In the Ruins (Metahuman Files Book 2)

by Hailey Turner

  “We eliminated the men who came after us tonight. I assume they ambushed us in retaliation for humiliating Tomas,” Jamie said. He was kicking himself for not seeing that coming, but Katie’s actions at the club had taken up nearly all his focus after they left. “You said he was allied with Cillian. If Tomas is here in London, what are the odds that Cillian is as well?”

  “Without any proper reconnaissance and intelligence to draw from? I don’t know.”

  “Then take a wild guess.”

  Sean grimaced. “Considering Tomas was with Jansen and representatives from the Presnenskaya Bratva? I’d go with high. But the Russians have their own Splice bomb-makers. They don’t need to make deals with the Irish for that.”

  “Could be a coincidence,” Madison said.

  “Jamie hates that word,” Trevor reminded her.

  “Katie,” Jamie said, turning his attention on her. “You told me to say no to Oksana’s offer of a meeting with me present. Why?”

  Katie dug her fingernails into the armrest of her chair, baring her teeth. “Jansen is an empath. He was trying to influence you into agreeing to whatever they wanted.”

  Jamie rubbed a hand over his face at that revelation. Katie’s fury made sense now. There was a reason telepathy, and to a lesser extent, empathy, frightened people more than any other metahuman power in existence. That someone could read a person’s innermost thoughts and outright control them, could manipulate them through their emotions, all without the person in question ever realizing anything was wrong, was terrifying. Laws were in place to try to keep those powers in check in most countries, but that was reliant on the metahumans in question working with the government. On being honest.

  Not all of them did. Not all of them were.

  “You should have let me say yes,” Jamie said, anger making his voice tight.

  “And then what?” Katie said in a low, hard voice. “Every single time they’d meet with you in the future I can guarantee Jansen would twist your emotions more and more. It’s probably how they got all their rich victims to agree to things they normally wouldn’t. Reel them in with greed or desire. Play up their fear so they’d be too scared of the risks of being found out that they’d gladly pay Jansen and the Pavluhkins to not release the evidence and ruin them. If it happened once, it would happen again. They’d expect they could twist you into what they need and it might not be something you or your family could easily break free of.”

  Jamie glared at her. “You should have conferred with me about that. Worst case scenario is they think we’re metahumans now and any further action we take will be useless. They’ll have made us, and the mission will have failed.”

  “If they don’t contact us within the week, then yes, we’ve probably been made. I’ll take that dressing down from the director when we get back to the States and a mark against me on my record if that’s the case, but I was not risking you, Jamie. Not you or this team. Not like that.”

  “That wasn’t your choice to make.”

  “I have a suggestion, if you’re willing to hear me out?” Sean interrupted before they could really start going at each other.

  Everyone jerked their heads around and looked at him, but Sean kept his eyes on Jamie.

  “What?” Jamie snapped.

  “Katie has given us a chance to play a long game rather than a short one. I believe you’re still a target they don’t want to give up, Jamie. They’ll probably put you under surveillance to get more information about you, your habits, your people’s habits, but they aren’t going to write you off as too hot to touch. Not yet. Katie piqued their interest by telling you to say no to their offer. So we work from there. The United States has always been on the cutting edge of military technology and weapons. We spend more than half of our very large, very expensive budget on the military-industrial complex. Who’s to say SOCOM hasn’t engineered some neural nodes that can shield against mental interference better than the crappy tech people peddle on the internet? Give them an excuse on how you evaded them, make it believable, and let them fill in the details on their own.”

  Jamie turned Sean’s words over in his mind, analyzing the options presented to him. There was a razor-thin chance that it could work, that if they played everything just right—if they’d played it right enough already—they could maybe come away from this mess with a win.

  Katie hissed out a breath, snatching up her tablet and the solid state drive. “I’m going to work on this.”

  She stalked off and Jamie didn’t call her back. The rest of the team shared more than a few uncomfortable looks, but stayed put.

  Jamie clenched his teeth. “It’s been a long night. We’ll finish this in the morning.”

  He stood up and strode out of the room, taking the stairs two at a time. When he got to the bedroom, he thought about slamming the door, but his mother had broken him of that habit before he was five. It wasn’t something polite boys did, no matter their emotional state.

