Brad's Rock [Rescue for Hire 7] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove) Read online

  “Ah, fuck,” he whispered. He could almost feel the cold metal against his tongue as he imagined sucking one nipple into his mouth.

  Tearing his eyes away, Brad quietly drew air into his oxygen-starved lungs. Letting his gaze drop farther, he took in the cute inny belly button before following the faint treasure trail of curling hairs to the waistband of the thin flannel pants.

  A noticeable bulge protruded, stretching the material and telling Brad he wasn’t the only one feeling the chemistry between them. He ended his journey of visual delight at a pair of neat slim feet. Looking closer he saw a silver ring encircling one toe.

  “Do you like what you see, Brad?” Rock asked, his voice husky.

  Brad couldn’t answer. As Brad looked around nervously, his gaze was drawn back to Rock. The colorful tattoo sleeves on Rock’s arms transfixed him. The more he stared, the more he saw. Swirls of tribal designs intermixed with birds, big cats, and reptile scales. If life ever showed Brad any mercy, he would love to trace those tats with his finger and maybe his tongue. Shaking his head, he tried to physically get that thought out of his mind.

  Long, thin fingers wrapped around his wrist. Automatically, Brad tried to jerk his arm loose, but Rock was a lot stronger than he looked.

  “Come on. Let’s go and sit for a moment,” Rock said and led him through the kitchen and into the large cathedral-ceilinged living room.

  A quick tug on his wrist brought Brad down on the sofa next to Rock. Casually, the man slipped his hand down until Rock was holding Brad’s hand. Again Brad tried to pull away, but unless he caused an uncomfortable scene, his hand wasn’t going to be free until Rock let it go. And Brad had spent his life avoiding uncomfortable scenes.

  “You don’t say much, do you?” Rock said.

  “Truth?”

  “Yeah.”

  “No one usually wants to hear anything I have to say.” Brad couldn’t believe he confessed that.

  “Tell me why you were standing before the cabinet,” Rock demanded.

  Brad didn’t want to think about the ramifications or consequences of his problem. He also didn’t want to address Rock’s question. But the authority in the man’s voice was like a siren’s call, bidding him to answer. “I wanted a drink of the alcohol in there,” he confessed.

  Rock frowned. “I don’t think Cade would mind if you had a drink. In fact, we could have one together.”

  “Stop,” Brad said, tugging on his hand.

  Rock paused in mid-motion of getting off the sofa, and then settled back down next to Brad.

  At Rock’s questioning look, Brad said, “For most of the last year, I’ve been drunk out of my skull. In fact, looking back, I’ve used alcohol to numb my brain most of my life.” Brad raised his eyes from their joined hands and looked at Rock. “It’s okay if you don’t want to hold hands with a loser.”

  “Shut up,” Rock ordered and squeezed his hand tight. “You aren’t a loser. Can I ask you a question?”

  “Yeah.” After the last confession, he had nothing to lose.

  “Do you feel it’s become a problem?”

  “I didn’t think so before. Now, I’m not so sure,” Brad admitted.

  “Look, it’s obvious I want to get to know you better. But you have to know I’m not a cop. If you want a drink, I won’t stop you. That has to be your decision.” Rock ran a fingertip down the side of Brad’s cheek. “If you’ve decided to stop drinking completely, but find you’re having trouble with it, I’m here to listen and try to help. Okay?”

  Brad was drowning in the warmth and acceptance in Rock’s beautiful brown eyes. They came closer until they blurred, and Rock’s lips touched Brad’s. Easy as pie, Rock gently kissed him. Brad liked it too much and froze, scared to move a muscle.

  When Rock pulled away, Brad couldn’t only stare helplessly at him.

  “It’s okay, honey. Breathe for me.” Rock smiled.

  “I was married to a woman,” Brad blurted out.

  “You told me that before,” Rock responded. “But that really doesn’t have anything to do with the kiss we just shared.”

  “It doesn’t?” Brad asked. He was starting to feel like Alice in Wonderland. Everything was changing.

  “Nope.” Rock stood and pulled Brad to his feet. “Come on. Let’s go to bed. We can face the new day when the sun rises.”

