  This time.

  CHAPTER 16

  “I’ve got a new sonogram photo!” Charlotte exclaimed at the dinner table, waving around a photograph.

  “Did you find out if I’m going to have a brother or a sister?” Ty asked.

  Charlotte scowled and dipped a Dorito into her mashed potatoes.

  Doritos and mashed potatoes. Lucky stuck to soup and cornbread.

  “Oh, right.” Ty rolled his eyes, crushing Doritos into his bowl. “Cousin. Not brother or sister. So, did you? Find out, I mean.”

  Lucky paused feeding Andro and held his breath, waiting for the answer.

  Charlotte placed the picture on the table. “Now you know we’re waiting to find out the old-fashioned way.”

  Darn. Lucky had been afraid of that.

  “Ah, ah, ah…” Andro said, leaning forward and trying to reach the spoonful of pureed sweet potatoes.

  Oh, yeah. “Sorry, kid.” Lucky got back to the business at hand.

  Lucky squinted at the black and white photo, trying to make out…

  Charlotte snatched the photo out of reach. “No, you can’t tell from this one.”

  Wait a minute. “You didn’t tell us you had a doctor’s visit today.”

  She snorted. “I never have before either, unless it’s an important one, like first ultrasound.”

  “Yeah, well now things are different.”

  “I didn’t go alone.” She lifted her nose, daring him to ask.

  Right. Badass woman. Could take care of herself, even if Lucky wanted to wrap her in cotton. As she’d said, she’d managed years without him.

  Of course, she hadn’t had people trying to kidnap her then either. So, in a way, Lucky’s staying away had been justified, right?

  Bo came in, suit coat slightly rumpled. “Hey, y’all save me any?”

  “I made a big pot of vegetable soup,” Charlotte said. “We’ll be eating this for days. It’s on the stove. The meatless one is on the left.” She didn’t mention the bowl of mashed potatoes on the table, or the bag of Doritos.

  The state of Idaho needed to erect a statue of her, as much as she served potatoes these days.

  “I’ve got news!” Charlotte crowed, a mischievous glint in her eye.

  “Oh really?” Better not involve Jimmy.

  “There’s a chance I could go into labor on your birthday, Lucky! Wouldn’t that be the bestest gift evah?”

  Yeah. Yes, it would. But it didn’t matter if the kid came today or in a month—well, maybe to Charlotte who wanted the pregnancy over with—it’d still be the bestest gift evah.

  Bo ladled a bowl of soup from the pot on the stove, filled a glass with water from the refrigerator tap, and joined the family at the table.

  When they added another high chair, they’d have to start eating in the dining room. The kitchen table didn’t have enough space.

  “How’d it go?” Lucky hated to ask. “Anything I should know about?”

  Bo gave Lucky a brief hello kiss. “No. Walter, Jameson, and I divvied up some cases.”

  “Anything for you?” God, please let Bo not get pulled back into undercover ops.

  “I asked for assignments close to home until after the baby’s born.”

  “What?” Charlotte dropped her spoon into her bowl. She ignored the soup splashed onto the table. “I thought you had an office job now. No more assignments.”

  Lucky should’ve kept his mouth shut.

  Bo scrubbed a hand over the five o’clock shadow on his cheeks. “The administrators decided that Walter’s position needed to be filled by someone with more experience. They picked Jameson O’Donoghue.” He managed to say the words without a single ounce of sarcasm.

  “What?” Ty joined his mother in dropping his spoon. “They gave the job to you. They can’t take it back now.”

  More calmly than Lucky could’ve, Bo replied, “They can and they did. Special circumstances and all that. They cited how the department went downhill the last year, but they stopped short of blaming Walter.”

  Were the assholes calling the shots going to make Walter end his career on a sour note? “Not his fault, and I wouldn’t put it past O’Donoghue to have engineered the whole thing.”

  “Smells so good. I’m starving.” Bo tucked into his soup, effectively changing the subject.

  Ty got in one last comment: “That sucks.”

  Lucky tiptoed out of the nursery in boxers and a T-shirt, leaving the door open a crack. Unnecessary, really, when Andro possessed such a good set of lungs. Even the neighbors could hear him wake up in the night.

