Bound for Keeps (Men of Honor)

by SE Jakes

  “Was there a Kyle in his company?”

  “No.” Keith sighed and pushed the keyboard away. “This is all Milsaps could give me.”

  “And you can’t get anything else?”

  “You’re the one with the Army connections.”

  Reed grabbed his cell phone. iPhone. Whatever the hell it was. He never needed fancy—he just needed it to ring.

  And it did. Prophet was on the other end. A good and dangerous man to know.

  “Proph, it’s Reed.”

  “Boy, you only call when you need a favor.”

  “Ditto, asshole. And who the hell are you calling boy?”

  Prophet hooted. “Hit me.”

  Reed gave him the intel, and Prophet promised he’d have something within twenty-four hours. Reed heard bombs going off in the background and declined to ask where and what Proph was doing now.

  “What’re we going to do until then?” Keith asked as he stretched his big body in the chair. He looked like a growly bear, abs like steel and a grip to match. And Reed wanted all of that, wanted to motion for Keith to come hang with him on the couch. The fire was going, the storm had picked up, and their patient was resting comfortably.

  But something was holding Reed back, and he had no clue what it was.

  Bullshit. You know—you just don’t want to deal with it.

  “I’ve got to work out,” Reed muttered, pushed out of the room, feeling Keith’s eyes on him. And as much as he wanted the man to follow, he prayed harder that he stayed away.

  Keith would give Reed the wide berth he needed—for now. But not for longer than the next twenty-four hours, because that’s when the real trouble would begin.

  He wasn’t Bobby—Reed had never expected him to be. But Keith and Bobby were both kids of the streets, dumped into foster-care systems that beat them up and spit them out. They were both angry, chip-on-their-shoulder men who understood exactly what they needed.

  Reed’s desires were slightly more mercurial. When he’d come into their lives, they’d treated him with kid gloves. At first. It was only after Reed’s first tantrum of sorts that they both realized that Reed needed the kind of handling Keith and Bobby could give him—and both men had been only too happy to show him so.

  Now, Keith heard the click of weights moving up and down. Reed was spinning, grinding his gears, and Keith would stay up tonight and watch for any nightmares that might follow.

  He could still hear Shane’s screams in his ears. Only men who’d been through hell yelled like that, and only when their defenses were completely down. It was why most of the former military men Keith knew rarely slept, and when they did, they slept alone.

  He hadn’t slept alone for long stretches of time in years, and he was grateful for it. Heard the clink of the weights grow faster and pictured Reed’s taut, sweaty body as he worked off some steam.

  He had some other ideas about working things off, but he’d wait until the man came to bed. And while he had some time before that happened, he went into the steam shower, a place crowded with memories, all good, and he sat in the heat for a while and let himself reflect. At times like this, he always thought back to his first time with Bobby.

  He’d known the man since he’d enlisted at seventeen, but nothing happened until Keith turned twenty-one. Bobby was twelve years older, a celebrated Force Recon Marine who’d been called in to train new recruits and pick the best of the bunch. At the time, the special forces branches were all growing and they’d needed to handpick men rather than waiting for the men to come to them.

  Keith had been one of the lucky ones chosen, hadn’t known much about Force Recon before Bobby took him aside and explained what the elite force was all about. He’d stared at the broad man with nearly white-blond hair, buzz cut into a high and tight, and, if he looked back now, he’d admit that he’d fallen in love. At the time, he’d told himself he’d fallen in love with the idea of being a Force Recon Marine. For Bobby, Keith applied himself harder than he ever had in his life. He was built for all the punishment and camaraderie the Marines had to offer, reveled in it, grew the hell up, and fast. Learned to be a man instead of the street punk he’d been in very real danger of becoming.

  It took a year before he was through the basics of Force Recon training, but he’d passed the most important tests. He’d also managed to drive Bobby fucking nuts, and he hadn’t really been sure why at the time.

  Okay, yeah, he’d been kind of sure, because he’d wanted to be with the man for years. Bobby had an open-door policy, widely rumored, that had men showing up to his door at midnight on Saturdays. If the porch light was on, it was first come, first served.