  Jamie wasn’t feeling all that polite right about then, but he didn’t slam the door.

  He yanked his tie off and threw it on the dresser before shrugging out of his suit jacket. His hands ran over tears in the expensive fabric, the jacket ruined from the crash. Swearing, he threw it on the floor and started unbuttoning his dress shirt. It wasn’t as badly damaged as the jacket, but Jamie wrote the entire suit off as a loss. He was in the process of undoing his belt when the door opened and Kyle slipped inside. He took one look at Jamie before coding in the privacy and soundproofing mode for the room.

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” Jamie growled.

  Kyle headed for the windows, shading the plas-glass dark and drawing the curtains. “Then we’re not talking about it.”

  Jamie finished getting undressed, intent on a shower, when Kyle stepped in front of him, rocking him to a halt where he stood. Kyle put his hands on Jamie’s warm chest, fingers spread wide, and looked up at him. “Come on, get on the bed.”

  Jamie worked his jaw, hot anger still running through him. “Kyle—”

  “Fight or fuck, Jamie. That’s what we’re doing here. But you know my preference.”

  He did know Kyle’s preference. He absolutely knew Kyle’s preference.

  He was not going to argue with Kyle about choosing both.

  Jamie grabbed Kyle’s hips with hard hands and hauled him close, their mouths crashing together in a fierce kiss that bent Kyle’s head back at what had to be an uncomfortable angle, but he didn’t protest. Just wrapped his arms around Jamie’s neck and rubbed himself against Jamie’s body. Jamie could feel his cock harden, anger making his arousal burn faster. When Jaime finally pulled his mouth away from Kyle’s, his lips tingled from lack of pressure.

  Pushing Kyle back a little, Jamie gripped Kyle’s shirt near the collar and ripped it apart. Buttons went flying as the synthfabric gaped open between his hands. Kyle sucked in a breath, his pupils dilating.

  “Not gonna lie, that was really hot, but you’re buying me a new shirt,” Kyle said.

  “Get your fucking clothes off.”

  Kyle was already stripping with a speed usually reserved for when they needed to gear up in the requisite amount of time of ninety seconds or less. It wasn’t a show, but Jamie watched anyway with hungry, impatient eyes as unmarked, lightly freckled skin revealed itself to him.

  And all Jamie wanted to do was mark Kyle up.

  “Get on the bed,” Jamie ordered in a low voice.

  Kyle moved to obey, shoving some of the pillows aside to make room. One or two fell to the floor, but they both ignored the mess they were making. Jamie followed after him, crawling between Kyle’s legs to grab him by the thighs with hard fingers and yank him closer. Kyle slid over the bed, legs bent over Jamie’s thighs, and Jamie leaned down to kiss him.

  Kyle put a hand out, stopping Jamie cold with a single word. “No.”

  Jamie froze, going rigid, mind blanking out at that demand as he stared down at Kyle with wide eyes. He had a moment of pa
nic that had nothing to do with anything outside the confines of their borrowed bedroom. It threatened to strangle him, and he wondered where he’d gone wrong when they’d barely even started.

  Then warm hands framed his face as Kyle leaned up to kiss him, easy and deep, not going anywhere, hiding words against his lips as if they were a secret. “Get on your back for me? Please?”

  Jamie shuddered at the request, fear and some anger draining out of him as he realized he hadn’t done anything Kyle didn’t want. Hadn’t hurt him in some way he didn’t want despite how little they’d done already. But it wouldn’t have mattered, because Kyle had said no, just for a moment, and Jamie didn’t have it in him to ever ignore that word when they were like this. The tightness in his lungs and chest escaped in a heavy exhale, and Jamie nodded.

  Kyle squirmed underneath him to get out of the way as Jamie lay down on the bed, using one or two of the remaining pillows to prop himself up a little. He watched hungrily as Kyle crawled up his body to sit on him, knees on either side, cock rubbing against his own as Kyle got settled.

  Kyle reached for Jamie’s right hand, pressing a light kiss to the inside of his palm. “I don’t think this bed can withstand your grip, so you probably should just hold onto me.”

  Jamie flexed his fingers before settling both hands on Kyle’s thighs, thumbs rubbing circles over the firm muscle there. “You think I can’t control myself?”

