Adam eyed him from the bed. “You’re going out with no makeup and wet hair?”
Rylan shrugged. “Tim has seen me a million times worse than this and still loves me. Plus, there’s no time to try to wow the masses.”
Adam leapt from the bed. He rushed across the room and pressed a kiss to Rylan’s cheek. “You’ll still be the hottest guy in town.”
Rylan flashed a bright smile he didn’t feel. “I know.”
It was odd, waiting for time to move for no reason. Kano and Adam had driven him home. They moved his recliner next to the bed so he wouldn’t have to walk too much before taking his mom to the airport. Now, there was nothing but silence and a cold bowl of soup on his nightstand that he didn’t want. A banging noise came from the living room. Tim didn’t bother getting up from his chair. Kano had warned they’d be back. All Tim wanted was to sulk in peace… and Rylan. It didn’t seem like he’d get either wish.
“Son of a bitch,” Rylan cursed as he came through the bedroom door, awkwardly carrying several bags on his arms. He bent and let them slip to the floor as if trying to avoid them touching his hands. He glanced up and flashed Tim a smile. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to function with fucked up hands?”
Tim stared at Rylan. He couldn’t blink or gather a thought. He wasn’t wearing a single hint of makeup and his hair was a wild mess. Tim had never seen a sexier sight. “I thought you were Kano,” Tim trailed off, unsure if he should bother continuing. No doubt, Kano knew all about this and wasn’t coming back after all. Not to mention, Tim didn’t want Rylan to think he didn’t want him there. Judging by Rylan’s unsure expression, that was exactly where the man’s thoughts were headed.
“I thought, maybe—”
“I thought you were going away,” Tim said, cutting him off. The vulnerability written in Rylan’s expression had Tim ready to backpedal, but he couldn’t. This was too important. If Rylan planned to break his heart, he needed to go on and do it.
Rylan lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. “It’s like I told you before, I’m messed up, but I’ll never get far.”
If anyone deserved to claim they were damaged, it was Rylan, but the man always showed up. Still, Tim needed more. “So you’re not leaving?”
“Do you want me here or not?”
Tim held his stare. “This isn’t how we work. I take care of you. You need to be resting and healing.”
Rylan’s heart was in his eyes, making it hard for Tim to keep fighting. “That is too how we work. If you were being serious about getting married, then you have to know there’ll be times when I’ll be the one taking care of you, even if I’m not one hundred percent myself. This isn’t some one-sided relationship. It’s a partnership.” The more Rylan spoke, the stronger his voice became. “Now, I’ve got soup. You’ll eat it and get better.”
The flame of hope inside Tim couldn’t be doused. It was like that with Rylan. Tim never gave up believing. It seemed neither anger nor despair could deter his heart from longing for Rylan. “No more soup, please? Come here.”
Rylan chewed his bottom lip and shifted from one foot to the other. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
The feeling of getting punched in the chest he’d been enduring since waking up in the hospital finally broke Tim. “You’re hurting me now. You’ve been hurting me since you said you’re going away. These pains in my chest have no chance of receding until you let me hold you. Now come here.”
Rylan shuffled closer with his bottom lip held between his teeth. He looked innocent and nervous. When he reached the edge of the recliner, Tim took his wrist and tugged, urging Rylan into his lap. The man climbed gingerly into the chair, staying to Tim’s right side, ensuring he didn’t hurt Tim’s wound. As Rylan settled against him, the sharp pain stealing Tim’s breath eased. His eyes fell closed as his arms encircled Rylan and the man’s scent overtook him.
He kissed Rylan’s temple. “I wish I could make love to you.”
Rylan sniffed, making Tim wonder if he was crying. He kept his chin down and his cheek pressed to Tim’s chest, taking away Tim’s chance to check for tears. “You could’ve died. I was so fucking scared you’d die. It was like I was sixteen all over again, watching everyone I love getting ripped away.”
“Nothing can take me from you—not your snark, numerous attempts at dumping me, or even death. Face it. You may as well keep me.”
Rylan shifted positions and snagged the blanket from Tim’s lap before burrowing underneath it with Tim. He covered them and snuggled close. “I’m not going anywhere. Not without you, anyhow.” Rylan tilted his chin up and pressed a quick kiss to Tim’s lips before settling on his hip between Tim and the arm of the chair.
Tim stroked Rylan’s back and arm. He stared at the wall and soaked in the sensation of holding Rylan again. All felt right with the world when Rylan was in his arms. It occurred to Tim he hadn’t thought about his pain level since Rylan walked through the door. The man was his personal drug—stronger than any medicine created by science. Tim needed Rylan to be okay too. He didn’t know where to start, so he dove in.
“How are you doing, baby?”
