Chapter Six
In The Woods
Native Land
Wednesday
Around Eleven
O h, the last few hours were not kind to him. Truth be told, Gamble was NOT back to one hundred percent. That was for damn sure. He’d carried Poe for a while, and at one point, the man had to get off his back. He simply couldn’t do it.
He’d lost muscle, and while he was so much better, he wasn’t where he could be that would sustain carrying another human any further.
When he put Poe down, he actually had to sit.
That worried the other man.
How could it not?
“Hey,” he said, touching his arm. “Are you okay?” he asked.
Gamble nodded.
“I used to be stronger. I once carried a Marine in full gear for three miles out of a warzone while people were shooting at us.”
Poe couldn’t imagine.
That sounded absolutely horrifying, and like a miserable Hell on earth.
The only physical activity that he got was tending chores for the horses and riding. Oh, he was fit, but he wasn’t Gamble fit.
That was for damn sure.
Even now, after recovering, the man was in better shape than him.
“What can I do for you?” he asked.
Gamble just needed to take a moment.
“I’ll be okay,” he admitted. “I just need a break. Then, we can push on.”
Well, he wasn’t surprised, that was for damn sure. What Poe was, after that piggyback, was turned on.
He’d been inundated with the man’s cologne, scent, and feel. As he was being carried, he could feel the man’s body ripple between his thighs, and Gamble was powerful, much like his horse, Diablo.
His hands had been resting on his chest, and his palm had been over his heart. That thump, thump, thump, gave him goosebumps at how closely they were pressed together.
It was erotic, and now, he, too, needed some space between them.
To calm down.
To take a look around, Poe moved away from him, toward a jutting outcropping of rocks to see what this hike had waiting in store for them.
It was a big climb up, and it was daunting, but doable.
Granted, it would mean that they were going to have to go over it or around it.
To be honest, both options sounded incredibly exhausting.
Not for him.
For Gamble.
So, he began checking it out, wanting to see if there would be an easier way for them to circumnavigate the big pile of rocks.
As he walked away, he knew Gamble was watching him. He could feel his eyes on his back as he tracked him to be sure he was nearby.
“Be careful,” Gamble warned.
It made Poe laugh.
“I have a Mum, Gamble. Her name is Penelope, and she’s a tad bit overbearing—thus why I live on an entirely different continent,” he stated.
Gamble needed to know.
“What are your parents like?” he asked, curiously.
A part of Gamble wondered if he’d ever meet them, and if he did, would they be disgusted that their son was with him?
That was if he could get Poe to consider even starting anything with him. That was becoming less and less likely with each passing second. His brain was telling him not to do it, as Gamble was doing war with himself, trying to figure out how much danger Poe was in because of him.
This was no life for a refined doctor.
This was his existence, and for the very first time, he hated it. What he wanted was to have a chance to recover from his past, and it was lofty to believe he had an opportunity to be with Poe.
The man’s parents were a Duke and Dutchess, and his parents were child-abusing drug addicts. They were from different worlds.
Clearly.
From where he stood, Poe shared with him.
“My father is a genuinely sweet man. He’s kind, compassionate, and doesn’t have a mean bone in his body. He’s thoughtful, and he’s protective.”
To Gamble, that sounded a lot like Poe.
“Liam is well-liked, admired, and good at what he does. He’s an accomplished horseman, and an excellent Duke.”
Now, he was even more curious.
“What does a Duke do?”
Poe laughed.
“You got me. He was descended from a monarch at some point in Britan’s history. So, he was given the title from when his father passed. Mostly, he owns land, gets money, and rides horses.”
Gamble was curious.
“So you’ll be a Duke one day?”
Poe actually paused as if he didn’t even consider that.
“I mean, it goes to the eldest son, and that was Hemmingway. Since he’s dead, that would be a possibility. If my father were to pass, my mother is a Dutchess. She would continue his duties. If she were to pass, then, I’m the last living heir. I’d become the Duke of Gordon, I suppose.”
That posed an interesting question.
“And does that bother you?”
He laughed.
“Yes. I’m just a doctor. I take care of people who need me. I’m not a Duke. I’m a Duke’s gay son. As you can imagine, that coming out party would be fun.”
Gamble heard the tone.
“So they don’t know?”
He shrugged.
“My father suspects, I’m sure. He’s sensitive, or was, to both of his boys. When Hemmingway passed, he focused on me. So I’m sure he is aware,” he said, moving around on the rocks. “As for my mother…”
Gamble waited.
