Calvin put up a token struggle, enjoying the way Ethan assumed control of him, the way he swiftly and none too gently divested Calvin of his clothes until he was completely naked before him. Calvin turned, getting on his hands and knees to reach for the lube in the nightstand when Ethan dragged him back down and flipped him over. Ethan straddled him, took hold of his wrists, and pinned them above his head. The fire in his eyes as he leaned in threatened to consume Calvin.

  “Don’t move,” Ethan ordered in a low growl. A shiver went up Calvin’s spine, and he tugged at his wrists. He nipped at Ethan’s bottom lip, then sucked on it before giving it a lick.

  “And if I do?”

  Ethan released him and sat back on his heels. He unhooked a zip tie from his belt, his chest bare and his stance begging for Calvin to challenge him. Fuck, he was hot. Calvin was rock hard, his cock leaking precome onto his stomach. He considered his next move. The wicked gleam in Ethan’s gaze told Calvin he welcomed the challenge. Calvin bolted upright and threw a hand out, snatching ahold of the dog tag chain hanging from Ethan’s neck.

  Ethan twisted Calvin’s arm and pushed him onto his stomach, then restrained his wrists behind his back with the zip tie. He pushed Calvin’s head down into the pillow and pulled him onto his knees so his ass was in the air. Calvin groaned, feeling the bed move as Ethan got up. He turned his head, watching his partner shed his pants and boxer briefs. Calvin had never felt more exposed or more turned on. His mouth watered at the sight of Ethan’s naked body. Man, he was fucking gorgeous. Strong arms and thighs, flat abs, a slim waist and rounded ass. Calvin wanted to run his tongue over every inch of Ethan’s skin.

  Ethan found the lube, then shoved several pillows under Calvin before climbing back on the bed. He leaned in, his soft words drawing a whimper from Calvin.

  “I’m going to fuck you so hard right now.”

  Calvin all but unraveled. He didn’t bother looking over his shoulder. He trusted Ethan completely. Ethan kneaded Calvin’s ass, a low moan escaping him before he parted Calvin’s cheeks. Calvin gasped at the feel of Ethan’s tongue on his hole. The move was unexpected, and Calvin’s body trembled with anticipation. He was surprised he didn’t come right then and there.

  “Oh God, Ethan.”

  Ethan alternated between using his tongue and his fingers, driving Calvin crazy. The heat spread through his body, and he thought he might pass out from his desperation. He wanted to touch himself so badly, but all he could do was kneel there and take whatever Ethan gave him, and right now, Ethan was making a meal out of Calvin’s ass. He had no idea how much longer he could take this. Calvin’s breath came out ragged as Ethan replaced his fingers with his cock. He went slowly, the burn drawing a hiss out of Calvin as he was stretched. Inch by inch, Ethan pushed himself inside of Calvin, until soon the pain gave way, and Calvin let out a low groan. Damn, that felt so good, but he wanted more, needed more.

  “Please, Ethan, fuck me.”

  Ethan took hold of the zip tie securing Calvin’s wrists and gave it a tug. “Is this what you want?” Ethan pulled out and slowly pushed himself in. Calvin nodded, and Ethan snapped his hips, causing Calvin to cry out. “Or is that what you want?”

  “That,” Calvin pleaded. “I want to feel you. I want to hurt and burn from the feel of you.”

  Ethan obliged, holding onto Calvin’s wrists as he drove himself into him, plunging deep. The sound of skin slapping skin, moans, groans, and gasps resounded through the otherwise silent room. Ethan’s thrusts hurt so damn good. It was as if every gasp and every whimper Calvin released urged Ethan on. Ethan changed his angle, hitting Calvin’s prostate.

  Calvin’s body shook. “Oh fuck yeah. Ethan. Fuck.” Ethan held him in place as he pounded into Calvin’s ass, his soft groans the sweetest sounds Calvin had ever heard. The more Ethan fucked him, the more Calvin wanted. Ethan would slow down, torturing him before speeding up again. “Ethan…”

  Ethan’s hips lost their rhythm as he pounded Calvin’s ass, pushing him down into the mattress. Calvin’s muscles strained. His arms were killing him, but he didn’t care.

  “Come,” Ethan growled.

