Haven 1: How to Save a Life (20 page)

This moment had to keep going.

The up-and-down rhythm of Walter’s head over Kevin’s cock wasn’t helping him fend off the building orgasm.

He was going to lose it. Any minute.

In a rush, Walter pulled off him and sat on his heels, his cock jutting stiff and heavy away from his body. That hard flesh was now closer to Kevin. He couldn’t resist. He reached out and brushed his thumb over the tip. Walter hissed and rolled onto his back. “Come here.”

That, Kevin could do. He straddled Walter, exploring his body with hands, lips, tongue, breathing in the scent of his skin and that rich cologne. Relishing the touch of Walter’s bare skin against his own, those muscular legs under his thighs, the heat of their cocks coming together.

Kevin wanted Walter to fuck him. It surprised the hell out of him how badly he wanted to feel that cock pushing inside his body. He had no idea how to ask for it. How to get Walter where he wanted him to be.

Desire surged throughout Kevin’s body. He shifted around onto his back again and dragged Walter on top of him. They kissed, and Kevin bucked up, connecting their bodies in an entirely new way.

Then nothing else mattered but that perfect slide of their cocks, the sweet friction, the heavy breaths pouring out of Walter as he ground down against him.

Now Kevin didn’t want Walter to move one inch until they both came.

He groaned, a loud, continual sound he had no control over.

That was okay. Walter matched each thrust with a low grunt until the last quick slam of body to body.

Sticky heat landed on Kevin’s skin. The smell of that release, the little jerks of Walter’s hips as he came were all Kevin needed to completely let go.

His upper body surged forward, his abs tight, and he came, his face buried in the skin between Walter’s neck and shoulder.

When their bodies stilled and Kevin’s had given over the last evidence of his release, he collapsed onto the bed. “Oh God. I’ve waited so long for that.” Some rubbing off on each other and he’d never known such pleasure. How young and naive could he sound?

Walter huffed out a breath and plopped half on him, half on the bed. “You have no idea.”

“You too?” Talk about naive. Kevin needed to shut up.

“Yeah.” Walter threw him an entirely new smile. He moved lower and kissed his way down Kevin’s stomach. One kiss after another. Slow, soft, exploring kisses as he made his way up Kevin’s chest next.

Kevin ran a hand through the silver hair at Walter’s temple, then the darker hair beyond, completely captivated by those lips and the man using them to perfection on Kevin’s collarbone, his neck. Walter dropped a last, quick kiss on his lips.

“Come on. Let’s get cleaned up and get some food. Then we’re having a talk.”

“Talk?” Kevin could barely move. Let alone adjust to the switch from feeling those lips on his body to talking.

“Yeah, talk. Some guys do that after sex, you know.”

“Guess I have a lot to learn about being gay.”

Walter leaned over him. He ran the pad of his thumb along Kevin’s lower lip. “Trust me, not so much.”

In that moment, with the way Walter looked at him, touched him, Kevin had never felt sexier.

Even with the ludicrous boxers lying on the floor beside the bed.

Chapter Fifteen

“Thanks, Matthew. I’m not sure what time I’ll get home.”

Walter had the phone pinned between his ear and his shoulder while he dished out the western omelets onto two plates. He’d been lucky to find the ingredients to make anything in Kevin’s kitchen. The existence of the eggs and the leftovers with some edible vegetables he could use had surprised him. Especially when he’d gotten a look at the open box of Cocoa Puffs and the package of Oreos on the counter.

“I can head there now,” Matthew said over the phone. “Will he be scared of me?”

“Not in the least. The first time I met him, he jumped me, but it was all about wanting attention.”

Matthew laughed, and Walter couldn’t help but laugh with the kid. Luke was one lucky man. He thanked Matthew again and hung up. When he turned to set the phone on the counter, he found Kevin sitting at the table, watching him with serious interest—and an equally serious frown. He must have come into the room in the middle of the call, because that look said it all. He was jealous.

“What was that about?” he asked.

“I’m having a friend stop by my place and take care of Charlie.”

“Oh.” The lines cutting across Kevin’s forehead deepened. Was that a pout? He definitely didn’t like Walter sounding so chummy with another guy.

