Charming But Reckless (NightShade Security #5)

Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

ORION

I had the best night of sleep of my life holding Arick in my arms.

He had been reluctant to trust what was happening between us. He didn't understand where I was coming from in some ways. But I could sense that his emotions, while troubled, were pure.

He wanted to be with me too. He just didn't want to ruin this new thing that we had going on. And most importantly, he didn't want to upset his son.

I respected that more than anything. It was good to know that he was putting him first. It only further proved he was the type of man I wanted to be with.

Sol had shown no interest in the sleeping arrangements for the evening. He had barely paid attention to us once he found out about the toys and all the different snacks the guys had gotten for him.

I had watched as Arick worked around my kitchen making dinner. It was so natural for him. There was zero hesitation in how he moved about and teased his son while smiling at me.

When it was time for bed, we worked together to tuck Sol in. He was out before we even managed to shut the door.

It was no wonder, with how exciting the events of the day had been. When we went to our room, Arick was slow to get ready for bed. It took him much longer than the necessary two minutes to brush his teeth. Then he fussed over which pajamas he wanted to wear since he was borrowing a pair of mine. We needed to do a load of laundry.

I was in no rush. Seeing him in my clothes had a powerful effect on my body. I had to adjust my cock under the blankets while he crawled in beside me.

At first, I didn't hold my arm out or encourage him to come close. He needed to get a feel of how things would be without my input. If I influenced him in any way, I would never be able to forgive myself.

It took a few seconds, but then he was shifting over to my side of the bed and tucking himself into my arm. We laid there for a few minutes, neither of us speaking, but both of us were clearly awake.

"Good night, Arick,” I finally said when no other words would come.

"Good night, Orion," he replied.

I stayed awake, though I evened out my breathing to mimic as if I were asleep. He was restless for a few more minutes before I felt his body slacken. His muscles relaxed and sleep came.

I basked in the feeling of holding him without having to pull back my emotions. To experience this every day for the rest of my life would be a gift.

I couldn't imagine not having him around and not being with him. I was already in so deep, so fast.

When I finally did fall asleep, it was with ease. And it was the deepest sleep I'd had in ages.

I woke up feeling refreshed and renewed with a passed out Arick on my chest. It wasn't quite light out, yet my eyes adjusted quickly enough that I could take him in.

All the tiny features of his face, the slope of his nose and the curve of his jaw, pulled me in. They captivated me in a way no one else ever had. I wanted to press a kiss to his forehead. I wanted to pull him close to me and just hold him as tight as possible.

And I also wanted to turn him over and fuck him into the mattress.

There was a hunger beneath the contentment that I couldn't seem to quench. It was as if my body was coming alive for the first time.

I had been involved with people in the past. I knew what an orgasm felt like, and I could understand desire at the base level. I flirted with people and had even taken a few further.

Nothing in my life felt like what it was to just simply want Arick. Being with him was going to destroy me for anyone else.

He had to be the end game, or I would never know pleasure again. I understood that on a visceral level.

My phone rang, disturbing the silence of our room. I bit off a curse as I reached over to answer it.

"What?" I said into the line.

"Morning sunshine," Memphis greeted. "Since you're back home, I wanted to let you know you could come join us at the office. Maybe we could get some idea about what happened to your boyfriend's boy."

Memphis snickered as I rolled my eyes.

"You won't tease him about this. It's serious.”

I would let Memphis decide what I was labeling as serious, the relationship or the case itself. In my mind it was both.

"Whatever, I won't be a dick. Just consider coming in for a little bit. I think it would do you some good. Bring Arick and Sol too. Archie already said he would love to spend time with the kid. He's got a thing for teaching people stuff.”

I mulled over the idea for a second before agreeing. "Sure, but no one's awake yet. Give us a bit."

Memphis hummed his agreement that disconnected the line. I looked at the time, noting how early it was. It shouldn't have surprised me that Memphis was already in the office. With Sinclair owning the coffee shop and having to get up early, and Memphis's chronic insomnia, the two were a perfect match. Sinclair could get up and get to work while Memphis was already elbow deep in whatever project he was assigned to.

Since taking on the Gilded Ones, he had had a constant assignment, which meant there was never a moment when he didn't find a way to work or research or dig into more detail.

I put the phone down, then rolled back over, only to find Arick's eyes on me.

"Good morning," he whispered.

My cheeks hurt with how widely I grinned. "Morning, how did you sleep?"

He stretched, raising his arms and pressing them against the headboard. The movement brought his cock against my hip. It was hard and tempting.

I remained as still as possible, otherwise, I would find myself rutting into him, making us both come. He wasn't ready for that.

