Less Broken

by Eve R. Hart

  “It’s not,” he said, cutting me off. “Reed is a good man. I know I probably wouldn’t still be living if it wasn’t for him.”

  I smiled. Yeah, Reed was pretty awesome. I kind of liked that Cade and I had a connection through Reed. It made me feel that maybe this was some kind of meant-to-be situation. Which was silly, but I didn’t care.

  “Where did the furniture go?” he asked, just tossing it out there so boldly.

  “I guess it’s pathetic, but I thought that if I could give Perry something, he’d let it go. So I sold it.”

  “But it wasn’t enough.” The way he said it was like he didn’t need a reply. He knew. Like I had deep down, but I had still tried. “At least you kept the bed.” He tossed me a wink with the statement and I temporarily forgot all about Perry, as well as the crap he put me through.

  “It is a good bed,” I said and my cheeks heated.

  “Really good bed,” he shot back, and then his face was drifting closer to mine.

  He took me in a sweet kiss and I hoped the talking part was over.

  “What about the job?” he asked, pulling me out of bliss yet again. “Reed didn’t know about it and there’s no record of you having one.”

  I raised a brow at him.

  I knew Reed was in the security business. I also knew he was like some tech wizard or something. I didn’t doubt that he had special ways of getting information that wasn't readily available. This shouldn’t have surprised me, but it did. I guess it was because I never thought that someone could care about me enough to look into my life like that.

  “Tony, um, pays me under the table.” I shrugged like it was no big deal. “I only work there three nights a week. Well, when I’m not busted up, that is.”

  “You like it there?” he asked and I knew this question wasn’t for the purpose of our little interrogation. The tone he held told me that he was curious on a personal level.

  “Yes, I actually do. Big Tony is awesome. It kind of feels like I’m part of his little family there. He’s always getting me to try his new creations.”

  I laughed thinking about it.

  Then I went into detail about some of those things he’d made me try. Cade listened with fascination dancing in his eyes.

  “Are we done talking?” I asked boldly after a while.

  “Fuck, yes,” he breathed out.

  He neatly packed up the food, which threw me for a loop. I waited for him to come back and let me tell you, it didn’t take long. I think he ran to the kitchen like he was on a mission.

  He practically dove back on the bed, his body covering mine.

  “I need you again,” he breathed against my lips.

  Even if I wanted to protest, he left me no room to.

  But come on, I wasn’t going to turn another round with him down.

  Then I let go and gave myself over to Cade until my body gave in to blissful exhaustion.

  21

  Cade

  It was the sound of my phone ringing that pulled me from the peaceful sleep I’d been enjoying.

  Fucking Reed.

  “What?” I barked, not even sorry about my tone.

  The asshole only chuckled in my ear.

  “Listen, I know you two are all wrapped up in your lovey-dovey bubble and all, but I do need to get back to the city at some point. Some of us work for a living, you know?”

  “I hate you so much right now,” I grumbled. He was too damn chipper for me right now.

  I should have felt bad that I was hogging Theon, but I just didn’t care.

  Theon let out a little unhappy noise as he rolled away from me. The blanket came up and covered his head. Yeah, he was as eager to get up as I was right now. I wished I could just end the call and go back to sleep.

  “Get up, meet me for breakfast in thirty.”

  “An hour,” I shot back.

  He only laughed at me.

  “Forty-five minutes. Meet at the diner next to the motel.”

  “I’ll do my best, asshole,” I grumbled but he knew I wasn’t too irritated with him.

  He hung up before I had the chance to and I called him more names in my head.

  “How are you feeling?” I asked Theon as I rolled over and pulled him into my body until his back was flush with my chest. My lips went to his neck and I feathered kisses from his jaw to his shoulder.

  “Good,” he mumbled, still half asleep. “Mmm, keep doing that.”

  “Sore?” I knew he probably was. I wasn’t small by any means and I hadn’t exactly gone easy on him that second time. I simply couldn’t help it.

  “In the best way ever, yes,” he told me and the little moan he let out at the end had me ready to go again.

  It had only been a few hours, and we’d been asleep most of that time, but I knew I’d never get enough of Theon.

  And before I knew it, my hips were rocking against his ass. It wasn’t a second later that he tilted his hips back, giving me the opening to slip between his cheeks.

  He moaned again as his hand reached back to cup my jaw. His head turned and he wasted no time taking my mouth with his.

  I knew what he wanted— what his body needed. Hell, mine did too.

  “No time, baby,” I told him as I tried to pull away. “Have to go meet Reed for breakfast.”

  He let out an unhappy noise as his head fell back against the pillow.

  “Come on.” I jumped out of bed, swatting his ass as the covers fell away from his body. “Let’s shower. I need to run to my motel room and get some clean clothes at some point.”

  “Fine,” he grumbled.

  He rolled out of bed, standing on what seemed to be shaky legs. His eyes locked on my hard cock, and then the tip of his tongue darted out of his mouth. It rolled over his bottom lip slowly like he was imagining the taste of me there. Now all I could focus on was that perfect mouth.

  That was how I found myself with my hand around my cock. With each drag up and down my shaft, Theon seemed to drift closer to the bed.

