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“Michael.”
“Yeah, him, and I assumed the rumors were true.”
“I’ve given the guys plenty of fodder to gab about over the years, but not this time. As for Harry and Hope, I haven’t yet decided how I’m going to get even with them, but I will. I’m thinking maybe I can somehow lure Harry and Dylan into the big walk-in freezer and lock them in. They’d have to stop being stupid and share body heat to stay alive.”
Kieran chuckled. “Harry would kill you once she got out.”
Finley grimaced. “Or she’d kill poor Dylan and make a skin suit out of him to stay warm. She’d have plenty of frozen foods to gnaw her way through to keep her fueled.”
“Sounds like you’ve given this a lot of thought,” Kieran said wearily.
“Nah, I just have an active imagination.” He sighed. “They meant well, and I love them dearly, but I don’t need them running interference for me.”
“Thought you said it was an intervention.”
Finley laughed. “Same difference.”
“God, I’ve missed your smile and your laughter.” Kieran brushed his thumb over Finley’s cheeks. “I’ve missed everything about you, and I’m so sorry for shutting you out. I’ve had no guidance on how to handle relationships and powerful emotions. Maybe I’m too broken for even you to fix.”
“Careful, Kieran. I love a challenge.” Finley dropped his hands to Kieran’s abdomen and loved the way his muscles bunched. A spark flared to life low in Finley’s belly, and if he weren’t careful, he’d have a raging inferno in seconds. There would be another time to explore their physical relationship, or so he hoped. Finley was on the verge of asking Kieran to stay with him at the ranch before he caught himself. The events of the day were catching up to Kieran, and if his week had gone anything like Finley’s, then he hadn’t slept worth a damn.
Kieran’s mouth opened in a yawn big enough to swallow his face, telling Finley everything he needed to know. He slid off Kieran’s lap, stood up, and extended his hand. “I could use a nap too. Then I’ll rustle up something for us to eat.”
Kieran rose willingly and tugged Finley into his arms. “Sounds perfect to me.” He led Finley to his bed and pulled back the covers.
Finley saw a small bottle with his mom’s logo on top of the nightstand. He picked it up, rolled it over, and saw Monkey Grease in her familiar scrawl. “Where did you get this?” Finley asked.
Heat suffused Kieran’s cheeks when he saw what Finley held. He took the small bottle and tossed it into the nightstand before shutting the drawer. “It was included in the bag you gave me on my first day.”
Finley looked up and gaped at him. “No way. I want a hole to open up and swallow me.”
Kieran reached out and pulled him close as if that might really happen. Finley buried his head in Kieran’s chest and held on for dear life. “I thought it was part of the welcome package. Salve for aching muscles and Monkey Grease for—”
Finley lifted his hand without looking up and covered Kieran’s mouth. His lips trembled against Finley’s fingers, and Kieran’s chest vibrated as laughter built up inside him. Finley had never heard Kieran laugh before and was too eager to experience it to worry that he was the butt of the joke. He pulled his hand back, and laughter tumbled from Kieran’s mouth. It was rich and thick like honey on biscuits, and Finley wanted to lick him up.
Kieran smiled at him after he regained his composure. “I didn’t realize it was in there until the next morning, and I’ve nearly made myself blind from masturbation since.”
Finley rolled his eyes. “That’s a myth. We’d all be blind otherwise.”
“I didn’t find the note your mom wrote until I made use of the lube, which made it impossible to tell you about afterward.”
Finley closed his eyes and groaned. “Oh no.” After a moment, he cracked an eye open. “And you read it?” Kieran nodded, and the eye snapped closed again. Finley buried his head in Kieran’s chest. “What did it say?” He shook his head. “Never mind. I can’t handle the truth.” By then Kieran had started to laugh again, so Finley snapped his head up. “That bad, huh?” Finley hung his head again. “I’m so embarrassed.”
“Don’t be,” Kieran said softly. “Your mom and sister love you and only want the best for you, whether it’s suitable lube or men to date.” Kieran released another jaw-cracking yawn, and Finley stepped out of his embrace to strip down to his underwear. “This okay?” he asked when Kieran stood ramrod still. Had he taken things too far?
Kieran whipped his shirt off and tossed it to the floor. “Better than.”
They climbed into bed, wrapped around each other, and lay there in silence for so long that Finley figured Kieran had fallen asleep. He willed his mind to settle down and shut his eyes, hoping to follow suit, then Kieran ghosted his hand up Finley’s spine and settled it at his nape.
“My parents were drug addicts. Hard stuff like heroin.” Finley wanted to comfort him but was afraid Kieran would stop talking if he touched him. “I can’t recall a time when they were clean and we were happy. I remember their fighting, being hungry all the time, acting as a punching bag for my dad when his demons were at their worst, and my mom bringing strange men home and into their bedroom to pay for their habits. One of the johns brought my mom heroin that was laced with something else, and they overdosed together in the bedroom. I found them when I came home from school. We didn’t have a phone, so I wandered from house to house until I found a neighbor at home. I called 911 and ran back to wait for them.”
“How old were you?” Finley asked, unable to stay quiet.
“There you are. I was afraid you’d fallen asleep.” Kieran took a deep breath. “I was ten.” He pressed a kiss to the top of Finley’s head and continued. “When I got back to the house, my dad was there. I told him what happened and that help was on the way. He was furious with me. Said I shouldn’t have done that because they would get in trouble. He was beating the shit out of me when the cops and paramedics arrived.”
Finley couldn’t have kept from crying if someone had offered him ten million dollars. He just kept his head pressed to Kieran’s chest, knowing he’d feel Finley’s hot tears on his bare flesh.
“The state took me away, and I never saw them again. My mom survived that overdose but not the next one. My dad was killed in a bar fight not long after she passed. I don’t think I have any siblings floating around in the world.” He took a steadying breath. “I bounced around to different foster families because my biological family couldn’t or wouldn’t take me in, and I ended up in a boys’ home until I graduated from high school. I fumbled and fucked around, barely resisting the horrible pattern my parents had taught me.”
