A sick feeling of dread sat heavy in Brian’s gut. He’d spent the day watching Terry slowly decline. Even though his attitude never wavered, the circles under Terry’s eyes darkened a little more every time Brian glanced his way. By the time they were driving home from the airport, he’d been so on edge he felt sure he’d snap at any moment. He was positive Terry didn’t realize how slow his speech had become before reaching the house. Brian had gratefully grabbed hold of Terry’s argument over money to cover how fucking terrified he was. He didn’t give a shit about the will. Terry trusted him to take care of things and he would. However, he did care about the way the man moved as if every step he took was through quicksand. Terry had never shown a true moment of fear or weakness in front of Brian before that morning. He would not fail him now that he needed Brian to be the strong one. One half of his body had fallen asleep several minutes earlier. He didn’t care. Some part of him believed if he held Terry tight enough, he’d be able to hold him to this world, despite the rattle coming from Terry’s chest with every breath he took.
Terry muttered something in his sleep. Brian tilted his chin bringing the man’s face into focus. He was pale with the exception of the black rings around each eye and the dark flush across his cheekbones. Brian touched the backs of his fingers to Terry’s face. His skin was on fire. The sound of voices and keys jingling caught Brian’s attention as Kip came through the door. Cameron was close on her heels still wearing his uniform and carrying ice cream. They both froze when they spotted him. Their identical looks of horror made him wonder what they saw in his expression.
“Brian.”
His name fell from Terry’s lips in a weak gasp, drawing his worried focus back to his face. Time seemed to slow as Brian met Terry’s bright gaze. He opened his mouth as if to say something only a deep rattled breath escaped. He didn’t take another. Brian exploded from the couch, dragging Terry with him. Kicking the coffee table aside, he pulled him to the floor.
“Call 911!” His panicked demand was pointless. Cameron already had his phone to his ear. “God damn you, Terry. You promised,” he yelled as he checked for a pulse, knowing what he would find. There wasn’t one. His chest wasn’t moving at all. Brian began CPR without a single thought. The classes Drew had required his employees take came back to him, saving his ass in a moment of desperation. There was a flurry of activity going on around him but Brian didn’t see any of it. He had no concept of the passage of time. Even as a paramedic nudged him aside, taking over, Brian couldn’t focus on anything except willing Terry to live.
“I have a faint heartbeat.”
A roar began in Brian’s ears as blood came rushing back to his brain at the words. “Let’s get him loaded up.”
Brian stood when the paramedics did, keeping pace with them and refusing to leave his side. No one questioned his presence even though he was vaguely aware of Cameron’s smoothing the way by explaining he was the spouse. If he spoke to anyone, if they said anything to him, he didn’t remember it happening. Nothing felt real.
Hours later, Brian glanced down, surprised to find himself wearing a set of blue scrubs. A mask covered his mouth and nose. Damned if he couldn’t remember much of anything from the moment he’d watch Terry take his final breath.
As the last waves of shock fell away, Brian was forced to lock his back teeth together to stop their chatter. Several IV bags hung from a metal pole and three monitors beeped in succession, keeping time with Terry’s vitals. A mound of blankets hid his body from view while an oxygen mask covered the lower half of his face. He hadn’t regained consciousness. Brian knew because his eyes hadn’t left his face.
Now that he seemed to have a working brain cell, Brian took note of their surroundings. He couldn’t remember ever seeing this part of the hospital and he’d seen a good deal of it during his mother’s final days. This room was different. It was cold and dark. A glass window in the door revealed a second door on the other side, with a small walkway between the two. Moving over to it, Brian glanced down at his feet when his steps felt awkward. Those blue foot things covered his shoes. He didn’t know what they were called even though he was sure they had a name. The only time he could remember seeing them was when the AC guy had stopped by to work on his heat and air unit. He slipped them over his shoes to keep from tracking dirt on Brian’s carpet.
