In the Requiem (Metahuman Files Book 5)

by Hailey Turner

  “You bought my ring while at a bar?” Sean couldn’t even muster up any outrage at that, because it was so very Alexei. Get the job done quick and efficiently while multi-tasking—shark darts and all. “Please tell me it’s same-day delivery.”

  Alexei shook his head, still chuckling, but the wide, happy smile on his face made it impossible for Sean to even find his anger. “Tomorrow.”

  Sean dug into his pocket and pulled out the ring box, using his thumb to pop it open. He held it up so Alexei could see. “Guess it’s my turn to beat you for once.”

  Sean watched as Alexei’s mouth dropped open at the sight of the 24-karat gold ring nestled in black velvet. The thick band expanded upward into a flat top where four vertical rows of glittering diamonds, each with four stones, were precisely placed in grooved channels. Two smaller diamonds were set on the sides of the raised band, adding an extra flair to the flashy design.

  Sean swallowed, mouth suddenly dry. “Will you marry me, Lyosha?”

  The sound Alexei made wasn’t English, and it certainly wasn’t Russian.

  “Is that a yes?” Sean asked, refusing to acknowledge the way his knees felt a little shaky at the thought of Alexei actually saying no.

  “Da,” Alexei said hoarsely. “Put ring on.”

  Sean pried the ring out with trembling fingers, dropping the box on the ground between their feet. He took Alexei’s left hand in his and slid the engagement ring all the way on until it settled snugly against the last knuckle.

  He held onto Alexei’s hand, admiring the way it looked—perfect and right. Sean lifted his gaze to Alexei’s face and found those familiar gray eyes staring right at him with a searing heat that burned him straight to the core.

  “Lyosha,” he whispered.

  Alexei’s hands dug into his shoulders, propelling him around until Sean’s hips hit the dining room table, the corner digging into his ass. Alexei kicked the chair at the head of the table out of the way before sweeping his arm across the tabletop. Dishes, flatware, and water glasses tumbled to the floor, including Alexei’s wine glass. The sound of several dishes shattering when they hit the rug made Sean grab Alexei by the collar of his shirt.

  “Lyosha!” Sean exclaimed. “You’re cleaning that mess up.”

  “Later,” Alexei grunted as he hauled Sean up onto the table.

  “I thought you were hungry?”

  Alexei’s fingers deftly undid Sean’s jeans, slipping inside to stroke over his very interested cock. The smile he shot Sean was absolutely filthy. “Eat now.”

  Sean’s face burned at the implication of what Alexei wanted, but he wasn’t about to tell him to stop. Sean braced himself against the table—so incredibly glad they’d bought a sturdy one—and lifted his hips to make it easier for Alexei to yank off his jeans and underwear. When Sean would have stripped off his shirt, Alexei got in the way by pushing him down onto the table.

  Sean lifted a bare foot and pressed it against Alexei’s chest. Alexei grabbed his ankle, fingers stroking up his calf, the touch intimate in a way that made his skin prickle. Sean watched as Alexei reached behind himself to grab the chair he’d shoved aside and drag it close again. When Alexei sat down and pulled Sean’s legs over his shoulders, he groaned in anticipation, vaguely thinking he was glad he’d showered before starting on dinner.

  Warm hands slid between his ass and the table, pulling him closer to the edge. Alexei’s hot breath blew over the sensitive skin behind his balls, making Sean bite his lip to hold back a whimper.

  “I was going to propose to you the other day,” Sean managed to get out. “But then we got arrested.”

  “This better than pancakes,” Alexei said, licking up the underside of his rapidly hardening cock. “Better than anything outside. Can fuck you here.”

  Sean really didn’t have any argument against that, especially when Alexei sucked the head of his cock into that hot mouth. He pressed his heels against the hard muscles of Alexei’s back, urging him closer.

  “Lyosha,” he panted. “Don’t tease.”

  Alexei hummed, and the vibrations zinged through Sean’s cock, making him arch upward as much as he could. Alexei kept one firm hand on his stomach beneath his shirt, fingers splayed wide, trying to keep him still.

  Sean tangled the fingers of one hand in Alexei’s brown hair, got a good handful, and tugged pointedly. “Thought you said you were hungry?”

