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“No. We need to talk,” he snapped. “I’ll wait.”
There was no answer after that, but not two minutes later, he heard the garage start to rumble, and then headlights flashed. Peyton took a breath as Hudson’s SUV rolled up the driveway, then he startled when the doorbell spoke again.
“Go inside. I’ll be right there.”
Hudson’s voice was followed by the click of his deadbolt, and Peyton dug deep for courage as he let himself in. Not quite sure what to do with himself, he dropped the box on the table, then shoved his hands into his pockets.
It felt strange to be in Hudson’s house on his own. He couldn’t seem to calm down, so he paced the length of the floor, trying not to really think before Hudson’s car pulled up. If he did that, he’d lose his nerve. He’d come up with a thousand ways to ask what the fuck was happening, then he’d get tongue tied and embarrass himself and…
His thoughts cut off with an abrupt crash as he heard the door to the garage open through the kitchen. His heart began to hammer in his ear and he backed up until he fell onto the sofa. His knee bounced with his nerves as he waited, knowing it would take Hudson a while to put his chair together and wheel into the house.
It felt like time was going backward, but eventually he heard the garage door close, then the door in the kitchen opened and slammed shut.
Between one breath and the next, Hudson appeared, leaning heavily on a walker. Shit, he was so tall. His face was impassive as he looked at Peyton, though his eyes were soft with worry.
“Was it Austin?”
Peyton blinked, then quickly shook his head. “No. Um…no. It’s.” He licked his lips as Hudson walked closer. “You. It’syou.”
He was just brave enough to look at Hudson’s face, who was scanning Peyton like he was trying to read him. “You’re going to need to be more specific.”
Peyton’s gaze dropped to the toy where he’d left it, and Hudson’s eyes followed his. There was a beat, then Hudson cursed quietly under his breath.
“Ah.Right.”
“Was…were you,” Peyton tried, desperate to control his fumbling tongue. He cleared his throat. “Are you trying to make fun of me or something?”
Hudson’s face immediately fell into an expression of horror, his hands gripping the walker handles so tight, his knuckles were white. “What?”
“It’s just,” Peyton said, dragging his hand through his hair. His bun came loose, and he gathered it back up, grateful to have something to do with his hands. “It doesn’t make any sense. It looks like some Star Trek weapon and there’s no instructions, and trying to figure out what the hell it was was mortifying. It almost knocked one of my balls off. I felt like an idiot.”
Hudson’s cheeks were bright pink, and he couldn’t seem to meet Peyton’s gaze. “I’m so sorry. Peyton, Jesus.” He took a breath which trembled in his chest. “I was trying to help. You seemed so sad.” He finally looked over and Peyton could see he was absolutely serious. “And I understood. That’s why I started my company.”
“Your company?” Peyton swallowed heavily.
Hudson carefully and slowly made his way around the table. “Yeah. The company that makes those toys. I started it.”
“I…oh,” Peyton breathed out. My God, he had no idea. He’d seen all of Hudson’s design papers and his architect table, but he hadn’t even begun to assume it was for something like that. “I saw your website.”
Hudson gave him a soft smile and shrugged as he shifted his walker to the side, using his grip on the handle to lower himself down to the cushion next to Peyton. “It was so hard after my surgery. And Austin made me feel like I was half a person. He seemed to get off on taking care of me, but he was obviously disgusted by what my body couldn’t do anymore. And I was in such a fucking dark place.”
“I hate him,” Peyton growled. “I’m so sorry I ever gave him the time of day.”
Hudson’s hands flexed in his lap, then he turned and shifted over, close enough their knees bumped. “Don’t,” he said, his tone on the edge of harsh. “You couldn’t have known. And I want to kill him for what he did to you.”
“He’s definitely not worth going to jail over,” Peyton murmured quietly, and he felt a small thrill when Hudson smiled.
Hudson let out a soft sigh, then very carefully reached out, but he didn’t touch. At his hesitance, Peyton shifted closer, and Hudson dropped his hand to Peyton’s knee. His soft grip sent warm sparks under his skin like flashes of lightning.
“He’s not worth a single thought. Butyouare, and I wanted to help. I remember the first time I was able to make myself come. It was my first toy design, and it was…it was different than the stuff I’d used in the past. It was nice. And it didn’t make up for what I lost, but it was the first time I realized that I could have new things that were just as good. So I've been working the last couple of weeks with people who have similar limitations that you do. I want you to be able to reclaim your body. Your pleasure.”
"Oh." Jesus, he didn't know what to say. Peyton glanced at the toy and felt his mouth twitch. “I get it. But um…you might want to include how to use shit like that because it’s kind of intimidating. I feel like if I do the wrong thing it’s going to squeeze my dick off.”
Hudson burst into laughter and his face was so light, so beautiful that in spite of his embarrassment, Peyton wanted to kiss him.
God help him, he was so screwed.
“I can show you how to use it. If you want.”
