Chapter 7 Wes
WES
Flying private was absolutely something I could get on board with.
Sometimes, I thought Luca was ridiculous with how casually he threw money around.
I got that it was never an object for him, that it was something he never had to consider, but for the rest of us peasants, it could be jarring, and I’d grown up a lot more well-off than the others.
It did put into perspective how Riley and Beckett felt when I tried to pay their bills, or buy them new furniture, or a computer and phone from this century.
To me, those were all necessities I could easily provide for my kids and something I was happy to do.
For them, most of those were luxuries. They’d grown up never knowing if they’d have a roof over their heads the next day or food in their bellies, so something like a new cell phone had been out of the question.
And while they were both getting better at accepting gifts from me, their past made it hard.
Flying private, though, I was completely here for.
I stretched out in my seat, beer in one hand and my eyes mostly closed.
The staff was small and discreet and left us alone after making sure we had everything we needed.
It wasn’t far, so I thought maybe I’d just take a nap.
Who knew how much time we’d have to sleep once we landed.
I felt the familiar presence of Luca as he sat next to me.
I opened one eye. “Hi.”
“Hi, babe.” His hand squeezed my thigh. Very high up.
I opened both eyes, my attention fully on Luca now. His dark gaze was heated, and he licked his lips, his thumb creeping from its mostly innocent place until it was somewhere not so innocent at all.
“Did you know this plane has a private area with a bed?”
I grinned, happy to play along with his game. Luca’s fingers were right over my clothes-covered cock now, pressing into my balls, massaging the area enough to have me gritting my teeth to keep my composure.
“Of course it does.” I groaned as Luca pressed harder, somehow reaching the sensitive spot on my balls without going under my pants.
“We’d have complete privacy there, and we have an hour and half till we land. That’s plenty of time.”
I snorted. “Is it now? I’ve seen you torment your boys for way longer than that.”
It was the wrong thing to say. Or maybe the right thing. Whatever it was, it unleashed that feral monster buried deep within Luca. The one that usually only came out with Brooks and Skye that sent a shiver down my spine.
I loved everything I did with Luca. After years of us effectively friend-zoning each other—mostly my fault—I cherished every single moment, but that deliciously dominant side didn’t typically surface when it was the two of us.
And most of the time, that suited me just fine.
I was dominant too. I loved the feeling of his thick cock filling me up, but I didn’t need the rest.
Except now, when Luca grabbed my chin, bringing my head toward him so he could claim me with a kiss that no one could deny was dominant as fuck, I was thinking maybe I wanted a little of that side too.
Luca pulled back, biting my lip much harder than he ever had before. “Is that what you want, babe? For me to torment and tease you like I do the boys?”
I groaned as his hand finally slid under my waistband. The bastard stayed above my underwear though, squeezing roughly.
“Luca.” My tone was a warning, but I had no idea what I was warning him about. Luca blinked, trying and failing to look innocent.
“What is it, baby? Isn’t this what you asked for?”
My hand wrapped around Luca’s wrist, stilling him. “Get your ass in that bedroom, now.” My voice was all growl.
Luca grinned. I regretted my words when his hand pulled out from my pants and he stood.
I very willingly let him pull me up and drag me into the private area, which was really just a room with a wall-to-wall bed and a door that could be locked.
We kept each other very busy until the crew informed us that we had to return to our seats.
And if Luca spent most of that hour and a half edging me to the point of oblivion, well, who was I to complain?
The plane landed at a semi-private airstrip, with transportation waiting for us already.
Once we arrived and checked our phones, we had all the information for the house that we would be staying at during this trip.
As usual, Diego was on top of his shit and had managed to find us a small bungalow that was around the block from where we believed Ramirez had his rental.
As soon as we turned onto the street, I knew it was the perfect location.
My entire view was a steep hill, our place positioned right on top.
With our recon destination being on a lower elevation, we’d likely have a perfect view into the home, without our target even noticing they were being watched.
When the driver pulled up to the bright purple house with hot pink shutters, I was almost unable to control my laughter.
