Page 32

Chief Aiken Oakley

Valor

Valor allowed Zorion to walk him into the shower in his bedroom.

Neither spoke as they stepped inside, and Valor pulled Zorion to his chest beneath the waterfall showerhead.

With their foreheads touching, they stared down at the various marks that marred their bodies.

Valor traced the six-inch jagged scar along Zorion’s left hip, then the small circular one near his right pec.

“You were shot,” he murmured, more so to himself than to Zorion.

Valor mapped wounds that had no story, just like his own. They were as mysterious as they were stunning.

“You’ve been cut, shot…burned.” Valor held the right side of Zorion’s face, stroking his thumb over the textured discoloration.

“There will never be another scar made on your body,” Valor swore on his life. “No one will touch you…ever.”

Zorion placed a delicate kiss inside Valor’s palm before he licked the tips of his fingers.

Both of their cocks were rigid, but despite the throbbing in his balls, Valor wasn’t in a rush. He could stay like this the rest of the night and be content.

Valor was unsure who initiated it, but soon, they were again locked in a passionate kiss. It started soft, but it wasn’t long before hunger took over.

Zorion’s slick hands were gripping, tracing, and tugging him closer as he thrust his hips in rhythm with sucking his tongue.

Valor wove his hands into Zorion’s hair, almost to his shoulders now, and darker blond when wet. He pulled at the glossy, metallic-colored strands as he stared into those gorgeous green eyes.

Zorion broke the connection and lowered his gaze to Valor’s erection. He watched in eager anticipation as Zorion took a bottle of conditioner out of one of the built-in shelves and squeezed an ample amount in his palm.

The first touch to his cock made him jerk as Zorion took them both in his hands and began double-fisting them with languid strokes.

“Rio,” Valor moaned as his head fell back.

Zorion’s breath on his cheek was hotter than the steam filling the room.

Valor struggled to stand as Zorion’s grip became impossibly tighter and his pace doubled. He caged Zorion in as he braced his hands on the wall to keep his knees from buckling.

He nipped and bit at Zorion’s throat before dragging his tongue over the hot droplets of water.

“I want to make you feel good, Valor…always.”

Valor’s muscles tightened as a current of pleasure shot to his groin.

“Then all you have to do is look at me, give me your attention”—Valor released a strangled moan at the unseen force making his body jerk—“and I’m satisfied.”

Zorion shuddered as his strokes began to lose their rhythm, creating a raw sensation of hunger and eagerness for release.

Zorion’s desperate panting and ragged cries were like a sexy love song. The aching was mounting, and the sweet agony of anticipation stretched toward his breaking point.

Lost in the electric pulsing, he almost missed when Zorion came.

Valor’s vision blurred and his limbs shook as his world tilted. He orgasmed so hard he didn’t think he’d ever catch his breath. His skin tingled and chills wracked his body despite the hot water cascading down his back.

Slowly, the warmth enveloped him and reality began to seep back in, his mind grasping at the enormity of what happened when they touched.

The low-hanging hammock suspended between two pine trees on Zorion’s terrace cradled them like the dusk holding the last light of day.

Valor had one leg dangling over the side as he stared up at the moonlit canopy of branches. Zorion was naked and comfortable, with his head resting on Valor’s chest and an arm wrapped around his waist.

“Val,” Zorion whispered.

“Hmm.”

Valor plucked a twig from a sweet shrub growing around the manufactured pond and dragged it over Zorion’s shoulder. He already smelled good and tasted as sweet as the plant, but he was unable to resist.

“What do you think about the other Ravens? The Browns and the Blacks.” Zorion shifted and eased his thigh up higher.

Valor moaned when the soft skin grazed over his cock. Although his orgasm had left him sated and more than satisfied, it still began to thicken.

“I don’t think about them.”

“Ren said they volunteered for this job… I wonder why the fuck anyone would do that.”

Valor sighed. “I have no idea.”

“I think they’ve gone rogue or something.” Zorion caressed Valor’s chest, placing gentle kisses around his nipples as if he couldn’t resist trying to make him feel good. “Maybe we should try to contact them. If they’ve risen up against the organization—”

“No,” Valor growled.

“Why not? We’re gonna need more than Jo’s help to take this place down.”

“Because they’ve probably been through phase three. What if they attack us? If they try to hurt you, I’ll kill them.”

Valor could feel Zorion’s smile.

“I’m not helpless, y’know. I can fight just as hard as you.”

“I know you can… I’ve seen it.” Valor tossed the flowers to the ground and pulled him tighter. “I don’t know why I’m so protective of you, Zorion. Maybe it’s the puma DNA. I know they’re fiercely territorial, more so than the females. Their species is monogamous, so my desire to keep you all to myself must be natural.”

Zorion lifted his head. “How do you know all this? Did you look it up?”

Valor blinked. How the hell did he know that?

“I um…shit. No, I didn’t look it up.” Valor frowned. “I don’t know why I know that. I just…do.”

Zorion gasped, his smile beautiful.

“You’re remembering knowledge Oakley had. Gotta be. This means not all of who we were is lost, Val.” Zorion touched his forehead to his and breathed. “Maybe my memories of you will come back too.”

Valor couldn’t stop himself from kissing Zorion right then and tasting the sweetness of his hope. He caressed Zorion’s back, peppering gentle kisses on his forehead until he heard his soft snores.

Valor stayed awake, his mind refusing to leave guard mode.