Bound by Law: Men of Honor, Book 2 Read online

  Instead, he jerked away from Styx. “You don’t put him anywhere—he’s mine.”

  And then he got up off the floor and went into the next bedroom, determined to prove it.

  Chapter Four

  Paulo had heard the fight over the TV and his hand had remained on the doorknob for a few long moments, trying to assess if Law needed him.

  Sixteen years was a long time apart, and the CIA—hell, any law enforcement, government or military work—did things to a man. Styx might not be the same person Law thought he was.

  And so he opened the door, had been standing there for longer than either Styx or Law knew before he’d cleared his throat to make his presence known. Couldn’t help it, really—it was…hot. Fascinating. Incredible. The two big men grinding together like gladiators fighting it out to the death.

  That’s what this was—nothing more, nothing less than love. Paulo could see it in both men’s eyes—their actions, while rough, were nothing short of a major turn-on for him because of the underlying tenderness.

  Paulo watched Styx strip and get Law onto his back, telling Law, “Go ahead—you know you like it better when you resist”

  The power and the struggle between the two men was simply an awesome display. Two gladiators, fighting to get their fill.

  Paulo’s mouth had gone dry as he watched them wrestle, all the while knowing how it would end, and yet he was unable to look away.

  Watching Law with someone else could hurt him, but somehow, watching him with Styx was all right. Because this was a man who loved Law for real and Paulo understood that sentiment with a ferocity that scared him.

  He’d held Law up as a jerk-off fantasy long before he’d ever had occasion to approach him. And Law was so much better than the fantasy, which rarely happened.

  He’d been hard just thinking about it, but now his cock was impossibly so. It was going to happen right in front of him. The two powerful men rolled along the floor and Paulo knew it was only a matter of time before Law conceded. He’d loved the man for too long, and all the pent-up anger only fueled the already sexually tense situation.

  And so Paulo moved away, because he didn’t want to spy on them, not like this, because the fight would soon turn into an intimate moment.

  But when he heard Styx mention the hand job, that pissed the hell out of him. He’d been worried about Law in the restaurant and Law had been too busy getting off to worry about anything else.

  Motherfucker.

  In his life, sometimes he’d fought for what he wanted—most times, he hadn’t wanted anything that badly and so he’d simply walked away.

  This time, he couldn’t do that. The need for Law was simply too great.

  This time, he would fight.

  So yes, he’d known what he was doing when he’d goaded Law and Styx, but he hadn’t thought Law would come at him like a charging bull.

  Didn’t think he’d kick the door closed behind him, yank off his already undone pants and come at Paulo with a fire in his eyes and a cock as hard as glass.

  “Hands up,” he ordered Paulo, and Paulo didn’t bother to protest. Law stripped the T-shirt off him, used it to bind his wrists together and then to the headboard with a hard knot, then sucked hard on a nipple while cupping his cock through his jeans.

  He’d still been aroused from their earlier kissing session so Law’s hot mouth on his skin made his body jolt. He drew in a sharp, jerky breath and arched into Law, because he didn’t want the man to stop sucking or fondling…needed the contact more intensely than he’d ever needed it before.

  This was reassurance…this was everything.

  Law scraped his teeth over the now taut nipple, tugged it between them, making Paulo cry out.

  “More, Law,” he managed, his voice close to breaking because Law was doing it just right, like he was getting to the root of a pleasure spot few could hit.

  But Law pulled back then, stared down at him.

  “Old man?” Law’s tone was dangerous, and Paulo swallowed hard, especially when Law yanked down his jeans and circled Paulo’s cock with his hand. He stroked hard, and Paulo arched again, precome spilling. His balls tightened and he would have to force himself not to come all over his stomach immediately. “How about this old man fucking you until you can’t walk?”

  “You…can…try,” Paulo managed, and the pent-up tension he’d noted in Law was going to spill over into him.

  “How you under-fucking-estimate me,” Law growled against his mouth before he got off and searched for lube, found it in the pocket of his jeans and came back with a thick smear of it on his two middle fingers and a condom on his already impossibly hard cock.