  At Brad’s bedroom door, Rock lifted his lips. Brad automatically leaned down a little, and their lips met again. This kiss lasted a few seconds longer than the last one. By the time Brad found himself lying in bed thinking about the confident, tattooed man and closing his eyes, he suddenly realized he’d forgotten all about the need for a drink.

  * * * *

  Rock lay back on the strange bed, hands folded beneath his head, looking up at nothing in the darkened room. Meeting Brad Hayward was unexpected. In his opinion, everyone had a kink. His was being the dominating partner. Brad was tall, muscled, and a touch submissive. This was Rock’s nightly wet dream.

  It had been late in the afternoon when they arrived at Cade’s log home. While Rock explored the place, Brad had heated up the food supplied by the older women. Mouthwatering smells drifted from the covered plates, making Rock’s stomach growl. The whole meal of chicken, rice, and vegetables was fantastic, and the apple pie’s crust was so flaky it melted in his mouth. Rock had already made the decision to give each of the grannies a big hug when he met them.

  The conversation went well. Brad was on the quiet side, but Rock asked about the members of Rescue for Hire, and Brad volunteered extra information on some of the rescues they’d gone on. So far Rock liked what he’d heard about the company.

  Rock was starting to get a pretty clear picture of the man Brad was, after spending the early evening with him, and meeting again before the liquor cabinet at two in the morning. For some reason, Brad had married a woman, conceived, and raised children with her, even though he was obviously attracted to men. It also sounded as though he coped with everyday life by drinking. If Rock understood it all correctly, the drinking escalated when his wife and children died.

  Just before Rock’s eyes closed and sleep overtook him, he worked out a few more plans for handling a six-foot blond with sad light blue eyes.

  * * * *

  Metal crunched against metal. Glass shattered all around him, stinging his skin like swarming wasps. When the world stopped spinning, Brad lay under the steering wheel, unable to move. Bright sunshine flowed through wide gaps of the crushed SUV, taking away all the shadows and letting Brad see everything clearly.

  Brad wasn’t sure how he or his vehicle had gotten in this situation. He couldn’t remember anything other than leaving his home to go to work. The extent of trouble he was in became apparent when he looked down and saw the engine was pushed up into the cab, on top of his legs. Part of him wondered why he couldn’t feel the crushing weight of the large piece of twisted metal covering him. Like a weird dream, Brad lay there on his side and watched blood drip down from the vicinity of his legs, creating a puddle on the interior’s gray carpet.

  A ticking sound drew Brad’s attention away from the growing wet patch of dark red. His first thought was that the engine was cooling. But the acidy smells of hot metal and melting plastic that were burning the insides of his nostrils told him differently.

  His phone rang, startling him. Raising his head, Brad spotted it lying just inches away. It rang and rang, but no matter how hard he tried, Brad couldn’t move his arms enough to answer it.

  Tentacles of fear slid up his spine, and sweat broke out, coating Brad’s body, causing him to shiver. Brad struggled desperately to breathe, only managing sawing, raw pants as the nightmare of being trapped overwhelmed him.

  With a jerk, Brad woke up from the nightmare and sat upright on the bed. Pale early-morning light streamed through the windows and lit up the spare bedroom. Wiping the sweat off his face with a shaking hand, Brad pulled refreshing air into his starving lungs and tried to calm down. On the table next to the be
d, his phone rang.

  Picking it up, Brad glanced at the screen and saw a small orange number two in the bottom corner. Brad hesitated. In normal circumstances he would immediately answer his phone, especially after apparently missing two calls from that party already. But Brad wasn’t sure if he could deal with the person calling him. The ringing stopped. Seconds later a beep told him he had a new voice mail message.

  Getting out of bed, Brad turned toward the attached bathroom but was stopped in his tracks when his phone began to ring again. Glancing at the screen, Brad bit his lip. Finally, like a scared child, Brad raced to the bathroom and slammed the door shut. For the first time in his life, Brad deliberately didn’t answer his mother’s call.

  A half-hour later, a freshly showered Brad sat on the bed and listened to the message from his mother.

