The shooting successfully killed their mood for both dinner and sex, to Gabriel’s surprise. The mushrooms and other supplies had survived the shooting as well as the police inquisition that followed for the next couple of hours. They hadn’t been pleased that neither Gabriel nor Justin could provide a good answer for why their vehicle had been shot up. And there had been very little lying involved when it came to their answers because they didn’t know who the hell was trying to kill them.

It just seemed strange to Gabriel that they had someone on their tail already with this contract. How could anyone have known already? He tried asking Justin if there was a chance that this was something more person directed at him, but the man wouldn’t even consider the idea. Gabriel was tempted to contact Marilyn, just to double check that there wasn’t a contract out on Justin’s head. And not because he was looking to take it. But if there was another player on the field with a completely different goal, then Gabriel wanted to know about it.

Dinner plans fizzled to a frozen pizza while they retreated to their separate corners to focus on work for the rest of the night. Gabriel hated to admit that he was disappointed to watch Justin retreat to the basement with the promise to continue working on the hack into Iaso as well as trying to break into the doctor’s stolen hard drive. Gabriel contented himself with digging around the information that he could find on Dane Hamilton and Dr. Saul Elba.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t much out there beyond the usual fluffy public relations pieces and a few research articles published by Elba. No smoking guns or neatly written confession letters.

By midnight, Gabriel was rubbing his eyes as he wrote out a few notes from his research. Just a couple thoughts on things to check on the next day after he’d had a few hours of sleep. Not that he was at all looking forward to attempting to sleep. He’d had little sleep since arriving in the United States and the quality was getting worse each night. The hand job the night before might have helped to send him into a nice, dreamless sleep, but the nightmare that had him sleepwalking before was not something he wanted to relive. Yet, he was fairly sure it would return again.

There was no escaping his 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 no escaping his need for sleep. He just prayed that he’d wake up before he tried to run out of the house again. 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 pulled on some sleep pants and was preparing to drop into bed 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 thrown up in the air as if he was trying to hold back some invisible assailant. Justin flipped on the overhead light and put his gun on the low dresser before approaching the bed. He 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 and gave a nod before slowly letting go of his arms. He flopped down on the side of the bed, his hip brushing against Gabriel’s. Justin had had his own share of nightmares over the years, plenty from his years 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 and adept 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 left it attacking him when he was at his most vulnerable.

“You okay?” Justin asked.

“Fine.”

Justin smirked. He could hear him clenching his teeth with that single word. God, as much as he hated to admit it, the guy was so much like himself. 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 his shoulder 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 for him. He plunged his tongue inside and Gabriel groaned, setting fire to any common sense Justin had still been hanging onto. 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 against the headboard, 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 then a more enticing trail of hair leading down 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 midnights. The pupils were now blown with desire and the remnants of the nightmare were pushed 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 his hands and pressed them down into the twisted blankets over his head. Swollen lips swooped onto his mouth, sending him back down into a maelstrom of pleasure and desire. His body cried out for release and control. He wanted to be the one pinning Gabriel down into the mattress and controlling the pace of their coupling, but damn this man could kiss. Gabriel 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.

Sliding his lips down from his mouth and along his jaw, Gabriel bit down hard on his throat. The pain was swept away almost as quickly by a swipe of his tongue. Then he was moving up to his ear lobe, licking carefully along the shell until a surprising whimper left Justin’s parted lips.

“I’m going to fuck you,” Gabriel said in a low, harsh voice that made Justin’s cock leak. “You’re going to hold your legs up to your chest and beg me to fill you.”

Justin’s dick swelled at that promise and he was so fucking ready to make it happen, but he wasn’t the type to just hand himself over like that. Gabriel had to work for it. And based on the absolutely feral smile Gabriel directed at him, the man was counting on it as well.

“You think you can handle me?”

“Definitely.”

Justin bucked up, and Gabriel would have been ready for it if Justin had been simply attempting to roll them down the bed. But he dug his heels into the side of the mattress and tossed them both to the floor in a painful heap of tangled limbs. A sheet was caught between them, threatening to hold them up. They wrestled, rolling over and over again on the floor. Gabriel swore under his breath in Russia, and Justin nearly laughed that he wasn’t even trying to hide it any longer. The man was solely focused on topping the fuck out of him.

Releasing his arms, Gabriel grabbed a handful of Justin’s blondish browh hair and pulled his head back. Justin snarled and then sighed as Gabriel licked across his Adam’s apple and down along his collarbone. Justin grabbed onto Gabriel’s shoulders, but he stopped in the middle of trying to shove the man away as that wicked tongue swirled around his nipple. Gabriel pulled back and lightly blew across the damp flesh, watching as it hardened into a tiny peak before returning to lick it again.

