Chapter 25 Ari
ARI
What the actual fuck is going on?
I’m in some kind of warped dimension where I’m the one making someone talk through their goddamn feelings. Jason has made me fucking soft, and fuck if that thought doesn’t make me smile.
The drive back to the safehouse is tense, and not because we were waiting for the boogeyman to pop out.
I have no clue how this conversation is going to go, but I need Tivon to understand that he’s needed here.
I’ve spent the last week or so talking with everyone, and we’re all on the same page.
Tivon already feels like a piece of us, and it would hurt like a motherfucker if he left.
Jason was beside himself when he told me what happened, and the conversation that they had.
I have to be the one to convince Tivon that he’s not going home to Israel, because he’s already home.
Fuck if that doesn’t scare the shit out of me.
I don’t know how to do this, but I’ll figure it out to take that hurt look that was in Jason’s eyes away.
“Go out back, and I’ll grab the beers,” I instruct when we pull into the driveway and step out of the car.
Tivon shakes his head, but makes his way inside. By the time I get in there, he’s gone, but Tyler is standing in the kitchen looking between us. “Why the hell does he look like he’s walking to his death?”
“Because we’re about to have a long fucking talk.”
Tyler squeals so loud that I wince. How the hell he can make a noise like that is beyond me. “Is it really happening? Holy shit. I feel like Christmas came early. Don’t fuck this up.”
I bark out a laugh and open the fridge door, grabbing the six pack we just bought. I slam the door closed and look at Tyler. “I’m not the one who should be doing this. You understand that, right?”
Tyler snorts and slaps my arm. “You’re exactly who he needs to hear this from. I talked to Jason while you were gone. First of all, I’m fucking pissed that little shit got to kiss him first, but hell yeah, Jay. Anyway, go do your thing, Papi. Make sure you suck his dick real good.”
“This isn’t helping,” I growl.
“I don’t think the growl is going to work on Tivon.
” Tyler grins, and it makes me want to smack him.
“I have a feeling you’re going to be assuming the position for him.
I can’t wait.” Tyler claps and practically dances out of the room.
I hear him talking in hushed tones in the living room, and then everyone heads upstairs.
With a sigh, I make my way to the back porch to find Tivon with his arms braced on his knees, staring into the night.
I sit beside him, crack a beer open, and hand it to him.
He takes it without a word and drains half the bottle before sitting back in his chair.
I open one for myself and sip it, trying to get my thoughts together.
“You formed a connection with Kira at the college. I know that it was under weird circumstances, but it’s still there.
She’s the first one that said we should trust you.
I’ve seen how you are with her, and I know that connection isn’t one sided.
” Tivon nods, accepting that. “Jason has had a crush on you since you stood up for him against me at the hospital. We talk about you a lot because we don’t have secrets, and I want him to be open with me about his feelings.
It bothered me at first, but now I see it for what it is.
I love hearing him talk about anything, but especially about you.
” That gets his attention, and he finally looks at me.
“Keon forgave you for fucking shooting him, because there’s something about you that leaves no room to question if you’re being honest. You’re rock solid.
Tyler is just obsessed. I know you’ve noticed that Tyler sees shit no one else sees. ”
“I do,” Tivon chuckles.
“He saw it first. He saw you being welcomed into the fold, and he’s not wrong about that. Gavin trusts you with Tyler, and that says a whole hell of a lot, because Gavin barely trusts anyone.”
I finally look into Tivon’s intense dark eyes. “What about you?”
“There’s a…pull. It was there when you were still Professor North.
Maybe different then than it is now, but it was there.
Your dominance doesn’t scare me.” And that’s the damn truth.
I felt every word he said in the car about taking care of my mind.
Jason, Kira, Keon, Gavin, and Tyler all give me something different.
Something that I’ve been craving for years, but Tivon could give me what I’ve secretly wanted; someone that takes away my ability to think.
Someone who can free me from my own mind.
“You just have to be patient with me. As for everyone else, do your thing. Explore. No one is going to get mad, but you need to apologize to Jason first and explain what the fuck happened out here.” I hold my hand up when Tivon opens his mouth, because I can see the argument coming from a mile away.
“And I don’t want to hear any bullshit about you coming between us.
