I throw my glasses onto the desk and sit back in my seat. I took my contacts out hours ago because my eyes were stinging from looking at the computer screen so long. I didn’t mean to spend all afternoon in my office, but once I started my search on Grant, I didn’t want to give up until I found something. What I have found isn’t good, and it should have me rushing through to the spare room and dragging Grant out by the hair. Instead, I've stayed in here trying to find out more about him, and I'm not sure why I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. Actually, that’s a lie. I do know why I'm still sitting here. One single picture has saved him from a beating even though it hasn’t answered any of the questions I want to ask.

I lean forward again and stare at the picture I found about an hour ago. It had led me to several others, but it’s this one I keep coming back to. In it is a smiling Grant. He looks a couple of years younger than he does now, but you can’t mistake that it’s him, even with his police hat covering the majority of his face. He’s dressed in full uniform, and if I have to be honest with myself, he looks as sexy as fuck. I pull my eyes away from him and stare at the smiling guy standing next to Grant. The guy is the reason that I want to find out what Grant is doing here. Maybe he didn’t lie when he said he was looking for a friend, maybe it was just the name he lied about, but since Drake is the friend in the picture I think it might be him that Grant's looking for. I need to work out if it’s in an official capacity or not.

Every piece of information I uncover seems to open up even more questions that I need answers for. Is Drake just a co-worker who the police are looking for? Has Grant been sent to get as much information as he can? If he is how did they link us to Drake? I think that’s the question that I need answered the most. What led Grant here? Do I need to get Corey and leave again? The easiest thing to do would be to call Ryden and Drake, but I don’t know how Ryden would react to knowing that there is someone here looking for Drake. I know Ryden well, and I know that if he thought Grant was any threat to Drake, he would be here within hours to kill him.

I click on a link on the picture, letting it lead me to an article when I hear a yell from the other side of the closed door. Instantly on alert, I'm on my feet, grabbing my gun from the top drawer and rushing to the door. I throw it open with my gun raised in front of me as I search the dark hall. Another shriek comes from the left, from the direction of the bedroom, and I’m moving towards it at speed. I head straight for my bedroom with the burning need to make sure Corey is okay. The door to the left of me suddenly opens, and I turn instantly, pointing the gun at the person standing there.

“Whoa, it’s me, Grant.” He holds his hands up in front of his body as he steps further out, so the light of the bedroom shines out into the hall. Once I confirm it’s him I open the door to my room, suddenly knowing who’s making the noise and why.

Tucking my gun into the back of my jeans, I approach the bed and the tossing figure that’s in it. Another painful cry comes from Corey, and I know that he's having another nightmare. They don’t happen every night but when they do my heart breaks for him. He doesn’t let his past define him, the trauma that he went through never steals his smile, but when the darkness comes, and sleep takes him, he can’t hide from his demons.

Slowly I slip behind Corey on the bed, carefully sliding my arms around his waist and pulling him close to me. I whisper softly in his ear, telling him he's safe and that I'm here, and it only takes a few minutes for him to settle. I feel the moment that the nightmare lets him go because his body fully relaxes and his breathing slows. I stay with him for a little while longer in the vain hope that I managed to chase the nightmare away. I hate that he has to go through this and I hate it even more that his dreams are the one thing I can’t protect him from. He never really remembers them when he wakes up which is a blessing, but he knows that his sleep hasn’t been relaxed.

A noise outside the door reminds me that we aren’t alone and I look over my shoulder to see Grant slip away from the room. He must have been standing there the whole time watching. I ease my arms from around Corey and quietly leave the room, taking one last look over my shoulder to make sure Corey is still sleeping. I pull the door but don’t close it entirely so I can hear if Corey needs me, and I head towards the now lit kitchen. When I walk in, I find Grant sitting at the breakfast bar with a beer. The bottle is sitting on the worktop, and he’s picking the label, leaving a little pile of wet paper next to him. I go to the fridge and grab a bottle before sitting down across from him.

“Does he have them often?”

I take a mouthful of beer before answering. “Not really. He can go weeks without one but then have five in a week. It just depends on what else is happening at the time.”

Grant looks at his bottle and chews his bottom lip. “Is me being here causing them?” He still doesn’t look at me, and there’s a part of me that wants to lift his head up so I can see his eyes.

