Chapter 30 Tivon
TIVON
Istep over the side and lock my gloved hands onto the rope. Once I start moving, I start praying.
Tyler hasn’t moved since we spotted him, and it’s a really long, steep drop. I finally get to the ledge he’s on and tug the rope to let them know that I’ve arrived. I carefully crouch beside Tyler and check his pulse, and I breathe a sigh of relief when I feel it. It’s weak, but it’s there.
“Tyler,” I say gently and shake his shoulder. He groans and I almost wilt. “We’re here.”
“Fuck,” Tyler croaks. “That hurt.”
“He’s awake,” I say into comms. “Is anything broken?”
Tyler starts moving his limbs and flexing his fingers, only wincing a few times. “No. Just sore.”
“I’m going to help you roll over. There’s some blood on the rock, and I need to see where it came from. But we have to be careful. This ledge isn’t very big.”
“You got it, boss.”
Shaking my head, I help him get over on his back, and that’s when I see the gash in his forehead. “You hit your head on something. You might have a concussion.”
“But I’m breathing,” Tyler groans. “Holy hell. I feel like I got hit by a mack truck.”
“We’re going to get you out of here. Can you stand?”
“Only one way to find out.”
I get to my feet so I can help him to his. He sways a few times, but finally gets his balance. “I’m going to send you up first.”
I start to unbuckle the harness when I feel the ledge start to give way.
I do the only thing I can think of and scoop Tyler up in one arm to hold him against me.
He locks his legs around my waist and his arms around my neck.
I jerk on the rope and feel them start pulling.
No sooner than we lift an inch, the ledge fully crumbles and falls from beneath our feet, causing us to dangle.
“Pull!” I yell.
This is more weight than the rope can handle with two grown men, so I just hope that it’s enough to get us over the top.
I swing out so I can get my boots against the cliff to walk us up.
It feels like an eternity until we get to the top, but I finally see Aryeh’s head pop over, holding his hand out.
Tyler reaches for him, and I boost him up by his ass.
They pull me the rest of the way up, and I collapse on the ground beside Tyler.
“Are you guys okay?” Aryeh asks, crouching beside us. Gavin is running his fingers through Tyler’s hair, checking his wounds.
“Besides the harness pinching my dick, I’m fine,” I answer, making Tyler laugh, then groan.
“That has to hurt. I’ll kiss it and make it better,” Tyler answers, making everyone laugh.
“Are you okay, Sweetheart?”
“Yeah. I’m just sore. I must have knocked myself out.”
“That’s what you get for jumping off a cliff,” Keon responds, helping Tyler sit up. “I’m so fucking sorry.”
“Don’t give me that shit. It’s no one’s fault. But, we have a lot to talk about.”
“Like Cryptic?” I ask, jumping to my feet. My heart is still in my stomach, but we’re both alive. “He helped us find you.”
“He helped me get out. He’s being forced to do this.”
“We’ll figure this all out when we get back to the safehouse.”
We help Tyler into the car and drive back at a much more normal speed. Aryeh texted the group chat when we were on our way, so Kira and Jason are waiting for Tyler when we walk through the door.
They help him to the couch and Aryeh gets busy doing his assessment and cleaning the wound on his head. “Besides a concussion, you’re fine. How? I don’t know. But you’ll be sore for a while.”
Kira grabs Tyler’s hand. “Can you guys please stop doing this to me?”
Tyler chuckles and kisses her forehead. “I don’t plan on that happening again.”
Aryeh hands Tyler some pills and a bottle of water. “Take these. We’ll need to move after you rest.”
“We can go now.”
“Tyler,” Aryeh sighs. “For once in your life, just say thank you and fucking do as you're told.”
Tyler grins. “Thanks, Gramps.” He tosses the pills into his mouth, takes a drink of water to wash them down, and sticks out his tongue. “All gone.”
Kira kisses Tyler’s cheek and leaves quickly through the backdoor. Concerned, I follow her out onto the patio and wrap my arms around her from behind, hoping I’m not overstepping. When she snuggles in closer, I know I made the right call. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she says, tears clogging her voice. “I hate that any of you have to go through this.”
“We’re going to end this,” I say with conviction. “Aharon and Abraham have needed to go down for a long time.”
Kira turns around in my arms and wraps her arms around my waist as I kiss the top of her head and wait for her to work through her emotions.
I’d stand out here all day, if that’s what she needed.
When she looks up at me with need in her eyes, I know exactly what I need to do.
