Page 46 of His Boys to Protect

“Ward–”

“Sky, I can handle it.”

Skylar bit back a whimper, then threw himself at Ward again.

Oh fuck. He was in so much trouble. Skylar felt his knees start to give out as Ward consumed him, the man's mouth gentle but demanding, those big hands like fire, burning right through his clothes.

Skylar never wanted it to end.

The bathroom door opened. Skylar and Ward jumped back from one another, breathing hard.

Charlie took a few steps out of the bathroom, then stopped, eyeing the two of them. A look of confusion came over his face.He stood there in silence for a long moment, then scowled and signed,No Christmas?

Skylar almost heaved a sigh of relief. Maybe Charlie didn't recognize what had been going on without seeing it happen directly. But Charlie had also been in the bathroom for a long time. Maybe something about it had distracted him, so he would have been focused on that instead of them when he came out. Was the bathroom dirty? Or not organized the way he needed it? Skylar didn't want anything about Ward to be a turn-off for the boy. Not if there was going to be any chance of getting Charlie to like the man.

But all Charlie seemed to be concerned about was the lack of decorations.

“He wants to know if you don't like Christmas,” Skylar said. “I think he's confused after you wanting to go see all the houses.”

“Oh!” Ward looked around with a grimace. “No, I love Christmas. I have a few boxes of decorations in the closet,” he said, gesturing towards the bedroom. “I just didn't get them up this year.”

Charlie's scowl turned into a pout.Sad, he signed.

“Hey, Charlie?” Ward asked after Skylar translated the sign. “What if I get them out now? Would you like to help me decorate?”

Charlie's eyebrows went up. He let out a littlechirp, his head rolling as he thought. After a moment, he pulled out his phone, then pouted again, his shoulders slumping. He glanced around once more, a look of longing on his face, then went to grab his shoes, signing,House now.

“What was that?” Ward asked.

“He wants to go back,” Skylar said, checking his own phone to see what time it was. “Shit. He goes to bed by eight, and he still needs to shower.”

“Okay,” Ward said. “We'll get you home,” he assured them, reaching for the front door.

“Thank you for this,” Skylar said, gesturing at the bathroom.

The big man smiled at him. “Anytime.”

Skylar turned away to check on Charlie, then glanced back into the apartment as they stepped outside. He wanted one last look at Ward's home.

Even though he knew it was going to torment him with a new fantasy.

Chapter 19

________

WARD

WARD SNUCK glances at the two boys as he drove them back out to Living in Zin.

They were both in the back seat this time. Charlie had insisted that he needed to talk to Skylar about something right away, though he didn't want to put off getting home and upset his routine. So the boys had climbed in the back and began signing rapidly the moment they had their seatbelts on.

Ward tried to read their faces in the dark, but there wasn't much to see there. Skylar looked concerned—maybe even almost guilty—but then he was nodding and giving Charlie gentle smiles. As for Charlie, the boy's expression was neutral. It was that vacant look that Ward had seen on the boy more than any other outward display of feeling. Ward was learning quickly just how unintentionally deceptive that look was. Charlie wasn't even close to mentally absent. If anything, the boy was more present than anyone else Ward had ever met.

He only wished he could understand what they were saying.

Not that it was any of his business. Skylar and Charlie were a couple, after all. Ward had no place in their private conversation. Still, he couldn't help being curious. And a littleenvious. There he was, stuck on the outside, watching something he couldn't be part of.

Ward winced, thinking of the moment he'd caught his would-be bride in the arms of another man. He'd become the outsider. Rejected. The one who didn't belong.

---