Too Close To Break

by M. A. Innes

  “Doctor, is this a conversation we should have today, or is later in the week acceptable? I understand you can’t tell me anything specific, but if this is something that needs to happen immediately, I can rearrange my plans.” The cop paused, waiting to hear what Dr. Sheppard said.

  Weird.

  “Waiting until the end of the week is fine. The boys are in no danger.” Then he smiled at us. “Unless you count their stress levels.”

  “I apologize about that. Please convey my apologies, and let them know that upsetting them was not the department’s intentions.” There was another quick pause and then he continued. “And off the record, please let them know that the department does not interfere unless laws have been broken or someone is in danger. Privacy and consent are important.”

  Papers shuffled around in the background, and I pictured him sitting at a messy desk surrounded by files and reports. “How does Friday afternoon sound? This same time?”

  All four of us nodded like little dolls, and Dr. Sheppard smiled. “That will work fine. Thank you, Avery. We will see you on Friday.”

  “Perfect, I’ll see you then.” The phone disconnected, and Dr. Sheppard hit the button to end the call.

  “That was weird. I mean, that’s not how things go on TV.” Bryan looked around at us. “Right? I can’t be the only one who thought that was strange.”

  “Oh yeah, not how I expected things to go.” Kevin looked at me, clearly still uneasy.

  Dr. Sheppard spoke up. “Detective Davison works in a special department that handles family and domestic issues. I think what he was trying to say was that the police didn’t think the person on the phone was credible for whatever reason, but they still needed to make sure Kevin wasn’t in danger. His behavior made the detective realize he handled it wrong, and he is trying to make sure you understand he’s not here to involve the police in a consensual adult relationship.”

  We just looked at Dr. Sheppard, still confused. Bryan on the other hand, sat up straighter and looked around the room, one word popping out before he slammed his mouth shut. “Avery.”

  Dr. Sheppard lifted one brow, but Bryan kept his lips glued shut and tried to look innocent. He still wasn’t very good at it. “Yes, I do my best to respect everyone’s privacy whether they are a patient of mine or not. However, because Detective Davison made it clear he didn’t need directions and the way he worded his statements, I feel confident that he will be fine with my acknowledging our mutual familiarity with one another. Once he understood I was working with Kevin and Jeremy, he understood more about what he was becoming involved in and realized that I would let him know if Kevin was in danger.”

  Did that mean the cop was kinky or just that he knew about the lifestyle?

  He was clearly familiar enough with Dr. Sheppard to grasp that we didn’t exactly have a traditional relationship. I just wished I knew more about what he would think of our situation. “Do we need to worry about the meeting on Friday?”

  All four of us watched Dr. Sheppard closely, and he smiled again. I had a picture in my head of puppies following something on a TV screen and wondered what Dr. Sheppard thought of us. I would have loved to have known what was going through his mind. He shook his head. “No, I would have told you that right away if I’d known who you were speaking with.”

  There was a collective sigh of relief. It felt like a brick house had just been lifted off my shoulders. Kevin’s hand relaxed and his hold felt more loving and less panicked. “Thank you for letting us call from here. I know you had to rework some appointments, but we appreciate it.”

  “It’s not a problem, Jeremy. I’m glad you came to me. Detective Davison would have eventually understood, but this will make it easier on everyone. Depending on the nature of the allegations, no matter who called it in, making sure you were both safe would have been his primary goal. Your private life, as long as it was consensual, wouldn’t have mattered to him.”

  “Not everyone would have understood.” Kevin leaned back in the chair, relieved but not completely relaxed. “If it were someone else, it might not have gone this well.”

  Dr. Sheppard nodded. “You’re right. That is not an unreasonable fear. Just try not to focus on the constant stream of what-ifs.”

  Kevin looked over at me. “We have to talk to her and see what she wants. That’s the only reason she would have called. She wants something.”

  “Something big.”

  Fuck.

  Chapter 7

  Kevin

  “The history class isn’t bad, but avoiding pizza-guy has turned into a full-time job.” Tossing my backpack into the corner, I told myself I wasn’t going to worry about any reading for a few more hours. Maybe longer.

  “He’s still stalking you?” Jeremy looked up from the table where he’d been working, his face drawn and serious.

  “Not exactly stalking—at least, I don’t think so. It’s not like he’s following me home or coming here randomly. Part of the problem is that we’re taking the same class, and every time I turn around, he’s sitting next to me or trying to work with me.”

  Jeremy was starting to look more and more concerned as the explanation kept going, but I wasn’t sure what to do. “We had a list of discussion questions today that the professor hinted are going to be on the final and he gave them to us early, so we could talk them out in groups. The professor wandered around listening to the conversations and pointing out areas that were weak.”

  I walked over to the couch and threw myself down so I was draped across it. “Well, seventies-porno-guy just about tripped over two girls trying to get into my group. Even the professor noticed. He told the guy to crush on someone in his own time. I about died, but he just smirked and grinned. After class, I had to completely avoid the library because I thought he’d follow me in there.”

