Salvation (The Protectors 2)

“There you are,” Barry said as he entered the study. His skin was flushed like he’d been running, which didn’t make sense since it was a short walk from the front door – the door that had been locked but which Barry clearly had no reservations about using the security code I’d given him for emergencies on. I’d asked him once to call ahead of time to let me know he was coming but he’d brushed me off with a little laugh. I supposed it would have been just as easy to change the code, but the non-confrontational part of me hadn’t wanted to deal with explaining to Barry that his behavior was just too much.

“Hi, Barry,” I said. “What are you doing here?”

“You never called me to reschedule our last session, so I thought I’d stop by and make sure you were okay,” he said as he came right up to me despite the fact that I’d been hoping to use the desk to keep some distance between us. “Besides, I was worried about you. That…man,” – his voice dripped with disgust – “was so rude yesterday.”

I didn’t bother to point out that Barry had been rude first by talking down to Ronan like he had.

“I’m doing okay,” I murmured. “But I’m kind of tired so I just want to take Bullet for a quick walk and then settle in for the night.”

Of course, Barry didn’t take the hint because he stepped forward and ran his hands up and down my arms. “You know you can tell me anything, right Seth?” he said softly.

I had no idea what he meant by the question but I was too preoccupied with his touch to give it much thought. I should have enjoyed the contact. Barry was a good looking guy. He was smart, funny, successful. But all I wanted to do was pull away from him. His fingers didn’t burn my skin with flashes of energy, his lips didn’t look warm and inviting, his voice didn’t rumble through me.

“I know,” I managed to say.

“That man-”

“Ronan,” I interjected because it annoyed me to hear Barry refer to Ronan that way…as if Ronan was somehow beneath him, beneath us.

“I didn’t like how he looked at you,” Barry murmured as he stepped even closer to me. I hadn’t even realized he’d maneuvered me so that my back was to the desk until his hands came up to hold my face and I couldn’t move any farther back.

“Barry…”

“Like he knew what you needed and I didn’t…” Barry whispered.

Warning bells started going off in my head as Barry’s eyes fell to my mouth.

“Barry-”

“You’re so beautiful, Seth,” Barry said as his finger trailed over my lower lip. If it had been Ronan, I would have been all over him. With Barry, I just wanted to get away. But when I brought my hands up to remove his from my face, he grabbed them. The move was something I would have expected from Ronan, but I knew within seconds that wasn’t quite true because whereas Ronan’s hold on me hadn’t hurt, Barry’s did.

I tried saying Barry’s name one last time, but the second I opened my mouth, Barry’s lips slammed down on mine and his tongue shoved into my mouth. I was so caught off guard that I didn’t react and he must have taken my stillness as acquiescence because he leaned against me hard, his slightly greater weight pressing me down onto the desk. My head was spinning from the shock of what was happening and I shoved at him as hard as I could. But he still had a hold of my wrists so I couldn’t dislodge him. He pinned my hands to the desk and then he was thrusting his hips against me, his erection pressing into me. His sloppy, wet kiss was revolting and I was about to bite down on his tongue when his weight was ripped off of me. Barry let out a horrified shout as his body went flying and I managed to sit up just in time to see Ronan slam his fist into Barry’s face. Blood spurted from his nose but it didn’t slow down Ronan in the least as he punched Barry again. I managed to reach Ronan just as he pulled a gun out from his suit and put the barrel to Barry’s forehead. Barry and I both froze.

“Ronan, don’t,” I managed to whisper, afraid if I spoke any louder, he’d fire the gun. As much as I wanted Barry to suffer for what he’d tried to do to me, I didn’t want this.

I expected to see Ronan displaying some kind of anger or emotion but there was nothing. Everything about him was cool, calm and one hundred percent ice cold. That in itself was much more frightening than any rage he might have shown. Bullet had appeared by my side, but even the dog seemed to sense the tension because he didn’t move towards either man.