“It’s okay, Brad. I’m fine.” Keith smiled at them. “Plus, the two of you should get to spend some time alone together without having to worry about tired ER nurses.”
“If you’re sure.”
“I’m sure.” Keith stepped closer and gave Brad’s cheek a peck before going on tiptoe to plant a kiss on Patrick’s mouth. “You two have fun.”
“We will. And we’ll see you tomorrow at the pub at six,” Patrick countered.
“Justine?”
“Yep.”
“Damn, she moves fast. I’ve got to work the day shift, but I’ll see what I can do.” With that said, Keith slipped on his shoes and left the kitchen. Patrick watched him go before turning back to Brad and wrapping both arms around his waist. Blue eyes smiled at him, and Patrick couldn’t help but smile back.
“You have interesting friends.”
“I didn’t think that they would barge in on you while you were here.”
“Hey, it kept the day interesting.”
“What did you and Keith talk about?”
Brad grinned at him. “Wouldn’t you like to know? Sorry, I’m not telling.”
“That’s cold, Wilde Thing.” Patrick gave Brad his best pout. Well, he attempted to, but Patrick was pretty sure that the smile he couldn’t seem to lose ruined the expression.
“Sit down and I’ll get you a beer,” Brad instructed with a laugh. He pulled out of Patrick’s arms and gave Patrick a push toward the table. Patrick sighed but sat down. He watched as Brad moved around the kitchen, admiring the lines of his lover’s body. Brad looked good in his kitchen.
“You look good in my clothes.”
“Thanks.” Brad put a beer in front of Patrick and sat in the chair closest to him. “Now let me see your arms.”
“Brad, I’m fine.”
“Sure you are. Now let me see.”
“Fine,” Patrick sighed. He leaned back in his chair and untucked his shirt from his pants. When Brad’s breathing started to quicken, Patrick felt his lips twitch in a smirk. He pulled the shirt over his head, revealing the wifebeater he had on underneath. Patrick let his shirt drop to the floor and grinned at Brad.
“I don’t remember you being the layering type.”
“Only when I work.”
“I don’t remember you having it on earlier.”
Patrick grinned. “I did, but we were in a bit of a hurry.”
“Right. Which is why I need to see your arms.”
“I thought I’d be able to distract you.”
“You need to show more skin for that.”
“Or maybe a nipple ring?”
“Shut up and give me your arm,” Brad instructed. Patrick held out his arm. A hiss of pain escaped his lips as Brad’s hand wrapped around his forearm. “Yeah, that sounds fine to me.”
“It’s not that bad.”
“Let me be the judge of that.” Brad bent his arm upwards so he could get a good look at his forearm. Patrick watched as a look of intense concentration crossed his lover’s face. Brad’s fingers lightly ran over the bruises and abrasions on his arm. “How did you get all these cuts?”
“I think they’re friction burns from the fabric of my shirt rubbing against the edge of the rug.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. That was the most fun I’ve had since the last time I saw you.” Patrick reached out with his free hand and touched Brad’s cheek. “Dinner smells good. What is it?”
“Just a casserole. You didn’t really have much food in the house.” Brad grinned at him. “But it was more than beer and coffee.”
“How much time until dinner?”
“Get that leer off your face. There’s only enough time for you to go and get changed.”
Patrick pouted at his lover, but Brad simply smiled and pointed at the door. Patrick sighed and climbed to his feet. He had just stepped past Brad when he felt a smack on his ass. He turned back to face Brad with surprise. Brad just grinned at him. Shaking his head, Patrick left the kitchen and headed to his bedroom. When he saw the still-rumpled sheets, he had to fight the urge to go over and see if the pillows smelled like Brad.
Patrick pulled off his dress pants and socks, dropping the socks in the hamper and tossing the pants over the chair. He grabbed his favorite pair of worn jeans from the end of the bed and, grinning to himself, shucked his underwear before pulling them on. Remembering the way Brad had looked at him, Patrick decided to leave the wifebeater on.
