Chapter 1
Emmett
Eight weeks later…
In the weeks following the funeral, I observe Kade closely. I’ve noticed he keeps to himself a lot and has very few friends. I’ve become an almost permanent fixture in his life, and he has no idea I’m even here. I can’t help feeling very protective over him, but I still don’t feel like his parent. Ellis and my brother registered Kade’s birth and named Preston as the father. I've no legal claim to him whatsoever, not without going to court, and there’s no way my parents or Ellis would allow me to get a DNA test to prove my paternity, but I don’t need one; I know he’s mine.
I’ve become Kade’s silent guardian, or maybe I’m more like an ever present and unseen friend. Sometimes I can feel those lines blurring, especially given how mature he is for his age. Fuck, he’s only seventeen, but I can tell he’s seen a lot of shit over the past few years…far more than he should have. Ellis has spiraled even further out of control since Preston died. She’s been drinking heavily and sleeping around with every man who gives her a second glance. I need a plan to get Kade away from her and the endless stream of boyfriends who treat her open legs like a fucking revolving door. The only solution I can think of is illegal; it’s becoming more and more tempting with each day that passes, though.
* * *
As usual, I’m watching Kade walk home from school while making sure to keep hidden from view. When he stops and crouches down to retie the laces of his Vans, a gust of wind blows his shoulder-length blond hair, lifting it from his neck. Spotting something, I edge closer to get a better look…just above the collar of his shirt there’s a purple bruise blooming on his pale skin. Fresh anger bubbles in my gut, and I nearly snatch him right then and there. I’m sorely tempted, but I can't do it in broad daylight and in plain sight of any passersby. The sooner I get him away from Ellis the better, though.
I curse inwardly when I drag my eyes down the length of his slight frame, drinking in every inch of him. I’m lying to myself: insisting I’m only interested in his health and wellbeing, and that my fascination comes solely from noticing all our similarities and differences…nothing more. What the fuck is wrong with me? I clench my hands around the steering wheel of my car and pointedly ignore the rush of blood and the tensing of muscles, especially between my thighs.
Shaking my head, I restart the engine, and shift into gear. I urgently need to get away from him before I decide that any potential witnesses can take a long walk off a short pier and damn the consequences. I can’t risk being seen. It’s bad enough Ellis is aware I’ve returned. Although given her mental and physical state at the funeral, I have my doubts as to whether she’d remember I was there.
* * *
A few hours later, and I find myself standing outside their house and looking in through the living room window. I just watched Ellis’ latest fuck-buddy walk in through the front door. After she dropped her panties, bent over the couch, and presented herself to him, they started screwing like rabbits. Despite how she’s let herself go, she still has a fine ass. I momentarily lose myself in the memory of the time she let me fuck her there while Preston ate her pussy.
Taking advantage of their preoccupation and the noises they’re making, I head around the house to the back door and force my way in. I step into the dark kitchen and pause, listening for any sign I’ve been noticed; but the sounds of their heavy moans and the slapping of skin, which continue to drift down the hallway, suggest otherwise.
I move silently through the house and up the stairs to look for Kade. I don’t give a fuck what Ellis will think or do when she finds him gone. I’m leaving town tonight, and he’s coming with me. I turn my nose up in disgust at the unkempt conditions of the house. I can already tell Kade will be so much better off with me.
Stepping over discarded clothes, I head along the upstairs hallway to the only closed door, which I assume leads to Kade’s room. If I were him, I’d be doing anything I could to shut out the evidence of my mother entertaining her fuck-buddy. I twist the handle, and the door opens easily. I’m surprised to see that he’s asleep, but then I notice the headphones he’s wearing, presumably to shut out the noise, and the wire trailing from underneath the blanket to his phone on the pillow beside his head.
I inch closer to his sleeping form, and my heart thuds heavily in my chest at how peaceful he looks. I throw a glance at the open door through which the sounds from downstairs are drifting in. One of Kade’s shirts is draped over a chair, and I grab it. Bringing it to my nose, I inhale deeply, drawing in his scent before slowly exhaling.
