Page 70 of Refurbished

I laughed. “Every night. It’s the weirdest thing.”

“We all have the people or animals we choose to be with.” He looked over at me and nudged my shoulder. “For the record, I think you are perfect exactly as you are. Pretty sure I told you that a time or two.” He closed the few inches between us. The sides of our hands touched on the railing, and our hips were together too. It felt like there was actual energy flowing between us, and I realized it was something I had missed, even though I wasn’t aware that it was gone. It had only been a few days, but it felt like months.

“Angus, I fucked up.” I couldn’t even look at him.

“Yeah, you did.” I felt him staring at the side of my head.

“I’m sorry.” We stood there quietly looking at the alpacas, and the goats wandered over to us looking for treats. Angus stood patiently waiting, because it was up to me to continue. How could I have thought he would think those things?

“I guess Trey damaged me more than I admit. It was wrong for me to think you’d say something like that.” He nodded his head.

“Yes, the fact that you think I am that kind of person cuts deep. The situation feels familiar though.” The fact that he was so calm freaked me out. “We should call one of them Goatzart for fun.”

I looked at him. In the middle of this very difficult situation, he named a goat. He was simply letting me work through this, and I could feel the urge to flee again. I started to push off the corral, and he grabbed my wrist.

“Nope. We are going to finish what needs to be finished, no more running from it.” I swallowed hard. Shit. I owed him because what I did was unforgivable, yet he wasn’t yelling or stomping—he was waiting. Waiting for me to give him back what I took from him, which was my love. I turned toward him and took in his strong profile, but I knew him well enough to see he was upset. The beautiful line of his jaw was tight, the muscle down his neck—the one I liked to lick to make him shudder—was flexed. My eyes followed down to his strong shoulders until I looked at his hands, his knuckles white because of how hard he was gripping the pipe. I did that. This sweet, caring man, who loved me without giving my injury a second thought, was a victim of that accident that happened years ago, before I had ever met him. It was clear I had things to work on, but I knew that he was exactly the man I fell for. He still loved me. I just had to give him a reason to be with me.

“Will you look at me?” When he turned, I could see tears on his cheeks. I expected him to pull away when I reached up to wipe them away, but he stood there, his eyes never leaving mine. “I made a mistake, a big one. If you will come back to me, I promise to work on the parts of me that are damaged, and I don’t mean my body.”

“I think that would be good, and I will go with you. Because we need to learn to love each other properly.”

“If you come back to me, I will try not to run when things get scary, but you seem to have figured out how to be my champion. I want you to be my partner. You’ve become my best friend. Angus, I love you so much.”

He smiled a little, then pulled me close to him, his hands around my waist. I held still while he looked at me; he kissed my nose. It was comforting to feel him relax. After a minute, that tight jaw softened, then his hands were loose on my back, his thumbs slipped under the edge of my sweater, and he rubbed the warm skin. “I understand that you have been hurt, but I don’t think it is beyond repair. From today forward, you need to believe that nothing about your body is a problem for me. Your residual limb, your prosthetic, or the fact that some things you might need help with because of your injury. None. Of. It. Full stop, Eion.”

Now it was my turn to cry. I nodded my head, and he used his thumb to wipe away the tears. “I love you.” I managed to whisper around the lump in my throat.

“I love you too. Eion, both of us will stumble in this relationship, but I want to promise each other that we will always help each other back up.”

“I promise, Angus.”

He gave me one of those smiles that I knew were only for me. I could feel the warmth all the way to my toes. “Good. Can I kiss you now because I’ve really missed you?” Those words sounded so good to me. I started to tremble before his lips ever touched mine. It had only been a few days, but this felt monumental. He didn’t say he forgave me, but he was willing to start moving forward again. When he finally kissed me, it was soft, sensual, showing so much restraint, but that only lasted for a moment until he pulled me hard against him, and it turned into claiming. He was making sure I understood we were together, that I was his.

“Fuck. I have missed your mouth.” He kissed along my neck, then back up my jaw. “The way you smell, and the taste of your skin.” It felt really good, and my cock was trying to rip through my jeans. I was pretty sure I had never been so hard, and I was more than ready to drag him to bed.

“When do you have to be at work?” I said while I licked his skin and enjoyed being close to him again. How could less than a week without him feel so long?

“I don’t work tonight, and actually have the next few nights off. Our friends are quite invested in us being together.”

That touched me. “Does this mean I can get you naked?”

“Eventually. First, pack an overnight bag and maybe some sweats because we are going to be away from home the next few days.”

“What about the animals?”

“The Sanctuary will be taken care of by Zach.” I knew the look on my face was one of confusion.

“I told you our friends were very invested in our happiness.” We went inside, got my stuff together, and Angus looked at the boxes by the door. I watched as he picked up the check I left him. “You realize the Sanctuary owns this trailer and the truck, right?”

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I recalled him telling me that when he brought the trailer onto the property. “I forgot.”

He laughed, then ripped up the check. “No more of this, okay? We stop, and we talk.”

I walked into his arms. “Yes, my love. I am genuinely sorry. I should have asked you about what I heard. I will get better for you—for us. Barnaby, let’s go.” The little traitor went over to Angus and looked up at him adoringly.

Instead of getting in his car, a limo pulled up in front. “In you go, beautiful.”

“A limo?”