Jensen took one look at Clay and knew he was in so much trouble that he’d be lucky to sit down for a week. Didn’t stop him from holding up his hands and going, “Totally not my fault! I mean, how was I supposed to know they’d have uzis? I mean, how many cyber cafes have uzis?”

Clay didn’t say anything, instead just looked at him with his arms folded across his chest.

Starting to babble in earnest, Jensen continued, “And it’s not like I generally just go off on my own, but they had i7 processors! I needed, you know, supplies.”

Clay’s mouth pursed for a moment and he just kept looking at Jensen.

Jensen swallowed nervously and suddenly realized that no one else was around except Cougar, who sat over at the kitchen table sharpening a knife. Aisha must’ve gone over to see Pooch and Jolene and the baby.

“So let me get this straight,” Clay finally rumbled. “You decided that because you needed an upgrade, you would infiltrate a black market computer depot without doing any recon or letting any of us know where you were going and what you were doing?”

Jensen glanced at Cougar, who was absolutely no help, still sharpening the knife. Shifting a little, he answered, “Well, I mean, I did do some recon, I just didn’t, um, do much? Who expects nerds to have weapons?”

The last few words sounded suspiciously like a whine, but he couldn’t take it back, so he tried not to worry about it.

“Cougar. What should we do with Jensen?” Clay asked unexpectedly.

The soft whirring of metal against whetstone stopped as the other man looked over at them. The hat was off, so his dark eyes were easy to see and Jensen didn’t like the speculative gleam in them. Cougar seemed to think for a moment and then asked, “How much trouble is he in? Minor, major, or shitload?”

Clay answered succinctly, “Shitload.”

Jensen groaned.

Cougar thought about it a moment longer and then said, “In mi familia, rules broken this badly were punished. Severely.”

Jensen’s throat felt like the Sahara as it dried in response to Cougar’s serious tone. “Guys, come on. I got out, right? It’s just a scratch, you even said so, Coug.”

Cougar stood with an abrupt, angry movement that startled him. He stood still warily as the Hispanic man closed the distance between them and hissed furiously, “No! I said it was a flesh wound, not a scratch. Another inch down and they would have killed you!”

The raw anger in the dark eyes was hypnotic and scary. He reached out, but Cougar jerked back, too far away to touch. That hurt way more than the throbbing of his shoulder. Cougar had always been a little like his own personal teddy bear, always there to dispense physical affection. Cougar was one of the only good, steady things in his life.

Jensen looked back at Clay and found a serious expression there, too, almost forbidding. There was no doubt that the older man was considering Cougar’s words and his flinch out of Jensen’s reach. Of them all, Cougar was the most difficult to piss off, so of course it would hold more weight with Clay.

The Colonel at last closed the distance between them and, staring intently into Jensen’s eyes, told him, “You’re on solitary confinement for three days. No computer. No television. No phone. You don’t come out of that room except to use the bathroom. I will bring you food, but you won’t have contact with anyone else for the next three days and I’m not going to talk to you. Go to your room. Now.”

It didn’t have at all the same feel to Jensen when he’d heard that repeatedly from his parents growing up. Now there was a wealth of disappointment and anger behind the words that stabbed into his gut. He’d let down his team by playing cowboy, by not thinking through his actions, and now he was being forced to go it alone. That had never been something Jensen was good at; he needed other people, needed to feel wanted and useful.

“I just…please, Clay, some other punishment,” Jensen begged. “Beat me up or, or spank me or anything else. Don’t cut me out, please.”

Clay repeated stonily, “Now, Jensen.”

Jensen sent Cougar a pleading look, but he was just as expressionless as Clay. Hunching in on himself, Jensen walked to the bedroom he’d claimed when they’d rented the house after getting back to the States.

Clay and Cougar followed him in and silently unplugged and took out his laptop, desktop, television, all his phones, and even his box of comics. It took a good ten minutes to remove everything and then Clay just quietly shut the door.

Jensen looked around the empty room and hugged himself, walking over to the bed and sitting on it. Three days of nothing to do but think about what he’d done and how badly he’d fucked things up with Clay and Cougar.

Talk about Hell.

* * * *

Clay ran a shaky hand through his hair and gratefully accepted Cougar’s supporting hand on his hip. He offered the other man a faint smile and said, “I wonder who the punishment’s going to be harder on; him or us?”

