“Fuck, Max.” Dane panted, head dropped forward. “God, you feel so good.”
Supporting himself on one arm, he reclaimed Max’s cock in his fist and worked him good and hard as he let go and fucked the man without reservation. Their cries and shouts exploded throughout the bedroom, ricocheting off the walls.
“Fuuuck!” Max yelled sharp, forceful, his body locking, jerking as he burst, shooting thick tendrils of cum into the air. Dane stroked him vigorously as he fucked him with renewed urgency, his own body tightening, straining, as the cum pushed up through his cock then burst inside the man.
“Uuuhh!! Fuuuck!” Dane choked on the strangled wail, slamming into Max with hard, short pumps, giving the man everything he possessed. “Oh fuck! Yes…” He thrust at him until the orgasm released its hold and a sudden bout of exhaustion overwhelmed him. “Oh my god…” he gasped hard and fell onto the bed beside Max.
His eyes closed, Max’s hands pressed against his heaving chest, breath puffing from his parted lips. When he finally twisted his head and looked at Dane, his eyes were damp. “I don’t know how to do it anymore.” He whispered, his words thick, unsteady.
“Do what?” Dane murmured.
Max stared at him for a moment then slowly turned his head and stared at the ceiling. His throat worked against his emotions, tears thickening in his eyes, sliding down his temples. “Pretend that…I can live without him.” He looked at Dane again, warm tears pouring out. “Almost twenty years…I’ve been telling myself I’m okay, I don’t need him. But every day…” He bit his lip as fresh tears formed. “Every fucking day, I wake up with this hole in my chest, like…my heart was ripped out.” He licked his lips slowly and swallowed thickly as he shook his head, breath breaking up his throat. “And it hurts, Dane.” He closed his eyes, chin trembling as he curled his arm over his face. “It hurts so fucking bad.”
Dane pulled the man into his arms and held him tight, his hand cupped gently at the back of his head. He kissed his hair and let him cry.
Almost twenty years? What the hell could have happened between him and Kaplan that was so bad it spanned nearly two decades and continued to keep them apart?
***
“Here.” Angel handed the folded bills to Wade. He watched the guy unfold the money and count it out.
“Three hundred bucks.” He nodded. “Now we’re getting somewhere.” He looked at Angel. “Keep this up and you won’t have to take side jobs.” He shrugged and smirked. “Although it would be that much extra cash.”
“Wade, you said…”
“Yeah, yeah.” Wade held up his hand to ward off any whining. “Fine. You keep the cash flowing in, and I’ll keep my word.” Axel reached across the table for a couple of the bills and Wade smacked his hand hard.
“Fuck!” Axel jerked his hand back. “Come on, Wade. It isn’t just yours.”
Wade jabbed a finger at him. “You’ll get what I decide to give you, and not a fucking cent more. You don’t do shit. I’m the one who has been setting up the gigs from the start, dealing with assholes who want too much of a cut. You just sit back and reap the benefits. So yes, it is all mine until I deem otherwise. Got it?”
Axel nodded and grumbled, “Yeah, I got it.”
They made Angel think of Jackals, scuffling over a carcass. He left the kitchen as Wade recounted the cash, and went to the bedroom. Maddy was in bed. Trying to be quiet, Angel closed the door softly and walk to his bed that consisted of a single old sleeping bag and his bare pillow. He slipped off his shoes and undressed down to his shorts and a t-shirt then crawled onto the mattress and sat with his back against the wall, watching Maddy sleep.
He drew his legs up and hugged his knees, and tried to contemplate what had happened on stage that evening. He understood the source of his panic, but didn’t know why it was flaring up again after having no episodes for almost a year.
His stepbrothers’ laughter reached the bedroom, pushing through the closed door. Angel tried to imagine a day when those voices would be eradicated from his and Maddy’s lives for good. So many nights, he had thought about taking Maddy and just running away. But Wade wasn’t so stupid as not to know Angel loved his little brother enough to want to get him out of there. He’d made his threats, early on. Told Angel if they tried to run away, he would find them, and when he did–Maddy would be the one to pay for it. In the worst way.
Though Angel was sure they could run far enough that Wade would never find them…there was always the ‘What if’ hanging over his head. What if Wade did catch them? He knew what would happen to Maddy–and Wade would make Angel watch. As it was right now, Maddy remained untouched. Physically, anyway. Though he worried about what all this was doing to him psychologically. But he couldn’t take the thought of Maddy being sexually abused. It was his little brother’s greatest fear. And Angel’s too.