Page 39 of Speechless

“There’s nothing wrong with my brain, Cain.”

“Your cock then. Something sure ain’t right with you.”

“My cock is in perfect working order. If this is all we’re gonna talk about for the next few days, drop me off here. I’ll hide out at the bar until Friday.”

“Yeah? When’s the last time you got laid? I know you’re not getting any from the pretty young thing you picked up off my floor.” Cain drove carefully down the street, as aware as Connor of their brother’s tenacity regards speeding in town limits. “Sexy nurse said she’s not doing so well, I’m sorry for that. That’s what’s got you all tangled up?”

Tangled up was an understatement. Connor knew Sarah would have given Cain the rundown on what was happening, and he cut straight to the chase. “Don’t play the redneck idiot with me, Cain. You’re smarter than Caleb and me put together. You know what the deal is.”

“Caleb andI,” Cain corrected smugly. “Just trying to lighten the trip, Con. I get you’re in a bad place. It’s rough and I can’t begin to imagine what it’s like bringing someone back from the brink of hell, only to have them slip away again. But I knowyou. You don’t take no fucking prisoners when you set your mind on something, Connor. Don’t turn into a pussy now when that lass needs you to be a fucking hero.”

Hero. Pfft, he was miles away from earning that title. He stared out the window as the town he grew up in flashed past. Howler’s Creek would never make the map for tourists, didn’t draw anyone’s attention for landmarks or historical reasons, but it was home.

Here was where he’d scored his first touchdown on the lawn of his childhood home, broken his arm saving a catch and stumbling in front of Mrs. Callister’s Ford with the ball still in his mitt. Kissed his first girl down by the creek, had sex in the same place with the same girl, made love with Louisa in his first apartment.

Howler’s Creek and its people had honed him, made him a man and given him a solid foundation to grow into a respected member of the community, a competent doctor, and be someone who mattered.

Raising a family here was the dream. He thought he’d struck gold with Louisa—pretty girl, content with small town life, with a kinky side that matched his own. They’d discussed children, both being happy with the idea of two, and Connor’s dream appeared to be in the sprouting stage.

She hacked him off at the knees and finished the job off with a kick to the balls when he discovered her kink ran to more than just one-on-one scenes. He’d never divulged the reason why he’d dumped her ass so quickly when everything appeared hunky-fucking-dory on the surface, but what man wanted to admit he’d caught his girlfriend in the middle of an organized gangbang in his own fucking house.

Coming home three days early after the medical seminar in Big Sky was cancelled due to a flu outbreak, Connor had been tired, eager to get home, and homesick for his girl.

Apparently, Louisa had neglected to tell him she liked dick in multiples. The dozen strange men in his living room, buck naked and gleaming with sweat, had obviously been very busy giving her exactly what she liked.

Too busy sucking off the college boy in her mouth, she hadn’t seen him. The half circle of men waiting for her manicured hands to jack them off while two of their friends fucked her in sync blocked her view of him as he stormed into the clusterfuck of his relationship.

She’d sure as hell seen him when he punched college boy. The guy’s cock had all but taken her cheating teeth with it when he staggered back and dropped like a stone.

Oh, she’d tried to explain. Scrambling after Connor with streaks of other men’s come splashed over her lithe figure, lashes of it in her long brown hair. She’d wept false tears, assured him it wasthe first time, and her words rang hollow.

Walking into that had brushed away the veil blinding him from her true colors. Where he’d seen light and vitality, there was nothing but murky distortion. A mimicry of his idea of what a Dominant-submissive relationship ought to be.

He’d turned his back on her, on the mess she brought into their home, and cut her out of his world. So he’d believed, until she strolled into Caleb’s office with the remnants of their last scene together and destroyed his existence with well-conceived lies.

Luckily, the details of the whole sordid mess hadn’t gone beyond Caleb. Family loyalty versus official duty hadn’t gone down well, but Caleb had at least obliged Connor’s privacy during the investigation in spite of his disgust.

“Stop thinking about her,” Cain snapped, punching Connor’s arm.

“I’m not doing anything. Fuck off.”

“Bullshit on a stick. Everyone knows your Louisa face. That bitch was a cancerous tumor gnawing through your life, Connor. That young lass of yours might be broken, but she’s twice the woman Louisa will ever hope to be.”

“I’m in love with her.”

“Yeah? She know that?”

“The world went to hell before I got the chance.”

Cain tapped his fingers on the steering wheel to the rhythm of the Garth Brooks song playing on the radio. “Well then, guess we’d better make the most of the next few days and get you back on your A game, brother. I’ve got just the thing.”

“The suspense is killing me,” Connor said dryly.

“Beer, bucking bulls, and hot tub. The ultimate trifecta in blowing off steam, big brother.” Cain’s grin was wicked as he hit the interstate and put his foot on the gas. “Been a long time since you sat your ass on some class, Con.”

Ah fuck, Connor thought. He’d be lucky to see the week out without ending up in a cast.

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