Authors: SE Jakes
Again, Styx’s hand met Paulo’s bare skin—then twice more with hard smacks that rang through the air that was thick with tension and lust. Paulo moaned then, a low, keening sound, and Law had never heard anything more beautiful. And Styx continued his assault, not letting up as Paulo’s ass reddened and he squirmed against Styx’s thighs, a sure sign he was enjoying himself.
But the younger man was still unsure, whimpered a little when Styx took a break and Styx looked up at Law with a question in his eyes.
“He can handle it, Styx. Give him more.”
At Law’s words, Paulo’s protests began again in earnest until the hard, steady slaps wouldn’t allow for any further resistance. Law watched it all drain from Paulo’s muscles as he became pliant and wanton under the blows and finally, he let it all go, his orgasm taking him by complete surprise.
When Styx helped him off his lap, Paulo ended up kneeling on the floor by Styx’s thighs again, rested a forehead on Styx’s knee while he composed himself. And then, just as Law knew they would, the tears came and Styx was on the floor next to Paulo, holding him, telling him how damned good he was.
Although Styx had no desire to be a Dom, Damon had always told him he was a natural. The way both Paulo and Law responded to him was evidence enough, and if that was what these men needed from time to time, Styx was more than happy to give them their pleasure.
Paulo fell apart in his arms, like he knew the younger man would, which made Law nearly lose it again. So Styx comforted both men, and when Paulo calmed down, Styx rubbed lotion on his ass then drew the sheet up over him. Law was next to him, and he wrapped himself around Paulo, the two men murmuring quietly to one another when Styx went to make them something to eat.
If you’d asked him a month ago if he thought he’d be fucking Law—and Law’s almost-boyfriend—he would’ve never believed it. But now being with both men seemed as natural as breathing.
And how it would all end was something he refused to think about now. It would bring the tension back to his shoulders and since he’d gotten off several times while getting Law and Paulo off, he wanted to remain in this semi-blissful state for a bit longer.
He brought in the sandwiches and sodas. Paulo was quiet, his eyes red-rimmed, and he was still half lost in space but he ate and drank, as did Law. The three men lay there as fresh snow drifted around the house.
Neither Paulo nor Law had been outside in days, since the firewood was stored in the garage. Styx still went to check to make sure no one had driven or walked up close to the house, and in this snow, footprints and tire tracks would be a dead giveaway.
Paulo was more restless than he should’ve been after the spanking, which worried Styx. He didn’t want to quiz the younger man, since he’d turned away and closed himself off a bit, even though his gut told him to.
But Law shook his head, like he knew what Styx was thinking, and so against his better judgment he let both men drift off to sleep while he stayed awake to watch over them, the way he’d done so many nights before.
Chapter Twelve
In the middle of the night, Paulo rolled off the bed and went to the bathroom to piss. He stared at himself in the mirror, saw the conflict in his eyes and wanted nothing more than to crawl back into bed with the two men he’d left.
Styx hadn’t actually been sleeping—most nights he stayed up with Law and stood guard, the familiar tin box of Altoids never far from his side. The man went through them like crazy. Paulo didn’t have their stamina for non-sleep—or their insomnia problem—and they never made him feel guilty about it.
But fuck, the guilt washed over him now.
You have to do this for them.
And now was as good a time as any. He didn’t rejoin the men, instead moving to the couch and wrapping a blanket around himself.
After half an hour, Law came to check on him.
“You all right?”
“I want to be alone,” he said curtly, and the silence was like a cold wall slamming between them.
“Okay.” Law didn’t walk away though.
“Didn’t you hear me?”
“I did.” Law paused. “Is this about what happened earlier? Because sometimes—”
“Stop, Law.” God, he hated this, hated to have either man think that they’d pushed him away because of the spanking, but it seemed the most reasonable excuse, given his earlier freak-outs when it had been mentioned. It was completely plausible that he’d be having second thoughts about what had actually happened, and he was banking on that for his escape. “I need to be alone.”
“Paulo, please, let’s talk about it. It can be freaky at first.”
Paulo put his head down and said, “Fuck off. I’m tired of talking about all of it.”
