Will could see Hunter’s muscles flex and his jaw tighten as the orgasm raced through him. After a few seconds, he dropped his head, blowing labored breaths over Will’s cheek as his lower body continued to shake. And when Will slipped his hands over Hunter’s ass again and squeezed, Hunter let out one final moan, then collapsed.
Long minutes passed as they lay there. Hunter’s body grew heavier as he relaxed. His head rested under Will’s chin and every now and then Hunter would turn and kiss Will’s exposed skin.
Will seriously contemplated if they could sleep like this, with their bodies still slick. When Hunter pushed up again on his elbows he wore an unreadable expression as he stared down.
Not sure how to read the mood or what would happen next, Will went with a joke. “You’re still here.”
Hunter’s sudden pinched expression suggested he was deadly serious. “I’m not going anywhere…for now.”
Chapter 8
Hunter didn’t realize he’d dozed off or understand what jerked him awake again. In a flash his body flipped to high alert and his eyes popped open. He looked around the room, ready to attack whatever came at them. When the quiet apartment echoed back at him, he forced his shoulders to relax into the pillows.
His gaze switched to the warm body next to him. Traveled over Will, from the white sheet balancing on the lower part of his flat stomach up and over his broad chest to the sharp outline of his biceps. He lay on his back with an arm thrown over his head. Sometime during the last hour they’d given in to exhaustion and now Will’s hip pressed into Hunter’s side.
An odd sensation hit Hunter. He’d expected wariness and the usual shutting down of the attraction after he got what he needed and the urge to bolt rose. This was the point where in the past dread had washed over him and he got up and walked out. Didn’t look back.
Not this time. Not with Will.
The rumbling inside him came from wanting to close his eyes and stay. To fall into a deep sleep and pretend he was normal, that they were normal. For the first time in his life, the idea of never seeing a guy again punched into his gut. Made him tense and desperate to do…something.
No matter what he did—acted like an ass, threw up a wall of sarcasm, acted like he didn’t care—the truth walloped him. This protective streak for Will was about more than being a bodyguard or on assignment. He truly dreaded the idea of Will being in danger. His stomach rolled at the thought of not seeing him every day, of how with each hour Will lost a bit of that easy smile he’d worn the first time they met.
Life was pummeling the shit out of Will and Hunter had no idea how to fix that. Hunter had spent his life making up for his father’s sins and trying to do the right thing. He followed the rules and had a clear picture of right and wrong. Will blurred every line.
Hunter knew distance was the answer, but he couldn’t hold that vow. He was about to settle back down on the mattress and try to forget this moment had ever happened when the panel on his phone lit up. He grabbed it, expecting the annoying signal he’d seen before. Instead a message flashed across the screen, telling him to come into the hall.
Fucking Seth.
If anyone on the CIA team made a comment about videos or sex, he’d shoot them. Forget that a video feed ran back to his unwanted team of American CIA special ops. Some things should remain private.
Trying to be quiet when what he really wanted to do was break into a string of profanity, Hunter slid out of bed. He felt around the floor with his foot and found his briefs and a tee. Throwing them on, he walked across the room and disengaged the lock. When it beeped, he glanced over at Will, but he didn’t move on the bed.
Hunter barely slipped into the hall before launching into a rough angry whisper. “What?”
“Hello to you, too.” Seth had the nerve to smile as he whispered back.
Hunter debated punching the amusement right out of Seth. “You’re coming to my door now? That strikes you as a smart thing to do?”
“Since when is it your door?” Seth frowned. “Last I checked it belonged to my SAD team.”
Hunter was not in the mood for games or Seth…or Seth playing games. Not when Will was on the other side of the door. “This is too risky.”
Seth shrugged. “I knew your twink was asleep.”
The words exploded through Hunter. In a flash, he lunged at Seth, pinning him to the hallway wall with one hand on his chest. “Watch it.”
