Page 45 of That One Moment

No right.

And yet….

Barrelling forward, my hands connect with the guy’s shoulder and because he’s not expecting me, he stumbles sideways. The beer bottle falls from his hand, spilling its contents onto the carpet and the man’s face sets into a vicious snarl.

He rights himself and stands up straight, squaring his shoulders as he takes a step towards me. He gets so close I can smell the yeast on his breath. “What the fuck?” A drop of spittle lands on my cheek as he yells in my face, loudly enough to be heard over the grating music.

From the corner of my eye, I see Caiden sit up and curl in on himself, resting his head on his knees.

The guy presses one hand to my chest and pushes me backwards. I press down on my heels, locking my feet to the ground so he only manages to shift me slightly. Forming a fist, Ilift my arm and rear it back, ready to knock this fucker out but, for whatever reason, he retreats, lifting his hands in surrender.

If he expected to throw me off guard, he didn’t succeed. Even as he takes a step back and turns off the music, my muscles remain coiled for a fight. Silence hums in the absence of the incessant drumming, and my voice comes out louder than expected.

“You need to leave.”

The guy’s lip twists into a grin and it hits me then how I know him. He’s the douchecanoe Cooper always warned Caiden to stay away from. Oliver. The fight in me dims when that really sinks in. Caiden left. He left his family, he left his home but he kept this guy. The reality of that hits so fucking hard, I want to turn and run.

Oliver can’t read the turmoil on my face - or maybe he can and he doesn’t care, because his grin widens and he tips his chin towards Caiden. For his part, Caiden just sits there, his eyes darting between the two of us.

“Mate,” Oliver starts and the word raises my hackles, I am not his fuckingmate. “Everything here is perfectly consensual.” He waves a hand from his naked chest towards Caiden’s huddled form. “Boy likes it rough. Now, I wouldn’t usually say no to a threesome but I’m not getting that vibe from you, so if you’ll excuse us…” Oliver has the fucking audacity to grip his cock with one hand while using the other to push me away from the bed.

“Do not fucking touch him!” I yell as I wedge myself between Oliver and the side of the bed. He’s broader and taller than me but my rage makes me feel fucking huge. Levelling him with a glare, my words come out slow and laced with caution. “Step.” My hand meets his chest. “Away.” I step even closer. “And get the fuck out of here.”

I don’t know what I’ll do if he doesn’t leave. All I know is that he’s not laying another finger on Caiden. I don’t understand thissudden possessiveness that coils around me so I tell myself it’s because he’s Cooper’s twin, and protecting him is what Cooper will have wanted. I can’t let it be anything more, it’snotanything more. It’s not.

Thankfully, Oliver doesn’t test me. He gives one look over my shoulder then shrugs and grabs his clothing that’s strewn around the room. At the doorway he turns towards me but his words are meant for Caiden.

“He’s not worth the trouble.” Caiden flinches but doesn’t respond. That sad look I’ve seen on his face a hundred times before flashes across his features and I turn away because it makes me feel some kind of way that is too much to think about right now.

When I return from making sure Oliver’s left andlockingthe front door, Caiden is curled up on his side, his legs tucked up to his stomach and his hands over his face.

“Caiden?”

He moves his hands and looks at me with watery, bloodshot eyes. Tentatively, I move towards the bed but stop short when I remember he’s completely naked. My eyes have a mind of their own as they move slowly over the sharp edges of his body. Taking in every dip, every tattoo and every bare inch of skin. My chest pinches and my blood heats with something other than anger.

But he’s drunk and I’m not here forthat. I shake my head. Why the fuck are these thoughts even crossing my mind? That’s not why…we’re not….that’s not….no. For a second, I’ve forgotten why I came here in the first place. To talk? To make amends? To say goodbye? To make sure he’s okay? Yes, it’s one of those reasons.

Clearing my throat, I avert my gaze to the art above his head. Shades of black and grey with speckles of blue and turquoise.They remind me of looking at a galaxy, at a place far, far beyond our understanding.

“I’m going to grab you some water, okay?”

He sits up, and I watch as he haphazardly pulls on his sweats, careful to keep the front of his body from my view. Then, he moves to climb off the bed, stumbling once he gets one foot on the floor. On instinct, I shoot forward and catch him. My hands landing on the smooth skin covering his ribs. He gasps and leans forward until we’re chest to chest.

“You came back. For me,” he whispers, his lips dangerously close to my ear. A shiver races through me as my heart tries to escape the safe place in my chest. The beat of it getting louder in my ears the longer I hold him.

Caiden’s lips graze my neck before he speaks again. “I thought about you. Today. Now. With him.” His words slur as he taps the side of his head. “You’re in here. You shouldn’t be in here.” My mouth opens then closes again because what the fuck do I say to that? I close my eyes and tip my head back. Panic engulfs my chest and I can’t catch my breath because Caiden’s lips are on my neck and then his rough tongue is licking a line across my throat and it feelsso fucking good. Too fucking good. But it’s all so wrong. So very wrong.

“Oh God,” Caiden suddenly blurts, before he pulls out of my hold and stumbles towards the door. He moves faster than I think possible for someone in his state. Hot on his heels, I follow and watch as he falls to the floor at the foot of the toilet with his head bent over the bowl. He retches once, twice and then a third time, until he’s making this sorrowful gagging noise.

Settling on my knees behind him, I run a hand down his back, along the curve of his spine. He’s trembling and his chest stutters as he dry heaves. “You’re okay, Cade,” I soothe. His heaves turn into sobs and I push my whirlwind of emotions aside because regardless of what I do or don’t feel for this man or hisbrother, he needs someone. I’m here, I can be the thing that holds him together, even if just for tonight. It doesn’t need to be anymore than that.

“You came back. For me.”He pushed me away last night but I should have known that that’s what Caiden always does. I should have stayed. I’m not going anywhere now.

Wrapping an arm around Caiden’s lean waist, I pull him and adjust us so he’s sitting on my lap. Caiden sinks into me, his body softening as he lets out broken, stuttered breaths. “You’re okay,” I say again.

Cradling him to my chest, on the cool bathroom floor, I think about the events that led us here. Going back to the day we met, to the day I fell in love with his twin, to the day our choices cost us more than we could ever afford. To the day I told him I wish he had died, to the day he left and then to yesterday when I watched him sleeping in the hospital bed, regretting every harmful word. And then to now. To this moment where it feels like he’s right where he’s meant to be. Where he smells unfamiliar but he feels like mine.

That thought scares me more than I care to admit.

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