  Bo sat in the bed, covers pulled up to his waist and laptop on his lap. He managed a tired smile. “What a day.”

  Lucky stooped and picked up a toy truck from the floor. Just his luck, he’d find it with his foot in the middle of the night and go sailing. He placed the truck on the dresser and rounded the bed to his side. “Can you believe the nerve of O’Donoghue? Bo, you were given the job. Now, they plan to just take it back.” Lucky reserved his right to return to his original opinion of O’Donoghue: a useless waste of skin.

  Come to think of it, his opinion really hadn’t changed much.

  Bo shrugged. “Circumstances changed.”

  “Yeah, but we got a free pass on the fraternization thing. Now they want to bring up our relationship again.” Wasn’t there some kinda thing like if he’d already been tried for a crime, they couldn’t try him again? “I could always quit.” Lucky lifted the covers and crawled beneath. Oh, but the bed was heaven after the day he’d had.

  A bed with Bo in it.

  Though not Moose, who’d pretty much moved in with Charlotte, and Cat Lucky, who’d abandoned them for Ty.

  Bo narrowed his eyes, voice low. “You don’t mean that.”

  “Like hell I don’t.” If it guaranteed Bo running the show? Oh, yeah.

  “Then they’ll have won.” Bo pushed his chin up, drawing his line in the sand with attitude alone. No moving him now.

  He made a good point. “We could always bring in Victor and Nestor.” If anyone could dig up dirt on O’Donoghue, those two could.

  “That would be… unethical.”

  “His stealing your job is ethical? You still can’t convince me he didn’t know exactly what Landry was up to, and there’s no question he was behind this whole ‘needs more experience’ thing. I wouldn’t be surprised if Landry and O’Donoghue had dinner together last night.” He’d promised Walter he’d leave the DEA man alone, but someone needed to pry into his background.

  “Lucky. This comes all the way from the top. O’Donoghue has the job, I’m back in undercover ops. End of story. I just feel bad for Walter. He looked forward to retirement. Now he worries what it means for the department.”

  “Wait! He doesn’t trust that asshole either?”

  Bo rolled one shoulder. “Those aren’t the words he used, but no, he doesn’t trust the man. I don’t know what’s changed.”

  Lucky lifted the laptop from Bo’s lap, put it in sleep mode, and placed it on the bedside table.

  “Does that mean you’re finished talking about work?” Bo’s smile offered
no appearance of The Dimple.

  “For now.” Lucky glanced at the bedside clock. “I figure we got three hours or so before His Lordship wakes up and wants a bottle.” Lisa sometimes pissed him off by bragging how her little boy started sleeping through the night at three months. Andro might be eighteen by the time that happened here.

  Bo kept the covers around his waist, naked torso on full display. “I think I know a way to occupy some of that time.”

  “Got anything particular in mind?” Lucky peeled off his boxers and T-shirt in record time, and crawled half-on, half-off of Bo, running his hand under the covers.

  Bo rolled them, flipping back the covers to reveal black leather chaps and a full erection. Oh, God. Bo hadn’t worn those in a while. Images came to mind of Bo undercover in a motorcycle gang. They hadn’t taken the Harley Davidson for a ride in ages.

  Bo’s gorgeous bubble butt framed by black leather. Lucky’s heart pounded. Bo in a suit? Sexy as fuck. Bo nearly naked in black leather? Wet dream come to life.

  Whenever the world tilted, leaving Lucky unnerved, being under Bo, letting Bo take control, brought Lucky back to himself. Centered him. How had Bo known what he needed tonight?

  “You have the right to remain silent.” Bo lifted Lucky’s wrist and fastened it into a handcuff attached to the headboard. How had Lucky not seen? “Unless you want to scream my name.” Bo secured the other wrist and straddled Lucky.

  Lucky’s cock reached full hardness.

  Bo wrapped his hand around both their erections, trapping them together, and gave a few strokes.

  “I’ll give you an hour to stop that,” Lucky said, eyes in danger of rolling back in his head.

  Bo cocked his head to the side. “Quiet.”

