Bound by Law: Men of Honor, Book 2

by SE Jakes

  “You’re my son’s little bitch.” Styx’s father sneered at him. “Should have taken you out when I had the opportunity. And I had so many of them. I would’ve killed that fag who you lived with too, if he hadn’t died before I got the chance.”

  No one spoke about Greg like that… Law fisted his hands and Styx’s father noticed. Laughed. “You know you’re not supposed to show emotion. You were doing well for a while, but nothing like my son. He was the best.”

  “He is the best, no thanks to you.”

  “Yes, I’m the big bad wolf who corrupted that boy. If he’d stayed with me, he would’ve had the world. What does he have with you, besides a sin?”

  Law laughed at that—the fact that this man considered their relationship a sin…and the killing was merely a job. “You’re a sick son of a bitch. And really—you should’ve killed me when you had the chance. Because you’re not going to get the chance now.”

  Law held his breath as Styx’s father smiled—a chilling thing, because the man’s eyes were as dead and colorless as coal. The gun rose a bit, centering between Law’s eyes, and he would hold firm and trust.

  Greg was watching over him. He had to believe that.

  Styx’s father finally spoke again. “You’re a little too sure of yourself, son. You didn’t think I knew you were here? You’re not as sly as you think—you’re on camera.”

  “But I’m not.”

  Styx’s father froze as the gun came out of nowhere and touched the side of his head. He opened his mouth to speak but the shot stopped any words. There was blood spatter and brains on the wall, and Tanner let the man’s body drop as he lowered the gun.

  Tanner, who’d snuck in the back way before Law, after Law disabled the cameras. Once he was sure Tanner was safely inside, Law had allowed the cameras to capture him entering.

  All part of the plan. And it had gone well but still, Law felt himself tremble at how close they’d all come.

  “You okay?” Tanner asked.

  “I think so.”

  “Then breathe, all right?” Tanner took his arm. “It’s over, okay?”

  “You risked too much,” Law said.

  “We all did. We always do. It’s the way we live,” Tanner said quietly. “Come on—the CIA can clean this shit up.”

  “Do you think…” Law paused. “I think he wanted to die.”

  “No matter what he wanted, he deserved to.” Tanner guided Law out of the building as CIA agents moved past. Tomcat clapped a hand on his shoulder, a grim look on his face.

  Although this death was necessary, it always came at a high price.

  Law turned back to Tanner. “I wanted to do it, but…”

  “You’ve all had to deal with too much because of him. I’m the best choice. It’s done.” Tanner had always been a warrior, but he was different now. Stronger, more confident. Part Delta, part because of Damon’s love and yes, they were all moving forward.

  “I’m glad you called me,” Tanner told him. “I owed you, for all your help with me and Damon. Granted, I never thought this would be the kind of debt you called in. But when you told me this was for Styx…well, Damon told me about you and him.”

  “Does Damon know you’re here?” Either way, Damon was probably pissed Law didn’t call him himself.

  “He’s outside. Backing me up. And he’s not pissed—he’s just worried.” Tanner led him down the alley, where they met Damon.

  “Sorry you had to cut your trip short,” Law told him.

  “This was more than worth it.” Damon stepped forward and hugged Law. “I’ll yell at you and Tanner later. Right now I’m just so goddamned grateful you’re both okay.”

  “So am I.” Styx’s voice came up from behind Damon.

  Law and Damon pulled apart and Damon whirled to face Styx. For a long moment, the men stared at each other, and then Damon said, “Good to see you, man. Really good.”

  They shook hands and then hugged. From behind Law, Tanner waited patiently, keeping an eye on all of them. Not so patiently, Styx came up next to Law, introduced himself to Tanner.

  “Thank you,” he said, and Tanner just nodded.

  Styx turned back to Damon. “Damon. I owe you and Tanner. I’m—”

  “Don’t, Styx. Law told me everything. And now it’s over, so don’t let this time go to waste. I learned that lesson and it was almost too late.” Damon glanced at Tanner and both men’s faces practically glowed. “And then I learned that it’s really never too late.”

