Speechless (Pier 70 #3)

by Nicole Edwards

  Almost five weeks later, he would have to agree.

  Not that it had been easy. Nor was he anywhere close to being done.

  Hell, it had been a nightmare in the beginning, but he had decided to go all in. The medication they’d started him on had fucked him up, and it’d taken nearly a week before they’d gotten him settled. The therapy sessions were the worst because talking about himself was not something he opted to do. Being that he could share the information confidentially, it wasn’t so bad. He’d attended group therapy sessions, but he kept his mouth shut during those. They might’ve helped him focus and to understand what was wrong with him, but they couldn’t change the fact that he didn’t want to share the details of his life with complete strangers.

  But it wasn’t over, and they’d made sure to remind him that as his release date neared. Due to the headway he’d made, he and his doctor had decided he could progress to the intensive outpatient program. He would still be going to the hospital three days a week for four hours a day, but it was better than being there all the time.

  For one, he was horny as fuck. And watching as Hudson steered the truck out of the parking lot, the muscles in his arms bulging from the movement … well, it wasn’t helping at all. He needed to get laid. And there was only one person he wanted to be with. The same guy driving the truck in the opposite direction of the marina.

  “You didn’t answer my question,” Teague told him.

  Hudson merely smirked.

  Asshole.

  Hudson signed: Detour.

  Well, okay then.

  Rather than ask a million questions, Teague relaxed. Or tried to. He could smell Hudson’s cologne, and it was making his dick harder by the second. Although he didn’t quite know where he and Hudson stood with their arrangement—or with a relationship, which they seemed to have veered into— Teague hoped like hell they could get back on course.

  And soon.

  They passed a huge sign with an arrow, but Teague didn’t catch the name. It wouldn’t have seemed important, except Hudson steered off the main road and down a winding dirt drive that dipped and swerved through a thick grouping of trees.

  Hudson parked the truck in front of what appeared to be a log cabin with a huge front porch. There was a big white rocking chair on one end and a dog bed on the other. The front door was painted red and had a glass insert that was covered with what looked like blinds.

  When Hudson got out of the truck, Teague had no choice but to follow. When they walked to the door, Teague noticed there was an open sign on it. Clearly a business, then.

  Hudson turned the knob and pushed it open, waiting for Teague to go in first. He was leery, but he stepped inside. An older woman with gray hair pulled back in a sloppy ponytail came out from somewhere in the back, alerted by either the barking dog or the bell chiming.

  “Hudson,” she greeted kindly, a warm smile on her face. “So glad to see you again. And you must be Teague. My name is Tina.”

  Teague nodded, shaking the woman’s hand when she held it out.

  “We’re all ready for you,” Tina said kindly, peering past Teague to Hudson again.

  Hudson nudged Teague forward when the woman pivoted and walked away.

  Over his shoulder, Teague muttered, “What are we doing here?”

  “Teague, we’d like you to meet Charger,” Tina called from around the corner.

  Teague turned in time to see a yellow Labrador mix staring back at him from across a small room. The dog didn’t move from where he sat, but his tail instantly started thumping on the wood floor.

  “Why do I need to meet him?” Teague asked, glancing from Tina to Hudson, then back.

  Tina smiled widely. “Because Hudson picked him out for you.”

  Okay, now he was thoroughly confused, and apparently Tina picked up on it. She glanced to Hudson and Teague noticed when he nodded.

  “Charger is a trained psychiatric service dog,” she explained, and it was clearly something she’d done often. “Our dogs, which are all rescues, are trained to perform highly specialized tasks for people who suffer from psychiatric illnesses such as depression and PTSD.”

  Okay, Teague really wasn’t liking where this was headed. Hudson had out-and-out told this woman that Teague had a mental problem?

  “Now before you get upset,” Tina said, obviously interpreting his expression correctly, “which Hudson warned us you might do, I want you to know, he has provided me with limited details about you. We needed to know in order to accurately pair you with the right animal. But before we get too far into it, please greet Charger. He’s anxious to meet you.”

