Page 27 of A Thousand Cuts

“Well?” Liam said when Fix made no move to start explaining. “You broke into my home. Take it from here.”

“I didn’t break into your home,” Fix said.

Liam scowled. “Did you squeeze through the keyhole? Phase through the walls?”

“No.” Fix huffed another small laugh, like he was amused by Liam and couldn’t help it. “I definitely entered your home without permission, but legally, it’s not a break-in.”

“Yeah, see, I wouldn’t say that to the police,” Liam said, fuming.

“Cursebreakers are legally allowed to enter homes without express permission to break curses that could be a danger to people.”

“Sure you are.”

He watched Fix pull out a dusty tome, leatherbound and other than the dust, looking brand new. He placed it on the table in front of Liam and motioned toward it.

“Page sixty-four,” he said. “Section fourteen, paragraph nine.”

Liam found himself reaching for the book and flipping the pages, getting to the right spot and reading the dry, boring legal jargon. Dry, maybe. But in support of what Fix was saying.

“Fine.” He slammed the book closed, ignoring the small cloud it created. “I guess you’re legally in the right. That doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Fix said seriously, no longer laughing at all. “And I am sorry for crossing your personal boundaries. Again.”

“Why did you, then?” Liam asked, curiosity winning out over indignation.

“Because I’m a cursebreaker.” Fix’s blue eyes held an ocean of heartfelt earnestness. “It’s my job to keep people free of curses. I couldn’t just leave and never think of it again. I can’t work that way. I’m sorry. It would be easier if I could.”

Liam traced his gaze over Fix’s face, trying to find his way to the hidden meanings in those words. They were so full, but Liam didn’t know the cipher to work them out. He didn’t know Fix. He ignored the voice whispering that he wanted to.

“Do you have a savior complex or something?”

Fix burst out laughing, raising a hand to cover his eyes before lowering it again to reveal something much more wry. “Not exactly. But cursebreakers aren’t exactly normal, functioning members of society.”

“I don’t think that’s exclusive to cursebreakers,” Liam mumbled, thinking of his own questionable past and present.

“We might have something in common then.”

It was a line. Liam wasn’t stupid enough not to recognize flirting. The way he reacted to it, however, made him want to run from the room in panic.

“I’m not going to pay you by sleeping with you.”

It came out whip sharp, and Fix recoiled like it had physically hit him. “I would never leverage your safety like that. Never.”

“So you don’t want to sleep with me?”

Fix couldn’t hold eye contact, and Liam felt both vindicated and disappointed in equal measures. He wanted Fix to find him attractive, more than he wanted to admit to himself, but that feeling was so tangled up with every toxic relationship he’d ever had. The power dynamics and head games made him spin out of control.

“I can’t say this cursebreaking was purely professional,” Fix admitted. Liam watched him draw his massive shoulders back before capturing his gaze. Liam couldn’t look away. “I’m attracted to you, yes. I think you’re beautiful, yes. I would like toknow you better, yes. But I would have broken those curses for any other client and not taken a slate. Please believe that.”

He did believe it, but that wasn’t why Liam was licking suddenly dry lips, his heart racing so fast he was sure it was about to do laps around the room.

“What I want from you could never be forced,” Fix finished softly, too soulful, too honest.

“What do you want?” Liam whispered, even though he shouldn’t.

“To spend time with you and take care of you, to make sure you’re safe and happy and protected. I want to find a way to make your life easier. To make living it simple and as carefree as possible.”

It was like someone had dumped a bucket of cold water right over his head. He knew what those words meant. He’d heard them before. Flashes of bruises and slurs thrown his way ran through his head.