Once he heard the unmistakable sounds coming from within the bathroom, he grunted in annoyance and rolled to his hands and knees to get off the floor.
“What the hell do they think this is, some stupidass romantic comedy?” he growled to Zane. He called through the door, “I have a gun and I like to use it!”
“That’s only going to egg Cross on.”
“I don’t care,” Ty mumbled as he walked toward the two beds. “He reminds me of you. Parts of him, anyway.”
Zane looked up from the papers. The soft glow of the table lamp cast odd shadows, making his face appear gaunt. “Of me? How? Besides Cameron’s ‘tall, dark, and handsome’ line.”
“I mean he’s outwardly stoic and fun to poke. Reminds me of when we first met.”
Zane smiled and leaned back in his chair. “Much better than what you said about me back then.”
Ty moved closer and sat on the edge of the bed near Zane, looking at him with nothing but affection. He was close enough to smell Zane’s deodorant and the underlying scents of his shampoo and sweat, and combined with the trademark smells of a hotel room, it stirred all sorts of memories and emotions.
“You ever think about that first week?” he asked with a fond smile.
“Some parts of it, yeah,” Zane said, edging up one shoulder as he spun the chair so he faced Ty, their knees bumping. “Usually when you’re being particularly frustrating.” He tipped his head to one side as his eyes raked Ty up and down. “Or particularly desirable.”
Ty leaned forward. “Those couple of days in that hotel room with you,” he said, voice low and intimate, “every time I looked at you I got butterflies. I couldn’t decide if it was a good feeling or if I hated you for it.”
Zane chuckled. “Oh, I was damn sure you hated me. And it was certainly reciprocated.”
“Did you really hate me?” Ty asked, not necessarily offended, but curious.
“To immense proportions,” Zane said with a nod, but then he rolled his eyes. “Didn’t last, though. You were….” He drew in a deep breath and held it as he considered his words. He ended up shrugging. “Hurricane Ty. Blew me away.”
Ty’s smile grew warmer, and he reached out to take Zane’s hand in his. “Sometimes I wish we could go back there and smack ourselves in the heads. But then I remind myself it wouldn’t have been the same.”
Zane squeezed his hand. “For me, there was no going back after you kissed me.”
Ty looked up from their joined hands and met Zane’s eyes. On his mini sabbatical he’d begun pondering what life might be like when neither of them worked at the FBI anymore; when they could walk down the street hand in hand and not care who saw; when they were no longer being shot at, blown up, or sent cross-country as errand boys. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask Zane if he thought they could be without their jobs and not go crazy.
But Ty knew he couldn’t do it. Not yet. He had been born and bred to be a spearpoint. Zane was the only kink in the plan he’d always had, but Ty found that he didn’t care. The moment Zane had kissed him, Ty had known he would throw that plan out the window.
Just remembering the terror and thrill of that moment made Ty’s stomach flutter. He couldn’t help himself—he reached out and slid his fingers along the back of Zane’s neck and pulled him closer, leaning in to kiss him. Zane sighed and relaxed into Ty’s arms as he rubbed his lips against Ty’s, then placed a tiny kiss at the corner of his mouth.
“Why can’t we just do one thing easy, huh?” Ty asked, frustrated by all the obstacles they seemed to deal with every day, the least of which was their own stunning inability to communicate with each other.
Zane raised his fingers to touch Ty’s cheek. “I don’t know,” he said, though it was with equal resignation. “Except this,” he whispered before kissing Ty again.
Ty hummed. “You have always been easy.”
“You haven’t,” Zane said, but he softened the words with a smile.
A noise from the bathroom drew Ty’s attention just long enough for him to miss the next intended kiss. He sighed and pressed his nose and mouth to Zane’s cheek. “I know I’m not easy,” he whispered. “I promise I’ll make it up to you.”
Zane shook his head. “I knew what I was getting when I realized I loved you. I don’t expect—don’t want you to change, no matter how crazy you make me sometimes.”
“I like you crazy,” Ty growled as he stood up. He leaned over Zane, propping his arms on the chair and forcing Zane to sit back as he straddled his lap and kissed him, long and hard. Zane hummed in approval and gripped his hips. He sighed when Ty straightened.
“Love you,” Zane whispered.
Ty patted Zane’s cheek. “That will never get old.”
Another, louder sound from the bathroom caused him to growl in annoyance, and he stood and stepped away from Zane. “I better go take up my post again.”
Zane nodded, letting his hands drag away from Ty’s hips. He stifled a yawn and turned back to the desk. Ty stood there for a moment longer, watching his lover in the garish light.
If there was one thing in the world Ty was willing to give up everything for, it was sitting right there in front of him.
Chapter 7
JULIAN was secured in the back of the sedan as Ty fiddled with the GPS on the dash. Ty had spent a solid half an hour devising the most evil ways he could come up with to make sure Julian couldn’t even get his hands together, much less pick any locks. They were waiting for Zane to finish checking them out, and Ty was keeping one eye on the two men in the back as he punched in the appropriate directions in the GPS.
With every button he pushed, the GPS unit offered suggestions. He shook his head at the list of Washingtons that it offered, eyes scanning for the right one. Movement in the rearview mirror caught his attention as he found the appropriate Washington, and he glanced up as he pushed the button, narrowing his eyes at his prisoners.
“Didn’t you two get enough of that last night?” he asked in a low growl.
“I’m trying to restore blood flow to my fingers,” Julian said.
“I’ll restore your blood flow pretty damn quick if you try one more thing,” Ty said, voice low and serious.
Julian rolled his eyes and sighed, shifting his shoulder and wiggling his fingers, which were hanging in the air. One hand was cuffed to the handle above the door, the other to the floorboard, wound around his leg first so he had to lean forward. Cameron was restrained in similar fashion. They had to be uncomfortable as hell, but Ty wasn’t taking any chances.