  Hesitantly, Teague turned around and stepped into the room with the dog. Charger was sitting still, staring up at him as though waiting for a command. And okay, maybe he was cute.

  “We’re going to give you a few minutes,” Tina called out before pulling the door shut. Evidently, she wasn’t giving Teague a choice in the matter.

  He turned his attention back to the dog.

  “Charger, huh?”

  Without an audience, it was easier for Teague to greet the dog. And it only took a few minutes for him to completely fall in love. Hudson must’ve known this would happen. Then again, everyone knew how Teague felt about Lulu, the marina’s retriever who resided with Dare most of the time.

  “So, you’re gonna take care of me, huh?” Teague asked, kneeling down in front of Charger. “I guess that means I’m gonna take care of you, too? I hope you know how that’s gonna work, ’cause I haven’t done this before.”

  He had never had an animal of his own. Oddly enough, he liked the idea of having someone with him all the time even if it was a four-legged someone. Then it dawned on him that was the reason Hudson had done this. So Teague wouldn’t have to be alone.

  A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth and he couldn’t fight it.

  He knew the guy was a great big softy underneath all that sexy dominance.

  “What d’ya say, Charger? You wanna hang with me?”

  Charger licked Teague’s face and something loosened in his chest. He wasn’t sure what it was—if anything—but he felt a little less anxious than when he’d left the hospital a short while ago.

  But he couldn’t help but think that Hudson had done this for him.

  Hudson.

  Big, bad, sexy, tattooed Hudson Ballard.

  The man Teague had evidently gone and fallen in love with.

  It was clear Hudson cared.

  Teague wasn’t sure what to think about that. He’d never had someone want to take care of him like this. Sure, he’d had foster parents who had graciously offered up their homes. They’d been generous, but he’d seen it differently. But now, his eyes were wide open.

  And he knew that this sort of kindness came from love.

  Hudson loved him.

  Sometimes, even after all he’d been through, that was still hard to wrap his head around. But he was certainly trying.

  HUDSON HADN’T KNOWN what to expect when he brought Teague here. He had talked to Cam, Dare, and Roan, and they’d all tried to come up with the best way for this to play out. Since nothing they’d come up with sounded easy, Hudson had opted for his original plan. He would surprise Teague by bringing him to meet Charger straight from the hospital.

  Thankfully, it had worked out in his favor, and almost forty-five minutes later, after Tina had reviewed with Teague all of the commands that Charger knew, and after receiving all the paperwork on the service animal that they’d purchased to help Teague, they were piling in his truck and heading back to the marina. Charger had followed every single one of Teague’s instructions, including getting into the backseat of the truck, where he would be safe for the ride home.

  “I’m not sure if I should be mad or happy right now,” Teague said when they pulled out on the main road. Hudson noticed that Teague continuously glanced into the backseat to ensure Charger was good. “It’s uncool that you told someone about my problems, but I think I understand
why.”

  In the past few weeks, Teague had made tremendous progress. The doctor had diagnosed him with major depressive disorder, and the team of clinicians and psychiatrists had worked to develop a treatment plan. Strangely, Teague had seemed committed to the program the entire way through. Not that that was a bad thing, it was simply unexpected, but Hudson knew that Teague was often extremely unpredictable.

  Like now.

  He was rattling on, which was very unlike him.

  However, Hudson knew that the animal would be a good idea. After he’d contacted the place, they had put him in touch with some of their other clients. He’d then had Cam contact them to seek input on how well the animals were working out for each of them. They’d received nothing but positive feedback, which confirmed they were making the right decision. On top of that, Hudson had brought it up with Teague’s psychiatrist at the hospital, and she had agreed that service dogs were being used to help with mental illness. And in Teague’s case, the fact that being alone was the hardest part for him … well, it definitely made sense.

