Page 144 of His Boys to Protect

Sex.

Skylar squirmed in his seat. A part of him was desperate to tackle Ward the moment they reached the apartment. He wanted—needed—Ward's cum inside him. Wanted to be marked by the man.

But he wanted Charlie, too. He needed to have both of them at once. To have both of them claim him together.

Except Charlie had gone back home last week, having reached his limit. Charlie had fought so hard to take care ofSkylar during all the hours that Ward was at work, but he'd been in desperate need of a break. A slammed door in a nearby apartment had pushed Charlie into a full-blown fit. It had taken Ward almost an hour to calm him down.

That had been a Thursday night, so poor Charlie had to wait another two days before Ward was able to take him home.

Of course, the moment Charlie was home and settled, surrounded by his familiar spaces and things, he'd started texting both Skylar and Ward, complaining that he missed them.

So Charlie was coming back tomorrow. His parents would be driving him down, presumably to resume his week-on, week-off routine.

Skylar eyed Ward, wondering if the man was up for it. Hoping that he was. Poor Ward had been absolutely buried with work, besides having to shuttle Skylar to his checkups. Harvest season and bottling had taken their toll on the man.

Having to take care of Skylar had probably only made things worse.

Skylar gazed out the window as they headed through downtown, making their way to Ward's apartment. He couldn't believe it was November already. The red and gold leaves clung valiantly to the trees, clearly not ready to let go. Skylar breathed a humorless laugh. He felt for those leaves. Their struggle seemed all too familiar.

Ward's phone vibrated. The man glanced down at it, then scanned the street ahead. He pulled over to the curb and put the truck inPark. “Sorry. One second.” He quickly grabbed the phone and answered the call. “Hey, Mom…Yeah, sorry. I just got hung up in traffic. I can probably be there in about half an hour…Okay. See you then…Love you, too.” Ward ended the call and dropped his phone back into the center console.

Skylar eyed the man as he pulled back onto the street.

“That was my mom,” Ward explained. “It's Dad's birthday today, so I'm heading over to their place for dinner.” He ran a hand back through his hair. “I honestly forgot all about it until this morning. Vaughn texted me while you were at your appointment.”

“Oh.”

Ward brought the truck to a stop at a red light, then glanced at him. “I was going to ask, but…I was hoping to introduce you and Charlie together. I mean…”

“Oh, yeah. That makes sense.”

Ward was silent for a long moment. “Besides, I wasn't sure you'd want to come.”

“Oh?”

Ward paused as he followed traffic that began to move. “You've barely left the apartment.”

Skylar gave a single, slow nod. That much was true. He hadn't so much as gone grocery shopping with Ward and Charlie since he'd left the city. While he'd been recovering, he'd had a perfect excuse, but all the rest of the time?

He'd been hiding. It was as simple as that.

It wasn't like he was going to run into any of his clients in this town. Still, he couldn't help picturing it, every time he thought about walking out that front door. What if he saw someone who knew what he was? It was bad enough that Ward and Charlie knew how dirty he was. As did all of Charlie's family. And Adam knew, of course, which meant John probably did, also. Hell, for that matter, it meant all of Adam's friends probably knew as well.

Skylar could never be free of his past in this town. Not truly. He still had to leave. He'd have to go far away and find a place where his past could never catch up with him. Where nobody could ever find out what he'd done for a living.

And that meant absolutely no meeting Ward's parents, even though he felt a stab of hurt, not being invited to do so. How could he possibly ever face them? How could he look Ward's mother in the eyes and not feel dirty and horrible for the way he and her son had met?

They got back to the apartment, and Skylar sank onto the couch while Ward used the bathroom, brushed his teeth, and retrieved two bottles of wine from his collection. Ward set the bottles by the front door, then padded over to the living room.

“Hey.” Ward crouched down. “You really are welcome to come, if you want.”

Skylar opened his mouth, sorely tempted to sayyes. He wanted to be part of Ward's life. Ward's family. But then he thought about how much he'd have to lie to Ward's parents, and the thought made him ill. Besides, Ward sounded hesitant. Like he didn't actually want Skylar to come but was only asking as a matter of course. “I'm kinda tired, actually,” Skylar said, and it wasn't a lie. The long, rushed trip up to San Jose and back had worn him out. “I think I'll just have some leftovers and then go to bed early.”

“Okay.” Ward pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I'll be back in a couple hours. Call me if you need anything. Anything, okay?”

“I will,” Skylar promised.

“Okay.” Ward kissed him again. “Get some rest.”

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