Page 2 of Piece Us Together

Hunter Meridian.

All my hours of research have led me here. I know everything I possibly can about the man in front of me. I know his childhood background, every report card, his extra-curricular activities, his attendance records, his medical reports, his college transcripts. I know who his best friend was growing up and who his best friend is now. I know his career and his home address and the amount in his three bank accounts, retirement fund, and stock portfolio. I know his favorite kinks and his top talents. I know hisreputation at the college he works at, his reputation among his friends, his reputation in the kink community.

I know he shops at this store every Thursday after his night lecture, stocking up on anything he might need for the weekend since he survives most of the week on takeout from places near the college.

Meridian shifts closer to me as he places the box he was looking at in his cart. I step around the end of the shelving unit, tugging my ball cap lower on my head as I watch him through the security mirror mounted in the corner. He’s now checking his grocery list.

I’ve fought with myself over this plan for a week now. I know there isn’t another option. I need help—Nolan and Ineed help—and this is the only man who can provide it. I have to go to him.

I can’t lose Nolan, but I can’t hold on to him either, not like this. I just—I fuckingcan’t. I won’t survive it. I won’t survive a lifetime of watching him settle. Of pretending. Of waiting for the day we break apart in a way that no amount of gold can piece us back together.

I surge forward, my focus narrowing on the one man who might be able to fix the bleakness of my future. It’s only as I get close enough to smell the subtle tones of his cologne that I realize I don’t have a plan. All of that research, all of that inner turmoil, all of that overthinking, and I never came up with a fuckingplan.

“Meridian,” I say. Or… maybe I growl it. I don’tmeanto growl it, it just sort of comes out like that.

For his part, the man doesn’t startle. He just lifts his chin and turns, his shoulders squared and his lips curved into a frown. “Yes?”

“I’m—I’m Maison. I’m friends with Travis.” I adjust my cap, letting him see my face a little better. “I’m Carter’s brother.”

A corner of his mouth lifts. “I thought you looked familiar. You’re one of the men who pulled a gun on me that night, aren’t you?”

I wince, having completely forgotten about that. It was such a brief moment, and his involvement was clouded by the worry for my brother and the confusion over the new knowledge that my brother was into kink despite his abuse. Sure, it was what brought Meridian into my life, what put him on my radar, but the details—like me pulling a gun on him until I was sure he wasn’t involved in hurting my brother, at least in a way that my brother didn’t want—had sort of dissolved in the shadow of everything else lately.

Well, this is awkward now.

“I… may have done that, yes. Um. Sorry about that.”

“It’s alright.” He smiles. “Like I told Travis, I’m just glad Carter has people who care so much about him.”

And he’s nice. Great.

“I need your help,” I blurt before I can lose the courage.

Hunter tilts his head, seeming curious. “You’ll have to be more specific.”

“You’re a dom, right?”

That’s clearly not what the man expected me to say. He quickly looks around, his shoulders lifting toward his ears, then steps closer and says in a low voice, “I’d appreciate it if we could talk about that somewhere else. I’m a professor in this town, after all. One who hasn’t gotten tenure.”

“Right. Sorry.” I wince again.This guy must think I’m a total idiot. “Can we maybe talk sometime?”

Meridian assesses me, the look somehow making me feel very…small. I step back, not a fan of that feeling. His lips twitch at the action. Then he nods. “Alright. You know Flannagan’s Pub, right? I could meet you there tomorrow. Seven o’clock?”

It feels like a date, which is ridiculous. I’m with Nolan. And Meridian is nowhere near my type, even if I wasn’t. “Seven o’clock. As friends,” I clarify.

“Don’t worry, big guy. I have no intention of trying to dominate you.” He takes a step past me, pausing when his shoulder is against mine. His cologne floods my nose as he turns to give me a smirk. It’s spicy. Sophisticated, somehow. His hazel eyes are bright with amusement. “Well, not unless you beg for it first.”

My face burns. I step back so quickly I nearly fall on my ass.What the fuck?“Yeah, no. I won’t be doing that.”

“Mmm.” Hunter smirks. “Seven o’clock. Don’t be late.”

Chapter Two

Hunter

I get to Flannagan’s at a quarter to seven, ordering myself a local beer before sliding into a corner booth with both privacy and a perfect view of the entrance. I still have no idea what to expect from this encounter. I’d spent most of last night and a good part of today debating calling Travis to ask if he knew what this might be about, but it felt too much like a violation. Maison hadn’t asked for me to keep this a secret, but the desperation—thefear—in his blue eyes had said enough.

Maison shows up two minutes late, looking even more terrified than he did at the store as he scans the area. His dark hair is a chaos of loose waves, one side worse than the other. I realize why when he brings his right hand up to nervously tug at the messy locks. It’s unfair that he can look like a complete wreck while also handsome as all hell. Even just in light jeans and a dark blue hoodie, the man is pulling off the sexy boy-next-door thing that I hadn’t realized until right this moment very well deserves to be a kink all on its own.

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