Evenfall (99 page)

"I was mostly watching them trying to ascertain what made you have an episode," Boyd replied with a faint contemplative frown as he thought back. "As far as I could tell, you reacted to threat levels. I couldn't entirely decide what to make of it all except that you seemed to have had a reason for your reactions each time, even if I didn't know exactly what that reason always was. One thing that was clear to me was that you're consistently mistreated at the Agency."

There was a shrug at that and Sin seemed to brush it off like he usually did. "They'd have probably terminated me years ago if they had a proper replacement. Kassian isn't as good as me at what we do."

Boyd thought about that as he pulled his plate closer to finish his food. His gaze flicked over to Sin curiously. "You've mentioned him before but I don't know much about him. Why is he such a poor replacement? Isn't he also rank 10?"

Sin shrugged. "I'm basically one of a kind. I can be ruthless, I can complete difficult assignments alone that other men need an entire team to finish and most importantly, I don't question the politics of the Agency, or at least I don't as far as they know. Kassian is a good agent but nowhere near on par with me considering I've been trained to do this since I was a child, which I think really eats at him. He also resents me because of my spot in the unit. And because they use me as a model during rank 10 training. Anyway, I suppose he was adequate for a time, but Connors doesn't trust him to do high clearance assassinations."

"Why not?" Boyd asked curiously.

"He has a moral code," was the bland explanation. "And they let him get away with not doing more unsavory missions because he is an excellent agent in every other capacity. But that's the deciding factor between he and I. There have been times when I had missions I didn't agree with, but I still do them."

Boyd watched him, thinking about that. "Have you ever wanted to question your assignments? Just tell them no?"

Sin didn't answer for a moment and continued to eat his second plate of food quietly. "Yes. Twice. The last time was on my most recent solo assignment. It was one of the reasons why I was so angry when we saw each other again."

Boyd set his empty plate aside and leaned back on the couch. "Really," he said, eyebrows drawing down as he rested one arm across the back of the couch. "Why, what happened?"

Sin didn't answer for a moment but he turned his face slightly, a flash of displeasure briefly visible. "Have you ever heard of Anderson McCall?" Looking at Sin sharply, Boyd just stared for a moment. "Yes," he said slowly. "Probably the best philanthropist of our time. Whose scandal just before suicide seemed a little strange to me." Boyd didn't want this to be leading in the direction it pretty much had to be.

"The scandal was manufactured by the Agency; the line of shady businessmen that McCall supposedly had murdered were killed by me and his suicide was not a suicide at all. I poisoned him." Sin's flat, voice made Boyd look at him closer, searching his expression. When their eyes met, he could see that Sin was still angry over whatever the assignment had entailed.

Even Boyd, who hadn't paid much attention to the world around him for years, had still known about Anderson McCall. He was one of the few decent people left after the wars, devoting his time to the poor. The sort of person who, in only slightly changed circumstances, could have been there to help Lou or even Boyd in the aftermath of the war.

Although he couldn't deny that he was disgusted with the fact that McCall's legacy had been so thoroughly decimated by the Agency, he couldn't be surprised. The Agency was ruthless when it came to dealing with threats, and if McCall gave money to Janus that made him one in their eyes regardless of what he was doing with his time. It angered him but there was nothing that could be done about it. The only thing that made it worse was knowing that Sin had to be the one to follow through such orders.

Boyd shook his head. "I wish I could be surprised by that but..." His eyebrows lowered, hooding his gaze. He looked over at Sin and his lips turned down. "I'm sorry it happened at all, but especially that you had to be the one to do it."

"It's done. No use crying over it now, especially not when I'm the one who essentially pulled the trigger." Sin shook his head and rolled his shoulders as if working out the stress that had come with the topic. "But that's the defining reason why I have a higher clearance than him in some ways. I didn't want the assignment, but they knew I would do it. That's why Connors wants to model agents after me, and that's why Carhart wanted me in his unit. He knew he could depend on me not to question orders."