Without second guessing myself for once, I softly kiss her lips.
She gasps, but it’s not out of fear. I press harder and wait for her to relax in my arms before deepening the kiss.
Kissing her is more than what I imagined it to be.
I cup one of her cheeks and kiss her slowly until we pull back to take a breath, and then lay my forehead against hers.
“Wow,” she sighs. “No wonder Ari was a mess out here that day.”
That shocks a laugh out of me. “What do you mean?”
“When you and Ari got interrupted. He was well…a mess.”
I rub my thumb across her bottom lip. “I didn’t overstep?”
Kira shakes her head. “I’m all in this too, Tivon.”
I peck her lips one more time before pulling her back into a hug.
Maybe I finally found somewhere to stay.
“Tivooooon,” Tyler groans when I wake him up for the third time. “I’m alive.”
“Yes, but I need to make sure. Protocol–”
Tyler rolls over to fully face me, trying not to wake Gavin. “Listen, big man, I’m fine. I know the protocol. Gavin set the alarm on his phone to do the normal checks. You need to go find Ari.”
“Aryeh? Why?”
“Because he takes this shit to heart. Jason is with Keon and Kira, so you have Ari all to yourself.”
With a nod, I slip back out of the room, but hesitate outside the door.
I consider just going outside, but decide that I do need to check on Aryeh.
I make my way to his room and hear the shower running when I open the door.
Running through my options quickly, I decide that it’s now or never for me to be there for him like he needs me to be.
I slide into the bathroom, undress quickly, take a deep breath, and pull the curtain back.
Aryeh doesn’t react, so I’m pretty sure he thinks it’s one of the other guys.
His hands are braced on the wall with his head hanging down, letting the water run down his gorgeous body.
I slide my hand around his waist, and it’s not until he feels the calluses that he looks over his shoulder.
His eyes are haunted, and I know Tyler hit the nail on the head.
“What are you doing?” he rasps, and I pull him from the water so his back is plastered to my chest.
“Being here for you.” I kiss the side of his neck and lay my chin on his shoulder. “I know what it feels like when one of your team gets hurt.”
Aryeh is stiff as a board until he finally relaxes with a sigh. “It just keeps fucking happening, and there’s nothing we can do about it. I want these assholes dead. All of them.”
“We’re getting closer,” I soothe, running my hand soothingly over his abs. They tense under my fingers, but he doesn’t pull away.
“Not close enough.” Aryeh moves his hips, making my hand slide lower. “Make me fucking forget, Tivon.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I keep thinking about that fucking kiss since it happened. You promised you could help my mind settle. Please do it.”
I let my hand drift slowly down until it grazes his cock. It jumps from my touch, and Aryeh sucks in a breath. “I like the way you say please.”
“Fuck,” Aryeh croaks when I wrap my hand around him and stroke roughly.
“How far do you want this to go?”
“However far you want it to.”
“Good answer.” Good boy is right on the tip of my tongue, but I don’t think Aryeh is ready for that.
He’ll know soon enough that he’s my Good boy.
I start jerking him slowly with a tight grip, listening to every groan and gasp that he makes.
His ass is grinding against my cock, and it’s driving me crazy.
“I want to see and touch you, too.”
I reach down and massage his balls. “Is that right? Fuck, you’re gorgeous.”
“Please, Tivon?”
I reach past him and turn the water off. Jerking the shower curtain back, I grab the towel from the rack and start drying him off. Once that’s done, I give myself a quick once over and grab his hand before leading him to the bed. “Crawl up and lay on your back.”
Aryeh hesitates because that puts him in a vulnerable position, but eventually does as I say.
My eyes are glued to his tight ass until he flops over on his back, and I see his naked form fully for the first time.
I walk toward the bed, and his eyes are tracking everything that he can see.
My chest puffs out when I see his pupils dilate, letting me know he likes what he sees.
I get onto my knees on the bed and gently pull his thighs apart so I can get between them.
His breathing speeds up, and his eyes shoot to my cock.
“That’s never going to fit,” he says, and I laugh.
I stroke myself a few times for his benefit before moving so I can brace my arms beside his head. “It will. It just takes some good prep. That can be the best part.” I let my cock slide against his, and he hisses out a breath. “I just need you to let go.”
“Let go? I’m naked, on my back, with you on top of me. How much further can I let go?”
I lean down until my mouth is at his ear. “The fact that the first words out of your mouth weren’t ‘yes, Sir’ tells me all I need to know. I won’t take this any further until I know you’ll get what you need out of this.”