Done with changing, Patrick made his way back to the kitchen. When he reached it, Patrick paused in the doorway to just look. Brad was putting casserole onto two separate plates. Bingo was sitting at his feet, tail wagging slightly as she attempted to get him to give her food. As Patrick watched, Brad gave in and slipped Bingo a piece.
“How long are you going to stand there and look at me?”
“How did you know I was here?”
“I heard you come down the stairs.” Brad turned to face him, and his eyes darkened as he looked. “Damn, sugar, you look better than dinner.”
“You don’t look that bad yourself. Sure you don’t want to skip dinner?”
“Hey, I made this for you and you are going to eat it. Now sit your ass down at the table.”
“Shit, Wilde Thing, I like your forceful side.” Patrick winked at his lover. “Makes me want to jump you.”
“Sit your horny ass down, Romeo.”
“Yes, boss,” Patrick replied. He grinned at his lover before taking a seat at one of the two set places at the table. Brad set a full plate down in front of him, then tilted his head up for a kiss. Patrick moaned happily as Brad nibbled at his lips. After a moment, Brad pulled away and sat at his own place at the table.
When Brad motioned at his plate, Patrick picked up his fork and began to eat. The casserole was good, which Patrick found surprising only because he knew there hadn’t been much in the house. “This is good.”
“Thanks. Did you know that the only vegetable I found in your house was one package of frozen peas?”
“Does that mean we need to go shopping?”
“Only if you want to keep eating.”
“How long are you here for?” Patrick asked. Please say the weekend. Please, please say the weekend.
“Well, today is Thursday.”
“It is.”
“My flight back home is on Monday morning.”
“So you’re here for the whole weekend?”
“I am. Why? Do you want to get rid of me?”
“Not a chance in hell,” Patrick replied. He leaned across the table and gave Brad a quick kiss before turning back to his dinner. “Especially if I can get food like this out of you.”
“I am not cooking for you all weekend!” Brad exclaimed with a laugh. Patrick laughed as well, and they spent the rest of the meal eating in a companionable silence. When they were done, Patrick got up and cleared the table. Arms wrapped around his waist as he was putting dishes in the sink, and Patrick leaned into Brad’s embrace.
“Hey, Angel.”
“Do you think we can talk?”
Patrick frowned slightly as a kiss was pressed to his neck. “Talk about what?”
“About you and Harris Industries.”
Patrick sighed. “Okay. Do you want coffee for this conver-sation?”
“That might be a good idea.”
“Did you figure out the coffee maker?” Patrick turned slightly within the circle of Brad’s arms so he could see his lover’s face. He relaxed slightly when he saw a small smile on Brad’s face.
“I did.”
“Why don’t you get the coffee ready while I finish up with these dishes?”
“Sure,” Brad replied. He leaned up to press a kiss on Patrick’s mouth before slipping out of his arms. Patrick turned his attention to the dishes and tried to banish his nerves about the upcoming conversation. Talking about money was not something he was used to. In fact, it was something that he tried to avoid.
“Coffee’s rea
dy,” Brad announced. Patrick turned from where he had just put the last dish in the sink.
“Great. I’m done here, so take your coffee and go find a couch.” Patrick tossed the dish towel on the counter, grabbed his own mug of coffee—which Brad had prepared just the way he liked it—and followed Brad out of the kitchen. Brad headed into the room where he had his home theater set up and settled on one of the couches. Patrick wasn’t sure how Brad was feeling about their upcoming conversation, which left him wondering where to sit.
“Get over here and sit down,” Brad commanded. He smiled at Patrick and patted the seat next to him. Feeling sheepish, Patrick sat next to his lover. Brad reached out and touched his cheek. “You look nervous.”
Patrick gave a shaky laugh. “How could you tell?”
“Well, you washed all of the dishes by hand when you have a dishwasher.”
“I guess that would be a good clue.” Patrick placed his cup on the table, put his head in his hands, and groaned. “God, I’m not even sure how to start this conversation.”
