Chapter Eight #2
“Gabby and I will wait for the workmen to show up for the day. We’ll let him them into the castle.”
That worked for him.
Like he’d planned, he was going to help Graham, and then Michael, in that order.
Ian held out his hand.
“Can I have your phone?” he asked his fiancé.
Gryphen handed it to him, knowing why he needed it. The castle had the same security as the Blackhawk house back home.
Or it would once the place was renovated.
The gate was controlled by tech made by Leonard Industries, and he had access to it.
“Thanks,” Ian said, giving his man a kiss on the lips before they went their separate ways. “Tag me in if you need help,” Ian offered. “Gabby and I will be more than happy to focus on Michael.”
Oh, he would.
“Okay, my love,” he offered. “We’ll drop our things in the bedroom wing upstairs,” he stated, as Finn took some of Ian’s things to help carry them. “What room is he in?”
Yeah, about that…
He couldn’t answer that. Last night had been so chaotic that he’d never thought to ask. It wasn’t like he’d expected Gryphen and Ian to arrive today.
He’d planned on going to work, and calling it a day—not taking a personal day to play these games.
Finn was honest.
“I don’t know. All I know is Graham carried him up after we got him back here—and by ‘we’ I mean Michael. The man carried him the whole mile back to the castle. I just never asked where he put him. I just know it wasn’t in his apartment in the garage.”
Well, they’d find that out too.
There were only so many places to sleep. Renovation was still being done, and that meant only half of the bedrooms in the tower part were completed.
They’d keep looking for them the old-fashioned way—once they dropped off the luggage.
Ian had packed for a small tour of Europe, apparently while Gryphen threw some things into a duffle bag.
It felt like he was moving in with the three suitcases filled with who knew what?
Tony maybe, at this point.
As they went around the back, the two men peeled off of the group and headed up the stairs in the tower.
The place didn’t feel bad, and Finn was grateful for that. He recalled the ominous feeling four weeks ago. It appeared that something had either cleared it out, or the good ghosts were back to running the roost.
That he was even thinking that was insane. This place was bizarre on a good day. On a bad day, it was dangerous and lethal.
He hoped the Blackhawks were ready for this place. It was not exactly a funfest when it came to relaxing.
As they reached the floor with bedrooms, the place was absolutely silent.
Gryphen contemplated just yelling out, but he knew Graham was likely occupied with the mother of all hangovers. Oh, he deserved some yelling, but because he had compassion, he’d cut him a break.
For now.
Each of the rooms had the doors mostly closed, with only a crack open on each one. As he glanced down the hallway, he heard absolutely nothing.
It appeared they were on the hunt for space to drop his gear, so he went with the most logical choice.
He and Ian would be bunking together, so there was one place he’d put their things.
Since Gryphen was all about familiarity, he headed toward the room marked ‘Master’s Suite’. Both he and Ian had one hell of a time in there.
It was one of his fondest memories in life.
Honestly, he wouldn’t mind repeating it.
That had been one hell of a sexcapade. There was nothing wrong with repeating the adventure. In fact, unbeknownst to Ian, Gryphen had a secret.
Someone packed his kilt.
Just.
In.
Case.
When he approached the door, he pushed it open, and that’s when both he and Finn got one hell of an eyeful of what was going on in the bed.
There were two naked men there.
Well, shit.
Someone was back on that ride, and from the look of the lip lock, he was having one hell of a time.
When they didn’t realize they weren’t alone, which was shocking since Michael was an Archangel, Gryphen cleared his throat, and that broke the two men apart.
Slowly.
They were locked together at the mouth, and Graham was straddling the bigger man’s body at the same time.
“Nice ass,” Gryphen said, amused.
He found it funny since when he and Ian had been here, Graham had gotten pretty much the same, exact show.
Now, the tables were turned.
Oh, and it looked as if they didn’t have to waste any time talking to the men about their past, and trying to help them work it out.
They were ‘working it out’ just fine.
At the comment, Graham gasped in surprise, but Michael didn’t. True to his personality, he just eased into them being discovered.
And he protected the man.
Michael shifted Graham, tucking him into his body, and protectively bracing for the intruders.
Familiar and welcome ones.
It looked like the jig was up.
There was no doubt what they’d been in the middle of, and that was fine with him. After Graham had broken down, Michael had been trying to help him heal.
For both of them.
“On that, I happen to agree,” Michael admitted. “I see we have company.”
