“We’ll see. But right now my priority is you. Nobody will touch you while you’re mine.”
Reid lets me lift him out of the bed, even lets me wrap an arm around him as I guide him to the bathroom. I wash my hands, then use a washcloth to wipe the corners of his eyes, and his cheeks. He stares up at me the entire time, face still carefully devoid of emotion. It scares me a little bit, how easily he can make himself a blank canvas.
“You okay?” I ask softly.
Reid blinks rapidly a few times as if rebooting back online. His gaze slowly focuses on me, but instead of replying with words, he tips up on his toes and soundly kisses me. I keep my eyes open and so does Reid. Somehow that’s more intimate than both of us closing our eyes. The kiss is just barely a brush of lips, but when he pulls away, his lips tip upslightly at the corners in the approximation of a pleased smile.
“I’m okay now.”
“Yeah?”
Reid blows out a long breath. “Yeah, yeah I’m okay. I really need a cigarette though since you didn’t let me come.”
“No smoking inside,” I say firmly. “Also, you shouldn’t be smoking at all.”
Reid rolls his eyes, but there’s an underlying hint of affection that was never there before. “Let a man have some vices.”
“You like to be choked to an inch of death, that’s a big enough vice.”
Reid flushes bright red, but doesn’t reply. I love the way his flushes paint his creamy cheeks, it works all the way down his neck to his chest, and it’s so easy to read him when it happens. I tangle our fingers together and tug Reid behind me back to the living room. The guys are still sitting on the couch, but now Jacob and Hayden are playing video games while Parker silently reads a well-worn hardcover in the corner.
Parker looks up first, eyebrows raised. “Can we continue now?”
“Yes, I had to sort… something out. All sorted.”
Parker’s eyes flick between me and Reid, but he stays quiet because he’s not a total idiot. Like Jacob.
“We heard everything, you know,”Jacob teases.
“Oh yeah?” Reid asks as he tosses himself in the chair. “What’d you hear?”
“Lots of moaning andoh yeahs,”Hayden chimes in.
Reid snorts. “You didn’t hear shit. Dante is a quiet fuck.”
Jacob’s eyebrows go up. “That’s way more information than I ever needed to know about him.”
“You started it,” Reid teases with a wicked smirk.
I sit on the edge of the chair beside him. His arm brushes against my thigh when he leans a little closer, but I don’t draw attention to it. I have to take the small wins when I can. Now I have to deal with the matter at hand.
“They’re probably tracking Reid because they saw me trailing him. Maybe they think he’s… worth something to us. Not in the way they think,” I say when Reid’s eyebrows rise. “He probably needs twenty-four-seven protection until we can figure this shit out. We’ve righted a lot of wrongs, these people could beanyone.”
“Move him in here, then, because I’m not having us all switch on and off to keep him safe outside the house,” Hayden orders without taking his gaze off of the television. “I’m in some of his classes, so he’s safe there. He’ll just need to be watched when he’s going to and from campus. One of us should probably drive him.”
Reid groans. “Drive to campus? It’ll take longer than walking.”
Hayden shrugs, totally uncaring. “Die, then.”
Parker sighs loudly and Jacob angrily pinches his nose. That’s so very Hayden. Point-blank and take it or leave it. The method seems to work on Reid because his jaw tightens, but he doesn’t argue.
“I’ll take you to your house so you can get a few things, okay?” I tell him.
Reid nods once, then looks down at his bitten-down nails.
“Has anyone informed Robin yet?” Parker asks, because he’s always the one thinking ahead.
When all he receives is silence, Parker sighs again and pulls out his phone. He types a quick message, then waves his hand at the three of us. Our phones all vibrate at the same time to alert us of an incoming message with us attached. I’ve got to assume they’ll help handle this situation for a while so I can focus on Reid. This is exactly why I don’t date, because while what we do isn’tbad,it’s inherently dangerous since we’re fucking with people that don’t typically get fucked with.
