Snooke took a seat at the island. “He was getting beat up in the hallway in our apartment building, and I couldn’t just sit on my couch and do nothing.”
Kane could feel his temper rising. “Who would hit on him?”
“He said it was his brother.”
Just then Dillon came running around the corner, tripped on the throw rug, and went flying. Kane shot his hand out and froze the human right before he hit his head on the corner of the island.
“He needs to be more careful.” Kane walked over and pulled Dillon from midair, setting him on his feet. He snapped his fingers, and Dillon threw his arms out.
“Holy crap, I almost hit the island. Did you do that freezy-thingy again?”
“Lucky for you I did.” Kane grabbed a spoon from the drawer and dug into the dessert.
* * * *
Snooke sat on the floor between Kane’s legs as he watched the movie playing. Kane was sitting in the chair, and Dillon was spread out on the couch snoring loud enough to wake the dead.
“Can you turn it up before I stuff a sock in his mouth?” Kane lifted his foot up and kicked the couch, disturbing Dillon enough to make him roll over. “Thank goodness.”
Snooke chuckled as he set the remote back down on the floor, enjoying the sensation of Kane’s fingers running through his hair.
He rested his face against Kane’s inner thigh, sighing deeply as Kane’s fingers absently massaged his scalp. Snooke knew Kane did it absently because sitting like this had become a habit along with Kane’s fingers roaming through his hair.
Snooke closed his eyes, wondering how he had managed to live his life up until he met Kane. There wasn’t a morning he woke up that he didn’t fall even more in love with the man until he ached from it.
He reached behind Kane’s leg and let his fingers run down Kane’s calf, thanking his lucky stars that he hadn’t gone through with his uncle’s plan and ruined what he had right now. When his mate’s hand caressed over his ear, Snooke grabbed it and held it in place, needing the contact.
“What’s wrong, shorty?”
What was wrong with him? He was on the verge of tears and hadn’t a clue why. Was this how love was? Were the feelings so powerful that it broke a man down to tears? “I don’t know,” he answered honestly.
Kane reached down and pulled Snooke until he was sitting in the warrior’s lap. “You’re crying,” Kane said in amazement. “Why?”
Snooke buried his face in Kane’s chest, embarrassed that he’d been caught. He lay there for a while until he felt his emotions were back under control. “I’m fine,” he said as he pushed away from the muscled chest.
Kane watched him curiously as Snooke walked toward the bedroom. Wow. Never in his life had he experienced such strong emotions like that before.
Snooke grabbed the small blanket at the end of the bed, wanting to lay it over himself once he was back on Kane’s lap.
He jerked when a hand covered his mouth. Raw terror racked his body. It wasn’t Kane’s hand. He knew his mate’s every touch. Snooke fought as the person holding him tight tried to drag him backward. He knew that if they got to the shadowed corner, he’d be dead. Why the hell did he complain about all the lights on? Kane had done it for a reason, and now he was paying for whining about it.
The person was large. Snooke was having a hell of a time stopping the backward progression. He threw his elbow back, hearing a grunt, and then something hit him on the side of his face. Stars burst in his head, but Snooke wasn’t giving up.
He bit the hand over his mouth as he jammed one elbow and then the next, trying desperately to break free. Snooke panicked when the man put both his hands on Snooke’s head. He couldn’t find his voice. It had left him. If the intruder gave one good twist, his neck would be snapped.
Snooke bucked his head back, fighting for his life as the larger opponent lost his grip.
“Kane!” Snooke shouted.
The person let him go, punching Snooke one good time in his face before disappearing. He crumbled to the floor, holding his head as he began to shake uncontrollably.
“Snooke.” Kane raced into the bedroom and dropped next to him. A strange and loud cry left Kane’s lips when he saw the bruise on Snooke’s face. “What happened?” His fingers hovered over Snooke’s face.
He opened his mouth to tell Kane, but a sob came out instead. The realization that he had come that close to death shook him to his very core. His body started shaking out of control as Snooke balled up into himself and cried in earnest.
Kane stretched out on the floor next to him and pulled Snooke into his arms, wrapping the protection around him that Snooke needed. “Please tell me what happened,” Kane begged as he rocked Snooke.