Page 19 of Mine to Keep (Bloody Desires #10)

twelve

life as a tourist

“Knox!” Talon shouts to be heard over the crashing waterfall. “You have to come see this! It’s amazing!”

He and Javier are practically hanging over the rails of the boat, water mist spraying their faces as they stare at one of the wonders of nature.

We decided to come to Niagara Falls first, so we’d have enough energy to go to a museum about thirty minutes away.

When my boys said they wanted to do touristy shit, they meant it. Javier mapped out an entire itinerary, even marking down some alternatives in case he and Talon changed their minds.

He tried to use the cash he had on him to pay, but I told him to put his money away, and I’d be treating them until they went home. Javier attempted to argue with me, but I sternly told him not to disobey.

Talon looked at me then, heat creeping into his gaze as we got dressed. “Fuck, you even have a Daddy voice. Let’s just stay in.” He rubbed his hardness against my thigh, making me smile.

Javier relented, but told Talon we could stay in tomorrow, but he wanted to show him around since Talon hardly left the country. It didn’t take much convincing to get him to forget about sex and help with the planning.

I’ve been smiling the entire time we’ve been on the boat. They’re so animated, so happy, so excited to see new things.

Javier said he’d been to Canada before, but it was a business trip for his father and they didn’t do much sightseeing. Just like with Talon, this is a new experience for him.

Something tugs in my chest, knowing I gave them this.

When we go our separate ways, they can think about how they saw one of the natural wonders of the world.

I know I’ll remember their smiles and their laughter and how carefree they looked as they take picture after picture.

They move back and forth from one side of the boat to the other, taking pictures and pointing out all the rainbows.

“Come take a picture with us,” Talon says, waving me over. “The Falls are perfect in the background. Come onnnnnnnnn!”

I don’t take pictures. I try my best to always stay undetected, under the radar. But his beautiful brown eyes are flashing with excitement, and I find I can’t tell him no.

I walk over and stand between them, Javier on my left and Talon on my right. I take the phone from Talon’s hand since his short arms can’t get us all in the photo. Both men wrap their arms around me, smiling widely at the camera. I snap several pictures, getting good angles like Talon asks.

It’s probably not smart for them to keep pictures of me.

If they post them and someone is after me, they could be found and tortured for information.

But I’m not sure how to tell them that without telling them why .

Before we go our separate ways, I’ll have Peggy delete the photos.

It’ll look suspicious if I do it while we’re still here.

Just so they have photos of them with Niagara Falls in the background, I have Talon and Javier pose together so I can snap a few pics.

It takes about an hour for the tour to end. As soon as we step off, we toss our raincoats and head up the tower to see the Falls from above.

My heart clenches as soon as we step inside. Being in here reminds me of the trip I took to the Space Needle in Seattle. The one time I went on vacation. Before everything…happened.

I push the unwelcome thoughts from my mind as we look out of the window.

“Wow,” Talon breathes. “It’s so pretty up here.”

“Makes you feel small,” Javier agrees.

I walk up behind them, kissing the tops of their heads in turn. “No pictures?”

Talon looks back at me with a really ? face. “Of course we’re going to take pictures, Daddy. We just wanted to enjoy the view first.”

Something flutters in my chest every time they call me Daddy. I like it way too much.

They take pictures and look around them, marveling at the Falls and how pretty and dangerous they look.

They’re also free with their affection with each other, kissing and touching and holding hands. I wish I was as open as they are, to touch them and kiss them. Maybe I should. We’re on vacation. This is my vacation too.

Once my boys have had their fill of looking at the Falls, Talon leans against me and I take the opportunity to wrap an arm around his shoulder. It feels right to touch him so easily.

“I’m starved,” he says, tugging at the end of one of his braids. “Feed me, Seymour.”

I bark a laugh. “That’s before your time.”

He rolls his eyes at me with a soft grin. “I have parents older than you, Knox. They watch old-ass movies all the time.”

I chuckle, shaking my head. “Yeah, I need to feed you or you’ll keep saying hurtful shit to me.”

Standing on the tips of his toes, Talon kisses my cheek. “I’m sorry.”

Javier snickers. “He’s lying. You can tell by his tone.”

I laugh when Talon sticks his tongue out at his best friend.

We walk a few blocks until we find a pub with a lunch special. I usher them in and we take a seat at a table close to the back.

“Did you two have fun?” I ask them and they both launch into how much fun they had, their favorite parts of the day and what they want to do next time they come here. I listen to them with a smile, not getting tired of their voices or their excitement.

“What about you?” Javier asks, sipping on the beer he ordered.

“It was interesting,” I say. “Not something I’d do often, but it wasn’t bad.”

“Did you go see the sights wherever you were before you came here?”

I just shake my head. Nope, not getting into that. “Nah. It was a work trip. Had to escort an older woman around a wine tasting. I did try a bottle of three-thousand-dollar wine.”

