Chapter 8

There was...something sticky. Touching Wren. Groaning, he blinked his eyes open, lifting his head from Reed’s shoulder. On his arm lay a bright blue lollipop, reflecting the sunlight streaming in through the closed window.

Taking up the candy by the stick, Wren held it up, looking around for where to put it. He eyed Reed’s slightly parted lips. Did the man usually sleep with a lollipop in his mouth? Maybe he found it comforting? He’d worry about Reed’s teeth, but it was a well known fact that he took obsessively good care of them.

Careful not to disturb the other sub, Wren slid the lollipop over his shiny bottom lip, adjusting it so it would stay in place on the side of his tongue.

Before he could withdraw his hand, Reed jumped, his fist catching Wren in the jaw. Shooting up, Reed stared at Wren. And started gagging.

“Lawson, pull over!” Not waiting until the SUV was fully stopped, Noah leapt out onto the shoulder of the highway, yanking Reed’s door open. By the time he got to Reed, the lollipop had been coughed out, but Noah still patted Reed’s back, supporting him as he bent over, rasping in air. “There we go. Deep breaths. Jesus, boy, you scared the shit out me.”

Throwing off his own seatbelt, Lawson began to open his door.

Scrambling forward, Wren grabbed the Dom’s arm. “Sir!”

As Lawson looked back at him, a fourteen wheeler rumbled past.

Much too close.

Hands on the steering wheel, Lawson bowed his head. Tension slowly eased from his shoulders. He turned a bit, giving Wren a slightly shaky smile. “Thank you, Wren. I’m usually more alert than that—I think we need to hit a rest stop sooner than expected. Are there any nearby?”

“Yes, sir.” Wren swallowed, his pulse still racing. And his hand still holding Lawson’s arm. He forced himself to let go, sitting back as Noah got a red faced Reed into his seat, hovering over him, his expression a mix of fear and a darker, harder edge. The look he got whenever someone he loved was threatened and he needed to kill the culprit.

Except, the blame lay on a lollipop.

And...on me.

“I’m sorry, sir.” Wren tugged his bottom lip between his teeth, meeting those stormy gray eyes. “I didn’t think he’d choke on it. I thought his mouth was used to having it there and he’d be more comfortable…” He shook his head at his own foolishness. “I understand if you need to punish me, sir. We should probably get off the road first, though. And…” He brushed his hand down his arm, cringing as his fingers stuck. “I’m sticky. I should get myself in order.” He rubbed at the spot. The sensation on his skin made it hard to think straight. “Sir, may I…”

“Deep breaths, my boy.” Noah set the example, taking a few slow, steadying ones of his own. “I won’t punish you for a mistake, you know better than to even suggest something like that. Lawson, hand me the wipes from the travel kit.”

Nodding, Lawson took out the pack, reaching over to give it to Noah.

Noah wiped gently over the candy smeared on Wren’s arm until it was all gone. “There. Is that better?”

Inhaling slowly, Wren nodded. “Yes, sir. Thank you.” His eyes teared as a wave of emotions and fear hit him. His gaze went to Reed, who already had another lollipop in his mouth, knees drawn to his chest as he watched them silently. “No. No, it’s not… I didn’t know how to fix that. I wouldn’t have been able to help him if…” He pressed his eyes shut. “I don’t know how to make any of this okay. I want to, but I need to know more. And there’s not enough time.”

“Wren, look at me.” Noah cupped his cheek. “We all know why we’re on this trip. There’s nothing to fix. Yes, we have to trust people we don’t know and it’s scary. This isn’t a movie where the fear is exciting. It’s real life. You love him and you’re scared for him. We all are. But he’s going to be all right.”

“I’m not...that scared. Not right now.” Reed pulled the lollipop out of his mouth. “Okay, choking to death before I even get there would suck, but it’s happened before.” His cheeks reddened. “Twice. First time I was fifteen and I puked on Noah’s shoes. This wasn’t so bad. I’m more thinking about how to have fun with you while I still can.”

Fun. All right, Wren wasn’t sure he could have Reed’s kind of fun with him, but he’d try. He slid closer to Noah, accepting the strength his Dom offered. “Can we make a deal? No more lollipops when you’re sleepy. This isn’t the kind of horror I like and the broken pieces in your throat would be very complicated to extract. Where we are, you’d end up at a very small hospital and I wouldn’t be able to observe the procedure. There are absolutely no benefits to that kind of injury.”

“Holy fuck, Wren.” Reed held up his hands when both Lawson and Noah frowned at him. “I can’t drink for the next few months. Sugar. I’m safewording out of not being allowed to swear.” He focused on Wren. “I’m freaked out enough when I think about a whole chunk being cut off of my liver. Don’t make me think of slicing the inside of my throat open?”

That was fair. Wren inclined his head. “If it helps, your liver will grow back and it’s a fascinating process. I hope I can watch it.”

“I hope you can do that without me being opened up again.” Reed shuddered. “Can we get to the next stop? I need to move. And clear my head. And I’m picking the songs until we get there.”

Noah settled Wren in his seat, stroking his hair again, checking on Reed, then going back to the front passenger seat. He laced his fingers with Lawson’s, studying the other Dom’s face. “Are you all right? I can drive for a bit if you want. It’s twenty minutes away.”

“I’ve got this. Thank you for...reacting so quickly.” Lawson let out a soft laugh. “I should have remembered how often you did. Like when you caught Ezran, falling out of that tree. You...were always so intuned with them. With all of us.”

“I tried, Lawson. I still do.”

After they were back on the road, chin on his knees, Reed requested the first song. “Could you put the one I’ve been listening to a lot on, Lawson? Please?”

Without comment, Lawson nodded. Put on the song.

All I want by Olivia Rodrigo. Wren had heard Reed sing it to himself in the bar before, while prepping for the night to start. Part of Wren focused on how Reed’s voice was sweet, and too soft or too loud, lacking the training both Jamie and Danny had. Jamie had commented before that Reed had some vocal skills, but didn’t have the patience or interest in training.

That aside, the words, the emotions, said a lot. Reed stared out the window as Lawson put on the next song, another of his favorites, not needing to ask. Don’t Give Up on Me by Andy Grammer. It made sense that Reed would be a bit lost emotionally. That he’d be searching for anything that would get his feelings across. He was facing his deepest issues, his father coming back into his life in the worst possible way.

The man had abandoned him. There were so many scars that might never heal, but...Wren hoped the people who mattered being here with Reed would at least help him see past them. Reed was one of the strongest people he knew, so doubting that felt strange, but this was like being presented with a wound he’d never seen before, and needing to figure out how to handle it before taking that next step.