  He nudged Paulo’s thighs far apart as Paulo fought for the wiseass persona he’d had just minutes earlier, but once Law’s fingers entered him, all bets were off. The fingers scissored and twisted together, taking his ass and making him rock to Law’s rhythm while Law watched his face.

  “Yeah, you like that, baby?”

  He opened his mouth to respond but a moan came out instead, especially when Law hit his prostate with a knuckle and then held the base of Paulo’s cock with his other hand so he couldn’t come too soon.

  “Did that turn you on to watch?” Law asked, and fuck yeah, it had. Was it not supposed to? Paulo could usually handle himself in any situation, but this one had him spinning.

  “Yes,” Paulo heard himself say, and Law replaced his fingers with his cock. When Law entered him, a long, hard stroke until Paulo called out—maybe it was Law’s name or more or both because Law grinned, leaned back on his heels and held Paulo’s hips, yanking him harder into his cock. Took him with a ferocity that made Paulo whimper with surrender, only too glad Law hadn’t given him the choice.

  He didn’t want one. Watched Law’s face as he pounded his ass, his prostate damned near singing from the constant contact, and it was almost too much, but he couldn’t give in this fast. Couldn’t give Law that complete satisfaction, because fuck it all, the man had been ready to let Styx take him.

  Paulo shut his eyes for a second and imagined what that would’ve been like…if they’d have invited him inside had he walked in any later.

  When he opened his eyes, a movement over Law’s shoulder caught his eye. Styx, standing by the door, watching Paulo, and Paulo could imagine what Styx was seeing: Paulo with his wrists tied to the bedposts, spread, being thoroughly fucked.

  He didn’t leave and Paulo was incoherent, unable to tell Law or maybe Law knew and didn’t care, because indeed, his only big concern at the moment seemed to be plowing Paulo. And maybe Styx had come in to reclaim Law, to punch Paulo for his earlier remarks…but the man didn’t appear to be angry. Just the opposite—he was turned on, his eyes glazed with lust as Paulo felt them rake him.

  What would it be like to have that man’s hands on him? What would it be like to be in between them, in every sense?

  When he looked up at Law again, he had a small grin tugging the corner of his mouth. He knew…and he knew it turned Law on.

  “Go ahead and watch him watching you, baby, if that’s turning you on.”

  Paulo looked at Styx again—the man was smiling. Had moved closer to the bed, his arousal unmistakable through his jeans…

  “Gonna call me old again?” Law asked, and Paulo looked between him and Styx and shook his head. “Yeah, you will…and I’ll just have to keep fucking you blind every time you so much as think it.”

  Styx nodded his assent and then their eyes locked as Paulo came, hard as he ever had, at the same time Law’s orgasm ripped through him. His eyes shifted to Law, who smiled at him the way Paulo had wanted him to from day one, and somehow, he knew they’d all won in some small way tonight.

  The pleasure seared him from head to toe, the throb of his climax overtook every part of him, made him shudder and shake and fucking nearly lose consciousness, at least until he heard Law whispering his name against his cheek, holding him much more tenderly than he had before.

  When P
aulo finally opened his eyes again, Styx was long gone, but most definitely not forgotten by either man in the bed.

  Law eased out of him slowly, but Paulo still winced. It had been a rough ride and he’d be feeling it for a while, and still his ass missed the contact of Law’s dick. He watched Law head to the bathroom and when he came back, he had a washcloth that he used to clean Paulo.

  Normally, Paulo didn’t like to be fussed over like this, but he didn’t protest since Law seemed intent on the task at hand.

  When he was done, he threw the cloth in the general direction of the bathroom, untied Paulo and lay next to the younger man, propped on an elbow.

  “Did he tell you what’s going on?” Paulo asked finally, because that for sure was the safer of the topics right now, and God, what a fucking commentary on their situation that was.

  “He did.” Law told him everything about Styx’s assassin father, the CIA’s involvement, Styx’s continued lack of memory…and the fact that Styx’s father wouldn’t back down this time.

