by Luna, David
Braden murmured an affirmative and Cade added, “I’ll make sure of it, Doc.”
“Good. I probably won’t see you again, unless you need something, and in that case, the nurses can page me. Braden, my wife and I will be in next weekend to have some scones and coffee. It was an honor to meet the talent behind those wonderful pastries of yours. Take care of yourselves.”
They all shook hands and the doctor left. Cade texted Cooper to come pick them up the next morning. After receiving an affirmative, he had Braden relax while he packed their bags to save them time the next day. They went to bed early and both had a fitful sleep, Braden’s nightmares resurfacing.
By the time they were ready to go, early the next morning, Sam was coming in the door with a smile on her face and some paperwork, including instructions for Braden’s care. “It’s been great helping you both. Dr. Himmel said I need to get myself to your bakery, Braden, so I intend to do just that. Good luck with everything. Someone is bringing up a wheelchair, and you’ll be escorted to the exit.”
On her way out, she nearly bumped into Cooper and they all saw her blush and heard her mutter as she walked out the door. “Jesus, does every single one of you need to be so damned sexy?”
Cooper smiled, unfazed, as he sauntered in the room. “Well, I am rather good looking.”
Cade snorted and shook his head. “You’re an ass.”
He headed over to the bags he’d packed the night before. He slung the strap of the duffle over his shoulder and handed the other to Cooper to do the same, keeping their hands free. An orderly came in with the wheelchair, and Braden sat in it with minimal grumbling. Cade took the lead so that Braden could keep him in sight. Cooper took up the rear, watching their six. Once they got to the car, they helped Braden in, Cade sitting in the back with him, while Cooper took the wheel.
Cooper let them know that Maya said she’d get Braden’s place freshened up and get some more food in the house. When they rolled up, Cade helped him out of the backseat and both Maya and Nana came out and rushed to Braden’s side, careful not to touch him but offering their assistance. Braden, at war with himself, finally relented and clasped both their hands to take the help they offered in getting him inside.
He was still dizzy and in pain, and still uneasy with anyone putting their hands on him, but he knew he needed to take the step toward accepting help and allowing others to touch him. In the end, he knew it would help him move forward, even if it was hard to keep a lid on the panic he was feeling. As he headed inside, he couldn’t help but glance back. Cade kept watch on the surrounding area, and Cooper headed toward them, bringing the bags in. Braden settled onto the couch in his favorite spot in the corner of the sectional, amidst the many throw pillows. Nana and Maya bracketed him there, both seemingly reluctant to relinquish his hands.
When Cade headed down the hall to their bedroom, Braden braced himself while the panic slid through his veins, leaving ice in its wake. Maya called out to Cade and he turned. As soon as Cade’s eyes met Braden’s, shame quickly followed and he looked down at his lap. Cade dropped the bags, walked back toward him, and crouched down at the back of the sofa, clasping Braden’s head in his hand. “Hey, I’m here. I was just going to put the bags in our room and unpack, but I’ll do that later.”
“No, I’m fine, I’m sorry. It’s so stupid. I’m being so irrational. We’re in my own house, for fuck’s sake! Not to mention, I brought this on myself. I start to panic, and I can’t seem to stop it, but I need to get over it.”
Cade walked around the sofa and took the spot that Maya vacated for him. He pulled Braden close. “It’s not stupid, Braden, and it’s not irrational. Your body is having a physiological response that is out of your control. You didn’t bring this on yourself. You were trying to keep everyone you love safe. We’ll deal with it together, do you understand me? It will pass when you’re ready and until then, I’ll be here.”
Maya came back from their bedroom a little while later, smiling sadly at him, still wrapped tightly in Cade’s arms. “Your stuff is unpacked. I need to get back over to the café. Do you guys need anything?”
Cade looked up and smiled, glancing at both Nana and Maya. “Thanks, Maya. The doctor wants Braden to be off his feet and resting for several days, so help at the cafe would be appreciated.”
Maya winked. “Nana and I already talked about it. Don’t worry about a thing, Bray. We’re here for you.”