As Brian stared down at his covered feet, he experienced an odd disconnection from reality. He should’ve been able to remember putting something so ridiculous over his shoes. As a matter of fact, he should be able to remember putting on his shoes. There was nothing but a blank spot and choking fear. A noise came from the other side of the door bringing his head up. The doctor stood on the other side of the door. As Brian watched, he pulled baggy scrubs over the set he was wearing before covering his hair and feet and pulling on a mask. After washing his hands at the small sink inside the walkway, he pulled on gloves. With his body completely covered, the doctor finally slipped quietly into the room.
“Mr. Richards, I’m Dr. Williams.” He held out his hand for Brian to shake and it took him a moment to realize he’d been speaking to him. Adjusting to a new name would take time. He accepted the man’s hand.
“You can call me Brian,” he said out of habit.
“Fair enough, Brian, since we’ll be seeing a lot of one another for the next eight weeks.”
“Eight weeks,” Brian repeated, unsure of why he’d done so. It seemed the easiest way to keep up his end of the conversation with only a quarter of his mind functioning. The man nodded.
“Your husband has to be the luckiest man on the planet. Not only did you do everything right, we received the all clear from the FDA to administer the medicine needed to get him on the path to recovery.”
“I don’t understand what happened.” Brian didn’t know where the confession came from, but there it was. Terry had gone from seemingly fine in the morning to here by the evening.
The doctor nodded again. Even with half his face covered, he could see the sympathy in the man’s expression. “Your sister-in-law tells me you were out of town on business during his last stay with us. She went on to add how stubborn Terry is, which I knew, but I didn’t realize he wouldn’t share my instructions. He was supposed to be on bed rest.” Brian knew the muscle in his jaw was ticking but he couldn’t make it stop. Dr. Williams hit it dead on. Terry had said no such thing. “Mrs. Travis tells me he took a plane ride instead.”
“He did,” Brian agreed, hearing the anger in his own voice.
The doctor shook his head. “The air on planes is nasty stuff, full of germs. Terry’s system can’t take it. My guess is he picked up the virus there. Without any real immune system to fight it, the virus attacked his heart, stopping it. While I don’t think there’s been any permanent damage, let’s fight one battle at a time.”
The knowledge Terry had almost died to marry him sat heavy on Brian’s chest, suffocating him until he couldn’t speak. Luckily, Dr. Williams didn’t appear to need any contribution from Brian to keep up the conversation. He ran down the rules of isolation, explaining their dress and the procedure for leaving and entering the room. It turned out he would indeed being seeing a lot of the doctor since it was dangerous for him to come and go. It was safer for Brian to simply stay for the sake of keeping the zone germ free. They made arrangements for McKenna to gather some things to make their long stay more tolerable. Brian had no idea the entire stem cell transplant, chemo, and cell regrowth took so much time. With every word the doctor said, the tightness eased in Brian’s chest. There was a plan and a plan meant hope. He would cling to it.
“Brian.”
At his name, Brian whipped around in Terry’s direction. His eyes were closed and Brian might’ve thought he was only hearing what he wanted if it weren’t for Dr. Williams. Tugging off his stethoscope, he moved to Terry’s side.
“Hello again Mr. Richards. We’re seeing too much of each other.”
Terry’s brow furrowed. Brian caught a quick g
limpse of light-green irises before his lids fell closed again.
“Brian.”
When Terry said his name a second time, he wasted no time taking up his post at his side. Pulling the chair as close to the bed as possible, he dug around beneath the blankets until he found Terry’s hand and squeezed it. At the touch, Terry’s frown cleared. As the doctor listened to Terry’s heart on the opposite side of the bed, Brian did his best to quietly reassure him.
“Everything sounds good. Your heart is beating strong and steady now.”
“Has to,” Terry whispered. “Doesn’t belong to me.”
Dr. Williams shook his head as if Terry’s words didn’t make sense. “He’s likely to be disoriented for a few more days.” Brian nodded even though he knew exactly what Terry had been trying to say. “I’ll let the two of you have some peace. I’ll be back to check on you again in a little while and we’ll go over the timeline for his treatment.” Brian was nodding so much he felt like a bobblehead but he just wanted the man to go away. He was on the verge of losing his shit and the last thing he needed was a witness. After a few more reassuring words, he finally left them alone. The sensation of Terry’s thumb brushing over Brian’s knuckles ended up being his undoing. Silent tears ran down his face unchecked. The instant Terry had stopped breathing Brian had caught a glimpse of an ugly, bleak future. His whole life, he’d been told people didn’t know how much they could endure until they had no other choice. He’d seen a future without Terry and it was more than he could endure. A world without Terry was a world without beauty.