Seth being Seth, he didn’t even flinch. “First you tell me not to watch. Now you say—”
“Fuck you.”
Seth shoved Hunter’s hand off him. “That joke is too obvious.”
Even knowing Seth had said he’d turn off the cameras didn’t help. Seth, the whole team, still knew about his private life, and Hunter hated that. Will had crawled into bed and Hunter’s common sense switched off. He never should have touched Will. Should have just let him drift off. They’d argued enough.
But none of that absolved Seth from being a jackass.
“You said the cameras would be off,” Hunter said.
“I said I wouldn’t watch. Not listening is a bit harder to do and protect you at the same time, but give me some credit for trying. And at least I waited and didn’t interrupt the deep conversation.”
“This is the last time I’m telling you I can handle what happens in that apartment without your help.”
“Whether you like it or not, I’m running this op, which means watching over you.” Seth hesitated. “Of course, if you’re over him already and that was the last time you plan to get naked with him, then we don’t have a problem.”
Hunter struggled to keep his voice low and even in the narrow hallway. “What the fuck do you want? And make it quick.”
“We’ve got a new problem.”
“No surprise there.”
Seth continued to scan the hallway. Every now and then he would glance at his watch. It showed an outline of what looked like a floor plan to the building. There were different-colored dots. None moved.
After one last look at the watch face, Seth made eye contact again. “I traced the identification on the dead guy. Didn’t go anywhere.”
Hunter was just about done with the useless talking. “That’s very helpful. Get out before Will wakes up.”
“Hold up.” Seth caught Hunter as he tried to head back into the apartment. “We did get a hit on the one guy you left standing at the club. He’s searching for you, or Will.”
Dark eyes. Piercing gaze. General air of being pissed off and about to start shooting. Hunter definitely remembered. “Will called him Ed.”
“Not his real name. He’s not a bodyguard either.”
“Are you trying to string this out for dramatic effect?” But Hunter had to admit that last piece of information had his attention.
“Zach and Fisher have been going back through every document and photo we could find on every family member, their friends and acquaintances. Hell, anyone who even once ate a meal in the same restaurant.”
Hunter let out a long frustrated breath as he leaned with his back against the wall. “And?”
“After combing through the video footage at the Rivers properties and running face recognition, we tracked down some information on Ed. It looks like his loyalties are with someone other than the Rivers family.”
Hunter didn’t follow the logic. Didn’t much care. He was an answers guy. Save the intricacies of nonhuman intel gathering to someone else. “Just spell it out.”
“Ed had significant ties to a man named Reynard Gatt, the one Will mentioned. Important fact your boyfriend left out, Gatt is an arms dealer. A serious player.”
The news started Hunter’s head pounding. “Shit.”
“Yeah, no kidding.” Seth snorted. “Gatt started low-level and worked his way up. By that I mean he’s killed every boss he ever had. You’d think that would have messed with his career trajectory, but no.”
“Where does he fit in with Pentasus?” The funds for most of the Rivers f
amily’s work came from interesting sources. Insurgent groups. Terrorist organizations. Rebels. Wealthy, powerful people wanting who knew what. It was not hard to imagine the Rivers clan including an arms dealer or two among their clients.
“Unclear, but up until a few months ago Ed was Gatt’s second-in-command.”
“So, we have Ed, who is supposed to be Peter’s man, and his former boss Gatt, who had a relationship with Stacia.”
“Now you see the problem.” Seth shook his head. “It’s not clear if Gatt and Ed are setting up Peter or going after Will, but someone is hiding something.” Seth hummed. “Possibly Will.”
“I don’t see him hanging out with an arms dealer.” No matter how many times Hunter turned that scenario around in his head he couldn’t make it fit. Will might have secrets, but Hunter couldn’t see him living a secret double life that involved weapons. Hunter had been right there the whole time, and nothing led to that conclusion.
But Seth didn’t look convinced. “Maybe put the sex to the side and try to get more out of Will about Ed and Gatt.”