Braden nodded, feeling frustrated. He watched Maya leave and sighed. “Z, I can probably…”
Cade looked at him and his pleading eyes. “Braden, don’t make me push you on this. You’re exhausted and you need some recovery time. Please, baby.”
Braden looked at him, really looked at him, and for the first time, realized how exhausted Cade was. It wasn’t just him going through all of this, it was Cade, as well, and he needed to keep that in mind. Especially when it seemed like Cade could get through anything and everything so easily. If he looked closely, he could see what the last several days had done to him and he readily agreed. “OK, you’re right. I’ll get some rest,” and he thought, you’ll get some rest with me.
Cade nodded. “Do you want to go to bed for a while?”
He shook his head. “No, I’ve had enough of beds for a bit. Can we just relax on the sofa, maybe watch a movie or something?”
“Yeah, I’d love that.”
Nana, unusually quiet up to that point and still holding onto Braden’s hand, brought it up to rub against her cheek before finally letting it go. She gave Braden a quick hug, murmured that she loved him, and leaned over and gave Cade a hug as well. “I’m so grateful for you. Thank you for bringing him home to us. I’m gonna head back over to the café and get some work done. I’ll be cooking dinner tonight, so don’t worry about that.”
Cade squeezed her hand before releasing her. He grabbed the remotes, turned on the TV, and they picked something to watch. They cuddled together, and in no time at all, Braden was out. Cade pulled Braden’s Imperator watch from his pocket. He went to his bag, drew out his mini tool kit, removed several links from the watch, then placed it on the nightstand to give to Braden later. He went back to the sofa, relieved that his absence wasn’t noticed, snuggled Braden back into him, and then he dropped out as well. They rested for several hours, only waking when they heard Nana in the kitchen cooking dinner.
The rest of the night went smoothly, and Braden seemed content spending time with Nana. She told them at dinner that she was planning on staying until Braden was comfortable working for a full week. She said she didn’t mind at all and it was fun getting back into the kitchen to bake for others. Cade was just grateful that Braden had someone that was as good in the kitchen as he was, so that the café didn’t suffer.
After getting ready for bed, Braden settled in next to Cade. “Did you guys find Eric?”
Cade tensed. He’d hoped that the subject wouldn’t come up so soon. “I don’t think so.”
Braden’s eyes popped. “You don’t know?”
Cade shook his head. “I handed it off to Cooper. I wanted to track him down myself and kill him, Braden. You were in a damned coma, for fuck’s sake. But I couldn’t concentrate on anything but you. I told Cooper to handle it and not to talk to me about it until I said otherwise. The last I heard is he’s in the wind. Dropped you off, hopped on a bus to the mall where he threw his phone away that we’d finally been able to trace, and probably got a new phone and stole another car. We can ask Cooper what’s going on with the investigation tomorrow. But I need to know if you’ll want to press charges this time.”
Braden looked up at him with such terror in his eyes that Cade held him closer still. “It’s your choice, Braden. I won’t pressure you at all. We’ve lined up a lot of evidence against him. When you were brought in, his DNA was on you. I checked that your rape kit was still in the hospital records and it was. They won’t release it to anyone but the police, if charges are filed. I don’t know if you still have your video, but if y
ou do, that’s irrefutable evidence that you were raped by him. I didn’t want anyone searching in your computer for that, so I don’t know if you still have it, but if you do, he will go away for a very long time. Rape and attempted murder with this much evidence are hard to get out of without a long prison sentence.”
Braden released a shaky breath. “I just don’t know if I’m strong enough to go through that, to testify, to have my name dragged through the mud and everything out in public. He was a public figure—everyone will want to know.”
Cade tightened his hold. “No pressure. I’m leaving it up to you. I want you to know that with all of the evidence and the lawyers I would hire on your behalf, he would be going to prison for a very long time.”
Braden shook his head. “But we can’t even find him.”