  When Law finished, Paulo closed his eyes and turned over, letting the threat of danger settle over him like a heavy blanket.

  What this meant for all of them was something Paulo knew could turn very serious. It wasn’t only about Styx taking out his father—it was making sure he didn’t bring retribution down on all their heads.

  Paulo could only imagine how the conversation had turned into this intense thing he’d walked in on. All he said was, “You knew he was watching us.”

  “And you were watching him.”

  At the semi-accusation in Law’s voice, Paulo turned back to him, asked, “Wait—you almost let him fuck you and then you came to me and now you’re pissed at a…fantasy?”

  He hadn’t meant to say it quite like that, but it had slipped out and now he’d have to deal with the consequences.

  “Is that what he is—part of your fantasy?” Law asked.

  “Were you fucking me or him?”

  “You, Paulo. But you knew that.”

  He did, but he also knew it was Styx who’d set Law’s blood to boiling this time. Paulo had simply taken him the rest of the way.

  And while Paulo had for sure enjoyed the ride, he was also confused as hell. “You didn’t come around for three months.”

  “And then I did,” Law said softly.

  “Were you just bored? Horny?”

  “Horny and bored would have me getting off in the clubs, and that hasn’t been the same since you,” Law admitted.

  “Sorry to interfere with your casual fucking.”

  “You were celibate the whole time you didn’t see me?”

  Paulo remained silent because no, definitely not. He’d been desperate to get the feelings Law stirred in him gone…and it hadn’t worked worth a damn.

  “I didn’t think so,” Law said. And then, “Who was he? Or was there more than one?”

  Paulo was enjoying Law’s jealousy way more than he thought he would. “Didn’t think you’d mind.”

  “I mind,” Law growled, pulling Paulo against him and kissing him hard. “I fucking mind a lot.”

  “Your past is in the next room and it’s nowhere near past. Am I supposed to not mind that?”

  “I don’t know, Paulo. Can we get through this situation and then figure it out?”

  “If all the secrets are laid out, sure,” Paulo said, but he didn’t push further, and Law let go of the ominous feeling he always got when someone made an attempt to learn about his past.

  “Hey, you’re keeping secrets from me, too. Styx might’ve had you checked out, but I knew something was up,” Law told him. “Is what he said true, about not staying in one place very long?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Would you have left without telling me first?”

  Paulo’s gaze was steady, his voice firm even as he lied through his teeth. “No. Never.”

  Law let it slide. Before this, he hadn’t probed into Paulo’s past because he didn’t like when anyone tried to talk about his. But Styx had obviously investigated Paulo…and if he hadn’t liked what he’d found, Paulo would not be here with them.

  Styx had found something that made him want Paulo with them, which could really only mean one thing.

  Paulo was a lost boy, just like them. With that in mind, he pulled Paulo to him tightly, and Paulo let him, buried his face in Law’s chest and for a long while they just lay there, letting everything sink in.

  “Not how I pictured tonight,” he mumbled, and Law chuckled.

  “You weren’t complaining earlier.”

  Paulo lifted his head sleepily. “Never complain about spending time with you, Law.”

  Law. Slowly, he was starting to think of himself that way as well. Despite—or maybe because of the danger, he hadn’t felt this alive forever. “Did you really hang around longer than you would have…because of me?”

  “Why do you sound like that’s so hard to believe?” Paulo asked. “I waited my whole life to feel about someone the way I feel about you. Patience was all I had in the end.”

  “While you waited for me to come to my senses, right?”

  “Something like that.”

  “I guess we’ve both got secrets.”

  “You want to know mine?” Paulo asked. “I was about to put in my notice at the precinct. Because of this, it sounds like I will, anyway. But it was time to move on.”

  “I guess you have your reasons…but in light of what’s happened, I need to know if someone’s looking for you.”

  “It’s nothing like that. Styx didn’t spill the details?”

  “No, and I didn’t ask him.”

  “But suddenly, you want to know things. You’re all interested. I guess I should’ve saved your life earlier.”