Law remained in place behind him for a few moments longer. Finally, he heard footsteps and muffled voices and then no one came back, which was good. They probably figured giving him what he asked for tonight and would want to talk more about it in the morning.
The hours dragged by and finally, Styx came into the room. “Paulo—”
“I want to talk to Tomcat.”
Styx sighed. “Can we talk first?”
“No. I need to get the hell out of here. I’m not a prisoner, am I?”
“No, you’re not. You never were.”
Paulo couldn’t turn around to look at him, because if his eyes were as sad as his words… “Good, then please call him.”
“I will. But I’m sorry—we didn’t mean to push you too hard.”
Paulo couldn’t turn around—his throat was tight with the lie. Because he’d fucking loved it—every second, and how could Styx not see that reflected in his eyes?
Because being a damned good liar right now will save their lives.
And that thought was enough to force him to push forward.
Paulo didn’t look back. Law knew, because he’d watched him from the opened garage until he couldn’t see the truck in the distance any longer.
Styx tugged him back in and closed the garage door—safety reasons, but it still killed Law. For a long moment he remained rooted to the spot as if he could see through the metal, as if the truck would come roaring back down the road with Paulo realizing he’d made a mistake.
Finally, he turned and went into the house where Styx was making coffee in the kitchen. Styx pushed a cup at him and Law drank it absently—it was strong, but Styx had lightened it for him with milk and sugar, the way Law liked it.
“I can’t believe,” Law started then stopped, his throat suddenly too tight. He swallowed a few times, then took a deep breath. “How did I read him so wrong?”
“I think he got scared.”
Whatever freaked Paulo out happened in the middle of the night—or else it was something he’d started thinking of earlier. “The spanking? Too intense?”
“Maybe. He seemed okay afterwards, but sometimes, if you think about it too much…” Styx trailed off and Law tried to remember the first time Styx had done it to him.
Having come from a violent background, he’d been surprised that the act itself hadn’t triggered more of a reaction. But it had been cathartic, and putting himself under Styx’s hand, trusting him completely, had been more of a relief than anything.
But for Paulo… “We have to get him back.”
“He’ll come back to us. He has to.” Styx poured himself more coffee and Law knew the man hadn’t been sleeping well at all. Law found him by the window most nights, gun in hand as if waiting for the worst.
“And then what?” Law heard himself ask, and Styx didn’t say anything for a long moment, just drank his coffee and stared out the window.
When he did speak, they were words that Law was happy to hear.
“There’s a connection there, a powerful one I can’t deny.”
Law had felt it with Paulo from the start, which was why he’d fought so hard to keep the detective away from him.
Little fucker was really persistent. And easy to talk to, plus had an uncanny awareness of what Law did and didn’t need.
“He’s gorgeous,” Styx continued. “At first, I thought it was that…and the fact that he had you and I was jealous as hell for that.”
Paulo was a handsome man—nothing feminine about him, which had never attracted either Law or Styx. Both liked their men on the rugged side and Paulo had everything…the face, the tats… Just thinking about Paulo made Law hard, and Styx noticed when he shifted at his arousal.
“That’s for him.”
“Plenty to go around.” Law paused. “We used to share all the time.”
“It never worked out well. We always ended up fucking and ignoring the third person. But that hasn’t happened here.”
“Because this time, there’s way more to it than simple sharing.” Styx stared at him like he had three heads, a really apropos sentiment, Law mused wryly. “He’s us. Lost. Stubborn. Strong. He needs us the same way we need him.”
“I want him. I still want more of him. And that really doesn’t bother you?”
Law smiled. “No. It was just what I was hoping for, actually.”
“What the hell are we going to do? What happens from here?”
“We get Paulo and bring him home with us,” Law said.
“He’s not going to be convinced easily.”
“Yeah well, we probably wouldn’t have it any other way. But it would’ve been easier if we hadn’t let him go in the first place.”
“We had to let him go. He’s not a prisoner, and the best way to make him realize what he was walking away from was to let him walk. Tomcat will make sure he’s safe.”
Law softened at that. “You really do want him back.”