“She’s always trying to get me married to some woman from a family with prestige. She’s the main reason I never went back. I don’t want women thrown at me, and for my title—that I don’t even have yet. God, I hope they never die. I don’t want that burden.”
Gamble watched him hop down.
“So your mother is difficult?”
Poe stopped and considered it.
“I mean, she’s a good mum. She raised us to be decent human beings, so she won on that front. We had all the best nannies, but she still helped raise us. She cuddled us, and told us she loved us, and that one day, we’d be heirs to the land there.”
“How much land do they own?” he asked.
Poe laughed.
“Way too much. A chunk of it will be given to me when I marry. Unfortunately, for that woman, it’s never happening. I stayed here after university for a reason. I could be me here. I could be gay, and date when I wanted to, and who I wanted to.”
Gamble got jealous.
“Did you date a lot?” he asked.
He shrugged.
“I mean, I had a few partners in college, but as of late, I don’t really date anyone. My job takes up a lot of my time. I’ve been with you for almost three months. Who am I going to date while helping you?”
“Me.”
Poe turned quickly.
“I mean, I’m right here,” Gamble stated.
Poe’s heart raced.
“Gamble,” he said, staring into his bi-colored eyes. “You know I can’t do that.”
“Can’t you, Doctor?” he asked.
Poe said nothing.
So, Gamble grinned at him, and the sexy blush moving up Poe’s throat said it all.
“Here’s another question,” he asked.
Poe wasn’t so sure he should play this game. He was already riled up by this man.
“If we weren’t patient and doctor, and say we met in a coffee shop, would you be interested in dating me?”
“No.”
Gamble blinked, completely caught off-guard. That wasn’t what he was expecting. Clearly, he was about to get his ego handed to him in the worst possible way.
Then, Poe was honest.
One hundred percent.
“I’d be desperate to date you. I think we both know what I feel for you,” he stated. “Should it happen? No. Will it?” he asked. “I’m fighting it as hard as I can. You’re not easy to say no to, Gamble. It’s damn near impossible.”
That made him happy.
Now, if only his past wasn’t putting them in danger, and he could have a chance at real love in his life. Without Poe, he didn’t think he’d ever heal and be able to function as a partner.
The man was that missing piece.
TRUST.
He trusted him with everything he had.
As for the other man, Poe needed to change the subject.
FAST.
“What are your parents like? Are they aware of your career choice?”
He actually laughed.
“I was abandoned, neglected, and told my whole childhood that I was nothing. My life was nothing like yours. Dirty mattresses, shithole apartments, drugs, alcohol, and abuse were the gifts from my egg and sperm donor. Let’s just say that your mother would never want you anywhere near me or my lineage. I left to become something, so I didn’t become them.”
Poe heard the pain, and he watched him struggle to be honest about his past. If anything, it was a testament to how strong and tenacious Gamble was.
What he’d overcome…it wasn’t shameful.
It was impressive.
“I like who you’ve become. You’re a good, kind man, Gamble. I can tell that. You’re compassionate, and you’re gentle when you need to be, funny when it’s important, and stronger than anyone I’ve ever met—and that’s saying a lot. I shared a womb with a war hero.”
Was it wrong of Gamble to want that fantasy of him and Poe, a Duke and the soldier?
Yes.
It was.
This man was too good for him, and he knew it. Now, he had to keep him alive, so he didn’t cost him everything.
Right afterward, he’d disappear so this man had a better life. There was NOTHING he could give him. What was he going to do?
Accompany him to the UK, meet his parents with his tats, bad attitude, and shady past?
Please.
That wasn’t happening.
They’d run him off. He might be a decorated soldier, but he wasn’t from a good family or place. He was not even in this man’s league. Maybe working for him in a stable, but not being by his side.
“Then you don’t know me well, Doctor. I’ve done a lot of things I regret in the name of service to my country. My only honor is to the soldiers I helped save. Trust me. I’m no one’s hero.”
He was his.
This man was keeping them alive.
That made him a hero.
Poe rounded the one big stone, and that’s when he saw something that caught his attention.
There was a big tree growing beside the stones, and that wasn’t the odd part. When he touched the tree, the bark moved.
“What are you doing, Poe?” Gamble said, materializing behind him.
It made him jump.
“Jesus. You scared me, Mate.”
Gamble moved closer.
“Can I have my flannel back?” he asked. “I’m beginning to get cold,” he said, his teeth chattering.
Poe was horrified that he’d not thought about giving it to him when they stopped walking.
“Oh, God! Yes,” he said, taking it off, and helping Gamble into it.
It was second nature. He’d helped him get dressed so many times while rehabbing him that he longed for that one simple act.
