Chapter Six

Quentin studied every shift in Snow’s expression as he helped Quentin undress. There was something wrong. Something was going on in his head. Snow was usually so unreadable that it hurt Quentin’s chest. Not tonight.

“You’re sad.”

A faint smile touched Snow’s lips. On his knees at the edge of the bed, Snow was positioned between Quentin’s knees. That smile had Quentin’s gaze snapping to Snow’s lips. They were so full. So sexy. The distraction method worked for a full minute before Quentin caught on. Snow had been trained to be a master at seduction. He knew how to lure someone straight to their grave. Quentin wasn’t immune.

“You can talk to me.”

Snow shook his head. “It’s nothing, really. Just having Charon here reminds me too much of that life. I’ve spent a decade working on myself. Yet one look at him and I’m back at that academy. I’m someone else.”

Quentin stroked Snow’s shoulders. “You were put in an untenable situation. You did what you had to do to survive. No one can or should judge until they’ve been in your shoes.”

Snow’s gorgeous hazel eyes rose and focused on Quentin. “Why did you buy my freedom that night? I wasn’t up for auction.”

“Because I saw you sticking to the shadows. You looked like a man ready to run. Everyone else stared at me with dead eyes—just like everyone I purchased before you. But you didn’t look broken, and I had to save you before you were.” Quentin took a shaky breath. They never spoke about that night. Quentin didn’t want to trigger anything in Snow. Since Snow had broached the topic, Quentin had a burning question too. “Why have you stayed?”

Snow’s expression changed. He snagged Quentin’s hips and slowly dragged him closer. “You know why.”

Quentin’s throat went dry. He licked his lips. “I’m too old and broken for you. You deserve a beautiful and full life.”

Snow shifted to his feet and leaned in, burying his face against Quentin’s neck. He inhaled. His lips brushed Quentin’s pulse point, making goosebumps rise on Quentin’s skin. “All of that is bullshit. I have a beautiful and full life with you.”

“You don’t want this.” Quentin was incapable of not arguing.

A sexy chuckle rumbled against Quentin’s skin. “I definitely do. I have for a very long time. You’re not blind, Quentin.” He took Quentin’s hand and led it to his erection. “I know you’ve seen me silently begging for you to notice. I notice every time you look at me with the same hunger. Why do you refuse to see me?”

A shaky breath escaped Quentin. He more than wanted Snow. Somewhere along the way, Quentin had fallen in love with him. “I can’t curse you to this life.”

Snow pulled away. His eyes flashed with irritation. “Bullshit, Quen. My life has been you for ten fucking years. I could’ve left anytime I wanted, but I didn’t because I want to be here. With you,” he said, softening his tone. “I’m not dumb. Trust me. I know you.” Snow leaned in again. This time, he gave Quentin plenty of time to say no. He couldn’t. God. He couldn’t. Snow touched his lips to Quentin’s. His tongue slid across Quentin’s bottom lip. Quentin’s lips parted. When Snow’s tongue touched his, a whimper escaped Quentin. He couldn’t hold back the sound. No one had touched him like this in over fifteen years. Not since he suddenly fell ill and was eventually diagnosed with leukemia. He won the battle, but he didn’t walk away. Spastic paralysis had slowly taken his ability to walk. Between the painful spasms and muscle weakness, his life had become a nightmare. Then Snow came home with him and stayed.

“Trust me,” Snow whispered between kisses. He helped Quentin the rest of the way into bed before covering Quentin’s body with his. Snow had already stripped Quentin down to his underwear before their conversation even began. Now he worked to fully undress them while still keeping Quentin focused on their kisses. That was a good thing. Quentin was on the edge of panicking. He didn’t want to fail Snow. They already didn’t match. Snow was so strong and virile. All that had been stolen from him years ago.

Then their nude bodies came together, and Quentin forgot to worry. He forgot everything except the way Snow’s cut body felt against his.

Snow’s hand slipped between their bodies. He held their cocks together and rocked. Quentin sucked in a sharp breath. He missed this like crazy. There had been so many nights Quentin had gone feeling unwanted. Not now. There was no mistaking Snow’s desire for him.