Cougar sighed. “Both, I think.”

Nodding in agreement, Clay asked, “Should I just have done something physical and gotten it over with?”

“I do not think so,” Cougar replied slowly. “Jensen needs to think, or he’ll get himself killed one day. Depriving him like this…I think he’ll remember it more than any other punishment.”

And Clay knew that was true, but he still didn’t like it. The pleading in those blue eyes, eyes that were normally so filled with life and joy, had been almost impossible to ignore. He was in charge, though, and something had to be done before Jensen really did get in over his head and they weren’t around to bail him out.

“Drink?” Cougar offered.

Clay nodded again and said, “Make it a double.”

Cougar put an arm around his waist and walked him to the sofa, gently pushing him onto it and then going into the kitchen area. It was damn good that they were between jobs or they’d really have a problem. Just because Max was dead and the government wasn’t actively hunting for them didn’t mean there weren’t other things that came up.

At least their cover as still being ‘dead’ was intact. It allowed Pooch and Jensen to see their families without putting them in danger. He didn’t know how long it would last, but they were taking advantage of it for as long as possible.

Returning with two glasses each filled with a healthy portion of whiskey, Cougar sat beside him and handed Clay one of them. “Gracias a Dios that he lived through it.”

“Amen,” Clay toasted fervently, clinking their glasses together.

The whiskey went down burning and exploded in his gut just right. Clay let out a long sigh and consciously relaxed, rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck.

Cougar put down his glass and climbed onto the sofa, sitting on the cushion behind Clay to grip his shoulders in a strong hold. He murmured, “You are far too tense, mio,” before digging into the muscles of Clay’s neck with his thumbs.

Groaning in relief when the muscles finally loosened under the strong grip, Clay’s head dropped forward. Cougar’s hands roamed over his shoulders and then, slowly, down his back. When they slid down the back of his jeans, Clay half-smiled and looked over his shoulder. Cougar leaned in and kissed just under his ear, sending a shiver through him.

He reached back to take one of Cougar’s hands and stood up, tugging him off the sofa and into his arms. They made out for a few minutes, the other man opening to his tongue without hesitation, and Clay slowly relaxed further, even as his groin tightened. Pulling back, Clay said, “Bedroom.”

Cougar’s lips quirked and he nodded agreement.

It was a short trip to the master bedroom that Clay had taken as his own. They all had one, even though Jensen and Cougar inevitably wound up in Clay’s bed before the night was through. Sometimes it was just Cougar and Clay because Jensen was doing whatever it was he did online all night. Other times it was Clay and Jensen with Cougar caught up in carving his wooden figures. Still other times, Clay and Cougar wound up in one of the smaller bedrooms when Clay was in a really bad mood or drinking. Thankfully, those times were getting fewer and farther between and most of the time, all three of them ended up in the big bed together.

Clay pulled off his shirt and tossed it aside as Cougar did the same. They reached for each other at the same time and the kiss was hot and hungry, tongues thrusting together and teeth clashing. His dick strained against his jeans and Clay’s hands made short work of Cougar’s pants, unzipping and shoving them down. He stepped back just enough to shove the slender man onto the bed.

Cougar smirked up at him from where he lay sprawled on the king-sized mattress, leaning on his elbows as if he hadn’t a care in the world with his pants down around his knees. Nodding at Clay’s hard-on, visible through the jeans, he asked, “You going to do something about that?”

Clay got rid of his pants and kicked them away before striding forward and yanking off Cougar’s. He climbed onto the bed and straddled Cougar’s hips, pushing him flat as he growled, “I think you’re going to do something about it.”

Cougar wrapped his legs around Clay’s hips and pulled him in tight, their dicks rubbing together in the impact and making each man groan. Clay pushed up on his hands and stared down at Cougar, the dark eyes filled with an unexpected tenderness as he cupped Clay’s face. “Te amo, Clay.”

The words never failed to thrill him. Of the three of them, Cougar was the one who said them the most. Jensen said them now and again, usually after orgasm, but Clay hadn’t yet. Couldn’t seem to make himself do it. So he showed them instead, as much as he could, even if that meant confining Jensen in his room for three days.