  “I need you to touch me.” He’d never needed anything so bad.

  Ethan folded himself over Calvin as he continued to fuck him, his words whispered in Calvin’s ears. “You’re going to come because I tell you to.”

  He flicked the tip of Calvin’s dick, and Calvin yelped. His orgasm hit him hard, and he cried out as he came. He buried his head against the pillow, Ethan draped over his back as he thrust several times before Calvin felt Ethan coming inside him, the warmth spreading through his body. Slowly Ethan pushed himself down to the root, where he remained still and buried inside Calvin, a shuddered breath escaping him. He kissed Calvin’s temple before he pulled out and removed the pillows from under Calvin. He slipped onto his belly as he tried to catch his breath, the blood in his wrists once again circulating properly when Ethan cut the zip tie.

  Calvin lay on his stomach, smiling when Ethan cuddled up close. Ethan didn’t say anything, just stroked Calvin’s hair before trailing his fingers down Calvin’s back, following the curve of his spine to his ass. The smack to his left butt cheek caught Calvin unaware, and he let out a surprised cry. He rolled onto his side to face Ethan, who smiled wickedly.

  “Sorry, couldn’t help it. I love the way your skin gets all rosy.”

  Calvin felt his cheeks burn. “Don’t be sorry. I kind of liked it.”

  “Ooh, looks like I’ll have to do some more research.”

  Ethan kissed Calvin, his lips soft and warm. Calvin loved kissing Ethan. He could spend hours tasting his lips. Ethan drew Calvin against him and deepened the kiss, his thumb stroking Calvin’s wrist. He seemed to remember something, and he pulled back. He looked down at Calvin’s wrists with a frown.

  “You’re going to be bruised. Did it hurt too much?”

  “It was fine. High pain tolerance.”

  Ethan frowned. “That’s not the kind of pain I want to give you.”

  Calvin gave Ethan’s lips a kiss. “I’m fine. Cael recommended a good rope from that website of his, and I placed an order. It arrives next week. We can use that safely until we work the rest out.”

  Ethan smiled broadly. “Okay.”

  He sat up, and when he stretched, Calvin couldn’t help but run his fingers down Ethan’s back.

  “You’re amazing, you know that?”

  Ethan turned to look at him, his gorgeous smile taking Calvin’s breath away.

  “I’m not. You, on the other hand…” He kissed Calvin and took his hand, pulling him along with him. “Come on. Let’s make dinner and watch some TV.”

  “We should probably put on some pants.”

  “Don’t need pants to make a sandwich. But we should clean up first.” Ethan laced his fingers with Calvin’s, and they headed to the bathroom to wash up before heading to the kitchen. Ethan popped on the radio as he removed ingredients from the fridge while Calvin grabbed the fresh bread. They might not be the best cooks, but when it came to hoagies and sandwiches, they ruled the school. A slow romantic ballad came on the radio, and Calvin went to change the station to something a little more upbeat, when Ethan wrapped his arms around Calvin’s waist from behind. He planted a kiss on Calvin’s shoulders and began to sway with the music. Calvin didn’t quite know what to do with himself. None of his sorry-ass boyfriends had ever been very romantic. Mostly it had been about the sex. He shouldn’t be surprised. Ethan wasn’t like anyone he’d ever known. He was kind, gentle, and the sweetest guy.

  Calvin closed his eyes, his stomach filling with butterflies as Ethan let his chin rest on his shoulder. They swayed slowly, their fingers laced together. Ethan’s soft voice sang in his ear. It was tragic that someone who couldn’t speak could sing so beautifully. Ethan didn’t do it often, and Calvin considered himself blessed when he heard him. He was the only one who’d ever heard Ethan sing. His voice had rhythm and soul. It changed pitch naturally, the words rolling off his tongue as if they came up from the very depths of his core, drawing from a lifetime of pain, fear, courage, and love.

  Love… Calvin had never put too much stock in love, and now he was in it so deep he never wanted to know anything else.

