Wren choked, too distraught to speak. Teddy wiped his tears away like he was the one in need of comfort.
“After that it continued sporadically. I think he started to realize we were more than just childhood friends, and he was trying to beat my feelings out of me. When he caught us kissing he used it as leverage. He told me if I didn’t leave then, he’d hurt you too, and I couldn’t let that happen, Little Bird. Not when I could stop it. He’s been using that ever since to keep me tethered here, to keep me from properly looking for you.”
“I’m going to kill him,” Wren snarled through his tears. “Teddy, I’m going to rip him apart and pay him back for every hurt he ever gave you.”
Teddy stopped him from running from the room to do just that, grabbing his hands in his. “It’s okay, Little Bird.”
“It’s not. It could never be okay!” Wren said, eyes burning.
“I’m sorry for not telling you.”
Wren let go of Teddy’s hands and cupped his face. “You have nothing to be sorry for, you hear me? The only ones who should apologize are Nexus and Kellan, and that would never be enough. They failed you. I failed you.”
“You didn’t. How could you have known?”
“I knew something was off. You always tried to shield me from it, but I could tell. I should have done something.” Wren was filled with so much regret.
“He always told me we were wrong. That there was something wrong with us,” Teddy said, stroking Wren’s arms. “But there never was.”
“They’re the ones who are wrong,” Wren said. “You have always been perfect just as you are. You called me strong, but it’s nothing compared to you, Teddy. You endured this for so long.”
Teddy’s gaze fell to Wren’s chest and more tears fell. “I don’t want to endure it anymore. I want it to be over.”
Wren could do nothing but cradle Teddy to his chest. He closed his eyes and absorbed all the hurt and pain, all the years of silent suffering and bigotry. He held him until he quieted, simply resting against him.
“Thank you,” Teddy murmured into his shoulder.
“Thank you for trusting me,” Wren whispered back, stroking his hair.
He felt lips at his collarbone, slow at first, then more insistent.
“Teddy…” Wren cautioned.
“He took so much from me. I don’t want him to take a second more.”
Wren pulled his head up and searched his eyes. Among the redness and pain, there was an emerging strength that had been dormant under the exhaustion, slowly blossoming again. “Are you sure?”
“I’ve always been sure about you. From the first moment our souls met.”
“Then let me make love to you.” Wren cupped Teddy’s face and looked into his eyes. “Let me make it better, at least for a little while.”
“You already do,” Teddy said, warm breath hitting Wren’s damp lips and making him inhale sharply to draw it into his ownlungs. “But I want you. Even though they tell me it’s wrong. I want you so much…”
“You have me,” Wren vowed, climbing into Teddy’s lap and bracketing his hips with his knees. “You have me body and soul and spirit. It’s not wrong and I’m not going anywhere.”
Teddy wrapped his arms around Wren’s waist and pulled him down, capturing his lips and swallowing a desperate moan that was ripped from his chest. Wren allowed himself to be pulled in, succumbing to Teddy just like he always had. Every nerve exposed. Every desire and dream he had ever had coming out to play.
He had never wanted much, but with Teddy, he was insatiable. He was selfish. He was reduced to everything primal he had always admired in animals. Just raw need and lust.
Teddy reached for the hem of Wren’s shirt and Wren grabbed his hands between his own, leaning back to look him in the eye.
“No,” he said, and Teddy froze. “You’ve spent a lifetime doing everything for everyone. Let me do this. Let me please you.”
Teddy’s eyes softened to melted chocolate and his body relaxed.
“Little bird,” he whispered, reaching for Wren’s shirt again and pulling it over his head in one smooth motion. “I know we were barely adults when we last did this, but the same things that pleased me then still do.”
Wren swallowed hard as Teddy’s hands dipped beneath the waistband of his jeans, the tips of his fingers brushing the small swell of his ass.
