Fortune's Favor

Chapter Nine

Three days later, Avery sat across from Jack’s desk in the basement of the PowerUp! gym. A place only select employees frequented, the secret downstairs provided the ex-agents of the PWP an area to train in and relax away from prying eyes.

And speaking of which… “Jack, something’s off.”

“I know.” Jack looked grim, at least more than usual. Avery worked out, but Jack looked like he ate muscles for breakfast. The guy rarely smiled, but he was a fair man. For Jack to seem concerned told him he’d been right to trust his instincts.

“I think it’s Dixon.”

“So do I. The reports I’ve gotten aren’t good at all. You know he can touch a weapon and access its full potential.”

Avery nodded.

“Well, the guy’s not just good with guns, swords, knives, you name it, but he’s off his fucking rocker. The CIA was using him to do their dirty work in areas of the world the public doesn’t know about. But he went off the reservation months ago. Killed his handler, a few operatives higher up in the organization, then disappeared.”

“Until he found Danielle.”

Jack nodded. “Until he found Danielle. The problem is, according to my sources, Dixon thought they were dead. Probably to protect Danielle and Nathan, his handler had told him she’d died. She left the area and never used the name Dixon again. So Malcolm never looked for her. But something changed, and he found her. We have to assume he knows about Nathan as well, since you had that vision.”

Avery forced himself to sit still even though he felt like squirming in his seat. At least with Nathan not present, he might feel Jack out to see what he should say about the Dixon relation angle.

“Spill it.”

Avery sighed. “I saw something that concerns me.”

Jack sat in silence.

“A conversation between Nathan and me. Malcolm Dixon is Nathan’s father.”

Jack’s wolf gray eyes didn’t twitch. “Hadn’t seen that one coming.”

“Me neither. I think we all assumed Danielle had an affair when Dixon was on tour, gave her baby away so Malcolm wouldn’t know, and bam, Nathan’s past is just that.”

“But now we know Malcolm and Danielle are Nathan’s biological parents. What does he think?”

“I haven’t told him yet.”

“Why?”

Because I don’t like him hurting. Because he’s vulnerable right now, and I’m worried about him. “Because he’s a target as it is, still grieving over the loss of his mother. If he learns Dixon is his father, he might go over the edge and do something stupid. You know Nathan.”

Jack grimaced. “I do. He’s only slightly less annoying than Price.”

Keegan Price, a friend and telekinetic Texan with a chip on his shoulder, loved nothing better than to make Jack’s life hell.

“Ah, so you think I should tell him?”

“No. You’re right. Keep it quiet, at least for now. He’s got enough on his plate dealing with Dixon as it is. I have feelers out, but nothing has turned up yet. But like you, my skin crawls at the oddest times, and always near Nathan. We have to assume Dixon had spotted him and has eyes on, somehow. He’s psychic, but maybe there’s more to him than his psychometry with weapons.”

“How is it we know next to nothing about this guy?” Frustration made him tense.

“I don’t like it either.” Jack studied him, and Avery worried he saw too much. “What’s different about you?”

“Other than not liking this shitty assignment? Not much.”

“I was surprised you wanted to back off in Bloomville, but your reasoning made sense. Now I’m not so sure.”

Shit. Avery didn’t need this. He stood. “If that’s all?”

“For now.” Jack’s eyes narrowed. “You sure there’s nothing else you want to tell me?”

“Only that the move back here was a tactical one. I don’t want you to think I’m giving up on retrieving that sword.”

“Of course not. Major Holton always fulfills the mission.” Jack gave him a slight smile. “That’s what I like about you, Avery. That, and you follow orders.”

“I live to please.”

“Yeah, try spreading the word, would you? Managing all you psychics underfoot is like herding cats.”

Avery chuckled.

“And when you see Nathan, tell him to clean the shit out of his locker. Something foul is making the entire locker room stink.”

“Will do, boss.”

