Page 72 of Breaking You Open

“Now you can keep me with you,” I mumble into his hair.

“Forever?”

“Forever.”

Sparrow smiles and presses himself closer, wrapping his arms around my shoulders, skin to skin, heart to heart. It feels so intimate. It feels so right.

Somewhere along the line, I lost track of why I was doing this in the first place. Maybe he was telling the truth about last night after all, but even if he didn’t, taking care of him like this feels more important. Besides, maybe I should have some faith that he’ll tell me if he needs my help or if something is wrong.

I don’t yet trust myself, but I’m starting to trust him.

I wake up from the incessant ringing of the doorbell. I must have been so distracted by Sparrow’s small hand gripping mine that I fell asleep beside him.

“Shit,” I hiss and yank my pants on. Sparrow stirs but doesn’t seem to wake up, and I throw a blanket his way as I go to open the door. My mouth falls open when I see who’s on the other side.

Joshua. I didn’t think he knew where I live, and a pang of anger courses through me at the thought of Maurice giving him my address.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I growl.

He pushes into my apartment before I can stop him. “Someone stole my fucking dog!”

“And?” Whoever took him, that poor dog is probably better off.

“I bet it was that faggot bitch Nathan Antler. He and his asshole boyfriend weren’t at Mumphrey Hill last night.”

I cross my arms. “And what do you want me to do about it?”

“What do you think? Get my dog back! And punish that little faggot while you’re at it.”

“Say ‘faggot’ one more time, and I’ll punch your teeth into your skull.”

Joshua stares at me with a mix of anger and apprehension. “Fine. Just get the dog back.”

“And why would I do that? I’m not your little errand boy.”

“Well…” Joshua grabs his chin in mock contemplation. “If you’d rather I tell Maurice how you ignored your job yesterday in favor of tongue-fucking your little boy toy, then fine by me. But you’ve already messed up on duty once, and not that long ago either. Dunno if old Maurice would be so keen on forgiving you this time.”

I glare at him wordlessly, fists clenched at my sides, longing to wipe that smug smile off his face.

“Just making the terms clear,” he says with a shrug.

Little shit. He has no idea what I could do to him, the pain I could inflict…Well, the truth is hedoesknow, but he also knows I won’t do anything to him no matter how much he baits me, which makes this whole thing ten times more frustrating.

“Where do I find this guy?” Whoever this Nathan Antler is, I’m sure he can be convinced to give the dog back without much fuss. One look at me is usually enough incentive for most civilians.

“He works at the animal shelter up north,” Joshua says. “I bet that’s where he took Denver, the little fa—” He stops himself midsentence when he sees my scowl.

“I’ll get it done. Now get the fuck out.” I gesture to the door, and Joshua saunters toward it.

“What’s going on?” Sparrow peeks over the sofa, still naked save for the blanket I threw at him.

Joshua’s face breaks into a grin. “Ooh, look at this. A repeat for once? He must be pretty special, then, Louis, for you to—”

I slam the door in his face.

Fuck this shit. I need a drink after I’ve gotten this job done. Several drinks. It’s a Saturday, after all.

“What was that about?” Sparrow asks.

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