“Yeah. Even though I think this whole thing is crazy.” Styx shook his head. “I’m going to have to leave soon to deal with this. I keep telling you and you keep saying no but…”
“Forget it. We find Paulo, bring him back and then we deal with this together.”
“Damon must like him.”
“He does.” Law paused. “I still can’t believe he’s in love. Content. Finally.”
Styx raised his brows. “I know he lost someone a little while back.”
“Yes, and then someone else walked in.” The road for Tanner and Damon hadn’t been easy, wouldn’t be as long as Tanner served, but Law had faith in them. The one thing that they’d all feared was that life was too short not to spend as much time with the one you loved as possible.
“I’m sorry I didn’t come when you called.”
“I didn’t ask you to.”
“Not in so many words, no.”
He’d given Styx his final version of goodbye, had cut the lines of communication once and for all, and then he’d been attacked by a man from their past.
Now, to find out that Styx had been at the hospital that night, checking to make sure he was okay… “Why didn’t you let me know you were there that night in the hospital?”
“I wanted to. I would’ve, but then I saw him—Paulo—with you. The way he looked at you…the way you looked at him. You pushed him away and that’s when I knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That you felt something for him.” Styx paused. “Don’t you remember, you tried the same thing with me in the beginning too? It wasn’t all love at first sight—at least not for you.”
It had been—Law had been too stubborn to admit it. He thought back to when Styx first entered his life—he’d been cocky as hell to hide the fear, but with Styx, it had been different right from the start.
Law had been alone with Greg—healing—for a year before he brought Styx home. It had been a complete surprise, unlike when Damon came to live with them. Damon had been sleeping on the cot in the back room of Greg’s club for a bit, and Law knew it was only a matter of time before Greg opened his home to him.
It hadn’t been bad. Damon was fucked up but he stayed out of Law’s way, let Law get to know him.
But when Styx came in first, the man had just invaded. He was rude and nosy and unrelenting. A cocky asshole.
“You hated me,” Styx reminded him.
Law smiled at the truth of those words. “You drove me fucking nuts.”
“I wanted to get close to you…wanted to crawl inside and never come out,” Styx told him, and sometime after the first two months, the men had a knock-down, drag-out fight that ended in them kissing.
“Bullshit—you have no memory,” Law told him, and the look that crossed Styx’s face was one of such true pain that Law wanted to take his words back, but it was too late.
He went to pull away but Law jerked him back on top of him, held him tight.
“Sorry, Styx…so fucking sorry,” he murmured into Styx’s neck. Wanted to heal him…to fuck him, to open himself like he never had before.
And then Styx was moving against him—his cock had been hard, Law assumed, because of the fight, the adrenaline, but he finally realized there was more to it.
“Wanted you from the day I moved in,” Styx told him, and Law knew it to be true when Styx kissed him.
“That was a good night,” Law said, and Styx rumbled from somewhere deep in his chest at the memory.
“Do we have more left?”
“You know I do. Do I have to promise you?”
“Yeah—promise that you won’t get so roped up on revenge that you won’t come back,” Law told him.
It was settling in that they were alone…and for the first time they’d have to face their demons and make peace with nothing to distract them. He didn’t protest when Styx picked him up and put him on the counter, ripping his sweats down so he was bare-assed on the cold granite, Styx’s cock rubbing his. Law cradled Styx’s head as the man sucked his nipple hard.
“Yeah, that’s it, Styx… You can make me come like that…”
That seemed to be Styx’s objective as he tongued the nipple and used his fingers on the other one, and Law rubbed against him like a goddamned cat in heat. He buried his face in Styx’s hair, the man’s scent an aphrodisiac, his tongue working magic against the already tender nubs, and how the hell did he always know what Law needed and when?
His cock dripped precome and his balls tightened.
“Wrap around me,” Styx instructed, and Law did, so his ass was mostly off the counter and Styx bore most of his weight. But he stopped himself before he came, murmured, “I want to fuck you,” and felt Styx’s body stiffen against him.
It had only happened twice before. Once, when they were younger and living at Greg’s and the next, on Styx’s final visit to Law’s apartment when he was still in Delta Force and home on leave.