“You’re very obsessed with my sex life.”
“I don’t like that everyone is getting action but me.” Seth glanced at his watch one last time. “I’m nearby if you need me and I’ll be in touch.”
Now that was interesting. “Staying where exactly?”
“Close by.” Seth tucked his hands into his pockets and started walking. “Now, go talk to your boyfriend.”
Hunter watched Seth stalk down the hallway. Fought the temptation to follow him when he realized there was likely an entire group watching him right now. He went with giving the unseen cameras the finger.
When the floor grew quiet again, Hunter typed in the apartment code and slipped inside. Before he could shut the door behind him, Will sat up in bed.
He leaned back on his elbows with the light on low. He shot Hunter an expression that was half glazed with sleep. “What are you doing?”
“I thought I heard a noise in the hallway, but it’s fine.”
Will reached over and fumbled for the small clock next to his side of the bed. “What time is it?”
“Not sure—I can’t sleep.” Hunter debated going into the kitchen and finding something to keep him busy. That would have been smart. Sensible. Instead he opted for putting his knee on the bed and crawling up the mattress until he sat on top of the covers next to Will.
“Is this a sex thing?”
Hunter couldn’t help but smile at that. He glanced at Will. “Sex thing?”
“We could try to exhaust you again.” Will shrugged. “Unless you want me to make tea…I don’t know. Something.” He didn’t bother to get up. Didn’t even make a move to throw off the sheet covering his lower half. “Feel free to say no to that, by the way.”
Hunter wasn’t really sure why Will saw him as a tea guy, or why that would ever be the right option in the middle of the night. He’d forced it down a few times when Stacia insisted on serving it during a meeting. Apparently even killers for hire strictly adhered to teatime. “Sometimes I forget you’re British.”
Will laughed. “The accent doesn’t give it away?”
Damn, the sound of Will’s voice was just plain hot. All haughty and smooth. “That and the tea, I guess.”
Will moved up on the stack of pillows until his shoulder balanced against Hunter’s arm. “Where are you from?”
The question slammed to a halt in Hunter’s head. “What?”
“Too personal?”
“I’ve been inside you. Had my fingers in your ass. Clearly I’m not big on the too-personal line.” But Hunter couldn’t look at him then. Not when they crossed the line from acceptable small talk to none-of-Will’s-fucking-business details.
“Right.” Will let out a long breath and threw one leg over the side of the bed. Balled his hands into fists on either side of his hips but didn’t push up to stand. “That’s why the panic over giving me the name of a hometown seems strange.”
“I don’t panic.”
“But you do evade questions.”
For a second he stared at Will’s back. Hunter had a cover story. He didn’t waver from it. Didn’t overshare, not ever. But for some reason he wanted to say something real. Not important or potentially damaging, but a small bit of truth. “Germany.”
Will glanced at Hunter over his shoulder. “That’s a country, not a town.”
“It’s good to know you learned geography at all those impressive schools. I’d hate to think of your daddy’s money going to waste.”
Will’s shoulders fell as he shook his head. “I’m not taking the bait.”
“What?”
The mattress shifted as Will turned around again. Had one long leg sprawled in front of him and the sheet tucked around his hips and dipping low enough in front to offer a peek of the dark shadow of hair lower on his abdomen. “You’ve been using an American accent.”
Having let one piece slip out, Hunter loosened up and gave a bit more. Dropped the standard American accent, the one that didn’t give away where in the States he would have been from, and slipped easily back into the comfort of his regular voice. “Is this better?”
“You turn it on and off.” Will’s expression stayed blank. “That’s not particularly comforting.”
“I’ve been on assignments for U.S. companies with offices in the UK. Adopting the American accent helped with security concerns and led to better jobs.” Hunter didn’t care if Will bought the lie because he didn’t want to spend one more second talking about his real life or any potential holes in his cover.