Gabriel steadily worked down his chest, being careful to stay away from his still tender side. There was a roughness to his left hand that followed Gabriel’s mouth, reminding Justin vaguely of the bandage that still covered his stitches. Their minor wounds weren’t slowing them down.

“Oh fuck, supplies!” Justin finally managed to choke out as Gabriel’s wonderful mouth reached the elastic waistband of his pants. “Do you have supplies in here?”

Gabriel’s head popped up and he looked at Justin in confusion. He almost laughed. Between the two of them, he doubted they had more than a single brain cell sucking up any blood or oxygen. Justin hadn’t wanted to stop them, but dammit he didn’t want to stop at a more critical moment.

“Lube and condoms? Do you have them?”

Gabriel swore again and shook his head. Then his eyes dropped back down to the impressive tent that had formed in Justin’s pants. He started to dive back in when Justin shoved him off and pushed back to his feet. Gabriel looked up at him like a child who’d had his favorite toy stolen away…until Justin extended his hand to the man, helping him to his feet.

“Got all that in my room,” Justin promised before grabbing Gabriel’s mouth in a quick, brutal kiss. He tugged him down the hall and into his bedroom.

Justin let go of Gabriel’s hand and walked straight to the nightstand where he’d stashed his supplies in the top drawer. He tossed the bottle of lube on the bed and was tearing into the box when Gabriel came up behind him. His sleep pants were suddenly ripped down his legs to his ankles. His stunned gasp turned into a hiss when Gabriel stepped right into him, pressing his hard dick into the crease of his ass. Just hot flesh into hot flesh. He didn’t know when Gabriel had lost his briefs and he wasn’t complaining.

Arms came around his chest. One wrapped upward so that his hand clamped onto his shoulder, holding him pressed back against Gabriel’s strong chest. The other hand slither down across his stomach. Justin sucked in a breath when those long fingers wrapped around his hard dick and slowly stroked.

“I could fuck you just like this,” Gabriel whispered in his ear. As he spoke, he shifted his hips forward, thrusting against his ass. His leaking cock rubbed across his entrance and Justin found himself pushing backward. It had been years since he’d bottomed, but he fucking wanted it now. Wanted it so bad that he was ready to beg Gabriel for it.

“Yes,” he hissed as Gabriel continued to move against him. The lube was just a couple feet away and the condom was pressed between his trembling fingers but he couldn’t move. It all felt so damn good. The desperate part of his brain was terrified if he moved, if he did anything, Gabriel was would stop his stroking and thrusting.

“But first I want to get a better look at this ass I’m about to own.”

Gabriel stepped back and there was no stopping the cry of denial that left Justin. But he shouldn’t have worried. Gabriel shoved him down on this back in the bed and plucked the condom from his fingers. Justin shifted backward toward the center of the bed, but Gabriel halted him with a word as he worked to roll the condom down his long cock.

“Stay there,” Gabriel said with a wicked grin. “Like I said, I want to see everything.” Grabbing Justin’s ankles, he placed them on the edge of the bed, Gabriel slowly slid his hands up his calves and along the inside of his thighs, pushing them outward slightly so that he could better fit between his legs.

Justin’s heart hammered in his chest and he could draw in only short, sharp breaths. Never in his life had he ever felt so exposed. Gabriel’s dark eyes slowly traveled up the entire length of his body, as if he was inspecting every inch of him. Or memorizing him. When he finally Justin’s eyes, Gabriel’s face was flushed and his breathing was just as heavy. He could feel the slight tremor in the man’s strong hands where they rested on his thighs as if he was barely holding himself back from attacking.

“You’re gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous,” Gabriel murmured. “I think I could come just looking at you.”

Justin’s cock twitched at those low, rough words. He couldn’t remember a time when anyone looked at him with such unflinching focus. It sucked the air straight out of his lungs. Before his scrambled brain could come up with some kind of response, Gabriel leaned forward and ran his tongue from the root to the head of his cock. A long moan rumbled up his throat as that wonderful tongue swirled around the sensitive tip, lapping up the pre-cum leaking onto his stomach. He then swallowed him down until his cock bumped against the back of Gabriel’s throat.

“Oh fuck, G!” he shouted. Leaning upward, he reached for the back of his own legs and crunched abs muscles to watch Gabriel slide up and down his cock like it was the only place he wanted to be in the world. Gabriel looked up at him with hunger burning in his eyes and lips stretched around his dick. There was nothing sexier in the entire world. Well, except for maybe the hand around Gabriel’s own dick, pulling at that flushed member in time with his own sucking.