  Oh, bossy Bo on the menu tonight. Lucky tested his bonds. For Bo, restraints were terrifying, due to a traumatizing event from his past. For Lucky, cuffs added spice to bedroom play, but also offered a measure of security.

  Because he trusted Bo, and while Bo didn’t like being tied down, he seemed genuinely interested in indulging Lucky’s kink.

  Bo released their cocks, running the barest tips of his fingers up Lucky’s chest, over his shoulders, and up his confined arms. Chills followed in their wake.

  The whole time, Bo lightly humped against Lucky. He bent and ran the tip of his tongue over Lucky’s lips, withdrawing when Lucky opened his mouth. Smiling, he descended again, sliding his tongue along Lucky’s and letting out a shaky breath.

  He sat up, gazing down with appreciation in his eyes. “I love to see you like this. The cocky bantam rooster, totally at my mercy.” He played his fingers over Lucky’s skin, down, down, down. Lucky flinched when Bo teased a ticklish spot.

  Bo wrapped those warm fingers around Lucky’s cock, giving a few quick strokes. He slid down the bed and planted kisses to the inside of Lucky’s spread thighs.

  “Get on with it,” Lucky groused. He ached to have Bo in him, filling him, driving all thoughts from his head.

  Bo smiled up at him. “Impatient much?”

  “You know I am.”

  The smile left Bo’s face and he stared up with near lethal intensity. “You’ve taken so much on yourself. Relax. Let someone else be in control for a while. Take care of you.” He ran his lips lightly over the reminders that Jimmy bested Lucky. Gentle. Oh, so gentle. Kissing the hurts instead of telling Lucky what an idiot he’d been.

  Lucky relaxed back onto the pillow, closing his eyes. Warm wetness slid down on his cock and he fought not to buck up, hurry things along. If Bo wanted slow, Bo got slow.

  Until he teased Lucky past the point of no return.

  Balls, cock, taint, thighs, hole. Bo lavished attention, lips, tongue, light teeth scrapes. Oh, God. He’d make Lucky lose his mind for sure.

  “Bo!” Lucky pleaded, not quite knowing what he asked for. Something. Anything. Release.

  “Shh… I got you.” Bo ran spit-slicked fingers over Lucky’s hole, probing, circling.

  Lucky gasped when Bo inserted two fingers, twisting, stretching. Massaging Lucky’s gland. Lucky nearly lifted off the bed, opening his eyes.

  Bo’s gaze connected, holding Lucky’s full attention.

  From the folds of the covers, Bo produced a bottle of lube. Slowly, slowly, he slicked himself, lined up, and pushed inside, his leather-clad calves and thighs caressing Lucky’s own.

  Lucky pulled at the cuffs, but not to get free. Never to get free. He wrapped his legs around Bo, urging him faster.

  Bo chuckled, warm breath caressing Lucky’s ear. “What’s your hurry?”

  Giving up, Lucky did his best to calm down, allowing Bo to run the show. Bo pushed in and pulled nearly all the way out, then back in, swiveling his hips.

  “You’re killing me,” Lucky moaned.

  Bo laughed. “Nah. We’re just getting warmed up.” He stopped playing, thrusting in and receding, over and over and over. “Like that? You like when I cuff you and have my way with you?”

  “Oh, hell yeah!” Then the capacity for words escaped Lucky as Bo brushed against his sweet spot deep inside.

  They rocked against each other, Lucky seeking friction for his cock against Bo’s belly while avoiding the clasp of Bo’s chaps. The leather squeaked along with the bed and the soft tapping of the headboard and chink of handcuff chains slapping wood.

  Inside, Bo stroked Lucky, hit all the right places, filled him so completely. “I need to come,” Lucky pleaded.

  “All in good time.” Bo redoubled his efforts, the bed, Lucky, Bo, and the entire world shaking in time with Bo’s thrusts. The muscles of Bo’s arms and chest stood out, and he hung his head, panting, but never losing the rhythm. “Lucky, I…” Bo’s muscles seized, and he bit his lip, making whimpering noises. He threw back his head, gasping out, “Ah, ah, ah!” and jerked against Lucky. Once, twice. He held still, muscles bulging in his shoulders and upper arms as he supported his weight while buried deep inside Lucky’s body.

