Catch a Tiger by the Tail (16 page)

“Should I even ask?” Sloane mumbled as he stepped up beside Dex.

And now his day was complete. Ethan covered his face with his hands. This couldn’t be happening. Maybe he should signal Letty and Rosa, get the whole team in here. They could help him take notes.

“It’s like an Avon party but with sex toys,” Dex stated cheerfully. “Do they have those? I bet they do.”

Cael shoved Dex to one side and tapped away at Ethan’s desk interface. “Actually, check this website out. They have top-quality stuff. It’s a little pricier than some of the other websites but worth every penny. Trust me. They’ve also got experts on hand to answer any questions you might have. I think one’s a Shibari expert. If you sign up for their rewards program, you get a free pair of handcuffs. If they can hold Ash, they can hold Calvin.”

Ash and Dex protested simultaneously. “Cael!”

Cael blinked innocently. “What? You should get a pair, Dex. They’re Therian-strength. Oh, and they have body paint that tastes like Fruit Roll-Ups.”

Dex looked horrified. “I do
not
want to hear about what this fiend gets up to in the bedroom with my innocent little brother.”

“Innocent?” Ash laughed, receiving a glower from Cael. He cleared his throat. “No, you’re right. It’s all me.”

Cael rolled his eyes. “It’s just sex.”

He opened up different product windows, and Ethan was ready to hide under his desk. Were those dildos?
Oh my God. Really, Cael? Really?

“At home in my drawer I have this huge d—”

Ash clamped a hand over Cael’s mouth, his face crimson. “Dictionary. A huge dictionary. Cael’s teaching me new words, such as… delitescent. Adjective. This entire conversation should have remained delitescent.”

“I’m a little scared right now,” Dex whispered hoarsely, turning to Sloane. “Hold me.”

Sloane put his arm around Dex and patted his head. “There, there.” He turned his attention to the website. “Hey, check if they sell black leather chaps.”

Dex perked up. “Ooh, assless please.”

Ethan jumped to his feet and started pushing whoever he got his hands on.
Out, everybody out! You weirdos. Get out of my office.

“Yeah, all right. Don’t get your panties in a bunch,” Ash grumbled. “Wait.” He stopped abruptly and reached into one of his pockets. “I have your winnings. Cal’s too.”

Ethan shook his head at Dex in disbelief.
Wow. Couldn’t even make it forty-eight hours.

Dex didn’t bother to hide it. “I’m big enough to admit when I have a problem. Well, it’s not really a problem. I enjoy it too much for it to be a problem. I like having sex with my boyfriend. All kinds of awesome, sweaty man-sex.”

Sloane groaned and covered his face with his hand.

Ash handed Ethan his and Calvin’s money. “Yeah, they lost the moment we left the house.”

Ethan gaped at Dex.

“Pretty much the second we closed the door,” Dex admitted. “I tried to resist, but someone wasn’t playing fair.” He narrowed his eyes at Sloane.

“All I did was ask if he wanted to use the shower first.”

“Which is sexspeak for let’s do it in the shower,” Dex insisted.

“No. It’s regularspeak for do you want to use the shower first.”

His team walked off, with Sloane and Dex debating what Sloane had really meant, leaving Ethan once again on his own. With a sigh of relief, he returned to his desk. His butt had just hit the chair when Dex poked his head back in.

“Dude, no, seriously, let me know if they have the chaps. Sloane’s a Therian thirty-four long. Make sure they’re ass-less.”

“Make sure what’s ass-less?” Calvin asked as he walked into the office. He dropped his gaze to Ethan’s desk. “Did you have to bring the whole team in on this?”

What?
Ethan shook his head vigorously.

Dex held a hand up. “Actually, it was my bad. I walked in and caught him off guard, and then everyone else showed up, and well, you’ve been around us long enough to know nothing ever goes the way you want it to with Destructive Delta.”

“Duly noted. Now you can get lost. Anyone breathes a word about this, and I swear I will snipe you.”

“Got it.” Dex saluted and spun on his heels, running into Ash. He peered at him. “What?”

Uh-oh. Ash looks happy. This can only mean one thing.

“One hour of complete and utter silence.”

“But you’ll be in your office. What’s the point?” Dex whined.

Ash’s expression turned wicked. “Actually, I’ll be bringing my tablet and sitting in your office while I do my reports. That way I can bask in your silence.”

“What?” Dex opened his mouth to reply, and Ash held a finger up.

“Starting now.”

