Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
GABE
It was two in the morning when we finally gathered in the conference room for a debriefing. I pulled out my earpiece and sank into one of the chairs around the large table. Across from me, Michael was in the process of packing up his computer equipment. Liam was sitting next to him, scrolling on his phone.
Nico plopped down in the chair beside me. He looked as tired as I felt. I scooted my chair closer and leaned into him. “How are you holding up?”
He put his earpiece on the table. “I’m beat.” He smiled at me and added, “But it was a really good night.”
I leaned close and said softly in his ear, “Oh yeah?”
He turned his face and lightly brushed my lips with his. “Yeah.”
I slid my hand behind his head, intending to deepen the kiss, until I heard a chorus of clearing throats and snickers behind us. I sighed. “Jesus Christ, you people are assholes.”
Nico shook his head and hid his face in my shoulder. “Sorry,” he mumbled.
“Nothing to be sorry about,” I said. “Apparently, we’re surrounded by fifth graders.”
“You all are so mean,” Liam complained. “I was enjoying the show.”
Marco came around the table to sit beside Liam. He kissed his boyfriend’s cheek before saying, “All right, you miscreants, find a seat. We all want to get out of here.”
The rest of our expanded team took seats around the table. Because this had been such a large event with so many high-profile attendees, we’d brought in four additional people for security. Rory, Khamil, Sylvie, and Holt normally did smaller events or short-term personal security. Marco, Dante, Pete, Andrea, and I were the core team, with Nico as a new addition. It was a good thing this was a big table.
Marco looked around, making sure he had all our attention. “First, I want to commend you all for your good work tonight. We managed to handle a major security breach without causing panic for the civilians.”
Liam gave the side-eye. “Dearest, you are a civilian.”
There were snorts of laughter around the table. “Once a SEAL, always a SEAL,” Dante intoned.
Marco rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. You’re all hilarious.” He focused his attention on Nico and me. “Gabe and Nico. Excellent work catching the kidnapper before he could get Nathaniel out of the building.”
There were cheers and shouts of “Hooyah!” from the team. Nico’s cheeks turned pink, and it was the cutest thing.
Marco waited until everyone was quiet again before he continued. “Nico, I especially want to thank you for keeping that one”—he pointed at me—“from committing felony murder.”
I sighed. “I wouldn’t have shot him. Probably. Maybe.”
“I get it was your nephew,” Marco said. “But you have to rein that shit in. We’re better than that.”
I wasn’t so sure I was. “Yes, Chief. I’ll get in to see Teresa as soon as I can. She’s away until next week.”
“See that you do.”
“Did we ever find out why Russell wanted Nat’s tuxedo jacket?” Andrea asked.
“Yeah,” Nico replied. “He wanted Nat’s phone. He was trying to make Nat call his father when Gabe broke down the door. I think he planned to leave the phone and get Nat out of the restroom and into his car before anyone could find them. There’s an exit stairway right next to the restroom.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” Pete said. “Why wouldn’t he just take him out of the hotel first? I’m thinking maybe Russell isn’t the brightest bulb on the tree. It’s a good thing you spotted him at the beginning. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have known to keep an eye on him.”
“Thanks.” Nico’s blush was spreading down his neck. I wanted to take off his clothes to see how far down it went.
Marco rose. “Unless anyone has something else to add, we’re done for tonight.” Liam nudged him. “Oh, right. One more thing. The party host was so happy with how we handled the kidnapping attempt that they added a significant bonus to our regular fee. It will be reflected in your paychecks.”
More cheers as everyone rose to follow Marco’s lead. Nico grabbed his earpiece and put it back in its case. He stretched and yawned. “I am not looking forward to driving back to Jersey tonight.”
I put my arm around his shoulders and led him out of the conference room. “So, I was thinking, since it’s so late, if you don’t mind, I’ll get us a room here for the night.”
Nico’s brows rose. “In this place? Do they even have any rooms available?”
