11. Chapter 11
This weird instant attraction to Dalton intrigued me. He was my polar opposite, but I’d always been drawn to his goodness. He was the sunshine while I was the shadow. No amount of darkness seemed to dull him throughout the years, not even with the death of his husband.
Dalton sat at the kitchen table, sipping on a beer as I sauteed some garlic, onion, and ginger in the pan while the jasmine rice steamed on the stove.
“Smells good,” he said. “What’s for dinner?”
“Bò Lúc L?c. It’s Vietnamese.”
“Have you been?”
I shook my head, adding the marinated beef to the pan. “Nope. I haven’t traveled much at all.”
“You don’t want to go somewhere exotic with all that money you make?”
I craned my head back to him and smiled. “Nope. I’m kind of a homebody.”
“Interesting.”
I scoffed. “Is it, though?”
“Yeah, I thought you would be traveling the globe whenever you got the chance.”
“Honestly, I work a lot. But what am I going to travel for? It’s kind of boring to do it alone. Sometimes, I just like to sit at home and do absolutely nothing. It helps me unwind.”
“Other people travel alone.”
“I’m not everybody.”
He chuckled. “Fair enough. You definitely have a point. So, there’s no one serious in your life?”
“No.”
“Has there ever been anyone serious in your life?”
As the meat simmered, I turned to the kitchen island and began slicing cucumbers. “Well, aren’t you a nosy Boy Scout?”
Dalton took a pull on his beer bottle as he smirked. “I am an FBI agent. It’s my job to be nosy. Besides, now that you’re back in my life in a way, I am curious about you, wondering if you ever found love or companionship.”
“It’s complicated. ”
“Isn’t it always? So, can I help do something?” He changed the subject, assuming I wasn’t interested in that particular conversation, but I didn’t really mind. I liked Dalton asking me questions.
I gave him an evil smirk resembling Sully’s demented smile. “You don’t want to be anywhere near me while I wield a sharp knife.”
“Noted,” he said dryly.
“Assassin humor. Anyway, no, there hasn’t been anyone serious. Part of it is personal, and the other part is the risk-taking… Well, before I got kicked out of the other syndicate. You remember what happened then.”
“Do you think staying single has more to do with your uncle?”
Boy Scout was as intuitive as ever, but I said nothing. “The organization I’m currently partnered in… we’re all LGBTQ+.”
He raised a brow, and his jaw dropped. “Now that’s interesting.”
“I won’t go into all the details because you’re a danger to us, obviously, but yeah, we’ve all been nearly killed because of who we are. So, we’ve become a sort of family. No, not sort of. We are a family—a family who would kill and die for each other. Being blood-related is irrelevant.”
I washed two tomatoes and thinly sliced each one before I pulled out some basil and mint, along with a small container of red onion, which had been marinating in rice wine vinegar and sugar.
“A family you betrayed,” Dalton finally said as he watched me prepare our dinner .
“Yep. But I’m going to do my best to make it right when this is over.”
“Will they let you live?”
I shrugged. “My partner knows me well, and he’s intelligent, not one to react without all the facts before him first. His lover, on the other hand, has always hated me. It’s a ridiculous jealousy thing from years ago. He’s persistent. I’ll give him that. It’ll take a lot for my friend to hold his lover back and keep him from killing me, but he can do it.”
“Some family,” he said sarcastically.
“No family is perfect.”
I pulled out two soup bowls and scooped out some rice before topping it with meat and sauce. The bowls were decorated with cucumber slices, tomatoes, basil, and mint and then topped with marinated onions. Two smaller bowls contained pepper and coarse salt soaked in lime juice for dipping.
I put Dalton’s bowls in front of him, along with a pair of chopsticks.
“Eat up,” I said.
“Thanks. Smells so good.”
Dalton plucked some meat and vegetables with his chopsticks and dipped them into the salt and lime. He shoved the food into his mouth and groaned. “Whoa, this is good,” he said with his mouth full.
“Thanks. I don't have anyone to cook for, but I find it a relaxing hobby when I’m not working.”
He pointed his chopsticks at me. “Don’t you ever get lonely?”
“All the time. Don’t you? Do you miss your husband? ”
He nodded, taking a sip of his beer. “Yeah, but I’ve been thinking about dating again, and I’ve been on a couple of dates, which didn’t go so well. I guess there’s no point in worrying about it if I don’t get out of this alive.”
“You will.”
“Such confidence.”
“I have a lot of experience backing me up.”
“Have you ever failed a job?”
