The Talented Mr. Rivers (6 page)

The clenching inside Will nearly strangled him now. “Well, I guess that answers that.”

“Then explain it to me because I'd planned to throw the ones I had away, not stockpile more.” Hunter's hand slipped up Will's body to his chest, taking the T-shirt with it. When a sliver of skin peeked out between the edge of the shirt and the top of the jeans, Hunter bent down and kissed every exposed inch.

“That would be a waste of good condoms.” Will didn't even try to hide the shake in his voice.

“You are such a fucking temptation. I don't want to…” For a second Hunter turned his head and pressed his cheek against Will's stomach.

“What?”

“Want you. To give a shit about what happens to you.” He went back to kissing. Licking Will's bare skin, then pressing his lips against the same spot.

That mouth…Will teetered on the edge of doing something really dumb, like breaking the promise he'd made to himself less than an hour ago not to get any more deeply involved with Hunter.

A memory tickled at the back of his mind before blowing over him full force. “What about the other guys you bring here?”

Hunter lifted his head and glanced up the length of Will's body. “What are you talking about?”

“I looked through the drawers. There are different sizes of jeans in there. By the look of them, they've all been worn.” Three sizes, which Will could only assume meant Hunter liked a little variety. “I figured you had sex with some guys who run away even faster than you do.”

With a hand on either side of Will's hips, Hunter pushed up and stared down. “I'm borrowing the place. The jeans aren't mine and neither are whatever guys have been in them.”

Relief punched into Will's stomach. He hated how good the answer sounded in his head and how easily he bought it. “Not my business.”

“Really?” Hunter started crawling. Inch by inch, he traveled up Will's body, not stopping until his lower half balanced against Will's and his arms straddled Will's chest. “I think it matters to you.”

“It shouldn't.” And that was the most honest thing he'd said all day.

“Maybe, but I'm not looking to have sex with anyone except you right now. No matter how much I want it not to be true, you're it for me at the moment. Have been since I saw you on that firing range the first time.” He exhaled. “I don't get it, but it's a fact.”

The second wave of relief hit Will harder than the first. “Did it kill you to admit that?”

“It sure as hell surprised me to realize it.” He winced. “Never thought I'd say it out loud.”

Will could see it in Hunter's eyes. The strange mix of wariness and excitement. “If we go for a second round, do you think you can refrain from storming out once we're done?”

“Give me an excuse to stay.”

There were a hundred reasons to say “no thanks” and turn away. Slip into a deep sleep and never broach the subject again. Will could think of ten without even trying. He almost listed them out loud, but then Hunter bent his head and started trailing a line of kisses across his collarbone. Deep, soulful kisses that included a bit of teeth.

Seemed Hunter liked to skate along the edge of pain. To bite, to control. Will was all in so long as Hunter understood neither of them would be tamed in the process.

Ignoring every signal from his brain to pull back and rethink a second round, Will's fingers slipped over Hunter's head. His lips skimmed the outline of Hunter's ear. A breath later, their mouths met and Hunter shifted until his body covered every last inch of Will's.

Will expected detachment but he got something else when Hunter's fingers plunged into his hair. A firm grasp held Will's head steady as the kissing continued. Not the frenzied type from before. No, these were drawn out. More deliberate.

Unable to hold back, Will dove in. His hands moved up Hunter's back. For the first time, he felt the untucked shirt and loose waistband of Hunter's pants. Now he knew what Hunter had done when he got up from the bed. He'd at least started to strip. Will was happy to help him with the rest.

He tugged and pulled until Hunter half sat up, giving Will room to peel the shirt off. Their mouths continued to roam and explore each other as Will slipped his fingertips into the back of Hunter's pants. Let his hands dive until his palms landed on Hunter's ass.

Hunter's head shot up. “Turn over.”

If they were going to keep having sex, he might as well learn that he couldn't always have his way. Will was happy to be the man to teach him that lesson. “No.”

Will squeezed Hunter's cheeks. Let his hands slide up and down in a hypnotic rhythm that had Hunter's hips flexing. A second later Hunter rolled to the side and leaned up on one elbow. With impressive speed he ripped his pants down and off.

