King stared at him. “What?”

  “That kid’s game. You know, you turn the crank and the shoe hits the bucket, the little ball rolls down the incline, down the slide, then hits another ball that falls into the tub, the dude flips into the barrel pool thing and down comes the cage that traps the mice.”

  “You remember way too much about that game,” Ace muttered.

  “It fascinated me as a kid.”

  “Of course it did.”

  King could hardly believe it, and yet it made perfect sense. “So, every time he disappeared, it’s because he set off a chain reaction.”

  Jack nodded. “Meaning, by the time he got to the door, no one would be guarding it. Do you really think he doesn’t know what he’s doing?”

  “Let’s find out.” King straightened and called out for Leo. Within seconds, Leo appeared downstairs. He slowed down when he saw everyone huddled together, all eyes on him.

  “Um, yeah?”

  “Come here a minute. We want to show you something.” King motioned him over, and Lucky shifted so Leo could step up beside King. He leaned into King, as if seeking his warmth. Needing to reassure him, King wrapped an arm around him, pulling him close against him. “Jack, play the footage.”

  They replayed everything for Leo, and then King explained what they’d realized. Leo’s jaw dropped, and he moved his stunned gaze to King. “I did that?”

  “You didn’t know?”

  Leo shook his head. “I had no idea. Like I said, it’s kind of like sleepwalking but awake. Sort of.”

  “And what wakes you up from this sleepwalking?” Ace asked, taking a seat on the couch across from them.

  “I generally don’t snap out of it until I have what I want or something grabs my attention or takes me by surprise.”

  Jack closed the laptop and stood. “The problem is we can’t snap you out of it if you find a way to distract us so we don’t even know you’re getting up to go.”

  Leo’s cheeks flushed, and he shifted from one foot to the other. “I don’t think we have to worry about that anymore.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Leo’s gaze flicked to King before moving his attention back to Ace. “I only do that when I’m worried about something. I usually end up making myself so anxious about it that I get cravings and then need to go off and get what I’m craving in the hopes it will help me feel better.”

  “Like donuts?”

  Leo nodded.

  “So what’s got you worried?” King asked gently, holding Leo as he turned in King’s arms to face him.

  “Could we talk about it in private?”

  “Of course.” King patted Jack’s shoulder. “Thanks, guys.”

  Everyone left except for Ace, who resumed his seat on the couch while King ushered Leo upstairs. When they reached the living room, Leo started to pace.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I just realized that it’s Christmas Eve tomorrow. You shouldn’t be here babysitting me when you could be with your family. It’s not right.” Leo tapped his hands against his legs.

  That’s what had Leo so anxious. King should have known. He kicked himself for not asking earlier.

  “First of all,” King said as he approached Leo and brought him into his arms. “I’m not babysitting anyone. I’m here to look out for you. Second, I should have asked sooner, but I was afraid you’d say no. I’d really like it if you came with me.”

  Leo stared at him. “You… you want me to come with you? For Christmas? To be with you and your family?”

  “Yes. I will warn you. It’ll be loud. With Ace and Lucky alone, you know there’s bound to be shenanigans, but I would love to have you there with me.”

  Leo searched King’s gaze, as if trying to see if King meant it. “You really do want me there.”

  “Yeah. Everyone’s going to want to meet you and talk to you. Will you be okay with that?”

  “Why would they want to talk to me?”

  “Because you’re wonderful. And….” It was King’s turn to feel a little embarrassed. “I’ve never brought anyone home for Christmas.”

  Leo stared at him, and King was about to apologize, when Leo was on his toes, arms wrapped around King’s neck, kissing him.

  Desire and need exploded through King, setting him on fire, a fierce desperation the likes of which he’d never felt before threatening to consume him. With a growl, he grabbed Leo’s ass and hauled him up against him. Leo’s soft gasp sent a shiver through King. He’d never wanted anyone so damned badly. How had this happened so fast? This wasn’t him. He didn’t do this sort of thing. Didn’t lose himself at all, much less so quickly. It’s as if every defense he’d ever put up was useless against Leo.