  “What should we do?” Jeremy’s face grew even more pinched and worried. Clearly he didn’t like the uncertainty in his voice.

  “Nothing. Do you really want to draw any more attention to ourselves? We haven’t even figured out exactly what the cop wants to talk about on Friday. Adding something else to the mix is a bad idea.” Even talking to the administration seemed like a bad idea. They couldn’t even guarantee the privacy of our cell phone numbers.

  “There has to be something we can do. Maybe we just need to be brutally honest with the guy. Some people are clueless.” It felt a little like he was grasping at straws.

  “I don’t know. It’s clear he makes me uncomfortable.” I didn’t think I was hiding that.

  “You can be really polite even when people are complete asses.” Jeremy gave me a skeptical look. “Have you actually told the douche to back off? Anything like that?”

  “Well, no.” That seemed very…blunt. “I didn’t think I had to. I haven’t exactly been hit on that much, but I thought most people got the hint pretty quickly when you avoided them. Kidnappers and stalkers aside…like everyone else who’s normal and functional.”

  I thought he would laugh, but his brows pulled together and he got up from the table. He walked over to the couch and curled up next to me, pulling me into his arms. Once we’d left the therapist’s office, I started to feel better. I wasn’t completely over the insanity, but it wasn’t weighing down on me anymore.

  We’d known Dr. Sheppard for months, and he’d never lied to us or told us something just because we wanted to hear it. He had no reason to start now, and the cop had clearly realized right away who Dr. Sheppard was. If he said we were fine and didn’t need to worry, I was going to believe him. Besides, if we weren’t going to be hauled off to jail or exposed on national TV, then I could handle just about anything else. So worrying wouldn’t help.

  Jeremy, unfortunately, was having a harder time moving past it.

  I caught him watching me sleep again.

  I’d thought we were done with that. The nightmares from everything that happened when we were leaving home had long since faded, and he hadn’t felt the need to watch me
sleep for months. At least, not that I’d noticed. I was starting to think it was something I might need to bring up in our next regular session with Dr. Sheppard.

  “I’m fine. I was just teasing. You don’t need to worry.”

  “I’m not going to worry because I’m not letting you out of my sight.” He was serious.

  Shit.

  That would make him miserable or both of us crazy. “I’m not going to take over your life. You have work and meetings and plans with friends. I’m not going to hold you hostage.”

  Shit.

  Wrong way to say it. I was on a roll today.

  “Keeping you safe and making sure he leaves you alone is more important than any meeting. It’s not an imposition or taking over my life. It’s what you do for someone you love. And I’m not going to let anyone hold you hostage.” His voice went deep and serious, and I could tell he was going to start digging in his heels on the subject.

  “That wasn’t what I meant and you know it. The chance of two crazy kidnappers in one lifetime is astronomical. Like billion-to-one odds and I’d need to go buy a lottery ticket right away kind of luck. He’s just an idiot who can’t take a hint.” I loved Jeremy dearly, but I didn’t want him to eventually start resenting me. He couldn’t live his life following me around planning on the worst happening.

  He leaned in and gave me a kiss on the forehead. “I’m not going to go off the deep end. Just until he backs off and I know you’re safe.”

  “Promise?” I didn’t believe him for a second.

  “Promise.” He looked so innocent and trustworthy. We were definitely talking about this with Dr. Sheppard because my loving, perfect hubby was lying through his teeth.

  “Okay, you can drop me off at class and then get some work done in one of the empty classrooms or something. There’s bound to be places you can camp out for a while. Then you pick me up and we can either come home or we can go to the library. I can study anywhere.”

  “You study best in the library. At home, you get distracted and start wandering around the house.”

  “Do not.”

  “Do too.” He laughed and pulled me onto his lap.

  “You’re the one who gets distracted when I’m here. You start getting random drinks from the kitchen or you check and see how I’m doing a thousand times.” I was not the distractible one in this relationship.

  “Because you look fidgety and I want to make sure you’re studying.” His expression said he was serious, but he was delusional. That was not what happened.

  “And this is why I study at the library.”

  “Why?” He didn’t get it.

  I just had to grin. “We distract each other.”

  Jeremy shrugged. “Maybe.”

  I laughed and started wrestling around so I could straddle his lap. “You just don’t want to admit I’m right.”

  “Because I’m always right. You already know that.” He smiled and his fingers started digging into my side.

  “That’s…that’s…cheating…bastard…” I was laughing so hard I was having a tough time breathing. Talking was almost impossible. Squirming and wiggling, his tight grip on my sides was the only thing that kept me from falling off the couch.

  “You’re not talking to me very nicely. I might have to punish you for that.” His voice was wicked and deep.

  “Uncle.”

  “I’m not your uncle.”

  “You’re crazy, that’s what you are. I’m positive other people don’t manipulate their boyfriends and husbands like this.” I was teasing, but again, something about it went wrong. I was going to have to learn to shut up.

  At least until he wasn’t under so much pressure.

  “Does it bother you that you missed out on that?” He was serious. The tickling had stopped and his eyes were cloudy with worry.

  What had I missed?