  “I’m finding that out myself,” Styx said. “Still, it would’ve been nice if Law and Tanner let me in on this before I had to watch it play out on video.”

  “We needed someone outside the situation, someone who didn’t live through it, who could keep a cool head,” Law explained. “Tomcat agreed. I didn’t want you to have to do it. As much as you wanted to, you would’ve regretted it. I would’ve, too, if you hadn’t taken the choice from me with my parents.”

  “You knew?”

  “I suspected and Paulo confirmed it. I think my story triggered something in you about Kyle and what your father did. You just didn’t realize you were working off a memory,” Law explained. “It’s over, baby. This is over and the rest of it’s just beginning.”

  The men put their heads together, foreheads touching, for a long moment in the frigid cold.

  “I’m your past—he’s your future,” Styx told him.

  “My past is part of my future—always will be, if I have anything to say about it. And I damn well have everything to say about it.”

  “Stubborn.”

  “You like me that way. Always have,” he murmured, and Styx couldn’t object.

  “Always, Law,” Styx agreed. “But you’ve got to go back to the cabin to make sure it’s really over—that no one else is coming for any of us.”

  “You’re coming?”

  “No—you and Paulo. My director wants a report. I have to, Law.”

  Law didn’t say anything at first and then finally told Styx, “You do what you need to. But remember, we need you.”

  “I’ll remember,” Styx told him before he pulled away reluctantly, watched Law and Tanner and Damon get hustled into a waiting SUV.

  Law watched Styx standing on the corner from the window of the moving car until Styx was out of sight…and even then, he refused to turn back around.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Law and Paulo remained at the cabin with Damon for a week, while Tanner had been ushered right back into service, before the CIA cleared them to go home.

  Paulo was told his family had been allowed to do so as well, but he told Law he didn’t want to make contact with them, and Law hadn’t pushed him.

  Damon and Tanner had already cleaned up Law’s place for him and Paulo’s too, but they only stopped at Paulo’s apartment so he could grab a few necessities. And then they were in Law’s truck, making the short drive to his apartment, where the men dropped their bags by the door.

  “Place looks great—you’ll have to give me the tour,” Paulo said.

  “We’ll move you out of your place and into here over the next few weeks,” Law told him.

  “Ah, we’re in the I’ll-make-all-the-decisions-for-you phase, are we?”

  Law locked an arm around his waist and dragged him close. “Problem with that?”

  “Even if I did, all you have to do is throw me on the bed and I’ll forget my own name.”

  Law raised his brows. “Let’s try that theory out.”

  He picked up Paulo and put him over his shoulder, walked him through the apartment until he reached the king-sized bed.

  Law did throw him down, stripped him, climbed him in what seemed like seconds, then let the man catch his breath.

  “Fuck, you’re good at that,” Paulo said as Law took his own shirt off and started to take down his jeans.

  Paulo reached up to stroke Law’s cheek. Paulo still bore the bruises from what had happened—Law knew he’d always bear scars…but it would hea
l underneath.

  Scars made the skin tougher anyway.

  “Lots of room in this bed.”

  “You’re thinking about him too?”

  “Thinking. Worrying.” Law looked at him. “Same as we worried about you.”

  “Never going to let me live that down, are you?”

  “Never,” Law agreed, but he was smiling a little. “You know, Greg said that the people who need us the most are drawn to us, no matter how we try to outrun them. They find us and eventually they heal us, no matter how resistant we are.”

  “And you were resistant to anything, more than I ever was,” Paulo reminded him, and Law swore he could almost hear Styx’s laugh, deep and easy in its agreement.

  There was so much to discover—he wanted to find out something new every damned day. “You and Styx both like it that way. You want to be the ones who break me out of the stubbornness.”