“How did you start it with other people?”
“Never really did. Cam always knew. I mean, we grew up together. He was around before the money was mine, and I never really talked about the money my grandmother had.”
“What about Julian?”
“He found out when my grandmother died.”
“Other boyfriends?”
Patrick grinned and ran his finger down Brad’s nose. “Angel, you and Julian are the only guys I’ve actually officially dated.”
“What about Keith? Didn’t you date him?”
“I’m not sure you could call what Keith and I did dating. He’s an amazing guy, and he helped me through a really hard time, but we were always better friends.”
“But the two of you had sex?”
“Yeah, we had sex. Brad, you know that before you I was a rather large slut, don’t you?”
“I was warned.” Brad reached out and touched his hand. “Someone also told me that I was special.”
“Who told you that?”
“You did,” Brad replied. He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to Patrick’s forehead. There was a smile on his face when he pulled away. “How did we end up talking about your sex life?”
“I’m not sure.” Patrick took the coffee mug out of Brad’s hand, placed it on the table, and pulled Brad into his arms. He arranged them on the couch so Brad’s back was resting against his chest. Patrick wrapped his arms around Brad’s waist and pulled him close. He buried his nose in Brad’s neck and inhaled. “You smell good.”
Brad chuckled. “I smell like you. I’ve been wearing your clothes all day.”
“It’s a good smell on you.”
“Babe, you’re avoiding the conversation again.”
“Sorry.” Patrick pressed a kiss to Brad’s neck. “Okay, what were we talking about?”
“The money.”
“Right. Well, my grandmother died when I was twenty and left everything to me. Which really didn’t go over well with my parents.”
“Why did she leave everything to you? I mean, you weren’t living with her, were you?”
“No, I wasn’t living with her.” Patrick sighed and gave Brad another small kiss. “After my parents threw me out, I moved in with Cam and his family. My grandmother paid for everything, she just couldn’t take care of me. She was sick and worried that something would happen while I was there, so I stayed with Cam.”
“What was wrong with your grandmother?”
“She had lung problems. I guess she was sick when she was a kid, and it sort of lingered. Eventually, her heart gave out.”
“That must have been hard.”
“It was awful. When my father found out that she had left everything to me, he went apeshit. Asher had to hire an army of lawyers to get him to back off.”
“Who’s Asher?”
“Asher Brandt. He’s the acting CEO of Harris Industries. My grandmother hired him and groomed him for the job, which also pissed off my father.”
“What does your father do?”
“He’s a lawyer.”
Brad pulled away from Patrick’s embrace and turned to face him with a look of shock on his face. “Your father is a lawyer and thought it would be a good idea to throw his son out of a window?”
“I never said he was a good lawyer,” Patrick said with a laugh. He tugged on Brad’s arms until his lover complied by cuddling back into his arms. “And the whole tossing me out a window thing didn’t do anything good for his practice.”
“Which is probably another reason why he was so angry when you got the money.”
“Exactly. From what Asher said, my grandmother changed her will to leave me everything right after he did that. Well, Asher was in control of the estate until I was twenty-five, but it was all mine. I’ve had complete control of the company and estate for the last three years. Asher basically runs things, but I know he’d like me to take a more active role.” Patrick paused and ran his chin over Brad’s hair. “Well, at least I think he wants me to take a more active role.”
“Is that something you would be interested in?”
“Can I tell you a secret?” Patrick nipped at Brad’s neck and grinned when his lover shuddered in his arms.
“You can tell me anything.”
“I may not be as smart as Julian—”
“I don’t think anyone is as smart as Julian.”
“No interruptions.”
“Sorry.” The laughter present in Brad’s voice said he wasn’t really sorry.
“I may not be as smart as Julian, but I’m smarter than I look.”
“Okay. Still not really following.”
“I did a double major. Business and criminology.”
“Wow. I’m impressed.”
“Thanks. So, I own Harris Industries. I only work because I like my job.” Patrick sighed, tightened his hold on Brad, and felt a twinge in his shoulder. “At least I like it most of the time.”
