Cole's Mistake (Haven, Texas 8)

Fuck. Those words were killing him. He needed to know what she meant. Had she been serious? Had someone really done that? As much as he wished he could tell himself she’d been kidding or lying or making it out to sound worse than it was, he knew that wasn’t the case.

Someone had done that to them. To his Keira and Julian.

Fuck. Fuck. Shit.

He wanted to hit something. He wanted to scream. To yell. To cry. But he couldn’t do any of that. Because right now, they were on the verge of breaking. Julian had barely spoken since Keira lost it in the club. He was sitting on the sofa with her wrapped around him like a security blanket. His face was hidden in her neck and he didn’t seem like he planned to move anytime soon.

Julian still had his hand wrapped around Cole’s wrist hard enough to bruise. Not that Cole cared about that. If he needed him, Cole was there. Although, he wasn’t sure how much he was helping.

He lightly tugged at Julian’s hand and the other man tightened his hold. Cole had to hide a wince. Not well enough he realized as Keira stiffened.

“Julian, baby, you’re hurting Cole.”

“Can’t leave,” Julian rumbled.

“I’m not going anywhere, Julian,” Cole told him quietly. “But I thought I might make the two of you something to eat.”

Keira shook her head, looking ill.

“Not hungry,” Julian rumbled.

Cole scooted a little closer and tentatively laid his free hand on Julian’s knee. The other man shuddered.

“Julian, Keira needs to eat. How about we all go into the kitchen? You can both sit at the counter and watch me. I’m not going anywhere. There’s nowhere else I want to be.”

He thought pulling at Julian’s protective side when it came to Keira might work. But he was also truly worried about Keira’s health. She’d felt so slight in his arms as he’d carried her.

“I know neither of you trust me. You’ve got every right to hate me, but right now I need to be here with you both. To help you. Will you let me stay?”

“You want to help us?” Keira asked, looking surprised.

Maybe he should leave and let someone better than him help them. But so far no one else had been able to. And just look at what had happened tonight. If he’d been in charge of them, he’d never have allowed them to put themselves in such a vulnerable position.

“Yes,” he told her. “I want to help you both.”

He didn’t trust anyone else with them. Jardin could be the best guy in the world. The best Dom. But he wasn’t Cole. And he didn’t care about Keira and Julian the way he did.

“What do you need from me, Keira?” he asked her.

“I . . . well, I . . .” Keira trailed off, looking miserable.

Fuck. She should be able to ask him for anything. She should be completely secure in the knowledge she was loved and adored. That the world was hers for the asking.

“Keira, you don’t have to hesitate. The two of you . . . you can ask me for anything and I’ll do my best to give it to you.”

Keira gave him a faint smile. “I wouldn’t go promising that. You have no idea what we might ask for.”

He grasped her chin, staring into her eyes. “Anything. At. All. All right?”

“All right,” she whispered. “Will you stay with us tonight?”

“Julian?” he questioned the other man. “Is that what you want?”

Nothing came from the other man. He waited patiently. No way would he force anything. That wasn’t what this was about. Consent and communication were important. Although communication had never been Julian’s strong suit. He kept his cards close to his chest.

But then a deep sigh escaped Julian. And he lifted his head, looked straight at Cole and whispered, “Yes.”

Okay.