I hastily tear it into strips, gagging him with one piece, having removed the headphones, and gently tying another length of material over his eyes. I use another two strips to bind his wrists and ankles, and tuck the remainder into my pocket, just in case.
It’s going to take some explaining when he wakes up. As it is, he hardly stirs. At least now he’s tied up, he’s going to be more pliant, and it’ll be much harder for him to escape. Once he realizes I’ve done it for his own benefit, saving him from the neglect his mother has forced him to endure, I’m hopeful he’ll be all right about it. I just need the chance to explain to him I’m his friend, not his enemy.
Chapter 2
Emmett
It takes a
few hours to drive to my cabin. It used to belong to my grandparents, but now it is mine. We’d come here in the summer months on vacation. It’s private, beautiful, and quiet. The perfect place to lie low and spend some quality time with Kade.
The boy is one heavy sleeper; he didn’t stir when I tied him up, nor when I laid him across the back seat of my car. I even had to bend his legs at the knee to fit him in. He's easily 5’10”, almost matching me in height. I watch him intermittently throughout the drive…it's hard for me to keep my eyes off him. He sleeps like the dead. If it wasn’t for the fact I could feel his breath on my face when I was carrying him, I might have thought he was.
When I finally pull up outside the cabin, I get out of the car, unload the supplies from the trunk, and carry them inside before I go to retrieve Kade. I open the back passenger door and untie his ankles, then lean in to remove the blindfold. I close my eyes and try to ignore how my body responds to being pressed up against his. It's a futile attempt, and I'm all too aware of the way my cock is straining against my jeans.
Curiosity takes hold of me, and I run my hand over the front of Kade's boxers and tease the button on the front. Flicking it open I dip my fingers inside, feeling the hot skin and the length of muscle nestled beneath the thin material. Taking his cock in my hand, I can’t resist giving him a few slow tugs. He starts to thicken at my touch, and I relish the way he responds to me even in his sleep.
Kade lets out a soft moan as his dick twitches against my hand. I run my thumb over the head and swallow hard when I find a bead of precum on the tip. I lick my dry lips and swallow the saliva that’s pooling in my mouth from touching him so illicitly. Withdrawing my hand, I run my tongue over my thumb to see what he tastes like. My heart skips a beat, and I suck in a ragged breath. I shouldn't do this, but I can't seem to find the line...the one I shouldn’t ever cross. I’m finding it impossible to unblur the lines between the need to protect him, and the inescapable desire to possess my own flesh and blood.
I slide a hand beneath his back, and the motion scrunches up the material of his t-shirt, giving me a peek at a sliver of exposed skin underneath. After taking a moment to regain some semblance of control, I scoop him into my arms. I can't help but notice, once again, that he's lighter than I expected him to be. He stirs, groaning as he finally begins to wake up. Shit.
His eyes open slowly, widening in shock when he sees me illuminated in the faint light coming from the cabin. He mumbles incoherently around the gag in his mouth while he struggles to escape from my hold. He flails his arms and legs around, making it impossible for me to keep carrying him. I set him down, ensuring I keep a firm grip on him in case he gets any funny ideas about running off, and sure enough, it doesn’t stop him from trying. I immediately tighten my hold until he grunts with the pain from my fingers pinching his skin.
"It's for your own good, Kade. Don't fight me, I'll explain once we get inside."
His face twists with a scowl, and he starts swearing at me from behind the gag. All signs of the timid boy I've been watching for the last few weeks seem to vanish in an instant, but he can't hide the fear in his eyes. I'm ashamed to say that his attempt to fight arouses something primal within me. I'm almost tempted to let him run…if only, so I can hunt him down and drag him back to me. Kade’s mine. I know it, his mother knows it, and soon enough he’ll know it.
He attempts to deadweight as I drag him along, but he’s so light at the moment it makes very little difference, and in no time at all, we're inside the small cabin. It’s fully stocked and has a working generator with plenty of fuel to last. It’s also secluded, and no one will find us here. There’s no one alive who knows this place even exists. He slumps to the floor when I release him and then sits there staring up at me.