Talon’s eyes bug out. “Three thousand dollars? For one bottle?” I nod. “That’s a little insane.”

Javier shrugs. “Papa gets those expensive bottles all the time as gifts. He never drinks them, but they’re always over two grand.”

“I don’t think there’s wine good enough for that much money,” Talon says.

I shrug. “You’d be surprised. I probably won’t buy a bottle, but I wouldn’t turn it down if offered.”

We ordered our food and when our server came back, we dug in while we talked.

Around a mouthful of food, Talon asks, “What next? Can we come back tomorrow?”

Javier hands him a napkin without looking up from his own plate as Talon takes the pickle from Javier’s burger.

It’s a little eerie just how well they know each other.

“We could always do all we want today and go somewhere else tomorrow. There’s a vineyard close by, we can see if there’s a bottle of wine for three grand. ” He winks at me.

The two of them discuss what other things we can do while they’re here when the door of the pub opens. A couple—a shorter, stocky man with slicked back dark brown hair, and a leggy woman with bright red hair—steps inside, looking like someone kicked their puppy.

Just as I look away, the woman glances at me, then does a double take. It takes all my effort not to turn back and wonder if I know her, but instincts tell me to pretend I didn’t notice her reaction.

From the corner of my eye, I see the woman discreetly tap the man and incline her head imperceptibly in my direction, but I can’t it. Both Talon and Javier have their backs to the door, so they don’t see the couple.

Alarm bells ring in my head, though I try to tamp it down. Given my line of work, it’s only natural to assume anyone that stares at me too long has plans to kill me.

Fuck, I really need to retire.

Though I try to ignore it, the feeling of restlessness and paranoia tries to claw its way out of my chest. Stealthily, I look at the couple through a mirror mounted on the wall—it’s angled in a way where I can see them but they can’t see me—and notice they’re no longer looking in my direction.

The woman has a menu in her hand, and the man with her is smiling as he pretends to snatch it from her.

Okay, so I am being paranoid. I could have been someone they thought they knew, a case of mistaken identity.

Lack of sleep is probably still a concern, even though I got more than enough sleep last night. I still have the feeling that something is lurking in the shadows, waiting for me to drop my guard and take me out.

Javier sighs, pulling me out of my morbid thoughts. “I’m stuffed. And now I need a nap. How do people vacation with jet lag?”

I smile at him, hoping it looks genuine. “They sleep on the flight.”

“We couldn’t,” Talon says, covering his mouth with a yawn. “I was too excited and talked Javier’s ear off.”

He looks over at his best friend with an apologetic expression. Javier leans over and kisses him quickly, making him smile. “It’s all good. We’ll sleep as much as we want when we get back home. I don’t have to work until August, and you don’t start school until September.”

Talon gives him another kiss, then stretches his arms over his head. “Can we go back to Siloq? I think a nap sounds good.”

I stand and pull cash from my pocket. “Of course. Let me get you two to bed.”

Talon hugs me around the waist. “Such a gentleman.”

With a chuckle, I say, “I don’t know about all that.”

They thread their fingers through mine, making my heart rate kick up. These two men are extraordinary. I don’t know what it is about them that has me so captivated, but I want to keep them. It’s dangerous—fucking risky as fuck—but I don’t care. It’s only been a day, but they’re mine.

I wrap my arms around their shoulders, loving the grins on their faces. “Do you two want to stay in tomorrow or taste some wine?”

Javier sighs and leans into me. “I think we need one more day of sleep. What do you think, Talon?”

His head lolls against my chest. “Sleep. Rest. Room service.”

I kiss the top of his head. “Sleep, rest, room service. No problem.”

Talon sighs, kissing my hand. “You’re the best, you know that?”

My heart clenches. The last time I heard that was…nope, not going to think about that.

“Thanks, little one.”

He looks up at me with a scowl as Javier chuckles beside me. “I’m not that small. You two are just big.”

Both Javier and I crack up laughing.

“It’s my name for you. Just like he’s my baby boy,” I kiss Javier then watch his eyes glaze over with lust, “you’re my little one. Is that okay?” I kiss Talon before he can answer, swallowing the moan that bubbles up his throat.

“Yeah,” he says in a husky tone when I release his lips. “Definitely okay.”

I chuckle as I lead them down the road.

Just as we reach the train station, we see our train at the platform. I have no idea how long it’s been there, so I say, “Run!”

With laughter tickling my ears, we all run through the doors just as they’re closing. Talon and Javier fall against me, breathing heavily and giggling. I wrap my arms around them, kissing their foreheads.

The train pulls out of the station, but before it does, I catch a glimpse of a red-haired woman and her brown-haired partner, hurrying down the platform looking around frantically.

Even though my mind is telling me it’s nothing, those same alarm bells ring in my head. Seeing them on the train platform after the sketchy shit the pub?

Nah, they were tourists that just missed their train.

That’s all.

I have to tell myself that, or I’ll lose my shit.