30. Rurik
THIRTY
RURIK
I’m rudely awakened by a fire licking through my veins.
The pulse of electricity buzzing over my skin causes my muscles to convulse.
My mouth opens in a silent scream while my body writhes.
The pain is unmistakable. I’ve been tased before in training to get an idea of what it feels like. And it’s as bad as I remember.
But my mind snaps back, alert and ready to fight. Always, wide awake, the second consciousness returns. I’m not caught off guard. Ash is close. We’d fallen asleep together while Nik and Kiho kept watch.
So why the fuck am I being electrocuted?
The pulses of current course through me like I’m being beaten with a steel bat charged with lightning that’s infusing little stars under my skin, which then explode. Every limb feels like it’s cramped times one hundred over while my bones explode.
But it’s not the worst torture I’ve endured. My pain tolerance is high, and I’ve conditioned myself to be used to far worse. I fight it. Grinding my teeth to open my eyes and get my wits about me.
Ash pulls back the taser.
That mother fucker.
Once the flow of energy stops and I can control my limbs again, I growl out a roar and launch myself at him. He scurries back to get away from me, but even sore, feeling like I ran twenty miles and uncoordinated after the tasing, I’m faster.
I bear hug Ash and take him down. My first objective is to get the taser out of his hand, and I send it skittering into the tall grass. We roll around on the ground, and I’m not even sure what we’re fighting over.
“What the fuck was that for?”
“I have to make it to morning.” He nearly escapes, but I grab his ankle and drag him back.
I shove my knee into his pelvis pinning down his hips. “You fucking dolt. If you were captured, I wouldn’t have gone to sleep and you sure as fuck would be zip tied.”
He managed to grab the taser again and tires to press it to my skin. I block his wrist and pin his arm above his head.
“I think the appropriate response is thank you. Not a fucking taser!” I say through my teeth, annoyed and now hard.
I like pain as much as the next guy, but tasing isn’t something that should give a man a hard on.
It all starts with rolling around on the forest floor fighting and grinding against Ash, then turns into erotic electrostimulation, and I’m not ready to have those kinds of needs!
“Are you kidding?” He flips me over and we roll, each of us trying to get the upper hand.
I knock the taser out of his hand again and this time kick it away. “No, I’m not kidding!”
“Thank you for chasing me down in the woods, pinning me down and fucking me?”
“You’re welcome.” I straddle one of his legs, using my weight to secure him better, to get the feisty bastard to stop moving. He’s lucky I’m attached to him.
“I wasn’t saying thank you. I was asking if you want me to thank you for that.” He’s shooting daggers with his eyes, and I’d be lying if it didn’t make me hard.
“Obviously. I go to a lot of effort to have a romantic date night and make sure you get exactly what you asked for, you should be grateful.” I really don’t think appreciation is too much to ask for.
“We are not dating.” He tries to lift me off his chest, and it’s kinda adorable.
“Aw, baby. Yes, we are.” As if he had a choice. Adorable he thinks so.
“Are you hard after being tased?”
“I mean, yes, but why do you ask?” I frankly don’t like the call out. “Can you feel me?” I didn’t think my dick was that obvious in our position.
He presses into my hip bone, hitting nearly where my ribs are. “Here.”
“I know my dick is massive, but it’s not that big.” I laugh at the absurdity of all of this.
“Then what the fuck is it…and did you say you are hard?”
“That’s my gun, baby. And of course I’m hard. If I was actively bleeding out but had a single ounce of blood left, it would be in my cock, trying to fuck you.”
“You have a problem.”
“And you aren’t one of them.” I lean down and kiss him.
“You two are disgusting.” Nik swings down out of the tree he climbed into before I fell asleep last night.
He and Kiho kept a wide parameter last night until I let them know we were going to nap. Then they moved in to keep watch.
Ash struggles to look at the new voice. “There are two of you?!”
“Unfortunately,” Nik says before I can reply. “But don’t worry. I don’t get obsessed with people, so you’re safe.”
“Love you too, bro.”
“He’s right. It’s gross.” Kiho waltzes into view, looking like a fucking snack with his long hair blowing in the wind. “I knew you were obsessed, but I didn’t realize it was as bad as it is.”
