good with that. What’s already here freaks me out if I let it.”
“You’re handling it better than I did.”
“You always did over-think things.” He inwardly winced at his statement. That was practically verbatim what he’d accused him of when they’d had their break-up fight. Funny how that heartache had faded to almost nothing in the last few days. He put down the pistol and took another at random, hoping Trey would let it slide.
“And you never think things through enough.”
Apparently not. It couldn’t be that easy, even with the Apocalypse Now thing going on.
“I present Exhibit A.”
Craig tracked where Trey’s finger was pointing and saw Alun coming in with the human boys. They were all decked out in the same desert camouflage clothing that he wore. On them, of course, it looked more like a troop of Boy Scouts were heading to army camp for the summer. He admired the way the pants in particular hugged Alun’s trim body and emphasized his high, tight ass. Damn. His cock saluted with enthusiasm at the sight.
“God, he’s beautiful,” he couldn’t stop himself from saying.
“He is,” Trey agreed. “I’m sure that’s exactly what the sadistic asshole who kidnapped him thought. If he’d been some ugly little coal miner back in Wales, he’d have more likely lived a decent life with a wife and kids and maybe still be thought of occasionally by his descendants.”
Craig stared at him now. “Wow, you are one mean motherfucker when you want to be.”
Trey shook his head. “That’s not my intention.”
“It’s even more impressive that you managed to stick the landing without trying.”
“Come on, Craig. You know I’m not saying any of this out of spite. I’m simply reminding you that Alun is a survivor of torture that lasted something like two centuries. You get that, right? How he’s really old and has suffered horrifically since before our ancestors were freed in this country… He was a slave. I don’t have to remind you what that means. I remember when you and I swapped stories from our families one night. We can almost imagine what it was like for them back then, but not really. No one can who hasn’t lived it, and Alun isn’t a story from the past. He’s here right now, dealing with it. The question is, can you?”
A sick knot had formed in his stomach as Trey pointed out the obvious. Really, it had been forming since the beginning. Now it lay heavy, pressing against his lungs, making it hard to breathe. Then Alun smiled at something Quinn said and the knot eased a bit.
“I honestly don’t know—not for sure, because no one can be that certain when dealing with something as hard as this. All I can tell you is that I’m going to do my level best, then better than that.” He looked Trey square in the eye. “I want him. More, as crazy as it sounds, I think I love him. It was like ‘bam’ the moment I saw him at that soup kitchen. For the first time since you dumped me, I was actually glad. Being a free man means I get to have him.”
Trey eyed him for long seconds. “You talk a good game, Craig. Then again, you always did. Be sure you mean it,” he added before Craig could whip out a retort. “Alun doesn’t deserve anything less than a full commitment. The last thing he needs is to be heartbroken.”
Craig almost let out a hearty ‘fuck you’. Instead, taking his friend’s warning for the good that was intended, he simply said, “I won’t let that happen. Plus, he’s stronger than you or anyone else thinks.”
“You’re right. The fact that he’s still alive is proof of that. A weak man wouldn’t have survived what he did.” Trey paused then grinned broadly.
“What?”
“You haven’t met Merlin.”
“Obviously. Rescuing him is one of the goals of this trip. It’s tearing Alun up, too. I’ve promised him we’ll get his boy out safely. Why do you think it’s so funny?”
“Oh, nothing. I mean, he’s clearly showing more maturity and loyalty than I would have expected. Still, no one changes that much that quickly. You’re going to enjoy being his stepdaddy, I’m sure.”
Okay, so this was the part of his making-Alun-mine plan that gave his nerves the most work-out. “It’ll be fine. I can handle one teenage boy.” He frowned. “He is a teenager, right?”
“Ah, sort of.” Trey scratched the back of his head and jutted his chin toward Demi, who was helping with