Chapter 24
POLANCO
Vega wasn’t available to greet them, but uniformed housing staff in crisp white polos helped with their luggage, leading them through corridors of polished stone and hand-painted tiles. The estate sprawled across the hillside, its terracotta roof glowing amber in the late afternoon sun.
Adria, Seth, Kaydon, and Bryson were given a main suite in the west sector, where wrought-iron balconies overlooked the private beach below on one side and the sprawling jungle on the other.
“Dinner will be served at seven in the courtyard,” the demure house boy said, shutting the heavy mesquite door behind him.
A sweet smelling breeze billowed through sheer curtains, carrying the scent of salt and Dahlia flowers. The distant rhythm of waves against the shore mingled with the calls of colorful birds. Bryson looked around at the high beamed ceilings and hand-woven textiles.
For the first time in months, they were alone.
Together.
He noticed the eerie silence that filled the space along with a palpable tension.
The last time the four of them had been alone together seemed like a lifetime ago.
He could feel eyes on him. Kaydon and Seth, no doubt looking to him for guidance, but Bryson only had eyes for Adria.
When it came to this next step, she needed to be the one to run the show.
Bryson watched her, his eyes tracking the press of her lips, the rise and fall of her chest, the color on her face.
Her fingers twisting her family ring around and around her second finger.
He could see the subtle presence of doubt needling its way into her mind.
When they had last been in her presence, they had been contractually hers.
Now there was no contract.
“Maybe each of us should shower,” she said into the open space.
A shower was the last thing Bryson wanted to do, and he opened his mouth to say so, when Seth spoke up.
“You can go first,” he said, opening the double doors revealing a bathroom twice the size of their previous hotel rooms.
Bryson shot Seth a look as the double doors closed behind her.
When the shower water could be heard in the next room Seth said, “I watched her slice a man’s throat from ear to ear after wrestling with him on the ground. Trust me when I say she needs a minute.”
Is that where that bruise on her face had come from?
“And why the fuck was she anywhere near anyone?” Bryson said, feeling angry.
Helpless.
“We were ambushed, Eric took out five, and I had my hands full too. She took care of it,” Seth said, looking hurt.
Bryson ran his fingers through his hair. The tension was killing him. Between, spending his morning wondering if he would get a call telling him that Seth and Adria were dead. And the four-hour car ride where he wasn’t able to see them. Bryson felt himself descending into a place he didn’t like.
Bryson shoved Adria’s suitcase out of the way and stalked towards Seth.
“Bryce, chill—” Kaydon said. Bryson ignored him.
Seth tried to wave him away, but Bryson kept walking, slamming into him. He pushed Seth and his back hit the wall behind them. Bryson’s mouth crashed into Seth’s and their tongues tasted each other. Bryson pushed past Seth’s defenses, owning him in the kiss, possessing him.
When he finally came up for air, Bryson grabbed Seth’s chin roughly, tilting his face from side to side.
“And you, why were you near anyone?” Bryson said, his voice harsh.
Seth trembled a little under his touch, and Bryson had to fight the urge to take him right there.
“The guys had body armor,” Seth said, his lips swollen from the kiss.
The shower water stopped and the three of them held their breath.
Bryson narrowed his gaze at Seth. “We are showering together.”
Maybe Adria needed a moment, but Bryson wasn’t going to spend another second without Kaydon and Seth.
Seth blushed under his gaze, and Kaydon’s big arms wrapped around the two of them.
The rain shower cascaded from the ceiling, and steam filled the space. The shower was big enough to fit six people. Kaydon and Seth were already under the hot water, and Bryson took his time undressing. The room still held steam from Adria’s shower, but Bryson could just make out his reflection.
The mirror provided him with a perfect view of the wound on his thigh. Bryson’s eyes traced the self-inflicted burn as it mingled unnaturally with the stab line. He took in the marks and scars on his body. Images and memories invading his mind.
Bryson hated himself. Hated all the things that he did with Regan, hated that his body was a collage of souvenirs.