Jack grumbled under his breath, ran a large hand through his hair, and leaned over his desk, engrossed in paperwork. Had to be killing the guy, because one thing Jack Keiser wasn’t was a pencil pusher.

Avery left before his boss could question him further and went in search of Nathan. He found him upstairs, arguing with Ian by the laundry in the back.

“Hey, who’s manning the desk?” Avery asked.

Ian and Nathan glared at each other, ignoring him.

“I’m hearing myself, so I must be making noise.”

Nathan sighed. “Chloe’s out front with one of her husbands, lovers, whatever the hell they are.”

“Fiancés,” Ian corrected. “Honestly, Nathan, you were much more pleasant before your little joyride to PA. Now you’re acting more like him.” He motioned to Avery and said, “No offense.”

“None taken.” Avery waited for Nathan to look at him, but for some reason, Nathan was keeping his distance. They’d arrived back in town late last night, and Nathan had asked to be dropped off at his place and left alone. Truth to tell, Avery had welcomed the space. And if he’d felt lonely this morning, missing Nathan’s company, that was only to be expected after spending the past week glued to the guy.

“Okay, you two. What’s up?”

Ian had a twinkle in his eye, and the bright blue color of his irises didn’t seem real. Yet Avery knew Ian didn’t wear contacts. He thought the color had something to do with his ability to detect patterns, a psychic overlay of power visible in that gaze that picked up minutiae with ease.

Avery had always wondered if Nathan and Ian had ever hooked up. Slender yet toned, just shy of six feet, with features that stunned no matter how many times you looked at him, Ian wore his sexuality like a banner, gay and proud of it. Avery found him amusing, funny, and an intelligent companion to spend time with. Not his type, exactly, since Ian seemed almost too pretty. And that long hair didn’t turn him on. Avery preferred a muscular frame, an annoying propensity to disobey the rules, and apparently the ability to ignore him in the presence of friends.

“Hey, assholes. I’m talking to both of you,” he directed to Nathan.

But instead of responding with a smart-assed remark, Nathan turned on his heel and walked away.

Avery tried hard not to stare at Nathan’s ass. “What the hell?”

“Your boyfriend is jealous.”

Avery turned to Ian. “What?”

“I was teasing him, that’s all. I swear.” He held up his hands in surrender. “I might have mentioned how hot you are in the sack, or so I’d ‘heard,’ and he snapped at me. I get the feeling our playboy has decided to settle and put down roots around our own Major Holton. Could I possibly be right?”

Nathan, jealous? Avery wanted to think so, but there was something else wrong with his partner.

“Ian, you feeling anything weird lately?”

Ian sighed. “None of you are any fun anymore. And before you try to beat an answer out of me, yes, something is big-time creeping us all out. Don’t let Nathan out of your sight. My money is on his uncle.”

“That’s what I thought.” Avery turned away, but Ian stopped him.

“And Avery? I’ve been feeling weird for a few days now. I think Dixon has been here for a while, staking the place out. That means he knows about Nathan, about us, and he’s forewarned.”

“Yeah.” Perfect. What else could go wrong? He followed Nathan into the main gym, where several people welcomed him back with open arms, all folks he recognized. Chloe and one of her men stood by the entrance, keeping a sharp eye out, he assumed. The Cannon brothers were good to have around. Both lethal and not afraid to use force. Jack gave them high marks, which was good enough for him.

“Avery!” Diane Holcomb, his ex, rushed to greet him and enveloped him in a huge hug. “It’s been a while.”

Not long enough. He saw Nathan’s scowl out of the corner of his eye and felt guilty—for what, he didn’t know. It wasn’t as if he was fucking the woman. He was having a conversation, nothing more. “Diane. Good to see you.” He forced a smile and wished for a drink.

