Roman stared up at the ceiling, trying to process while his breathing slowed down. Where the fuck had that come from, and why, and how in the hell did Sidian tell him to stay still, and Roman just did? No wriggling, no struggling, no having to fight himself to avoid trying to fuck Sidian’s pretty face. Every time Roman jerked himself off, especially in rut, he had damn near lost control.
What was it that Sidian did to him? He didn’t understand it.
Sidian returned at some point, wearing another one of Roman’s shirts, his hair damp and wild. Instead of letting Roman go, he crawled up onto the mattress and lifted Roman’s head from the comforter, laying it across his bare thighs as he combed his fingers through Roman’s hair.
“Did you like that?” he asked, his voice low and soft. “The being tied up part, I mean.”
Roman did. Whatever it said about him, he didn’t care. “It’s nice. You should tie me up more often.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Sidian slid his fingers beneath the collar again, teasing the tips of them over Roman’s Adam’s apple. “But for now, I think I’m going to keep you just like this. Be my good dog for just a little longer.”
As if Roman would ever complain about a request like that. “Happily, darling.”
Chapter Nineteen
Roman’s phone lit up in the middle of the night, the insistent buzzing waking Sidian from his light doze and tearing a snarl from his chest. He buried his face in Roman’s chest and whined at him, unwilling to relinquish his hold as Roman tried to roll over to grab the phone. Fuck him and fuck phones; it was the middle of the night, and Sidian wanted tosleepwhen everything was warm and cozy.
To his credit at least, Roman wrapped himself back around Sidian, cradling him in warmth as he answered the phone. “Kane.”
“The boss told me you’re interested in something within our territory.”The smooth, masculine voice that issued from the speaker was unfamiliar to Sidian, though he bared his teeth at it just the same as he snuggled back into his alpha’s chest.“I was given the clear to contact you. Where are you stationed?”
Roman snorted. “Eastern Nebraska, right on the very edge of it. Nowhere special. What do you need?”
“Information.”There was a beat of silence during which Roman made a low noise of confusion.“Our captive won’t talk. It’s been a very frustrating couple of days. We need the information he has. In return, we’ll grant you the personal home address of Dax Kincaid, which is what you’re looking for.”
“What?” Sidian’s head snapped up, his eyes wide with hope.
Roman’s brow furrowed. “Why are you making it an exchange? What do you stand to lose if we kill them?”
“We’ve been monitoring their movements and using them in order to locate potential auction sites,”the man on the other end of the phone said.“Allowing you to kill them would make our jobs harder than they already are, but this is out of my hands.”
“You don’t sound happy about that, Hadeon.”
Sidian tapped Roman on the chest, and the alpha glanced down at him. “Who are you talking to?”
“Is someone else there?”the man—Hadeon, Sidian guessed—demanded.
Roman loosed a little growl, tucking Sidian more firmly against his side as if the other man could reach through the phone and do something about him listening in. “That’s my mate. The entire point of taking down Pack Kincaid is doing it for his benefit. Make sure you hold your tongue. And to answer you, darling, he’s a Mamba. One of the very best.”
Hadeon grumbled something just out of earshot.“No one told me someone else accompanied you. Is he a recent acquisition of the Vipers?”
“No,” Roman growled, and Sidian bit back a delighted giggle at how needlessly territorial he could be sometimes. But it was sexy watching Roman act like that.
“Regardless, bring him along. He might prove useful for our needs.”The call cut, the phone screen going dark.
Roman let the phone fall to the nightstand before rolling back over to wrap Sidian in his arms, nuzzling down into the top of Sidian’s head. It was just another little shred of evidence that the two of them were leading different lives because how could Roman just go back to sleep after that conversation? Did he hear a single word that Hadeon guy just said? Did he just agree to torture someone for possible information?
“Hey.” Sidian patted him on the back, and Roman grumbled against his scalp. “Roe, what was all that about?”
Roman dipped his head down to kiss Sidian’s forehead. “Talk to me about it in the morning. I’m tired.”
Sidian could push Roman, and Roman would speak, but he let him rest and snuggled back into his chest instead. Maybe he should show a little mercy considering how good Roman was for him. And besides, it was late. They needed to sleep.
But did Roman just volunteer Sidian to helptorturesomeone?
“Hadeon is one of the elite Mambas. He’s on a similar level to Mal on our side of the fence,” Roman explained to Sidian the next morning, letting him comb his fingers through Roman’s hair to tame his wild, damp, freshly washed curls. “He’s not a friendly person. I believe he’s from Oregon, but I know nothing more than that. Like Ghost, he appeared one day, and they took him in as one of their own.”
Sidian frowned down at where his alpha’s head lay in his lap. “Seems like they’re just willing to take anyone into the super-secret mercenary group.”