Snow’s mouth touched the shell of Quentin’s ear. His ragged breathing had Quentin mesmerized. “Fuck. You’re so sexy. You have no idea how long I’ve wanted this. It’s only ever been you for me. I could never leave the man I love.”

Tears pricked Quentin’s eyes. A stuttered breath burst from him. He always wanted so badly to be held and touched. Snow was the only reason he didn’t feel alone in a full house. Snow’s mouth moved back to his before Quentin responded, as if he feared Quentin didn’t feel the same. He did. Damn. Quentin had loved him for years. One night, Quentin had a terrible night of painful spasms. Snow had stayed with him, sleeping beside him. He never left. Snow moved his things to Quentin’s room. They slept next to each other every night. Neither of them talked about it. They simply existed together, except there was nothing simple about it. This was love.

With his eyes closed, Quentin savored all the sensations. Snow’s tongue against his and his cock rubbing Snow’s. Snow turned his head and panted. His muscles hardened, as if tensed to come. Quentin held his breath. The sound Snow made as he blew etched into Quentin’s brain. He would never forget it.

Snow kissed his shoulder. His lips moved to Quentin’s collarbone. He began a slow slither down Quentin’s body. Quentin lifted his head to watch. A pant burst from him when Snow’s gaze met his, and he licked his way through the puddle of his own cum. Then Snow swallowed Quentin’s cock, as if it hadn’t been softening without his constant touch. It was hard to keep his dick hard with all the muscle weakness. Snow had no trouble. His mouth was amazing.

Quentin gripped the sheets. He wanted to run his hands through Snow’s beautiful white hair and hang on, taking what he wanted. Quentin would never manhandle Snow that way. Too many times, Snow had been forced. Quentin savored his willingness. The pressure slowly climbed his shaft. Quentin closed his eyes and focused on the sensation. The first wave hit, washing him over the edge. A whimper escaped him. It wasn’t enough warning for his babbling confession.

“I love you. Fuck. I love you so much. You have no idea how much.”

Snow shifted positions and stole another kiss, cutting off his rambling. The taste of his cum still lingered on Snow’s tongue. A hot tear hit Quentin’s cheek, making Quentin realize Snow silently cried.

He turned his head away from Snow. “I’m sorry. We didn’t have to do this. I didn’t mean to make you cry. We can forget this happened.”

Snow grabbed his jaw, gently forcing Quentin to return to their kiss. “I thought no one would ever love me,” he confessed between kisses. “Especially someone as beautiful and as kind as you. I don’t deserve you, Quen. You’re way too good for someone like me.”

Quentin’s chest hurt at Snow’s tone. He held Snow’s face between his hands, ensuring Snow saw the truth in his eyes. “You’re the only man I want. Tell me you love me again.”

A sexy, sweet smile touched Snow’s lips. “I love you.”

Quentin searched his face. Snow meant it. “I love you too.”

Snow’s expression went from sweet to hungry in an instant at Quentin’s words. “You actually mean it. Fuck. I don’t deserve it.” He claimed Quentin’s mouth again. “I’m fucking taking it, though.” He kissed Quentin again. “You’re mine.”

Quentin’s heart soared at Snow’s fierce-sounding possessive words. Snow was a dream come true. Quentin couldn’t believe they were real. He would never let Snow go.

Charon’s eyes shot open. A sixth sense felt the danger approaching. His gaze moved to Paine. His eyes were wide. It was obvious the same feeling overcame him.

“They’re coming.”

Before Charon had time to respond, Paine slithered from the bed and disappeared beneath it. Charon quickly spun the pillows to make it look like someone slept beneath the covers. He slipped from the bed on the opposite side from the door. Charon grabbed his gun and waited. The knob turned. It was barely a click, but Charon’s PTSD had him hyper aware of every noise that came in the night. The door crept open, inch by inch. Charon held his breath and dared a peek above the bed. A huge figure moved to the bed, making no sound. Charon hated to shoot someone he couldn’t see. He would hate to kill one of Quentin’s men.

A startled cry rent the air. The man hit the floor. His shout transformed into the unmistakable sound of a man choking on his own blood.