They made small talk while Avery kept Nathan in his periphery. He felt like an idiot for reveling in Nathan’s irritation. It did him good to know his partner—lover—hadn’t decided to scrap the beginning of their relationship the minute they returned. They hadn’t had much of an opportunity to talk since coming home, but Avery intended to remedy that. The sooner the better.

Nathan suddenly stood next to him with an expectant look on his face. Avery read banked fury in his eyes. Oh hell.

“Diane, I’d like you to meet Nathan, a friend of mine. Nathan, Diane. She and I used to date.”

“Hi, Nathan.” Diane gushed, no more immune to the charm Nathan turned on than anyone else. In minutes, Nathan directed the conversation from Avery toward Diane and her business, Bend, and her social life.

“Well, I was going to ask Avery if he wanted to go to a movie next week,” she said with a smile.

Such a nice woman. But she hadn’t sparked more from Avery than some pleasant sex and a companion to make movie or dinner palatable. She was fun, easy to get along with, but not exciting. Not like Nathan.

“I’m sure he’d like to go, but he’s got plans.” Nathan shocked him by reaching for his hand and squeezing tight. “Don’t you?” he asked in a low voice.

Diane’s eyes widened. Though Avery had been up-front with her about his sexual proclivities, seeing the truth had to be something else.

“Oh, well. I see.” She chuckled. “Though come to think of it, I’m not surprised. You two look good together.”

Nathan blinked, then smiled with delight. “We do, don’t we?” He hustled her away and whispered something into her ear that had her giggling and looking back at Avery.

I so don’t want to know. He turned around only to see Ian, Chloe, and one of her dudes staring at him.

“What?” he snapped.

“I knew all that antagonism was hiding a bundle of lust.” Ian smiled like the cat that had eaten the canary. “That bastard owes me money.” He looked past Avery at Nathan.

“You bet on me?”

“I bet he’d make a move. Hell, yeah. Only a blind man could miss the sparks flying between you two. The way you constantly argued, you might as well have been married.” Ian clapped his hands together. “Told you, Chloe.”

She groaned. “Now he’s going to be impossible to live with.”

“Hey. How about work with?” her fiancé said. “No way in hell is Ian living with us.”

“Good point, Josh.”

Nathan returned, but when his gaze met Avery’s, he glared. “Come on. We need to talk.”

“The four words every man dreads to hear,” Ian practically sang.

Nathan flipped him off. Avery did one better and cuffed Ian in the back of the head.

“Ow. I’m injured! You big bully.”

“Good God. Chloe, take the drama queen into the back before he scares off the customers, would you?”

Josh sighed. “I’ll do it. Chloe and Xavier can man the front desk.” He yanked Ian by the collar and dragged him away.

Ian winked and continued to lament his treatment, while gym patrons laughed, no doubt familiar with his antics.

Avery hurried to find Nathan waiting impatiently outside by the front door. He took Nathan by the arm and pulled him toward his truck.

“Get off me.”

“Can it, princess. You want an argument, we’ll do it at my place. I don’t like it out here. We’re not alone.”

Nathan opened his mouth to argue, then snapped it closed. “Fine. But you’re feeding me too.”

“What else is new?” Avery hopped in the truck and drove them to his house in the northwest section of town. He lived near the mountains in an area away from close-in neighbors. Jack had put people on Nathan’s house the moment they left for Bloomville, in the event Dixon made a move. But so far his surveillance had turned up no hint of Dixon. Avery wasn’t reassured.

They made the drive in silence. Once they arrived, Avery took another look around and, this time, feeling more at ease, entered his house after deactivating the alarm code. Nathan stepped in with him and studied the house while Avery reset the alarm.

“It suits you.”

This should be good. “Oh?”

“Cold, manly, and dark.” Nathan shrugged.

“Okay. I’ll bite. What the hell did I do to piss you off?”

“For starters, why don’t you quit hiding our relationship?” Nathan paced, his nervous energy needing an outlet Avery would much rather put to good use in bed.

He shifted his stance and hoped the idiot didn’t notice his arousal. “What relationship?”