“So does all the money mean you’re going to buy me pretty things?”
“I don’t know, Brad. Are you a girl?”
“What? Just because I’m a man I don’t deserve pretty things?”
“You are a pretty thing,” Patrick replied. “My pretty thing.”
“I want a pony.”
“Gee, you’re getting a bit demanding.”
“Well, I do have a rich boyfriend. I think I should start being more demanding, you know, like a trophy wife.”
Patrick couldn’t help it. He pressed his face against Brad’s neck and laughed. He laughed so hard he felt tears escape his eyes. When Brad started to shake with laughter, Patrick gave him a squeeze and kissed his neck. The laughter trailed off as Brad flipped over so he was chest to chest with Patrick. Patrick ran his hands down his lover’s back as he stared into the blue eyes.
“What? Don’t you think I could be a trophy wife? Aren’t I pretty enough?”
Patrick raised one hand and gently cupped Brad’s cheek. “Angel, you are definitely pretty enough to be a trophy wife, but I think you might be a bit too smart to be one. Also, you’re not a woman.”
“I could dumb it down? But I like my penis, so the woman thing is out of the question.”
“You don’t have to change anything. I like you just the way you are.” Patrick pressed a soft kiss to Brad’s nose. He held his arms out of the way as Brad tucked his head under Patrick’s chin and arranged himself comfortably. When Brad stopped moving, Patrick resumed running his hands over the strong back.
“You still haven’t given me an answer about the pony.”
“How about we see how you do with Bingo over the weekend and talk about the pony after?”
“I guess I can live with that.”
“Good.” Patrick slipped his hands under Brad’s borrowed shirt, seeking out warm skin. When his fingers encountered the smooth skin at the small of Brad’s back, Brad shivered in his arms. Patrick moaned happily. “You feel nice.”
“You make a good pillow. So, are you going to tell me what we’re doing tomorrow?”
“I was hoping to avoid it.”
Brad nipped at his neck. “Pat!”
“Fine,” Patrick said, caving in. “Justine wants to meet you, so we’re going to the pub tomorrow night. With the way Justine organizes things, everyone will be there.”
“Who is everyone?”
“Us, Justine, Keegan, Cam, Jeremy, Kennedy, and possibly Keith. Oh, and maybe Ben.”
“So I basically have to meet all of your friends at once.”
“Pretty much.”
“And why would you do that to me?”
“Hey, it wasn’t my idea.”
“You could have said no.”
“Wasn’t an option. Justine is scary.”
Brad chuckled. “I love that you’re scared of your partner.”
“You’ll understand when you meet her.”
“She can’t be that bad.”
“Oddly enough, that’s what everyone says,” Patrick remarked. He continued to run his hands over Brad’s back, pushing the shirt up so he could get at more skin. The result of his actions was to push the shirt up around Brad’s neck. It must have been uncomfortable, because Brad pulled away briefly to tug the shirt over his head and toss it on the floor. Patrick let his eyes feast on the expanse of smooth skin before him.
“Better?”
“Uh-huh.” Patrick nodded his head and pulled Brad back into his arms. He ran his hands up and down the smooth planes of Brad’s back. He felt Brad settle against him, and lips pressed against his neck. Patrick pulled the blanket that was thrown over the couch down over them so Brad wouldn’t get cold without his shirt on and Patrick would still be able to touch his skin. “Want to watch a movie?”
He could feel Brad smile against his neck. “What did you have in mind?”
“Whatever’s in the DVD player. That way I don’t have to get up.” Patrick stretched out one arm and grabbed his trusty universal remote. “I can control everything with this.”
“Not moving sounds like a good option.” Brad snuggled further into his embrace. “Plus, I’m comfortable.”
“Good.” Patrick pressed a kiss to the top of Brad’s head and began the process of turning everything on with the remote. Watching a movie with Brad in his arms sounded just about perfect.
Broken Wings Page 10