Dex flipped Ash off with both hands repeatedly before heading off with Ash sauntering after him while whistling a jaunty tune. Man, his team was weird. As soon as they were gone, Calvin came over to Ethan’s desk.

“So what were you looking at?”

Ethan motioned to the website. “Cael recommended it. They have experts.”

Calvin removed his smartphone from his pocket and placed it on the desk. He tapped his phone’s screen, and the website popped up. “I’ll check this out later.”

Their desks blinked, and a little pair of ruby slippers appeared on the bottom right.

“Uh, God. The Black Widow’s at it again.” Calvin tapped the icon, and Sparks’s face appeared on their board. She didn’t look impressed.

“I suppose I’ve been called worse things, Agent Summers.”

Ethan’s face felt as red as Calvin’s. Wait, if she’d heard that….

“Agent Hobbs, if you’re looking for a Shibari expert I have several I can recommend. I’ll forward them to your personal e-mail account. Now, it’s time for training. I’d like Destructive Delta to report to Sparta immediately. Sparks out.”

The screen went blank, and Ethan turned to Calvin, who looked equally stricken.

“Can we, uh, forget that happened?”

Ethan nodded.

“Good. Let’s go before anyone else shows up to give us sex tips.”

Calvin hurried out with Ethan close behind. He wished he could say this day couldn’t get any worse, but he was certain it could. Maybe Maddock was right. Maybe Dex was a magnet for weird. Nothing like this ever happened before Dex joined. The elevator doors closed with him and Calvin inside. His partner grinned wickedly before standing on his toes and kissing him, leaving Ethan breathless. Who the hell needed normal anyway? It was totally overrated.

TODAY WAS
definitely not a day to be sore. From the moment they reached Sparta, Sparks had them training. There had been sparring, cardio, weight lifting, jiujitsu, and now more sparring.

“All right. Agent Summers, you were able to use Agent Keeler’s weakness against him. Let’s see how you do against yours. Unarmed.”

Sparks tapped away at her tablet and motioned for Calvin to step onto the mat. He didn’t like the sound of this.

“Agent Summers, pin Agent Hobbs to the mat. Agent Hobbs, prevent your partner from doing so. Take him out.” She looked up from her tablet. “No holding back. I’ll know if you are.”

Calvin stared at her. “So you want him to kill me?”

“That depends, Agent Summers. Are you going to let him kill you?”

Calvin pressed his lips together to keep himself from saying something she’d undoubtedly make him regret. She couldn’t be serious. No holding back?

“Take your stances.”

This was insane. Calvin was no match physically, especially without weapons. He stepped onto the mat and took his fighting stance as Ethan hesitantly did the same. Calvin was reminded of all the times they’d roughhoused. He would jump on Ethan’s back, and his best friend would walk around with him latched on like some spider monkey, as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on. Then he’d drop onto the couch or bed and playfully squish Calvin before pinning him. All Ethan had to do was get his arms around Calvin, and he was fucked, and not in the amazingly sexy way he’d been fucked last night.
Okay, now is not the time to be thinking about that.
He had to keep out of Ethan’s reach. Easier said than done. Ash was probably going to enjoy the hell out of this.

“You may commence.”

Calvin kept an eye on Ethan, watching his every move, paying attention to the little signs he’d picked up over the years. Ethan was worried, hesitant. It was written all over his face. Calvin slowly circled Ethan, subtly inching close as he did, but Ethan was onto him. There was no way Calvin would attack head-on. That would be stupid. He wasn’t as small and graceful as Cael. Nor did he have Cael’s cheetah Therian speed or flexibility. Ash had taught Cael how to use his size and build to his advantage. Calvin’s skills lay elsewhere. At least he knew he could take a beating.

“Sometime today, agents.”

At Sparks’s comment, Ethan charged. Calvin dropped under Ethan’s fist and rolled. He hopped to his feet and did his best to remain out of Ethan’s grasp. Ethan only had to take a few steps to reach Calvin, where Calvin had to dodge, parry, duck, and roll to keep away. He managed to get close enough to land a hit against Ethan’s ribs, making Ethan growl and lash out, his hand slapping Calvin across the cheek.

Motherfuck!
Calvin was able to keep his balance, but his cheek stung like hell. Okay, finally they were getting somewhere. Calvin made to deliver a wide hook, but at the last minute stepped left and delivered an uppercut to Ethan’s side, cursing when Ethan blocked it. Calvin swiftly retreated, managing to get out of Ethan’s reach before he could grab him. He was getting nowhere fast.

