Unbroken (The Protectors 12)

Vaughn kissed me again gently, then whispered, “Just trust me, Aleks.”

I stilled and let him kiss me again like he had before. It took just seconds for me to get lost in his touch again. This time when his tongue traced over that same spot, I managed to hold still.

“God, so sweet,” Vaughn groaned against my mouth. “Open up for me, baby.”

I didn’t understand what he wanted and went to ask him just that at the same time that his tongue did the move again. I jumped when his tongue came into contact with mine. I’d barely processed that he tasted like butterscotch because he immediately drew his tongue back and kissed just my lips. When he repeated the move with his tongue, I found myself trying to figure out what it felt like.

It was weird and awkward and amazing all at the same time. I’d seen people kissing before, but I’d never realized this was what they were doing when their mouths were so passionately melded together.

“Okay?” Vaughn asked, sounding out of breath. He put enough space between us so he could look me in the eye.

I nodded because my throat felt so thick with emotion.

“Do you want me to stop?”

I didn’t even have to think about that for a second. I violently shook my head. His smile was the sweetest thing I’d ever seen. This time when his mouth closed over mine, I was ready.

And what was weird and awkward and amazing became just amazing.

Then it became something else entirely.

“James,” I managed to get out when he gave me a second to catch my breath.

“I know,” was all he said, then his mouth was back on mine and my instincts kicked in. I didn’t care if I wasn’t doing it right or it wasn’t pretty or what it would lead to… I just kissed him back. My arms went around his neck of their own volition and I was pressing into him so I could get more of whatever was causing all the little sparks of delight to go off in my belly like firecrackers. Since moving in with Dante and Magnus, I’d watched the annual fireworks on television every summer and always marveled at the end of the show when it seemed like hundreds of the things were going off all at once and lighting up the sky.

Those fireworks had nothing on the lightshow that was going on inside of me. My groin hurt from how hard my penis had gotten, but I didn’t want to take away even one brain cell from enjoying what Vaughn was doing to me to consider what any of that meant.

Vaughn’s hands ended up on my back, then drifted lower. When they drifted over my backside, I couldn’t help but tense up.

And he noticed. He eased his hands up to my waist but I knew I’d ruined the moment.

“I’m—”

“Perfect,” Vaughn said. “That’s the only word I want to hear from your mouth right now because that’s what that was, do you hear me?”

My body sagged in relief. I certainly didn’t believe I was perfect, but whatever the heck had just happened between us couldn’t have gotten any closer to perfect than if God Himself had created it with His own hand.

“Perfect,” I whispered as I dropped my head so it was tucked beneath his chin. I wrapped my arms around his waist and curled the fingers of one hand around the forearm of the other to lock my arms in place in case he got the foolish idea into his head that he should let me go.

It was a long time before he spoke, but I liked that he held onto me when he did.

“Why, Aleks?”

I knew he wasn’t asking why I’d left without telling him. He already knew the answer to that. No, he wanted more than that… needed more, probably.

“I spent all those years surviving because I knew Dante would come for me,” I said softly. “There were so many days I wanted to just go into my head and never come out again. I… I once had the chance to end it all when I found a piece of broken glass, but I didn’t want to die. I just wanted to go home. Wherever Gio is at this very second, all he’s thinking about is surviving so he can see his father again… so he can see his uncle and his mom and all the people he loves.” I shook my head and pulled back so I could look Vaughn in the eye. “I had Remy and Dante and you to save me, but what if Gio doesn’t have anyone? What if I’m the only one who can make sure he gets to come home? God gave me so many people to look out for me. What if He’s given me to Gio? I… I couldn’t live with myself if I did nothing.”