“Thanks, Poe.”
As soon as he was in the shirt, the chill abated, and he checked out what the man found.
“Why does this look all wrong?” Poe asked. “It’s way too close to the rocks, and it’s moving,” he said, touching the bark to show him.
That was curious.
Getting closer, Gamble fooled around with it, and that’s when he figured it out.
“That’s a manmade, hand-dug hidey-hole,” he said. “Some Native on this land likely hunts here. He dug it out to lay low for one reason or another. I bet it goes down into where the rocks are.”
Poe didn’t look impressed.
Why?
Oh, for one reason, and one reason alone.
“Where the spiders are?”
Gamble actually laughed.
That amused him to no end.
“Yes, where the spiders are,” he said, looking inside. “Are you not a fan of spiders?” he asked.
Poe shuddered.
“Absolutely not. I’d prefer to avoid them at all costs, if possible.”
He didn’t mention that the woods were full of spiders, and that the man’s barn had more than a few too.
“It’s the ones you don’t see that are the ones you need to worry about,” he teased.
Oh.
Hell.
No.
“It’s nothing some petrol and a match can’t handle,” he stated.
He shook his head in amusement.
“Well, let’s keep going,” he offered. “There are definitely spiders in that tree and under it.”
That worked for Poe.
He wanted to be as far from the eight-legged beasts as possible.
Together, they began walking up the rocks, and that’s when Gamble heard it. The sound was so faint, but his ears picked it up.
He stopped, and put his arm out so Poe would stop too.
The second he heard it, he knew.
Well, shit.
Now, they had a problem.
Their trackers were on to them. It was clear where Diablo and they broke off, the men decided to chase the footprints, exactly what he didn’t want.
They hadn’t gotten too far onto Native land, and not anywhere near where people lived.
Shit.
Shit.
Shit.
“What?” Poe asked.
He gave him the bad news.
“They got their quads. They sound less than a mile away,” he admitted. “We’re not outrunning them, Poe,” he stated.
The man looked scared.
“What do we do?” he asked.
Gamble knew there was only one thing.
“So, about those spiders…”
Poe’s eyes went huge. There was no way he was going to suggest…
“We have to share a space with them. Out here, that’s the only place we can hide. I can stash you somewhere, but they might find you, and then, I can’t fight them without a gun.”
That sounded ominous.
“Oh, God,” he said. “I don’t like creepy crawlies and darkness,” he warned.
Gamble knew they had very little choice. If they did, he’d use that. The last thing he wanted was to go down in that hole too.
Been there.
Done that.
He’d spent way too many hours in places like that trying to keep himself alive on missions.
Trust and believe, he wasn’t a fan either.
It was time for honesty.
“If they get you, they’ll torture you to get me. I’ll give myself up to save you, and they’ll kill both of us. I need time to figure out who they are,” he stated. “Tonight, I’ll do that.”
Poe stared into his eyes.
“I’m scared.”
Gamble touched his cheek with his big palm, and stared into his eyes.
“Remember when I came to you, and I told you that I was scared of living, and you told me you’d save me?”
He nodded.
How could he forget?
It had been quite the adventure since then—for both of them.
Gamble was honest.
“I put all of my faith in you. I gave you sixty days, and then I asked for more. I need you to believe that this is exactly what I was made to do. Let me help us.”
He was right.
Gamble had put all of his faith in him.
Now, it was his turn.
“Okay, Gamble. Let’s do it. I’ll try not to panic,” he said.
Gently, he kissed the man softly on the lips, and that seemed to help calm him.
When he opened his eyes, he made a vow to the man.
“I’ll keep you safe, and no matter what, I’ll protect you. I promise.”
Poe nodded.
Deep down, he knew that Gamble would get him through it, like he’d done for him.
They had a partnership, if only temporarily until he signed him off as ready to go back out in the world.
“I trust you.”
That was all he had to hear.
Moving back down the rocks, he gently pulled the bark back on the big tree. It looked to be a seven-foot drop from what he could see.
Their choices were low. It was this, or tangle with mercenaries on quads.
ARMED mercenaries.
“I’m going to lower you down,” he said, handing him his flannel shirt as soon as he pulled it off. “Hold onto this, and when your feet touch, let me know.”
“And if they don’t touch?” he asked.
Gamble could hear the quads coming closer. What was saving their asses was that their footprints weren’t visible anymore. They were on rocky terrain.
That wouldn’t be the case if they saw them. Then, they’d never leave this area, and that was exactly what Gamble needed them to do.
“You’ll be okay. I’m coming in right after you,” he promised. “We will do this together.”
