Page 47 of Dual Surrender

“Big Bear or something.” He waved a dismissive hand at me and dropped the glass into the sink.

“Who called?”

“Foster.”

I sighed inwardly. “Can we talk first?” I asked.

“I’d rather just…” Ronan braced his hands on the sink and stared down at the drain. His shoulders heaved with his breath, and he didn’t finish his thought.

I stepped toward him and touched his back, feeling out the knobs of his spine between his shoulder blades. I petted down his sleep-warm skin until the tension in his neck relaxed and he stood straight, turning to me.

“You’d rather just what?” I asked softly.

“I’d rather just bury myself inside of you and forget that Foster exists.” Ronan slipped his hands around my waist and buried his face in the crook of my neck. He kissed and nuzzled me until gooseflesh peppered its way down my arms, and right as I was ready to moan in want, he bit me.

Hard.

“See if Rich and Sam want to come,” he whispered, licking the place he’d just marked me.

“They have plans for the weekend,” I said, remembering whatever indecent things Sam had said he was preparing for.

“Ask anyway. Then book us a cabin or something. Use Foster’s name.”

“Is Foster paying too?”

“Oh, he will.” Ronan stepped around me and padded back toward the bedroom. “I’ll start packing.”

“So, I assume this isn’t optional?” I called after him.

“Do as you’re told, Kevin.”

“Yes, Ronan,” I answered back, hitting redial on my phone.

It went straight to voicemail. I tried again and was met with the same result, so I called Rich, who answered on the last ring.

“Is it an emergency?” he greeted.

“Ronan said to see if you two want to come to Big Bear with us for the weekend. He seemed insistent.”

“We have plans,” Rich said. “Maybe next time. Talk Monday.”

The call disconnected and I followed the sounds of Ronan banging around in the other room until I found him wrestling with a suitcase in the closet. I climbed up onto the bed and pulled open a web browser on my phone, finding a cabin with a wraparound deck and a hot tub. I didn’t bother checking the price since it wasn’t going to be coming out of our bank account, then I booked the place in Foster’s name. The confirmation email had the code for the key box, and I tossed my phone onto the bed.

“Do you need help packing?” I asked, watching him throw a carry-on size suitcase onto the bed near my feet.

“I need you to do what I told you to do.”

I adjusted my glasses and gave him a doubtful look. “Rich and Sam said no, they have plans, and I booked us a cabin with a hot tub.”

A smile flickered on Ronan’s face.

“Then yes,” he said, sitting on the bed. “You can pack.”

“Thank you, Ronan.” I crawled toward him and kissed the back of his neck, then climbed off the bed and opened the dresser, digging around to get us clean underwear and socks.

I handed the items to him and he arranged them in the suitcase, then I went into the closet, taking down a couple shirts and bringing them to him. He folded them on his lap and arranged them neatly in the case.

“Are we bringing toys?” I asked, glancing back to the dresser, unsure of what the expectations—or the reason—for the trip were.