  Leo pulled back enough to suck in a breath, his lips swollen from their kiss. “King….”

  “Tell me,” King whispered. “Whatever you want, it’s yours.”

  “You. I want you.”

  King didn’t think about his next course of action. Instead he carried Leo downstairs, thankful Ace had taken himself off to bed. Not that he would have stopped even if Ace had been in the living room. If King was going to have Leo for the first time, it wouldn’t be upstairs, where anyone could walk in on them, or on a futon with barely enough room to maneuver.

  Inside the master bedroom, King kicked the door closed and dropped Leo onto the bed, their lips briefly parting with the movement before King was on him again and they were mauling each other’s mouths. Leo pulled King’s shirt off and threw it somewhere to the side. Their mouths found each other again, and they continued to kiss as they stripped each other of their clothes until it was his heated skin against Leo’s. King couldn’t get enough of Leo—his scent, the feel of his soft skin, the taste of his mouth…. King was on the verge of losing his mind if he didn’t have all of him.

  Leo scraped his nails down King’s back, and King growled against Leo’s lips before grabbing Leo’s thigh and wrapping his leg around his waist. He slid his hand down from Leo’s knee to his inner thigh, slipping his hand between them to take hold of Leo’s hard cock, loving the whimper Leo let out. Gorgeous. Vulnerable. Leo writhed beneath him, arching his back to press himself against King. He had no idea the hold he already had on King.

  King used the precome from the tip of Leo’s leaking erection to ease the friction and pulled back just enough to take in the stunning sight of Leo’s face as he moaned and begged King. His plump lips were parted in pleasure, his face flushed, hair a mess, and his brows drawn together in ecstasy. King had never seen anything so beautiful. Something wild and frightening edged out from the shadows inside King as he released Leo and smeared precome over Leo’s stomach before putting his finger to Leo’s lips.

  “Get it wet.”

  Leo’s eyes were so dark they were almost black as he sucked King’s finger into his mouth, his tongue swirling around it. Every soft gasp, every moan, every sharp intake of breath Leo took chipped away at King’s resolve. He pulled back and placed his finger to Leo’s hole just as he swallowed Leo’s cock down to the root, moaning at the taste of Leo and the way he cried out King’s name. Leo fisted handfuls of the duvet, quiet curses leaving his sinful lips as he watched King sucking, licking, and nipping, King’s finger buried deep in Leo’s ass. He slid his free hand up Leo’s stomach to his chest, tweaking a nipple and groaning around Leo’s hard length when Leo bucked beneath him. Leo’s muscles were softly defined, his skin flawless, his body sleek and slender with tiny moles sprinkled lightly here and there.

  Leo slipped his fingers into King’s hair, and King popped off to add a second finger to Leo’s entrance, his hand soothing Leo’s flank as he readied him, his brow beaded with sweat as he fought for control. The more Leo writhed beneath him, the more desperate King was to be inside him, to feel his cock gripped in Leo’s tight heat.

  “King,” Leo gasped, arching his back, his head thrown back. “Please.”

  “Lube and condoms?”

  Leo threw a hand out in the direction of the nightstand to King’s left. After removing his fingers from Leo, he moved quickly, kissing the breath out of Leo before heading to the drawer and removing what he needed. He tore through the foil packet and rolled the condom down his painfully hard length. Then he poured a generous amount of lube on his hand, slicked himself up, and used the remaining lube on Leo. King positioned himself between Leo’s legs, needing to see his face as he placed the tip of his cock to Leo’s hole. He gingerly pushed in little by little, ignoring Leo’s pleas for more. King was thick and long, and much as he needed to be inside Leo, he wouldn’t hurt him. Sucking in a sharp breath, King slowly sank deeper, the tight heat making him shiver from head to toe.

  “King, now. Please.”

  Control.

  “Ward!”

  Fuck control.

  King folded himself over Leo and thrust the rest of the way in. Leo cried out, his fingers digging into King’s shoulders, making him groan. He was finally buried balls-deep inside Leo, and he paused a moment in an attempt to gather himself, but Leo was having none of it.