This was an activity in trust and Poe knew it. He’d asked Gamble to trust him multiple times, and he had. Now, it was his turn.
Clearly.
“Okay,” he said, wrapping the flannel around his wrist, and moving to the opening.
Gamble got on the ground, and held the flap of bark back that hid the hole.
“Come on, Poe,” he said, holding out his hand. “You got this.”
Did he?
He wasn’t sure, but the alternatives to going down there were far worse. He didn’t want to see Gamble killed or be tortured.
Finding courage, he moved to straddle the hole.
“Please don’t leave me down there,” he begged. “Please,” he said.
Gamble stared into his eyes.
“Never. We’re in this adventure together. I’m good in the dark. I promise I have you. I’ll hold your hand the second I get down there.”
That was what he wanted.
“Do it,” Poe said, finding that strength.
Gamble began lowering him down. He was so tired, and his muscles sang at the punishment he’d already inflicted, and was inflicting.
He was going to need a nap at some point.
And food.
He kept lowering the man, and finally, that’s when he spoke.
“My feet are down,” he said. “I don’t know what they are down on, but I can feel terra firma,” he admitted.
Good.
The quads were close.
Too.
Damn.
Close.
“Move one foot over,” he whispered. “I’m dropping in right beside you,” he warned.
What wouldn’t he give for his phone, a flashlight, and a gun?
Poe did as he asked, being able to see him while the bark was pulled back ever so slightly. As soon as it closed, he was in the dark.
Gamble moved to sit in the opening, and he let the fold of bark fall back. As he hung there, it went pitch black all around them.
“Reach up. Poe, and feel for my legs so I don’t land on you.”
Poe did as he said, and he tried to stay calm the whole time.
Oh, and it was NOT easy.
“You’re to my left,” he admitted. “You won’t land on me when you drop,” he offered.
He heard a quad roar by, and they’d just gotten into that hole fast enough.
Dropping, he hit the ground, and it jarred his body, but he managed to stay upright.
Somehow.
As soon as he was in the darkness, his other senses began taking over. Nearby, he could hear water.
Since he’d trained with the best of the best, he knew that water was a good sign, and it might just keep them alive if it was potable.
“Where are you, Gamble?” Poe whispered, that fear grabbing him by the throat.
Gamble reached to his left, and as he did, he felt him touch his chest.
“I’m right here,” he whispered, as they heard voices above them. “Shhhh,” he said softly, pulling the man closer so he was against his torso.
Immediately, Poe tucked himself into Gamble’s body to breathe in the scent of the man, and not to feel so out in the open—to the spiders.
Above them, the men hunting him must have stopped when they realized they had to climb the rocks. Hopefully, they’d go up the face of it, and see that they hadn’t gone that way.
Then, they would avoid this part of the woods altogether. That way, he’d be able to keep them safe.
Temporarily.
There was no doubt in a day or two, they’d send up drones or use infrared.
By then, they needed to be on the rez, and borrowing a vehicle to get the hell out of there.
For now, though, together, they stood in the dark and listened to the voices above them.
“I don’t think they came this way,” the one man finally admitted.
The wild part was that he had a British accent. Only, Gamble thought nothing of it. He’d worked with the US government and plenty of other ones.
“We saw the footprints,” the other said, and he was definitely American.
Cajun.
He sounded like the people in the swamps around New Orleans . That meant he was from around here.
Gamble kept listening, trying to get as much information on the two as possible. He knew they weren’t too observant since they were literally right by the tree.
The whole time, Poe kept his face buried in Gamble’s neck, and held onto him like he was his lifeline. His hands were under his shirt on his back.
“The only other way they could have gone was on horseback,” the one said. “We have to find and kill the one and get information out of the other.”
Poe whimpered, and Gamble couldn’t risk him making a sound. He wasn’t sure if it would echo up to them or not. So, he did what he could.
He found the man’s mouth, and he kissed him. Holding his chin in his fingers, he plumbed the depths of his mouth to keep him silent.
And because he liked it.
Who was he kidding?
For some reason, kissing Poe was hot as fuck, and he couldn’t get enough of it.
The man clung to him, and he kissed him back.
That tactic worked.
In that moment, Poe stopped thinking about anything else. He wasn’t thinking about the darkness or what lurked in it, but instead he was thinking about the man kissing him.
Jesus.
His mouth was insanely lethal.
With each time that he kissed him, it made it more difficult to remember he was his doctor, and this was all kinds of wrong.
It felt too right.
As Gamble kissed him slowly, he was trying to focus on the men above them.