Maybe things were getting too intense for both of them.

“He’s just a friend.”
And even younger than you
. Walter brought the plates to the table, glancing into the living room as he moved by the kitchen doorway. Kevin had been messing around in there the entire time Walter had managed to scrounge up dinner.

There were no clothes on the couch, no papers or books strewn about. The tornado cleanup crew had finally made an appearance.

That, and how Kevin had been in the bedroom earlier, confirmed Walter’s theory. There was something that had kept Kevin from being the man he was meant to be for far too many years, and he was just starting to work his way out of the dark closet he’d locked himself in.

Or maybe Kevin wanted to head back into that closet now that the sex was over. He looked conflicted as he stared at the plate before him.

Walter sat across the table. “Hey.”

Kevin glanced up.

“Just in case you didn’t pick up on it earlier, here’s a tip. With guys, it doesn’t matter what your living room looks like. You’ll get laid no matter what.”

A laugh burst out of Kevin, his features relaxing. “So later when I want you to fuck me into the couch, it won’t matter if we find a half-eaten container of french fries hidden underneath the cushions?”

“Exactly.”

Kevin took a bite of his omelet. “This is fantastic.” He ate more. “I can’t believe you made this from the shit in my kitchen. I can’t believe you know how to cook at all.”

“Food is sort of an important thing in life.”

“Where did you learn?”

“To cook? My dad. He said every man needed to know how to cook and clean. That doing both at the end of the day helped him let go of the job. Said it gave him a little piece of the world he could make right again.”

“He was a cop too?”

“Good guess.”

“Are you guys close?”

“Once I finally got a chance to meet him, yeah, we were close.”

Kevin nodded like that made sense. Which was funny. No one knew the whole story.

“He was my biggest supporter when I decided to leave the force. I was afraid he wouldn’t get it, but he did. More than most.” Walter ate some of his omelet before speaking again. “He passed away a year ago. Heart attack.”

“I’m sorry.”

Walter gave a nod in thanks. Time for a change in topics. “While you were doing your cleaning thing, I checked in with my friend on the force, Gibson. He’s officially on the case now.”

What Nelson had shared about being hired to bring drugs into the club, as well as the fact that all the missing men could officially be traced to the Haven, had been enough to get the police involved, despite Kevin’s objections that they should keep looking into this on their own in case there really was a cover-up going on.

Kevin seemed cautious as he asked, “Did Gibson find out anything else?”

“No. He went through tonight’s video feed again but didn’t come up with anything new.”

“If there was something to see, you would’ve picked up on it.”

Walter had watched the recording of the man who’d been eyeing Kevin five times before Gibson arrived. Walter swallowed a last bite of his omelet, then set his fork down. “Gibson said so far there’s not much to go on. We still don’t have an ID on this guy or know for sure whether he’s a member. He’s obviously able to mess with access cards like he did for Nelson, so we can’t just go by who was logged in tonight.”

Cory Nelson hadn’t been able to find any member who matched the Protector. All they had was the description he’d given, and Vargas had said that didn’t fit any active member he could recall.

“Gibson’s checking at the Roundup, that bar where Nelson said he met the guy. He also searched for any sign of how this Protector could be taking the men out of the club without leaving through the usual exits. He searched every floor, the kitchen, the basement, and all the storage rooms. He couldn’t come up with anything. Except our theory that he’s taking them out a window.”

“Did you talk to him about putting cameras outside?”

Walter nodded. “He thought it was a good idea. I’ll get someone over there tomorrow.”

Kevin was quiet. He’d also stopped eating and had returned to staring at his plate.

Walter couldn’t stand the silence. Not from Kevin. Which was funny, considering how quiet Walter’s life had been for the last five years. He pushed aside thoughts on what that meant and said, “One thing I don’t get is how everything that’s been going on at the club the last six months is related.”

“But you do still think it’s all tied together somehow?”

“I do. I thought maybe the thefts and drugs were about someone fucking with Vargas to get him to sell the club, but”—Walter shook his head—“taking these men is personal for this guy. He’s enjoying it.”