A thud sounded somewhere in the room but Will didn't have time to investigate. Hunter was back, stretching on top of him. Slipping their fingers together and dragging Will's arms up until the backs of his hands rested on the mattress on either side of his head.

“I want to hold you down.” From Hunter it sounded more like a dare than a comment.

If he thought that would scare Will away, he had the wrong guy. Will loved the whiff of danger. Welcomed the hint of battle to come. Even the demanding tone made him hard. “You'll have to face me.”

Hunter nipped at Will's bottom lip. One pass, two. Then he dove into another kiss. This one teetering on the edge of control.

It was the sign Will needed. He whispered against Hunter's lips, “Fuck me.”

Hunter's hands tightened around Will's. He pressed his lower half square over Will's as he rubbed from side to side. The friction of hardness against hardness had Will's control dipping low as his breathing kicked up. The pounding sensation in his veins beat harder.

When Hunter sat up he straddled Will's hips. For a second Will thought Hunter had given in to panic and would jump from the bed, but then his fingers settled on the top of Will's jeans. The belt he'd hunted down earlier slipped out of the loops. In a steady pull, the zipper slid down to reveal nothing but bare skin.

“No briefs.” Hunter's voice cut off on the last syllable.

“I was hoping I wouldn't need them.” It was all Will could do to keep from ripping off the last of his clothes. With Hunter, Will wanted to be naked. Skin to skin.

“You are a constant surprise, Mr. Rivers.” Hunter's gaze wandered over Will, then back to the opening of his pants. “That pretty face, the smoking body. Under it all is a bit of a wild man. A guy who's not afraid to demand what he wants, and I like that.”

“Then you should get to it.”

Hunter didn't argue. With both hands inside Will's jeans, Hunter pulled, stripping them off and dropping them to the floor in a whoosh. The whole time, Hunter's focus stayed on Will. Toured over his body.

Without another word, Hunter reached for a condom from the nearby drawer. Dropped a tube on the bed. In silence, he kicked off his briefs and pants and rolled the condom on while Will watched, unable to tear his gaze away.

Kneeling between Will's upraised thighs, Hunter made a show of opening the top of the lube and smearing it on his finger. Took longer than he should have. So long that Will almost lost the ability to wait. Almost grabbed the damn thing and got himself ready to go. But then Will felt Hunter's finger and the sliding in and out. Hunter pressed and touched until the air hiccupped in Will's lungs.

Will tried to get his muscles to move, but Hunter was in control now. With his hands under the back of Will's legs, Hunter pushed up. Kept going until Will's knees neared his chest. Through every step, Hunter held Will's gaze.

Hunter didn't blink as he entered him. The thrust, at first slow, morphed into a steady in and out. The sounds of sex filled the room. Will let it all wash over him, from the creak of the bed to the tiny grunting sound Hunter made each time he pulled out and dove back in again.

Will tried to maintain eye contact, to not break the intense hold, but he couldn't do it. His head fell back and his eyes closed as Hunter moved. And when Hunter lifted Will's hand and put it over his own erection, helped him move in time with the thrusts inside him, Will fought to breathe.

Thoughts raced through his head but he couldn't ferret any of them out. All of his energy went into matching Hunter's body as it moved back and forth. To using his internal muscles to squeeze Hunter and push him right over the edge.

The orgasm came fast and sudden. One second Will felt the intensity building, the next he came in his own hand with his hips bucking. Still, Hunter's hips pressed forward. Sweat formed on his chest and his muscles shook. Will watched in awe as Hunter's body slipped into his, as Hunter's breathing ramped up.

Using his last bit of strength as his body still pulsed, Will reached out and dug his fingers into the back of Hunter's neck. Brought his head down for an openmouthed, winner-take-all kiss. Clamped his thighs tight against the sides of Hunter's hips.

Will could see Hunter's muscles flex and his jaw tighten as the orgasm raced through him. After a few seconds, he dropped his head, blowing labored breaths over Will's cheek as his lower body continued to shake. And when Will slipped his hands over Hunter's ass again and squeezed, Hunter let out one final moan, then collapsed.