Oh, and it wasn’t easy either.
“They didn’t come this way,” the British guy said. “I went to the top. We’d see them from there. They were on horseback, and we followed tracks from some hunter or shit. We have to double back. We cleared this area.”
The other man sighed.
“Fuck. We can’t lose him. If we do, we’re screwed. I don’t want to deal with the boss. Let’s report in, and then head back toward the tracks. We can tell them it’s clear this way. We can focus in the other direction.”
As they stood there, mouths still moving over each other, Gamble heard the quads fire up.
And instead of stopping to let the man know they were good, he kept kissing Poe.
In that darkness, along with who knew what, he chose to take that moment to enjoy this. He wasn’t sure how many more he would get.
Sue him.
He’d been dying to get this desire and craving for intimacy back, and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t like the way Poe made him feel. The man was clinging to him, and he was inundated with his scent.
God.
He wanted this man.
Slowly, he stopped kissing him, and when he did, Poe let out a soft little moan. It was breathy, and apparently, he wasn’t the only one who felt that kiss to his soul.
“They left,” he said, not seeing the man, but able to feel him against his body.
They were both hard too.
Poe blinked.
He couldn’t think.
“Did they? Good.”
Gamble smiled in the dark. Someone sounded a little stirred up, and he understood that.
Truthfully, he would be lying if he said he wasn’t too. His body was awake, and what he wanted was to bed down this man.
Oh, he didn’t know how to do that, but he wanted it regardless.
“What now?” Poe asked, still clinging to him. His arms were around his waist, and he was holding on for dear life.
In his mind, he knew there were spiders, snakes, a man-eating lizard, and all kinds of insanity in the dark. All of which was watching them.
“I’m going to pull out my lighter, and I’m going to see what we have all around us.”
Poe didn’t mince words.
“Yeah, I’m not looking. There’s not enough money, or horses on this planet to make me get a good look at the horrors we’ve put ourselves smack dab in the middle of, Gamble.”
He laughed.
How could he not?
“Okay, well, keep your eyes closed,” he said. “I’ll make sure we’re okay.”
That’s when Poe buried his face in his neck again, and hid. His hands were still beneath his shirt, and he was breathing heavily.
Poe was legitimately freaking the fuck out.
When he flicked the lighter on, Gamble looked around.
Oh, shit.
There were spiders, centipedes, and worm like things crawling on the mossy walls. Thankfully, they weren’t touching anything.
Most of them were poisonous.
“What is around us?” Poe finally asked.
Well…
Yeah…
“Let’s just say you’re going to be very glad you didn’t look,” he said, seeing spider webs, and just beyond it, a corridor.
At his words, he whimpered.
“It’s okay. Hey, just hold onto me, and let me walk us through this. It goes somewhere,” he offered.
“To Hell. It goes to Hell,” he warned. “I may not survive this. I don’t know how you dealt with things like this. I’d cry every night.”
He laughed.
The man was funny.
“I’ve been there, Poe. This isn’t really Hell. It’s more like a haunted house. I’ve got you,” he said. “You just walk with me, keep your eyes closed, and DON’T TOUCH THE WALLS .”
He gasped.
What was this?
Now, he needed to at least ask.
Why?
He was an idiot.
“What’s on the walls?” he inquired, against his better judgment.
My dude did NOT want to know.
Gamble said one thing.
“Friends.”
Oh, Jesus.
That said it all, and he was pretty sure by ‘friends’ , he meant things that were going to make him freak the fuck out.
More so than he was now.
It appeared that Poe was going to have the mother of all panic attacks if they didn’t get out of there.
That was for damn sure.
“Do we have to walk through it?” Poe whispered.
Gamble looked up.
There was no way they were getting back out the way they came.
“Yep.”
Damn.
As he kept them walking, he used his arm to move the spider webs. Every now and again, one touched Poe, and he tried to climb more into Gamble’s body.
If they weren’t running for their lives, he’d be having a damn good time. He’d wanted the man to show him he felt something, well…
He was definitely clingy, and when he’d been piggybacking him, he’d felt his erection.
So…
That made his day.
Someone might be telling him he couldn’t, but at least he knew that he wanted to. That helped the ego a bit. At least he no longer felt as hideous as Storm made him feel when she damned him with her choices.
He kinda felt good.
Enough that he would ignore that there were venomous spiders all around them.
As he moved toward some water, he followed the trickle down and when they came around a corner, he gasped.
Holy shit!
Could they be this lucky?
“Oh, God. What is it? A giant spider with a million babies on it that are hungry and like British men?”
Gamble actually laughed. Someone’s imagination was on a wild ride.
