“Hey, look at me.”
Dex did. He looked up into Sloane’s amber eyes filled with pain and sorrow. Dex didn’t want to see pain there. They’d been so happy just a few short days ago. He wanted that back. He wanted his father and his fucking life back.
“Talk to me.”
Dex shook his head. “I have all this anger and energy inside me that’s just building and building, and I don’t know what the hell to do with it, Sloane. And now I have to sit around for hours, talking instead of doing, and I feel like I’m going to go out of my fucking head.” The elevator doors opened, and Dex swept past Sloane. He knew Sloane wanted to help, but talking wasn’t going to help him, and now he had to sit and talk for who knew how fucking long. He couldn’t lose his shit with Winters. He had to prove he was in control, that he could do this, that it wasn’t all crashing down on top of him.
“You sit,” Sloane said softly. “I’ll get you something to eat.”
“Thanks,” Dex replied, summoning a smile. He took a seat at the table, and he could tell everyone was trying not to look at him. They were his friends, his family. They knew him well by now. They all talked quietly among themselves. Cael was quiet across from him, and even Ash looked worried. Sloane put a tray in front of Dex. There was a Therian-sized burger, a chocolate milkshake, and a blue frosted cupcake. Dex frowned at the cupcake. “Maybe I should call Lou and call the whole thing off.”
THE PIERCING blow to Sloane’s heart was unexpected, as the words that had come out of Dex’s mouth had been. Sloane swallowed hard. He turned to Dex and took hold of his hand.
“You know that I’ll support you on whatever you decide, but if you make this decision, it can’t be because you’re giving up. That I won’t allow.”
Dex’s jaw muscles worked, but he didn’t tear his gaze away from the damn cupcake. Sloane had hoped to cheer him up a little, but instead he’d made things worse.
“Dex?” Sloane took hold of his chin and turned his head to meet his gaze. The grief and heartache in those big blue eyes was like a punch to the gut, but he wasn’t going to let Dex give up. Wasn’t even going to let Dex so much as think about giving up. “Now you listen here. We have been to hell and back together. We’ve faced all kinds of ugly out there, come back with scars, some of which can’t be seen, but we have always had one other’s back, and that sure as hell is not going to change now. Your dad is one of the strongest men I know, and so are you. We’re going to find him, and he’s going to make that damned speech in four days and be nervous and grumpy and curse and rant about fucking index cards.” Dex laughed, and Sloane kissed his cheek. “I know it seems like none of us can catch a break, but this will end soon, baby, I promise. We’ll get through this.”
Dex nodded, a wobbly smile on his face. He turned and peeled the film off his cupcake before tearing it in two and giving Sloane half.
“Thank you.” Sloane took it with a smile.
They ate, and Sloane was grateful for the team distracting Dex and Cael by bringing up all the hilarious shit Tony loved to rant about. Nobody did ranting like Tony. It was epic. Especially since Tony didn’t consider himself funny. The man had no idea how hilarious he was. He genuinely hated colored index cards. Though not as much as zucchini noodles. Good grief, the man could go on for hours about vegetable noodles.
Once they were done eating, they headed for the elevator. “The second we hear from Austen, we move out. In the meantime, Ash, I want you to get a list from Sparks of all the teams that are out scouting locations. Rosa, Letty, Cael, I want you to contact each of their Team Leaders and find out where they’ve been and who they’ve talked to. Have them send the info to your phones rather than Themis.”
Calvin pulled his phone out of his pocket and sighed. “Just got a text from Dr. Winters. Looks like I’m up first.”
Sloane nodded as he held the elevator doors open for his team. “Soon as you finish, you take over for whoever’s up next. Same goes for everyone else. By the time we get intel from Austen, I want to have a list of places that have been cleared, a list of where everyone’s heading next, and a list of places no one’s been to yet. We’re covering a lot of ground here.”
On the ride up to Unit Alpha, Dex had become restless again. He was tapping his fingers against his legs, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth, and couldn’t seem to spend longer than a few seconds in one spot. This wasn’t good for any of them. As they headed into Unit Alpha, Sloane took hold of Dex’s arm.
“We’ll catch up with you guys. Call me if you find something.”
Everyone headed off, and Sloane walked Dex through the bull pen, past the conference rooms, and around the corner toward the corridor leading to the sleeper bays.
“Sloane? What are you doing? I hope you’re not about to suggest I take a nap.”
“And lose my spots?” Sloane shook his head. “No sleeping.” He opened the door to one of the empty bays and nudged Dex inside. He closed the door behind them and locked it.
“Sloane, I know you’re worried, but this isn’t—”
Sloane brought Dex up against the door, his knee shoved between Dex’s legs and his mouth all over Dex.
“I want you to fuck me,” Sloane growled, sucking Dex’s earlobe into his mouth. “I think we could both use the release.”
A shiver went through Dex, and he nodded, his lips on Sloane’s. The heat coming off his sexy partner was driving Sloane crazy, along with his heady scent, the taste of his lips, and the feel of his breath against Sloane’s skin. Sloane allowed Dex to take the lead, and walked backward toward the bed until the back of his legs hit the mattress, and then he sat. He reached down and took hold of Dex’s boot, lifting it up so he could undo the laces, his eyes never leaving Dex’s.
Molten amber spread into the blue, and Sloane hurried, pulling off Dex’s boots, then his own. Dex quickly undressed, while Sloane did the same. There was no time to waste. They were frantic to get their hands on each other, and when Dex was naked in front of him, Sloane pulled him close so he could keep his hands on all that delicious skin. He gazed up reverently at Dex, astounded by the wonder that was this amazing man.
“I love you so much,” Dex said softly, caressing Sloane’s jaw.
“I love you too.” Sloane waited for Dex to say whatever was clearly on his mind. Dex motioned between them.
“This here, us, is home. Wherever we are, no matter what’s going on, we do our best to leave the world out there, and in here it’s just you, me, and our love for each other. I know it won’t always be possible, but you’re my sanctuary, Sloane, and I need that. I need to have my home to come back to after whatever it is we face out there, and I need to know I’ll be the same for you.”
Sloane took hold of Dex’s hand and brought it to his lips for a kiss before placing it over his heart. “I promise.”