Instead, I grab my bottle with both hands to stop me from giving in to the urge to touch him. “Did he have many when I was away?”

Shaking his head, Grant finally looks up, and I see worry filling the eyes I was desperate to see. “I didn’t hear him once. This is the first time I knew about them.”

“Then it’s not you. I think it’s more likely because I'm home. Me coming and going all the time stresses him out. I shouldn’t have let him go to sleep alone tonight. I know better than that.” And I do. First night home always seems to bring Corey’s nightmares, but I'm usually in bed to hold him before they get too bad.

“I'm sure you had a good reason not to be there.” Grants voice is quiet but strong, but it’s his eyes that tell me he knows I was looking for him. He doesn’t seem nervous, more resigned to the fact that I’ve been looking into him. He doesn’t know that we know anything about him, certainly not his last name, but his eyes are telling me that he knows. I return his stare without flinching. There is part of Grant that I recognise, someone with a deep-rooted pain, and I see it because it’s the same look I get every day in my own reflection.

“Nothing is more important than Corey.” I hope he can tell what I'm trying to say because he needs to know that nothing will come before Corey. Nothing.

“I get it. You make a great couple.” He smiles a little but the sadness in his eyes grows and I suddenly want to know his story. I know who he is, but I want to know him.

“Do you have someone special?”

Grant shakes his head before lifting the beer to his lips and taking a long drink. I watch his throat as he swallows, and I feel myself harden slightly. His neck is sexy, long and slightly stubbled, perfect for running my lips along.

“I've not been lucky enough to meet a guy who caught my attention enough to want something with. There was once someone I thought could be special, but he turned out to be an arsehole who wasn’t made for relationships.”

I try to ignore the fact that he just admitted that he's gay, or possibly bi, because that knowledge will not help control the lust I feel when I'm around him. “What happened?”

He sighs before giving me a resigned smile. “It’s a long story. Are you sure you want it?”

I nod and I'm surprised to find that I actually do want to know.

“I lost my parents when I was young, so my grandparents took me in.”

“What happened?”

“My mum died while giving birth to my baby sister. They both died. I was five at the time, so I don’t remember much, and it left just dad and me until I was nearly ten. He was into all sorts of sports, that’s what I remember most about him. He was always involved in my school teams and the local groups like cubs.” He smiles, and I can picture him as a young boy with his dark eyes sparkling as he kicks a ball around a football field. “Exactly two months before my tenth birthday I woke up late for school. It was strange for my dad to sleep in but I didn’t think about it as I rushed around getting ready. I kept shouting at my dad that we were late but he didn’t get up. They said that it was an aneurysm in his brain, but they said he didn’t suffer. After that, I went to stay with my grandparents. They both died a few years back, and that when I knew, Ted wasn’t exactly the man for me.”

I wait patiently while Grant takes a drink of his beer but when it looks like he isn’t going to carry on I ask the first question I want the answer to. “Why wasn’t he the one?” I feel like I'm hanging on his every word, but I convince myself I'm just trying to find out everything I can about him.

“My grandfather died last, a month after my gran, and I asked Ted if he would help me settle the estate. You would have thought I had asked him to get married and have six kids with me. I swear he took off so quickly I'm surprised he didn’t leave scorch marks on the carpet.” Grant laughs, but you can tell that there’s still underlying pain there. It must have hurt to trust someone like that only to have them disappear when you needed them the most. It’s something he has in common with Corey. It’s one of the reasons that Corey ended up at Blue Diamond because the people he loved let him down when he needed them.

“That must have been hard. Did you get help from someone?”

“Yeah my best friend helped me. I wouldn’t have managed without him. That’s why I'm here trying to find him. I miss him and I need to make sure he's okay.”

His friend? I'm pretty sure he’s talking about Drake. There is a part of me that wants to tell him I know who he's talking about and tell him that he's alright. I can’t do that though, not until I find out if he’s going to cause problems for Corey and me. “I will help you any way I can. I just need you to give me some time and some details.”

Grant eyes me warily for a few moments before nodding. He seems to relax slightly, and I can’t help the surge of excitement that runs through me. It’s a strange feeling, one I've only felt with the people I've cared about. My old job dictated that I protect the people in my care, but since I left Blue Diamond I've only cared about Corey. Grant is getting under my skin now, and I don’t know what to make of that. The only thing I know is that the feeling is growing all the time even though he is lying to me.