  Alexei slowly released Sean’s cock before he started to work his way farther down between Sean’s legs with soft, sucking kisses that had Sean squirming.

  “Impatient,” Alexei muttered before he used his tongue to trace the shape of Sean’s balls.

  “You’re the one teasing me.”

  “Like pretty sounds you make, Senichka.”

  A moment later, the warm wetness of Alexei’s tongue licked a broad stripe over his sensitive hole. Sean cried out, yanking at Alexei’s hair and trying to pull him closer. He felt more than heard Alexei laugh, the way the sound vibrated against his body, tickling his skin.

  When the tip of Alexei’s tongue pushed its way through the tight ring of muscle, Sean moaned loudly, feeling his toes curl at the sensation. He’d maybe been rimmed a handful of times in his life before meeting Alexei. Since last summer, he couldn’t imagine sex without it anymore. Alexei always took great enjoyment in eating him out, getting him loose and wet with that talented tongue of his before deigning to give Sean his cock.

  Alexei’s tongue licked at his entrance again, teasing him, and Sean squirmed against the touch. Alexei pushed his tongue back inside, tip fluttering, and the sensation made Sean’s spine tingle. He could feel Alexei’s breath blowing between his legs, an intimate tickle that had Sean wanting to move away and press closer at the same time.

  “Fuck,” he moaned, fingers flexing in Alexei’s hair.

  One thick finger slipped inside him, tugging him open even more. Alexei fit his mouth over as much of Sean’s hole as he could, sucking gently. Sean cried out, throwing his head back as Alexei found his prostate and started to rub it. His tongue slipped further inside, licking as deep as he could, and Sean wanted more.

  Moments like this always relegated Sean to sound, not necessarily words, which he knew Alexei liked. The way Alexei determinedly licked him open made Sean’s head spin, even while lying down. The sucking, wet sounds coming from between his legs never stopped as Alexei determinedly took him apart with mouth and hands.

  Sean twisted Alexei’s hair around his fingers and pushed his body against that willing mouth at a particularly deep thrust from his tongue, grinding against his face. He stroked his cock a time or two, but without any lube to ease the dry friction, Sean gave up in favor of grabbing another fistful of Alexei’s hair.

  Alexei pulled back just enough to run his tongue around the loose circle. Sean clenched around the emptiness he felt, crying out when Alexei slipped another finger inside him, thrusting the two in a shallow motion. He followed it up with his tongue, and Sean could only pant through the heat filling his body.

  “Lyosha,” Sean moaned.

  In response, Alexei pushed his tongue in as deep as he could, causing Sean to dig his heels against Alexei’s back and try to pull him closer. He pressed his shoulders against the table, arching up, wanting more.

  The moment was abruptly broken by the timer beeping on the oven. Sean blinked rapidly at the ceiling, needing a second to remember why the timer was on. He loosened his hold on Alexei’s hair, fingers sliding free as Alexei lifted his head. Sean propped himself up on his elbows, staring at Alexei.

  “The potatoes are going to burn,” Sean said, trying to catch his breath. He felt hot all over, nerves tingling, and he let out a groan at the way Alexei’s fingers kept playing with his hole.

  “Don’t care about dinner,” Alexei told him.

  “You will if the smoke alarm goes off.”

  He wasn’t worried about a fire, more that they’d be interrupted by building security. Alexei made a frustrated noise in the ba
ck of his throat. Sean moved his legs off Alexei’s shoulders and pushed himself to a sitting position. Breathing a little heavily, he watched Alexei stand up, his eyes lingering on those red, puffy lips.

  Alexei’s hand slipped between his legs to fondle his balls and Sean rocked into his touch, nearly sliding off the table. His eyes slid shut before snapping back open at the sound of the timer going off yet again as a reminder they still had food cooking.

  Alexei’s eyes narrowed, and the next thing Sean knew, he was being pulled away from the table and led into the kitchen. Sean grabbed his wine glass off the kitchen island and swallowed what was left in two long gulps while Alexei slapped his hand on the timer flashing across the oven’s controls. The beeping stopped. He stabbed at the controls one more time to turn off the oven.

  “Dinner later?” Sean asked as Alexei turned around.

  The heat in his eyes made Sean lick his lips. He put the glass back down on the kitchen island, refusing to move as Alexei closed the short distance between them.

