Catch A Tiger By The Tail (THIRDS 6)

“Come,” Ethan growled.

“I need you to touch me.” He’d never needed anything so bad.

Ethan folded himself over Calvin as he continued to fuck him, his words whispered in Calvin’s ears. “You’re going to come because I tell you to.”

He flicked the tip of Calvin’s dick, and Calvin yelped. His orgasm hit him hard, and he cried out as he came. He buried his head against the pillow, Ethan draped over his back as he thrust several times before Calvin felt Ethan coming inside him, the warmth spreading through his body. Slowly Ethan pushed himself down to the root, where he remained still and buried inside Calvin, a shuddered breath escaping him. He kissed Calvin’s temple before he pulled out and removed the pillows from under Calvin. He slipped onto his belly as he tried to catch his breath, the blood in his wrists once again circulating properly when Ethan cut the zip ties.

Calvin lay on his stomach, smiling when Ethan cuddled up close. Ethan didn’t say anything, just stroked Calvin’s hair before trailing his fingers down Calvin’s back, following the curve of his spine to his ass. The smack to his left butt cheek caught Calvin unaware, and he let out a surprised cry. He rolled onto his side to face Ethan, who smiled wickedly.

“Sorry, couldn’t help it. I love the way your skin gets all rosy.”

Calvin felt his checks burn. “Don’t be sorry. I kind of liked it.”

“Ooh, looks like I’ll have to do some more research.”

Ethan kissed Calvin, his lips soft and warm. Calvin loved kissing Ethan. He could spend hours tasting his lips. Ethan drew Calvin against him and deepened the kiss, his thumb stroking Calvin’s wrist. He seemed to remember something, and he pulled back. He looked down at Calvin’s wrists with a frown.

“You’re going to be bruised. Did it hurt too much?”

“It was fine. High pain tolerance.”

Ethan frowned. “That’s not the kind of pain I want to give you.”

Calvin gave Ethan’s lips a kiss. “I’m fine. Cael recommended a good rope from that website of his, and I placed an order. It arrives next week. We can use that safely until we work the rest out.”

Ethan smiled broadly. “Okay.”

He sat up, and when he stretched, Calvin couldn’t help but run his fingers down Ethan’s back.

“You’re amazing, you know that?”

Ethan turned to look at him, his gorgeous smile taking Calvin’s breath away.

“I’m not. You, on the other hand….” He kissed Calvin and took his hand, pulling him along with him. “Come on. Let’s make dinner and watch some TV.”

“We should probably put on some pants.”

“Don’t need pants to make a sandwich. But we should clean up first.” Ethan laced his fingers with Calvin’s, and they headed to the bathroom to wash up before heading to the kitchen. Ethan popped on the radio as he removed ingredients from the fridge while Calvin grabbed the fresh bread. They might not be the best cooks, but when it came to hoagies and sandwiches, they ruled the school. A slow romantic ballad came on the radio, and Calvin went to change the station for something a little more upbeat, when Ethan wrapped his arms around Calvin’s waist from behind. He planted a kiss on Calvin’s shoulders and began to sway with the music. Calvin didn’t quite know what to do with himself. None of his sorry-ass boyfriends had ever been very romantic. Mostly it had been about the sex. He shouldn’t be surprised. Ethan wasn’t like anyone he’d ever known. He was kind, gentle, and the sweetest guy.

Calvin closed his eyes, his stomach filling with butterflies as Ethan let his chin rest on his shoulder. They swayed slowly, their fingers laced together. Ethan’s soft voice sang in his ear. It was tragic that someone who couldn’t speak could sing so beautifully. Ethan didn’t do it often, and Calvin considered himself blessed when he heard him. He was the only one who’d ever heard Ethan sing. His voice had rhythm and soul. It changed pitch naturally, the words rolling off his tongue as if they came up from the very depths of his core, drawing from a lifetime of pain, fear, courage, and love.

Love…. Calvin had never put too much stock in love, and now he was in it so deep he never wanted to know anything else.

THE NEXT day, Calvin couldn’t stop himself from smiling. That morning in the canteen Dex had given him a knowing look from across the table while they all had coffee—or in Cael’s case hot chocolate—and Ash told Calvin he was freaking him out with his smiling. Calvin thought the day couldn’t have started any better. He was sore as hell, but he didn’t care. Ethan had fucked him into the mattress last night. They’d slow danced in the kitchen, and Ethan sang to him. They ate, watched TV while cuddled together on the couch. Then later that night Ethan woke him up and made his toes curl once again. The best part was every time Calvin looked up at Ethan, his boyfriend smiled shyly, and his face flushed. Calvin thought it was adorable.

At least they’d be spared one of Sparks’s insane training sessions this morning. They were on their way to the training bay for their usual cardio workout when a call came through. Hostage situation down at Deimos Tower. Calvin met Ethan’s gaze.

“Shit. That’s the same building the bombs were planted in.”

Ethan nodded somberly. They hurried down the hall outside Unit Alpha and met up with the rest of their team at the elevator. Calvin turned to Sloane.

“You think it’s the same person? Recon having any luck locating the perpetrator?”

“I’d be pretty surprised if it wasn’t the same suspect.” Sloane looked over at Cael. “Any leads since the last time we spoke?”

Cael shook his head. “Themis has helped us narrow down the list of suspects, but none of the algorithms Intel programmed has yielded the kind of hits we were hoping for. Whoever it is is either unregistered or has no priors. There were far too many hits on the supplies used to construct the bomb, because there wasn’t one single place which had sold all or most of the items, so it’s likely whoever put it together made sure to purchase the items from several locations. Obviously the less reputable, the harder to find. Rosa and I were heading out for some more questioning when Dispatch called us.”

“Okay. Hopefully Maddock will have someth