Spencer said gently, “You’ve been extremely helpful, sir. And thank you for trusting me. I sincerely hope Poppy turns out to be your daughter and that we can return her safely to you very soon. I do have to warn you, however, that there are people attempting to take her away from my associate. Since you trusted me, I will tell you that we do not know if the Oshiro gang or someone else is pursuing her. We hope to learn that shortly. We’ve set a trap to capture one of them and question him or her.”
“But you will keep Kamiko safe at all costs, yes?” Tanaka blurted. “I’ll pay—”
Spencer cut him off. “I don’t want your money, Mr. Tanaka. And I assure you, she’s not anywhere near the trap. She’s absolutely safe, I promise.”
“Thank you, Mr. Newman. I will be happy to fly over as many of my father’s men as you might need to deal… discreetly… with these criminals.”
“That’s a very generous offer, Mr. Tanaka. For the moment, I can probably operate best on my own turf, using my own people. But if we should need assistance, I will definitely call you.”
“Would you be willing to give me your personal cell phone number, Mr. Newman?”
“Of course.”
They traded cell phone numbers, and Tanaka ended with, “Please call me, day or night, if I can be of any assistance.”
“Same, Mr. Tanaka. Call me any time. And before you ask, yes, I will keep you informed of any new developments.”
“You had better be who you say you are, Mr. Newman. If you are playing me, I promise you will regret it for the rest of your extremely short life.”
Spencer laughed. “Never fear. I’m the real deal.”
AFTER HE went through the motions of dressing the doll that Charles Favian had brought them and tucking her into the playpen, Chas hustled around the motel room, checking that the doors were locked and the blinds were closed, turning down the bed, and turning off all the lights. He turned on the TV low enough not to be distracting but loud enough to provide a little background noise. Motels like this notoriously had paper-thin walls, and he planned on Gunner making some noise in the near future.
He stripped out of his clothes and crawled into bed just before Gunner emerged from the bathroom, damp, flushed, and wearing nothing but a towel slung low on his hips. His abs rippled with muscle that terminated in a sharply defined V pointing down toward his groin. The man was a little intimidating to contemplate having sex with. He looked like the kind of guy who could split him open if he wanted to.
Except this was Gunner. His best friend. The boy he’d grown up with, that he’d fallen in love with, that he’d loved pretty much his entire life. He’d seen Gunner gently rescue kittens out of a rain catch basin, seen him chase off bullies when they’d picked on him. And more recently, he’d seen Gunner fall asleep with Poppy on his chest, his arms cradled protectively around her.
Gunner moved over to the bulky duffel bag he’d carried inside and pulled a large handgun from it. Chas recoiled, alarmed.
Gunner laid it on the one remaining nightstand, murmuring, “It’s a precaution. Nothing more.”
“You got any condoms in there?” he replied. “If we’re going to be having sex regularly, we should probably invest in some.”
“Yeah, actually. They’re a standard part of a go-bag for SEALs.”
“Of course they are,” he responded dryly.
Gunner grinned. “We put them over the ends of our rifle barrels to keep sand out.”
“Riiiiight. That’s how they all get used.”
Gunner shrugged, grinning. “It’s how I used most of mine. I only had sex with a woman once when I got hassled by the guys so much I couldn’t avoid it any longer.”
“Did you like it?” Chas asked curiously.
“You want the truth?” Gunner murmured.
“Yes. I do.”
“I closed my eyes and pretended it was you.”
Chas’s jaw dropped. Gunner had been fantasizing about him for all these years? Warmth started in his gut and spread outward to fill his entire body. “Well, you’re in luck. The real thing is right here in the flesh. And I would purely love it if you fucked me all night long.”
“Such language, Mr. Reed,” Gunner tsked.
Chas held up the covers, and Gunner slipped into bed. Chas wrapped his arms around that muscular neck and pressed his body against all those acres of rock-hard muscle, and he felt as if he were exploding into a molten lava pool of desire.
“I want you, Gunner. I want to feel you inside me, filling me up until I can’t take any more. Stretching me and pounding into me until I come all over myself.”
“Mmm. I think that can be arranged.” Gunner rolled half on top of him and stared down at him in the flickering light of the television. “Why in the hell did we wait so long to do this?”
“Somebody had to run away and join the Navy and spend ten years pretending to be straight. I never went anywhere.”
“God, I’m an idiot.”
Chas smiled gently up at Gunner. “Yeah. But you’re my idiot.” He plunged his hands into Gunner’s damp, wavy hair and tugged his face down for a long, deep kiss. He felt Gunner’s penis stirring against his thigh, thickening and filling. Excitement vibrated through him.
“Tonight, will you flip me over and take me from behind?”
“If you want.”
“Oh, I want.”
Gunner smiled tentatively, which amused him to no end. The man had no idea what he was in for.
“But first, I’d like to show you a few things,” Chas murmured.
“Oh yeah? Like what?”
“Roll over on your stomach. It would help if you put some pillows under your hips.”
Caution and possibly even alarm flashed in Gunner’s eyes.
“Trust me, Gunner. I won’t do anything you don’t like. You say so and I’ll stop immediately.”
“Stop what?”
“Well, I’m going to start by giving you a back rub. You did a lot of sitting today, and for a guy with a back injury, that can’t be comfortable. I’ll bet that means you’ve got a few kinks to work out.”
“I’m beginning to think you’re the one with the kink,” Gunner mumbled, his face buried in his arms.
“And you’re complaining about that?” Chas demanded.
“I retract the statement.”
“Better.” He opened the bottle of baby oil he’d swiped out of Poppy’s bag this morning and poured some into his hands. Then he smoothed his palms across Gunner’s back and reveled in the groan of pleasure it elicited.
“Just relax and let me do the work,” Chas murmured. He took his time, avoiding Gunner’s spine, kneading out every knot he found, working his way from top to bottom and side to side until Gunner completely relaxed under his hands. Gently, he pushed Gunner’s thighs apart and worked his way down both legs to Gunner’s feet.
He worked his way back up to Gunner’s ass and kneaded the heavy glute muscles until they, too, were completely flexible beneath his hands. He picked up the baby oil bottle and dribbled a stream into Gunner’s crack and used his fingers to massage it in.