  “Brad, ignoring me isn’t going to help. You need to start fulfilling your obligations to the family. If I don’t hear from you by noon, I’ll be forced to call your brothers. I’m sure they know where you are. Your father took off on a fishing trip, so I have no problem coming to wherever you are and forcing you to come home. It’s time—”

  Brad swiped his finger over the screen, ending the message. He couldn’t listen to any more of it. Looking frantically around the room for answers, his gaze settled on his traveling bag. Maybe he should make a break for freedom before she found him. He didn’t know if he was strong enough to stand up to her, face to face. He never could before.

  Leaving the bedroom, Brad pushed his troubled thoughts to the back of his mind. He decided to have breakfast first, and maybe he would ask Rock’s opinion. From what Brad had seen so far, Rock was good at dealing with issues. Heaven knew Brad never could, and he had enough issues to fill a dump truck.

  Just before he reached the kitchen, Brad heard voices and laughter. He recognized Rock’s voice, and after a moment, he knew the laughter came from Cade. Smiling, he entered the warm, homey room.

  Cade noticed him first from his chair in the small eating area of the kitchen. “Hello, Brad. I didn’t have a chance to say it before, but welcome to my home and thank you for picking up Rock at the airport.”

  “No problem,” Brad answered. “How is Alex?”

  “This afternoon they’re airlifting him to Mercury Hospital. Bret is packing up some stuff for us now, and then we’ll be heading over there.” Cade took a quick sip of coffee from the mug in his hand. “I wanted to talk to Rock before we left. I’m happy to announce Rescue for Hire just gained a valuable new employee.”

  “Well, congratulations,” Brad said, looking at Rock. Immediately he became lost in the man’s sparkling, warm brown eyes. Brad didn’t know how long he stood there, or how long he would have continued to stand there staring at the exotic man. But Cade loudly cleared his throat and broke the moment.

  Brad frowned. Cade’s shoulders were jerking weirdly as he took another sip of his coffee. That’s when he realized Cade was laughing at him.

  Before he could react, Rock spoke. “Damian’s assistant, Pete, is going to fly me back to Alaska so I can pick up my best girl, pack up my stuff, and drive back. Would you like to ride along?”

  When Rock said he had a best girl, Brad’s mind froze, and he didn’t hear anything after that. The small seeds of hope that had taken root in his soul dropped to the ground at his feet and died.

  Chapter Four

  Rock leaped out of his chair and wrapped a firm hand around Brad’s wrist. “Excuse us for a moment,” he said to Cade, pulling Brad out of the kitchen.

  Brad followed, not bothering to put up a fight. He had nothing left inside and was on the road to not caring what happened to him. Rock continued to manhandle him until they were in the living room, both seated on the sofa facing each other.

  A warm hand cupped his ice-cold cheek. “Stop it, Brad. Don’t you zone out on me now. Come back.”

  Lips pressed against his, bringing Brad out of the fog of numbness draped over him. Jerking his head back, he broke the kiss and went to stand up. Instead, he had a lap full of Rock. The man was faster than Brad’s foggy brain could comprehend.

  “I need a drink,” he stated. Taking Rock’s firm upper arms in his hands, Brad went to set Rock away from him, only to be stopped by strong legs wrapped around his waist. Now he was getting pissed off.

  “Good, get mad,” Rock said. “Emotion is better than you freezing up on me. Now tell me what’s wrong.”

  “I thought we….” Brad choked, unable to say anymore. Shaking his head, he looked down. He couldn’t deal with any more pain or disappointment. His mind yearned for a drink to deaden the crap the world kept dumping on him.

  Hands lifted his face. “Open your eyes.” The softness of Rock’s tone didn’t distort the clear order. Brad opened his eyes. “Now tell me why you’re upset.”

  “How can you keep kissing me when you have a girlfriend?” There, he’d said it. Now he had to only calm his trembling legs so Rock wasn’t shaken to the floor.

  “Girlfriend? What girlfriend? What are you talking…?” Understanding dawned on Rock’s face. “Aw, honey, I don’t have a girlfriend. Only guys do it for me.”

  “But you said…” Brad was getting sick of not being able to spit the words out. After pulling a deep breath of air into his lungs, he slowly let it out, easing the tightness in his throat. “You said you were going to pick up your best girl in Alaska.”

