Carter had declared it was time for dinner and offered to make homemade cheesesteaks for them. The man shaved the steak before he started to cook the meat. It smelt so damn good in the house and Aaron wasn’t dumb. He was at least getting dinner. Who even cooked like this? Not him, that was for sure. It helped to have a chef in the family back at the big house. Otherwise, Aaron just stocked up on frozen dinners.
“Are you sure you don’t want another beer?” Carter asked.
There was no way that Aaron could drink another beer and stay awake. Not only was he lacking sleep, but he was also warm and cozy, and happy that the puppies were safe. “I’m good.”
“Tired?” Carter brushed the hair from Aaron’s forehead.
Leaning his head back against the couch, Aaron stifled a yawn. He was trying so hard to be good. Carter’s tendency to touch Aaron messed with his mind. Made him want and need. “Yeah.”
“Just rest. Dinner will be ready soon,” Carter told him.
“I appreciate you cooking for me,” Aaron said sincerely. And everything else Carter had done. Allowing Aaron to hang outwith the weak excuse of helping with the puppies. Carter could probably handle them just fine.
“I love to cook,” Carter said. “Hudson and I take turns, but on my days off I try to stock up on meals that can be made easily on his nights.”
“That’s great. Normally there’s something left over in kitchen since Drake is an actual chef. That’s on the nights that there isn’t a formal dinner. There usually is. Although the cabins all have a small kitchen, so I have a freezer filled with frozen meals.”
“Family dinner sounds nice. Family is important,” Carter said quietly. “Hudson is my everything. I just don’t know how I’d handle having that much family around.”
Aaron shrugged, because he could see Carter’s point. It was different for him. Aaron was considered part of the family, loved being around the guys, yet it was hard to trust anyone except Leo and Bas. The three of them had been through so much that there was a bond that couldn’t be broken. “That’s why some of us stay in the cabins and not the main house.”
Carter shook his head. “It’s interesting. Anyway, I’ll go finish dinner.”
Watching Carter walk away was a pure pleasure. The way that Carter’s jeans hugged his amazing round ass made Aaron’s mouth water. He closed his eyes with the back of his neck still against the couch to block his view of Carter’s impressive body.
The pup climbed up Aaron’s chest to stuff his little snout under Aaron’s chin.
Aaron patted the little one’s back, and the pup let out the longest sigh.
Yeah, Aaron knew exactly how the brave little puppy felt. Being warm, safe, and comfortable was highly underrated. Unless someone had lived the kind of life that Aaron and those sweet puppies had, they just couldn’t understand how much feeling safe meant.
There were very few memories of Aaron’s life before he went to live in the Council’s children’s home. The home itself hadn’t been a place where a child should have been raised. It wasn’t a home at all. A training center, school. And sometimes hell. The only reason that Aaron had made it out of that place was because of Leo and Bas.
He didn’t know what was wrong with him. Aaron lifted his eyes to the instructor standing in front of him. The slap that Aaron received wasn’t really a surprise. The instructors didn’t seem to like him much.
Behind him, Leo growled low and mean.
Uh-oh! Aaron didn’t want his friend to get in trouble. Again.
“Worthless,” the instructor spat at Aaron. “What are you even doing here?”
Aaron shrugged one of his small shoulders. He had no clue. Not really. He was surrounded by kids that could turn into big scary animals. Aaron couldn’t do that. He’d tried!
“Don’t talk to him that way!” Leo demanded angrily as he pressed his chest to Aaron’s back.
It was hard to hold back the tears. Aaron didn’t like crying in front of others. The kids would make fun ofhim, the instructors would taunt him. Only Leo was ever kind.
“Shut the fuck up!” The instructor glowered at Leo. “Go find something else to do.”
“No,” Leo replied firmly.
The instructor drew his hand back again.
“Hey, asshole! Why don’t you pick on someone your own size!”
Aaron snapped his head around to see a kid about his and Aaron’s age striding toward them. Aaron had never seen this guy before. He was big though. Bigger than both him and Leo. And he looked like he might just be able to give the instructor some of his own medicine. That was something that Aaron wouldn’t mind watching.
The instructor sneered at the new kid. “You just got out of isolation. Do you really want to go back so soon?”
