Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Kip
I jerked awake, my hand automatically reaching for the pistol I kept on the nightstand.
Michelle lurched into a sitting position beside me.
Someone was banging on the front door, which was what had woken us.
That and our blue nose pitbull, Mercy, was losing her fucking mind in her kennel, barking and growling.
I knew if I didn’t go see what the hell was going on, she’d break out her kennel. She’d done it before when she thought there was an intruder. She was a cuddly, cute dog, but she was also protective as hell.
“Stay here,” I ordered, my voice still thick with sleep.
Michelle nodded, looking up at me with wide eyes. I pressed a quick kiss to her lips, then got out of bed, my pistol in my hand. I let Mercy out of her kennel, then pointed to the bed.
“With Mommy,” I ordered, and though I knew she wanted to see who was threatening to break into our house, she jumped onto the bed and sat protectively in front of Michelle, just as she’d been trained to do.
I padded barefoot out of our bedroom, the hardwood floors cold beneath my feet. The banging abruptly stopped, and I frowned. Reaching the front door, I peeked through the peephole, my eyes widening in surprise at who stood on the other side.
What. The. Fuck.
I shoved the gun onto the little table in the foyer then quickly unlocked the front door.
Corvus, who was sitting on the concrete, blinked up at me through bleary eyes.
He was crying, his face flushed and his eyes bloodshot.
He reeked of weed and alcohol. I had no idea how he’d gotten here.
His car was nowhere to be seen. Christ, what the fuck had happened to him?
“Chibi, what the fuck?” I breathed, crouching next to him.
He reached for me with a broken sob, even making grabbing motions with his hands, and my heart tightened.
“Okay,” I soothed. “I’ve got you. It’s okay.”
Slipping my arms beneath his back and knees, I lifted him from the cold concrete then carried him into the house, kicking the door shut behind me. He was a wreck, snotty and tear-stained. And it broke my damn heart.
His arms curled around my shoulders, and he buried his face in my throat, his hot tears wetting my collarbone and neck.
His shoulders shook when he sobbed again, and I tightened my jaw, hurrying to the bedroom.
He needed a shower and clean clothes, since he was still in the clothes from dinner, and then, once he was calm and sobered up some, I’d try to find out what happened.
Right then, my goal was to comfort him and make him feel safe. Because if he’d come here, that spoke volumes. Not only did it mean he already thought of us as a safe space, but he wanted someone to take care of him. And we’d already essentially promised him we would.
“What— Oh, my God,” Michelle breathed, hurrying off the bed. She frantically ran her hands over him where she could, since Corvus was clinging to me so tightly. It was almost as if he were trying to crawl into my body. “Is he hurt?”
“Not that I can see, tsuma,” I said softly. “He needs to get cleaned up.”
She nodded in agreement then gripped his damp face, forcing him to turn his head to look at her. His chin wobbled. She stroked her thumbs over his cheeks. “Hey, bub. You need a shower. Can you manage that? Or even a bath, so you don’t have to stand?”
Mercy growled low in her throat when Corvus hiccupped. I clicked my tongue, an order for her to stand down, which she did, even going so far as to lie down and just watch us with her head on her paws.
“Bath,” Corvus managed to mumble.
Michelle nodded then kissed his forehead, letting her lips linger. He cried harder, his eyes scrunching shut. God, what the fuck had happened between the restaurant and now? Why the fuck was he such a damn mess?
“I’ll run a bath,” Michelle said softly before turning and hurrying into the bathroom. I followed, gently depositing Corvus on the counter. He swayed, clearly too drunk to sit up properly then propped his shoulder on the wall, another hiccup sounding from his chest.
“I need to help you undress, chibi,” I gently told him. “But we’re going to leave your underwear on until you’re alone, okay? Then, you can take them off.” He wasn’t sober, so he couldn’t consent to us seeing him completely naked. And I would not cross that boundary.
He nodded, hiccupping again. Michelle came over to us as the scent of lavender filled the bathroom. A glance over at the tub showed she’d added her lavender-scented bubble bath stuff to the water and a bath bomb. Hopefully, it would help soothe him.
“Thank you, tsuma,” I murmured as I finished unbuttoning Corvus’s shirt and eased it off his shoulders. My eyes snagged on the tattoo on his chest, finally getting a chance to read it.
Live. Love. Bleed.
Who the fuck had hurt our boy for him to put something like that on his chest? Like a daily reminder to himself every time he looked in the fucking mirror?
My jaw tightened, but I dragged my eyes away from the three words and unfastened his belt, then undid his slacks and slid down the zipper.
Michelle tugged off his socks, and once he was only in a pair of black briefs—that left almost nothing to the imagination, honestly—I helped him down from the counter then gripped his hips to keep him steady on his feet when he stumbled and damn near fell.
Corvus was beautiful with lightly corded muscles running down his arms and broad shoulders that tapered to a narrow waist. His stomach was flat and tight with a slight ab definition, and his thighs, while definitely not bulky, were still toned.
He clearly took care of himself, which led me to believe he wasn’t much of one for drinking.
“Let’s get you in the tub, okay? Then you can take your briefs off and relax for a while. And clean up so you don’t smell like a dive bar.”
“Okay,” he mumbled. “Do you have coffee?”
He stumbled a little as I led him closer to the tub, but I was still gripping his hips, so he didn’t fall—just teetered into me. And I was a large enough man that I stayed steady on my feet when he did.
“We have coffee, chibi,” I assured him. “How do you want it?”
“Black,” he grumbled, swaying as he stepped over the lip of the tub.
I tightened my hold on him, keeping him steady until he sank into the water.
His head lolled onto the side of the tub, and his eyes shut.
He was no longer crying, thankfully, but there was still a deep sadness and pain lingering all around him, letting me know this night was far from over.
“Sugar? Creamer?” Michelle asked, coming up beside me. She raked her fingers through his hair, and he let his head roll, so it rested closer to her.
“No. But stay.”
“Me or Kip?” Michelle asked, her voice soft and soothing.
His hand rose from the water, and he curled it around her wrist, keeping her hand in his hair the best he could. “You. Feels good.”
She settled onto the side of the tub without complaint. “Okay, bub. I’ll stay.”
Standing back upright, I kissed her temple. “I’ll get coffee. Keep an eye on him. And call for me if either of you need me.”
“I will,” she promised, her fingers never stopping their movement in his hair.
I stared at our boy for a moment. He had his head propped against her bare thigh now, where her nightgown had ridden up some, and he was lazily moving his hands back and forth through the bubbles.
Sighing, I reluctantly left the bathroom to get the coffee Corvus requested.
Whatever had happened to him, we’d get to the bottom of it. And then, whoever hurt him had better find a place to fucking hide because I was coming for them.
No one got to hurt our boy and get away with it.