“I don’t want to overstay my welcome. Corey’s been so kind to let me stay, but it’s clear you don’t want me here.”

What is his game? If he were here in an official capacity then why would he be so eager to leave? There’s no way he has found anything on Drake yet. If Grant had even hinted at knowing Drake, Corey would have been instantly on alert, so why would he leave before finding out what he needs? Every time I think I might have his motives worked out he does or says something that throws me. “I wouldn’t ask you to stay if I didn’t want you here. Trust me. I don’t say things I don’t mean to keep people happy.”

This garners a laugh from Grant, and he looks even more relaxed. I can’t help but smile along with him because his happiness is infectious.

“If I agree with you will you punch me?” He gives me a genuine smile, and the sight of it makes my breath catch in my throat. When he isn’t smiling he’s irresistible, but with laughter glinting in his eyes and the small dimple on one cheek showing he is nothing less than stunning. Holy shit, I shouldn’t be thinking about Grant like this. It feels like I'm cheating on Corey because he is the only man I should be thinking about in this way.

I finish the last of my beer and keep my eyes off Grant. He might be here in my home, but that doesn’t mean that I get to check him out whenever I want. I have the guy of my dreams asleep in my bed, and he's the only one I need. Grant is nothing but a distraction, and is it that bad if I look at his perfectly formed lips when they wrap around a bottle? Yes, it’s bad. Especially if I'm imagining those lips wrapped around my cock.

Fuck me. I stand abruptly and walk to the sink, putting my beer bottle in the recycling bin under the unit. I need to get control of myself before I do something stupid like grab Grant and kiss him. No, I would never do that, but I need to get out of the kitchen before he sees the erection I'm trying to hide. “I'm going to head to bed, don’t want to leave Corey too long on his own. I hope that you’ll stay. Think about it, but I promise to help any way I can.” Grant nods and I leave the room, heading towards my bedroom. I'm playing Grant, giving him the illusion that he can go if he wants to, but I know that he won’t. I can see it in his eyes when he speaks. He might threaten to leave but he really does miss Drake, and I have a feeling that finding him is more important than feeling uncomfortable around me.

I slip into the bedroom as quietly as I can, undress quickly and ease under the duvet to join Corey. The sheets are warm from his body, and I can’t resist the urge to snuggle closer to him. I wrap my arms around him and tuck my face into the back of his neck, breathing deeply to fill my lungs with his smell. I swear if someone were able to capture the scent of Corey I would buy every bottle they produced. I can’t get enough of it because it makes me feel like I'm home.

Corey moans and turns towards me, his eyes flickering open before he smiles. “Hey.”

I kiss his forehead, lingering for a few seconds before I look down at him. “Hey.”

“What time is it?” His voice is sleep roughened and it makes my softening cock get fully hard again.

“Late … or I suppose that would be early. Either way, you should be asleep.”

He nuzzles in closer, his lips brushing against my chest as he lays his head down. I love when we lie like this, it makes me feel that his body was made especially for me. I always thought that because of the life I lived, nothing good would come my way. How could it? After my sister died, I didn’t care about anyone or anything. I saw everyone as just a way to make money and if the job was to take a life then so be it. I'm what people would call the bad guy, and it never bothered me until I met Corey. Once I had though, I knew instantly that I didn’t want him to look at me like that, I wanted him to see someone who he could trust, and he did. The first day he kissed me I knew that I would change to be the man he deserved, but the kicker? He never asked me to change. He fell for the man I am, even with all my rough edges.

“I can’t sleep when you are all smelling nice and stuff.” His lips brush against my skin again, and my whole body tingles.

I roll us both until Corey is lying on his back with me leaning on my arms above him. “You looking for something, Core?”

He presses his hard dick against mine, and I can’t help the groan that escapes me involuntarily. It’s only been a few hours since I last had sex with Corey but my body doesn’t care about that, it’s hard and ready to take him again.

“Only you.”

God, he is so fucking perfect. I didn’t think it was possible that there was a guy out there that was everything I was looking for, but here he is lying beneath me. I lean down and suck the skin of his neck, biting until he squirms against me. I lick over the area to soothe it before whispering in his ear. “Then it’s me you will get, beautiful.”