glimpse of a strange, wary look in Cade’s eyes that put him on high alert and fast. “You say he’s a good man. Okay. Then why are you so freaked out?”
The hardness aimed in Tuck’s direction would have left bruises on his flesh if it had been a physical strike. “Don’t ask me that. Don’t ever.”
That, Tuck would have a hard time agreeing with. “Forget asking what he ever did to me. Did he do something to you?”
“What? Don’t be stupid. No.”
“Balls.”
“It’s not your business.” Cade wadded the towel into a ball, not a neat square, and tossed it sharply at the hamper. “We need to get back downstairs. Come on if you’re coming.”
“Uh-uh.” Tuck caught Cade by the shirttail, forgetting his cares for the sake of Cade’s. “Something’s not right here.” Cade’s scoff didn’t fool him. “Don’t try and con me. I can see it plain as plain.”
Cade looked away. “It’s not your business.”
“You are my business.”
Cade’s sharp inhale made things hurt in Tuck’s chest.
He took a chance and moved to lay his palm flat on Cade’s chest. “I can’t fix it if you don’t tell me what’s broken.”
“No one ever asked you to.”
“You know me well enough to know I don’t wait to be asked.”
Cade laughed, and Tuck knew it would sound as bitchy to Cade as it did to him. “That’s you. Never asking. Just running ahead without checking a damn thing. You’d race across a railroad track even with the guardrails down.”
Probably , was what Tuck meant to say. What came out was something else completely. “I know. Maybe that’s why I still love you, and you can’t do a thing about it. No matter how you to try to change my mind.”
“You don’t know—” Cade stopped abruptly and shifted as if he wanted to step out of reach. He didn’t.
Tuck pushed his luck. Why not, if Cade thought of him what Cade thought of him? “Yeah, and that’s the problem. Tell me. Talk to me, fuck it. You know what it feels like to love someone and to have them freeze you out this way? Do you? You have a single clue how—”
Cade’s kiss silenced Tuck. Utterly. Oh God . This was…this was no ordinary kiss. Tuck could tell.
He’d kissed Cade for the first time under a ray of unexpected light when the clouds in a dark gray sky broke apart just far enough. Scared shitless, knowing what the church said about this, but wanting to too much to stop himself.
He’d kissed Cade for the second time in the shadows of the library, over homework shared and a birthday forgotten by all but the two of them.
Cade hadn’t smiled after the first two. He’d run. Bolted like a rabbit. First time around, Tuck figured he’d pegged Cade all wrong. Second time, he had his doubts.
But the third time, Cade kissed Tuck first. Scared shitless but not able to stop himself. Tuck knew one when he saw one. Always.
And what he saw in Cade was love, against all odds.
Memories like that could keep a man going for years.
And then…then there had been the fourth time. An ordinary night after an ordinary day, the only difference being soft rain thumping against his window and keeping him awake. That and the hardness Cade gave him, the one that never went away. All he had to do was think of Cade, and he wanted Cade.
He couldn’t sleep. There had to be a reason.
And when he climbed from the slippery ivy between his window and Cade’s, he understood. Because Cade had let him in. Drawn him into bed and kept him there. They’d had to be quiet, so quiet, but what they did…
Tuck had been with girls before he’d found Cade. Never was too thrilled, and even though he maintained his street cred with all the dirty stories he could scrounge up, sometimes he wondered what the big effing deal was.
After meeting Cade—and getting used to the idea—Tuck had known exactly what the problem had been. And kissing him like this, it never got old…
Cade broke away with a shock of breath. “Don’t ask me questions
The hardness aimed in Tuck’s direction would have left bruises on his flesh if it had been a physical strike. “Don’t ask me that. Don’t ever.”
That, Tuck would have a hard time agreeing with. “Forget asking what he ever did to me. Did he do something to you?”
“What? Don’t be stupid. No.”
“Balls.”
“It’s not your business.” Cade wadded the towel into a ball, not a neat square, and tossed it sharply at the hamper. “We need to get back downstairs. Come on if you’re coming.”
“Uh-uh.” Tuck caught Cade by the shirttail, forgetting his cares for the sake of Cade’s. “Something’s not right here.” Cade’s scoff didn’t fool him. “Don’t try and con me. I can see it plain as plain.”
Cade looked away. “It’s not your business.”
“You are my business.”
Cade’s sharp inhale made things hurt in Tuck’s chest.
He took a chance and moved to lay his palm flat on Cade’s chest. “I can’t fix it if you don’t tell me what’s broken.”
“No one ever asked you to.”
“You know me well enough to know I don’t wait to be asked.”
Cade laughed, and Tuck knew it would sound as bitchy to Cade as it did to him. “That’s you. Never asking. Just running ahead without checking a damn thing. You’d race across a railroad track even with the guardrails down.”
Probably , was what Tuck meant to say. What came out was something else completely. “I know. Maybe that’s why I still love you, and you can’t do a thing about it. No matter how you to try to change my mind.”
“You don’t know—” Cade stopped abruptly and shifted as if he wanted to step out of reach. He didn’t.
Tuck pushed his luck. Why not, if Cade thought of him what Cade thought of him? “Yeah, and that’s the problem. Tell me. Talk to me, fuck it. You know what it feels like to love someone and to have them freeze you out this way? Do you? You have a single clue how—”
Cade’s kiss silenced Tuck. Utterly. Oh God . This was…this was no ordinary kiss. Tuck could tell.
He’d kissed Cade for the first time under a ray of unexpected light when the clouds in a dark gray sky broke apart just far enough. Scared shitless, knowing what the church said about this, but wanting to too much to stop himself.
He’d kissed Cade for the second time in the shadows of the library, over homework shared and a birthday forgotten by all but the two of them.
Cade hadn’t smiled after the first two. He’d run. Bolted like a rabbit. First time around, Tuck figured he’d pegged Cade all wrong. Second time, he had his doubts.
But the third time, Cade kissed Tuck first. Scared shitless but not able to stop himself. Tuck knew one when he saw one. Always.
And what he saw in Cade was love, against all odds.
Memories like that could keep a man going for years.
And then…then there had been the fourth time. An ordinary night after an ordinary day, the only difference being soft rain thumping against his window and keeping him awake. That and the hardness Cade gave him, the one that never went away. All he had to do was think of Cade, and he wanted Cade.
He couldn’t sleep. There had to be a reason.
And when he climbed from the slippery ivy between his window and Cade’s, he understood. Because Cade had let him in. Drawn him into bed and kept him there. They’d had to be quiet, so quiet, but what they did…
Tuck had been with girls before he’d found Cade. Never was too thrilled, and even though he maintained his street cred with all the dirty stories he could scrounge up, sometimes he wondered what the big effing deal was.
After meeting Cade—and getting used to the idea—Tuck had known exactly what the problem had been. And kissing him like this, it never got old…
Cade broke away with a shock of breath. “Don’t ask me questions
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