  The next day, Calvin couldn’t stop himself from smiling. That morning in the canteen Dex had given him a knowing look from across the table while they all had coffee—or in Cael’s case hot chocolate—and Ash told Calvin he was freaking him out with his smiling. Calvin thought the day couldn’t have started any better. He was sore as hell, but he didn’t care. Ethan had fucked him into the mattress last night. They’d slow danced in the kitchen, and Ethan sang to him. They ate, watched TV while cuddled together on the couch. Then later that night Ethan woke him up and made his toes curl once again. The best part was every time Calvin looked up at Ethan, his boyfriend smiled shyly, and his face flushed. Calvin thought it was adorable.

  At least they’d be spared one of Sparks’s insane training sessions this morning. They were on their way to the training bay for their usual cardio workout when a call came through. Hostage situation down at Deimos Tower. Calvin met Ethan’s gaze.

  “Shit. That’s the same building the bombs were planted in.”

  Ethan nodded somberly. They hurried down the hall outside Unit Alpha and met up with the rest of their team at the elevator. Calvin turned to Sloane.

  “You think it’s the same person? Recon having any luck locating the perpetrator?”

  “I’d be pretty surprised if it wasn’t the same suspect.” Sloane looked over at Cael. “Any leads since the last time we spoke?”

  Cael shook his head. “Themis has helped us narrow down the list of suspects, but none of the algorithms Intel programmed has yielded the kind of hits we were hoping for. Whoever it is, is either unregistered or has no priors. There were far too many hits on the supplies used to construct the bomb because there wasn’t one single place which had sold all or most of the items. It’s likely whoever put it together made sure to purchase the items from several locations. Obviously the less reputable, the harder to find. Rosa and I were heading out to do some more questioning when Dispatch called us.”

  “Okay. Hopefully Maddock will have something for us. Negotiators from Theta Destructive are already out there.”

  They all rushed down the corridor leading to the armory, Ash catching up to Sloane.

  “Maybe our bomber found out no one was killed by his little gift, and now he’s taking matters into his own hands.”

  “That’s not unlikely. Okay, everyone. Suit up.”

  They went to their designated weapons lockers and got into their full tactical gear. Hostage situations meant Calvin would be bringing along his sniper rifle. Not that he ever left HQ without it, but he’d been doing this job long enough to know what the likely outcome would be. If it was the bomber returning to finish what he started, and if there was no reasoning with him, Calvin would end up having to take care of it. He really hoped whoever they were dealing with would listen to reason, or that his team could get close enough to take the bomber down without any casualties.

  Calvin lowered the visor on his helmet and grabbed the black bag containing his equipment. He locked up and followed his team through the hall leading to the garage and their tactical vehicle, where Maddock was waiting for them. Calvin climbed into the passenger seat and buckled up while the rest of his team swiftly secured themselves on the bench. Ethan hit the gas, and they sped out of the garage and onto the street behind HQ. They listened as Maddock briefed them.

  “Themis found our bomber. Problem is when Beta Ambush answered the call and went to pick him up, the guy wasn’t there. A few minutes later dispatch received a call about gunshots being fired inside the Deimos Tower. Our shooter is Mr. Fernando Ruiz, a bear Therian. He was fired three months ago from his security job for being late. The head of security said it was by five minutes, and Ruiz had called in, but it was out of his hands. The decision came from up top. Ruiz was a model employee, never sick, hardly ever late, a hard worker. They think Ruiz got screwed along with some of the other low-level employees. To make things worse, Ruiz had a loan taken out on his 401(k).”

  “Let me guess,” Ash grumbled. “As soon as he was let go, the loan had to be paid back in full.”

  “Yep. Within sixty days. Ruiz was already falling behind on his bills. The company owed him a shit ton of overtime too. He tried to sue them for his dismissal and overtime pay, but the attorney he hired was no match for the company’s team of lawyers. It ate away at whatever savings Ruiz had left. According to Mrs. Ruiz, they received a letter two weeks ago saying the bank was foreclosing on their house.”

  Shit. Calvin knew where this was heading, and it was all kinds of fucked-up.

  “It gets worse,” Maddock continued. “Ruiz went in last week to plead with the head of the department and found out the executives were all awarded hefty bonuses.”

  “What about the cutbacks?” Dex asked.

  “It was either lose their bonuses or make budget cuts.”

  Dex let out a sound of disgust. “So rather than lose out on a new condo in Miami, they got rid of their employees. Bunch of dicks.”

