Page 62 of A Thousand Cuts

“You’re allowed to touch,” Fix whispered.

Liam chewed his lips, shaking his head. “Not yet. I need…”

“Time.” Fix nodded as he gave Liam’s waist a small squeeze before letting go and stepping away. Liam swayed gently but didn’t close the distance between them again. Fix missed him in his arms already. “I’ll go get dressed.”

He knew he wasn’t imagining the disappointed look, but Liam only smiled and said, “I’ll make you that breakfast.”

He turned around to walk away and heard a small gasp coming from Liam. He looked over his shoulder and found Liam’s eyes trained on the back of his shoulder. His cursemark.

“Liam?”

Liam’s eyes snapped up to meet his, a blush high on his cheeks. “Sorry.”

Fix shook his head. “No need. I don’t mind.”

“It’s just…” Liam bit his lip, looking down at the mark again. “It’s beautiful.”

Fix felt heat flood his entire body at the words. He didn’t think about his cursemark as anything but utilitarian. It served a purpose and that was it. Feeling Liam’s eyes on it, seeing the admiration in them…it made all the difference in the world.

“Thank you,” he said softly.

Liam nodded, wringing his fingers in front of his body. “Um… Clothes. Food.”

“Yup.”

Fix allowed him to retreat into his shell, giddy at the steps they’d taken toward each other.

He walked to the bathroom, rushing through getting his worn clothes back on, knowing he could change into the spare blue plaid shirt he kept in his bag when he got down to his truck. He brushed his teeth with a spare toothbrush Liam had under the sink before walking out again, finding Liam spreading butter and jam onto his toast, a mug of tea already steaming next to the plate.

Fix leaned against the door, watching him as he bustled around the small table, chest tightening at how domestic it looked and just how much he wanted it to be his every day. Waking up with Liam. Eating breakfast with him. Knowing he’d be coming home to him at the end of the day.

“Do you want to eat here or take it with you?” Liam asked, breaking Fix out of his fantasies.

“Here, please.” Fix sat at the table with difficulty since it was so small. Still, with his knees digging into the wood and a simple spread in front of him, he felt like he was at a five-star restaurant.

“You won’t be late?” Liam asked as he sat across from him, his own breakfast plated in front of him and King at his side hovering for scraps.

“Worth it,” Fix said, picking up his tea decisively.

There was no way he would ever skip a cursebreak—he cared too much—but he could allow himself this small moment of serenity to just exist in the same space as Liam.

“Is your case a difficult one?” Liam asked, breaking the comfortable silence.

“Shouldn’t be.” Fix crunched through his toast, trying not to get five thousand crumbs in his beard. “Most of mine don’t take too long to handle.”

“Taylor said it was urgent though?”

Fix chuckled. “That could either mean the client is very melodramatic, or that Taylor is having a slow day at work and is…well, being melodramatic.”

Liam huffed out a small laugh in return, the brightness of it music to Fix’s ears. “Got it. You work with a drama queen.”

“I work with several,” Fix corrected, making Liam laugh again.

“So um…how does it work, exactly? The cursebreaking thing?”

“Oh, that’s unique to each cursebreaker.”

“You don’t have to tell me, if you can’t,” Liam said.