  The place Hudson had contacted would’ve preferred that Teague be there in person to interact with Charger during the training process, but Hudson had explained that it was impossible and he didn’t want to wait to bring Charger home. Or rather for Teague to bring him home.

  Although Hudson wasn’t sure how that was going to work at the moment.

  The mere thought of leaving Teague alone by himself … it didn’t sit well, although the kid had clearly made some progress.

  The thing about depression, it wasn’t curable. Even with the medication, there would still be times when Teague would be down. Hudson had to learn to cope with that and to help Teague through it without being overbearing or freaking out. He understood that. Didn’t mean he knew how it would play out.

  “So, think you might fuck me when we get back to your place?”

  Hudson’s head snapped over to Teague and he saw the kid smirking.

  He turned his attention back to the road and tried to think of the fastest way home.

  As excited as he’d been to bring Teague to meet Charger, he was certainly more excited about the prospect of sinking inside Teague’s body again. It had been a little over five weeks now, and his dick still remembered the feeling, his body still craved Teague’s closeness.

  “I take the fact that your foot’s practically on the floor to mean that’s a yes.” Teague chuckled. “We could always pull off somewhere.”

  Hudson shook his head in disbelief. That wasn’t a bad idea, but he needed a hell of a lot more room than the front seat of his truck. All the pent up sexual energy needed more than this small space could offer.

  And if he was lucky, they wouldn’t leave the apartment until they had to be at work on Monday morning.

  Forty

  TEAGUE FELT LIKE a circus act. The kind where everyone was staring, trying to figure out what was going on and what would happen next.

  Christ.

  He wasn’t broken, so he didn’t know why everyone was looking at him as though he might shatter into dust and blow away on a stiff breeze.

  Okay, sure, this was a conversation he’d had with his therapist. He’d been expecting this, so he wasn’t totally caught off guard. He was merely frustrated that Cam, Dare, and Roan were treating him with kid gloves.

  The only person who didn’t seem to be was Hudson, but he was being a little distant. Hopefully, they’d change that as soon as they made it up to their apartments. He had honestly hoped they’d have been there by now, but they had detoured into the main office when Cam had come out to greet them in the parking lot. Everyone, including Lulu, was officially introduced to Charger.

  “What d’ya think of Charger?” Dare asked, bending down to pet the dog currently sitting at Teague’s feet.

  “He’s great,” Teague said fondly. He was enjoying having Charger, and they’d only known each other a short time. Having a pet would be an adjustment, but Teague welcomed it. He was looking forward to spending time with Charger just as soon as he got to spend a little time with Hudson.

  “Hudson knew you’d like him,” Dare noted, looking up at Teague.

  Yeah, well, Hudson knew Teague pretty well.

  Why don’t we let Teague settle back in for a bit?

  Teague loved that idea and he was glad Hudson suggested it.

  “Absolutely. We’re probably gonna head out in a few. No appointments for the afternoon, so we’re gonna shut it down early,” Cam explained.

  Good to know. It meant that Teague and Hudson could be as loud as they wanted to be.

  The thought made him smile.

  “Come on, Charger,” Teague called to his dog. “Let’s go check out your new digs.”

  Waving off his friends, Teague made a beeline out the door and around the side of the building to the stairs that led to the second floor. Once he made it past the outside door, he felt a little more relaxed. Even more so when he stepped into his apartment.

  When he opened the door, he gave the okay for Charger to go inside, but the dog remained right beside him. This was going to be interesting.

  “Relax,” Teague told Charger, and instantly, he was at ease. He honestly hadn’t expected it to be that easy.

  For a moment, Teague took it all in while Charger sniffed from one corner to the next. It looked the same as it had when he’d left, minus the glass shattered on the floor. Someone had cleaned that up, and if he had to guess, Hudson had done so. On the floor in the kitchen was a small metal bowl with water in it and another with dog food.

  Teague turned to look at Hudson, who was standing in the doorway, leaning against the jamb.