“So glad this could turn into opinions on my boyfriend, but I don’t give a fuck.”
“Not your boyfriend,” Ash cuts in.
“Don’t make me gag you with my cock.” I sit up, keeping a hand on Ash’s chest.
“I thought you said you didn’t capture me.” Ash puts on his angry kitten expression.
I can’t look at him, or my dick will be out, and I’m not shy, but my brother and Kiho will get mad. “Do you think I would have enlisted two of my friends from one of the best events of the year to keep the other Legacy members away from us, if I wasn’t your boyfriend?”
He narrows his eyes.
“Not my favorite event. I don’t care.” Nik sounds bored.
“Have a singular molecule of joy, Nik. Christ. It’s not that hard.” I shove my hair out of my face, still trying to regulate after the rude wake up.
“Are you going to let me go?” Ash asks.
“Yes, baby. When it’s closer to sunrise. I’m not just letting you out of sight to be taken down by someone else. Then I’d have to kill them, and you have no idea the red tape and fire I’d be under.”
He relaxes slightly.
“Is it safe for me to come out, or are your dicks out?” K calls from out of sight.
“We have our clothes on. I’m not that bad. I do usually care about consent.”
“Usually?” Ash scoffs.
“Your no isn’t really a no, and you know it.” I smack his cheek playfully.
“This is weird.” K stops about ten feet away from us.
“Shouldn’t you be hunting?”
“They’ve got it handled, and I wanted to make sure Ash wasn’t captured.” She squats down to relax a bit.
“Don’t trust me?”
“I do. But you’d do the same.” She has a point.
“So is it still K? Or is it Viv now?” I ask, because I don’t need to be confused.
“Both.” She shrugs. “I told you I did it because I needed separation from my other life.”
“K it is.” I’m not about to call anyone by a name they don’t want. “Now will you tell your cousin none of us are trying to ruin his shot?”
Viv looks directly at Ash. “He wouldn’t have helped you this much if he was. He may be a sexual deviant, but Rurik keeps his word.”
“Fine. Will you get the fuck off me?”
“Are you going to run?” I narrow my eyes.
“No.”
Ash isn’t captured, and he moves on to the final test. But we have weeks before he needs to think about it.
He doesn’t flinch anymore when he gets back to his room to find me there.
It makes my fucking heart tighten every single time he walks in the door and looks for me.
If anyone would have ever told me I’d get absolutely sickly drunk on such a little detail, I wouldn’t have believed them. But here I am living it.
“Want to come have dinner with us?” Ash toes at the ground being all shy.
“Are we going out somewhere, baby?” Color me surprised.
He still doesn’t want to be seen with me in public, so shocked is an understatement. I get up and cross the room to meet him, giddy.
“Calm down.” He puts his hands on my chest.
I lean down to brush our lips together. “I refuse! Where are we going?”
“Nowhere. Just downstairs.” Ash grips onto my shirt like I’m going to run out the door.
That actually surprises me more.
I pull back. “Are Finn and your bodyguards out for the night?”
He looks at his feet. “Well, the bodyguards are in the guardhouse off the back. So they won’t be inside, but Viv had the idea to tell them you’re a friend of hers like she did the night you helped get me home, which isn’t a lie.”
A smile spreads over my face. “So I can come in the front door?”
“Yes, for the most part.” He still isn’t looking at me. My shy little baby boy.
I slide a finger under his chin. “And what about Finn?”
“I was—well, he met you already, and since he already knows you as a friend of Viv’s—I was going to tell him we are—”
“We are boyfriends?!” I cup his face with both hands, kissing him hard.
“Friends.”
“Friends?” I laugh because nothing is going to dampen my mood. “A friend who sleeps in your bed?”
He glares, but he’s finally looking at me.
“Dinner sounds nice.” My whole chest feels like it’s going to burst and I don’t even care if it does. I am so happy. I’ve been happy before so this isn’t new, but the whole chest thing is wild. Being in love is a ride.
We head downstairs, and Viv is cooking. I’ve never seen her so domestic.
“I didn’t know you could cook.” I sit on a stool at the island next to Ash.
“I formulate drugs and my major is chemistry, but you didn’t think I could cook? What do you think cooking is?” She has a valid point.
