Page 44 of Unhinged
Adam sighed. “Fine. Shower, then breakfast. Then sex. Then lunch. Then sex. Then another shower. Then work.”
Noah rolled his eyes. “I’m only willing to commit to food and a shower. The rest is to be negotiated on a case by case basis.”
Adam made a sulky face. “This is why you’re going to end up chained to my bed.”
Noah shoved Adam off him with a snort. “You’re ridiculous. I’m starving.”
Adam’s phone began to vibrate across his nightstand. He almost ignored it until he saw it was Calliope. “Hello, Calliope. How are you?” he asked, voice full of mocking.
This time, it was Calliope who got right to it. “I found your creep’s cabin. Noah was right. He didn’t sell it.”
Adam had called Calliope after he’d ordered dinner last night, but he hadn’t anticipated her finding the cabin so fast. That was what he got for underestimating her. “Where is it?”
“About forty-five minutes outside the city. Just close enough to use it as often as he wants.”
“Gross. Any news on the key?” he asked.
There was the sound of nails tapping over keys. “Not yet. I’m still going through financials. I’ll let you know.”
“Shoot me the address of the cabin?”
“It’s already done, sweet cheeks.”
“That’s why I love you.” Adam disconnected, finding Noah watching him with an amused expression. “What?”
“You seem to genuinely like her.”
Adam stopped short. “Yeah. I do. I like most people when I think about it. I find them fascinating. Like opening up a car and seeing how the engine runs. If you watch a person long enough, you start to see all the pieces that make them go.”
“What are my pieces?” Noah asked.
Adam looked at him for a long moment. “You’re soft.” When Noah bristled, Adam cupped his face. “Not in a bad way. You’re like candy. Sweet. Soft on the inside with a hard shell around you.”
Noah snorted, but he seemed hurt, like he thought maybe Adam didn’t really see him at all.
“The boy I met in that warehouse, the one with the stars on his cheeks, that’s the real you. The you who might have stayed soft and gentle if you’d had different parents. But circumstance has made you build a wall around yourself, made you push back against anybody who even slightly wronged you so that they didn’t see how vulnerable you were. You want affection, but you fear it. You want love but are afraid it will be taken from you if you let anybody get too close. You’ve numbed yourself to kill the pain of the life you’ve lived so far, but it’s made you so…impervious to touch that you need it rough just to get off.”
The color had drained from Noah’s face, and when he spoke, he sounded almost on the verge of tears. “Jesus. You could get a job as a carnival psychic.”
Adam pulled Noah close until they were almost nose to nose. “I like all your pieces. I like you soft and I like you tough. You see all my pieces, too, you know? You see things about me even my family doesn’t. Letting somebody see you isn’t a bad thing if you can trust them.”
Noah swallowed hard. “And you trust me?”
“Yes. Do you trust me?”
Noah nodded. “Yes,” he said, voice thick.
“Good. Then there’s nothing to worry about.”
“What did Calliope have to say?” Noah asked after a few minutes.
“She found the cabin. It’s forty-five minutes outside the city.”
“We need to go. Like now. We need to see what’s in there.”
“We’re going to go. But first, shower, then we’ll grab food on the way. Calliope already sent me the address.”
Noah just kept nodding, looking spooked. “Yeah, we need to go.”
