Their Property (Four Mercenaries 3)

Drake rolled to his side, watching Clover with a soft smile. He pushed one leg between Clover’s, as if he couldn’t stand being less close than they could physically be. “Is that what happened in that movie you mentioned?”

Clover burst out laughing. “Oh, my God! Drake! Lion King is a kids’ movie.”

Drake shook his head and cupped Clover’s face, watching him as if he’d never seen anything or anyone more beautiful. “This was better than that movie then.”

Clover gave him another kiss, happy when a bright ray of sun shone through parted clouds in approval. “It was better than any movie I’ve ever seen.”

Drake pulled Clover’s hand to his lips and kissed it too, his gaze never leaving Clover’s, as if he were still not sated with his presence. “At least something is as it should be.”

Drake didn’t even need to say it. Clover knew exactly what this was about. “He texted that he’s making good progress, but it’s not the same without him, is it?”

Drake licked his lips and glanced at the sky. He was still touching Clover, but his thoughts diverted. “I’m worried.”

“I know, it’s been a week, but you know Tank. He always gets the job done.”

A slow exhale was the expression of Drake’s frustration. “I know he’s more than capable. But so am I, and so is Boar, and look where it got us. If something happened to him, I would be to blame too, even if indirectly. Everything we used to be got warped because of my stupidity,” he said, swallowing over and over.

Clover grabbed Drake’s face and forced their eyes to meet. He was done listening to the self-pity crap, which had driven them apart in the first place. “No. We all made some bad choices, but shit happened because a woman named Diana decided she could put me in her human zoo, and then her brother got terribly offended that someone killed the bitch.”

Drake shut his eyes, swallowing. “You’re right. I’m sorry I’m returning to this. It’s just that I know he’s out there, and if shit goes wrong, I won’t be there to help him, and he’s always been there for me.”

Clover put his arm around Drake’s waist, loving being able to just touch him. “Drake? Do you like…” he wasn’t even sure how to put it. “Do you have feelings for Tank?”

Drake was a cornered cat, already bristling yet with no means to escape. “I—” He licked his lips and avoided Clover’s gaze for almost too long. “It’s complicated. Are you…? What do you think, Clo?”

Clover trailed his fingers along Drake’s ribs, thinking back to some memorable threesomes and how much he enjoyed seeing Drake and Tank kiss. “I think that if there is something there that you want to explore, then you should. I don’t mind, if that’s your question.” He smiled at Drake and smelled his black hair. “But I do want to know how complicated it really is.”

Drake relaxed and met Clover’s gaze, though his expression remained guarded. “It’s not like what I feel for you. I wouldn’t want to take him out on a romantic getaway, or anything like that. That would have been weird but… since you came into the picture and it brought me and him physically closer, I keep feeling this tension. He and I fooled around a couple of times right after we met, but it didn’t feel right. And now something changed. I can’t explain it. Maybe because back then I could sense he wanted something from me that I couldn’t give, but now that he’s got you, it doesn’t all hinge on me being his everything. We can—could do some other stuff while you’re still the pretty boy he wants to pamper. But I don’t even know if he’d want me that way.”

Clover cocked his head and kissed Drake’s lips. “What is it that you want? And I’m afraid you’d actually need to talk to him.”

Drake groaned and pushed his face into the pillow of grass. “I don’t want to make things awkward. I’m shit at this sort of thing. Which you, being my partner, obviously know.”

Clover snorted. That much was true. Talking to Drake about feelings could be a pain in the ass. “I mean… I’ve seen him kiss you of his own will. He’d definitely want to do that. I’ve never seen him try to touch Pyro or Boar in any way beyond friendly.” Clover laughed at the vision of Tank giving Pyro a tender kiss. What a ridiculous image that made.

Drake rubbed Clover’s chest. “He does. It’s strange. But in a good way. He has this dangerous energy that kind of pulls me in but also pushes me back sometimes. Like he wants more and I don’t know what to do about it.”

It was like watching a teenager talk about his crush, and Clover found it strangely endearing. Taking into account that he was Drake’s first boyfriend, it made sense Drake was behind in more than Disney movies