Love in the Land of Fire, Brochu, Rebecca [best free novels .txt] 📗

all together. Other than that, I ask that you keep me informed unofficially with any new developments and watch your back as well as Zweil’s. I don’t want to lose one of my best in the crossfire either.”

Josiah studies Eagan silently for a moment before he snaps a sharp salute at the other man, a sign of respect that he knows his L.E. will understand. He turns on his heel and heads back towards his desk to gather anything and everything he might need until the next time he can make it back into the office.

He’s got a submissive to protect and he’s not willing to take any chances either. He refuses to lose Rafe before he’s even had the chance to have him.

3

3Chapter Nine

Josiah manages to make it home quicker than he normally would without blatantly breaking all of the known speed restrictions. He’s out of the transport, eyes scanning the surrounding area and footsteps silent, and at his door before he realizes anything is amiss.

The apartment door is unlocked and partially ajar and Josiah is immediately on full alert. He draws his pistol and steps through the opening almost before he realizes he’s moved. Moving swiftly down the entrance hall he begins to do a thorough sweep of the apartment. He knows almost immediately that the pistol is not necessary. The apartment is obviously empty, the silence in the place so thick that it practically vibrates, but he still keeps his weapon out and in position because that’s what he’d been trained to do.

The apartment is dark, the wall-lights either dimmed or off completely in some areas, and it only serves to add to the feeling that the place is clearly empty. Still he finds no sign of forced entry, no signs of a struggle or anything really out of place. All of his personal belongings and the things that he’d purchased for Rafe are still in their proper places. The only thing actually missing is Rafe himself.

Josiah hears the front door squeak open slowly, feels the change in the air when someone steps into the apartment, and he’s crouched, hiding in the shadows and ready to spring in seconds. Footsteps move slowly down the hall and right when they round the corner Josiah’s leg sweeps out automatically to trip the intruder.

His leg connects and he feels the intruder stumble and tilt forward. Surprise filters through him when instead of going down hard the stranger uses the momentum of his own fall to propel himself forward onto his outstretched palms and into a smooth forward flip. Josiah is up instantly, his pistol pressing deep into the flesh of the exposed back before him.

“If you as much as twitch,” he hisses, “I will shoot you.”

“Josiah?” It’s Rafe’s voice that speaks his name, the word practically vibrating with unease.

“Shit!” Josiah immediately holsters his gun, wraps one hand around Rafe’s shoulder and spins him around until they’re face to face. Anger flares through him, anger at himself for not recognizing the other male sooner, anger at Rafe for not being where he was supposed to be in the first place. It all comes spilling out of him before he can think twice about it.

“What in the fuck were you doing? What in the hell possessed you to leave the apartment? I’ve seen your test scores, Zweil, so you’ve got no excuse for acting like a fucking idiot!”

Josiah shakes Rafe hard once before letting go of the submissive as if burned. Raking a hand through his blond hair he stalks towards the nearest switch and turns the dial all the way up until the apartment is flooded with light. In the now bright room he can see Rafe’s face clearly, can see an anger that matches his own rising up in the man, which is at odds with the mostly meek behavior he’s shown to Josiah since they’ve been together.

“I wasn’t aware that I was a prisoner, Marx, or that you’re apparently my warden. Although I suppose that was a foolish assumption to make. After all a cage is still a cage even if the bars are pretty this time around.”

“Damn it all to hell, Rafe, that’s not what I meant and you fucking know it!”

“Are you sure about that, Josiah? Do you really not want to keep me locked away, hidden from the outside 3world like every-fucking-body else seems to?”

Josiah has no control over himself as he lunges forward, buries one hand in Rafe’s silky hair and yanks the submissive forward. Their lips meet harshly, all teeth and no finesse and Josiah runs his tongue roughly along the seam of Rafe’s mouth, a pleased growl rumbling in his chest when the he opens for him. Josiah sweeps inside, his tongue tangling hotly with Rafe’s even as he begins to crowd the submissive against the nearest wall.

They fit together perfectly, the long lean plains of Rafe’s body slotting into the more thickly muscled valleys of Josiah’s as if they’d been carved from the same single piece of stone, broken and divided and only now reunited. Josiah groans low in his throat at the feel of Rafe pressed against him and his cock hardens instantly at the combined sensations of touch and taste. Rafe echoes his groan and the sound of pleasure from the submissive doubles Josiah’s arousal, making him helpless to do anything but press closer, driving their bodies together and Rafe further against the wall.

Their tongues slide against and around each other, spit slick and eager to taste, to consume one another.

Josiah knew it would be like this, knew it would be perfect and all-consuming the moment he laid eyes on Rafe. His hand loosens its tight grip in Rafe’s hair and slides slowly through the cool, thick locks to curl firmly around the back of the submissive’s neck, unable to control the impulse to