“A few,” I replied. “Mostly on the top floor.”
He laughed and shook his head. “Of course.” He turned in my arms. “You are so fucking bougie.” I was surprised at how affectionate Nico was being. I’d been worried that our kiss in the ballroom would be a one-and-done.
“But I think you secretly like it.” I kissed him. “I have a challenge for you. How about we see how many different words you can come up with that mean pretentious rich boy.”
He smiled broadly. “Challenge accepted.” He took my hand. “Let’s go get our bags from the changing room and see if they’ll let your b…swanky ass get a room.”
I chuckled. “Nice one.”
Twenty minutes later, I’d gotten us a room on one of the higher floors overlooking Central Park. Nico had nearly choked when he heard how much it cost and muttered something about over-the-top rich boys. I nudged him with my elbow. “Marco and Liam are staying at Jeremy’s apartment on Central Park South. You don’t get much more over the top than that.”
He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, okay. They win. Let’s go see our gold-plated room.”
The elevator was whisper quiet and the carpeting in the hallway thick and luxurious. When I opened the door to our room, the lights were on, and the thick duvet on the king-size bed had been turned down. There were wrapped chocolates on the pillows. The large marble-tiled bathroom had a walk-in shower with multiple showerheads. Two plush robes hung on hooks on the bathroom door. The large windows showcased the lights dotting the pathways through Central Park and the lights of the tall buildings surrounding the park.
“Wow,” Nico said. “This is amazing.”
I walked over to a small panel on the wall by the windows. “Even better, watch this.” I pressed a few buttons and the curtains on the sides of each window smoothly glided closed.
Nico shook his head and smiled. “I could get used to this.”
I went back to him and ran my hands down his arms, taking his hands in mine. “It’s okay to want nice things.”
He looked up at me with mischief in his eyes. “You’re nice.”
I grinned. “Are you saying you want me?”
A blush crept into his cheeks. “Yeah,” he said hoarsely.
I leaned down to kiss him. “I can arrange that.”
I let go of his hands to unbutton my tuxedo jacket. Nico did the same but made his way over to the closet to hang up his jacket. I let out a fake, put-upon sigh. “Sure, make me look bad.”
He looked at me with a raised brow. “I don’t want Marco bitching at me because the rental place charged the company to repair the tux.”
I made a big show of getting a hanger. “Fine. You’re such a Boy Scout.”
He snickered as he toed off his shoes and slipped out of his dress pants. He hung them up and said, “I got thrown out of the Cub Scouts. I got into a fight with the pack leader’s son. He was picking on one of the smaller kids.”
I was going to make some kind of snarky remark, but he took off his shirt and my brain stopped working. I realized I’d never seen him without his shirt on. And oh wow. The man was impressive. His ink went all the way up his arms and across his muscular chest. Whoever had done his tattoos was good. The lines were crisp and clean. Much of the ink on his chest was script, probably quotations from books Nico had read.
My gaze traveled up to his bright-blue eyes, and he smirked. “Like what you see?”
“Well, yeah. You’re hot.”
There was that blush again. “Thanks.”
I lifted my hands. “May I touch you?”
“Definitely.”
My hands itched to touch him, to take him. But my head knew he needed me to go slow. To make sure I wasn’t pushing him. I let my fingers explore his chest, running them over the ridges of his muscles. Tracing his tattoos. Tugging on his taut nipples. His gasps and soft moans of pleasure made my dick hard. He stood there in only his boxer briefs while I still had my shirt and pants on. Time to fix that. I made quick work of taking off my shoes, shirt, and pants. I even hung up my clothes, thank you very much.
I left my briefs on and held out my hand. “How about we make use of that comfy-looking bed?”
His nostrils flared, and he nodded. “Sounds good to me.”
The duvet was as soft as it looked. I took the chocolates off the pillows and pulled down the blankets. I set the wrapped candies on the nightstand and slid into bed, patting the other side for Nico. He hesitated for a moment, then got in bed beside me. I turned on my side so we were face-to-face. “We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”
He smiled and scooted closer to me. “I know. But, I mean, have you seen you?”
