Joker (Hell's Ankhor #8) - Aiden Bates Page 0,69

I started carving stuff, making toys to go with his clay models. Parker loved them.”

Joker brushed the shavings off the carving he was working on. It was two boys, one taller than the other, holding hands. He held it for a long moment, gazing down at it, and then put his knife away and placed the carving in the dirt by the headstone on his other side.

My throat tightened as sadness for Joker’s loss swelled in my chest. There was nothing I could say. I just wanted to be there for him. I reached over and took his hand, folding both of my hands over his before I drew his knuckles to my lips and kissed them gently.

Joker’s expression broke. Cracked down the middle like he’d been struck. He took a deep, stuttering breath. “I’m sorry,” he said, a little strangled. “Brennan, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” I said immediately. “I’m here.”

I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him into my chest. Joker’s shoulders trembled hard as he began to cry in earnest, hiding his face in my chest as he shook. I didn’t say anything, didn’t try to stop him or soothe him—if anything, I had a feeling that this was what Joker needed. He didn’t seem like the type to cry in front of others, and all I wanted to do was hold him as he did so. I dropped a kiss to the crown of his head and rubbed his shoulders and back.

Eventually, he pulled away and gave me a small, tentative smile as he rubbed his eyes roughly. He looked a little less lost, a little relieved, but there was still a deep, pained sadness in his eyes. “Sorry,” he muttered.

“Hey.” I took his hand again, and Joker looked up. “Come on. Let’s go home.”

Joker nodded tentatively, and I helped him to his feet. We walked down the hill toward my truck, with my arm slung protectively around his shoulder as he leaned against me. I’d call Heath later and have someone come get his bike. He was in no state to ride—and he needed someone to take care of him.

I drove back to my place, grateful for the bench seating in my truck, since that meant I could drive with Joker leaning against my side with my arm around his shoulder. He seemed exhausted; the ordeal of the past few days had drained him of that anxious, defensive energy I was used to seeing in him.

Once we made it home, I guided Joker up the stairs, nudging him encouragingly.

“Come on,” I murmured soothingly. “Let me take care of you.”

Joker heaved out a shuddering sigh but nodded. He toed off his shoes and let me guide him to the bed.

I curled my fingers in the hem of his shirt and tugged questioningly. “Can I? Just want to rub your back.”

Joker nodded. “Yeah, please,” he said, a little breathlessly.

He sighed as I pulled the shirt up and over his head. I wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him close for a kiss. It wasn’t a hot, urgent kiss, or even a very deep kiss—I just captured his lips to soothe him. To let him know I was there. And that I wasn’t going anywhere.

With my hands at his hips, I turned him around and pushed him toward the bed. He went easily, stretching out on his belly on my bed, then rested his cheek on his folded arms.

I stepped out of my own shoes, too, then my shirt, and straddled Joker’s thighs, just below the curve of his ass. He was gorgeous, and seeing him spread out under me like this sent a familiar warm rush of desire through me. But it wasn’t anything urgent, or even needy. Because all I really wanted right now was to make Joker feel good. Even without touching him, I could see the tension in his shoulders, how they pulled up toward his ears unconsciously.

So I started there. I dragged my hands over his shoulders, and Joker exhaled a low sigh. I pressed my fingers into the knots I found, then methodically began to work my way down, over his lats, the tense muscle along his spine, down to his lower back.

I kept my hands moving, up and down, until Joker was humming and sighing, melting against the mattress. It took a while, but the massage finally had his body relaxing—I could see it in the way the furrow in his brow finally smoothed out.

Once I was satisfied that I’d