  “Later,” Alexei agreed, grabbing Sean by his hips and spinning him around. “Fuck you now.”

  Sean braced himself against the marble countertop, listening to the sound of Alexei undoing his own pants. Warm hands stroked up his back, pushing his shirt up a little before sliding back down to squeeze his ass.

  Sean pushed back against Alexei’s greedy hands, his own cock throbbing in anticipation. “We should go to the bedroom. There’s no lube out here.”

  Alexei leaned against him, his hard cock sliding between the cleft of Sean’s ass. He reached around Sean for the bottle of cooking oil.

  “Is good,” Alexei growled against his throat, sucking at his pulse.

  By the end of the night, Sean was going to have bruises on his body, placed there by Alexei’s hands and mouth. “You’re cleaning up the mess you make.”

  Alexie laughed, low and deep, as he poured the cooking oil into one hand. “We take shower afterward. Clean you up good.”

  Slick fingers pushed inside him, making Sean groan as he folded down on his elbows over the kitchen island. He slid his feet farther apart, giving Alexei more room to work with. The slow, hard push of his fingers soon had Sean riding them, but he wanted more.

  “You need to get in me, Lyosha,” he panted.

  “Is what you want? My cock in you?”

  “I gave you a ring, the least you can do is fuck me.”

  Alexei swore, pulling his fingers out and pushing his cock inside without any further teasing. Sean cried out, pressing his forehead against the cool marble as Alexei pushed in and in, filling him up just the way he liked.

  “Yes,” he groaned, rocking back against Alexei, grinding his ass against that wonderful body. “Fuck, I can’t believe you said yes.”

  Alexei fit his hands around Sean’s hips, holding him steady as he drew out and thrust back in. “Think I say no? To you, Senichka?”

  Sean shook his head, sweat-slicked skin sliding over marble. “Didn’t think you would say no. I just—”

  He broke off with a moan as Alexei’s next thrust hit his prostate, making his entire body tremble. Alexei leaned over Sean, grinding slow and hard into him.

  “Always give you what you want, Senichka. Want my cock? Give to you good.” Alexei punctuated every other word with a hard roll of his hips, making Sean practically pant out little cries with every drag of his cock. “Is good, da?”

  “Yes,” Sean got out in a strangled voice.

  “Want my life? Give to you willing. Already make home together. Already have my heart, Senichka.”

  Alexei wrapped an arm around his torso, pulling him up, and Sean went where he led without protest. They stumbled backward, still intimately connected. Alexei spread his legs and kept Sean right there on his cock, rolling his hips as if they were dancing. Sean raised an arm and wrapped it around Alexei’s neck, twisting his head around for a kiss Alexei gladly gave him. Then warm fingers wrapped around his cock and his breath stuttered in his lungs at the feel of the ring he’d given Alexei gliding against his erection.

  “Give you everything but name,” Alexei growled against his mouth as he stroked and fucked Sean to a precipice he couldn’t wait to fall from. “Is what you want, Senichka? I give to you. Make you mine forever. Call you husband.”

  Sean came with a yell on that word, spilling over Alexei’s hand. He felt lightheaded and shaky, mind stuck like fabric on a nail to those syllables ringing in his ears as Alexei thrust a little harder, a little faster, chasing his own pleasure.

  “I want that,” Sean gasped out, vision a little blurry from unexpected tears as he stared at Alexei. “I want to be yours.”

  Alexei groaned, kissing him and stealing the air from his lungs as he fucked Sean with a slow, single-minded intensity that had Sean nearly sobbing by the time Alexei came. Alexei clutched Sean to him as he rode out his climax, holding him tight through the last hard thrusts. Sean stroked his hand down Alexei’s left arm until he could fit their hands together, the engagement ring warm to the touch.

  Alexei buried his face against the curve of Sean’s neck and shoulder, breathing raggedly. Sean closed his eyes, incapable of moving, ignoring the stickiness between his legs.

  Husband.

  It had a nice ring to it.

  “I’m not submitting the relationship status forms to HR this time,” Sean mumbled. “It’s your turn.”

  Alexei just laughed and didn’t let him go.