Long minutes passed as they lay there. Hunter's body grew heavier as he relaxed. His head rested under Will's chin and every now and then Hunter would turn and kiss Will's exposed skin.

Will seriously contemplated if they could sleep like this, with their bodies still slick. When Hunter pushed up again on his elbows he wore an unreadable expression as he stared down.

Not sure how to read the mood or what would happen next, Will went with a joke. “You're still here.”

Hunter's sudden pinched expression suggested he was deadly serious. “I'm not going anywhere…for now.”

Hunter didn't realize he'd dozed off or understand what jerked him awake again. In a flash his body flipped to high alert and his eyes popped open. He looked around the room, ready to attack whatever came at them. When the quiet apartment echoed back at him, he forced his shoulders to relax into the pillows.

His gaze switched to the warm body next to him. Traveled over Will, from the white sheet balancing on the lower part of his flat stomach up and over his broad chest to the sharp outline of his biceps. He lay on his back with an arm thrown over his head. Sometime during the last hour they'd given in to exhaustion and now Will's hip pressed into Hunter's side.

An odd sensation hit Hunter. He'd expected wariness and the usual shutting down of the attraction after he got what he needed and the urge to bolt rose. This was the point where in the past dread had washed over him and he got up and walked out. Didn't look back.

Not this time. Not with Will.

The rumbling inside him came from wanting to close his eyes and stay. To fall into a deep sleep and pretend he was normal, that they were normal. For the first time in his life, the idea of never seeing a guy again punched into his gut. Made him tense and desperate to do…something.

No matter what he did—acted like an ass, threw up a wall of sarcasm, acted like he didn't care—the truth walloped him. This protective streak for Will was about more than being a bodyguard or on assignment. He truly dreaded the idea of Will being in danger. His stomach rolled at the thought of not seeing him every day, of how with each hour Will lost a bit of that easy smile he'd worn the first time they met.

Life was pummeling the shit out of Will and Hunter had no idea how to fix that. Hunter had spent his life making up for his father's sins and trying to do the right thing. He followed the rules and had a clear picture of right and wrong. Will blurred every line.

Hunter knew distance was the answer, but he couldn't hold that vow. He was about to settle back down on the mattress and try to forget this moment had ever happened when the panel on his phone lit up. He grabbed it, expecting the annoying signal he'd seen before. Instead a message flashed across the screen, telling him to come into the hall.

Fucking Seth.

If anyone on the CIA team made a comment about videos or sex, he'd shoot them. Forget that a video feed ran back to his unwanted team of American CIA special ops. Some things should remain private.

Trying to be quiet when what he really wanted to do was break into a string of profanity, Hunter slid out of bed. He felt around the floor with his foot and found his briefs and a tee. Throwing them on, he walked across the room and disengaged the lock. When it beeped, he glanced over at Will, but he didn't move on the bed.

Hunter barely slipped into the hall before launching into a rough angry whisper. “What?”

“Hello to you, too.” Seth had the nerve to smile as he whispered back.

Hunter debated punching the amusement right out of Seth. “You're coming to my door now? That strikes you as a smart thing to do?”

“Since when is it
your
door?” Seth frowned. “Last I checked it belonged to my SAD team.”

Hunter was not in the mood for games or Seth…or Seth playing games. Not when Will was on the other side of the door. “This is too risky.”

Seth shrugged. “I knew your twink was asleep.”

The words exploded through Hunter. In a flash, he lunged at Seth, pinning him to the hallway wall with one hand on his chest. “Watch it.”

Seth being Seth, he didn't even flinch. “First you tell me not to watch. Now you say—”

“Fuck you.”

Seth shoved Hunter's hand off him. “That joke is too obvious.”

Even knowing Seth had said he'd turn off the cameras didn't help. Seth, the whole team, still knew about his private life, and Hunter hated that. Will had crawled into bed and Hunter's common sense switched off. He never should have touched Will. Should have just let him drift off. They'd argued enough.

But none of that absolved Seth from being a jackass.

“You said the cameras would be off,” Hunter said.