Rylan lifted one of his hands and inspected it. “I ripped out over half my stitches in both hands. They had to redo them. It’s a real bitch doing anything, but they don’t hurt that much.”
Tim held Rylan tighter against his chest. “That’s good, but not what I meant.”
Rylan stayed silent for so long, Tim expected he wouldn’t respond. Finally, he cleared his throat. “Um, I’m not sure. You’re safe. That’s all that matters now.”
“I love you,” Tim whispered, needing Rylan to know it and feel it.
“I love you too, baby.”
Tim went back to staring at the wall. He didn’t see a thing. Rylan meant everything to him, and that meant being everything for Rylan. “You loved him too once. It’s okay for you to mourn Eddie, even if you hate him.”
Rylan shifted onto his elbow and met Tim’s gaze. “I’m not sorry or in mourning. I’m enraged. It pisses me off that he took everything from me and tried to do so again. I want to dig him up and kill him again for leaving me no choice but to do what I did.”
“You’re the strongest person I know,” Tim said, because someone needed to say it. “If the day comes when you’re no longer angry and you need me to kiss it and make it better, say the word. I won’t tell anyone.”
Rylan’s mouth lifted in one corner, and Tim knew—they’d be okay. “Just get better,” Rylan said, settling back down. “We have a life to plan.”
“Mhmm,” Tim hummed as he kissed Rylan’s temple. “That’s the best incentive I’ve ever been given for healing. You’re magical.”
“I’ll take it.”
They would have the best life together. Tim wouldn’t accept anything less. He’d make sure Rylan got all the love he’d been denied for years. Even if he had to quit his job to ensure it, they’d never be apart again.
11
The second trip was a charm for Rylan, it seemed, when it came to figuring out a hammock without fear. Of course, it might’ve been the fact that Tim held the man’s legs while fucking his ass. It was the next best thing to having a swing—without the leather straps and ceiling. Six weeks of healing hadn’t improved all the tenderness in Tim’s gut or Rylan’s hands. This was the easiest and hottest sex they’d had since the attack. Not that they hadn’t tried every other position. Tim wasn’t giving up Rylan’s hot ass for any amount of comfort. Pain was nothing. Rylan was everything.
“Holy shit, Tim. You feel so good inside me. I’ve missed this.”
Rylan’s cock slid across Tim’s palm. He stroked, needing his man to come. Being inside Rylan felt too good. Tim wanted him too badly. It was also the first time he’d made love Rylan as his husband. All those things fucked with Tim, and combined, they made a potent sexual mixture. He needed to come. Tim wasn’t coming before Rylan. That wasn’t an option. To save his pride, he pulled out and went down on Rylan, swallo
wing the man’s cock. The sounds coming from the back of Rylan’s throat nearly crippled Tim. Cum filled his mouth and Tim’s knees weakened. There was never a man more loved than the one Tim owned. In one swift motion, Tim spit and then buried himself inside Rylan once more, before capturing the man’s lips. It always turned him on how easily Rylan accepted a tongue still coated in his cum.
Rylan’s hot, tight ass squeezed Tim’s dick. Sparks of pleasure rocked Tim, tightening his muscles and stiffening his knees. Even bracing himself wasn’t enough. When his orgasm hit, Tim nearly hit the ground. His lungs stopped working. Still, he couldn’t tear his gaze away from the sight of Rylan beneath him. Love stared back at him.
As if hearing Tim’s thoughts, Rylan brought them to life. “I love you, gorgeous.”
Tim’s eyes fell closed at the words. He sucked in a deep breath. Rylan was his oxygen. Tim couldn’t survive without him.
“Did I steal your voice?” Rylan asked with a laugh.
Tim’s smile was out of his control. “No.”
Rylan pinched him. “Then you’d better tell me you love me back before I find me a better husband.”
Without thought, Tim’s palm landed across Rylan’s ass cheek. “There’ll be no more husbands for you. This is it, buddy. Till death do us part,” Tim said, slinging Rylan over his shoulder and heading for the house. It was the third time Tim carried Rylan over the threshold since they’d married two hours earlier. It seemed he couldn’t stop doing it, and he’d meant what he said. Only death could tear them apart. Maybe not even that. After all, life had already failed at one attempt at killing them. Maybe Tim would get an eternity with Rylan rather than a lifetime. Stranger things had happened—like Rylan falling in love with Tim to begin with.
The End.
About the Author
Charity Parkerson is an award winning and multi-published author with several companies. Born with no filter from her brain to her mouth, she decided to take this odd quirk and insert it in her characters.
*Seven-time Readers' Favorite Award Winner
*2015 Passionate Plume Award Finalist
*2013 Reviewers' Choice Award Winner
*2012 ARRA Finalist for Favorite Paranormal Romance
*Five-time winner of The Mistress of the Darkpath
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Unlovable Page 10
