Page 27 of His Boys to Protect

WARD

WARD COULDN'T resist a smile of relief when Skylar stayed. It was still a shock to see him here so unexpectedly, but there was something right about it, too. Dressed the way Skylar was, and looking sleep-rumpled, Ward couldalmostbelieve the two of them had been on a real date last night, and now they were simply meeting casually with some friends.

As for having Charlie in his lap? Somehow, that only heightened the experience. It felt way too good to have that boy back in his arms.

Even if it had been awkward, having to face Charlie's father. Back at the party, Charlie had initiated the contact, and all the Pratts had rushed to apologize for the boy's behavior. But now? Apparently, it wasn't just Dakota who had requested Ward's presence on Charlie's behalf.Geez. Then again, Ward had half-expected Jacob Pratt to demand what Ward's intentions were. The man must have seen the look on his face. Ward was pretty sure he hadn't been able to keep all the joy and desire out of his expression.

Hell of a way to meet the parents.

Ward inwardly cursed. He was getting ahead of himself. It wasn't like this was definitely going to turn into anything romantic.But I'll be damned if I don't hope it goes that way.

He could so easily see it: two beautiful boys, all his. Ward had never in his life considered having more than one partner, but something about these two made him suddenly want just that. Of course, he'd never in his life considered he might find himself attracted to a man instead of a woman, either.

Yet here he was. Attracted totwo.

Ward looked up at Skylar, at the beautiful boy standing before him with most of his walls torn down. Skylar had no costume to hide behind. No role to play. Ward saw the real him, and it was stunning. He itched to drag Skylar onto his lap. To hold both boys in his arms. But Skylar also looked like he could bolt at the drop of a hat. When the boy had begun to walk away a moment ago, it got Ward's gut all twisted up in knots.

But Skylar had stayed when Ward asked him to do so. Maybe that was a good sign.

Before Ward could say anything, Charlie gave a quick littlechirpof sound, got up, and walked away.

Ward's heart lurched. He watched the boy go, feeling a sudden chill. And not just from the lack of Charlie's body heat.

Shades of Kelly—and all the others—again.

“It's not you,” Skylar blurted out.

Ward tore his gaze away from Charlie's retreating figure and looked at Skylar. “What?”

“Charlie's like that,” Skylar explained. “When he's done with something, he's done. It's not a rejection of you. He'd just reached the point of the contact being overstimulating instead of comforting, so he needed to step away so he can decompress.”

“Okay,” Ward said, dragging out the word as he took that in.

Skylar fidgeted. “It's like, you know how if you eat too much, you go from being full to being uncomfortable? It's like that. Likehe got full of physical contact, and anything more would be over his limit.”

“Oh.” Ward nodded slowly. He studied Skylar's face again, trying to understand the mix of expressions he saw there. Skylar's eyes were dark but also slightly widened, as though in desperation, while his jaw was tense. As was the set of his shoulders. Ward frowned. Was that guilt he saw on the boy's face? It was hard to tell. What if the Pratts—any one of them, or maybe even more than one, for all Ward knew—were clients? Ward wasn't sure he wanted the answer, but he forced out the question anyway. “You seem to know him pretty well?”

“Yeah.” One corner of Skylar's mouth twitched, hinting at a smile as the boy shuffled his feet. “Charlie's my boyfriend.”

Ward blinked.

Oh hell. He shot out of the chair. “Geez, Sky!” he gasped, striding past the boy as he headed for the foyer. Charlie was Skylar's boyfriend?Fuck. Ward felt his face go hot with shame. First, he'd slept with Skylar, and then he'd sat there with Charlie in his lap while Skylar looked on, not saying a word.

He had to get out of there.

Skylar caught up to him, grabbing him by the wrist. The boy tugged him away from the front door and over closer to the stairs, out of sight of the sitting room and the tasting room beyond it. “Wait,” Skylar begged. “Let me explain. Please.”

Ward looked at Skylar, seeing the needy desperation on the boy's face. He crossed his arms over his chest and took a step back, feeling sorely tempted to pull Skylar against him. To comfort the boy. But he couldn't do that. Not knowing what he now knew.

Shit. “Does he know?” Ward quietly demanded.

Skylar grimaced. “He knows. He hates it, but yeah, he knows. They all do,” he added, gesturing towards the back of the house. “Charlie's been my best friend since we were kids,” Skylar wenton, his eyes wide and pleading as he looked up at Ward. “I guess, technically, you could say we're more like friends-with-benefits, but it's less of a mouthful to just say we're boyfriends.” Skylar paused, then blurted out, “But I started escortingbeforeCharlie and I started sleeping together, so he knew about it going in.”

“Oh.” Ward nodded as he processed that. The cheating rubbed him wrong, but every relationship was different. Some people didn't mind keeping things open. Even the foursome there at Living in Zin had started out that way, though they were fully committed to each other now. “And you?” Ward asked.

“What about me?”

“It didn't bother you, seeing Charlie in my lap?”

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