Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 93984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 470(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
There was no escaping the nightmares of his last day with Ivan. No escaping those horrific memories of finding the blood-soaked room or his lover’s battered and tortured body.
But there was also no escaping his need for sleep. He just prayed he’d wake up before he tried to run out of the house. Justin didn’t need to see him like that, to question his sanity. He did that enough for both of them.
* * *
Pain-filled shouts had Justin running out of his room just after two in the morning. He’d dragged his tired and frustrated ass up the stairs barely twenty minutes earlier. After a long, hot shower, he’d pulled on some sleep pants as he debated whether to return to the kitchen for a drink when the shouts echoed through the second floor. He recognized Gabriel’s voice, but he couldn’t tell what the man was saying.
Grabbing his gun from its place under his pillow, he charged down the hall and threw open the spare bedroom door to find Gabriel twisted up in the blankets, arms outstretched as if he were trying to hold back some invisible assailant. Justin flipped on the overhead light and put his gun on the dresser. He rushed to the bed and captured Gabriel’s wrists to keep him from throwing a punch at him.
“Gabriel! You’re safe! Gabriel, wake up!”
Gasping, Gabriel sat upright. He fought Justin for several seconds, trying to violently pull his arms free, but Justin refused to release him until he was sure the man was fully awake. His panting breaths fractured the stillness of the room. And then he suddenly stopped moving, wide eyes locked on Justin.
“Nightmare,” he gasped.
Justin stared at him for another second, gave a nod, and slowly let go of his arms. He flopped down on the side of the bed, his hip brushing against Gabriel’s. Justin had suffered from his own share of nightmares over the years, plenty from his time overseas completing dangerous reconnaissance missions, but the painful grip of those ugly memories and even uglier dreams had faded. They only resurfaced with some trigger, which left him wondering what was triggering Gabriel. The mercenary was clearly skilled at managing unexpected situations. No one survived in this business without being a little cold-blooded. But it was obvious something was pulling at Gabriel’s subconscious that had it attacking him when he was at his most vulnerable.
“You okay?” Justin asked.
“Fine.”
Justin smirked. He could hear Gabriel clenching his teeth with that single word. God, as much as he hated to admit it, the guy was so much like him. Or rather, who he’d been not that long ago. Before he’d walked away from a life in the military and the CIA to go into business for himself.
“You know I’ve got a surefire remedy for ‘fine,’ ” Justin drawled. Poking his tongue into his cheek, he looked over at Gabriel, who was watching him through narrowed eyes.
“And what would that be?”
Justin lunged at him, but Gabriel was expecting him, because his mouth was open and ready. He plunged his tongue inside, and Gabriel groaned, setting fire to any common sense Justin had been hanging on to. He’d expected a fight, but Gabriel welcomed the invasion, kissing him back with the same fervor. There was no stopping this time…he hoped.
Pressing Gabriel into the mattress, he ran his hands over the man’s bare chest, loving the feel of warm, silky skin under his fingers. There was a light dusting of dark hair around his brown nipples and an even more enticing trail of hair leading into his boxer briefs that he promised himself he’d follow later. Strong muscles flexed and jumped at his touch. His reactions were intoxicating.
Justin lifted his head from the sinuous slide of their tongues to stare into Gabriel’s dark, dark-brown eyes. Eyes that reminded him of so many lonely nights. The pupils were now blown with desire; the remnants of the nightmare seemed far from his mind.
“Why’d you stop?” Gabriel said, his breathing uneven.
“Just wanted to make sure you were with me.”
One corner of his full lips ticked up. “I’m definitely with you.” Grabbing Justin’s shoulders, Gabriel pushed him roughly onto his back and quickly straddled his hips. Justin lifted his hands to touch him, but Gabriel caught them and pressed them into the twisted blankets above his head. Swollen lips swooped onto his mouth, sending him into a maelstrom of pleasure and desire. His body cried out for release and control. He wanted to be the one pinning Gabriel onto the mattress and controlling the pace of their coupling, but damn, this man could kiss.
Gabriel’s tongue darted in and out again and again, driving him to a frenzy until he could feel his hips jerking upward in the same rhythm. He wanted to fuck or be fucked. In that second, he didn’t care which it was, just so long as one of them happened.