  “You thought of everything, huh?”

  Hudson’s hands came up. I thought of little else except you.

  Teague felt the words all the way to his soul. For the past thirty-four days, Teague had thought about Hudson. When he was in therapy, he’d thought of Hudson. When he was eating any of his meals, he’d thought of Hudson. When he’d lain down to go to sleep at night, he’d thought of Hudson. There hadn’t been a single day that had gone by when he hadn’t thought about Hudson.

  And now the man was right there, close enough for him to touch.

  Teague backed up a step and leaned against the couch, crossing his arms over his chest. “Remember what you told me when I was in the emergency room?”

  Hudson nodded, as though he knew exactly what Teague was referring to. Maybe he did.

  “Is it still true?” He felt incredibly vulnerable asking that question, but he couldn’t help himself.

  Watching Hudson closely, Teague didn’t move when Hudson pushed off the wall and stepped toward him, stopping less than a foot away. Warm hands embraced his face as Hudson tilted Teague’s head up so that he was looking him in the eye.

  Hudson nodded, dropping his hands. It’s definitely still true. Now more than ever.

  “Tell me again,” Teague pleaded, meeting Hudson’s eyes once more before glancing back at Hudson’s hands.

  I love you.

  Unable to stop himself, Teague lunged for Hudson, throwing his arms around him and pulling Hudson’s head down so that he could meet his mouth.

  A light whimper sounded from closer to the floor, forcing them both apart. Teague couldn’t help but laugh. Charger was sitting there, staring up at them. Glancing over at the couch, he then looked back at Charger.

  “Sit,” Teague said, patting the couch.

  Charger bounded up onto it.

  “Lay,” he ordered softly.

  Charger dropped to his belly.

  “Stay.”

  This time Charger lowered his head to the cushion, seemingly satisfied with his new bed.

  “Where were we?” Teague asked, turning back to Hudson, who was now grinning from ear to ear.

  Without hesitation, Hudson pulled Teague to him roughly and kissed him. The warmth of Hudson’s lips felt better than anything he’d ever known. The strength in Hudson’s arms when they wr
apped around him grounded Teague, made him believe that everything might be okay.

  He knew he had fucked up. Trying to take his own life had been stupid. At the time, he’d thought he had no other choice. Except he knew better because he had Hudson. Hudson had been there for him day and night for weeks on end, and Teague had never accepted what was really going on between them. Neither of them were good at communicating—something he’d learned thanks to all the damn counseling sessions—but they would have to work on that.

  “I love you, too,” Teague whispered against Hudson’s lips. “God, I’ve never said those words to anyone. I thought it’d feel weird to say them, but…” Teague pressed his lips to Hudson’s once more, allowing Hudson to thrust his tongue into Teague’s mouth.

  The kiss reminded him of everything he’d nearly given up. Sure, he knew there was a long road ahead of them, but they could make this work. Teague was finally open to the idea of something more than sex. He’d never thought he’d get to that point, but he had to admit, he’d been there before things had gone south. He’d simply been too stubborn to admit it.

  “I want to feel you, Hudson. I want to feel you inside me.”

  Hudson pulled back, his breaths rushing in and out of his lungs as he stared at Teague. The desire flashed in those brilliant emerald eyes, and Teague knew Hudson wanted him, too.

  It was all still there. Everything had changed, yet in many ways, nothing had changed. And for that, he was thankful.

  Then again, he’d be even more thankful if Hudson would lose the damn clothes.

  HEARING THOSE WORDS from Teague’s mouth … Hudson’s knees nearly gave out on him.

  All morning, he’d been mentally rehearsing how this day would go. He hadn’t been sure what to expect from Teague. They’d shared texts for the past five weeks, and Hudson had attended the one counseling session, but other than that, Hudson hadn’t seen him. The moment he’d set eyes on Teague at the hospital, he’d felt the air rush out of his lungs. The kid looked so damn good. Healthy. Strong.