Page 14 of His Favorite Color is Blood
With some help from the saleswoman, Andrey chose a sleek black wheelchair and gloves to go with it, as he preferred one he could push himself instead of an electric one. Upon Grim’s insistence, they also purchased a comfortable cushion, a cupholder, and a bag.
Despite Grim’s misgivings about losing the chance to carry Andrey, he was proud when they left the shop. And since he always carried a bundle of cash on him, none of their shopping was out of his range.
“This is … It moves so smoothly.” Andrey wheeled his chair out of the store, looking back at Grim every now and then as they moved through the parking lot toward the small single-level mall a few rows of parked cars away. “It will take some time until I can repay you. I’m good with computers, but those fuckers can track everything anywhere. It’s not safe for me to be online. But I’ll think of something.”
Grim’s chest filled with pride. Pampering was something he’d always wanted to do for Coy. It’d been ages, and he still lived with the guilt of not being able to provide the help that Coy had needed. “No way. It’s a gift. You need those things, and all I need is some company.”
“Because you travel a lot on your own?” Andrey turned around in the wheelchair and started rolling it backward, making Grim’s heart freeze for a moment. What if Andrey fell and hurt himself?
“I—yeah. I’m a Nomad. Do you know what that means?” he asked, watching Andrey’s stumps where they stuck out of the shorts.
Andrey shook his head but then looked over his shoulder. “Because I’m guessing it doesn’t mean you live in a forest, forage for food, and move south for the winter?”
Grim laughed, watching Andrey experiment. He couldn’t wait to see him move around freely, something that he hadn’t been allowed to do for such a long time. It only then occurred to him that he was the only one to meet the real Andrey, a man of flesh and blood, who had a sense of humor and could be a real pain in the ass sometimes. Andrey was like this only with him, and everyone else—Gary, the men at the compound, and the other viewers—could all go fuck themselves. Grim only needed to know Andrey’s real name to complete the picture. It was an itch he couldn’t scratch.
“Nah. That’s when a member of the motorcycle club doesn’t belong anywhere and travels unless he is called over for business.”
When they finally reached the long wall of the mall, Andrey turned his wheelchair and circled Grim like an excitable baby shark. “You should have a travel blog.”
Grim laughed, his eyes following the handsome face. “It would be calledBloody Trail Through America.”
And for the first time since Grim found Andrey under that desk, Andrey laughed loudly. The sound was as sincere as it was sometimes in Andrey’s more personal videos. “Too bad you didn’t take Gary’s photo for your blog.”
Grim exhaled, mesmerized. That was it. He would marry Andrey. He was pure perfection, even if he wasn’t willing to put out yet. “Damn shame. Maybe I could do a drawing instead.”
“I draw,” Andrey said, and Grim stopped in his tracks. He’d watched every single video he could get his hands on, and he’d never known this. This was so amazing he forgot to breathe.
“What do you draw?” he asked and walked next to Andrey’s wheelchair for several moments as they slowly approached the entrance. There was sweat beadingon his back as he reached out for Andrey’s hand, for a moment forgetting the bird needed it to move around.
Andrey went silent and looked toward the mall, so Grim couldn’t see his face. “Nothing worth keeping. Things Gary would never let me show anyone.”
“We should go to the art store too then,” said Grim quickly and put his palm on Andrey’s shoulder. That still counted as “hand,” didn’t it?
Andrey looked up at him with half his face hidden in the shadow of the hood but didn’t shrug Grim’s hand off. “I really don’t want to thin out that wad of cash in your pocket too much.”
Grim smirked. “You don’t think that’s all I have, do you?”
Andrey pushed Grim’s hip. “Show-off.” He stopped rolling the wheelchair forward, freezing with his hands raised. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to push you. Sorry.”
Grim raised an eyebrow at him. “As long as you don’t try to bleed me with a fork, we’re good.”
Andrey took a deep breath and stopped close to the revolving doors leading into the mall. “Okay. I don’t want you to be angry with me. I’m still overwhelmed.”
Grim swallowed and arranged his hair when he spotted his reflection in the window. “You don’t have to worry about that. You’re not my prisoner, and I would never hurt someone like you in any way.”
“What if your club told you to?” Andrey looked up into a camera over the door and quickly pulled the hood farther over his head.
Grim’s gut tightened with anger at the thought of his club turning their backs on him. “Why would they? Do I need to know something?”
“If those people from the compound found out I’m alive, that I travel with a member of the Coffin Nails, they’d want to get to me. They could blackmail your club, kidnap their family members … and you’d have to give me back to them.” Every word was quieter than the last, and the paranoia in the convoluted threat was making Grim want to hug Andrey.
But he couldn’t do that here, so instead he stopped the wheelchair, propped his hands on the armrests, and looked straight into Andrey’s eyes. “They would not do that, because if I tell them that you’re mine, they’re gonna stand by me.” He took a deep breath, remembering things he wanted to forget. The betrayal of people he trusted and losing the one person who mattered the most. But his newfamily, the Coffin Nails, would never do that to him. “No one could make me give up on you. You are my responsibility, and if I’m ever gonna leave you, it’s gonna be because of a bullet in my heart. Do you understand me?”
Andrey’s pupils went a bit wider. “Why do you care so much?” he whispered. “I’m just a webcam guy you liked.”
Grim took a deep breath and looked away from the inquisitive gaze. He would not let a broken, helpless bird die in his hands ever again. “I need you, okay? I just do.”
Andrey nodded, never breaking eye contact, and leaned forward in the wheelchair, making Grim’s heart flutter in anticipation of a kiss he was sure wouldn’t come. But then Andrey’s sweet, hot lips were on his, and it was better than any hardcore porn vid could ever be. This was for him only. He moaned into the kiss, his thoughts drawn to the stumps that were so close to his knees, bare for anyone to see where they peeked out from the shorts. He wanted to pull off his shirt and cover them, keep them for his own pleasure.