“What makes you think that?”

“If he’s kidnapping them from inside the club, that’s pretty damn bold. He’s walking in, having a drink, and hanging out on the first floor like he’s just another regular member. This is a game for him.”

Kevin sat back in a rush. “Do I have some sort of weirdo magnet attached to me?”

“Why? This isn’t your first stalker?”

“I seem to attract freaks.” He met Walter’s stare. “Nothing this serious, though.”

“It is serious, you know.”

“I just said it was.”

“You can’t take this lightly.”

“I’m not.”

“Good. Because I’m assigning you a security team.”

“A security team? It was one look.”

“Goddamn it, Kevin.” Walter slammed his fists on the table. The plates and silverware briefly took flight. They clanked together as they landed, sounding disturbingly loud in the quiet after his outburst. “I said—”

“I get it.” Kevin grasped his fork and stabbed a bite of the omelet. He dropped the fork to his plate without eating anything more, though.

Walter had never been at such a loss for words, wanting to say so many things and not knowing if he should or if he could. He hadn’t known Kevin for long, but his instincts told him to protect Kevin.

Kevin pushed his plate aside. “You never told me. Why did you leave the force? Was it the shooting?”

That did the trick. Walter didn’t care about talking anymore. He stood and scooped up their water glasses from the table, refilled Kevin’s, then his own. He returned the glasses to the table but didn’t take up his seat again. One look from that open, honest man, and he couldn’t hold back.

He sat and said, “Yeah, it was the shooting. After that day, I doubted everything about myself. Who I was. What I was capable of. One moment out of my entire police career, and in the end two teenage boys were dead. I knew if I had to draw my weapon again, when it really mattered, I’d hesitate.” He paused, then forced the rest out. “That was it. Any hesitation and I could get someone else killed.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong. You were doing your job. You can’t put all that pressure on yourself.”

The same thing Walter had said to Kevin in the men’s room at the diner. “Easier said than done.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

They held the stare between them. Walter wanted to go back to something simpler than the conversation at hand. He wanted more of what they’d done in Kevin’s bed.

A lot more.

But he couldn’t deny more sex with Kevin would be anything but simple.

He got up from the table and carried his plate to the sink. “It’s late.”

“Are you staying tonight?” The whispered words from behind him had Walter rethinking the arguments he’d been telling himself since they’d met.

He kept his back to Kevin, too afraid of what he’d see if he turned around. “Do you want me to?”

“Yes.”

He faced Kevin. He shouldn’t have been afraid of that look. A man could get lost in a look like that. Desire and affection and a longing for more.

“Then I’m staying.”

Kevin gave a slight smile and hurried to take another bite of his omelet.

Walter returned to his seat. “I have a question for you.”

Kevin eyed him with reluctance for a moment. “Okay.”

“What happened to your brother?”

The clenched jaw and determined stare aimed at the table said a lot. Kevin never talked about this. A minute passed. Another. Finally he said, “Jeff was younger than me, still in high school when…” He stood, picked up his plate, and crossed the kitchen, same as Walter had done a moment ago. He deposited the plate in the sink, the dish clanking as it made contact with Walter’s. Kevin gripped the edge of the countertop in both hands, staring down at the sink.

Walter leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. Time to show Kevin he could trust him. “You know why I decided to take Charlie home with me?”

The tension in Kevin’s shoulders eased. “No.”

“When I was fifteen, my stepfather beat the hell out of me when he caught me with a boy in my bedroom.”

Kevin let go of the counter and faced him.

“We were just kissing, my first kiss actually, but that was enough for my old asshole stepdad. Even today some dads would freak over seeing that kind of thing, but back then…it was not pretty. He kicked me to the curb with nothing but the clothes on my back and the blood dripping from my nose. I washed up in the bathroom at the park down the street and waited there until my mom got home from work.” Walter stopped. There were a lot of reasons he never talked about this.

Kevin watched him with that open curiosity again. His face also displayed compassion and an understanding of the pain possible in life that Walter had never seen in anyone before. Or maybe he hadn’t bothered to look that closely before Kevin.