  Rock leaned forward. Wet lips covered Brad’s, and he was helpless. His body craved the human contact he’d been denied for so long. Before he knew it, the kiss deepened, both men sucking and licking, tasting and exploring each other’s mouths. When the kiss ended, Brad relaxed back against the sofa and looked into Rock’s brown eyes, searching for the elusive answer.

  “We are going to pick up Lily,” Rock said. “She’s my bloodhound.”

  * * * *

  Alex opened his eyes to Leo’s beloved face lying next to his on the off-white pillow. Leo had the most beautiful deep brown eyes, and Alex would never get tired of losing himself in their depths. The power of the love shining in them owned Alex.

  “Those sure were some good drugs they gave me,” he said.

  A smile lit up Leo’s face, causing small crinkles to fan out next to his eyes. “They wanted the helicopter ride to be as easy as it could be for you. How are you feeling?”

  He had to think about that for a moment. Honestly, he didn’t feel much of anything, except his eyelids were getting heavy. “I’m okay.”

  “You rest, pet. The doctor will be in to examine you tomorrow morning,” Leo said.

  “Do I still have my leg?” he asked, not looking down.

  “Yes. Now sleep,” Leo ordered. “We’ll talk in the morning.”

  Alex relaxed, snuggling his head next to his Sir’s, knowing everything would be okay as long as Leo was next to him.

  * * * *

  The 1972 Chevy truck’s headlights flashed as it bumped over the ruts carved in the deep snow and ice-covered road. Rock wasn’t complaining. He had precious Lily in the back of the truck, leaning over the side and taking in all the smells of the surrounding wilderness. Beside him, driving the truck, was his good friend, Synn Romeo.

  Synn was six-four, the mix of his Native American and Creole heritage reflected in the straight black hair that flowed past his shoulders and skin the color of golden brown pancakes. Rock suspected Synn was an ex-mercenary. He had mad computer skills and an array of lethal weapons. The first time Rock had seen all the guns and vicious knives, his hair tried to stand up in alarm, but failed, only because it was so thick and heavy.

  Synn had moved next door to Rock’s cabin a few years ago. Every once in a while he left for weeks at a time before coming back, sometimes with nasty injuries that Rock helped him recover from. Rock never questioned him. Instinctively he knew not to go there.

  They mutually decided that they weren’t hook-up material when they learned they both wanted to lead in, as Synn always said, the dance of passion. Rock stil
l chuckled at Synn’s way of speaking. So, with mutual understanding, their friendship grew deep but stayed a friendship.

  On the other side of the truck’s bench seat sat Brad, looking adorably shell-shocked.

  “I can’t believe it’s this dark at barely four in the afternoon,” Brad said, shaking his head.

  Rock put his hand on the handsome man’s knee and ignored the look of panic that crossed Brad’s face when he glanced over to see if Synn noticed the display of affection. “It stays dark most of the day at this time of year. We actually still have about five hours of decent light yet. In another month, we only have murky light for about two hours.”

  “I’ve read about it, but until you’ve seen this personally, you really can’t grasp the reality,” Brad responded, looking out the window.

  Rock could see what a wide-eyed ten-year-old Brad must have looked like.

  “Hey, Brad, what do you do for a living?” Synn asked.

  “I’m a veterinarian,” Brad answered, looking at Synn.

  Rock wanted to growl at the interest in Synn’s eyes. Brad’s answering smile had Rock gritting his teeth. He had seen Brad first, and there was no way he was going to let Synn make any moves.

  “That’s cool,” Synn said. “We could always use a vet up here. Maybe you should think about relocating to Alaska. I could show you around.”

  “Sorry, mate,” Rock interrupted. “Brad already has a commitment with a veterinarian clinic in Granite City.” Okay, so he had listened in on the telephone conversation between Brad and a Dr. Marcus Bishop right before they’d left. And he might have just elaborated about a commitment. It was more like they’d set up a job interview for when they got back. But Synn could stop any ideas the man was currently plotting in his head. Brad was his.

  Brad looked at him, one eyebrow raised. Deliberately Rock squeezed his knee, giving it a little caress, and stubbornly kept his hand there.