I shrugged. “When I was younger, but not for a long time.”
“Well, I wish I was as confident as you. Running for my life isn’t exactly commonplace for me.”
“After this, let’s hope it stays that way.”
After dinner, we chatted for a bit more about the case before Dalton stood and stretched. “I guess I’m going to head on up. What’s the plan for tomorrow?”
“We wait on what my guy sends back. I don’t want to jump the gun and miss out on other targets.”
He nodded and started to walk away, but I had other plans. I stood and followed him out into the foyer before he reached the stairs. I grabbed his shoulder and pushed him back against the wall. Who knew why I liked shoving him around? I always had, like I was itching to push his buttons and get a reaction out of him, especially the heated kind he tried so hard to cover up… just like that kiss so long ago.
Dalton may have been a kind person, but he’d never been a pushover.
I pressed my body against him as my cock stiffened; so there was no doubt about my intentions. To be fair, I reacted to him as much as he did to me, if not more so.
“I want to rediscover those sparks again, the ones we still have,” I whispered against the side of his neck.
“Sid…” he warned.
“You felt it, too. I know you did. You’ve never been able to hide around me.”
Dalton pressed a forearm to my throat and pushed me back. “Dammit, Sid! You and I won’t work!”
I pushed harder against him. “Tell me you don’t feel the chemistry.”
“I don’t.”
“You suck at lying, Boy Scout.”
He growled at me, and suddenly, I was the one who found my back shoved against the wall.
“Give it up,” he hissed, pressing his forearm tighter against my throat. It hurt, but I didn’t stop him. Regardless, no matter how hard he fought this, Dalton couldn’t hide his want for me. Maybe he was lonely and touch-starved, but his eyes landed on my lips for a fraction of a second, so I jumped at the opportunity.
“I’m not looking to fucking get married, but I’m also using this time as a second chance. I was always drawn to your goodness and brightness, even when I was surrounded by such horror. God, I hated it and needed it at the same time.”
His brow furrowed as his dark eyes scanned me for lies. When he said nothing, I placed my hand against his neck and pulled his face closer. “Sparks, Boy Scout. Stop fighting this. Just feel . It will be a nice distraction while we wait for more intel. ”
Dalton was definitely listening when his arm eased the pressure off my throat.
I used the moment to put my lips to his. I’d kissed quite a few men in my life, but none had ever made my mouth and body tingle like Dalton had.
It didn’t take long for the kiss to grow heated. We sucked, licked, and nipped while our hands clawed and tugged at our hair, sending me back to that moment at the party twenty-seven years ago. Our hips thrust against each other, and a wave of euphoria hit me when our cocks rubbed together.
He smelled so fresh and woodsy still, even after the long day. My thigh slid between his legs as he sought friction, humping it.
This was what I’d been seeking back in high school. I’d been a mental fucking wreck, but as soon as we kissed, I knew I’d found hope and home.
But when Dalton slid his hands down my ass, I froze.
Fuck, not now .
I grabbed his wrists none too gently and instantly removed his hands.
“W-what’s wrong?” he breathed heavily on my lips. But I didn’t need to explain anything. His dark eyes, nearly blown black, narrowed as he understood my reaction. “It’s fucking him , isn’t it? If ever I wanted someone dead…”
“Well, he is. I killed him. I’m fine. Just… I don’t like my ass touched. Everything else is fair game.”
“Sid…” he said, backing off, but I held him tight to me.
“Kiss me, goddammit! Jack me off. Suck me. I don’t fucking care. Just don’t touch the ass. ”
As he slammed back to my mouth, giving in to the inevitable, I scrambled to undo my jeans, and then I undid his. Without pulling our mouths away, our tongues battling it out, we yanked our pants and underwear down to our thighs. I took our cocks and fisted them together, swallowing Dalton’s delicious groans.
I wished we had some lube, but I wasn’t about to stop this, even if the world burned around us. I wouldn’t waste this moment I never expected to have.
His fingers curled into my hair with one hand, and he dug blunt nails into my neck with his other as he thrust with me.
Feeling Dalton’s dick pressed up against mine was fucking unreal. We should’ve been able to do this when we were younger, and I was sure he would’ve given in to me had my uncle not ruined everything.
“Sid…” his tone was whisper-soft, instantly bringing me back to the present.
“You like this? Our cocks pressing…”
“Shut up,” he said, shoving his tongue into my mouth.
