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“It was only my cheek.”
“I don’t care if it’s your fucking pinky, I won’t do that to you.”
Elic erased the distance I put between us. “What if I want you to?”
“Elic…”
“No one’s ever touched me like they gave a shit.”
“You didn’t deserve that.”
“You’re right, and you don’t deserve to only get Casper when he’s willing to fuck you.”
My eyes slammed shut as I forced the sudden lump of emotion down my throat.
“We all have issues, Reed. Me, you, Casper. Every other person in the world. You see me as fragile when that’s not how I feel. You see Casper as a tall wall you can’t scale. When you push those visions aside, you’re left with who we truly are. I’m scared to death of men. You’ve witnessed it. But you and Casper, I don’t cower from you. Nightmares sometimes plague me. I have occasional panic attacks. I have no car or license. What I own can fit in a duffel bag. But when you and Casper are in front of me, I want to be more than my circumstances.”
I opened my eyes to find the raw need on his face. This desire to be better than he thought he was. The truth was, he didn’t need to be better. He was perfect just how he was. “You’re so much more than them.”
“And you and Casper are more than stepbrothers. You love him, you admitted it. He might not say the words, but he loves you too. I’ve seen it in those moments when nothing matters but your well-being.”
“He cares about you too.”
“In my dreams, maybe. Reality’s different.”
This time, when I lifted my hand, I left it on his cheek to gently stroke my thumb over his soft skin. “I don’t want to take advantage of you. I don’t want to be another asshole in a line of them who’ve hurt you.”
“I know where I stand. Your heart belongs to Casper.”
I swallowed. Hard. While Casper held part of my heart, I was quickly learning there was room for another to take a portion of it. Every smile of Elic’s, every time he spoke, I craved more. “What if it doesn’t completely?”
“Don’t say things you don’t mean.”
“It’s the truth.”
A door above us slammed, causing me to jump and drop my hand from Elic.
“Shit,” I breathed out. There was no one else here but Casper. I wondered how much he’d heard.
“You should talk to him.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle, though there wasn’t an ounce of humor to it. “Casper doesn’t talk. He fucks. He screws with my head and heart. I let him because I’d rather take a piece of him than nothing at all.” God, how fucked up did I sound? Seriously, what the hell was wrong with me? There was a man standing in front of me who I was obviously attracted to and wanted to kiss so damn badly, yet I couldn’t get Casper out of my head. Both he and Elic were there, each with a spot of their own.
While Elic was new to my life, his presence was powerful. Maybe that was the way it was supposed to be. I believed in everything happening for a reason. It wasn’t always easy, but there was a purpose.
Elic placed his hand on my chest over my heart. “All I ask is that you don’t toy with me.”
I covered his hand with my own. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
He nodded. “I’m going inside.” His fingers lightly dragged across my chest and arm, down to my fingers, as he brushed past me.
“Elic?”
“Yeah?” he asked over his shoulder.
“If anything were to happen between us, I need you to know it has nothing to do with you staying here or working at the restaurant. No matter what we do or don’t do, you have a home and a place to work.”
“You’re a sweet guy, Reed. I’m not the only one who realizes it.” He walked up the stairs to the deck on the second floor. I heard the door’s quietclickwhen he went inside.