“No,” he said, checking it out.
It was a cave and grotto. They were underneath that massive pile of rocks, and there was some light coming in from the cracks all around the big boulders at the very top of the rock pile.
Because of that, he could see around.
“Poe, look?”
He shook his head.
“Absolutely not. I don’t want to see where I die, and what eats me.”
Honestly, this was the best-case scenario. To get the man to look, he lifted his chin, and kissed him softly.
Again.
That helped both of them.
“Trust me,” he said, when he broke the kiss. “Look at what we found.”
Slowly, he opened his eyes, and he was staring at Gamble. When he turned his head, expecting to see a momma spider and her hungry babies, he blinked.
That was not what he was seeing.
Instead, the cavernous space loomed out in front of them.
“What the bloody hell?” he asked.
He stared into the space, and it looked like other people had been there at some point.
There was a pool of water, and there was a place of smooth rock where a fire had once burned.
“What is this place?” he asked.
Gamble put the lighter away. It was light enough in here that they could see. Oh, it was like twilight, but that was better than scary darkness. The light shone off the water, and it casted waves of reflection onto the walls of the grotto.
“That’s the rock formation. It’s been hollowed out by the water over time. We’re in a cave.”
He still held onto him.
“Are we safe here?” he asked.
That was a good question.
It didn’t look like anyone had been there in a while. In fact, it looked like a very safe place to be, considering what hunted him.
And Poe.
“Yes. We’re safe.”
That was all he had to hear.
He let out a breath of relief.
“Thank freaking God,” he said.
Because they needed to get their bearings, Gamble set him free.
“Let me look around,” he said.
Poe stood there, and as the man walked away, he felt bereft. He missed being in his arms where he felt safe. It was crazy that in three months their roles had been reversed.
Gamble was back to being a hero.
And when he left, Poe’s heart would be broken. Suddenly, he didn’t want him to go. Suddenly, he wanted him to stay.
With him.
Forever.
The man moved around, and when he dropped in front of the water, he smelled it. Then, he traced the source.
“This water is potable. We won’t get sick drinking it, but we’re going to boil it anyway,” he said, seeing an old can, and some wood in there.
Poe moved closer as Gamble was checking out the other pool not far away.
“That water is clear, but it’s not running,” he said. “We can swim in that, or use it for bathing, but I wouldn’t risk drinking without boiling. We don’t need to get sick.”
This was all crazy to him.
Poe had NO clue how to survive outside of a house. He went to a boarding school, and he went to college. Then, he went into a building.
He never played explorer.
That was Hemmingway’s thing. He got all of the courage, and none of the fear.
“I’m going to wander around. Why don’t you stay here? I don’t want you to get bit by a…”
When Poe’s eyes went huge, he covered for his mistake.
“The wanderlust bug.”
The man laughed.
“You’re horrible at making shit up, Mate. Absolutely horrible, Gamble.”
He grinned.
“I do better in the dark and shadows. I got you to make out with me surrounded by spiders. That should tell you everything you need to know about me and my skills, Poe.”
He laughed.
It wasn’t like he was wrong.
If their lives weren’t in danger, he’d be adhering to the whole ‘doctors don’t make out with their patients’ thing, but this was a whole new territory he’d never been in before.
On top of that, he liked kissing Gamble.
A.
LOT.
Only, now, he was freaking out, and for a few reasons. The first being he’d been kissing Gamble. The second being that he didn’t want him to leave, and lastly, that the man was going to wander, and he would be there alone.
That terror was overwhelming.
“Don’t leave me here,” he said. “I’m not making it back through the spiders and the walls of webs.”
Yeah, he really wouldn’t.
Not that it mattered.
They weren’t getting out that way without a rope or ladder. If that was the only way out…
They were here for a while.
This, to him, wasn’t horrible. Gamble had been in some shit places. Jungles, rainforests, etc., so he was good with creepy crawlies.
Mostly.
That was until they bit you.
Then, you had a whole other set of issues to worry about. For now, they didn’t have to worry about that, and that made this a little easier.
As he walked toward the other side of the grotto, he rounded a bend, and disappeared.
As soon as he was out of sight, Poe began panicking. Oh, he trusted Gamble.
He was just easily spooked.
“Okay, Poe, don’t freak out,” he muttered. “You’re not alone in a cave. You’re with millions of spiders who are at this very minute watching you.”
When a rock fell off somewhere, he jumped. That had scared the shit out of him.
Immediately, he began pacing.
When he focused on the water, it looked refreshing. Getting down, he splashed some on his face, and used his flannel shirt to wipe the water away.