We thrust in sync as I stroked us. The fire and energy from our kiss to the throbbing heat from the friction burned like fire across my skin. For the first time since that party as a teen, my stomach dipped in excitement. It’d never done that for any other man before. My heart beat so fast, and my breath came in pants. I relished in the sensations, making me feel fucking alive and young again.
“You’re mine,” I growled as I nipped his throat.
My bodily reaction to him was proof of that. Dalton had always been mine .
“Yes…” He may have said the word, but once the moment ended, he’d change his lustful tune into regret. I didn’t care because he’d soon realize the truth of my words. I’d prove it to him.
Suddenly, hot spurts of cum hit my hand and dripped along our lengths. Dalton groaned and gripped me tighter, repeatedly mumbling, ‘ fuck. ’ I used his cum as lube, stroking myself faster and harder.
My body tensed, and I held my breath before my release, then I let it all go as I pumped over our fisted cocks.
Dalton moved his hands to my ears in a tight grip, our lips barely touching, heaving breaths as we came down from our high.
My hand was still covered in our cum, and when Dalton stepped back, I didn’t want to look at him and see his regret. Sometimes, I wondered why I even cared or what this strange obsession with him was. I thought I’d gotten over it two decades ago, but seeing him again… Hell, even his having a kid didn’t bother me, and I was so far from being a family man.
I removed my T-shirt, cleaned my hand with it, and then wiped us down. He pulled up his pants, and I did the same.
Still not wanting to see his face so I could relish what we’d just shared for a bit longer, I walked off, but not before a hand landed on my shoulder to tug me back.
“Don’t do that,” he said.
“Don’t do what?”
“Hide.”
Fuck, I felt like I was reverting to my childhood. After all my training and taking back my life, my confidence soared. I found I even had a spark of humor buried deep in my personality. But, for some reason, I felt small again, and I fucking hated it. I didn’t know if it was Dalton as much as it was my past, because the last time I felt this way, my uncle still lived. That had to be it. Regardless, I just needed to walk away, so I did.
Once in my room, I took a quick shower to wash away the rest of the stickiness and dried off. Hopefully, Veil would have some more answers for us. If not, Dalton and I needed to hit the road and move around. Staying here too long was risky.
When I opened my bathroom door, to my absolute surprise, I found Dalton sitting on the edge of my bed, wearing only a pair of navy-blue boxer briefs, his hair still wet from his own shower.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, to mask my shock. It wasn’t often people surprised me.
“Did you not feel those sparks you were looking for?”
I sighed and ran the towel over my wet hair, uncaring that I stood naked in front of him. Why should I when we’d just frotted together?
“I felt the sun explode,” I said.
He looked up at me, wide-eyed. “So did I. I… shouldn’t be in here. I shouldn’t pursue this. You’re as dangerous as the men hunting me.”
I stood in front of him and nudged his legs apart with my knees to stand between them. His hands roved up my body, careful not to reach behind me. “God… your body is…”
“Oh, I’m definitely as dangerous as those men hunting you. No, I’m worse.” He looked up at me again and gnawed on his bottom lip, looking uncertain. It was such a vulnerable thing to do for a man as confident as Dalton. “I’m worse because if they hurt you, they will know the true meaning of pain and suffering. ”
“I still don’t understand this… thing between us and how hot it got so quickly. Or why you have such a strong need to protect me.”
“Because I’m obsessed. I always have been when it comes to you.”
“For twenty-seven years?”
I shook my head. “No, I may be obsessed, but I’m not crazy.” I definitely wasn’t Sully, who did that very thing with Malik. “But being with you recently has brought it back, but without all that anger and self-loathing.”
“This is a distraction.”
I smirked at him. “ I’m not distracted.”
His hands continued to travel across the planes of my chest and stomach, despite trying to talk himself out of this. “I need to think about Owen.”
I finally dared to touch him, my hand running gently through his damp, cropped hair. “Of course you do. I will protect Owen with my life.”
His chocolatey eyes looked deep into me, begging. “If it comes between Owen and me… If you have to choose, you must save him instead of me.”
I didn’t even hesitate to answer. While I was obsessed with Dalton, he would never forgive me if I didn’t save his son first. I knew him well enough by now to understand that. “I will, but it won’t come to that.”
He sighed, dropped his hands, and looked away. “I shouldn’t be here…”
“But you want to be.”
Dalton looked back up at me. “I don’t know.”
My hand went to his throat, but I didn’t squeeze. It was just to gently control him. “If you stay, you’re mine.”
“If I don’t?”
“I will still protect you with all I have. But know that if you choose to stay, I’ll want more.”