  No one would ever admit to being there, but Keith had a feeling more than a few guys he’d known had. He’d never gotten up the balls to do so, probably because he was afraid Bobby would tell him he was too big a pain in the ass and turn him away.

  But he wasn’t thinking about any of that the night he’d learned he’d be continuing on with the training. That night had been for celebrating. Letting his guard down, for the first time in what felt like forever. He recalled dancing. On tables. Cheering. A lot of bluster from a lot of Marines. And then he was dragged out of the back of the club by Bobby. Stood face to face with the man who outranked him and whose service he would be under for the next who knew how many years, and remembered how much he’d mouthed off to him lately.

  He could, unfortunately, do nothing but laugh at that moment, barely remember his own name. And he’d been far too drunk to adequately defend himself, especially since Bobby bound and gagged him efficiently and threw him in the back of his SUV. When they got to Bobby’s house, he dragged Keith inside and bound his arms behind him and to a chair, with rope around his chest as well. The bonds were so tight he couldn’t move his upper body, and he didn’t dare move his legs, or he knew they’d be tied before he could protest. He’d take his freedom in small doses.

  And then, Bobby took the gag out of his mouth. Keith coughed. Bobby gave him water and Keith drank it down, wondering if this was all part of some bizarre Force Recon initiation. Because, according to the notice he’d received, he’d passed muster, been accepted.

  When he looked into Bobby’s eyes, he knew this was about so much more than a new position.

  “What are you going to do to me?” he couldn’t help but ask. If he’d been sober, he would’ve kept his mouth shut. He’d gotten in trouble with Bobby before during training—and although Bobby always kicked the shit out of him, he’d never done anything like this.

  “I’m going to do something to make you finally understand who is in charge here.” Bobby leaned in close to Keith’s face, his drawl heavy and smooth. “And by the time I’m done you’re going to be my obedient little Marine who does anything I ask.”

  Keith shivered involuntarily as Bobby ran a finger along the front of his neck, using it to push up under Keith’s chin to keep the eye contact. “That’s what I want to see. I like to see you a little afraid of me. Not sure what I’m going to do with you, not sure what’s going to happen here tonight, knowing there’s no way to get out of it…all this is going through your mind right now. You can’t escape, can’t move, and even if you could, you’d be disobeying another direct order from your commanding officer.” Bobby paused for a minute and then, without warning, ripped Keith’s shirt open. Buttons went flying as Bobby pulled it off his shoulders as far as it could go.

  Keith drew some rapid breaths and felt the faint sense of dread as Bobby smiled at him for the first time since this began.

  “Now, tell me you’re going to follow my next orders, even though you really don’t have a choice. Say, ‘I’ll do anything you ask me to, Bobby’. No questions asked. Say it.”

  Keith cleared his throat, but when he spoke, his voice was still hoarse. “I’ll do anything you want, Bobby.” He squirmed slightly in the seat under the man’s intense gaze. “No questions asked.”

  “Good boy. Do you want to know what’s going to happen? Wh
at I want you to do next?” He asked as he moved his hands to Keith’s waist. Keith nodded, not trusting his voice anymore. “I’m going to take these off.” He gave Keith’s jeans a tug, pulling them down below his hips.

  Keith drew in another sharp breath and bit his bottom lip as Bobby continued, “And you’re going to ask me to put you inside my mouth and make you come. And then I’m going to put you into my mouth. And you’re going to come for me, come right inside my mouth like a good little Marine. And while I’m working on you, I want to hear you tell me how you feel, let me know you like what’s happening to you. I want to hear you call out my name. What do you think about that?” Bobby finished and sank to his knees between Keith’s legs.

  The whole world went still then, even as Keith’s mind continued to spin. “I’m waiting,” Bobby finally reminded him.

  Keith licked his lips, his mouth dry, and looked away from Bobby.

  “No, Keith. I want you to look into my eyes when you ask me. Right into my eyes, so I know you mean it. And I want you to keep watching me the whole time, especially when you come.”