When he opened his eyes, he saw the reflection of something behind him.
Turning fast, he stumbled, and nearly went into the water. Only, Gamble caught him.
“Oh, Jesus. You scared me.”
Yeah, he was aware. That was how he operated in situations like this.
“Sorry,” he said, holding him. “I’m quiet when I need to be,” he admitted.
Well, that and when he came back into the space, Poe was on his knees, his ass in the air, and Gamble had been checking him out.
And thinking about it.
It being sex.
For the life of him, he couldn’t ever remember admiring a man’s body other than to think he was built or in good shape.
He’d been around a lot of naked men in his life, in bootcamp showers, in the field for various reasons, but never up close and personal with one.
Now, Poe had his attention, and he wanted to see him naked in the worst way.
Only, so as not to freak him out, he focused on the situation at hand.
“The good news is I found an exit out. It’s not nearly as bad. I saw one spider, and I killed it.”
He stared at him.
“It’s the ones you don’t see that are smart. They evade.”
Oh, the man really didn’t like spiders. The other good news here was that they were going to be hanging out here for the night.
Maybe more.
It depended on what happened when he returned from going back to the farm to get intel.
“How about some water, and I’ll get a fire going? They were tracking the horse to the orchard, which has to be miles from here. We should be good, and they won’t see any minute trace of smoke seeping through the cracks. The ceiling in here is pretty high up.”
He nodded.
“Yes, please,” he said.
Gamble grabbed some of the very dry wood, and he built him a fire. The whole time, Poe watched.
When it was going, he got them some water, used the can that was there, and started boiling it.
It didn’t take long.
He kept feeding the fire so Poe would feel safe.
Then, they took turns sipping the hot water.
“Some tea would feel appropriate right about now,” he stated.
Gamble laughed.
“I wouldn’t drink anything weedy in here. I’d stick to plain water, but that is the most British thing I’ve heard today. I’m surprised you don’t have an emergency tea bag in your pocket for such occasions.”
Oh, he wasn’t touching anything but the stones they were sitting on, and after this, he was absolutely carrying one in his pocket.
“I’m going to feel out the water,” Gamble said. “I don’t want you in it unless I make sure it’s safe,” he stated.
Oh, well, he wasn’t going in it if it wasn’t safe. Since he couldn’t swim, that wasn’t happening.
Ever.
“Okay,” he said.
Gamble began stripping down. The whole time, Poe tried not to look.
Which was amusing since he’d seen him naked plenty of times that first week they were together as he got him into the tub.
Only, then, he wasn’t thinking about sex but taking care of the man. Now, he was absolutely thinking about sex with him.
A lot of sex.
Rough sex.
Wild sex.
Sex with sex on top of sex.
Apparently, his brain was in a sex glitch, and unable to get out of it.
As he stripped down, Gamble noticed he was trying not to watch him, and that was the opposite of what he wanted. It was ridiculous, since he was going to have to leave Poe when he was safe, but it made him feel…good.
Human.
Desirable.
“Shy, Poe?” he asked.
The man was struggling not to ogle him while he was naked. He was already crossing way too many lines, even if he loved each one.
“I’m just trying to give you some dignity.”
He laughed.
“Poe, I was a Marine. They take your dignity first, and your sanity next,” he said, dropping his boxers.
Gamble had to give him credit.
He stared into his eyes, and not at his erection. Oh, and it was a full-on erection too.
And it was Poe’s fault.
Kissing him, smelling him, and feeling him against his body was making it difficult to pretend.
Poe fought that urge.
Then, he lost the battle. He let his gaze drop, and maybe it was because he was staring at him, challenging him. He let it drop all the way down his body.
Oh, fuck.
Someone had a magnificent cock.
Holy shit.
Poe got even harder.
When his eyes went back up to his face, the masculine smile said it all.
He knew what he wanted.
HIM.
“See you in a minute,” he said, taking a step backward into the grotto and disappearing down into the depths of the water.
In fear, Poe scrambled to the side, and stared down into the crystal-clear water. It was dark in there, but he could see shadows in it.
He hoped it was Gamble, and not some water monster. This was Native land, and who knew what lurked here?
“Gamble?” he asked, knowing he couldn’t hear him, but needing him to.
Now, his heart began racing erratically.
When there was no sign of him, Poe began panicking.
How long could the man hold his breath?
Honestly, he was pretty sure that something bad had happened. That was the only possible excuse for why he didn’t surface.
When he saw a shadow coming up, he watched it, and the man surfaced. When he broke the water, he had a fish in his hand.
