Chapter 10 #2
Oliver wasn’t back from his honeymoon, but he’d probably let Miles stay at his place until he got back.Or, at the very least, loan him some cash until he could be there to help.
Whatever happened, he knew one thing: he had to get out of there. He couldn’t stay in a home where he knew someone was being hurt.He felt a little like a hypocrite because he knew he’d been ignoring the way Selene had treated him.
But it was different when he could see it from the outside. The look on Cosimo’s face when he realized Miles had heard everything?
God, he felt sick.
Covering his face, he pulled his knees tighter against his chest.The storm continued to rage, and in the midst of the deluge, there was a bang.The door flew open, and Miles jumped to his feet before he realized that a dark figure had burst in.
It didn’t take him long to recognize Emmett.The man was soaking wet, hair plastered to his forehead, wearing pajama pants, a black t-shirt, and a robe hanging off his shoulders. His eyes were wide and a little wild as he fumbled behind him and closed the door, shutting out the sound of the storm.
As Emmett took a step closer to him, fear kicked in, and Miles backed up until he hit the wall.
“Shit,” Emmett said, holding up both hands.“Miles, I am so sorry.We fucked up so badly.”
“ We ?” Miles asked, choking on a half-hysterical laugh.
Clearly Emmett knew what Miles had overheard and was now doing damage control.
But Miles had been through enough. He wasn’t about to let someone else in his family get away with abuse.
“You mean you fucked up. I heard everything.” That was probably the first time in his life he could say that, thanks to their damned house with all the perfect echoes.
Emmett shook his head slowly, taking one more step closer.“I mean we.Mo and I.We…fuck.I never…”Emmett let out a frustrated growl, dragging fingers through his soaked hair.“I didn’t hurt him.”
Miles did laugh this time.“Are you serious? You’re the one who told me that abuse doesn’t need to be physical. I heard what you said! And don’t pull the deaf bullshit on me!”
“No,” Emmett said. “Miles, I believe you. We had the house designed that way so Selene would always be able to hear us if she had her processors on.” He took a deep breath. “But you need to understand, it’s not what it looks like.”
Miles scoffed and squared his shoulders. “I’m sure that’s what all shitty husbands say when they get caught.”
Emmett was quiet for a beat. “Look I—okay. Christ.” He took another deep breath. “This isn’t something we tell people, but…that was something Cosimo wanted.”
Miles’s eyes went wide.“Are you fucking kidding me? He wanted it?”
“Yes,” Emmett said evenly.Patiently.“You know what BDSM is, right?”
Miles blinked at him, his brain starting to short circuit.
Emmett nodded. “Yeah. We were in a scene. Cosimo likes…well. I won’t get into too many details right now, but what you saw was not—I mean, it was real. But it was consensual. He’s the one who sets the scene and his limits. I was giving him what he asked me for.”
Everything in the room just…froze.It took a second for Miles to feel his breath again, to feel his heart beating.Words tasted like ash on his tongue, but he knew he needed to say something. “How long have you two been?—?”
“Most of our relationship,” Emmett said quickly.
Miles closed his eyes. “So, you’re his…Dom?”
In the dark, he could still see the way Emmett’s mouth curved into a little smile.
“I am. And I’m also his husband. I know after what you went through, that must have seemed…
fuck. I don’t even know. I swear we wouldn’t have done anything like that if we knew you were coming into the house, but you seemed so adamant about staying out here.
I’m so sorry. Please tell me some of this makes sense. ”
Miles didn’t answer right away.His entire world was shifting again, and he wasn’t sure he could take it.His hands began to tremble, then his knees went weak.He hit the floor before either of them could react, and when Emmett dropped in front of him, he flinched.
Emmett pulled back, but this close, Miles could see the hurt in his eyes.“I won’t ever hurt you.”
Logically, Miles understood that.So long as Emmett was telling the truth and this wasn’t some fucked up lie he made up to cover the secrets in their home.But something in his gut told him that Emmett was an honest man.
And a good one.
“I’d like you to come back to the house,” Emmett said after a long beat.“Cosimo and I want to explain this together, okay?”
Miles swallowed thickly, suddenly overcome with shame.
He was the one who had intruded. He should have seen the invite for what it was: a superficial offer to make everyone feel better.
“No.It’s okay. I should have assumed when you told me to come inside if I got scared, you didn’t mean that literally. ”
“I did mean it. Fuck,” Emmett whispered.
He dropped down to the ground, his legs crisscrossed, and he bowed his head.
“Things went sideways this week. All of our plans…” He trailed off and shook his head.
“I was going to tell you some of it tomorrow so you’d understand what was happening if things seemed a little weird between us.
We didn’t mean for you to find out this way. I’m so sorry.”
Miles shook his head. “No, it was my fault, and you don’t need to explain anything.
I know this sort of thing is private and neither of you expected me to hear any of it.
I mean,” he added with a harsh laugh, “I’m deaf with a pretty busted CI on one side, so the fact that I heard it at all is a miracle. Besides…”
“Hey,” Emmett said quietly, cutting him off.
“What we do is private, but we invited you into our space, and we made a decision—an obviously poor one—to break our rules, and we got you involved without meaning to.That’s on us.
Cosimo wants to explain.He’s devastated that you think I’d hurt him. ”
Miles licked his lips and looked up at Emmett.
All the fear in his body was gone, and he felt a sudden urge to drop into the man’s arms for comfort.
But that would have been a mistake right then.
He wasn’t ready for that. And he still wasn’t sure what all of this meant, especially the afternoon he’d had with Emmett.
“What would you do if you were me?” Miles asked, his voice a little stronger now.
Emmett shrugged, looking a little ridiculous in his crouch.
“I think I’d react the same way you did.
And the fact that you tried to help him makes me like you a whole lot more than I already do.
I’d like you to come hear us out.” He climbed to his feet and offered his hand to help Miles up.
“Before you make any decisions about anything, let’s talk. ”
After a short forever, he finally took Emmett’s offered hand and climbed to his feet.He still felt shaky, but he was steadier than before.
“There’s an umbrella in the closet,” Emmett said.“Grab something to sleep in.The pool house isn’t the best place to be in a storm, and I think we’ll feel a lot better if you’re inside with us after all this.”
And hell, what was Miles supposed to say or do except obey that quiet command. He saw a look in Emmett’s eyes when he started to grab his things, but he decided that, for now, it was best to ignore it and just do as he was told.