I slipped an arm around his waist and pulled him closer. “Like what you see?”
He ran his fingers over the tattoo on my chest. “Yeah. I really do.”
His lips followed his fingers, sending sparks of pleasure running through my body. “That feels so good.”
It occurred to me that it had been months since anyone had touched me sexually. And the last time had been meh at best. Nico’s touch was fire, and I was there for it. My rock-hard cock tented my briefs. A glance down told me Nico was in the same state. I ducked my head and captured his lips in a searing kiss. His moan of pleasure spiked my lust. I moved my hand down and gripped his tight ass, grinding our hard cocks together.
Nico gasped and his whole body went rigid. I pulled my mouth away from his. “Nico?”
“I’m fine,” he gasped, his voice trembling. “Don’t stop.”
“You sure?” I asked, still grinding. He felt so good under my hands. I wanted to devour him.
“Yeah,” he replied on a groan. “I’m good.” He put his hand around my neck and pulled me back into our kiss.
I pressed my hips closer to his, our cocks sliding next to each other. My briefs were already damp with precum, as were his, but it wasn’t enough. I wanted skin-on-skin. I wanted his cock in my hands. I slipped my hands inside his briefs to cup his bare ass. God, it felt so damn good. I yanked his underwear down so I could palm his hard cock. I wanted to pull my own briefs down, but I didn’t want to let him go either. I finally relented long enough to pull down the front of my boxers so our bare cocks were slotted together.
Nico’s thrusts were getting jerky, so I thought he might be close. “That’s it, baby. Feels so good.”
I slid one finger down his crease to brush his hole, and Nico froze. He tore his mouth from mine, his eyes wide with panic. His breath came in short pants, and I could see his rapid pulse in the veins of his neck. “No. I… Please, don’t hurt me.”
Fuck. I slowly and carefully took my hands off his body. “Nico?”
“Please,” he whispered in a broken voice.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” I said softly. “Do you know who I am?”
He blinked, looked at my face, then blinked again. Then, his eyes filled with tears. “Gabe?”
“It’s okay,” I said softly. “I’ve got you.”
“No,” he sobbed. “No. I wanted…I wanted this to work.”
I drew him in close, cradling him to my chest while he wept. I was mentally kicking myself for letting this go too far. I should have known Nico wouldn’t be ready after what he told me.
I held him until his tears stopped and his body relaxed. I reached over to the nightstand for some tissues and handed them to him. He wiped his face and blew his nose. He set the used tissues aside but didn’t raise his head. “I’m so sorry, Gabe. I didn’t mean to lead you on.” He moved to get off the bed. “I’ll go sleep on the couch.”
I put a hand on his arm to stop him. “Only if you don’t feel comfortable sharing a bed with me.”
“That’s just it,” he said in exasperation. “I do feel comfortable with you. More than with anyone I’ve ever met. It feels so good to have you hold me. And kissing you…I’ve never been kissed like that before. For the first time in four years, I thought I could finally…I thought I was ready for more.”
“And now?” I asked gently.
“Now, I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready.”
Another tear slid down his cheek, and I carefully wiped it away with my thumb. “I know we’ve talked about this before and it’s a sore subject, but maybe you could reconsider going to therapy. Someone better than that douche at the prison.”
He drew in a shuddering breath and nodded. “I’ll think about it. And I mean that. I’m not just blowing smoke up your ass.”
I kissed him lightly on the lips. “I’m going to hold you to that.” I lifted the covers. “Now, come on and lie down.”
He frowned and looked around. “We should turn off all the lights first.”
“No worries,” I said as I picked up a small remote from the nightstand. I clicked one button, and all the lights went out. I set it back on the nightstand and joined Nico under the covers.
As he settled his head on my chest, I heard him mutter, “So fucking bougie.”