Bending down, he took Cougar’s mouth again, hungry for everything the other had to give. It was going to be a short trip tonight, he knew, they were both too drained for more. Having Jensen stagger home bleeding profusely had shaken them. It had shaken Clay a damn sight more than he wanted to even think about.

Grinding down on Cougar, Clay moved his hips so their shafts rubbed together. He wanted to be inside the other man, but didn’t want to take the time. So they made out and rubbed off like kids too horny to get to anything more. It wasn’t long before Clay groaned in pleasure and came all over Cougar’s belly, grunting and panting heavily as he did. When he opened his eyes, Cougar gasped loudly and came, thrusting up against him and spilling between them.

Clay fell off to the side, breathing hard, and stared at the ceiling as he slowly came down to earth. Grinning a little, he observed, “We should spend more time next time. Actually get to the main event.”

Cougar chuckled, the sound wicked and low, and then he said, “Next time, you will be the main event.”

Clay grinned up at the ceiling and thought, Maybe I will.

* * * *

Jensen was pretty sure he was going crazy.

The first day wasn’t so bad, even if his thoughts kept going around and around about what he’d done, what he could’ve done different, and how pissed Clay and Cougar were. Mostly, the first day wasn’t so bad because he was on painkillers and slept through almost all of it. He’d been aware enough to hear Clay and Cougar getting it on in the other bedroom, though, and that had hurt.

The second day crawled by slower than a turtle in wet cement. He was still sleeping through part of the day, but not nearly as much. That meant he had a lot more time to think about it all. He thought about how Clay and Cougar would’ve been if he’d gotten himself killed. And his sister and her family, they would be wrecked if he died. No more soccer games. He wouldn’t get to watch his niece grow up, or Pooch’s tyke. He’d never know if Aisha ever got over her need for bloodlust revenge over her dad’s killing.

Clay had been true to his word, not speaking to him when he’d delivered meds and food. He even stood guard, so to speak, whenever Jensen had to go to the bathroom and helped him with his bandages to take a shower. Jensen spent his time stretched out on the bed or staring out the window. And now it was just after two a.m. and he couldn’t stop thinking enough to fall asleep. There was no distraction, nothing to do but lie on the bed and stare at the ceiling.

He drifted off at some point, because the next he knew it was daylight. Day Three at last. He figured that he would have to wait until that night, since Clay was a stickler. Rubbing his eyes, Jensen stood and did some light stretching, grimacing at the minor burn in his shoulder. It could have been so much worse, he knew, than a relatively simple through-and-through. He could be dead right now and the people he’d left before would be attending his funeral and trying to put their lives back together.

Groaning, Jensen lay back down again and faced the wall, curling up in a ball as he tried not to think about any of it.

Ten hours to go until he could beg forgiveness.

* * * *

The three days went by very slowly for everyone. When Aisha and Pooch found out what Jensen had done, they’d both been pissed and relieved in turn. They’d agreed it was a fitting punishment, though Cougar saw Pooch wavering at the end of the second day. The black man kept looking over at the closed door while they were watching television.

When the end of the punishment came, they were all in the living room. Cougar watched Clay as he walked over to Jensen’s bedroom door and went inside. He was in there for a good ten minutes and voices rumbled in the other room, mostly Jensen’s, before the two of them came out. Cougar noted Clay’s hand on Jensen’s shoulder with approval; Jensen would need the support after going so long without any contact.

Jensen looked like hell with dark circles under his eyes and a tired air he seldom had. He looked around the room and said, “Guys, I’m really sorry. I will not go off like that again. Or, well, you know. I’ll definitely try to remember not to. No way I’m going through that again. Might as well have been the brig.”

“That’s the point,” Pooch said, sounding stern. “Just knock it off.”

Jensen nodded rapidly. “I will. Definitely.”

Aisha was the first to move, standing and walking over to hug him, scolding, “Make sure you do.”

He hugged her back and said, “Damn, girl, you feel good.”

She slapped him upside the back of the head before stepping back with a grin.

Pooch got up as well and walked over to punch him lightly on his shoulder. When Jensen winced, Pooch nodded and said, “That’s what I’m talkin’ about. Knock that shit off and you won’t get holes where there shouldn’t be any.”

“Okay, okay!” Jensen exclaimed.

Pooch kept up the stern face for about another three seconds and then grabbed him in a hug. When he stepped back, he said, “Okay then. Aisha, you ready to go?”