Flopping back on the bed, Justin clenched his eyes shut and gritted his teeth together as the tingling built for his orgasm. “I’m not going to last, G,” he gritted. “Feels too good.”

Gabriel’s mouth popped off his dick with a wet sound and Justin wanted to cry. He hadn’t wanted him to stop, but damn, it was all building so fast. He couldn’t understand how he’d ended up on his back with his legs in the air, but fuck if he didn’t want more and fast.

“Then how about this?”

His tongue was back, sliding down his cock and around his sac. Justin cursed loudly as Gabriel sucked ball into his mouth and then the other, slowly tormenting him, while a finger brushed against his hole, pressing gently on the muscles there.

“G!” Justin moaned, not quite sure what he wanted. More was better, but he couldn’t put into words what that more was. Until Gabriel’s tongue continued to move lower and swirled around his entrance. The insistent, warm wet pressure had him grabbing his cock, clamping down on the orgasm that was fighting for freedom. He lost the power to speech as Gabriel steadily licked, sucked, and kissed along his entrance. Noises left his mouth, but not a single coherent word.

Justin barely noticed when Gabriel’s mouth was replaced by a lube-slick finger. Gabriel had so expertly edged him, taking him to the brink of orgasm only to drag him back again until every muscle was loose and tingling with need. He grunted softly when Gabriel slid two thick fingers inside of him and made a scissoring motion, stretching him for Gabriel’s cock. Justin opened his eyes to find Gabriel’s dark, hungry gaze locked on his face. Ready to devour him.

“God, please, fuck me,” Justin whispered. Gabriel’s smile returned and he was back on his feet. Justin was vaguely aware of Gabriel snatching up the lube and pouring on his hand. He stroked his condom-covered cock a few times before moving to kneel on the mattress between Gabriel’s legs.

The head of his dick brushed against his entrance and Justin moaned. He was beyond ready. Gabriel carefully pushed forward, breaching those tight muscles and Justin was brought back above the haze of pleasure at the sharp sting and burning. But Gabriel was ready for him, stroking his cock with the hand he’d used to lube up his own dick. The pain eased and Justin relaxed again. He watched the sweat streak down the sides of Gabriel’s face, the expression harsh under his intense concentration and control. Gabriel entered inch by slow inch.

Only when Gabriel was fully seated inside of Justin did he give a shaky exhale. Leaning forward, he slowly kissed Justin, teasing his lips, his tongue, until they were both moaning. One of them shifted closer, Justin didn’t have a clue which of them had moved. The burning and pain were gone, replaced with intense pleasure.

“Oh fuck, move. Fuck me now,” he said, somewhere between pleading and commanding.

Gabriel pulled back until the head of his cock was stretching that tight ring of muscles and then he slammed home. They both groaned and it was like something snapped. Gabriel fucked in and out of him hard and fast, pounding him down in the mattress. And Justin thrust his hips up, matching him thrust for thrust. There was only the sound of their slapping bodies, harsh grunts, and broken breathing in the room. Justin’s orgasm came roaring back and he knew there was no staving it off this time. He reached between their bodies and stroked his cock, the hard flesh slick with his own pre-cum and lube from Gabriel’s hand.

The orgasm ripped a shout from his chest and forced out all the air from his lungs. Nerve endings from is toes to his scalp tingled and zinged with life. Gabriel fucked him hard through the orgasm and then slowed as he came down. Justin blinked, and Gabriel lazily moved inside of him, a smile on his lips.

“Damn,” he whispered, his throat raw from shouting.

“So sexy,” Gabriel said.

“Your turn.”

“I agree.”

Hard hand grasped the backs of Justin’s legs and he was a little surprised when Gabriel lifted him slightly, changing the angle of his entrance. By the third thrust, he was shouting again as Gabriel perfectly pegged his prostate, sending delicious spasm of pleasure through his body. His cock jerked and he felt a smaller orgasm streak through as Gabriel’s hips lost their rhythm and his shouts filled the room.

Releasing Justin’s legs, Gabriel fell forward, catching himself on his forearms, while pressing his chest against Justin’s. He panted, trying to draw air into his lungs. Justin wrapped his arms around his sweat-covered body, holding him close while the pleasant orgasmic glow continued to be wrapped around them. Reality would come crashing down later.

“Damn,” Gabriel finally whispered, and Justin chuckled. He was pretty sure he’d uttered that word more than once during that night because his brain had been stuck on single-syllable words.

“We are damn good at that,” Justin said. He felt more than heard Gabriel’s answering laugh.

“Very good.” Gabriel’s voice was seductively low and rough. Justin was beginning to wonder if he could get off on the man’s voice alone. “And you don’t bottom.”

