Beautifully Angelic - Charity Parkerson Page 0,9

didn’t have mailboxes. Instead, their mail was sent to a private office, where it was sorted and then passed along after proper handling and inspection. They only saw what they wanted to see.

Declan carried the box to the couch. He chewed his bottom lip, fighting himself. Declan lost the battle against his curiosity. He opened the flaps and looked inside. His gut twisted as he caught sight of the cover. It was another skin magazine. Jessie would die when he inevitably found out about this. Declan had no such qualms. He needed to see. Declan quickly flipped through the images, uncaring of anyone other than Ezra. His breath caught as the picture of Ezra jumped out at him. His heart skipped a beat as the full image came into view. It was completely tasteful and yet still hot as hell. Ezra wasn’t nude, but he might as well have been. He wore a see-through lace thong, heels, and nothing else. Goddamn. He was beautiful. There would be men all over the world drooling over these images and none of them had any clue. Ezra’s inner beauty eclipsed any picture he took. No one could look at him and know how completely selfless and kind he was.

Declan put the magazine back in the box. He knew how stunning Ezra was where no one could see, and that had done nothing to change how Declan had been treating him the past few years. Declan wasn’t blind to Ezra’s feelings. No one on the planet looked at Declan with the heat and love that Ezra did. But they were complicated. Loving Ezra wasn’t the easy choice. While Declan knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he could withstand losing anything and anyone to be with Ezra, he couldn’t lose Ezra. Fear paralyzed him at the thought of making his play and ending up alone. Declan had been raised by a mean drunk. Jessie had rescued him from that life. If he chose Ezra, and then Ezra and he didn’t work out, Declan would be completely alone in the world. It was a terrifying thought.

Exhaustion washed over Declan. Icarus was asleep with Ezra and Declan didn’t want to wake him to take him outside before bed, so Declan spread out some puppy pads and hoped for the best. He checked on Ezra. He was curled on his side and sleeping peacefully. Declan found himself checking to make sure he was still breathing as a wave of unexpected terror washed over him. If anything happened to Ezra, Declan couldn’t survive it. He couldn’t force himself to leave Ezra alone. So he quietly climbed into bed with him. Icarus immediately stretched out between them and tried pushing him out of the bed. A soft laugh rumbled from Declan’s throat. He wasn’t the least bit surprised Icarus loved Ezra better. Unfortunately for Icarus, he was stuck with the both of them. Declan planned to dig his heels in now. If anyone was worth risking his entire life on, Ezra was the one. Declan was here for the long haul now. Ezra wouldn’t know what hit him.

Thanks to the hospital pumping him full of fluids, Ezra found himself awake in the middle of the night. He had to pee, but Icarus and Declan were both sleeping peacefully beside him. He couldn’t stop staring at the pair. Life was cruel, teasing him with the family he would never have. This life that wasn’t his. This was how Ezra wanted to sleep every night. Well, maybe not with Icarus between them, but still.

Ezra’s bladder screamed for him to move. With a sigh, Ezra rolled from the bed. Icarus immediately shot up and followed him. As Ezra stepped inside the bathroom, he froze. Thick brown paper covered the bathroom mirror, hiding his reflection. In black marker were huge words written where his mirror should be. “You don’t need a mirror. You’re beautiful.”

With a shake of his head, Ezra headed for the toilet. He had forgotten about Declan doing the same thing when Ezra had battled this demon as a teenager. With his trip to the toilet out of the way, Ezra went through his usual bedtime routine. He brushed his teeth and moisturized before he changed into a pair of pajama pants. From there, he went on a hunt for Icarus’s leash. He found all the puppy’s things piled up by the back door next to Declan’s suitcases. He snapped the leash in place and headed out. Icarus was too