  One of his hands went to the bed and the other followed. He continued to crawl across the mattress toward me with hunger in his gaze. God, he was so sexy. There was that look in his eyes, the sparkle that seemed to light up from the inside. That kind of thing you couldn’t fake. It did me in every time.

  It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him that we didn’t have time. I swear it was. But the moment his hand wrapped around the base of my throbbing cock, I forgot about everything. Even my name evaded me right now.

  With his eyes looking up into mine, he opened his mouth to take me in. The moment his lips closed around the tip of my cock and he slowly licked around the crown, I damn near lost it.

  Then he moaned, his eyes rolling back into his head.

  Thank God he reached down and gave my balls a little tug because it had been close. As embarrassing as it would have been to shoot off so quickly, I didn’t think Theon would mind it so much. I mean, he had to know he was the reason for that, right? And it wasn’t just the things he was doing to my body. That look, the hunger in his eyes that made me feel like it was only for me.

  His lips slid down my shaft and he took me in as deep as he could. I didn’t think all of me would fit, and I didn’t. He still had one hand wrapped around the base and that hand began to follow the movements of his mouth.

  I grunted with each retreat.

  Damn, it felt so good.

  And what a sight, his eyes a little watery, his lips stretched wide around my cock.

  “Yeah, baby. That’s it, take me in deep.”

  My hand went to his hair and I fisted the thick strands between my fingers. As he slid back down, I gave my hips a little jerk. His hand fell away from my cock and now he was taking me in all the way. Every time I felt his throat close around me and his nose brush up against my skin, a shock when through my body. This intense feeling took over and I could no longer control myself. I worked myself in an out of his mouth and he took everything I gave him. Little hums and moans floa
ted into my ears and I believed he was enjoying this as much as I was.

  Perfect.

  Yeah, that was what Theon was.

  Every single damn thing about him.

  “I’m gonna come, baby. You going to be good and drink me down?” I growled out.

  He didn’t stop to answer, choosing to give a little nod and a long hum to let me know how eager he was to taste me.

  He rolled my balls around in his hand, massaging them, making it damn near impossible not to blow. I didn’t have the first clue how it was possible, but he began to suck me harder. I swore it caused my damn eyes to cross.

  Fuck, was he trying to suck out my soul?

  I’d give it willingly as long as he didn’t stop.

  Then his free hand latched onto my ass, every finger but his pinky digging into my flesh. I noticed but it wasn’t enough to ruin this moment. No way in hell. He took me all the way in his throat and held me there. That was it, I was done for. I’d clearly been straining to hold out this long and the sweat beading up on my forehead was proof of that.

  “Theon!” His name tore from my lips as my head tilted back.

  My hips pulled back as I started to come, and then they punched forward again. He took every inch of me. And then I felt him swallow me down. It only caused my balls to draw up even more and spurt after spurt erupted out of me.

  My head dropped back down as I slid from his hot mouth.

  His head was stretched back, eyes sparkling, lips spread in a wide, happy grin. A little line of my cum drew down to his chin from where it escaped his mouth.

  I cupped the back of his head and dragged him up to his knees. My mouth crashed into his and I gave him everything. I tasted myself on his tongue, and then I was licking every inch of his mouth. I broke away, both of us panting hard. I didn’t hesitate to scoop up that line of my essence from his face with the pointed tip of my tongue as I looked into his eyes. Hungry. That was the look I saw there as his tongue slipped past his lips to take the taste from mine.

  “We’re going to be late,” he said with a glint in his eyes that told me he didn’t really care.

  “Shower,” I mumbled to remind myself what we should be doing. I was ready to pounce on him. To say fuck off to everything and spend the rest of the day in bed with him.

  The only thing that stopped me was the thought that there’d be plenty of days in the future for that.

  Yeah, future.

  Crazy thought for someone that wanted nothing more than to give up on life for the past six months.

  It felt good just as much as it stung.

  That was something I didn’t want to deal with now. So instead of going down into that dark hole, I scooped Theon up and headed for the bathroom.

  Eventually, we left the shower. Well, it was more like we had been forced out by the suddenly freezing water. We did get clean but that was only after I took him in my hand and made us all dirty again.

  I couldn’t get enough of Theon.

  But now it was time to focus.

  I decided to skip going to the motel for a change of clothes because we were out of time. It wasn’t like mine were really all that dirty since I’d spent more time out of them than in. That said, I had plans to go there after. I might have even pictured all the places I could bend Theon over and take him.

  If I didn’t stop, I’d find myself in a very uncomfortable situation soon. I didn’t think I could keep my hands off Theon. In fact, I knew I couldn’t. But I’d try my best for Reed because I was sure he didn’t want to see that shit.

  It wasn’t until we stepped out of the building that I realized I didn’t have my rental car.

  “Keys,” I said as I held out my hand. “Where’s your car?”

  Come to think of it, I didn’t know what kind of car Theon drove. I’d never seen him go anywhere other than on foot. Since most of the places he went to were within a few blocks, I hadn’t really thought anything of it.

  “Um,” he said, drawing out the word for a few beats. “I don’t have one.”

