Page 60 of Milked

“I will.”

Atlas stood and handed me a slip of paper. “That’s my number. Please let us know what’s going on.”

“Will do.”

I looked at my broken, depressed Rye, feeling the twang of my own grief through his, combined with some guilt for falling in love with my mother’s husband.

“Come on, Rye-baby. Let Father and I take care of you.”

Chapter 20

Knox

WhenFinnandRyderwalked through the front door, I rushed toward the grieving young man and pulled him into a hug. Ryder was barely recognizable with his swollen red eyes and a deep frown.

“I’m sorry I missed work,” he whispered.

“Shhh. None of that. I got it all sorted out, Sweet Boy.”

I looked at Finn, who watched us with unshed tears, clearly worried about Ryder and maybe feeling his own grief again. “Finn, please make some calming tea. I’m going to take him upstairs and bathe him.”

Ryder rested his head on my shoulder and clawed at my back. Then he held his arm open for Finn to slide into the embrace. “Thank you for getting me.”

Finn sniffed. “Of course. We’ll always get you.”

“I need…”

“What do you need?” I asked.

“Take me away from this pain. Please. I shouldn’t ask. You both have done so much for me, giving everything to me. You brought me in for you two to have fun with, not to take care of my sorry ass. But… I need to go away for a bit.”

I kissed the top of his head. “We’ll take care of you.”

Finn slipped out from under Ryder’s arm and headed into the kitchen to make tea. I pulled away from him, grabbed his hand, and tugged him upstairs to my ensuite for a calming bath.

I sat him on the toilet lid and ran the water, testing the heat until it was perfect. Then, I sprinkled some lavender bath salts into the tub.

As it filled up, I helped Ryder to stand and undressed him. He said nothing, his body virtually limp, allowing me to do anything to him.

I didn’t say a word, not pushing him to tell me what was going on, but at the end of this… after he got his distraction, we were talking, even if it hurt him. He needed to get it all out. I should’ve pushed harder before. Perhaps then he wouldn’t have bottled it all up, leading to his explosion and isolation.

Once he was naked, I helped him into the bath. I sat on my knees on the bath rug and grabbed the handheld showerhead attached to the faucet, pouring warm water over his head. He brushed away the water from his face, and then I grabbed my shampoo and washed his hair, which needed cleaning.

“Whenever I’m upset or stressed, I find bathing and being clean helps wash away some of the pain, and it relaxes me.”

Ryder didn’t acknowledge me as I worked the shampoo into his hair, but I knew he heard me.

By the time I had his hair rinsed, Finn came in with the steaming tea. He handed me the cup, which I brought to Ryder’s lips, who took a sip.

“This is a lavender and chamomile tea. I want you to drink it all.”

After Ryder was bathed and had finished all his tea, Finn and I dried him off and led him to my bed. Each bedroom in this house had a gas fireplace. Finn had lit it to add to the calming ambiance. It was the only source of light in here, casting a warm and soothing glow.

All of this seemed to work, as Ryder appeared more collected and aware, though if he was suffering true grief, it was only a temporary reprieve. But we’d deal with that when he fell again. He needed us to get through the worst of it.

Finn and I stripped out of our clothes and climbed in, naked, flanking either side of him and putting him in a protective sandwich.

“Fuck me, please,” he said.

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