Page 84 of Winning You
Lucas lifted his head up. “Frankie?”
“Sorry. Um. You…you left the door open?”
“Yeah, I wanted to make sure you knew you could just come in.” He shuffled forward a few more steps, one hand out. “Where are you?”
“Here,” he said, stepping into Lucas’s grasp. He tilted his chin up just slightly and took the kiss his body was craving. “You’re warm.”
“Yeah, sometimes really hot showers help me calm down. My dad, he says we have to go report everything to the detective who’s handling Charlie’s case. He already got a copy of the video. I hope Fallon won’t be angry with me.”
“Why would he? I’m taking him downtown to get an order of protection, and he will absolutely be on your side about this.”
Frankie followed Lucas as he turned and went back to the bedroom, watching with keen eyes as Lucas dropped his towel, then walked stark naked to his dresser to pull out a pair of boxer briefs, jeans, and a T-shirt.
“You’re staring,” Lucas said, a tiny smirk forming on his lips.
“Can’t help it, princess. You’re gorgeous.”
Lucas flushed slightly, the pink going from his chest to his neck. His bruise was more evident then—the dark, blackish purple marring his face, and Frankie felt a fresh surge of rage.“You better be careful with that princess stuff. I love it, but I’m not sure everyone else will get it.”
Frankie walked to the bed and dropped down to the edge as he watched Lucas get dressed. It was a shame to cover up all his skin, but it had to be done. “Mm. Not a conversation I want to have with your parents.” Frankie bit his lip. “Do you, ah…”
Lucas froze halfway through gathering his hair into its usual knot behind his head. “Do I what?”
“Have a mom?”
His mouth settled into a smile, and he shook his head. “No. I was raised with two dads. The shitty one disappeared on me, and my dad met someone else. Monty. You’ll like him a lot. He’s a giant marshmallow.”
“He’s part of your parents?”
“He is now,” Lucas said. He finished tying his hair, then turned and reached a hand out. Frankie took it and tugged him until Lucas was standing between his spread knees. He pressed his hands to Lucas’s waist, then dragged them upward, tugging on the way back down until Lucas dropped into his lap.
“Hi,” Frankie said when their noses touched.
Lucas chuckled. He was wearing a prosthetic in the eye that wasn’t hurt—a very bright blue one. Frankie cupped his cheek and ghosted a thumb over the bruise on his cheek. “I hate that you were hurt.”
“I didn’t love it either. You should kiss it and make it better.”
“We don’t have time for the kissing and making it better that I want to do,” Frankie murmured, but he tugged Lucas forward and grazed open lips over the injured skin. Lucas shuddered, and Frankie’s kiss got a little rougher as he made it to his jaw, then down his neck, then back up to his lips.
He took him hungrily then, a desperation in his body he didn’t fully understand. It was damn near impossible not to pin him to the bed, strip him down, and fuck the breath straight outof his lungs. As it was, he might have, but Lucas’s door opened, and a voice called through the room.
“Where the fuck are you!”
“Gage,” Lucas said. He didn’t pull back, and Frankie didn’t let go until the footsteps charging through the house came to a stop in the doorway.
“Oh my god! My eyes!”
“I have spares if you need them,” Lucas said, pulling away. He turned, and over his shoulder, Frankie could see Gage’s face reacting to Lucas’s wounds.
Gage stormed forward and took Lucas’s chin in his hands. “What the—excuse me,” he said quickly, glancing at Frankie. “But what the fuck?”
“Your dad told you, right?”
“Yes,” Gage said, letting him go. His eyes moved downward, locked on where Frankie was holding Lucas by the waist. “You didn’t call me, so I had to get the info secondhand.”
“I was busy being in pain,” Lucas told him. “Talking kind of sucks. Eating sucks. Everything sucks. It’s fresh. And aren’t you supposed to be in a mountain somewhere?”
“Dad got called back in,” Gage said. His voice trailed off. “So…this is a thing now? You two?”
