Hot, firm, and wanting.
“I come here to help. That’s the only reason I’m here.” Ash licked his lips. “I do it for Stevie and the others.”
They stood close enough to share the same breathing space, yet the yawning emotional distance between them was as great as the first day they’d met. Impenetrable, for Ash had gone cold and still. Drew thought back to what his grandmother had said. How she sensed the truth of what lay inside Ash. Not the chilly, confident lawyer, quick on his feet with a smirk or a snide remark. Instead, as she always did, she saw straight to the heart. To the inner truth of what lay deep within the person. From the start, she’d sensed Ash’s innate decency, no matter how he walled it off from the rest of the world.
And because of that, Drew held on to Ash as a friend and a man he believed in as well. He couldn’t, wouldn’t press Ash now. There would be time enough for that, when they were truly alone and able to lay their feelings bare to the blood and bone. Whether it led to something more intimate wasn’t the point. The terrible loneliness Ash endured each day was familiar to Drew. As his family and friends paired off to begin new lives and build their own worlds, Drew stayed cocooned like a caterpillar in his chrysalis.
His tentative flutters to break free were a result of a need to connect with another warm body. To give and receive a touch against warm flesh. Drew thought back to the women he’d arranged coffee dates with not even an hour ago, and forced himself to feel excited at the prospect of meeting new people and a possible fresh start to his life. It didn’t help that the person he most wanted to spend his time with was standing in front of him with a heart as impermeable as a granite-faced mountainside.
He stepped back now, relinquishing the space to Ash. The tension broke between them. “I’d like to still talk to Stevie. Maybe if he could meet Keith with Jordan and me there, he’d feel less scared.”
Ash shrugged. “I guess it’s worth a shot.”
Drew nodded; his gaze instinctively now drawn to Ash’s arms. When he looked up again, the cool indifference on Ash’s face was like a physical slap. Would he ever figure out this man? As he moved past Ash into the office, he couldn’t help but murmur, “What you started that night isn’t over between us.”
A harsh hand came down on his shoulder. When Drew turned his head, he could scarcely recognize Ash as a bitter smile distorted his face. “It is, because I said it is.”
Drew pulled away and put aside his anger at Ash’s stubbornness. He chose instead to focus on the immediate problem at hand, Stevie. The boy sat back in his chair, his long hair tucked behind his ears, exposing the pale white curve of his throat and the faded bruising running down its length.
“Hey, Stevie, how’s it going?” Drew kept his voice light and easygoing, hoping not to startle the youth.
Stevie opened his eyes and gave a tentative smile. “Hi, Dr. Drew. I’m okay. Really. Ash is making a big deal out of nothin’. Honest.”
Ash made a move as if he was going to speak, but Drew put up a hand, forestalling him. “I’m glad to hear you’re feeling better, but I want to talk to you for a few minutes, okay?”
Stevie’s brown eyes turned dark and wary. “Um, well, I guess, but—”
“I know the whole story, so you don’t have to worry about hiding stuff from me. You know Dr. Jordan’s partner, Keith, is a police detective, right?”
Stevie swallowed and nodded, his eyes huge in his pale face.
“Well, what would you say if we all had a talk, you, me, Dr. Jordan, and Keith? You could maybe let Keith know, and he could help somehow.”
Stevie bolted upright in the chair. “No. I can’t. They’d kill me if I ever went to the cops. They told me.”
“Calm down, kiddo. You know bullies say that to frighten people they think are weaker than them.” Drew knelt next to Stevie’s chair. “You’re stronger because you came here to try and find a way out, and we are going to help you. I think once they see you’re serious, they’ll back off and stop hurting you.”
Stevie’s wide-eyed gaze searched his face. “Do you really think so?” He turned his head to the doorway, where Ash still stood. “Do you think so too, Ash?”
The reply was immediate. “Yes, I do.”
Drew exhaled. At least Ash wasn’t letting his personal feelings overrule what he knew was best for Stevie. After hearing of the beatings the boy endured, Drew knew it might only be a matter of time before those bastards would take it a step too far.
Stevie’s face screwed up as if he was in physical pain. Drew noticed him rubbing his side, obviously in discomfort from his bruised ribs. “Hey, buddy, how about right now? You call your foster mom and tell her you’re at a school thing, and we can all go to my house and you can talk to Keith. Right, Ash?” He knew enlisting Ash’s help was the key to Stevie’s participation.
“Yes. I’ll be right here with you when you make the call. Will that help?” Ash walked over to Stevie and laid his hand on the boy’s shoulder. Drew watched as a look passed between the two of them. This case went well beyond work for Ash.
It came to him then that Stevie was Ash’s gateway to self-forgiveness. In Stevie, he could right the wrong he thought he’d made by leaving his friends behind.
Oh, Ash. Forgive yourself already. What happened years ago wasn’t your fault.
To his great surprise, Stevie picked up the phone and, with Ash’s hand on his shoulder still, made the call home. White-knuckled, his hands shook as he spoke to his foster mother, who allowed him to stay. The boy hung up the phone and wiped the sweat off his forehead. “She was so happy I was getting involved in school. I feel really bad lying to her.” He clutched at Drew’s knee. “They aren’t gonna get in trouble, right? They don’t know anything. I never told them about what Jimmy and Donny do to me.”
Drew stood, deliberately not answering him. “Why don’t we grab some food and head on over to my place. I’ll call Jordan and have him and Keith come over. Sound good?”
“You aren’t answering me.” Stevie’s show of defiance surprised Drew. “If you tell the cops and they get in trouble, I swear I’ll lie and say nothing happened and you made the story up. Mr. and Mrs. Harding are really nice to me. Promise you won’t say nothing.”
“Stevie—”