“If the cops were looking for him for rape and attempted murder, that means his face would be plastered all over the news and a lot more people would be looking for him, which means he would most likely be caught much faster.”
Braden curled into Cade. “But that means my face would be plastered all over the news as well.”
Cade snuggled him closer. “We’d do our best to avoid that. The names of victims of sexual assault are usually kept quiet, but I’m not going to lie, Braden, it’s possible. I’d like you to think about it. Right now it’s time to get some rest. Tomorrow we’ll need to talk about what happened while you were with him, and we’ll need to have Detective Miller come by to get your statement. He’ll want to know if you’re willing to press charges. If you don’t know by that time, we can put off that decision, but you’ll still have to talk to him. I’d also like you to meet my family, but if tomorrow seems like it’s too soon, we can push that off another day, I’ll leave that up to you.”
Braden took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’ve really fucked up so much by going with him. I don’t know what came over me. He texted me, and it was so unexpected that I seized up and found myself back in that place where I did whatever he wanted. His threats loomed so big, I couldn’t see around them to you.”
“Braden, don’t do this to yourself. You were scared to death for your loved ones. I can understand that. But you have to promise me to never do something like that again. I don’t care how scared you are for others, you have to think of yourself, too. You come to me if something like this happens. We’ll deal with it together.”
Braden nodded. “I promise, never again. I knew I made a mistake immediately.”
Cade kissed Braden’s head. “Let’s talk more tomorrow, alright? We’re both tired and I think we could use a full night’s rest.”
They settled in and Cade listened to Braden’s breathing until it was even and deep. Once he was sure Braden was out, he followed him into sleep.
Braden was being kicked repeatedly in the ribs, stomach and head. He felt like it would never stop. He did his best to cover himself, to roll into a fetal position and wait it out, but the blows just kept coming. All of a sudden, Eric climbed on top of him, pushed his legs down and straddled his chest, his knees on Braden’s arms to keep him immobile. He growled, “I’m going to fucking kill you!” He reached down, gripped Braden’s neck and started squeezing.
Braden thrashed, kicked out, tried to scream but couldn’t. He felt a hand on his shoulder and shrugged it off, sat up in a rush and clutched at his throat, gasping for breath. He felt strong arms wrap around him from behind and he huffed out a “no” and tried to get away, but it was the steady, deep voice that stopped his frantic movements. He’d know that voice anywhere. It kept repeating the same thing, over and over. “I’ve got you. You’re safe, baby. I’m here. You’re safe.”
“Zavier. Oh god, Z.” He realized he truly was safe, and he broke down. Sobs wracked his small frame, and he gave up trying to keep them in. He felt himself being shifted, pulled onto Cade’s lap, and enveloped in strong arms. He was being rocked, soothed, whispered to, and caressed. There were no demands to calm down, to be quiet, or to be strong. There were only reassurances that he was safe and that Cade was with him. And though it took a while, that was the only thing that calmed him.
After a long stretch of just sitting in Cade’s lap, trying to calm the shaking that had taken over his body, he slowly looked up into Cade’s anguished eyes. Braden lifted his palm and caressed Cade’s face, hooked his hand behind Cade’s head and pulled his mouth down to meet his own. They kissed, slowly, softly, no heat, just love. Braden pulled back and met his eyes again. “Thank you for making me feel safe. I love you, Z, so much, it’s an ache I feel in my chest, a warmth in my veins.”
“I love you too, baby. You’re safe with me, always. Can I get you anything? Do you think you can get back to sleep?”
Braden knew what he wanted, what he needed, but felt too embarrassed to ask. However, he also knew Cade would never suggest it at a time like this, so if he wanted it, he’d have to ask for it. He slowly sat up on Cade’s lap, switched positions and straddled him. He hugged him around the neck, his cheek pressing against Cade’s. He felt Cade’s chest expand as he took in a deep breath and wrapped his long arms around Braden’s back, pulling him flush to his body, but not too tight. Gentle, always so very gentle with him.