Nathan stopped. “Don’t be an asshole, more than you already are,” he said with disdain. “We did more than fucking out there, and you know it.”

“I know it. But do you?” Avery closed in on Nathan before he could back away. “You’re the one with commitment issues, not me. I don’t have a new man in my life every other week.”

“No, just a woman looking to fuck your brains out,” Nathan sniped.

“Why, Nathan. I didn’t know you cared.” Avery smirked.

Sure enough, Nathan retaliated. He grabbed Avery’s shoulders and tried to wrap his foot around Avery’s ankle, hoping to trip him off his feet. Avery countered by widening his stance and putting his hand around Nathan’s throat.

“You know I consider this foreplay, right?”

Nathan snarled and ducked, landing a punch to Avery’s midsection that would have winded him if he hadn’t braced for it.

“Okay. You want to play? We’ll play.” He took Nathan down in three moves and lay over his partner, belly to back. He rubbed himself against Nathan’s taut ass, wanting inside. Wanting to come. “How about you tell me what’s really bothering you?”

“Besides the fact you’re a dickhead who doesn’t know the meaning of the word loyalty?” Nathan tilted his hips, pushing his ass up against Avery. Begging for a beating. Or a good, hard fucking.

“You really lack discipline, dimples.” Avery kept Nathan pinned to the floor with his chest while he worked Nathan’s pants and underwear down to his knees. Then he freed his own dick from his pants and spit on his hand. “So we’ll make it burn.”

“Fuck you.” Nathan moaned and teased with that ass, the little jerk.

“This is gonna hurt, but I think you want that.” Avery spit again, sliding his saliva over his cock. He wasn’t nearly as slick as he needed to be, but Nathan didn’t seem to want easy. Still facedown on the floor, Nathan was tighter than a drum.

Avery pried apart his cheeks and positioned himself at Nathan’s ass. “Now open for me, baby. That’s it,” he crooned as he pushed inside the warm welcome of Nathan’s body. He didn’t need to reach around to know his lover was just as hard, just as frantic to come. And the coarse rug under him couldn’t be fun on his cock.

But Avery wanted to give Nathan what he needed, so he rode him hard. The narrow passage gloved his shaft, making the friction unbearable as he neared his end much too soon.

“Little bastard. Too proud to just say what you feel,” Avery panted as he thrust in and out. “Just tell me, Nathan. Is it so hard to tell me what you want?” He slammed home and jerked, his seed rushing out in one long, drawn-out orgasm.

Moments later, he withdrew and turned Nathan onto his back. He rubbed Nathan’s cock and stared into his lover’s eyes, taken by the emotional minefield staring back at him. Regret, anger, affection—all of it melded into a pool of need as Nathan reached his end. His breathing increased, and he arched into Avery’s touch as Avery gripped him tighter.

“Yeah, oh yeah. Please,” he moaned as he erupted, coming all over Avery’s hand.

Avery squeezed and rubbed his hand on Nathan’s belly. Then he left his lover lying there to go clean up. He returned with a damp rag and took care of Nathan, wiping his belly and turning him over to clean his ass. After tossing the rag and helping Nathan stand, he watched his lover button up.

When Nathan continued to say nothing, he relented.

“I was giving you the time you asked me for.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“You asked me to drop you off at your place, so I did. You wanted space; I gave it to you. Now you’re pissed at me for doing what you wanted? I’m confused.”

Nathan thrust his hands in his pockets. “I don’t want you to be different here.”

“What?”

“You were mine out there. We did more than fucking,” Nathan said, as if daring Avery to deny him.

“I know.”

Nathan opened his mouth and closed it. “Well.”

“Yeah. Well.” Avery crossed his arms over his chest and waited. The poor guy. Nathan didn’t know what he wanted.

“I—Oh hell. I’m sorry, okay?” Nathan ran a hand over his face. “I’m confused, I’m angry, and I’m worried. And I’m… I…I want you. I want you to stick around, okay?”

