Page 47 of Mine to Keep
Peggy: I’m on it, handsome. You might be paranoid, but I’ll put your mind at ease.
With a smirk, I text her back.
Me: You’re a lifesaver, Pegs.
I slide my phone back into my pocket as a server comes over. We give our drink orders and the boys order an appetizer.
I can’t shake my paranoia, though. The woman in the museum looked just like the woman at the pub. Either I’m losing my shit or I need another break.
Or I need to start getting more serious about my retirement plans.
Talon leans his head on Javier’s shoulder. “What next?” he asks as he stifles a yawn.
“I get you both back to the room so we can rest. You’ve had an eventful day.”
He yawns again. “By the time we’re headed home, our jet lag will have gone away.”
“We’ll work around your jet lag. We have a few more days to have fun. We can take naps in between,” I tell him, leaning back when the server places our drinks in front of us.
A few minutes later, we put in our orders and as the server walks away, I look at Talon.
“What did you both mean when you said you both need something more?” I ask Talon. “I know you want a Daddy, but is there something else?” Javier didn’t get a chance to give me more information that first night before leaving to comfort Talon.
Talon ducks his head, his cheeks flaming. Javier grabs his hand, squeezing gently, and says, “I’ve known Talon for a while. And even though I know he can take care of himself, he’s so small,” Talon shoots him a dry look, making Javier grin at him, “and fragile. I can’t give him what he wants…” He looks around and lowers his voice, “…in bed. We wanted to try. After a few months of us being friends, we talked about it, but we knew it wouldn’t work.”
“Why can’t you give him what he wants? You did fine when I told you to.” This is probably a conversation more suitable for the hotel room, but no one is around us.
Javier smiles sardonically, a blush on his cheeks. “I like to bottom more than I top. I mostly bottom when I’m with men. And it was easier to do because you told me to.”
“And I’m a strict bottom,” Talon says. “We’re not suited for a relationship in the long run. Unless we have someone else that can give us both what we need.”
I hum. “And, Javier, you like to be tossed around, huh?” That blush creeps higher up his cheeks as he nods. “What else?”
He shifts in his chair, then groans, his eyes rolling back in his head. It takes me a moment to realize that Talon’s hand is below the table. “Tell him, Javi,” Talon whispers.
After taking a few deep breaths, Javier says, “I like…being restrained? Tied down. Feeling helpless but knowing whoever I’m with will take care of me.”
Talon’s eyes go heavy-lidded, his hand moving faster under the table. “I’d like to see you like that. Tied up and waiting to be fucked.”
I adjust myself under the table as plans form in my head. “Don’t make him come in here, little one,” I say in a stern voice. “We still have to get back to the hotel.”
Talon nods, removing his hand. Javier lets out a shaky breath, then shoots Talon a look. “I’ll repay you for that.”
Giggling, Talon pecks a soft kiss on his lips, then slides a finger damp with precum into his mouth. “I look forward to it.”
fifteen
the others
For the fourth time,Skylar timed himself as he put his rifle together and took it apart. It’d been years since he’d been able to beat his time of three minutes. Even now, he hadn’t gotten under four and a half minutes, heightening his frustration.
And Martha’s too, it seemed.
“Give it a fucking rest,” she said, packing her bags. “That’s not going to help us kill Viper.”
Skylar was well aware of how Martha could get when she was unhappy with a kill, so he ignored her, continuing to assemble and disassemble until his hands got tired. Then he did it one more time.
When he was done, he put the weapon back in its crate.