  “Let go,” Leo demanded, undulating his hips and taking hold of King’s face, their gazes locked on each other. “You don’t need to hide from me. I want to feel all of you. Let. Go.”

  King searched Leo’s gaze, seeing nothing but truth, trust, and desire. With a feral growl, he pulled out and shoved back in, shivering at Leo’s cry, the way his body trembled beneath King’s.

  “Faster,” Leo ordered. “Do it, Ward.”

  “Fuck.” King snapped his hips, and Leo cried out again, the sound working its magic on King. He should have told Leo not to call him that. No one had called him that since his parents—the only people who’d known him as the man he’d been before. “Say it again,” King demanded, his voice low and rough.

  Leo met his gaze and cupped his face. “Make me yours, Ward. Leave your mark on me.”

  King pulled almost all the way out and slammed back inside Leo, moving as deep as he could go, the bed shifted beneath them as Leo clung to him, needing him, wanting him in every way. Terrified of the words that might find their way out of his mouth, King crushed their lips together, his tongue diving deep into Leo’s mouth claiming every inch of it just as he was doing with his cock inside Leo.

  No one would ever hurt Leo again. Not if he had anything to do with it. Whatever happened between them, however this ended, Leo would be safe. King would make sure of it. The thought of someone else’s hands on Leo’s soft skin had a quiet rage burning through him, and it scared the hell out of him. He didn’t want Leo with anyone. Didn’t want them to know the taste of his lips, the softness of his skin, the sounds he made when feeling pleasure. He wanted Leo for himself.

  King pulled Leo with him as he sat back on his heels, Leo impaling himself down on King’s rock-hard length.

  “Fuck! Ward, please. Please.” Leo cupped King’s face and brought their mouths together, his fervent kisses matching his pace as he fucked himself on King’s cock. King gripped Leo’s waist, fingers digging into his flesh, as he guided Leo up and down, meeting the movement with his own thrusts, the room filled with the sounds of their panting breaths, soft curses, and Leo’s body hitting King’s.

  Leo threw his head back, his eyes shut, and King couldn’t resist nipping at Leo’s neck and sucking on his skin. They moved furiously, both holding on tight to each other, their bodies slick with sweat, faces flushed. King drove himself up into Leo over and over, already wanting to feel himself inside Leo without the condom, wanting to come inside him and mark him, leave a part of himself inside Leo.

  “Oh God.” Leo dug his fingers into King’s hair, his hips bucking and losing their rhythm as he chased his release. A heartbeat later, Leo shouted King’s name, and his entire body shook from the force of his orgasm.

  “Say it,” King demanded, his orgasm tearing through him. “Say it!”

  “Ward. I need you so bad.”

  King dropped Leo onto the bed under him and thrust in hard and deep, pumping himself inside Leo as come filled the condom, his muscles tensed and his teeth gritted at the intense wave of pleasure that exploded through him. His arms shook, and he carefully pulled out of Leo. He tossed the condom into the trash beside the bed before collapsing beside Leo. Holy shit. He stared at the ceiling as he tried to catch his breath. Leo left for the bathroom, returning soon after with a damp cloth to clean the come off King’s chest. Tossing the little towel in the trash, Leo climbed into bed then rolled against King’s side, his hand going to King’s chest, the only sound in the room coming from their panting breaths. He took Leo’s hand in his and placed it to his lips for a kiss.

  “So, uh, when’s round two?” Leo asked, breathless.

  King laughed. “Some of us aren’t in our twenties, remember?”

  “Really?” Leo propped himself on his elbow and ran a finger over King’s abs. “’Cause moves like that make a guy wonder.” He straddled King’s hips, and leaned in to kiss King, drawing a moan from somewhere deep inside him. Fuck, if King could go again right now, he would. “How about you just relax and let me do a little exploring.”

  King hummed. He wasn’t about to say no to that. “Explore away.”

  Leo started his little adventure by trailing kisses down King’s jaw, down his neck, and over his Adam’s apple, his hands wandering. He kissed his way down King’s chest, over his pecs, stopping to flick his tongue over one nipple, making King hiss. “You did say explore right, and not torture?”