  Keith didn’t answer with words. Instead, he whimpered softly, trying to catch it before Bobby heard it.

  It only served to make Bobby smile wickedly.

  Keith closed his eyes for a minute, as though when he opened them this would be another one of his dreams. Another one of his extremely erotic dreams that he’d been having over the past year, all starring Bobby. They’d wake him up in the middle of the night, and he’d be sweating, breathing hard and blushing. But this was the point where his dreams always ended, right before Bobby was about to take him.

  Now Keith opened his eyes, slightly disoriented from all the drinking he’d done, and he looked down.

  Bobby was positioned right between his legs, which were spread wide, thanks to the restraints. Keith’s pants were off and he was obviously aroused. And Bobby was waiting patiently for him to speak.

  It wasn’t a dream at all.

  Keith knew he had no choice, and finally spoke the words Bobby had given him to say.

  “Put me inside your mouth, Bobby. Make me come.” His voice was rough with want now, even though he was still nervous.

  Wordlessly, Bobby put his head down and took as much of Keith as he could into his mouth. Keith uttered a long, low moan of acquiescence and watched the man’s head move up and down as he felt himself being dragged over Bobby’s teeth and tongue. He didn’t even have to try to follow the man’s orders, because within minutes the words just flowed out of his mouth, mixed with uncontrollable moans that ripped from his throat.

  “Oh God, feels so fucking good, Bobby. Please don’t stop…yeah, that’s it. Just like that. Please, keep your tongue there.” The only thing Keith could move were his hips, and he was arching them toward Bobby, who put his hands firmly on Keith’s hips, grounding them.

  That made Bobby wilder. And then he went in for the kill, deep-throating Keith’s cock in and sucking, forcing him to a climax.

  “Fuck, Bobby—I’m going to come. Bobby, please…I love you,” he heard himself cry out as he came in a shuddering rush in Bobby’s throat.

  He was no longer looking at Bobby the way he’d been ordered to. But obviously that minor transgression was okayed because Bobby didn’t say anything. Not until he finally worked up the courage to open his eyes, praying this wasn’t all some big joke.

  “So that’s what it took to get you to admit your feelings.” Bobby stood and kissed Keith, letting Keith taste himself. He heard the moans drumming up in the back of his throat again, especially when Bobby began handling his cock.

  When he drew back, he said, “Don’t forget, I’m still in charge here. And I’m not through with you yet. Not by a long shot.”

  He released Keith’s legs and arms. “You’re going to follow me upstairs and lay yourself out on my bed. And I’m going to fuck you—and you’re going to keep telling me in that sweet way of yours just how you feel about me. And you’re going to look right in my eyes as you do. Do you understand?”

  “Sweet?” he heard himself say, and Bobby laughed then.

  “Still haven’t quite mastered the whole obedience thing, have you, honey?”

  “I guess not.” He sat there, thoroughly debauched and Bobby waited, probably more patiently than the man ever had. “Look…I…shit.”

  “Can you just follow my goddamned orders?”

  Okay, yes, Keith could do that, because it was much easier than saying what he needed to. He marched up the stairs and into Bobby’s room and laid himself out on his bed. The big man came in and straddled him, half naked himself at this point.

  “You’re scared,” Bobby said and Keith nodded. “You’ve never done this before.”

  Keith flushed, went to try to push Bobby off him but he was stopped. “Did I say that was a problem? I like that you’re a virgin. I knew you were.”

  To his goddamned horror, he felt tears form in his eyes.

  “Stop. Breathe. Say what you need to.”

  “I can’t fucking do this until I know how you feel about me. Because I’ve never had this. Never felt this way about anyone—”

  “I know how you grew up, Keith. And as for how I feel about you, couldn’t tell all these months, couldn’t tell by the way I looked at you? No, of course you couldn’t. You were too busy getting in trouble, looking for my undivided attention.” Bobby was teasing him, his tone gentler than Keith had ever heard it as he realized Bobby was right on the money.

  “You still haven’t answered my question,” Keith said, surprising both of them with his boldness. “Because I can’t do this without knowing if you don’t feel the same, I can’t let you break my heart.”