“Chest hurts.”
Brian swiped his face across his shoulder. “I had to do CPR. Shit. I hope I didn’t crack a rib or anything. I can’t even remember if they said.”
Terry shook his head. “Your tears hurt my chest.”
He swiped at his face again. “No worries. There’s nothing but rainbows and happy shit going on over here.”
Terry’s eyes crinkled in the corners. “Liar.”
The knowledge Terry was smiling gave Brian strength. “The hell you say. I’ve got you and these awesome blue scrubs. I’ll have you know, blue happens to be my color.” Brian was raring up to be really obnoxious if that’s what it took to keep Terry’s smiling, but Terry cut him off.
“Love you.”
Another tear slipped past his lashes without his permission. “Damn, Terry, I love you too. Don’t you ever, ever do that shit to me again.”
“I’m not gonna leave you.”
With Terry’s promise hanging between them, Brian stared hard at the man he loved and had almost lost. He was scared to look away for fear he’d disappear. Terry’s eyes opened and he held Brian’s gaze. Even with his face mostly covered, Brian knew he was smirking. It set his heart at ease in a way nothing else could.
“Blue isn’t your color.”
Doing his best to hold back his smile, Brian pulled a hurt face. “I’m wounded. I look hot as hell in these scrubs.”
Terry winked. “I’m what looks best on you.”
“Ten times better than Armani,” Brian agreed, giving into his smile. Sixty years from now, he might have to face his worst fears again. Until then, Terry wasn’t going anywhere because he’d given his word he wouldn’t and he always got his way.
Chapter Eleven
Eight months later
Jade’s fat little cherub cheek looked squished against Terry’s muscular shoulder. Her tiny mouth hung open and her soft snores filled the room. Since Terry looked half-asleep as well, he wasn’t complaining about the baby sleeping on his shoulder.
“I think she’s a bit hopelessly in love with you,” Kip said from the living room doorway, mimicking Brian’s thoughts. Terry’s mouth turned up in one corner. It was an expression that never failed to make Brian’s heart skip a beat.
“The feeling is mutual,” he murmured quietly in an obvious attempt at not disturbing Kip’s daughter. It had taken forever to get her calmed down since losing her favorite pacifier earlier in the day. Even though Jade had—inexplicably—turned out as a blond-haired, blue-eyed angel, she had her mother’s fiery redhead attitude and she ruled their home. She took a shuddering breath. Everyone froze. When she didn’t stir, Terry stood.
“I’ll put her to bed.”
Brian’s eyes followed him from the room. Kip’s low laugh caught his attention as Terry slipped from sight. He smiled, without an ounce of shame. “Hey. He’s mine. I can stare if I want.”
Kip held her hands up. “I wasn’t judging.”
“Hmm,” he said noncommittally. “What was that laugh then?”
She shook her head. “I was just thinking Jade isn’t the only one around here who’s a lovesick fool over Terry.”
Terry rounded the corner just in time to catch her final words. “Of course, he is. I’m all things magnificent.” Terry crawled onto the couch at Brian’s side. Rolling around like a gigantic dog until he was settled with his head in Brian’s lap, he added, “It helps that I spoil him rotten.” Since Brian couldn’t deny it, he decided to let it slide.
“Oh, Jeez. You two are a bit sickening to be around, you know. All your love is choking me so I’ll leave you alone to do whatever while I hide in my room and cry about how nobody will ever have me.”
“You do that,” Terry said, making Brian laugh. They were both used to Kip’s fake forever-alone speeches. She didn’t mean it. Honestly, Brian knew it was just her way of giving them their space. He appreciated it, especially tonight. He was over-the-moon and bursting with energy. They’d finally gotten the news they’d been waiting on for eight long months. Terry was officially cancer free. Cancer free. Those two words were the most beautiful words in the English language, like music to Brian’s ears.