Paine popped to his feet. He barely spared Charon a glance. “There’s more than one.” He scrambled up the wall into his hidden maze of rafters. Another figure burst into the room. Before Charon fired, Paine dropped from the ceiling behind the man and sliced his throat, dropping him next to his accomplice. Charon could count on one hand the times he had been shocked. He was accustomed to being the deadly one. Paine had killed two men in under two minutes while nude.

Paine yanked on his pants. He closed the distance between them and patted down Charon’s body. “Are you okay? He didn’t have time to hurt you, right?”

“I’m fine.” He snagged Paine’s waist and stole a quick kiss. “Thank you. Let’s go check the rest of the house.”

They didn’t have to go far. One by one, the family appeared in the doorway. The man’s pained cry had obviously caught some attention. Charon pulled on his pants when he noticed Paine trying to block him from sight. He had so much adrenaline rushing through his veins, Charon forgot he was nude.

Quentin’s face was pale. “What the fuck? Who are these people?”

Some confused grumbling rumbled through the hall.

Adam said the obvious. “There’s no way they got past your security. Someone let them in.”

Quentin squeezed the spot between his eyebrows. “Okay. Family meeting in the den.” Everyone followed Quentin’s wheelchair to the den.

Charon chose a chair in the corner. This wasn’t his family. Despite being the obvious target, Charon didn’t think he should interfere. He was used to being the target. These people weren’t accustomed to being attacked in their home. Plus, he wanted to silently observe. He studied each face, waiting for someone to give themselves away. Charon wondered which of them secretly loved Paine and hoped to get rid of the competition.

Quentin pulled out his phone and clicked around. Everyone stared at him. Charon felt the held breath in the room. Charon fully intended to find the guilty one for himself, except he couldn’t look away from Quentin. He saw the moment Quentin found the footage. A rapid blink was the only indication his heart had rejected what his eyes showed him. Charon saw him swallow. His chin lifted.

Snow’s face paled. “It’s not what you think. They threatened to kill you if I didn’t follow their orders. Everyone here was legitimately sold to you, except for maybe Paine. But they still think he’s dead. Charon hasn’t paid his debt. He’s the only person to ever survive running away from the academy. They won’t stop until his debt is paid. I had to keep you safe.”

Still, Charon couldn’t look away from Quentin. Every question he had about their relationship was answered in his expression. With his gaze locked on nothing, Quentin looked as if he had checked out. Charon’s heart ached. That feeling of having someone completely ripped away in an instant showed in Quentin’s eyes.

“Pack your bags.”

“Goddamn it, Quen. Try to see things from my perspective. It wasn’t personal.”

Quentin’s gaze finally moved to Snow. There was no describing his expression. It was hate and pain mixed with more hurt. “It feels pretty fucking personal.” With that, he rolled himself away until Paine hurried after him to help.

Everyone filed out without looking back. There was a dark undertone and some rumblings about how they should have known. No one directly confronted Snow. Charon kept his seat in the corner. His gaze never wavered from Snow. He saw what he saw, and he couldn’t unsee it. Snow genuinely loved Quentin. He was every bit as crushed as Quentin. Sometimes, life wasn’t fair to anyone.

With everyone else gone, Snow focused on him. “They threatened to kill him. What would you have done?”

“Probably exactly what you did.” His voice sounded like he had swallowed glass. Charon cleared his throat. “But the right thing would’ve been to come to me and let me handle it. They haven’t killed me in ten years. Why do you think that is?” Charon didn’t wait for Snow to answer. “It’s because they fear me and what I can do. Nothing would’ve happened to your man. Unfortunately, all the academy taught us is betrayal. Ten years later, you’re still their bitch.” Since Charon couldn’t do anything worse to Snow than what he had done to himself, he headed to Quentin’s room. He was the real loser in all of this. That was a fucking shame.

Paine helped Quentin into bed. It was like he was dead. He simply let Paine take care of him while he disappeared inside his mind. The pain was so real and thick. Paine felt like his heart might cave. Every ounce of hurt he felt was for Quentin. Quentin hadn’t known this level of betrayal before. Paine always expected it was right around the corner.

