Page 105 of His Boys to Protect

Charlie solemnly shook his head.

Skylar almost choked as a laugh bubbled up out of him. The mirth caught him completely by surprise, considering the tension of the past twenty-four hours. He had to brace himself against the counter, he started laughing so hard.

When he finally calmed down, wiping a few tears from his eyelashes, he found Charlie looking at him like he'd gone mad.

At Charlie's repetition of Ward's orders, Skylar went to sit down and drink his coffee.Quietly, Charlie said. Ward joined him, having another cup of his own. The two of them sat side-by-side on the couch while Charlie puttered about the kitchen, taking his time, doing things his way.

Charlie did make really good scrambled eggs, though, so Skylar wasn't about to complain.

Skylar turned and sat back against the arm of the couch with his knees drawn up, giving himself both a direct view of Ward and a peek into the kitchen, where Charlie cheerfully worked, squeaking along to every move he made.

Fuck. Maybe that nightmare last night had been reality, andthiswas a dream. There was no way this could actually be happening.

“Sky?” Ward murmured. “Easy, kitten. I see you worrying over there. Everything's gonna be fine.”

Is it?Skylar clutched his coffee mug with both hands as he shook his head. Stability never lasted long. People always eventually threw him out. Why would Ward be any different? Skylar wouldn't be able to stay here forever.

Despite how desperately he wanted to do so.

Maybe it was a good thing that Ward was arranging to have his car fixed. It would hurt like hell to have to dip into his savings to pay the man back for it, but once Skylar had wheels again, he could run away. Leave before he got kicked out. Run off and start over somewhere, just like he'd always planned.

Until his car was fixed, though, he was stuck.

Skylar had to fight a smile at that thought. For at least a few days, he had nowhere to go. He could hide here, tucked away from the world with Ward and Charlie. Live in a dream for a little while. Soak up a few more memories.

Ward reached out, draping his arm across the back of the couch, and rested his big hand on Skylar's left wrist. The man smiled, eyeing the ink. His strong, gentle fingers traced the designs, sending tingles of sensation all through Skylar's body.

Skylar bit back a moan, trembling as he realized two things.

One, no matter what it cost him, he was going to getCharlieandWardtattooed inside the heart on his shoulder. But that would have to wait until after he left. After he was settled somewhere new.

And two, once he got a chance to experience these two men again—once he felt like theirs for good and all—he'd run far away and never have sex for the rest of his life. Never let anyone else inside his body so he could remain theirs forever. Nothing and nobody else would ever compare.

No one would ever make him feel so clean.

Chapter 38

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CHARLIE

CHARLIE FIDGETED. They'd had to skip sex time that morning because of Skylar's errands, and his body wasn't happy about it. Still, he pushed through, forcing himself to endure.

Because his Sky was anxious, and that was more important.

Charlie hated seeing his Sky unhappy. That madehimunhappy. But as the morning progressed, things slowly got easier.

They'd gone to Vaughn's shop first. That had beenawful. Even inside the office, Charlie could hear the pneumatic tools. They were so loud! But once Skylar handed over his car keys so the tow truck driver could pick them up and go retrieve his car, a little bit of Skylar's anxiety went away. That made things quieter.

After that, they'd gone to the bank. Charlie had almost decided to stay in the truck for that, except his Sky's anxiety got loud again the moment they arrived. He had to make sure his Sky was going to be okay. So he'd followed him and Ward inside.

At least it was quieter than the repair shop had been. Too many low voices, but they weren't as loud as the noisy tools. While they were in there, Ward made Charlie keep a finger curled through one of Skylar's belt loops so he wouldn't wanderoff. That was probably a good thing. When they passed the little table with all the blank deposit and withdrawal slips, Charlie was sorely tempted to go back to it and straighten everything. One slip was even in the wrong slot! He needed to fix it so it was right.

But his Sky was more important.

So Charlie held onto his Sky's belt loop and idly listened as his Sky talked to a lady on the other side of the counter. Charlie didn't understand all of what they said. He understood the theory of banking, as well as the role a bank played within an economy, but he'd never directly dealt with some of the finer aspects of it. Whenever his parents went to the bank, Charlie always stayed in the car.

His Sky had a long discussion about balances, depositing cash, and changing an address. Then there was something about having a signatory removed. Apparently, Skylar's boss had access to the account since he'd helped Skylar set it up in the first place.

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