  “Bo, I…” Lucky needed. Damn, but he needed.

  Bo pulled out. On shaky arms he descended, taking Lucky between his lips.

  This time Lucky didn’t hold back, shoving into Bo’s mouth. Bo grabbed his hips, holding him down, working magic with his lips and tongue.

  Electricity tightened in Lucky’s groin. Reality faded. He came, spasming on the bed, pulling against his restraints. Bo took every drop Lucky had to give and collapsed beside Lucky on the bed.

  That was… That was… So. Fucking. Good.

  They sucked in air, Lucky reveling in the bit of soreness in his ass. He’d definitely feel this tomorrow. “You gonna uncuff me?”

  “Maybe I should lose the keys, keep you tied to the bed forever.” Bo raised his head, eyes shining and lips turned up.

  “That’s about the only way to keep me from making an idiot of myself.”

  Bo’s smile faded. “No, it’s the only way to keep you safe. Especially if I sit outside the door with a gun. Lucky, I’m scared for you, but understand one thing. If anyone comes for you, they’ll have to get through me first.” He held Lucky’s face with warm palms and kissed him soundly. When he broke the kiss, he unlocked the cuffs and kissed the abrasions on Lucky’s wrists. “I love you.”

  “I love you too.” Bo might never know how much.

  “I love you more.” Then again, maybe Bo did.

  CHAPTER 17

  Impending fatherhood almost kept Lucky’s mind off of O’Donoghue moving into the boss’s office. That and a promise to Bo not to beat the living shit out of the man.

  Johnson wasn’t at the next desk. The desk she’d have to vacate to let Bo move back in. Was there any way to fit three desks into this one cubicle?

  The three of them, in close proximity all day. What a way to make O’Donoghue nervous.

  His phone chimed with a text and he checked the screen. “Check your email.” Who left that?

  Though it went against his normal method of operation, Lucky did as told and found an email from 11324@hotmail.c
om. Probably a throwaway address. Was this one of those things where he’d open an attachment and get his hard-drive fried? Should he? Shouldn’t he? Should he tell somebody? Where had it come from?

  The last time he’d been told to watch a video, Walter had nearly died. He clicked on the link and settled back in the chair from hell, holding his coffee cup aloft in case the Hell Bitch tried to throw him.

  Landry’s face showed on his computer screen. What the fuck? “Lucky, I…” Lucky hit the mute button and peered out of his cube into the corridor. Good. No one. Might freak someone the hell out to hear the bastard’s voice. Lucky dug through his desk drawers. There. A pair of earbuds. Was there anything the fuckup could say that Lucky wanted to hear? More threats?

  He started the video over.

  “Lucky, I know I wasn’t your favorite person, but you have to believe me. I didn’t kill Chastain. I didn’t try to kidnap your sister, and I am not behind any of what’s happening to you. I haven’t even been in Atlanta. I just came back yesterday when I heard about the crap.”

  The months since their last meeting hadn’t been kind to Landry. His cheeks appeared gaunt, and he could use a good shave and haircut. He folded his hands and touched the tips of his index fingers to his lower lip. He seemed to be sitting at some kind of desk or table, speaking into a web cam, but Lucky couldn’t make out any details of the room.

  “Yes, I tried to steal Chastain’s drug. Yes, I’d have been rewarded for my actions, but Lucky, this goes way higher than me.” Dark circles underscored Landry’s eyes, and his hair fell lank and greasy over his forehead. He lit a cigarette and blew smoke at the screen. Landry smoked?

  “Check the personnel logs for the past year, not just for Southeastern, but the other Narcotics Bureau divisions too. There’ve been some major changes, particularly in the upper echelons. Nothing happens without reason.

  “I didn’t kill anyone, but someone went to a lot of trouble to make sure I got the blame. I’ve been compromised. I’m expendable. Your distraught partner wouldn’t fight having his promotion taken away, and the man who brought me in would be a hero. Jameson is anything but a hero, though I doubt I’d be brought in alive. We can’t let him get away with anything he’s planning.”