Bryson gripped the quartz counter, his fingers turning white.
He could smell Regan. Smell his expensive cologne mixed with his sour sweat. Bryson had showered several times, and no matter how hard he scrubbed, Regan’s scent never seemed to leave him.
Regan’s pale body pressed against his. His hot breath in his ear. Bryson squeezed his eyes shut, willing the memories to go away.
When he opened them, Kaydon was there. His broad chest pressing into him, his arms wrapping around Bryson’s front.
Bryson reached up and grabbed Kaydon’s forearm, holding on for dear life.
Kaydon’s lips pressed into the side of his neck.
The smell of vanilla and soap filled Bryson’s nose, and he breathed it in.
Kaydon’s body was a roaring furnace behind him, and Bryson leaned into it.
He allowed Kaydon to half carry, half drag him into the shower.
Seth’s eyes caught Bryson’s as the pair came into view. Bryson wanted to be strong. He wanted to be all the things his brothers needed him to be but, in this moment, he felt boneless. Like the only thing holding him upright was Kaydon’s hard chest behind him.
Seth sank to his knees, his blond hair wet, and drops from the shower beaded off his fluttering eyelashes. He planted a kiss on Bryson’s inner thigh and then his lips, soft and wet, moved higher.
Seth had just been in a fight for his life a few hours earlier. It should be Bryson on his knees. He should be checking Seth and Kaydon for all the marks and hurts that Bryson hadn’t been able to prevent.
“Seth, you don’t have to…” Bryson said, trying to wiggle out of Kaydon’s grip.
Kaydon’s arms tightened against him. “Shhh, let us take care of you,” Kaydon whispered in his ear.
Bryson leaned his head against Kaydon, allowing him to hold him up, and Seth’s mouth continued to move north.
Bryson could feel Kaydon’s erection pressing into his back, his warmth and strength chasing the memories away.
He was here with his brothers and Adria.
They were far away from that room behind the white doors, and Regan was dead.
Seth’s hot mouth on his dick forced a moan from Bryson’s lips. Seth’s hands pulled on his hips, and Bryson was drawn deeper into Seth’s throat.
Bryson bit down on his lip, closing his eyes.
Regan was there.
Down on his knees, sucking on Bryson, forcing him, hurting him. Making him stay hard until he finally came in Regan’s mouth.
Fuck.
Anxiety rose in Bryson’s chest and he forced his eyes open.
“Look at me, Seth,” he said.
It was less of a command and more of a plea. Seth brought his eyes up to stare into Bryson’s.
It wasn’t Regan’s hardened blue eyes that stared up at him, but Seth’s beautiful bright blueish-gray ones. His gaze held adoration and love. Relief filled Bryson.
Despite the water that ran down his face, Seth continued to take him, eyes never leaving Bryson’s. With Kaydon’s arms around him and Seth’s eyes and mouth devouring him, Bryson let himself go.
Moaning into the shower, he felt his orgasm shoot into Seth’s mouth and watched as eyes still on him, Seth swallowed every drop.
Kaydon spun him around then, pushing Bryson’s body into the warm shower wall. Steam and water splashed around the three of them. His forearm pinned Bryson to the wall, and Kaydon kissed him.
It wasn’t the all-consuming, claiming kiss that Bryson had with Seth. Kaydon took his time. His lips played with Bryson’s, parting them slowly, licking off droplets of water as he went.
Kaydon didn’t force it, but he owned that kiss. Exploring Bryson’s mouth until Bryson was panting under him, his cock throbbing after being brought back to life so soon after coming.
Kaydon’s hips pressed into him and their cocks rubbed painfully slow together. When Kaydon released him, Seth was there, turning Kaydon’s face so the two of them could share a kiss. Bryson watched the two of them, Seth’s fingers framing Kaydon’s and pulling him in closer.
When they pulled apart, the three of them were breathless.
“I love you,” Bryson said to both of them.
Memories of Regan faded far away as a peaceful calm took over him.