"You know," Boyd began, remembering the way Carhart had always been about Sin, even back to when he first met the general. "I'm sure he has you in the unit because you're a uniquely skilled agent. But I wonder if that's the only reason."

Sin made a sour face. "What's that mean?"

Boyd sat back on the couch, placing one hand over the back so he could angle himself to see Sin better. "I noticed ever since I first joined the Agency that he always seemed to act a little different when it came to you." He paused, studying Sin. "I think he honestly cares about you."

"Oh please."

Boyd eyed him. "I've been meaning to ask about that... You do realize he's your greatest proponent? He seems determined to give you every chance he can and often waits until the last second to give any sort of punishment. I honestly think it's because he's hoping someone will give him a reason not to. Yet you never seem very pleased with him..."

"Because I'm not," Sin replied flatly and took another drag.

"Why not?" Boyd asked, mildly perplexed. "I would have thought you would welcome someone in some form of power on your side since no one else seems to be except Ryan."

Sin didn't answer for a moment and he took another long drag, watching Boyd through the smoke that drifted in the air between them. "He's obsessed with my father. He constantly tries to get me to talk about him, to figure out what happened before he died, and he took it upon himself to try to be my parental figure when I came to the Agency. I did not and do not need him to play that role for me. I do not need him interrogating me about my father or his death. I just don't... want to deal with him. He aggravates me."

"Ah." Boyd watched him and shook his head. "I think he just misses Emilio; it sounds as though they were good friends. Wouldn't you be curious and sad if someone you cared about for years suddenly disappeared? Or want to protect the single person alive in any way connected to him?"

"I'm aware of the extent of their friendship." Sin made a face. "But that in no way involves me. Ever since I showed up at the Agency he's hounded me for information about my father and no matter how badly I react to his questions and implications, he doesn't stop."

Boyd could see how that would be frustrating. He inclined his head as a silent acknowledgment of the fact, but Sin's comments about Emilio and Connors jarred his memory that he'd always been meaning to ask about. He paused and tilted his head, studying Sin. "It seems as though Emilio had quite the effect on many people."

The comment earned him a low scoff. "That was an understatement. I disappointed scores when I came back instead of him."

"Why did you even come in for that summons when you were fourteen?" Boyd asked, shaking his head. "Do you ever wonder... If you'd just stayed away you wouldn't have had to deal with any of the things you've had to at the Agency."

There was a beat of silence and Sin's expression briefly changed. There was a flash of something dark in his expression, and he stared into space for a moment before shaking his head. "It would have been worse for me if I was left alone," he finally replied.

Boyd paused for a moment, watching his partner carefully. He could almost see Sin's pulse beating wildly in his neck and when he caught a glimpse of Sin's eyes, there was chaos within that he could tell Sin was struggling to contain.

Despite what Boyd had intended, he was once again grilling Sin for more information about himself without giving anything back. To make it worse, he found himself asking about very personal matters, or bringing up topics that must be difficult or painful for Sin to discuss. Here he was, pushing his own points to Sin without considering his feelings. If Sin was so frustrated with Carhart for constantly bringing up things he didn't want to talk about, wouldn't he feel the same way with Boyd doing the same?

"Hey," Boyd said softly. He leaned forward and hesitantly placed a hand on Sin's thigh. "I'm sorry. I get so indignant on your behalf that sometimes I don't think about what I'm saying."

The silence that stretched was so long that at first it didn't seem like Sin would answer. He stared down at the glowing cherry of his cigarette where it burned on the floor and he absently stamped it out with his foot.

After several long moments of silence, he turned to Boyd and without warning, dragged him across the sofa and against him. He ended up straddling Sin, his knees bent and hands automatically pressing against the back of the couch on either side of Sin's shoulders. It was so sudden that for a moment Boyd's eyebrows shifted upward questioningly.