“I said I wouldn't watch. Not listening is a bit harder to do and protect you at the same time, but give me some credit for trying. And at least I waited and didn't interrupt the deep conversation.”

“This is the last time I'm telling you I can handle what happens in that apartment without your help.”

“Whether you like it or not, I'm running this op, which means watching over you.” Seth hesitated. “Of course, if you're over him already and that was the last time you plan to get naked with him, then we don't have a problem.”

Hunter struggled to keep his voice low and even in the narrow hallway. “What the fuck do you want? And make it quick.”

“We've got a new problem.”

“No surprise there.”

Seth continued to scan the hallway. Every now and then he would glance at his watch. It showed an outline of what looked like a floor plan to the building. There were different-colored dots. None moved.

After one last look at the watch face, Seth made eye contact again. “I traced the identification on the dead guy. Didn't go anywhere.”

Hunter was just about done with the useless talking. “That's very helpful. Get out before Will wakes up.”

“Hold up.” Seth caught Hunter as he tried to head back into the apartment. “We did get a hit on the one guy you left standing at the club. He's searching for you, or Will.”

Dark eyes. Piercing gaze. General air of being pissed off and about to start shooting. Hunter definitely remembered. “Will called him Ed.”

“Not his real name. He's not a bodyguard either.”

“Are you trying to string this out for dramatic effect?” But Hunter had to admit that last piece of information had his attention.

“Zach and Fisher have been going back through every document and photo we could find on every family member, their friends and acquaintances. Hell, anyone who even once ate a meal in the same restaurant.”

Hunter let out a long frustrated breath as he leaned with his back against the wall. “And?”

“After combing through the video footage at the Rivers properties and running face recognition, we tracked down some information on Ed. It looks like his loyalties are with someone other than the Rivers family.”

Hunter didn't follow the logic. Didn't much care. He was an answers guy. Save the intricacies of nonhuman intel gathering to someone else. “Just spell it out.”

“Ed had significant ties to a man named Reynard Gatt, the one Will mentioned. Important fact your boyfriend left out, Gatt is an arms dealer. A serious player.”

The news started Hunter's head pounding. “Shit.”

“Yeah, no kidding.” Seth snorted. “Gatt started low-level and worked his way up. By that I mean he's killed every boss he ever had. You'd think that would have messed with his career trajectory, but no.”

“Where does he fit in with Pentasus?” The funds for most of the Rivers family's work came from interesting sources. Insurgent groups. Terrorist organizations. Rebels. Wealthy, powerful people wanting who knew what. It was not hard to imagine the Rivers clan including an arms dealer or two among their clients.

“Unclear, but up until a few months ago Ed was Gatt's second-in-command.”

“So, we have Ed, who is supposed to be Peter's man, and his former boss Gatt, who had a relationship with Stacia.”

“Now you see the problem.” Seth shook his head. “It's not clear if Gatt and Ed are setting up Peter or going after Will, but someone is hiding something.” Seth hummed. “Possibly Will.”

“I don't see him hanging out with an arms dealer.” No matter how many times Hunter turned that scenario around in his head he couldn't make it fit. Will might have secrets, but Hunter couldn't see him living a secret double life that involved weapons. Hunter had been right there the whole time, and nothing led to that conclusion.

But Seth didn't look convinced. “Maybe put the sex to the side and try to get more out of Will about Ed and Gatt.”

“You're very obsessed with my sex life.”

“I don't like that everyone is getting action but me.” Seth glanced at his watch one last time. “I'm nearby if you need me and I'll be in touch.”

Now that was interesting. “Staying where exactly?”

“Close by.” Seth tucked his hands into his pockets and started walking. “Now, go talk to your boyfriend.”

Hunter watched Seth stalk down the hallway. Fought the temptation to follow him when he realized there was likely an entire group watching him right now. He went with giving the unseen cameras the finger.

When the floor grew quiet again, Hunter typed in the apartment code and slipped inside. Before he could shut the door behind him, Will sat up in bed.

He leaned back on his elbows with the light on low. He shot Hunter an expression that was half glazed with sleep. “What are you doing?”

“I thought I heard a noise in the hallway, but it's fine.”