  “Well, shit,” I muttered.

  My car was at the motel, which was too far away to walk to. And I had no clue if this little town even had some kind of ride service.

  “I’ve been waiting out here for fifteen minutes,” Reed’s voice called out from my left. “And way to be observant.”

  I rolled my eyes at the asshole as I started walking his way. Theon’s hand felt way too good in mine so I didn’t bother to let it go.

  “I remembered you didn’t have your car after I hung up with you,” Reed went on. “I didn’t bother calling back because I didn’t want to take the chance that I’d get an earful of your love noises.”

  I snorted and Theon tried to hide his head in my shoulder. I didn’t have to look to know that he had a nice shade of red on his cheeks.

  “Let’s go,” I said, pulling Theon to the car.

  This was going to feel like the longest breakfast ever.

  22

  Theon

  So Reed was here.

  And as excited as I was to see him, I was also anxious for him to go. That sounded really crappy, I know, but the thing was, Cade made it perfectly clear that he wanted nothing more than to be in my bed with me. Cade and bed sounded like the best combination in the world, and honestly, I was ready to dive back into that fantasy.

  “You really didn’t have to come and check on me,” I blurted out from the backseat.

  Reed’s eyes looked up and met mine in the rearview mirror. I could tell Cade was trying his hardest not to snicker in the passenger seat next to Reed.

  “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded,” I mumbled and ducked my head. I sounded ungrateful and that was the last thing I felt when it came to Reed. And it wasn’t like I didn’t want to see him. He’d just come at a very inconvenient time.

  If it wasn’t for Reed showing up, then you wouldn’t have even had sexy bed time with Cade.

  Yes, fine. That was very true and I guess I really owed a lot to fate, too. Reed didn’t know I worked at Big Tony’s, neither did Cade. It was just coincidence that they happened to be there the same night I showed up for my shift.

  But the way Big Tony spoke to Cade, it made me think it hadn’t been the first time he’d been there. There was a small sense of familiarity that Tony held in his voice when he talked to Cade.

  So maybe this was how it was all supposed to come together.

  I guess I should have just focused on what I had in front of me instead of trying to figure out how it came to be.

  Sure, this thing with Cade was moving rather quickly. But it felt right. More right than anything else ever had in my life. And that even included Reed, though it wasn’t by much.

  “I was worried,” Reed said, his eyes back on the road. “About both of you.”

  Cade mumbled something but I couldn’t make out what it was.

  “Is there anything that needs to be straightened out or is everything good?” Reed asked.

  “Think we got it all worked out,” Cade answered.

  “This is weird,” I said. There wasn’t exactly tension in the air, but there was something.

  “I’m still trying to wrap my head around the two of you. I definitely didn’t see that coming. I just wanted to protect you and I knew Cade would be the best man for the job.” Reed shook his head, then carried on. “I’m not mad that you two are together— you are together, right?”

  The look that Reed shot in Cade’s direction was one of an older protective brother. In other words, Cade better have the right answer or Reed was going to make him wish he hadn’t messed with me, friend or not.

  It made me laugh, and the car had been too silent for me to hide it as it bubbled out of my throat.

  I was on edge waiting for Cade’s reply. We hadn’t talked about that sort of thing. Where this was going. What it was. How things were going to move forward from here.

  While I wanted more with Cade, I wasn’t all that sure what was going through his head
. The sex had been explosive and I hoped that was enough to keep him around for at least a little while longer, even though I wished for more.

  “Reed,” Cade warned.

  There was a brief look that passed between the two of them but I couldn’t read its meaning.

  My heart sank a little. Cade hadn’t wanted to answer the question. That caused all sorts of doubts to run through my head. It didn’t take much for me to become withdrawn and I tuned out to wherever their conversation had gone.

  I might have gotten it all wrong… again.

  “Theon,” Reed called out causing me to snap back into reality. He was standing outside of the car, the door wide open, as he looked at me.

  “Oh, right,” I said, my hand fumbling to release the belt buckle before I stumbled out of the car. “Sorry.”

  “You okay, kid?” he asked in a low tone so that only I would hear. His arm slung around my shoulders and he gave me a good squeeze. I nodded, but it felt weak. “You know he’s just looking out for you, right?”

  “Sure,” I mumbled. I looked up to see Cade standing on the other side of the car. His eyes were on me, but it was clear he was holding himself back to give Reed and me some space. “I mean, I don’t know what to think.”

  “I’ve never seen him like this. Granted, the last twelve years we’ve been in and out of each other’s lives, but I still know Cade. He’s never been protective and open about someone like he is with you. My guess, he needs time to work this out with you. Make sure it’s something you want too.”

  “But I do,” I said a few octaves too high. Why couldn’t Cade see that?

  “Yes, but look at it from his point of view,” Reed said. “You’re young. You’re going through something that’s pretty damn scary. You’re…”

  “I’m what?” I snapped my shocked and defensive gaze in his direction.

  “Innocent.”

  I scoffed and squared my shoulders.

  Then in the next breath, I deflated like a balloon.

  That was pretty much spot on. When it came to relationship type stuff, I was. And I hadn’t exactly had the best experiences.