Ari reaches over and taps something else on Phoenix’s arm. His fingers are moving too quick for me to recognize anything in the pattern except a handful of shorthand and letters, but whatever it is, Phoenix nods and pulls out his phone.
He doesn’t use his backlight, so his screen is always dark, making it impossible to read over his shoulder. He taps on his screen, though, a long message, then lets me go and sits back.
“Half an hour,” Phoenix says.
I don’t really know what that means, but I curl into myself and watch the passing scenery and wait to see what the hell is going on. This is just a normal mission, and it should be fine, and here I go again, running everything because my brain is a fucking bag of wet, angry raccoons.
It doesn’t take long to see that we’re turning down a very narrow, sorry excuse for a road that has us jostling all over the fucking Jeep. It doesn’t last long, but it feels like forever, and my head kind of hurts by the time Ari rolls to a stop in front of a surprisingly lush-looking cabin. I stare out the windows as Phoenix and Ari open their doors, and it’s only when they slam shut that I follow them out.
Phoenix has his hand on Ari’s arm, and I can see Ari’s fingers tapping out what’s most likely instructions for him to follow. When he’s done, he lets go, and Phoenix turns toward me.
“Come here, sweet boy.”
Oh. Okay.
His tone tells me immediately that he’s figured out I need something. I step into his outstretched hand, and he curls it around the back of my head, kissing me roughly.
“I’ve been to this place before quite a few times when Kane and I were younger, but it’s going to take me some time to learn it,” he rumbles against my overheated skin.
Behind us, Ari has the bags out. They’re mostly weapons and shit we’d never leave just lying around in a car. He passes us and takes the steps up in a single leap, pressing his palm to the door, which unlocks it with a small click.
“What do you need from me?” I ask Phoenix.
He huffs. “I need you to lead me inside, then be a good boy and tell us what you need.”
I can do that. I would have been better with some sort of task, but I understand what he’s doing. There are a dozen ways of taking me out of my head, and fucking me stupid is definitely the quickest of them all.
I lead Phoenix to the door, but it’s obvious he’s following his AI, so I don’t worry when there are steps, and he avoids the little side table in the narrow foyer easily. I’ve never been to thisplace, and it’s clear from the way Ari’s darting from room to room that he hasn’t either.
He looks a bit like a kid exploring some new world which makes me smile. We make it to the entrance of the kitchen, and he’s wearing a big, shit-eating grin as he drags his hands over the polished marble.
‘You could lay me out here and feast on my ass for dinner,’ he signs.
I laugh and relay the message to Phoenix, who snorts. “Just tell that to Kane, and he’ll plan a family vacation.”
Ari’s grin darkens as he stalks around the counter and approaches us. He attaches his lips to Phoenix’s, but his hand drifts down my front, cupping me through my jeans. I’m not hard yet. It’ll take me a little while to break through this, and I know Phoenix is going to make me talk about it, which will make it a lot worse before it’s better.
Still, the pressure of Ari’s hand against me is enough to keep me grounded, even as I watch Phoenix’s fingers drag up Ari’s back, pause, then tap out a message.
Ari nods, pulling away, then surges in to kiss me before he walks out the front door.
“Smooth.”
“Wasn’t going for smooth, sweet boy,” Phoenix says. He drags me along like he’s the one guiding me. He’s got a hand on my arm and one on the wall, and he follows a path up the stairs, through a loft furnished a bit like a movie room with a big-screen TV and plush recliners, and it gives me pause. It’s really fucking suburban for Kane’s taste.
But Phoenix doesn’t stop to explore. He turns the corner, then opens the room to a cavernous suite with a massive bed and an open door on the far wall, which leads to an even bigger bathroom.
“How do you want us to do this?” Phoenix asks as the door closes behind him. He lets me go, walking forward with a hand out until he touches the dresser, then reaches for his prosthetics and pulls them out. He doesn’t bother with a case. They just thunk quietly on the wood, and his eyelids gently rest over his implants as he turns to face me. I can tell he means business. “You can talk to me on your knees, or you can talk to me on the bed.”
He takes a step forward, and my breath hitches. I feel pinned to the spot. Words are clawing at my throat, but it’ll take a moment for my tongue to work them out.
“I can tie you up and beat your ass until you can’t do anything except spill those pretty guts of yours,” he adds. He’s standing right in front of me now, and his fingers touch my Adam’s apple. “I think that one should be saved for when you’re babbling in pleasure, though. But the choice is yours, James. We have a little leeway, but not much, and you and I both know you can’t function the way we need you when you’re all up in your head.”
I take a breath, then immediately drop to my knees. I don’t look up at him, but I know he’s smiling. His fingers bury themselves in my hair, moving back until he can untwist the little tangle-free rubber bands that don’t catch too badly in my curls. He pulls them out, and my hair falls over my shoulders until he gathers it in one fist and tugs.
It’s just enough for me to straighten—for me to feel the hints of pain. I understand now why he sent Ari away for this. Our little psychopath wouldn’t have had the patience.
“James,” he says. He sounds like Kane now, and it’s easy to see how twisted up together those two have always been.