“When I come back in tomorrow mornin’,” he told them as he stood tall, “I expect this shit to be worked out. If it’s not, I’ll make the seating arrangements, and trust me, you won’t like it.”
He heard Slade chuckling behind him as he headed for the door.
Chapter Five
Tuesday, September 7, 2021
When Brantley opened his eyes on Tuesday morning, he didn’t immediately get out of bed. He remained just as he was, on his back, listening to the sounds of the house. Reese was breathing heavily beside him, the ceiling fan turning overhead. Other than that, he didn’t hear much of anything, and he realized he’d gotten used to the quiet, to the calm.
He liked it, actually.
He honest-to-God liked where he was at in his life. Reese living with him, sharing his bed every night. Them working together.
Sure, he missed his days in the Teams, but he suspected that would always be the case. Brantley hadn’t left because he wanted to, but he was adapting to the curveball life had thrown him.
Of course, his brain instantly replayed the argument in the barn yesterday…
Okay, so he wouldn’t be able to take the quiet for granted since it wasn’t a guarantee, but at least he could enjoy it at home. Work would always be a different story.
“What’s on your mind?” a soft, rumbling voice sounded beside him.
“Just enjoyin’ the solitude for a minute.”
“Mmm.” Reese moved closer, his hand sliding down Brantley’s stomach, inching lower.
Oh, yeah. This was something else he was coming to enjoy immensely, too.
Brantley gave a growl of encouragement, urging Reese to keep going even as Brantley tossed the comforter away.
When Reese’s long fingers circled his cock, Brantley groaned softly, relaxing into the mattress as a sensual heat replaced the quiet comfort of the morning.
“Fuck, that feels good,” he whispered, pumping his hips, gently fucking Reese’s hand, creating more friction.
Admittedly, he loved when Reese woke up like this, although these encounters had lessened in recent months. As of late, Reese seemed distracted, secretive almost. There were times Brantley would catch him looking at his phone only to hurriedly tuck it away if Brantley came near. He figured it was his own insecurities getting the best of him, so Brantley had opted not to bring it up. The last thing he wanted to do was to jinx what they had, especially since the rough edges seemed to be smoothing out the longer they were together.
Reese’s hand tightened on his shaft, stroking firmly.
Brantley focused his full attention on the hand job, letting the sensations build within him, the electrical energy that ignited in his spine growing brighter, hotter until he couldn’t refrain any longer. He jerked his hips, meeting the urgent grip of Reese’s palm until the release barreled through him, dragging a ragged growl from his chest.
When he was replete, he grinned over at Reese. “That’s one helluva way to wake up.”
“It is, isn’t it?”
“Maybe if you’re good, I’ll repay the favor in the shower.”
“On your knees,” Reese added with a grunt.
Brantley grinned.
Oh, yeah. He definitely liked Reese like this in the morning.
Two hours later, after a ten-mile run, an equally energetic encounter in the shower, and a breakfast of oatmeal and fruit—during which Brantley bitched the entire time—they joined the team in the barn.
Baz and JJ were already there, seemingly cozy in the kitchen, making coffee.
When they saw there were others there, they pulled apart quickly, as though they’d been caught doing something they shouldn’t.
“Got a secret to share?” Brantley probed, curious as to what was going on.
“What?” JJ stepped back. “No secrets. Why would you say that?”
Brantley frowned, watching his best friend as she retreated completely. When he looked back at Baz, he got a shrug for an answer.
“I will never understand women,” Brantley muttered when Baz slipped out, leaving him to pour his coffee.
When he returned to the main area, he saw Reese was walking around the new desk arrangement. Brantley had no idea what he could possibly be looking for, but he figured the man had some sort of motivation.
The door opened, and more people strolled in, filling the desks, their conversations beginning to energize the space. He decided not to intrude, so he told Reese he had things to do and headed over to his office in the house.
It was true, he did have things to do. Turned out, working for a large corporation like Sniper 1 resulted in paperwork and shit Brantley could’ve done without. However, he was trying to remain in RT’s good graces because he knew there would come a time when his boss would frown on his decisions, so he was starting the give-and-take early.
After all, perception was key.
*
By midmorning, Reese was grateful for the ten-mile run and the endorphins that heated round in the shower produced. It had gone a long way to ensuring he didn’t lose his temper, something that would’ve surely happened when he walked into the barn to find Allison and Becs still bitching about their seating arrangement.
Funny thing was, they both wanted the same thing, but they couldn’t stop talking long enough to realize it. Instead, they were snapping back and forth, both attempting to make their point at the top of their lungs, neither of them backing down.
Since they’d aligned the teams so that Allison and Becs would be working together, he figured now was a good time to switch things up. At least until they got the lay of the land and learned to deal with one another rather than shout and scold, something that was disrupting the workflow for everyone.
He noticed Trey and Holly had their heads together in the corner, reviewing the cold case Trey had been working on for the past few weeks. Charlie had taken to hiding out upstairs with JJ and Elana, reviewing the details of some report JJ was building for their weekly meeting. Baz and Luca had escaped completely, settling into Reese’s office over in the house to discuss the social media investigation. And Slade was doing his best to be invisible while working in the conference room with the door shut.
That left Allison and Becs and this stupid fucking argument. Rather than let it go on all damn day, which no doubt it would, Reese walked over to the women, cleared his throat.
Allison and Becs immediately shut up, heads jerking toward him.
He waited patiently, cocking an eyebrow to see if they wanted to explain.
“It’s not what it looks like,” Allison said quickly.
Becs’s eyebrows lifted, her disbelief evident.
It was exactly what it looked like, Reese knew.
“I’m sorry,” Becs said. “We’re—”
“I’m switchin’ up the teams,” Reese announced. “Becs, you’ll move to work with Trey and Evan startin’ next week when Evan comes on board. I’ll have Darius work with Charlie and Deck.” He looked at the conference room, then back to Allison. “Jay will work with you and Slade.”
“You don’t have—”
He cut Allison off. “Already done. Trust me when I say, Brantley won’t hesitate to fire every last damn one of you.” He pinned a hard stare at Allison before she opened her mouth. “And he can, I assure you. He’s got the full support of his management team.”