Chapter One
Friday, September 3, 2021
Brantley Walker woke up on Friday morning with renewed energy.
It was the first time in months that he hadn’t had a restless night. One without a headache or a nightmare, both of which always left him feeling off come morning. The migraines had been extra brutal these past couple of months, knocking him to his knees at least three days a week, so the fact he’d been headache-free last night, sleeping soundly, had made all the difference.
No nightmare, no headache, just rest after a round of amazing sex with the man he loved.
It was almost like, for the first time since that fateful day when the world had literally crashed down on him, he was living a normal life.
Brantley smirked even as he gently shook his head. Normal wasn’t something he would’ve ever considered himself. As a Navy SEAL, normal didn’t apply. And while his career in the military had officially ended, he hadn’t exactly left the excitement behind him.
With a sigh, he pushed himself up, rubbed the subtle ache in his leg, grateful it hadn’t gotten any worse in recent months. The scar from where the rusted rebar had torn through his flesh was an ever-present reminder of that horrific fucking day. It was also a reminder that he was alive and breathing and that he had so much to be thankful for.
Maybe he risked jinxing himself, but Brantley was not going to question his good mood or look too closely into what spurred it. Especially since he knew what the day was going to bring. Now that Sniper 1 Security had officially absorbed the Off the Books Task Force and they were up and running relatively smoothly, they’d spent the past two weeks working to fill the vacant positions they’d been outlining since April. Today they would finalize all their efforts, which meant they could finally push forward rather than continue to move in circles.
After making a pit stop in the bathroom to take care of morning business, Brantley returned wearing shorts and a T-shirt, socks on his feet.
He sat on the edge of the bed, shoes in hand to finish getting ready for his run, while the man who’d rocked his world last night slept soundly on the other side.
Looked like he was going to have to be a little more aggressive to get Reese out of bed this morning.
“Today’s gonna be a good day,” he said aloud, pulling on his shoes.
“Did you say somethin’?” Reese grumbled, snuggled beneath the navy-blue suede comforter that had just appeared out of nowhere one day last week.
“Time to get up,” he told the grouchy man.
Reese’s response was a grunt.
Brantley glanced over his shoulder, then patted the mattress, urging Tesha to hop up there. If anyone could get Reese out of bed, it was the man’s canine partner.
“I tried,” he told the dog with a shrug. “Now it’s your turn. You wanna go for a run, you gotta wake him up.”
Tesha’s excitement came in the form of a full-body wag and the little hop she started around Reese’s legs.
No way could Reese sleep through that.
“Better get up,” Brantley told him. “She’s gonna sulk and mope for the rest of the day if you don’t come with us.”
Another grumble, but at least Reese stirred enough to sit up, his long legs swinging over the edge of the bed, bare feet smacking the hardwood.
Reese grunted. “You have somethin’ against sleepin’ in?”
Brantley knew it was rhetorical, but still it made him laugh.
“I’m leavin’ in five,” Brantley said on the way to the door.
Reese muttered something he couldn’t understand, making him laugh as he strolled out of the bedroom.
Sure enough, just shy of the allotted time, Reese appeared in the kitchen. He’d pulled on shorts and a T-shirt, shoes on his feet. He still looked half-asleep, but Brantley intended to fix that with ten miles of pounding pavement on a warm September morning.
“I hope you know, I was gonna seduce you,” Reese complained, falling into step with him on the way to the front door.
“Next on the agenda,” Brantley promised.
“Like hell. After this, I’m goin’ back to bed.”
“We can do it in bed,” he quipped. “Wherever you like. But right now…” Brantley opened the door, stepped outside.
“Son of a bitch.” Reese glared at him. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me it was rainin’?”
More like drizzle. Or maybe just the ridiculous humidity that’d been blanketing Coyote Ridge for the past couple of months.
Brantley smiled. “Where’s the fun in that?”
Less than a minute later, Reese was at his side cursing him, Tesha trotting along in front, tail wagging.
Damn fine way to start a Friday.
When they returned to the house nearly an hour later, Brantley felt even better than when they’d left. His heart was pumping strong, and the fresh air had cleared his mind.
“Not your best pace,” Reese said when they walked into the house.
Brantley peered over, barked a laugh. “Maybe that was because I was keepin’ your pace.”
He found himself smiling wider when Reese glared at him as he made a beeline for the refrigerator.
Brantley was ready when Reese tossed him a bottle of water, catching it with one hand while he admired the man. The good news was, the sleep had worn off and, in its place, a grumbling man desperately in need of a shower. Exactly where Brantley hoped to have him in the very near future.
“You want breakfast?” Reese offered, tossing his empty bottle into the recycle bin—something else that had just miraculously appeared in the house recently. “Not right this second, I mean. But before—”
“Shower first,” he interrupted, finishing off his water and pitching the empty into the allocated bin.
Reese turned back to the refrigerator, opened it. “I’ll wait till you’re done.”
Brantley turned and started walking backward, grinned again. “The hell you will. You’re gonna join me in the shower, Tavoularis. Right. Fucking. Now.”
Reese peered around the refrigerator door. “I’ll make breakfast.”
“Keep up with the excuses, and I’ll make you work for it.”
“Work for what?” Reese groused.
“Get your ass in the shower,” he commanded, still smiling. “Now.”
Reese finally gave up, stomping in the direction of the bathroom. “Anyone ever tell you you’re too damn chipper in the mornin’?”
“It’s gonna be a good day.”
“So you keep sayin’.”
Once they were in the bathroom, Brantley figured it was time for less talk, more action. After turning the water on, ensuring it wasn’t too cold and not too hot, he began stripping his clothes off, piece by piece. He knew Reese was still sulking near the sink, but he figured that wouldn’t last much longer.
If he knew anything about Reese Tavoularis at all, he knew the man couldn’t resist him when he was naked.
*
Damn it.
Reese knew he should’ve stayed in the kitchen. At least if he’d had any intention of resisting Brantley’s charms. Because here and now, with Brantley stripped bare, his heavy erection in his hand as he moved to stand beneath the spray of water, Reese felt his blood begin to pump faster and hotter.