  Kyle smirked at him, hot and hungry, and Jamie wanted to kiss the look off his face. “We can test that theory, if you want.”

  Jamie reached around to smack what he could of Kyle’s ass, the force of the blow making his hand sting. Kyle jerked against him with a little gasp, his hardening cock sliding against the deep-cut lines of Jamie’s abs.

  “You didn’t answer me.”

  “You can, sir,” Kyle said as he pressed his ass into Jamie’s hand, chin dipped down toward his chest a little.

  Jamie slipped his fingers between Kyle’s ass cheeks, rubbing at his hole there, but not pressing in. Kyle’s eyes fluttered shut and he bit his lip, pressure from his teeth whiting out the delicate skin there. Jamie studied him with half-lidded eyes, mind settling into a focus still edged with anger, but desire was fast tempering it where he could be in a place to enjoy himself like this.

  To enjoy Kyle.

  He could see how Kyle had led him here, willing to be used by Jamie’s anger but not wanting Jamie to regret his actions in the morning. Because he would, they both knew he would. There were a handful of times after bad missions in the past where they’d come home and fucked out their anger, their fear, in each other in ways that ended up crossing the line of too much for Jamie after it was over, even if it never seemed to bother Kyle. Somehow, Kyle must have recognized that tonight was going to be one of those nights before they’d even started and had skillfully steered it in a different direction.

  “I want to watch,” Jamie said, the anger gone from his voice, if not the grip of his hands.

  Kyle licked his lips and nodded. He moved just far enough to grab the lube from the nightstand before settling back down on Jamie. He poured some lube onto the fingers of his left hand, the stuff shiny against his skin. Jamie snagged his wrist and guided Kyle’s hand around to his ass, never breaking eye contact.

  “Start with one and go slow.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Jamie knew the second Kyle had breached himself. The way his mouth fell open just a little, the slight hitch of his breath, the way his eyelashes fluttered just for a second. Jamie took in every detail as Kyle fingered himself open, hips rolling gently against Jamie’s body. Jamie flexed his hands and held Kyle steady.

  “One more,” Jamie said.

  Kyle hummed eagerly, instantly obeying if the shiver running through his body was anything to go by. Jamie watched him move through it, rocking onto his fingers as he braced himself against Jamie’s chest with his free hand. His cock bobbed in the air, beads of pre-cum pearling at the tip. Jamie didn’t think twice about wrapping one hand around Kyle’s cock and stroking it firmly. Kyle jerked forward, chasing Jamie’s touch before falling back on his own.

  “Can I ride you?” Kyle asked, looking into Jamie’s eyes, a faint flush beginning to color his cheeks and chest. “Please, sir?”

  “Is that what you want?”

  “I want to get you off.”

  The confession fell between them, quiet and pleading, and Jamie would never have it in him to deny Kyle when he sounded like that.

  “Whatever you want,” Jamie promised.

  Kyle leaned down to kiss him, fierce and quick, before he scooted backward a little. Kyle rose up on his knees and reached around to grasp the base of Jamie’s cock with firm fingers, holding it in position so he could sink down onto it. The head of his cock pressed against the wet slickness of Kyle’s hole before pushing inside. The resistance around him felt like a vise, and Jamie had half a thought to wonder if he shouldn’t have made Kyle wait a little longer, add a third or fourth finger to stretch him open, but the way Kyle felt around him drove the thoughts away. Tight heat engulfed him as Kyle sank down onto his cock with a slow, inexorable slide that made Jamie groan deeply.

  Finally, Kyle was seated fully on him, chest heaving as he breathed through Jamie filling him up. Jamie stroked his hands up and down the sides of Kyle’s body in a soothing way, feeling him breathe.

  “Fuck, I can never get enough of you like this,” Kyle moaned, head tipped back as he carefully rolled his hips, just a little. “The way you feel in me.”

  “Tell me,” Jamie said as he dragged his fingers over Kyle’s torso.

  “Like you don’t know how much I love you filling me up.”

  Jamie pinched Kyle’s nipples in response, pulling at the sensitive nubs until they hardened. Kyle gasped and grabbed at Jamie’s wrist, not to stop him, but to hold him there. Jamie took the hint and pinched the dusky hard peaks until Kyle whimpered. When Jamie finally let go, he raised himself off the bed to lick an apology over each sensitive nipple, sucking at them for several seconds before lying back down again.