"It was good," he said, after stretching his body. "I can't believe how good, actually."

"I agree. Don't usually sleep that well, but this was amazing. I think we should keep it up, you know, same position, same setup." I kept my voice light, as if it was no big deal.

He blushed at the words. Probably because he could tell that I was pushing his buttons.

Rather than take the bait, he grinned and shook his head.

I was about to ask him about his morning routine when his stomach growled. Mine was quick to follow.

Just another way we were perfectly in sync.

"I'll make breakfast. Why don't you go check on Sol?"

He didn't argue with me or hesitate. He was out of the bed in an instant.

I watched him walk away, the slight sway of his hips and the curve of his ass making me wish I had more time to rub one out. I'd have to talk myself down over a batch of pancakes, or else it would be a little too graphic for father and son.

After tossing on a shirt, I made my way into the kitchen and grabbed the basic pancake mix I had. It was the kind where you just add water, which meant I couldn't fuck it up in any way.

I had learned early on that the less ingredients I had to add into a product, the better it was. Not just for time, but for the fact that I wanted there to be no possibility of messing up.

Sol came bounding down the stairs happily, a matching set of pajamas on his little body. They had pancakes on them, and I laughed as I flipped one in the air dramatically.

"How did you know what you were having for breakfast?" I said.

He pointed to his shirt and then at the pan. "Pancakes! I love them!”

Then kissed his fingers and shook them closed. It was a move I had seen people do to mimic Italian enthusiasm about food. Where he had learned it and why he chose to repeat it was beyond me. But I still laughed as I pointed to a chair.

I plated up the first few and handed them over while Arick came in and divvied up the syrup.

“He'll use the entire bottle if you don't monitor him," he warned me while ruffling his son's hair.

Sol frowned at the amount of syrup he had for a moment, then shrugged and dove in. It was clear he didn't care as much as his father thought.

I finished the batch I was making, giving stuff to Arick and taking a few for myself. We all ate in silence. At least it was silent until Sol finished. He bounced up and decided it was time to run laps through the kitchen. I had never seen so much energy in the mornings.

It was also a very different version of the young man that I had met initially.

Arick chuckled as he saw my expression. “He's been this way since he was born. He has to pour out all his energy first thing in the morning and then he calms down.”

“Makes some sense. I was the same way at his age. You were less so though.”

Arick’s eyes remained on his son as he answered. “I was at one point, but my father wasn't a fan. I learned really quickly to just keep to myself.”

Fuck. It wasn’t my intention to remind him of those dark times. I longed to erase them from his memory. Moving forward, everything from now on would be about who we were now or his relationship with Sol.

I didn't want to dig into the past, especially not his side of things. My own traumas were enough, but unraveling the damage his father had done was not an issue we currently needed to take on.

It would come with time and comfort. He needed to have his basic needs met and to feel secure about his life and work situation before opening up anything else. It was about that hierarchy of needs thing that Tank had told us about.

After we finished breakfast, I shared with Arick about the possible plan for the day.

“How would you feel about us going up to the NightShade offices? It would be good to get out of the house for a little bit and see some things. We can even do some touristy stuff in the afternoon if you want. I know you guys aren't originally from here." Sol had gone off to play with his toys after getting bored of running his laps.

Arick stared off towards the stairs as if he could see his son. “Do you think it would be bad if he goes back there? Wasn't that where you took him after he found him?”

“Yes, it is where we took him, but I don't know that he will equate that place to something bad. Whenever I got out, I avoided anything and everything that made me remember the time I had been taken. I didn't want to possibly trigger myself and it was hard. I felt so alone, and I couldn't do anything. But one day, I accidentally came up on something that reminded me of a bad memory. Rather than running away and letting the panic take over, I took a deep breath and centered myself. I focused on where I was and what I was doing, and I remembered that I had gotten free. That nothing and no one was going to take me again.”

“So you're saying we should do like exposure therapy?” Arick asked me.

I shook my head. “Not necessarily. It's more like providing him with the proper means to work through his panic or his fear. He needs to have resources and plans in place because, he will be reminded of this somehow for the rest of his life. I mean, I don't specifically work in trafficking, but I hear about stories all the time or the news talks about a big bust, and I'm right back there in that moment being a kid and dragged into a car. Sol's going to have the same issues. The more we can prepare him, the better off he'll be.”

Arick's demeanor turned thoughtful. “You're right. I think this will be good for him. Let's make a plan and figure it out along the way.”

“Sounds good.” I fought against another big smile. If I kept this up, he’d call me out for being far too chipper over everything.

