“Are you trying to start something out here?” Ty asked in a warm voice.
“I wish,” Zane muttered, splaying his hand flat along Ty’s shoulder blades and rubbing the warm skin.
Ty kissed his cheek and moved away. “Then cut it out. And shave that damn thing off in the morning, huh?”
Zane huffed, but he allowed Ty to push him away. He wanted to be close, but they couldn’t get distracted. Muttering under his breath, he walked over to the desk and his papers.
Ty went to the bathroom door and leaned against it, sliding to the floor with a soft groan. He was apparently intending to sit there the rest of the morning. After a roll of his eyes, Zane snatched up a pillow and flung it at him.
A moment later, he heard Ty’s soft “Thanks, Zane.”
JULIAN was surprised when the two FBI agents left Cameron with him in the bathroom. But he knew what they were thinking, and on the surface it made sense. He tugged at the handcuffs and raised one hand toward Cameron.
His lover climbed into the bathtub next to him and slid their hands together, lacing their fingers. “Have you been stuck like this all night?”
“Well, I was sitting,” Julian answered, keeping his tone light. He slid the chain up the diagonal safety rail and spread his arms as wide as they would go, gesturing for Cameron to duck under. Cameron did, moving to stand in the circle of Julian’s arms and reaching up to slide his hands around Julian’s neck, tipping his head back to look up at him.
“Aside from threatening you, how have they been treating you?” Julian asked.
“Fine. Haven’t said a word to me, really. I was sleeping until I heard Ty yell at you.”
“He’s just overly excitable.” Julian kissed him. It was hard to pull him closer with the safety bar restraining his arms like it was. “Are you going to give me my lecture?”
“Do I need to?” Cameron asked, meeting his eyes.
Julian sighed and looked over at the door. “If we make it to DC, we’ll never see each other again anyway.” He looked into Cameron’s eyes. “They’re using threats to you to keep me under control. But if I’m reading them correctly, Grady won’t hurt either of us unless we force him, and he won’t let Garrett hurt you. Nothing is a bigger threat than what they’re delivering us to.”
“Will you tell me what’s going on?”
Julian hesitated. He had spent most of their time together trying to shield Cameron from the worst of it. But now they were being dragged across the country, possibly to their deaths. Cameron deserved to know.
“It’s the CIA, Cam.”
“CIA? I thought Ty and Zane were FBI.”
“I don’t know what they are. But it’s sure as hell not the FBI who wants to kill me.”
Cameron’s arms tightened around Julian’s neck. “I won’t let them take you away from me if I can do anything to stop it.”
“Just look intimidated and docile whenever they threaten you. Let them think it’s working.”
“I don’t have to act,” Cameron murmured as he laid his cheek against Julian’s chest. “They are intimidating.”
Julian snorted before he could stop himself. He cleared his throat to cover it. He leaned back and looked down at Cameron. “You’re not wearing anything sharp or pointy, by any chance, are you?”
Cameron frowned and let his arms slide down. “Sharp or pointy? I don’t think so.” He looked down at himself. He didn’t wear jewelry—the only jewelry Julian had ever seen him wear was the Warrior’s Cross pendant Julian had given him when they’d first met. But that necklace was long gone.
“Zippers? Shoelaces?” Julian asked as he looked down Cameron’s body. He wasn’t wearing shoes. And in reality, Julian couldn’t imagine that he could manage to pick the lock with a zipper pull. “Damn, that spring was so perfect,” he muttered in irritation.
“You about got yourself shot. Zane was up out of that bed with that gun so fast, it scared me.”
“I’m surprised he’s not accustomed to Grady shouting at random for no reason. They sleep with their weapons? That’s good to know. If one of them is going to try to kill me, it will be Garrett. But no worries,” he said as he pulled Cameron as close as he could. “We’ll get out of this.”
Cameron leaned against him again, tucking his head under Julian’s chin. “It’s a good thing you’re such a good liar.”
“I’m not certain whether that’s a compliment or an insult.”
“Me either,” Cameron said before tipping his head back again and kissing Julian’s chin.
Julian grinned. “I love you, you know.”
Cameron gave him a tremulous smile. “I know. I love you too.” He went up on tiptoe to kiss Julian fervently.
Julian had to bend to indulge in the kiss since he couldn’t pull Cameron closer. He smiled against Cameron’s lips. “We’ve never tried this with handcuffs,” he said in a suggestive, teasing voice.
Cameron laughed. “Interesting idea. You can’t pick me up, flip me over, or hold me down.” He opened his eyes, and they sparkled mischievously.
“That’s what you think.”
The arched eyebrow Cameron gave him in reply was a clear dare, and Cameron’s hands sliding down his chest to his belt buckle even more so.
Julian’s smile was predatory as he stepped closer and pushed Cameron against the shower wall. He gasped and looked down between them. “My belt!” he hissed.
“What?” Cameron asked, plucking at it.
“They left it on me,” Julian told him with a grin.
“So, that means I can put it in your mouth for you to bite on in a couple minutes?”
That got Julian’s attention, and he looked back up with a grin. “Do you care if we make noise and they know what we’re doing?”
A blush crept up Cameron’s cheeks. “It’s not going to make a difference in what they do with us, right?” His fingers manipulated Julian’s belt buckle as he looked up into Julian’s eyes.
“Probably not.”
“Is this really stupid?” Cameron licked his lips as he unbuttoned Julian’s pants.
“The only thing stupid in this room is sitting outside our door,” Julian said, raising his voice just enough.
“Blow me, Cross,” came Ty’s disembodied voice from outside the door.
TY PRESSED his shoulders against the door to stretch his sore muscles, and he let his bare feet slide on the carpet until his legs were splayed in front of him. He sat there without any compunction about looking dejected in the dark.