“Okay.” I hold up my hands. “Forgive me for not assuming something sexist!”
“This still feels like an insult.” She points the large knife she’s using at me.
“Sorry, my impression of you was ‘bad-ass mad scientist’ and not homemaker.” I wink and fight a grin because I know it’s still gonna piss her off.
She rolls her eyes. “Watch yourself.”
I put an arm around Ash. “You can’t kill me. Ash is just starting to like me.”
“Don’t bring me into this.” Ash notably doesn’t take my arm off him, which, again, is just me winning.
Finn strolls in a few minutes later and stops in his tracks, taking in Ash and I sitting shoulder to shoulder while laughing with his sister. “What’s going on?”
“Finn…” Ash gets a little red in his cheeks. “This is my friend Rurik. You remember him, right? He’s having dinner with us.”
“Friend?” Finn ventures closer, holding out his hand. “I’m Finn. Nice to formally meet you.”
I take his hand and give it the appropriate manly shake most guys like him expect. “Nice to see you under better circumstances.”
“Friend?” he asks Ash again.
“Yes. My friend.” His voice is surprisingly steady. And I’ll take the baby step.
Finn looks between us. “So you’re into guys?”
I stiffen not sure how Ash is going to react.
Ash puts his hand on my thigh under the table. “I don’t know what I’m into. Not really anyone before…” he trails off like he can’t bring himself to admit he’s really into me. “Is that a problem?”
I put my hand over his.
“Fuck no, mate.” Finn jumps to refuse the question. Good. He doesn’t want to die today. “I’m good with whatever. You know that. I just want you happy. I didn’t expect all this, but whatever you want, man.”
“What do you mean you didn’t expect all this?” I ask carefully, not jumping the gun, but only because he’s Ash’s cousin.
“You’re not the type I’d expect is all.” He holds up his hands.
“What were you expecting?”
“I don’t know but you look a little like you’re in a biker gang, or maybe like you run a dog-fighting ring. It’s an entire vibe.” He makes a face that is slightly apologetic.
I stick my tongue out in revolt. “Ew. I would never hurt a dog. And you look like you’re doing quaaludes and cocaine on Wall Street, but I’m not trying to judge.”
Finn bursts out laughing. “Okay, you know, I deserve that one.”
“Do you keep horses?” I’ve been dying to ask since I met him the last time.
“I’ll have you know my father does, and now I’m going to change everything about myself.” Finn scrubs a hand over his face. “Is it that obvious?”
“A little.”
“Do you run a gang?” He gets himself a beer and offers me one.
I laugh, declining it, but smile at him. “Not quite.”
Finn looks at Ash. “Should I be scared?”
“He’s fine,” Viv cuts in. “Dinner is ready. Make your own plates, and we can go find a movie.”
“So informal. I’m shocked!” I hop up because I’m starving. I’ve been eating like a squirrel since moving in with Ash, and it’s really inconvenient.
Ash falls asleep mid-movie, and I pick him up to carry him to bed when it ends.
“So we are just accepting this?” Finn leans over to whisper to his sister.
“It’s kinda cute. Don’t you think?” Viv replies.
“It’s just weird. He doesn’t usually let anyone touch him.”
“I’m not sure he’s exactly allowing it, so much as not fighting it.” Viv smiles at me.
I shrug and carry him up the stairs.
I get him tucked into bed, then go to the window and set a piece of sea glass on the sill before getting out my computer.
King sent me a copy of the security footage from the bar while we were watching the movie, and I’m anxious to get my hands on it. I settle into bed next to Ash and pull it up.
One of the inside cameras has a good view of where Finn and Ash sit. I watch his drink the whole video and no one gets even close to them. I slow the video down and watch it again.
Nothing.
I flip around to find a view of Ash and Viv sitting at the bar. Her back is to the feed, and his drink is kind of hard to see.
Fuck.
I find the camera angle pointed at the bar, but of course, bartenders are moving quickly and adding things to drinks. Nothing overt. It could be them…but I doubt it.
When Ash gets up to go to the bathroom right before I go in, no one follows him. Surely someone who drugged his drink would want to follow through.
I don’t understand the motivation, and I hate not being able to make something make sense because it’s just going to sit in the back of my brain.
Could it have been Viv?
But why?