“Where would I go?” Avery asked softly, starting to understand.

“Fuck, Avery. I didn’t want to have this conversation with you.”

“Talk, dimples. You need to.”

“It’s just… I like you. I really, really like you. And it’s not just the sex.” He flushed, that adorable embarrassment that made Avery like him all the more.

“Then what is it?”

“I want us to be more. A couple maybe.” His gaze flashed with defiance.

“Hmm. A monogamous couple? Just you and me, no other lovers?”

“Man or woman,” Nathan agreed.

“Is this just because you saw Diane? I can tell you right now, she and I—”

“No. It’s more than that, dammit.” Nathan frowned. “I think about you all the time. Even before we were together, I wanted to be more with you. But the timing now, it’s all wrong. You’ll think this is because of my mother, but it’s not.”

“You sure?” Avery needed Nathan to know, because going out on a limb to love a man like Nathan was asking a hell of a lot.

“I just… It’s not easy for me to attach to someone. Sure, I date a lot. I like men.”

“So do I.”

“But I never found one I really liked. Not until you.” Nathan’s soulful expression drew Avery closer, and before he knew it, he’d reached his lover and drew him into his arms.

“What are you saying, Nathan?”

“Hell, I don’t know.” Nathan’s eyes filled. “Well, fuck.”

“Don’t cry, baby.” A tear spilled over. “You know, it’s not manly to cry.”

Nathan laughed through more tears. “You’re such a dick. No wonder I love you.”

They both froze.

Avery’s heart threatened to race out of his chest while Nathan backpedaled.

“I meant, no wonder I love being with you. You know, hanging around. Fucking. Don’t get all overly emotional and freak out on me.”

Avery leaned closer and kissed him before Nathan could dig himself any deeper. Knowing how much Nathan worried about scaring him away did more to ease his anxiety than any words he might have said. The kiss was sweet, then carnal, then comforting, and through it all, Nathan accepted Avery taking the lead.

“That’s it. Let that speak for me, okay? I’m not going anywhere, princess.”

“Dick.”

Avery grinned when Nathan sighed. “You’re stuck with me. I’m going to keep your ass safe while we find your uncle and deal with him.”

“And then?”

“And then we’ll take it one step at a time to make sure you’re good with us. Remember, I’m the one who has deep relationships. You’re the love-’em-and-leave-’em type. I should be more scared of you than you are of me.”

“Just stay with me, okay?”

“Tonight?”

“Yeah, yeah. Tonight. And maybe tomorrow. And we’ll plan on Wednesday too. Jesus, do you need me to write it down on a calendar to agree? Or can you just say yes and offer me some damn comfort!”

Avery chuckled and hugged Nathan close. He loved that they were near enough in height to stand cheek to cheek. “Okay, okay. I’ll stay. But you’re actually going to have to move your shit in here. No way I’m living voluntarily in a condo.”

“Who would have guessed you’re such a snob?” Nathan leaned back to look around him and gave a mock shudder. “Especially with this décor?”

Avery squeezed him tighter. “And no messes. I could barely handle your dirty clothes in those hotel rooms. You live here, you clean up after yourself.”

Nathan’s smile faded. “When you say live here, you mean just for now, right?”

Keeping up with Nathan’s moods was impossible. Did he want permanence or didn’t he? But Avery didn’t want to push. “Nathan, I mean whatever you want me to mean. We’ll take it slow, okay? I want this threat away from you before I have to deal with your sorry ass on a day-to-day basis.”

And that quickly, the spark of nervousness vanished. “Sorry ass? You mean tight, delectable, fuckable ass. You’re the sorry one. That attitude, that couch, those clothes. Really.” Nathan continued to taunt him, so Avery gave him what he needed.

Another sound thrashing, some mind-blowing sex, and the love Nathan craved but wouldn’t admit to needing.