He had no clue being around him had me over the moon. I’d likely be big cheesing for the next several weeks.

We took off for the office shortly after getting dressed. Sol didn't bat an eye once we arrived. He was as cool as could be as he walked through the NightShade offices and waved at different people.

He held one of Arick's hands and one of mine. We looked like a sweet little family. At least that's what I kept telling myself because it's what I wanted, what I needed.

When we made it to the war room, Memphis greeted us, as did Ronan and Cohen. Takeshi popped out from behind a cubicle, followed closely by Archie.

“Good morning everyone. I brought some familiar faces in today to see you all.”

Cohen stood and rushed over, dropping to one knee in front of Sol. “I didn't get to introduce myself properly last time. I am Cohen, aka the coolest guy in this office. That is my boyfriend, Godric.”

I raised my eyebrows at how easily he brought the little guy into the mix.

Godric waved, then pointed at Memphis. “That guy is Memphis. He does all the computer stuff. The two over there are Takeshi and Archie. Archie, wave your hand.”

Archie waved, then pointed at his husband. “Takeshi doesn't speak, so just let me know if you want to ask him a question.”

Sol tilted his head. “Why doesn't he speak?”

Takeshi tilted his head to the side, a direct mirror of Sol.

Sol's eyes went wide. I wasn't sure if he saw the wound on Takeshi's neck or if he simply picked up on something about the other man. But it was clear no other words needed to be said.

Ronan introduced himself next, then asked us what the plan for the day was. I turned to Arick, who gave me a soft smile as if to say, ‘go ahead’.

“Well, the plan is that Sol and Arick could maybe hang out in the spare room. Maybe even get a tour of things if they want. I know that Sol could use some kid time. Soon we'll have to get his schooling sorted, but for now, I think keeping him close is best.”

The look I gave Ronan was one that I hoped he understood. As usual, my kind of sort of boss got it. He gave Archie a look and the other man came out from behind the cubicle.

“I would love to go sit with you guys. It's been a minute since I've gotten some good old cartoon time in. I'm not a certified teacher, but I do teach enough people ASL to know how to follow a training program. Maybe I can even help out with the schooling when that time comes if you decide not to send him back into the public sector.”

Arick’s mouth opened and closed like he wanted to say something. Only the words wouldn't come out.

I laughed softly, then ran my hand across his back. He jolted, then softened into the touch. Sol had wandered off to look at the different paperwork on the table. He was likely trying to find something he could draw on.

With him not between us, I was able to scoot closer and tuck Arick into my side. Everyone watched the move, their gazes already taking in every detail. I wouldn't have to tell this crew that this man was mine. They would know it because they knew me.

I never staked a claim. Never went out of my way to comfort others unless it was in effort to get a job done.

“That would be great, Archie,” Arick finally said after getting his bearings. “I don't know that public school is in our future for a while. I really just want to keep him safe, you know.”

Archie put his hand on Arick's shoulder. “Absolutely. I get it quite well. Why don't I go ahead and take him to watch some cartoons while you get settled? Then you can join us. If you don't, then we'll just come find you when it's time to get some food. That work?”

Arick smiled. “Sounds great. Thank you.”

Archie corralled Sol into going down the hall. Once he was out of the room, Arick wrapped his arms around me and buried his face in my neck.

“Thank you,” he whispered. “You've all done far too much.”

I held him closely, one hand on the back of his head and the other on his lower back. Since I was facing the other guys, my eyes took them all in. They were all smiling at me, happy that I had found my person.

With emotion clogging my throat, I had to force myself to reply. “We would do anything for you. You have a much bigger family now. Let us love you. Let us take care of you. You don't have to do this by yourself, and we will find ways to fix whatever problems arise.”

He sighed into my touch and pulled back. Looking at the group, he said, "What can I do to help? I know you are all doing this out of the kindness of your heart because you consider me family, but I can't just do nothing. Give me a task, and I'll get it done."

No one said anything for a moment, but then Memphis stood up and came around his desk. He leaned back onto the cubicle, legs crossed at the ankle and arms folded over his chest.

"I hear you're pretty good with a computer. How would you feel about working with me?"

All the men who worked for NightShade dropped their jaws open. Memphis had never wanted to work with someone else who was computer savvy. He said they were a waste of time and space. That they would never be able to move as fast as he could.

Offering this position held more weight than Arick could possibly understand.

Or maybe he did because his returning look was filled with excitement.

"I think you've got yourself a deal. Give me a set up, and I'll get started."

Memphis's lips curved up in his version of a smile. Whatever he had planned was going to be interesting.