The Right One - Felice Stevens Page 0,58

hit us.” He checked behind him and saw Morgan’s pale face under his helmet. “You okay back there?”

“Yeah. I can’t believe they did that. You had the right of way.”

“There are assholes everywhere. Hold on now.”

He zoomed out, and twenty minutes later they walked through the silent garage. Leo flipped a switch, and the backyard lights sprang on, illuminating the exercise area.

“Wow.” Morgan’s eyes widened as he walked around, inspecting everything. “This is better than a gym.”

“Peter’s got a sweet setup, that’s for sure.” Leo tossed his bag down, pulled off his shirt, and noticed Morgan looking. “Enjoying the view?”

A blush rose over Morgan’s cheeks, and he ducked his head. “Shut up and tell me what I’m supposed to do.”

Leo decided he liked getting Morgan all hot and bothered. “I never train with a shirt on. Gets too sweaty, and it sticks to me.”

“Think I’ll keep mine on.” Morgan gazed at himself with a wry smile. “I don’t have anything to show off.”

Leo slipped an arm around his waist and pulled him close. “Did you hear me complaining? You’re perfect as you are.” He rested his hand on Morgan’s ass and gave it a squeeze. “This is a work of beauty. Now, I want you to concentrate on learning the moves and building up your strength. That’s what I’m here to teach you. The basics of boxing. You never know when you might need to practice a little self-defense.”

Morgan wriggled away. “What do I have to do?”

“I need to see you in action.” He rummaged through the bag. “We’ll start with a weighted jump rope.”

Morgan laughed. “And to think I used to get called a sissy for jumping rope with my next-door neighbor Jenny McAllister and her friends when I was a kid.”

“Fuck that,” Leo growled. Robert used to call him that, along with a host of others, whenever he’d catch him playing with girls. It was usually accompanied by a beating to “toughen him up.” His hands curled into fists as the image of Robert’s angry face loomed before him.

“Hey. Leo? What’s wrong?” Morgan touched his arm, and he jumped.

“Nothing,” he snapped, the loneliness and pain from the past seeping like a poison through his blood, and he hated that it messed with his mind and his time with Morgan.

“That’s bullshit. You were miles away just now. I told you about the worst part of myself—what happened with my ex—and I survived.”

But Morgan was strong. He lived a normal life and had friends and a family who loved him and cared enough about him that they baked cookies and made trips to tell him how special he was.

Not him.

He was weak and hid from people. Grief kept him shackled to a past he couldn’t bear to think about, let alone talk about it with anyone, not even his best friend.

And yet…

There was Morgan, who’d endured hell and still found goodness in people, even Leo. Morgan stood facing him, nose-to-nose, so fucking brave, Leo’s shell of a heart cracked and splintered.

“My father…” he began, his voice so rough with pain, he barely recognized it. “When he died, it all went to shit.”

“You mentioned how close you were.”

“He was everything to me. The only thing. My mother didn’t care. Having a child had been her bargaining chip—my father wouldn’t marry her unless she agreed to have a child, and she thought he would become a big developer and have her sitting pretty, with a big house in the city, a place in the Hamptons, and unlimited shopping. She loved her Chanel bags more than me. No, don’t contradict me,” Leo cut off Morgan as he opened his mouth, likely to voice his disagreement. “I was there. I know.”

“I’m listening.” Morgan took his cold hand. “I’m here.”

But for how long?

“If you are, you’re the only one. My mother couldn’t wait to get remarried after my dad died. And Robert was perfect for her—she got everything from him my father never had the chance to give her. That big house you saw wasn’t for me. It was so they could entertain their friends. The Hamptons house was for her, not for me to enjoy the beach. Nothing either of them did was ever for my benefit. Robert gave even less of a shit about me than she did. I think he got a thrill from knocking me around.”

“You only said he was two-faced.” Morgan’s shocked gaze clashed with his. “He hit you?”

“He beat me,” Leo ripped out, the words tasting savage and bitter