  12

  When All Our Living Is Done

  Kyle poured the ground coffee beans into the sleek coffee maker and set it to brew. The chrono shining through the skin of his left forearm said it was 0430, which he concluded was too fucking early because he’d rather be in bed.

  Leaning against the counter, he watched the coffee drip into the pot at what seemed like a glacial pace. The rich scent of it slowly filled the kitchen, making his nose twitch. Coffee was expensive, a luxury most people couldn’t afford. Kyle had grown up drinking synthcaf, not knowing what he was missing until Jamie introduced him to the gloriousness that was real coffee.

  The soft scuff of shoes on tile heralded Jamie’s approach. Warm hands settled on his hips, sliding up beneath the T-shirt he’d thrown on when the call had come in requesting Alpha Team’s presence on the base at 0600.

  Jamie pressed a kiss to the side of Kyle’s throat. “Did you make enough for both of us?”

  “No, it’s all mine. Make your own,” Kyle grumbled.

  Jamie laughed, low and thick, the sound going straight to Kyle’s cock, which only made him grumpier. They didn’t have time to enjoy the morning in bed, something they’d both rather have on their schedule than what waited for them on base.

  “You’re sharing.”

  Kyle leaned back against Jamie’s warm body and closed his eyes. “Fine.”

  They stood like that for the last minute or two it took for the coffee to finish brewing. Kyle stepped away from Jamie long enough to pour them both a cup of the delicious drink. Then Kyle sidled back up to Jamie in a silent request to be held again. Jamie wrapped an arm around his waist, drawing him close.

  Kyle hooked his fingers through a belt loop on Jamie’s jeans. They were both in civilian clothes rather than service uniforms. In the event Jamie needed to go directly from the base to his parents’ home for the State Dinner tonight, he couldn’t show up in uniform. As for Kyle, possible urban warfare was better done blending in with the crowd.

  Kyle took a sip of coffee, enjoying the closeness with Jamie, but he couldn’t ignore the tension in his lover’s body.

  “I’d ask if you were worried, but I already know the answer,” Kyle said quietly.

  Jamie’s hand on his hip tightened hard enough to bruise for a second before relaxing. His fingers slipped under Kyle’s T-shirt again, thumb stroking over warm skin. “I’d feel better if the brass focused on D.C. over anywhere else.”

  “We don’t know where Stanislav is going to strike.”

  “We can mak
e an educated guess.”

  Jamie sounded frustrated. Kyle knew the best way to make Jamie feel better wasn’t an option right now. They needed to get on the road because the director wanted a meeting with Jamie alone before the team briefing. Which meant they were taking separate cars and Kyle would leave a little later. He rubbed his thumb against the cool band of his engagement ring. Kyle wasn’t looking forward to Jamie taking it off.

  “Think you could change his mind?”

  Jamie sighed tiredly. “The Joint Chiefs counseled him, as did the directors of the FBI and CIA.”

  Kyle hid his scowl behind his coffee mug. “I hope he ignored the CIA director like the fucking blind idiot that man is.”

  Jamie didn’t respond, which told Kyle that was a solid no. Fucking politics.

  “If we could have kept the CIA out of the loop, we would have.”

  “The investigation into that damn agency has been going on forever. Hell, the damn special counsel the DOJ appointed to look into your father is moving faster than that investigation.”

  “Wouldn’t be surprised if Bennett was slowing it down somehow.”

  “I’ll slow him down with a .50 cal to the head,” Kyle muttered.

  Jamie’s chuckle rumbled through his chest, though there was little humor in the sound. “I won’t stop you.”

  “I know you won’t.”

  “Yes, well, that’s a level of paperwork I don’t want to deal with. Finish your coffee and stop thinking about murder.”

  “But I’d be doing the world a favor.”

  “No.”

  Kyle let out a long-suffering sigh. “Fine.”

  Jamie lightly slapped his ass before tucking a finger under Kyle’s chin to tilt his head back for a slow, deep kiss that tasted of coffee.

  “Let’s just get through today, all right?” Jamie murmured against his mouth.

  “We will,” Kyle said.

  It felt like a promise, and Kyle had every intention of keeping it. Jamie didn’t seem convinced, judging by the faint frown on his face. Kyle rose up on the balls of his feet to kiss it away, nipping at Jamie’s lips.