  “Welcome to corporate America,” Ash muttered.

  Maddock agreed. “It was too much for Ruiz. He planted the bomb, but he must have seen the news footage. Everyone made it out okay. Probably decided to take care of it himself. We’re pretty sure one of the hostages is the guy who reported Ruiz for being late and got him fired. I’m guessing the executive that did the firing is also up there with him.”

  The BearCat sped through Manhattan, sirens blaring and lights flashing. Ethan did his thing, maneuvering through traffic, dodging, zigzagging, taking shortcuts that would probably get them fined, and doing everything he could to get them there as quickly as possible without running into anyone. It was like playing Snake at full speed with landmines.

  They arrived on scene, and Ethan parked the BearCat at the end of the block. The media was already there and reporting. News choppers soared over the skyline along with police helicopters. It was pandemonium. Reporters tried to get their attention as they got out of the BearCat, but the team quickly put as much distance between themselves and the reporters as possible. There were agents posted everywhere making sure no one tried to sneak onto the scene.

  Seb and Taylor joined them, informing them of their teams’ positions. Theta Destructive and Beta Ambush had evacuated the building, with the exception of the twenty-first floor where Ruiz was.

  Maddock turned to Seb. “Where are we?”

  “There are eight employees unaccounted for. We believe those are the ones Ruiz is holding hostage. The negotiator had been making progress, and Ruiz was going to let her in the building, when Ruiz received a phone call from his wife. She’d been advised against trying to make contact with her husband and to let the negotiator handle things. She told the agents on-site she was going to the bathroom and made the call. Whatever she said to him, it set him off. Things started going downhill from there. Ruiz has threatened to shoot the hostages if anyone goes near the building. The negotiator’s trying to calm him down and get him to let her in to talk to him face-to-face.”

  “Any demands?” Sloane asked.

  Taylor shook his head. “This was clearly an act of desperation. He’s distraught and doesn’t know what he wants. He’s rambling, shouting, and getting more pissed by the minute. He’s unraveling.”

  Sloane turned to Calvin. He knew what Sloane was going to say. “Cal, we’re gonna need you to take position. If things go south…”

  “I got it.” No explanation or further information was needed. Calvin headed back to the BearCat and climbed in. He placed his thumb to the lock on the weapons cage and pulled out the long black bag with his rifle in it. He hoped the negotiator would be able to get through to Ruiz. Calvin pushed up his visor and pulled on his black tac gloves before shouldering his bag. It weighed a fucking ton, but he was used to it by now. Was the weight of it all in his head? There were instances where it seemed to double in heft, while other times it appeared lighter. When he reached the end of the truck, Ethan was standing there looking worried. Calvin gave him a wink.

  “Don’t worry, big guy. You be safe, okay?”

  Ethan nodded, his expression saying more than any words could. He was aware of what came next, what Ruiz’s chances were of walking out of this alive. Shots had been fired. There was no telling how many were hurt or if anyone was dead. Calvin would be finding out soon enough. Ethan knew what would happen if Calvin pulled that trigger. How with one finger he’d be shattering a family. Calvin couldn’t think about that. He gave Ethan’s arm a squeeze before hopping down.

  Quickly, he walked to the building across the street from Deimos Tower. It was still being cleared out, which meant he had to pass by employees on his way up the stairs. He made sure not to make eye contact. Most wouldn’t know why he was there, but in the event someone did, he didn’t need them challenging him. As if he got some kind of sick joy from what he did. Like it was easy to take someone’s life.

  Calvin had volunteered to be a sniper. The THIRDS never appointed an agent because they were good at shooting. That was the easy part. There was a list a mile long of prerequisites an agent had to meet before he was even considered for the position, and being a good shooter was near the bottom of the list. Calvin had a natural talent, but he also had the required discipline. The position was physically and emotionally demanding, and the responsibility placed on his shoulders could be overwhelming for some.

  The safety of the hostages, his team, and the whole damn outcome could hinge on his observations and the intel he relayed, all while under pressure. At times he was his team’s eyes and ears. He needed to be meticulous, articulate, and have a keen eye for details. And then there was the part where he had to be willing to kill someone.