Will’s eyes narrowed. “Why do I think that’s not the full story?”
“The bodyguards.”
This time Will’s mouth dropped open. “Excuse me?”
Probably not the smoothest subject change. Hunter could admit that, but he didn’t have the patience for bullshit. A CIA team he didn’t want to be a part of was lingering around somewhere and watching every move. Ed could be nearby; so could more shooters. And Hunter had no idea where Gatt fit in.
None of that even touched the problem of Peter, the one other Rivers heir probably left alive. “I want to talk about your bodyguards. Not me. The others you had sniffing around you.”
“Apparently we’re done talking about your personal life.”
That worked for Hunter. “Ed and…what was the other guy’s name?”
Will’s hand balled into a fist with a good grip of sheets locked inside. “The one you knocked out? Donald.”
“That’s it?” When Will nodded, Hunter continued. “What happened to the other one…Gatt, was it?”
“They found me as I was running through the house that night, looking…”
The way his voice drifted off intrigued Hunter. “What?”
“For you. I wanted to make sure you’d made it back upstairs and out to safety.” Will flattened his hand, letting the bunched material go, and stared up at Hunter. “Peter sent them after me. I was with them when I escaped the explosion through an underground tunnel.”
“You weren’t in the tunnel because I was.”
“You were in one of them.” Will swallowed a yawn. “Mine was family only, but Ed and Donald followed me in. Gatt showed up but disappeared after telling me about Stacia.”
Hunter had worked at the Rivers estate and gathered information on all of the players. When possible, took secret photos of the men and women who roamed the grounds. He’d made it his business to know names and faces, and neither Ed nor Gatt was familiar to him. That made them all the more mysterious and crucial to figuring out what was happening with Peter and the future of Pentasus.
Those two had popped up out of nowhere for a specific reason. Hunter was suddenly very interested in finding out what that was. “Gatt never showed up again?”
“Peter set up the apartment I was in. We were supposed to meet there in case of an emergency. He never showed up. Ed and Donald did, but no Gatt.”
“Then you waited it out until
you went to the club last night.”
“To see you. That was the only reason. I figured if you were around, you’d show up.” Will spun around and leaned against the pillows again. “Then we got attacked and ran, and Ed and Donald are gone. Thanks for helping to lose them, by the way.”
Hunter also refused to be derailed by Will’s lighter tone or his words. He blocked the thoughts about Will taking a risk just to see him. Blocked them for now. “Why is that a good thing?”
“You ever get a sense that something is not right? That you have part of the story but the other part is seriously not good? That’s the vibe Ed gave off. He claimed he worked for Peter but I don’t remember him being with Peter.”
“Maybe he really worked for Stacia.” That was the only thing that made sense in Hunter’s mind. Who the hell knew in that family? They played games over even the most mundane things.
“Possibly. As you’ve pointed out, Peter and Stacia took sides. They forced others to do the same. I could never tell who was spying or double-crossing whom, but Ed knew about the safe house Peter had set up. That’s how I tested him and he passed.”
“You need to get away from all of them.” Hunter didn’t even want to give Will a choice on this point. The idea of him getting wrapped up in the family business and becoming Peter’s main target made Hunter’s head pound. That would not fucking happen.
“That’s the plan, yes.”
“And you can forget the part of your scheme where you sneak out and leave me behind.” Hunter didn’t have to ask because he knew. He could sense the plotting and the assessing. It thrummed off Will.
“Why?”
“It’s not safe.” And it went against his BND orders, or the CIA orders…whoever was in charge these days.
But that wasn’t really why Hunter hated the fucking plan so much. The idea of being apart, of Will being on the run and living a life somewhere without them ever seeing each other again, rubbed Hunter raw.
Not that he could admit that. Hell, he’d already been too open about his feelings, messed up as they were. With Will he had this open wound. This constant source of potential debilitating pain. And he despised the vulnerability.
The Talented Mr. Rivers Page 8