Justin jerked at that surprising statement. At the same time, Gabriel pushed up so that he could meet Justin’s gaze, a cryptic smile on his swollen lips.

“Obviously I do,” Justin said. Gabriel’s proclamation seemed ridiculous considering the man’s cock was still wedged deep in his ass.

Gabriel surprised him again by dipping his head and swiping his tongue across Justin’s bottom lip and then his top before stealing a long, drugging kiss that had Justin relaxing again and eagerly kissing him back. When Justin was moaning softly again, Gabriel broke off the kiss and smiled. “You bottom…occasionally…but you are not a bottom.”

Justin stared confused at the man, watching as he reached between them and grabbed the end of the condom as he carefully pulled free of Justin’s body. He closed his eyes at the gentle touch of his fingers massaging his sore entrance.

“I say that because I am a bottom, but I’ll top until I’m sure I can trust my partner.”

Gabriel’s low spoken words had Justin’s eyes popping back open. He understood that feeling all too well, particularly in their line of work. Trust didn’t come easy at all or even frequently. But he hadn’t thought of it when he’d wrestled with Gabriel. He was all too aware of the man’s caution, of how he’d avoided Justin’s stitches, and how he’d done everything possible to ease his entrance. Gabriel had done everything he could to give Justin the most pleasure possible and not once had he felt threatened.

But in a way, he sense that this had been a test for Gabriel. To see if he could trust himself with Justin. And judging by the small smile still lingering on his lips as he turned to walk to the en suite bathroom and dispose of the condom, Justin was sure he’d passed.

“And how long has it been since you bottomed?” Justin called over the sound of running water.

Gabriel leaned back so that he could see Justin through the open doorway. “I’d wager that it’s been about as long as it’s been since you last bottomed.”

A minute later, he returned to the bedroom with a wash cloth. He pressed the warm, damp cloth to Justin’s sore ass, and Justin gave a little happy sigh.

“Okay, it hasn’t been so long that I need to be mothered,” Justin mumbled.

“Fine,” Gabriel said. He dropped the wash cloth on Justin’s semen-slick stomach and started for the door.

“Whoa! Whoa! I didn’t mean leave.” He lurched to his side and grabbed Gabriel’s arm. He pulled until the man fell onto the bed next to him. “Maybe I misspoke. Maybe I do need to be coddled a little more.”

Gabriel snorted and stretched out on the bed with his long legs hanging off the edge. “Thanks. I needed that.”

“Well, yeah, who doesn’t need to get laid?”

“Not exactly what I meant, but it works for now.”

They lie together in silence. There was something very easy about being with Gabriel that he couldn’t remember having with another person for a while.

“I’m guessing you don’t want to talk about the nightmare,” Justin hedged.

“Definitely not.”

“Then let’s talk about when it’s my turn to fuck you.”

The bed shifted beside him and Justin looked up to find that Gabriel had rolled over onto his side. His arm was bent at the elbow and his head was resting against his hand. Sweaty hair clung to Gabriel’s forehead and stood up in different directions, but there was something undefinably sexy about the man that made Justin want to lean up and kiss him all over again.

“Do you honestly think we can continue to fuck each other without it interfering with the job?” Gabriel asked, his expression serious once again.

“Sex, G. It’s just sex. We get off. We kill some bad people. We save some good ones. Sounds like a good day to me.”

Gabriel rolled his eyes. “Silly me. When you put it that way, it’s so obvious.”

“You’ve got to stop overthinking these things. Just learn to listen to me.”

“The bullshit coming out of your mouth isn’t usually so sensible.”

Justin gave a dramatic gasp and opened his mouth to argue, but Gabriel leaned down and quickly kissed him, occupying his mouth to keep it from saying something that Gabriel would undoubtedly list as nonsense. But as Justin started to lick his way into Gabriel’s mouth, he pulled away with a small smile.

“I think I can sleep now,” Gabriel murmured. He rolled off the bed and walked toward the door.

Justin wanted to call him back, to invite him to sleep stretched out in his massive king-sized bed, and maybe go for another round. But he didn’t. They were both exhausted, and they’d be doing more sleeping than fucking. And sleeping together was far more complicated than just fucking.

“You really should talk to someone about the nightmares,” Justin called after him when he was already out of the room.

“There you go. More nonsense,” Gabriel said, his voice carrying down the hall.

Not nonsense and they both knew it. But Gabriel wasn’t at that place yet and Justin wasn’t insane enough to think that the trained killer would ever see him as someone he could talk to. Probably a good idea. No one would ever accuse him of being a particularly sane person.