Page 24 of More than Need

“Now, Dawson.”

“Fuck, you’re bossy.”

Riley opened his passenger door and waited for Dawson to slide in before leaning in close, one hand braced on the headrest. “That keeping your mouth shut? It starts now.” He slammed the door before Dawson could respond.

He sent a quick cursory text to Kellan and handed the keys to the front desk with instructions to only give them to his brother—a specific one, not just any brother. The last thing he needed was for Lucas to unexpectedly drop in and get awarded custody of them for being in the wrong place at the right time.

Dawson didn’t say a word as Riley got into the driver’s seat. With any luck, he would stay that way for the entire ride.

Riley’s reprieve lasted until they were out of the city areas and into quiet suburban streets.

“What are they like?” Dawson asked.

“Who?” Riley asked, though he had a sneaking suspicion he knew. Unfortunately. Too much to ask for their conversation to steer clear of the subject.

“Your—the people who adopted you.”

“Myparents?” Riley said, raising an eyebrow and glancing at his passenger. “They’re none of your business.”

“I’m just making conversation.”

“No, you aren’t. You’re prying into things that have nothing to do with you. Do you think that if I tell you I had a horrible childhood it justifies Sadie barging into my life unannounced the way that she did? That somehow, she’d be doing me a favour by giving me back a family I lost?”

“Don’t put words into my mouth,” Dawson said stiffly.

“I don’t need to; you put them there yourself.” Riley rotated his palms over his steering wheel, the leather sliding over his skin. “For your information, I have incredible parents. A family who loves me and didn’t throw me away like yesterday’s garbage. Despite already having a child—and carrying more after me—my parents kept me because they considered me family.”

“That’s not fair,” Dawson said. “You don’t know anything about Sadie’s parents.”

“I know enough,” Riley said coldly.

“Fuck that. You don’t know about their circumstances, back then or now. You don’t know why they did it, who they are as people, or their motivations. You’ve painted them as these villains in your play, but you don’t really know. You don’t have any idea.”

Riley’s pulse thrummed angrily, and he swerved abruptly, pulling the car over. He parked behind a white sedan in front of a plain white house. He turned in his seat, forearm braced on the steering wheel. “I’m thirty years old, Dawson. I’ve lived my whole life as a Sinclair. That’s who I am. Whoever these people are, I don’t care one iota,” he said, keeping his voice measured.“I grew up thinking it was my fault they gave me up. Spent years worrying that something I did or said would mean being given to a new family. Not because my parentsevermade me feel that way, but because Sadie’s did. The impact they had on my life simply by not being there, by choosing to hand me off when I wasdaysold, was bigger than you can ever imagine.” He leaned forward, keeping his temper in check by a bare margin. “I paint them as ‘villains in my play’ because that’s exactly what they are to me. You, Sadie,andher parents can all fuck off. I didn’t ask for you to come waltzing into my life as if I should be grateful that my blood is the same as hers.”

Dawson shifted, coming up on one knee, so close to Riley that he could feel his breath across his cheeks. “Sadie didn’t make that choice. She wasn’t even born then, and she shouldn’t have to suffer for it.”

“Neither should I!” Riley roared.

His chest heaved as they stared at each other. Riley didn’t know who moved first. Their mouths found each other in a harsh kiss. A clash of teeth and tongue, Riley pouring out all of his frustration and anger into it. Need throbbed low in his belly, and he roughly tilted Dawson’s head, diving deeper. Hands fisted his shirt, pulling him closer.

“This doesn’t mean anything,” Dawson gasped harshly. “I still think you’re an asshole.”

“I don’t care,” Riley said, dragging him back in for another kiss. Between Dawson and Gideon, Riley felt like a fucking inferno with no relief. Within two days, they had both turned him inside out so fucking effortlessly. He had no control, only an insatiable need driving him.

Dawson tugged at Riley’s belt, and Riley should have stopped him. They were idling on a side street in front of someone’s house, for fuck’s sake. Anyone could walk past, and as an officer of the law, heknewbetter. He’d arrest someone else for doing it.

Instead, he helped Dawson drag his briefs down so that his hard cock sprang free. Dawson’s hot hand closed around him, and his hips automatically pushed up into the tight grip.

Riley tore his lips from Dawson’s, panting heavily as their eyes locked again. Brown, like Gideon’s, and yet completely different. Darker, like a void.

“What?” Dawson breathed out.

Riley didn’t answer, choosing a kiss over talking. Every time Dawson opened his mouth and spoke, he pissed Riley off.

Dawson renewed his efforts on Riley’s cock, every slide of his hand filled with friction and heat. He pulled away and reached behind himself, pulling a condom from his wallet.

Fucking hell, were they really doing this here? “We shouldn’t—”

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