  “Hallelujah, he finally gets it,” Paulo said with a smile. “He’ll come back.”

  “And if he doesn’t, am I enough?”

  “I could ask you the same question.”

  Law smiled. “You always were. This was never about needing more.”

  “I know.” Paulo tugged on his arm. “Come on, show me that anyway.”

  Law did, kissed his way down Paulo’s back, licking the pattern of the tats as he went, while Paulo remained on his hands and knees, waiting.

  “You still need…to get your tat,” Paulo breathed.

  When Law’s hand finally circled his dick, Paulo groaned and Law let the hard column rest in his palm, wanting to drive the younger man crazy. “I will. How about the three of us go together?”

  Paulo nodded, his face flushed. “I like. Now fuck me, old man.”

  “You’re in so much goddamned trouble,” Law muttered, and then proceeded to show Paulo just how much for the next several hours.

  Styx knew that the two men had moved into Law’s apartment, the top floor of the building so they had more space. Paulo opened the PI business with Law, and they waited for Styx to run himself out, not doing more than calling him to tell him they missed him, texting him to keep safe. All of it done with a light enough touch to where he didn’t feel cornered.

  He finished up some loose ends with the CIA. Had several long talks with Tomcat and, in the end, made up his own mind. A decision he could live with.

  There were no more memories, maybe mercifully so. Styx really hadn’t wanted to know more—bad enough that he had the bloodlines of that assassin inside of him.

  Don’t go there, Styx.

  Styx, that’s who he was…reborn on that park bench at sixteen, reborn because of Greg and loved by two men he loved and respected.

  What the hell else could he ask for? Some people never got second chances. Some never even got a first.

  It took six months, but one night, he turned the key Law had sent him in the lock and walked in as Law and Paulo watched.

  He’d thought they’d be pissed. Expected it, because he’d always been a realist. But there was more relief than anything in Paulo’s and Law’s eyes.

  “Sorry. Didn’t mean to make you worry.”

  “You can make it up to us,” Law told him.

  The men embraced him, tugged him into the bedroom where they literally stripped and then cuffed him to the bed. Styx didn’t bother to fight the bonds, just lay back and enjoyed the men watching him like he was their goddamned main course.

  They didn’t bother to ask questions—they’d all waited too long for this moment. Hell, Styx had been dreaming about it, and so when both men came forward to each capture a nipple in their teeth and tug, he bucked and groaned. Called out both Law and Paulo in rapid succession and watched as the men took their time kissing their way down his chest toward his cock.

  “If you two make me wait much longer…” he finally growled, and Law laughed and looked at Paulo.

  “Maybe we should take some pity on him,” he said, and Paulo nodded and licked around the piercing and yeah, that was what he needed. He watched as Law guided Paulo’s head up and down, slicking his cock up. Law’s hand circled Paulo’s cock and Paulo moaned, the vibrations catching Styx’s cock and nearly making him lose control.

  But that was what all this was about, in the end. Surrendering to what he needed. What he’d always wanted. With Paulo, that was an unexpected and very much needed surprise. He’d somehow become the glue that kept Law and Styx from tearing each other apart and fucking things up again.

  It had taken him a long time to feel lucky. But he was there now.

  Law was watching him carefully, spoke when Styx’s eyes met his. “I hope you have the time and the energy for both of us tonight.”

  “Now you’re calling…me…old?” Styx managed as Paulo deep-throated him. “You fucker. You’re…going…over my knee.”

  “Yeah, I was kind of hoping that,” Law confessed, and Paulo laughed around Styx’s cock. “How long do we have you for?” Law asked, and Paulo paused, took his mouth away to wait for the answer.

  “As long as you want me,” Styx said.

  “That’s simple—forever, then,” Law said, and Paulo echoed, “Forever.”

  He’d finally come home, and he had the memories to prove it.

  About the Author

  SE Jakes lives in New York where she’s currently at work writing her next book. She feels that doing what you love keeps you young and that writing about people falling in love is probably the best damned job in the entire world.

