Page 123 of His Boys to Protect

Skylar checked the time on his phone.Oh, weird. Normally, Charlie would be putting down his book, grabbing Skylar's hand, and leading him to the bedroom.

“Charlie?” Skylar asked. He waited while Charlie put a finger to the page, marking his place. “No sex time?”

Charlie blushed and ducked his head. After a moment, he signed,Ward.

Using the new name sign. The one that representedDaddy.

Skylar's heart clenched. “You want Ward instead?”

Charlie scowled.No instead, he signed emphatically.With. He went back to his book, effectively dropping the subject.

Skylar held his breath, fighting the urge to cry.

The day passed quietly. Charlie spent most of it reading, while Skylar merely pretended to do the same. They only stopped to eat or use the bathroom, but otherwise spent the entire day like that. It was a kind of freedom Skylar had seldom known. He and Charlie had enjoyed many days like this in the past, of course, but there was far more to it now. Something that was going to make it harder to let go.

As the afternoon gave way to evening, Charlie started checking his phone. Finally, he set his book aside completely and stared at the screen instead, hardly blinking and barely moving for almost half an hour straight. Suddenly, he let out a littlesqueakand jumped up, running to the door. Charlie stopped there, rocking on his feet.

Skylar's heart clenched all over again as he heard a truck come to a stop just outside. Ward must be home.

He heard a key in the lock, and then Charlie had to jump back as the door swung open, standing too close as he was. Ward saw him and got a big smile on his face.

“Hey, sweet boy.” Ward glanced past him and looked at Skylar. “Hey, Sky.”

Charlie bounced in place and squeaked ceaselessly until Ward locked the door and took off his boots. Then Charlie threw his arms around the man.

Skylar had to turn away, blinking rapidly. He wrestled the emotion under control, then turned back, unable to resist. Seeing Charlie so comfortable with Ward was so beautiful and so achingly painful at the same time. And Ward? The smile on the man's face was breathtaking.

Charlie didn't let up squeaking for even a second.Jeebus. He was so happy!

Ward chuckled. “Hey, little mouse,” he murmured, rubbing Charlie's back. “I missed you, too.”

Charlie went silent and still for a second, then pulled back and rolled his head, looking up in Ward's direction but without making eye-contact.Little mouse?he signed.

Ward tensed. “Oh. Sorry. That just slipped out.”

Me little mouse?Charlie asked.

“Yeah,” Ward said. He glanced from Charlie to Skylar and back. “Is that–”

Before Ward could finish his question, Charlie gasped.Special name?he signed.Like my Sky kitten?

Ward's expression softened, all the tension giving way to a smile. “Yeah. Just like that.”

Charlie bounced excitedly again, hissqueaksrapid and completely lacking any cohesive beat or pattern.Special name!Charlie signed emphatically, a huge smile on his face.Special name!

Skylar had to turn away again, his eyes stinging with the threat of tears. Charlie was so excited that he was definitely going to need some quiet time to decompress in the next few minutes, and Skylar would have to see to that, but all he could think about at the moment was his own pain.

Because Ward and Charlie were going to be okay once he was gone, and the bittersweet ache of that simply tore him up inside.

Chapter 44

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WARD

WARD LOVED coming home to his boys.

Geez. Could he even call them that? They hadn't sat down and talked about anything regarding relationships. It felt like it was too soon, and there had been too much else going on. As far as Ward knew, Skylar and Charlie were still boyfriends while he was simply the third wheel, the guy giving Skylar a place to stay and allowing Charlie to visit.

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