“And if I hadn’t?”
“That’s what I’m here for.”Red gives a friendly little wave.
Liam’s chest rises and falls under his loose T-shirt.I recognize it as one he sometimes sleeps in, thin and threadbare.Not at all fitting with the dress code at Shadow.I’m glad Daniel let him in.“You’re lucky I’m half-dead, or I’d kick the shit out of you.”
“You look like you should be in a hospital,” I say.
“I’ll be fine.Zed stitched me up.”
Oh.I’m not sure that’s a good thing.
“Don’t worry.I’m dragging him to get checked out once we’re done here,” Zed adds.
“Tell me what’s happening here, kid,” Liam says with a deep sigh.
“I told you I’d seen you in the garage.When you said you were having poker night.”
Zed chuckles.“I mean, technically we were pok?—”
“Shut the fuck up.”Liam snaps.To me, he says, “That something you want?Different guys touching you at once?”
I lift one shoulder.“It looked fun.Hot.”
Liam hobbles over to me, finally lifting his hand to touch me.He grasps my chin in his fingers.“I’m not staying here for this.”
Oh.My shoulders sag.
“Not unless I know you’re mine.It’s not my place to share someone who doesn’t belong to me.”
Oh.Oh.
“That depends.”I straighten my spine, head tipped to make eye contact.It’s not easy to look authoritative when you’re my size, especially when you’re naked and, well, kind of hard.But I give it my best.
“Areyoumine?”
“Look at me.”Liam gestures to his battered self.“You really want all this?Bunch of body parts slapped together with duct tape?”
“I told you.It’s what I’ve always wanted, Daddy.But.” I blow out a harsh puff of air.“I’m going to expect a lot of groveling from you after the things you said.That’s how it goes in my books.The guy who’s an asshole goes way out of his way to apologize and make things right.That’swhat I want.”
Off to my left I can hear Red and Zed (ohmygod Ijustrealized their names rhyme!) muttering things like “Holy shit” and “Jesus Christ.”
Liam’s eyes flash with heat.He takes a long, deep breath.“You want groveling?Fine.We do this, you’re leaving here with me.No going back.”
“You’re the one who told me to go.”I don’t call him an idiot out loud, but I think we can all agree it’s implied.
“Won’t happen again.Promise.Now, stop being a brat and get back over on that bench so someone can fuck you.”He inches backward with regret on his face.“Unfortunately, Zed already warned me that if I ripped my stitches, he’d cut my balls off, so these guys are going to have to be my hands and cock, so to speak.”
Now my heart is thumping for an entirely different reason.I can’t even believe this is happening.
There’s something I need to tell him first though.Before this situation gets going and I forget.
“Wait.Not yet.You need to know something.”
Everyone freezes.Liam raises his eyebrows.“Tell me, kid.”
“The other reason why I came back.I remembered Dylan Beck when he grabbed me, he said ‘we.’As in ‘we needed you.’He was in some sort of financial situation because of this Tony guy making him lose money or whatever, but it sounded like there was someone else involved.”
Liam turns to Zed.“Guess we’re not done yet.”