With Quentin settled, Paine crawled into bed next to him and held on. Quentin’s skin felt like ice. Paine dragged all the covers over him and went back to holding him. He rubbed Quentin’s arm, trying to warm him. Quentin stared at the ceiling without blinking. He was shattered. Paine recognized the signs. He saw it too many times in the mirror.

Charon came into the room. Paine glanced over his shoulder. Charon’s expression froze his blood. He was the man who had tortured Paine. Unintentionally, Paine’s teeth chattered.

Then Charon bent and kissed his cheek before touching his lips to Paine’s ear. He spoke softly, keeping his words for only Paine’s ears. “You’re right. You have Elizabeth Taylor eyes, except yours are more beautiful. I looked her up the moment I had access to the internet. No one has the same gorgeous purple eyes as you.”

“They’re violet.”

A soft, sexy rumble of laughter caressed his ear. “I love you.”

Paine’s eyes closed. His throat swelled. He knew. Charon planned to leave him.

“If I don’t come back, know I lived for you.”

Paine wanted to grab two handfuls of Charon’s shirt and beg him. No amount of begging had ever helped him. Everyone who should have killed him refused. Everyone who claimed to care about him hurt him.

Charon straightened.

“No.” Quentin’s ragged-sounding denial surprised Paine. His gaze shot to Quentin. Quentin’s gaze moved Charon’s way. “Whatever you’re thinking, no.”

Charon didn’t soften. “I have to take care of this, or they’ll keep coming.”

“I’ll buy your freedom.”

Somehow, Charon’s face hardened even more. “I am free. I’ll be damned if anyone believes otherwise.” Charon’s gaze moved Paine’s way. Their gazes met and held. It felt like an entire lifetime of conversations passed between them. Then he walked away.

Quentin covered his face and crumbled. The cries that escaped him were as familiar to Paine as breathing. All he could do was hold Quentin while he released the helpless rage. So that was what Paine did. He held Quentin until the final sob left his body. Quentin simply went limp.

Minutes passed, Paine thought to check if he was asleep. Quentin spoke, saving him the trouble. “I want to be a cat too,” Quentin whispered, breaking Paine’s heart.

Paine nodded, squishing his face against Quentin’s chest. “Okay. I’ll build you one of those wheel rigs they make for a cat, so they can still run when their back legs are paralyzed.”

A watery chuckle met his claim. Quentin fell silent again for a moment before breaking it. “Why didn’t you tell me about Charon?”

Paine measured his words, since even he wasn’t sure why. “I’ve never known how to explain how I still love someone with every fiber of my being who did the most unspeakable things to me. He should’ve killed me. That would’ve been a kindness. But the thing that enrages me to my soul and keeps me up at night is, I would’ve made the same choice he did. I could never take his life. He is the other half of me. The choice he made meant a chance at us surviving together.” Paine swallowed. “I’m just not always sure how much is left of me.”

“Every one of your therapists has said you’re completely sane.”

Paine chuckled. “You realize I went to the same academy as everyone else here, right? Every single one of us was trained in how to pass any mental health test. I learned how to silently kill and then disappear. There’s nothing Charon can do, I can’t. The only thing they couldn’t teach me was how to not feel. That’s because of Charon. He kept something alive in me.” Paine’s mind shied away from those days. “That made his torture so much worse, and they knew it.”

“I saw Charon’s face when he walked in and saw you in the corner that first night. Even if you only have a quarter of your mind left, he wants it. That was pure love in his eyes.” Quentin fell silent for a moment. “Maybe I’m not the best judge, though. I thought Snow looked at me the same way.”

As always, Paine didn’t know what to say. Snow did love Quentin. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have done what he did. In Snow’s shoes, he probably would have done the same thing. With a few variations, of course. Paine would have agreed and then gone straight to Charon. Charon would take care of it. Quentin would have never known. Unfortunately, Paine didn’t think he should say any of that, so he said nothing and hoped. Maybe one day Quentin would find his way to Snow again, the way Charon had found him. Paine’s mind skipped a beat at his thoughts. Charon had never given up his pursuit. He never would. If he came back again, Paine would give him a shot and let the chips fall where they may. He should have died a long time ago anyhow. No one else should get to take the last of his sanity. That belonged to Charon.