We are rock solid, which gives us the opportunity to be able to invite you in. ”
“You have to be patient with me, too,” Tivon says quietly. “I’ve never had any of this. The team, the relationship. I had my own team, but we didn’t know anything about each other. We weren’t a family.”
“You have a family here, T. That’s what we’ve been trying to tell you.”
Tivon sets his beer bottle on the porch, and when he looks at me, I see the intentions on his face, so I set mine down as well.
He raises a brow in question, and I nod, even though my breath is locked in my throat.
Dominance radiates off Tivon in waves no matter what he’s doing, more so than it ever has me.
Yeah, I can be a demanding motherfucker, but there’s something different about the way Tivon carries himself.
I want to tap into it, no matter how much it scares the fuck out of me.
Tivon’s hand lands on my chest and slides up until he’s cupping my neck. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” I croak, showing how nervous I am.
Tivon runs his thumb across my chin and then uses his hold to bring me close enough that our lips touch. “Do you know how long I’ve wanted to do this?”
Tivon doesn’t give me a chance to answer before he seals his lips over mine.
This isn’t a tentative kiss. It’s all consuming from the start.
He takes over with ease, chasing my tongue back into my mouth and squeezing my throat hard enough in warning that my breath catches.
Somehow, we maneuver both our big bodies onto the small ass couch so Tivon is laying between my spread thighs.
It’s different from any position that I’ve ever been in, because usually I’m the one on top.
But when Tivon grinds against me, all nervous thoughts fly from my head, and I sink my fingers into his strong back.
We start rocking our hips, rubbing our hard cocks together.
Tivon slows the kiss down, and I have a moment of panic, thinking he’s going to stop, but he moves to start kissing my neck.
He licks the pulse jumping in my neck, sucks on my Adam’s apple, and kisses down until he meets the V in my shirt.
Goosebumps pop up on my skin, and I shiver.
“That’s it, Aryeh. Let go.” I’ve always hated my given name because of what it represented. But hearing it come from Tivon’s turned on, deep, gravely voice gives me a whole new appreciation for it. “Let me take care of you.”
I can feel it. The need to take control of the situation is slipping away, much easier than I thought it would be, but I feel that I can trust Tivon with that type of power.
It won’t make me weak in the field or leading this team.
It won’t make me any less of a man. It won’t make me any less dominant with Jason or Tyler.
It’s my chance to have the freedom that I can see in them when they let go.
I relax in Tivon’s hold, and I’m rewarded with one of the most breathtaking smiles I’ve ever seen from him.
Tivon’s hand slides between us, and he grips my cock through my jeans.
“Holy shit,” I breathe. He massages me, making me groan.
“You’re very responsive. Has anyone ever had this gorgeous ass?”
I huff a laugh. “I didn’t even know I liked men until I met Jason, so no.”
Tivon’s hand slides down until his fingers are pressing against my asshole. “I can’t wait until I can strip you naked and have your thighs gripping my hips as I take you for the first time.”
My mouth opens to tell him to take me upstairs and do just that when my phone starts ringing.
I recognize the ringtone and fish my phone from my pocket.
“It’s Nolan.” Right when I press to answer, Tivon’s hand grips my cock again.
“Hello?” Tivon starts massaging me again with an infuriating smirk on his face.
“So, I got that software hooked up.”
“Uh huh.” Tivon massages me harder, and I can’t keep up with this conversation right now.
“I got something.” I sure as fuck caught that.
I put my hand on Tivon’s chest, and he stops immediately, fully alert that something is going on. I flip the phone to speakerphone. “What did you get?”
“I found Cryptic’s location, but it was fast. Too fast.”
“Like a setup,” Tivon answers before I can.
“Exactly. Axel is ready to go, but he’s leaving it up to you. It could have been a coincidence, or you’re walking into an ambush.”
“Let me talk to the team and call you back. This has to be planned. We can’t go in half-assed.”
“Agreed,” Axel says, his voice coming over the line. “This guy is a pro. He disappears as soon as we find him, and we haven’t been able to lift one fucking fingerprint. Same thing with the car Tivon found. My gut is telling me all of that is connected. This is a team. Not a one man crew.”