  You can find more information about SE’s newest books at sejakes.blogspot.com.

  Look for these titles by SE Jakes

  Now Available:

  Men of Honor

  Bound By Honor

  Bound By Law

  Coming Soon:

  Men of Honor

  Ties that Bind

  A promise forces two men to bare themselves…completely.

  Bound by Honor

  © 2011 SE Jakes

  Men of Honor, Book 1

  One year ago on a mission gone wrong, Tanner James failed to save the life of Jesse, his Army Ranger teammate. Before dying in that South American jungle, Jesse extracted a promise that won’t let Tanner rest until it’s fulfilled—no matter what it costs him.

  Damon Price loved Jesse, but problems in their relationship had come to a head right before Jesse left on his final mission. Now a reluctant Dom and a man still in mourning, he’s not happy when Tanner appears at his BDSM club. And even less happy with Jesse’s last request—that Tanner sub for him for one night.

  After a rough start, Damon realizes that the tough soldier, despite his protests, aches for someone to take control. And Tanner senses a hesitance, an insecurity in Damon that makes him wonder if he’s simply a placeholder for Jesse, or if their tentative connection could grow into something more.

  For Jesse’s sake, they agree to try one weekend together. Then duty calls, and a series of attacks that have been happening near the club hits too close to home, making both men wonder if giving their hearts is a maneuver fraught with too much risk…

  Warning: Contains rough language, rougher sex and warriors who fall hard for each other.

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Bound by Honor:

  A knock on the service door registered with Damon through his haze of sleep. As he dragged himself out of bed, muttering something about it being too late for someone to be visiting even though it was only midnight, he checked the camera and saw the cab leaving the parking lot and Tanner standing out in the hailstorm slamming his fist against the door.

  The man had the nerve to be pounding angrily on his door? No, Damon was the angry one—had been enough that he’d left the damned party right after Tanner had…and had been alone when he’d done so. He’d bypassed the pounding music and the crowded club in favor of bed and had just fallen asleep when the knocking had awakened him.

  He opened the loft door and went down the back stairs, the music from Crave a backbeat to his movements. W
hen he shoved open the heavy back door, Tanner just pushed past him.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Damon asked him as he shut the door against the freezing rain that was coming in sideways.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Tanner challenged.

  “Boy, you do not want to go there.”

  “Yeah, I do. I want to go there. Want to know why you acted like an asshole to me tonight.”

  “Wait—you’re pissed at me?” Damon asked in a tone that would make lesser men stand down. But the man in front of him was not that way—never would be ordered around easily or well—and that boiled Damon’s blood in a way that was both good and bad.

  “What gave it away?” Tanner stood, unapologetic. Defiant. And then he advanced slowly. A predator, wet and hungry and unstoppable… Damon fought the ridiculous urge to back away, to head up to the loft and close the door and not let this boy—this man—in.

  But Damon stood his ground as well, let Tanner come closer until there were mere inches separating them. And then, Tanner’s hands went around him, yanked Damon against him and kissed him, pinning him against the wall like they were in the back room of a club. It was as if Tanner expected to turn and take him, to overpower him.

  It wouldn’t happen, of course. Damon would never let it.

  But he could imagine it. Tanner could strip him, turn him, take him, right here against the wall. Damon could almost feel the heavy cock filling him until he cried out with pain and with pleasure—would let Tanner pound all the demons out of him. Fuck him blind.

  God, he hadn’t realized how badly he wanted that to happen until now and so, for the moment—for many long moments—he let Tanner kiss the shit out of him, grind their cocks together until he knew he could come in his pants and not care.

  But he didn’t. Instead, he turned the tables and pushed Tanner so the man stumbled back a bit. Breathing hard, mouth swollen and his clothing still soaked from his walk in the rain.

  For the first time since Damon had let him in, Tanner looked unsure.