Graham was horrified, but he wasn’t exactly upset that he was back to being pressed to D’Artangnan’s body. He’d just mounted him, and was about to begin riding to chase away the worries, when they’d been interrupted.
Damn.
That was really bad timing, and Graham knew it was also his karma. It wasn’t lost on him that he’d done the same thing to Gryphen and Ian.
He was shocked to see them there, but he wasn’t surprised why they were there.
Gryphen had to know what happened last night, and that told him everything he needed to know.
Backup was here.
Next to the big Marine, Finn leaned on the other part of the door jamb with that big ‘eat shit’ grin on his face. He was absolutely going to bust his ass.
There was no doubt.
“Well, I guess an intervention isn’t needed. Apparently, D’Artangnan has come home and found his way back to the old familiar nest,” he said, amusement in his voice. “Nice ass,” he also added.
And it made the man blush.
Oh, Graham was horrified.
“Can we maybe not loom?” he asked. “Since we’re both in bed and naked?”
Yeah, no.
Gryphen snorted.
“Oh, we’re absolutely going to ‘loom’, Mr. Lainey. You can bet your ass on that. Or his ass. Or whatever part you like to gamble with.”
Michael chuckled, well accustomed to Gryphen’s busting, and honestly, it was welcome.
He needed a friend now.
To talk to.
Graham wasn’t the only one on the cusp. He was just holding it together so that the man had support.
Now, he needed some.
Both men were grateful this was what they walked in on, and not the worst-case scenario. Since they were naked in bed together, there was a good chance they were going to be okay.
“If I remember correctly, someone’s kink was interrupting me having sex,” Gryphen admitted. “I do believe you saw quite the show. Your ass is mild to what you saw on my body.”
Michael lifted a brow.
Well, that sounded…not like something he liked.
Already, that proprietary feeling was there, and he knew what was coming next.
He.
Was.
Screwed.
Graham sputtered.
“Should I tell that tale?” Gryphen asked, popping a stick of gum into his mouth, and offering one to Finn.
He took it, and the two men were clearly having the time of their lives.
Michael…
He was curious.
“Do I want to know?” he asked. “Or is that code for something that will make me lose my nut?”
Oh, somehow, Graham doubted it would make him blush.
“Let’s just say Lord Carter has a kink that might make us look tame,” Graham admitted.
Oddly, he and D’Artangnan had one hell of a kink—or they had at one time. He was curious if it was still there, or if it died when they died.
From where he lay, his arms behind his head, and Graham against him, Michael grinned.
It wasn’t lost on him that this was a vastly better outcome than what they could be dealing with.
A dead Graham.
Or a dead…him.
Gryphen grinned.
“I do like topping the hell out of any kink,” he said, clueing the man in.
Oh, and Michael got it.
And he added his own two cents.
“I take that as a personal challenge,” he stated, as he sat up and stood getting out of the bed. He was fully erect, and not worried about nudity.
When you were a Marine, you saw a lot of dick for a plethora of different reasons.
Often too.
Besides, he and Gryphen worked out together. They showered and used the same gym in the Blackhawk basement before or after work.
For dudes, it was human nature to check out the other apex predators in the room and what they were packing as their personal gun.
Marines had to Marine.
Period.
When the big man turned around, both men at the door began clapping, and Michael just winked at Graham.
“I’ll give you a moment with them. They came here for you, not me,” he said.
But that wasn’t the truth.
Gryphen had come for BOTH of his friends, and while Graham was safe, he knew Michael was not. After working with him for over a year, he knew when he was rattled.
Oh, and he was definitely that.
This was the man escaping to regroup—and not that cocky walk of pride like Graham and Finn might believe. So, this was far from done.
As the bathroom door closed, they heard the shower kick on, and Gryphen headed into the room to check on Graham.
In fact, they both did, like they owned the place, and that there wasn’t a sexual crime scene going on in that bed.
Because there was.
Graham pointed out the obvious.
“Uh, I’m naked.”
He snorted.
“I know. I saw what Michael likes looking at. Nice cheeks, Graham. I didn’t see any handprints on them, so Michael needs to up his game.”
Holy shit.
That both horrified and turned Graham on because he wanted D’Artangnan’s hands on him in the worst way. What wouldn’t he give to take that trip back to the world they’d once had together?
Only, he wasn’t sure what the status of their ‘relationship’ was. D’Artangnan hadn’t called him anything more than by his first name.
And he was freaking out.
Getting comfortable, both of the men sat on the bed like they owned the place.
They.
Did.
Not.