Page 134 of His Boys to Protect

“Hhng.” Charlie grinned, then turned serious and focused on the door again.

A short while later, they were allowed in to see Skylar. The boy looked tired but happy, like a weight had been lifted from his little body. A soft smile played on his lips. Ward had never seen anything more beautiful.

But Charlie was tense. It was all Ward could do to convince the boy that it was okay to hold Skylar's hand, since Charlie was afraid to hurt him. Charlie lightly touched Skylar's fingers as he looked all around, scowling at the beeping machines and squinting at the lights overhead.

“I'm okay, Charlie,” Skylar assured him. “Really. I'll be okay. I'm so tired, I think I could sleep through the building collapsing.”

“We should let him rest,” Ward murmured, putting a hand on Charlie's back.

Charlie rolled his head, glancing around, then finally relented. He gave Skylar's hand a gentle squeeze before letting go, and then Ward did the same.

“We'll be back tomorrow,” Ward promised him.

“Okay,” Skylar whispered. He held their gazes as they left the room, an oddly bittersweet smile on his face.

Ward wondered what that was about.

He took Charlie to get lunch, then went back to the hotel. They spent a quiet afternoon, sitting and watching TV. After having dinner, they took turns in the shower and went to bed.

Ward immediately started to drift off, all his exhaustion catching up with him. He was almost asleep when Charlie started fidgeting. Ward turned onto his side and rested a hand on Charlie's back, then closed his eyes.

Charlie turned over, lying still for only a few seconds before he turned over again. He twitched and shifted and kicked his legs, never seeming to get settled, no matter what he did.

Ward groaned and rubbed his eyes. “What do you need, little mouse?”

“Hhnn.”

Shit. Ward couldn't see him in the dark. “Lights on,” he warned the boy, then reached out for the bedside lamp. Charlie scowled and covered his eyes with both hands, then slowly peeked out between his fingers. “What do you need?” Ward asked again.

Tuck in, Charlie signed.

“Tuck in? Okay.” Ward got up, walked around to the other side of the bed, and tried tucking the sheets in under the mattress.

Charlie scowled.Tuck in me, he signed.

Ward rubbed his eyes. Skylar had told him about this once, but he'd never actually shown him how it was done. But Ward had to do something. He'd promised that he could handle Charlie, not wanting Skylar to have anything else to worry about. Somehow, he had to manage it.

Charlie's scowl turned pleading.Help.

“Okay, sweet boy. Okay.” Ward got back into bed, shut off the lamp, and pulled Charlie back against him, curling around the boy and holding him tight. “Daddy's got you. Now, close your eyes, and concentrate on your breaths. Big, deep breaths. Niceand slow. We need to be rested so we can take care of Sky, don't we?”

Charlie nodded. He went still, then took a slow, deep breath, holding it for a second before he let it back out.

“That's it, little mouse. That's my good boy.”

Charlie gave a happy littlesqueak.

“You like being Daddy's good boy, don't you?”

Charlie nodded again.

“Good.” Ward pressed a kiss behind Charlie's ear. “Now let's get some sleep, okay?”

Charlie grabbed Ward's arms where they were wrapped around him, then wiggled back against Ward before letting out a little sigh and going still.

Ward smiled with relief and let sleep claim him.

Chapter 48

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