Page 64 of His Boys to Protect

Charlie nodded again, then signed,My Sky?

“He's good,” Ward said.

What do?Charlie signed.

“We just stayed in the room,” Ward said, then went on to describe their heated collision the moment Skylar arrived. How they tumbled, naked, into bed. Ward kept his voice soft and low as he described kissing Skylar, touching him all over, being inside him.

Charlie's penis got hard. He drew up his knees, trying to hide it, though he wasn't sure why. Every time Ward described having sex with his Sky, Charlie was sorely tempted to drag Ward to his bedroom so he could have the man touch him instead. But thatstill didn't make any sense. Charlie was only supposed to want sex with his Sky. Then again, his Sky was only supposed to have sex with him, too, yet he had sex with lots of other men as well. Charlie didn't like that.

But his Sky and Ward having sex? That fact was really growing on him. Charlie almost wanted to see it. To be part of it.

His penis got even harder at that thought.

“Then we talked,” Ward went on. “Mostly about inconsequential things at first. The weather. Traffic in the city. Somehow, we got around to the subject of marriage.” Ward paused. “Skylar asked me why nobody had snatched me up yet.”

Charlie frowned. He had no idea what that was supposed to mean.

“Why I'm still single,” Ward clarified before Charlie could ask. He paused again, looking across the room. “Truth is, I nearly was married once. Very nearly. It was my wedding day, and there I was, standing at the altar, waiting for Kelly, but she never showed.” Ward breathed a laugh that had no humor in it. “My first and only thought was that something was wrong. That she was hurt. Maybe had an accident on the way there. Turned out, she'd run off with an old boyfriend. While I was calling the hospital after her phone kept going to voicemail, she was in bed with another guy.”

Charlie winced. The hurt in Ward's voice clawed right under his skin. He snuggled in closer to the man, letting out a whimper.

“Hey, buddy,” Ward murmured. He put his arms around Charlie and held him tight. “It's okay. I'm sorry. Sad conversation, huh?”

Charlie nodded. The sad feelings were always so much louder than the happy ones. He didn't like those one bit. Within the confines of Ward's embrace, Charlie signed,Sorry.

“Thank you, Charlie. I'm okay now. I mean, yeah, that rejection still hurts.” Ward breathed another humorless laugh.“Every woman I've ever dated has left me, and it always seemed to happen right after I told them that I loved them. But that one was the worst. I was finally getting my happy ending, or so I thought. Then it all went to hell.”

Charlie shrugged.No date women.

Ward laughed, the sound cheerful and genuine that time. “Yeah, I think you might be right.”

Charlie paused. There was something different in the quality of Ward's voice just then. His tone was deeper. Happier. Charlie really liked it.

“Oh! I finally got to hear Sky play.”

Charlie perked up at that.Piano?

“Yeah. I mean, I'd heard him before, back at that party at your brother's place, but I didn't know it was him at the time. But we were having breakfast in the hotel's restaurant this morning, and there was an upright in there. Sky kept eyeing it as we ate, so I told him to go play something.”

What play?Charlie demanded.

Ward frowned in thought. “I think he said it was called 'In Your Veins' by Andrew Belle.”

Charlie bounced. He knew that one! Charlie liked it when his Sky played that song.

Ward smiled and shook his head. “He's so good, isn't he? So incredibly good. And it made him look so happy…”

Charlie nodded. His Sky always looked happy when he played. Charlie wished Skylar could play more. He wanted to buy Skylar his own piano, but those cost a lot of money, apparently. Way more than he could afford with his allowance. Sometimes, Charlie thought about getting a job so he could make enough money to buy a piano, but whenever he looked into the process of résumés, cover letters, and interviews, he got so overwhelmed with the loudness of it all that he gave up. Even when he'd asked his parents for help, it was too much.

And what could he do, anyway? He had no college degree. No work experience. And when he did leave the house and was able to observe people at their jobs, he knew he couldn't do the things they did. Dealing with crowds or noisy machines or phones ringing, hour after hour, day after day? The very thought made him want to hide in the dark.

He was just about to tell Ward what he was thinking when Dad walked into the room.

Ward's face did that funny thing again. His cheeks turned red and his smile grew tight, but at least he didn't loosen his hold. He did let go with one hand, but only for a second. Just long enough to rub the back of his neck, but then he put the hand right back where it was.

“Hey, Charlie,” Dad said. “Did you tell Ward the good news?”

Charlie gasped. In his excitement over Ward's visit, everything else had completely slipped his mind. He bounced in place and had to squeak a lot before he could sign,We go P-A-S-O R-O-B-L-E-S!

---