  Leo’s smile was wicked. “Is that what I said?” He flicked his tongue again, and King moved his hands only to have Leo grab his wrists and pin them to the bed on either side of King’s head. “Did I give you the order to move, soldier?”

  King cursed under his breath, and Leo’s answering chuckle was decadent. “I should have known you were going to be trouble.”

  “You could use a little trouble, if you ask me.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  Leo nodded. “Now don’t move those hands.”

  King did as ordered and kept his hands to the sides of his head as Leo continued to torture him with kisses, licks, and flicks of his tongue to every dip and curve of King’s torso. Leo was already half-hard, and King wondered when he’d lost his grip on his control. Definitely after Leo. He’d never had that problem before Leo, especially in the bedroom.

  True to his word, Leo took every opportunity to torture him, gliding his hands up King’s legs to his inner thighs, making sure to avoid his groin. He sat on King’s stomach and palmed his now hard cock. King moved his arms, and Leo stopped. Little shit.

  “Are you disobeying orders, soldier?”

  King breathed in deep through his nose and released the breath slowly through his mouth. “No, sir.”

  “Good. Now, I’m going to jerk off and come on your stomach. If you move, I stop.”

  “I was wrong. You’re not trouble.” King narrowed his eyes at Leo. “You’re evil.”

  Leo released a villain-worthy laugh before he started pumping his cock, slowly at first, his hand twisting, using his come to ease the friction. His skin was flushed, his lips swollen, his entire body showed evidence of being completely wrecked by King.

  “You’re so fucking beautiful,” King said, drawing his legs up, bending his knees, and forcing Leo closer. Leo’s knowing smile had King’s skin feeling too tight. He could do this. He’d been through real torture. This was a walk in the park.

  Leo undulated his hips, rocking into his hand, the rosy tip of his cock leaking over his fingers. He put two fingers to his mouth, parting his lips, and working his tongue around them, his eyes half lidded and filled with lust. King had never seen anything so mouthwatering.

  “Feed me your cock,” King said, barely recognizing his own voice. It was gravelly and deep, strained. “Leo.” Was he begging? Fuck this. He didn’t beg.

  “You want to suck my dick?” Leo asked boldly, holding his cock just out of King’s reach.

  King narrowed his gaze. “You’re two seconds away from being very sorry.”

  “Show me,” Leo challenged.

  Chapter 8

  Leo was playing a dangerous game. He knew that.

  Baiting a man like King, purposefully poking and prodding, challenging, trying to get him to lose his control was foolish. It was also the most exciting experience of his life. Gauntlet thrown, Leo sprang out of bed, but a steel grip suddenly held him around the waist. King spun him around, hoisted him up, and pushed him against the wall, pinning Leo there with his body, his rock-hard cock pressing against Leo’s.

  King smashed their mouths together, his fingers curled into Leo’s hair, his hold tight. Leo wrapped his legs around King’s waist, thrusting his hips, their leaking cocks rubbing against each other.

  “Yes,” Leo hissed. Fuck, he loved how strong King was. How he could lift Leo without any strain. Had anyone else shown that kind of strength around him, Leo would have been wary, but he knew no matter the circumstance, even if King’s control were to snap, King would never hurt him. Knowing Leo had that much of a hold over a man like King, a man with so much power, made him feel giddy, almost high. “Fuck me, King. I want to feel you for days.”

  King lined his cock up with Leo’s hole, and Leo gasped. Their eyes met, and he nodded. “I trust you.”

  “I get tested every quarter. I can show you the results.”

  Leo swallowed hard. “They ran tests before taking me to the bunker.”

  King didn’t bother with more words. He drove himself inside Leo, and Leo banged his fist against the wall, the burn yielding to incredible pleasure.

  “Fuck!”

  “You asked for it, baby,” King growled, scraping his teeth down the side of Leo’s neck. “We’re in for a world of trouble, you know that?”

  “How do you figure?” Leo was breathless, the feel of King bare inside him, filling him, made him tremble. He nipped at King’s ear and scraped his nails over King’s shoulders, drawing a hiss from him. Leo bit at his jaw, not hard, but enough to make King curse. Loudly.