Braden relaxed his arms, put his elbows on Cade’s shoulders and rubbed his hands over his short cropped hair. He kissed Cade’s neck, opened his mouth, sucked the spot where his neck met his shoulder, and bit down lightly. Cade groaned. One of his arms moved up and gripped Braden’s hair, holding his head in place where he still bit and licked that sweet spot, and the other arm moved down, gripped Braden’s ass and pulled him tighter into his body. Both of them growing hard, Braden’s erection rubbed against Cade’s and he started grinding down onto Cade’s stiff cock.
Cade’s voice was gravelly and made Braden shiver. “Baby, no, you’re hurt. We should wait until you’re feeling better.”
Braden pulled away, enough to look into Cade’s gorgeous blue eyes. “Please, don’t make me wait. I need to feel you become a part of me. I need you to erase his touch, replace it with your own. I need to feel alive and loved.”
Shaking his head, Cade tried again. “Braden, you know I love you, but I don’t want…”
Braden interrupted, in panic and desperation. “You don’t…” He swallowed and tried again. “You don’t want me? After…”
Cade’s eyes popped wide, he shoved his hands into Braden’s hair and held him in place. His face morphed into anger, his whisper menacing. “Don’t you ever insult yourself, or me, like that again! Do you really think that anything could ever happen to make you undesirable to me? Am I so fickle that I’d just change my mind because some deranged motherfucker kidnapped you and laid his hands on you?”
Braden felt Cade’s anger down to his bones and a deep well of shame filled him. He’d done it again. He’d hurt Cade and insulted him. He attempted to look away, but Cade’s grip was tight in Braden’s hair, and Cade forced his head back up to look him in the eyes, waiting for an answer.
Braden’s whole body started to shake and Cade, disgusted with himself, took several deep breaths and let go of Braden’s hair, wrapping his arms around him, pulling him close, and using his palm to gently press Braden’s face to his neck. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten angry at you. I scared you so bad you’re shaking like a leaf. I’m sorry. Fuck! I was trying to say that I don’t want to hurt you. I just don’t want to fucking hurt you any more than you’re already hurt.”
Braden shook his head. “You didn’t scare me. I know it’s not in you to hurt me. I’m just… I’m breaking apart. I feel so dirty, even after I showered, I felt like I couldn’t get him off me, I couldn’t get clean. I just wanted you to help me feel like me again, to help make me clean.”
Cade pulled back and Braden looked up at him. Cade took a deep breath in and let it out in a whoosh, but then nodded his head. “Are you sure?”
Braden’s breath quickened and tears pooled in his eyes that he quickly blinked away. “Posi
tive.”
Cade slid his fingers into Braden’s hair. “Do you want to top? I don’t mind. Baby, the last thing I want is to scare you or overwhelm you.”
Braden shook his head and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he saw the love and concern etched across Cade’s face and he smiled, tentatively. “No. I need you to do what you did our first time together. I’ve never felt like that before and I want, I need, to feel it again. Take control, own my pleasure.”
Cade raised his brows. “Are you sure you’re ready for that?”
Braden nodded. “Yes, please, I… I need to let everything go. I need to forget. Make me forget, Z. Please.”
Cade’s jaw clenched. “I’ll make you forget, Bray, but you need to promise me, if it gets too intense or you change your mind, you have to tell me to stop. Don’t let me keep going. Promise me.”
Braden nodded, almost desperate now. “I promise. Z, please.”
Cade nipped along his jawline and whispered in his ear, before biting down. “Shhh, baby, just feel.”
Goosebumps broke out over his arms and legs, and shivers raced up Braden’s spine. Oblivious to the reaction he’d just elicited all over Braden’s body, Cade reached over to the nightstand and pulled out his slick. He set it on the bed beside them and slowly raised the shirt Braden was wearing up his chest. He gently pulled one of Braden’s arms through, then even more carefully, pulled his other casted arm through. He stretched the neck out a bit and slowly pulled the shirt off, avoiding the damage done to his head. He tossed the shirt to the floor and pulled Braden’s face to his for a slow, but deep, kiss.