  “Just when I think I know you, you go and blow me away,” Bobby had murmured, had looked right into Keith’s eyes. “I think I’ve loved you from the second I met you.”

  Keith realized there were tears shining in his eyes as he came back to the present. That damned Marine could always surprise him, right up until the end. He and Keith fought side by side for several years before Bobby retired, with Bobby doing private work until Keith had put in his time.

  They’d worked side by side, enjoying the adrenaline rush and not having to worry about the prying eyes of the military.

  Fourteen years.

  You had some chip on your shoulder, Marine, he heard Bobby whisper in his ear. And Reed had an even bigger one.

  For the first time in days, Keith felt confident that he could handle it.

  Shane woke to groans. Sex sounds, but he’d been dreaming about Kyle for the entire time he’d been out as if it had been one continuous loop of alternating pleasure and pain. Maybe he’d been groaning.

  Shit.

  It took him a while to realize he’d been drugged and also shackled to the bed. Fear raced through him, because even though he knew where he was, he’d never be rid of that instinct. He yanked on the cuffs, yelled, bucked against the bed, until Reed and Keith came in and stood on either side of him.

  “Stand down, boy, before you hurt yourself,” Keith said, his voice sharp. “We’re keeping you safe.”

  Shane believed him and stopped struggling. He felt the handcuffs releasing.

  “Come on, sit up,” Reed urged. “You’ll be shaky. I gave you meds for the fever and your anxiety.”

  Shane couldn’t move fast this time even if he wanted to. His head felt fuzzy, stuffed with cotton, swollen with memories. But the cold soda Reed offered felt good going down. Sugar helped everything. So did the painkillers that made him forget his aching ribs.

  “You look better,” Keith told him. “Climbing out of here in a storm was a stupid move.”

  He knew that. “Look, I’ll get out of your way. I’ll find the inn the trucker mentioned.”

  “Don’t bother,” Keith said. “Do you have family we can call?”

  He knew most of his military records were sealed, but his family backstory could be—would be—found by these men eventually, so he offe
red, “My dad died last year. My mom’s got Alzheimer’s—I sold the house to pay for the facility she’s in. Doesn’t remember who I am.”

  “I’m sorry, Shane,” Reed said and then asked, “Who’s Kyle? Should we call him?”

  Who’s Kyle? A simple question. A loaded question.

  Kyle’s the man who died because of me.

  Kyle was the man I loved.

  “Kyle was my brother.” Technically not a lie, because of the whole brothers-in-arms thing. And even though he knew these men slept together didn’t mean they would necessarily be accepting of him in that respect.

  “Bullshit.”

  He stared up at Keith. “What are you talking about?”

  “You jacked off in your sleep, came calling Kyle’s name,” Reed said, his voice gentler than Keith’s.

  He opened his mouth but no sound came out. His cheeks heated, and he struggled to remember doing that, but couldn’t.

  “It’s all right that you were lovers. We’re okay with that,” Reed told him and it clicked into place. The sex sounds. He hadn’t been making them in his sleep—those sounds had been coming from Keith and Reed’s room.

  “It’s all right because you guys are gay?”

  “Yes,” Keith said like Shane was the stupidest human being on the planet.

  “Okay, yeah, Kyle and I were together for two years. He died, and I’m just out of sorts. With everything.”

  There was no reason they shouldn’t believe that. Grief fucked everybody up, and this time, Shane had told the complete and utter truth.

  “So you’re just bumming rides around the country, trying to find yourself?” Keith asked.

  “It sounds stupid when you say it, but yeah.” The big man would continue to challenge him at every turn, it seemed.

  “Keith, cut him a break.”

  “He’s hiding something.” Keith wasn’t letting him off the hook, and Shane found himself squirming under the man’s scrutinizing gaze. “Your amnesia story was crap. Why wouldn’t this one be?”

  “Kyle died and I loved him.” He stopped short of saying anything more because his voice started to break. Finally he added, “Why bother? You’re never going to trust me.”