  Law sighed. “Yeah, all right, that’s fair. I pushed you away for a long time. I’ve been an asshole—you knew that about me from before we met.”

  “Yeah, I did. I guess that’s what drew me to you in the first place.” Paulo’s words dripped with sarcasm.

  “That and my boots,” Law said, reminding Paulo of the fantasy the younger man told him on their first date, a fantasy he’d had in the months leading up to actually meeting Law at Crave. And that made Paulo smile a little, letting it tug the corner of his mouth up.

  “Is that why you wore them tonight?” Paulo asked, glanced over to the corner where Law had shed them before he’d come at Paulo like a tornado.

  “I’ll do anything that turns you on.”

  Paulo shook his head as he considered that. After a few long moments, he started to talk about the story Styx had alluded to. “My father’s an ex-New York City cop—he was jailed on a corruption charge about ten years ago. It was a big deal—hit all the national papers. He was abusing prisoners. He and his partner went too far and they couldn’t cover it up. The hospital got suspicious and they were brought up on charges. My father’s defense was that the guy was gay—that he propositioned them…they said the prisoner abused himself in order to frame the cops.”

  “Did he know you’re gay?”

  “He knew. Keeping it a secret from my family was never an option for me. It would be like cutting off an arm and trying to live. I never came out at work—I understood the dangers inherent in that. But my father was disgusted. He said, everyone’s going to know by looking at you.”

  “Yeah, the scarlet G you have burned onto your forehead,” Law muttered.

  “I was on the force maybe eight months when it broke. I had to get the hell out of there before he was convicted, even though his lawyers tried to persuade me to stay through the trial. I was getting death threats. People thought I was like him. They figured, like father, like son…a bigoted bastard.” Paulo shook his head. “It’s the ultimate irony.”

  “I’m sorry, Paulo.”

  “I started moving around, precinct to precinct. Someone always brings it up eventually. Then it spreads through the department and people figure I’m just like him. Even my sergeants get suspicious. How the
fuck am I supposed to work like that?” Paulo’s eyes were hot with anger. “It’s gotten so bad, I’m going to have to go private. I planned on it after this stint in North Carolina.”

  Law nodded. “Do you talk to your father at all?”

  “No. He’s out now—did six years because he pleaded to a lesser charge. I don’t talk to anyone in my family. They’re pissed at me for leaving the city, for being gay…it’s easier to be on my own.”

  “Sounds lonely.”

  “Nothing’s perfect.”

  Law thought about Paulo drifting from place to place, never forming any ties. Always worried his past would come out. “You deserve better.”

  Paulo kicked out from the sheets and sat up, his back to Law. He stayed there a long time and then he finally said, “I know what I deserve and what I want. But what do you see in me? Besides the tattoos.”

  Goddamn, Law loved those. His dick hardened just at the mention, which made him stare again at Paulo’s back and arms, and he got up and sat next to Paulo. “You make me nervous. That hasn’t happened in forever. The only other person I’ve ever said that to was Styx.”

  He guessed that Greg had been wrong—lightning did indeed strike twice. Now, Law just needed to figure out what to do with it.

  “Control’s all I ever had,” Law continued. “Giving it up in any situation—including during sex—is hard for me.”

  “Did you lose it with me?”

  “You couldn’t tell?” Law asked softly. “Jesus, Paulo, I don’t go on dates…or spend the night. I’m all about anonymous sex, no strings, no talk of personal life. And with you, I couldn’t keep that shield up. Couldn’t not see you, and for a while, I hated you because I wanted you. And then I couldn’t stay away.”

  Law’s confession made Paulo’s chest ache, especially when he thought about how close he’d come to putting in his resignation at the precinct. It was written, printed out, sitting on his desk, and every day Paulo would pick it up, think about folding it up into the envelope sitting next to it and bringing it into the precinct with him.

  The only thing he knew for sure was that his next move wouldn’t be to another precinct. No it would be to something he could do on his own—PI or bounty hunting or bail bonding…anything where he couldn’t be found out by a group of coworkers.