“Agent Summers, you know what his weakness is. This could be over in minutes.”

“No,” Calvin replied through his teeth. He knew perfectly well what Sparks was implying, and there was no way in hell he would use Ethan’s fears against him. If he was out in the field and he was facing a threat, he’d use whatever was necessary, but not here and not with Ethan. Ash’s weakness had been easy. Get to Cael, and he’d rid himself of Ash. With Ethan, it meant hurting him psychologically.

“And you really think someone else will give him the same consideration? Do you think they’ll worry about your feelings, Agent Hobbs?”

Ethan shook his head, his expression growing dark and a low growl rising up from his chest. If there was one thing Ethan hated, it was someone fucking with him on purpose. Calvin eyed his partner. They both knew what Sparks was trying to do, and it wouldn’t work. Not with them. Anyone who tried to put the fear in Ethan wouldn’t give a shit about him, and Ethan would be well aware. Coming from Calvin, the words could destroy him. Even if they didn’t shut him down, they would linger. It didn’t matter that Calvin wouldn’t mean what he said. The words would trigger some deep-rooted fear in Ethan. Calvin would hand in his badge before he hurt Ethan like that. His partner turned to him and nodded, pupils dilated.

Calvin grinned.
That’s right. Show her you’re not scared. We can do this.
Calvin had his own way of getting results from Ethan, and none involved psychologically crushing the love of his life and partner. With Ethan, all he ever had to do was ask.

“Come on,” Calvin ordered.

Ethan let out a roar as he charged. Before reaching him, Calvin dropped and rolled under Ethan. He jumped to his feet and spun, delivering a kick to Ethan’s back. Ethan stumbled forward but quickly regained his balance. He turned and narrowed his eyes. With a growl, he came at Calvin, and Calvin did his best to avoid Ethan’s fists. Of course eventually, he wouldn’t be quick enough. Calvin sidestepped; Ethan anticipated it. He jabbed Calvin in the face, almost knocking him off his feet, but Calvin managed to regain his balance.

“Fuck.” Calvin wiped the blood from his mouth and ran his tongue over his teeth to make sure nothing was loose. Ethan had gotten him good.

Calvin charged, blocking Ethan’s fists while trying to deliver his own punches. He tried to remember everything they’d been taught over the last few weeks, concentrating on the force behind his blows and where to land them. He slipped behind Ethan and kicked at the back of Ethan’s leg, sending him down onto his knees. Not allowing him time to get up, Calvin charged and slammed into Ethan, knocking him over onto his side. He straddled Ethan and punched him square across the jaw. His victory didn’t last long. Ethan hooked his arms through Calvin’s, locked their legs together, and rolled until he was straddling Calvin.

Shit. Ethan had him pinned. He grabbed Calvin’s wrists and pulled his arms over his head, his iron grip not budging as Calvin struggled. Ethan sat on Calvin’s thighs, preventing him from moving his legs. Calvin cursed under his breath. He arched his back and pulled at his wrists, but it was like trying to move a fucking mountain. He would have tried head butting him, but Ethan kept himself out of reach.

“Well done, Agent Hobbs. You can let your partner up.” Sparks tapped away at her tablet and motioned for them to join the rest of the team standing in formation. “Despite your defeat, you did well, Agent Summers. You’re all dismissed.”

That’s it? A part of Calvin wished they could have another go. He’d expected the session to last longer. As they headed for the showers, Calvin was having trouble coming down from the fight. His adrenaline was still pumping. The sting on his lip felt good. Even after a quick shower in the locker room, he was still wired. Ethan was quiet on the ride home, and Calvin was fidgety. They got in, and Calvin threw his backpack on the couch.

Shit. This was bad.

Calvin tongued the inside of his lip where Ethan had gotten him good. He could still taste the blood. They’d never sparred like that, but they’d shown Sparks they were willing to do what they had to. They could function as a partnership and still be lovers. His heart was pounding again. All he could think about was Ethan holding him down, pinning him against the mat with his hard body, his larger hands gripping Calvin’s wrists, restraining him….

Fuck, he was hard.

He looked up, his gaze meeting Ethan’s. His pupils were dilated, leaving nothing but thin sparkling green rims around the edges, but it was the fire burning in his lust-filled eyes that had Calvin ready to come in his pants. A slow, feral grin crept onto Ethan’s face, and his hand moved to his belt. Calvin followed the movement, swallowing hard when Ethan fingered one of the Therian-strength zip ties dangling there.