  Kyle braced his hands on Jamie’s chest, meeting his gaze with half-lidded eyes as he lifted off Jamie’s cock barely an inch before sinking back down again. The feel of him moving made Jamie’s body tense up in anticipation, his hands dropping to Kyle’s thighs to feel him work. Kyle’s abdominal muscles tightened as he rose up higher this time before sinking back down, hips tilted just right to skim Jamie’s cock over his prostate judging by the moan he let out.

  Jamie watched Kyle enjoy himself, the way he reached back with one hand to brace himself against Jamie’s thigh as he rode Jamie’s cock. How he stroked his own cock every time he sank down onto Jamie’s. The way he whined when he fucked down just right went straight to Jamie’s cock, making it throb. Jamie spread his legs a little, bent his knees enough to dig his heels against the bed as Kyle started to ride him in earnest. The sound of skin slapping together echoed in his ears, Kyle’s weight pressing him down against the not-quite-firm-enough mattress. Jamie didn’t want to be anywhere else except right where he was, the world and the mission non-existent in their bedroom.

  Kyle shifted on his knees, leaning forward to brace himself against Jamie’s chest again as he stopped riding him in favor of grinding his hips in tight little circles, clenching down tight around Jamie’s cock. Jamie swallowed audibly, hands coming to rest on Kyle’s waist.

  “Like this,” Kyle gasped out, eyes closed as he enjoyed himself while pleasuring Jamie. “With you in me. Makes me never want to let you go.”

  Jamie bucked upward at his words, making Kyle bounce a little on his cock. Kyle moaned, eyes snapping open, more black than green in the soft bedroom light. Jamie leaned up again, not having to stretch as far as last time, kissing Kyle with a need he never bothered to hide.

  “Make me come,” he murmured against Kyle’s mouth.

  Kyle shivered at the order, chasing Jamie’s mouth as he settled back down on the bed. The motio
n had him almost pulling off Jamie’s cock, and Jamie took the opportunity to smack one pert ass cheek. Kyle jerked before sitting up again and sliding back down.

  “Yes, sir,” Kyle said, a challenging glint in his eyes that made Jamie smirk.

  Kyle started to ride him in earnest after that, rising up and slamming back down with soft little gasps that Jamie couldn’t get enough of. He dug his heels against the bed and the next time Kyle sank down on his cock, Jamie snapped his hips upward. The cry Kyle let out was even better than his gasps, and Jamie grunted with the effort to hear it again, meeting Kyle’s downward roll of his hips with the upward force of his own.

  “Oh, oh,” Kyle moaned, half-collapsing forward as he momentarily stopped moving, letting Jamie fuck up into him. “Fuck, right there.”

  Jamie grabbed at Kyle’s ass, fingers dragging over his ass cheeks to pull them apart as he slammed into Kyle with steady thrusts that had drops of sweat forming across his forehead and chest. Kyle ducked his head and licked at Jamie’s chest a few times, the drag of his tongue almost ticklish.

  Jamie finally slowed, breathing a little heavier as he settled back down on the bed, pulling Kyle down onto his cock with firm hands. He was close, but not as close as Kyle, judging from the way his entire body shivered every time he jacked his own cock. Jamie reached down to bat aside Kyle’s hand, wrapping his own fingers around Kyle’s cock. He rubbed at the sensitive head with a firm thumb, the skin there shiny.

  “Keep going,” Jamie said, giving Kyle a lazy look as he purposefully stroked Kyle’s cock.

  Kyle moaned and rose up onto his knees again, some of the finesse from earlier missing. Jamie followed his motions with easy strokes of his hand, letting Kyle fuck into his loose fist before fucking himself down onto Jamie’s cock. Jamie braced himself against Kyle’s body, feeling his cock throb. Kyle was looser now, and at one point he rose too high, Jamie’s cock slipping out of his hole. Kyle sucked in a breath before reaching back to guide Jamie back into him. He braced his hands against Jamie’s thighs, eyes closing as he worked his ass against Jamie’s cock in a fast rhythm.