A big fish.
“Jesus. Christ. Where did you get that?” Poe asked, astounded.
Gamble smiled and handed it to Poe so he could climb out of the water.
“Don’t drop him back in. That’s lunch,” he admitted. “We need fuel.”
He gawked when the man handed him the fish.
“There’s a school of fish down there. This is salt water. So definitely don’t drink it. The water coming down through the rocks is fresh water.”
He backed up, and Gamble pushed himself out of the grotto and onto the side. When he walked toward Poe, the man blinked.
There was a hot, naked, wet man in the room, and Poe knew he was so screwed. The water ran off of him, and he looked so goddamn delicious.
Poe was only human, and this up close and personal look at the man in all of his glory…
God.
What he wanted was that one moment to remember for the rest of his life before Gamble was released and they never saw each other again.
Because he was so damn confused.
Why would this man want him?
He was gorgeous, strong, and adventurous. Poe was just…a doctor.
He was a nerd, not someone a Marine would normally check out.
When he walked right past Poe, grabbed his clothes, and pulled them back on, he was well aware that the man checked him out, again.
And that was why he still had an erection.
POE.
“Don’t go in there without me. You can’t swim,” he warned, putting his socks back on.
“Okay,” he said. “What do I do with this very much alive fish?” he asked. “It seems mean to let it suffocate to death,” he added.
That was true.
Gamble crossed to him, grabbed the fish by the tail and whacked it off the wall.
HARD.
Poe jumped.
That was…violent.
It was until he heard him talking to the fish.
“Thank you, Mr. Fishy. You’re lunch, and I appreciate your sacrifice,” he admitted, pulling out his knife, and heading far away from the clean drinking water to gut it.
When he was done, he rinsed it off in the grotto water before cooking it.
“I don’t understand any of this,” Poe said. “How are we surviving? They should have found us.”
Gamble knew it was likely divine intervention, and a whole lot of skill that was going to keep them safe at this point.
Not far away, he fileted the fish, and found some sticks nearby to put the fish on them like filet kabobs.
Just minus the veggies.
“Well, you are out here with a Marine,” he said. “I can survive anywhere. I once survived thirty days in the Amazon. We had a mission there, and I had to get to a doctor who had been kidnapped by a tribe of Amazonians, who were actually hiding out guerillas. I went in on foot.”
Poe sat and listened as the man cooked the fish over the fire.
“The Amazon is huge.”
He was aware.
“That’s why it took so long. It was two weeks in, and two weeks out. Thank God I had shots for malaria,” he stated. “I was mosquito bait.”
Poe was curious.
“And that didn’t scare you?” he asked.
Gamble sat down, and watched the fish so any parasites in it died, and it didn’t burn.
“I mean, I wasn’t having fun. When I was given the assignment, I wasn’t excited to see the Amazon, but it was my job,” he admitted. “It wasn’t a vacation, but I lived. Childhood was more difficult than the Amazon,” he admitted. “Like I said earlier, I had shit parents and four weeks was an easy stint in Hell. Eighteen years wasn’t.”
Poe listened.
These were things not in his military records. Oh, he had things listed there from his testing, but it didn’t give the same snapshot as the man telling him for himself.
“I had to fend for myself from a young age. This is nothing for me. I’m also accustomed to a partner during a mission. I didn’t go in alone, so think of yourself as my partner in this. We’ll get through it. Will it be fun? Probably not, but it will be memorable.”
God.
Poe only wished he was as strong and brave as this man. His brother was like this, and he was anything but.
Hemmingway was a hero.
Poe was not.
Now, he was honest.
“You’re brave, Gamble. Yes, I read your files, but this…”
He shrugged.
“Survival, Doctor. It’s all about that. When Storm decimated me, I had nothing left to keep going, but then, there was you. You were my partner and told me to keep going. I relied on you to get me there. I trusted that you would, and you did. It’s the same thing as a mission. You put all of your faith in the other person, and trust that they don’t let you down. If you both have absolute faith, you’ll get through it. That’s the secret. Trust.”
That astounded him.
“There’s something I wanted to ask you,” Poe began.
Gamble looked up at him.
“Yes?”
Here went his curiosity.
“You are a Hunter,” he said. “That I know from Elizabeth, but what do you hunt?” he asked.
Gamble knew this would make or break any chance he had with the man, but he believed in honesty and truth. So, he trusted Poe with it.
As horrific as it was going to sound.
“I hunt people, Poe,” he said softly. “I hunt and kill people when the government tells me to.”
Poe just stared at him.
And didn’t know what to say to that.
What could he say?