Page 64 of Working Out West

“Because I had to.”

“You had to?”

“Da.”

He shook his head. “How can you look at me? Look at my back? Be close to it?”

I threaded my fingers through the back of his hair and gently tugged it to the side to have his eyes. I knew mine were hard from not liking his words. “I can look, I can see, because I do not lie when I say your wounds show me how strong you are. Your wounds are a part of you, and I like you, West.”

“You shouldn’t.”

“You may think that, but it does not change how I feel.” Leaning in, I kept his gaze and touched my lips to his jaw. His breath shook as he released it. “It is time to get out now.”

“Okay,” he uttered.

Slowly, I helped West stand. He kept the cloth in front of him, but it dropped when he stood.

A deep blush hit his cheeks when his hands landed on my chest, and he gazed up at me.

I smirked. “I won’t look… much.”

“Adrik,” he clipped.

A laugh escaped me. “If you lean against the shower wall with your hands, I will retrieve the towel and boxers.” He did, and I quickly slipped out of the shower and used a spare towel to dry off swiftly. I took the other back into the shower. I swallowed thickly as I allowed my gaze to run below his back. His ass was round and perfect.

“Do you wax?” I asked, resting the towel over his shoulders.

“Adrik!” he snapped.

Chuckling, I patted what I could dry without being inappropriate and then handed him the towel to finish the rest. Once done, I crouched and held out the boxers for him to step into. By the time we made it back to his bedroom, where there were clean sheets applied to the bed, West was breathing heavier.

“Do you need pain medication?” I asked, helping him to sit on the side of his bed.

I worried when he did not reply for a few moments. Finally, he shook his head and looked up at me. “Maybe soon, but… could you help me out to the living room to sit at the table for a while?”

Hope resurfaced inside me. “Of course.”

Chapter Sixteen

West

You are the biggest liar,” Kylo complained with a groan. He threw his cards to the table while Saint grinned evilly.

“I damn agree. Show me your pockets,” Death said, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back on the seat.

Saint stood with a smirk and shook out his arms. “Nothin’ up my sleeves.” His hands slid into his jeans pockets and pulled out his wallet, a packet of lube, which had my face flushing as well as Kylo’s, and some coins. “Nothin’ in my pockets.” His hand went to the button on his jeans. “I can strip to show you everythin’ if you still don’t believe I’m just skilled and not cheatin’?”

“We do not need to see everything,” Adrik said crisply and went as far as covering my eyes. Chuckles sounded around the room.

Smiling, I tugged his hand away and pushed my cards into the middle of the table. “Saint, you can’t win five times in a row and not be cheating,” I put in.

“I can. By bein’ just that awesome.”

Kylo snorted.

Saint draped an arm around his shoulders. “Lover boy, you can’t deny my skills.”

“Are we still talking about cards? Because if we aren’t, I don’t need to know anything more about my brother,” Lucas said. Wreck walked up behind him from the kitchen and placed a cocktail in front of him. He leaned in and kissed Lucas’s cheek. It brought a soft smile to my friend’s face.

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