Will reached over and fumbled for the small clock next to his side of the bed. “What time is it?”

“Not sure—I can't sleep.” Hunter debated going into the kitchen and finding something to keep him busy. That would have been smart. Sensible. Instead he opted for putting his knee on the bed and crawling up the mattress until he sat on top of the covers next to Will.

“Is this a sex thing?”

Hunter couldn't help but smile at that. He glanced at Will. “Sex thing?”

“We could try to exhaust you again.” Will shrugged. “Unless you want me to make tea…I don't know. Something.” He didn't bother to get up. Didn't even make a move to throw off the sheet covering his lower half. “Feel free to say no to that, by the way.”

Hunter wasn't really sure why Will saw him as a tea guy, or why that would ever be the right option in the middle of the night. He'd forced it down a few times when Stacia insisted on serving it during a meeting. Apparently even killers for hire strictly adhered to teatime. “Sometimes I forget you're British.”

Will laughed. “The accent doesn't give it away?”

Damn, the sound of Will's voice was just plain hot. All haughty and smooth. “That and the tea, I guess.”

Will moved up on the stack of pillows until his shoulder balanced against Hunter's arm. “Where are you from?”

The question slammed to a halt in Hunter's head. “What?”

“Too personal?”

“I've been inside you. Had my fingers in your ass. Clearly I'm not big on the too-personal line.” But Hunter couldn't look at him then. Not when they crossed the line from acceptable small talk to none-of-Will's-fucking-business details.

“Right.” Will let out a long breath and threw one leg over the side of the bed. Balled his hands into fists on either side of his hips but didn't push up to stand. “That's why the panic over giving me the name of a hometown seems strange.”

“I don't panic.”

“But you do evade questions.”

For a second he stared at Will's back. Hunter had a cover story. He didn't waver from it. Didn't overshare, not ever. But for some reason he wanted to say something real. Not important or potentially damaging, but a small bit of truth. “Germany.”

Will glanced at Hunter over his shoulder. “That's a country, not a town.”

“It's good to know you learned geography at all those impressive schools. I'd hate to think of your daddy's money going to waste.”

Will's shoulders fell as he shook his head. “I'm not taking the bait.”

“What?”

The mattress shifted as Will turned around again. Had one long leg sprawled in front of him and the sheet tucked around his hips and dipping low enough in front to offer a peek of the dark shadow of hair lower on his abdomen. “You've been using an American accent.”

Having let one piece slip out, Hunter loosened up and gave a bit more. Dropped the standard American accent, the one that didn't give away where in the States he would have been from, and slipped easily back into the comfort of his regular voice. “Is this better?”

“You turn it on and off.” Will's expression stayed blank. “That's not particularly comforting.”

“I've been on assignments for U.S. companies with offices in the UK. Adopting the American accent helped with security concerns and led to better jobs.” Hunter didn't care if Will bought the lie because he didn't want to spend one more second talking about his real life or any potential holes in his cover.

Will's eyes narrowed. “Why do I think that's not the full story?”

“The bodyguards.”

This time Will's mouth dropped open. “Excuse me?”

Probably not the smoothest subject change. Hunter could admit that, but he didn't have the patience for bullshit. A CIA team he didn't want to be a part of was lingering around somewhere and watching every move. Ed could be nearby; so could more shooters. And Hunter had no idea where Gatt fit in.

None of that even touched the problem of Peter, the one other Rivers heir probably left alive. “I want to talk about your bodyguards. Not me. The others you had sniffing around you.”

“Apparently we're done talking about your personal life.”

That worked for Hunter. “Ed and…what was the other guy's name?”

Will's hand balled into a fist with a good grip of sheets locked inside. “The one you knocked out? Donald.”

“That's it?” When Will nodded, Hunter continued. “What happened to the other one…Gatt, was it?”

“They found me as I was running through the house that night, looking…”

The way his voice drifted off intrigued Hunter. “What?”

“For you. I wanted to make sure you'd made it back upstairs and out to safety.” Will flattened his hand, letting the bunched material go, and stared up at Hunter. “Peter sent them after me. I was with them when I escaped the explosion through an underground tunnel.”