Bound for Keeps (Men of Honor) by SE Jakes Read Free Book Online Page A

said.
    “But we both know it does. He’s in trouble. He’s scared. And that’s what we do—we protect people.”
    “People who ask for our protection,” Keith argued.
    “I’d say waking up screaming means he needs some kind of protection,” Reed retorted. “We should just put up extra security measures here.”
    “And we don’t tell Shane any of it?” Keith asked. “Because maybe he knows what’s going on. Maybe he’s bringing danger to our door.”
    “I’m not saying you’re wrong. But…don’t ask him yet, Keith. Please. For me.”
    “Dammit, Reed.” Keith’s voice was angry, but his eyes held the understanding Reed needed to see.

Chapter Six
    Someone was stroking his cheek. He wanted to murmur “Kyle”, but he knew that wasn’t right. The touch was different. Even in his sleep he was actively pressing his cheek to the hand, nuzzling it.
    The scent was familiar. He liked it. He might’ve even groaned a little in his sleep.
    And then the whole being-watched feeling overtook the pleasure, and he grasped the wrist of whoever it was. Hard.
    It was pulled away equally so. He heard footsteps, and he rolled out of bed, standing before he was anything close to fully awake and remembering things. Like Keith and Reed, their cabin. And the fact that his ribs ached like a mother because he’d been pushing too hard.
    He blinked, grabbed the side of the bed and saw Keith watching him. “What the hell?”
    “I didn’t expect you to jump out of bed like that. I was just checking on you.” Keith’s voice was gruff from getting caught even as Shane leaned back against the mattress. As much as he wanted to crawl back in, he knew that would hurt and he was still trying to catch his breath from the overriding, intense pain that first movement caused.
    He could still feel Keith’s fingers that had been stroking his cheek.
    “You’re overdoing it with the ribs.”
    “Tell me something I don’t know.”
    “You need a shave,” Keith continued, making no move to help Shane. “Unless you’re going for the mountain-man look.”
    It was a good excuse for Shane to touch his face where Keith’s fingers had been. His beard was rough but not weeks old. One of them had shaved him a few days ago, and his dick got hard just thinking of him lying there while Keith shaved him.
    Fuck. He didn’t know he had that kind of a kink.
    He turned toward the bed to hide his sudden erection and winced again as the pain got sharper. He grabbed the blanket, twisted and tried to sit, and heard himself groan.
    Keith was next to him, cursing, helping him into bed. Keith took most of his weight on so it wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been, but he was out of breath from the pain. He curled on his side, unmoving, waiting for it to subside so he could do the important things, like breathe.
    “You did that to yourself,” Keith told him as his hands splayed along Shane’s bare side. He’d barely worn clothes since he’d gotten here. Like a fucking nudist colony, this place was, although, granted, he had none of his own clothes here anyway. Reed told him they’d basically had to cut the frozen clothes off his body that first night.
    He’d had shorts on at some point, but he got hot and restless when he slept lately and ended up naked most times when he woke. “Leave me alone.”
    “Not while you’re sleeping in my guestroom,” Keith snapped. But nothing in the harshness of his words matched the gentle touch of his hands along Shane’s side. Shane held his breath, thinking it would hurt, but the probing didn’t do anything but make him hard. Again.
    Dammit.
    “Take these,” Keith told him. Held out two pills that would probably knock him on his ass again, and Shane considered refusing. But although he could be stoic, he was far from stupid. He accepted them, slugged them down with a cold Coke Keith handed him, the sugary goodness giving him a rush.
    “Got any chocolate?” he asked, and Keith handed him a box of Hostess