Page 8 of Sanctuary After Dark

I hadn't noticed my brother sneaking up on me until his ankle caught mine while I was distracted thinking about Elias, and I went down with a grunt.

"Fucker!"

He was on me in an instant, wrapping his legs around my waist to hold me down. He went for my neck to put me in a headlock. If he did that, then he was sure to win this round, but I didn't make the pros for nothing. Using my strength, I grabbed him under the arms and got up on my knees. With his legs still around my waist, I slammed him down onto the mat and pinned him. Grabbing his wrists, I pinned them above his head, and we just lay there and stared at each other for a moment while we panted.

He could have gotten out of the hold easily, but I could tell that the fight had drained out of him. Leaning forward, I rested my forehead against his and closed my eyes, taking in a shaky breath. His hands broke free from my hold, and one wrapped around my back while the other cupped my cheek. I leaned into the touch for a moment. Luke always had been able to calm me with just a simple touch. It was grounding and had the fight slipping out of me.

"We'll help him. We'll make sure he knows that he's safe here with everyone. That he's safe with us," Lucas spoke quietly while he held me.

I nodded and opened my eyes to look into his. The exact same blue as mine, with the exact same face. There were some slight differences, but we were identical. Two halves of one soul, and I knew I could never live without him. It's what ultimately made the rest of our family cut ties with us. Once they had found out the extent of our relationship, they told us we either had to stop or lose them. We couldn't stop even if we wanted to. No matter what they did to us or how hard they tried, we would not give each other up. Lucas was mine, and I was his, and being with him was as easy as breathing. It was natural to us, but apparently not to everyone. We lost our family, but we created a new one here that accepted us.

I wanted Elias to find that family here as well.

"I want to take care of him, Luke. I want to take all of those fears that he has and wipe them away so he can be the carefree Little he was meant to be."

"I know. I knew the moment I saw him you were going to be drawn to him. I am too. He's exactly our type, but we can't, Linc. We can't muddle his mind and confuse him while he's trying to heal. We can be there for him as shoulders to lean on and mentors… but that's it for now. We can't pursue him."

Pushing off him, I moved to stand again so I could pace. I needed to move right now. Pulling at the velcro of the gloves, I tossed them aside and ran my hands through my hair, which was damp with sweat. We couldn't pursue him. I knew he was right, but I wanted him. Something inside me screamed that he was meant to belong to us. I couldn't describe it, but when I knew something was mine, I tended to fixate on it, and I was already starting to fixate on Elias.

Luke stood up and removed his gloves as well. Coming over to me, he grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me to him. His lips met mine in a slow kiss that was meant to distract me from my racing thoughts. Once I had settled, he pulled back slightly and just looked at me.

"I didn't say we couldn't ever pursue him, Linc. We just can't right now. He needs to heal. He needs to know that he's safe here and that he can find a community and a family here without worrying about two dumb brothers trying to woo him. I know you have a hard time with this, but be patient."

Huffing a little laugh, I looked at him and rolled my eyes. "That's like telling a brat to drink their water. They take it as a challenge to do anything but drink water." I smiled when I saw Luke laugh at my little joke. God, how I loved his smile and how it lit up his face. I brushed my thumb across his cheek for a moment. "But I know you're right, and I'll try."

Luke smiled and smacked my ass playfully. "Good boy."

I growled while he laughed and shoved me away before I could get my hands on him and make him pay for that comment. Grabbing his gloves and mine, he opened the door to the cage and stepped out.

"You keep that up, I'm going to take out my frustration on your ass later."

Luke looked back and just smirked as he tossed the gloves back into the closet. "Who says that wasn't always going to be the plan? I know you, Linc. The two ways to work your frustration out are fighting and fucking, and I can offer you both. Now come on, we need to shower before we get some lunch. If you're lucky, I'll suck your cock so you're nice and relaxed."

Smirking, I followed him out of the cage a bit faster than I originally was. Grabbing my phone from where I left it on the bench, I sent a text to the subs who signed up for cleaning duties around the house to ask if they could give the fighting cage a wipe down. Once that was done, I followed my other half out of the gym.

My eyes stayed glued to his ass as he walked in front of me. God, it was such a nice ass, and I couldn't wait to sink into it later. I was lucky that Lucas sometimes liked to bottom.

It didn't take us long to leave the basement level and head up to our room on the third floor. Neither one of us said a word as we walked into our bedroom and made our way to the en suite bathroom. My bare feet padded across the hardwood flooring of our room until they met the grey slate tile of the bathroom floor.

My blue eyes raked over my twin's body as he hooked his fingers into the loose shorts he was wearing and shoved them down his legs along with his boxer briefs. Saliva pooled in my mouth as I took in his glorious backside, and I just wanted to spread him wide and feast on him like I knew he liked. Palming my hardening cock through my own shorts, I couldn't help but groan at the image that played in my mind of him pressed against the tiled wall and his breathy moans echoing around the room.

Luke looked back over his shoulder at me with a smirk on his lips as he reached in and turned the water on to heat up.

"Are you just going to stand there fantasizing about my ass, or are you going to join me in here?"

The fucker. It was as if he could read my mind. We had always been like that ever since we were kids. Like we knew what the other was thinking. Twin sense, we called it. We were always in sync with one another. Even finishing each other's sentences without realizing it sometimes. It just cemented in my mind that we were destined to be together. No matter what anyone thought about our relationship, I knew he was my soulmate. That he was mine.

Shoving my shorts and underwear down my legs, I stepped out of them and took the few steps to the shower. Grabbing him by the throat, I slammed him against the shower wall with a growl before my lips crashed into his.

His lips parted immediately for me, and my tongue plunged in to devour him. His taste flooded my tongue as we both groaned. He brought his hands up to tangle in my hair as he pressed his body against mine. Luke's hard planes of muscle matched my own as the hot water ran over our already heated skin. I would never get enough of the feel of his lips on mine and the taste of his tongue.

Biting at his bottom lip hard enough to have him hissing, I smirked and kissed along his stubbled jaw, nipping at the flesh like I knew he liked. The rasp of his stubble pricked at my lips and made them tingle more.

"Goddamn… I'll never get enough of you." Luke murmured as he gripped my hair tightly in his fists.

Moving my way down to his neck with a smirk, I kissed and sucked at the flesh hard enough to leave a mark on his olive skin. My tongue brushed over the abused flesh to soothe the sting, but I know he likes it. My brother always liked a little pain with his pleasure. He often let me test out my new impact toys on him that I make in my leather shop out back.

My mouth continued its journey down his chest, which had a light smattering of dark hair on it that matched my own. Taking his left nipple into my mouth, I ran my tongue around it, bringing it to a peak before biting it between my front teeth and pulling slightly, drawing a moan from him as he tugged on my hair and arched into the touch.