  I thought back to the conversation and what I’d said when he’d been playing. But I wasn’t sure what he was talking about. “I don’t understand. What did I miss out on?”

  “Other boyfriends…lovers…” He shrugged. “We were each other’s first everything. And as incredible as that is to me, sometimes I think you missed out on things. I don’t want you to regret that when you’re older.”

  It clearly wasn’t a new fear for him, but it was the first I was hearing about it. Maybe a casual mention when we were first discovering our relationship—but nothing like I was seeing in his eyes. But it was something I had an easy answer for and didn’t even have to think about. “Absolutely not.”

  He looked skeptical, so I leaned down and gave him a tender kiss. “I found the man I would love forever without having to look at all. I didn’t have to date countless morons and guys who would cheat on me or lose my virginity in the back of some guy’s pickup truck trying to feel loved.”

  He gave a shudder at the image, and I reached out to cup his face gently in my hands. “You were right there waiting for me to see you. I fell in love with my knight in shining armor. How many people get to say that? I know exactly how far you would go to save me and that you would do anything for me. Why would I regret that? Why would I want to trade that for some random man who’d think I was clingy or insecure or…just something crazy?”

  He brought his hands up and started running his fingers over my face, gently tracing my features. I needed to make sure he understood me. I couldn’t fix stalker-pizza-guy or even the shit with the cops, but this was a worry I should be able to fix. I just wasn’t sure I had the right words. “I honestly can’t see myself with anyone else.”

  “Are you sure?” He looked like he wanted to believe me, but the fears had been eating away at him for too long. “I don’t want you to—”

  I jumped in, cutting him off. “I’m positive. You’re it for me. Stuck with me forever, buddy.”

  He grimaced but laughed. “Don’t call me that.”

  “Okay, dude.”

  “That’s even worse, surfer boy.”

  “How about…babe? Bae?”

  He was laughing so hard I was bouncing on his stomach. I gave him a cheeky grin. “I bet I can think up some even better ones.”

  “Not before I can punish you. I distinctly remember owing you a punishment.” His eyes were bright with need, and I could feel his cock starting to stiffen. We might have been past the first hurdle, but I had a feeling it would come up again.

  I gave him a sexy pout. “But you love me too much to punish me.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure of how much you love me…” I gave him a teasing look. “Not so much the punishment part.”

  He grinned, but before I could get his response—probably wicked from the look on his face—the phone rang. “Shit. I have to get that. I’m sorry. I called someone a few minutes ago and they’re probably getting back to me.”

  He looked so frustrated it was cute. “Go work. I won’t distract you too much.” Then I wiggled my eyebrows and adjusted my cock as I climbed off him.

  Jeremy groaned and laughed as he hoisted himself off the couch. “You’re just mean.” Giving me a dramatic sigh, he headed over to the table to answer his phone.

  “I’m just fun.”

  “Naughty you mean.”

  “That too.”

  Before he could think of a comeback, he was picking up the phone. Hitting the button quickly, he spoke seriously. “Phoenix Designs, how can I help you?”

  His face lost some of its color. “Hello?”

  Another one.

  Most of the time, whoever was calling would hang up sooner. Usually Jeremy barely got out hello before the person on the other end hung up. His work phone was the only number we couldn’t change on a regular basis without it affecting his business. We were very careful to keep his face off the website and not to post personal information on his work webpage, but somehow they’d found out.

  It had to be them.…There was no one else who’d want to torture us like that.

  “Listen, this is getting rid
iculous. Whoever this is, stop calling because this is a waste of everyone’s time.” Disconnecting the call, Jeremy put the phone down carefully on the table. He probably wanted to throw it through the wall, but his control was better than that.

  “I’m sorry.” Getting up off the couch, I went over and wrapped my arms around him. “They’ll get bored, eventually.”

  “I should start screening my calls better.” Jeremy sighed and pulled me tight. “But I have a couple of clients whose numbers don’t always come up because they’re calling from business lines. The guy from last week who wants the designs for his website always comes up as spam for some reason.”

  “How about I answer more of the calls you’re unfamiliar with…just for a while?” I winked at him. “I’ll be your naughty secretary.”

  He laughed and some of the stress started to fade from his face. “You’d make a great naughty secretary.”

  “I make a great everything…or at least that’s what you think.”

  “Because you’re perfect.”

  “See?” I gave him a squeeze, then stepped back, striking a terrible impression of a sexy pose. “You think I’m fabulous.”

  “No, you got that wrong. I know you’re fabulous.” He leered at me playfully, but there didn’t seem to be any intention to take the teasing to the bedroom. Damn phone call. “How about I take my naughty secretary out for a date?”

  “Just the two of us and not on the run from the cops? My, you’re feeling lovey today.” My teasing made him smile that time, finally.

  “Just us. No cops. No friends. No burgers. A real date.” His smile was loving, and when he pulled me close again, his touch was tender and light.

  “Sounds perfect.” I usually didn’t notice what I was wearing, but since he’d hinted at something nicer, I glanced down to see what I had on. Jeans, the nice ones, not the ones with the holes. Hmm, would that work?