“The fuck?” Luca’s face twisted in a mix of amusement and horror as we climbed out of the car and met the driver at the trunk for our luggage.
The driver laughed. “Yeah, all the houses close to the beach are brightly colored. The locals all got together like forty years ago and decided to do a massive paint job. They even got it written into the local laws, so now they have to be repainted every ten years.”
Luca eyed the purple bungalow again. “Why do I feel like Skye and Brooks had something to do with this?”
“Strategically, it does seem like the best choice,” I commented mildly.
It wasn’t close enough for Ramirez to spot us, but with the increase of elevation we should be able to see his rental clearly.
I was too blissed out from joining the mile-high club to be worried about the color, so I could laugh a bit at Luca’s horror about where we were staying.
“What about that house?” Luca grumbled, pointing to the one directly next door and also on the top of the hill. “It’s a nice pale yellow. Not . . . this.”
He had a point, but still. “Maybe it was already rented out?” I asked, ignoring the available for rent sign still on the front of the property.
Luca eyed me pointedly before sighing heavily. He stalked toward the front door, a bag in each hand. I tipped the driver and thanked him, then grabbed the other bags, following Luca inside.
Despite its color, it was a cute little thing.
I did a quick assessment of the security.
I noticed several cameras on the outside.
One that I was sure Diego could access and easily take over.
Once inside, my eyes were instantly drawn to the large bay window with blackout shades that faced the backyard.
Luca was in the living area, staring in horror at the massive floor light that looked like an ocean wave.
I ignored him, walking to the window. I pulled the shade and immediately whistled, impressed at my boy.
I could see directly onto the other street.
I’d have to double-check for sure, but I’d bet money that the light blue bungalow, whose back porch was directly in my line of sight, was our target.
Walking away, I kept going out the back door and onto a well-maintained deck.
There was a fire pit, complete with matching purple Adirondack chairs, which would also suffice for some classic old-school surveillance.
I went back inside and saw that Luca and our luggage had moved to the bedroom, so I followed him there.
The bungalow only had one, but it was fairly spacious for a house this size, and the king-sized bed looked comfortable and welcoming.
Like the rest of the place, it had the standard beach decor of marine animal figurines, a lighthouse lamp, and blue sheets that resembled the ocean.
Luca’s face was scrunched in discomfort, and if I hadn’t personally witnessed him camping out in a dirt-covered hole in the middle of swampland, I’d believe he’d never experienced anything so . . . working-class chic before.
I crowded behind him and began massaging his shoulders. He relaxed a fraction, allowing his head to rest on my chest.
“What’s really bothering you?” I asked gently. While I was sure the house was offensive to his bougie aesthetic, there was no way that was the only reason he was suddenly so on edge. I thought back to the plane and now wondered if he’d been trying to distract himself.
Luca tilted his head back farther so I could see into his dark brown eyes. “I never could hide anything from you.”
I dug into a particularly rough knot. “Never, love.”
“I don’t know why this trip has me so anxious,” he finally admitted. “This isn’t the first time since we all got together that I’ve separated from the main group, either on my own or with just one other of you. But we only got back from a job not long ago, and there are too many unknowns.”
Most jobs didn’t require the entire team to go.
One or two of us were usually enough, especially on smaller gigs.
Brooks and I rarely travelled together so one of us was home with Diego, which I was sure he noticed, but he hadn’t said anything.
It also allowed us to stay home with Matty without him grumbling about being an adult.
Under normal circumstances, that was true and he was certainly responsible enough, but until his asshole bio dad and Vladimir Andreev were behind bars or, even better, buried six feet under, we couldn’t be too careful.
“It’s always hard to leave, even if it’s just a few days,” I prompted when Luca didn’t elaborate. I kissed his jaw. “We’ll figure this out quickly, love, and then we’ll get back home.”
Luca turned so he was facing me. “Maybe we’re getting too old for this. Should stick to the paperwork and let the young ones do the dirty work.”