Sin reached up, his hand moving to the back of Boyd's neck and tangling in the ends of his hair before he pulled him down into an urgent kiss. Boyd's lips parted automatically and soon their tongues were clashing. The taste of Sin and the feel of his hard body against Boyd's was like a drug he couldn't resist. Boyd let out a low sound deep in the back of his throat as Sin's fingers dug into his neck and pulled him closer. Their hips pressed against each other and Boyd could already feel Sin's cock, half hard and grinding up against him. It made Boyd groan and start rolling his hips down against Sin's.

They stayed that way for a bit, grinding and moaning and kissing increasingly passionately. Their mouths worked against each other and Boyd was becoming overrun by the feel and taste of Sin. He could feel himself growing harder, their movements faster and less controlled. They were getting lost in the feel of each other-- everything zeroing in on their hardening erections jerking against each other and the heat and taste of their mouths joining. Their hands dragged all over each other, pushing up into hair or running down a back; gripping a shoulder or pulling them closer from the back of a neck.

The little bit of clothing between them soon became too much. Boyd could barely take his hands off Sin long enough to reach down and fumblingly start to unbutton Sin's pants. Their lips didn't part even then, their jaws working and moans muffled between them as they couldn't stop kissing each other hungrily. Sin's fingers curled against Boyd's neck while his other hand clutched and dragged along his back, bunching up the material of his shirt until Sin's hand dipped down beneath his pants and underwear and gripped one bare ass cheek.

Boyd's erection throbbed and he couldn't get Sin's pants and underwear off fast enough. He shoved them down, pausing only to brace one hand against the back of the couch when Sin lifted his hips, letting Boyd shove the clothing down his thighs and out of their way. Sin's fingers dug into his ass, his thumb shifting and moving between the crack, and Boyd groaned so desperately that he could barely breathe. His heart was pounding and there didn't seem to be enough air in the room; what little he had was shared between he and Sin as they continued to devour each other's mouth.

With Sin's hard cock freed, Boyd's fingers automatically curled around it and pressed, giving an experimental tug that had Sin finally pulling away from the kiss to throw his head back with a resounding groan that rumbled both their chests. Boyd panted heavily, his hands falling away so he could tear his pants open as fast as he possibly could. Sin was pushing his underwear down almost immediately, his hands greedily running over every bit of bare skin that started to show beneath Boyd's shirt.

Boyd's cock was almost achingly hard, so much so that even the open air felt torturous. He rolled his hips forward, nearly shouting when their bare cocks pressed against each other, and without permission from his mind his hips automatically started slamming down against Sin's in a desperate rut. Sin's hands dug into the bare globes of Boyd's ass and their mouths met each other again in a passionate dance of tongue and lips and halting, groaning breath.

But the position wasn't comfortable and with his pants and underwear still around his upper thighs, Boyd couldn't spread his legs wide enough. His back had to be twisted at an odd angle for them to grind. Boyd tore his mouth away, one hand digging into the couch behind Sin. His head dropped down and Sin took the opportunity to sloppily kiss along his cheek; his jaw; the very edge of his mouth and start heading down his throat.

Boyd moaned, incredibly turned on by those full lips against his hot skin and that lip ring a cool line breaking up the heat. He could feel his cock straining between his legs and he pulled back suddenly, standing up so he could look down at Sin as he struggled to kick his pants and underwear off. Sin's gaze was hungry, running along Boyd's body almost possessively and centering on his arousal, where the faint sheen of pre-come wet the tip. While Boyd kicked off his underwear and pants as fast as he could, Sin did the same on the couch. Boyd couldn't tear his eyes away from Sin; those red, bruised lips and flushed skin; the way his eyes burned as they dragged along Boyd's body; that impressive cock hard and yearning between his legs-- straining for Boyd to take care of it--

With an animalistic groan, Boyd dropped to his knees between Sin's spread legs.
He relaxed his jaw and swallowed Sin's cock to the core, causing Sin to jerk and arch, his groan wrenching out from the depths of him while Boyd felt overwhelmed with need. Feeling Sin's hot cock pulsing between his lips, a heavy weight against his tongue, pressing against the back of this throat and Sin's thighs flexing and jerking beneath him-- It was intoxicating, arousing, and only served to make Boyd's cock grow harder.