“Just need to get my bag,” she replied. “Clay, Pooch and I are going to spend the night at the house since we have that job starting in a couple of days.”

Not for the first time, Cougar was glad that Aisha and Jolene had hit it off so well. He didn’t know if there was any more going on than just friendship, but Pooch had definitely been in a better than average mood, even for the normally upbeat man.

Clay nodded. “Sure. See you in two days.”

Once they were gone, Cougar looked at Jensen and just held out his hands, saying, “Venga, mijo.”

Jensen immediately hurried to him and wrapped his arms around Cougar, burying his face against Cougar’s throat. Cougar stroked his hand up and down Jensen’s back, soothing him as he shook, though he didn’t feel any tears. It was more likely reaction to being alone so completely for so long. He kissed Jensen’s temple and spoke softly in Spanish, knowing the tone would at least be understood.

Clay left them to it and Cougar brought Jensen to the sofa, tugging him down and putting an arm over his shoulder. Jensen’s head rested on his shoulder and he said, “I missed you.”

“Same here, mijo,” Cougar murmured, fingers combing through too-short blondish hair. “How’s your shoulder?”

Jensen yawned and answered, “Fine. Little achy. Clay kept an eye on it.”

Cougar looked over to find Clay watching them from the recliner a short distance away. He looked concerned and Cougar could understand why, with Jensen so quiet and compliant. Kissing Jensen’s forehead, he asked, “Did you sleep?”

“Not much the last day or so,” Jensen admitted. “Couldn’t without you guys.”

“Then we should fix that. Up, mijo,” Cougar ordered gently.

Jensen sighed, but stood up. Cougar slid an arm around his waist and they followed Clay into his bedroom. Between them, they undressed Jensen, taking turns with pieces of clothing and covering him with kisses as the bare skin was exposed. Cougar took off Jensen’s glasses, smiling at the blinking as Jensen took a few seconds to focus on him. It was a slow, loving process and even though they were all hard by the time they got into bed, there was no urgency driving them on.

Cougar faced Jensen while Clay moved up behind the younger man. Taking Jensen’s shaft in hand, Cougar stroked him lightly while kissing him, slow and easy. Jensen moaned into his mouth, shivering visibly. He loved the lean, smooth body and broke the kiss to lick and mouth his way down to the straining dick. Hearing Jensen’s groan a few minutes later, Cougar lifted his head long enough to see Clay’s cock pushing carefully inside Jensen’s ass. A surge of lust slammed through him as Clay rocked in and out, getting deeper with each movement.

Turning, he shifted so that he was facing down and took Jensen’s dick in his mouth, sucking strongly and wringing another moan for his efforts. Wet heat surrounded his own shaft and he had to pause in order not to come right away. Jensen sucked on him as if he was the best flavor in the world and he wasn’t going to last long if he kept that up. Cougar redoubled his efforts and Clay drove harder and harder into Jensen, sending his dick deeper into Cougar’s mouth, into his throat.

“Clay! Oh fuck, Clay,” Jensen cried out, pushing erratically into Cougar’s mouth as he came.

Cougar swallowed him down, the cool air on his own cock taking the edge off. He pulled off as Clay continued to fuck Jensen’s now limp body until he came, grinding down into the young man’s ass and shuddering violently. Cougar jerked off hard and fast at the sight of Clay open-mouthed with ecstasy. His come splattered over Jensen’s chest and face, since he hadn’t changed position, and he lay there, spent, as Jensen grumbled wordlessly in complaint at the mess.

It only took a few minutes to recover enough to crawl back into stretching out in the right direction. By then, Jensen had wiped his face off with one of the hand towels left on the nightstand. Cougar grinned as they settled under the covers, Clay already fast asleep with an arm slung possessively over Jensen’s waist.

Cougar slid a leg between his lover’s as he wrapped his arm around Jensen’s waist, resting his hand on Clay’s side. He kissed Jensen again, slow and easy, and said, “Welcome back, mijo.”

Jensen smiled sleepily and settled his head on Cougar’s chest and mumbled, “Damn good to be back. Night, Papi.”

“Night, Jensen,” Cougar murmured.

It wasn’t until Jensen’s breathing slowed into true sleep and he heard Clay’s half-snore that Cougar knew he’d be able to sleep. The punishment was over and now it was time to rest.