“Goodnight, guys,” she called over her shoulder, making her escape when Terry began taunting her by gnawing on the hem of Brian’s t-shirt.
“Goodnight, Kip,” they answered in unison, managing to sound completely innocent. Another tug at the front of his shirt drew Brian’s attention back to his lap. Terry was back to nipping at the material. Brian shook his head at his antics.
“You’re in a good mood.”
“Ah,” Terry said, raising one eyebrow. “Well. I’m about to teach you a new lesson.” Inching up the hem, Terry pulled the button loose on Brian’s jeans. He went hard. It was as easy as that. All it took was the insinuation of sexual satisfaction when it came to Terry, and Brian was ready. “In a minute,” Terry added, tugging Brian’s zipper down. Brian couldn’t remember what they were talking about.
“Yeah. In a minute,” he agreed, hoping it was the right answer. A knowing smile touched Terry’s lips as he set Brian’s erection free but he didn’t call him on it.
“Damn,” Terry breathed, brushing his fingertip across Brian’s slit. Everything from the waist down tightened in response to Terry’s touch. He kept his gaze locked on the man’s every move, hoping not to miss a thing. “I’ve been thinking about this all day long, craving your salt.”
Terry knew how to use his tongue in every way. The words caused an image of Terry on his knees to flash across Brian’s mind. His cock leaked and Terry leaned in, capturing the drops with his tongue before closing his lips around Brian’s crown. It was so hot inside Terry’s mouth. Brian’s hips lifted on their own accord, attempting to get deeper. When Terry’s cheeks hollowed, Brian found himself reaching for his hair, thankful it had grown back enough to grip. He tugged him closer. Terry obeyed, taking him to the back of his throat. Brian moaned and Terry did it again. This time, he took him deeper. His throat tightened around him. His balls drew up tight as his dick slid across the roof of Terry’s mouth. Shifting positions, Terry braced his weight on the palms against the arm of the couch and allowed Brian to set the pace. Brian strained against him. He sucked in a deep breath as the pressure built to a boiling point. It was right there, pressing against the tip of his dick and demanding release. Terry pulled away and went back to resting his head against Brian’s thigh as if he d
idn’t intend to move again for the rest of the night.
“We have something to discuss.”
Brian’s eye twitched at Terry’s bright tone. He was hanging onto his sanity by a thread. His body screamed for the blinding orgasm Terry’s mouth had promised while his mind struggled to accept Terry didn’t intend to finish him off.
“Holy shit, Terry. Are you kidding me?”
Terry’s smile hitched up a notch at Brian’s frustrated growl. The moisture on his bottom lip teased Brian as he stared at the man’s mouth. His cock throbbed.
“It’s time for you to challenge Rhys for the title. I know you’ve only been back to local matches for a couple of months, but you need do this. If you don’t, you’ll regret it.”
“Are we seriously going to talk about this right now?”
Terry wrapped his fingers around Brian’s dick and brushed his thumb over the crown. The muscles in Brian’s stomach clenched as his nerve endings danced. “Yes. We are. The sooner you give me your word you’ll issue the challenge, the sooner I can get back to doing other things with my mouth.” He winked, adding fuel the fire.
Brian stared at Terry, shocked. The man was seriously blackmailing him. That cinched it. His husband was fucking evil. Emphasizing his point, Terry squeezed him lightly, tugging upward before letting go. He eyed Brian’s erection with open hunger. There was a small part of Brian’s brain that recognized he could hold out. This torture could run both ways, but it was a very small part. Not to mention, Brian didn’t want to risk it and he would give Terry anything he wanted.
“Fine. Whatever. I’ll talk to Rhys tomorrow.”
Terry met his gaze. Satisfaction etched his every line as he took Brian’s erection in hand once more. “That wasn’t your word.”
“Fuck!” Brian roared. “I promise, okay?”
A triumphant mile stretched Terry’s lips. “Lesson whatever-number-we’re-on-now—if your opponent refuses to submit, make them pay.”
The End
Unattainable (No Rival Book 5) Page 13
