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“I don’t know,” Marco said with a shaky laugh. “I think I could hold my own if I got wet first.”

“Jesus, you’re being fucking stupid,” Carter told him, voice growing louder.

Marco looked up, eyes widening. “Carter. I was just kidding.”

“This isn’t a fucking joke,” Carter snarled fiercely at him.

Marco held his hands up, taking a step back. “Okay, okay. I wasn’t trying to...I’m sorry.”

Carter watched him for a moment, and his shoulders drooped slightly. He spun around with a low growl, shaking his head. “I’ll leave you alone. Fuck it.”

Marco blinked, suddenly unsure where this sudden downshift had come from. A heartbeat later, he looked at him, backing away from Carter with a gesture of surrender, and he understood.

“I’m not scared of you,” Marco told him.

“Good for you,” Carter said, glaring at the floor.

“And I wasn’t doing that because I thought you would hurt me either.”

“Fine.”

“Carter.”

“What?” The last came out in a bark.

Marco sighed, stepping forward because he didn’t like Carter visibly distancing himself and also to prove his point. He didn’t hesitate to step close and lay a hand on Carter’s arm. The man tensed, and for a moment, Marco thought he was going to yank his arm away, resuming his snarls and barks.

Instead, he stood there, still tense, staring at the floor and not moving. Marco took that as a good sign and inched closer, gently laying his head on Carter’s arm and squeezing his wrist.

“I mean it,” Marco said softly. “You don’t scare me, Carter, and you never have. I just didn’t want to piss you off more than you already were. And not because I thought you were being an asshole, but because I didn’t understand why you were so mad, and I’m concerned, okay?”

“You done with the couples therapy talk?” Carter asked, voice rough.

Marco smiled, sensing the normal Carter in the irritation. “Sure. Wanna tell me what’s going on in that head of yours?”

“You going from couples therapy to regular therapy now?”

“Carter.”

He made the admonishment as soft as possible, but he saw Carter twitch as though he was fighting off a wince. Marco had come to understand Carter a lot better over the past few weeks. This was a man who didn’t talk about his feelings much. But if Marco paid the slightest attention to what he did, Carter spoke enough to fit several volumes.

“You can’t defend yourself,” Carter finally muttered.

“Right,” Marco said, kissing Carter’s upper arm gently.

Carter glanced at him, eyes narrowed. “And what happens if you end up with another situation like that asshole who followed you home? I’ve seen you drunk, Marco. What happens if something like that girl happens to you?”

“Ah,” Marco said, understanding suddenly.

“Yeah. You’d be up the fucking creek without a paddle,” Carter snapped. “I can’t always be around to save you.”

Marco brushed aside how dickish that could have come off. He finally understood Carter’s problem, and his heart went out to him. Carter was struggling with the fact that he might not be around to protect Marco if he was in trouble. Considering Carter obviously had a protective streak that could have stretched over the city limits, that had to be one hell of a difficult pill to swallow.

“You’re right,” Marco admitted. “You can’t always be there. And you’re right that I should know how to get out of most situations that can happen to me.”

Carter looked away, but not before Marco saw a familiar shadow pass over him. “I know you can’t always do something about the fucked-up shit that happens in life. Shit happens, and sometimes people who are better than most get fucked over. But?—”

Marco waited, sensing something on the horizon that he hadn’t anticipated. Carter’s body had gone rigid with his last couple of sentences.